SAUGATUCK, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Aug. 6, 2024) – Saugatuck apparently can’t wait forever for AT&T to act on getting WiFi to Oval Beach.
With no cell or internet service available along that stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline, and with the Texas-based provider still hamstrung on getting state Historic Preservation Office approval for converting the Mt. Baldhead radar annex into a communications hub, the city and the Saugatuck Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has received an offer from Metro Wireless, a satellite-based internet access firm that has experience in getting service into rural and urban environments, to provide WiFi for that city park.
During the Wednesday afternoon workshop session, council members will be briefed on Metro’s proposal. For a $15,000 one-time installation and equipment cost, and a nearly $700 monthly charge for service and support over a three-year period, WiFi calling capability will be available for about two thousand users, with limits on video streaming. City staff that has had to use landlines to handle credit card transactions and communications with first responders at Oval Beach will get priority use. Metro officials say the equipment can stand up to all weather conditions, and has been effectively deployed in various open-space settings such as golf courses and marinas.
No final decision on the matter will be made on Wednesday, but council members can advise City Manager Ryan Cummins to put the issue on the agenda for the next business meeting this coming Monday evening. If approved then, the service could begin in three to four weeks.
Also during the workshop session, council members will look over a draft of a short-term rental license ordinance amendment, as well as what the policy should be for available licenses. Last month, the governing panel approved a planning commission recommendation for capping new STR licenses at 20 percent in the R-1 Residential District, among other proposals. On Wednesday, council will give Cummins and city staff further guidance on the amendment wording, with planners set to hold a public hearing next Thursday (August 15) before the next council workshop meeting in two weeks.
The 4 PM Saugatuck City Council workshop is in the second-floor meeting room of Saugatuck City Hall (102 Butler St.). A link to the agenda and supporting documents is here.
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