Business View Civil and Municipal | May/June 2022

24 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 5 construction. The city has estimated the total cost of these measures at $1.6 million. More than half of that is an expected revenue loss from free parking. City Manager Tom Markus, who took over the job in January 2021, credited his predecessor and the city commission for doing “everything possible” to aid local businesses. “We were treading on ground that hasn’t been treaded on before,” Markus said. “Our efforts were aimed at not being the straw that breaks the camel’s back. We tried to remove some of the straws.” Birmingham was far from alone in trying to help local businesses survive what for many has been the worst economic crisis they’ve ever seen. Many have taken advantage of federal, state, and county grants to assist local restaurants, shops, and other businesses. For example, about 700 small businesses in the state had received a total of $10 million by mid-March from the Pure Michigan Small Business Relief Initiate, administered by the Michigan Municipal League Foundation. Alpena Gets Creative Some cities with limited resources got creative in assisting downtown businesses. Alpena’s Downtown Development Authority ran two promotions to help brighten the bottom lines of local retailers, restaurants, and hair salons. The DDA’s “Downtown Dollars” promotion last year rang up $60,000 in sales of merchant gift certificates for use at more than 40 businesses. Most were sold during the holidays and in a special November promotion that offered bonus dollars for qualifying purchases. Among “Downtown Dollars” purchasers was Alpena Community College. “We wanted to support our community and thought it would be a wonderful way to reward our employees since we could not have our traditional staff recognition event,” said college President Don MacMaster. “It turned out to be a hit with staff.” The Alpena DDA also sponsored “Snowed In: