The Marquette County Board on Tuesday will consider hiring a consultant to help establish Sawyer International Airport, shown above, as a spaceport. (Journal file photo)

MARQUETTE — The Marquette County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday will consider a recommendation from Sawyer International Airport staff to hire Explorer Solutions for $21,800 to assist with efforts to establish a spaceport.

Sawyer is one of five Michigan airports being considered as a spaceport location by the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association.

The new spaceport location will be used to launch small satellites into low-Earth orbit.

If the contract is approved, Explorer Solutions would assist the airport in the review of the small satellite market and establish contacts; review existing spaceports and compare needs to existing land and infrastructure; identify gaps and provide options for solutions; and regulatory review for spaceports. The New York-based company would also agree not to complete this type of project for other possible sites in Michigan, board documents state.

Sawyer’s fixed-base operator Boreal Aviation Inc. will designate $5,000 of its marketing funds to the project in September and the Lake Superior Community Partnership obtained a $1,000 grant from Upper Peninsula Collaborative Development Council to offset the cost. Airport officials are still actively seeking other partners to defray the costs, the memorandum states.

The remaining cost of $15,800 would come from the professional contract services budget.

The board will also consider a request from Marquette County Central Dispatch to upgrade its computer-aided design network at its backup 911 center at the Marquette City Police Department. Dispatch has faced several issues with its electrical system recently, such as failure of the uninterruptible power supply and water entering the threatening a server system located in the basement at its main post. The network connection relies on a router located at central dispatch’s primary location.

The most likely solution will be the construction of a server room above grade and electrical upgrades to the communications center. The earliest these changes would happen is spring 2020, board documents state.

The Peninsula Fiber Network needed to establish an independent backup connection at the Marquette City Police Department, at a cost of $387 a month with a one-time installation fee of $350. Central dispatch’s budget can add this additional expense, documents state.

While repairs are made, central dispatch will work from its backup center.

Central dispatch is also requesting upgrades to its administrative phone system.

The administrative phone lines are currently managed out of Lansing. To have the lines managed locally, dispatch needs three software licenses, the phone lines connected and a system configuration. These services can be provided at a cost roughly $11,600 from West Safety Services and $365 from Peninsula Fiber Network. Central dispatch has room in its budget to complete the project, documents state.

The board will also consider a request from Lake Superior Community Partnership Executive Director Amy Clickner to support the creation of a Michigan Department of Rural Affairs and Development. The department would focus on rural Michigan initiatives.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday in room 231 of the Henry A. Skewis Courthouse Annex.

Trinity Carey can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206.