Alpena residents have until Dec. 16 to tell the Alpena Municipal Council what they’d like to see happen with the property where Decorative Panels International once operated.

The factory closed in February and laid off more than 150 employees, and the property along the shores of Thunder Bay has sat vacant since then. DPI hopes to open an auction for the property — with a $1 million starting bid — on Dec. 16.

The council is considering rezoning the property from industrial to waterfront property, which would open the parcel to other kinds of development, including mixed-use development that could include housing.

However, DPI has threatened to sue the city if the council does so because DPI leaders believe the changed zoning could make the property harder to sell.

The council on Monday heard public comment from 10 people, most of them supportive of the rezoning.

But the council wants to hear from more residents before making a final decision.

The decision is a consequential one that could remake the very skyline of Alpena and determine its economic prosperity.

And everyone has a lot to consider.

Manufacturing tends to produce more better-paying jobs than other types of development, but the area badly needs housing, a lack of which has held back economic growth as people have been turned away from moving to the area when they couldn’t find a place to live. Mixed-use development could also spur more tourism, which is an economic driver in its own right.

Plus, who knows whether DPI would be successful in its suit if it filed one, which could cost the city significant sums.

So we urge every resident to share their thoughts.

Call the city at 989-354-1700 or visit alpena.mi.us for contact information for individual council members to share your thoughts. Or attend the council’s next meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 16 at City Hall, 208 N. 1st Ave. downtown to share your thoughts.

This is an important decision the council faces, and it needs as many voices as possible to help it make that decision.