City of Wakefield denied funds from FEMA

WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield City Council heard Monday night of the city’s continuing efforts with the Gogebic County Emergency Management Team to apply for funding to mitigate the costs corresponding to the severe storm on July 11-12.

The city was denied FEMA assistance, but continues to apply for funding from other relief organizations. The city is working to estimate damages to private properties.

There was no current interest in the proposed logging operation required for the continued development of a non-motorized trail system in the city. The council decided to wait until fall when the logging prices are expected to come back up.

Under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, the city is required to install ground water monitoring wells in the local lagoon. The cost is estimated to be in the range of $15,000 to $20,000. According to Councilman John Granato, the Department of Environmental Quality raised the city’s permit, making the wells a new requirement. The council approved seeking bids for engineering consultants to install the wells.

The city is accepting bids for sewer televising and cleaning for approximately 28,600 linear feet of sewer. The project falls under the SAW grant. The council will be meeting with the engineering firms in September for an update on the project.

The Wakefield Volunteer Fire Department will host its fourth annual Open House on Wednesday, Aug., 31 from 4 to 7 p.m. There will be food and equipment demonstrations at the event.

The Wakefield City Chamber of Commerce will hold a “Meet and Greet” at the Wakefield Municipal Building on Aug. 18 from 5 to 7 p.m. for members and prospective members.

The next City Council meeting will be held on Monday, Aug. 22, at 5:30 p.m.