Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RICHARD JENKINS
Bessemer — While the city hasn’t settled on an overarching strategy for repairing its roads, Bessemer should soon be getting some valuable information to make the decision after the city council voted Monday to seek prices for options to repair a section of Mine Street.
“It’s really not acceptable the way it is right now. So if we could do it for $7,000, would it be something we’d consider? That was the point of asking for prices, to see what the contractor says — if the contractor has any cool options and what they can do,” Mayor Adam Zak said, referring to the condition of a block of Mine Street near the A.D. Johnston School. “And if it’s too much, it’s too much and we have to go to Plan B.”
Zak made a motion directing City Manager Charly Loper to seek prices for both repaving the middle section of the road where it’s deteriorated the most and completely repaving the block, as well as any other options contractors recommend.
The motion passed 4-1, with councilman Terry Kryshak voting against it.
It doesn’t commit the city to any particular course of action and is only intended to gather information.
“It’s the community that has to deal with (the bad road) and I’m making the motion we get some prices and see some options,” Zak said.
“It’s not going to hurt to get some prices, we need the prices,” councilman Rob Coleman said. “It’s not going to cost us anything to get the prices.”
While Loper called Mine Street the “worst of the worst” of the city’s roads and prompted the discussion, the council debated how it should allocate its road repair budget in general.
Loper advocated spreading the budget around to a bunch of small projects to maximize the number of roads being worked on.
“The most cost-effective way of maintaining our streets is to really fix some of the ones that (are in better condition), so they might need a crack seal, or they need a seal coat or a thin overlay or something. These are pretty affordable fixes, you know we’ve thrown a couple thousand dollars on it and then it lasts for another 10-15 years,” Loper said. “When you start getting into (the roads in really bad condition), those ones need significant work.”
Loper said other communities found they saved money by adopting this strategy of maintaining good roads rather than letting the roads degrade as long as possible and then repairing them completely.
Zak and other council members advocated for focusing on a smaller number of big projects.
“If we have $30,000 to spend — this is just to throw a number out there — let’s spend it on some new pavement, not Band Aids,” Zak said.
Loper acknowledged Mine Street near the school had reached a point where it needed to be repaved, which is planned for 2021 as part of a sewer project.
However, she estimated a one-inch overlay of concrete for the block would cost around $10,000 and she couldn’t be certain how long it would last.
That price tag would be a significant part of the city’s road repair budget, and Loper worried residents would accuse the city of wasting money if it only lasted a couple years.
She advocated hot patching the street for considerably less money as a temporary improvement until 2021.
Zak argued the people living on the deteriorating streets deserved to have them repaired too.
Along with the motion to get prices for the Mine Street project, the council also urged Loper to continue working on a PASER study of all the city’s roads as a way to determine how to prioritize the rest of the streets.
In other action:
—The council discussed ongoing efforts to fight blight in the city. While there were some occupied houses on the list of the city’s most blighted properties, there was a general consensus the vacant buildings were the worst cases of blight. Loper will continue her efforts to reduce the problem, and will explore several initiatives — including a neighborhood liaison program to help create cohesive neighborhoods.
—The council also discussed, in general terms, the city’s philosophy on attracting businesses and the pros and cons of drawing small businesses compared to large companies.
—The council also discussed ways to improve the welcome signs at the city’s borders on U.S. 2, however, the city’s downtown development authority will be the organization spending funds on any improvements to the signs.
—Loper reported the city received a grant through the Western Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Region to have Michigan State University-Extension staff complete a First Impressions survey in the city.
