Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RALPH ANSAMI
Ironwood — The Ironwood City Commission on Monday listed a pump station improvement project as its top goal for 2017 and then learned there’s a chance a grant will finance a good portion of the work.
City manager Scott Erickson said the city plans to apply for a Michigan Economic Development Commission grant that could provide between $500,000 and $2 million for a project.
Erickson said the grant application is due by April 7 and the project would be funded for 2018.
He said there’s no guarantee the city will receive the money, as the grants are “very competitive.”
The city would only have to apply a 10 percent match toward the MEDC grant, Erickson said, and the maximum grant amount will likely be sought.
“This would be for a portion of the project,” Erickson said, estimating the entire pump station improvements at $5 million.
The 10 percent match could come out of the city’s water-sewer fund.
In other business at a short Monday meeting, the city commission agreed to purchase a safety trench box for underground utility work.
Two bids were received. The commission accepted the low bid from Efficiency Production, Inc., of Mason, for $7,001.
Department of public works director Bob Richards said that bid was $2,000 cheaper than the other one, from Miller Bradford.
Richards said the city has a safety trench box, but it’s not adjustable.
“We want to keep our employees as safe as possible,” he said.
The funds will come from the water-sewer budget.
A former city employee, now deceased, Wally Magdziak was seriously injured when a trench collapsed on him as he was working, although that incident wasn’t mentioned during the bid discussion on Monday.
