City of Wakefield supports retiree medical coverage

By P.J. GLISSON

[email protected]

Wakefield — The Wakefield city council voted Monday to support current city policy that allows qualifying city employees to receive medical insurance from the time they retire until age 65 or whenever Medicare coverage occurs.

The vote includes the caveat that the council will reevaluate its insurance coverage before the next union contract is set.

Under current policy, city employees may continue to receive insurance coverage for themselves (but not spouses) until they turn 65 or until Medicare coverage occurs, under the following terms:

—If they retire at age 60 after 10 years of work; or

—If they retire at age 55 after 20 years of work.

The council decided upon the unanimous vote after seeking the opinion of city attorney Ray O’Dea.

Mayor John Granato explained that, for now, the city is “stuck with” the current language, but that council members need to readdress the matter before the next union contract is ratified, which may occur in 2019.

“I think we certainly need to clarify the language,” agreed city manager Richard Brackney, who warned that continuing the current policy could result in costing the city more than employee pensions.

“What exactly was past practice?” asked council member Pat Mann.

“We really don’t know,” said Brackney, “because it was different for each person.”

He added, however, “If errors were made in the past, we don’t want to continue those errors.”

In other news, the council also voted unanimously to hire Architectural and Engineering Services, of Gwinn, to draw up plans for preliminary remodeling of the municipal building.

Referring to a Jan. 15 council workshop, Brackney said, “The consensus was that it’s time to move forward with making this building more usable.”

Architect John Larson, who detailed the architectural plan in a Jan. 19 letter to Brackney, explained that his company intends to split Brackney’s current office in half, resulting instead with the following two rooms:

—a new, smaller city manager’s office; and

—a “vault room,” a windowless area that would allow important city documents to be stored in a secure, fireproof manner.

“It is truly just the beginning of what we need to do to move forward, but it is a start,” said Brackney, who added that additional remodeling concerns will be addressed in the future.

Architectural and Engineering Services have estimated $5,725 as the cost of the company’s services. This includes analysis from Upper Peninsula Engineers and Architects, of Houghton.

In additional news, Brackney reported the city restrooms on the southwest side of Sunday Lake have undergone repair and restoration and now will remain closed until spring.

In other action, the council also voted to:

—Offer a city spring clean up on May 18, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., and on May 19, from 8 a.m.-noon, thereby allowing city residents to dispose of various refuse, but not including tires this year due to no state tire grant.

—Increase the number of hours for the part-time, weekday janitor position for the municipal building from one hour to two hours daily, for a total of 10 hours weekly. Brackney reported that Mary Miskovich was hired for the position and is “doing a very good job.”

—Sign letters of agreement to reserve, during emergencies in 2018, the use of the municipal building’s community room as a safe haven for residents of the Gogebic Medical Care Facility and of the Gogebic County Community Mental Health Authority’s Wakefield group homes, with the understanding that each of those facilities would provide staffing, food and any other needed services, and also that other entities such as Aspirus Ironwood would share similar responsibilities as additional safe havens.

—Sign a letter of agreement to assure that, during a water utility or sewer emergency at GMCF, the city will assist in maintaining the exit flow of GMCF’s sewer system.

—Accept the lowest bid of $3,994 from Pearson Asbestos Abatement, Inc. of Escanaba, which will undertake asbestos abatement at city-owned houses at 1010 Bedell and 1404 Pierce, so that the city then can proceed to remove the structures entirely.

—Appoint Loraine Mussatti to a position on the city’s library board.

—Appoint Karen Manson to a 3-year term on the Gogebic County civil service board.

—Appoint Karen Manson to a 3-year term on the Wakefield planning commission. She joins Marco Movrich, who was re-appointed to a 3-year commission term at the council’s Jan. 8 meeting.

—Appointed Bob Blaskowski to a position on the Michigan Western Gateway Trail Authority, with Granato acting as an alternate. This follows the city’s Jan. 8 vote to pay its $522.50 share of the authority’s liability insurance.