Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Engineering firm contracted to study improvements
By TOM LAVENTURE
Ironwood — The Ironwood City Commission on Monday 4-0 approved a preliminary engineering report for the city’s pump station and water filtration improvements.
Commissioner Joseph Cayer was not present with an excused absence.
SEH (Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc.) of Minneapolis, was awarded a $45,000 contract as the recommended firm among five engineering firms that specialize in water infrastructure and that replied to the request for proposals, said city manager Scott Erickson. The proposals among the five firms ranged from $38,000 to $100,000, and the other finalist was Strand Associates Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin.
Erickson said the finalists met with a committee of five city staff members and Mayor Annette Burchell. The two finalists were selected for their capacity to deal with a project of this scale, he said.
Both firms partnered with Coleman Engineering in providing information helpful to grant and loan applications with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Rural Development, he said.
“Coleman has expertise with funding agencies in Michigan,” Erickson said.
With the contract awarded Erickson said the meetings with SEH will start in a couple of weeks. At some point SEH will bring a water filtration trailer to Ironwood and run the city water lines through it to help assess the most appropriate purification method for the city.
That could mean a recommendation for a filtration plant or it could be something else, Erickson said.
“We will look at the results and get some really educated recommendations to consider,” he said.
The study will look at the pump station that is currently up to code but is no longer up to contemporary standards, Erickson said. The station was built 90 years ago and is still using some of the same pumps, he said.
“It’s hard sometimes to find replacement parts and it’s time to consider upgrading the whole station,” Erickson said.
The commission also approved the hire of consultant William Knocke, a professor and associate department head of the Charles E. Via Jr., Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Erickson said Knocke brings expertise in water quality, chemistry and media design and is “value-added” to the project to work with SEH as an expert to weigh in on the alternative recommendations.
“We are lucky to have people like this available to us,” said Jim Mildren, commissioner, adding that Erickson should keep the commission informed regularly on the progress and any changes.
The city approved a request of Bob Tervonen, city utilities supervisor, to authorize bids for sewer televising cameras. The “crawlers” go through the water mains and send back a televised feed to technicians, he said.
The bid estimates will be used in a grant application that could pay 50% of the $40,000 cost for the two cameras, he said. These would be the third “push cameras” in use by the city in 36 years, he said.
“It’s well worth it,” Tervonen said.
The commission approved a request from Bob Richards, supervisor of Ironwood Department of Public Works, to seek bids for two new one-ton, four-wheel-drive vehicles.
The first truck would be for the sewer staff. It would have heavy-duty suspension and replace city truck No. 34, a 2002 Ford. The second truck would be for the streets staff. It would have heavy-duty chassis and replace city truck No. 26, a 1994 Dodge.
The new trucks might not come in until June or July, Richards said. The old trucks will be posted online for sale once the new trucks are in service, he said.
The commission approved a request from Tom Bergman, director of city community development, to submit a grant application for the Neighborhood Enhancement Program that is offered through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. The maximum $30,000 grant is for stabilization projects and Bergman proposes facade projects on possibly two homes along Douglas Boulevard as a downtown gateway beautification project.
The city approved Bergman’s suggestion of adding a $1,000 match to the grant application to help boost the application score.
In the mayor’s appointments, Burchell named Jerry Gullan to the Pat O’Donnell Civic Center Board. She re-appointed Amber Hurkmans to the Carnegie Library Board of Trustees.
In his report, Erickson said the DPW workers have completed installation of three security cameras at the Mount Zion overlook. One camera provides a panoramic view and serves as a weather spotter that will be visible on the city’s website and social media.
In other business, the board approved a special event 50% water rate for the Snowmobile Olympus at the Gogebic County Fair Grounds on Dec. 28 and Jan. 4-5.
