Wakefield poised to revise master plan

WAKEFIELD — Thanks to a Monday evening vote, the city of Wakefield is now positioned for a revision of its master plan.

“We will start working on that probably within about a month,” said City Manager Robert Brown, Jr. in a Wednesday phone call.

City Council members voted to approve a cooperative funding system in which the Michigan Economic Development Commission will provide $20,000 toward the project while the city will pay about $14,500.

Brown said the master plan has had no major revision for a couple of decades.

“We will start working on that probably within about a month,” he said. “I think the upgrade is going to be significant.”

The city manager assured that public input will be an important part of the process, with surveys to be offered digitally as well as in hard copies to be included within future utility bills.

In addition, he said the public also will have several opportunities to submit ideas and opinions at in-person sessions.

In other news, the council voted to approve $30,000 for Smily’s Excavating and Trucking in Wakefield to address the site at 512 Sunday Lake St.

According to Brown, Smily’s will remove and properly dispose of the structure’s asbestos roofing and then “collapse the building into the existing basement, and then cap the site.”

Before the vote, Brown warned that if development of the main street lot is desired in the future, the debris would need to be excavated.

Regarding the project, Brown told the Globe, “It’ll be started and hopefully complete in the next week or two.”

He said the lot then will be filled as needed with aggregate from the city pit and covered with topsoil.

Council members also:

—Voted to close Sunday Lake boat launches on Sunday at 10 a.m. and not reopen them until after the fireworks late that night. “Generally, our launches are open 24/7,” said Brown.

—Voted to approve Fourth of July donations in the amount of $1,500 each for the Fourth of July Committee and for the Wakefield Fireworks Committee. Wakefield Township will pay $500 toward the total $3,000 expense.

—Voted to approve an amount not to exceed $6,700 for material to replace the roof of Eddy Park’s old pavilion. The amount for supplies quoted by Steiger’s Home Center in Bessemer will include delivery. “So that’ll be done sometime in July,” said Brown.

—In a continuing effort to support local veterans, voted to approve the city’s annual, population-based allotment of $2,610 to the Gogebic County Council of Veterans Affairs. In making the request, Veterans Service Officer John Frello stated by letter that Marenisco’s population count was “significantly impacted” by the 2018 closing of Ojibway Correctional Facility. Hence, the lower veterans donation now due from Marenisco must be absorbed by other parties. Wakefield’s contribution is $99 more than last year.

—After a related public hearing, voted to adopt Resolution 310, which Brown noted is a first step in applying for a loan from the state’s Drinking Water Revolving Fund. As he stated in the agenda packet, a DWRF loan could help in removing lead and galvanized services during the city’s water main removal and replacement project. Moreover, he added that the loan — if awarded — also may be forgiven.

—Voted to approve no more than $6,000 for the purchase and delivery of 1,000 feet of sweetbriar aluminum power line from WESCO Distribution, in Kingsford, at the request of the electric department. The line is intended, mostly, to improve lines on the route of the proposed Xcel Energy extension.

—Voted to approve budget amendments from the fourth quarter of the 2021-2022 fiscal year. Treasurer Mandy Lake noted that higher expenditures were mostly as a result of more snow in the past season than in the previous one.

—Voted to approve several road closures scheduled during the July 4 period.

The council’s next regular meeting will be on July 11, and the Planning Commission will meet on July 12. Both meetings will start at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers of the municipal building.