Wakefield City Council commits to $3.5 million in loans

By P.J. GLISSON

[email protected]

Wakefield — The Wakefield City Council voted on Monday evening to approve action in relation to securing $3.5 million in low-interest revenue bonds to fund the first phase of a major water project.

City Manager Robert Brown Jr. explained the details in a Tuesday evening phone call.

“We’re all signed up and ready to roll,” he said cheerily, noting that councilmen voted to approve Resolution No. 246, which accepts a related project bid of $2,994,958 from Ruotsala Construction of Ironwood.

UPEA Engineers and Architects of Houghton recommended acceptance of the bid. Three other construction companies also submitted higher bids.

According to Brown, Phase 1 will entail water main replacement along “the entirety of Sunday Lake Street.” The project also will run along Old U.S. 2 to about Duncan Avenue. The project then will tie in the water tower in that area to the main infrastructure at U.S. 2 and M-28.

The bonds also will fund the cost of a separate project in the area known as Bingoville. Brown said that old PVC pipe from Johnson Road to the Bingo Motel property line will be replaced with 2-inch poly pipe water main. About seven homes will benefit from that upgrade, said Brown.

Beyond the RD bonds, Brown said that Michigan’s Department of the Environment, Great Lakes and Energy also has granted the city a $150,000 loan and a $150,000 grant to fund lead line replacement within the project.

The city manager said that, once the RD funds are closed by mid-November, as scheduled, he expects that preliminary work on Phase 1 may begin already this year.

If all goes well, he said that the city will share by February or March a more extensive schedule of construction expected to start in the spring.

According to Brown’s agenda report, the bonds will have a term of 40 years, with one of them for $2,950,000 assigned an interest rate of 1.25% and the other for $575,000 at 2.125%, for a total of $3,525,000.

In other news, Brown also said the city received a visit from Mike Foley, the newly appointed site manager for the Highland Copperwood Project. Brown said that Foley introduced himself and updated the group on the status of the project, which he anticipates will see action by the spring 2024.

According to Brown, council members also:

—Voted to award a bid, not to exceed $100,000, to Northwoods Paving of Hurley for “the reconstruction and surfacing of nine locations throughout the city.” The city manager, who described the cost as “advantageous,” expects the work to be completed before the end of the current season. It was the only bid.

—Voted to hire Collins Engineers Inc. of Milwaukee to conduct inspections of a Lake Shore Drive bridge at the Sunday Lake outlet of Black River, as well as at the following three bridge locations over Little Black River: Old U.S. 2, Nunnemacher Street and Verona Road. The lump sum cost for biannual inspections of all bridges will be $7,530. Brown reported that “failure to complete the bridge inspections promptly” could result in a loss of state and federal funds.

—Voted to declare Parcel No. 53-14-600-230 on the corner of Mount Joy Drive and Seppa Road as surplus property at the request of Andrew Seppa of Milwaukee, who informed in an Oct. 4 letter to Brown that his great-grandfather once lived on the land. Seppa said he would like to purchase the lot for use by his family.

In a related agenda report, Brown said the city will work with City Assessor Melissa Prisbe to set a minimum value and draft a Request for Proposals.

“The city would gain revenue from the property sale and property taxes,” wrote Brown.

Brown also told The Globe that the city is working toward the possibility of three new developments: a brewery, a gravel mining industry, and a rock quarry operation. Details will be shared as each development progresses. Brown said public engagement will be a key ingredient in whether each deal works out.

The Wakefield Municipal Building will be open on Nov. 7 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the election.

The council’s next regular meeting will be on Nov. 13, and the Planning Commission will meet on Nov. 15. Both meetings will be at 5:30 p.m. in the council room of the municipal building.