MARQUETTE - The Marquette Township Board may spend about $300,000 to continue with its drinking water project.
The township is considering adding two wells to its five-well complex south of Grove Street. The $300,000 will be used for purchasing the land where the wells will be constructed, along with engineering and planning costs. Some money will also go toward the application process of getting a loan from the state to actually build the wells, said Township Supervisor Ray Adamini.
"This is just to get this process started," Adamini said this morning.
The township is considering borrowing money from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's drinking water revolving loan fund. According to township manager Randy Girard, the loan is being looked at now because of its low interest rate.
The township has already spent about $5.4 million over five years on its drinking water project. The township's five wells serve residents in the Grove and Northwoods districts. If completed, the additional two wells would serve the rest of the township.
Girard said the vote was 4-3, with some commissioners worried about the costs of the project in today's economy.
In other action, the board tabled discussion of improvements to township facilities until the board's Oct. 7 meeting.
Adamini said the township has outgrown its facilities, such as the township hall and the fire department's building.
"We have three options, stay where we are and build up, build across the street, or build a new complex in a slow fashion," he said. "We need to build so that we can expand over the next 50 years."