Nate Heffron, manager, city of Negaunee

NEGAUNEE — The Negaunee City Council discussed upcoming road and water projects and part-time help for the city’s water and sewer department during a 2019 budget work session on Thursday.

City Manager Nate Heffron said the water main on Peck Street between Pioneer Avenue and Kanter Street should be replaced in conjunction with a 2019 paving project that is expected to be funded by an Michigan Department of Transportation small urban grant.

Rebuilding the water main would require an estimated $150,000 in additional expenditures out of the city’s water fund, Heffron said.

“Since we are going to be paving the road, I think it would be intelligent for us to add that into the project for next year and get the segment replaced,” Heffron said. “This is a great example of pairing up projects, knowing what we have to do so that we don’t have to go back and waste paving money when we could have done the work at the same time.”

The council also agreed to add and increase $15,000 to the city water fund and $15,000 to the sewer fund in order to hire two part-time workers to help in those departments.

Councilman Bill Anderson, who suggested the part-time labor, said the employees could help the two-man water department with flushing fire hydrants in the spring among other things.

“Turning a valve doesn’t take a degree,” Anderson said. “And it’s the same thing when you go to do a water meter — there is no reason to pay two full-timers to go to do water meters. It does require two people but one just holds the tools and does the paperwork, you can hire a part-timer to do that.”