By DREYMA

BERONJA

Journal Staff Writer

ISHPEMING — The city of Ishpeming is searching for more funds to fix roads and aging infrastructure.

At the first State of the City presentation on Tuesday, residents and business owners learned where their tax dollars are going, road conditions in the city, sewer and drinking water projects and recent grant successes.

The presentation was led by City Manager Craig Cugini. Other city officials were also present to answer questions.

City Councilor Pat Scanlon and Mayor Jason Chapman were also in attendance.

Cugini said that the city’s goal is to provide superior support to its residents, work force and families so they can thrive and grow as a community.

According to the presentation, the city has five lines of effort to achieve this goal.

The city’s 2023 lines of effort are recruit, develop, sustain and retain its work force, enhance quality of life for community residents, improve life-cycle management programs, develop community resilience, and foster community bonds.

“We believe that if we do these things, we are a thriving community and we are moving in the direction of forward and that our community is a strong force of a relevant work force, a community that is working together and we’re providing solutions to problems,” Cugini said.

Where do those property taxes go?

One of the facets of the presentation was a graph that showed how resident property taxes are distributed.

Over half of the property taxes collected go to education at 54.6%, followed by the city, which receives 33.2%.

Marquette County gets 11.9% of the property taxes collected.

Finally, the Iron Ore Heritage Trail receives 0.3% of the tax dollars collected.

How the city spends tax distributions is broken up into eight categories. The city spends 44% of taxes on police and fire, 11% on parks and recreation, 9% on administration, 8% on the library, 10% on sidewalks and street lights, and 6% goes to insurance and benefits, cemetery and debt.

Cugini said “not one penny” of the tax dollars from residents go toward roads. Roadway funds come from Public Act 51, which is the main road-funding source for most cities and villages in the state.

So, what about roads?

Marquette County receives $10 million from Act 51, $1.14 million is distributed to Ishpeming through millage transfer, Michigan transportation funds, snow removal payments and loan program funds.

Cugini said the city’s operational budget for plowing “pushes more than half of (the act 51 allotment).”

The city spends road funding they receive in four different ways. 45% of funds go to contracted and professional services, 28% for equipment, 24% for wages and benefits and 3% for supplies.

One challenge the city is facing are road conditions. Based on a 2021 road rating table:

≤ Only 31% of Ishpeming roads are federally supported.

≤ Only 25% of Ishpeming roads are rated as ‘fair’ or better.

≤ 97% of Ishpeming local paved roads require improvements and maintenance.

The city has also been working to stabilize a roadway budget of $500,000. To fix the worst roads, based on a PASER rating, will require $20.3 million.

Cugini said to fully reconstruct one mile of road would cost $1.3 million. To fix all 52.9 miles in the city, it would cost $24 million.

“Our annual budget from the state is $1.14 million dollars–almost $800,000 of that is spent on snow plowing and winter maintenance,” Cugini said. “If I did not do any work on roads for a year, I still cannot do one mile of road reconstruction. That’s a really telling number of where we sit when it comes to roadway.”

City road project status.

Cugini also provided an update on the current status of the Michigan Department of Transportation grant. According to the grant’s web page, it was created and designed “as a stop-gap measure to provide additional road funding to the smallest communities in Michigan, particularly those with limited ability to fund road projects.”

Roads in the project include Prairie Avenue from Poplar Avenue to Jopling Street, Houghton Street, Stone Street and the completion of Lower Bigelow Street.

According to the presentation, the project status includes:

≤ GEI finalizing plan set for paving on Prairie Avenue, Stone Street, Houghton Street and Lower Bigelow Street.

≤ GEI completing water main design for Stone Street and Houghton Street. The initial plan was to line the water main but it was ultimately determined that lining would not work for the area.

≤ Tunnel Vision is completing sewer lining work on Stone and Houghton streets and Prairie Avenue.

The paving is expected to be complete by Nov. 1.

Water and sewer work.

Another infrastructure challenge is drinking water and sewer.

The city recently announced a $16 million sanitary sewer project that includes sewer main replacement, installation of a redundant main and necessary upgrades to the lift stations in an effort to provide a long-term solution to aging infrastructure.

The overall time line predicts the project will be done no later than Dec. 31, 2026. Once authorized by the Michigan Department of Energy, Great Lakes and Energy, a notice to proceed can be issued to the contractor.

Construction is likely to begin in the spring of 2024 with items being purchased and delivered, and site plans, milestones and other planning activities occurring this fall and winter.

“This infrastructure project will go a long way toward addressing many sewer system components, including the main line which consists of vitrified clay pipes, improving the functionality of our lift stations and installing additional sewer main adding redundancy for emergencies and reducing groundwater infiltration. These are long-term life cycle replacements on a system that is currently more than 70 years old, and address challenges for the community,” Cugini said in a press release.. “These improvements should limit additional strain on the system during high water events, as well as limiting the excess water flow to the Wastewater Treatment Plant.”

The project includes $8 million in grant funding through the American Rescue Plan and an $8 million bond from EGLE through federal Clean Water State Revolving Fund funding.

The project will make “meaningful” progress on infrastructure including:

≤ Installation of new PVC pipe via open cut throughout the city;

≤ Reinforcing existing pipes located in wetlands, the Carp River and other sewers where open cut is impractical;

≤ Backup generators and pump replacements for all eight lift stations; and

≤ A new, 30-inch diameter Carp River sewer crossing installed via directional drilling that will provide a redundant crossing, which is critical in times of high water and heavy flow.

The contractor for the project is Payne and Dolan, which has an office in Ishpeming, and the engineer is U.P. Engineers and Architects, based in Ishpeming.

Community input and supporting partners

Cugini said the city is continuing to seek additional funds and grants to help fix these infrastructure challenges. During last week’s listening session put on by the city’s communications strategist, Siren, one of the issues residents mentioned was a perceived lack of transparency and communication from the city.

Cugini also talked about two organizations that are helping with the city’s communication and outreach.

The city’s partnership with Lake Superior Community Partnership helps with neighborhood improvement planning and remediation and redevelopment ready community support (planning), And Siren is helping the city build a communications strategy.

The communication goals Siren is helping the city with include:

≤ Keeping residents and community members informed of critical information;

≤ Developing a positive, proactive communication effort that will strengthen the reputation of Ishpeming;

≤ Fostering a positive narrative that everyone in Ishpeming can rally around;

≤ Maximizing impact of the city’s communication channels, including social media;

≤ Recent community listening session to help build a road map to give residents the communication that they need.

“The resourcefulness of the city, finding ways to build capacity, use of creative financing and the influx of available public funding has helped to propel the ship forward. However, we have only begun to break the surface related to our long-term infrastructure challenges,” The city’s presentation said. “We are proven fiscally-minded stewards of taxpayer funds, stretching our dollars in meaningful ways. Our record of performance should instill faith that additional investment in Ishpeming will result in significant impact to the residents of Ishpeming and the greater Marquette County.”

To view the full presentation, go to marquette.org/ishpeming.

Dreyma Beronja can be reached at 906-228-2500 ext. 548. Their email address is dberonj@miningjournal.net.