City council talks goals and equipment
ISHPEMING — Some big goals and big decisions were the topics of a special meeting of the Ishpeming City Council Tuesday morning.
Goals and objectives were the first items on the agenda at Tuesday’s Ishpeming City Council meeting. Members of municipal departments and council members all voiced their thoughts on goals in progress and their future hopes for projects the city will work on.
City infrastructure updates and department equipment replacement funds were on the list of goals of many of those in attendance. In addition, department heads discussed the benefits of the construction project that recently began on some city facilities.
“The USDA Community Facilities project will be affecting City Hall, [the] Public Works Department, Police Department, and Fire Department, so all four buildings are going to get some major upgrades and improvements,” said City Manager Mark Slown.
That project also required the city council to pass a resolution to approve a new supplemental contract and publication of a Notice of Intent.
“In order to get the full project done, we’re going to need a little extra money,” Slown added. “So the project will go from $1.4 million to $1.65 million.”
The city also agreed at the meeting to enter a five year lease plan to obtain a new vacuum-jet combination machine for just under $340,000.
Competitive bidding was waived at the advice of the City Manager because an area dealer had a vehicle available locally that met 99 percent of the specifications the city needed to replace its aging unit.
“We felt like we had a machine available that we had to capitalize on,” said Jon Kangas, Director of the Department of Public Works. “The availability was what was critical in this decision.”
“The current Vactor truck is twenty years old and it’s in pretty bad shape,” added Slown.
“It’s a piece of equipment that should be replaced, I say every eight years or so. Some would argue even less than that,” Kangas added. “I hope that it will get us in a positive replacement cycle.”
The plan will go forward pending the City Attorney’s review of the agreement.