Millage requests underway after city manager calls streets deplorable
NEGAUNEE — In addition to candidates running for office on the upcoming primary ballots, residents in the City of Negaunee will decide the fate of a millage.
On August second, voters will decide on a millage request for street improvement and rehabilitation. The proposal is asking residents to levy up to two mills for a period of five years to help fix the city’s roads. In an interview with ABC 10, Negaunee City Manager Jeff Thornton called the streets ‘deplorable.’
“We won’t see any improvements funding from the state increasing for a number of years,” said Thornton. “This is something that citizens are behind and they see that the results of the two mil, we might for a renewal we might go ask for a little bit more. It’d be up to the citizens to get the citizen’s input on that.”
The city is also working on ways to improve its compost site, which has had a number of issues, including illegal dumping.
“It’s gotten pretty bad,” said Thornton. “The problem that have is that it’s located in a remote site and it’s not a manned site. Over the past month we’ve got the word out that this is a serious problem and we’ve still seen the abuse over the past month.”
City staff is still determining the best solution for the compost site moving forward. As for the millage, it would run through 2021 if it passes.