Esky gets funds to repair Stephenson Avenue

Aug 4, 2023

Rachel Branstrom Daily PressA sign at a home on Stephenson Avenue in Escanaba expresses frustration over paving work not being completed for months after a water line replacement project. City officials said the city’s relationship with the subcontractor responsible for concrete work broke down, and the work was left unfinished. Thursday night the Escanaba City Council approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to sign a contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation for a $375,000 Small Urban Grant. The funds will be used for paving on Stephenson Avenue.

ESCANABA — Stephenson Avenue, which has been torn apart since last fall, will soon be paved, following the city of Escanaba receiving a grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation.

“I don’t understand why that street is not closed off. That is very dangerous down there. Especially on the corners. It should be locked up, but for right now it’s — I don’t know why it’s not,” said City Council Member Todd Flath.

According to Water and Wastewater Superintendent Jeff Lampi — who was not present at Tuesday’s city council meeting but discussed the issues on Stephenson Avenue with the Daily Press — the road was torn apart last fall to allow for the replacement of lead service lines. The water department and the city’s public works department have been working closely with each other so that streets can be paved after the state-mandated service line replacements are completed, but complications arose when the relationship between the city and a subcontractor providing concrete work broke down.

The city has contracted with a new concrete subcontractor, but issues with grant funding for paving prevented the city from moving forward with replacing the road — leaving residents with a combination of dilapidated asphalt, gravel, dirt ditches, and sidewalks that end before reaching the street.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the city council approved a resolution authorizing City Manager Jim McNeil to sign documents necessary for MDOT to release $375,000 in grant funding from MDOT’s Small Urban Grant Program, ensuring the road will be repaved in the coming months.

“I believe the initial plan was that the project be completed by Sept. 30. MDOT may request an extension to Oct. 13, based on, I’m guessing, the contractor availability. But this does make sure that Stephenson gets paved and does so with grant money,” said McNeil.

Curbing and sidewalk approaches on Stephenson will be completed even sooner, with the city anticipating the work will be done in the next two weeks.

In other business, the council held public hearings on two separate ordinances that amended the city’s zoning ordinance, both of which were approved.

The first ordinance discussed mades changes to the city’s rules for marijuana establishments, primarily by adding 500-foot buffer zones around Bay College and changing the rules for buffer zones around homes. Previously, the ordinance based setback requirements on how close establishments were to single family homes, which was cumbersome for the city to track. Instead, setbacks will now be based on how close the establishments are to residential zoning districts.

The second ordinance made changes to the setback requirements for all buildings in the city. Among those changes were adjustments to how front, rear, and side lot lines are defined.

The council also approved a number of requests from the city’s public works department.

The first request was to approve a bid from Havelka Construction, of Wallace, for crushing an 18,000 ton pile of waste concrete that has been collected by the city over many years. The crushing will cost the city $99,000.

The concrete will be crushed into gravel that can be used for other projects. Based on the cost of gravel, the city anticipates crushing concrete instead of buying new gravel could save the city as much as 50% on gravel costs for city projects.

The council also approved epoxying the floors at the public works office at a cost not to exceed $9,770; purchasing a used piece of equipment that allows for longer-term road patching than is possible with cold patch for $39,900; buying a salt spreader insert for an existing public works dump truck for $72,906; and purchasing a new heavy-duty pick up truck and plow for $54,207. The truck will be used in the recreation department and free up an older truck for the public works department.

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