Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
BESSEMER — The Bessemer City Council Monday agreed to move forward with a combined $11 million sewer-water project in Bessemer.
On a 4-1 vote, the council agreed to sign management and water purchase agreements.
The council agreed to send the documents to U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development for approval.
Council member Linda Nelson voted no.
The documents will allow the city to eventually begin sewer projects worth $8,265,000 and put $3,465,000 into water system improvements.
City clerk Jim Trudgeon said the agreements include $5,265,000 in grants. The remaining money will come from revenue bonds. The Gogebic Range Water Authority is the conduit for the package.
At a May 16 meeting, Nelson raised concerns about the documents and the council decided to ask for multiple changes to them. She said she was concerned about who will own and run Bessemer’s water system. Nelson said she thinks the GRWA will take over jobs currently tasked to city employees.
Looking over the documents Monday, council member John Frello said some changes were made to the management agreement, but the bond council rejected all changes proposed to the water purchase agreement.
“It is what it is at this point,” Frello said. “There are a lot of eyes on this. When these things are written, they’re written for levels of government well above us. This is going to be reviewed at the state level and the federal level. Lower-level government isn’t going to get all the things they hoped for.”
Frello said more than $500,000 has already been spent on the project.
Nelson said the contract “is not protecting the city.”
Frello said city attorney Michael Korpela and other attorneys looked through the documents. Nelson questioned Korpela’s review of the documents. “Are you afraid to ask for another opinion?” Nelson asked the council. “I would would like to have Ray O’Dea go through it.”
Attorney Tim Dean is part of the review process, Frello said. He made the motion to approve the documents and authorize signatures. Mayor Kathy Whitburn and council members Robert Coleman and Al Gaiss agreed.