Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By P.J. GLISSON
Bessemer — Bessemer City Council members on Monday formally commended a Bessemer resident who almost single-handedly created a new trail option to connect with an original trail behind Bluff Valley Park.
“The Bluff Trail Reroute Project has formally ended,” said Kelden Witt, who did much of the work himself with hand tools.
Witt presented councilors with a slide show of the new trail, which he said provides an easier starting point to the original trail leading hikers to the top of the bluff behind the park.
Councilors, who approved the project’s initiation in July, were delighted with the results.
“I’ve never seen any one individual put so much work into a single project,” said mayor pro tempore Allen Archie, who recommended the trail be named after Witt. Mayor Adam Zak suggested the name “Kelden’s Pass.”
City Manager Charly Loper, who said Witt’s effort was “phenomenal,” will work with him to finalize the trail name. Once she has names of other volunteers who helped Witt with the project, she said she’ll have the council express its gratitude to them as well.
“It is thanks to volunteers such as yourself that make Bessemer such a great place to live,” states the council’s formal letter to Witt. “This will be a wonderful trail to hike and snowshoe on and falls right in line with our plans to grow our outdoor recreation options.”
The letter adds, “The city is very impressed with how efficient you were in getting the trail done in one season and how resourceful you were in obtaining tools and coordinating other volunteers.”
In other news, councilor Terry Kryshak moved to withdraw his prior motion to review qualifications from various engineering companies in relation to water and sewer work projected for 2021 and made possible by a $21 million loan package from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Zak said it “seems right” to welcome bids from other companies, and councilors Rob Coleman and Linda Nelson agreed, with Nelson adding, “I think we would be remiss to not go out and hear what other people have to say.”
However, Andy Granskog, who is Michigan’s USDA engineer, specifically requested the city to reserve the work for c2ae, a regional engineering company with an office in Escanaba, on the grounds that its employees compiled the grant application, understand the project’s intent, and are familiar with the city’s water and sewer system.
Since all council members gave high praise to c2ae and several expressed the likelihood that the city would choose that company anyway, Archie concluded that asking for bids from other companies might just result in their personnel wasting a lot of time compiling bids when they stand little chance of competing with c2ae.
Moreover, said Archie, “It seems a little foolhardy to have someone jump in the middle.”
Kryshak agreed and included in his motion the city’s intent to prepare for the likelihood of working with c2ae. The vote passed unanimously.
Loper said she will arrange for a legal review of c2ae’s contract in relation to the new work before the city votes to accept it.
The council also:
—Voted to withhold until completion $72,000 in payments due to Snow Country Contracting, Inc. of Bessemer for construction work done in relation to the city’s current USDA loan. The council acted on the grounds of unmet deadlines that the company attributed largely to weather delays. Engineer Kelly Heidbrier of c2ae said the project should be complete by July of 2019. The company has conducted the project’s related water and sewer work.
—Voted to approve a $13,124.22 change order in relation to the water, and waste water, system improvement project, with funds to be taken from the city’s contingency fund.
—Voted to apply $25,000 from city funds to the city’s water asset management plan.
—Voted to file two communications from Robert Avery and Katie Trakselis-Avery, owners of Bluffs Inn, who recommended the city choose the 3-lane option regarding the still pending decision on U.S. 2 reconstruction.
—Voted to pass a resolution increasing the fixed fee of the city’s water and sewer rates over a three-year period, to help fund the city’s portion of 2021 pipe replacements to be covered largely by USDA funds. As of Jan. 1, 2019, city residents will pay approximately 5 percent more per monthly bill as a result.
—Voted to sell for $1 city lots 65 and 66 to the Gogebic Range Trail Authority, located on neighboring property. “They are a vital part of the economy,” said Zak of GRTA, with councilors Kryshak and Coleman praising GRTA for facilitating both snowmobiling and four-wheeling. The land appraised at $1,317 had attracted two other bids: (1) $1,800 from Bill Lafond, who intended to donate it to GRTA; and (2) $2,510 from Bessemer Storage
—Voted to accept bids for refuse collection and disposal in various city locations, with an eye to making a related decision by August of 2019. Proposal and contract forms, as well as plans and specifications, are available in the clerk’s office, and bids will be accepted there until Feb. 2 at 2 p.m.
—Voted to appoint Neal Nelson, the city’s lead in public works, to a two-year term on the Gogebic Range Water Authority.
—Voted to extend the operating permit of Michigan Bell Telephone Company, or AT&T Michigan, until Dec. 31, 2023.
—Voted to adopt two resolutions relating to the “local pavement agency warranty program.” State mandates require compliance with an eye to statewide standardization.
The council will meet next on Dec. 10 at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the city hall. This combined meeting will include the city’s planning commission, downtown development authority, and parks and recreation committee. The public is welcome.
