Bessemer bustles with activity

By KIM E. STROM

[email protected]

Bessemer - A lot is happening in the city of Bessemer these days. City Manager Charly Loper gave the Daily Globe an update Tuesday on local projects and their projected end dates. "Our infrastructure is over 100 years old," said Loper. "It's time."

Currently the city is working on a $7 million water and sewer plan with repairs scattered around town, said Loper. "Theoretically, they should be done before snow," she said.

The $21 million water and sewer projects for 2021 will coincide with the Michigan Department of Transportation project on U.S. 2 through Bessemer and is being engineered right now, said Loper. That money was made possible by a study on the water and sewer issues that was funded by a Stormwater Asset Management Wastewater grant. With that information, the city was able to apply for a $16 million grant to help with the cost of the upgrades.

The decision has been made to turn the current four lanes (through Bessemer) into three, she said. She added that some driveways will have to be reconfigured to make the change.

The section of the Iron Belle Trail that ends on Moore Street will continue east to Ramsay, Loper said. "That is expected to be completed next year." The next section will go from Ramsay to Wakefield, she said.

From a storm last year on Father's Day, the city received funds from the Federal Emergency Management Department for work on Moore Street and to repave part of Colby Hill Road and the shoulder, said Loper.

Michigan State Housing Development Authority provided funds to improve the safety and aesthetics of the city and will be used to fix the exterior of two houses in the Yale location. The city will also build a small playground behind Barber Field, she said.

The city has hired a code enforcer, which the city has never had before, according to Loper. The job will entail handling blighted properties on South Moore Street and South Mine, for example, she said.

At the same time many water, sewer and road projects are getting done, and the city is poised to market Bessemer to tourists through the creation of four videos promoting the area. The data from a study was done on first impressions of the city and was received last October, Loper said.

Two of the videos are created and will be featured on the new website. The other two will be created in the winter to promote that season as well and they will be finished by the end of the year. The Be Bessemer committee will tackle a lot of issues that were found during the blind study on first impressions, she said.

Between donations of materials and volunteers, Bessemer will be able to put up four Little Free Libraries. The libraries will feature a small stand with books inside that can be borrowed or added to, Loper said. Three will be located within the city and another in the township.

The Parks and Recreation Committee approved turning the tennis court at Bluff Valley Park into a skateboard park, said Loper. Mission Skate Shop of Bessemer is creating the design. A pump track will also be created there, she said.