ESCANABA — The Escanaba City Council listened to reports on the city’s ongoing water and wastewater projects Thursday. The reports, which were presented as part of public hearings required for the city to receive state money for the projects, were presented by Darren Poink, project manager for architectural and engineering firm C2AE.

The first public hearing and presentation was on the city’s project plan for the city’s water system, including lead line service replacements, adding loops to the water distribution system to reduce dead-ends, reducing galvanized water services feeding multiple users, and making upgrades to the south “Eskymo” water tank.

Cost projections for the projects presented Thursday were for the upgrades if the city were to only take out loans. While this is necessary to develop a baseline, show the state what the burden would be on the city without assistance, and determine how the city would structure loans from the state, it does mean that the actual cost of the project for the city and the effect on residents could be significantly different.

“These numbers that I’m presenting are based on full-loan, and there’s no commitment by the city council at this point in time until we find out what the grant money amounts to,” said Poink.

Based on the loan-only projections, the “Priority 1” items presented Thursday — which represent the minimum scope of the planned project — resulted in a total project cost of was about $20 million. Of that, $10.5 million would be used to replace 611 service lines in the city, bringing the city closer to compliance with the state’s lead service line replacement mandate.

A state Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund (DWSRF) loan for the project, with an interest rate of 1.85% over 40 years, would result in a user rate impact of about $7.32 per month.

The second presentation was on planned improvements to the city’s wastewater system, specifically the sanitary and storm sewers and and lift stations. The project includes removing two existing lift stations and replacing them with a single lift station at the wastewater plant, as well as repairing and replacing sewers, manholes, and diverting roof drains that currently drain into the sanitary sewer to the stormwater system.

In total, using a loan-only calculation, the project is slated to cost $16,022,500 for collection system improvements and $3,176,750 for lift station improvements. Based on a Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan at 1.875% for 30 years, the anticipated impact on users would be $9.74 for the two projects.

Following the hearings, the council approved two resolutions in support of the projects. Neither resolution commit the city to the projects or any financial obligation, but the resolutions were required to access the state funding.

In other business the council:

– Approved three land sales, the first two of which were before the council for a second time after the council members questioned the potential impact of timber on the assessed value and sales price. After reviews from the Delta Conservation District, the value of one of the properties was increased from $15,000 to $29,400. The other property’s value was unchanged, and the council approved both sales.

The third property was 3.49 acres in the Whitetail Industrial Park, which was sold for $48,860, or $14,000 an acre. Unlike the two prior properties, which are unbuildable, development is required by the city to begin within 18 months of closing on the industrial park property.

– Approved annual chemical bids for the city’s water and wastewater treatment plants.

– Approved the purchase of a sewer camera tractor for a value not to exceed $33,580. The equipment is identical to a camera tractor previously used by the city’s wastewater department that broke down recently.

The system will be used to inspect areas like sink holes and other underground and confined spaces where damage to the sewer or water system may have occurred.

– Approved a new “Performance Resolution for Municipalities” form, which is part of the city’s annual construction permit to do work within the Michigan Department of Transportation right-of-way. The form was outdated and needed replacement before the permit could move forward.

– Approved a series of street closures for events, including the 1200 block of Ludington Street for Classic Car & Bike Nights on June 7, July 12, Aug. 9, and Sept. 13; the 100 block of South 13th Street for a car show on July 1 and a Wheelin’ Sportsmen event on Aug. 26; and the 100 block of South 11th Street on July 28 for the RRN Block Party.