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ESCANABA -- From the air to digging in the dirt, the Escanaba city council will hear a variety of requests Thursday.
The first item on Thursday's agenda is the second of five planned public hearings on the city's budget for the upcoming fiscal year. While the public hearings themselves are rarely utilized by residents, the hearings give a chance for individuals to express their priorities and concerns for the city that might require financial support to address.
The council will then vote whether or not to approve paying the State of Michigan Imagery and Lidar Program, also known as "MiSAIL," to conduct aerial imaging of the city. The cost for the imaging, which has multiple applications for the city, is $12,210.90.
Then, the council will weigh two separate equipment purchases for the water department from Fabick CAT of Marquette. The department is seeking the purchase of a 2023 Caterpillar mini excavator and to lease -- with the possibility of purchasing -- a Caterpillar wheeled excavator. The mini excavator will cost the city not more than $89,000 following the trade in of the city's existing John Deere compact excavator. The cost of the wheeled excavator would not exceed $325,000, with the minimum rent being $55,000 for five months, 80% of which could be used towards a purchase.
The cost of the wheeled excavator includes $12,000 to purchase an Empire 24" flat sand bucket for the machine from a separate vendor.
The council will then hear from the electric department, which is seeking to hire Power System Engineering to investigate whether the city is able to deregister from its current Norther American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) responsibilities. The cost of retaining Power System Engineering is not to exceed $10,000, and the funds are budgeted for the electric department's professional services.
The city was registered with the NERC as a distribution provider and generator owner until 2015, with the city's power generator was shutdown. Since March of that year, the city has remained registered as an Underfrequency Load Shedding (UFLS)-only Distribution Provider.
The electric department will also ask the council to approve the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs). Essentially, these certificates allow the city to purchase credit for renewable energy from another energy producer to offset the fact the city produces less power from renewable sources than may be required by regulatory quotas.
While purchasing RECs may be less expensive than developing the infrastructure to produce large quantities of electricity from wind or solar, the number of certificates needed to make an impact on the city's quotas is not cheap. The electric department is asking the council to approve paying $4.50 per certificate, for a total not to exceed $135,000. The cost is not included in the current fiscal year budget.