At Thursday's regular meeting, Escanaba City Council members approved additional non-grant costs for sanitary sewer improvements on the south side of Ludington Street.

ESCANABA — The Escanaba City Council on Thursday approved additional funding to support curb and sidewalk replacements along the south side of Ludington Street as work continues on the city’s sanitary sewer improvement project.

City administration requested an extra $160,000 in non-participating, or non-grant, major street funds to cover the cost of replacing additional sections of curb and sidewalk.

Construction crews began removing curbs and sidewalks in early May as part of efforts to replace sanitary sewer laterals. As work has progressed, additional areas in need of repair have been identified.

“When we have approached all of our projects all over town, we’re trying to, within that work area, replace what is bad,” McNeil said. “Given the scope of the condition of infrastructure all over the city, we’re also trying to — if something is in decent condition — to leave it there. If we can reuse the curb or the sidewalk that is there, we do try to do that.”

McNeil said that as construction moved farther west along Ludington Street — roughly from 10th Street to 16th Street on the south side — crews found much of the existing curb in poor condition.

According to McNeil, the additional work will better align new construction with the existing streetscape while also improving roadway grading.

“[This is] something that we probably should have recognized initially, but as we’ve gotten into it here, it’s something that’s come up. We’d rather get it done now during the project than come back in eight years and replace this curb,” McNeil said.

He added that the project includes contingency funding, as additional sidewalk squares on each block may also need replacement due to their condition.

McNeil noted that work on the north side of Ludington Street had already been planned due to related storm and sanitary sewer improvements.

Originally, the city intended to only replace sections directly impacted by sewer lateral work on the south side, but deteriorating conditions expanded the scope to full curb replacement, McNeil said.

During council discussion, Council Member Ronald J. Beauchamp raised concerns about curb height in the city.

“You mentioned things that should have been noticed previously,” Beauchamp said. “One thing I’ve noticed in this part of town is the curbing seems to be six inches above the roadway. I’ve seen doors open and scrape the sidewalk.”

McNeil said the concern would be brought to the attention of the project’s engineering staff.

Council Member Tyler Dubord also questioned why the additional curb and sidewalk work had not been anticipated earlier in the planning process.

“Our engineering firm that knew this project was coming couldn’t think or figure this out that we’re going to have to do southside sidewalks and curbing?” Dubord asked. “In my mind, we pay them, you know this project’s been going on — a big project like this. How do you forget that?”

McNeil attributed the oversight in part to the volume of infrastructure projects currently underway throughout the city.

“I think a lot of that is the scope of how much work’s going on right now,” McNeil said. “I think we are well past everybody’s capacity.”

Water Superintendent Jeff Lampi said the city initially aimed to limit additional costs to keep the project affordable.

“We were trying to mitigate any extra costs as much as we could to make this affordable and extend the project as far as we could,” Lampi said. “We talked about going building face to building face with concrete, but I don’t think those costs can be absorbed, either. We were thinking more about the money. Once we saw how little curb was going to be left, it was decided that we got to go this route.”

In other business, the council:

– Approved the Defined Benefit Retirement Board’s recommendation to update the Investment Policy Statement (IPS) to provide greater clarity in governance provisions and maintain alignment with Public Act 314 (PA). According to McNeil, the update improves readability. The IPS outlines how the City of Escanaba Defined Benefit Retirement Plan invests funds held on behalf of the city’s retirees and employees and defines the board’s investment goals, manager guidelines and legal limits.

– Conducted the fourth public hearing for the city’s proposed 2026-27 fiscal year budget and scheduled the final public hearing and approval for May 21.

– Held a public hearing on Ordinance No. 1319 to amend Chapter 29 of the Code of Ordinances, which details the potential establishment of the Escanaba Tree Advisory Board. The second reading of the ordinance has been postponed to July 2.

– Approved a resolution designating the city’s street administrator as the official signatory for certain Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) reports and forms. McNeil said MDOT requires a single designated signatory for such documents.

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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.