Trending
GLADSTONE — During its last regular meeting, the Gladstone City Commission extended a contract with WPPI Energy, hired a realtor to sell city-owned property in another township and removed a street near Cameron Elementary from the list of places prohibited to off-road vehicles (ORVs).
The City of Gladstone is a member of WPPI Energy, which supplies electricity to 51 communities in Wisconsin, Iowa and Upper Michigan. Brett Niemi from WPPI explained that in order to carry out projects, the time in the contract needs to extend beyond a project’s duration.
The existing power supply contract was for 29 years. 18 years was added, bringing the contract's conclusion from 2055 to 2073.
“WPPI typically needs a minimum of 30 years of obligation from its member utilities to finance future power supply projects," read a staff report from the electric department. "This (extension) will provide the long-term commitment needed for WPPI to continue meeting the City's power needs."
Niemi said that it's better to do an 18-year addition than a smaller amount because of how time-consuming reworking contracts for all members is. WPPI recently made similar agreements recently with L'Anse, Baraga, and Negaunee, he reported.
Another item of business involved a property in Escanaba Township that the city owns; in the past it was used for gravel production, but Gladstone no longer has a use for the property and is seeking to sell it.
The property, two combined parcels, is 29.05 acres, is zoned industrial, and "is mostly wooded with nearly 1000 feet of frontage along the Escanaba River," stated the city's request for proposals from real estate brokers.
The only bid received was from Key Realty Delta County LLC. Jamie Beaver, who grew up in West Gladstone, and Lucas Gestwicki will represent the City of Gladstone and work to market the property to potential buyers. They recommended that the list price should be between $230,000 and $240,000.
The commission authorized the city manager to sign a one-year contract with Key Realty to market and sell the now-unused land.
A topic that came up at previous meetings and was addressed again was the issue of ORVs crossing through the grounds of Cameron Elementary School, which is believed to happen because the road nearby -- 29th Street from the 600 to 900 block -- was off-limits to ORVs. Though the commission had thought earlier that an ordinance change was required, a subcommittee learned that a simple amendment could easily strike that street from the list of prohibited routes.
"We are going to wait about a year and assess the efficacy of the Escanaba golf cart ordinance as guidance on how to proceed with that piece," read the report from subcommittee members Whitney Maloney and Steve O'Driscoll.
One resident who lives on M-35 spoke during public comment to ask whether the city would address the illegal operation of ORVs on the highway. He was interested in attending subcommittee meetings on the subject when they happen.
In other business at the July 27 meeting of the Gladstone City Commission, a change order was approved for the wastewater collection system improvements, bringing the total cost from $5,129,901 to $5,154,662. The increase of about $24,760 is 7.3% of the contingency built into the budget. The reason for the higher cost was reported as being more heavy cleaning and sewer lining than anticipated.