Mancelona seeks $1.7 million to finish interrupted 2021 water/sewer extension project

Mancelona officials and the Mancelona Area Water and Sewer Authority asked the subcommittee for $1.7 million to finish a sewer extension project that started in 2021 but was halted when construction costs rose; the authority said unfinished work created a "bridge to nowhere" that prevents service expansion and jeopardizes local businesses and tourism. Nut graf: Witnesses said the 2021 work completed a portion of the extension but cost increases and discoveries of aged, undersized water mains made completion impossible without additional capital; the authority said sewer extension is the community priority while engineers recommended addressing a failing water main before continuing. Office manager Sue Cooper and authority staff said the project affects a central business corridor and US-131 traffic and is important to regional tourism and local employers; they said USDA and SRF loan programs had been explored but that program constraints and existing authority financial rules limited some options. They asked the committee to consider finishing the sewer extension first and then completing an equalization (EQ) tank later, while funding the identified urgent water-main replacement to avoid further failures. Ending: No appropriation was adopted at the hearing; Mancelona officials said they would continue to pursue federal and state funding and seek to finish the project once additional capital is available.