Votes at a glance: Escanaba City Council, Feb. 6, 2025 — playgrounds, utilities, training, contracts and plans approved

At its Feb. 6 meeting the Escanaba City Council approved multiple agenda items. The list below summarizes each formal action taken, the staff motion as presented and the council outcome as recorded by roll call.

- Rose Park playground equipment purchase — Approved. Administration sought approval to purchase playground equipment for Rose Park for $85,847.99. Staff noted a $50,000 DTE Foundation grant through a community foundation reduced the city’s net cost. (Motion approved by roll call.)

- Hire GameTime for playground installations — Approved. Council approved hiring GameTime for up to $20,000 to assist Public Works with installation of five playgrounds; staff said full-install by the vendor would cost about $65,000 but $20,000 plus city labor and volunteers reduced costs. (Motion approved by roll call.)

- Donation of Old Royce Park playground equipment to Baldwin Township — Approved. Staff described Baldwin Township’s request; the township will remove and transport the used equipment and offered $2,000 toward the transfer. Staff said all recipients will sign waivers acknowledging known safety issues with donated equipment. (Motion approved by roll call.)

- Concrete crusher contract — Approved. Council authorized hiring Havelka Construction at a rate of $6 per ton to crush an existing concrete pile; staff described mobilization in May and expected the contractor to crush through the summer and possibly into November/December depending on pile size. (Motion approved by roll call.)

- Third-party wastewater callout service (Range Telecommunications) — Approved. Council approved retaining Range Telecommunications (Marquette) for after-hours utility callouts in an amount not to exceed $7,500 annually; staff said the service is month-to-month, can be set up in 1–2 days, and provides human communication assistance to help triage water/sewer emergency calls. (Motion approved by roll call.)

- Safety training program (Kaynecta) for wastewater staff — Approved. Council approved retaining Kaynecta (Green Bay) for a safety-training program not to exceed $4,800 to address MIOSHA concerns and improve training, policy review and compliance. (Motion approved by roll call.)

- Renewable energy plan submission (MPPA) — Approved. Council approved submission of a renewable energy plan developed by the Michigan Public Power Association to comply with state clean-energy requirements; staff said the plan starts with purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and later transitions toward power-purchase agreements as required by law and that plans must be updated every two years. (Motion approved by roll call.)

- Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant application — Approved. Council authorized applying for TAP funds to address sidewalk and path gaps and streetscape/retaining-wall improvements; estimated construction cost is $1,340,000 with a $268,000 city match. (Motion approved by roll call.)

- Social District Resolution 25-02 (DDA) — Approved. Council approved creating a social district in the DDA-managed downtown area; see separate article for full details on boundaries, cups, hours and event rules. (Motion approved by roll call.)

- Appointment to Board of Equalization and Review — Approved. Council approved the appointment of John O’Driscoll to the Board of Equalization and Review. (Motion approved by roll call.)

Meeting minutes and routine agenda adjustments were also approved earlier in the session.

Roll-call tallies were recorded for each item and were reported as affirmative by the clerk; no formal negative votes or recusals were recorded in the meeting minutes for these items.