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Bay Future outlines sewer grant, Mechatronics expansion and Bay Valley resort redevelopment
Summary
Bay Future President Jim Ream presented county economic-development activity including a $4.1 million sanitary sewer grant for the 3 Mile and Wilder Road area, a H.L. Mechatronics expansion promising 43 new high-wage jobs, and a planned Bay Valley Resorts renovation supported by public and private partners.
Jim Ream, president and CEO of Bay Future, briefed the Bay County Board of Commissioners on June 17 about current economic-development projects, workforce initiatives and site-readiness work aimed at attracting new employers and retaining existing ones.
Ream said Bay Future has helped leverage workforce training and infrastructure grants to improve site readiness and expand employer training. Since 2020, he said, local companies have used more than $2.5 million from the Going Pro Talent Fund for employee training, and Bay Future has used more than $4.8 million in infrastructure grants to ready sites for development.
Among the projects Ream highlighted was a $4.1 million grant to add sanitary sewer infrastructure in the 3 Mile and Wilder Road area. Ream said Bay Future is working with Monitor Township, the Bay County Department of Water and Sewer, the Bay County Road Commission and engineering firm Spicer Group on the project. Ream described a separate $248,000 grant to fund due-diligence studies (boundary surveys, environmental and wetland work) to make properties marketable to developers.
Ream also described a manufacturing expansion by H.L. Mechatronics in Williams Township. “They’ve been doing business and growing in Bay County for more than 10 years,” Ream said. He said the project will create 43 new jobs with an average wage of about $56.40 an hour for newly hired employees, and credited the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Consumers Energy and Williams Township with helping secure the project.
On tourism and redevelopment, Ream summarized work on Bay Valley Resorts, a longstanding county facility that he said will receive interior and exterior renovations that include restoring 147 guest rooms, conference space, a restaurant and the golf course. Ream said the project involves a partnership with StoryCo, the MEDC, the Bay County Brownfield Board and local townships. Commissioners and others later described initial site and pool work that has begun on the property.
Ream also described the Bay Future Small Business Development Center’s local work, saying SBDC staff have met with more than 200 businesses and helped secure about $1.4 million in capital investment for local businesses. He promoted an upcoming Pitch by the Bay event and asked commissioners to share SBDC services with local businesses.
Commissioners asked technical questions about a sewer map included in the meeting packet; Ream said the image was a GIS screenshot and not a final engineering plan and that Spicer Group would provide detailed engineering explanation as needed.
No formal board action was taken on the projects at this meeting. Commissioners expressed support for the initiatives and said they expect to see progress over the coming months.
