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Petoskey reviews storm response, praises undergrounding and outlines Howard Street reconstruction
Summary
Board members reviewed community storm response following a severe ice event, credited long-term undergrounding of electric infrastructure for limiting outage scope, reported mutual-aid crews and described Howard Street reconstruction that includes new underground utilities.
Petoskey leaders and downtown stakeholders reviewed recovery from a major ice storm and described ongoing infrastructure work at the April 15 meeting.
Speakers credited the city’s multi-decade program to place electric infrastructure underground for limiting the storm’s impact; the board said about 78% of the city’s electrical service is underground and that undergrounding likely reduced outage severity. Board members said two overhead transmission services from the Gaylord area failed during the event, and crews had to repair multiple broken poles before restoring transmission to local substations.
Board members thanked mutual-aid crews from Zeeland, Grand Haven and the Traverse City Board of Water and Light and noted that Great Lakes Energy reported unusually large system damage across the region. Emmett County was reported as having restored power to all customers by the afternoon referenced in the meeting.
Local officials described converting a municipal building into a warming/charging center where more than 250 people used services on a peak day, and multiple businesses (including the local casino) provided food and shelter assistance. Members also discussed construction projects: a major reconstruction of Howard Street (State Street to Grove, then Grove to Sheridan) is underway and expected to continue through the summer; the city said underground electrical work on that section will cost more than $1 million and is part of a multi-year program.
Board members said other projects — Seville improvements, Pennsylvania Park work and a Bayfront trail replacement segment — are moving forward and that most projects other than Howard Street will be substantially complete before the main visitor season begins.
