Ishpeming council halts tennis-court match, reallocates proposed grant match to storm-sewer work

Ishpeming’s City Council voted to reallocate a previously proposed $300,000 grant match for tennis-court resurfacing and related school improvements toward time-sensitive storm-sewer work on Third Street.

Council members said the decision follows new information about a storm sewer running near the tennis courts and a narrow construction window tied to Empire Street work that would require tearing up any courts resurfaced now. Finance Director Grant and Public Works Director William "Bill" (last name not specified in the transcript) told council the city needs to prioritize stormwater repairs that would otherwise force future crews to retear new court surfaces.

Grant said the city’s public improvement fund is the primary available source for stormwater repairs and noted the $300,000 represented more than half of the annual public-improvement revenue the city currently receives. “The decision to pull the potential grant match of $300,000 this year for this year’s budget is a very time sensitive one,” Grant said. He told council that the tennis courts project has been discussed for decades and that the storm-sewer work is urgent because doing it in the next construction season would avoid redoing newly surfaced courts later.

Public commenters, including local school supporters and student-athletes, urged the council to preserve funding for the tennis courts. Caitlin Rich, identified in public comment as an assistant principal and athletic director, asked council not to “just blow this up” and urged further conversations and grant searches. A number of other residents described the courts as a community asset used by more than just high-school athletes.

Public Works Director Bill described engineering options and the relative costs the city faces: he said slip-lining approximately one mile of 36-inch pipe would cost $2 million to $2.5 million if the pipe were in good condition, while the proposed alternative—installing a new storm outfall routing some stormwater west into Lake Bancroft—was estimated at roughly $450,000–$550,000. Bill also explained that the project would require demolition and replacement of the tennis-court surface if the new sewer line is routed through that footprint; he said the city could perform the demolition, install the pipe, and provide in-kind work to return the court surface to grade in coordination with the school district.

Council members and the new city manager, Randy (last name not given), framed the move as an attempt to achieve a “win-win” by addressing an urgent infrastructure need while continuing to seek grant opportunities for a long-planned court renovation. Council member Jason Chapman described the plan to include the tennis-court work alongside the storm sewer during the Empire Street construction cycle as a reasonable approach that “tables” the resurfacing until the sewer work can be completed.

The council’s formal motion to reallocate the previously flagged tennis-court grant match toward storm-sewer engineering and construction on Third Street carried without recorded roll-call tallies. Minutes and staff presentations indicate the council directed staff to keep the tennis-court matter on the “front burner” and to continue conversations with the school district about future funding and grant applications.

The council’s action affects an existing DNR-related agreement that, council members said, constrains options for selling the facility to the district until the DNR agreement ends or is released. Grant also reminded council that contractual obligations and written agreements govern the city’s commitments to the school district.

Less urgent aspects of the court project—resurfacing and grant-seeking—remain under discussion and council members asked staff to pursue grant avenues and to continue coordination with the school district and the DNR.