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Council reviews 2026 CIP, discusses $100,000 for municipal building assessments
Summary
Council discussed the 2026 capital improvement plan, including a proposed $100,000 line for building assessment and design, a Cedar Street paving estimate of $26,900, a lowered hospital access-road estimate and options for campground solar service drops; staff also outlined a grant-backed cart program and an ordinance change to implement it.
The Ishpeming City Council moved into a detailed discussion of the 2026 budget and capital improvement plan, with staff advising council to focus on the CIP list to position projects for possible grant funding.
Staff (Speaker 3) recommended placing $100,000 in the CIP for assessments, planning and design of DPW, police, fire and city hall buildings so the city is prepared to apply for larger grants. “In order to take advantage of any funding which may become available, the city does need to show that we're ready to utilize that funding,” staff said.
Updates to the CIP included a Cedar Street paving estimate of about $26,900 and a revised estimate to fix a hospital access road at roughly $115,000, down from an earlier estimate near $300,000. Staff recommended using local-street reserves for the Cedar Street project, noting the local-street fund balance was roughly $770,000 as of September 30.
On a separate infrastructure question, staff described two service-drop options for a campground solar installation — a smaller drop to serve a few campsites or a larger drop that could support future expansion — and asked council for time to produce comparative cost figures.
Staff also outlined a garbage and recycling cart program tied to grant funding and existing garbage reserves; staff said recycling carts may be 80% reimbursed by Eagle (if eligible) while garbage carts would require local matching funds. An ordinance change would be required to transition to cart billing once carts are delivered.
The council discussed relationships with the Niowa/wastewater authority and clarified that the city’s budget under consideration does not include new wastewater operating expenses; any future draws from partner entities would come through separate requests.
Council directed staff to accept feedback for CIP changes through November 30, after which the CIP becomes more static for the year-end process.
