Eastpointe City Council reviews six-year infrastructure plan, approves county road‑maintenance permit and code update

Eastpointe City Council on March 3 heard a presentation of the city’s six‑year infrastructure maintenance plan and unanimously adopted a blanket permit for county road maintenance and an update to the city’s property maintenance code.

Ry Kern, who led the presentation, said the plan breaks work into major streets, local streets and water and sewer priorities over the next six years. “It’s that time of year again to present the what we’re now calling the infrastructure maintenance plan for the city,” Kern told the council and showed maps and a multi‑year budget packet. He described recurring maintenance programs — joint and crack sealing on a three‑year cycle, pavement marking and an annual pavement‑patching program for fair‑rated local streets — and listed several near‑term projects.

Kern identified the final phase of the Nine Mile Road project as active, with water‑main work mobilizing and saw cutting already under way. He said the city added a Schroeder project (9 Mile to 10 Mile) for joint/crack sealing and a chip seal and expects a pavement‑marking program to begin in the spring. For a separate Hayes (Stevens to 10 Mile) concrete patching job Kern said the project is budgeted at $659,250 and that approximately 81.85% of that cost would be covered by federal aid assistance.

Kern also said a federal earmark of $3 million is available to reconstruct 10 Mile from Hayes to Flocks but must be spent by 2029; the county controls the right‑of‑way and the city is coordinating with county officials to potentially advance the project’s construction season. On local streets, Kern said the city has used PASER ratings (from a 2023 study) to prioritize work; the packet lists reconstruct costs of about $5.8 million for streets rated one or two and an additional $5.3 million for streets that were rated three in 2023 and have since declined.

On water and sewer, Kern and DPW Director Darren Pali summarized water‑main replacement needs and noted a prior reconstruction loan payment (phase‑one annual payment about $358,000) and grant support: they said more than $8 million in grant funding covered part of past projects. The council was told the city recently was approved for a state revolving fund (SRF) loan of $4.875 million to address high‑priority sewer locations, with a 20‑year payback, and that the draft budget includes $750,000 per year for additional sewer rehabilitation plus a $250,000 catch‑basin repair program.

Council members asked technical and timing questions about Lexington and Nine Mile projects. Kern said Lexington’s water‑main work is expected to start in May and the associated street project in August, and that some larger projects will overlap fiscal years.

During new business the council moved to adopt Resolution No. 26‑2014, a blanket permit for general road maintenance with Macomb County Department of Roads, and gave second reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 26‑1255, which updates the city code to the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code. The roll‑call votes were recorded with Council members Shadlick, Scott, Curley and Mayor Prom Baker all voting yes.

Why it matters: the plan lays out a predictable schedule of preventive maintenance, reconstruction and water‑sewer rehabilitation tied to federal aid, CDBG grants and SRF loans. If funding and intergovernmental timing align — particularly for county‑controlled corridors such as 10 Mile — the plan could accelerate reconstruction on several high‑need streets and reduce future emergency repairs.

What’s next: staff said they will submit final plans for federally funded projects, continue to pursue federal aid for projects in the 2029–2031 application rounds and bring project updates to council as construction schedules firm up.