By Barb Pert Templeton
At each Algonac City Council meeting, City Manager Artie Bryson has a spot on the agenda to report information to officials about grants, projects and other items of interest. These are some of the items he shared at the April 7 meeting.
Grant windfall from McClain
City Manager Artie Bryson said he was proud to announce some major funding the city has gotten for the wet water retention project. The Southwater Municipal Utility Authority (SMUA) has been awarded a $2.8 million grant through Congresswoman Lisa McClain. He noted the grant is a significant financial win for the region and will reduce the cost burden for sewer customers in Algonac, Ira and Clay townships.
“I’m hoping to get some more money to shore up our own collection system here,” Bryson said. “And really, getting these grants is going to dictate what we do and when.”
In a memo to the council in the meeting packet Bryson also noted that he has two more grant applications pending with McClain’s office and is also waiting to hear back from Senators Elissa Slotkin and Gary Peters.
Scrap tires grant received
The city was recently awarded a State Scrap Tires Grant in partnership with Clay Township. Bryson said Clay will provide a dump trailer so the tires can be disposed of year-round. He said he’s not sure where he’s going to put it until he talks with Clay.
“That’s nice that people won’t have to wait until the cleanup date to do that,” Bryson said.
Algonac City Manage Artie Bryson.
“I’m very excited about the scrap tire grant, I love getting rid of scrap tires, it gets rid of a lot of mosquitoes,” Mayor Rocky Gillis added.
Storm water pump station repair costs soar
Repairs to the Smith Street Waste Water Pump Station came in way over budget. Bryson said officials originally thought it would be $165,000 to replace three pumps but the problem is that to access these pumps the roof would have to be pulled off the building.
“We’d have to get a crane and yank them out,” Bryson said.
Part of the problem is that over the years electrical conduit was attached to the roof so now they are looking at rewiring and all kinds of things so the price has increased to $500,000.
“I’m going to get in there tomorrow and look at alternative ways to make this happen,” Bryson said. “So, we’ve put the brakes on that project.”
Funding for Algonac Activity Center
Talks are continuing with the USDA Rural Development Team regarding additional funding opportunities at the activity center. Eligible uses include community programming, emergency shelter operations, marine workforce training and youth programs. Bryson also noted that work
is also underway to secure a Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MDEC) grant, in the amount of $500,000, that was approved in the state budget in 2025.
Property on State Street closed
The city has closed on the property at 455 State Street next to the DPW and work is beginning to clean that area up. Bryson said they are also working with SMUA on the lot split to facilitate their purchasing the rear portion of the DPW property.
“That’s going to be where the wet water retention tanks are stored and it’s going to be a lot cheaper to put the tanks there, really saving them $1 to $1.5 million dollars,” Bryson said.
Walking path progressing
The Lions’ walking path is moving forward into the implementation stage, final designs are being completed and the city should go out for bids soon. “We’ve got to be close because I asked what kind of benches do you want along this walking path and so we’re starting to pick those sorts of things out,” Bryson said.
Unsafe operations of motor bikes
The city has begun enforcement efforts related to the unsafe operation of motor bikes by underage individuals on public roadways.
“We want to make sure that they’re safe, everyone wants to have fun until there’s a bad accident and then it’s trouble,” Bryson said.
Ordinance Review Committee to meet
The next meeting of the Algonac Ordinance Review Committee will be on Thursday, April 9 at 6 p.m. Councilman Michael Bembas asked how many meetings the ordinance committee had had so far. Bryson said just one meeting to date. “Okay so it’s still going to be a while until we have something to work on?” Bembas asked and Bryson replied yes.
Update on school property sale
Councilman Michael Bembas asked if there’s been anything going on with investors for the portion of the old Algonac Elementary School, now the new community center, that’s not in use. “Not yet, but we’re working on it, I was talking to the USDA and other people, so we are definitely working on it,” Bryson replied.
Will Director Justin Westmiller attend a meeting
Mayor Pro Tem Dawn Davey asked Bryson if the city still planned to invite Justin Westmiller, director of Emergency Management for St. Clair County, to come to a meeting soon. In February, Bryson told officials the new activity center was declared an official county designated emergency shelter and along those lines the county has provided cots and emergency supplies on site. Bryson explained that the county will also be assisting with installation of a generator transfer switch for power outages. Bryson said something always seems to come up but he’ll ask again. “It would be good if we could have him come in and give an update and explain to everyone how that’s going to work,” Davey said. Bryson agreed.
