By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
BUCHANAN, MI – Monday’s Buchanan City Commission meeting featured action on the city’s sidewalk and lead pipe replacement programs as well as awarding the bid for the first two phases of the Riverfront Park improvement project.
Commissioners also made their first comments about the controversy surrounding Sweet Shop co-owner Joseph Paolucci. Paolucci has filed numerous Freedom of Information Act requests with the city and is also suing the city in Berrien County Trial Court for what he calls retaliatory actions against him.
Most recently, the city’s Downtown Development Authority foreclosed on the loan they gave Paolucci and his partner, Thomas Hitchcock, several years ago and which the DDA said the partners did not fully repay. The foreclosure sale took place late last month with a local couple buying the note which is a second mortgage on the property.
City Commissioner Dan Vigansky asked for an accounting of how much staff time and legal fees have been spent answering Paolucci’s FOIA requests. “I will put it on Facebook when I find out,” he said. “He shows a blatant disregard for taxpayers … If we sit down and take it, nothing is going to change.”
Fellow Commissioner Raquell George noted that the city’s most recent bills included over $26,000 in legal fees, much of which traces back to Paolucci’s FOIA requests. “It’s just absurd, those are tax dollars being spent,” she said.
Mayor Mark Weedon said it’s frustrating when city officials are acting in a transparent manner and people still continue to dig and question actions. “We’re not trying to stop FOIAs but it is very frustrating when they’re looking for things that are not there,” he said.
In action Monday night, the commission awarded the bid for the first two phases of the Riverfront Park project to Astrong Construction for $619,100. Funds for the project will come from the state and the city, with the city getting a Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund grant for $359,300 and contributing $259,800 from the general fund.
City Manager Tony McGhee reported that the initial bids for the project came in over budget and that the project was rebid with some changes made in order to cut costs. A total of five bids were received in the second round of bids. He said plans call for work to start right away and be done in the spring.
Work to be done in the first two phases of the project include the construction of a new boat launch, a new skid pier for the boat launch, a new handicapped accessible floating canoe/kayak launch and parking lot improvements.
The city is also getting a state trust fund grant to pay for the third phase of the Riverfront Park improvements and is just waiting for the legislature to allocate the funds, McGhee said. That phase will pay for improvements such as an ADA accessible fishing platform, new pit toilets, new walkways and other site improvements.
Astrong Construction also had their contract with the city for sidewalk repairs amended to include more work. McGhee said Astrong received the contract last year to do the first round or sidewalk repairs that is now being extended to do an additional 4,000 square feet of sidewalk repairs at $15 per square foot. Their total contract amount with the city is $116,200.
McGhee said the sidewalk program started last year splits the costs 50-50 with homeowners. “People still want to get work done,” he said. “The price we negotiated is very much in line with current prices. They will continue their work into the winter and spring.”
McGhee told commissioners that it will be their decision on whether to continue the sidewalk repair program as they start working on the 2027-28 budget.
Commissioners approved the publication of their notice of intent to issue water supply system revenue bonds in the amount of $2.5 million as well as engage the Dickinson Wright firm as the bond counsel for the project for $21,500. The money will be used to replace lead and galvanized pipes around the city.
McGhee said the first work will be done in the Liberty Heights neighborhood on the city’s southeast side, followed by the Northside neighborhoods and other parts of the city. The city will be getting a state grant for 10 percent of the project costs and a no interest loan from the state for the rest, he said.