BUCHANAN COMMISSIONERS SURPRISED BY $1.7 MILLION CONSTRUCTION BUDGET DEFICIT

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
BUCHANAN – Buchanan City Commissioners received an update on the upcoming downtown infrastructure projects at their meeting this week. The multi-million dollar project is expected to get underway in March and bring changes to two blocks of Front Street in the downtown area.
City Manager Tony McGhee reported the project is expected to cost $19.4 million and include water, sewer, and storm water work as well as streetscape improvements. The project was initially expected to take two years to complete but he said that the bulk of the project should be complete this year.
The city will host a stakeholders meeting with downtown business owners the first week of March to make sure everyone knows what to expect when construction starts. In addition, a “progress page” will be set up on the city’s website and weekly updates will be given.
Most of the work will be in the two blocks of Front Street from Red Bud Trail to Oak Street. Detour signs as well as temporary parking areas will be highlighted during the project. One of the first things people will see as the project starts is the cutting down of trees in the project area. The project includes a “festival street” with no curbs; the street and sidewalks will be on the same level.
Funding for the project is coming primarily from a Michigan Department of Transportation grant and a United States Department of Agricullture 40-year low interest loan with the city also contributing some monies from the general fund.
McGhee gave commissioners one piece of unwelcome news on the project Monday, telling them that there is a $1.7 million shortfall with the construction budget.  Commissioners expressed surprise at the news, saying that they thought all the funding was in place before they voted to proceed last fall.
“This makes me angry,” Commissioner Dan Vigansky said. “None of us knew this; we assumed we had all the money we needed. We need to do a post mortem and figure out where we screwed up.”
McGhee said he will do that but right now he’s working on getting the project going. He said while he’s looking for additional grants or loans to make up that difference, the city does have the funds to cover that amount if it has to. Commissioners did approve a resolution of support and commitment of match for the downtown project.
In other news, McGhee and other city staff met with the contractor for the retaining wall project last week. Work should start the first or second week of March, with a day or two of traffic closures on Front Street. Otherwise one lane will be open until the project is done.
Regarding the budget for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1, commissioners had a work session to set goals on Nov. 23 where they talked about goals for the downtown, city parks, the fire department, boards and committees and code enforcement. McGee asked commissioners how they want to handle the upcoming budget process, but commissioners said they didn’t feel they needed another work session. McGhee will now find a date when commissioners can meet in March for a budget workshop. A preliminary draft budget will be presented April 28 to the commission with the final budget up for approval and adoption May 26.
After two weeks on the job, McGhee said he’s met with department heads and staff with everyone agreeing on the need to focus on policies and procedures. Specifically, he wants to work on items such as the utility billing process, goal setting, and retaining employees, as well as developing a new rental housing ordinance.
Staff also told him that they wanted to restore Friday City Hall office hours. City Hall will now be open to the public 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Previously, City Hall was closed to the public at 1 p.m. on Fridays.