News Photo by Steve Schulwitz City Hall is seen on Friday in Rogers City. The City Council and planning officials met this week to discuss proposed projects and plans to improve the city.

ALPENA — Officials in Rogers City are prioritizing projects by how badly they are needed, and input is vital in the planning process.

On Tuesday, the Rogers City City Council, Downtown Development Authority, Parks and Recreation Commission and Planning Commission held a joint meeting to weigh future projects and determine when they should be done.

Mayor Scott McLennan said there was a long list of proposed projects and the city officials scored each on a scale from one to five, with one being the most urgent and five being something that could be put off for the time being.

McLennan said including many of the city’s primary boards helped collect a variety of opinions, suggestions, and ideas. He said having the projects listed by their importance helps the council and administrative staff plan.

“The meeting gave us a broad base of citizen input for what people want to see as priorities and helps us set a course for what we want to achieve over the next three to five years,” he said.

McLennan said discussion and scoring took place for projects that involved local parks, water and sewer infrastructure, street improvements, commercial and housing development, and purchases such as police vehicles.

Among the projects that were considered were an addition of a police officer, improvements to the pavilion and replace the playground equipment at Lakeside Park, and improvements to the restrooms near the fish cleaning station and the bandshell.

Other projects considered include adding a splash splash pad near the beach, and revamping the Avenue of Flags downtown.

A complete list of the proposed projects that involve the marina, downtown, roads, and more, is linked to this story at TheAlpenaNews.com.

At the meeting, McLennan presented a list of projects that will play a role in updating the six-year Capital Improvement Plan for 2025-26. That plan then must be put in front of the Planning Commission and City Council for review and approval before being sent on to MEDC and posted on the city’s website.

McLennan said the meeting is an annual event, but this year more boards, committees, and commissions were invited because the city believed that having as many voices involved would lead to the best results. He said now that the projects are prioritized, it will help make it easier to budget for them and determine when they need to be done.

“It does help with the budgeting process because now we know what the community is looking for and that may allow us to move some things up on the timeline,” he said. “Of course, we do have limited resources and staff, so it is important to determine what projects are the most urgent to get done.”

Of course, unexpected projects can arise and catch the city off guard and require immediate action. McLennan said there could be projects planned and budgeted for, but could suddenly be pushed back if the more urgent need arises.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.

ROGERS CITY PLANNING PROJECTS

Here are the projects discussed at Tuesday’s joint meeting of the Rogers City City Council, Downtown Development Authority, Parks and Recreation Commission and Planning Commission.

As a Redevelopment Ready Community, Rogers City is required to review and update its six-year Capital Improvement Plan annually.

Projects discussed include:

City Hall

• Front office improvements (safety, flow, lighting, updating) $50,000

• Addition of one more full-time employee $80,000 annual

Police

• Addition of one-more fulltime officer $80,000 annual

• Keeping car replacement on three-year schedule $19,000 annual

Lakeside Park

• Complete pavilion bathrooms $50,000 plus grant

• Additional pavilion work (ceiling fans, sound panels, painting, etc) $40,000

• Replace playground equipment $150,000 grant

• Improve beach $40,000

• Add kayak launch $40,000

• Improve fish station bathrooms (used for events at band shell) $30,000

• Add splash pad $100,000

• Sailor’s Memorial overhaul $20,000

• Paint basketball courts (blue) $10,000

Trout River Park

• Improved as a reunion location (power, dog run, horse shoe pits, etc) $50,000

• Disk golf course $30,000

Seagull Point Park

• Replace kiosk and signage $20,000

Westminster Park

• Shuffleboard $20,000

Tennis courts

• Overhaul, including lighting, wind blockers, and shaded benches $100,000 plus grant

Sports Park

• Improvements to shack $50,000

• Finish irrigation project $20,000

• Improve lighting (LED) $10,000

• Invest in ways to better ensure longevity of ice rink UNKNOWN

• Enhance skate park $50,000

North Shore Park

• Gazebo similar to gazebo at Lakeside Park (for weddings, etc) $30,000

• Expand beach TIME

• Make ADA accessible near parking lot $20,000

South Shore Park

• Improve fossil park $10,000

• Dog park $25,000

Herman Vogler Conservation Area

• Improve trails for walking, running, skiing (home cross country course) TIME

Huron Sunrise Trail

• Set money aside annually for repairs $25,000

Parks other

• Purchase of beach groomer $60,000

Streets

• Lake from Ontario to Orchard (portion of $250,000)

• Remainder of Lake Street (portion of $250,000)

• Sixth, from Ontario to Park (portion of $250,000)

• Continue to invest $250,000 annually in street improvements

• Use some of the $250,000 to repair/replace sidewalk

• Re-envisioning of Avenue of Flags $50,000 plus grant

• Capital preventative maintenance $30,000 (from $250,000)

• Sign replacement $5,000 annually

Main Street-DDA

• Additional staff $50,000

• AP Super Service rehab into event center $250,000 plus grants

• Improved wayfinding from US-23 into the downtown $50,000

• Conversion of “nook” into pocket park $10,000 plus grant

• Overhaul of parking lot between Erie and Michigan $100,000

• Overhaul of parking lot adjacent to Mariner’s Mall $100,000

• Replacement of street lamps $30,000 annually

• Other streetscape improvements $500,000 with grant

• Informational kiosks, signage $20,000

• Additional art work — grants & donations

• Additional events – TIME and some expense

• Replacement of W. Third Christmas decorations — $30,000

Water/Sewer

• Pursue loan to make large scale improvements to WWTP $1 million

• Continued patching and repair of sewer mains $40,000 annually

• Line water mains on west side of town where breaks have been frequent $1 million

• Line or replace mains on Lake Street $50,000

• New sewer main on Lake Street $50,000

• Water meter replacement $25,000 annually

• Development of new water well $250,000

Marina

• Overhaul of main office/old comfort station; addition of “tiki bar” area $400,000 (grant)

• Paving of parking lot $100,000

• Building for boat stands, etc. $40,000

• Larger hydraulic trailer $30,000 after trade in

• Building for indoor heated boat storage $500,000

• Set funds aside for replacement of fueling system, boilers, etc. $50,000 annually

Garbage collection fund

• Addition of facility and expenditures on household hazardous waste, e-waste, tire

collection, etc. $30,000 grant/$10,000 match

• Staff to oversee leaves and brush drop off UNKNOWN

DPW

• Fund equipment replacement ($36,000 from general, water, and sewer funds annually)

• Replacement of salt storage shed (grant)

• Improvements to DPW garage UNKNOWN

• Relocation of DPW garage to Industrial Park $1 million

• One more full-time employee $80,000 annual

Focuses

• Vacant buildings downtown

• Additional housing

• Vacation rentals

• Additional lodging options

• Infrastructure improvements

• Blight/neighborhood appearance