ROGERS CITY — The Rogers City City Council on Tuesday joined other municipalities in asking Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to seek federal disaster relief for its Lake Huron shoreline.

Council members unanimously passed a resolution asking for disaster relief and saying “the local units of government responsible for repairing the damage caused by mother nature will be unable to do so adequately without some form of financial assistance.”

Councilman Gary Nowak asked for the resolution to be shared with legislators who represent the city.

City Manager Joe Hefele said Pentwater adopted a similar resolution. Hefele received a letter from the city manager there asking other affected municipalities to do the same.

The Rogers City shoreline, along with shorelines throughout Northeast Michigan, have taken a beating over the past couple of months as record-high water levels on Lake Huron continue to rise and cause erosion and other damage along the shoreline. Hefele said the city has lost a section of paved bike path near its wastewater treatment plant, the boardwalk at Lakeside Park, and one of its new signs installed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“We’ve lost a tremendous amount of shoreline and we’re starting to get in jeopardy of losing our wellhouse at Seagull Point (Park), which would be a catastrophe,” he said of the wellhouse from which the municipal water supply is pumped. “There’s two wells there, not just one.”

Hefele said that, if officials don’t do something soon to fix the erosion by the wellhouse, “it’s going to be in dire straits.”

He said city leaders will reach out out to a professional with local ties who can assess the city’s options and start to determine what some of the costs would be.

He said work at Smitka Park, located on the north corner of the city’s marina, seems to have saved the park, but it is currently blocked off to the public. He said a tremendous amount of work still needs to be done.

“In the spring, we’ll do a full appraisal,” he said. “Right now, we just need to make it through the winter and keep everything safe for the public and make sure our vital infrastructure is protected.”

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.

In other business

The Rogers City City Council on Tuesday also:

∫ Unanimously approved an update to the city’s Community Recreation Plan. City Manager Joe Hefele said the plan prioritizes addressing erosion issues caused by rising water levels on Lake Huron and overhauling the Lakeside Park pavilion bathrooms. He said the plan must be updated every five years to keep the city eligible for grants through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

∫ Learned the final draft of the city’s Economic Development Plan has been turned in to Hefele and a community meeting will be held for the public after the holidays, possibly in January. The East Lansing-based firm Place and Main was hired to compile the plan.

∫ Unanimously approved the installation of a drop ceiling and canned lighting as city staff make repairs to the council chambers after City Hall was struck by a truck in October.