News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Culligan Plaza in Alpena sits unused on Monday, but it won’t be long before the local park is a popular place for people to congregate. On Monday, the Alpena Municipal Council voted to use a portion of the $1,044,178 it received from the American Rescue Plan Act to renovate the plaza and make it more handicap accessible.

ALPENA — Alpena intends to invest the more than $1 million it received from the federal government’s American Rescue Plan Act in needed infrastructure improvements.

Using the stimulus funds will help complete a host of projects in the city’s capital improvement plan and take the burden of paying for them off of the general fund.

At Monday’s Alpena Municipal Council meeting, the council approved 11 projects for funding that would consume the $1,044,178 the city receives from the federal government.

Alpena has already received $523,138 this fiscal year and it expects the balance next budget year.

From the first round of funds, the city intends to spend a portion of it on projects such as repairing the ramps at the skate park, remodeling the kitchen at the public safety building, and purchasing portable radar speed signs. It will also buy body cameras for city police officers.

After those projects are complete, the balance, $421,569, will be combined with the second cash allocation for larger projects in 2023 and beyond.

The city will use $612,000 as a match toward a $300,000 grant from the Michigan Department Natural Resources for the new bathroom and pavilion facility at Bay View Park near the Alpena Bandshell.

It also intends to spend $200,000 toward revamping Culligan Plaza, and $113,609 to replace windows at City Hall.

City Manager Rachel Smolinski said the list of projects derived from several meetings with staff, which prioritized what needed to be done and the cost associated to complete them. She said there was a conscious effort to allocate the money to several city facilities and services.

“We met internally several times with staff and discussed what projects were important and we tried to spread the money around,” Smolinski said. “This helps us check some things off of our CIP and we probably wouldn’t have been able to do without this money. There was a lot of discussion so we could forward the best possible projects to the council.”

The ARCA money will also help relieve pressure from the general fund and savings, as the city won’t have to utilize as much money to pay for the projects.

“There is no doubt this money is going to be an asset and help us accomplish things we probably wouldn’t have been able to for some time,” Smolinski said.

In other business

The Alpena Municipal Council on Monday also:

Mayor Matt Waligora proclaimed April 29 Arbor Day in the city.

Waligora declared April Child Abuse Prevention Month.

received the first reading of Ordinance 22-473, which amends the zoning map.

approved the 2021-2025 marina master plan.

went into closed session to discuss the ongoing water and sewer litigation with Alpena Township.

Once returning to open session, the council voted to hire a consultant for $56,000 plus out-of-pocket expenses, to conduct a rate study and review a draft agreement with the township pertaining to a water authority being formed.

The contract with the consultant is contingent upon the Alpena Township Board of Trustees voting to also approve the deal.