News Photo by Steve Schulwitz A crane sits at the clear well construction zone at Mich-e-ke-wis Park. Alpena is seeking $3.9 million in bond funding to help pay for clear wells and a new aerial fire truck.

ALPENA — A large increase in the cost to have the clear wells at the Alpena water production plant has forced the city to sell bonds to cover the project’s expense.

The revenue from the bonds will also help cover the cost of a new aerial fire truck the city has ordered.

During Monday’s Alpena Municipal Council meeting, the council voted to sell $3.9 million worth of bonds to help cover a portion of the cost for the two clear wells and the remaining cost of the fire truck.

The clear wells at the city’s water production plant hold the finished water and provide contact time for chlorination before the water gets disbursed into the system. Without the clear well tanks, the water could not reach the users.

The wells are decades old, and although they have undergone some repairs over the years, new ones are badly needed to ensure the sustainability and water quality of the system.

The estimated construction cost of the project, which is now in its 10th month, was approximately $6.2 million, with a design and construction engineering budget of $1 million.

In 2022, the City of Alpena was awarded a Michigan Economic Development Workforce Grant in the amount of $6 million to replace the clear well tanks at the City’s Water Production Plant, but additional infrastructure, internal valves, and piping, coupled with higher construction and material costs drove the bids to $9,843,000.

The sale of the bonds will cover the additional cost the city has incurred over and above the Workforce Grant.

As Alpena grows, so does the need for a dependable fire truck that is able to respond to emergencies that require firefighters to respond high into the air.

The city’s current aerial truck is capable of reaching 100 feet into the air, but it is 31 years old and is beginning to deteriorate in condition due to its use and age. The truck is the only elevated aerial platform in a 70-mile radius of Alpena and is an essential public safety asset that can be requested by other communities for mutual aid requests for assistance.

The city has already committed to buying a new truck for $2,007,980. The bonds will cover $900,000 of the cost, and the balance could come from the city’s savings.

The city also received a federal grant of more than $1 million to help pay for a new aerial truck for the fire department, but the grant and all the other ones like it were withdrawn.

Fire Chief Rob Edmonds said the city was told to submit the grant request, and the city may still get the funds, which would help preserve fund balance.

Edmonds said it will take about 44 months from the time the truck was ordered in January for it to be built and delivered, and that could be enough time for the second grant request to be approved and lower the city’s financial obligation for paying for the fire truck.

During the meeting, the council voted 5-0 to hire Dickinson Wright for $19,250 to provide bond counsel services and pay MFCI $15,362 for financial advisor services related to the bond issue.

The duration of the bonds, the city’s payment schedule, and the payment amount have not been established yet.