Sewer system, treatment plant hoped to be a ?catalyst? for economic growth;

It may be hard to believe for some people of the Onaway community, but it has been 10 years since the sewer project really got moving. In 1996, the city began investigating the possibility of constructing a sewer system and wastewater treatment plant.

There had been discussions about it in the past, but when a business owner proposed to relocate a manufacturing plant with more than 100 related jobs to Onaway, that really got things moving.

Now, with completion of the project in sight, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for Wednesday, city officials hope the sewer project spurs additional growth in the community. ?I guess the word I would use would be that the sewer system could act as a catalyst,? said city manager Joe Hefele. It has been by far the largest construction project Onaway has undertaken in several decades.

THE RIBBON-CUTTING, which is expected to be attended by several state and federal officials, and others involved in the design and construction of the project, will be at noon at the treatment plant. The plant is located at the end of Spruce Street. People attending the ceremony will get a first-hand idea of what city residents have endured the last five construction seasons with Spruce Street being torn up.

Construction of the sewer system began in 2001, though planning actually began five years earlier, in 1996, and design began in 1999. The plant was completed and put into operation in June 2005.

Hefele said people of the community, while patient, are anticipating the day the last construction crew packs up and leaves town.

?It has been a long project,? said Hefele. ?Roads have been torn up, yards have been messed up. Our residents have, by and large, been extremely patient, which this office is very thankful for. They are ready for this to be over and ready for their streets to be put back together.?

DURING THE last city commission meeting, to preserve the longevity of the newly paved roads in the community, it was decided that final paving will not occur until next season to allow the roads to settle through a frost cycle. It means further inconvenience in the short term, but a longer life for the new roads.

?It is an exciting time,? said Hefele. ?You are seeing some really neat things happening. Businesses are opening, businesses are enlarging, and buildings are coming down to allow for further growth.

?The sewer system was not going to ensure growth and development and new jobs within the community, but without this piece of infrastructure, the chances of those things occurring were not very good.?

The project cost approximately $13.5 million, $11 million of which was grant money. While every bit of the funding was important, the United States Department of Agriculture-Rural Development was by far the largest financial contributor, providing $7.5 million in grant funds and a loan of $2.5 million. USDA-RD was a major participant in bringing the plan from the drawing room table to construction, but multiple grant sources helped it become reality.

The constant goal throughout the planning process was to keep the debt load down and ease the burden of future sewer customers. A residential sewer bill is about $38 a month. ?Which is remarkable considering about how much was spent on this project,? said Lisa Fought, who assisted with most of the grant writing while working for NEMSCA as an Environmental Program Specialist

. IN 1998, Onaway?s electorate voted almost five to one (211 ?yes? to 59 ?no?) to authorize the debt associated with the project. After an intent to proceed noticed was published, a petition drive forced the measure to go before the electorate.

?Actually, the vote was good thing,? said Hefele. ?The commission wondered if the community was firmly behind the project. Once that vote occurred, it told the commission the community was behind it and they needed to do everything in their power to make it happen. Based on the vote and the feeling of this commission, the risk was worth it. The city needed to take that risk to give itsself a chance to allow for positive change.?

Other obstacles included bids coming in higher than expected on all three phases.

?That was probably our single biggest challenge to overcome,? said Hefele. ?In all three instances we were able to work out arrangements with the funding source, USDA. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation assisted with phase two and chipped in additional funding when the lowest bidder was substantially higher than estimates.

The plant needed to be in operation to generate revenue during the construction process to pay the first debt payments. There has not been enough revenue generated as of yet, so general fund dollars have subsidized the operation and debt payments.

?There were many phone calls and trips to Lansing, and in all three instances, again, we were able to bring in additional grant funds to complete all three of those phases,? said Hefele. Other government agencies assisting with the project included the Economic Development Administration and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

IT WAS A window of opportunity not wasted by city offici

als, as money accessed then, has dried up and is not available now.

The sewer project has been the largest and most important thing taking place, but it is far from the only thing. During the last decade, there have been courthouse improvements, a zoning ordinance adopted, approval of ordinances to eliminate blight, and the acquisition of a new squad car and two plow trucks.

The next big project on the horizon is improvements to M-68, which include street reconstruction, sidewalk, curb, gutter, storm drain and water main replacement, and streetscape through the heart of the business district.

First things first, the city will mark a historic milestone with the dedication of its state-of-the-art sewer system and wastewater treatment facility, a lengthy project with several bumps in the road, which city officials hope will pave the way for a better and brighter future.

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