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Gregg Shipman, interim city manager for Mount Clemens, addresses the board and the attending public about the decision to pursue joining the Great Lakes Water Authority on Dec. 19.
Screenshot taken from city of Mount Clemens YouTube channel
MOUNT CLEMENS — Hopes were dashed and apologies profusely made at the Dec. 19 Mount Clemens City Commission meeting as city officials broke the news: the city’s municipal water system might not be long for this world.
On Dec. 5, after months of work sessions, town halls and various behind-the-scenes discussions, the City Commission voted to apply for a $45 million Michigan Drinking Water State Revolving Fund grant to help build a new 8 million gallon-per-day water filtration plant, with much of the attending public in support. On Dec. 19, commissioners somberly voted to rescind the application and submit a DWSRF application to integrate the city into the Great Lakes Water Authority’s system for $17 million.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy reportedly notified the city between sessions that it would not grant Mount Clemens the $45 million DWSRF application, meaning the only option left to city officials was to go with the GLWA.
“Since (Dec. 5) we reached back out to EGLE, who had said it would be very unlikely that we would get funding for (the new plant) and we wanted them to say as best as they could, I wanted it in writing, which I didn’t think they would do, but they did,” Interim City Manager Gregg Shipman said. “It was pretty clear that we’re not going to get a loan for that. It’s not going to happen.”
According to City Commissioner Barb Dempsey, the city’s bond agent told commissioners in a recent meeting that “there is no way the city has the capacity” to bond out for a new plant.
“Those of us who support — and I still support — a water plant, we’re put up against the wall,” Dempsey said. “Basically, we have no other choice. They’ve taken that choice away from us; the state has taken it away from us, and the bonding agent has taken it away from us. … We have absolutely no choice … and I’m not happy about it.”
Dempsey’s sentiments were shared by the commission and mayor, who were all surprised by the call from EGLE and the bond capabilities.
“Why this information about our bonding capacity was not presented prior to our town halls is a mystery,” City Commissioner Denise Mentzer said.
Mount Clemens currently has a bonding limit of around $49 million.
“We can’t in good conscience bond out the (money) for the water treatment plant because of the citizens’ and the residents’ capacity to pay,” Mentzer said. “It’s disappointing and I’m angry over it, but we’re stuck.”
By pursuing the cheaper route, Mount Clemens will join its neighbors as customers of the GLWA. The joining process will involve linking the municipal pipes to the region-spanning system, as well as selling the existing plant’s materials and land.
