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BUCHANAN — City streets, rental housing regulations and a proposal that could bring in more water and sewer customers to the city were all topics addressed at Monday’s Buchanan City Commission meeting.

      Streets were the main topic at the meeting as streets start to get torn up with the start of the $19.4 million downtown infrastructure project. City officials are assuring residents that the inconveniences being experienced now will pay off later.

      The project started with downtown trees removed last month. The project is expected to take at least the rest of this year. A new sanitary sewer line is being constructed from the wastewater treatment plant to the downtown, water and sewer lines will be upgraded and downtown streets and sidewalks will be redone.

City Commissioners and City Manager Tony McGhee spoke about the infrastructure project at their meeting Monday night, in terms of both what it will mean for the city and how the city plans to make up the $1.5 million funding shortfall. In addition, McGhee outlined his plans to spend $500,000 to address long term road issues throughout the city.

With the funding shortfall, commissioners authorized McGhee to work out a financing plan with Sturgis Bank officials. McGhee said the bank has offered interest rates of 4.75 percent or less over seven years with the city having the option of paying the loan off early. Commissioner Patrick Swem abstained from the vote as he works for Sturgis Bank.

McGhee will bring back a final proposal for commission action later this month. He said after the meeting that the plan is to use general fund and other revenue to pay the loan back, including the revenue from the four mills the city already levies for local street work.

McGhee noted that local streets are in bad shape for a number of reasons including this winter’s freeze and thaw periods that wreaked havoc on the roads. He added that a lot of the streets are built on clay foundations which hinder drainage.

“We’re going to spend $500,000 this spring and hit the worst areas on Liberty and River Streets,” he said. “We’re then going to use the PACER system to prioritize the rest of the city’s streets to rate what shape they’re in objectively … In 2023, 80 percent of streets were rated as bad so the problems aren’t new. There’s been no work done in the last 25 years.”

His efforts drew praise from commissioners. City Commissioner Dan Vigansky was the first to say he appreciated McGhee’s efforts. “I can’t thank you enough for the work you’re doing,” he said. “People don’t understand how long I’ve been screaming about it.”

Commissioner Patrick Swem noted that the next several months won’t be easy for residents. “It’s going to be a tough year but everyone is working together,” he said. “2025 is a year of action for the city of Buchanan with all the projects we have going on. It took us a while, but the city is taking action.”

Projects Swem mentioned included the completion of the city’s DPW building, the demolition of blighted properties, the library expansion, the trail expansion, the downtown infrastructure work, the riverfront boat launch, the Days Avenue culvert repair and the demolition of the old feed mill.

“What we’re accomplishing today is what we talked about years ago,” Mayor Mark Weedon said. “It’s exciting to see. We’re finally seeing the commission and the city staff coming together.”

Commissioners took another action which they hope will bring more growth to not only the city but surrounding townships. They approved hiring the Jones & Henry company to conduct a feasibility study about the capacity of the city’s water and sewer systems.

McGhee said the city’s systems were built with more capacity than just what is needed to serve city residents. He said the $20,000 cost is expected to be split between the city and Buchanan and Bertrand Townships.

Swem said that expanding water and sewer services to the townships will help everyone and promote growth. It will also allow the city to keep rates steady for city customers.

Monday’s meeting also featured action on other items such as the first reading of a new rental housing ordinance and going on the record opposing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s plan to increase landfill tipping fees to pay for road repairs. Commissioners said increasing tipping fees would hurt the Southeast Berrien County Landfill.

Commissioners heard from one local businessman who urged them to not have excessive fees associated with the rental housing ordinance. City Clerk Kalla Langston-Weiss said that the fee will be $40 or less every two years and that the emphasis will be on safety and reducing fire hazards. The commission will vote on whether to adopt it at their March 24 meeting.