United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development State Director for Michigan Brandon Fewins today announced infrastructure investments in 12 Upper Peninsula communities.
“These projects represent significant infrastructure investments in public safety and medical care for Upper Peninsula communities,” said Fewins. “This showcases how USDA is working to strengthen rural Michigan.”
The total investment in the Upper Peninsula is $753,500:
- Munising Memorial Hospital, in Alger County, will use a $63,000 grant to purchase a mobile x-ray room. The medical equipment will include computer interface, processing software, automatic transfer of patient information, and reports.
- The City of Iron Mountain, in Dickinson County, will use a $14,300 grant to purchase a patrol vehicle. The vehicle will be an addition to their current fleet. The police department has an increased need for patrol vehicles for the new code enforcement position in the department.
- The City of Crystal Falls, in Iron County, will use a $27,400 grant to purchase a four-wheel drive patrol vehicle. This will replace a very old, high-mileage one. The grant also includes emergency lighting and safety equipment.
- The City of Iron River, in Iron County, will use a $100,000 grant to purchase a snowplow. The plow will replace an older model from 2001 with high mileage that was barely operable last year.
- Adams Township, in Houghton County, will use a $50,000 grant to purchase a pumper truck. This an older one that has outlived its useful life. The new pumper truck will be critical to helping fight fires for the volunteer fire department.
- Gogebic County will use an $8,400 grant to purchase a new heating system boiler, which will replace a 30-year-old model. The boiler is located in the Natural Resource Center which houses the county’s Forestry and Park Division, the Soil Conservation District and the Michigan State University Extension office.
- The City of Wakefield,T in Gogebic County, will use a $242,000 grant to purchase an existing commercial facility to relocate their department of public works operation. The current DPW facilities consist of three separate buildings that are more than a hundred years old, fail to meet current building code requirements, and are undersized for modern equipment, posing a safety concern for staff. The new site will allow the city to consolidate all of the DPW operations into a single location that houses critical equipment. Funding includes a backup power generator, and a lift to permit in-house vehicle maintenance and repair.
- Houghton County will use two grants totaling $70,600 to purchase a pair of patrol vehicles. The sheriff’s department has a fleet of 12 vehicles that maintain 24-hour road patrols. The vehicles average 50,000-60,000 miles of use per year. The vehicles that will be replaced have more than 200,000 miles each.
- The City of Houghton, in Houghton County, will use a $25,700 grant to purchase a replacement patrol vehicle.
- Keweenaw County will use an $18,400 grant to purchase a patrol vehicle. The vehicle will replace an older fleet vehicle with more than 200,000 miles and high maintenance costs. Keweenaw County is the least populous county in Michigan and has long patrol routes between populated areas in the county.
- The City of Norway, in Dickinson County, will use a $23,200 to purchase a patrol vehicle. This will replace an older one with high mileage. The grant will also includes emergency lighting and safety equipment.
- The City of Manistique, in Schoolcraft County, will use a $110,500 to purchase an ambulance. The public safety department of Manistique is a small full-service department that provides first response police, fire and emergency medical services. The ambulance division is a certified Advanced Life Support service staffed by paramedics, emergency medical technician specialists, and emergency medical technicians which support four ambulances. In addition to responding to 911 emergency calls, the department also does long distance patient transfers to larger hospitals offering advanced levels of care.
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