Ortonville- The village council will have a budget workshop at 6:30 p.m., June 4 and a public hearing on the budget at 7 p.m., June 9, prior to their regular meeting at the village offices, 476 Mill St.
‘There are no concerns with the budget, it’s really good,? said Village Manager John Lyons. ‘We are going to finish paying off the bridge and we’re allocating funds for local road maintenance and repairs.?
The council approved a contract with Trojan Development Company last fall to replace the Ball Street Bridge at a cost of $543,133.64. Including engineering, the total cost of the project is $580,000, with 95 percent of that funded through Critical Bridge Funding, a federal highway administration grant. The village must pay 5 percent, about $28,000. The bridge, which is more than 50-years-old, was deemed critical and in need of replacement in 2009 by state inspectors.
Ball Street has been closed since March between James and Cedar streets for construction and because of some weather-related delays, is not expected to reopen until mid-June. There will then be a 12-week settling period, and construction on the bridge is set for completion in November.
The village is also hoping to do another road project this year that will help with pedestrian safety on Oakwood Road. Using Tri-Party Funds, the council is considering a 6-foot wide shoulder extension of Oakwood from the Bueche’s Food World driveway east to Cedar Street, a distance of about 1,500 feet.
The project would have a cost of $56,000, with the village responsible for one-third of that, as well as engineering costs.