Tecumseh council approves bidder

By DEB WUETHRICH

In what Tecumseh City Manager Kevin Welch described as a “long awaited process,” Tecumseh City Council members approved the selection of Stante Excavating from Wixom, for infrastructure work at the Tecumseh Business and Technology campus. The construction contract is not to exceed $1,824,737.37. Welch said the company was the lowest qualified bidder of 25 bids submitted for the project.

The construction contract includes preparing roadways and infrastructure to include utilities and street lighting for a portion of the campus in order to make it more inviting for companies to locate or relocate in the city. Individual electrical hook-ups to sites would take place later through Consumers Energy, however, since there could be specific requirements involved.

The city expects to be reimbursed by the Economic Development Authority for 50 percent of the project since receiving a grant designated for preparing the site. Welch said the company would be ready to begin work soon.

“We’ll probably have a mid-winter groundbreaking as soon as we can schedule a date for it,” Welch said. “We’re excited to get going on this.”

The city also approved that a legal services contract with Joel Piell of Miller Canfield be increased by $2,500, with fees to be deducted from sale of ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) bonds, and authorized the hiring of Robert W. Baird and Company of Traverse City for financial services needed to sell the ARRA Bonds for the Tecumseh Business and Technology Campus at a fee of $23,100. Welch said selling bonds at the municipal level is “not for the faint of heart,” and said the city needs experts to help negotiate the sale.

In other business, the council members:

• Approved a purchase of one Ford Crown Victoria police car form Signature Ford of Owosso through the Macomb County Bid Program for $21,181. Welch said the city typically purchases two cars but for the last two years has purchased only one.
• Learned through the city manager’s report that more than $1,000 had been collected in the community through a can drive for the residents of Haiti after just a few days. Welch said the money would go directly to Red Cross to assist the Haitians. “The people in Tecumseh have again been very, very generous,” said Welch.
• Entered into a farming agreement with Douglas Wilkins to allow him to farm up to 100 acres of the Tecumseh Business and Technology Campus at $117 per acre.
• Appointed Michelle Garner and Philip Krieger to the Election Commission for a one year term each, until January 2011.
The next Tecumseh City Council meeting is set for Monday, Feb 1. The public is welcome to attend.