Below you will find community project funding requests Rep. Bergman has submitted on behalf of local entities seeking funding. These requests are not guaranteed funding. The following disclosures, as well as limitations on the types and amount of requests were outlined by the House Committee on Appropriations and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
The projects I have requested funding for FY23 are as follows:
Project Name: Brutus Road reconstruction project from U.S.31 to the Cheboygan County Line for 2.47 miles in Maple River Township, Emmet County
Project Location: Brutus Road from U.S.31 to Cheboygan County line is located on the south border of Section 22, 23, and 24 in Maple River Township.
Project Sponsor: Emmet County Road Commission
Requested Amount: $1,100,000
Member Certification Form
Description: The funding would be used to reconstruct and widen Brutus Road, east of U.S.31 as the main access to Maple Bay on Burt Lake. Maple Bay sees hundreds of people travelling daily with their vehicles, boats and campers to Maple Bay State Park. The widening of Brutus Road would also provide bicycle access to a paved trail in Cheboygan County that traverses several miles along the Burt Lake area. This project would be a very good expenditure of public funds that would benefit thousands in Northern Michigan.
Project Name: Cedar River Accessible Waterway and Park Project
Project Location: Kasson Street, Cedar, MI 49621
Project Sponsor: Solon Township
Requested Amount: $1,800,000
Member Certification Form
Description: The funding would be used to replace deteriorated infrastructure, enhances recreational opportunities, and provides Universal Access for people with disabilities to boats, kayaks, canoes, playgrounds, nature trails, ballfields, and walking paths. We anticipate this to be a fun and safe destination recreation area for the entire community, especially people with disabilities. The project will also provide expanded fishing, viewing and water access within a facility that is planned and designed for such uses while also providing protections to the sensitive habitat.
Project Name: The Freshwater Research and Innovation Center at Discovery Pier, Phase 1
Project Location: 13170 SW Bay Shore Drive, Traverse City, MI 49684
Project Sponsor: Discovery Center Great Lakes
Requested Amount: $2,950,000
Member Certification Form
Description: The funding would be used to establish the Grand Traverse Region as a global hub for Great Lakes freshwater learning and research, further establishing Michigan’s role as a leader in this space. The co-location of key partner organizations will generate tremendous opportunity for improvement of water and environmental quality, small business creation, and workforce development.
Project Name: “Lake Shore Drive, Houghton County, Michigan
Project Location: Lake Shore Drive, Calumet and Hancock Township, Michigan
Project Sponsor: Houghton County Road Commission
Requested Amount: $1,149,584
Member Certification Form
Description: The funding would be used for pulverizing of the existing road, drainage improvements and bituminous paving of 3.31 miles of Lake Shore Drive. This section of roadway provides access to Calumet Waterworks Park, owned by Calumet Township, and allows residents and tourists access to the shoreline of Lake Superior. This project has had a lot of public support through several public hearings but without assistance it will not be able to be completed for several years.
Project Name: Skanee Road Improvements (from Jentoft Road to Town Road)
Project Location: Skanee Road, L’Anse and Arvon Townships/Michigan/ 49946 and 49962
Project Sponsor: Baraga County Road Commission
Requested Amount: $7,000,000
Member Certification Form
Description: The request is for funding to improve 13.67 miles of the Skanee Road, a Rural Major Collector that is federal aid eligible for STBG Program funding under Title 23 (highways) and part of the 110 mile Federal Aid Highway System in Baraga County. The funding will address 13.67 miles of the road in various fair/poor condition state needing improvements to extend the expected service life. Proposed project outcome will provide an asset that can be maintained in a state of good repair consistent with transportation asset management principles and improvements of this highway to modern standards will be a valuable use of taxpayer funds supporting the economic well being of Baraga County.
Project Name: Skanee Road Improvements (from Town Road to Portice Road)
Project Location: Skanee Road, Arvon Township, Michigan/ 49962
Project Sponsor: Baraga County Road Commission
Requested Amount: $4,000,000
Member Certification Form
Description: The request is for funding to reconstruct 5 miles of the Skanee Road, a Rural Major Collector that is federal aid eligible for STBG Program funding under Title 23 (highways) and part of the 110 miles of Federal Aid Highway System in Baraga County. The funding will address 5 miles of the road that is in poor condition and has exceeded the expected service life. Proposed project outcome will provide an asset that can be maintained in a state of good repair consistent with transportation asset management principles and reconstruction of this highway to modern standards will be a valuable use of taxpayer funds supporting the economic well being of Baraga County.
Project Name: “Little Traverse Wheelway Repair/Reconnection
Project Location: Petoskey, MI 49970 – “Resort Bluffs,” Parcels # 24-13-18-01-300-002, 24-13-18-01-300-003, 24-13-18-01-300-036. Coordinates 45.368386, -84.988578
Project Sponsor: Top of Michigan Trails Council
Requested Amount: $950,000
Member Certification Form
Description: The funding would be used to repair the “Resort Bluffs” section of the popular and highly used Little Traverse Wheelway, a non-motorized multipurpose trail that connects the communities of Charlevoix, Bay Harbor, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs. The Wheelway is an important transportation option, quality of life amenity, and iconic tourist attraction that brings in an estimated $1M in annual economic activity from upwards of 116,000 trail uses. Used approximately equally by local residents and visitors, repair of the Little Traverse Wheelway will restore a beloved community amenity and an important driver of our tourism economy.
Project Name: North Central Michigan College Career and Technical Education Enhancement (CATEE) Complex
Project Location: 1515 Howard Street, Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Project Sponsor: North Central Michigan College
Requested Amount: $2,000,000
Member Certification Form
Description: The CATEE Complex will support growth in nursing and health sciences, manufacturing and technology, and skilled trades programs. As part of the 2019 Master Plan and recent community engagement, important regional and college needs were identified. This includes a renovation and new addition to the nursing and health sciences building as well as the technology building to expand manufacturing, technology and skilled trades training. An enclosed, barrier-free corridor will enable access to and connect these buildings with the main classroom building. In the past year, there have been 2435 job postings in health care and social assistance in Northwest Michigan, with projected growth of 33% in the next 10 years. To deliver these programs, the college will need to hire and train new faculty and staff as well as provide professional development to existing faculty and staff. The college aims to develop accelerated training options in all of the above fields. This allows individuals to get the precise training and credentials they need to enter the workforce quickly. These programs will require new technology and lab equipment, such as simulators, virtual training, and manufacturing components. Minor remodeling will be required to reconfigure existing space as part of these technology upgrades. In order to provide student support, the college will fund career services to help students find their career path, identify internships or apprenticeships, and connect graduates with potential employers in the region. The college will also fund student success staff who can aid students at risk of not completing due to a variety of financial, academic, and/or personal obstacles. These staff members will identify and share applicable resources with students to help them stay on track and successfully complete their degree, certificate, or credential of choice.
Project Name: Telehealth for Rural Seniors in Onaway, MI
Project Location: 4255 South Lynn Street, Onaway, MI 49765
Project Sponsor: Presbyterian Villages of Michigan
Requested Amount: $142,000
Member Certification Form
Description: This project will establish a medical suite at Lynn Street Manor in Onaway to provide telehealth services in a safe and secure environment that protects patient privacy and access to medical professionals and specialists that are limited in this rural community. The new medical suite will be utilized both by the seniors who reside at PVM’s Lynn Street Manor and members of the larger Onaway community in Presque Isle County who would otherwise be forced to travel significant distances to access necessary medical care and risk exposure of catching a new illness or passing on their illness in the doctor’s waiting room. This project will include the engineering and construction costs required to retrofit existing space to make it suitable for telehealth services (including exterior entry to the building and accommodations for individuals with disabilities) and the purchase of the telehealth and information technology equipment that will allow doctors to assess a patient’s vital signs like blood pressure, heart rate and breathing. This project is supported by the community leaders, medical providers and Lynn Street residents.
The projects I have requested funding for FY22 are as follows:
Project Name: St. Ignace Road Reconstruction
Project Location: St. Ignace Road, Marquette Township, Michigan 49745
Project Sponsor: Mackinac County Road Commission
Requested Amount: $800 thousand
Member Certification Form
Project Name: Skanee Road Improvements (from Town Road to Portice Road)
Project Location: 5-mile project of Skanee Road from Town Road to Portice Road in Baraga County, MI
Project Sponsor: Baraga County Road Commission
Requested Amount: $5 million
Member Certification Form
Project Name: Skanee Road Improvements (from Jentoft Road to Town Road)
Project Location: 13.67-mile project of Skanee Road from Jentoft Road to Town Road in Baraga County, MI
Project Sponsor: Baraga County Road Commission
Requested Amount: $8.202 million
Member Certification Form
Project Name: Lake Shore Drive, Houghton County, Michigan
Project Location: Lake Shore Drive, Calumet and Hancock Township, Michigan 49913
Project Sponsor: Houghton County Road Commission
Requested Amount: $1.3 million
Member Certification Form
Project Name: Rural Broadband Connectivity Expansion for the 1st District of Michigan
Recipient Location: 1401 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette, MI 49855
Project Sponsor: Northern Michigan University
Requested Amount: $1.2 million
Member Certification Form
Description: This $1.2 million project funding request would be used to provide unserved and underserved rural communities in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan with fast, affordable broadband service within a 6 month timeframe. The program would provide these communities with wireless LTE broadband at network speeds that range from 100-600 Mbps down and 10-50 Mbps up with the technology all being 5G capable. The project is important because it would begin to cover a significantly large geographic area that today lacks the most fundamental community and economic development tool, high-speed internet access.
Project Name: Tuscarora Township Septic to Sewer Expansion and Modernization - Project Protecting Our Community & the Great Lakes
Recipient Location: 3546 S. Straits Highway, Indian River, MI 49749
Project Sponsor: Tuscarora Township
Requested Amount: $14.8 million
Member Certification Form
Description: This project consists of an area along the Sturgeon River and includes properties north of Burt Lake State Park, east of Burt Lake and includes the both the north and south side of the Indian River which is a part of the Inland Waterway. The community is already invested in a modern wastewater system. The commercial sewer system constructed in 2015 was a $5.9 million investment in land for the existing modular/expandable plant, holding areas, test wells and over 400 commercial hook-ups. This residential project will leverage the $2.5 million expandable plant complex investment for this project. Community groups, citizens and property owners have petitioned their township government to move residential sewer expansion forward. The proposed project area is the most sensitive to public health concerns, protection of the community s natural resources, the Inland Waterway and the Great Lakes.
Project Name: Rebuilding HOPE
Project Location: 1416 W. Easterday Ave., Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783
Project Sponsor: Great Lakes Recovery Centers
Requested Amount: $680,000
Member Certification Form
Description: Great Lakes Recovery Centers (GLRC) is a non-profit CARF accredited agency who has been providing substance use and mental health treatment for children, adolescents, adults and families across the Upper Peninsula for almost 40 years. They currently provide diversified services in 18 locations including four residential substance abuse treatment centers where clients receive treatment on-site and 24-hour supervision.
Two of GLRC's residential treatment centers are located in Sault Ste. Marie, the Women’s New Hope House and the Men’s New Hope House. During FY 2020 almost 400 men and women resided at these two facilities. However, the men’s house, located on Spruce Street in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, is small and crowded, often with four men to a room. Besides the tight quarters, it has no room to expand or provide additional essential services. One of these additional services desperately needed in the Upper Peninsula is recovery/transitional housing. With the risk of relapse greatest in the first months after completing treatment, safe and supportive housing is essential to sustain recovery.
To address the needs of the men’s house and the community, GLRC began its capital campaign for its Sault Ste Marie expansion project, Rebuilding HOPE. GLRC purchased a former church building on West Easterday almost two years ago. Once renovated, it will have room for 16 men to live comfortably, just 2 per room (a 20% increase in capacity) and include a handicap accessible unit and social detox space as well. The former rectory (attached to the church), already set-up as a home, has been updated to incorporate 5 and is an ideal men’s recovery house. Once the church is renovated and the Men’s New Hope House is relocated, the Spruce Street building can be transformed into recovery housing for women and their. By offering detox services, residential treatment and recovery housing, GLRC will be providing a complete continuum of care for men and women struggling with substance use.
Project Name: Inpatient Behavioral Health Program at McLaren Northern Michigan Cheboygan Campus
Project Location: 748 S Main St, Cheboygan, MI 49721
Project Sponsor: McLaren Northern Michigan
Requested Amount: $500,000
Member Certification Form
Description: Community Project Funding will support a 16-bed Adult Inpatient Psychiatric Unit on the McLaren Northern Michigan Cheboygan Campus.
To address the growing need for behavioral health services in our region, and to assure a safe place for patients who need the healing and support of an inpatient room, McLaren Northern Michigan is developing an inpatient psychiatric program on the Cheboygan Campus. The 16-bed Adult Inpatient Psychiatric Unit will offer a healing environment for individuals experiencing mental health related disorders, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and thought disorders, such as schizophrenia. Formerly a Medical-Surgical Unit, the now vacant hospital rooms of the Cheboygan Campus will require a complete renovation in order to transition the space to a safe, well designed, and healing environment.
In fiscal year 2020, McLaren Northern Michigan served 892 behavioral health patients within the two Emergency Rooms (Cheboygan and Petoskey campuses). Patients often require multiple overnight stays while ER staff try to find proper placement. Caring for behavioral health patients for any extended amount of time can produce an unsafe environment for both the patient and hospital staff. Patient placement is a significant issue. Patients have been sent as far north as Marquette and as far south as Detroit and on occasion, out of state. This adds an additional burden to the patient’s family who in turn often experience caregiver strain.
McLaren Northern Michigan is a not-for-profit 202-bed regional referral center located in Petoskey, Michigan serving residents in 22 counties across northern Lower Michigan and the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula. McLaren Northern Michigan strives to improve the health and quality of life for more than 430,000 permanent residents plus up to a 200% annual population increase in resort areas.
Project Name: Northern Lights YMCA M-Tec Renovation
Project Location: PO Box 602, 2000 North 30th Street, Escanaba, MI, 49829
Project Sponsor: Northern Lights YMCA, Inc.
Requested Amount: $1,750,000
Member Certification Form
Description: There are two phases of the project. Phase 1 provides for the renovation of existing instructional space into a gymnasium, locker rooms, youth recreational room and new wellness center and YMCA administrative space. This phase will cost $1.7 Million and is scheduled to be completed this August of 2021. Phase 2 is a shovel-ready project scheduled for work as early as 2022 which represents a separate funding need of approximately $3.5 Million. It provides for the replacement of the aging, inefficient aquatic facilities at the current location on the Campus to the new location and will provide improved access for those with disabilities. Project Purpose: To renovate and utilize an unused building known as the M-Tec facility located on the Campus of Bay de Noc Community College to convert the building to a new location for the Northern Lights YMCA providing a comprehensive modern community recreation facility to enhance the health, wellness and quality of life for the constituents of Delta County. The project represents a partnership of the Hannahville Indian Community, Bay de Noc Community College and the YMCA.
Project Name: North Huron Avenue Rejuvenation Project/2021 Road Project
Project Location: 102 S. Huron Ave., Mackinaw City, Michigan 49701
Project Sponsor: Village of Mackinaw City
Requested Amount: $6.99 Million
Member Certification Form
Description: To modify the existing roadway in such a way as to enhance the breathtaking views there and to incorporate it into a prestigious, enjoyable and informational recreational experience. To incorporate the panoramic roadway that is present there with the ever-increasing recreational opportunities from the many parks and beaches that line the roadway. Most importantly, to bring the opportunities to experience the Great Lakes to our physically challenged populations.
Project Name: Three Mile Trail Extension
Project Location: PO Box 252, Traverse City, Michigan 49685
Project Sponsor: Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation, Inc
Requested Amount: $900 Thousand
Member Certification Form
Description: The Three Mile Trail Extension will connect residential and commercial centers and a cluster of school campuses near the intersection of Hammond and Three Mile Road to the current trail terminus at South Airport Road and an existing regional trail network of more than 25 miles. The engineering of the Three Mile Trail Extension will include the development of construction documents for the trail, providing the information necessary for public approvals and permitting, and cost estimates to inform construction and maintenance. The project will be considered shovel ready when completed. The new trail extension will provide a safe and scenic route through the incredible natural resources of a 128-acre nature preserve to connect to the homes, businesses, and four school campuses that are home to more than 2,400 kids from grades K through 12. This project will build on East Bay Township s ongoing Safe Routes to School effort and the upcoming enhancements around the schools and meet the needs of expanding residential and commercial development. Engineering is needed to move forward with securing funding sources and agreements for future trail construction and maintenance. The conceptual plan for the Three Mile Trail Extension was launched in the summer of 2020 by TART Trails through an unparalleled partnership with East Bay Township, the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, and Norte Youth Cycling. The planning process has been informed through a dynamic and thoughtful community input effort that has involved multiple public input opportunities that have indicated overwhelming support and positive momentum for the project. Public and private partners have been engaged to help develop the look, feel, and function of the trail extension, ensuring it is in line with community values and provides the best possible experience and mobility options.
Project Name: Cedar River Park Project
Project Location: 9191 S Kasson St., Cedar, Michigan 49621
Project Sponsor: Solon Township
Requested Amount: $2.9 Million
Member Certification Form
Description:The Cedar River Project replaces deteriorated infrastructure, enhances recreational opportunities, and provides Universal Access for people with disabilities to access boats, kayaks, canoes, playgrounds, nature trails, and walking paths. This Project provides a Universal Design that allows people to access, use, and experience the facilities to the greatest extent possible by everyone regardless of their age, size, ability, or disability. The Park has thousands of visitors each year. The softball fields are lighted which is a major draw to teams throughout the county for regular play and tournaments. Families coming to enjoy the games also utilize the park amenities - playground and pavilions. Cedar River can only be accessed at this Park. It is 3 miles long and attracts bird watchers, naturalists, fishermen, boaters, canoeists/kayakers and can access Lake Leelanau. The boat launch area is very silted. The decking is 37 years old, deteriorated and in some cases unsafe. The River Access includes: 1) A new boat ramp including dredging; 2) A people lifter (hoist) for Universal Access to boats: 3) A Universally accessible kayak/canoe launch; 4) Replacement of the dock/boardwalk for enjoyment of the riverside and fishing; and 5) A boat wash station to mitigate the transfer of invasive species. The project will provide an alternate source for the fire department s water tanks in this rural community that does not have a public water system. New dry hydrant(s) will be installed. Universally accessible restrooms and a concession/restrooms to serve the River Access and Park will be added. Currently the Park is served by Port-a-johns. Universal accessible playground equipment and a new surface will be installed. The addition of a splash pad would increase the functionality and enjoyment for all ages.
Project Name: Lake Shore Drive Reconstruction Project
Project Location: Lake Shore Drive, from State Road to Sturgeon Bay Trail for 4.84 miles in Cross Village Township and Bliss Township
Project Sponsor: Emmet County Road Commission
Requested Amount: $1.44 Million
Member Certification Form
Description: Lake Shore Drive is in very poor condition. This section of road is a continuation of the M-119 Tunnel of Trees. This section of road has the historic Legs Inn Restaurant, historic Holy Cross Church and leads to the beautiful sandy Sturgeon Bay Beach and Wilderness State Park. It is in dire need of reconstruction and paving. This is a major bicycle route. The road will be widened to accommodate paved shoulders for the numerous bike events that use the road because of its proximity to Lake Michigan.
