Local meeting primer: Sturgis City Commission
The Sturgis City Commission will meet Wednesday, August 26, to consider a $300,000, four-year biosolids removal contract, a $660,088 bid for the Nottawa Street transmission line project, and a $452,128 installment purchase agreement for a new digger/derrick truck.
Commissioners will also consider engineering services for the 2027 sidewalk program, additional work on the Sturges-Young entryway project, and a railroad crossing addendum.
The Sturgis City Commission will meet Wednesday, August 26, to consider a $300,000, four-year biosolids removal contract, a $660,088 bid for the Nottawa Street transmission line project, and a $452,128 installment purchase agreement for a new digger/derrick truck.
Commissioners will also consider engineering services for the 2027 sidewalk program, additional work on the Sturges-Young entryway project, and a railroad crossing addendum.
Biosolid removal
Commissioners will be asked to consider a four-year, $300,000 contract with Wealing Brothers LLC for the removal, transportation, and land application of approximately one million gallons of biosolids produced each year by the wastewater treatment plant.
EGLE requires the city to properly dispose of the biosolids, and the agenda packet identifies agricultural land application as the preferred disposal method because it can condition soil and provide nutrients to crops.
Staff is proposing to contract with Wealing Brothers after the company submitted the only bid the city received. Wealing Brothers has provided the city’s land application services for the previous four years, according to the agenda packet.
Transmission line
Commissioners will be asked to consider a $660,088 bid from Newkirk Electric for the Nottawa Street 69kV Transmission Line Project.
Five companies submitted bids, with Xtreme Powerline submitting the lowest at $429,091.
Staff is recommending commissioners accept the second-lowest bid, from Newkirk Electric for $660,088, because the lowest bidder, Xtreme Powerline, provided references only for large investor-owned utilities after the city requested references from municipal or cooperative utilities. City staff attempted to contact Xtreme’s references but received a response from only one.
The agenda packet also states Xtreme’s bid raised concerns because it was significantly lower than both the next-lowest bid and the average bid price. Staff said the lower bid could indicate that Xtreme did not fully understand the scope of the project.
Staff is recommending Newkirk Electric because the company has a history of completing transmission and distribution projects for municipal utilities, and is also the contractor for the State Line Substation project.
Digger replacement
Commissioners will also consider a $452,128 installment purchase agreement for a new digger/derrick truck, which is used to dig holes and set poles and large transformers.
Staff is recommending a financing agreement with Southern Michigan Bank & Trust at a 4.13% interest rate for a term not to exceed 10 years. Under the agreement, the city would make payments to the bank, which would pay the vendor for the truck.
The interest would be tax-exempt and the debt would be guaranteed as a general obligation of the city. The city would also pledge its limited-tax full faith and credit as security for the agreement.
The commission initially approved the truck purchase in May 2025 at a cost not to exceed $450,000, then increased the authorization to $460,000 in October 2025.
Other business
Commissioners will also consider a $55,453 proposal for additional work on the Sturges-Young entryway project after further engineering review identified problems with the existing structural steel.
The additional work would bring the overall project cost to $191,888, or $41,888 over the original $150,000 budget, with the overage to be covered by a Franks Fund donation for repairs at Sturges-Young.
Commissioners will also consider up to $19,640 in engineering services for the city’s 2027 sidewalk repair program, including up to $7,500 for design engineering and $12,140 for construction engineering.
Commissioners will also consider an agreement allowing a transmission line serving the new Stateline substation to cross the railroad right-of-way at an annual cost of $918.62 to the city.
Sturgis City Commission meetings are available to watch live or afterward on the city’s YouTube channel.
Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.
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