While progress continues to be made to eliminate the city's water and sewer deficits, the funds are not expected to be restored until 2007 or later. St. Ignace water and sewer rates, therefore, will not be lowered this year, residents learned at the city council meeting Monday, March 20, and with improvements slated for 2008, maybe not for several years.

City Council raised water and sewer rates last July to begin eliminating a $775,000 deficit that its auditors had warned it about for three years.

Monday, City Manager Eric Dodson reported that the sewer deficit has reduced by more than $28,000 and the water deficit was trimmed by $40,000 as of February 28, leaving the water department $316,053.15 in debt and sewer department $253,231.82 in the red.

Council had discussed budget cuts to help reduce the deficits, and promised to review the water and sewer rates in May.

"If I was a citizen, I would have been thinking [the water and sewer rates] would go down by May, but looking at the situation, I don't think it's going to happen," said Councilman Willie LaLonde.

He and Councilmen Don Gustafson agreed that Council had not made any significant cuts to the budget, and those issues, which include layoffs, may be revisited in May.

"We're not going to be in the black any time soon on the horizon," said Mr. Dodson. "It will not be this year."

City Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Les Therrian said he believes the water and sewer department could climb out of debt by August 2007, and then the city needs to be saving for future system upgrades.

City Treasurer Eugene Elmer said two bonds which financed construction of the water treatment plant will be paid off in November.

"The good news is we won't have those two bond payments next November and we'll have more customers aboard our water system from St. Ignace Township and from the expansion of the casino," he said.

The City of St. Ignace took ownership of the township's water main last fall, which will add a potential 120 customers and $35,000 in revenue once all residents are tied in at the end of this year and once the casino expansion project is complete.

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is expecting to open its expanded facilities by the end of May or the early part or June, said Mr. Therrian. Thirtyfive percent of the township is already tied into the DPW's water system, he noted.

The wastewater treatment plant will need improvements by 2008 or 2009, said Mr. Therrian, but by then, he hopes the city will be in the black and will have saved up enough funding for the plant upgrade projects.

The plant's water main must be updated and the liners in the sewage ponds must be replaced, at a projected total cost between $60,000 and $70,000.

"Hopefully, we'll be building toward those projects instead of digging out from under them by then," said Councilman Tom Della Moretta.

Council agreed that Mr. Dodson's updates have kept each member abreast of the deficit situations, preventing anything from "sneaking up on us," said Councilman Gustafson.

In other action, Mr. Dodson informed Council that the city received $275,000 from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to purchase property on the corner of Church Street and I-75 Business Loop for the soon-to-be-constructed bus station. Mr. Dodson was expecting to close the deal with First National Bank of St. Ignace Tuesday morning, March 21.

The city will own the property, while MDOT will build and own the facility at no cost to the city. After 20 years, ownership of the bus station will be transferred to the City of St. Ignace.

The city and MDOT will now seek a design engineer for the project.

"The state believes it can break ground by next spring," said Mr. Dodson. "It all depends how fast the state will work on this, though."

Mr. Therrian believes DPW has resolved the odor problem for residents on Huron, Superior, and Michigan streets in St. Ignace Township with the construction of an odor control building, which contains a 55-gallon drum and vacuum system that sucks in and treats odorous air from a range of 500 yards. That area covers almost all of the three streets.

Mr. Therrian said another "hut" may have to be constructed if complaints arise in neighboring areas. The building was installed Thursday, March 16, at a cost of approximately $2,000, which the township paid for.

Mr. Therrian said the cause of the odor may have been from untreated water flowing through the system.

Mr. Dodson reported that earlier Monday afternoon, DPW workers had repaired a water main break on North State Street, near the Mackinac County Airport.

Mr. Therrian said the break had caused water to leak into a nearby creek for at least two weeks, with the leak being hard to pinpoint, at first. Repairs were completed later that night, he said.

Mr. Elmer happily reported that he has secured all of the $50,000 needed to erect the miniature lighthouse at the Railroad Dock this year. He said he is now working on rai sing funds to add a second electrical circuit along the dock to accommodate the lighthouse and electrical needs of the Downtown Development Authority projects at the dock, which include extending the boardwalk and installing a fishing platform. Extra lighting and electrical outlets for boats may also be installed.

Council renewed a mutual aid agreement with the Eastern Upper Peninsula Fire Association, subject to Mr. Dodson's satisfaction with insurance coverage for the city. Mr. Dodson, per request by City Attorney Prentiss "Moie" Brown, will confirm that the city is properly covered by insurance when going to a fire within city limits and any area covered in the mutual aid agreement.

The agreement includes all of Mackinac County, Luce County, Chippewa County, parts of Schoolcraft County and Emmet County, Mackinaw City, and Carp Lake.

Mayor Paul Grondin appointed Calvin "Bucky" McPhee to the city's Zoning Board of Appeals, Jon Olsen to the Golf Course committee, City Clerk Renee Vonderwerth to the Planning Commission, and Councilman LaLonde to the Streets Closing and Special Events committee. He also reappointed Fred Strich and Art Underwood to the Planning Commission.

He also reappointed Cathie Sposito, Heather Aukeman, Gene Elmer, and Don Schairer to the Downtown Development Authority and dissolved the city's tree committee and library building and funding committee.