Pontiac Mayor Bob Russell/WJEZ file photo
By Neil Doyle with Todd Wineburner
The Pontiac City Council met April 1st and one of the key items on the agenda was city streets. In a conversation with WJEZ, Pontiac Mayor Bob Russell says there’s now a plan in place for addressing much-needed street repairs. “This year our streets could be in as bad a shape as they’ve ever been because of the cold and frost,” Russell told WJEZ’s Todd Wineburner. “It’s going to be a continuing patching job for many streets over the next month or so.”
Russell says parts of some Pontiac streets will be completely resurfaced. The intersection of Torrance avenue and Mill Street, for example, is currently paved in asphalt and that leads to significant wear and tear from heavy trucks making their into and out of town. That intersection will be re-paved in concrete to give it a longer lifespan. In other areas, streets will be patched and repaired as the budget allows.
In other action, the council approved measures that could lead to the construction of 2 10-acre solar farms near the Pontiac Municipal Airport. The city has approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, so the project is moving forward and the council signed an agreement with an engineering firm to start dealing with the specifics of constructing the facility. Russell says Pontiac hasn’t yet been officially selected as a solar farm site, but he adds that having the engineering plan in place will make the community an attractive location.
The council also honored Dave Lopeman who is retiring after nearly 50 years of working for the city. Lopeman originally signed on with the city as a firefighter and at one time served as the chief. When the city needed a full-time building inspector he was transferred to that position. Russell says being inspector is a thankless job, but added that Lopeman worked hard and did excellent work. Pontiac resident Dave Wilson will replace Lopeman as inspector.
You can hear our complete conversation with Pontiac Mayor Bob Russell by clicking on the PODCASTS link in the main menu at the top of the page.
