Bessemer City Council notes from last night

BESSEMER — Matters related to the multi-million-dollar 2021-22 water- sewer rebuild were part of Monday’s meeting of the Bessemer City Council, though little concrete action was taken.  The good news was that the council will hold a special meeting to discuss the proposed stiff water and sewer rate increases it had forecast, and it appears now they won’t be going up as much as anticipated.  City manager Charly Loper suggested a separate meeting to allow the council to wade through the information required to make a decision.   She would not, however, commit to even a preliminary rate.  Council members discussing the matter said the initial rate was to go up by something like $30 per month per household but agreed that the increase now will likely be considerably less.  Bessemer has qualified for considerable grant funding for the projects, but still faces the need to borrow millions to see work completed. The funding agencies require borrowers to set rates which will, of course, be adequate to repay the loans.  In a second project-related measure, the council held a public hearing on a proposed RTV trail detour for 2020, but tabled any decisions pending consultation with an engineer.  The council meeting was preceded by an hour-long hearing on condemnation of the former hardware store building on Sophie Street.   The council agreed to table the matter until the next meeting, based on a promise by the property owner to perform some safety-related work, including removing a fire escape that was deemed a hazard by city building inspector Butch Saari.  Saari said the escape doesn’t appear to be necessary, as the second story of the building isn’t habitable.  The council indicated it has several applicants for the council seat formerly held by Lou Miskovich, who resigned last month. It agreed to have applicants respond to two or three questions, either in writing or live during the Nov. 16 virtual meeting.