News photo by Steve Schulwitz Culligan Plaza in Alpena didn’t have many people in it on Sunday because of the rain, but a large renovation project is planned for the downtown park.

ALPENA — A delay in the demolition and reconstruction of Culligan Plaza could be in the cards, which is not something local government officials in Alpena want or really anticipated.

Alpena had hoped to begin work on Culligan Plaza early this spring and to have the project complete later in the summer, but logistics with the state government could push the project back until the fall, or maybe next year.

According to City Engineer Steve Shultz, city staff has handled its business in complying with the terms of the grant it received from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and now the environmental and design reviews are in the hands of the state.

Shultz provided a project update on Friday and said local city government would like to begin work at the plaza as soon as possible, but until the MEDC and other state officials give it the nod, staff is stuck in a wait-and-see mode.

“It’s a review process and we’re going through the motions that the MEDC set forth for us,” Shultz said. “We have had our historical and environmental pieces done and they are being reviewed by the MEDC right now. We hired a grant administrator and I think we are at the point now where we can begin spending some of those grant dollars and bidding out some things we couldn’t spend any of the money until we got to a certain point.

The MEDC committed a nearly $1 million Community Development Block Grant to use toward the projected $1.2 million cost of the plaza’s renovations and a new restroom facility near it.

In order to receive the grant, the city agreed to pay a 10% percent cash match of $118,555. A $20,000 grant from the Alpena County Youth and Recreation Committee was added to the pot. A $100,000 donation was also made from the First Federal of Northern Michigan Legacy Foundation.

Shultz said, at this point, no design changes to the proposed design are expected, but there might be small tweaks made during the construction process, but nothing that takes away from the features planned for the park.

Shultz said a renovation of the plaza is badly needed because there are unseen issues with the plumbing underneath the concrete and because it is not very accessible to people with disabilities. He said if the condition of the plaza is not addressed, its condition will continue to deteriorate, become worse, and be more costly to maintain or replace down the road.

When completed, the new plaza, which will retain its name, will include a performance stage, a fire feature, and a rolling river with miniature waterfalls. It will also contain many trees, flowers, and features concrete, rock, and feature brick materials, out of respect for Alpena’s history.

The city’s annual Christmas tree will be erected on the performance stage during the holiday season.

Shultz said they hoped the project would be well on its way by now, but now, the timeline for the project needs to be reviewed as the summer tourism season picks up and more events are held downtown.

Shultz said he believes the project should be done as soon as possible and work around the upcoming holiday and events this summer.

“We’re getting to a point now where we have to make a determination on how we want to do this and it is my opinion that maybe we should look at doing it right now and see what we can do before Memorial Day hits and before the Fourth of July hits,” he said. “We need to see what’s possible and what’s not. I don’t know the answer yet. Many people will have to come together to answer that. There is a chance it would be moved back until the fall or next year because, the money we received, we have until the end of 2025 to spend. Right now, only time will tell.”

Shultz said everyone at city hall wants the project to get started as soon as possible, but right now, the process is out of the city’s hands and is just waiting for the state to give it the green light.

“They want to make sure that everything is done the right way,” Shultz said. “We don’t even have a grant agreement until all of these things are done ahead of time.”

As far as the restroom facility, which will be built near the Alpena Downtown Authority office in the parking lot at Culligan Plaza, Shultz said that will be completed during phase two of the project, likely next year.