Progress and A Safer Community
Progress and A Safer Communityby Gina Harman
The Village of Newberry is proud of our many recent accomplishments which include our Water Main Project, MDOT “Road Diet”, Resurfacing West Victory Way, Safe Routes Project, our Waste Water Treatment Plant Renovation, and our Change in our Electrical Supplier.Our Water Main Project started back a few years ago. In 2015, Oberstar placed an amazing 10 miles of water mains and laterals in just one summer, which is a great accomplishment. This left us in 2016 with only 2 miles of old water mains left to replace. Another positive outcome is that there are no more 4” water mains within the Village limits, which is a much needed asset to fire suppression. Because of these important achievements, our Village has experienced an extreme improvement in our water quality since April 2015.
Our community has benefited great by the transformation of our M-123 corridor stretching from Hamilton Lake Road to the train tracks. Michigan Department of Transportation provided our community with this plan of action. Because of their successful implementation of what is termed as a, "Healthy Road Diet”, they have made this corridor 80% safer for left hand turns.
West Victory Way has also been improved. With this road being a major route for hospital and ambulance, the resurfacing of the road will help keep our community safer.
Safe Routes was a project in 2015 enabling children of all ages and residents alike to travel safer throughout our town. Resurfacing of sidewalks, some replacements and newly developed sidewalks have contributed to a happier walking experience throughout the Village.
Our Waste Water Treatment Plant has been renovated for the first time in 40 years. We repaired and replaced many items that were in desperate need of attention. We have also changed the way we process our used water making our system cleaner and more efficient.
The Village of Newberry is proud to announce that we now have two refurbished generators online. Also, we have made a very necessary change in our electrical provider. Since January of 2016, we are now drawing our electrical power from Consumer’s Energy, providing us with a more reliable source of power along with better electrical rates and savings for our community.
In all, the Village of Newberry has a lot to be proud of and there’s much more to come.