QUINNESEC — Breitung Township Department of Public Works employees will install a water main on one block of McKinley Street in East Kingsford in order to create a loop for a dead-end line.

The township board Monday approved paying up to $20,000 for the project from the East Kingsford water distribution system capital fund. By completing the project in-house, the township is expected to spend less than half of the engineer’s original $40,000 estimate, Township Superintendent John Gaudette said.

Board members decided to waive the bidding process and have township workers install about 250 feet of 8-inch water main between Ford and Carollo streets.

Plans already have been engineered for the extension, the township has almost half of the materials needed on hand from other projects and there would be minimal interruptions to customers, as they already have water service, Gaudette said.

“These factors make it an ideal training opportunity for DPW crew members to get experience not normally available when larger projects are contracted out,” Gaudette said in his memo to the board.

In other business, the board:

— Directed DPW Superintendent Guy Forstrom and Township Treasurer Carol Taylor to look into low-cost telephones for the Quinnesec and East Kingsford ice rinks after hearing public comment, Gaudette said.

— Met in executive session to discuss the township’s ongoing Michigan Tax Tribunal case against Verso Corp. over tax assessment at the company’s Quinnesec mill. The board approved its attorneys’ recommendation, which was not disclosed in open session.

— Received Township Supervisor Denny Olson’s committee assignments for 2017, which are — Planning Commission: Trustee Mary Beth Dixon and alternate Trustee Russ Garrett; Water and Sewer Board: Trustee David Soderbloom and alternate Dixon; Zoning Board of Appeals: Trustee Rich Wales and alternate Soderbloom; Construction Code Commission: Olson and alternate Gaudette; Dickinson County Road Commission: Olson and alternate Gaudette; Dickinson Solid Waste Authority: Gaudette and alternate Olson; Economic Development Alliance: Gaudette; Highway Access Management Coalition: Gaudette and Olson; Refuse Bill Decision Committee: Olson, Township Clerk Samantha Neuens, and Taylor; Election Commission: Neuens, Garrett, and Wales; Industrial Park/Future Projects Committee: Olson, Garrett, and Soderbloom; Personnel Committee: Olson, Garrett, and Soderbloom; Recreation Committee: Olson, Dixon, and Neuens; Administrative Manual Update Committee: Olson, Wales, and Taylor.

— Allowed board members and the superintendent to attend the annual Michigan Townships Association conference in Lansing from April 10 through 13. Attendance and travel expenses were included in the 2017 budget.

— Agreed to pay per diems to Township Board of Review members to attend an Upper Peninsula Assessors Association conference Feb. 9 at the Breitung Township Hall.