NORWAY — The Norway City Council authorized Monday a $8,200 change order request for its ongoing Sturgeon Falls Hydro Runner Replacement Project.

The request was approved after a presentation from Business Development Manager Scott Klubunde and Technical Advisor Michael Young, both employees with Hydro Consulting and Maintenance Services, Inc., who have partnered with Slovenia-based Litostroj Hydro, Inc.

According to HCMS, the change order would cover additional evaluation and work on the third of four turbine shafts in the Unit 1 generator.

The council previously had approved a change order request for an other shaft that corrected several components in the horizontal line that did not share a common cylindrical movement, resulting in radial cracks 1/4 inch deep. The cracks were removed on a lathe.

The proposal by Klubunde and Young was precautionary and would examine the third shaft for similar damage.

“If it was your machine, would you say go ahead and do it?” council member Lee Meneghini asked.

“If it was me, I would go the preventative route,” Klubunde said.

“It’s $8,200 on a three and a half million dollar project, and it would give us increased strength and increased assurance it won’t break in the future,” council member Jeremy Oja said. “I’m for it.”

“We’ve gone this far,” Meneghini said.

The board approved the request on a 3-2 vote, with Brett Kraemer and Scott Popp opposed.

Instead, Kraemer said, “we should have a preventative maintenance plan going forward and keep it under close eye.”

In other business, the council:

— Accepted a $21,150 bid from Bugle Contracting in Cornell to remove trees and brush interfering with city utility lines.

— Hired Midwest Asphalt and Gravel, Inc. of Iron Mountain for $39,240 to apply a hot mix asphalt overlay on Valley View Drive.

— Approved $34,098 from the Stormwater, Asset Management, Wastewater grant to Coleman Engineering of Iron Mountain for field work on the city’s sanitary and storm sewer systems.

— Contracted with Loren Anderson to provide facility maintenance services such as painting, cleaning and basic carpentry for a time and material price of $25 per hour. Total hours and cost will be annually appropriated throughout the budget process.

— Enlisted FDS Electrical and Engineering Services of Iron Mountain to assess the city network and draft a cybersecurity support plan at a cost not to exceed $8,000. The assessment would identify vulnerabilities in the current cybersecurity policy and plan.

— Authorized Mayor Candy Brew and City Clerk Trisha Plante to develop a contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation that would give city crews greater latitude in performing maintenance work on state highways and be reimbursed for said work.