Backhoes will be replaced in the city of Gaastra and the village of Alpha with funds awarded through Michigan’s Financially Distressed Cities, Villages and Townships Grant Program.

State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks said $2.5 million is being awarded to 13 municipalities statewide. Alpha’s public service enhancement award is $153,000 to replace one backhoe, while Gaastra will receive $163,000 for the same purpose.

Municipalities can participate in the FDCVT Grant Program if they are experiencing one or more conditions indicative of “probable financial distress.” as defined in state law. The grants fund specific projects, services or strategies — including infrastructure and public safety enhancements — that move a city, village or township toward financial stability.

“This year, the Michigan Department of Treasury awarded grants for infrastructure and public safety projects in communities spanning from southeast Michigan to the Upper Peninsula,” Eubanks said Wednesday in a news release. “Funded projects help provide movement toward financial stability for our local communities. Our team will ensure these grants are provided to our communities as expeditiously as possible.”

For fiscal year 2025, the Michigan Legislature appropriated $2.5 million for the program, with a carryover of $13,049 from the previous fiscal year. The FDCVT Grant Program has a $2 million cap

per municipality and grants are awarded based on applications submitted by the municipality.

The only other award in the U.P. was $165,000 to the village of Laurium in Houghton County to replace a grader. The village had a massive fire Feb. 5 that destroyed its Department of Public Works building that housed loaders, graders, sanders, dump trucks and the sanitation truck.

The largest grant was $476,000 to the village of Owendale in Huron County for sanitary sewer lagoon infrastructure.