Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette The Houghton City Council approved a $64,500 bid from Great Lakes Roof and Insulation Systems to replace the roof of the City Center.

HOUGHTON — A contractor already in town on another project led to a lower bid to replace the roof of Houghton’s city center.

The council awarded a contract to Great Lakes Roof and Insulation Systems for $64,500 Wednesday night. It was more than $35,000 under the next-lowest bidder.

In a letter to the council, City Manager Eric Waara said he had reached out to the company to make sure they understood the project and the specifications. They had decided to bid due to already having crews in the area to install the roof on a new building at Michigan Technological University.

The front and side of the building will need to be blocked off, which the company will coordinate with the police department and Department of Public Works, city clerk Ann Vollrath said.

Waara did not attend Wednesday’s meeting, as he is part of the city’s delegation to the Michigan Municipal League conference on Mackinac Island. Houghton is one of four finalists for the MML’s Community Excellence Award, the winner of which will be announced Friday morning.

Waara had given a presentation to the conference Wednesday, Planning Commission Chair Tom Merz said in an email sent to Vollrath shortly before the council meeting.

“He was amazing,” she said. “They got the most applause, now they just need the most votes.”

In other action, the council:

• Granted an easement to Northern Natural Gas for an easement on 856 square feet city property within the Nara Nature Park. The work would be adjacent to the company’s existing natural gas pipeline through the park, allowing them to place valves along the pipeline for safety and reliability. NNG will pay $1,000 for the easement, their appraised value.

• Appointed Joanna Chopp to the Portage Lake District Library Board for a term expiring March 31, 2027.

• Approved the city’s fall cleanup dates. Residents can drop off selected items at the Public Works Garage on the corner of Technical Avenue and Gundlach Road on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 27 to Oct. 27. Wood under 4 feet, brick and metal that can be placed in a specially labeled dumpster are accepted.

Senior citizens or handicapped residents living in single-family homes in Houghton who can’t deliver their items to the garage can contact the city to have public works members pick up their yard debris or accepted dumpster materials.

• Heard a public works report from Vollrath. There will be outside lane closures on M-26 while crews replace damaged catch basins and place the new concrete. Only one lead connection has been found during the city’s lead service investigation work. The West Lakeshore Drive project is nearly finished. The roadway trail has been paved, and crews are restoring the driveway approaches and shoulder.

• Heard a report from Police Chief John Donnelly. Since the previous meeting, the department took 130 calls for service, issued 21 civil infraction tickets, responded to nine accidents and took 21 calls for health and safety.