The Houghton City Council met on Aug. 23 and discussed matters of painting a new mural downtown, ongoing construction work, and new pavement projects. 

The new mural is located on the street level of the parking deck used by The Vault on Shelden avenue. The artists have created a black mural with drawings of nature, animals, and abstract shapes. 

The remaining portion of the 1978 parking deck downtown has been taken down. There is still sidewalk installation work and landscaping work that needs to be done. The entire area also needs to be cleaned and re-paved. A new pedestrian walkway will be built in the area leading down to Lakeshore Drive. If the project continues to run smoothly, City Manager Eric Waara says it will be completed by late September or early October. 

Public works crews finished pavement work on the Bridge Street basketball court, located a few blocks from downtown. The crews installed new water and sewer services on Blanche Street, and fixed a water leak at Kestner Park. 

Waara explained that the city has been unable to fix small potholes and patches because they can’t get access to the necessary blacktop. There is only one company to purchase the blacktop from, but most of the current blacktop being produced from the company is a special mix for the airport project. 

Bacco Construction is preparing Gundlach Road and Razorback Drive to be blacktopped. They will bring their own temporary blacktop machine to Houghton for the project. 

If you wish to learn more about Houghton City Council meetings, all meeting minutes can be found here: https://www.cityofhoughton.com/city-council/. If you wish to attend, the council meets on every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, at 5:30 pm. You may join on zoom or attend at the City Center Council Chambers, 616 Shelden Avenue, Houghton.