Business View Civil & Municipal | July 2022

24 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 more walkable destination. City leadership is also trying to create a sense of place around the new senior center with more walkable areas. As a precautionary measure and to make maximum use of existing construction closures, the city replaces and reconstructs water mains whenever a reconstruction project provides the opportunity to do so. “We are fortunate that we’re a relatively new community, so we don’t have a lot of the same issues that aging communities have with lead water lines,” Herringa says. In addition to being proactive, the city leaders are also visionary. As Randall reports, “We have public docking stations for electric vehicles. New hybrid and electric vehicles are in the works for staff vehicles and the Public Works department. The city has implemented a $1.1 million change to City Hall with new windows and updating our HVAC system.” According to Randall, “We’re leading what we are preaching. I think we are going in the right direction. We have a balanced budget. We have not raised taxes.” Under Randall’s tenure with the City Council, the debt load has been cut in half. With a population of 50,000, Portage continues to grow and housing is number one on the agenda. In that regard, the city recently purchased 13 acres of land near one of the Eat.Drink.Repeat. MILLENNIUMRESTAURANTS.COM caring. proud. professional. locations proudly supporting portage, mi