Albion Public Services Director Jason Kern addresses city council during the May 18 meeting as council members Donivan Williams, left, and Lenn Reid listen from the dais.
By Maggie LaNoue
Contributing Writer
Albion’s 2026 construction season is well underway, and Public Services Director Jason Kern brought council up to speed May 18 on equipment upgrades designed to make the department more efficient and recover more of its costs from existing operations.
Kern asked the council to approve several equipment purchases, each selected with guaranteed buyback programs and long-term savings on contractor fees in mind. The package included a storm and sewer camera system mounted in a van, a new jet truck for sewer cleaning, and a larger leaf collection vacuum. The package also included a grapple bucket for handling downed trees and debris, rounding out a set of purchases aimed at making the department more self-sufficient.
According to documents included in the council packet, the four purchases total approximately $1.1 million, to be financed through Republic First National Corporation, a municipal lender that already holds financing on other city equipment. No down payment is required and the first payment is not due until May 2027. Finance Director David Clark indicated that the annual payments would be distributed across various city funds, depending on which department uses the equipment and for what purpose.
The camera system will allow city crews to inspect storm and sanitary lines themselves rather than hiring outside contractors. “Last year we spent about 40 to 50,000, and that was just for camera contractor fees, not doing anything preventative,” Kern told the council. “That was strictly reactive.” Finance Director David Clark concurred, advising that purchasing the equipment and doing the work in-house would be more cost-effective than continuing to contract out.
The city is also working with engineer Mickey Bittner of Wightman on a grant to reline sewer lines, a project that Kern said would carry roughly $700,000 in camera inspection fees alone, costs the new in-house system could help offset. The camera system carries a guaranteed buyback of $63,000 at five years.
Kern also described a shift in how the department tracks and bills for equipment use, a change already paying dividends.
“Normally on average we would get about 10 to 12,000 a quarter from MDOT,” he said. “Just rebuilding this, we actually were able to recoup 24,000 in one quarter, and then this last quarter we got approved for 53,000 and that’s simply because we are using the new equipment and billing for each piece of equipment as we’re supposed to be billing.”
The leaf collection upgrade drew its own discussion. Kern said the new vacuum will be larger than the current unit, allowing crews to split the city in half and complete collection in roughly half the time. The method has also changed.
“We’re no longer just sucking them out of the right-of-way. That’s how we got the rock last time,” Kern said. “We’ve been having guys go with backpack blowers and push all the leaves into the street with the machine coming right behind it, so we know what we’re getting.”
One of the city’s new trucks will be displayed this week at the statewide Public Works Expo. West Michigan International invited the city to bring the truck, fitted with a new sprayer system, and is covering the transport cost.
Council voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2026-33, authorizing the purchase of the sewer camera system, jet truck, leaf vacuum and grapple bucket, along with the sale of obsolete equipment.
