A completion celebration marked Fraser's $16 million road-paving project, which rebuilt streets throughout the city's Industrial Park. The work addressed roads that had drawn complaints and covered a district that is home to nearly 130 businesses. The project involved full roadway reconstruction, drainage work and driveway improvements.
The celebration capped a financing saga that nearly derailed the project altogether. As Macomb Daily reports, city officials had applied for additional federal funding, and there were no new updates as of December 2024. Ken Immler, president of the Fraser Industrial Association, told the outlet he worked to bring together the city, the state and private industry to piece together an alternative plan, and admitted he never believed the project would actually get off the ground.
A Funding Plan That Fell Apart, Then Came Back Together
The road rebuild's early design called for roughly $16 million split four ways, according to C & G Newspapers, with the state and the city each contributing $4 million, businesses covering up to $4 million through a special assessment district, and the remaining roughly $4 million financed through a bond. That blueprint hit a wall following a public hearing on Aug. 10, 2023, when the newspaper reported that tax funding for the project fell through.
The city regrouped. State Sen. Veronica Klinefelt, a Democrat representing District 11, secured a $4 million state appropriation during the 2025 budget process specifically to repair Fraser Industrial Park roads, the same outlet reported. City Manager Elaine Leven had earlier put the engineering estimate at more than $16 million, with the city's engineering firm, Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick, Inc., tapped to carry out the design work.
Mayor Michael Lesich and the Fraser City Council ultimately decided in 2024 to move forward together on the project, per Macomb Daily's account. Lesich had said that state funding and money the city had banked could reduce the tax burden eventually placed on commercial businesses in the area. Fraser Industrial Park business owners agreed to fund $4 million of the cost through the special assessment district, as part of a four-part plan that called for $4 million each from the state and city and roughly $4 million from a bond; the project overall was financed through a cost-sharing agreement that includes a 15-year bond issue, which officials say will be paid off through the special assessment district and other investments.
What the Project Actually Rebuilt
The project involved full roadway reconstruction, drainage work and driveway improvements. Mark Anthony Contracting, Inc. served as the project's contractor. Separate council coverage from Citizen Portal reported that the council had awarded Mark Anthony Contracting a $10,284,306.22 contract that included entrance improvements, storm sewer replacement and water main work, along with a $1 million construction contingency; that reported contract figure does not by itself establish the project's final total cost.
Poor road conditions in the park had drawn complaints.
The City's Financial Statements
The City of Fraser's audited financial statements cover the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025.
The city's own website describes the Industrial Park special assessment district as created to fund road improvements in the district, which it locates in the northeast corner of Fraser. The roads originally slated for improvement included Malyn Boulevard, Commerce Road, Riviera Drive, Doreka Drive, James J Pompo Drive, Cross Drive, Mike C Court, Vermander Drive and Bennett Drive, per C & G Newspapers' earlier reporting.
