It’s starting to look like spring!
The City just received 2 awards for the restoration of G.A.R Island Park, submitted by the City’s engineering company, c2ae. It’s exciting to be recognized for the work put into making this park a showpiece, however, the best part is hearing from residents and community members about how much they enjoy the park. We will have a lot of activity this summer with events and concerts in the park, so watch for more information and announcements.
Spring has been busy for City Council and administration. We’ve applied for several grants including one that will help us make important upgrades to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. This plant has been in operation since 1954 and while it has received upgrades since then, it’s been several years since major upgrades were made. The cost is 9.5 million dollars to make the upgrades and grant funding will help keep costs to you, the taxpayers, to a minimum. We also received news that a program called NextCycle, which helps communities find funding for building recycling centers, has accepted Eaton Rapids into their program. We will work with NextCycle to apply for infrastructure funding which, when successful, will help us build a state-of-the-art recycling center for our entire Eaton Rapids community.
We are also busy working on the next fiscal budget. Part of that process is working on capital expenditure projects not just for the next year, but for 5 years from now. As our infrastructure ages, we have to find ways to keep up with upgrades and replacements. This includes street pavement, sidewalk replacement, and utility upgrades.
The Downtown Development Authority will be starting the Farmer’s Market starting June 3rd. It will be located next to Black Dog Coffee Shop on Hamlin Street, on Wednesdays, during the cruise-in, and Saturdays from 9am-Noon. Lisa Barna from Black Dog has graciously agreed to help run the market, so if you are interested in being a part of this, please reach out to Lisa at Black Dog coffee.
Have a great rest of April!
Mayor Pam Colestock
