Mayor's Corner

Wow, summer is almost gone! I hope you’ve been able to enjoy our summer here in Eaton Rapids! We have many events coming this fall and will have more details as they get closer, but here is a quick summary:

• Raise the Woof–Saturday, September 21^st 9am-3pm. Bring your furry friends downtown for a doggy costume contest, dog treat making, bandana making, and more!
• ERFD 150^th Anniversary–Saturday, September 28^th. Events start at 8am with a 5K-Walk/Run, 11am Fire Truck Parade down Main Street, tours, food, and games at the Public Safety Building. Come and celebrate our Fire Department!
• Annual Triathlon–Saturday, October 5^th– Starts at Mill Pointe Park with a 5K Run/Kayaking/Biking. Then, the Eaton Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce will hold Autumn on the Island in the afternoon. More details to come!

Some of you may have heard but if not, we are bringing back Urban Air! I want to thank Kirk MacKellar who, after a long hiatus, asked us if we would be interested in doing this again, and of course we said YES! This won’t happen until October 2025, but it will take time to plan. We are looking for people that would like to help us plan, so if you are interested, please reach out to me. You do not need to be a resident of the City, as this is a community event so even if you live in the townships, we’d love to have your participation. If you are not sure what this is, it’s a festival of Air Streams that will camp out on our Main Street for a weekend. There will be lots of other activities including food and entertainment, so watch for more information as it comes together.

Labor Day is coming up, so enjoy the last few weeks of summer, and stay safe!  

Mayor Pam Colestock

I hope you are all enjoying a great summer in Eaton Rapids! We’ve had great weather for picnics, music and movies in the park, and kayaking at the Outdoor Recreation Center. Speaking of that, have you seen the new pavilion at Mill Pointe Park? This is the park that surrounds the boat livery directly behind Quality Dairy. This pavilion was constructed from funds the city received from Eaton County Parks. It’s a beautiful addition to this area and we couldn’t thank Eaton County enough! I also want to thank city staff, especially DPW Director Rob Pierce and his staff for much of the work and Visionary Builders. Great job! If you are interested in using this space for an event, be sure to contact Parks Director Corey Cagle at City Hall to reserve it, otherwise just enjoy it!

I am asked often about updates regarding the Horner Mill property. I wish I had one! The City has agreed to a settlement with the current owners, Mill St. LLC, but we are now waiting for them to sign the property over to the Eaton County Land Bank. I had hoped that would have happened by now, but we are confident it will happen. I will keep you all updated when it does!

We will once again be offering a Citizens Academy early next year where city or township residents who want to learn more about the city and city government can take a short 8-week course and learn all about the different departments and functions of the city. The last time this was offered was 2008. I think the first one was in 2003 or 2004 and I attended that course. You really learn a lot so I would encourage any of you that are interested in learning more to sign up. As soon as we have this ready to go, we will post about it on the City Facebook page, and our website. The cost will be $20 and that is to cover the cost of materials for the 8 weeks. Tours of city facilities will also be included.

Have a great rest of your summer, stay safe!

Mayor Pam

 I want to use this month’s article to address questions that come up every month regarding the utility bills. Like clockwork, people take to Facebook to inquire about their utility bills. I understand this, but to be honest, it doesn’t solve or answer your questions. 

Since becoming Mayor, we have all worked hard to make communication and transparency a top priority and we will continue to do so. I hope the below explanation and suggestions will be helpful. 

In July 2023, Council approved a 9% increase in water & sewer rates. A notice went out to all utility residents in the July newsletter. I also addressed this in the monthly Mayor’s Corner, published in the Flashes. The reason for the increase is the city faces a $4 million dollar upgrade and improvement plan to the wastewater infrastructure. The City received a grant of $2 million to pay for this needed work, but unfortunately, that left us with $2 million left to pay. Another unfortunate aspect was that over the years, administrations and councils did not raise rates to cover inflation and the rising cost of maintenance. While that might be politically popular, it’s not fiscally responsible. It is tough as your elected representatives to raise rates on any service, but in reality, we have to be responsible and maintain our utility infrastructure so that we are providing you with the highest standards you expect and deserve. 

In 2021, Council approved a 4% decrease in electric rates. Those rates were scheduled to decrease each year for 3 years. At the time, we were in a Pandemic, and had a healthy electric fund balance. We wanted to assist residents during possible financial hardships. We are currently in the process of conducting an Electric Study and once completed, Council will consider future electric rates. Until then, the rates remain the same. 

There are several factors that cause your bill to fluctuate. One is the number of days of the meter reading. The bill we received February 1st was for 33 days. This is 3 extra days that contributed to usage and cost. A possible reason for electric costs to seem higher is the usage from Dec 15th-Jan 18th. I know my electricity was higher, but I was running Christmas lights inside and outside of my home. We were also hit with a cold snap for a few weeks so even if you have a gas furnace, it uses electricity as well. Also look at your overall usage for each utility. Compare that to the last bill, but more importantly, compare it to the same time last year. Every month is different so comparing it to the same time last year can be beneficial. Something you can do to help with budgeting is to sign up for the utility budget plan. Sign up is coming soon so if you want more information, please stop into City Hall, and see if this is an option. Additionally, if you suspect a water line break or issues with your meters, please call and report this to our Department of Public Works. If you have questions about your bill, please stop or call City Hall. If you have further concerns, reach out to your Council representative. We are all here to serve you! 

As always, if you have any questions regarding this, or any city service, please let me know. I am available by email, (pcolestock@cityofeatonrapids.gov) or my cell phone (517-410-9472). 

Mayor Pam 

Welcome to 2024 Eaton Rapids!

City Council kicked off the new year with our newest council member joining the team, Deb Malewski. Deb has been a staple in our community for many years. We are looking forward to working with her for the next few years.

One of the biggest challenges council will face this year is working on the Horner Mill property. As you may have heard, the owners of the property, Mill St. LLC, had their $653,000 state land bank grant revoked, due to noncompliance. Unfortunately, this was no surprise to many of us who have been dealing with this owner for years. On a good note, the owners now have an interest in deeding the property over to the Eaton County Land Bank. The county land bank has more funding resources at its disposal than the city so this could be a great opportunity. I am hoping to hear more on this in the next few weeks and will keep you updated.

Another issue that the city has been working on for almost a year is the safety concerns at the Main/Hamlin crosswalk. After many discussions with the State, MDOT has finally agreed to install a flashing light on top of both the north bound and south bound crosswalk signs. This is to alert drivers to stop when pedestrians are about to cross. Many people do not stop and let people cross even though it’s the law, so we are hoping this solution will be effective. This work is to be sent out for bid by the end of this year then we should see the new signage with the lights in early 2025. We are happy that MDOT was willing to hear us out on the dangers and safety concerns many of you have had.

Council will start working on the next fiscal budget soon and we welcome you to join our meetings and hear your feedback. We meet on the 2^nd and 4^th Mondays of each month, both at 5pm and 7pm.

Stay safe and warm!

Mayor Pam

There have been many accomplishments for the city this year that I would like to highlight for you.

We received several grants this year that will allow improvements and important services such as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, that will allow upgrades to our wastewater infrastructure. We received a $40,000 grant from Eaton County Parks, which will allow us to build a pavilion at the Outdoor Recreation Center and purchase a river gage that will monitor the river’s water flow. The Fire Department received a $10,000 grant to use for added equipment.

We signed a new ambulance contract with Sparrow-Eaton EMS. A 4-year agreement that will keep ambulance service here. This was a long process that we are happy to see finalized.

We welcomed 2 key department managers to City Hall: Genny Allen, Treasurer & Finance Director, and Robin Webb, City Clerk. They have added more transparency and professionalism to their positions, and I look forward to working with them both in 2024.

We are happy to report that the financial audit for the 2022/2023 fiscal year was filed and presented to City Council at its December 11^th meeting. Audits are required to be filed with the State 6 months after the close of the fiscal year. With the hard work of City Manager Ridge, Treasurer Allen and our accounting firms, the audit was filed early with no significant findings. We have a great team that makes the financial health of our city top priority.

While we didn’t see the progress we hoped for with the former Horner property, we made progress behind the scenes, working with Eaton County and State Land Banks. There is light at the end of the long tunnel regarding the cleaning up of this property and I hope to have more details to share in January.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mayor Pam Colestock

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Several months ago, the city applied for a grant through the State of Michigan’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). This grant provides necessary funding to cities so they can make upgrades to their wastewater system. Based on projected costs of $4,200,000, we received a grant in the amount of $2,120,000 for this project. We issued bonds for the remaining $2,120,000.

The work will start in the spring, and 2 contractors have been awarded to complete the capital improvements to the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and three (3) lift-pumping stations. This work is necessary to improve our sanitary/wastewater system throughout the city and ensure the health and safety of our residents. I want to thank City Manager Ridge, Utility Director Pierce, and Treasurer Allen, for working so diligently to make sure we would get this grant and subsequently, the important improvements to our wastewater system.

Congratulations to William Steele and Kenneth Nicholas for being re-elected to City Council, and in January, we will welcome new councilmember Deb Malewski, who will represent precinct 1. I also want to thank outgoing councilmember, Suzanne Politza, for her hard work and dedication to the City the last 4 years. It’s been great working with her, and I thank her for her contribution to our recycling committee, selling bricks, passing out numerous flyers and for being a dedicated member of our council. She will be missed but wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

As we enter the holiday season, a reminder that Hometown Family Christmas, sponsored by the Eaton Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, will be Saturday, December 2^nd, with all day events, the lighted parade at 6pm and the grand finally of lighting the city’s Christmas Tree immediately following the parade, at the entrance of G.A.R Island Park.  You can find more details on the Chamber’s Facebook page.

Last, we have several openings on various board. If you have an interest in serving our community, please reach out to me at pcolestock@cityofeatonrapids.gov.

Mayor Pam Colestock