Mayor's Corner

The City of Eaton Rapids had a very productive 2024! We welcomed 3 new officers to our Police Department. Officer Green and Officer Benson successfully completed cadet and field training and Officer Kipp successfully completed cadet training and is currently in field training. We also have 1 new cadet starting the academy soon. We are happy that they have chosen Eaton Rapids for their career in law enforcement.

We welcomed Lisa Barna as our new Community and Economic Development Specialist. Lisa works directly with the DDA and LDFA on projects and also assists city staff with other economic initiatives. We appointed Rick Loftus to City Council. Rick represents the Council At-Large position and has made a great addition to our team.

We also appointed some new members to our various boards and committees, as well as reappointed current members. Their time and dedication to these boards is greatly appreciated as we cannot move forward without their work and commitment on these boards.

We started a major sewer project in 2024 that should wrap up in early 2025. We also received a grant to inspect and assess our lead lines. This work resulted in a $34 million grant for work to the lead lines along with other water projects in 2025.

We completed major bridge repairs to 3 bridges; State Street, East and West Knight Street bridges. We also held our annual events such as the 4^th of July, Downtown Trick or Treating and added one new event, a Wine Walk that was a huge hit.

This year we will be just as productive. The Planning Commission and City Council will be considering the adoption of an updated Zoning Ordinance. We will continue working with Eaton County on a recycling center and we are also working to bring a housing development to the City! Our DDA and LDFA continues to work to bring new economic incentives and development to the downtown and industrial parks.

Last but not least, we will see the return of Urban Air in October. Planning has begun, and we are super excited to see this return! We will also see the Horner Mill property officially turned over to the Eaton County Land Bank! This is great news as we will finally start seeing progress towards the demolition and clean up of the property.

If you’d like to stay up to date on these or other projects, please join us at our council meetings. We appreciate the feedback! As well, if you’d like to get involved on one of our boards or committees, please let me know.

Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year!

The holiday season is upon us! We have many holiday traditions in Eaton Rapids and one of them is the annual Christmas Tree, which will be coming soon. Another tradition is our community’s “spirit of giving”. That being said, I want to let you know the city will be publishing a list of local groups, businesses, nonprofit organizations and churches that will be accepting new and gently used toys, books, clothing, non-perishable food, and household items for anyone wanting to donate or for anyone needing assistance. This list will be posted on the city’s website, Facebook page, and there will be a sign posted near the City Christmas Tree, with a QR code that will take you directly to the full list. There will also be hard copies of this list located near the tree and at City Hall. We are encouraging the community to utilize these organizations for both giving and receiving, instead of using the Christmas Tree as a drop-off. We have fun events planned at the tree, such as community caroling, family pictures and possibly a visit with Santa!

We realize that some people liked dropping off “gifts” at the tree, and we hope that you will continue that spirit of giving by donating to these charitable organizations instead, such as, Good Shepherd’s Love, Mr. Dales, First Congregational Church, St. Vincent DePaul, Hearts and Hands, and many more! The list will include the organization’s name, address, hours of operation, phone number, and what they are accepting for the need in our community. I want to personally thank these organizations for all the wonderful work they do to help our community, not just at Christmas, but all year!

We would be happy to include your organization in our spirit of giving list, so please reach out to me if you’d like to be added. You can email me at pcolestock@cityofeatonrapids.gov.

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Mayor Pam Colestock

I want to take the opportunity to let you know about some upcoming events. On October 30^th the annual Downtown Trick or Treat, from 5-7pm. Local businesses will be passing out candy and treats to all the kids. Please watch carefully for pedestrians crossing Main Street as this is usually a very well attended event.

The Eaton Rapids Lions Club will hold its 80^th Anniversary at the Eaton Rapids Area District Library on Wednesday, November 6^th from 4pm-6pm. Cake and punch will be provided. All past and present Lions Club members are invited to attend, along with the public. At the same time, the Lions Peace Poster contest will be on display where the general public will vote for the best artwork created by our local teens. Voting is from November 6^th-8^th at the library.  Please plan to come out and celebrate the Eaton Rapids Lions!

The Jean Bradford Kline Senior Center will hold its’ annual Veterans Day plaque unveiling on Saturday, November 16^th at 10am. Please plan to attend to pay tribute to the local heroes whose names will be displayed.

I want to give an update on the recycling center. The city has not been successful at obtaining grant funding to build a recycling building. It seems the State of Michigan would like to direct funds towards County recycling efforts. That being said, we are working with Eaton County to have their mobile recycling unit come to the City of Eaton Rapids once per month so that any Eaton County resident can turn in their recyclables. We are working out those details now and will update all of you once they are final. It’s a huge disappointment that we won’t have our own center, but I think this option will be very good for our residents.

Thank you!

Mayor Pam Colestock

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