Mayor's Corner

Happy Spring Eaton Rapids! 

Some of you may have seen a recent article in the Lansing State Journal regarding the Horner Mill property. The City has been working with the owners of this property to bring it into compliance. As you know, the buildings are in severe disrepair. Recently, we started working with Eaton County Treasurer Bob Robinson and the county land bank to apply for a State grant that by working with the owners and the city, would provide funding to start demolition and clean up of this property. If awarded, this will be the start of bringing this property not only into property maintenance compliance, but the start of finally removing this eyesore and start working on possible redevelopment. While the grant funding will not provide for removal of all buildings at once, it will be a start and after 20 plus years of nothing happening, I for one am very excited to see this blight removed from our city. 

Something I mentioned in the State of the City address was the restarting of a Citizens Academy. Several years ago, the City held an academy for residents to learn more about the city government, how our city departments work, including our Department of Public Works, Public Safety and City Administration. I would like to know if there is an interest from our residents to do this again. If you would be interested in being a part of this academy, please let me know. If there is an interest, we can start working to put this program into action. You can reach me at my email pcolestock@cityofeatonrapids.com. This would be for City of Eaton Rapids residents only. 

The Downtown Development Authority has announced this year’s façade grant opportunity for the downtown business/building owners. This grant can help with exterior repairs and upgrades of up to $5,000. Applications can be picked up at City Hall and are due by 4pm on April 28th. 

Enjoy your March! 

Mayor Pam Colestock 

 I don’t normally like to start off writing about sad news, but I would be remiss to not mention how hard of a week this has been for so many. After I got home from last week’s council meeting, there was breaking news of the active shooter at MSU. I watched as many of you did in utter disbelief. I received a call from our Police Chief stating he was sending officers to assist. Several deputies, officers, firefighters and EMT units throughout the county went to assist where they could. It’s not surprising, whenever there is a crisis, people jump in to help without flinching. People from all over sent resources to assist those directly affected. This is proof that evil does not win. It might touch our lives and cause a great deal of pain, but it does not win. We stand with everyone at MSU! 

City Council is working on the new Recycling Center. It’s turning out to be a longer process than I had hoped, but we have momentum with a few grant-funding opportunities that could assist us in building the new center and that is very exciting. We should learn more by summer if we will be awarded funding, and once we know, we can start putting the actual plans into place. We are looking to build a facility in the south industrial park on city-owned property. This is a collaborative effort between the City, Eaton Rapids Township and Hamlin Township, and we appreciate their engagement in this effort. More details to come! 

One thing I mentioned at last week’s State of the City address is in 2022 City Council appointed 27 new/re-appointed citizens to our various boards. That is a huge accomplishment, and I appreciate all of our board members, and City Council for approving these appointments. We can accomplish so much when we have full participation in our boards. We still have a few spots remaining on our Zoning Board of Appeals and Local Officers Compensation Committee, so if you’d like more information, please let me know. We are also looking for volunteers to help serve on our events committees. If you’d like to help, please reach out to Corey Cagle, at ccagle@cityofeatonrapids.com. 

As of this writing we are just 32 days away from spring! 

Mayor Pam Colestock 

 For this month’s article, I would like to reflect on a few things that City Council accomplished in 2022. We had some challenges, but were able to keep our focus on what was best for the City, which is our top priority. We worked through the hiring of a City Manager, and while we had to part ways with one, we welcomed another one mid-year and that has been a very positive experience. We changed the Quality-of-Life department back to Parks, Recreation and Events and with that, promoted Parks Coordinator Corey Cagle to Director of Parks, Recreation and Events. We are excited about having more events this year! 

Council made the tough decision to close the recycling center located at the DPW; however, we created a committee in conjunction with our township partners, to develop a new location and facility for recycling for the community. We are really excited about the plans for this, so please be watching for more information coming soon! 

The Planning Commission started reviewing the revised Zoning Ordinance. Once that is completed, their recommendation will come to City Council for review and final adoption. We are shooting for them to wrap up their review in April, then Council will start their review. There will be public hearings on this so I will keep you updated as we get closer to that time. 

The Local Development Finance Authority (LDFA) changed their meeting times from every other month to monthly, so they could work on pressing issues in a timelier manner. They most recently approved new signage that will be installed this spring at both the north and south industrial parks. 

The Downtown Development Authority (DDA) started the new year with a new Main Street Director but is ending the year with the director leaving. The DDA is starting the new year with a fresh focus on how to best move forward with the Michigan Main Street program but will be working alongside the Eaton Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, and other entities to collaborate for future projects. 

I will be giving our annual State of the City address at the February 13th City Council meeting. This will highlight accomplishments of the past year, but will also lay out some goals and objectives for this new year. You are welcome to attend, both in person and virtually. 

Have a great January! 

Mayor Pam Colestock 

Happy December!

If you’re like me, you have been wondering “where did this year go”? It seems like it was July 4th and now it’s Christmas and the New Year is upon us. December is a busy month, but I try to take the time to reflect on the year and especially to be thankful for all the blessings I have.

I would like to thank the residents for entrusting me to lead this great city. It has been an honor and privilege serving you. I’ve met many incredible people this year and I hope that I have lived up to your expectations. I want to thank all of the individuals, committees, boards, city departments and especially my fellow City Council members, that did the work for the City of Eaton Rapids. Keeping your focus and commitment on making Eaton Rapids the best place to live is not always an easy task but we find ways to make it happen because we know how important it is. Thank You!

A tradition of mine during this season is to watch a few of my favorite Christmas movies; It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol. Those movies remind me of not just the Christmas spirit, but the human spirit. What is important is giving, not of presents purchased at a store, but giving of ourselves, our time, our resources, our talents, our kindness, and our thoughtfulness. So often people get lost in the commercial aspect of the holidays. We all have so much more to give that doesn’t cost money. Our community is rich in so many ways because of the caring people that live and work here. Let’s remember that giving spirt all year long!

Next month, I will recap all of the positive work that happened this year and what lies ahead in our annual State of the City address. We’ve all worked very hard for you, but we have a lot more to do that we are excited to share.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, ideas or would like more information about serving our city, please reach out to me at pcolestock@cityofeatonrapids.com or call me at 517- 410-9472.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Mayor Pam Colestock

Hello Eaton Rapids!

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.
I want to give kudos to City Clerk Laura Boomer, and the election team for running a seamless
election. It’s no small feat to run these elections, especially when there are so many candidates
running plus ballot proposals. These folks work very hard to make sure we have the highest
election integrity, so Thank You!

The city will be very busy the next few weeks getting our town ready for Christmas. Kicking it
off is the Hometown Family Christmas on Saturday December 3rd. There will be many activities
throughout the day, concluding with the annual Christmas parade. This is a very well attended
parade so mark your calendars now, so you don’t miss it! If you are interested in participating in
the parade, please contact the Eaton Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce at
info@eatonrapidschamber.org.

Did you know we have a gem in our city? We do! The Jean Bradford Kline Senior Center, located at 201 Grand Street. This nonprofit serves all of Eaton Rapids, and you don’t have to be a “senior” (55 and over) to enjoy it, OR to be a member! They provide resources for seniors, such as tax assistance, hearing and foot clinics, exercise classes, games, meals, and entertainment. They have Bingo each Wednesday and their famous Swiss Steak suppers once per month. They will be holding a membership drive after the new year, so if you need more information please contact Director Rita Honeysett, at 517-663-2335. They also have a Facebook page at The Jean Bradford Kline Senior Center so check them out and consider becoming a member.

City Council in conjunction with our Township partners is working on a new Recycling Center for
our community and have identified a potential location in the south Industrial Park. We are
working through the formalities and will have more information to share after the new year. We
are mindful that this is something we not only want but need in our community, so watch for
more details as they become available.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, ideas or would like more information about
serving our city, please reach out to me at pcolestock@cityofeatonrapids.com or call me at 517-
489-3064 or 517-410-9472.

Mayor Pam

Happy October Eaton Rapids!

I’ve been asked by residents what the city is spending its ARPA funds on. ARPA stands for American Rescue Plan Act. This is federal financial assistance due to the Covid-19 pandemic, that states, counties, schools, and local municipalities received. The City of Eaton Rapids received approximately $550,000. There are guidelines on how to use this money. If a municipality received $10 million or more then the guidelines were more restrictive on how you could use the funds and a timeline of when it had to be spent. Less than $10 million, you could add it to your general fund and spend it the same way you would other revenue, with no timeline on when it had to be used.

Currently, City Council has earmarked $150,000 for projects including an Opticom system, that allows our public safety officials to safely travel through the downtown during an emergency. This system changes our traffic lights when an on-coming emergency vehicle approaches in order for them to safely travel to the emergency destination. We also used the funding for hazard pay for both our Police and Fire Department associates, since they were on the front lines during the pandemic. As Council considers future projects, we can use this extra funding to help with grant fund matching, or use for unexpected expenses.

At the September 26^th meeting, City Council approved the hours for Halloween Trick or Treat, for October 31^st from 6pm-8pm, but also approved the annual Downtown Trick or Treat, to be held on Wednesday, October 26^th from 5pm-7pm. This is for our business district to pass out candy to the kids and has always been a well-attended event. Please be alert when driving through the downtown during this time as there will be many kids and adults walking across the street and we want everyone to stay safe.

At the October 10^th Council meeting, City Council approved the appointment of 4 residents, to the Local Officers Compensation Commission. Dale Erion, Cereita Erion, Robert Napieralski, and Deb Malewski. We are very appreciative to these residents for stepping up to serve our community. We have one more spot to fill on this board, so if you are interested, please let me know.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, ideas or would like more information about serving our city, please reach out to me at pcolestock@cityofeatonrapids.com or call me at 517-489-3064.

Enjoy the rest of your October!

Mayor Pam