News

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

 Hello Eaton Rapids! 

Mark your calendars now for our annual Downtown Trick or Treat, on Wednesday, October 26th from 5pm-7pm. The downtown merchants will be passing out treats to all of the kids who want to show off their costumes. Watch for more details to come. 

The Eaton Rapids Arts Council will hold its annual Scarecrow Contest, between Oct 1st-31st. Contest is open to individuals, businesses, organizations, and clubs. Entries must be fully assembled to their desired location on Main Street by 8pm on October 1st. Judging will take place on the Eaton Rapids Arts Council Facebook page where you can vote for your favorite Scarecrow. Voting will be open October 7th-26th and the most “likes” will win! You can get the full scoop on the City’s website. 

As you may have noticed, we have a major street project happening on Hall Street. We are doing everything we can to reduce the inconvenience to both our local businesses as well as residents. The work will include important utility work and the projected timeframe will be 4-6 weeks, weather permitting. 

At the September 12th City Council meeting, council passed several resolutions and ordinances, including a new ordinance to allow Chickens in the city limits. This is by permit only. If you are interested, stop into City Hall to get all the details. This takes affect October 2nd. Council also passed a resolution in conjunction with the Eaton County Road Commission to take over the portion of Spicerville Hwy from M-99 to West Street. This has been under the county road commission authority but will now be under City jurisdiction. 

This month city board highlight is the Local Officers Compensation Commission. This board was established by State statute, and their function is to determine the compensation for the Mayor and City Council. This is a 5-member board appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by a majority of council members. You must be a registered elector of the City. No member or employee of the legislative, judicial, or executive branch of any level of government or members of the immediate family of such member or employee shall be eligible to be a member of the commission. We’ve had several great city residents serve on this board, but like a lot of volunteer committees, people move on to do other things. The board meets annually, or as requested by City Council. Let me know if you are interested in serving on this board. 

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. 

Have a great fall!