News

Spring is Here in Eaton Rapids!

Even though I really don’t mind winter, I am always glad for the fresh start. I have been busy trying to attend as many of our advisory board meetings as possible as I feel it’s important to be engaged and know what our boards have coming before them. These boards work very hard to make the best decisions for our city. City Council cannot work alone; we rely heavily on the advice of these boards to guide us in our decision making as many times that is where the information and research starts. 

Board Opportunities

We still have opportunities on several boards, such as our Zoning Board of Appeals, Local Development Finance Authority, and our Local Officers Compensation Commission. These boards function best when we have full membership. If you are interested in serving on any of these, or have questions, please contact me. 

City Council

Spring is a busy time for City Council. We must start reviewing the proposed budget so that it is ready for public hearing and adoption no later than end of June as our fiscal year starts July 1. We also have several projects in the works that will be coming to us to consider such as street repaving, sidewalk repairs, and upgrades to some of our parks. 

New Website!

We also have a new city website! Please check it out and let us know what you think. I think you will find it much easier to locate what you need, including information on our boards, our meeting dates, and you can even apply for certain permits. This is all intended to make things easier for YOU. 

School Resource Officer

I am very excited to announce, in collaboration with Eaton Rapids Public Schools and Eaton Rapids Police Department, we have entered into an agreement for a School Resource Officer. This will be an excellent opportunity for our police to engage with our youth with the goal of making a positive impact on their lives. I remember when I was in high school, we had an officer that walked the halls, talked with all of us, helped us when we needed it and was just there to provide support. It was a very positive experience and one that we desperately need again. I commend Chief Weeks and Superintendent DeFrance for working to bring to our community. 

Local Wildlife & G.A.R. Island Park

As we live on an Island, we are surrounded by nature. We have ducks and geese that are living amongst us. Please be cautious when driving that you stop when you see these “locals” trying to cross the street. They will appreciate it! As well, G.A.R. Island Park remains closed to the public until we can complete the spring repairs. We have both pedestrian entrances blocked off, but we know that people are getting anxious to check it out and walk across the bridges. Please refrain from doing this until we have it fully opened. This will be very soon! Mark your calendars, we are planning a Grand Re-Opening on Saturday, June 11^th, but a soft opening will happen prior to that. Watch our website for more details!

Recycling Center 

Also, did you know that we have a Recycling Center in our City? This is located on Market Street, next to our DPW. This is for any Eaton County resident to use; HOWEVER, we strongly urge you to make sure you are placing the correct items in the proper bins. This is for recycling materials only, NO trash, garbage, or large unwanted items. We’ve had a lot of issues with people dumping their trash at this location. If we cannot get this corrected, we may have to close this center and we certainly don’t want to do that. This provides a great resource not just for our city but our entire community. Please use it correctly.

This drop-off center accepts:

• Glass
• Tin
• Paper
• Plastic

It does not currently accept cardboard.

If you are not sure what you can recycle, please check out Eaton County Resource Recovery’s Facebook page or website, through eatoncounty.org. 

Questions?

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. 

Have a great Spring!