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City of Eaton Rapids

Michigan's Island City

News

March Mayor’s Corner

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I hope you’ve all had a great winter, but I know many are ready for it to be over and get into warmer weather!

The City Council and staff have had a productive start to the new year. We kicked things off with a Goals and Objectives session. This is where the departments all get to share their goals and ideas with Council and Council gets to weigh in on those goals, offering ideas and suggestions. We do this as we enter into budget time. I have to say since being Mayor, this process feels more organized and thoughtful, and I feel really good about the projects we are planning for the City. Most of those projects involve improvements to our infrastructure; streets, utilities, and buildings. As you can imagine, those are not small projects but are extremely important to our overall functions. Our goals are always to find ways to improve our overall safety, health and wellbeing of our city and citizens.

I had hoped that the Horner Mill property would be officially transferred to the Eaton County Land Bank but looks as if that will now happen this month. There were a few odds and ends that needed to be addressed first, but things are still moving forward. City Manager Ridge, Eaton County Treasurer Reynett and I are working with State officials to help find funding so that we can get going on demolition and environmental clean-up of this site. I will continue to keep you all informed as this progresses.

We held our first full committee meeting regarding Urban Air. There are a lot of moving parts to planning an event of this nature and it takes many hands to make it all come together. If you are interested in participating, please reach out to me, we’d love to have you!

This past month we had the honor of presenting a proclamation to Officer Jason Ferguson who is our School Resource Officer (SRO) in honor of SRO Day! Officer Ferguson has been instrumental in working with our students and bringing safety to our school district. We appreciate all the work that he does for our students and for our community.

Lastly, the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is ready to kick off this years’ Farmer’s Market. There will be more details to come, but if you are a vendor and have not been a part of this in the past, please reach out to Director Corey Cagle at ccagle@cityofeatonrapids.gov, for information.

20 days to Spring!!

Mayor Pam

January Mayor’s Corner

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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 4th 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!

 Notification of Eaton Rapids Snow Removal Ordinance 

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The City of Eaton Rapids snow ordinance is designed to ensure that snow is removed in a timely manner from public sidewalks and walkways. If you will be out of town, arrangements must be made to have your snow cleared. The City snow ordinance will be enforced throughout the winter. 

Chapter 19, Streets, Sidewalks, and Public Grounds, Article II, Sidewalks, Section 25, Owners to Clear Snow and Ice; Removal: Costs of the City of Eaton Rapids Code of Ordinances. Under the provisions of this ordinance: 

  • The occupant of every lot or premises adjoining any street, or the owner of the lot or premises, if not occupied, shall clear all ice and snow from sidewalks adjoining the lot or premises by 12:00 noon of the following day. 
  • If any owner or occupant of any house, building, or lot shall fail to remove or cause to be removed snow as provided in subsection (a), the City may cause the snow to be removed at the expense of such occupant or owner and the cost, as determined by the City Council, if not paid within 30 days after billing, shall become a lien in favor of the City against the house, building, or lot. The cost shall be assessed against the house, building or lot or, in the case of the personal property contained thereon, the same as real and personal property taxes are assessed and levied. 

 This ordinance can be viewed in its entirety at cityofeatonrapids.gov. 

Robin Webb 
City Clerk 

Eaton Rapids Area Parks & Recreation Master Plan – Public Comment and Public Hearing Notice

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PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the City of Eaton Rapids, Eaton Rapids Township, and Hamlin Township are currently working on the proposed 2025-2029 Eaton Rapids Area Parks & Recreation Master Plan. The Eaton Rapids Area officials have opened the required 30-day public comment period for the proposed draft plan. The comment period will be open between December 4, 2024, and January 3, 2025.

The draft plan is available for review and download here: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:a12a9a44-32b6-44bc-b4b3-e57218830408 or may be viewed at the following locations:

  • Eaton Rapids City Hall – 200 S. Main Street Eaton Rapids, MI 48827
  • Eaton Rapids Township Hall – 2512 S Canal Street Eaton Rapids, MI 48827
  • Hamlin Township Hall – 6463 S Clinton Trail Eaton Rapids, MI 48827

Please direct email comments to Corey Cagle, ccagle@cityofeatonrapids.gov. Written comments may be delivered to Eaton Rapids City Hall at the address referenced above.

The City of Eaton Rapids City Council will hold a public hearing on the draft plan at their regular meeting on Monday, January 13, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. The Council will consider adoption of the plan at this meeting.

Hamlin Township Board will hold a public hearing on the draft plan at their regular meeting on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at 6:00pm at the Township Hall, 6463 S. Clinton Trail, Eaton Rapids, MI 48827.  The Board will consider adoption of the plan at this meeting.

Eaton Rapids Township Board will hold a public hearing on the draft plan at their regular meeting on Thursday, January 9, 2025, at 7:00pm at the Township Hall, 2512 S. Canal, Eaton Rapids, MI 48827.  The Board will consider adoption of the plan at this meeting.

November Mayor’s Corner

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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

 Mobile Recycling Program Coming to Eaton Rapids 

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The City of Eaton Rapids is excited to announce the Mobile Recycling Program (MRP). Beginning Thursday, November 14, residents will have the opportunity to conveniently recycle a variety of materials. The MRP will be in Eaton Rapids on the 2nd Thursday of each month from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Martin Hansen Amphitheater Parking Lot. 

The Mobile Recycling Program is generously funded through Eaton County and the Michigan Department of the Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s Infrastructure Grant. This initiative underscores commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship within the community. 

The MRP will accept plastics (#1, #2 color/natural, #5), metal (aluminum, tin), glass, batteries, cardboard, newspaper, magazines and office paper. A complete listing of accepted materials can be found on the Eaton County website www.eatoncounty.org 

The MRP is operated and staffed by the Eaton County Department of Resource Recovery, the MRP is a free service available to all residents of the City of Eaton Rapids. To ensure an efficient process, the department recommends presorting all recyclable materials. Each type should be separated for deposit in the appropriate trailer compartment. The trailer will be staffed by friendly Eaton County personnel who will assist the community in unloading vehicles and depositing materials into the designated compartments. 

The Mobile Recycling Program is intended for residential use only, and not open for business or commercial use. 

Please contact the Department of Resource Recovery for more information: Recycle@eatoncounty.org or (517) 543-3686.