Welcome to 2024 Eaton Rapids!
City Council kicked off the new year with our newest council member joining the team, Deb Malewski. Deb has been a staple in our community for many years. We are looking forward to working with her for the next few years.
One of the biggest challenges council will face this year is working on the Horner Mill property. As you may have heard, the owners of the property, Mill St. LLC, had their $653,000 state land bank grant revoked, due to noncompliance. Unfortunately, this was no surprise to many of us who have been dealing with this owner for years. On a good note, the owners now have an interest in deeding the property over to the Eaton County Land Bank. The county land bank has more funding resources at its disposal than the city so this could be a great opportunity. I am hoping to hear more on this in the next few weeks and will keep you updated.
Another issue that the city has been working on for almost a year is the safety concerns at the Main/Hamlin crosswalk. After many discussions with the State, MDOT has finally agreed to install a flashing light on top of both the north bound and south bound crosswalk signs. This is to alert drivers to stop when pedestrians are about to cross. Many people do not stop and let people cross even though it’s the law, so we are hoping this solution will be effective. This work is to be sent out for bid by the end of this year then we should see the new signage with the lights in early 2025. We are happy that MDOT was willing to hear us out on the dangers and safety concerns many of you have had.
Council will start working on the next fiscal budget soon and we welcome you to join our meetings and hear your feedback. We meet on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month, both at 5pm and 7pm.
Stay safe and warm!
Mayor Pam
