Due to budgetary considerations city hall and the DPW will be closed on Fridays starting the first week in February 2010 to at least the end of June. ALL city employees are taking a 10% cut in pay and working 36 hours a week instead of 40 hours. The Waste Water Treatment Plant however will work four hours on Friday. This action will save the city approximately $57,000. Other cuts are occurring as the city is facing significant reductions in revenue because of falling property values (taxable value), sharp declines in state-shared revenue, and drastic reductions in interest revenues.

In the next few months the city council and city staff will be preparing for the 2010-2011 Budget which is projected to have a large deficit. During these months all services will be studied and evaluated for areas where costs can be reduced. I cannot say at this time what cuts will be made and where, but what I can say is there will be cuts.

Most cities across Michigan are going through the same crisis. Many cities have already reduced their hours such the City of Walker and I think it’s reasonable to say others will do the same. As most of you know the Michigan economy is quite ill and an immediate recovery is not in the foreseeable future. However, we will survive and we’re confident that the citizens of Coopersville will understand the financial measures required at this time. More articles on the budget will be forthcoming.

MDOT announced recently that the city will receive over $300,000 to reconstruct a portion of West Randall Street from the roundabout to the first drive of Continental Dairy (old Delphi property). The city will have to contribute roughly $80,000. The MDOT money is from their Office of Economic Development that provides road funds for projects that create jobs and that obviously have an impact on local transportation.

When the city applied for these funds it included that portion of West Randall from the roundabout to 64th Street. MDOT however required us to split the project into three segments. The first segment was from the roundabout east to the first drive. The second segment was from the first drive east to the second drive and the third segment was from the second drive east to 64th Street. As of this date only the first segment has been approved for funding by MDOT. Because of a complicated evaluation process MDOT utilizes we believe segment two and three will probably not be approved for economic development dollars from MDOT. Regardless, we are resubmitting the application for segment two and three anyway with a number of design revisions.

It should be noted that the city has other road dollars due to us for the West Randall Street project of around $400,000. This money will be used to offset the cost for segment two and three when that project is released. As you know, West Randall is in need of serious repair or replacement and it is the intent of the city to address this need in 2010 and no later than 2011. I will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

By now most of you seen the new sign at the end of River Street, one word; fantastic! The DDA Board provided the Coopersville merchants with a beautiful and fantastic gift. Progress is one inch at a time and I believe we took a giant step forward in showing businesses we care and support them and also told travelers and visitors along I-96 that this city is alive and well, vibrant and relevant, and a place of pride and importance. Thank you board members and thank you all for supporting our local businesses!

City Clerk Stephanie Pelkey notified me last week she had accepted another position with Plainfield Township as their Deputy Clerk. This did not surprise me as Ms Pelkey is a very competent, intelligent, and talented individual and any organization would be fortunate to have her. But I must admit this was bad news for this city, and for me, as she has done an outstanding job as city clerk. Since the city began cutting its expenditures years ago, many vacant positions have not been filled but the responsibilities of those positions still needed to be addressed. Ms Pelkey, as well as other employees, stepped up and assumed additional responsibilities so that key tasks were completed none-the-less.

All of us at city hall wish her success and all the best in her new position. I personally will miss her as she has become a key employee and whenever I assigned her a task it was completed with professionalism and a desire to do what was right for the city. Thank you for your service Stephanie, and if any of you see her around town wish her well.

As you may have noticed this winter season the city decided to reduce its traditional 24/7 snow plowing policy. This was done primarily because of budgetary concerns that included employee overtime, rentals on equipment, and use of salt and sand. Safety of course is still a prime concern and that is why we strive to make sure the intersections are sanded and/or salted. I have requested that our Sheriff’s Department call for services or salt on second shift if, in their opinion, the roads are impassable or have become dangerously slippery.

In the past the city crew has strived to keep all roads clear and as free from snow and ice as is practically possible. This was a service that many communities around West Michigan did not have as many of you that travel outside of Coopersville already knew. Unfortunately, the economic realities have greatly impacted the city finances and all services are being reviewed not only for costs but also for their impact on the community. I will discuss more on budgetary and financial considerations in future articles.

Another reality is that we DO live in Michigan where snow and ice are the norm for winters and that means driving can sometimes be challenging. The city will do its best to keep the main roads open. But please have patience if your own road or street is not plowed within hours after a snow fall. For the vast majority of residents there has been a great deal of understanding and we thank you.

Please remember to drive safely and if there is an intersection that has become dangerous please call city hall and let us know. Again, thank you for understanding and your cooperation.

Before I discuss the multi-purpose rink (MPR) at Vets Park I first wanted to wish everyone a great New Year and hoping your holidays were everything that you wanted and desired. With luck and hard work I’m sure everyone expects 2010 to be more positive than the previous year. We all could certainly use some good news in Michigan.

Okay, the status of the rink. A number of years ago when the MPR was completed and the first winter arrived, the city had a difficult time in making ice in December even when the weather was below freezing. After a number of failed attempts we learned that the ground under the MPR did not freeze until later in the season, usually sometime in January. We also learned that to hasten the freezing of the soil under the MPR we had to keep snow from accumulating on the surface of the rink that acted as an insulator and slowed the soil from freezing as well. Often the task of clearing snow had, and has a lower priority than other jobs. It is labor intensive so it can be several days or a week before snow is removed under the best of circumstances.

Because of lessons learned on making ice, we decided not to devote time and resources on the MPR until after the holidays and/or after colder weather arrived somewhere in the single digits and the teens especially at night. As most of you know, the MPR does not have mechanical refrigeration so we are at the mercy of mother-nature which can be unpredictable. Now that the colder weather has been with us for a couple of weeks we can seriously begin the process of making ice at Vets Park.

The fire department has graciously volunteered for the past couple of years to assist the city with making ice and we thank them for their time and dedication in this effort. Hopefully this brief explanation on “ice making” has been helpful.

My apologies in not keeping this blog site current in the past few weeks as other matters captured my time. I will strive to be timelier in updating events and the status of issues in the future. I want to thank all those readers that have commented to date, and invite future readers to respond if they so desire. Have a great day.

Last night at the city council meeting Sgt. Fred Rosel of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office was honored for his service to the city for the last six years (close to seven). In my memo to the council I included the following text to describe what his service has meant to the city and what he has accomplish during his tenure here in Coopersville. Sgt. Rosel will be missed and the person chosen to replace him has rather large shoes to fill.

“We want to thank Sgt. Fred Rosel for his excellent service to this city over the past six years and wish him an enjoyable and fruitful retirement. I can say with certainty that Sgt. Rosel has raised the bar for the next sergeant assigned to Coopersville. He has strengthened the community policing side of law enforcement that is required in our city and has instilled in his deputies the same goal they must strive for as well. For all practical purposes Sgt. Rosel was Coopersville’s Police Chief and the manner in which he professionally conducted himself during his tenure here will be the standard for years to come. His commitment to us is sincerely appreciated and will be missed. Congratulations to Sgt. Fred Rosel.”

For-your-information, interviews will begin this Thursday with Sheriff Gary Rosema, the Undersheriff, and I conducting those interviews. Our hope is to announce the next sergeant no later then next week.

By now many of you have heard that Port City Racing was relocating to the City of Coopersville. Obviously, this is great news for the city and for the immediate area as well. At this time Port City Racing out of Fruitport Township has purchased the Amstore building and will be moving their operations before the year is over. This is great news for the city especially in this economy. They have around 40 employees with an additional 5 or more when they complete the move to Coopersville. The city along with Mayor Ken Bush, Ken Rizzio (Ottawa County Economic Development Office), and I were involved in discussions with Port City Racing for a number of weeks. They chose Coopersville over Grand Rapids, Holland, and Grand Haven because they liked our city, our downtown, and our location. Approximately 60% of their business is manufacturing of auto parts for the racing industry. They are branching out to other countries so when the racing season begins to taper off in the states the countries in the southern hemisphere are just beginning their racing season. Exciting stuff. I will keep you up to date as information is provided. THIS IS GREAT NEWS!

I recently was invited to a SummerFest Committee meeting to explain why the city needed to start charging for services such as traffic control and the use of the Department of Public Works (DPW). The news was not well received. After all, the city has been providing numerous services without cost since the beginning of SummerFest including other events scheduled throughout the year. In fact I feel comfortable in stating that without the support of the city for all these years, many of the events this community enjoys would not have survived or been as financially successful.

What has changed? The city’s financial health has changed. The city simply doesn’t have excess funds to pay for equipment rentals (as required by state law), overtime pay for DPW employees, or for emergency services, rescue, and law enforcement personnel that are dedicated to a particular event. When the city is planning to use a part of its fund balance to offset a major deficit in its budget, these expenditures must be re-evaluated and, unfortunately in this case, denied. It is an extremely difficult decision to make but one that needs to be made.

In addition, and even more importantly, it appears many of the services the city has provided for community events are not legally supposed to be allowed without some kind of reimbursement. The State of Michigan’s Department of Treasury has described a number of expenditures as “unlawful.” Two of those expenditures are:
• Donations to community
organizations, and
• Contributions to churches,
veterans, or non-profit
organizations.
All of the organizations that participate in the SummerFest experience are from one of these categories.

When taxpayers’ monies are involved, it is mandatory that monies are lawfully spent and that policies are in place to insure public trust is never lost. The city wants to do what is right and what is legal. We do not want to discourage any participants by making this change, but we are obligated to make the change.

Unfortunately, there are those that believe the city is charging fees this year to make money. This is absolutely untrue. There is no basis in truth to this absurd rumor. If the city provides services to organizations mentioned above, legally and financially we must cover our costs. We do not make any money or profit. We are only charging enough to cover wages for city personnel and any rental equipment used. It would make no sense for the city to unnecessarily or intentionally charge organizations that have such a significant and positive economic impact to the community.

We all gain when the local economy is stimulated and SummerFest is a significant economic boom to city and area businesses. The city thanks all of the organizations that participate in SummerFest and continue to make this event a truly remarkable time for all. The many activities―the food, the music, and especially the cars―make this event more popular every year. We wish everyone a great success this year and for years to come.