Three members of Lowell City Council met for approximately 35 minutes on Monday night to discuss five pieces of business. Mayor Mike DeVore and Councilmember Jim Salzwedel were absent, but the remaining councilmembers were enough for the quorum needed to proceed with the meeting.
Mayor Pro Tem Marty Chambers ran the meeting which started with excusing absences and approving the consent agenda. The consent agenda included approval of the night’s agenda, the last meeting’s minutes and the payment of $798,452 in invoices.
Public Comments: City Should Lead Effort to Clean Flat River
During the public comments portion of the agenda, resident Perry Beachum said he attended the August Coffee with Council meeting and noted there were “many great discussions” with the three councilmembers who attended.
He added that he thought the city should take a more active role in addressing vegetation growth in the Flat River. “My hope is that the city could take the lead and figure out a solution for that,” Beachum said.
In previous meetings, city leadership said it would fall to residents to determine if and how to address vegetation growth in the river. City Manager Mike Burns has also stated that maintaining the river is not a core function of the city so the cost of any treatment would have to be paid by residents.
Beachum thought the city should participate financially in cleaning up the river, but if they would not, perhaps they could apply for grants for the project. “The longer we wait, the harder it’s going to be to eradicate (the weeds),” he said.
Riverside Drive Water and Sewer Line Concerns
The first piece of business for the evening was an update on the traffic diversion on Riverside Drive. Vehicles heading north from Main Street are being diverted down Elm to prevent the use of Riverside Drive as a way to bypass Hudson Street.
Burns said he has received positive feedback from residents with some going so far as to stop by city hall to thank him for the barricade. However, he also noted that there has been less traffic downtown in general with Main Street currently closed to through traffic and the school year not yet started.
Resident Robert Newman approached the podium and said he appreciated the work the city had done to reduce traffic on the street. However, he was concerned that water and sewer lines would not be installed for the 900 block of Riverside Drive when the road is repaved next year.
Currently, residents in the 900 block receive their water from lines that run from Hudson Street and, in some cases, under their neighbors’ properties. The city had previously made plans to loop a water main down Riverside Drive as part of next year’s project, but when a grant from the county was not received, it was decided no utility work would be done in the area.
“To loop that water line – which there is already service there – if you loop that water line, it’s $190,000 if you include engineering,” Burns said. Water rates would need to be raised 25% next year to pay for the project, according to the city manager. “The issue too is that it literally services eight residents.”
Burns also noted, “If there were a deteriorated sewer line, we’d do what we have to do to replace it.”
“You have definite documentation that there is no problem with that tile?” Newman asked later. He referenced an incident in which a private contractor pumped gravel out of a sewer line on the block.
Burns said the city had the lines inspected in 2017, and there were no problems then. Newman said he watched gravel being sucked out of a pipe within the past 18 months and asked Burns to check with his staff to confirm there were no issues in the area.
Beachum spoke next and said that while the city believes the current water lines are adequate, some residents need to leave their faucets on during the winter to avoid frozen pipes. He also wondered whether utility funds must be used for the work, noting the cost of some 2024 street projects have come in significantly below the budgeted amount. Beachum thought perhaps some of the extra money from those projects could be used for water lines on Riverside Drive.
Burns replied that money from the utility funds should pay for utility work.
The wastewater fund had a cash balance of $1.55 million for the 2023-24 budget year, and the cash balance in the water fund was $1.67 million, according to city budget documents. During a meeting earlier this year about rising utility rates, it was noted that the city was maintaining cash balances of 400 days while a balance of nine months was recommended as the norm. according to a consultant who spoke during the meeting.
A final resident, Casey Catlin, also addressed the council. “(Do) you call when you flush your toilet that your faucet goes to a trickle, that’s adequate?” he asked. “Does it do that at your house?”
Both Chambers and Burns cut him off. “We’re not going to be combative,” Burns said. “Technically, I’m doing a courtesy by answering the questions.”
Catlin also asked who was responsible for his water line since it ran under his neighbor’s garage. Burns said lateral lines were the property owner’s responsibility.
Other Street Repair Updates
Under new business, councilmembers unanimously approved $1.015 million for Michigan Paving to mill and resurface Lafayette Street as well as seven cross streets in the neighborhood.
The city had budgeted $1.211 million for the work, and the initial low bid came in at $747,358. Michigan Paving was then asked to provide quotes for three more road segments – Maple and sections of High and King Streets – which added $372,757. The city is also spending $17,300 to purchase millings from the projects to fill in gravel lots at Recreation Park and Stoney Lakeside Park.
In a separate motion, councilmembers unanimously approved the payment of $55,800 to Williams & Works for engineering work related to the 2024 street projects.
During his manager’s report, Burns noted that the public portion of Deborah Drive had been repaved.
Consumers Energy began a project this week on Broadway Street to install a new gas line. “They never bothered to notify the city or business owners,” Burns said. “It was completely unacceptable, and I let them know.”
Looking forward, Burns said he was looking for money for a 2026-27 project on James Street. This will be a “massive” street construction project and also address an “archaic storm sewer system” in the area.
Other Meeting Items
Councilmembers unanimously approved the purchase of a 2001 parking lot sweeper for $7,000. The sweeper is in usable condition but does need about $6,000 in repairs.
Assistant City Manager Rich LaBombard said the sweeper won’t replace the need for the city to contract out street sweeping services each year, but the vehicle can be used for smaller projects such as cleaning municipal lots, cemetery drives and after events such as water main breaks and road patch projects.
Councilmembers unanimously selected DeVore to be the city’s voting delegate during the Michigan Municipal League’s annual conference on Mackinac Island.
They also unanimously approved Police Chief Chris Hurst as the employer delegate at the annual meeting of the Michigan Municipal Employees’ Retirement System. Julie Stewart has been named as the employee delegate.
In his final comments of the night, Chambers defended Burns. “As council, we’ve directed Mike to seek funding for everything that we can, and Mike’s done a very good job,” he said. “To try to get funding takes time, and we get shot down 99% of the time because we’re too…well off.”
The meeting adjourned at 7:35pm, and the next regular meeting of Lowell City Council will take place on Monday, Aug. 19, at 7pm in Lowell City Hall.
Burns and Chambers why is it that your asked two direct questions you find that combative? You’re both in positions of serving the public. Burns your paid by the residents of the city of Lowell and Chambers most likely isn’t but chose to serve. You both owe Caitlin an apology for cutting him off. If this was Beachum asking questions he wouldn’t be cutoff. Burns if you don’t like questions being asked of you then find another line of work. You’re not that important.