City Council Recap: LCTV Grants Awarded

Lowell City Council held its first meeting in March last night and spent an hour and 17 minutes in open session before going into a closed session to discuss labor negotiations.

All councilmembers were present for the meeting which included two public comments, a legislative update and the approval of the most recent round of grants from the LCTV Fund.

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Citizen Comments: LARA Trail, Skate Park

During the citizen comments portion of the meeting, City Clerk Sue Ullery read a letter from city resident James Pfaller. In it, Pfaller praised the quick action of Department of Public Works staff in responding to a water main break that occurred on a Sunday morning.

Pfaller also expressed concern that the city was planning to spend $135,000 to support the construction of a trailway through town. “The use of tax dollars is a violation of the agreement forming the LARA organization,” according to Pfaller, who was a councilmember at the time of its creation in 2004.

While Pfaller wrote that the original agreement limited the city to a $2,000 contribution to LARA, City Manager Mike Burns said he has not seen that requirement in any LARA agreement. He also noted that the money earmarked for a connector trail in the city is coming from a bequeath from a resident’s estate and federal stimulus dollars. No general fund money is being used.

A review of the original agreement shows that each of the constituent units – City of Lowell, Lowell Charter Township and Vergennes Township – are expected to contribute $1,000 annually for operation and maintenance. They are also expected to contribute in cash an amount equal to their share of the LARA budget although they may contribute more if they would like. If a $2,000 limit on city contributions was discussed in 2004, it does not appear to have made it into the final agreement.

The second citizen comment of the night came from Bob Rogers. He has been working to fundraise money for a renovation of the Lowell Skate Park and expects to have his initial goal met in April.

He asked the council if they would be agreeable to him raising an additional $125,000 to add a skateboard bowl to the park. Rogers said he had been in touch with a design team in California and a representative from The Skatepark Project, which is affiliated with Tony Hawk, will be coming to Impact Church later in the month to discuss the project.

Councilmembers unanimously gave their blessing for Rogers to continue fundraising to privately pay for enhancements to the skate park, including the addition of a bowl.

LCTV Grants Approved

Dennis Kent, chair of the LCTV Endowment Board, was on-hand to provide the board’s recommendations for 2022 grant awards. They were as follows:

  • City of Lowell for administrative expenses related to the LCTV Fund: $4,000
  • City of Lowell for replacement of front entrance to the Graham Building which houses the Lowell Area Historical Museum: $25,000
  • Fallasburg Historical Society for climate control in the Misner House: $1,958.50
  • Flat River Outreach Ministries for improvements to its food storage: $6,200
  • Impact Church for the renovation/remodel of the Lowell Skate Park: $30,000
  • Lowell Area Fire Department for body armor: $6,846
  • Lowell Area Historical Museum for historic district building history project: $9,000
  • LowellArts for technology upgrades: $2,630
  • Lowell Police Department for bola wraps: $10,596.85
  • Lowell’s Open Table for to-go containers: $1,500
  • Vergennes Township for handicap access to their township hall: $5,800
  • YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids for supplies for their Lowell location: $600

The recommended grants were approved unanimously by Lowell City Council.

Other Items on the Agenda

State Senator Winnie Brinks addresses Lowell City Council.

The following were also on the meeting agenda:

  • A legislative update from State Senator Winnie Brinks who shared that she has been working on legislation to lower prescription drug costs and provide treatment for opioid abuse.
  • A lengthy presentation from a representative of MERS, an organization that manages the city’s pension fund. The city has been working to fully fund its pension liabilities by 2040. At the conclusion of the presentation, councilmembers voted unanimously to extend that timeframe by five years. Extending the amortization schedule by five years is similar to refinancing a loan in that it can lower payments, but Burns says his intention is to continue making higher payments in the hopes of paying off the obligation early.
  • Councilmembers voted unanimously to rezone 115 Riverside Dr. from the public facilities to the C-2 district, as recommended by the Planning Commission.
  • Councilmembers voted unanimously to approve an expenditure of $124,155 to Plummer’s to clean all the city’s sewer pipes over a three-year period. “I’m a little concerned that we only got one bid,” said Councilmember Jim Salzwedel. While he voted in favor of the expense, he said he would like to see multiple bids for work of this size in the future.

In his manager’s report, Burns said the city would receive an additional $70,000 in revenue sharing next year thanks to a 400-person increase in population. The city was also in line to receive an additional $42,000 payment in April.

The odor issue at River City Cannabis appears to be resolved although the business still needs to follow through with conditions such as consulting with an industrial hygienist and having a third-party expert sign off on their odor mitigation plan.

Burns said a city plow had damaged some lawns in the area of Riverside Drive and Elizabeth Street. DPW crews would make repairs in the spring. He added that if anyone noted damage on Hudson Street, that was because of county crews, not city plows.

The open session ended at 8:17pm. The next regular meeting of Lowell City Council will be Monday, March 21, at 7pm.

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