The Vergennes Township Board had its regular meeting on Monday, February 20. Representatives from the Lowell Area Historical Museum and Lowell Area Fire and Emergency Services Authority were guests, both of whom presented annual reports.
Lowell Area Historical Museum Annual Report
Lisa Plank, director of the Lowell Area Historical Museum, mentioned in her report that “We physically saw over 36,000 people in 2022, which is a huge number for a museum of our size.” Plank also mentioned there was a successful attempt to expand their online presence.
“We have a weekly series where we highlight different topics in Lowell’s history,” she said. Plank referred to The ABCs of Lowell, a successful online series that has become a volume of books that can be purchased on the museum’s website. It is currently a two volume set. “We are seeing tremendous growth,” Plank stated in reference to online traffic on their website. She notes that in just the past year, 229,656 people read their online posts, and their online traffic has been increasing during the past three years.
There has also been a resurgence of interest in volunteering. There have been more than 3,100 volunteer hours during the past year. Plank praised the dedicated volunteers that helped the museum. “We are proud and thankful for all of the people who volunteer,” she said.
Also of note is the oral history program, which has been expanding. Volunteers have interviewed local residents who have discussed their memories of Lowell’s history. These interviews have all been uploaded onto their website for anyone to view.
Also, the museum has been reaching out to local school classrooms to discuss Native American history and fur trading in the Lowell area. Plank mentioned that during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they could not get into the classrooms, they saw a gap in learning and awareness of local history. Now that the students are back to doing the whole curriculum of the museum’s local history lessons, the students are catching up. “People are eager to find out about their local history, and we try to make that as accessible as we can in a number of different ways,” according to Plank.
Lowell Area Fire Authority Annual Report
Shannon Witherell, Chief of the Lowell Area Fire Department, offered a report.
In the report, he mentioned that in July, the department hired its first full time firefighter, Brenda Herron, who was also named Firefighter of the Year. Currently, there are 32 firefighters on their roster. In 2017, there were 16, and in 2018, there were 18 firefighters.
“When the middle school came down, we were able to inherit 30 lockers from them,” Witherell mentioned in his facilities report. With the increase in numbers, there was dire need for extra lockers. Benches from the school were repurposed for the fire department as well. With funds provided from a COVID-19 fund, they were able to upgrade the station security with electronic locks for the building.
Last year, the department purchased a hose testing machine for $2,700. “We were typically paying $3,000 to get hoses tested,” Witherell noted. Now, they won’t have to contract that out. “There were no failures with the hoses last year,” he added. Also, Engine 1 is now in service.
As for training, 11 members went through EMT training courses. They were able to get a grant to get many of their firefighters certified. There was also a grant received to send Herron to Orlando for a Women in Fire Service Conference. For the second year in a row, they collaborated with Cascade Fire and Thornapple Kellogg for live fire trainings.
There was an 8% increase in calls last year. Lowell Township had the highest number of calls, followed by the City of Lowell, and then Vergennes Township. Vergennes saw an increase by 12 calls while Lowell Township saw an increase of 63 calls. The busiest day for the department is Wednesdays, and the busiest month was October.
The Department was able to get back into the classrooms and talk to all 1,500 kids throughout the four elementary schools. There was a lot of outreach at events like the Riverwalk Festival, at Impact Church, and Harvest Festivals, among others.
New Business: Kennel Denial
There was a recommendation from the Planning Commission to deny a special exception use permit for Conley’s Kennels. The business on McPherson Street was hoping to add facilities for 3-10 dogs.
At the Planning Commission meeting, three residents who live on two nearby properties spoke in opposition to the permit. They noted that they had a deeded easement to the property and worried about an increase in traffic. Concerns about noise, the potential for dogs getting loose and run-off into a nearby creek were also raised. The Planning Commission voted unanimously to deny the application on the grounds that it may adversely affect neighboring properties.
During Monday’s meeting, township board members reviewed the application and agreed with the Planning Commission, noting that access to the barn for the kennels would be via a road that was very close to others’ properties. “The size of the lot was an issue…the location and proximity to other homes,” one official explained.
After their discussion, a motion to deny the application was approved.
In other new business, the federal poverty exemption numbers were considered along with Salary Resolution #2023-1. Both of these were approved unanimously, and quickly. After that, the board went into a closed session with the township attorney.
The next regular meeting of the Vergennes Township Board will be on Monday, March 20, at 7pm.
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