The last few months have been busy for the Village of Shelby, with a number of projects coming to completion and many more begun.
At the May 12 council meeting, members of Shelby's Tiger Bytes Robotics Team were present to express their thanks to the many donors who helped them get to State for the first time in their first year.
Also, at that meeting, village residents Ben and Paula Michalko brought their concerns regarding Ordinance No. 02-24B § 430-25 regarding "Sidewalks to remain clear and clean" and § 430-26 "Snow and ice removal."
§ 430-25, reads, "Property owners and/or occupants shall keep the sidewalks abutting their premises clear and clean, and shall remove all papers, leaves, trash, personal property, grass and weed overgrowth, and all protruding branches or overhanging shrubbery, thereby providing a passage at least seven feet high and six inches outside of the sidewalk boundaries."
The Michalkos stated that they were against the ordinance, deeming it "inappropriate" and "not very friendly" to residents. After much discussion, council voted to suspend enforcement of the ordinance while they looked into it further. Village Administrator Phil Morse was against the suspension, stating that enforcement of the ordinance is about the bigger picture of consistently making the village "look nicer."
Suspending enforcement of the ordinance means that individuals in violation will not be required to comply with the notice to abate, nor will the cost of abatement be charged against the premises if they fail to comply with the terms within 48 hours after notice has been given.
At council's June 9 meeting, approval was given to two specific roadway-related grants.
A Safe Routes to School grant, which was due June 18, would fund $900,000 of infrastructure improvements for sidewalk and crosswalk improvements along Sixth Street and State Street, as well as an additional $45,000 for programming support to educate the community and promote proper and expanded use of the new walkways. (see “Shelby Village takes next steps toward SRTS grant application” from the June 13 edition of The Oceana Echo for more specific information on this grant.)
A second grant application, which was due June 13, the Category B Transportation Economic Development Fund grant, in the amount of $246,500, would provide a 50/50 matching opportunity for the village utilizing the village’s local street funds for the match. “Because the village has already allocated funds for water main and roadway improvements along South Michigan Avenue, by coordinating this work with a road resurfacing project, we can enhance the village’s application’s competitiveness, Morse explained in his memo to council. “If awarded, the grant would allow reconstruction of South Michigan and resurface both Bennet and Grant Streets at no additional local cost.”
Council also gave their approval to a recommended Wellhead Protection Renewal Plan (WHPP) renewal. According to Morse, the village first adopted a WHPP in 1995, however, the most recent plan expired in 2021. The plan will be good for five years and allows extra “points” when applying for Drinking Water State Revolving Fund grants. “Not only does the WHPP analyze the village’s current infrastructure, but looks for possible sources of contamination and makes recommendations based on the findings. You’ve probably seen the 'Wellhead Protection Area' signs around; those are related to WHPP.”
The cost of developing the plan would be $6,750 and has not been budgeted in this fiscal year, however, Fleis & VandenBrink Engineering, Inc. has agreed to assist with the renewal and will apply for a Michigan EGLE (Environment, Great Lakes & Energy) Source Water Protection grant, which offers a 50% reimbursement for eligible costs. They would also manage grant administration and facilitation.
Waiver of a tap-in fee of $39,326 for Shelby Township Park’s Tiger Athletic Community Complex was also approved. Morse’s memo to council stated, “The proposal had been reviewed by the village’s Water and Sanitation Committee several months ago and had recommended it be brought before council. The township has requested, at their own expense, water service from the village for their fire suppression system, as well as for other basic water needs (restrooms, drinking fountains). The township reported it had applied for a right-of-way permit to install a four-inch water line from the fire hydrant at the end of Industrial Park Drive out to the athletic center. The township had asked for the waiver based on the belief that village residents will more than likely be among the primary users of the center, second only to township residents. In addition, the township said it will pay the standard ready-to-serve charges and fees for basic water use as well as an annual fee for fire suppression services. The village’s legal counsel had confirmed these are standard operating practices in other municipalities.”
Given the information and discussion that followed, the council voted to approve the township’s waiver request with council member Dan Zaverl voting in opposition.
Lastly, the council gave approval for a proposed “weekend park maintenance” solution. As hoped, the new Getty Park is seeing a lot of use, bringing with it necessary maintenance and upkeep. Because the village parks maintenance staff only works Monday through Friday, trash removal and restroom care hasn’t been occurring on the weekends. Morse proposed three possible solutions and approximate costs to help solve the problem; pay the village’s current park maintenance staff member for two hours of overtime on both Saturdays and Sundays (at a cost of $4,750 for 34 weeks); have on-call DPW staff members handle the cleaning when they are on call and compensate them with the standard two-hour minimum (at a cost of $5,650); or recruit volunteer custodians to clean bathrooms and take care of trash on weekends and holidays (at a cost of $2,375-$2,825 for one of the weekend days). After discussion, council voted to have the on-call weekend staff take care of maintaining the park’s restrooms and removing trash as needed.
Following the June 21 double-ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly renovated Getty Park, council met June 23 and expressed their gratitude to the many people involved in this multi-year project and noted how well the event went.
Village President John Sutton, during his report, stated "I'd like to go through and thank everybody who had a role in this…it takes so much more than just one person. It really takes a village sometimes.
"The party went really well. It was a little breezy, but it kind of helped keep it cool for us. I think everybody enjoyed it, and when you go by the park, there is a sense of pride. We all know we did the right thing by building that park.
"We're proud of everybody that had a part in it."
Morse added that though this project has transitioned through multiple administrators, it stayed on track, and "the village council needs to take credit for that because (they) kept on the path of what (the) plans were."
The momentum from the completion of Getty Park rolled straight into the first Shelby Chainsaw Carving Festival less than three weeks later.
After the two-day July 11-12 event, council met for their July 14 meeting, which was one of their shortest to date. "I was very pleased with the results. The only thing…I wish there (were) maybe a few more people [spectators]. It's a first time thing. There's a lot going on," Morse noted. "The auction sales were great. Our carvers went away very happy."
He also readily acknowledged the many volunteers and village staff who made the event possible and thanked not only them but also the council for its in-kind donation to cover the cost of the staff's labor. "It's going to go on next year," Morse added. "I have ideas to expand it."
Morse would like to remind all residents to check out the latest Village of Shelby YouTube video featuring Police Chief Roesler talking about junk cars. These informative, short videos address a variety of topics and answer questions posed by residents, council members as well as the community. Please contact the village hall with suggestions for future videos. All Village of Shelby YouTube informational videos are available at “Village of Shelby 218.”
