SHELBY - Shelby Village Council met Monday to address a full agenda. All council members were in attendance, with the exception of Village President John Sutton, who was absent. Village President Pro-Tem Steve Crothers presided over the meeting.
In his administrator’s report to council, Village Administrator Phil Morse proposed the idea of hosting a “Carve Prize” downtown next year from May 1 until the second week of July. After this year’s successful Chainsaw Festival, Morse would like to feature a variety of wood carvings all summer in hopes of drawing more people to downtown. However, he feels security would be imperative to getting carvers to leave their works unattended and to curb possible vandalism or theft. Morse added that any cameras would be paid for by the Chainsaw Festival or through fundraising. He was asking for the council members' initial thoughts on the concept.
Councilors Dan Zaverl and Mike Termer both stated that they feel having cameras downtown infringes on people’s privacy. Other council members asked what other entities do and if the Chair-ity fundraiser sponsored by St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church this summer experienced vandalism. Morse said he didn’t think there had been any vandalism with that event. He added he’d spoken with the City of Whitehall and CatchMark, where the cameras would come from. Morse knows that Grand Rapids has cameras in certain areas for similar reasons.
“It (having cameras) will determine if we even have it (Carve Prize). I don’t know how that (not having cameras) would impact who wants to present,” Morse said.
Council member Curt Trott asked if the village would be responsible for the carvings. Morse said the village would have a hold harmless clause artisans would need to sign. He also said he’d thought about having carvings displayed in windows, but it wouldn’t be the same as having them outside.
“It would build interest and bring people downtown,” Crothers said of offering this type of event.
Morse closed the discussion by saying he’d continue to research options.
Next Morse shared some information from a meeting he’d had with Dave Beckman and Brian Beckman from The Ladder and Shelby Township Supervisor Richard Raffaelli regarding a new sign at the “triangle” lot between State Street and Michigan Avenue. Details are still in the works, but according to Morse. “It is a great example of a community center working with two units of government to get something nice for the community.”
Under “New Business,” Eric Van Dop, CPA, Brickley DeLong, provided an overview of the village’s Fiscal Year 24/25 Audit; former administrative assistant Amy Bowditch was removed as a signatory from the village bank accounts and one new business item to “Adjust Minimum/Maximum Fund Balance Policy” was removed from the agenda due to the results of a Finance Meeting held Monday afternoon.
The other action item under new business was to consider a lease agreement between the Village of Shelby and Shelby Township for Getty Field, where the township proposes to build a community pool.
The idea of a community pool was first proposed on January 27, 2025, when a memo of understanding was approved by the village to explore the possibility of using Getty Field for a community pool. Since that time, the township has applied for a Michigan Department of Natural Resources grant, which requires a lease agreement between the two entities to be eligible for the grant. Morse shared that both the village and township legal teams had reviewed the lease, and it was ready for council consideration.
Key highlights of the lease included, the pool would be constructed at no cost to the village; the township would use the property exclusively for a pool; the village would lease the property to the township at no cost; the village would waive tap fees for sewer and water as its contribution to the project; any substantial alterations to the project - before, during or after - would require village approval; the lease would essentially be an “on-paper” agreement which would not affect current maintenance responsibilities or utility arrangements; if the pool is not constructed within three years, the lease would automatically terminate; and the lease would be for a term of 50 years, and after that time frame a renewal of 40 years could be considered.
Now that the project seems to be moving forward, council members had several questions.
Crothers asked if Getty Park was encumbered in any way and if that would affect the project. Morse said he had checked with appropriate government agencies, and a pool project would be allowed in Getty Field.
Zaverl said he hated to take the playing field away from the kids in town, saying he sees it being used all the time. Zaverl also took issue with waiving water and sewer fees. “My rates keep going up.” Then he added, “I know you’re going to say it’s the village’s contribution, but everything’s a contribution.”
DPW Superintendent Jeremiah Helenhouse told council a water line is already in place. The only cost waived, and the village’s contribution, would be a sewer tap fee of $300, Village Clerk Crystal Budde verified.
Samantha Gottschalk agreed with Zaverl, saying, “I agree with Dan about the loss of soccer space. People are always there. They play longer than a pool would be open. How difficult would it be to move the pool to another location?”
Council tossed around some other locations that might work as places for informal soccer games and field sports: Walnut Park, Mead Park, the former Thomas Read playground or the fields connected to the school. Each seemed to have pros and cons. When Crothers asked if anyone wished to make a motion on the lease, the room was silent.
“There is one more (village council) meeting before the deadline,” Morse said.
“It seems like we could find a location for kids to play soccer,” Crothers said next.
The idea for a community pool was born when the township asked for public input last summer with regard to building a community recreation center. According to those who responded, many wanted a pool more than an indoor facility, Morse said.
Trott suggested, “I think we should take the next two weeks to read everything over and think about some areas that could be used for free play.”
Council member Crystal Heykoop waited until the end of the discussion to share her thoughts, “We have to consider the secondary cost of finding another location (for play space). I’m not a hard yes or no either way, but if the village is going to move its playing field, what is that going to cost?”
Finally, Morse brought to the council’s attention the ongoing issue downtown of vehicles making illegal U-turns in the middle of Michigan Avenue to access angled parking spaces. Vehicles speeding through downtown has also been raised repeatedly by businesses and residents.
Police Chief Dave Roesler has studied the situation and proposes placing sandwich board signs with the “no left turn” symbol on them near Third and Fourth Streets. In addition, yellow traffic cones would have a cone topper that reads “Do Not Cross Double Yellow Line” and would be set up between the sandwich boards to reinforce the message. He also proposes placing portable speed bumps near Third Street for northbound traffic and Fourth Street for southbound traffic.
“I can approve this expenditure without council approval ($1,370.94) but I would rather make the council aware ahead of time,” said Morse.
“The current signs have been there too long,” Roesler explained. “These will be portable and can be moved during night or snow events. They would be used as ‘traffic calming initiators.’ Right now signs are everywhere. It needs to be cleaned up. This would be a temporary fix until we get a master plan for downtown.”
