SHELBY - Nearly 11 months after sharing renderings at a community forum of what a renovated downtown Shelby could look like, the Shelby Village Council awarded their Downtown Development Project construction contract to McCormick Sand, Inc. of Twin Lake, in the amount of $1,873,468.30. Councilors voting in favor were Steve Crothers, Samantha Gottschalk, Mike Termer, Curt Trott, and Village President John Sutton. Dan Zaverl voted in opposition. Crystal Heykoop was absent. Construction is projected to begin in March of 2027.
The idea for the downtown streetscape renovation came to the forefront two years ago, following the formation of the Village Implementation Team and several subcommittees, who set about to evaluate downtown Shelby and envision what it could become.
Two other bids were also received: one from Hallack Contracting in the amount of $2,225,451.50; the other from Wadel Stabilization & Construction in the amount of $2,332,657.00. McCormick was not only the lowest bidder, but also the contractor used for the village’s Getty Park Renovation Project.
In other business, in preparation for the downtown streetscape renovation project, the village approved payment to Consumers Energy for downtown streetlight removal in the amount of $15,575. Zaverl was the lone council member to vote against the approval. The expenditure, originally determined to come from the FY2027-28 budget, will now come from the village’s FY2026-27 due to the six-month construction schedule required by Consumers.
Nineteen of the downtown’s existing streetlights will be removed, as early in 2027 as the weather allows, which will leave the downtown without streetlights for up to three months. The approved expenditure will come from the $300,000 Local Streets allocation the council had approved earlier. Because of the concern for public safety during their removal and replacement, council has asked Village Administrator Phil Morse to look into the costs for temporary options.
The council also unanimously approved an amendment to their MERS (Municipal Employees Retirement System) 457 Participation Agreement. Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, the approval will allow part-time employees to participate in the MERS, should they choose to do so, without an employer-matching contribution. Village Clerk Miraya Gissell Diaz was commended by the council for looking into this opportunity for the village’s part-time employees.
In June, the village council took part in a Strategic Vision Survey, the results of which will ultimately be used to guide village council priorities in the next five years. On Monday, Morse held a work session during the council meeting, which included not only the results of the village’s recent vision survey, but of a strategic planning session held in late 2023 with then-village administrator Brady Selner.
Before their next council meeting, Morse is asking council members to review the documents provided and prioritize what strategic actions they feel village staff should be focusing on in the next five years. Survey questions were related to everything from law enforcement, businesses, parks, and buildings to employee wages, water and sewer services, streets and sidewalks. The survey resulted in several revelations.
While the vision survey may have shown what council members think are priorities, Termer challenged Morse and the council to differentiate between what are “needs” and what are “wants.”
“I think we really need to evaluate where we are financially and ask if there is a different way to do this. We need to ask ourselves, ‘How does what we approve affect the everyday resident of Shelby?’ Just because we have the money…doesn’t mean we need to spend it," Termer said.
Morse suggested council come to the next meeting prepared for further discussion before formally ranking any priority.
