Summer is over, Daylight Savings Time is over, the bulk of the construction season is over, and now the elections are over as well. Now is the time for the “new.” On Monday night, we will swear in new council members, the beginning glimpse of winter is present, and a new year will quickly follow in its path. This is an exciting time of the year for the City of Coopersville and its citizens. The city staff and I congratulate the re-election of James Ward and Brian Mooney. However at the time of this writing, the entire election hasn’t been certified by the County Board of Canvassers (BOC). The election results have to be certified BEFORE the oath of office takes place for all those that have been elected, including write-ins. Kim Borgman, City Clerk, is relatively confident that the election will be certified before Monday night’s council meeting per the BOC. If there are any specific questions regarding the status of the elections please contact Ms. Borgman.
Regardless of when the election is officially certified, we look forward to working with our new council in the continuing journey of making Coopersville a prosperous, safe, and desirable place for or residents to live and business owners to thrive.
I would also like to wish Charlie Vander Kolk and Larry Crandle well as they depart the city council. Both have provided a valuable service to the citizens and businesses of this city and the staff and I thank them for their many years of service.
Enjoy your weekend and as I have said countless of times, and I sincerely meant it and still do, be safe out there.
Utility Advisory Committee
I am recommending that council form a committee who can work with me on the various utility projects which are being planned and discussed. There are numerous options being studied to upgrade the water and sewer systems for the City of Coopersville and it would be best if we had a committee who could review options and have solid discussions before proposals come before council for final action. It’s also important that council have a few members that could act as advisers for other council members, in order to provide a more robust exchange of ideas and shorten the learning curve on more complex areas of these projects.
Dedicated Sewer Main – Lift Station
Our new lift-station and dedicated sewer main is now working. As with any major project of this type, there were a few things to work out but by and large the system is working. This expansion to our waste water system will provide more flexibility and by default more capacity in the city’s domestic portion of sewer system.
WWTP Project Phase II
I have again included a previous statement on the WWTP Phase II project below for new council members. Last week I met with individuals representing the Muskegon Waste Water Plant. They once again indicted they would like to contract with City of Coopersville rather than an individual business such as CDF (Continental Dairy Facilities). They will have their formal proposal November 13th rather than November 1st. Once CDF and the city have had time to review their proposal, I will then inform council of what additional options are available to us.
We are studying options for long-term plans that would include constructing Phase II of the City’s WWTP to process 3.3 gallons per day (GPD). Estimated price, depending on the extent of pre-treatment by Continental Dairy (CDF), ranges from $12 Million to $19 Million. The City has already met with our bonding attorney to explore feasibility of financing through an existing bond to construct Phase II. The conclusion is that the City will be able to access additional funds if we so choose. Estimated timeline dependent on financing approval would see construction commencing the summer of 2016 and in operation late spring to early summer of 2017.
A secondary long-term plan is an option currently in discussion with CDF, Coopersville, and Muskegon. It is a concept to divert future incremental flow increases from CDF to the Muskegon WWTP. There are a number of parameters that will need to be finalized if this option were to become a viable choice for all parties. The City of Coopersville will continue to update council as more information becomes available.
West Randall Street Reconstruction Project
Hopefully this will be my last comment on the West Randall Street re-construction project. All lanes are open, the trees are planted, the electrical posts are installed, and even the new lift-station is operational.
Just a quick clarification, as I’ve heard there are a few questions on the electrical posts/outlets. They were installed to provide power for decorative lighting as a means to highlight the corridor from the roundabout to the historic downtown. There is obviously more work to do to make this a complete decorative corridor to Eastmanville and the north to Main Street, but we’re closer than we‘ve been in years. This is truly an exciting project and we thank the DDA Board for their financial contribution to this project.
As always, any questions or concerns about the above projects or other undertakings of the city, please feel free to contact City Hall.
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