Village Council

VILLAGE OF SPARTA Kent County, Michigan Village Council Meeting Monday, May 19, 2025 at 7:00 PM 75 N. Union St. (Sparta Civic Center) Present: President Robert Whalen, Council Members Brenda Braybrook, Robert Carlstrom, David Cumings, Courtney Mais, Tom Peoples, Bill Taylor Absent: None Also Present: Village Manager James Lower, DPW Supervisor William Hunter, Police Chief Andrew Milanowski, DDA Director Elizabeth Morse 1. Call to Order a. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by President Robert Whalen 2. Pledge of Allegiance a. The Pledge was recited at 7 pm. 3. Roll Call a. Formal Roll call was taken. Attendance is noted above. 4. Additions or Corrections to Consent and Business Agenda Consent Agenda: a. Approve Regular Village Council Meeting Minutes of April 21, 2025 b. Approve Fire Board Meeting Minutes of April, 2025 c. Approve Road Closure: Executive Orders 25-02 thru 25-05 5. Approval of Consent and Business Agenda a. The Consent and Business Agenda were approved as presented i. Motion: Mais Moved to approve the consent agenda support by Braybrook. Motion Carried unanimously. 6. Public Comment for Agenda Item Please Note: This Public Comment portion of the meeting is reserved for comment on agenda items. Personal or abusive attacks on Council members, staff members, or other participants will not be tolerated and may result in the Village President taking action, up to and including, having the speaker removed from the meeting by law enforcement officers. 7. Public Hearing a. None. 8. Old Business  a. None. 9. New Business a. Audit Presentation by Dan Veldheizen, Sigfield Crandall i. No recommendations, Dave Carpenter the finance director has provided all needs other than a few unique liabilities. Very excellent financial condition, very good team in place. b. SLU Application Daycare 172 W. Averill i. Special land use application, presented at planning commission meeting. A home that requesting an in-home day care. Local ordinance and state law requires special land use. Planning Commission checked against all local regulations. Staff and Planning Commission recommend. ii. Motion by Braybrook, second by Peoples. Motion passes 7-0. c. Dance with Me Agreement i. Parcel on 223 E. Division with run down house that DDA and Village acquired and remediated the site. An RFP process, Rex Baker purchased and tried to do a development. Funding dried up at state, Dance with Me would like to acquire the space for additional parking and eventually a new building. Rex willing to transfer to new sale, getting a dedicated easement for a future board walk behind the building, also that public would use the bridge. Property owner would fund 50% of the bridge construction up to $40,000. In the interim we will have nice improvements to the downtown. Although it is different than what was originally proposed, this is a good proposal for consideration. ii. Motion by to authorize agreement and sign the agreement by Mais, with Support by Peoples. Motion Passes 7-0 d. Village Hall & Civic Center RFP/Sale Process Discussion & Approval Discussion of the front of the Village Hall building put into a deed restriction Village council will always have final say on who buys it, even if listed, accept or reject any offers on either style of proposal Far more exposure to list with Coldwell Banker Consensus to list both properties with Mike Lamb, Coldwell Banker e. Budget Implementation Road Work Approvals i. Village has implemented a Local Road Program with Kent County Road Commission to bid out local streets, and bids came in lower than engineered estimates of $26,000. These approvals support the Village’s ongoing infrastructure improvements while staying well within the FY2025 Capital Improvement Plan Budget. Staff recommends the following road projects: Michigan Paving & Materials Company for $179,957.50 for asphalt resurfacing. Authorize the use of Kent County Road Commission contracts for $30,000 in concrete curb work and $10,000 in inspection services. Approve the invoice from Kent County Road Commission in the amount of $28,803.61 for completed mastic surface treatment, funded by the $30,000 crack sealing budget. ii. Motion by Carlstrom with support by Cummings. Motion Passes 7-0.  f. Cityhood Committee Update from Chairman Carlstrom May was a good meeting, went over pros / cons list. Went thru the steps of cityhood and is almost finished. Draft financial analysis was presented; those numbers are still being finalized. Meeting set up with the Township next week to connect on numbers and information. There will be an update after the Township /Village meeting. 10. Executive Session a. None. 11. Village Manager & Department Reports Safe Routes to school, after an 8-year process, is almost complete, a final walk through has taken place. Village Complex is under construction, footings are being placed and site work is moving forward. Grant and bond process is still in process for the Sewer Plant. North State Street project up to O’Connor intending to be late summer or early fall 2025. 12. Communications a. Town Square Layout Revision b. Well Head Protection Grant Application Consensus Utility committee will serve as the new Well Head Protection Committee 13. Payment of Bills April Payables PAYABLES (101) General Fund $212,445.67 (202) Major Street Fund $6,456.59 (203) Local Street Fund $8,041.92 (581) Airport $50,381.99 (590) Sewer Department Fund $59,888.05 (591) Water Department Fund $53,542.57 (661) Equipment Rental Fund $154,269.45 Total $545,026.24  Informational: $34,592.74 (206) Fire Department $1,725.68 (208) SRA Park Fund $14,627.17 (248) Downtown Development Authority $50,945.59 Total Motion by Taylor with support by Mais. Motion passes 7-0. 14. Public Comment Doc George Freeland, Freeland Chiropractic/president of Sparta Celtic Fest; Celtic is going to be submitting an application for the Civic Center. The Civic is the hub of the Celtic Fest annual festival. Annual attendance with up to 8,500; Sparta has been recognized internationally for the Celtic Fest; charitable gifts such as $500 Kent County Sherrif Dept. K9 unit, Sparta Library, and scholarship programs. 15. Council Member Announcements 16. Adjournment a. Meeting was adjourned at 8:27 by executive privilege.