Village Council

VILLAGE OF SPARTA Kent County, Michigan Village Council Meeting Monday, August 18, 2025 at 7:00 PM 75 N. Union St. (Sparta Civic Center) 1. Call to Order a. The Meeting was called to order by President Whalen at 7:00 pm. 2. Pledge of Allegiance a. The Pledge was recited at 7 pm, 3. Roll Call: Present: Cumings, Braybrook, Taylor, Carlstrom, Peoples, Mais, Whalen 4. Additions or Corrections to Consent and Business Agenda Peoples would like to review the civic center deal, added as Civic Center as New Business E. Cityhood moved to F and G. Consent Agenda: a. Approve Regular Village Council Meeting Minutes of July 21, 2025 b. Approve Planning Commission Meeting Minutes May 5, 2025 c. Approve Fire Board Meeting Minutes of July 17, 2025 d. Approve Citizens Advisory Committee on Cityhood Minutes April 2 & 16th, May 7, June 10, July 15, and August 4, 2025 e. Approve Homecoming Fireworks Display October 3rd, 2025 5. Approval of Consent and Business Agenda a. Carlstrom moved to approve Motion to with correction, support by Braybrook. Motion passed 7-0. 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. a. James Kerby 151 LuRu Lane Commented on Cityhood b. Ken Hammerland, 1144 12 Mile Road. Commented on Cityhood c. Tom Lampen 103 Anderson. Commented on Cityhood d. Marilyn Passmore, 210 Liberty Street Commented on Bedford Falls. 7. Public Hearing a. None. Page 1 of 4 8. Old Business a. None. 9. New Business a. Res. 25-11 A Resolution of Intent to Alter the Village Boundaries i. Motion: Carlstrom to approved Res. 25-11 as presented, second by Mais. Approved 7-0. b. Res. 25-12 A Resolution to Designate September 19th, 2025 as POW/MIA Recognition Day i. Motion: Mais moved to approve Res. 25-12 as presented, second by Peoples. Approved 7-0. c. Res. 25-13 A Resolution to Appoint the Wastewater Board of Appeals i. Motion: Braybrook moved to approve Res. 25-13 as presented, second by Cummings. Approved 7-0. d. Ord. 25-02 An Ordinance to Amend the Sparta Zoning Map i. Motion: Braybrook moved to approve Ord. 25-02 as presented, second by Cummings. Approved 7-0. e. Civic Center. Council Member Peoples raised concerns regarding the Civic Center trade with the Historical Commission/Township, noting that it was discussed at the Township Board meeting. He expressed that the value the village is forgoing by not selling the building (of approximately $240,000) was not being appreciated, and that the Village has been treated poorly throughout the process. He further stated that the intended goals of the trade are not being achieved. While other council members remained comfortable proceeding with the proposed trade and legal agreement as currently written, they were not in favor of making further alterations. Motion: Peoples moved to rescind the trade offer and place the building on the open market. Supported by Mais. Vote: Motion failed, 2–5. Further discussion followed. The consensus of the Council was that the Township must accept the agreement as presented at their next meeting. Should the Township decline to act or suggest changes, a similar motion to sell the building would likely be introduced at the next Village Council meeting and is expected to have broader support. The Village Manager was directed to place this topic on the draft agenda for the September 15, 2025 meeting. f. Cityhood Committee Final Report i. Motion: Mais to approve the Cityhood Final Report as presented, second by Peoples. Motion passed 7-0. g. Cityhood Next Steps Discussion i. Motion: Cummings moved to pursue the next step as recommended by the report, second by Mais. Motion passed 7-0. 10. Executive Session a. None. Page 2 of 4 11. Village Manager & Department Reports New complex on track with timing for completion, new roof on the Police Department almost complete, bids came back from Town Square project within range able to move forward with project and kickoff first week of September, finishing up cityhood report, and getting ready to close on the bonds for the waste water treatment project. Preconstruction meeting for North State Street from Division to O’Connor with a detour to get into the Sports Park. 12. Communications a. None 13. Payment of Bills a. Motion: Peoples moved to approve payables as presented, support by Mais. Motion passed 7-0. July Payables PAYABLES (101) General Fund $820,874.00 (202) Major Street Fund $4,655.09 (203) Local Street Fund $15,915.95 (581) Airport $33,994.85 (590) Sewer Department Fund $149,580.20 (591) Water Department Fund $49,923.91 (661) Equipment Rental Fund $11,047.56 Total $1,085,991.56 Informational: $15,446.20 (206) Fire Department $5,692.18 (208) SRA Park Fund $17,852.83 (248) Downtown Development Authority $38,991.21 Total 14. Public Comment a. None Page 3 of 4 15. Council Member Announcements a. Councilman Carlstrom outlined the Nash Creek Project and Timeline as one of many reasons why Sparta Village should become a city. He went into great detail of his opinions on this matter. 16. Adjournment a. Adjournment at 8:54 pm by President Whalen. Page 4 of 4