ROTHBURY — Following a lengthy discussion about the 2026-27 fiscal year budget, the Rothbury village council unanimously approved an $85,000 budget amendment for 2025-26 to purchase a new police vehicle at its regular meeting Tuesday night.
The amendment was made after police chief Ethan Walker reported that the time had come to replace the Chevrolet Tahoe that serves as one of the department's two vehicles. The vehicle is over 10 years old and, while it continues to drive, is in need of fairly extensive repairs. As the last police vehicle the village sold after replacement brought in under $3,000, Walker said the return on investment would not be there for the village if they were to pursue the repairs.
Ideally the vehicle would arrive prior to the Electric Forest festival this summer, but with a 19-to-21 week lead time for vehicle orders and an additional delay necessary to get the vehicle outfitted for police needs, it will be later in the summer before it is ready for use.
Originally the council appeared prepared to put the new vehicle into the next year's budget, but since the village has available funds, it was decided to make the move now. Council member Troy Voorhees suggested Walker still get a quote for the cost of the vehicle's repairs, reasoning that it would help ensure the village had two working vehicles during the Electric Forest.
The council also continued discussion about the bathroom addition that will be part of Czarny Park improvements for which the village received a Department of Natural Resources grant last year. The quote the village has on the table is for $75,000 for a pre-fabricated bathroom and attached storage. It doesn't include a connection to utilities; council member Mike Harris said the cost of that connection could run around $30,000.
There was discussion of whether a two-stall bathroom facility would be better, but with the cost of that nearly double that of a one-stall installation ($140,500), the council decided to limit it to one stall. Council member Dylan Zuniga said if the improvements result in the park being heavily used by summer softball teams or other groups and it's deemed necessary, the village could provide a port-a-potty in the summers.
During the meeting, village president Vern Talmadge read an annual resolution affirming that Electric Forest will apply to the Oceana County Road Commission on the village's behalf to seek temporary road closures during the festival.
Department of Public Works director Scott Beishuizen reported that the damaged village sign at Winston Road and 88th Avenue has been repaired, but Beishuizen asked that it not be returned until April so weather does not lead to it being damaged a second time. He also reported that a $4,400 furnace replacement was recently completed in the village hall through Tanner Heating and Cooling.
