WHITEHALL — The Whitehall City Council Tuesday evening approved the purchase of a used bypass pump for just under $60,000 that will serve as a "band-aid," City Manager Dan Tavernier said, for issues the city is having with a lift station sewage pump.
The council approved the purchase 5-0; council members Bryan Mahan and Roger Squiers were absent.
The pump purchased, Tavernier said, is lightly used for a used pump its size, having logged about 1,540 hours of use. Other options included spending more for a new pump or renting one for $9,000 per week, an option the city quickly dismissed as not being financially sensible.
Tavernier reported that the Department of Public Works has been keeping the existing sewage pump, which at over 30 years old is well past its expected usage life, going "with what feels like bottlecaps and gum," and the city needed a solution, if only a temporary one. The used pump, which allows currently failing pumps to continue operation, can be used until a better option becomes available, at which point it could be kept as a backup in case of future issues.
Tavernier expressed frustration with the progress, or lack thereof, of the West Colby Promenade, saying he is "wildly disappointed" with the speed of work being done. The city had already been aware the restrooms and shade sail would not be ready by the July 4 weekend, but the plan had been for everything else to be in place. The public will still be able to use the space, he said, but there will be areas cordoned off so as not to be damaged. Concrete flatwork and topsoil will be completed this week, but other work will have to take place in July and the space will not be fully complete until mid-September, when the shade sail is slated to be installed.
The council voted 5-0 to reject a request by state House of Representatives candidate Angel Coon to close off an alley - she had suggested the pocket park or the North Mears Promenade - for a Rock the Vote-style event she was calling Rally in the Alley that would have taken place Sunday, July 5. The five present council members unanimously expressed unease with closing the alley for what they felt amounted to a political action, saying if Coon and other candidates (Curt VanderWall currently holds the seat Coon is seeking) had teamed up for a nonpartisan event they might have felt differently. The council said Coon is welcome to go through the process for renting city space if she'd like to host the event.
The council approved a budget amendment that effectively closed the book on the 2025-26 fiscal year and included several changes. The resolution noted that many of the changes revolved around the city manager search that ended late last summer with the hire of Tavernier. There were also changes relating to the Playhouse budget, which Mayor Tom Ziemer and council member Scott Brown questioned. Tavernier said he inherited the Playhouse's budget and wouldn't necessarily have had the same budget had he been in charge of it. However, in all, the final city budget, he said, had changed from a $70,000 deficit when first enacted to a surplus of over $80,000.
The council did not bring to a vote a proposal that would have accepted a $40,000 grant from the National Fitness Campaign to install an outdoor fitness court, likely at Funnell Field, that would have been free to the public. The total cost of the project would have been over $200,000 with the city providing the rest of the cost. No one seconded a motion to bring the proposal to the floor for discussion or a vote, so it was not considered.
The council will consider a recommendation at its next meeting to sell a 2.8-acre parcel near HarborLight Credit Union to Armstrong's of White Lake for $7,500. The parcel was split from another five-acre parcel to facilitate a sale earlier this year, and Tavernier said he had anticipated the city holding onto it for lack of interest from buyers, but the city was approached by Armstrong's, and he recommends going forward with the sale.
No vote was made on a proposed creation of a Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act district that would have enabled a tax abatement to be granted to designated properties, effectively freezing a property's tax rate for up to 12 years to incentivize their improvement. The abatements can only be offered through the end of 2026, says the Michigan Economic Development Coalition, as the act will not be renewed, but those granted by then can continue until they expire. The council discussed how large the district should be, though Clerk Brenda Bourdon said the council could approve the district and then change its parameters later. The district would aid the owner of the Dollar Castle/Family Video building, Ray Issa, in improving the property after purchasing it earlier this year. The issue will likely continue to be addressed in future meetings.
