ROTHBURY — The Rothbury Village Council approved an expenditure of about $5,000 at its regular meeting Tuesday to fix a curvature in the backstop fence on the Czarny Park baseball field that Director of Operations Scott Beishuizen said has become a safety issue.
The approval was made 6-0, with Denise Kurdziel absent from the meeting.
The council said it will likely budget another $5,000 next year that would pay for repairing the rest of the backstop and the dugout fences, which are in need of repair but are not safety issues. Progress is being made on the ball field as work on the dugout has been completed and the bases are now regulation length apart.
Police Chief Ethan Walker reported that the village's new patrol car should be ready for department use by Labor Day. An issue with needed equipment being back ordered created a brief delay last month, but that has been resolved.
Clerk Brandy Williams said that the village is planning an improved Halloween celebration for this year after attendance has dwindled the previous couple of years. She said plans are in the works to partner with the Grant Township fire department, Eagle Towing and others on a new Trunk or Treat celebration that would take place at the rodeo arena on the grounds of the Double JJ resort prior to trick-or-treat hours this year.
The council made a 6-0 approval to amend an outdated village ordinance that required residents to be charged with misdemeanors for ordinance code violations. Under the new ordinance, residents may be charged with civil infractions. This change will allow the village's code enforcement officer, a job recently contracted to Muskegon Township, to issue tickets if repeated violations occur.
