The Whitehall City Council agreed during its Tuesday, Oct. 27 meeting that some no-charge additions Clifford Buck Construction included in the West Colby Promenade were satisfactory to make up for the promenade's late completion.
The council had a quorum of four members at the meeting, with Bryan Mahan, Debi Hillebrand and Mayor Tom Ziemer absent.
The promenade's certificate of completion was delivered Sept. 15, said City Manager Dan Tavernier - 82 days later than the original contract called for. The contract gave the city the ability to charge the company $1,000 per day in damages for late completion. Tavernier said he had a meeting with the company in August, and the company subsequently provided the shade sail (which had previously been removed from the design for budgetary reasons), some sod and early completion of the bathroom facility and lighting for the promenade as a make-good for the late completion.
Tavernier added that the city could still have chosen to enforce the contract provision, but given the company's efforts to make good, he felt it was not necessary to do so. The quorum of council members at the meeting agreed.
The council also approved budget amendments that reflected the recent Gee Park playground equipment purchase, cost increases for the forthcoming digital sign, and some capital project bids coming in significantly lower than budgeted. Tavernier added that the city is now directly using money that previously came to it as a pass-through from the Tax Increment Finance Authority. TIFA had previously been passing about $500,000 to the city and other jurisdictions from a local community stabilization fund, and the city is instead using its share of the money, about $286,000, directly.
The Gee Park playground equipment, Tavernier said, is slated to be installed the week after Thanksgiving.
The council also approved, 4-0, a measure to support a grant application The Playhouse at White Lake is pursuing from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council. The grant would be for $42,090, most of which would be used to support the 2027 Summer Theatre Festival and additional lighting fixtures for the Playhouse. There would also be $1,500 allocated for transportation and tickets for low-income seniors to attend summer festival offerings. The grant requires a 25% cash match, which the Playhouse plans to fund using donations and ticket sales.
