Mulliken council approves new sewer lagoon pump and replacement truck after drainage problems surface

The Mulliken village council's May meeting centered on two significant equipment purchases — a new sewer lagoon pump and a replacement truck — along with a higher-than-expected paving bill, continuing sidewalk work, and renewed debate over parking and property-maintenance enforcement around the village.

The council's biggest discussion involved the village's sewer lagoon, where trustees learned the system drains through a gravity-fed line running nearly two miles to a creek near Eaton Highway rather than the roughly 100 yards long assumed. That distance explains why the lagoon has needed periodic pumping in past years that wasn't well understood by the current board. The village's existing pump had failed and was sent out for evaluation, and several valves broke while crews worked to drain the ponds, requiring additional repairs. After weighing the cost of repairing the old pump — estimated at several thousand dollars given its age — against buying new, the council approved purchasing a new four-inch pump for about $26,875, offset by a credit of roughly $4,800 to $5,000 for a rental pump used in the interim. Council members also discussed eventually camera-inspecting the long drain line, though that was described as a lower priority for now.

The council also approved buying a new truck, a Ford F-550 through LaFontaine, after comparing quotes that hovered around $81,000. The village plans to sell its existing pickup and an older snowplow truck once the new vehicle arrives. A separate plow attachment, estimated around $6,800, will be purchased closer to fall rather than now.

Treasurer Kelli Waldo's report noted a larger-than-usual Drain Commission assessment, which is difficult to budget for since the commission sets its own repair and assessment schedule, along with payment of about $7,000 in library millage collected through village taxes. She flagged that the village budgeted $50,000 for sewer repairs this year but may come in $30,000 to $40,000 short of that, though funds are available to cover the difference. Also noted were general village expenses, a rented pump used for sewer work, and routine credit card charges tied to village internet service.

On paving, the council approved payment of an invoice for about $91,800 for work on Potter Street, up from the roughly $82,995 originally approved, after additional curb repair was added to the job. A separate sidewalk repair invoice of about $3,000 was also approved, covering sidewalk sections that had been damaged by tree roots. Paperwork tied to a state sidewalk-related funding request remains pending; the village is still waiting on a letter from a bank before it can move forward.

During public comment, a longtime resident raised concerns about a sidewalk in poor condition in front of their home, a fine received over a parked pickup truck, and the question of who is responsible for providing parking for rental tenants. Trustees noted that under village rules, property owners renting units are expected to provide private parking for their tenants. A separate resident, also a landlord, pressed the council on inconsistent enforcement of parking rules on Main Street, where vehicles tied to a business have long parked with permission from a nearby building's ownership; the council agreed to talk with the business and consider painting curb markings near a problem corner.

The council continued to address a property maintenance case on Charlotte Street, where a letter was sent requiring cleanup of accumulated items and vehicles. The property owner has indicated plans to build a privacy fence but has not yet done so; the council reaffirmed that any fence must run the length of the property line and be six feet tall, not four, and discussed whether a follow-up letter or formal citation is the next step. Trustees also agreed that lawn-mowing height violations should be enforced consistently village-wide rather than only in response to complaints, with letters going out to affected properties.

In committee and maintenance reports, Susie Dubler reported on pavilion rentals for the coming months and reminded staff to prepare the site between bookings. Maintenance staff reported general upkeep is in good shape, aside from the pump issue, but flagged a stop sign on French Street that needs replacing due to poor visibility, and a stretch of sidewalk on Sherlock Street made hazardous by fill material from winter plowing. Staff also raised the idea of opening a supervised yard-waste drop-off site on Saturday mornings, contingent on installing a larger culvert to support access; trustees were supportive of the concept.

The village's leaf vacuum truck remains out of service and needs costly engine work, estimated around $10,000 for a replacement motor. The council weighed repairing it against letting a resident interested in the machine purchase and rebuild it, but did not reach a final decision.

In correspondence, a resident inquired about a possible variance to build a pole barn on a property along Eaton Highway; he was directed to submit a formal variance application. Separately, the council discussed a property along Amy Lane currently shown as zoned residential despite being used as farmland, and agreed to look further into its zoning status.

In limited public comment, a request for a fan at meetings was set aside since the meeting room has air conditioning, and staff confirmed plans to add a padlock to the pavilion's electrical box after lights had been left on overnight.

How this report was produced

This article was generated by an automated pipeline, and we think you should know exactly how. First, the audio of the meeting was converted into text by automatic speech recognition — software that infers words from sound, without a human listening along. That machine-made transcript was then read by Willbot, American2Day’s AI reporter, which condensed it into the report above. No human transcribed the meeting, and no human wrote this summary.