Mulliken council approves 2023-24 budget, works to fix an overworked sewer lift station

The council approved a proposed 2023-24 village budget projecting income and expenses roughly in balance, with a net projected surplus of a few thousand dollars. The budget sets aside $150,000 for road repairs, $25,000 for new playground equipment, $10,000 for sidewalks, and $25,000 for building improvements including work on the salt barn. Fund balances carried over from both the general and sewer funds were figured in as well. The vote to accept the budget was approved pending receipt of a hard copy next week.

Trustees also approved spending roughly $5,200 more to finish a sidewalk section in front of Union Bank, completing a stretch that had been left unfinished from an earlier round of concrete work between Union Bank and Potter Street. Council members said finishing the short remaining piece now would be cheaper than waiting until next year, and voiced concern about pedestrian safety on that stretch. Separately, the council discussed making driveway aprons along the sidewalks more handicap-accessible after members noted problem spots, including one resident's driveway that isn't currently accessible on either side.

A major topic was the village's sewer lift station, which has been running well past its capacity since a February rain and snowmelt event. High water alarms were logged repeatedly over several days, and officials warned the pumps could burn out with no backup in place if that happens during a high-water event. The council's preferred long-term fix is to enlarge the undersized wet well, which is currently described as not much bigger than a manhole. Officials plan to seek engineering quotes to prepare the design and cost estimates needed to qualify for grant funding, after an earlier grant application was rejected for lacking engineering detail. The village budgeted $20,000 for sewer repairs and maintenance, and officials said the actual project could cost far more. One engineering firm, referred to as Wolverine, will not be considered for the work due to past cost concerns raised by council members.

In other business items, the council approved paying an invoice of about $3,840 to repair the recycling center roof after tin blew off because it wasn't screwed down properly during the original installation; the contractor responsible will not be used again. The council also reviewed a written repair plan for catch basins and curb work on Colfax and French Street, where failing catch basins need replacement, and directed that the work go out to contractors for bids. No formal vote was needed on that item, as it was informational.

The council discussed rules for running the seasonal ice cream stand out of the village building after checking with the county health department. Officials were told the operating license must be held by whatever organization runs the concession — not the village itself — and that the setup can use a simple wash basin with disinfectant rather than running water, with wastewater dumped into the sewer by hand. Council members noted the village itself does not run community events due to a conflict with village law, but said any interested organization is welcome to use the building under those health department guidelines, with hot food service raising more complications than serving ice cream.

Trustees approved buying three wireless security cameras with battery power and a cloud storage subscription, at a total cost of a few hundred dollars for the cameras plus a roughly $100 recurring subscription fee. The cameras are intended to help monitor the trash bins and other areas around the village property, including an upcoming village cleanup day the council is considering holding again this year.

On smaller items, the council settled on hunter green for the color of the new pavilion's steel roofing, after ruling out a reflective option as too hot and considering black and burgundy. Playground equipment remains on order and is expected to arrive around the end of May; the council will post updates and close off the playground area while the old fencing comes down and new equipment is installed. The council also discussed removing a storm-damaged tree on Colfax whose top broke off last summer.

A zoning update noted that a former auto-related business location has been sold to another vehicle service company. On ordinance enforcement, officials are working with the county building department on a property with accumulated debris, purchased at auction and currently under a one-year redemption period before further action can be taken. A separate portable structure that had been placed in violation of a court order is being removed.

A sheriff's deputy gave a report on countywide policing, noting roughly ten calls in the village last month, including an assault, a request to assist another department, a be-on-lookout alert, and two crashes, one with injuries. The deputy said staffing remains thin, with only a few road patrol officers covering the northern part of the county, and told the council that county commissioners voted against a budget increase that would have helped hire and retain more deputies, several of whom are paid less than officers in neighboring counties.

In public comment and closing business, residents and officials discussed organizing a day in May, before Memorial Day, to plant flowers at the pavilion planter, and floated ideas including hostas and edible plants like tomatoes and peppers. Officials also discussed pricing for a village sign, moving the village bell, and using borrowed equipment to move a concrete slab. A trustee reported that volunteer labor will be used to help build the new salt barn.

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.