Mulliken council approves height variance for warehouse expansion, cites new jobs

The Village Council approved a zoning variance allowing a local light-industrial business to build a large storage and shipping addition near Charlotte and Eaton Highway, with the company's representative telling the board the project represents a long-term commitment to the community and would bring at least four new jobs in the near term, with more expected later.

The variance was needed because the proposed building, roughly 11,096 square feet, would stand about 40 feet 2 inches tall — just over 5 feet above the 35-foot maximum allowed in the light-industrial zone. The addition is intended mainly for warehouse storage and shipping, including a new concrete loading dock, and will also clear out debris currently stored on the site. The council approved the height and square-footage variance without objection.

In financial business, the council accepted the monthly treasurer's report. The largest expense discussed was sewer system repair and maintenance, including pump rental and work to fix a broken valve on the discharge line, which was completed at a lower cost than the village had budgeted for. The village's recycling hauler, which collects glass and cardboard, was also mentioned among routine vendor payments. The treasurer's report was approved.

The council reviewed two competing bids for emergency lighting and a spotlight system for the department's new truck. Trustees chose Kodiak Emergency Vehicles, at just over $3,400, over a slightly higher competing bid, after being told Kodiak's equipment meets state compliance standards — including the type and color of strobe lighting, which studies have found is more visible to the human eye in snow.

Trustees also approved moving forward with a roughly $12,500 rebuild of the street sweeper's motor, after learning the motor's configuration would not allow a simple swap-in replacement. The rebuild is expected to take about ten weeks, and the sweeper is considered important for keeping curbs and catch basins clear.

Board members briefly discussed whether to reduce the size of the council from six trustees to four, noting that creating a new ordinance to do so would cost money, and that two current trustees are not seeking re-election this fall. No decision was made; several members suggested waiting to see the outcome of the November election before acting.

On infrastructure, the village is seeking contractor bids to repair deteriorating catch basins with broken castings around town, starting with the worst locations. Low-hanging tree branches over sidewalks on Charlotte and Potter were flagged for trimming, and curb painting and street striping near Main Street were discussed. A trustee also raised the question of who is responsible for maintaining the railroad crossings in the village, since the village reportedly pays the railroad company a fee; staff will look into it.

The village's zoning administrator reported interest from a prospective buyer in adding roughly 15 more house lots to a subdivision area that was already approved years ago for as many as 35 lots total. Because the subdivision was previously approved, no new vote was required, but trustees raised concerns about wear on village streets from construction traffic and said any developer would need to bond the road and install sidewalks as part of the project.

The council approved hiring a contractor to mow four chronically neglected properties on a monthly basis, at a rate described as roughly $75 per lot, after repeat violation letters went unanswered. The properties include lots on French, Ionia and Potter streets, along with a railroad-owned corner parcel; costs will be billed to the contractor and, ultimately, added to property owners' tax bills. An abandoned vehicle complaint near Potter and Orange Highway was also discussed, with staff continuing to document the violation.

Pavilion rental dates were set for July 14, August 5, and August 23-24, and trustees reminded staff and renters to make sure the building is locked after use following a recent incident where it was found unsecured. During public comment, a resident asked about restoring a digital speed-limit sign, which had experienced battery and charging problems in the past; the council agreed to seek a new quote, including the possibility of a solar-powered unit, for a future meeting.

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.