Mulliken council hires full-time maintenance worker, moves ahead on lagoon repairs

The Mulliken village council approved several money and staffing decisions this month while pushing forward on long-running problems with the village's wastewater lagoons and a dispute over county sheriff patrol funding. One trustee was absent because a family member had just entered hospice care.

The biggest item on the agenda was wastewater. The council heard from an engineering consultant hired to put together an "asset management plan" for the village's lagoon system — a required step before the village can qualify for low-interest loans or grants to fix aging infrastructure. The consultant reported that valves in the lagoon system aren't working properly, water levels are dangerously high with little safety margin, sludge and duckweed have built up beyond allowed limits, and the roughly 6,000 feet of corrugated pipe that carries discharge from the lagoons may be badly rusted. The council approved a contract with the consultant, expected to cost up to about $10,000 for now, to scope out the needed repairs. A lagoon discharge and related "smoke testing" — used to find where rainwater is leaking into the sewer system — is planned for October, and residents in affected areas will be notified in advance since the smoke can appear alarming.

To support the lagoon work, the council voted to join the Michigan Rural Water Association, which offers operator training, backup operator coverage, and technical assistance. The prorated membership fee for the remainder of this year is roughly $475, rising to about $570 annually starting next year with a 5% yearly increase after that.

The board also adopted a plan — but did not yet vote to build — to seek bids for new fencing and gates around the lagoon property, replacing fencing described as roughly 30 years old and no longer salvageable. The move is meant to show state regulators the village is making progress on an outstanding violation.

On personnel, the council voted to bring a maintenance employee on full-time at $30 an hour starting September 22, as he works toward a wastewater operator's license through upcoming coursework. The council also approved spending up to $1,000, without further approval needed, to build a covered attachment for a trailer used to haul leaves and lagoon solids this fall. A discussion of the village's aging riding mower, which is burning oil and may need a new engine or replacement, was tabled for upcoming budget talks.

The council formally created two new standing committees — one for parks and community events (such as holiday decorating) and one for streets and sidewalks — made up of volunteer council members meeting monthly without additional pay. A trustee said the parks committee, in particular, could help the village pursue park-related grant funding.

Council members also discussed a letter from the Eaton County Board of Commissioners stating that, following the failure of a May public safety funding measure, the county will not fund sheriff road patrols for townships and villages, though it offered to discuss a paid contract for patrol services. Trustees noted they had previously been quoted costs in the range of $15,000 to $30,000 for limited weekly patrol coverage, and expressed frustration about paying taxes while receiving little police presence. The board plans to invite a county representative to a future meeting to discuss pricing and options. A candidate running for the county commission seat also spoke to the council about county finances and policing costs, and encouraged residents to contact him with questions.

On zoning, the council noted that enforcing an existing zoning ordinance against a property owner has required costly attorney review at $250 an hour, even though no new legal filing was involved. The council also resolved a dispute between neighbors over a fence's height, confirming the fence in question would be built at eight feet or under, avoiding the need for a formal variance. Separately, the council discussed a resident's inquiry, on behalf of a real estate agent, about selling vacant platted lots; trustees said any new roads would need to meet village specifications and be backed by a bond, citing a past instance where the village got stuck repairing a road after a developer's bond fell through.

Other business included approving a bid of $6,280 from C&K Plumbing over a competing $6,975 quote to replace a water heater, and an update on outreach to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation about funding for Main Street beautification; village officials said a master plan will likely be needed before most grants become available. The treasurer's report was approved, including plans to revisit a $50,000 CD as it comes due around October 1. A sewer connection ordinance, based on a model from the county, was tabled until next meeting so a council member can formally present it. A village property auction is scheduled for September 18.

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.