Mulliken council weighs sewer repairs, recycling savings and property cleanup costs

Mulliken village officials approved the December 1 regular meeting minutes and the December 11 special meeting minutes, then accepted the treasurer’s report. The treasurer said the village will need to begin budget planning next month, with a preliminary budget expected at the March meeting and adoption required after that. She also said the general fund is running significantly lower, and a certificate of deposit had been moved into the general fund checking account to help cover operating expenses.

Money concerns shaped much of the meeting. Officials said the village likely cannot take a road grant right now because the engineering costs, combined with the required match, would strain the major and local street funds. The council discussed continuing to repair streets a little at a time instead of taking on a large grant-funded project. Sidewalk work was also discussed, but members leaned toward only fixing small problem spots as needed rather than starting major sidewalk work.

The village is moving ahead with efforts to remove and clean up a problem property that officials said has now been deeded to the village. Council members discussed an improperly served appeal document and said it would be forwarded to the village attorney. They also discussed moving forward with eviction steps and asked legal questions about a person reportedly staying at or near the structure, whether utilities could be shut off, and how long the eviction process may take.

Recycling may continue at a much lower cost. Village officials said Eaton County recycling representatives are working with the village on a plan that would allow Mulliken to take recycling materials to Sunfield, where the program is supported with grant money. The village expected the cost to be roughly $100 to $200 per month, depending on volume, and officials said that would be far cheaper than other options. A proper sign is also being prepared to clarify the recycling arrangement.

A major part of the meeting focused on the sewer system. An engineer told the council the system dates to 1972 and has been neglected for years, though the village is now working through required fixes. He said the full replacement value of the sewer system would be in the range of many millions of dollars, but that the village would more likely repair, line or replace specific problem areas instead of replacing everything. He reviewed past violation notices, lagoon fencing and valve work, lagoon inspections, sludge buildup, duckweed control, lift station problems and possible future funding through state or federal programs.

The engineer said the first lagoon will need sludge removed in the next few years, and all three lagoon cells have significant sludge volumes that must be planned for. Lagoon banks also need restoration because of erosion from wave action. Officials discussed whether low-interest loans, grants, brownfield money, infrastructure funding or congressional earmarks could help pay for the work. The village also plans to keep working with a state representative and others to look for funding for cleanup, the lift station and lagoon improvements.

The lift station remains an urgent concern. Maintenance staff reported multiple sewer alarms since Christmas and said one pump has been running extremely long hours during wet weather. Bad check valves were blamed for air-locking problems, and replacement check valves were expected to be installed the following Monday. Officials also discussed whether to budget for new pumps or a larger lift station upgrade, but no final decision was made on that broader project.

Smoke testing was discussed as a way to find where clean water is getting into the sanitary sewer system during rain. Officials said the testing likely will not happen in February because of weather and resident concerns, especially for elderly residents or people worried about smoke entering homes. The engineer said delaying smoke testing likely means the village will miss the current state revolving fund schedule and may need to reapply for a later construction year, while using the extra time to better understand the system’s needs.

The council approved spending up to about $1,000 for new carpet and paint in the meeting room area after maintenance staff said the carpet is wrinkled and in poor condition. Maintenance staff also reported that the new salt spreader is working, roads received compliments in December, and the village has already used a large amount of salt this winter. Staff also reported a rupture in a discharge line that created standing water in a harvested farm field, with plans to have the line televised when conditions allow.

During public comment, a county commissioner discussed possible county work on a shared policing contract, revisions to the county ORV ordinance, and a proposed efficiency review of county finances. A resident who lives near the lagoon asked whether the village would consider selling roughly two acres of village-owned land near his property. Village officials said the matter should be discussed further and brought back at 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.