Mulliken’s lagoon operator to step down as compliance problems mount, village scrambles for a licensed replacement

The village employee who has been running Mulliken's sewage lagoon system told the council he plans to resign from that role, saying the state licensing requirements involved are more than he can manage on top of his other duties. He agreed to stay on through December to help train a successor and finish urgent valve repairs, but the village will need to find and license a new lagoon operator soon.

The resignation comes right after state environmental regulators (EGLE) inspected the village's lagoon and lift station and flagged several problems. The perimeter fence around the lagoon needs to be fully replaced so crews can access both sides for maintenance, since mowing alone will not satisfy state requirements — weed spraying with approved chemicals will be needed instead. Inspectors also found erosion eating into the pond banks that will need gravel or stone reinforcement, and paperwork from 2021 through 2023 that was incomplete or improperly filled out. Officials said keeping up with mowing, spraying and reporting has become too much for one part-time worker, and discussed posting for a full-time, state-licensed (Class L2) operator plus a part-time helper. Anyone pursuing certification would need to apply by mid-September for the November licensing exam.

Fully fixing the lagoon system long-term could cost well over a million dollars, officials said, and the village plans to look into a low-interest USDA loan to help cover the work. The board also discussed the possibility of raising sewer rates in January to help fund improvements, and agreed to photograph the ponds once water levels drop this fall to show residents the scope of the problem.

Separately, the village learned from the county health department that it can no longer legally supply water to three neighboring properties — two residential, one commercial — from the village's well, since doing so creates liability for water that isn't tested. The council agreed to send letters giving those property owners until September 1, 2026, to arrange their own water supply. Officials also believe there is a leak somewhere along that line, since one property has reported low water pressure; a well contractor plans to shut off a curb valve to help isolate the source. Two of the affected property owners have not answered the door when the village has tried to reach them.

On roads, the council reviewed bids for a larger repaving project on Eaton Highway, with one contractor, Jasmine Asphalt, offering to strip and repave a stretch of roadway for close to $64,000. Because that would strain this year's budget, the board decided to hold off on the full repaving until next fiscal year. Instead, the council voted to award Jasmine Asphalt a smaller patch-repair job, priced at $2,850, covering trouble spots on Eaton Highway, North Street, and the corner of Colfax and Shalott streets, to get the roads through the winter.

Trustees also raised concerns about the condition of downtown sidewalks and curbing along Main Street, describing them as "pathetic" compared to other parts of the village and saying repairs could help attract and keep businesses. The board agreed to start researching beautification grants, noting that any sidewalk replacement would have to meet ADA accessibility standards and that hiring an engineer to help with a grant application could cost a minimum of $5,000 to $10,000. Officials plan to reach out to the Michigan Municipal League for guidance.

The council also discussed replacing the water heater at the village office before winter. Several contractors have looked at it, but only one has provided a formal estimate so far, and the board wants to move quickly to avoid a failure during cold weather.

On zoning, officials noted a request from Union Bank for a variance to install a new illuminated monument sign along with entrance and exit directional signs, which will move through the village's normal zoning process. The board also said Eaton County is asking villages to pay roughly $15,000 for zoning, ordinance and permitting services as the county cuts its own budget; Mulliken has been advised against signing on and will continue handling those services elsewhere.

Officials noted a public land auction set for September 18 involving parcels near the village, including one with a reserve price in the high five figures. The council voted unanimously to continue its current code enforcement arrangement. In public comments, residents raised questions about speeding near the M-43 corridor and asked about a digital speed-feedback sign; officials are researching options but noted the village cannot set its own speed limits, which are controlled by the state. The village also confirmed that leftover asphalt millings are available for pickup by village taxpayers for use on their own property, on a bring-your-own-equipment basis with no village liability.

In the treasurer's report, the board reviewed monthly bills including a downtown sidewalk project that has cost roughly $39,000 combined so far this fiscal year. With about seven months left in the fiscal year, the treasurer urged the board to watch spending going forward, and the report was approved along with the prior month's meeting minutes.

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.