CALUMET – As the Calumet Village Council members took their seats to start their regular meeting, it was the fourth time in as many weeks they met in the Village Hall. There was a special meeting held on July 28th to approve the street closure request for CroFest, which they did unanimously.

A special meeting was then held on Aug. 4 to approve the purchase of a used 2009 938 Cat Loader for $72,000 with a not to exceed additional $1,500 for a transportation costs. This was also unanimously approved by the council.

Aug. 12 was a regularly scheduled work session. Among other topics at this session, there were project updates on Calumet’s Village Hall roof, the new greenspace park in Calumet, and the Agassiz Park Pavillion. Work on the Village Hall roof uncovered a new leak issue in the ballroom which led to an updated estimate of the scope and cost of that work.

The Council learned tha greenspace is suffering drainage issues which became evident with recent rainfall. This problem led to the postponement of the rededication ceremony between Calumet and their sister city Camborne, Cornwall. Remediation of this issue is hoped to quickly resolve the situation.

As for the Agassiz Park Pavillion, the closure of the building will potentially continue into next year after it was discovered the entire roof needed to be replaced. Because the Village did not receive several of the grants that were earmarked to go to this work, the entire project needs to be self-funded by the Village. The extra costs incurred by the roof replacement severely set the project back.

Even though the Village missed out on grants for the pavilion, the Rural Readiness Grant Program, headed by the Michigan Office of Rural Prosperity, selected Calumet’s project to move forward to the full application stage. While this still does not guarantee funds will come Calumet’s way, the program was very competitive with 170 letters of intent requesting approximately $7.9 million in funding, so it was impressive for Calumet to make it past the initial screening. Having applied for $50,000, the funds would be used by the Village to hire a consultant to assist with Village planning, as well as funds for training and community building.

In other news for the Village and its inhabitants, the council learned the Village’s Letter of Intent to the Michigan Neighborhood Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), run by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, was approved and funds have been designated for the proposal. While several steps still remain in the full application process, the funding of this grant is $400,000.

As noted in the Village of Calumet Authorizing Resolution, Number 25.05, which was unanimously passed by the Village Council, the money is “to help address the housing crisis in our community by making improvements to rehabilitate thirteen houses in the Village of Calumet.” Making sure to cover the Village, the resolution continues to say that “No project costs will be incurred prior to a formal grant award.”

Village Manager Megan Haselden explained the funding will provide residential property improvement grants for owner-occupied residences, and said the grants will be income dependent. There will be an application process for residents, with grants being awarded through a lottery system. Out of the $400,000, $72,000 is set aside for administrative fees, so Haselden will look into hiring an administrator for this grant. A public hearing regarding this grant money will take place on September 2nd at 5:30pm in the Village Hall in Calumet. Anyone interested in more information should attend.

In other action, the council:

• Unanimously approved Downtown Development Authority Board Appointments for Nikki L’Esperance and Courtney Tucker (with Council Member Matt L’Esperance abstaining from the first vote as it is his spouse). Their terms are set to run through August 2029.

• Approved paying bills totaling $207,643.85.

• Unanimously approved a street closure request for the 300 block of 6th Street in downtown Calumet for the Block Party celebration in honor of the village’s sesquicentennial. The closure will start at 7 a.m. on Sept. 13, and be lifted no later than 7 a.m. on Sept. 14.