Kent Kraft, for the Gazette Trustee Kelly Ryan discusses her committee ideas with the Calumet Village Council on Tuesday evening.

CALUMET – Because of the celebrations for the Village of Calumet’s 150th anniversary, The September meeting dates for the Village Council shifted around. This created several absences for various reasons at the regular meeting on Tuesday. A quorum was still present and President Pro Tem Pamela Que led the Council through their agenda.

A street closure request was presented for the annual Trunk or Treat put on by Main Street Calumet. In a change from the past several years, they were asking to have Elm Street between 5th and 6th streets closed for cars to set up, along with carnival games on Calumet’s new Greenspace park. The Council was unable to approve this request, however, as emergency services are located on that block, which prevents that location from being blocked off. A special meeting will be held when the plan is revised so that Trunk or Treat can still happen on schedule.

Village Trustee Kelly Ryan discussed her plans for two new committees with the Council. The first, an Ad Hoc Blight Taskforce, will “evaluate neighborhoods to identify properties and areas affected by blight, deterioration, or abandonment.” In addition, they will develop strategies to better remediate the situations, better coordinate resources available to the Village, and monitor and report back to the full Council.

This taskforce’s suggested members include Matt L’Esperance (Village Trustee) as chair, Arielle Pizzo (Village Trustee), Jim Tercha (Village Trustee), Jason Wickstrom (DDA Member), Megan Haselden (Village Manager), and Paula DeCaire (DPW).

The second committee Trustee Ryan introduced is the Organizational Development Committee. This standing committee will work “with executive management to review governance and operational performance, assess risk, advise on strategy, and recommend improvements to policies and processes between full council meetings.”

The Calumet Village Council has had a work session on the second Tuesday, followed by the regular meeting on the third Tuesday every month. This Organizational Development Committee will remove the need for the work sessions. It will also set the agenda for the regular meetings, review policies and budgets, and monitor follow-through of council decisions.

This committee’s suggested members include Kelly Ryan (Village Trustee) as chair, Rob Tarvis (Village Trustee & President), Pamela Que (Village Trustee & President Pro Tem), Megan Haselden (Village Manger), and Lori Weir (Village Clerk).

Calumet Village’s other committees (Planning, DDA, and HDC) regularly reported to the Council during the work session meetings, but will now be asked to attend a regular Council meeting on a rotating, quarterly basis.

These committee and reporting structure recommendations from Trustee Ryan were discussed by the Council, approved unanimously, and the proposed membership was put forward by Que and also unanimously approved to immediate effect.

A couple of members of the public voiced concerns to the council about developments going on around the Calumet Depot on 9th Street, both before the meeting and during the Petitions from the Public portion of the meeting. As the topic was on the agenda, the Council moved to not discuss the topic as a group, but instead will hold a Public Hearing before their next regular meeting Oct. 21. Those interested in attending should stay alert for notices about this hearing.

A proposal to replace a large portion of the sidewalk on 7th Street was tabled by the Council in order to have more conversation with the Land Bank before making a decision. A conversation about the Ruppe Development Agreement was similarly tabled by the Council until all members of the Council and the Village Manager are present.

While a full reporting on the 150th Celebration was also tabled until the Village Manager could be present for the report, the Council shared their perspectives on the festivities. Every member of the Council was present for at least some part of the celebrations and enjoyed their time. Trustee Ryan mentioned several attendees said they felt Calumet was back in full swing. President Pro Tem Que concluded the conversation, saying this was “a spectacular day for Calumet.”

In other action, the council:

• Unanimously approved purchasing new tires in the amount of $8,210.92, for the loader recently acquired by the village.

• Approved paying bills totaling $294,325.80.