Tightening up
Millage not on ballot in Calumet
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CALUMET - With the election just around the corner, one thing that will not be on the ballot is a millage request for the Village of Calumet. The extra operating millage set to expire in 2026 was expected to be up for a renewal vote.
Village Manager Megan Haselden said all the paperwork had been submitted in a timely fashion. While a sample ballot lacking the millage was sent to the village for review, a tight turnaround timeline was missed. Without the millage, Haselden said the village "will need to diligently look at our finances and see how we are going to navigate this financial loss."
Trustee Kelly Ryan added the Organizational Development Committee discussed the topic and wants a forensic review of what went wrong. She is optimistic the village will manage during the next fiscal year but does not want to see this happen again.
For the homeowner rehabilitation grant program, Haselden said there are 11 homeowners who have submitted potentially viable applications, but they have money enough to give sixteen grants. Village resident Peggy Germain was present at the meeting and, during the public comment period, expressed frustration about the necessary financial documentation for the grant.
"The review is more rigorous than I expected," said Haselden. She said she will reach out to program managers to get clarification on why some of the information is needed, such as declarations regarding owning a hunting camp. "What does owning a camp have to do with rehabbing my home?" asked Germain.
"We hope that we can get everyone who is eligible at a place where they feel comfortable applying to get the grant," said Haselden. "For any Federal program where you receive money, these are very common things they are asking for."
Chris Green, chairperson for the Planning Commission, updated the council on the Master Plan. It has been fully revised and is ready to move on to the next step of sharing the plan with the public. "We looked over the plan and concluded it wasn't reader friendly," he said. They changed the formatting, but the core of the document remains the same.
"For the first 100 years," he said, referring to the Village of Calumet, "we had Calumet & Hecla helping extensively. The last 60 years, it's just been us, and it's been hard." He expressed full confidence in the village continuing well into the future, but it will take continuing to come together as a community. "That's what this plan represents, and it was put together by members of the committee and village staff, only people from Calumet."
Looking at other village needs, Haselden mentioned there are still several pieces of equipment on a village wish list including a dump truck, a pickup with a plow attachment, a sander, and a Trackless (for sidewalk snow removal). Fortunately, a used grader was procured for $15,000 plus a $1,500 seller fee, which is well under the anticipated budget for a grader.
With winter impending and a long wish list still present, Haselden asked the council to consider a resolution for the village to get a bond for up to $175,000 to purchase equipment. President Rob Tarvis suggested the amount could be lowered with the low price for the grader.
The suggestion of $100,000 was put forward by Tarvis initially, but the council settled on $125,000 just to offer more of a buffer. Terms of the bond will be a seven-year term with 4.9% interest. It was unanimously approved.
In other business, the council:
· Approved bills and payroll in the amount of $118,699.24
· Mentioned the Mineral Range Depot is up for sale, effectively ending the discussion of the village abandoning a portion of 9th Street
· Requested an estimate to widen and pave 9th Street from the Depot to Elm Street
· unanimously approved the village's attorney filing legal action on the property owner of 319 5th Street after violations of both the Blight Ordinance and Dangerous Building Ordinance