By Sue Moore
Senior living accommodations have become a high priority for village council members Gail Reisterer and Julie Merrill, a response to what they say they are hearing from the public. “We need market research to entice the two or three companies who are leaning toward developing in Vicksburg,” they told the council in asking for $2,000 for a market research study. It was approved.
“We want to have lots of developers look at this,” Merrill said. “These prospective companies want to know how big the market is, what price range is suitable, our community demographics, is there a significant need that is not being filled by residences in Kalamazoo and Portage?”
Seeking Bids on Village Property
Village Manager Ken Schippers notified the council that he was asking for closed bids, due on March 3, for properties in the village that he would like to put up for sale. The Community Center’s starting bid price was set at $150,000. The multiple properties on Spruce Street that were once owned by Gary Gray with the Long Branch Saloon as the centerpiece, will be lumped together in a one bid takes all. Together, he estimated they could fetch $350,000. That might be overly ambitious; all need extensive renovation. If no bids are received, he would then contract with a real estate broker to sell them on commission.
Jim Mallery, the new assistant village manager, reported to the council that he has been working with the police department staff on community policing and outreach with favorable comments from the schools and business people. He has been prioritizing the budget needs with wants and wishes, to submit to the council as a part of this effort. He plans to introduce a records management system as part of this assessment.
Angels Crossing Makes a Profit
In other business Jenny McKillop, village treasurer, noted that Angels Crossing Golf Club will end up the year with a profit of about $21,703, with no tax dollars committed to golf course operations. This was part of the audit report from Siegfried Crandall submitted as a clean audit for the village. They recommended the village have a 20 percent fund balance, which it has achieved for the first time in many years. The audit fee was $12,400, lower than in recent years when it went as high as $50,000.
Bill Adams, village president thanked McKillop on her work with the audit: “We have more transparency now, when before we had a lot of leaks. It’s OK to ease up a little bit on the faucet and let it drip out.”