By Jef Rietsma

A popular residential service is returning to Vicksburg. Village council members last month approved funding a curbside junk pickup to be scheduled in September.

Village Manager Jim Mallery provided details during the council’s March 18 meeting. He said a $35,000 contract will be formalized with College Hunks Moving and Storage to provide the service.

He noted the pickup was previously held in the spring but due to limited availability by the company, the village had no choice but to work around College Hunks’ schedule.

“This service will provide residents with an opportunity to dispose of unwanted items and clutter in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner,” Mallery said. “College Hunks has a proven track record providing reliable and professional hauling service with Texas and Comstock townships. The fall cleaning pickup will not only enhance the cleanliness and aesthetics of the community, but also promote responsible waste-management practice.”

Mallery said longtime village residents might recall the curbside service eventually evolved into a drop-off event at the Little League complex by Sunset Elementary.

He said the fall collection will be assessed and a decision made afterward to determine the fate of the curbside service.

“It is a weighted cost that we’re estimating. Our plan right now is to evaluate the program this September to determine if it’s fiscally responsible for the village to continue (in) subsequent fiscal years,” he said.

Council member Gail Reisterer said she prefers the fall collection because it gives her time to sort through her garage during warm-weather months and stockpile items for the pickup.

Council member Carl Keller noted the service is popular but it still comes at a cost to the village’s general fund.

“We’re having to budget money for this; it isn’t free,” he said. “But it is a service that residents had gotten used to over the years and when it went away, I know it affected me, as well.”

Several other matters were presented during the meeting:

• Two part-time seasonal positions were approved. A total of $12,500 was allocated for the jobs. One is mowing village property, with a cap of 20 hours per week. The other is grounds and maintenance specifically focusing on weeding downtown properties, Oswalt and Clark parks and other village-owned properties. In addition, a six-month internship through WMU was approved for a 24-hours-a-week position focusing on event coordination. Council members approved a $9,000 allocation to fund the post.
• The council endorsed the purchase of 24 new picnic tables. Mallery said the tables will enhance the village’s parks and recreation system, as well as support downtown events. The tables are eight feet in length; two will comply with guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Mallery said the tables are portable and constructed of expanded metal. Total cost is $25,400 and will come from the village’s Parks and Recreation budget. He said the tables will arrive by mid-May.
• The purchase of four radar speed signs was approved. The solar-powered signs display speed of an approaching vehicle and serve as a reminder to slow down entering the village limits. Cost for the four signs is $12,000 total. Mallery said they will be placed at the east and west ends of Highway Street, East V Avenue and Richardson Street. They will be installed this summer.
• Fees and rental rates will increase starting July 1. Mallery said the current fee schedule has not been revised since January 2020. He said site-plan review is the most common service that will be affected by the increase. The move also means pavilion rentals will increase to $300, a $100 increase, with a $100 refund issued if garbage is taken care of and the pavilion area is left in order.

By Jef Rietsma

“Good evening. It is my true honor to call our first meeting to order in this beautiful facility tonight – Monday, Jan 29, 2024 – that we love saying was paid by cash.”

With those opening words from Vicksburg Village President Tim Frisbie, the council made history when the first municipal meeting was called to order at the newly constructed village hall.

Though there was no other fanfare aside from comments made later by council members, the occasion provided Village Manager Jim Mallery an opportunity to reflect on the nomadic route the village had taken up until that evening specific to its meeting locations through the years.

“When I started with the village, village hall was located on Kalamazoo Avenue … it wasn’t ADA-compliant and (had) other issues,” he said. “But our public meetings were held in the basement of the library, a couple years later we moved to Brady Township Hall and then ultimately at the building commonly referred to as the PrideCare Ambulance facility for the last few years.”

Mallery, observing the eight-year anniversary of his employment as village manager, said Vicksburg was always an anomaly compared to other municipalities because it did not conduct its public meetings in the same building where day-to-day operations took place.

As he mentioned, lack of ADA compliance and not enough room to conduct public meetings were nagging problems posed by the former village office.

“Early on, we identified the need for a municipal building … we created a list, prioritized the list and identified the funding,” he said. “It’s taken seven years to save money for this. Though we stated (a new municipal building) is a wish, I always knew it was a critical need if we were going to operate this village to the level we feel it can operate in.”

At the time of the Jan. 29 meeting, Mallery noted a few outstanding tasks included demolition of the old village office, and the eventual addition of a parking lot and landscape at the 7,800-square-foot facility.

Frisbie acknowledged he had the good fortune to be village president at such a monumental time in the village’s history.

“It was a special feeling walking in here tonight, you could sense that it wasn’t just a normal meeting,” he said afterward. “What a proud moment for Vicksburg.”

Located on a parcel just north of the village water tower on North Richardson Street, the $2.7 million complex was paid for up front. Mallery said the fact the village did not take out a loan to finance construction will save Vicksburg taxpayers $1.5 million in interest.

The move from the previous village hall took place in December and day-to-day operations started at the new location Dec. 18. The police department, however, began working from the new building a week earlier.

A public open house is set for May 18.

In other action, council members approved a resolution in support of a goose round-up and egg collection in areas around Sunset Lake.

Also, a motion passed for a $2 million contract with Concord Excavating to serve as general contractor for an impending watermain/lead-line project in the residential area north of Vicksburg Middle School.

Meanwhile, Prein Newhof was hired to provide engineering services for the project at a cost of $379,000.

Mallery said the village received a $1.2 million grant from Kalamazoo County to cover costs associated with the $2.3 million undertaking. It is slated to start in February 2025.

The work will replace 110 lead lines and, once completed, will mean the village has replaced more than a third of all its lead lines.

In a separate matter, the council approved replacement of a deteriorating clay sewer pipe on Park Street between Michigan Avenue and Main Street. Mallery said the pipe in question was installed in 1945.

The work was done a few weeks later by H&K Excavating at a cost of $66,000. Mallery said money to cover the cost are to come from American Rescue Plan Act funds and will not impact utility rates.