HART - Monday, the Hart City Council voted to accept the bid of $302,059.30 from low-bidder Wadel Stabilization for the resurfacing of West Main Street, from the West Main fill, west to the city limit. According to City Manager Rob Splane, the project had been estimated to be $330,000 in May, so the bid from Wadel was coming in 10 percent below what was budgeted. Wadel has conferred with the city and reports they should be able to start the project after Labor Day and have it completed by November. Five other bids received from other West Michigan contractors ranged in price from $310,032.10 to $374,357.50.
A Veterans Park “bid opening discussion” was also on the agenda Monday night. This long-awaited project has been in the works for the better part of six years. What was originally budgeted as a $600,000 project was priced at $800,000 two years ago and was estimated to run $880,000 this year. The lowest bid received at last week’s bid opening was $1,186,000. Some components are of “premium” caliber, according to Splane. He said the city will need to look at possible alternatives for some of those components. He said he plans to look into more DNR funding and a possible fundraising campaign.
Another long-standing city project soon coming to fruition is the Safe Routes to School extension. On track to go out for bids in October, preliminary work could begin this fall, with completion by June 2025. The route would begin at the south end of Water Street and head north to Johnson, then west to Peach Street, north on Peach, turn west on Gilmore Street, head back to the north on Plum Street, go west on Tyler Road, then north on 72nd Avenue, connecting to the Pentwater Hart Trail there.
There would be designated areas on both Tyler Road and 72nd Avenue to accommodate walkers from the Pines Trailer Park and Oceana Christian School. The official route would run along the south side of Tyler in the right-of-way along Hart Cemetery. According to Splane, all adjacent homeowners are aware, and tree removal will be minimal.
There has been discussion as to how a finished “trail” would work with the unfinished dirt portion of South Plum Street. “It’s a tricky piece of road with lots of infrastructure involved,” Splane said. The cost to resurface is extremely high, at an estimated $450,000. The use of aggregate has been discussed. Regardless, before any construction begins, another public information night will be held.
In his city manager’s report, Splane was happy to announce that the Dryden Street project was running ahead of schedule. Contractors are hoping for completion as early as the end of September.
Splane also reported that the coming year will be a time of transition at the Hart Historic District. Several members of the Hart Preservation Group have indicated they do not plan to continue on the board after this year. With that in mind, the city parks and recreation manager has taken over the rental schedule for the buildings in the district. The group’s final two board meetings of the year will be Thursday, Aug. 27 and Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in Heritage Hall. Anyone interested in continuing the legacy begun many decades ago at this beautifully maintained and historic city property is encouraged to attend.
In other city news, the council recently passed Resolution 2024-19 to authorize pay rate increases for their three appointed city officials. The city clerk/treasurer’s and police chief’s last pay increases were in July 2023; the city manager’s last pay increase was in July 2022.
The resolution was first brought to council at its June 25 meeting, however, there were some questions, and not all four council members present voted in favor of the resolution. Authorization failed as four votes would have been needed either way to approve or deny the requested pay rate increases.
At the council’s July 9 meeting, the item was on the agenda, and once more, only four council members were present. The council voted to table the resolution with the hope that more council members could be present at the next meeting.
Finally, on July 23, with only four council members present once again, another discussion was held, and an amendment to the resolution was passed, with new councilor Jim Cunningham and current councilors Dean Hodges and Amanda Klotz, along with Mayor Vicki Platt, voting in favor. Councilors Catalina Burillo, Jim Evans and Kris Trygstad were absent.
The amended resolution gave approval to a 4 percent across-the-board rate increase. (Initially, a 6 percent pay increase was being requested for the city clerk/treasurer, who had recently become certified.) Approved pay rates are now as follows: city clerk/treasurer: $66,033; Hart police chief: $78,378; and Hart city manager: $94,051.
Additionally, the city’s TIFA (Tax Increment Financing Authority), which has previously budgeted the repurposing of 211 E. Main St., is planning to have a new parking lot built on that site. At one time, it was thought the location might be of interest to developers as a mixed-used (residential and commercial) site. However, with the acquisition of the former Ceres Solutions property to the west, the TIFA has shifted its focus to the redevelopment of that location instead.
