ROTHBURY — The Electric Forest festival will take place one week earlier than normal in 2025, the Rothbury city council announced at its regular monthly meeting Tuesday.
The council stated it had received communication from AEG Presents' Chad Cheek, who works to put the festival on each year, that due to artist and vendor availability the festival would be moved to June 17-22 instead of June 24-29. The mass gathering permit that allows Electric Forest to operate each year allows for such changes if at least eight months of advance notice are given.
Also Tuesday, the council accepted the resignation of Doug Roesler as the village's event administrator. Roesler, who was in the position for seven years, was not present at Tuesday's meeting, but the council read a letter from him aloud. Village president Vern Talmadge said in communication with Roesler, he was told that the new Electric Forest management had not been in contact with Roesler during this year's festival, and Roesler felt having him in the position was not necessary under those circumstances.
The council also approved its share of a purchase of seven police radios by a vote of 6-0 (Jim Fekken was absent from the meeting). The total cost of the radios is $45,000, though that cost will be shared with other police departments in the county and the state police will reimburse a small portion of it (about $8,400) to pay for the process of encrypting the radios.
During discussion, police chief Ethan Walker told the council there were cheaper options out there, but those options would be past their expected lifespan and it would be difficult to find replacement parts if needed. He added that when the current radio system needs replacement parts, the department has to scour eBay to find them. Talmadge said if the village has to upgrade the equipment anyway, it might as well pay for a system they know will be supported for some time. New Era will have to join Rothbury in approving the purchase.
The council also voted 6-0 to approve a resolution that will annex the Rothbury Community Center into the village - it is technically located in Grant Township - and also voted 6-0 to authorize clerk Brandy Williams to vote for directors representing Rothbury for the Michigan Municipal League.
Recycling through Kuerth's Disposal was also a topic of discussion. Previously Kuerth's contracted to provide garbage service for all village residents and stated it would be willing to offer recycling service as well if at least 40% of residents utilized the bins that were placed next to the village hall. While the village has not been able to verify that amount of people are using the bins, trustee Dylan Zuniga noted the bins fill up again very quickly whenever they are emptied. Williams suggested the council simply move forward with a contract with Kuerth's to provide recycling regardless of confirmed participation, believing residents would use the service if offered. No action was taken on the matter.
During public comment, Vaughn White of Valley City Metal spoke for an update on an effort to pursue grant money for a community center to be placed in part of the old Kurdziel foundry building on Winston Road. The grant he's pursuing is through the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided for $2 billion in funding for community-focused projects. The county must submit the grant by Nov. 21, but Valley City will work with the county to submit by the end of the month, which White said will increase the chance it receives funding. White said the facility would be similar to the Viking Athletic Center in Whitehall, including a walking track and multi-use courts. He added that even if Valley City is unable to secure grant money, enough background work has been done that it could be a "shovel-ready" project if another source of funding became available.
