SHELBY - Not having met since Sept. 9, the Shelby Village Council had another full agenda last Monday, Oct. 14, considering and passing 10 resolutions, four related to Getty Park alone.
Under old business, the village voted to approve a quote from Envigor of Shelby in the amount of $6,200 for website design and development, as well as $300 per year for website hosting, $800 per year for website maintenance and $400-$1,000 per year for third-party communication costs. Envigor, owned by Andy and Amanda Mazur, specializes in custom work and offers many of the same services as Apptegy (the company considered at the council’s Sept. 9 meeting) with the exception of a mobile app.
Village Administrator Phil Morse asked if “emergency texts” versus “news” could be distinguished between, saying if too many notifications are sent, people may quit reading them. Council also asked if translated communications could be proofread before being sent out. Google Translate doesn’t necessarily translate in every situation, noted Councilman Damien Omness. Councilman Dan Zaverl asked about annual costs and how much those would go up each year. Mazur said most of their costs hadn’t gone up in a number of years. Annual fees would depend on the number of communications sent out.
Secondly, the council approved an intergovernmental agreement between Shelby Township and the village for the sharing of various outdoor equipment. The township had approved the agreement the week prior. Having the agreement doesn’t tie the village to anything fiscally, said Morse, but it would cover both entities when something is borrowed.
The last old business item approved was a $2,370 quote from Swanson Concrete LLC, of Hart for the removal of the curb and concrete, as well as the installation of an ADA pad and new concrete on Sixth Street and School Street. “The crosswalk is part of the Getty Park project plans. There is value in following through with the plans as designed for the safety and well-being of children and adults crossing the road,” Morse said. “The paint for the crosswalk and portable crosswalk signs have been funded by the local REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) program.”
In new business, the village approved four Getty Park-related resolutions.
Council gave their approval to the only quote received for the installation of 12-18 angle parking spaces along the east side of School Street. The original resolution was amended and approved a “not to exceed” cost of $46,000 to McCormick Sand of Twin Lake, to be paid for out of Local Streets. The original quote was for $35,980, however, the scope of work would not provide much space for longer vehicles. McCormick said for approximately $10,000 more, they could remove the fencing along Getty Field and do some more excavation to make more space. It was asked if McCormick could get the job done before winter, and Morse said they reported they most likely could.
“If we wait til spring, will the price go up” Omness questioned.
“I’m afraid if we keep putting it off, it will keep getting put off,” Morse responded.
“I don’t like getting put under the gun on these votes,” Zaverl said.
Next, council gave approval for contributing $599 towards the purchase of a QuikScreen Series-Outdoor Theater System for Getty Park. The Community Foundation of Oceana County had agreed earlier to underwrite $1,500 to go towards the purchase. The $599 will come from Parks and Rec Department Funds. Morse noted the cost for the system in February was $3,000, saying the original estimated cost had actually gone down since then.
Zaverl asked who would be in charge of the equipment while in use at Getty Park. Zaverl also wanted to know what Police Chief Dean Roesler thought about showing movies in the park. “These showings will be family-oriented. We shouldn’t have any problems we can’t handle,” he said. “Pentwater does it, and it brings a lot of people downtown,” Councilman John Sutton said.
Council then voted to accept a quote from Charter Spectrum in the amount of $599 for internet installation at Getty Park. It was noted the village might be able to reduce that amount based on a quote expected from Catchmark for the equipment. The resolution also approved monthly recurring charges not to exceed $175.
Councilman Mike Termer said, not knowing who would be using the internet and what they might be accessing, he was not in favor of having public Wi-Fi at the park. While it is necessary to have internet capabilities to be able to use security cameras, Omness suggested they can look at setting up public Wi-Fi in the future, “But we have to have protocols and parameters.” The internet installation will also come out of the Parks and Rec Department Fund.
The last Getty Park expenditure approved a proposal from Catchmark Technologies for the purchase and installation of security cameras. The resolution approved $11,800 and will come from the Equipment Pool Fund. Morse told the council the village had requested quotes from four companies and received two in return.
Morse reported Charter’s quote was a much higher cost long term, and had “super high-quality” cameras, while the Catchmark quote had a lower cost long-term and “high-quality” cameras. The life expectancy of the Catchmark cameras is estimated at three to five years and Morse said he felt the Catchmark equipment would meet the village’s needs for that time frame. “Getty Park is costing us more and more as we go,” said Zaverl. Despite voting against the other three Getty Park expenditures, Zaverl did vote in favor of purchasing the cameras.
The village also approved two resolutions related to the Deming Well Project on Deming Road. One approved a change order from Northern Well & Pump of Lansing in the amount of $71,305.53 for the Deming Well Pump. The well has been installed for a while, but not until the required drawdown tests are conducted and the correct flow rate and head conditions were approved by EGLE (Environment, Great Lakes & Energy), could a new pump be ordered.
It was noted this amount is nearly double what was originally quoted from Fleis & VandenBrink Engineering. Using monies from its Water Fund, the village will only be responsible for $33,350.53. The remaining $37,955 will be covered by monies from a Water-Related Infrastructure Grant originally secured for the project by the Oceana Economic Alliance and The Right Place of Grand Rapids.
Termer asked if this was truly the best price. “We need to have a conversation with Fleis & VandenBrink about quotes coming up short of actual costs. It’s hard on the village,” he said.
The village only received one bid.
“They’ve got a monopoly on it,” said Councilman Curt Trott.
“But if we don’t have a pump, we can’t use the well,” added Councilman Steve Crothers.
A second Deming Well resolution approved a quote for $12,319.89 from Bullseye Roofing Systems of Montague for the installation of a new roof and gutters at the Deming Well House. Again, this was the only quote the village received. According to DPW Superintendent Jeremiah Helenhouse, it took two and a half months to get, but council concluded it was necessary to protect this new village infrastructure.
