The Hastings Banner — Thursday, July 27, 2023 — Page 3The COVID-19 pandemic was a death
sentence for many movie theaters across
the country, especially local and inde-
pendently-owned theaters. The GQT
Hastings 4 emerged from the pandemic,
but the movie industry has not been the
same since. With more and more movies
skipping theaters entirely and going
directly to streaming services, it can be
hard for theaters to keep up with the con-
venience of streaming from home.
“Barbenheimer” could signal a light at
the end of the tunnel for theaters, evi-
denced by the record-breaking box office
numbers.
“It’s just wild to see the response in
our town, you know, being so amped
about stuff like that, especially newer
movies. When (new movies) come out, a
lot of times you can stream things, and it
goes that way nowadays,” said Miller.
“But some of those movies are only
playing in theaters now, which is fun to
get people back. It’s been a huge
response for us.”
Woodland native Lily Kostanko, now a
Grand Rapids resident, traveled to her
home theater in Hastings to celebrate
“Barbenheimer” weekend. Kostanko
opted to make the trek to Hastings instead
of going to a closer theater, like a Celebra-
tion Cinema, due to price and nostalgia.
“The Hastings 4 is my home-court
theater,” said Kostanko, “and it was onlyright to have my ‘Barbenheimer’ experi-
ence there. Plus, it is a lot cheaper than in
Grand Rapids.”
Though “Barbie” outperformed
“Oppenheimer” at the box office, many
committed to the double-feature experi-
ence, including this writer.
The Hastings 4 and other theaters
made the double feature convenient for
movie-goers, offering a wide variety of
showtimes. But the biggest challenge for
the “Barbenheimer” experience often
came down to which movie to see first,
and, of course, what to wear.
“We had quite a few ladies come
through with pink outfits, like really big,
pink cowboy hats,” said Miller. He even
saw one theater-goer show up with a
light-up cowboy hat, a fashion statement
Barbie herself would be proud of.“Everybody’s really been getting into
it this year, which is kind of nice with two
movies that are basically polar opposites
of each other,” continued Miller.
At this point, it is unclear whether the
successes of “Barbie” and “Oppen-
heimer” signal a change in course for the
movie industry, one that takes movies
back to theaters like Hastings 4. Despite
the uncertainty, it is clear that there is
still a certain magic associated with
going to the movies.
“The idea of going back to the movies
and being open and having those interac-
tions with people has been actually quite
nice,” said Miller. “I’ve only been the
acting theater manager here for about a
month, so I’m still getting used to things,
but it’s been a really, really great wel-
coming.”Hastings Area School System
Hastings Area School System is currently
seeking bids for lawn care for the
2024 - 2025 school year.Interested parties are required to attend a
pre-bid walk through
Tuesday, August 1st, 2023 at 11:00am.Interested parties are required to meet at the
Hastings Area School System Maintenance Building
located at 232 W. Grand St., Hastings.If you have any questions please feel free to call
(269) 818-2284 or email [email protected]POSITION OPENING
COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE
VITAL RECORDS CLERK
Base Pay: $17.88/Hr. + BenefitsPlease send Resume to:
Pamela A. Palmer
220 West State Street
Hastings, MI 49058^203384Hastings Area School System
Hastings Area School System is currently
seeking bids for snow removal
for the 2023 - 2024 school year.Interested parties are required to attend a
pre-bid walk through
Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023 at 11:00am.Interested parties are required to meet at the
Hastings Area School System Maintenance Building
located at 232 W. Grand St., Hastings.If you have any questions please feel free to call
(269) 818-2284 or email [email protected]took place just outside of the room and
that he did not witness it.
Rocha, who ran a write-in campaign
for state representative in District 78 last
election, admitted that, at a state level,
the GOP has been going through what he
called “growing pains.”
He and the rest of the Barry County
GOPers are not letting those pains push
them off their mission.
“I’ve talked to Phillip about this, as
well as the rest of our district, and I’ve
said, ‘Look, we can focus on our county
and what we can do county-wide and
focus on what we can do district-wide,’”
Rocha said. “Our district is very strong
and very united, and we’re very prolific
in getting out there and marketing and
talking to people.”
“Even if we disagree, it’s okay; we still
love each other and appreciate it and con-
tinue on,” Rocha added. “That’s not hap-
pening at the state level at all. If you
disagree at all, you’re something... you’re
not part of us.”
Both Rocha and Joseph also pointed
out that the GOP’s financial woes at the
state level will impact top-of-the-ticket
elections but wouldn’t necessarily
impact local races.
The Banner reached out to State
Representative Rachelle Smit, one of
the three state representatives with con-
stituents in Barry County. The Shel-
byville Republican had the following to
say.
“It seems as though we are facing a lot
of challenges in our state party right now,
but we need to remember that what we
should be focused on and fighting for are
the values and principles of what we
believe in as Republicans, not each
other,” Smit said over email.
“It takes a lot of people doing some-
thing to get things done. Republicans
are motivated to win at the local and
state level more than ever. I see it and
hear it all over my district. We know
what it’s going to take, and I believe
that we are learning to work together
towards a stronger and more unified
party to accomplish victory in 2024.”
Barry County Republicans won’t need
to win anything back in the upcoming
election as they hold all elected offices.
But, because of that, Rocha said the local
party was conscious of not getting com-
placent and that driving more Republi-can voters out to the polls will help them
hold ground in the county while also
benefitting Republicans across the rest of
the state.
Joseph said that, despite belonging to a
red county, the upcoming election is still
crucial.
“The Republican Party is here to get
Republicans elected,” Joseph said. “We
have had a lot of times in the past where
people have just run, and they say, ‘I’m a
Republican,’ but they have no affiliation
with the Republican Party. Our main goal
is to make sure that we actually have real
Republicans that have real affiliation
with our party get elected.”BARBENHEIMER, continued from page 1 –––––––––––
REPUBLICANS, continued from page 1 –––––––––––––
Phillip Joseph Rep. Rachelle SmitJon RochaCity approves bids
for streetscape
project totaling
$3.5 million
Hunter McLaren
Staff Writer
City council members approved construction bids and fees totaling
$3.5 million for the upcoming downtown Hastings streetscape project.
Sarah Moyer-Cale, city manager, said total costs for the project
came in about $500,000 over initial estimates. The project will be pri-
marily funded by the Downtown Development Authority, using
$800,000 from the DDA’s fund balance and $2.7 million in bond
financing, which will be repaid by the DDA. Moyer-Cale said the
DDA had agreed to pay more upfront and take on a bigger yearly pay-
ment when bids came back higher than expected.
“We made some modifications to what the repayment amount
would be on an annual basis for the DDA. We agreed with the DDA
board that it would go up to approximately $200,000 a year,” Moy-
er-Cale said. “Our previous discussions had been that it’d be about
$170,000 a year, so that gave us a little bit more room. We’re also
supplying more cash upfront from the DDA’s fund balance to help
with that difference.”
The remaining cost of the project will be paid for using funds
acquired through the sale of the Tyden Lofts property, as well as other
city funds. The city would be left to cover somewhere between
$50,000 and $100,000 of the project’s remaining cost, she said.
Moyer-Cale said the city was eligible to apply for a grant through
The Right Place Inc. and the Michigan Economic Development Cor-
poration for up to $650,000 to fund the project.
“We will not know the success or failure of that (grant application)
until September,” she said. “They can’t give us a definite amount on
that. However, they are taking the almost unprecedented step of fund-
ing projects that are already underway... so we can go ahead and move
forward with this project.”
If the city received the grant, it could mean the city wouldn’t be
required to provide additional funds and the DDA could reduce its
upfront contribution, she said. The redundant DDA contributions could
then be used to fund other DDA projects.
Council member Al Jarvis suggested that some amenities from the
planned streetscape project could be cut to save costs. Jarvis pointed to
cutting a planned public fireplace as a potential $84,000 cost-saving
measure, citing his uncertainties about whether it would be popular or
even if it would be legally allowed given state and federal discussions
about potentially banning gas-powered stoves.
Moyer-Cale said while the council could take a more conservative
approach and cut amenities from the project, she was confident the city
would have no problem funding it even with the $500,000 price
increase. If anything was to be cut from the project, Moyer-Cale said
some walls could be cut from the project to save over $100,000. The
fireplace was popular among residents who answered a public survey
about the project and would serve as an important placemaking ele-
ment, she said.
Council member Don Bowers asked what the purpose of the project
was and if it was included in the city’s budget.
The project, which includes renovations to pedestrian areas on State
Street from Broadway Avenue to Boltwood Street, involves repairing
sidewalks as well as providing new amenities. A public fireplace, pub-
lic seating areas and mid-block pedestrian crosswalks are all part of the
planned project. Moyer-Cale said the planning of the project started
when the city noticed downtown sidewalks needed repair, many trees
were dead or diseased and streetlights required repairs.
“Those are all indicators that the existing streetscape as it is has
really come to the end of its useful life and needs to be redone,” she
said. “The fundamental purpose of this project is to create a more safe,
welcoming environment for patrons of the downtown area. Since
we’re doing this project anyway and we need to make these repairs, we
have added the additional goal of improving placemaking elements to
attract more visitors to the downtown and have them stay longer.”City gives Royal Coach housing
development final approval
Hunter McLaren
Staff Writer
Hastings City Council provided its final approv-
al for a mixed-use residential development on the
former Royal Coach site.
Council members unanimously voted to approve
the project’s final plans following a public hearing
at Monday’s meeting. The project, titled the Thor-
napple River Mill Project, will bring 135 single,
two- and three-bedroom housing units to the for-
mer Royal Coach site at 328 and 420 E. Mill St.
Greg Taylor, representing developer Copper-
Rock Construction, said at previous meetings the
project would be completed in two phases. The first
phase would include the housing units, parking and
a promenade connecting the three residential build-
ings to the Thornapple River pedestrian bridge near
Thornapple Plaza. Phase two would include the
construction of planned farmer’s market and com-
mercial space on the lot.Dan King, community development director
for the city, took a moment at Monday’s meeting
to recognize city staff for their contributions
toward moving several large projects forward.
“We’re in exciting times,” King said.
King said that alongside the Thornapple River
Mill Project, the city is coming closer to begin-
ning its streetscape project, construction is due to
start soon on the Tyden Lofts project and the city
is in the process of approving five new buildings
at Meadowstone Apartments.
“With a streetscape project and those three
projects alone, we’re going to bring placemak-
ing and amenities to the city of Hastings, as
well as housing that has been sorely needed for
several years now,” King said. “Again, it is
exciting times. As council members and staff,
we should all be proud and happy of the accom-
plishments that are moving forward with more
to come.”New master plan nets Barry
County statewide award
Jayson Bussa
Editor
With the ink still drying on The Barry County
2040 Master Plan, a statewide association of pro-
fessional planners has already acknowledged it as
one of the industry’s best.
Earlier this month, the Michigan Association of
Planning (MAP), which is the state’s chapter of
the American Planning Association, announced
that Barry County was a recipient of the Out-
standing Best Practice Award for the 2023 Plan-
ning Excellence Awards.
The county’s planning commission will receive
an award plaque to commemorate the honor and
three of the central individuals that helped devel-
op the master plan are invited to the Planning
Michigan Annual Conference in Traverse City on
Oct. 4-6 to accept the award and give a presenta-
tion on it.
Barry County Planning and Zoning Director
Jim McManus and consultant Rebecca Harvey,
who both worked with Kalamazoo-based commu-
nity planning firm McKenna, will make the trip.
A representative from McKenna will also be
there.
McKenna submitted Barry County’s master
plan, which was approved by the Barry County
Board of Commissioners on Tuesday morning, to
be considered for the award.
Harvey has served several years on the board of
MAP and was familiar with the nomination and
award process, explaining that plans are reviewed
by a panel of professional planners from outside
the state.“This is totally not nothing – this is a big deal
for you to get this and we’re really thrilled with
this,” Harvey said during a county board meeting
last week.
The 204-page master plan was put together by
the planning commission with the help of Harvey
and McKenna. It was subject to a public hearing
last week after all of the county’s jurisdictions
were given an initial look at it back in March.
Some of the plan’s recommendations include
designating areas of growth and concentrated
development in the county, fostering the buildout
of broadband communications across the county,
working with communities on developing a
countywide waterfront and shoreline protection
plan and starting up discussions on growing infra-
structure such as sewer and water.Plans for the Thornapple River Mill Project call for three residential buildings and commercial space for a community food market. Developers
said the building’s brick facade and flat roof design were an homage to the historic Royal Coach building that formerly stood on the site. (Courtesy
rendering)
Community Development Director Dan King
took a moment to recognize city staff for their
efforts to move along several significant proj-
ects. (Photo by Hunter McLaren)