SN 5-18-2024

The Sun and News, Saturday, May 18, 2024/ Page 7

For Sale

12 FOOT FISHING boat and

trailer, all accessories. Trolling

motor, and hummingbird fish

finder LCR-1000. Best Offer

(reasonable). Also, for sale:

1’1/4 horse Elgin Outboard.

Runs but needs carburetor

work. Antique. Make Offer.

269-908-0893.

2003 YAMAHA V-STAR Mo-

torcycle. Saddle bags and

windshield. 15,000 miles. 650

CC motor. $1500 734-323-

Garage Sale

MAY 24TH-27TH, WED-SAT,

9am-6pm. Large man sale. Lots

of construction tools, hand

tools, ELE, paint, push brooms.

Track for lighting. Way too

much to list! In Middleville MI,

across from the laundry mat on

M-37. Look for signs!!

VALLEY RIDGE ESTATES

neighborhood garage sale.

Saturday, May 25 & Sunday,

May 26, 2024. 9am-3pm.

HUGE BARN SALE. East Sis-

son Road on the corner of

Broadway in Freeport. Look

for signs. May 23rd, 4-9pm.

May 24th, 9-5pm. Antiques,

home decor and much more!

Automotive

2003 PORSCHE BOXTER

S. 67,000 Miles. Runs and

drives great! $16,600. 616-

551-9412.

Business Services

CRYSTAL CLEAN & CLEAR

LLC: Window cleaning and

soft wash pressure washing.

Brian Ellens (269)953-5496,

Kam Kidder (269)838-

CONSTRUCTION: ADDI-

TIONS, REMODELING,

Roofing, Siding, Pole Barns

& Decks. Licensed builder 25

years. Tom Beard, 269-838-

5937.

BUYING ALL HARD-

WOODS: Paying Premiums

for Walnut, White Oak, Tulip

Poplar with a 2ft diameter or

larger. Call for pricing. Will

buy single Walnut trees. In-

sured, liability & workman’s

comp. Fetterley Logging,

(269)818-7793.

Pets

DOG GROOMING. QUALI-

TY local groomer at reasonable

rates. 269-331-9999.

• Wheel Alignments


• Auto Glass Installation


• Insurance Work Welcome


• Visa & MasterCard Accepted

Over 40 years experience

Bruce’s Frame and Alignment

415 2nd • Middleville

795-

brucesframe.com

Full Service

Body Shop

Real Estate

CONDO, MIDDLEVILLE

VILLAGE. Open floor plan,

lots of natural light. Walkout

lower level. Main floor bed-

room, en-suite, walk in closet.

Kitchen with pantry. Main

floor laundry, 1/2 bath. All

appliances included. Second

bedroom/study. Downstairs

bedroom, full bath, family

room, work room, storage

room. Attached garage, 2 car.

Flower beds with perennials!

$282,000. 269-795-

Help Wanted

FARMERS GROUP (CALE-

DONIA, MI) seeks Agile Dev

Team Member IV to work

w/.NET web framework &

provide tech. feasibility using

coding methods & adhere to

coding standards for consis-

tent style & format. Must have

SAFe Practitioner or SAFe

Agilist Certification. Remote

work option. Salary: $130,000/

yr. Apply at Farmers.com/

Careers, Job ID: 24132.

GOLF COURSE MAINTE-

NANCE EMPLOYEE - All as-

pects of Golf course mainte-

nance, including trimming,

mowing, tree removal, and

bunker work. Please see Evan

and apply in person at Sas-

katoon Golf Club 9038 92nd

St., Alto, MI. To set up an

Appointment call 616-891-

ext.16 or apply online at saska-

toongolf.com.

JOIN OUR TEAM! Choice

Concrete Construction. Now

Hiring. Full Time, Competi-

tive Wages, Insurance, 401K,

Paid Vacations. No experience

needed. Call 616-693-2123 or

stop in 8-5 M-F. 8637 Portland

Rd, Clarksville, MI 48815.

MASTER GARDENER: SAS-

KATOON Golf Club is looking

to hire a part-time, seasonal

Master gardener to develop and

maintain flower beds and accent

landscaping during the golf

season. Flexible hours beginning

late April / early May through

mid-October, approx. 24 hours

a week. Apply online at saska-

toongolf.com/employment/ or

in-person at 9038 92nd St, Alto.

Miscellaneous

HELP, PLACE TO LIVE

NEEDED! My wife and myself

are forced to move. We need

a place to live. We live on a

small Social Security income.

Please Call 269-908-0893 or

651-404-0295.

Asbestos to be removed from old TK

Learning Center before demolition

Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
The demolition of the for-
mer Thornapple Kellogg
Schools Learning Center will
have to wait a bit.
District officials recently
learned that there was a small
amount of asbestos remain-
ing in the building, and that
has to be removed before
demolition can proceed.
“We found it in some pipe
insulation and in some old
floor tile in four of the class-
rooms,” TK Assistant
Superintendent Chris LaHaie

told the district’s school

board Monday night. “This is

a relatively small project, but

before we demo that building

... we have to get the asbestos

out of there.”

The asbestos was discov-

ered in late March during a

district walkthrough with its

asbestos consultant, John

Rehkopf of Northern

Analytical Services. The dis-

trict had recently completed

the removal of asbestos from

the roof of the high school

swimming pool as part of the

pool’s renovation, LaHaie said.

Northern Analytical

Services assisted the district

in putting together a request

for proposals for removing

the asbestos from the

Learning Center. Three bids

were received for the project,

with the board voting

Monday to award the con-

tract to Owosso-based Trust

Thermal Abatement Inc. at a

cost not to exceed $34,300.

Work on the asbestos remov-

al was expected to take place

this week, LaHaie said.

The asbestos removal will

be paid for out of funds from

the November 2019 bond

issue, as will the demolition

of the former Learning

Center. The building dates

back to 1938 and was once

Thornapple Kellogg High

School and later the middle

school.

Demolition of the building

is slated to take place the

week of June 24, LaHaie

wrote in an email.

The school board earlier

this year awarded the demo-

lition contract to X-Treme

Demolition of Grand Rapids

at a cost of $72,400.

CHS seeks vets info for memorial

Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
Caledonia High School
has begun to collect infor-
mation for its veterans
memorial wall to honor
those who have served in the
military.
If you or someone you
know is a CHS graduate or
Caledonia community mem-

ber who has served their

country in the military, there

is an online form where you

can submit your information

to be included in the memo-

rial database.

School officials earlier

this year approved the addi-

tion of the memorial, which

will be installed outside the

Peter V. DeLille Fine Arts

Center on the school’s north

campus. CHS senior Brody

Woodwyk has spearheaded

the campaign to create the

memorial, with assistance

from government and history

teacher Heather Tornes. The

high school’s Parent Teacher

Student Organization

(PTSO) has assisted with

fundraising for the project,

with close to $10,000 having

been raised so far, Tornes

said.

A dedication ceremony for

the veterans memorial is

expected to take place this

summer, Tornes said.

To find the online form to

fill out information for the

memorial, visit calschools.

org/community/veterans.

Middleville council rejects

DDA board candidate

Greg Chandler

Staff Writer

An ongoing dispute over

appointments to

Middleville’s Downtown

Development Authority

board boiled over Tuesday

night as Village Council

members argued for more

than a half-hour over wheth-

er the DDA board should

have a voice in the appoint-

ment process.

The council voted 5-2 to

reject the appointment of

David Sklarin to fill a DDA

board position that has been

vacant since the end of

March. Village President

Mike Cramer recommended

the appointment. Trustee

Makenzi Peters asked

Cramer whether he consulted

with the DDA board before

bringing his recommenda-

tion. Cramer said that under

state law, he doesn’t have to.

“They’re not even legally

required to be part of (the

appointment process) ...

While they want to be includ-

ed in it, realistically, it’s the

process. The process is the

appointment comes from

me,” Cramer said.

Under Section 204 of Public

Act 57 of 2018, a law which

regulates downtown develop-

ment authorities in Michigan,

DDA board members “shall

be appointed by the chief

executive officer of the munic-

ipality, subject to approval by

the governing body of the

municipality.” Under

Michigan’s general law vil-

lage act, which dates back to

1895, the village president is

defined as the chief executive

officer for the village.

Sklarin had applied for an

opening on the village plan-

ning commission earlier this

year, but after interviewing

him, Cramer thought he

would be a good fit for the

DDA, saying he was

“well-qualified.”

“He has a lot of experi-

ence with development and

regulations, and I felt while

he interviewed for the plan-

ning commission, his experi-

ence leans more toward

DDA,” said Cramer, who has

been critical of the board for

focusing more on events than

encouraging development in

the downtown area.

Peters said that while she

respects Cramer’s authority

to make the appointments,

the DDA board should have

a voice in the process.

“While the DDA still

exists, because the (tax incre-

ment financing that supports

the authority) is sunsetting if

we allow it, we should at

least have some collabora-

tion,” she said.

“It is respect for letting

them know, or bringing them

in (to the process),” added

Trustee Ann Williams, who

owns a downtown business.

“You are micromanaging

them ... All you need to do is

talk to them and collaborate

with them. You can still

make the appointments, but

there’s no communication

whatsoever. It’s what you

say and what you do, and

then you bring it to us, and

that’s wrong.”

The debate over DDA

appointments goes back to

February, when the council

voted 4-3 to replace two sit-

ting board members, Andrew

Beck and Joe Mancini,

replacing them with Kortney

Lull and Derek Dean. Cramer

proposed the appointment of

the new members and cast

the tie-breaking vote to

approve their inclusion.

Under Public Act 57, a

majority of DDA board

members must be individuals

with an ownership or busi-

ness interest in property in

the downtown district. The

municipality’s chief execu-

tive officer and one resident

must also sit on the board as

well.

President Pro Tempore

Kevin Smith voted against

Sklarin’s appointment, along

with Peters, Williams,

Richard Hamilton and Steve

Baldry.

“With all due respect to

your appointment, it was

heavy-handed and it came at

the expense of losing two

people who had a heart to

serve the village,” Smith said.

“I welcome and encourage

whatever candidate you wish

to put in place. I recommend,

personally, that we had two

capable individuals. I would

encourage them to reapply

and follow through the same

process so that they can be

before this board and have

the ability for this body, as a

governing body, to make the

decision collectively, so that

everybody is involved in the

decision,” Smith added.

Baldry proposed having a

joint meeting of the council

and DDA board, even sug-

gesting having it at his pole

barn.

“I would love to get in the

same room with the DDA and

us, and have a talk,” he said.

“I don’t know the right words

to use other than that – what’s

your beef, do you have a beef,

who are you, what it is that

you do ... I would really like

to see us do that.”

The council by consensus

agreed to Baldry’s idea.

Ann Williams (right) speaks out in favor of the

Middleville DDA having a voice in the appointment

process of a new board member as Village President

Mike Cramer listens. (Photo by Greg Chandler)