The Hastings Banner — Thursday, May 19, 2022 — Page 3180783
CITY OF HASTINGS
REQUEST FOR BIDSSelf-Contained Breathing
ApparatusThe City of Hastings is requesting sealed
bids for the replacement of Self-Contained
Breathing Apparatus.
The Fire Department is located at 110 E. Mill
St., Hastings, MI 49058.Bid proposal forms and specifications are
available at the address listed below. The
City of Hastings reserves the right to reject
any and all bids, to waive any irregularities in
the bid proposals, and to award the bid as
deemed to be in the City's best interest,
price and other factors considered.Sealed bids will be received at the Office of
the City Clerk/Treasurer, 201 East State
Street, Hastings, Michigan 49058 until 9:
AM on Thursday, June 16, 2022 at
which time they will be opened and publicly
read aloud. All bids must be clearly marked
on the outside of the submittal package
"Sealed Bid – Fire Department Self-
Contained Breathing Apparatus.Roger Caris
Fire ChiefCounty favors lake level project for Mud and Pleasant lakes
Rebecca Pierce
Editor
A lake level project for Pleasant and Mud
lakes received the Barry County Board of
Commissioners’ initial blessing Tuesday
during its committee of the whole meeting.
Once the board officially acts on his rec-
ommendation next week, Drain Commis-
sioner Jim Dull said he plans to petition the
court and begin the process to establish a
lake level.
The district involves 123 residents
around the two contiguous lakes in Barry
Township.
The establishment of a normal lake level
would primarily be for the benefit of water-
front residential properties on Pleasant
Lake, Dull said.
But maintaining a normal lake level on
Mud and Pleasant lakes is only feasible if
downstream water levels on Upper and
Lower Crooked lakes can be managed.
A petition was submitted in March 2018
to the Barry County Drain Commissioner to
extend Watson Drain to create an outlet for
Upper Crooked Lake. That project is cur-
rently in progress.
Once the flood conditions on Upper and
Lower Crooked Lakes have been mitigated,
it is feasible to establish and maintain a
normal level on Pleasant and Mud lakes as
the Watson Drain would provide a route for
efficient surface water drainage, according
to Dull.
Pleasant and Mud lakes are part of a sin-
gle hydrologic system that includes multi-
ple large wetland complexes adjacent to
both lakes.
The approximately 750-acre system spans
from Pleasant Lake Road and Floria Road
west to Kingsbury Road and is bounded by
Osborne Road and Orchard Road on the
south and north ends, respectively.
The United States Geological Survey
includes the Pleasant Lake and Mud Lake
system in the Kalamazoo River watershed.
Mud Lake is nearly entirely undeveloped
while Pleasant Lake is partially developed
with residential waterfront lots on the north
and west edges of the lake.
Household Hazardous Waste, Tire Col-
lection is Saturday
In other business, Barry County commis-
sioners got a crash course in recycling pro-
tocol from Rachel Frantz, the county’s recy-
cling coordinator, who offered an annual
report during the Committee of the Whole
meeting Tuesday.
Her presentation was well timed, since
the Barry County Spring Household Haz-
ardous Waste and Tire Collection is 9 a.m.
to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Barry County Expo
Center. Hundreds of tires will be disposed of
properly, thanks to that collection event.
And, or the first time, this year’s event
will include electronics recycling. Many
household electronics contain valuable
materials such as copper, silver and gold,
but they also may contain toxic chemicals
such as cadmium, mercury and lead, accord-
ing to Frantz.
“When buried in a landfill, these chemi-
cals can leach into the soil and groundwater
and negatively impact the environment,
wildlife and people. For that reason, elec-
tronics waste is not accepted in household
recycling and should not be thrown away in
household trash. Most items that are in
working order can be donated locally, whileremaining items that are either broken or not
accepted for donations, can be recycled.”
Most “e-waste” items will be accepted for
free, she said. Exceptions are CRT and LCD
monitors and TVs under 20 inches, which
will be accepted for a $5 charge, while those
over 20 inches will be accepted for a $
charge.
Items accepted free of charge will include:
Computers, laptops and laptop batteries;
circuit boards, hard drives and servers; USB
drives, RAM, memory, computer chips, pro-
cessor power supply, power cords, cables
and wires; printers, scanners, fax machines,
keyboards, fax machines, mice and audio
equipment; ink jet toner cartridges, desk/
office phones; AC adapters with wires;
gaming systems; GPS units; iPads and tab-
lets; cell phones and cell phone batteries;
small household appliances, such as toast-
ers, toaster ovens and hair dryers; holiday/
Christmas lights and tires – a maximum of
10 per vehicle.Decision Day honors Hastings High School seniors
Benjamin Simon
Staff Writer
As the school year comes to a close, Hast-
ings High School seniors are enjoying a final
celebration tour.
On Friday, May 13, graduating seniors
participated in “Decision Day,” a day dedi-
cated to their post-secondary plans.
The event began in the performing arts
center, where students and their future plans
were announced.
Friday’s event highlighted the wide array
of upcoming plans for the Hastings High
School students, featuring schools such as
Alma College, Michigan State University,
Aquinas College, Michigan Career and Tech-
nical Institute, Purdue University, Grand
Rapids Community College, University of
Pennsylvania, Wayne State University,
Cedarville University and more.
Forty-eight students also are planning to
enter the world of work.
Some will move across the country for
college, including two students, Amy Fors-
berg and Grace Kurr, who will attend Western
Colorado University. Others will stay close
home, with eight planning to attend Grand
Valley State University, including Elisabeth
Arnold, Ty Burfield, Mason Denton, Katlyn
Forte, Kali Grimes, Faith Johnson, Carter
Rosenberger and Harrison Smalley.
Some will take a more specialized path.
Kiley Miles and Azaleigha Wemigwans plan
to attend Paul Mitchell The School Grand
Rapids, a beauty school. Daniel Harp and
Dillon Neal will join the U.S. Army.
Following the recognition ceremony,
seniors, dressed in caps and gowns, visited
their respective elementary schools, where
students cheered them on as they paradeddown the halls carrying signs showcasing
their next steps.
Students finished the day by returning to the
high school, where they enjoyed food from the
Lazy Man BBQ food truck, Olly’s Donuts, and
Ice Box Brand Gourmet Ice Cream Bars.Irving officials offer no update on tabulator seizure
Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
Investigators continue to remain tight-
lipped about a probe by the Michigan Attor-
ney General’s office into a possible breach of
election security measures that led to the
recent seizure of a voting tabulator from
Irving Township Hall.
Now Irving Township officials say they
will have no further comment about the
probe, even as it draws media attention from
beyond Barry County.
At Tuesday night’s township board meet-
ing, Supervisor Jamie Knight read a statement
that was emailed from township Attorney Jef-
frey Sluggett in regard to the investigation that
led to the April 29 seizure of the tabulator.
“We were in touch with the township attor-
ney’s office at the end of last week and were
advised that while there have been minimal
communications between their office and
Barry County officials, they have not had any
follow-up or recent communications with the
Michigan Attorney General’s office or the
Michigan State Police,” Knight said, reading
the statement. “It is the township attorney’s
recommendation that, until further notice,
requests for information about the status of
any investigations should be directed to those
agencies.”
No other board members commented about
the situation at the meeting.
Investigators from the State Police post in
Gaylord went to the home of Township Clerk
Sharon Olson on the morning of April 29,
wanting her to open the township hall so that
the tabulator could be retrieved. Investigators
presented a warrant that was signed by a
judge in Gaylord, based on information pro-
vided by two agents from Attorney General
Dana Nessel’s office.
“They want to check to see if it had been
compromised in any way,” Olson said in an
April 30 Banner interview.
The seizure of the Irving Township tabula-
tor, which was manufactured by Dominion
Voting Systems, came as Barry County Sher-
iff Dar Leaf was conducting a voter fraud
investigation stemming from the November
2020 general election. An investigator hired
by Leaf, Mark Noteboom Jr., submitted Free-
dom of Information Act letters to 18 clerks in
Barry County, asking for their voting records
from that election.
After the seizure of the tabulator in Irving
Township, Leaf said the investigation by the
state attorney general’s office had nothing to do
with the voter fraud probe he has been conduct-
ing here for months.
The coverage of these developments
attracted the attention of the British-based
news service Reuters, which sent a reporterwho attended Tuesday’s township board
meeting.
In February, Michigan Secretary of State
Jocelyn Benson asked Nessel and the state
police to investigate allegations that an
unnamed third party had been allowed to
access vote tabulator components and tech-
nology in Roscommon County in northern
lower Michigan.
Under Michigan Compiled Laws
168.932(b) of Michigan election law, passed
in 1954, “a person not duly authorized by law
shall not, during the progress of any election
or after the closing of the polls and before the
final results of the election have been ascer-
tained, break open or violate the seals or
locks of any ballot box or voting machine
used or in use at that election. A person shall
not willfully damage or destroy any ballot
box or voting machine. A person shall not
obtain undue possession of that ballot box or
voting machine.”
Lt. Derrick Carroll, public information
officer for the state police Seventh District
office in Gaylord, said earlier this month that
the investigation has led to “some other
areas” of the state, but did not specify Barry
County or any other counties.
A spokeswoman from the attorney general’s
office has twice declined to comment on the
case, citing that it is an ongoing investigation.Rutland Charter Township
passes anti-blight ordinance
Benjamin Simon
Staff Writer
Amid a packed crowd, the Rutland
Charter Township board May 11 passed
an anti-blight ordinance that has been at
the center of disagreement over the past
few months.
Board members approved the ordi-
nance, 5-1, with Trustee Brenda Bellmore
dissenting. The ordinance will go into
effect by the week of June 12.
The township, which currently has a
one-paragraph description of blight, start-
ed developing a new three-page ordi-
nance a year ago to create a clearer defi-
nition of blight. Board members said they
also hope the policing ordinance docu-
ment will allow the township to follow
through in court.
“It’s not going to be any more of a
hardship on our residents than the other
one is,” Treasurer Sandy Greenfield said
in an interview after the meeting.
In the past six to eight months, she
estimated. three properties have been
ticketed.
Board members said their goal is not to
hunt for messy yards.
They are “complaint-driven,” trustees
said multiple times, so they will only
issue citations if people file a formal,
written complaint.
Under the new ordinance, after receiv-
ing the complaint, the code enforcer will
visit the property, speak with the residents
and give them a deadline for cleaning up
their property.
After an initial visit and two tickets, the
township will send the issue to a magis-
trate, and residents can plead their case.
“We just want to try and clean up the
messes,” Greenfield said. “... A cement
block laying in your front yard will not
get you a ticket.”
The township sought to implement a
similar ordinance nearly five years ago,
but dropped it after residents flooded the
township hall. They started the process
again over the past year and received
pushback similar to the last time.
About 50 people attended Wednesday’s
monthly meeting, with nearly every seat
taken and some people standing against
the wall. The majority of those who spoke
shared their disapproval of the ordinance.
They expressed concern over the number
of items listed as blight in the ordinance- wondering if the township could spin
the law to fine them for minor offenses.
They wondered who would serve on the
next township board and how future
members would interpret the ordinance.
Their property is their property, they said,
and they can do whatever they want on
their property.
“I thought this was a free country,” Jim
Fields said.
“This is too much,” Rod Ritsema said.
“Overreaching,” Ted Robbins said.
Ron Holley said he has lived in the
township for 75 years. He admitted that
“our place doesn’t always look the best.”
Despite their efforts, he said, they have
materials on their property that are hard to
clean.
He worried that, if the ordinance
passed, “they’re going to be out there
dealing with this every week.”
Pat Walton stood up in favor of the
ordinance. A resident of Barry County for
83 years, she bought her current home 32
years ago as a single woman. She said
she prioritizes keeping her property neat
and tidy, but noted that she hasn’t seen
the same from some of her neighbors.
Some houses are “very much in disar-
ray,” she said.
Linda Watson wondered if there might
be some sort of “balancing” the board
could do, noting that the ordinance abrupt-
ly ballooned from one paragraph to three
pages.
But Watson said she thinks the town-
ship needs an anti-blight ordinance.
“I know where I live, I have to look at
four nasty, rusty 55-gallon drums and all
the debris,” Watson said. “... I don’t like
looking at that. It shouldn’t be that way.
Yes, we live in a free country. But we
shouldn’t be doing anything that’s going
to deter the value of your property or my
property. If people had common sense –
but I don’t think there’s much of that
anymore – we wouldn’t have this issue.”
Residents spoke for about 20 minutes.
When they finished, board members did
not hold any discussion. After the ordi-
nance was approved, the crowd left, mur-
muring as they cleared out.
Ten minutes later, the once-packed
meeting hall was empty and the meeting
drew to a close.
Before it ended, Joel Ibbotson visited
the stand in the final public comment seg-
ment. Over the course of the past few
months, Ibbotson has attended multiple
township meetings, offering feedback on
the proposed ordinance. And, every time,
the township has listened to him and
made adjustments, he said.
“I just want to reiterate, and everyone,
unfortunately, left already,” he said, “but
if there’s a problem with the ordinance,
come here and tell it to the board.”
In other news, the township board
approved:- The ARPA-funded sewer study at
Algonquin Lake. - Spending up to $5,000 for new Dell
computers. The township would receive
four new computers and three new moni-
tors. - The sale of a vacant property on
Heath Road near Tanner Lake Road to
Coughlin Home Improvement for
$33,350.
At Tuesday's meeting, Pleasant Lake resident Al Graves commended the Drain
Commissioner Jim Dull for his work and then went on to praise all the county commis-
sioners for their efforts on behalf of their constituents during turbulent times. Then, to
their surprise, he went around the table and personally thanked each one of them.
Here, Graves thanks Commissioner Jon Smelker. (Photo by Rebecca Pierce)Hastings senior BreAnn Micklatcher, who will attend Grand Rapids Community
College, walks through the hallways of her old elementary school, Star, as students
cheer her on. (Photo provided the Hastings Area School System)