Effective as of July 16, 2018

City Hall will no longer be closing for lunch!

We will be open Monday- Friday 8:00 A.M to 5:00 P.M

STANTON — The Stanton City Commission is considering the feasibility of constructing a pedestrian bridge and pathway to connect the Fred Meijer Heartland Trail with the recently redeveloped D. Hale Brake Park.

A new bridge and pathway would be just the latest in a series of improvements to the park, which has recently rehabilitated basketball courts, tennis courts, baseball fields and a new playground structure.

“It is the missing link,” said City Manager James Freed. “We have no sidewalks or paths to our current park. This would address those walking concerns. Plus, it would make easy access to the school complex using the trail, which many kids do.”

D. Hale Brake Park is located on South Lincoln Street in Stanton. The park bears the name of Michigan’s former state treasurer who served from 1943 to 1954 and who had connections to Stanton.

According to Freed, the proposed bridge and pathway would connect the ballfields and over the creek. The project would cost between $50,000 and $60,000 and would be paid for by the general fund.

Stanton City Commissioner John Kroneck said the idea of connecting the Meijer trail with the city park was an idea generated several years ago when a group of Stanton citizens met to lay out plans for the city’s park system.

“The bridge provides an invitation for people to rest, have lunch and enjoy our park,” Kroneck said. “With the Meijer Trail being used as much as it is, we are being remiss if we don’t extend a welcoming hand to those using the trail.

“It is also in our minds to see what we can do to have Stanton be a bike-friendly community,” he added. “That is, instead of a pass through spot on the trail, people could plan an excursion through Stanton. We have already installed bike racks along Main Street.”

The city commission will address the proposal at the next regular meeting, scheduled for Feb. 25.

“This is just one of the possible developments the community may see next year,” Freed noted.

Three years ago, a community committee sent the city commission a proposed parks and recreation plan with various proposed improvements. The city commission has acted on several of those recommendations in the last 24 to 36 months, according to Freed.

“This time of year, it is exciting to have a general discussion with the mayor and commission and various community groups about what our goals should be,” Freed said. “The mayor and commission have been addressing a lot of issues these last few years, and they take a lot of time to research and investigate new proposals. That’s what this time is used for.”

The commission will also review the current status of water and sewer projects and capital improvement plan projects slated for next year, focusing on asset management and increasing access to city services.

Call Stanton City Hall at (989) 831-4440 for more information about upcoming projects.

STANTON — Slumlords in Stanton are about to get a big surprise.

A set of ordinances unanimously adopted at the Stanton City Commission’s Tuesday night meeting sets aside $150,000 of city funds to be used for the prosecution of owners of dilapidated or abandoned housing and the subsequent demolition and removal of same.

According to City Manager James Freed, the city now has “the teeth” to go after the owners of some of Stanton’s most blighted properties.

“There’s about 20 buildings that are simply beyond repair,” Freed said. “The current ordinance is not enough. We’re going after the people who have the slums. If you have broken windows and collapsed roofs, we’re going to prosecute you.

“This blight is a cancer on our neighborhoods and we’re going to cut it out,” he said. “For families in Stanton, their home is their greatest investment. We’re going to protect that.”

Freed noted that most homes in Stanton — 485 out of 500 is the figure he used — are well maintained. It’s the remaining 15 that are bringing property values down for the rest of the community, he said.

The first 10 homes on the list Freed plans to “go after” are currently unoccupied, or at the very least not occupied by the home’s owner. Some, he said, have been sold on land contract in an effort to avoid rental inspection requirements.

“What these slumlords do is prey on poverty-stricken people and sell to them on land contract,” Freed said.

Commissioner Karl Yoder voiced concerns that the ordinance could be used indiscriminately and inadvertently displace some of the same people it is meant to protect.

“I’ve lived in several different kinds of communities,” Yoder said. “In big cities and way back in the hills of Kentucky, in small towns, in medium sized towns. And I’ve observed that people live differently all over the place.

“I want to make sure this ordinance doesn’t say, ‘I don’t like the way you live, so I’m going to tear your house down,’” he said. “The emphasis should be on dilapidated and unsafe property.”

Commissioner Krista King echoed Yoder’s sentiments, saying the city should make sure due process is observed in each individual case.

Freed assured the commission he plans to target only the worst homes, those with major structural defects, owned by landlords who have previously refused to make needed improvements.

“There’s a difference between (bad) taste and blight,” Freed said. “We have a little blight and we need to cut it out before it becomes a contagion. I can’t name even one case where we’re planning to go after a home that someone is living in.”

The ordinance, which Freed plans to publish in Friday’s Daily News, will mark the beginning of a 10-day wait period, after which the ordinance will go into effect.

By Lori Hansen

STANTON — LaShae Wright had wanted to compete in the Miss Stanton Scholarship Pageant in previous years, but hesitated as “I don’t like talking in front of people.”

The 17-year-old Stanton resident didn’t show that fear last night as she competed — and then won — the queen’s title, edging out three other contestants.

“I knew if I didn’t try it, and waited, I would get too old to do it,” said Wright, the daughter of Billy and Christa Wright.

The contestants met with judges for private interviews on Tuesday, then competed on stage in four other phases: outfit of choice, essay, evening gown and on stage question in the 30th annual queen’s contest.

Wright, a 2013 Central Montcalm High School graduate, modeled her track uniform, including an array of medals garnered from various races.

In her essay, in which she defined strength, Wright said, “Strength comes from the heart and soul and not only muscular. Strength means never quitting.”

She recited Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him that strengthens me.” And Isaiah 40:31 “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.”

“As long as I put God first, then family and then all other things, always in that order, I will be OK,” said Wright.

Christa DePue, 18, the daughter of Glenn and Amy DePue, earned first runner-up honors. MacKenna Myers, 16, the daughter of Coleen Myers and Mike Myers, was named second runner-up and rounding out the court is Erica Wyatt, 17, the daughter of Ed and Jane Wyatt.

Wright, along with the newly crowned Junior Miss Regan Western, 13, the daughter of Denise Minikey and Jay Strawn and Shawn Western, both received scholarships to Montcalm community College, a new addition to the pageant.

Western’s court consists of first runner-up Kae-Leigh Basney, second runner-up Faith Smith and court member Hannah Salliotte.

Gage Almas, 9, the son of James and Holly Almas, was crowned Stanton Old Fashioned Days Duke and Grace Dennis, 10, the daughter of Joe and Shaun Dennis will reign as Duchess.

Carter Denman, 3, the son of Nicole Denman was named the 2013 Prince and Emma Simpson, 5, the daughter of Bill and Kim Simpson, is this year’s Princess.

Correspondent Lori Hansen is a Greenville-area resident.

Business is blooming in the city of Stanton and on Tuesday, city officials, state representatives and local business people gathered to note the recent influx of new businesses to the city.

On hand was City Manager James Freed and State Rep. Rick Outman, R-Six Lakes, along with a host of other local notables.

The highlight of the event was a series of ribbon cutting ceremonies, beginning with Birdy’s Antiques and Gifts and Birdy’s Salon, located at 203 and 205 E. Main Street.  All the businesses honored at the event are located within a block and a half of one another on Main Street.

According to Birdy’s owner Diane Lowell, Birdy’s mission is to “Create a small-town feel to a spacious store with a friendly shopping experience.”

From there, the group moved on to Flowers, etc., where Outman assisted with the ribbon cutting.

Next up was Great Plains Industries Pumps, a distributor of fluid transfer products.  The store opened last year at 119 W. Main St.

The group visited It’s A Buck Dollar Store.  According to owner Susie Vogelson, the store is “a simple mom and pop store.”

The store offers toys, grocery items, craft supplies, and other needs, all at $1 or less per item.

Tattoos by Wojo, Stanton’s newest tattoo parlor, was next on the list at 100 E. Main St., Suite C, next to Chemical Bank.

Main Street Salon also was included in the ribbon cutting ceremonies, followed by Slice of Heaven restaurant.

“Things are really happening downtown Stanton,” Freed said.  “We wanted people to know about it.”

Jessica Adams, the city’s marketing and business development coordinator, echoed that sentiment.

“We are pleased to see such progress in historic downtown Stanton, she said.  “Small businesses are learning that Stanton is a great place to do business every day.”

Spring 2013 City Newsletter and Service Schedule

March 5, 2013 at 2:00pm Organizational meeting

March 11, 2013 at 1:00pm-4:00pm and 6:00pm-9:00pm

March 12, 2013 at 9:00am-12:00noon and 2:00pm-5:00pm

STANTON — There’s no doubt firefighting can be a dangerous, difficult job. The men and women who put in the time and effort needed to protect the rest of us deserve the best training and equipment possible.

Such was the thinking behind a host of recent improvements at Stanton’s fire house, where the city and three surrounding townships came together to provide some much needed updates to the facility. At 1 p.m. Saturday, the Stanton Community Fire Department will host an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony to allow the public a chance to see all that has been accomplished there in recent months.

According to Stanton City Manager James Freed, turnout for the event is expected to be significant, with members of the Fire Board, Sidney Township, Evergreen Township, Douglass Township and the Stanton City Commission and mayor present for the ribbon cutting.

“We also expect large community turnout from the friends and families of the fire department members,” Freed said. “Chief (Brian) Brassington and his leadership team will be giving tours of the facility.”

The project was paid for by the city, along with Evergreen, Sidney and Douglass townships.

“This was a large project funded collectively by four governmental entities and with the support of a very generous community, and we are all very proud of the outcome of this project,” Freed said. “All three townships, the city, and the department really came together to pull this project off.

“It’s a testament to the cooperative relationship that has developed,” he added. “This strong relationship between the townships and the city allows us to ensure vital public safety infrastructure and firefighter training programs, and to deliver tangible results to the residents and taxpayers of our respective communities.”

Total cost of the project was around $160,000. About $120,000 of that came from the city, with the remaining $40,000 provided by the townships.

That money paid for a new office, turnout gear rooms, an equipment room, meeting room and expanded training facilities. Also, a new training deck allows firefighters to hone their skills with regard to moving ladders and fire hoses.

According to Brasington, this sort of training was difficult, if not impossible with the department’s previous facilities.

“With those decks, we’ll be able to practice window rescues and practice window bails and ladder bails,” Brasington said. “These are the sort of techniques we should be practicing. We call it survival training for firefighters.”

Work at the firehouse got under way in mid-July and continued through the fall and summer months as the fire department continued to operate out of the facility.

The facility also received new bathrooms and a conference room, as well as additional insulation and an energy-efficient furnace.

“There’s a lot of personal sacrifice and investment of time these firefighters make,” Freed said. “Under the leadership of Brian Brassington and (Assistant Chief) DaWayne Petermen, there’s been a terrific job done in recruiting and training the new firefighters in the last five to 10 years. They work hard. It’s about time we matched that investment.”

The ribbon cutting/open house is free of charge and open to the public.

STANTON — About 60 percent of your body is water, Your brain is 70 percent water, your lungs 90 percent. Every day, you must replace about 2.4 liters of water through drinking and the foods you eat.

That’s something residents of Stanton can do with a little more confidence now, thanks to a host of recent improvements to the water system there. According to City Manager James Freed, the improvements are just the first step in a long process toward upgrading the city’s water and sewer system.

Due to a history of neglect, Stanton’s water system rating was downgraded by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in 2011 from “satisfactory” to “marginal,” not good news for residents, many of whom had grown accustomed to cloudy water coming from faucets.

“Being downgraded like this was a black eye,” said Freed, who was hired as city manager at about the same time the new rating came in. “It was my priority to try to set things right.”

With help from the Stanton City Commission, Freed developed a plan of action, including immediate action on many smaller maintenance jobs and replacement of worn-out or obsolete equipment, as well as long-range efforts, such as replacement of much of the city’s water and sewer mains, scheduled for next spring.

“(We) focused on rehabilitating our capital assets, like the water tower,” Freed said. “The pumps hadn’t been rehabilitated in 20 years.”

In the past year and a half, the city’s water system has undergone a $65,000 project to get those pumps replaced or repaired. Additionally, hardware has been installed at the pumps that alerts Freed and city employees immediately if a malfunction occurs.

In the spring, the city will undertake a far more ambitious phase of the project — the replacement of much of the city’s water and sewer mains, at a combined cost of $2.5 million.

“We currently have undersized water mains and they’re too old,” Freed said. “There’s sediment built up in them and some people have complained about cloudy water on occasion. That’s what we’re going to have to address. Also, we have to have an adequate level of flow for fire protection.”

Once that portion of the project is completed, the city will be back on a “pay as you go” footing, and only regular maintenance operations will be required.

Freed pointed out that none of the improvements will result in additional taxes or raised water rates for residents, who saw a rate hike last year.

“We just want to make sure we never have the city in this position again,” Freed said.

Stanton Mayor Monica Tissue-Daws said she hopes residents will see all the improvements being made and recognize that the city is putting money raised from the rate hike to good use.

“The the citizens can see their money being used for real improvements,” Tissue-Daws said. “This is going to be a continuing project, obviously, but the work (on the new water and sewer mains) will begin next spring, a continuation of our efforts.”

Tissue-Daws added that work will likely be finished prior to the end of next summer and that there would be no disruption of water or sewer services to any resident during the project.

Based on current projects, as well as those planned for next spring, the Department of Environmental Quality recently upgraded the city’s water quality rating from “marginal” back to “satisfactory.”

According to Freed, this is just the beginning of what he sees as a complete overhaul of the city’s infrastructure.

“Currently, we are finalizing the design and engineering of a massive water main replacement which will begin in the spring,” Freed said. “This additional water main replacement will help ensure better quality water and reliability in our water delivery system. It will also work to reduce cloudiness in the water caused from harmless sentiment in old water mains.

“These problems didn’t happen overnight and they won’t be fixed overnight. We’re not yet where we want to be, but we’re headed in the right direction.”

The city has produced a video detailing some of the work being done there. It is available online at www.youtube.com/watchv=W2sp7bvxriI&feature=plcp