A big thank-you goes out to the aldermen of Cole Camp who spent hours working on the lift station on Spring Street on December 23. Late in the afternoon a citizen called City Hall to report that water was gushing from the pump and out into the ditch. Without hesitation Dave Locke checked on the problem and contacted Roy Wagner to help him assess the situation. Jeremiah Crider, the sewer commissioner, arrived as soon as he was off work and Steve Knox joined them as soon as he was back in town from his job. They contacted Bob Beesom from the Ionia Water District to advise them of what needed to be done. With everyone pitching in to help they were able to pump the liquid out of the pump station and let it begin to dry out so it could be repaired. They were there from before dark until about 10:30 p.m. The next day they located a used part and used it to fix the pump. Because of their loyalty to the City and their sense of responsibility, none of the citizens of Cole Camp had sewage backing up from their sewer lines or raw sewage running across their property. Obviously, we are in the process of replacing those pumps so this does not happen again. So, if you had any doubts about how these men earn their pay, this is a prime example. All the Aldermen/women are looking out for the welfare of the citizens of Cole Camp every day. If you see one of them, they deserve a thank-you.
The Board of Aldermen and the City Clerk, Dawn Paul, have worked many hours to amend the FY2024 Budget and prepare the FY2025 budget. We ensured that the budget for FY2024 balanced as required by law despite unexpected expenses that occurred during the year. There are some large expenses to be incurred during FY2025 to bring the sewer plant up to standards as well. A clarifier has been ordered because one of the two we now have is not working properly and cannot be repaired again. As stated above, the lift station on Spring St. must be replaced in 2025. Most of this equipment has been functioning since the 1970’s with the help of the Public Works Department repairing it as needed, but it will need to be replaced in future years. We will space out the replacements as much as possible so that we can avoid emergency situations in the future and not bring excessive expense to the city.
