By Bruce Rolfe
While the Climax Village Council learned at its regular meeting December 16 there has been a temporary fix to a problem that ocurred in the water system from a power outage, the long term solution will be very costly.
Department of Public Works Manager T.J. Gibson said the damage occurred from a power outage December 10.
He said after power was lost near a pump house, Consumers Energy responded and hooked up a transformer for the village after it was discovered a Consumers Energy transformer in the area was also impacted from the power outage. Gibson said multiple breakers were destroyed in the pump house.
Gibson said three breaks in a power line under the railroad tracks that goes into a pump house, was damaged. The power line was temporarily fixed, giving the village power at well house number 2.
The DPW Manager said computer communication that alerts each pump when to start and when to shut off was damaged, meaning pressure gauge numbers had to be read manually. The wells then had to be manually turned on and turned off because there was no computer communicating with the pressure gauges.
He adds the computer system that operates the water system needed many new parts.
Gibson said DPW staff manually turned the wells on and off at peak demand times during the morning and night.
Gibson said there is water in the tank for fire protection and Climax Township Fire Chief Scott Smith was made aware of the issue.
Gibson said the Village will file an insurance claim.
He said Motor Shop Electric is correcting the problem, however he said it is likely a short term fix.
Gibson said with the ground freezing and the cold weather season approaching, he hopes Motor Shop Electric’s repair will be sufficient until there is warmer weather and new wire can be installed under the railroad tracks. He hopes the conduit that was installed under the train tracks in 1982 is still good. If the conduit is not good the Village will have to directional bore from pump 3 to pump 2 with new conduit and new wire.
He said 2000 feet of wire will need to be replaced from pump 3 to pump 2 and then to pump 1. The wire will have to go under the railroad tracks. Gibson said wire costs are $2-$3 a foot.
The DPW Manager said the estimate to fix the issue long term is $30,000-$70,000, which would not include other costs associated with the short term fix.
Public Safety/Fire/Law Enforcement/Disaster Planning Chairman Nick Ludwig said the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department responded to 40 officer initiated calls in the Village of Climax and eight citizen initiated calls in the month of November. Of the 40 officer initiated 32 were directed patrol, seven traffic stops and one suspicious call for service.
Of the eight citizen initiated calls, three were trouble with subject, two assault/DV, and one each for suspicious, assist person and larceny.
Funding for additional overtime patrol deputies sign up for comes from ARPA Covid Relief funds the village received.
Ordinance/Zoning/Planning & Development Chairperson Carolyn Kelly said her committee has started working on two new ordinances.
She said some ordinance violations have been turned over to Safebuilt, the company the Village uses for permits and ordinance enforcement. She said there has been some improvement with two ordinance issues.
Kelly said no one has filled out a complaint form that is available on the Village’s website or at the Village Hall, since the last meeting.
Lien Update
Village President Bill Lewis provided an update on three liens in the village.
There is a new owner at 329 West Maple Street where the Village had a lien against the property. Lewis said a check payment for the lien at the location has cleared the bank and the lien will be removed from the property.
Lewis said since he signed a warrant, the lien for past due money owed to the Village at 115 Watson Street, has been applied to the property taxes.
A lien at the location has been in place for nearly four years for $2,580 in costs associated with hiring a company to remove items from the yard for an ordinance violation.
The lien at 110 South Main Street is for what was stated at a previous council meeting is a $25 per day fine for permit non-compliance through a court order that totals $10,675. It has been noted the Council has also absorbed approximately $2,000 in attorney fees during the process at the location.
The Village attorney hopes to have an update on the 110 South Main Street property at the first meeting in January.
While the Climax Village Council learned at its regular meeting December 16 there has been a temporary fix to a problem that ocurred in the water system from a power outage, the long term solution will be very costly.
Department of Public Works Manager T.J. Gibson said the damage occurred from a power outage December 10.
He said after power was lost near a pump house, Consumers Energy responded and hooked up a transformer for the village after it was discovered a Consumers Energy transformer in the area was also impacted from the power outage. Gibson said multiple breakers were destroyed in the pump house.
Gibson said three breaks in a power line under the railroad tracks that goes into a pump house, was damaged. The power line was temporarily fixed, giving the village power at well house number 2.
The DPW Manager said computer communication that alerts each pump when to start and when to shut off was damaged, meaning pressure gauge numbers had to be read manually. The wells then had to be manually turned on and turned off because there was no computer communicating with the pressure gauges.
He adds the computer system that operates the water system needed many new parts.
Gibson said DPW staff manually turned the wells on and off at peak demand times during the morning and night.
Gibson said there is water in the tank for fire protection and Climax Township Fire Chief Scott Smith was made aware of the issue.
Gibson said the Village will file an insurance claim.
He said Motor Shop Electric is correcting the problem, however he said it is likely a short term fix.
Gibson said with the ground freezing and the cold weather season approaching, he hopes Motor Shop Electric’s repair will be sufficient until there is warmer weather and new wire can be installed under the railroad tracks. He hopes the conduit that was installed under the train tracks in 1982 is still good. If the conduit is not good the Village will have to directional bore from pump 3 to pump 2 with new conduit and new wire.
He said 2000 feet of wire will need to be replaced from pump 3 to pump 2 and then to pump 1. The wire will have to go under the railroad tracks. Gibson said wire costs are $2-$3 a foot.
The DPW Manager said the estimate to fix the issue long term is $30,000-$70,000, which would not include other costs associated with the short term fix.
Public Safety/Fire/Law Enforcement/Disaster Planning Chairman Nick Ludwig said the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department responded to 40 officer initiated calls in the Village of Climax and eight citizen initiated calls in the month of November. Of the 40 officer initiated 32 were directed patrol, seven traffic stops and one suspicious call for service.
Of the eight citizen initiated calls, three were trouble with subject, two assault/DV, and one each for suspicious, assist person and larceny.
Funding for additional overtime patrol deputies sign up for comes from ARPA Covid Relief funds the village received.
Ordinance/Zoning/Planning & Development Chairperson Carolyn Kelly said her committee has started working on two new ordinances.
She said some ordinance violations have been turned over to Safebuilt, the company the Village uses for permits and ordinance enforcement. She said there has been some improvement with two ordinance issues.
Kelly said no one has filled out a complaint form that is available on the Village’s website or at the Village Hall, since the last meeting.
Lien Update
Village President Bill Lewis provided an update on three liens in the village.
There is a new owner at 329 West Maple Street where the Village had a lien against the property. Lewis said a check payment for the lien at the location has cleared the bank and the lien will be removed from the property.
Lewis said since he signed a warrant, the lien for past due money owed to the Village at 115 Watson Street, has been applied to the property taxes.
A lien at the location has been in place for nearly four years for $2,580 in costs associated with hiring a company to remove items from the yard for an ordinance violation.
The lien at 110 South Main Street is for what was stated at a previous council meeting is a $25 per day fine for permit non-compliance through a court order that totals $10,675. It has been noted the Council has also absorbed approximately $2,000 in attorney fees during the process at the location.
The Village attorney hopes to have an update on the 110 South Main Street property at the first meeting in January.
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