08-10-2017 Watervliet City Commission approves multiple improvement expenses; 14 area of Main Street

Watervliet City Commission approves multiple improvement expenses; 14 area of Main Street sidewalks on the list

By Annette Christie

The Watervliet City Commission approved several improvements city wide for the betterment of their residents and the infrastructure at their Tuesday, August 8 meeting.  While they approved many, there were some that did not quite receive enough yes votes to move forward, for now anyway.

City Manager Michael Uskiewicz presented concrete bids from C and H Concrete and Fisher Construction for concrete repairs on the Main Street sidewalks, at Flaherty Park, and at Hays Park.  The total bids were $15,040 from C and H and $15,400 from Fisher.  There are 14 areas of Main Street sidewalk that will be repaired with the goal being to diminish the trip hazards.   Uskiewicz said that there has been five falls that City Hall knows about already due to some problems with the sidewalks.   “We have some trip hazards that are vital and need addressed,” Uskiewicz said.  The work at Flaherty Park is for 100 feet of boardwalk that the city is replacing annually.   The work at Hays Park is to replace the current walkways to the kayak launch from rock to cement.  Mayor Dave Brinker brought up the grant that paid for the handicap access to that ramp and asked Uskiewicz to make sure that the grade that they are planning is what is deemed necessary according to the grant.  “I believe that grade is correct for handicap accessibility,” Brinker said.

A question was raised about only having two bids for the concrete work and Uskiewicz said they tried to get additional bids but the companies they approached were too busy to provide one.  After verifying the funding, the commissioners approved the bid from C and H Concrete.

Commissioners also approved a concrete repair to well house #1 from C and H Concrete.  The work includes blocking up two windows and adding to the existing footings to make them stronger. The quote was in the amount of $5,478 and the City Commission approved it unanimously.

In their efforts to spruce up the façade of City Hall it was discovered that two windows upstairs are cracked.  While there are other windows that do need to be replaced eventually the City Manager recommended that these cracked windows be replaced now.  He obtained a bid from Midwest Glass in the amount of $2,250.  The funds would come out of the building and grounds line and Uskiewicz said that they would need to do a budget amendment from his line to provide enough.   The motion carried to replace those two windows.

Tree work was approved for Hays Park.  Uskiewicz and Public Works Director Jeff Allen did a survey of the park and found 13 dead trees, some of which could cause damage to structures if they were to come down.   He obtained a quote from Willie Nearn Jr. and recommended to the City Commission that they authorize up to $4,400 for Nearn to come in and take the trees down and cut up the wood.  Public Works would then remove the wood and put it out by the Public Works building for the residents to come and get first come first serve.    Uskiewicz said it comes out at $338 per tree to have them cut down and cut up. He confirmed that there are funds this year in the budget to proceed.  The City Commission approved the quote.

Uskiewicz presented a quote to repair a manhole cover on Riverside Street that is not being held in place properly.  The quote from Balkema Excavating to install the proper containment for the cover was $5,765.   Uskiewicz said the funds were available in major streets.  The City Commission approved the quote.

A list of streets in need of repair and recommended by the Public Works Director were presented.  The quotes supplied were to “chip and seal” the Hays Park entrance, E. St. Joseph Street, Shepard Place, Forest Park, E. Parsons, W. Parsons, Paw Paw Avenue and Sutherland for a total of $37,800.  The quote was obtained from the Berrien County Road Commission.  The funding would be shared between local streets ($12,600) and major streets ($25,200).   The hang up seemed to be the division between the Commissioners on whether they wanted the stones or not.  Commissioner Rick Kinzler asked about a different process that would include a thick coating on top of the road but without the stone.   Commissioner Larry Hehl agreed that he would like staff to look at the price without the gravel but still doing the care and maintenance needed.  Uskiewicz pointed out that this work that they would be approving would be tying into other roads that they have already done with the chip and seal.    Commissioners voted the repairs down with four no votes.  Staff will obtain the quotes for the other type of repair and bring it back to the City Commission.

Fire Truck

Watervliet Fire Chief Dan Jones was on hand to discuss a resolution approving an installment purchase agreement for a new fire truck.   Jones said that the finance agreement was for the purchase of their next scheduled replacement vehicle, a pumper tanker.  Jones said that the bank is requesting verification from the city and the township despite the Fire Board already having that authority.

Jones said this is the next truck in our replacement program.  It will be a year before they actually have it on site and ready for use. Commissioner Duane Cobb asked if the fire department coordinates purchases with all other neighboring agencies so that they are not all ending up at the fire with the same kinds of vehicle, needing another.   Jones confirmed that they do. The new pumper tanker will be replacing a couple vehicles including a back up pumper, rescue pumper, and a tanker.  While they may not be actually getting rid of it, they will be taking the older vehicles out of priority order for responding to calls.  He said one of the older vehicles is for sale.

Jones estimated that the new vehicle will run about $500,000. He stated that the one for sale could get around $100,000.  Jones said of the purchase, “If we pay up front for the vehicle we get a substantial discount and we are obtaining an interest only loan until the truck is delivered.  After the first year the interest rate is 2.69%.”

A glitch in the wording of the resolution resulted in it being voted down in the first go around.  Jones left the meeting and returned with an attorney approved corrected resolution which then was approved unanimously.

Chickens

During public comments Mallory Brown asked the City Commission to reconsider the ordinance amendment that would allow chickens in the city limits.  The City Commission voted it down last month.  Brown was there on behalf of her father. “It is extremely disappointing that it was voted down,” Brown said.

Despite her public comments, written comments, and a letter from Watervliet Charter Township asking the City Commission to rethink the ordinance amendment, no action was taken on the requests.

Brinker told Brown, “For the nine years I’ve been here, we have re-addressed this and it’s always no. If the Commission wanted to, they could take another look at it or maybe hold a public hearing.”

Planning Commission

Seeking to boost up the Planning Commission, the City Commission opted to add three members.  Cindy Muth, Eric Hollaway, and Mallory Brown were added to the Planning Commission.  This now makes a Planning Commission of seven members.  Commissioner Deah Muth abstained from the vote due to relation being appointed.

ROYALTY CONTESTANTS… for the 2017 Berrien County Youth Fair King & Queen are pictured (from the left): Ryder Zielke, Amber Fleisher, Kennedy Mel-ton, Lillian Jillson, Serena Sommer, and Ben Myers. The King and Queen will be crowned this Friday evening. The royal couple will preside over all the fair events.

Glad-Peach Festival celebrates a successful 50th year

By Christina Gelder

By all accounts the 50th Glad-Peach Festival was a success. Glad-Peach President, Jody Davis, said that it was “a wonderful year.” She said that there were stellar crowds; lots of people attended the different events. For many, it seemed like a record. The pit spit was the biggest ever and there was lots of crowd participation.

2017 FESTIVAL ROYALTY… After a super close race, the winners of the Glad-Peach Prince and Princess contest are pictured (from the left): 2nd Runner-up Emily Hansen, 1st Runner-up Ariyana Perry, Princess Lainie White, Prince John Dahlquist Jr., 1st Runner-up Austin Martin, and 2nd Runner-up Tyler Thomson.

Davis also said that the board had worked hard to find new attractions and they were very pleased with how they turned out. Cirque Amongus was a huge hit and drew a crowd for all of their shows.

Community support is a big deal to the festival and Davis is grateful for everyone who came out or supported the festival is any way. She was pleased to recognize “wonderful people who are instrumental in the community,” referring to the various honors and awards given out by the festival committee.

It may have started and ended on a rather wet note but all-in-all it was a great year. Davis promises they are planning on making it bigger and better for next year.

Run, Walk, Bike Events

Without a doubt one of the biggest events of the Glad-Peach Festival is the Run/Walk/Bike races. With a dedicated group of organizers and volunteers the 5k and 10k events are successful every year. The race has 43 sponsors and 130 volunteers making it a true community effort. Some key sponsors were Honor Credit Union, Elete Electrolyte, Pepsi, Coloma Pizza Hut, Harding’s Friendly Market, Fruit Acres and Watervliet Burger King.

EYE ON THE TARGET… Lexi White goes for it at the Peach Dunk on Sunday morn-ing. Her sisters Lily and Lainie watch with their dad, Chad White as 1st Runner-Up to Mr. Coloma, Grant Kroschel keeps score.

This year the total registration was 464. That is across seven different races that all take place on Saturday morning. The events had a 52% new participation rate in 2016 and will continue to look at new ways to encourage more racers to attend. Next year however, they will be starting a program to honor those that attend year after year. In 2017, 13% of the total registration was people who have returned for at least three consecutive years. Next year, those racers will receive a special token of appreciation as VIP racers.

Top Finishers:

5k Run Female, Marron Brookes of Buchanan

5k Run Male, Kevin Carollo of Fargo, North Dakota

10k Run Female, Crystal Cowgill of Hartford

10k Run Male, Bailey Wilson of New Richmond, Wisconsin

5k Walk Female, Christine Washington of Stevensville

5k Walk Male, Kenneth Willer of Hartford

10k Walk Female, Nada Kramp of Stevensville

5k Bike Female, Hudson Sternaman of Coloma

5k Bike Male, Michael Gantt of Dowagiac

10k Bike Female, Corinna Wright of Coloma

10k Bike Male, Zia Hansen of Coloma

Business window display

The business window display contest is a fantastic way for the whole community to get involved and get in the Glad-Peach spirit. Many of the downtown businesses took the time and made the effort to make sure that they were decorated and ready to go for the fun-filled weekend.

Best Interior was won by Cutting Corners hair salon. Best Exterior went to Chemical Bank. Best Theme was awarded to The Friendly Tavern. Best Display of Glads and Peaches was found at Four Seasons Spa & Pool Services. Erika’s was deemed the Most Welcoming. Last but certainly not least, Best of Show was won by Wesco.

Car Show

It was the second year for organizers John Rutz and John Demis to host the Glad-Peach Car Show. They were grateful the rain held off until afternoon. Downtown was lined with cars as the show had 64 entries. Next year they are hoping for 100.

Quite generous with the prizes, many of the participants were recognized for their beautiful machines. There were several categories and several places within each category.

New Muscle:

1st Cindy Hartman

2nd Steve McCoy

3rd Jeff White

4th Mark Long

Classic Muscle:

1st Brett Bachman

2nd Jacobs

3rd Rolland Yeske

4th Chad White

Classic Car:

1st Steve Gagliardo

2nd Terry White

3rd Barney Hiler

4th Rod Borgoya

Trucks:

1st Myron Shaffer

2nd Donahue

3rd Glenn Payne

4th Jeff White

Street Rods:

1st Gary Schindeldecker

People’s Choice:

1st Barney Hiler

2nd Callender

3rd Curtis

4th Paul Baes

Judge’s Favorite:

Rolland Yeske

Peach Dunk

A unique part of the Glad-Peach Fun Fair sponsored by Curious Kids Museum and Celebration Cinema is the peach dunk. Much like bobbing for apples, the idea is to get as many peaches out of the water in a kiddie pool in a certain amount of time.

CELEBRATING THE PAST… Joyce (McQueen) Tutton was Miss Coloma and the Gladiolus Queen in 1955. Now at almost 80 she joined the parade again.

Winners of the event this year were divided into four age groups. The first group of 3-5 year olds was won by George Airey with five peaches. Max Williams came in second with one peach. Ages 6-8 was won by Brendon Alexander with eight peaches. Second place saw a tie with seven peaches for both Ethan Schelling and Gracie Worley. Ages 9-11 was won by Matthew Wood with six peaches, Ambren Teed came in second with four peaches. In the oldest age group, 12-14, James Malloy won with 10 peaches and Madison Wood came in second with nine peaches.

Coloma’s Got Talent

Coloma’s Got Talent was a new addition to the Saturday afternoon line-up. Local residents were invited to audition earlier in the summer for a chance to perform on the Showcase Stage during the festival. All told, the show ended up with seven acts. Organizer Nancy Perry says that there was a very nice crowd who came to watch the show and encourage the talented performers.

PIT SPIT WINNERS… The Peach Pit Spit hosted by Mr. Coloma and his court saw a bigger crowd than ever before. Pictured (from the left) are the winners of this year’s close con-test. Front row are the winners of the under 12 division, Cole Brown of Coloma won third, Jadin Bush of Coloma won first and Camryn Brown of Coloma placed second. Back row are Christen DuVernay of Cleve-land, third in the women’s divi-sion; Courtney Churchill of Co-loma won second and Laura Bylund of Ventura Beach, Cali-fornia took home first. In the men’s division Ethan Koshar of Hartford placed first, Grant Kroschel of Coloma won second and Derek Bus of Chi-cago took home the third-place medal.

First Place was won by Ja Marae Jefferies. He is a 16-year-old who rapped to “Warm Up.” Second Place Elliott and Alana Jordan; the siblings played “Catharsis” on the acoustic guitar and violin. Third place was awarded to Farrah McNiel, age 15, who played guitar and sang “She Won’t Let Go.” A total of $325 was given out as prizes for these winners.

Chalk the Block

Chalk the Block is a fun and free event held during Saturday afternoon. The sidewalks next to The Friendly Tavern are cleared off and ready for some amazing decorating. The participants were divided by age group and awarded accordingly.

Ages 6-8 was won by Josh Applewaite with second to Hannah Pounders. 1st Place in ages 7-10 went to Ayla Lambrecht. Second was won by Kyra Krieger.

PRESENTING THE COLORS… The Berrien Coun-ty Sheriff’s Department Color Guard did a wonderful job as they led the 50th Annual Glad-Peach Parade on Saturday.

In the 11-14 range Grace Carlson was first and Savannah Hamilton came in second. Ages 15-17 was won by Ethan Lohraff. The adult category was won by Val Kreiger.

50th Annual Glad-Peach Parade

The parade is one tradition that has stuck with the Glad-Peach Festival for all 50 years. The parade even predates the name, going back to when it was simply the Gladiolus Festival. Always at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon and always well attended. This year was no different and they could not have asked for better weather. The crowd was delighted by a total of 81 entries that made their way down the hill and through town.

Several awards were given out as always. The Hartford Community Float was a big winner and took home two trophies. They won the Best Overall Float and the Joe E. and Marjorie Wells Best Use of Glads and Peaches Award. Their “It’s a Bug’s Life” themed float was bright and festive as it rolled through town towards the end of the parade.

Second Place for the Best Overall Float went to the Four Flags Apple Festival float. Second place for the Joe E. and Marjorie Wells Best Use of Glads and Peaches was awarded to the Coloma Lions and Lioness Clubs. The joint float between the two clubs also won the Best Organizational Group Float.

LITTLE BUT STRONG… Class 1 in pedal tractor pulling is the lightest, from 35-45 lbs. Winners in that class were (from the left): Whittaker Lewis, Max Williams, and Savannah Rugg. Savannah beat everyone by six feet.

Second place for the Best Organizational Float was won by the Coloma FIRST Robotics team. Most Unique Entry was won by River of Life Church with a float that squirted water towards the crowd to illustrate the parting of the seas. Second place in that category went to Texas Corral who was a crowd favorite as they passed out bags of peanuts.

Best Antique Tractor was awarded to a 1948 Orchard tractor. Second place was a 1936 John Deere A. Best Antique Vehicle went to a 1955 Chevy Bellaire. Second place went to a 1961 Corvette.

GOOD JOB… Girl power defi-nitely dominated Class 2 of the pedal tractor pull. Winners were (from the left): Elowyn Miller, Zoey Rickman, and Reaghan Prestidge.

Best Color Guard was the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department. Second place was the Coloma American Legion Post #362.

Best Marching Group went to Knightwinds. Second place went to Boy Scouts of America.

Glad-Peach Prince and Princess

The Glad-Peach Prince and Princess crowning was just as popular as ever. Folks crowded around the stage excitedly to watch the proceedings and hear the announcement of the young royalty. The Coloma Lioness Club shared that this was, in fact, one of the closest battles ever with thousands upon thousands of votes. The success of this fund-raiser will help the club to continue to do good in many areas of the community.

Second runner-up to the prince was Tyler Thomson, the son of Jessica Thomson. First runner-up to the prince went to Austin Martin, the son of Michael and Kylie Martin. The 2017 Glad-Peach Prince went to John Dahlquist Jr., son of John and Christina Dahlquist.

CLASS 3 WINNERS… The Berrien County Pedal Pullers were set up in front of John’s Glass on Sunday afternoon and had almost 30 sign up to pull. Class 3 is the heaviest weight class and the winners are pic-tured (from the left): Robbie Frank, Kyle Robbins and And-rew Frank.

Second runner-up to the princess went to Emily Hanson, daughter of Craig and Jamie Hanson. First runner-up to the princess was awarded to Ariyana Perry, daughter of Brianna Head and Najarione Perry. The 2017 Glad-Peach Princess went to Lanie White, daughter of Chad and Dani White.

Youth Parade

The Glad-Peach Youth Parade is a great chance to highlight the children and children centered groups within the community. This year’s parade was brief and a bit soggy. Plagued by rain, wind and cold all day on Friday the festival did go on as scheduled and so did the parade. Entrants and spectators alike did walk away fairly wet however.

Overall winner of the parade was Lyla Current and her pony. Lyla was dressed up 50s style in a poodle skirt with peaches on it while the pony was made to be a poodle. This is not the first time this dynamic duo has won and it probably won’t be the last.

First Place Float was awarded to the local Boy Scouts with Churchill Orchards receiving second place in that division.

YOUTH PARADE WINNER…Lyla Current and her pony were the overall winners at the Glad Peach Youth Parade which meant they also got to steal the show at Saturday’s big parade.

Wagon/Car was won by Jaqueline Holmer. Costumed individual with a bike was won by Chase Hankins and marching unit was won by Chemical Bank.

First Place in the decorated bike category was won by Edward Valentine. Second Place went to Hanna Pounders.