10-17-2019 Vendor selected for strategic planning at Watervliet schools, $15,000 bid accepted

DANGER ON HARTFORD’S NORTH MAPLE STREET… Can’t stop the U.S. Postal Service from their appointed duty to deliver the mail to the home of former Mayor Dan Danger! Well known for their outstanding winter snow sculptures, the Danger family goes all out for Halloween too with an exceptionally creepy collection of witches, ghouls and even Stephen King’s scary clown from the movie “It!”. (TCR photo by Jon Bisnett) See Page 9 for more Halloween features.

Vendor selected for strategic planning at Watervliet schools, $15,000 bid accepted

“They are considered across the country as the gold standard for strategic planning sessions,” Supt. Seager says

By Annette Christie Following action from last month’s Watervliet School Board meeting, the board moved forward with the selection of the vendor for the strategic planning process at their Monday, Oct. 14 meeting. Superintendent Ric Seager presented the proposals from all four of the companies that submitted a bid as follows: Hazard-Young-Attea Associates (HYA); EPIC Impact; MASB; and MGT Consulting Group. Seager said each bidder was asked to price out the scope of the project in the three phases, as to not tie the district into one vendor all the way through the process.

EPIC Impact submitted a quote for the first phase at $52,500, second phase $18,000, and the third phase at $10,500 for a total of $81,000; however, if the district was to select them, they would do all three phases for $75,000.

MGT submitted a proposal for the first phase at $43,504, the second phase $13,585, and the third phase at $20,595 for an overall total of $79,000.

The Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) submitted a proposal. Seager said that they have a lot of experience and a lot of happy clients. Their overall price was $7,300.

Seager said that the proposal from Hazard-Young-Attea was very detailed. “They are considered across the country as the gold standard for strategic planning sessions,” Seager said. Their proposal for the project is phase #1 $6,000, phase #2 $6,000, and phase #3, $3,000, for a total of $15,000 plus reimbursable expenses.

Seager was looking for either a motion to contract with a firm or for the approval to have one or all of them come to a board meeting and make a presentation on their proposal. After much discussion the Board opted to allow Seager to move forward with the company he felt comfortable with and to commit to either, one, two, or three of the phases, as well as the final phase which ties it all in together. School Board Member Eric Laws commented that he felt that HYA was the company they were looking for. Laws suggested that it would be OK to eliminate the MASB proposal and move forward with the other one. The board concurred.

Panther Pride Award program approved Seager announced that he would like to begin a Panther Pride Award program. He said, “There are so many wonderful people in this community, that do a lot of great work with our kids, we don’t hardly recognize their work or their help with our schools.” Seager suggested that each meeting he would bring someone up in front of the board recognizing them for their actions. The Panther Pride Individual and Group Award program was developed to recognize businesses, service groups, community members, parents, faculty, staff, and students who have provided exemplary leadership and service. Seager provided a draft of the nomination form and advised that it would be available on the website and/ or social media. The week before the regular board meetings, he would pick two or three to be honored at a board meeting.

Accomplishments worthy of a Panther Pride nomination should reflect outstanding leadership and/ or service and reflect actions that go beyond or above normal work, reflecting a deep sense of pride, ownership, and responsibility to the school community. “Panther Pride recipients should embody the values we hold dear at Watervliet Public Schools,” Seager said. With positive comments all around from the board, the program was approved.

Other business The board also approved a contract with Berrien RESA for payroll services. Seager said the topic has been discussed in Finance Committee and was a strong recommendation from the audit. He said Berrien RESA’s service will encompass all payroll components. The cost to the district is $1,857.67 per month or $22,292 annually.

A timeline for filling the vacant high school principal position was presented in September to the board. In keeping with that timeline, Seager presented the high school principal profile following input from the administrative team, staff, students and parents. The perfect candidate could develop a culture of excellence, be an effective instructional leader, be an effective communicator, effectively develop talent on the staff, and obtain personal professional growth. From the timeline: The job will be posted near the end of September. Those being interviewed will be selected by mid-October. First round interviews and second interviews will follow with a potential start date of January 1, 2020.

Seager also provided the very preliminary student count day numbers. The headcount is somewhere between 1,486 and 1,495 students. He expects to have a more permanent number at the November School Board meeting.

NEARING COMPLETION… Construction crews have not wasted any time with Hagar Township’s new Kayak Park project located on Coloma Road. Funded jointly with a major grant from the Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund and the Downtown Development Authority, the park will not officially open until 2020, still pending a few finishing touches. DDA Chairman Mark Toncray provided this sneak peak of the newly installed floating dock launch, with his dog Dylan mugging for the camera during a walk-through recently. The fully ADA Compliant dock provides an easy slide-in launch for all to enjoy Michigan’s fastest growing outdoor sport.

Coloma residents weigh in on City’s Blight Ordinance; parking recreational vehicles on private property gets most attention

By Nancy Albright

The Coloma City Council is working closely with concerned residents to pass a new blight ordinance that will satisfy most if not all affected residents so they can comply with the wishes of the city.

For the last several weeks the city’s ordinance committee has been working with the public to reword the existing ordinance to address issues related to brush removal, visible junk, trash receptacles and recreational vehicles. The draft ordinance was mailed with residents’ water bills for review and several people came to Monday night’s meeting on Oct. 14, 2019 with questions and suggestions.

The sticking point was the clause governing parking of recreational vehicles on private property. The current language dictates that campers, pop-ups, RVs, motor homes or sport vehicles must not protrude past the front of the house and/or block the neighbor’s view. Residents and commissioners worked to clarify the language to address driveways that are not long enough to accommodate vehicles without blocking sidewalks or impeding views and adhering to the rule of thumb that drivers need, at a minimum, a sight line of 45 degrees left and right to safely back out of driveways.

Coloma Chief of Police Wes Smigielski pointed out that legally the police department can only issue a citation for blocking the sidewalk. The ordinance itself is enforceable by the Department of Public Works. Commissioner Julie Smith suggested that people work with their neighbors to resolve issues before filing a complaint with the city. If compromise is not possible, she urged residents to bring their concerns to City Hall for help with mediation to the satisfaction of the parties involved.

The council also agreed to change the current language to reflect reviewing these types of issues on a case by case basis and will discuss the inclusion of trailers used for other purposes, such as lawn business equipment or boat transport. With respect to the two-week limit on using recreational vehicles as temporary housing for guests, the language will include the provision that residents must obtain prior approval from the city council if the limit will be exceeded.

The next Ordinance meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 28, 2019, 6:45 p.m. at City Hall.

Following the ordinance discussion, Coloma resident Bill Smith told those assembled that he is happy to see residents attend city council meetings and become involved to help improve the community, as in the case of the successful Randall Park renovation. He also pointed out that residents are welcome to contact City Hall to clarify and address community concerns with respect to blight and other city ordinances that govern for the betterment of the community.

Plans to ease parking woes

Commissioner Fred Reeves is working with the Downtown Development Authority to hammer out a proposal to construct a sidewalk on Baker Street that would allow easier access to Paw Paw Street businesses from 15 little-used parking spaces near Federal Court. The plan includes lighting and drainage, and the city will clear the walkway during the winter months. The easement has already been approved, and if funding is available Reeves will bring the proposal to the city council for review.

New kids on the block

Jordan Hurst, new franchise owner of the Subway sandwich shop at 152 N. Paw Paw, told the council that he opened his shop on September 25 and customers will notice a 100% improvement. He thanked the Chamber of Commerce and neighboring business owner Denise Donohoe for their help and support and invited the public to visit the shop.

He has brought back the seafood sub and cheesy garlic bread and will offer meatball subs and the ultimate steak sandwich beginning on Halloween. Hurst is also working to franchise the Subway in Watervliet. Commissioner Julie Smith welcomed Hurst on behalf of the city council. “We’re happy to have you back in Coloma.”

School resource officer making a difference

Chief Smigielski reported that Coloma Community Schools’ new Resource Officer Dan Stuglik is turning out to be a great asset to students and has done a wonderful job of engaging them. Stuglik, who started in September, has eaten lunch with elementary and middle school students, and plans to spend time at lunch with high school students in the next few weeks to get to know them better as well.

“The elementary school kids love him, and they even know his name,” said Smigielski. “He does magic tricks and plays sports with them at recess.” Stuglik is also organizing extra-curricular activities, like the recent walk-a-thon, and currently working with the kids to decorate one of the buses for Halloween in the Park to continue to foster community involvement.

He has offices in all three school buildings and is available for counseling to help students with their issues and concerns. Mayor Pro-Tem Marsha Hammond commended Stuglik on the good job he is doing for the schools and the community. “I have heard nothing but good things about Dan.”

Stuglik is a former Corporal with the Benton Harbor Police Department and resource officer for Benton Harbor Area Schools. He is trained as a teacher, trainer and mentor, and is certified in crime prevention, as well as environmental design for safety on school grounds. He is also undergoing training to help combat the effects of social media on kids.

Dinosaurs race for charity

Chief Smigielski urged the community to join in the fun this Friday, October 18 during half-time of the high school football game to see the T-Rex Race that will benefit the United Way. Racers (including the chief) will don T-Rex costumes and race loaded shopping carts to help raise money for the organization. “Come on out, we would really appreciate your support.” It’s not every day you get to see your police chief dressed like the largest meat-eating dinosaur that ever roamed the earth.

Save the date

The North Berrien Community Development & Coloma Watervliet Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Community Appreciation Tribute & Business Recognition event on Thursday, December 12, 2019, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Blackbird Waterhouse, 4896 Paw Paw Lake Rd in Coloma.

In other news

Chief Smigielski agreed to investigate suspicious activity on Walnut Street reported by a concerned resident and said the department is doing its best to enforce the 25-mph speed limit near the Speedway station on Church Street. He explained that it is difficult to police due to obstructions that impair vision and radar, especially after dark, and that the department has placed a speed clocker in the area to remind drivers to slow down.

The council approved the purchase of 20 new plow blades and 10 curve runners in the amount of $4,640.54 to equip Coloma’s two plow trucks for the winter season.

The next Fire Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at Station 1, 170 Washington St. in Coloma, 7:30 p.m. Commissioner Linda Freitag reminds residents that Fire Board meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month and anyone is welcome to attend.