Trunk-or-Treat success, Great Lakes Drone Co. report, and early voting in 2024 discussed during City
Coloma City Commission members gathered at Coloma City Hall on Monday night, Oct. 23 for their regular bi-monthly meeting. Topics of note included the outcome of last weekend’s trunk-or-treat event at Salem Lutheran Church, a report by the Great Lakes Drone Company, and an agreement with Berrien County that would allow residents to vote early in the 2024 election.
Trunk-or-Treat event goes off without a hitch
The Coloma Trunk-or-Treat at Salem Lutheran Church went off without a hitch this past weekend, with 20 cars participating in the event and a prize was given to the best-decorated trunk.
“It was very, very successful. It went very well and it was the most trunks we ever had,” said Mayor Marsha Hammond.
Duffield & Pastrick Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services took home the grand prize for their display which included their hearse with a coffin that held candy for children to take. However, the most photographed trunk, according to Mayor Hammond, was the trunk that belonged to the city of Coloma which included a front loader full of dirt, bones, and a sign that said ‘bone diggers.’
“People were having their kids get their picture taken in front of it. We felt very good about that and accomplished. It was really fun,” Mayor Hammond said.
Many council members, including Mayor Hammond, also praised the Board of Public Works for their help in the festivities.
“The public works really jumped in and helped,” said Mayor Pro-Temp, Linda Freitag. “They were right there at our disposals and helped clean up afterward, we couldn’t have asked for a better job.”
“I’ve noticed it too,” said City Commissioner, Julie Smith. “Every once in a while, I’ll see something that makes me think I should call the Board of Works and then two to three hours later, it’s gone. They must just drive around and see all the stuff and take care of it.”
Mayor Hammond added that this is due to employees who have recently joined the Board of Works.
“We couldn’t do an event like this without their help. We have predominantly new help down there and we were blessed with good applicants. They’re genuinely happy to be here and that makes a huge difference,” she said.
Great Lakes Rescue report
In other matters, in September, Great Lakes Rescue, a division of Great Lakes Drone Company LLC, assisted in the search for a plane and its pilot that had been missing from Dowagiac since Sept. 10, along with its pilot, Richard Martin. The plane, and 82-year-old, Martin was found four days later in a wooded area, two miles north of Dowagiac. Martin was found dead at the scene. The Rescue division’s mission is to provide assistance in emergency rescue services and medical first response aid.
Additionally, a contractor from Great Lakes Drone Rescue, Matt Quinn, mentioned that a new law regarding drones had gone into effect on Sept. 16. Under this new law, if your drone requires an FAA registration number, it will also be required to broadcast Remote ID information. Quinn said that all of this information can be available through a new app that monitors drone traffic, much like airplane traffic control.
“There are apps that you can download and you can see where the drone is and you’ll be able to see its ID and stuff like that. It’s a phase in progress but right now everyone has to be in compliance by March so we want to keep everyone informed,” he said.
Berrien County Agreements for early voting in 2024
City Clerk, Kelly Clements announced during Monday night’s meeting that the city of Coloma is entering into an agreement with Berrien County for early voting in next year’s election. The city is hoping to obtain a grant so they don’t have to cover expenses for early voting, out of their own pockets.
“We are working with the county, along with 20 other cities and townships,” Clements said. “We’ll try it out in February and see how it goes and we will have the option to act out as needed, but we won’t be the only one,” she said.
Additional Council business discussed
Free COVID-19 tests are available at the Coloma Public Library.
A motion was made and approved by the council to cancel their monthly, scheduled meeting on December 25, 2023.
The North Berrien Community Development’s annual business recognition event will be held at The Friendly on Dec. 12, from 5 until 7 p.m. The last day to RSVP for the event is Dec. 5.
City leaf pickup will most likely start next week or the week after, depending on rainfall. When preparing for leaf pickup, the Department of Public Works asks residents to not rake leaves to the end of the road or put them in bags. Pickup will not occur if it is raining and will end on Nov. 22 or after the first snowfall.
Members of the commission recently attended a meeting by the Berrien Community Foundation to learn more about grant opportunities that could potentially be used for future city projects.
The next Coloma Fire Board meeting will take place on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m., at the Coloma fire station.
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