Summary
The Empire Village Council held its regular meeting on April 22, 2025, approving routine business including minutes and bills, while advancing several new initiatives: seasonal DPW hiring, continued lake water testing, and a commitment to economic development training. The Council also finalized its Rules of Procedure after prior revisions.
Public Comments
No public comments were made on agenda items, and no comments were offered during the general Public Comment period.
Parks and Recreation Matters
Davis reported DPW progress preparing the beach park for summer, including work on cataloging bench and stop sign locations in software. Council approved (motion by Dye, support by Bacon; roll call: Ayes: Bacon, Chase, Davis, Dye, Rademacher, Skrocki, Walton; Nays: None) an expenditure not to exceed $1,500 for continued seasonal weekly testing of South Bar Lake. Trustee Skrocki raised bear safety information for the website and community cleanup at the parks, and Trustee Dye noted a cleanup scheduled for Chippewa Run on Friday.
Infrastructure Projects
There was discussion of a regular water loss report during DPW updates. Rademacher reported that the Waste Water Task Force has completed its work and is ready to present results once a meeting date is scheduled.
Other Business
The Council approved a motion (Bacon/Rademacher) that all Communications be distributed to Council members, included in the packet, and posted on the website rather than read aloud at meetings; passed by voice vote with Bacon opposed. The amended Rules of Procedure were then approved unanimously (Bacon/Rademacher), including a change to Section 11 requiring "consent of 2/3 of Council members." Council also committed (Bacon/Skrocki motion, unanimous roll call) to Economic Development Training on incentives this fiscal year, and approved (Bacon/Walton; Ayes: Bacon, Chase, Dye, Rademacher, Skrocki, Walton; Nays: Davis) hiring Renovare for a training session on Commercial and Housing Development incentives, covering TIF, PILOT, Tax Abatement, and Brownfield Development, not to exceed $1,500.
Financial Summary
Council approved paying bills totaling $2,875.92 (motion by Bacon, support by Rademacher; unanimous roll call). Cash by Fund reports for March 2025 were received from the Clerk and Treasurer. New financial commitments included: up to $1,500 for South Bar Lake testing; up to $1,500 for Renovare training; and a DPW seasonal worker wage set at $18/hour for at least 6 hours/week (motion by Bacon, support by Rademacher; unanimous roll call).
Action Items
- Personnel Committee to review how the Personnel Policy addresses vacation and sick time to ensure 40 hours/week coverage during summer (motion by Bacon, support by Skrocki; unanimous roll call).
- Waste Water Task Force to present results once a meeting date is set (Rademacher).
- Attorney RFP responses still pending; several anticipated but not yet received (raised by Rademacher).
- DPW seasonal position to be advertised for two weeks via social media, Village kiosks, and Leelanau Enterprise.
- Economic Development Training to be scheduled this fiscal year, potentially including the Planning Commission.