Household Hazardous Waste Day

The Roscommon County Solid Waste Recycling Committee will be collecting household hazardous waste Saturday, September 6, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the Roscommon County Health Department parking lot (please enter from M-18), in Prudenville. They will be accepting aerosols, auto liquids, cleaners, corrosives, fertilizers, glue, herbicides, medicines, oil-based paints, pesticides & solvents (Marked with Caution, Corrosive, Danger, Flammable, Poison, Reactive, Toxic & Warning). We will NOT accept explosives, bombs, fireworks, smoke alarms or smoke detectors. Call for specific handling of these items.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Please keep these items separate from hazardous waste) batteries (all types), cell phones, computers, ink jet cartridges, PAINTS of ALL types (good, usable and container must be at least ½ full), televisions, and TIRES (on or off rims) up to 4 per household FREE, $2.00 each after that. This service is FREE for Roscommon County residents only. This community service is being sponsored by the Crawford-Roscommon Conservation District. For more information, call 989-275-3163.

Q & A

For the residents or visitors that have been consistently reading my blog, do you have any questions about myself or the Village?

Feel free to ask anything & I will post some responses in a Question & Answer post. I would like to hear suggestions, improvements, complaints - anything you may have to share.

Thanks.

E-mail me at tom@roscommonvillage.com


Tom Gromek
Village Manager

Yard/Garage Sale Poll

I added a Poll on the upper right portion of the blog. We just completed our 2nd Annual Village Wide Yard Sale last weekend. All indications our it went well and brought many people into town. However, a few people expressed interest in moving the date of the sale to earlier in the summer.

I encourage everybody to vote in the poll and send comments to me at tom@roscommonvillage.com about how their sale went, along with any suggestions or improvements you may have for our 3rd Annual Sale in 2009.

Thank You!


Tom Gromek
Village Manager

Manager's Report

VILLAGE MANAGER REPORT
August 25, 2008



▪ In order to comply with the State of Michigan Elevator Safety Division, we will be required to update the elevator in our DPW building. I have put a copy of the letter in the communication folder we received in March detailing the process. We had an inspection performed by the State last week, and we will have a few months to complete this work. It will most likely be done by Central Elevator Company.

▪ I continue to pursue ways we can better plan out our future road work. I received an example of the Village of Dexter’s Capital Improvement Plan, which is simple, basic, but a very valuable resource. This work was done with assistance from OHM, a civil engineering firm in the Metro Detroit area.

▪ We are straightening out a matter with the IRS regarding our payment schedule of federal payroll tax money. To sum up a complex issue, we were making monthly payments to the IRS, and we were told this was acceptable. When we were notified we needed to make weekly payments, we immediately followed those orders and have been since this notification took place. We recently received an invoice from the IRS stating we owe them money for penalties. We do have to pay these penalties to the IRS now, but we are disputing these costs, as nobody in this office knowingly violated any rules. The IRS will be reviewing our dispute shortly. I will keep the council updated on this matter.

▪ I will have a brief report on how our Village Wide Yard/Garage/Sidewalk Sale went.




Calendar
August 27th – Planning Commission – 5pm
September 1st - Labor Day – Village Offices Closed
September 8th – Council Meeting – 7pm


Tom Gromek
Village Manager

Council Meeting Agenda - August 25, 2008

Here is the proposed agenda for tonight's council meeting. Agenda items that are bolded will be discussed, while items that aren't bolded are skipped over until a future meeting when new information arises on these topics.


VILLAGE OF ROSCOMMON
MEETING AGENDA
August 25, 2008


1. Call to order, roll call of Council, Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation

2. Approval of the Regular agenda

3. Brief public comment on Regular Agenda items (Two minutes per speaker)

4. Approval of Consent agenda:
Minutes of the August 11, 2008 Regular Meeting, Bills to be paid and Checks written since last meeting.

5. Manager’s Report

6. Council Member reports

7. Unfinished Business:
Sale of Industrial Park Property
Planning Commission/ZBA
Master Plan
Road Project

8. New Business:
Lake & 6th St Project
Fund Balance
MML Representation

9. Public Acknowledgement (Two minutes per speaker)

10. Items for the next agenda:

11. Adjournment

Any Council member shall have the right to submit items for the regular agenda before it is approved.

Community Events Facade

(click on photo to enlarge)

This appeared on the front page of the Roscommon County Herald News this week. Everybody is really excited on the potential for this facade.

Tom Gromek

Village Manager

Village Garage/Yard/Sidewalk Sale

Nicole is currently compiling a list of all the residents and business who signed up for the Village-wide Garage/Yard/Sidewalk Sale which will be taking place this weekend, August 22nd & 23rd(Friday-Saturday).

You may pick up the list of sale locations along with an attached map starting Thursday afternoon and all day Friday. If you want to give Village Hall a call this afternoon or early Thursday morning, there is still time to sign up to be included on this list.

We look forward to a wonderful Village event!


Tom Gromek
Village Manager

Wallace Park

(click on photos to enlarge)

Have you noticed all of the changes at Wallace Park this season? We have a new dock, new stairways, and new bathrooms. Many groups and individuals worked hard to make these improvements a reality. The Roscommon Rotary Club donated the bathrooms, the Roscommon DDA funded the new dock/steps construction, while the Village paid for the new electronic locks, signage, and other miscellaneous items to finish up the project.

All in all, the park looks wonderful, and certainly is a great asset to our community. It is encouraging to see the cooperation between different organizations and individuals for the betterment of the Village. Improving the park did not happen overnight, and it did not happen by accident. With careful planning and dedication from the above mentioned groups, we were able to successfully improve Wallace Park.

I encourage residents and visitors to visit the park during the late summer/fall season, or at the very least, click on the above photos and see the beauty of Roscommon.

Tom Gromek

Village Manager

November Elections

For those who do not have access to the Houghton Lake Resorter, here is an article which deals with the Village elections and who officially filed before the August 12th deadline. I am sure the Roscommon Herald will have coverage on this issue in their next issue, but I thought it would be newsworthy to update residents and interested parties in advance of that.



In other political news, six candidates filed by Tuesday's deadline for four trustee positions on the Roscommon Village Council. On the non-partisan ballot in November for the four-year terms will be incumbents Steven Morris and Joan Murphy and challengers Jerry Cousineau and Michael Butler. Incumbent Don Dixon is not running for another term. Butler, who resigned from his council seat in June, was a councilman in the 1970's and from 1991-95. He was elected to a four-year term in 2001 and was appointed to a vacancy shortly after losing a bid for reelection in 2005.

Seeking a two-year trustee term created by Butler's resignation are appointed incumbent Dawn Dodge and challenger Ivan Willett.

Unopposed for reelection to two-year terms are Village President Jesse Carlson, Clerk Kathy Murphy and Treasurer Janae Ostling.




Tom Gromek
Village Manager

DDA Meeting

The Roscommon Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Meeting is this Monday, August 18th at 8am at Village Hall in the Council Meeting Room. This meeting is always open to the public. They always meet the 3rd Monday of the month at 8am at Village Hall.

As I have touched on before, our DDA is phenomenal in their efforts to improve the downtown through a variety of projects. A major project this year is the DDA Facade Grant Program. Other projects they have done include:

- New Dock & Stairway at Wallace Park
- Lake Street Building Demolition
- Roscommon County Courts Facility Funding
- Downtown Railroad Parking Project
- New Roads in the Industrial Park
- Flowers in the Village

Downtown beautification projects including:
- Sidewalks, lightpoles, trees, flower boxes, brick pavers, landscaped Village of Roscommon welcome signs, lightpole banners & town clock.

So, as you can see, the Roscommon DDA is extremely dedicated to improving our wonderful community.

I encourage any resident to attend a DDA meeting or if you have any comments or questions on the DDA, e-mail me and I can pass them along.


Tom Gromek
Village Manager

Village Manager Report

Each council meeting, I prepare a written document and touch briefly on issues in the community that are not on the agenda. This is done to keep council members and the public involved on some smaller issues happening on a day-to-day basis in Roscommon. This is the report from our last council meeting.


VILLAGE MANAGER REPORT
August 11, 2008


▪ The DPW has mowed another property in violation of the Noxious Weeds Ordinance, 130 Lake St.

▪ Tim O’Rourke will be setting up a two day window in September/October to get our roads PASER rated and get up and running with the Road Soft program.

▪ Our M-18 Property Ad did run as scheduled in the Oakland Press in the agreed upon formats for $127. We have not had any response yet.

▪ Porath completed the work involving our water system between St. Michael’s Church & the Roscommon Herald. Our DPW Staff was able to provide assistance, and the problem was successfully fixed. They installed copper pipe, and restored the road to proper condition. Instead of a temporary, quick fix, we decided to complete the project as to avoid any problems in future years.

▪ The streetlight in front of the courthouse has been replaced, and we will be reimbursed from the Road Commission on the replacement costs.

▪ The DDA has taken on another project of restoring the “Community Events False Storefront.” The proposed drawing is located on the council room bulletin board. The DDA will be taking bids on this project until Friday, August 15th at Noon. The bids will be opened at their August 18th board meeting.

▪ I have started a Manager’s Blog. There is a link in the upper left on the main Village website. This will be used to keep residents up to date on Village events, focusing on government and community events/projects.




Calendar
August 18th – DDA Meeting - 8am
August 25th – Council Meeting – 7pm

New Arrival

In case you have been wondering why our Village Treasurer, Janae Ostling, has been gone from the office the past couple of weeks is that she recently gave birth to a very healthy, beautiful boy, Owen Blake Ostling. Both her & the baby are doing well, and we certainly can pass any messages along to her here at Village Hall. Congratulations Janae! We all miss her in the office, and welcome her return back.

Village Taxes can still be paid at Village Hall. Township Taxes can be paid at Higgins Township, as Janae's Deputy Treasurer, Leasa Tulgetske, will be holding office hours Tuesday - Thursday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Township Hall.


Tom Gromek
Village Manager

DDA Facade Grant Program

The Roscommon County Herald News had a great article on the DDA Facade Grant Program in this past Sunday's paper, including a photo of the work being done on the Spruce Motor Lodge. I encourage everybody to take a look at it, and if you have any questions about the program or the DDA, please call or e-mail me.


We have a council meeting tonight at 7pm at Village Hall, and as always, the public is encouraged to attend.

New Green Space

(click on photos to enlarge)

The Cherven building, which the DDA demolished in the Fall of 2007, had undergone some recent changes. The DDA granted up to $1,000 in funding for Village Clerk Kathy Murphy to turn this space into a mini-park/green space instead of just an empty lot. Kathy and her husband, Pat Murhpy, have done a phenomenal job in turning this lot into a usable, green space area.

The fence, in the back of the lot, is a new addition, along with 2 benches and 2 solar lights. Two new trees, along with various bushes have also been planted.

If you have not checked out this property off of Lake Street, across the street from Village Hardware, stop and take a look. Pat and Kathy Murphy deserve plenty of credit for volunteering their time for the betterment of the Village.


Tom Gromek
Village Manager

Village Sponsored Garage/Sidewalk Sale

Our 2nd Annual Village of Roscommon Garage/Sidewalk Sale is fast approaching. This two day event will take place on Friday, August 22nd and Saturday, August 23rd from 9am - 5pm.

Village residents & downtown retailers that wish to participate are encouraged to call Village Hall at (989) 275-5743 to register. The Village will provide free advertising and no permits are needed. After registering, your location will be added to a list with an attached map that will be available for distribution at Village Hall and at various local businesses before the sale.

Locations will be available for residents that do not have a place to have a sale.

This event was extremely successful last year, and we anticipate an even bigger turnout this year. A big thanks to Nicole Lippert, our wonderful Village Administrative Assistant, for all of her work on this endeavor. She goes above and beyond to organize and promote this community event. Also, a thanks to Bev Luther & the rest of the Council for their support on this project.

For visitors, I encourage everybody to visit Roscommon both of these days to take advantage of a fun and unique community event.

For any questions on this event, do not hesitate to call Nicole at 989-275-5743 or e-mail me at tom@roscommonvillage.com. Please register early, if possible, as this makes it easier on us to compile the necessary list and map.


Tom Gromek
Village Manager

Roscommon Outdoor-Farm Market

(click on photos to enlarge)

Did you know we have our very own Farmer's Market in Roscommon?

When: Every Monday from Noon til 6:00pm, from May 19th through September 22nd

Where: The Au Sable River Center Parking Lot (Main St. between Brooks St. & Sheley St.)

Fees: Space per vendor $10.00 per week or $25.00 per month(if paid in advance)

All items for sale must relate to household use (produce, plants, landscaping, lawn use, etc..)

The Roscommon Outdoor-Farm Market is one of only two markets in the county eligible to take the "Project Fresh" coupons. Project Fresh is a government program to put fresh Michigan produce in the hands of low income and senior families.

I personally have been at the market several times and have been impressed at the amount of traffic and quality items available for purchase. The market is consistently stocked with fresh, high quality produce along with all kinds of plants and Michigan made products. I purchased fresh blueberries for an afternoon snack yesterday, and they were excellent.

I encourage everybody to stop over on Mondays and take a look, and see just one of the many positive things happening in Roscommon.

For any questions about the Farmer's Market, contact the market manager, Kathy Pardo Carlson at 989-275-8546 or 989-889-5776 (Cell) or send her an e-mail at Kathy_pardo2005@yahoo.com

Or feel free to send me an e-mail or give Village Hall a call for more information.


Tom Gromek
Village Manager

Flag Raising Ceremony

(click on photos to enlarge)

I attended the Opening of the 2008 Roscommon County Fair today. The above photos were taken during the flag raising ceremony. Roscommon Village President Jesse Carlson sang a great rendition of the Star Spangled Banner as the American flag was raised.

I encourage everybody to stop by the Fair and take part in one of the many activities throughout the weekend.


Tom Gromek
Village Manager