Allegan City Police Chief Rick Hoyer is retiring, effective April 12, after 41 years of service on the City of Allegan police department.

Hoyer has served the City of Allegan as a police officer since 1978, starting as a reserve police officer, becoming a sworn officer in 1980, and concluding his service with 22 years as police chief.

In the process, he also served as interim city manager on more than one occasion. During his tenure in his current position as police chief, Hoyer played a critical role in the further development and growth of the City of Allegan Police Department.

“Rick has contributed over 40 years to the City of Allegan, and his achievements have not gone without great impact on the residents of this town,” said Allegan city manager Joel Dye in a press release. “His work ethic, command of the department, and devotion to the people of the City of Allegan has been more than evident to me in my two years as city manager.”

Hoyer thanked Joel Dye and the Allegan City Council for their trust and said, “I am proud of the men and women that make up the Allegan City Police Department. You will not find a finer group of committed, caring team players in law enforcement and it has been an honor to serve alongside of them.”

The City of Allegan extends its gratitude to Rick Hoyer for his decades of service and dedication, and wishes him a happy and well deserved retirement.

LANSING—State offices including Secretary of State branches across Michigan’s Lower Peninsula closed at 10 a.m. due to “emergency snow conditions,” according to a press release.

“This is about keeping all Michiganders safe,” said Gov. Whitmer. “All motorists are encouraged to stay off of the roads. If you must be out, please drive safely in these dangerous weather conditions and be respectful of road crews working to clear snow and ice.”

The closure affected all nonessential state employees in an effort to “allow emergency crews to clear the roads. Certain offices will remain open for critical functions only.”

The State Emergency Operations Center remains open to monitor storm conditions.

All offices were expected to reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 29, for regular business hours. Residents and employees may check www.michigan.gov for updates.

A winter storm warning for Allegan and Van Buren counties is expected to be in effect until early Tuesday morning. The severe weather is expected to dump as many as 6 to 10 inches of snow with winds gusting as fast as 40 mph. Temperatures are expected to plunge to -10 F including wind chill.

A 25 year old woman from Benton Harbor was killed in a multi-vehicle crash on Sunday, Jan. 27, at around 6:30 p.m. on M-89 at 2nd Street in Gun Plain Township.

According to witnesses, an eastbound vehicle on M-89 began passing other vehicles and stayed in the westbound lane from 6th Street to 2nd Street where oncoming traffic appeared and were unable to avoid the vehicle still traveling in the wrong lane.

A second westbound vehicle attempted to avoid the vehicle but was sideswiped and sent into the ditch. A third westbound vehicle was unable to avoid the eastbound vehicle and collided with it.

A deputy from the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office and an officer from the Plainwell Department of Public Safety arrived to find the at-fault driver’s injuries to be fatal injuries.

The driver’s child, who was secured in a booster seat, was pinned into the backseat and received multiple injuries; however, those injuries appeared to be non-life threatening.

The deceased driver was identified as Kalyn Ann Cole.

All of the individuals from vehicles in the westbound lane appear to have minor and/or non-life threatening injuries.

Assisting at the scene were Plainwell Department of Public Safety, Plainwell EMS, Gun Plain Fire Department, Otsego Fire Department, Michigan State Police and Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office Victims Services. 

The crash remains under investigation.

The state issued a Wireless Emergency Alert, broadcasting an urgent message late Wednesday to cellphones calling for utility customers across Michigan to lower their heat to 65 or less through Friday in an effort to reduce natural gas usage.

The request came following a fire at one of Consumer Energy's critical compressor facilities in Macomb County on the southeast side of the state on Wednesday. The facility accounts for 64 percent of Consumers’ supply. Consumers warned of brief, localized shutoffs if customers ignored the request.

Residents and businesses can reduce gas usage by doing the following:

LOOK AT THERMOSTAT SETTINGS: Save energy while staying warm by setting your heat to a lower temperature. Use your programmable thermostat to set your heat at 65 degrees when you are home and 62 degrees when you are away for less than 5 hours.

BUSINESS REDUCTION OF PROCESSES: The company is also encouraging industrial and business customers to temporarily reduce processes.

SEAL & SHUT WINDOWS AND DOORS: Check for leaks in your windows and doors by feeling around for cool air. Also, please ensure all windows and doors are closed tightly.

For more information or tips, visit: www.consumersenergy.com/coldweather.

A 25-year-old woman from Benton Harbor was killed in a multi-vehicle crash on Sunday, Jan. 27, at around 6:30 p.m. on M-89 at 2nd Street in Gun Plain Township.

According to witnesses, an eastbound vehicle on M-89 began passing other vehicles and stayed in the westbound lane from 6th Street to 2nd Street where oncoming traffic appeared and were unable to avoid the vehicle still traveling in the wrong lane.

A second westbound vehicle attempted to avoid the wrong-way vehicle but was sideswiped and sent into the ditch. A third westbound vehicle was unable to avoid the eastbound vehicle and collided with it.

A deputy from the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office and an officer from the Plainwell Department of Public Safety arrived to find the at-fault driver’s injuries to be fatal.

The driver’s child, who was secured in a booster seat, was pinned into the backseat and received multiple injuries; however, those injuries appeared to be non-life threatening.

The deceased driver was identified as Kalyn Ann Cole.

All of the individuals from vehicles in the westbound lane appear to have minor and/or non-life threatening injuries.

Assisting at the scene were Plainwell Department of Public Safety, Plainwell EMS, Gun Plain Fire Department, Otsego Fire Department, Michigan State Police and Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office Victims Services. 

The crash remains under investigation.

The new $625,000 airport terminal at Allegan’s Padgham Field Airport was finished in December by McGraw Construction out of Grand Rapids. It’s the same construction that is building O’Reilly Auto Parts at the former Burger King on Western Avenue.

The new 1,600-square-foot terminal is attached to the old one, built in the 1970s, and rented to a private company along with the red hangar next to it.

Of the airport’s 36 hangars, 32 are currently rented. Sky Dive Allegan is one of them.

The new terminal project has been five years in the making, waiting for annual Federal Aviation Administration entitlements of $150,000 annually to fund it and development of a terminal study using plans that are FAA-eligible. Funding from the Michigan Department of Transportation and the city helped with the project.

The new terminal includes a refrigerator and vending space; a kitchenette; a pilot’s planning room; a lounge and ADA accessible restrooms equipped with showers; and LED lighting with motion sensors.

The FAA funding can only be used on fixed objects; therefore, the terminal is in need of furniture, which may be coming from the old city hall once staff is moved into the new city hall on Trowbridge Street. FAA will also only fund capital improvement projects—no maintenance.

While air signs, beacons and lights are always first on the project list, next in the five-year airport capital improvement plan is to paint the old terminal the same color as the new, crack seal pavement, paint pavement markings and asphalt coating hangars from ceiling to pavement.

For new projects, adding jet fuel tanks was discussed; however, the number of jets that land at the airport didn’t justify an addition at this time. A fuel pump for regular aviation fuel was added about eight years ago for self-service and a new fuel tank monitor will be installed.

“We have a few small jets land here and one turbo prop in a hangar that uses jet fuel, but the use is limited,” said Aaron Haskin, director of Public Works.

Last April, the Fixed Base Operator “Ace Aviation” pulled out of the airport, taking with them an aviation mechanic and flight school. Public Works and the Airport Advisory Board took over the Fixed Base Operator responsibilities. They are currently in talks with Lavion Aero, of Zeeland, for a private hangar rental that will offer a flight school.

Aviators can activate the runway lights and beacons by radio, fuel up on their own, and have code access to the terminal building.

A ribbon cutting ceremony for the new terminal building is planned for this spring.

Virginia Ransbottom can be contacted at vransbottom@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

It’s been at least 12 years since the City of Wayland increased water and sewer rates.

That’s about to change.

Rate adjustments are the next step in the city’s Stormwater, Asset Management and Wastewater (SAW) grant program in which the city received $380,000 to identify infrastructure needs and plan for problem areas before they become emergencies.

“Nothing has been accomplished until a new rate schedule has been implemented,” city manager Joshua Eggleston said in a Power Point presentation to council members on Tuesday, Jan. 22.

“Planned maintenance cost one third less than unplanned maintenance for the same task,” Eggleston said.

“Deferring failure is not cost effective—everything wears out eventually.”

While rates must be affordable to residents, everyone has a different idea of what is affordable; therefore, the USDA developed an affordability standard test, which shows Wayland has a significant capacity for a rate increase.

According to the test, those with a median household income of $52,831 should be paying 1.5 percent of their income per utility; or $66.04 per utility for a total of $132.08 for an assumed 4,500 gallons per month usage.

Wayland is currently paying $16.66 per month for water and $28.49 per month for sewer for 4,500 gallons of usage.

Eggleston said a committee should be organized and public hearings held to develop a fair and equitable rate that will produce the revenues necessary to successfully operate the utilities, promote lifestyle and economic development goals, is easy to administer and annually adjustable. That will involve data collection of water use history, operating and maintenance history, production history, reviewing infrastructure, the budget and inflation, a rate structure and several other factors to justify the increase.

Right now the surcharge or base rate only generates 35 percent of fixed operating expenses. It needs to be closer to 50 percent, said Eggleston, also recommending a budget to save at least 10 to 15 percent of capital replacement costs.

Virginia Ransbottom can be contacted at vransbottom@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

A car crash that involved Plainwell students leaving the Allegan County Area Technical and Education Center was attributed by police to “age and speed” after consulting accident reconstructionists and witness statements.

Allegan County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Chris Kuhn said the five cars carrying 13 students had left the tech center in Allegan about 10:30 a.m. going east out of town.

“The driver of the lead car realized he’d left his phone at the ACATEC building and he pulled over to make a lefthand turn at the same time the fifth car tried to pass,” Kuhn said.

The fifth car was accelerating to pass and struck the first car with great force, causing its engine to be knocked out and left laying on the ground. Kuhn agreed that in his experience that was a very uncommon happening and spoke to a very violent collision.

The fifth car was the one that went airborne for about 50 feet, before flipping over and coming to rest against a fence on the side of the road. Its fender was found in a nearby tree.

“That vehicle basically ramped off a driveway culvert and went airborne,” Kuhn said.

He said the previously reported distance of being airborne for 100 yards wasn’t accurate and was very unlikely to happen.

The crash caused the second and third vehicles to move over to the right to avoid the crash.

“The fourth vehicle then didn’t have enough reaction time or following gap and he was unable to avoid striking both of those vehicles,” Kuhn said.

He summed up that “Speed and poor driving strategy was at play.”

Kuhn said charges had yet to be sought because one of the students was pregnant and they were waiting to see if there were any possible injuries to the unborn child before proceeding.

Contact Dan Pepper at dpepper@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

Like many communities awaiting statewide rules regarding newly legalized marijuana establishments, Allegan Township is officially prohibiting the businesses.

Board members voted on Monday, Feb. 4, to accept the recommendation from its planning commission to opt out of allowing recreational establishments until at least the state rules can be understood.

Township board member Jim Connell, who also sits on the planning commission, said, “I’m having a little trouble voting against the will of the people, but I don’t like putting something in place without knowing the repercussions—and (the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs) hasn’t written the regulations yet.”

In last November’s statewide referendum, Allegan Township voters favored legalizing recreational marijuana by a 907-to-878 vote.

Connell said it also felt counterproductive to instead allow recreational marijuana after the township the previous year had opted out of allowing medical marijuana establishments in the township.

“That makes for a tremendous inconsistency,” he said.

He proposed opting out and reviewing this stance later. Board members voted unanimously to do so.

Safe Routes

Township supervisor Steve Schulz said the township will be reorganizing its next budget to fund sidewalk work.

This is because, he said, he and city officials had recently learned that a grant for the work was going to be paid only after the work was completed.

The Safe Routes to School project will add sidewalks near Dawson and West Ward elementary schools and L.E. White Middle School using a $650,000 reimbursement grant. It is slated for construction this year.

Sidewalk work includes primarily:

• south side of Delano from Sherman to Adams

• north/east side of Lincoln (M-40/M-89) from approximately Pine to Grant (part of this work is planned as an asphalt path)

• both sides of Grant from Western (M-40/M-89) to Delano

• both sides of 115th Avenue from the “Tiger Trail” at the middle school west to 34th Street

• both sides of Knapp from Vernon to Academy

The grant was submitted in October 2016. The competitive grants are federal money dispersed by the Michigan Department of Transportation in cooperation with the Michigan Fitness Foundation.

The township and city split the cost of the engineering designs created by engineering firm Prein & Newhof.

Though there are no matching funds required to receive the grant, the two municipalities will now have to front the cost of the work.

“It won’t be a problem, but we will likely have to make some changes to the budget,” Schulz said. “We’ll probably be backing off from taking money out of our contingency fund. In recent years, we’ve moved $50,000 for roadwork, $50,000 for capital improvement, and $50,000 for our recreation fund. We’ll probably hold back on that so we can afford to make these payments. We will just have to keep this in the back of our mind as we do the budget.”

The township’s fiscal year ends at the end of March.

No matter how that turns out, Schulz said he was eager to see the plan come to fruition, having been in the works for several years.

“Plans are close to being done,” he said. “I think there are still some rights of way to get. But it should still get started this summer.”

Police

Township board members voted unanimously to increase the amount paid to the Allegan City Police Department in next year’s budget to $10,000, up from $6,000.

Next year will mark the third year the township has made the payment, an effort to compensate the department for its frequent response in the township.

Schulz said police officers respond to approximately 300 calls annually in the township. With an average response time of about five to 10 minutes, they are typically first to arrive. The township is technically covered by the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office.

“But the sheriff would be the first to admit their response time is about 45 minutes,” Schulz said. “The Allegan police come into the township a lot; I feel this is extremely reasonable for 300 calls.”

Contact Ryan Lewis at rmlewis@allegannews.com or (269) 673-5534.

Dorr Township Board voted 5 to 1 to adopt a marijuana opt-out ordinance to prohibit commercial recreational marijuana businesses and facilities in the township at their meeting on Thursday, Jan. 31.

Trustee Josh Otto voted against opting-out because he said they didn’t have all the information yet with the state still setting up guidelines for licensing.

“I just wanted to see it gone over by the planning commission...there are several types of licenses and I just didn’t want to close the door on potential businesses being opened,” he said. “And we could pick and choose the licenses to allow such as a transportation license.”

Supervisor Jeff Miling said the board and public had a good discussion. In public comments, those who spoke wanted marijuana establishments banned.

“A couple years down the road if a testing facility wanted to locate by the highway, we could make an amendment to allow it but we had to get something in place before someone put in an application,” Miling said.

The majority of Dorr Township voters said “no” to proposal 1 to legalize recreational marijuana by 57.8 percent. Statewide voters approved it by 57 percent making Michigan the 10th in the nation to legalize marijuana.

Virginia Ransbottom can be contacted at vransbottom@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

A man who admitted to exposing himself to a pair of high school girls in Allegan last year has been sentenced to jail and probation.

Tristen Scott Reyes, 31, of Allegan was arraigned in March and charged with one count of aggravated indecent exposure for the January 2018 incident when he exposed his penis in a restaurant parking lot near Allegan High School.

Judge Roberts S. Kengis sentenced Reyes Friday, Jan. 25, in Allegan County Circuit Court.

“This is very disturbing behavior and especially to someone of the victims’ ages and it’s very concerning to the court,” Kengis said.

Assistant Allegan County prosecutor Steven Lanting asked Kengis to impose a jail sentence in the case, which carried advisory sentencing guidelines of zero to nine months. Lanting pointed to the victim impact statements turned in by the two girls.

“The circumstances of two high school students having to undergo this in just a normal day of trying to go to lunch call for a jail sentence,” he said.

Attorney Amy LaFond asked for no jail or a short sentence for her client.

“My client has indicated he’s okay with any probation,” LaFond said.

However, she said, he was taking care of his 10-year-old daughter and had maintained employment so she asked the court to give a minimum jail sentence or to let him serve his sentence on weekends.

Her client, she said, had taken the incident seriously and had the support of his father and brother.

“I don’t think what happened here was that Mr. Reyes went out to a place where children would necessarily be to do this,” LaFond said. “He was at a restaurant in a public parking lot.”

She asked the court not to consider the fact her client had also been charged with two sex offenses in Ottawa County in the sentencing.

“That matter has not been to the point of a preliminary hearing yet and Mr. Reyes has pled not guilty,” LaFond said.

She also asked the judge to include in Reyes’ probation that he be allowed to see his own children and that he be allowed to use medical marijuana.

Kengis sided with the prosecution on the question of jail.

“I do believe a lengthy probation term and some jail time is necessary for punishment and for you to realize this behavior won’t be accepted,” Kengis said.

He sentenced the defendant to five years probation and 60 days in jail, with two days credit for time already served. Kengis said there weren’t any weekend jail spots open at the time, but that Reyes could seek work release.

Kengis said Reyes could seek other conditions on his probation from his probation agent and that he could petition the court for use of his medical marijuana card if he could get a doctor to assure the court he was treating Reyes and that he had a need for medical marijuana.

Earlier in the process, Allegan County prosecutors withdrew from an offered sentencing agreement with Reyes after they found out about the Ottawa County charges. The plea agreement in the case called for prosecutors to drop an added a count of being a sexually delinquent person in exchange for Reyes’ guilty plea.

Contact Dan Pepper at dpepper@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

Mark Garnsey of Rockford has been tapped as the new police chief of Wayland.

After going into closed session on Monday, Feb. 4, Wayland City Council accepted a recommendation by city manager Josh Eggleston to make a conditional offer for an employment contract with the Newago police officer.

Garnsey is a consultant to the Newago police chief, Public Information Officer and accreditation assessor for the department.

He was one of four finalists for the position being vacated by Stephen Harper who has accepted a position as community impact pastor at Chapel Pointe church in Hudsonville.

The city had received between 12 and 15 applications for the position and selected four finalists who attended a meet and greet on Jan. 14 and were interviewed on Jan. 15.

Other finalists were John Neph of Ortonville, an officer with the Lake Orion Police Department and Detroit Water Authority; Eric Speese of Byron Center, an officer with the Wayland Police Department; and Brian Berg of Freeland, a police officer with the St. Charles Police Department and owner of Adopt-A-COP Solutions, Inc.

The police chief position offers a salary of between $72,000 and $76,000 annually. A final offer will be made after negotiations, background check and psychiatric evaluation.

“We will hopefully have something finalized in 30 days,” said Eggleston.

In other business, the council:

• Set a public hearing and second reading of an opt-out ordinance to prohibit marijuana establishments in the City of Wayland for Monday, Feb. 18. Eggleston said, if adopted, the council could come back to the table once the state licensing board adopts provisions and a more permanent discussion can ensue.

• Gave direction to move forward on preparing a purchase agreement, based on the “Nichels’ template,” for a developer to purchase city-owned property at 1065 133rd Ave., next to Great Lakes Electric. The Nickels’ template refers to the sale of 25-acres of industrial property at 1121 133rd Ave. for $20,000 to Keith Nickels and Josh Otto. Council will review the prepared agreement at a later date.

•Heard a presentation by Redevelopment Ready Community planner Karen Wieber who said Wayland’s certification is 30 percent complete and in the process of completing another 30 percent of the criteria. RRC is a no-cost program that assists local municipalities in establishing a sound foundation for development and investment to occur in the community.

• Heard a report by Wayland fire chief Joe Miller who said the department has responded to 29 calls in January, leaving only two days off. Waiting to speak, his department was toned out for sparking powerlines.

Miller said the department is getting short on daytime firefighters after five moved away but Yankee Springs has been able to assist with mutual aid. Of the 348 calls last year, 82 were for mutual aid; however, Wayland used mutual aid from other surrounding departments on more than 200 calls. Wayland has 26 firefighters and Yankee Springs has 25. Average dispatch to enroute time is 2.76 minutes and dispatch to arrival averaged 8 minutes.

Virginia Ransbottom can be contacted at vransbottom@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

A woman has pleaded guilty in the car crash that killed 5-year-old Blake Huffman in Wayland in July.

Amber Lea Collige, 34, pleaded no contest Monday, Feb. 4, in Allegan County Circuit Court to one count of attempted operating while intoxicated causing death.

Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker found Collige guilty based on a lab report from the Michigan State Police.

“It indicates there was THC in the specimen vial of blood taken from Amber Collige in this case,” Bakker said.

Because Collige pleaded no contest rather than guilty, the judge used this and another police report to determine she’d committed the offense she was entering a plea to instead of having Collige say in court what exactly she’d done.

Attorney Paul Klein asked the court to accept a no contest plea in the case because of liability to a possible civil lawsuit his client could face.

Bakker read from a second police report, this one from the Wayland Police Department which described how Collige was working as a delivery driver and driving in a Wayland neighborhood.

“(the officers) were dispatched to an accident between a vehicle and a 5-year-old who’d been riding a bike and was pronounced dead on the scene,” the judge read.

The police had then interviewed Collige.

“She said she went around a car stopped on the side of the road and when she pulled back into her lane of traffic the victim in the case, Blake Huffman, came out of a driveway and she was not able to stop,” the judge read.

Bakker ruled the two reports were enough evidence to accept the plea and find the defendant guilty.

As part of a plea agreement with Allegan County Prosecutors Collige agreed to enter the no contest plea to the lesser charge of attempted operating while intoxicated causing death. In exchange, prosecutors agreed they’d drop the original count of operating while intoxicated causing death.

A sentencing hearing in the case was scheduled for Monday, April 29, at 9 a.m. in Allegan County Circuit Court.

Contact Dan Pepper at dpepper@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

Allegan’s City Council will be tightening the purse strings for renovations to the new city hall building on Trowbridge Street.

During an hour-long discussion in a pre-session council meeting Jan. 28, council members Nancy Ingalsbee and Mike Manning were not happy with the escalating cost of renovations saying they were under the impression the project would cost $1.4 million and now costs were estimated at $2.4 million.

“All changes you’re proposing don’t come close to a million dollars and we were a million over,” said Ingalsbee. “I’m concerned that at the last minute you’ll go into our fund balance and we’re put in a bad fiscal crunch.

“In my eight years on council we’re proud to have maintained a healthy fund balance (of at least $1 million), which is important in case of emergencies.”

City staff pointed out that GMB architecture and engineering provided a space study that averaged about $1.3 million for the project based on renovation costs per square foot. Progressive AE was hired to do the actual design and build phases incorporating staff and public needs and goals for a plan that cost from $1.8 million to $2 million, including a $50,000 contingency.

City council approved bonding for $2 million to pay for the city hall project as well as improvements to Griswold Auditorium, the Regent Theater and construction of new riverfront restrooms.

Bids came in on Dec. 20, at nearly 20 percent above the highest estimate for the project. A tight bidding market and inflated costs due to new tariffs were attributed to rising bid prices.

“We had one bidder say they added 30 percent because of the unknown impact from steel tariffs,” said city manager Joel Dye said. “Bids are uncontrollable on our part.”

Since the bids came back high, city staff scaled back the project while not abandoning goals. New conceptual drawings were presented to the council Jan. 14, removing such design frills as the two-story wall extending above the roof displaying a clock, a flag pole area at the curb, a fireplace, new entryway, cement fiber board finish for the exterior instead of wood and place holding for the future an elevator and new stairway to the basement since offices will be on the first floor.

 City staff went back to the original four points for needs of a city hall. They include administrative functionality, better technology, ADA and general public accessibility, and conference rooms for both confidential and productive meetings.

A council chamber is proposed to host seating for 60-65. Leaseable office space will also occupy up to 1,700 square feet.

While it was also a goal to hold elections at the new city hall, Dye said staff is rethinking that proposal after the high turnout in the last election. Enough space would be needed to stay compliant with election rules such as a 10-foot perimeter around the tabulator, work and voting stations and a poll watching area.

Receiving individual bids for 12 sub categories of the project, including plumbing, HVAC, electrical, general carpentry, etc., six bids came in over budget and were rebid. Staff is now waiting for returned bids and more bidders are responding, said city manager Joel Dye. Nine of the original bids had only one or two bidders.

Finance director Tracy Stull said staff was doing their due diligence to get costs under $2 million; however, they would not be able to cut $1 million from the project. She assured the council the fund balance as of Dec. 31, was at $1.25 million.

Feb. 12 is the new deadline for bids. A special meeting of the council will be held to appraise them.

“Trust us that we will do what we can when we have good information,” Stull said.

Manning said, “We trusted you when we voted on it and sent it on with a beautiful building for the city for under $2 mill and had money left over. We were told we had this rising roof, beautiful fireplace, council chambers, the clock and it looks to me that was all blown away and we’ve got a cement block building left.

“We didn’t get what we approved.”

Mayor Rachel McKenzie reminded council that no plans had been approved yet. Only conceptual plans had been presented for city hall and also for the public restroom plan.

Manning also questioned escalating asbestos removal costs. He said he thought a much lower price was paid than the $49,000 he read in the newspaper.

There was some dispute over whether an inspector could’ve torn up carpets to find the asbestos tiles prior to the city purchasing the building in order to negotiate the cost of abatement into the cost of the building.

Dye said while in-house inspectors looked at the structural aspect, a hazardous material study by Wightman Associates wasn’t conducted until after the building was purchased. That’s when holes were punched in walls and carpets torn up to find it—damages they couldn’t make until owning the building. Dye took full responsibility for not detecting asbestos sooner. He also said for full disclosure, abatement costs were $49,000 and then a change order was received to include an additional $9,652 for further asbestos previously undetected for a total abatement cost of $58,652.   

Manning said he had a community member say city hall needed to be tabled until a public hearing is held and he would not continue discussions based on speculative costs.

Going forward, both Ingalsbee and Manning asked to see all financial numbers going into the project and where in the budget it was coming from.

Council member Charles Tripp said he didn’t like the idea of not having an elevator.

“We have 11,000-square-feet in the basement that can’t be rented until we have an elevator,” he said. “Until bids come in, we don’t have an answer yet.”

Council member Traci Perrigo said the city can’t go backwards.

“Drawings get put out there—those are the Taj Mahal—the conceptual drawings,” she said. “Like the library, their original drawing is not what they got,” she said. “Things change and you have to change with it.”

New council member Delora Andrus said bids came back high.

“We can’t control that and we’re going back to make adjustments—I appreciate that,” she said. “I heard from a lot of people that said our concept plan was too much so I don’t think they’ll be too disappointed this plan doesn’t have flagpoles out front.”

A 39-year-old Plainwell area man apparently stole a utility van from a Perrigo parking lot in Allegan, crashed the vehicle, then led police on a foot chase and standoff that ended in his arrest Tuesday, Feb. 12.

The suspect, with an extensive criminal history, broke a window of a vehicle in Perrigo’s parking lot but was confronted by an employee. The suspect ran across the street brandishing a gun and attempted to take an occupied semi-truck; however, the semi driver drove off, according to Allegan Police Chief Rick Hoyer who responded as part of the SWAT team.

The man then found a Buist Electric utility van unoccupied and drove off with it. He crashed the van into a tree on 108th Avenue near 26th Street at about 2:20 p.m. He fled on foot to a pole barn where he tried to steal a tractor but crashed it inside the barn.

The man then fled on foot to a wooded area where a K-9 unit located him and told him to show his hands and surrender. The man then claimed to be holding a bomb.

After two hours of negotiations, the suspect was taken into custody, transported to Borgess Hospital and released to the Allegan County Jail. No weapons were found on the suspect.

Hoyer said the man admitted using methamphetatmine, had mental health issues and was hallucinating.

“Out negotiator did an excellent job,” Hoyer said. “It truly was the best outcome given that mental health issues and meth are the worst combinations.”

Perrigo was locked down for employee safety as the incident unfolded. Streets in the vicinity around the crash and standoff were also blocked.

The suspect is wanted in Barry County for fleeing and eluding and in Lansing for cutting his parole tether. Paroled over a year ago, he also spent 10 years in a Colorado prison for fleeing and eluding. His name is not being released pending arraignment.

Perrigo Security, Allegan Police Department, Allegan County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police all assisted at the scene.

A family lost their pets due to a fire that had plenty of smoke billowing from windows when firefighters arrived at 515 Maple St., in Allegan at 4:50 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19.

Two dogs and one cat were initially found to be deceased in the home before firefighters could gain entry and air out the smoke. Life EMS tried to rescucitate a few of the animals but were unsuccessful. No other occupants were in the home at the time. Two more cats were later found to have succumbed to the smoke.

According to Allegan Fire District Chief Nick Brink, the fire started in a laundry room in the rear of the home. While drywall and interior coverings burned in that area, the home remains structurally sound although heavily smoke damaged.

Hopkins Area Fire Department assisted and firefighters remained at the scene until 8 p.m. Red Cross was called in to assist the homeowners Brittany Simpson and Martin James.

Police are seeking help in finding Todd Lilge of Plainwell who was last seen Jan. 18.

According to the Michigan State Police, the Paw Paw Post got a call reporting Lilge missing Saturday, Jan. 19, and he was last seen in Plainwell Friday, Jan. 18, about 10 a.m. at the Plainwell Department of Public Safety offices on M-89.

His vehicle was found in the Allegan County State Game Area on 125th Avenue, near 43rd Street in Heath Township.

Lilge is described as 5-foot, 11-inches tall and weight about 240 pounds with brown eyes and gray/brown hair.

Anyone with any information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Paw Paw post at (269) 657-5551.

The City of Wayland is the latest municipality to opt-out of allowing marijuana establishments to operate within its jurisdiction.

City manager Joshua Eggleston said although the ordinance does not say it is a temporary opt-out, the intent is temporary.

“Once the state has made a final issuance of regulations, it commits the council to re-open consideration within 90 days of that issuance,” Eggleston said. “No action has to be taken but it forces us to reopen that discussion.”

Council member Rick Mathis said he liked the ordinance because he did not want to spend taxpayer dollars to figure it out ahead of time.

“I’m more than willing to let LARA and the Michigan Legislature figure out all the legalities so that we’re not wasting tax dollars on attorney fees,” Mathis said.

Eggleston said temporarily opting out is a trend statewide since laws passed but the rules pertaining to the laws weren’t established.

“So it gives us a chance to sit back and look at what the city really wants and to listen to the voters and taxpayers during some public meetings within the next six to 10 months to gauge where we want to go with this,” he said.” Lets hope that the state can come back with rules we can live with, and if we can’t, we can opt-out permanently in a separate ordinance.

Members of the public were absent from the meeting; therefore, no comments were made during the public hearing for the opt-out ordinance.

In the ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana and adopt the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, the City of Wayland voted to pass the proposal 897 to 654.

The Michigan Department of Licensing And Regulatory Affairs is required to create a process to license recreational marijuana businesses by December 2019.

Virginia Ransbottom can be contacted at vransbottom@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

A 39-year-old Martin Township man apparently stole a utility van from a Perrigo parking lot in Allegan, crashed the vehicle, then led police on a foot chase and standoff that ended in his arrest Tuesday, Feb. 12.

Jason Thomas Schultz was arraigned on charges of carjacking and unlawful driving away of an automobile on Thursday, Feb. 14, in Allegan County District Court.

Schultz, with an extensive criminal history, was reported to have broken a window of a vehicle in Perrigo’s parking lot on Eastern Avenue but was confronted by an employee.

According to witnesses, the suspect ran across the street brandishing a gun and attempted to take an occupied semi-truck; however, the semi drove off, said Allegan Police Chief Rick Hoyer, who responded as part of the county SWAT team.

The man then found a Buist Electric utility van doing work in the area and drove off with it. He crashed the van into a tree on 108th Avenue near 26th Street at about 2:20 p.m. He fled on foot to a pole barn where he tried to steal a tractor but crashed it inside the barn.

The man then fled on foot to a wooded area where a canine unit located him and told him to show his hands and surrender. The man then claimed to be holding a bomb.

After two hours of negotiations, the suspect was taken into custody, transported to Borgess Hospital and released to the Allegan County Jail. No weapons were found on the suspect.

Hoyer said the man admitted using methamphetamine, had mental health issues and was hallucinating.

“Out negotiator did an excellent job,” Hoyer said. “It truly was the best outcome given that mental health issues and meth are the worst combinations.”

Hoyer also said the cold and snowy weather worked in favor of the police apprehending the suspect.

Perrigo was locked down for employee safety as the incident unfolded. Streets in the vicinity around the crash and standoff were also blocked.

The sheriff’s department is also investigating a connection with Schultz and a stolen truck that was driven into a pond Monday, Feb. 11, a day before the Perrigo carjacking.

Schultz was also arraigned Feb. 13, for cutting off his parole tether on Feb. 9. Paroled over a year ago, he had spent 10 years in a Colorado prison for fleeing and eluding. He is also wanted in Barry County for fleeing and eluding.

Bond was set at $100,000 and preliminary hearings in both cases were set for Wednesday, Feb. 27.

Perrigo Security, Allegan Police Department, Allegan County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police all assisted at the scene.

Staff writer Dan Pepper contributed to this story.

Virginia Ransbottom can be contacted at vransbottom@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

Sneller Properties at 209 Hubbard St., Allegan, is the latest business to request a tax freeze by applying for an Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act (OPRA) Certificate. Allegan’s City Council has set a public  hearing for March 11, to receive public comments.

Built in 1890, the building’s second floor is vacant and not in usable condition, said city manager Joel Dye.

Owner Carol Sneller is planning to invest $220,000 in the property between May 15 and Dec. 15 to construct two apartment rentals on the second story. The office of Sneller Properties is located on the first floor.

The request is to freeze the current tax rate for 12 years.

 Virginia Ransbottom can be contacted at vransbottom@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.