The City of Cedar Springs held their reorganizational meeting last Thursday, November 14. Election results were announced for City Council member Molly Nixon who ran ran unopposed in the November election. She was was elected to another four-year-term. She was not at the meeting so will be sworn in at a later date.

The Council also voted to appoint Jerry Hall to his sixth term as Mayor, and Pam Conley to another year as Mayor Pro-tem. 

To watch a recording of the entire meeting, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UraKN8J_HoY.

The City of Cedar Springs held their reorganizational meeting last Thursday, November 10. City Council members Rose Powell and Jerry Gross Sr. were sworn in, after running unopposed in the November 8 election. Powell was elected to another four-year-term, and Gross, who was appointed this summer to replace Bob Truesdale, won a four-year-term.

The Council voted 7-0 to appoint Jerry Hall to his third term as Mayor, and Pam Conley to another year as Mayor Pro-tem. No other nominations were brought forward.

To watch a recording of the entire meeting, go to youtube.com and type “City of Cedar Springs” in the searchbar.

By Judy Reed

At their regular meeting on Monday, 14, the Cedar Springs City Council discussed their concerns with a potential agreement with the Red Flannel Festival .

Under the two-part agreement, the City would offer in kind services (mainly DPW) to the RFF, and be able to license the various logos owned by the Festival free of charge. No money would change hands.

City Councilor Rose Powell said that she talked to Rockford City Manager Michael Young, and they provide in kind services to 50 festivals held there. She noted that Sparta does the same, with an in-kind cap of $5,000.

City Manager Thad Taylor said that with the way the agreement is written, his concern was that there was no way to determine what the cost would be. “I am also extremely concerned about a unanimous vote to get out of the agreement,” he noted.

Mayor Pro-tem Pam Conley, who is on the committee working on the agreement, said that they didn’t put a number in there (a cap) and that they needed direction from Council.

Councilor Perry Hopkins said that if they do this, they need to be ready to do it for all events, and he felt that they should leave trademarks out of it. “Just use the in kind services. I think it’s taking a step backward (to use the logo),” he said.

Mayor Jerry Hall said he thought they should wait on the trademark and just work on the agreement for services for now.

Jerry Hall is the new Mayor of Cedar Springs, and Pam Conley is Mayor Pro-tem. Post photo by J. Reed.

by Judy Reed

The Cedar Springs City Council, made up of four new members and three returning members, chose a new Mayor and Mayor Pro-tem at their meeting on Thursday, November 13.

Four new members were sworn in—Rose Powell, Molly Nixon, Perry Hopkins and Pam Conley. Conley, who previously served, lost her seat last year in a close election.

Three members of the Council were nominated to be Mayor: Jerry Hall, Pamela  Conley and Dan Clark. Conley declined the nomination. The Council first voted on Hall, and the motion passed 5-2, with only Hopkins and Bob Truesdale dissenting.

Nominations were then opened for Mayor Pro-tem. Both Clark and Conley were nominated. Clark was voted in 4-3, but then refused the nomination. The vote was then taken on Conley, and it was unanimous.

Hall is retired from the City of Cedar Springs, where he was formerly the Superintendent of Public Works. He also served on the City Planning Commission and six years on the Cedar Springs Board of Education.

“I appreciate the confidence put in me, and I hope I can do it justice,” said Hall. “I think we can all move forward. That’s the direction we need to go,” he added.

Conley also previously served on the Cedar Springs Board of Education before coming to City Council. She thanked everyone for electing her back to the Council. “You seem to want me here,” she said. She also urged people to come to her with concerns. “Please talk to me about what you want,” she said.

One thing that Hall made clear to the Council and the audience was that he was going to be strict about enforcing time limits for public speaking, as well as the content. “I will not tolerate personal attacks on Council members or city employees,” he remarked. Hall had told the audience early on that if they happened, he would adjourn the meeting.

Perry Hopkins

Pamela Conley

Molly Nixon

Rose Powell

By Judy Reed

Voters in the City of Cedar Springs cleaned house Tuesday and voted in four new faces to the City Council.

Perry Hopkins, Pamela Conley, Molly Nixon and Rose Powell all won seats. Leaving the council will be Mayor Mark Fankhauser, Mayor Pro-tem Patricia Troost, and Ashley Bremmer. Ken Benham decided not to run again. Both Troost and Bremmer were up for recall.

Conley (382 votes) and Hopkins (325) beat out Fankhauser (311) for two seats. Nixon (310) ran against Bremmer (295), and Powell (346) ran against Troost (270) under the new recall law.

The candidates ran in two groups. Signs around town urged people to vote for either Conley, Nixon and Powell, or Fankhauser, Troost, Bremmer and Hopkins.

A little over 33 percent of registered voters voted in the election.

Winners of this election will join Dan Clark, Jerry Hall, and Bob Truesdale as members of the City Council at the November 13 meeting.

When the Cedar Springs City Council convenes on Thursday, November 14, two new faces will be sitting behind the council desk.

Two seats were up for grabs in the Tuesday, November 5 election. Daniel Clark, Director of Operations and Maintenance at Creative Technologies Academy, received 139 votes, while Jerry Hall, former DPW Superintendent for the City of Cedar Springs, received 131 votes to win the seats.

They were followed by incumbent Pamela Conley with 111 votes, and Mark Laws with 65. The other open seat belonged to Mayor Pro-tem Charlie Watson, who decided not to run for another term.

According to Cedar Springs City Clerk Linda Branyan, 235 people voted—just under 11 percent of registered voters.