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.

By Judy Reed

Cedar Springs and Sand Lake will both have new members on the boards, and the results of Cedar Springs Board of Education write-in votes are still unknown.

In the Cedar Springs City Council race, the two seats went to newcomer Renee Race with 558, and incumbent Pam Conley with 545. Shandell Napieralski had 304, and there were 18 write in votes. Voter turnout was 47.1%.

For the Cedar Springs Board of Education, there were four seats open, with three candidates running unopposed for three of the seats, and a two-year partial term with only write-ins running. The three unopposed candidates were Mistie Bowser (5,190 votes); Jeff Rivard (4,850 votes), and Tracie Slager (4,455 votes). Since only write-ins were running for the two-year partial term, we haven’t received those results yet. The Board of Canvassers at Kent County was due to start validating ballots at 1 p.m. Wednesday, but it could be another week before we have those results.

In Sand Lake, there were three positions open for trustee. Marcia Helton was on the ballot, and received 152 votes. There were also two others running running as write-ins, but only 37 votes were received for write-ins, so it is unknown yet who received those votes.

In the race for the 28^th District Michigan senate seat, incumbent Peter MacGregor (R) won with 58.39 percent of the vote. Craig Beach (D) received 39.02 percent; and Nathan Hewer (L) received 2.6 percent.

In the race for 73^rd District representative, Lynn Afendoulis (R) won with 60.11 percent of the vote, and Bill Saxton (D) received 39.89 percent.

In the race for 74^th District representative, Mark Huizenga (R) won with 60.40 percent, and Meagan Carr (D) received 39.51 percent.

Fellow Cedar Springs residents, 

I want to provide some information about the upcoming bond proposal to build a new fire station in Cedar Springs.  The current building is 40 years old. During the 40 years the CSFD has needed to grow its capacity to protect 5,600 people. Our 17 volunteer firefighters work selflessly to ensure our safety getting a per call payment that barely covers the price of lunch. A recent fire study done in conjunction with Solon Twp revealed that we have exceptionally short response times and we compensate our fire fighters well below what is standard practice for volunteer fire fighters. When it was suggested at a council meeting that we raise their pay, the fire fighters said what they really needed was an adequate facility for our growing community. Building a new fire station is necessary to meet that need by allowing for more and larger trucks while following updated federal requirements since 9/11. If you have further questions please reach out to me. I am happy to answer questions.  

Pam Conley

Mayor Protem City of Cedar Springs

Photo by Clint Conley

The Conley family took the Post and flew into Las Vegas, Nevada over spring break. They then traveled the full length of Arizona and back. Pictured is Pam and Caelun Conley in front of the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Are you going on vacation? Take the Post with you and snap some photos. Then send them to us with some info to news@cedarspringspost.com or mail them to Post travels, PO Box 370, Cedar Springs, MI 49319. We will be looking for yours!

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.

The Cedar Springs Post welcomes letters of up to 350 words. The subject should be relevant to local readers, and the editor reserves the right to reject letters or edit for clarity, length, good taste, accuracy, and liability concerns. All submissions MUST be accompanied by full name, mailing address and daytime phone number. We use this information to verify the letter’s authenticity. We do not print anonymous letters, or acknowledge letters we do not use. Writers are limited to one letter per month. Email to news@cedarspringspost.com, or send to PostScripts, Cedar Springs Post, PO Box 370, Cedar Springs, MI 49319.

I recently attended a special meeting of the Cedar Springs Library Board where they voted unanimously to request that the City own the new library after it is built. I am grateful for the board’s diligence, vision, and faith that not only would our community recognize the value of a new library but actively embrace it. I am also grateful for the considerable supports the CBDT has provided both financially and in creative problem solving. As a member of the City Council, I am looking forward to partnering with both the Library Board and the CBDT as we move toward construction. This process has been a testimony to the countless people who have patiently and tenaciously strived to realize a dream for this community that now spans decades. I am confident that our new library will be an asset to this community for generations to come. I truly believe the most important gift we can give our children is access to knowledge. This library exemplifies that gift. I want to thank all those involved for putting in the hard work to make this happen.

Sincerely,

Pam Conley, City of Cedar Springs

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.