Meeting primer: Sturgis City Commission
City staff will present third-quarter financials, reflecting 75 percent of the year’s budget. Finances are generally stable, with higher-than-expected revenue in the ambulance, water, and sewer funds. However, the Doyle Community Center continues to struggle, and the Local Development Financing Authority (LDFA) took a hit from a recent tax tribunal ruling that reduced its tax capture.
The Sturgis City Commission will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday for its regular biweekly meeting. Commissioners will receive a quarterly financial report, accept three Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board resignations, consider participation in a statewide clean energy program, and follow up on the Newell Brands Superfund cleanup.
City staff will present third-quarter financials, reflecting 75 percent of the year’s budget. Finances are generally stable, with higher-than-expected revenue in the ambulance, water, and sewer funds. However, the Doyle Community Center continues to struggle, and the Local Development Financing Authority (LDFA) took a hit from a recent tax tribunal ruling that reduced its tax capture.
The commission will also accept the resignations of DDA board members Brittney Stilley, Scott Reed, and Rob Falkenstein. The city will seek applicants to fill the vacancies, with appointments to be made by City Manager Andrew Kuk.
Commissioners will decide whether to formally join the Michigan Public Power Agency’s new Retail Energy Improvement Program. Participation is required under state law, but it is expected to cost more than half a million dollars in 2026 — about $67,000 over what the city budgeted.
Commissioners will also consider a request from Newell Brands to expand testing and install new monitoring wells around the city. Newell is overseeing the EPA Superfund site cleanup for chlorinated compounds in the underground aquifer, with the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) providing oversight. The city previously approved monitoring wells for the project in fall 2023.
Other items
Other items on the agenda include: setting public hearings for Main Street sidewalk projects; approving the city’s fall Community Clean-Up Day and the Thurston Woods Boo Bash 5K; selecting a new auditor; and revising utility shutoff rules to comply with new state law, which removes the city’s winter shutoff ban.
Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice
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