City Council sets stage for change
Gives funds for airport extension; smooths path for windmills; paves the way for a bicycle trail system
Betsy Woodruff
Issue date: 10/8/09 Section: News
On Monday, the City Council set the stage for a few important changes in Hillsdale: it provided money for Stage 2 of the airport extension project, set the groundwork for residents to install their own windmills, and approved membership in the Regional Recreational Authority.
Each of these changes will have little immediate effect, but will allow important changes to occur over the next few years.
Approval of Stage 2 funding for the airport runway extension project means that Reynolds, Smith and Hill, a contracting firm, can begin the stream relocation project and runway exten-sion. This will cost $82,360; much of that money is from federal funds.
The council also approved the Net Metering Program, which sets the legislative framework for homeowners to build windmills to generate clean power while staying connected to the city's electrical grid. One homeowner is already building a windmill, and several others have expressed interest in building their own.
Rick Rose, the director of the Board of Public Utilities, said that windmills are not economically profitable, and that homeowners who build them do so because of the environmental benefits.
The council also voted for Hillsdale to join the Regional Recreational Authority. This group consists of representatives from Hillsdale, Jonesville and Fayette Township who will work together to organize resources and build a trail system for non-motorized vehicles in the area. The Land Information Access Association gave the group a $7,000 grant to organize itself, and each member community contributed $350.
The group will help the different towns coordinate funds and energy to develop the trail system.
"We're starting to move towards collaborative efforts instead of each of us doing out one little piece," City Manager Michael Mitchell said.
According to Deb Sikorski, Hillsdale planning and zoning administrator, finishing the trail system will probably take ten years. She hopes a trail connecting the Baw Beese Trail to Lewis Emery Park will be finished in five years, saying that lack of funding and bureaucratic red tape slow down projects like these. Still, she believes that the creation of the Regional Authority will expedite the process.
Each of these changes will have little immediate effect, but will allow important changes to occur over the next few years.
Approval of Stage 2 funding for the airport runway extension project means that Reynolds, Smith and Hill, a contracting firm, can begin the stream relocation project and runway exten-sion. This will cost $82,360; much of that money is from federal funds.
The council also approved the Net Metering Program, which sets the legislative framework for homeowners to build windmills to generate clean power while staying connected to the city's electrical grid. One homeowner is already building a windmill, and several others have expressed interest in building their own.
Rick Rose, the director of the Board of Public Utilities, said that windmills are not economically profitable, and that homeowners who build them do so because of the environmental benefits.
The council also voted for Hillsdale to join the Regional Recreational Authority. This group consists of representatives from Hillsdale, Jonesville and Fayette Township who will work together to organize resources and build a trail system for non-motorized vehicles in the area. The Land Information Access Association gave the group a $7,000 grant to organize itself, and each member community contributed $350.
The group will help the different towns coordinate funds and energy to develop the trail system.
"We're starting to move towards collaborative efforts instead of each of us doing out one little piece," City Manager Michael Mitchell said.
According to Deb Sikorski, Hillsdale planning and zoning administrator, finishing the trail system will probably take ten years. She hopes a trail connecting the Baw Beese Trail to Lewis Emery Park will be finished in five years, saying that lack of funding and bureaucratic red tape slow down projects like these. Still, she believes that the creation of the Regional Authority will expedite the process.
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