Mayor Humphrey presented Sgt. Tom Francisco of the Clare City Police Department (above) & Deputy Brown of the Clare County Sheriff’s Department (below) with Life-saving pins.
By Kaitlyn Campbell
Clare City Manager Jeremy Howard had several topics to cover in his report for the Clare City Commission meeting on August 21.
The first thing on the agenda was about the Lake Shamrock Dredging and Dam project. Howard stated that mechanical dredging by the city is continuing and making good progress, and it is moving east in the lake towards Shamrock Park. “No new information this week on the hydraulic dredging other than EGLE has acknowledged that they have received the additional information that they requested,” he said. “The Dam feasibility study continues to progress. We have had our kick-off meeting recently and we have another onsite meeting set up in the coming week or two to continue moving the project forward.”
Next on the agenda was the Street Reconstruction Project. “Malley Construction continues to work on the street project on North Rainbow Drive from Glendale to Eastwood,” Howard said. “The base has been laid and at the time of this writing, they are looking to schedule the curb and gutter work next in the next week hopefully.”
Howard also talked about the Old 27 Motor Tour, which is going to be driving through Clare on Thursday. “Join hundreds of classic cars as they tour nostalgic Old US 27,” he said. “Michigan’s Old US 27 Motor Tour visits several cities from its starting point in Coldwater to its ending point in Cheboygan. The tour makes stops in the following cities: Coldwater, Lansing, Saint Johns, Ithaca, Alma, Saint Louis, Clare, Harrison, Grayling, Gaylord, and Cheboygan. On August 24, 2023, from 6:00-8:00 PM, the tour stops in Clare, where automobile enthusiasts can view hundreds of classic cars. Please join Michigan’s Old US 27 Motor Tour as they come into downtown Clare once again!”
There were a couple of resignations that were talked about in the report, the first of which was Jim Allen, who was a Board of Commission member for the City of Clare. “With Jim Allen and his wife moving out of the state to be closer to family there will be a big hole to fill,” Howard said. “His dedication, knowledge, and history will be missed…Congratulations Jim on your latest retirement and enjoy your next adventure.”
The second person to resign was Gary Todd, who was the Municipal Airport Manager. Todd decided that is was time for him to take some time for his himself and for his family. “Gary has done some amazing things with our airport over the last 10 years and he will be sorely missed,” Howard said. “We will begin trying to find a replacement right away and Gary has given us until the end of September to find a replacement. Congratulations Gary on your retirement and we wish you all the best on your next adventure.”
There were two more smaller things on the agenda, the first of those two being about city department tours. After the meeting was adjourned, the City Commission continued with their informal city department tours by going to the Fire Department, where they went on a guided informational tour by the department staff. They were able to tour the facility, see the equipment and apparatus that they use and learn more about the programs offered by the Fire Department, including the new Fire Cadet program that was recently put together.
Lastly, Howard mentioned that City Offices will be closed for the Labor Day Holiday on September 4. This means that the regularly scheduled City Commission meeting that would have normally been on that Monday will now be at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, September 5 instead.