News from City of Alma

City of Alma E-Newsletter
April 2011

City Commission Nominating Petitions

The City of Alma will have four seats open on the City Commission for the November 8, 2011 election.

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Any qualified elector of the City of Alma is eligible to run for City Commission. Nominating petitions are available from the City Clerk at the Municipal Building. Any person desiring to qualify as a candidate for the City Commission must file a nominating petition with the City Clerk signed by no less than 25 nor more than 50 registered electors of the City. Petitions must be filed by 4:00 p.m. on May 10, 2011.

In the event that nine or more candidates file petitions, a primary election will be held on August 2, 2011 to elect the eight candidates who will appear on the November 8th ballot.

Call Barb Gager at 463-8336 or email at bgager@ci.alma.mi.us for more information.

Bridge Ave. Bridge Reconstruction Project

construction worker Work is scheduled to begin April 11th on the Bridge Ave. bridge. Final completion of the project is scheduled for mid-August but the the bridge should be open to traffic sometime in mid to late July. Reconstruction of the bridge structure includes the removal and replacement of the existing bridge deck, rails, superstructure and the approaches. During the construction process, access to the bridge for heavy equipment, trucks and materials requires that the equipment be placed at either end of the bridge structure. This will require the intersection at Bridge Ave. and Washington St. to be closed during most of the construction period.

The detour route for south bound Bridge Ave. will be Panther Parkway to Pine Ave. south to Superior St., Michigan Ave. and back to Bridge Ave. Bridge Ave. will be closed to through traffic at Panther Pkwy., open only for businesses and residents north of the bridge. Similarly, Bridge Ave. will be closed to through traffic at Michigan Ave. open only for local traffic. Washington St. will be closed to through traffic at Euclid St. with local traffic access only.

Neighborhood Street Improvement Program

The City of Alma has been fortunate that over the last 25 years, voters have consistently approved a 2.5 mill five-year program that has enabled the City to improve over 15 miles of streets within the City. With these improvements, approximately $9.2 million has been invested in the street inventory.

Voters will again be asked to approve a street improvement millage at the upcoming November election. To determine which streets will be included in the program, the entire street inventory is surveyed and rated utilizing engineering standards. All streets that are considered in poor condition are evaluated for inclusion in the program. The final list of proposed streets are determined through staff recommendations and City Commission review.

Proposed projects for the 2012-2017 program include:

Year 1:
Hill	Park Dr. to S. State St.	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$119,000
S. Court	McCann to Ely St.	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$160,000
McCann	S. Court to Valley Ave	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$39,000
Year 2:
Moyer	Elizabeth to Hillcrest	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$87,000
W Elizabeth	Park Dr. to S. State St.	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$123,000
Argyle Rd	Falkirk to Glencoe	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$52,000
Orchard	Charles to Argyle	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$31,000
Slater	Grafton to S. Court	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$114,000
Year 3:
Hannah	Michigan to Ferris	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$138,500
Pleasant	Rosedale to Eastward	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$133,500
Orchard	Garfield to Wright	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$96,000
Garfield	Orchard to Iowa	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$39,000
Year 4:
2nd	W. End to Elwell	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$66,000
Ely	S. State to Moyer	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$58,000
Hayes	Marquette to Michigan	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$202,000
Year 5:
Eastward	Grover to Grove	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$265,000
Custer	Riverside to S. State	Reconstruction w/concrete curb & gutter	$83,000

The renewal proposition is intended to provide dedicated funding to systematically upgrade a portion of our streets to an improved status. All funds raised must be used for street projects. The proposition is a renewal; therefore passage will not represent a new tax in the upcoming years. Additional information will be forthcoming. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please call 463-8336.

Alma/St. Louis Water Authority

handshake The cities of Alma and St. Louis are working to create a Water Authority to serve both communities. The two cities have created a committee of elected officials, citizen representatives, and staff to negotiate an authority agreement. The Water Authority has the potential to save money for both communities. St. Louis needs to replace their water system and Alma needs to upgrade its water plant. On the operational side, there are large economies of scale. No additional staff will be needed to produce water for the City of St. Louis. Follow the link for more information about the Water Authority discussion.

Important Highland Festival Information

Highland Festival Road Closures

With the reconstruction of the Bridge Ave. bridge, access routes to the City during Saturday morning of the Highland Festival will be limited. Also, several roads will be closed due to the parade and road races. Please look at the attached map to best plan your route to all the festivities.

Highland Festival - Early Bird Ticket Sales

Early bird ticket sales for the Highland Festival are available at the Festival Office (463-8979) from April 1st - 30th. Cost is $10 for each day's tickets.

City of Alma FY2012 Annual Budget and
Capital Improvement Program

The City of Alma will present the FY2012 Annual Budget & Capital Improvement Program to the City Commission money

and citizens at their regular Commission meeting on April 12, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. To see what's in store for next year, you may review the Budget and CIP at www.ci.alma.mi.us after April 12, 2011.

Budget review meetings will be held and the public is encouraged to attend.

Alma Public Library April Activities

Library Hosts Peeps Extravaganza

April 4 - 18, 2011

Peeps The folks at the Library are celebrating their love of mashmallow Peeps with a contest to stretch your creative minds!

We want you to create a diorama of a scene from your favorite book or movie using Peeps to play your characters. Build your diorama using a shoebox or similar sized space no larger that 18"x18"x18". Create a setting, furnishings, a backdrop - you're limited only by your imagination!

Everybunny can enter. There will be 1st place winners in three age categories: 10 and under; Ages 11-15; and Ages 16-adult. Each 1st place winner will receive a $25 gift certificate contributed by the Alma Public Library. Honarable mentions will receive a small surprise.

Bring your entries to the Library on Monday, April 4th. All entries must be received by 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 9th. Voting will begin for your favorite diorama on Monday, April 11th. People's Choice winners will be announced on Monday, April 18th.

Celebrate "National Library Week"

April 10 - 16, 2011

Come to the Alma Public Library and join us in celebrating National Library week. The Library staff has a number of things planned, including:

Check out DVD's for FREE all week and give us your best guess on the number of candies in the jar. The top five guessers split the entire jar!

Storytime Easter Egg Hunt

Plan to join us on Tuesday, April 19th at 10:00 a.m. for our annual Easter Egg hunt for our little bunnies. There will be storytelling, songs and crafts. After the story program, the kids can get ready for our Easter egg hunt in the children's section of the library. They are guaranteed a good time and lots of candy!

English Tea

The Friends of the Alma Public Library will be sponsoring an English Tea and Fashion Show on Saturday, May 7th at 2:00 p.m. The Friends of the Library are looking for models to wear period clothing for the show. Models will be selected by their ability to fit into the clothes. No experience is necessary. The selection of models will be Monday, April 11 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 16 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. Come on out and show us your stuff!

If you need to contact the Alma Public Library, you can call 463-3966

Household Hazardous Waste Program

The City of Alma in conjunction with the City of St. Louis, conducts a Household Hazardous Waste Program. Residents

bagpiper2

may drop off unwanted items

such as batteries, paints, pesticides/herbicides and cleaning liquids. New to the program this year will be the collection of fluorescent bulbs (tubes only). This year's collection dates are:

May 3: 8:00 am - 4:30 p.m.

May 4: 8:00 am - 7:30 p.m.

May 5: 8:00 am - 4:30 p.m.

Collection will take place at the Public Works Garage, 800 Washington Ave. Appointments are required and can be made by calling 463-8339.

Remember... Dispose of your prescription drugs safely. They are NOT accepted as part of the Household Hazardous Waste Program.

Fluorescent Bulb Collection for

Alma & St. Louis Businesses

The cities of Alma and St. Louis will also be providing their annual service for local businesses that coincides with our Household Hazardous Waste Program. This service will allow businesses a way to properly dispose of hazardous fluorescent bulbs (tubes only) at a minimal cost. Compact bulbs will not be accepted.

The program will be held on Monday, May 2, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Public Works Garage, 800 Washington Ave. Appointments are required and can be made by calling 463-8339. The cost will be:

Tubes four feet or less - $1.00 per bulb

Tubes four to eight feet - $2.00 per bulb

Fluorescent bulbs contain toxic chemicals that can be a threat to people and the environment if improperly discarded. Let's all do our part. Please call to set up an appointment today.

"Spring Fling" Golf Outing &

Bourbon Tasting

The Alma Action Association 4th Annual Spring Fling Golf Outing will be on Saturday, May 7, 2011 at Pine River Country Club.

This will be a four person, nine hole scramble. Registration and lunch begin at noon with a shot gun start at 1:00 p.m. Cost is $40 per person and includes golf, lunch and door prizes. Raffles, betting hole and cash prizes will also highlight the day. Have your team wear crazy hats in honor of Derby weekend and win a prize! Follow the link to download a registration form for you team.

After the golf outing, join us at Bravehearts Pub for Bourbon Tasting, featuring three premium bourbons. Enjoy and relax while watching the Kentucky Derby, a.k.a. "the most exciting 2 minutes in sports"!. You don't have to play in the golf outing to take part in the Tasting. The Tasting will start at 5:00 p.m. and is a bargain at just $10. If you would like to reserve a spot, have any questions or need additional information, please email or call Aeric Ripley at 463-8336.

Good News for Gratiot County!

Way to go

Our unemployment rate went down from 11.7% in January 2011 to 11.0% in February 2011. At the same time, our workforce grew. The State of Michigan unemployment decreased from 11.3% to 11.0%. Gratiot County now ranks 27 out 83 counties in terms of unemployment.

Free Compost

The City of Alma has compost and wood chips available for self loading, free of charge. The material piles are located outside the gates of the Yardwaste site on Washington Street, north of the City Public Works Garage.

If you have further questions, please call 463-8346.

Garage Sale Sign &

Yard Sale Regulations

It's that time of year again! The City of Alma encourages residents to conduct garage sales, but urges them to follow the regulations concerning garage sale signs. Follow this link to be "in the know" on the do's and don'ts of garage sale signs.

Yard sales are also regulated by ordinance. Follow the link for all the information.

American Red Cross Community Blood Drives

Mark your calendar for the upcoming drives:

Tuesday, April 5: 1:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.

Alma First Presbyterian Church

Tuesday, May 3: noon - 5:45 p.m.

Ithaca Community Center

Thursday, May 5: 10:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.

Alma Firstbank

Monday, May 9: noon - 5:45 p.m.

St. Louis Church of God

Friday, May 13: 10:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.

Fulton High School

Friday, May 20: 11:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Monday, May 23: noon - 5:45 p.m.

ZCBJ Hall, Bannister

For more information or to schedule an appointment call 463-3209.

2011 Construction Info

This summer promises to be a very busy construction season, with major street construction on Superior Street, Luce Road and throughout the city. Check out the map to see where the projects are and to help you plan alternate routes. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding through this busy time. If you have questions, please email or call us at 463-8346.

Yard Waste Program

The City of Alma will begin its yard waste program on April 4, 2011. Yard waste will be collected on your regular trash collection day and must be in paper bags, cardboard boxes and/or trash containers marked "yard waste". Tree limbs should be placed in piles, not bundled, with all stems lying in the same direction. To get the complete info on the yard waste program, follow this link.

Spring Clean Up

The Keep Alma Beautiful (KAB) committee has scheduled its first "Alma Cleanup Day" on Saturday, April 30 downtown starting at 9:00 a.m. Bring your shovels, gloves and wheelbarrow to help us get ready for flower planting day on May 21st. Planting will begin at 9;00 a.m. at the Alma Chamber of Commerce building.

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