News from City of Alma

City of Alma E-Newsletter

News That's Important for You!

April 2012

City of Alma FY2013 Annual Budget and

Capital Improvement Program

The City of Alma will present the FY2013 Annual Budget & Capital Improvement Program to the City Commission and citizens at their regular Commission meeting on April 10, 2012 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 10th.

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

Gratiot Countywide Strategic

Action Planning

Calling all chamber members! Please plan to participate in the countywide strategic planning session to be held on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 from 5:30 - 9:00 p.m. at the St. Louis Church of Christ All Purpose Room, 1075 W. Monroe Rd (M-46). A light dinner will be provided. Contact Greater Gratiot Development at (989)875-2083 for more information.

Storm Water Diversion Program -

Home Inspections

The City of Alma Engineering Department has begun home inspections as part of the Storm Water Diversion Program. The project will be conducted through several phases. Property owners in the first phase have been notified of the need to evaluate their homes. The evaluation will determine if any footing, downspout or other storm water drains are connected to the sanitary sewer; identify possible locations for sump pump installation; evaluate site drainage options; and evaluate options for installation of sump discharge lead (piping) to an approved discharge location.

If corrections are needed, property owners will choose from a list of pre-qualified contractors, obtain estimates and arrange a contract. The City of Alma pays for the repairs and any restoration required.

Property owners may choose not to participate in the program however, not participating will result in a surcharge of $100 per month added to the City utility bill. At that point, the property owner will no longer be eligible for funding to correct the disconnect work the home may require.

For additional information, please call 463-8346.

Mechanic Street Construction

Construction on Mechanic Street is scheduled to start soon; materials and equipment should start to show up on and along the street starting next week. The project is primarily a sanitary sewer project, with new sewer being installed along Mechanic and a small section of Prospect Avenue. The new sewer will extend from Philadelphia to Prospect and then northward along Prospect to just north of the railroad Tracks. Actual construction work is scheduled to begin on April 16th and will start with boring a new sewer main across the RR Tracks on Prospect.

The project also includes some watermain work in various locations, primarily at the intersections. The street will also be repaved upon completion of the utility work. The construction schedule is expected to run from April 16, 2012 through to July 20, 2012.

Congratulations to

Aeric Ripley !

Congratulations to our very own Aeric Ripley who was recently recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by the Alma-St. Louis Rotary Club. Aeric is our Assistant City Manager/DDA Director and contributes hundreds of hours annually to the many events we celebrate in Alma.

Thanks Aeric for all you do. We're proud to call you one of our own!

Household Hazardous Waste Program

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

hazardous waste

may drop off unwanted items

such as batteries, paints, pesticides/herbicides and cleaning liquids. This year's collection dates are:

May 1: 8:00 am - 4:30 p.m.

May 2: 8:00 am - 7:30 p.m.

May 3: 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, April 30, 2012 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" Carnival, Golf Outing &

Bourbon Tasting

golfer

The Alma Action Association 5th Annual Spring Fling Golf Outing will be on Saturday, May 5, 2012 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 your 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.

Carnival

The golf outing is not the only activity happening the first weekend in May. The Spring Fling Kids Carnival is scheduled for May 4th, 5th and 6th. The Alma Action Association is working with Maple Leaf Amusements to bring a Kids' Carnival to downtown Alma on State Street. The Kids' Carnival will include great rides, carnival foods like elephant ears, funnel cakes, cotton candy, and carnival games to test your skills. Mapel Leaf Amusements is offering a discount coupon for unlimited rides The coupon can be downloaded here.

The Carnival will be open on State Street Friday May 4th 4:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m., Saturday May 5th 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m., and Sunday May 6th 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Come Downtown Alma and enjoy a great day with the kids!

Keep Alma Beautiful Cleanup Day

Make your calendars for the 2nd Annual Keep Alma Beautiful Cleanup Day on Saturday, April 28th starting at 9 am. Bring your shovels, wheelbarrows, rakes and gloves and come help us get downtown ready for spring. This year the KAB Committee is focusing on a general cleanup of the downtown and planting the garden on the east side of the Alma Public Library. The library project will be KAB's big project for the season, so there is a need for many volunteers to plant and help maintain the area.

KAB Flower Planting Day

On Saturday, May 19th the KAB Committee welcomes volunteers to the third annual Alma in Bloom flower planting downtown. The KAB Committee is adding six more flower pots, making a total of 37 in the downtown area. Volunteers are asked to meet at 10 am in front of the Chamber of Commerce Office. Bring your gardening tools and friends.

The Keep Alma Beautiful is recruiting volunteers to help maintain and water the flower pots throughout the summer and fall. Please consider gathering a group of friends, co-workers or anyone who wants to contribute to this great community service project. If you have more questions about how to get involved please email or call Aeric Ripley at 463-8336.

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.

"You Belong @ Your Library"

Celebrate National Library Week

April 8 - 14, 2012

The Alma Public Library is celebrating by offering free DVD rentals all week. There will also have a candy guessing game contest with the top five guesses splitting the candy between them. Don't forget about all of the great books, movies and magazines the library has. What great reasons to visit your library!!

Story Time Easter Egg Hunt

The library is excited to announce their annual Easter Egg hunt for our little storytime bunnies. The event hunt will be held on Tuesday morning, April 3, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. There will be storytelling, songs and crafts with the Easter Egg hunt in the children's section of the library immediately after storytime. The kids are guaranteed a great time and lots of candy. No registration required...just come in and have fun!

Yard Waste Program Begins

The City of Alma yard waste program began April 2, 2012. 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.

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Issue: 37

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