Elections—Officially Taking Office Q11 How do village officers take office after being elected? Village officers elected by the voters must have their election certified by the county clerk and their term begins on November 20 (MCL 62.4). The oath is usually administered by the village clerk, but it may be given by the county or… Read More
Not surprisingly, today the Two Lakes Sewer Authority cancelled its meeting scheduled for tomorrow at Bear Lake Township Hall. No alternative date has been published. For Village residents, we are still waiting to see the revised Special Assessment District Map as requested from the Village. However, using the draft October Minutes we can speculate. The… Read More
One of the most serious questions is the still unidentified site for the proposed 2 new high capacity 12″ wells. Requests to see the well logs following previous assertions that the previous test wells were ‘good’ have not received a response. Today a local resident photographed new test well markers at the same location as… Read More
Due to an oversight, the following (10/24/18) Manistee News Advocate review of the contested Village races was not published online until yesterday (11/3/18) http://news.pioneergroup.com/manisteenews/2018/10/24/best-mcpherson-ballot-bear-lake-village-clerk/
Media Services: In November 2017 Bear Lake News submitted a 6 month FOIA subscription – ruled valid by the Village Attorney with mandatory compliance. [See Article Link here] A person has the right to subscribe to future issuances of public records which are created, issued or disseminated on a regular basis. A subscription is valid… Read More
The following was received today. A stand alone article recording FOIA requests non compliance will be posted separately. Unapproved minutes October 17 2018 VILLAGE OF BEAR LAKE COUNCIL 12376 Virginia Street, Bear Lake Village Hall REGULAR MEETING MINUTES October 17, 2018 Unapproved The regular meeting of the Bear Lake Village Council was called to order… Read More
In prior articles we have reported that the State of Michigan Department of Treasury has declined to accept a Qualifying Statement – a request to exceed the normal % of debt through borrowing – due to an abnormally high % of delinquent property tax payments. (Village Minutes recently stated this as 25%) tl41R01AuditingProceduresReport tl41R01Audit2017 tl41R01FiscalReport… Read More
The October Minutes are posted at: https://www.onekama.info/two-lakes-collaborative-sewer-proje There are numerous issues raised in these Minutes ( 111d5a_df6a0815133445aca1ceb6b6315ecb98 PDF) which will be discussed in a stand alone article. If you attended this meeting and believe your Public Comment was not included you can contact Bear Lake News through the Comment Form. TWO LAKE SEWER AUTHORITY REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY,… Read More
Current positions on the November 6 Ballot: Village President – Marla Evans has declared as a Write In Village Clerk – Dendra Best or Cindi McPherson Village Treasurer – Sally King Village Trustees: Rodney Gee, Andrea Ware – one position remaining with no declared candidate DECLARATION OF INTENT REQUIREMENT: An individual who wishes to seek… Read More
EPA’s Water Quality Modeling Workgroup is hosting a series of webinars to help water quality professionals better understand surface water quality modeling and how models can be used to solve common problems that face water quality regulators. The webinars are focused on modeling as it applies to the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), Standards, and… Read More
The following was received at 7pm October 16, 2018. Clerk’s Report 10-17-18 Proposed agenda October 17, 2018 T Report September 30, 2018 Unapproved Sept 19 2018 minutes VILLAGE OF BEAR LAKE COUNCIL RULES OF AGENDA Village of Bear Lake Council Meeting October 17, 2018 7 p.m. – Village Office CALL TO ORDER and PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE… Read More
The Alliance For Water Efficiency provides many tools for small communities to set fair and fiscally sound water rates as well as include sensible water conservation measures. Rates and Water Conservation: What You Need to Know This webinar showcases the recent Alliance for Water Efficiency and California Water Efficiency Partnership report that evaluated the impact… Read More
Join Water Finance & Management magazine and E/One Sewer systems on Tuesday, October 23, at 2:00 pm EDT for “Using the Life Cycle Cost Calculator for Sewer Project Evaluations,” a new webinar that will provide a holistic overview of life cycle cost analysis and the cost comparisons of pressure sewer systems to other central sewer… Read More
Following the long and convoluted history of how we got to now in the reconstruction of segments of the Village of Bear Lake water system can be both frustrating and time consuming. Finding and publishing documents and decisions has required a dedicated group of residents filing FOIA requests of both the Village and USDA. That… Read More
A combined Special Meeting was held at Bear Lake School on October 3, 2018 – however no action was taken as neither Bear Lake Township or Village had a quorum present. This meeting posed several issues of concern and the following information comes from individuals present as the Minutes are not available at https://www.onekama.info/two-lakes-collaborative-sewer-proje A FOIA… Read More
Welcome to the Private Water Safety Virtual Conference! REGISTER HERE Once registered, simply log in here on October 16 and 17. The conference will be live and all presentations can be viewed 24/7 both days. If this is your first visit, register for FREE at the top right corner to gain access to this virtual event. Please… Read More
Conflicting reports of the purpose of this meeting have been provided. The following Agenda has been received. The Village of Bear Lake and Bear Lake Township refer enquiries to the Onekama Township Clerk. However she refers those enquiries back to Onekama Supervisor David Meister or the constituent municipalities. She states that the TLSA callin number… Read More
At the September 19, 2018 Village Council meeting the Council approved a revised Water Ordinance September 2018 passed with corrections (Click on link to download the PDF) Bear Lake News notes that the revision was discussed at several prior meetings, a copy of those drafts was requested and not provided. A copy of this document was… Read More
Unapproved Sept 19 2018 minutes – these Minutes were approved with minor spelling corrections at the October 2018 Council Meeting The following were received and are posted here as OCR text. Several items in the Minutes will be addressed as stand alone items. VILLAGE OF BEAR LAKE COUNCIL 12376 Virginia Street Bear Lake Village Hall… Read More
The following notice has appeared at the Bear Lake Post Office and on bearlakemichigan.org A copy has not been received at Bear Lake News. At the September TLSA meeting, the Minutes record the following: [New Business: Most of the entities are complete with the boundary list. Coding is the next step to include with the… Read More
The Village does not record its meetings and has refused to reconsider following numerous requests. The volunteer who usually supplies a recording, if the Village activates it’s telephone callin line, was unable to do so this month due to a medical issue. Another community member attempted to callin and was unable to do so. The… Read More
AGENDA Village of Bear Lake Council Meeting September 19, 2018 7 p.m. – Village Office CALL TO ORDER and PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL ADOPTION of AGENDA • Additions PUBLIC COMMENT: Any agenda item ONLY (two (2)-minute maximum) Note: Members of the public will speak only when recognized by the chair person. CORRESPONDENCE: REPORTS/DISCUSSION MINUTES… Read More
Next Meeting is October 3, 2018, at the Bear Lake School Media Center at 7:00 PM. September 2018 Two Lakes Meeting Minutes TWO LAKE SEWER AUTHORITY REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 Meeting called to order by chairperson David Meister at 7:01 PM Pledge of Allegiance Attendance: Judy Girven, Jeff Harthun, Jeff Bair, Brian Sousa,… Read More
In a recent post the 2017 IRS reports of salaries and wages were reported. Obtained by FOIA – the total paid out in 2017 was $92,656.12 (including withholding and SIT) In September the State of Michigan Department of Treasury published the FY2017-18 Village of Bear Lake Audit. The major portions are below but one relevant… Read More
In Part one the US Census amply demonstrates the reality of who we are now, what we can afford now, how well we can weather tough financial times or unexpected bills – and how our reserve funds have all but disappeared. Part One closed with a notice of denial to borrow funds from the State… Read More
The following is a US Census snapshot of the 261 people who live in the Village of Bear Lake. (down from 286 in 2010) In the 5 Year review of the years 2012-2016 this was further broken down: Median Household Income $ 26,964 Source: 2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates Persons in poverty, percent 42.5… Read More
[NOTE: The Village does not publish it’s draft minutes until 5 days following the next month’s meeting. They are provided here a a service of Bear Lake News through a 6 month FOIA subscription. Under the MI Open Meetings Act, Approved Minutes MUST be available within 5 days following approval. Draft Minutes are due 8… Read More
Before we post this partial recording of the August 15, 2018 Village Council Meeting Bear Lake News joins the nationwide protest today – in spite of personal and journalism attacks, from national to local news outlets such as us, the press is not the enemy. We invite you to read today’s mLive Editorial at https://www.mlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2018/08/a_free_press.html When… Read More
A reminder Bear Lake News would greatly appreciate any resident who attends to record the proceedings as the Village no longer does so. Bear Lake Village Council meetings may now be accessed via telephone conference call. Phone number:1.302.202.1107 (this maybe a long distance call with charges for some – in which case we suggest calling in via… Read More
Let it grow! The simple answer to avoiding mass street run off, carrying with it silt and pollutants, is to encourage roadside run off and storm water catchment planting buffers. Often referred to as simply ‘rain gardens’ curb-side plantings serve an invaluable purpose – much like using a filter in your coffee maker. The myth… Read More
With such little transparency in the proposed Two Lakes Sewer Authority – on Thursday July 26, 2018, at Bear Lake High School Library At 5:30pm – Village residents had the opportunity to question a representative from Wade Trim, the proposed engineer of record. UPDATE: No documents were provided however – there is an updated Sewer… Read More
MDEQ Lead and Copper in Drinking Water deq-odwma-water-cdwu-reduce-lead-construction_524541_7
Village of Bear Lake Council REGULAR MEETING July 18, 2018 Bear Lake Village Hall Unapproved Minutes Meeting Documents – https://bearlakemichigan49614.com/2018/07/17/village-of-bear-lake-meeting-documents-july-18-2018/ The regular meeting of the Bear Lake Village Council was called to order by President Jeff Bair at 7:00 p.m. at the Village Hall. Pledge of Allegiance was said. Present: President: Jeff Bair Council: Peggy Bass,… Read More
Due to a disconnect by the Village the following portion is supplied by an attendee.
The following documents were received today. Proposed July 18 2018 agenda Purchasing Policy July 18, 2018 T Report June 29, 2018 AGENDA Village of Bear Lake Council Meeting July 18, 2018 7 p.m. – Village Office CALL TO ORDER and PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL ADOPTION of AGENDA Additions PUBLIC COMMENT: Any agenda item ONLY… Read More
Bear Lake News was requested to submit a 6 month FOIA Subscription to receive Regular and Special Meeting notices and all documentation provided to any Council member or public attending in person. This was approved in November, 2017: Under MI Freedom of Information Act (Public Act No. 442 of 1976 as amended) We hereby submit this… Read More
“A democracy is only as strong as its citizen engagement. For a government of the people, by the people and for the people to work, its citizens must have a clear voice in the issues and decision making. And, governments must be able to clearly and transparently tell their stories in ways that make sense… Read More
