Vending machine in place

The new vending machine at Mount Baldhead Park on Thursday morning.

For the first time, there is a vending machine at Mount Baldhead Park in Saugatuck.

The city council recently approved a request from the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, 900 Brooks Ave. in Holland, to install and maintain the machines. The city will get a payment based in the percentage of items sold.

The machine at Oval Beach is located near the concession stand. The vending machine will be turned on only when the stand is not in operation.

The machine at Mount Baldhead is near the restroom building and will be screened so the light doesn’t effect the view of the area.

Saugatuck City OKs fire budget

The Saugatuck City Council approved the $598,226 Saugatuck Township Fire District budget for 2012-13 on Monday, May 29. The fire board will have the final votes after a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. June 11, at Saugatuck Township Hall, 3461 Blue Star Highway.

The fire district serves Saugatuck and Douglas cities and Saugatuck Township. Saugatuck City was the last of the three to approve the budget.

The tax rate will remain 1.16 mills, though the fire board said the millage might need to be increased for 2013-14.

The main goals accomplished this year include hiring Chief Brian Florey and full-time firefighters/medical first responders Tim Hurtman and Brent VanOss and buying new turnout gear and carbon fiber self-contained breathing apparatus bottles.

Payroll and fringe benefits make up 64 percent — $384,026 — of the entire budget. Florey will make $57,354 in 2012-13. Hurtman and VanOss each will make $41,500.

OTHER ACTION
• The council instructed City Manager Kirk Harrier to continue looking into bids for painting city hall. Harrier received four bids ranging from $12,575 to $64,982. The historic building was last painted about 7 to 8 years ago, Harrier said. The boards will have to be hand scraped before they are painted again.

NEXT MEETING
• The Saugatuck City Council meets at 7 p.m. June 25 at 102 Butler St.

The road of changes

Thursday morning, May 31, dawns in Douglas. The Keewatin is still in view.

Driving through Saugatuck and Douglas is now a changed — and changing — experience.

First, the 350-foot steamship Keewatin is gone. Crews from King Co. of Holland towed the historic ship, once the pride of the Canadian Pacific Railway, from its longtime home on land owned by R.J. Peterson, owner of Tower Marina.

The ship’s absence will take some time getting used to for drivers along Blue Star Highway who saw the ship through summer and winter, sun and storms.

The spot where the Keewatin rested just three hours before on Thursday.

To remove the ship, a channel had to be dredged through the shallow Kalamazoo Lake. The spoils pond remains on the property, visible from Blue Star Highway. Eventually, much of that is planned to be graded for a hill reaching from the edge of Blue Star Highway toward the lake. Peterson plans to keep a smaller spoils area, but is awaiting approval from the state because his plan impacts nearby wetlands.



Second, the Blue Star Highway bridge over the Kalamazoo River is now open for two-way traffic. After more than seven months of it being a single lane regulated by a traffic light, drivers can again travel freely over the span.

Work isn’t done yet. Lighting will change and, most important for drivers, the lane configuration will be different in about a month. The once-four-lane road will be re-striped to be three lanes — one northbound, one southbound and one center turn lane. There will be expanded bicycle and pedestrian areas as well.

Third, the people who prefer the fast lane will have to slow down on I-196 from the Douglas ramps to the U.S. 31 split.

The Michigan Department of Transportation has already begun work on a total repair of the northbound lanes of I-196. Traffic will be slowed in one lane and detoured into the southbound lane.

Work is already under way and will continue through the summer.

Saugatuck OKs vending machines at 2 parks

You’ll be able get a 7UP after climbing up and down the stairs at Mount Baldhead and a Deja Blue Water after swimming in Lake Michigan at Oval Beach after the Saugatuck City Council approved Monday night a contract to put beverage vending machines at those parks.

This is the first time the machines will be in a city park.

The Dr Pepper Snapple Group, 900 Brooks Ave. in Holland, will install and maintain the machines. The city will get a payment based in the percentage of items sold.

“The main goal is to serve a public need,” said City Manager Kirk Harrier, noting visitors have requested a way to get drinks at the parks.

The machine at Oval Beach will be located near the concession stand. The vending machine will be turned on only when the stand is not in operation.

The machine at Mount Baldhead will be placed near the restroom building and will be screened so the light doesn’t effect the view of the area.

Vending machines at Mount Baldhead?

Mount Baldhead Park in Saugatuck could soon have a beverage vending machine.

After walking up and back down the Mount Baldhead steps, you’ll most likely need a drink. If you forgot your water, what can you do?

This summer, you might be able to grab a drink from a vending machine at the Saugatuck park.

The city council will consider the idea of vending machines at Mount Baldhead and Oval Beach at its meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, May 14, at city hall, 102 Butler St.

“It’s something to try,” said City Manager Kirk Harrier at the city’s workshop session on Thursday, May 10. The contract could be for a year. “It’s a test thing to see if it works.”

The city has been approached by a vendor who will put the machines at the two parks. The city provides the location and electricity and gets a percentage of the profits.

At Oval Beach, the machine will be on only when the concession stand is closed.

At Mount Baldhead, the machine will be on 24-seven.

Both will dispense drinks only, not food, said Harrier.

Councilman Mark Bekken said those spots can be tranquil, natural areas and a vending machine could be distracting to visitors.

Councilman Bill Hess doesn’t want to see a “big, glaring, lit machine” in those spots, but said they can be screened and covered to protect the natural views.

Lining up in Saugatuck

Saugatuck City Councilman Jeff Spangler asked at a meeting May 7 if the centerlines on Elizabeth Street in front of the high school could be corrected. The lines on one side of the Main Street intersection don’t line up with the lines on the other side of the intersection. No one is sure if it’s a safety issue, but it does look odd.

There’s a centerline out of line in the city of Saugatuck and it’s just going to have to stay askew for a few more years.

Saugatuck and Douglas officials on Monday approved a joint centerline painting bid for a total of $5,280 form Accurate Striping. Saugatuck will pay $2,992.50 and Douglas will pay $2,287.50 to have the yellow road lines repainting throughout their cities.

The bid is about $1,000 less than what Saugatuck paid last year, said City Manager Kirk Harrier. The extra one-time engineering costs to get the joint bids this year ate away at the savings, but more money will be saved in the future, he said.

Saugatuck city crews will still paint the crosswalks and parking spaces.

Councilman Jeff Spangler asked if the centerlines on Elizabeth Street in front of the high school could be corrected. The lines on one side of the Main Street intersection don’t line up with the lines on the other side of the intersection. No one is sure if it’s a safety issue, but it does look odd.

The council had three options to fix it: Remove the paint at a cost, paint over the lines with black tar at a cost or let it go unpainted this year so it can fade out. The city can then repaint the lines in the next few years and not pay anything to correct the mismatch.

The council chose the last option, hoping the mismatch will fade away.

Douglas honors Dutchers vintage base ball club

Douglas Mayor Jim Wiley, center, reads a proclamation honoring the Douglas Dutchers Vintage Base Ball Club at Monday's city council meeting. Founder and owner Helen DeGeatano is to the right of Wiley.

Douglas Mayor Jim Wiley made it clear Monday night: He’s a fan of the Douglas Dutchers Vintage Base Ball Club.

“They’re a big asset to our area,” he said as he read a proclamation saluting the Dutchers on their upcoming 10th season.

The club, founded by Helen DeGeatano of Douglas, was formed to provide history and entertainment in Douglas and Saugatuck.

“City hall and the people here have really supported me,” said DeGeatano after receiving the award at Monday’s city council meeting. “We wouldn’t be here without the support of the community.”

The team opened its season last weekend at Tulip Time and will appear in the Muziekparade at 2 p.m. Saturday. The team’s next game is 2 p.m. May 19 against the South Haven Barkpeelers at Kids Corner Park in South Haven.

The team’s first home game at Beery Field is June 30.

In June, the team will head to Mackinac Island for a vintage base ball festival. Eighteen teams from four states and two countries will be playing near the Grand Hotel.

For more information, visit douglasdutchers.org.

Vintage base ball is different than baseball today. Vintage players do not have gloves. There is no sliding, lead-offs or stealing bases. When players make it across home plate, they go to the tallykeeper’s table and ask the keeper to record the score — called an ace. The player then rings a bell to note the score.

Perhaps the most striking difference from today’s game — There is no swearing, spitting, scratching, drinking alcohol or chewing tobacco. No comments can be made on the call of the umpire.

The city also honored DeGeatano for her service on the downtown development authority.

Douglas Mayor Jim Wiley reads a proclamation of appreciation to Helen DeGeatano on Monday, May 7, at a city council meeting. DeGeatano was lauded for her work on the downtown development authority.