Hopedale eyes village clean up

Kristi Tullis

Harrison News-Herald Staff Writer

HOPEDALE — Hopedale Village Council convened on April 12 for its monthly meeting.

First up for discussion was to remind residents of both the village and Green Township that the community clean-up day will be held on May 20 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. The list of acceptable items are as follows: furniture, bulk items, mattresses, washers/dryers, refrigerators, furnaces, metal/aluminum, televisions, and computers.

Among other items, house garbage will not be accepted. Residents are asked to inquire if an item is in question before disposing of it. The community clean-up will be held at 103 Fire House Lane in Hopedale. The cost of the clean-up is a total of $1,794 for three 40-yard dumpsters. This will be divided between both the Village of Hopedale and Green Township.

Also on the agenda was a reminder for the annual Memorial Day parade. The lineup for the parade will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Hopedale Fire Department and the parade will be at noon. A ceremony will be held at 12:30 p.m. at the Hopedale Cemetery followed by service at the Hopedale Legion at 1:30 p.m. More details will be posted at a later date. The council hopes all can attend.

In other news, paving is being planned to begin for Baker’s Road.

There will be two library boxes constructed for the “Take a book, leave a book” initiative. One will be located at Woods’ Food Center and the other will be at the council building. These will be weatherproof and maintained while remaining in well-lit areas to deter destruction in any way.

Updates and maintenance at the park have been nearing completion. The concrete will be power-washed, and the shelter flooring will be sealed where cracked. Painting and mounting tables to the shelter floors will be finished prior to the park’s opening which is yet to be determined, but it will officially open closer to the month of May.

There have been discussions of properties not being maintained. If debris is noticeable by any other resident, this counts as being problematic. This issue has been ongoing with complaints that have remained unresolved, so the council voted to legally move on this matter. Also passed, the wages for the next term for mayor and council members will increase by $50 in pay per month.

The pump station will expand from 14’ by 10’ to 25’ by 10’. The purpose of this increase is to house an additional pump, totaling four. Along with this, there will be two pressurized water tanks. Doubling this will increase water pressure where needed continuously, as well as allow for water to continue flowing should one fail and need to be repaired. This will remedy any issue of shutting off the water completely to businesses or residents in the future.

Lastly, it was decided by the council that the John Deer 4100 will be open for bids. The broom will be used by the John Deer 2025 since it has been repaired and is in use. Mowing and road clean-up will begin. The council is waiting for two bids to be submitted by both Apollo and HRN Restoration before action can be taken for the old city building to be cleaned.

The next council meeting is scheduled for May 17 at 6:30 p.m.