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Volume 2, Issue 44 MARCH 28, 2025 Total Raised: $58,156 Lead this Legacy SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE
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Under the channel and down the road, Pentwater taps new water source By AnnaMae Bush The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent
The exposed end of the watermain can be seen at left at the end of Chester Street, after it has come under the channel from the north side. Above, equipment and pipes have been stored on Chester Street, north of Longbridge Road. • AnnaMae Bush/Echo
sac of Chester Road. Project dates and timelines are all weather permitting.” On March 19, Project Manager Peter Tierney, P.E., of Fleis and Vandenbrink, reported that seasonal load limits on the roads have delayed the installation work on Chester until March 31. “The project work has been divided among three contractors,” Tierney explained. “Cole Inc. was contracted to build the new wellhouse on Ridge Road.” Five new wellheads were dug on property south of Longbridge, across from the home located at 6652 Ridge. Trees were cleared, and pipe sections were stocked there. Utility flag markers were placed from the Ridge location all the way
down Chester Street to the channel. Three of the five wells were selected to contribute to the new water supply. Tierney continued, “Hallack Contracting was contracted to install a new transmission water main from the new wellhouse to the existing distribution system on the north side of the Pentwater Channel. Their contract also will replace various old and undersized water mains throughout the village… A third contract went to Gustafson HDD LLC to replace lead service water lines throughout the village that are not included in Hallack’s work. Any galvanized or lead water lines will be replaced from the water main to the houses.” Hallack stationed spe-
cial boring equipment on the north side of the channel and buried a pipeline from the current village water system at the corner of Green and Bridge Streets to the channel. Then they drove the pipeline under the channel and brought it back to the surface on Chester Street, south of the cul-de-sac. (see photo). What an engineering feat! Just ask Ed Czarniac, who lives on Railroad Avenue and walks his dog to the channel nearly every day. “You can learn a lot walking your dog,” he chuckles. He caught the boring action in process and asked several questions. “They buried the pipeline under the channel bottom, measuring 58 feet from the top of the seawall at its deepest point. The boring tool had a GPS chip on the end and a paddle that could be manipulated left, right,
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RESIDENTIAL POSTAL CUSTOMER ECRWSS
down or up to change the direction of the bore.” Hallack has additional equipment and more pipe sections stored on Chester just north of Longbridge across from 6824 Chester. Hallack will connect the wells with the exposed pipe end on Chester near the channel. Asked how many homes will be supplied by the new water system, Tierney responded, “The extended water main on Ridge Road, Chester Street, 3rd Avenue and Sands Street could add up to 85 existing houses to the system (currently serving more than 900). The water system will be able to serve additional homes as they are built.” Although all three contracts are expected to be fulfilled by Nov. 15, Tierney clarified, “As each street is completed, water service will be turned on, so that will be ongoing.”
Funding the project has also been a challenge. Former Village Manager Chris Brown began seeking funding in 2022. Tierney shared, “Between all three contracts, the construction cost is approximately $5.8 million. [Funding includes] roughly $1.8 million in the form of an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Grant, and another $400,000 in the form of a forgivable loan. The remaining costs are funded with an EGLE Drinking Water Revolving Fund low-interest loan ($3.77 million) and a Series A Revenue Bond of $1.5 million.” Another factor of this project, is that many homes on the south side of the channel have individual wells. The Pentwater Village Council is still discussing which residents will be permitted to stay on the wells they already have.
Shelby Area District Library receives national grant
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Finding a new source of clean groundwater for the Village of Pentwater and establishing a pipeline to adequately distribute the supply has been a lengthy, challenging process. The current groundwater supply requires treatment for arsenic, which sparked the search for a new groundwater supply with cleaner water. After two years, great progress has been made, and the end is in sight… literally. Project completion is expected by the normal end of the construction season this year, which is Nov. 15, 2025. The civil engineering firm of Fleis and Vandenbrink designed the new system. Residents on Chester Street received a March 7 notice from the village that read: “Construction on Chester Road for installation of a new 12-inch transmission water main is scheduled to begin on March 17. The project will start near the intersection of Chester Road and Longbridge Road and work north along Chester Road and will end at the cul-de-
Paul Erickson named Hart Rotary ‘Citizen of the Year’ Paul Erickson of Crystal Township was named Citizen of the Year for 2024 by the Hart Rotary Club. This honor is annually conferred by the Hart Rotary Club on a non-Rotarian who has made a significant contribution to the betterment of the Hart area. Paul was honored for his volunteerism as president of the Oceana County Fair Board and the Oceana County Historical & Genealogical Society. Paul was instrumental in establishing the Oceana Community Foundation (OCF) as an affiliate of the Muskegon Community Foundation and served as a charter member of OCF. In addition, Paul is the District 4 representative on the Oceana County Board of Commissioners, the owner of Mears auto body repair shop PM Collision and president of the Echo Publishing Inc. board of directors.
Shelby Area District Library has been selected as one of 300 libraries to participate in round three of Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries to help them better serve people with disabilities. The competitive award comes with a $10,000 grant that will help the library improve accessibility to the facility with automatic door operators installed at the library’s north entrance. As part of the grant, Shelby Area District Library staff will take an online course in how to lead conversations, a skill vital to library work today. Staff will then host a conversation with residents about the importance of accessibility. If anyone is interested in getting involved or taking part in the conversation, please contact Tiffany Haight at 231-861-4565 or tifhaight@shelbylibrary.org. Since 2014, ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative has re-imagined the role libraries play in supporting communities. Libraries of all types have utilized free dialogue and deliberation training and resources to lead community and campus forums; take part in anti-violence activities; provide a space for residents to come together and discuss challenging topics; and have productive conversations with civic leaders, library trustees and staff.