Emmet City Council

The Emmet City Council met Thursday (12-19). Those present included Dale Booker (Mayor), Maurice Grant (Alderman) and Grant Cox (Alderman).

To start the meeting, a prayer was led by Maurice Grant. It was put on the record that a few board members were absent. Those being Rob Clark, Shannon Peck, and Roselin McBride.

There was discussion about the overlay in Emmet.  It got sidelined after the city ran out of funding. The city was told their section of the overpass would be first to be fixed. The city has roughly $320,000 set aside to fix road repairs. The mayor is deciding to fix the roads with the most houses first. A motion was made to fund the road repairs.

The purchasing of a new fire truck was approved, but the money, $40,000, was never appropriated. A motion was approved to get the matter settled. There was also discussion about donating a fire truck hose to another city that is starting their own fire department.

The city budget was also discussed, and it was mentioned that 90% of the revenue was relegated for 2025’s budget. There was a question about rental property for trailers. There was talk of raising the rent which is currently at $70. If the city had to mow, they might have to raise the price by $30. There was also talk of lowering expenses.

The city paid for a new roof for the pavilion. The mayor said the pavilion is wasting money, as it isn’t getting a lot of use

To help with sludge buildup in the pond, chemicals were placed in the pond. Grant Cox brought up the point that fish might help with this.

It was also mentioned in the meeting that internet cable in Emmet might be disrupted. There was talk of running their own cable. The cost of the project was raised as a concern. One board member suggested going wireless (one pro for this is it being easier to troubleshoot).

As for the Fire Department, it was brought up that their equipment has an expiration date. There is a grant (the 50/50 grant) for new equipment (the cost being $25,000). There was talk of applying for the grant, but it was also mentioned that the city really doesn’t have the funds for their part of the cost. A go-fund me page for the fire station was brought up as a possible solution. The council voted to apply for grant.