Among those who provided comments on the survey were 25 percent who expressed concern about lifeguard efficacy, 21 percent who referenced individual responsibility and 16 percent who were concerned about liability concerns. Dr. Perry Marillat lifts up his wife Wendy during their dance routine Saturday night at Lincoln Hills Golf Club. Instead of lifeguards, most Lake Michigan beaches use to varying degrees -- a combination of education about swimming dangers, water condition warning systems, life rings and other stationed rescue and safety equipment. Wyoming hires ousted Ottawa County administrator Shay as city manager The city first narrowed it down to four people before selecting him. These are just a few of the creatures that make up the acrylic menagerie decorating the walls of the lobby outside the performance hall at the Ludington Area Center for the Arts. About 1,000 people descended the on downtown Ludington area during the weekend to participate in the annual Octoberfest celebration, which peaked with a craft beer, wine and music festival in James Street Plaza Saturday afternoon. Its time we have some serious, frank, and open discussions with the public on what we need to do. Ludington seeks new police chief, treasurer. Steve Wietrzykowsk has been appointed interim chief. Theyre seen as a necessary function of public safety, said Brian Bailey, director of Berrien County Parks which operates Silver Beach. Entering into week three, hes learning many aspects of the community. Because the position is an elected position, even an appointed treasurer must be a resident of the city, who has lived in the city for at least one year. After four minutes, they will suffer irreversible brain damage and after 10 minutes, they have just a 14 percent survival rate, Benjamin said. Both Bailey and Richards said recruiting lifeguards is their biggest challenge. We will be making a succession plan a high priority. He said park staff are trained to respond to water emergencies and to monitor lake conditions and post warnings at park entrances, including the use of warning flags. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent. Title: City Manager Phone: 231-845-6237 Email. City of Ludington City Manager Jennifer Cleaver Secretary/Treasurer Community Investment Committee Member The Law Office of J. Cleaver, PLLC Brooke Felger Safety Decals Jason Jeffrey West Shore Educational Service District Superintendent Tim Nieboer Community Investment Committee Member House of Flavors Barnett said its important that everyone should be allowed to speak their opinions during public comment, but opinions should be stated in a courteous manner and shouldnt be used to bludgeon people and make allegations of crime without showing evidence. More: Former Ottawa County administrator John Shay a finalist for Wyoming city manager, More: Ottawa County Board abruptly fires administrator, hires former GOP candidate John Gibbs. He received a masters degree in public administration along with a bachelors degree in political science and government from the University of Nevado-Reno. According to a press release from Manistee County Sheriff John OHagen, the accident occurred on U.S. Hard to say, said Schillachi, who was a beach captain for about five of the years he worked as a lifeguard between 2000-09. The tours will include baking cookies from scratch and holiday lights, sights and sounds in small towns that span the west coast of Michigan from Whitehall, Hart and Pentwater, to Ludington and Bear Lake. Im not saying that to pull at anybodys heartstrings Im just saying thats wrong. Follow this reporter on Twitter @SentinelJake. I know its one of the topics that the charter revision commission is looking at.. Janet Macunovich has been gardening, writing about gardening and teaching gardening for more than 30 years. The Ludington City Council will consider changing its charter to allow for the city manager to serve a term of three years at a time. Theyre really part of the first-responder culture, Sartini said. Mayor & City Council | Ludington, MI - Official Website The city removed lifeguards about 15 years ago, after spending a year studying the safety, liability and logistics of keeping them, she said. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,076.. A harbor town on Lake Michigan, Ludington is at the mouth of the Pere Marquette River.Many people come to Ludington year round for recreation, including boating and swimming on Lake Michigan, Hamlin Lake . The council approved paying Steckel the remaining 25 percent of the city manager wages $202 per week, or an estimated $1,414 total plus a car allowance for her seven weeks as acting city manager. Daugherty appeared before the South Haven City Council about a year ago asking it to return lifeguards to the citys North and South beaches. The job was posted in international city and county management association magazines, local and regional newspapers, and across other platforms. The citys contract with R. Bogner has an option to renew again for up to three years. City Treasurer The City of Ludington Treasurer's Office is responsible for the accounting and collection of all money due to the City including property taxes, water bills, special assessments, invoices and permits. Johns many successful years in municipal management will serve the county well.. The names of the three top candidates for city manager that the Ludington City Council selected to be interviewed were announced during the council meeting Monday night. Nine west Michigan bed and breakfasts will host the West Michigan B&B Christmas Cookie Tour Dec. 7-9 and 14-16. Dancing With Local Stars raises more than $37,000 for O-Bots First responders, local fire and police departments and power companies were busy Tuesday night responding to various calls across Mason County following a severe thunderstorm. RELATED: Could these lives have been saved by lifeguards along Lake Michigan? The term expires in 2024, meaning that the city council would appoint a treasurer to serve out the current term. It was with seven simple words that the second and final Rhythm & Dunes concert of the summer got underway Saturday at Waterfront Park. From 2013 to 2015 he was Kingsley, Michigans village manager. Im 100 percent confident if we had a guard on the beach that day, shed still be here today.. The City Manager administers and coordinates various functions of City government as stated in the City Charter and supplemented by policies established by the City Council. Shay won the position among 48 candidates. Potential for heavy rainfall. Scottville City Commission will begin with a public hearing at 6 p.m. addressing the brownfield authority and then will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 105 N. Main St. in Scottville. But a South Haven Safety Survey, conducted by Western Michigan University between October 2019 through January 2020, received more than 700 responses and found that fewer than half 44% -- of respondents definitely or somewhat supported returning lifeguards to the city. Ludington is a great community with a lot going for it. He has served as Ludington city manager for 15 years. At Silver Beach in St. Joseph, lifeguards make sure everyone is out of the water on red flag days, said Bailey, the Berrien County parks director. Nowhere on Lake Michigan is the call for lifeguards louder than in South Haven, where the drowning of 13-year-old Theron Brooker-Nolan of Ann Arbor who got caught in a rip tide in July 2019 prompted citizen Kam Daugherty to start a return-the-lifeguards petition and form a citizen activist group. Prior to coming to Ludington, he was the director of public safety for the City of Manistee for three years. Ludington also, after about a year of effort, got approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to place a gate on its north breakwall that was installed this year, said Ludington City Manager Mitch Foster. At that meeting, the councilors went into closed session to review the top 10 out of 37 candidates under consultation of a representative of the Michigan Municipal League. Ludington, Scottville, PM Twp. to take action on establishing Foster said the committee is searching both internally and externally. Three ways to help us: Venmo: @MasonCountyPress; Paypal: MasonCountyPress@gmail.com; Mail a check to PO BOX 21, Scottville, MI 49454. Its critical because those communities have an obligation to protect tourists, many of them out-of-towners with no knowledge of the lakes power, he said. City of Ludington 400 S Harrison Street Ludington, MI 49431 Phone: 231-845-6237 info@ci.ludington.mi.us; Helpful Links. A search committee will narrow down the candidates. Public comment is being sought for the meeting of the Ludington Area Small Urban Task Force Committee, which is planning road work projects for the years 2020 through 2023. Even fewer residents responding to the survey, 42%, supported using existing city funds to pay for a lifeguard program. Mitchell Foster, ICMA-CM - City Manager - City of Ludington, Michigan Its complicated, and unique in Holland. I am very excited to begin work as Ottawa Countys next Deputy County Administrator and to join a dedicated team of public servants, providing excellent public services in a cost-effective manner, Shay said in a statement. Fire Department The Ludington Fire Department is comprised of 21 on-call/part-paid Firefighters. Wishing him all the best at his new position. Although Steckel was offered to be paid her regular salary as assistant to the city manager plus the difference between her salary and the city managers wages, she chose instead to be paid her salary and just 75 percent of the difference in wages. We have been lucky to have qualified people in those positions, but anyone can run for election, Foster said. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new follow-up story. Wyoming City Council said it hopes to approve an employment agreement by mid-May. Recruitment and training remain the toughest hurdle for keeping guards on the beach in New Buffalo. Wittingen was elected as a write-in candidate in 2020, replacing Tom Ezdebski, who chose not to seek re-election. On Lake Michigan, theyre pounding you one right after the other real close together.. Board of Directors United Way of Mason County Shay starts his job on July 23, earning $123,468 per year. These safety measures vary greatly, with some such as the sprawling Pere Marquette beach in Muskegon having very few visible life-saving items to Ludingtons smaller Stearns Park where life rings and information graphics are placed on numbered posts and a very visible emergency call box is at the waters edge. Its always been in the back of my head that Id really like to support the cause of getting lifeguards in my hometown just all those unnecessary deaths, Sartini said. Sources told WGVU Tuesday that the job is being offered to Tim Kozal, who has been serving as the Chief of Police in Ludington, Michigan since 2020. Have a suggestion for local roads to repair? We have a veteran staff at city hall. Shay was selected from a pool of 118 applicants, according to a statement from the county. He then attended University of Nevada-Reno where he received a bachelors degree in political science and government and a masters degree in public administration. Rain. LUDINGTON The Ludington City Council has formally announced the names of the top three candidates for city manager. The presentation was in connection with a proposed amendment to the citys recycling contract with Republic, which is expected to be addressed at the next council meeting, Biolette said. Beachgoers dont realize the power of a 4- or 5-foot wave, meteorologist Mark Torregrossa explained in MLives documentary video The Deadliest Great Lake., Out on the ocean, you might have 6-foot waves, but theyre spread apart, Torregrossa said. WYOMING The city of Wyoming announced Monday, April 17, that John Shay will be its next city manager, WOOD TV-8 reports. We feel an emotional liability to both the swimmers and the lifeguards.. DuBois mayor issues statement about AG investigation of city manager They are great people but there is going to be some significant turnover in the next five or six years as people retire. Study shapes, shadows, lighting. LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP) A coal-powered passenger steamship on Lake Michigan that's the last of its kind in the U.S. will stop using coal to fuel its historic engines once its operators settle on an alternate power source. Piers can create dangerous currents and, without barriers on most of them, provide an inviting opportunity for a stroll to unsuspecting visitors four of whom were swept off piers into the water and drowned this year. Sewer Backup | Ludington, MI - Official Website "West Michigan has its own kind of tempo," he said. Shay has previously served as city manager in Ludington, village manager in Almont and has worked in local government for 25 years, according to a release from Wyoming. That case involves a swimming pool lifeguard and the drowning death of a man with a disability. Community Development Chance of rain 100%. She doesnt ask how many hours she has to work she just does it Whatever she said she did, she did it. since 2015. MCPs claim that the council violated the Michigan Open Meetings Act. Agendas and Meeting Minutes; Community Voice; Current Projects; City Manager Mitch Foster said the city has posted the position on multiple sources with an application deadline of Sept. 20. Steckel stated in a memo to the council that she picked that wage percentage because thats what other city employees have been paid when holding the place of their superintendent. Previously, Mitchell was the Village Administrator at V Read More Contact Mitchell Foster's Phone Number and Email Last Update 3/19/2023 5:57 PM Email m***@ci.ludington.mi.us Engage via Email Contact Number (231) ***-**** Engage via Phone Mobile Number On Saturday, Oct. 27, Macunovich will come to Ludington to conduct an all-day seminar for local gardeners. Alan Wernette, Ludington State Park interpreter led the program with five participants. The resolution before the city council Monday would allow for the city manager to be appointed for three-year terms, with the contract subject to be renewal by the city council. For the years 1988-1997, the United States Lifesaving Association recorded fewer than 100 drownings at mostly ocean but some non-ocean beaches guarded by lifeguards, with more than three-quarters occurring during hours when the beaches were unguarded. The council approved the dates of two fundraiser events Footsteps for Families on May 25 at Rotary Park and Blessing of the Boats on June 1 at the Ludington Municipal Marina.