Lawrence Village News
and Public Notices
Lawrence Municipal Code goes online - the guiding codes and ordinances for the Village of Lawrence are now accessible here
Job Opening - Now Hiring! The Village of Lawrence is currently accepting applications for the Lawrence Public Schools Crossing Guard position. Acceptable candidates will be available to work Monday - Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. each day. Please visit the Village Hall at 157 N. Paw Paw in Lawrence to pick-up an application
New Retail Business - Great Lakes Chiropractic is now open at 130 N. Paw Paw (at the location of the former Bowsers building).
Door to door dog license check - The Van Buren county sheriff will initiate a county wide search to make sure all dogs are licensed. The press release can be read here
05/11/10 Water Rate Increase and monthly billing - Water rates going up effective December. Water rate will change from $3.25per1000gallons to $3.41/m. Sewer from $3.10 to $3.16. Flat water and sewer fee will increase from $26 to $30 each. Water reads and bills will also be mailed out monthly. All council members voted in favor except for Trustee Nower who voted against. Monthly billing however will start in September.
Tips for saving water - The Village water department advises every one to read this link for information on how to conserve water
Consumers Power posts a requested rate increase - Consumers Energy has posted a request for hearing in Lansing for an electric rate increase. Details on on the February hearing can be read here
Lawrence
Township reaches sales agreement of
Township Hall to Foundation -The Township of Lawrence recently put the Township Hall up for
sale with an asking price of $69900. The Hall, built in 1902 and
registered in the State of Michigan list of Historic Sites, is listed with Remax
realtors in Kalamazoo. The Township of Lawrence plans to move their offices from the Town Hall and the Township
Services Building (fire station) into their new location at the former Fifth
Third building. Fifth Third Bank recently donated the former bank
building to the Township of Lawrence on the condition it cannot be resold to another
bank for 40 years. The
Lawrence Town Hall Preservation Foundation
has been recently created via local money pledges and is negotiating with the
Township board for an equitable transfer of ownership of the building from the
Township to the Foundation. The foundation
desires to use it as a community center for dances, plays, meetings, etc .
On July 8, 2010, The Township Board voted to accept a sales purchase
agreement for the sale of the Town Hall to the Foundation
Coli form Bacteria in Water Tests - The Village collected 5 routine coli form samples on 07/14/09. Two of the samples indicated the presence of coli form bacteria and an absence of E. Coli. Repeat samples were taken within 24 hours at the positive sample locations and all repeat samples showed no sign of coli form bacteria. This incident is not an emergency but the Village is required to notify the public of this situation. Further info can be read here
New Rental Property Policy - The Village Council voted 07/14/09 to adopt a rental property policy. Under this policy all owners of commercial and residential rental properties are required to register their properties with the Village of Lawrence. The policy can be read here. A Registration form is available at the Village Hall or can be downloaded here
New Retail Business - K&D Arms, a full service retail firearm and reloading supply store, opened on 09/05/09 at 106 N. Paw Paw St (next door to Ripples Salon). The store is owned by Lawrence area residents, Ken & Donna Barnett.
New Office Manager for Lawrence Village office - Jane Stedman resigned from her position as Village Administrative Assistant, as she and her 19-month old daughter, Eden, look forward to joining her husband, Micah, a member of the Signal Battalion in the United States Army in Augusta, Georgia. For the past several weeks, Jane has been training her replacement, Genny Ludwig. With a background in public relations, Genny hopes to bring a fresh perspective and a lasting contribution to the Village. Feel free to stop in and introduce yourself to Genny anytime at the Village Hall.
Fifth Third Bank Closed - The Fifth Third Bank (Lawrence branch) officially closed on 4/17/09. Fifth Third has reached a tentative agreement with Lawrence Township to donate the Fifth Third building to Lawrence Township for probable future use as Lawrence Township offices. Fifth Third will still maintain and operate the existing ATM at the site. The efforts to locate a new bank in the Lawrence are ongoing thru the efforts of Village President Mary Webster & Village Administrator Ken Schaut, The Lawrence Community Development Committee and the Lawrence Administrative Committee.
Municipal Code & Ordinance Update/Review - The Village is in the process of updating its entire municipal ordinances from a booklet to computer format. In this process much of the code l will be changed, updated, or removed. The most recent draft of the code book/CD is available at the Village Hall or can be read here
Zoning Variance Request - 03/23/09 @ 6:30 PM at Village Hall. The Lawrence Zoning Board of Appeals will be voting on a request for a change of use. A proposed barber shop is being planned for the commercial building on N 1st St, that used to be a barber shop. The area is zoned residential. (Zoning Request was granted by ZBA)
NSF Stop Check Policy - 11/01/08 The Village Council adopted a new NSF policy to replace the 2007 policy. The amended policy encompasses payments using the electronic Gov EXP paying system.
Internet Service Provider expansion - 11/11/08 The Village Council accepted proposals from both Bloomingdale Communications and I2K for the installation of broadcast antennas on the new water tower. These would provide an expanded range of high speed internet service to Lawrence and Lawrence Township.
Voting will took place 11/4/2008. Mary Webster was re-elected as Village President, and Phil Glennie as Village Trustee. Both ran unopposed. Two seats remain open after the election. These are presently held by Mark Keyser and John Gritter, both who did not run for re-election. Lawrence resident Linda Wayman ran (filed as a write in candidate) and was sworn in on Nov 17. Patterson Alburtus filled the seat formerly held by Mark Keyser via appointment by Mary Webster.
New Deputy for Lawrence
Effective November 4th, 2008. Our new Deputy is Ben Ludwig who replaces Tim Wydick. Tim was transferred to the Uniform Response Division in Paw Paw. Ben has been with the Sheriff's Office for 2 years, initially starting in the Animal Control Division then later to the Uniform Response Division with the Sheriff's Office. Ben is a graduate of Gobles High School and is looking forward to working in Lawrence and meeting many members of the community and business. Ben can be contacted when on duty either through Central Dispatch at (269) 657-3101 or through the Lawrence Police phone # (269) 674-3600
Free Gunlocks - gunlocks are available at the Lawrence Village Police Dept
Monthly water bills vs. Quarterly water bills - Village Council Votes - Village Council voted 06/10/08 to stay with quarterly billing. Voting to stay quarterly were council trustees: Richard Smith, Phil Glennie, Michelle Curtis, John Gritter, and Cindy Nower. Voting for monthly billing was Village Trustee Mark Keyser and Village President Mary Webster. There was a public hearing on May 13, 2008 to discuss the issue.
LCBC Land Swap Agreement - 02/21/08 The LDFA voted to recommend the swap of Village-owned lots #15 & #23 (located in the Lawrence-Crandall Business Center) for lot #9 which is owned by James Crandall. American Cooler Technologies specifically interested in lot #9 yet would like to take advantage of the land cost discount incentive provided within the Village owned lots. They are proposing to build a 27000 sq ft warehouse on the site this year. If no action is taken place by the buyer by June 1, 2008 then the land swap would be null and void and would revert back to its original ownership state. The action by the LDFA was forwarded to the Village Council and was approved by a unanimous vote on 02/21/08.
New Sign Ordinance - A new sign ordinance took effect on 01/08/08. The ordinance is for all signs placed in the Village of Lawrence. Work on the new ordinance by the Village of Lawrence Planning Commission started in February 2007. A public hearing was held on 11/26/07 to help explain the (pending) sign ordinance and for the public to express any concerns or opposition. There was no public opposition at the hearing so the planning commission then voted to approve the ordinance on 11/26/07 and submitted it to the Village Council for final approval. The Village Council voted on the pending ordinance on 01/08/08 and it was approved ( unanimous ). The new ordinance can be read here
Open seats available - There are still open seat available on the following committees: Public Services Committee, Planning Commission, Economic Development, & DDA . Each Committee meets once per month. See Village President Mary Webster if anyone is interested
Village Parking Lot designated parking - There is now designated overnight parking for the village parking lot. From 2am to 6am vehicles will need to park in the center area of the parking lot on even days (i.e. Jan 2, 4,6,etc) and park in the west area on odd days (Jan 1,3,5,etc.). This rotation will be only from Nov 1 thru April 1 for proper snow removal.
Neighborhood watch group - A neighborhood watch group for the Lawrence area has been formed and meets on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Van Buren Conference center. For further info click here
Used Christmas light decorations - make offer - The Village has for sale some large used Christmas light decorations that were previously mounted on posts along St Joseph and Paw Paw streets. These decorations are no longer used due to they are either no functioning properly or have broken down. We are accepting any offers for these. Contact Randy Coulson at the Public Works department if anyone wants to inspect them.