Lawrence Village Government News & Public Notices
Bangor Rd Construction - Asphalt resurface work will take place from 09/17/08 to 09/26/08. During that time it will be one lane
Sign Variance Request - 08/25/08@ 6:00 PM at Village Hall. The Lawrence Zoning Board of Appeals will be voting on a request for a sign that does not meet the sign ordinance. The requested sign site is intended to go in front of the Lawrence United Methodist Church. The requested sign exceeds the size limits of the Villages sign ordinance.
Sign Variance Request - 07/17/08 @ 6:00 PM at Village Hall. The Lawrence Zoning Board of Appeals will be voting on a request for a sign that does not meet the sign ordinance. The requested sign site is intended to go in front of The Lawrence District Library. The requested sign will advertise the Lawrence Township Hall and the Lawrence District Library and will also contain a red digital illuminated sign that will repeat various announcements pertaining to Lawrence Library and Township activities. The requested sign exceeds the size limits of the Villages sign ordinance. Variance was granted (3 votes for, 1 vote against)
Van Buren County Home Improvement loans- applications are being accepted from 07/21/08 to 08/15/08 for home improvement loans. See here for terms
Truth & Taxation Hearing June 23- 1 person was in attendance for this public hearing for tax increases. Village Council voted (all yes) to approve tax increase.
Downtown Streetlight Installation Project - The Lawrence DDA will be installing new vintage street lights this summer on N Paw Paw Street. A sample of the streetlight is on display in the SW corner of the Park.
Monthly water bills vs. Quarterly water bills - Village Council Votes - Village Council voted June 10,2008 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.
Pay Water Bills Online - Village residents can now pay their water bill thru the website www.govpaynexp.com or call them direct at 888-604-7888 to sign up. Payments can be made online or via their website using a credit card. Specify our "payment location # 6269"
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 is a prospective buyer who 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 - New Committee assignments were voted unanimously on June 10 by the Village Council. 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.
Converter box needed for home TV antennas - Beginning Feb 18, 2009, anyone who does not own a digital TV Set and still gets their programming via over-the-air antennas (rather than cable or satellite service) will no longer receive a picture. That is the day when the television industry completes its transition from old-style analog broadcasting to digital. To still receive a picture with a non-digital TV at that future date will require a converter box that will be available for sale at most major electronic retail outlets. A converter box is estimated to cost between $50 to $70.
A $40 coupon to apply toward the purchase of a converter box will be made available from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, with a limit of two coupons per household. Consumers can apply online at www.dtv2009.gov or call 1-888-DTV-2009