Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety approved electric for holiday decorations at Michigan and Jefferson

Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 3:00 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

Monday evening the Board of Public Works and Safety approved electricity for holiday decorations at the intersection of Michigan and Jefferson Streets in downtown Plymouth.

During the meeting, Street Superintendent Jim Marquardt told the Board of Works he met last week with Park Superintendent Mike Hite, Office Manager Jenny Sickmiller, and Maintenance Supervisor Dave Cooper along with Mayor Listenberger and Promotion of the City Coordinator Laura Mann to discuss the possibility of placing some decorations on the vacant city lot which used to house Subway.

The plan is to place some temporary light holiday decorations at that corner for Christmas. Marquardt said they even discussed placing other holiday decorations at that intersection throughout the year.

Marquardt said they will need electricity and there is a pole with power on it, but NIPSCO would need to bring the power down the pole to a meter. He said there may be a monthly charge for the meter along with a charge for electricity used.

During last week’s meeting the group discussed paying the electric bill using the city’s Power & Light fund but Clerk Treasurer Lynn Gorski asked Monday night why the electric bill wouldn’t be paid through the park department’s budget since they are decorating the site.

The Board of Public Works and Safety approved the request to have the clerk-treasurer contact NIPSCO requesting service at 500 North Michigan Street at the lot and Marquardt said he would meet with the committee and determine where the electric bill should be paid from.

Related to this, Marquardt told the board there are test wells on that property that are still being evaluated so no permanent construction can happen until after the city is given notice that the property is clear.

Future plans do call for a small park-like setting to be created on the city lot to enhance the major intersection.

The Plymouth Park Dept is starting to prepare for Christmas, which means they are designing their annual light show in River Park Square! If anyone has artificial Christmas trees that they would like to donate, the Plymouth Park Department would love to use them for their show!

Please call the park office at 574-936-2876 if you would like to donate your used Christmas tree.