VILLAGE OF BRUCE
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
April 20th, 2026
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a scheduled monthly meeting of the Village Board was held on Monday, April 20th, 2026.
Village President Shane Trott presided and called to order the meeting at the American Legion Hall facility at 5:30 p.m., 804 N. Main Street. Board members present were Galen Brainerd, Tim Dolan, Mark Zimmer, Jim Johnson & Darlene Wundrow. Trustee Kim Grasley was absent. Clerk/Treasurer Jessica Hayes and Deputy Nicole Frisinger attended also.
– PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE –
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to approve the March 9th, 2026 Regular Monthly Board Meeting Minutes, carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to approve the Treasurer’s report as given, carried.
EMPLOYEE’S REPORT: Casey Gudis attended the meeting to report to the Board that the crew has been busy filling potholes throughout town.
The water is on at the park, and the crew is busy getting things cleaned up for the season.
Contamination stickers have been placed on residents’ recycling bins during collection to inform them of recycling contaminants.
Gudis met with Bruce Housing Authority to discuss possibly blacktopping Coleman Street at the same time their contractor is there to do their parking lot blacktopping. Discussion was had on the condition of Coleman Street as well as pricing. The Board discussed adding Coleman Street to the next LRIP five-year plan. No approval to proceed with the project was given.
Dolan asked Gudis about the responsibility of spreading grass seed and leveling out the yard adjacent to his rental from the alley blacktopping project between Main Street and Alvey Street. Dolan was instructed to contact Russ Thompson’s.
Lastly, Gudis reported that the posts and framework for the last forty-eight feet of the Veterans’ mural will be installed at the park this week. Completion of the project is on schedule for memorial weekend.
PETITIONERS-CITIZEN COMPLAINTS AND REQUESTS:
Trevor Richards-Library Director Update: Richards attended the meeting to report to the Board on recent and upcoming Library activities. The Friends of the Library raised $400.00 at its latest PI Day event. Richards had a book review magazine as well as handouts available at the meeting for the community. Summer reading program planning is underway. The library has received all apportionment funding from surrounding townships. Richards is working on doing a community needs survey in the fall.
Blue Hills Lion’s Club – Festival Donation Request: Trott read aloud a donation request letter from the Blue Hills Lion’s Club for their annual Blue Hills Festival weekend July 10th, 11th & 12th. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to approve donating $500.00 to the Blue Hills Lion’s Club for the event, carried.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Mike Newman attended the meeting and thanked the Board for their efforts in getting a property adjacent to his cleaned up.
Newman also discussed some ideas that the Historical Society has in mind for the upcoming Blue Hills Festival. 2026 also marks the 250th anniversary of America. He mentioned an idea was to have a bell ringing ceremony on July 4th at noon. The historical society still has the original bell that was used years ago for fires, warnings, etc.
Newman stated that the museum will be open on July 11th, the Saturday of the festival as well as every Thursday from May 28th to September 17th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. or by appointment. The featured display is stock cars and raceway memorabilia.
APPLICATIONS:
Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Zimmer to approve a building permit to Sean Nagel for interior remodeling on his building located at 718 N. Main St., carried.
Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Johnson to approve a building permit to the Bruce School for excavation and building interior/exterior remodeling at 104 W. Washington Avenue, carried.
Motion by Johnson, seconded by Wundrow to approve a building permit to Larry Hanson to install a garage on his property located at 908 N. Alvey St., carried.
Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to approve a Class ‘B’ Picnic license to the Blue Hills Lion’s Club for their annual Blue Hills Festival, July 10th – July 12th, carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Public Safety:
Village Hall Water Damage: Two bids were received from Fireline Sprinkler, LLC. One in the amount of $30,130.00 to repair the break, and the second for full replacement of the system for $43,909.00. The Village’s insurance company gave the approval to move forward with the replacement at $30,130.00. This price would be contingent upon once work is started and the system is back online, what additional issues they would find. The sprinkler system is dated to 2001. Trott stated that the contractor informed him that the life expectancy of the system is 20-25 years. Discussion was had on the extent of the damage and the best route to take. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Wundrow to approve Fireline Sprinkler, LLC to proceed with full replacement of the system for $43,909.00, carried.
Coolsys Commercial & Industrial Solutions, the HVAC contractor, will be here this week to supply a quote. Discussion was had on the interior work, which would be all work, minus HVAC and the sprinkler system. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to put an ad out for bids for the interior reconstruction, carried.
Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘Village Hall Water Damage’ item until the May, 2026 Regular Monthly Meeting, carried.
Temporary Village Offices will be located at the Village Shop, 228 E. River Avenue, Board and Committee meetings will be located at the American Legion Hall, 804 N. Main Street and elections will be located at the American Legion Hall until further notice.
Ambulance Repairs/Maintenance: Trott was approached by members of the ambulance garage asking for permission to paint the ambulance garage building. They are offering to pay for the expenses themselves but are asking the Village if they would have any monies within the budget to assist. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to give the approval to the ambulance garage to paint the building without funding from the Village, carried. Trott asked Gudis about replacing the outside light on the building. Gudis will get it taken care of.
Public Works:
Alley Paving: An invoice for the work completed was received from Russ Thompson in February with a few discrepancies. The revised invoice was received and paid. The remainder of the project will be completed this spring. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Wundrow to table the ‘Alley Paving’ item until the May, 2026 Regular Monthly Meeting, carried.
LRIP (Local Road Improvement Program) Funds: The Village is awaiting receipt of the funds. Nothing further to discuss. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Wundrow to table the ‘LRIP (Local Road Improvement Program) Funds’ issue until the May, 2026 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Main Street Repairs: Trott was approached by Robert Lorkowski asking if the Village, like some surrounding towns, could paint a double yellow line with a blue line in the middle going down Main Street, for acknowledgement to law enforcement. With the costs of materials, nothing allocated for the additional costs in the budget, and future plans to repave Main Street, the item was not voted on.
Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘Main Street Repairs’ item until the May, 2026 Regular Monthly Meeting, have Gudis obtain a bid for seal coating Main Street and holding a committee meeting to discuss the item further, carried.
Public Welfare:
Bruce Park Concession Stand/Contract between Bruce School & Village Discussion:
The Booster Club is waiting on pricing quotes for materials to begin repairs to the pavilions. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Zimmer to table the ‘Bruce Park Concession Stand/Contract between Bruce School & Village Discussion’ item until the May, 2026 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Administration:
Summer Help Hire: Discussion was had on the seasonal maintenance crew that is hired in the summer months to help with mowing, wee whacking, curb painting, etc. Three high school kids and one seasonal part time employee were hired last year. The Village is looking for two high school kids and one seasonal part time employee for this year. Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Dolan to put an ad in the paper for the three positions, carried.
APPROVAL OF BILLS: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to pay vouchers and electronic payments totaling $249,678.81, carried.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Saturday, July 11th, 2026 – Chris Kroeze on Main Street – More information to come at a later date.
Blue Hills Festival – July 10th, 11th & 12th at the Bruce Park
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to adjourn, carried. Adjournment was at 6:21 p.m.
Jessica Hayes
Clerk/Treasurer