Flat Rock mayor touts road work, stronger reserves and push for grant-funded 'shovel-ready' projects

Mayor Beller told the Flat Rock City Council the city has set financing for two road projects and is preparing a series of grant-ready projects intended to leverage outside funding rather than draw on the general fund.

“Both Vreeland and Gibraltar will be drivable in the spring when they're redone,” Mayor Beller said, adding that the financing for those two roads “is already set up and approved.”

The mayor said a recent audit showed the city's general fund balance was larger than council members had understood. “Our general fund, as we thought last year, it was around 11%, is actually, like we found out in the audit, more like 23%,” Beller said, crediting the city administrator/treasurer with improved accounting and communication.

Why it matters: the council faces aging infrastructure and wants projects prepared in enough detail to qualify for state and federal grants. Mayor Beller and other council members described “shovel-ready” work as spending limited local funds on engineering and planning so larger construction costs can be paid with grants.

Council members reiterated priorities the mayor flagged. Beller and others said the rec center has rebounded under Recreation Director Rodney Wade, and that staff are seeking grants rather than tapping general fund balances for major purchases such as a new fire engine and a playscape replacement at the community park. “We are trying for grants for that. We are not pulling that out of our general fund,” Beller said about fire apparatus efforts.

On the dam that has concerned residents, the mayor said the city has received no follow-up beyond a study funded by a grant: “the study's not done, but the grant that paid for the study only paid for the study. There is no money to do any work,” Beller said. He warned residents not to expect immediate repairs because funding for design and construction was not included in the study grant.

City Administrator Brian Marciniak was credited by the mayor for organizing department heads and improving communications between staff and council. Marciniak also signaled the upcoming budget cycle and said staff are preparing a capital improvement plan and a formal capital policy for equipment capitalization — steps he said are necessary before the council considers larger capital spending requests.

Councilman Deshaut emphasized the need to have projects “shelf ready” so the city can apply quickly when grant opportunities arise; he said the city has completed about 7% of a program to replace water lines that are nearly 100 years old and needs plans for the remaining work.

Ending: Mayor Beller and staff said more detailed project scopes and grant applications will come before the council during the budget process and in future meetings.