Zeeland council approves moving forward on downtown snowmelt special assessment

The Zeeland Common Council voted unanimously on Feb. 16 to authorize the City Assessor to prepare a special-assessment roll for the downtown snowmelt system after a public hearing on the proposal.

Assistant City Manager/Finance Director Kevin Plockmeyer presented the plan and outlined the two components of the proposed charge: a commodity or heating charge of $0.92 per square foot and a readiness-to-serve (capital) charge of $1.10 per square foot. Plockmeyer said staff recommends waiving the capital charge for this special-assessment cycle because funds had previously been set aside by an earlier City Council action.

Plockmeyer told council the assessment would apply to city-owned parcels that directly benefit and to other benefiting property owners, excluding owner-occupied single-family homes and certain exempt parcels (including Zeeland Public Schools and the United States Postal Service). He also described how square footage is calculated (from back of curb or inferred back of curb to the face of the building) and noted staff is seeking two additional years of operational data to refine cost estimates.

Staff provided a preliminary cost distribution: approximately $207,760 in city charges (82% of operating costs) and about $43,161 charged to property owners, for a projected annual total of $245,921 when fully built out. The council’s approval of Resolution No. 3 authorizes the assessor to develop the roll so the statutory process can continue; public input received at the hearing will be considered in developing the final roll.

The council closed the public hearing at 7:17 p.m. and took the vote to proceed; no councilmember voted against the resolution. The next formal step is development of the proposed assessment roll and subsequent statutory notices and hearings as required by state law.