By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce's new "Fear Factor" contest is "dividing the community instead of bringing it together" because only business members can participate, mayoral candidate Howard Hall complained to City Council Monday night.
Hall also asked Mayor Don Lyons to place the issue of video cameras and recording devices on the council's next agenda "so residents can listen to the discussion of the pros and cons of their use downtown. It was never discussed in open council."
Hall posed several questions to the city administration, which Lyons said officials would take under advisement.
Jo Anne Wood reiterated her complaint about the Vincent J. Jewelers sign on Underwood Shoe Store as too large.
Lyons instructed City Manager William H. Nelson Jr. to meet with her this week to review her concerns about the non-conforming signs ordinance recommended by city planners, which the council gave first reading to July 11.
In other business, council members approved a contract amendment boosting the grant-funded administration fee for Community Housing Initiatives of Buchanan by $4,323.
City Manager William H. Nelson Jr. said CHI incurred additional work on the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) downtown apartment project beyond the scope of its original agreement.
The council approved the display of two 24-foot by two-foot banners promoting the Rotary Club-sponsored Carson and Barnes Circus Aug. 2 in Northwest Park, as requested by co-chair Charles J. Ringland.
Ringland said the banners would be put up 10 days prior to Aug. 2 and removed the morning of the event.
The council also renewed for three years its Downtown Development Authority (DDA) streetscape maintenance contract with the city Grounds Department for three years.
The annual fee for the first year will be $27,488, with the second and third years determined by salary increases given to non-union employees.