At its regular monthly meeting March 13, the Cassopolis Village Council received several updates on ongoing projects in the village.

Cassopolis Village Manager Emilie Sarratore updated the council on the Stone Lake treatment.

Sarratore said that the Stone Lake improvement board hosted its first meeting and elected a riparian owner to the board, which will host its first public hearing on the proposed treatment of the lake in the council chambers at 6 p.m. March 28.

She added that the village remains on schedule for a spring treatment of Stone Lake.

The village is still investigating whether or not it can sell the former dump site.

Following last month’s council workshop, questions still remained as far as any liabilities the village has if it decided to sell the property.

Sarratore is working on a capital improvement plan so that the village can apply for an Infrastructure Capacity Enhancement grant.

Sarratore and Department of Public Works Supervisor Ben Anderson attended a training in Lansing and a public hearing was March 16 to allow residents to express their opinions and concerns about the plan.

A planning commission meeting followed the public hearing.

The village council is scheduled to have a special meeting Monday prior to the council workshop to review the plan.

Cassopolis is looking to capture part of the $20 million ICE grant to replace a force main on the village’s sewer system.

“The purpose of the ICE round is to accelerate economic development and assist low and moderate income communities in making improvements or upgrades to their existing infrastructure systems,” Sarratore said. “Activities could include upgrades or improvements to existing water lines and related facilities; sanitary and storm sewer lines and related facilities; wastewater treatment plants and related activities to these projects.”

Sarratore said that grants range between $500,000 and $2 million and are awarded on a competitive basis.

The council also learned that Cassopolis Police Department officer Kyle Hart has resigned to accept a position with the Wayland Police Department. His last day was March 15.

The council is still looking into how to maintain the village’s weather alert siren since the Central Cass Fire Department no longer occupies the former fire station.

The village turned the power back on to the siren, which is connected to the utilities at the former station and ran a successful test March 6.

The council learned that the siren runs on a back-up battery when needed and that it was replaced last year and will not need to be replaced again until 2020.

The battery should last between four and five days if needed.

To move the siren, West Shore Services, which maintains it, would charge the village approximately $2,200.

Another option may be to leave the siren where it is and connect it to an alternate power source at a minimal cost. The village is working with West Shore to see if that is a viable option.