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CASSOPOLIS — The Cassopolis Village Council selected a planner for their new Village of Cassopolis Master Plan and Parks Plan at their meeting on Monday.

Cassopolis has chosen Progressive Companies, with offices in Grand Rapids, as the planner for the 2025-2030 Master Plan. Progressive was one of three companies who presented options at the Jan. 27 workshop meeting. Trustee Pedersen raised concerns about choosing a contractor that had already done multiple projects in the village, citing bidders Abonmarche and Progressive.

“I was concerned they were writing up a Master Plan that would just ensure a whole bunch more work for them,” Pedersen said.

Though the Village has never worked with Progressive, it was noted that the previous Cassopolis Master Plan was created by Wightman, who had included contracting rates in the Progressive plan. Village staff noted that Wightman no longer provided planning services themselves and that those stages of the project would be entirely completed by Progressive, with additional contracting decisions coming later in the process.

Pedersen and Trustee Kelly, who expressed a preference toward Abonmarche, both voted against the choice. Trustee Makay voted yes, though noted concerns about rushing decisions. According to Alexis O’Flynn, who is in charge of community development in the village, the decision would need to be made now in order to stay on schedule for grant funding for future projects.

Department of Public Works Superintendent & Street Administrator Ben Anderson gave an update on the assessment of multiple sewer pipe breaks that have recently occurred. A machine is currently installed and collecting samples from the system to identify the amount and possible cause of the damage. The extent of the damage, as well as the solution, is still to be determined. With the possibility of replacing an entire system of lines, Trustee Kelly requested a plan to allow the council to plan for any repairs in future budgeting.

Anderson also reported that multiple properties that have been scheduled for demolition have been torn down.

The next Cassopolis Area Utilities Authority meeting will take place on 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17. The February Council Workshop meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24. The next regular council meeting is 6 p.m. Monday, March 10.