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NILES — The City of Niles welcomed its new finance director at Monday’s city council meeting.

The council unanimously confirmed the appointment of Ken Elkins to the position of Finance Director effective May 28, 2025.

Elkins has held the Deputy Finance Director position for the past six years and holds a Master of Business Administration Degree. He will replace Sandy Naugle who is retiring effective May 27, 2025. For the past year, Elkins has worked closely with Naugle to prepare for the possible appointment to City Finance Director. The position of Finance Director is appointed by the City Administrator in consultation with the Mayor and Confirmed by the City Council.

Congratulations, Ken,” said Mayor Nick Shelton following Elkins’ appointment. “We’re so happy to have you.”

In other business, the council accepted a $57,020 proposal from Wightman and Associates of Benton Harbor for professional services associated with the Pokagon Street repair project.

Plans call for cold-milling, resurfacing, ADA ramps, etc. on Pokagon Street between Second and Fifth Streets. These projects are expected to be designed and submitted to the Michigan Department of Transportation in Lansing this summer or fall with a winter project award and spring 2026 construction.

The City of Niles Department of Public Works has been successful in securing $391,078 in Federal Surface Transportation Program funds with a local match of $108,923 for a total construction cost of $500,000, which are eligible to be used on existing federal aid eligible roads in the city. MDOT will be administering the funds and the city is required to follow MDOT design and construction guidelines. Due to the project design and construction engineering requirements, material testing, wage rate audits, etc., the DPW staff is unable to commit the necessary hours to administer the project. 

Requests for proposals were sought by the DPW and two bids were received. Wightman and Associates of Benton Harbor was the low bidder for the proposed design and construction engineering cost of $57,020, including the Geotechnical Analysis, NEPA and SHPO requirements. Design and construction engineering costs are not eligible to be paid for with the use of STU/STP funds.

The council also accepted a quote in the amount of $4,550.98 from We Build Fun of Allen, Texas for the replacement of a slide at Eastside Park.

Late last year, one of the slides located at Eastside Park had been damaged and was removed because it was no longer safe. After contacting the slide manufacture, the city was informed that due to the age of the play structure, the existing slide is obsolete and can no longer be ordered. A similar slide could be retrofitted by removing and reinstalling the original support posts and foundations. Installation will be completed by the Street Department and the cost of the slide charged to Park’s Repairs and Maintenance account.

Council also approved the renewal of the surcharge placed on customers’ electric bills in accordance with Michigan’s Low-Income Energy Assistance Program.

The Michigan House and Senate passed legislation on June 18, 2013, that created the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program. This bill allowed the Michigan Public Service Commission to create a funding factor each year that would raise at least $50 million statewide. The funding factor could not exceed $1 per electric meter and not more than $1 per household per month.

New legislation in 2024 – PA 168 and 169 of 2024 – amended several low-income energy requirements from public utilities. The $50 million cap was removed. The funding factor cap is now placed at $2 per meter with a 2025 maximum of $1.25 increasing $0.25 each year. The revenue, to the extent possible, will be returned to our geographical “area,” with no definition of what that is. 

The attorney general or any single Niles customer may now sue the city if it fails to meet the requirements of Section 12 in the act and the retail meter count will continue across all customer classes, including multiple meters except for residential, which continues at no more than one meter per site.

By opting in, Niles retains less local control of funds collected from customers and allows the state to determine the surcharge rate. However, there will be no new administrative burdens on Niles’ DPW staff and it would allow time to gather data and evaluate how the state program is benefiting customers.

If the city had opted out of the program, it would have been required to develop and administer a local program that is consistent with state requirements. While this would have allowed Niles to retain local control of collected funds, it would have created a significant increase in new administrative responsibility for staff having to create and run a program while adding additional annual reporting requirements.

Last year’s revenue to the state was $70,470.05 with 6,674 customers (meters) being surcharged and approximately $114,000 was returned to the Niles area.

“Under this new legislation, there is no guarantee that the money’s been coming back to the local jurisdiction or where the monies were raised,” Huff said. “We obviously did a little bit better and I don’t know how they identified more monies to flow into this area than what was collected in this area, but I am a little concerned about going forward about where the monies may end up.”

Also Monday:

• The council accepted the proposal from Kirk M. Proshwitz of Buchanan in the amount of $30,000 for the 2026 July 4th Fireworks Display, charging the expense to Community Promotions.
• Council approved a commitment to order 750 tons of bulk rock salt for the 2025-2026 winter season through MiDEAL, at a price unknown at this time, charge the expense to the Major Streets budget.
• Council approved 6-1 the request of LifePlan to conduct the hero Run 5K/10K on April 26, 2025, as presented with staff recommendations. Fourth ward councilmember Michael Thompson cast the lone dissenting vote, stating he does not believe the city should contribute funds or in-kind services toward events.
• Council adopted a resolution authorizing DART to submit the FY 2025 MDOT Regular Services Program Application.
• Council accepted the quote from Rooftech Construction, of New Carlisle, Indiana in the amount of $9,970, plus $45.00 per sheet of decking, to replace the roof at 1332 Oak Street, Niles, with expenses being paid for through the Help for Homes program.

The program assists income-qualified homeowners in making health and safety improvements to residential single-family properties. Households participating in this program must not exceed 80 percent of median income based on household size. Repairs funded through this program must address emergency health and safety conditions. 

By providing repairs to targeted homeowners, the Home Repair Program adds to the overall revitalization of the city by reducing blight, providing safe and improved housing, and bolstering the aesthetic and economic value of the targeted neighborhoods. It is a direct outcome of the Niles-Buchanan Regional Strategic Plan.

• Council approved the entering into a Memorandum of Understanding for Administrative Services between the City of Niles and The City of Niles DDA Main Street.