Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NILES — The Niles City Council moved to make sure community members can experience the city’s rich past.

The council voted 5-1 during Monday’s city council meeting to approve a $2,500 donation for the annual Fort St. Joseph Archaeology Open House during Monday’s meeting. The donation is made possible using funds from the council’s Community Promotion’s budget. Fourth Ward council member Michael Thompson cast the dissenting vote. Council members Charlie McAfee and Georgia Boggs were absent

Fort St. Joseph was founded in 1691 and was abandoned in 1781. It was a trading post, mission and garrison located on the St. Joseph River in Niles. The Fort was controlled by three European countries: France, Britain and Spain, and was also occupied by several Native American groups, including the Potawatomi.

Since 1998, Western Michigan University has worked in partnership with the City of Niles and support from the greater community to discover the community’s history through its annual archaeology field school. 

The culmination of this work is the Archaeology Open House event held this year on Aug. 2 and 3. The Open House offers visitors a chance to peek into the pits and see this year’s finds, experience a living history village with re-enactors demonstrating 18th century life and take a ride in a replica birch bark canoe on the St. Joseph River.

Attendance and all of the Open House activities are free, though donations will be Accepted to support the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project.

Merchandise and food will be available for sale. Several community groups have helped to sponsor the event including Support the Fort Inc. and the City of Niles.

For further information, visit wmich.edu/fortstjoseph or contact the Niles History Center at (269) 845-4054.

In other business, council: 

• Approved the renewal of the MML membership dues, including legal defense fund, at a cost of $7,768.00 covering the period of July 1, 2025 thru June 30, 2026 as allowed for in the 2025 fiscal budget.
• Accepted the bid from Quality Environmental of Baldwin, Michigan in the amount of $5,100.00 for asbestos removal at the Niles History Center, including a budget amendment to the FY2025 budget, and charged the expense to the History Center’s repairs and maintenance budget.
• Accepted the bid from Cameron’s Construction, LLC of Niles, Michigan in the amount of $24,871.00, including Bidder’s Exceptions, for installation of an ADA bathroom at 303 S. 3rd Street, with the expense to be paid for with CDBG funds.
• Approved the proposed FY2024 CDBG Subrecipient Agreements with the YMCA of Greater Michiana in the amount of $15,000, WeEcho for $7,500, and increased the allocation to the School Resource Officer program by $3,500.
• Accepted the bid from Niblock Excavating of Bristol, Indiana in the amount of $56,080.00 for the 2025 City Hall Parking Lot Resurfacing Project, with $18,695.33 paid from the DPW City Hall Building Repairs and Maintenance account and $37,386.67 paid from the Utility Maintenance Office Building Account.
• Accepted the bid from ACE Plumbing and Heating of Stevensville, Michigan in the amount of $5,516 for installation of a water heater and associated exhaust work at 1720 N. 11th St., with the expense to be paid for with CDBG funds through the Home Repair Program.
• Authorized the Mayor and the City Attorney to sign the FY 2025 FTA Certifications and assurances affirming the City’s compliance with required FTA rules and regulations and authorize staff to file and PIN the necessary documentation in TrAMS (the electronic grant management system).
• Hosted the first reading of an ordinance to amend the City of Niles Code of Ordinances to manage third party attachments to City of Niles’ utility poles.