MUSKEGON, Mich. - Fallout from a failed road millage in the city of Muskegon could be felt on the beach next summer.
“We recognize that we, from a city commission and city staff standpoint, want something out there at the beach to warn people whether the water is safe,” Muskegon City Manager Frank Peterson told FOX 17.
On Tuesday, voters rejected a tax that would have raised more than $2 million a year.
“What we were doing was amending our charter to allow us to levy more millage and we were going to dedicate it to roads,” Peterson explained.
That didn’t happen. Instead, voters rejected the proposal.
“It was difficult because we had to have certain language in there that was approved by the state to raise that charter cap,” said Peterson. “That’s the language we put in there and it’s confusing, to say the least.”
While city leaders were hoping to get the millage money, Peterson says there was a plan B.
Now, after reviewing the capital improvement fund, two items appear to be off the list - at least for now.
“The beach warning system and the Pere Marquette Park playground equipment.”
The beach hazard warning system, budgeted for about $70,000, has been a high priority for commissioners, especially following the July 2013 drowning of a teenager from Ypsilanti.
Commissioners have been looking to install a highly-automated system that requires limited human interaction.
“The goal would be waves get a certain height, or conditions get to a certain level… (the lights) would change from either green to yellow to red and (it) would have made some audible sound,” said Peterson.
While the beach warning system appears to be tabled for now, it’s something likely to be discussed in the near future.
Muskegon’s city commission is scheduled to meet on Tuesday. At that time, they are expected to discuss the impact of the failed millage.
