1. No category

City of
Mason
Inside this issue
Special Election
coming up May 5
2
Benefits of water
main flushing
3
Severe weather
precautions
4
Take Back Meds
dropoff
5
Compost rules
6
Mason Public
Meetings
Mar — Jun 2015
City Council — 7:30 pm
Apr 6 & 20, May 4 & 18,
Jun 1 & 15
Downtown Development
Authority — 5:30 pm
May 13
Historic District
Commission — 7 pm
Mar 23, Apr 27, May 26,
Jun 22
Planning Commission
6:30 pm
Apr 14, May 12, Jun 9
Mason 150 Anniversary
Committee — 6:30 pm
Apr 13, May 11, Jun 8 & 29
Traffic Commission
5:30 pm
Apr 22
Zoning Board of
Appeals — 5:30 pm
Apr 8, May 13, Jun 10
Contributors to this newsletter include Ken Baker,
Kirk Crawford, Debbie
Cwiertniewicz, Jacqui
Johnson, Kerry Minshall,
Eileen Northrup, Michelle
Pietsch and Sandy Stacy.
City of Mason
March 2015
Happy 150th B rthday, Mason!
On March 9, 1865, Michigan
Governor Henry Crapo approved Public Act 125 and
signed into law the official incorporation of the Village of
Mason, Michigan. Now, 150
years later, the City of Mason is
celebrating this incorporation
with a variety of sesquicentennial ceremonies throughout the
year.
The first official scheduled
activity was a ceremony on
March 9 at the Mason City
Hall, featuring a special honor
guard consisting of both the
Mason Fire Department and
the Seventh Michigan Voluntary Infantry, Co B.
their essays about the history
behind a selected Mason street.
Other events taking place
throughout the year include the
Mason 150 Summer Celebration July 2 through 5:

Brothers of the Brush,
a contest judging the fullest beard, the best period
style beard, and the most
unique beard; judging
starts at 5:30 pm on
July 2nd
Thursday Night Live
Concert on July 2nd

Mason 150 Parade and
Fireworks Display on
July 4th
The Sesquicentennial Committee will be creating a City of
Mason Time Capsule and has
ideas for other events that are
still in the planning stages. The
final official event for the yearlong celebration will be the
Mason 150 Grand Ball on October 3. Be on the lookout for
additional information in the
near future.
Keep updated on all the
Sesquicentennial birthday
celebrations by accessing the
City of Mason website at
mason.mi.us, or the Mason
Chamber of Commerce website
at masonchamber.org, or
through this newsletter.
Federal and State Government representatives were
present, including Congressman Mike Bishop. A congratulatory letter from Governor Rick Snyder was read
and a special video tribute
from US Senator Debbie Stabenow was aired.
Winners of the Mason College
Club Sesquicentennial Essay
Contest for 8th Graders read

Second Ingham County Courthouse
1856-1902
Show your support of Mason
by participating in these activities and help make Mason’s
150th a year to remember!
Arbor Day Honoree nomination deadline: March 25
Since 1991, the City of Mason
has observed Arbor Day during
the third week of April by
planting a tree in honor of a
citizen who has made positive
contributions to ecology.
The Mason Tree Commission
is now seeking nominees for the
person who will be honored at
this year’s April 24th celebration. If you know of someone
who is deserving of this honor,
submit a letter of nomination
by March 25, 2015, to: Mason
Tree Commission, ATTN: Sam
Bibler, Mason City Hall, 201 W
Ash, Mason MI 48854. Be sure
to mark Arbor Day Nomination on the envelope.
The Tree Commission will
make their selection of the 2015
honoree on the basis her/his
contribution to ecology in general, and promotion and preser-
vation of trees
in particular.
Emphasis will be placed
on selecting an individual who
has made a significant contribution to the enhancement of
the ecology in the City of Mason or the Mason are. All nominees must have a Mason mailing address.
Page 2
City of Mason
Election News — Special Election May 5, 2015
The State of Michigan
has scheduled a statewide special election on
Tuesday, May 5, 2015, to
consider a 1% sales tax
increase to fund road
repairs. Sample ballot
language will be available in March.
Election Day
Information
Important
Dates
April 6 — 5 pm
Close of
Registration
The last day to register to
vote in the May 5 Special
Election
May 2 — 2 pm
Deadline to request
absent voter ballot
by mail
May 4 — 4 pm
Deadline to request
Photo identification
required to vote
Under Michigan law, all
voters are required to show
photo identification to vote at
the polls. Voters without identification will be required to
sign an affidavit to receive a
ballot. The identification requirement does not apply to
persons voting by absentee
ballot.
These are accepted forms of
photo identification:
 Driver's license or personal identification card
issued by Michigan or
another state
 Federal or state government issued photo identification
 US passport

absent voter ballot
in person
An absentee ballot may be
requested until 4 pm
Monday, May 4; ballots must
be voted at City Hall.
May 5 —
7 am — 8 pm
Election Day
All precincts are located at
City Hall, 201 West Ash.


Current student identification with photo from
high school or accredited
institution of higher education
Military identification
card with photo
Tribal identification card
with photo
Voter Registration
To be eligible to vote, a citizen must be registered 30 days
before the election. A citizen
who is 18 years of age may
register to vote at the Secretary
of State Office, the City Clerk's
Office, or by mail. A registration form may be printed from
the City website at
www.mason.mi.us. A citizen
who registers to vote by mail
must vote in person in the first
election in which he or she participates. However, overseas
citizens, handicap citizens, or
citizens who are 60 years of age
or older are not required to vote
in person the first time they
vote.
To cast a vote, a line is completed by “connecting” the ends
of the arrow next to the candidate of your choice. (See examples below.)
Absentee Voting
A citizen who is unable to
attend the polls on Election
Day may request an absentee
ballot. An application is available on the City website at
www.mason.mi.us. A citizen
must complete an application
to vote absentee for each and
every election held. A citizen
may request in writing to be
placed on a permanent absent
voter list to receive an absentee application for all elections
that are held.
The only permissible reasons
for a voter to receive an absentee ballot are as follows:
The voter is physically
unable to attend the
polls without the
assistance of another.
The voter cannot attend
the polls because of
the tenets of their
religion.
The voter has been appointed as an election
precinct inspector in a
precinct other than
the precinct where
they reside.
The voter is 60 years of
age or older.
The voter is expected to
be absent from the
community in which
they are registered
for the entire time the
polls are open on
Election Day.
The voter cannot attend
the polls because they
are confined to jail
awaiting arraignment
or trial.
Casting a Vote
Voter Information
Center
The Michigan Secretary of
State “Voter Information Center” is an online source for onestop election information.
Michigan residents can access information on their voter
registration status, find the
location, get directions to their
polling place, and review the
ballot.
Visitors can access online
information on statewide candidates and ballot proposals as
well as tutorials on the Optec
electronic voting equipment.
For further election information, please contact the City
Clerk’s Office (517-676-9155).
City of Mason
Page 3
Water main flushing improves water quality
The City of Mason will begin
its annual water main flushing
program in early April.
This process, which takes
about three weeks to complete,
involves opening fire hydrants
to their max to increase the
amount of water flowing
through the water running
down the middle of the street,
hopefully cleaning out any iron
or calcium buildup that accumulated during the winter.
Although most of the work
will be completed at night to
minimize rusty water problems, it is possible Mason resi-
dents may experience a rusty
water condition. If this happens, do not turn on your hot
water since this will cause
rusty water to enter your hot
water heater, creating problems when you use your washing machine.
Follow these steps to keep
rusty water out of your hot
water heater or softener during this process:
1.
If you have a water softener with a separate cold
hard water tap, turn it on
and the cold water should
clear up in a few minutes.
2.
If you have a softener and
do not have a separate
cold hard water tap, first
bypass the softener and
either turn on a cold water tap, or turn on an
outside water tap for approximately three to five
minutes or until the water
runs clear.
Once the process begins, only
certain areas in the city will be
affected each day. Notices will
be run in the newspaper and
on TV prior to the start of each
flushing cycle. There will most
likely be another flushing cycle
in the fall of 2015.
A few cemetery rules you should know ...
Believe it or not, but springtime is fast approaching and
that means cleaning up the
clutter from our yards. The
crew at Maple Grove Cemetery
will also being sprucing up the
grounds in preparation for
Memorial Day on May 31.
With that in mind, please
remember to remove all artificial flowers, ornaments, and
grave blankets by April 1 so
the crew can prepare the
grounds for mowing. Any items
left at a grave site after April 1
will be disposed of by cemetery
employees.
In the Maple Grove Cemetery, flowers can be planted
18" directly in front of an existing monument. Edging is not
allowed around the grave site,
nor are wood chips or stones.
There are faucets located in
the cemetery for watering your
flowers.
Cemetery employees are
happy to help if you need assistance. Copies of cemetery rules
as well as maps are located in
mailboxes in two locations of
the cemetery.
Section “letters” are printed
on trash receptacles throughout the cemetery. We are fortunate to have a lovely cemetery located in Mason. Let’s all
do our part to preserve it for
many generations to come.
Forget to pay
your 2014 Real
Estate Taxes?
Not to worry—
you can still pay
them at the
Ingham County
Treasurer’s
Office.
PLEASE TAKE
NOTE
Senior Citizen Refuse
Exemption and Summer
Tax Deferment forms
will be available in midApril. Adjustments can
be made until September 15th. Inquire at
Mason City Hall,
Finance Department,
for more information.
Mason — honored to be Tree City USA!
Since 1991, Mason has been
recognized as one of a select
group to be given the title of
Tree City USA.
The honor was bestowed
upon the city because of its
commitment to effective urban
forest management and because the city met the program’s four requirements: a
tree board/department, a treecare ordinance, an annual
community forestry budget of
at least $2 per capita, and an
Arbor Day observance and
proclamation.
Residents of the City of Mason are encouraged to plant a
tree this spring to continue
this honor. If planting, please
call Miss Dig (800-482-7171 or
811) to check for above and
underground utilities. This is a
MUST if you are hand digging!
If you would like to plant a
tree in the parkway (between
the sidewalk and the curb), call
the City of Mason Forestry
Department for a list of approved street trees (749-7527).
Have you ordered your
Legacy Tree yet?
Buy a tree in honor or in memory of a
loved one through the Legacy Tree
Program. Each tree can be purchased for
$150 which includes the tree, soil preparation, planting, mulch and continuing
care. For more information or to buy a
tree, call the City of Mason at 517-6765891. Legacy Tree Forms are also
available online at www.mason.mi.us.
Help keep Mason beautiful for
another 150 years!
Page 4
City of Mason
Are you prepared for the severe weather season?
Springtime is
almost here. This
means we will
soon be entering
the time of year
where we may
experience severe
weather. Some of
these storms may
even produce
tornados or other
severe weatherrelated events.
The City of Mason has three emergency warning sirens
located throughout the city to alert our residents to the possibility of severe weather such as a tornado or other possible
emergency with the potential risk of injuries or property
damage. These sirens are usually sounded on the advice of
the National Weather Service; however if conditions and
reports from the field warrant it, they may be activated at
anytime. Presently the sirens are now activated by the Ingham County 911 dispatch center and are also tested the first
Saturday of the month at 1 pm for about one minute.
The sirens are designed to alert and warn people who are
outside during these emergencies. They are not designed to
penetrate into houses with closed doors and windows.
If a tornado WATCH is issued for your area, it means a
tornado is “possible.”
If a tornado WARNING is issued, it means a tornado has
actually been spotted, or is strongly indicated on radar, and
it is time to go to a safe shelter immediately. When a warning
is issued, the sirens will be activated.
When the siren is heard, you should take shelter immediately. Tune to the radio or television to determine the nature
of the emergency and to hear information on how to protect
you and your family. For weather-related emergencies, go to
your designated shelter. If you don’t have one, you can access
the basement of Mason City Hall using the front door. It is
opened for that purpose during severe weather emergencies.
When you hear the “all clear” message over the emergency
broadcast system, it is safe to leave your shelter or return to
your home.
Each year about a thousand tornados touch down in the
United States. Only a small percentage actually strike occupied buildings, but every year a number of people are killed
or injured. However, the chance that a tornado will strike a
building you are in is very small and you can greatly reduce
the chance of injury by doing a few simple things:

Be aware and alert as to the weather forecasts. Many
people who are injured or killed by tornados were unaware of the severe weather conditions.

Plan ahead before an emergency occurs. Have a designated shelter and make sure everyone in the household
knows where it is.

Assemble a "disaster supply kit" that you keep in your
shelter area. It should contain:
1. a first aid kit with essential medication in addition to the usual items;
2. a battery-powered radio, flashlight, and extra
batteries;
3. canned and other non-perishable foods, a handoperated can opener, and bottled water;
4. sturdy shoes and work gloves; and
5. written instructions on how to turn off your
home’s utilities.
Hopefully we will never have a tornado touch down in the
Mason area but if we do, we can all do our part to help reduce
the possibility of injury or death.
Great savings are possible using outside sprinkler meter
If you want to save
money when you water
flowers or a garden,
wash your car, or fill
your pool, you should
consider purchasing an outside
sprinkler meter. This meter
can save you money with your
outside watering since the
sprinkler meter water does not
go through the house meter, is
not charged sewer or capital
improvement, and receives a
reduced meter charge, thus
saving you money every billing
cycle.
For example, if you only had
the regular account and used
20 units, that bill would cost
$237.04. If 10 units of that bill
are for outside watering, the
bill would be $119.24 for the
regular account and $37.37 for
the sprinkler account. This
saves $80.43 for that quarter’s
water use.
House and sprinkler accounts come on separate bills,
with no base water charge for
the sprinkler bill. If less than
1,000 gallons of water (1 unit)
are used during a billing cycle,
the only charge would be the
meter charge of $1.67.
To purchase a
sprinkler meter, stop at the Finance
Department on the second
floor of City Hall.. The cost for
a residential sprinkler meter
includes the yoke and installation of the water meter by
DPW personnel. You or your
plumber install the yoke and
any necessary water lines.
If you have any water issue
questions, call 676-9155 xt 201
or e-mail [email protected].
City of Mason
Page 5
Budd appointed as new Mason police officer
On January 21st, the Mason
Police Department appointed
Jeremiah Budd to its patrol
division. He is a Mason resident who was formerly employed by the Williamston
Police Department and the US
Postal Service.
Budd earned his BS from
Hope College and his Michigan
Commission on Law Enforcement Standards License from
the 84th Michigan Police Academy. He is presently completing 14 weeks of Field Office
Training and expects to be
assigned to patrol duty in late
April or early May.
Left to right: City Clerk Deborah Cwiertniewicz, Sergeant
Edward Hude, Chief John Stressman, Officer Jeremiah Budd
and City Administrator Martin Colburn
Put Rayner Park 2015
Spring Clean Up on
your calendars
Plan to join us for the 2015
Rayner Park Spring Clean Up
which takes place on Saturday,
April 25, from 10 am — 1 pm.
Bring your work gloves, rakes
and tarps. Check in as you
drive in the gate for your assignment from one of the coordinators.
This project is a great way
for students to earn those
community service hours. Hope
to see you there!
Did you know ...
The City of Mason participates in a drop off
program for unused non-controlled prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications
that are prescribed to treat medical conditions
such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and
bacterial infections.
Take Back Meds is a joint effort between
local pharmacies, law enforcement, health
department, wastewater treatment and
Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality to provide residents with safe, convenient access to proper medicine disposal.
Disposing of your medicines in the drop-box
in the entryway of the Mason City Hall will
ensure your medicines will not be stolen from
the garbage and will not enter our environment. When you participate in this program
you will also eliminate the potential for abuse
and overdoses at home.
By handling your unwanted medications
properly you will not need to throw them in
the trash, pour them down the drain, or flush
them down the toilet. To prepare your medications for disposal:
1. Bring them in the original container or
package.
2. Do NOT remove the name of the medication from the container.
3. Black out or remove all identifying personal information on the label.
The Take Back Meds program in Mason
does not take syringes, needles, lancets or
Epi-pens. The proper method for disposing of
these medical waste “sharps” is through local
disposal programs such as the Granger Recycling Center (517-372-2800) or the Ingham
County Health Department (517-887-4312). If
you have questions or for more information,
visit www.takebackmeds.org.
Caption describing
picture or graphic.
Know Your Mason
Community Compost
Rules
1.
2.
The City of Mason WILL allow residents of Mason to drop off compost
materials such as grass clippings,
mulch, leaves, and weeds.
Materials that are NOT allowed are
any type of brush, limbs, shrubs or
twigs.
3.
If you want to get rid of brush-type
materials, use the Granger services
on Fridays. Shrubs/branch trimmings need to be cut to 4-foot lengths
and securely tied in bundles weighing 30 pounds or less, or placed loose
inside a 30-gallon (or smaller) trash
can, each one weighing 30 pounds or
less. Granger will take up to four 30gallon cans, or four bundles of brush,
or a combination of the two, from
each residence weekly.
4.
Granger will start their yardwaste season for Mason on
Friday, April 3, 2015. Yard
waste should be placed separately
and away from the trash, on the
opposite side of the driveway if at all
possible so workers can identify
trash from compost. Weeds or grass
clippings must be free of dirt. Plastic
bags will not be picked up. The only
approved containers that can be used
are brown paper composts bags.
5.
Anyone who wants to drop off/pick
up compost from the Mason Compost
site at 902 Mason Street should set
up an appointment with the DPW,
Monday through Friday, 7:30 am —
3 pm, except holidays. All appointments can be made through Kirk
Crawford at 517-749-8726.
Mason Organizations
ALAIEDON SCOUTS 676–6499, Tony Assaf
CAPITOL CITY CAR CLUB 676–5046, Shirley Wilcox
COUNTY SEAT OLD CAR CLUB 676–5978, Arnold Short
DDA 676-3661, Mark Howe
EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOC.
663–1318, Tom Botsford
FRIENDS OF THE MASON LIBRARY 676–4175, Elaine Ferris
GIRL SCOUTS OF MASON 676–6093, Christine Hesch
INGHAM COUNTY FARM BUREAU
676–5115, Barb Chapman
INGHAM COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
676-7140, Diane Bishop
MASON ANTIQUES/ COBBLESTONE VILLAGE
676–1270, Larry Silsby
MASON AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
676–1046, Doug Klein
MASON AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
676–9837, Barbara Tornholm
MASON AREA SENIOR CITIZENS CLUB
676-2931, Ron Town
MASON ART GUILD 676–5314, Shirley Renwick
MASON BAND BOOSTERS 676–9055, Beth Bousfield
MASON BREAKFAST OPTIMIST 676–2791, Pete Hanover
MASON BULLDOG BOOSTERS 676–6535
MASON CHAPTER 150 ORDER EASTERN STAR
676–2014, Mary Ruttan
MASON COLLEGE CLUB 676–5876, Kris Taylor
MASON COMMUNITY PARTNERS 676–4519, Ext. 215
MASON FFA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
694–0499, Marie Sheridan
MASON FIRE DEPARTMENT 244–9025, Chief Minshall
MASON HOMESCHOOLERS NETWORK
676–5073, Rebecca Schwartz
MASON KIWANIS CLUB 676-5284, Ginger Kinney-Sweet
MASON LIONS CLUB 676–2518, Stan Jordan
MASONIC LODGE #70 F&AM 676–5040, Ivan Kerr
MASON ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY
676–3678, Kay Rinker–O’Neil
MASON ROTARY CLUB 699-1554, Tony Cherniawski
MICHIGAN STEAM ENGINE AND THRASHERS CLUB
676–5160, Sandy Smalley
MASON SUN DRIED MUSIC FESTIVAL
676-3522, Leon Clark
MICHIGAN TRAPSHOOTING ASSOCIATION
676–2295, Rick Shirkey
NORTH AURELIUS SCOUTS 694–3624, Suzanne Ferris
STEELE SCOUTS 676–8569, Wade Johnson
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS 676–7309, Bob Jordon
Do you recycle? These area
businesses will help you in
your efforts!
CITY OF MASON, Mason City Hall,
201 W. Ash Street, Mason MI 48854
517-676-9155, xt 203, [email protected]
Mayor
Mike Waltz
Mayor Pro Tem
Marlon Brown
CELL PHONES
Mason City Police Department, 676-9155
COMPUTER RECYCLING
Mason Goodwill Store, 244-9306
COOKING OIL
Delhi Township WWTP, 699-3873
Delta Township Recycling Center, 323-8500
CREATION STATION WISH LIST
(517-371-2451)
MID-MICHIGAN FREECYCLE
NETWORK
www.freecycle.org
HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE
COLLECTION, 887-4521
MERCURY THERMOMETERS, 887-4521
OIL, ANTIFREEZE, and CAR BATTERY
Carquest, 676-2464
NAPA Auto Parts, 676-5481
PLASTIC BAG RECYCLING
Meijer, 244-1900
POLYSTYRENE
Dart Container, 500 Hogsback Road
24 hours a day/7 days a week
SHARPS COLLECTIONS
272-4145
Visit the Mason
Chamber of Commerce
Events Calendar
online at
www.masonchamber.org
Please help us keep this list up-to-date. Send changes/additions/deletions to
[email protected]. Thanks so much!
Councilmember
Les Bruno
Councilmember
Leon Clark
Councilmember
John Droscha
Councilmember
Elaine Ferris
Councilmember
Jim Mulvany