By Barb Pert Templeton
The Jan. 20 meeting of the Algonac City Council lasted an hour and 12 minutes and included all seven members of the city council. Here are some highlights:
City manager addresses road conditions
There’s been a lot of talk about the road conditions in the city so City Manager Artie Bryson said he wanted to comment on the situation. He reminded everyone that M-29 is a state highway and the state pays the St. Clair County Road Commission to maintain that including putting out salt and plowing it. “The city doesn’t do anything on the main drag, but we do take care of all the side streets,” Bryson said. “I was up every morning thru the past four or five days and the side streets were passible, they were fine”
The Jan. 20 meeting of the Algonac City Council lasted more than an hour and had all seven members present.
Bryson said Algonac monitors it and maintains the city roads, watching them very carefully. “You know salt doesn’t work when it’s very cold and actually if there’s just a dusting it’s worse to have salt on it because it acts as a magnet when the snow its blowing across the road,” Bryson said. “I think our crews were doing a pretty good job here.? Those sentiments were echoed by several members of the council during their council comments at the end of the meeting.
Extensive truck repairs approved
The city council unanimously approved an invoice in the amount of $23.853 to LaFontaine Automotive Group for extensive repairs to a 2009 Ford F-550 Dump Truck. In a memo to officials in the meeting packet DPW Foreman Joe Vernier said the repairs are essential for plowing, salting the streets, cold patching and tree trimming. The repairs consisted of rebuilding the front end of the truck and replacing the entire fuel pump system, among other things, as noted in a memo from City Manager Artie Bryson. Councilwoman Wendy Meldrum asked if non-budgeted items noting where the money would be coming from for the repairs, could be added to all future invoices in meeting packets and Bryson yes, that should be noted and will be going forward.
City seeking pool lifeguards
Councilwoman Wendy Meldrum asked City Manager Artie Bryson how the city’s doing with hiring lifeguards for the city pool for the summer of 2026. The pool is set to open on June 13. Bryson said they are taking applications now. “As long as they are advertising because I think that kind of put us behind the eight ball before because we weren’t ready,” Meldrum said.
Snowman contest going strong
The first ever Snowman Decorating Contest in Algonac is going strong with over 25 entries as of Jan. 20. The deadline to place a snowman in Waterfront Park is Feb. 1.
During his council comments Councilman Jake Skarbek said the first annual Snowman Decorating Contest is going strong on the riverfront and all entries are due by Feb. 1. Voting starts on Feb. 1 and goes through Feb 28 and each entry will have a number and voters simply send their pick to algonacsnowman@gmail.com. Trophies will be awarded at the first council meeting in March. So far, the contest has over 25 entries. The event is being hosted by the local non-profit group, Algonac Alive, and is sponsored by Colony Insulation. At a previous council meeting resident Dwayne Hrynyk shared information about the contest. He said the $60 charge for a snowman is basically the cost of the materials. It’s a trio of beach balls – two 24-inch beach balls and a 12-inch beach ball with foam sprayed over the top. Colony Insulation is spending about $60 to make each snowman. All the money donated to purchase the snowmen will be used towards the development of the Algonac Activity Center. All of the snowmen will be placed in the Algonac Waterfront Park, directly across from Algonac City Hall. The two creations that get the most votes will be awarded a custom-made, lighted “Snowman Decoration Contest” trophy.
Sheriff congratulates city manager
When Sheriff Mat King provided the 2025 activity report to the city council at the Jan. 20 meeting he congratulated officials on the hiring of Artie Bryson as the new city manager. King called it a “seamless fit” and said he’s already worked with Bryson in the past and it’s not that he wouldn’t have adjusted to a brand-new face in the city manager’s office but it’s nice to see Bryson in the post. “So, congratulations on that, to the city and to Artie,” King said.
