Greetings Village of Hopkins!
In an effort to keep you connected with your local government, I wanted to take a moment to update you on some of the things that your Village Council has been up to in the last few months as well as some things that are going on around town. It continues to be an honor to serve the Village of Hopkins and we are thankful for the continued opportunities that we have been given to help make our Village a great place to live!
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve experienced some of the great events that mark the coming of spring in Hopkins. The FFA flower sale and annual garage sale day we accented by new events this year: the Strongman Competition put on by the DDA, Lafayette Creamery, and several other local sponsors, and the Varsity Women’s Soccer car wash. It was a really busy and really fun Saturday for all. Following this, the next weekend hosted the annual Hopkins Clean-up Day. Once again, we filled up that dumpster with all manner of junk you wanted to be rid of! The Village Council wants to thank Sebright Products for providing the dumpster and compactor and Hopkins Community Church for the volunteers! We also had our first Cruise Night of the summer!
As we move through Memorial Day and into the summer, you will notice (if you haven’t already) some updates to the downtown park Veteran’s Memorial. The Council is very thankful for those who took on this project. They have asked not to be named specifically but rather hope that their efforts will draw your attention toward those on the Memorial who served our country and gave their lives for the cause of freedom. We encourage you to check it out!
We are also looking forward to our annual 4th of July celebration again this year. Plans are well underway for this annual event! Not all is set in stone yet, but one thing we do know is that Hopkins will be having fireworks again this year! For more information on this and other Village Events and happenings, you can check out the Official Hopkins Village Council Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HopkinsVillageCouncil or visit us on our website: www.villageofhopkins.org. We are also working on getting a YouTube Channel up and running. This will be a place for some short videos, recaps of council meetings and actions taken, and hopefully some presentations and/or explanations of upcoming items of interest. You can subscribe to this channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@VillageofHopkins.
The Village Website continues to be updated on a regular basis. On it, you can find contact information for the Village Council, minutes from our previous meetings, resolutions, and ordinances, and links to helpful forms like Senior Sewer Rate applications and park rental forms. We want this to be a useful tool for everyone in the Village of Hopkins so if you have suggestions on how we can improve it, please send them to President@villageofhopkins.org.
Finally, I wanted to offer a couple of quick updates on some work being down in the background:
In November, the Village voted to revise the current Village Charter from 1921 and elected a Charter Commission including Eric Alberda, Tabitha Kennedy, Mary Howard, Dawn Buist, and Jonathon VanderWall. We have been diligently working through the charter and are coming to the end of this revision work. Our next step, after a final review, will be to send it to the State of Michigan for review and, hopefully, approval. Once approved by the state, we will then present this revision draft to you, the residents of the Village of Hopkins. You will have an opportunity to read through it, ask questions, and ultimately vote on this Revision. If all goes well, our goal is to have this on the ballot during the August primary in 2024 and, if passed, will be active for the November 2024 election which includes the election of the next Village Council. The Village Charter is a very important document as it governs how the village is governed. It gives and limits the power of the Village Council to make decisions and lead the Village of Hopkins. Our goal in this revision is to update the language, which is 100 years old and set forth a Charter that will help the Council continue to Lead well into the future.
The Village of Hopkins is also undergoing a review and revision of our Master Plan and Parks & Recreation Plan. Both are being done in partnership with the Township. We recognize that the Village and the Township are separate, unique entities, and yet we are very much intertwined in all that we do and in our common interests. At the Tree Lighting Ceremony in December, you had the opportunity to review some of the material that we are working on. In early September, we will lay out the work and updates that have been done and again receive your feedback and thoughts on these plans. Again, our goal is to set Hopkins up well for the future with plans that both move us forward and preserve the small-town feel, things that make Hopkins the incredible place to live that it is.
And last, but certainly not least, we as a council are excited to have purchased a new truck for the Village! This truck will be used for many things, particularly plowing in the winter months, and is an update to the Village that we have desperately needed for a long time. Some of you remember the old Orange Pumpkin truck plow that the Village used to have and how important it was to update from there. This truck purchase was something akin to that. The Council wants to acknowledge Jon Stafford, our DPW Supervisor, for a great find here too!
Additionally, we are looking forward to some roadwork on Water Street between Russo’s and the School as well as Wise Street between Water and Clark Streets. This work will be done sometime after school is out in June. Construction will also continue throughout the summer on the new Township Hall. This new building will serve the Township staff and for elections in the future. If you have any questions about that, you can contact Mark Evans, the Township Supervisor.
If you ever have any questions or concerns that you would like to bring our way, please feel free to reach out! You can email me at President@Villageofhopkins.org or Mike, our Clerk, at Clerk@villageofhopkins.org. You can call the Village Office at (269) 793-7344 as well and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
We also invite you to the regular meetings of the Village Council. They happen on the Second Monday of each month at 7:30 PM at the Village Hall located at 128 Franklin St. Hopkins, MI 49328.
As always, it is a privilege to serve you as the Village President, and for each of us to lead and serve on the Village Council. We are grateful for the opportunity.
On behalf of the council, we wish you the best this summer as you enjoy the warm weather, vacations, and holidays. We also offer a special thank you to our Veterans, especially remembering those who lost their lives in service of our country this Memorial Day.
Sincerely,
Jonathon VanderWall
Village of Hopkins President
Village of Hopkins 