The following appeared in the January/February 2024 issue of The Lenawee Voice.

When we launched The Lenawee Voice, one of the core values we laid out was empowering citizens and encouraging people to become part of the civic process. 

In this issue, we are launching a new column called The Agenda. Each month in this space, we will try to tell you not what your local elected officials did at their last meeting, but what they’re going to be discussing in the weeks and months ahead. We will highlight ways for you to get involved in shaping the future of our communities. Our intention is that this column will be a useful guide to the important conversations that are happening in Lenawee County — and how you can be part of them. 

That rotten-egg smell should be getting better, but what can you do if it doesn’t? Crimson Holdings, the powdered egg processing plant on the east side that has been the source of numerous odor complaints over the last two years, has installed new equipment that is supposed to mitigate the problem. (See page A5 for details on that.) Under a court order, the city has the right to initiate a court review of the situation if it believes the nuisance has not been fixed. 

If you live in the area and that rotten-egg smell comes back, you can file a complaint with the state by going to michigan.gov/EGLECrimsonHoldings. The city also wants to know about it, and you can file a report by emailing Leslie Love at [email protected] or calling 517-264-4805.

Speaking of Crimson Holdings … If you are one of the people who has been affected by the odor problems, the city wants to hear from you about how to spend the $100,000 fund that Crimson Holdings was ordered to pay for the benefit of the affected neighborhoods.

An open meeting will be held on Monday, February 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the Merchants Building at the Lenawee County Fair and Event Grounds, 602 N. Dean St., so that city leaders can gather input from residents about how to use the funds.

Bohn Pool is about to become a front-burner issue. At its Jan. 16 meeting, the city commission will take up a recommendation to hire The Collaborative, a Toledo and Ann Arbor-based planning firm, to help the city develop plans for future improvements.

The city commission had previously discussed building a new pool, but discarded that idea as being too expensive. Instead, they’ll be looking at how to shore up and improve the existing facility, which is typically open between 80 and 90 days every summer.

You can expect the topic of Bohn Pool to come up periodically over the coming months. A reminder — the Adrian City Commission typically meets on the first and third Monday of every month, with exceptions for holidays. There is also a pre-meeting study session for discussion of topics that aren’t quite ready to be brought to a vote. Both the meetings and the study sessions are open to the public, and agendas are posted online at adriancity.com.

Commissioner Conversations: If you’d like to chat with an Adrian city commissioner, Bob Behnke wants to hear from you. 

Behnke, who was elected in November, has scheduled several upcoming times when he will be at the Adrian District Library, 143 E. Maumee St., to meet with any residents who have questions they’d like to ask or concerns they want to raise. 

Those times are:

• Wednesday, Jan. 31, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
• Monday, Feb. 5, from noon to 1 p.m.
• Wednesday, Feb. 28, from 6-7 p.m.

No appointment needed, just stop by. 

For Raisin Township residents: In this month’s issue you’ll find a story about the proposed sand and gravel mine northwest of Occidental Highway and Gady Road. As of this issue’s press date, the township planning commission expects the developers to bring a proposal to the planning commission’s February meeting, which will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the Raisin Community Center, 3266 Gady Road. (Note added later: This item was removed from the agenda as the developer had not yet submitted a complete application.)

Learn about Michigan’s expanded voting rights: The League of Women Voters will host an informational session about the expanded voting rights that were added to the Michigan Constitution by Proposal 2 in 2022. The presentation will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22, at the Tecumseh District Library, 215 N. Ottawa St. Tecumseh city clerk Tonya Miller will be on hand to answer questions.