Village supports biodiesel plant

Patty Ramus

Lincoln officials said Monday the village would be in favor of drafting a letter of support for a company that's shown interest in bringing a biodiesel plant to the area.

For several months, the Lincoln Downtown Development Authority and the village have discussed and explored bringing a biodiesel plant to the Lincoln area. When the DDA hired its consultant Bob Jones earlier this year, the DDA gave Jones a list of objectives to work on over the next year. One of those objectives included investigating the possibility of bringing a biodiesel or ethanol facility to the area.

Northern Michigan Oil & Mill, based in Fife Lake, has expressed interest in starting a five million gallons per year biodiesel facility in the area. In early April, the company's owner, Bruce Saloway, made a presentation to village officials about the company's plans and interests. In May, village officials traveled to Adrian to tour NextDiesel, LLC's facility in order to gather more information.

"I was a little concerned in the beginning but after going to Adrian, I'm convinced it's the right thing," said President Phil Jordan.

During the meeting, Jordan said Jones has continued to investigate a facility's probability for coming to Lincoln and asked council members if they would support drafting a letter of support, should the company ever ask for one. While no formal motion was made, council members came to a consensus about their support for drafting a letter.

"I would think so, it's the right thing to do," said Trustee Ron Kennard.

Kennard said if a letter is drafted, the village's industrial park should be mentioned so there's no confusion about where the facility would be located.

In other business:

• The council discussed possibly paving Alger Street from Second Street east to the dead-end. Trustee Richard Somers said the council didn't need to take immediate action and encouraged other members to take a look at the road themselves to make a decision at a later meeting.

Jordan said he believes paving the road is the right thing to do but he's concerned about staying within budget. The council voted to table the issue until the September meeting.

• The council set a public hearing for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 8 to discuss allowing snowmobile traffic to come into the village as part of the proposed snowmobile trail to Barton City. The hearing is before the regular council meeting at 7 p.m.

• The council voted to spend $5,000 to complete the bathroom project at Barlow Road Park.

• The council approved spending an amount not to exceed $500 to assist in the completion of the village/DDA Web site.

Patty Ramus can be reached via e-mail at pramus@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5687.