Owosso council votes Nov. 2 on 'Citizens Loft' at 123 N. Washington

The third floor of 123 N. Washington Street — in the middle of downtown Owosso's main street — is the subject of a development agreement going before the Owosso City Council on Monday night. The agenda item asks council to approve an "Agreement between the City of Owosso and Woodworth Investments, LLC for the Citizens Loft project located on the third floor of the building at 123 N. Washington Street."

That one line is what the agenda gives. The portion of the Nov. 2 packet posted to the city's website and reviewed by The Current includes the full memos and resolutions for the wastewater pump repair, the library boiler and the engineering contracts, but not the Citizens Loft agreement itself. So the questions a reader will ask first — how many apartments, what the city is putting in, and when anyone could move in — are not answered by the document. The agreement, if it follows the city's usual practice, will be on the table in front of council members when they vote.

The city does flag which of its long-range goals staff think the project serves: Master Plan implementation goals 1.1, 1.9, 1.13 and 6.6. It is the only item on the agenda tagged to the plan's housing-and-downtown numbering.

The same night, council takes up the other end of the same problem. Item 4 asks members to authorize City Manager Nathan R. Henne and the city attorney "to prepare a vacant building ordinance consistent with DDA Resolution No. 03-2026 and consistent code enforcement processed and schedules for Council consideration," and to have Henne send written responses the Downtown Development Authority and the Historic District Commission have requested. The packet does not include the text of DDA Resolution No. 03-2026, so what the DDA asked for — registration, fees, inspections or something else — is not established here.

Three other things are worth knowing before Monday. Owosso Main Street/DDA is asking permission for a public fireworks display by Wolverine Fireworks Display, Inc. during Glow Owosso; council already approved street and lot closures on Oct. 19 for the Glow Owosso Parade, 5K and Tree Lighting on Friday, Nov. 27, from noon to 10 p.m. Council will also adopt revised water and sewer connection charges and miscellaneous charges "beginning November 2, 2026" — the packet excerpt does not list the new amounts.

The consent agenda carries two repair bills that have to be paid regardless of how the rest of the night goes. Secondary Influent Pump #4 at the wastewater plant failed after a plastic bottle wedged in the impeller vanes, according to Public Services and Utilities Director Ryan E. Suchanek's memo and the contractor's quote; Professional Pump of Belleville wants $22,460 to rebuild it, and the memo says the pump was last rebuilt in 2019. Separately, the Weil-McLain steam boiler at the Shiawassee District Library is leaking, and Goyette Mechanical of Flint quoted $16,530 to reseal all seven cast iron sections plus an $11,870 contingency if five of them need replacing — $28,400 in all. A competing quote from Maurer Heating & Cooling proposed scrapping the boiler for four new gas furnaces at $49,100. Staff asked council to waive competitive bidding "due to the necessity and urgency for these specialized services, along with the recent and fast approaching winter weather."

What happens next: The council meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at City Hall, 301 West Main Street. The meeting can be watched on Zoom, but the packet notes that people joining that way "CANNOT participate in public comment" — speaking means being in the room, where each person gets up to four minutes at the first citizen comment period and three at the last. The next regular meeting after that is Monday, Nov. 16. The Current will report the vote and the terms of the Citizens Loft agreement once they are read into the record.