COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A divided Coldwater City Council barely approved an offer from the owners of the vacant Putnam Funeral Home at the northeast corner of East Chicago and Marshall to sell the property to the City of Coldwater for ten dollars on Monday night.
The Council voted 5-4 in favor of a sales agreement being signed. Mayor Tom Kramer voted no along with Council members James Knaack, Emily Rissman and Chad Johnson. Voting yes were Randall Hazelbaker, John Petzko, Scott Houtz, Travis Machan and Michael Beckwith.
City Manager Keith Baker said in his letter to the City Council that the offer was being made by Keystone Michigan, Incorporated.
The structure is vacant after the Putnam Funeral Home closed in the spring of 2017.
Baker says the city’s interest in the property is to secure it from further deterioration and to find a new use for the structure. He adds there have been a couple of local entities who have expressed an interest in the property should the city acquire it.
As part of the covenant deed, the property is not to be used as a funeral home or crematory.
In other business, the Council approved a license agreement with Purple Orchid Incorporated for the outdoor deck and patio on city property at 41 and 47 West Chicago. Plans by DMV Properties call for the buildings that were constructed in 1869 to become a new wine and retail business.
The Council also approved an ordinance that would delay the acceptance of recreational marijuana retail establishment license applications in the Central and General Business Districts for 45 days. This would give city staff time to present possible solutions to the Planning Commission and the Council concerning a 1,000 foot separation distance in the two districts.
