Mold Remediation in Imlay City, MI

IMLAY CITY — An Almont-based liquidation business is relocating to Imlay City’s former fire station in the downtown area.

On Tuesday night, the Imlay City Commission approved a lease agreement with J&J Liquidation to host space in the old fire hall on E. Third Street on a short-term basis. J&J will lease the fire hall for $2,500 a month ($12,500 total) from November to March 2025 and cover all utilities.

J&J, which sells liquidated merchandise such as electronics, furniture, toys and power tools, was previously located at the 4000 block of Van Dyke Road (M-53) just south of Dryden Road in Almont Township, where it shared space in a warehouse-style building with Nova Steel Inc. However, J&J was forced to find a new location following a fire on the afternoon of Sept. 7 that wiped out most of its inventory.

Damage from the fire was mostly contained to the interior of the 150,000-square-foot building, but the J&J section of the structure was a total loss, forcing owner Jim Slack to seek a new location for his business. No one was injured in the blaze, which started in the J&J section of the building. The store was closed at the time.

Slack approached Imlay City earlier this month to request a lease for the old fire hall so he could have an affordable and conducive space to get his business operational again.

As part of the agreement, Slack told the Commission that he will share space in the building to accommodate the city’s Winterfest Kringle Market, which is scheduled to take place on Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Winterfest, promoted and organized by the Imlay City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and the Imlay City Chamber of Commerce, will also include a parade at 5 p.m., a Christmas tree lighting at Lamb Steele Park around 5:30 p.m., horse-drawn wagon rides, a live nativity, kids crafts stations, food trucks, Lunch with Santa and more.

DDA Executive Director Christine Malzahn said the Kringle Market, held at the fire hall last year, received a strong turnout and a positive reception from shoppers and vendors alike. She said 19 vendors have committed so far to this year’s market, and she expects to have up to 30 vendors participate. The DDA also used the fire hall to host its Farmer’s Market throughout the summer and fall and made updates to the building and its amenities.

Malzahn said Kringle Market vendors want to continue showing this year at the old fire hall and have indicated that they wouldn’t be interested in setting up anywhere else in the city. She also said that the DDA and Winterfest committee have run through possible alternative locations for the market but haven’t found an option more viable than the fire hall.

“We’ve looked at other vacant buildings and storefronts that are downtown…but the majority of them are not ready to host a setup of that nature and aren’t clean and presentable,” she said. “We’ve also looked at city hall, but there’s just not enough space to accommodate the 29 to 30 vendors we anticipate.”

Malzahn also said the Lamb Steele Park building and Imlay City Senior Center aren’t large enough for the market. Additionally, she said the Dept. of Public Works storage building — located near the old fire hall — has electrical issues, a roof leak and no bathroom facilities and couldn’t be prepared in time for Winterfest. Costs to host the venue outside in a tent would run around $6,000-$7,000, said Malzahn, and wouldn’t be feasible for the DDA to cover at this time.

City Commission members asked Slack if he would be able to accommodate space for the market on Dec. 7. He said he’s willing to work with the city and DDA to find a solution for space.

“The last thing I want to do is interrupt things here. The market is great for kids and the community,” he said.

Slack said he expects his business to be up and running at the fire hall by the second week of November.

“I have an opportunity to get back on M-53 in March or April. But if I don’t get back in business by November, the money won’t be there to make the transition,” he said. “In the meantime, I wanted to try this location (at the fire hall), and if it works out for me, I was hoping to maybe make it a long-term option.”

The City Commission also approved a special event application for Winterfest, which includes the original plans for the Kringle Market to set up in the fire hall.

In other business:

• A contract with ROWE Professional Services was approved. ROWE will oversee engineering for renovations at Lions Park as part of the Lions Park DNR Spark Grant project. Imlay City received a grant award of $790,800 to revitalize the park with better amenities and more accessibility through a partnership of the Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF) and the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) Spark Grant Program. Lions Park is a nine-acre recreational park on Blacks Corners Road.

• The commission appointed Barbara Yockey and John Genord to the DDA Board for four-year terms.

• A parade permit was approved for Weston and Borland elementaries to hold a walking costume parade for Halloween on Oct. 31 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. The parade will start and end on Metcalf Road between Borland and Weston roads.

• Trick or treat hours were set in the city for Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

• City Manager Craig Horton said a median repair project on M-53 (Van Dyke Road) near I-69 and Newark Road is on schedule for completion this weekend.

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