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St. Ignace City Council Meeting Minutes Council Proceedings (Official) The regular meeting of the St. Ignace City Council was held on Monday, September 17, 2007 in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. by Mayor Grondin with the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilmember Wyse gave the invocation. Present: Councilmember Della- Moretta, Fullerton, Gustafson, LaLonde, Tamlyn-Massaway, Wyse, Mayor Grondin. Absent: None. Staff Present: Eric Dodson, City Manager, Prentiss M. Brown, Jr., City Attorney; Loni Brown, Deputy Clerk; Eugene Elmer, Assessor/ Treasurer, Les Therrian, Superintendent of Utilities; Tim Matelski, Chief of Police; Paul Sved, Bldg. Insp; Bucky Robinson, Fire Chief; Erica Mattson, Recreation Department. Minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 4, 2007 were approved as presented. Additions to the Agenda: 11. Councilmember LaLonde - Clarification to news article. 12. City Attorney/City Manager - Letter from St. Ignace News. 1. PUBLIC HEARING FOR TOWER ORDINANCE: It was moved by Councilmember LaLonde, seconded by Councilmember Wyse to open the Public Hearing. Motion carried unanimously. It was moved by Councilmember Gustafson, seconded by Councilmember LaLonde to close the Public Hearing. Motion carried unanimously. 2. ADOPTION OF TOWER ORDINANCE, ARTICLE XIII, CHAPTER 38 - ZONING ORDINANCE: It was moved by Councilmember Gustafson, seconded by Councilmember Wyse to adopt the Tower Ordinance with the word "feet" inserted at the end of page one. Motion carried unanimously. 3. WASTE MANAGEMEN CONCERN - VISITORS' BUREAU: City Manager Dodson informed Council that he contacted Waste Management in regards to the concern voiced at the previous meeting, stating that Waste Management was aware of the problem, and it has been dealt with directly through personnel. In addition, City Manager Dodson informed Council that the other issue is a minimum fee of $100 that the transfer station is charging commercial users, which is a nation wide program implemented by the corporate headquarters and falls outside of the regular agreement with the City. It was the consensus of Council to have the City Manager send a written objection regarding the fee to the corporate headquarters. 4. YELLOW BIKE PROJECT STUDY: City Manager Dodson stated that in researching this program, that it is common, throughout the state and he has more information if the Council is interested. Typically, a non-profit organization sets up the program and addresses the liability issue by setting up a 501 c with no assets. In addition, City Manager Dodson stated he contacted Mike Buby to inquire on the possibility of a bike rental business in the future, after which he asked Mike Buby to address Council. Mike Buby stated that even though the Yellow Bike program has had some problems the effort is there and the intent is good, however, you need someone to manage the program and the risks involved with liability issues is a hindrance. In addition, he informed Council that he will be opening a rental business in the spring and unfortunately, the downside is that it conflicts with the Yellow Bike Program. At this time, Mary Swiderski commented that she didn't know Mike had plans to rent bikes and it wasn't her intent to conflict with or hinder a business. Janet Peterson inquired on what group of people the Yellow Bike Program would include, as it was her understanding that the purpose was to provide a service for a group of people that don't have transportation. Mary stated that it is targeted for low-income groups and senior citizens to use for physical activity. It was the consensus of Council that it would be in the best interest of the city not to get involved with the program. 5. REAL ESTATE COMMITTEE UPDATE - AMERICAN LEGION PARK EXPANSION: City Manager Dodson stated that the Real Estate Committee met to review the Council's directive to consider the purchase of the property adjacent to RESOLUTION the American Legion Park, adding that after considerable discussion, it is the recommendation of the Real Estate Committee for the City to solicit bids for an independent appraisal of the property. At this time, City Manager Dodson requested Council to authorize the Real Estate Committee to open the bids on October 11th and bring a recommendation and an answer on where the expenditure will be charged to Council on October 15th. It was moved by Councilmember Gustafson, seconded by Councilmember LaLonde to accept the Real Estate Committees recommendation with the City Manager's suggested time line. Motion carried unanimously. 6. CITY INTERNSHIP POLICY CONSIDERATION: City Manager Dodson presented an internship policy to Council for their approval, in response to concerns discussed at previous Council meetings. It was moved by Councilmember Gustafson, seconded by Councilmember Fullerton to accept the internship policy as written, adding after the word expenses in the last paragraph "without prior unanimous Council approval". Motion carried unanimously. At this time, Mayor Grondin requested that the City Manager provide a corrected copy of the Internship Policy at the next Council Meeting. 7. MARINA REPORT: Gene Elmer informed Council that, to date, the revenues are up 14.5% and the expenses are up 3.5% which includes the increased cost of fuel. 8. APPROVAL OF APPLICATION FOR LICENSE TO DRIVE A TAXICAB: City Manager Dodson presented an application from Mark Nordstrand to drive a taxicab, adding that the Chief of Police reviewed the application and recommended Council's approval. It was moved by Councilmember Gustafson, seconded by Councilmember Wyse to accept the Chief of Police recommendation and approve the application. Motion carried unanimously. 9. AUTUMN APPLE DAYS AND PUMPKIN ROLL RESOLUTION: The following Resolution was offered for adoption by Councilmember LaLonde, supported by Councilmember Gustafson: WHEREAS, the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce requests permission to conduct Autumn Apple Days and Pumpkin Roll, and WHEREAS, this event requires the usage of the St. Ignace public sidewalks, and WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 413 of the City of St. Ignace, "The Peddler's Ordinance", requires certain criteria be met in order for the event to be held. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the St. Ignace City Council has determined that the Chamber of Commerce does meet the criteria established in the various sections of the Ordinance No. 413, and FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council does approve the usage of the public sidewalks for this event on Saturday, October 6, 2007. FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council approves the closure of Goudreau Street, from Ellsworth to N. State Street on Saturday, October 6, 2007, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Roll Call Vote: Yes: Councilmember Fullerton, Gustafson, LaLonde, Tamlyn-Massaway, Wyse, Mayor Grondin, Councilmember Della-Moretta. No: None. Absent: None. Resolution declared Adopted. At this time, Janet Peterson, on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, publicly thanked all the volunteers involved in the Mud Run for making it a success this year, adding that without the help of the DPW and the Fire Department it would have been hard to pull off. In addition, Ms. Peterson stated it was a real positive event and it is something that will definitely be done next year. 10. CITY MANAGER EVALUATION: Mayor Grondin presented Council a copy of the evaluation summary stating that the Negotiating Committee and he met to review the evaluations with the City Manager. In addition, the summary, with the seven evaluations attached, will be placed in the City Manager's personnel file. It was moved by Councilmember Wyse, seconded by Councilmember Della-Moretta to accept the evaluation. Motion carried unanimously. 11. COUNCILMEMBER LALONDE - CLARIFICATION TO NEWSPAPER ARTICLE: Councilmember LaLonde, referring to the motion at the previous Council meeting regarding the Building Inspector, stated that the press needs to insure accuracy in their articles. Councilmember LaLonde clarified that the motion to reaffirm the previous decision was not a unanimous vote, it was six to one, adding that he voted no. 12. CITY ATTORNEY/CITY MANAGER - LETTER FROM ST. IGNACE NEWS: City Manager Dodson stated that the Council received a letter from the St. Ignace News regarding the Open Meetings Act, which City Attorney Brown has responded to, and asked City Attorney Brown to comment on the issue. City Attorney Brown stated that meetings could be closed for negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement if either negotiating party requests it. In addition, City Attorney Brown stated that he feels if a non-member of a bargaining unit wants a closed meeting he should have the same privilege, however, his recommendation is that Department Head negotiations be open. Consideration of Bills: Councilmember Gustafson asked about the bills from OMS and inquired if the City received a copy of the results of the individual test to be placed in the employees file or how does it work. Les Therrian stated that it is placed in an OMS file. Public Comment: Don Lawson commented on the USDA rates for the water and sewer. Les Therrian explained that the USDA sets the guidelines and Council sets the rates. At this time, Don Lawson, requested Council change the rates. At this time, Les Therrian, further explained the guidelines and procedures that have to be met according to the USDA requirements. Mary Nichols commented on the Paul Bunyan camp breakfast and hike scheduled for September 9 and October 6th, stating that the money goes to preserving the US Forest Service trails. It's being organized and sponsored by the St. Ignace Visitors Bureau and the Forest Service and encouraged everyone to attend. In addition, the one on January 26th will include cross county skiing and the admission cost is $15 for adults and 12 and under is $10.
The following bills were presented to Council for payment: |
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