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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, March 17, 2008 in the LaSalle High School Cafeteria at LaSalle High School. At this time, Mayor Grondin thanked the Board of Education and Superintendent Mike Springsteen for allowing the Council to hold their meeting at the High School and introduced the Councilmembers, City Attorney, Staff and himself. The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. by Mayor Grondin with the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilmember Gustafson gave the invocation. Present: Councilmember Della- Moretta, Fullerton, Gustafson, La- Londe, Tamlyn-Massaway, Wyse, Mayor Grondin. Absent: None. Staff Present: Eric Dodson, City Manager; Prentiss M. Brown, Jr., City Attorney; Renee' Vonderwerth, City Clerk; Les Therrian, Superintendent of Utilities; Tim Matelski, Chief of Police; Deb Evashevski, DDA Director; Bucky Robinson, Fire Chief; Paul Sved, Building Inspector. Minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 3, 2008 were approved as written. Additions to the Agenda: There were no additions, however, at this time Councilmember Gustafson introduced the groups of students present and their teachers: the third grades that study local government as their social studies curriculum and teaches Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Metz, and Mrs. Shiemke and the twelfth grade required senior social studies class and their teacher is Mr. Fettig. 1. CABLE TV COMMITTEE REPORT: City Manager Dodson stated that the Cable TV Committee has met and is still researching the purchase of a new system. At this time, Councilmember Gustafson stated that the committee's goal is to purchase the best system within the allocated amount set by the City without additional costs to the cable customers, adding that the new system is scheduled to be installed and training done by the summer. 2. WATER/SEWER REPORT: City Manager Dodson stated that this is a monthly update on the status of the water and sewer funds, informing Council that the funds are still following projections. In addition, City Manager Dodson stated that the DEQ did a comparable rate survey of Northern Michigan communities, adding that out of 105 communities that responded, St. Ignace placed in the bottom of the top third for water rates and the bottom half for sewer. 3. WATER TOWER UPDATE: City Manager Dodson informed Council that negotiations are ongoing with Phoenix Elevated (formerly PTT) to get the outstanding bills paid, adding they have agreed to finish painting the tank around end of April, weather permitting. In addition, Les Therrian stated that the remaining issues include a final punch list and warranty issues which will be addressed after the final inspection by Dixon Engineering. Also, Bill Dixon, from Dixon Engineering, will attend a future Council meeting before the Council enacts a resolution to take possession of the tank. 4. SEWER PROJECT UPDATE: City Manager Dodson updated Council on the SRF Project, stating that residents along the route of the project will receive an Environmental Impact Report outlining the scope of the project, adding that an August bid opening is scheduled. Les Therrian added that the State of Michigan would be mailing the letters informing residents on what will be happening beginning the end of March through the end of April. 5. FORT deBUADE UPDATE: City Manager Dodson updated Council on the status of the electrical, gas and snow issues at Fort de Buade, informing Council that the concerns are being addressed and dealt with. 6. FIREWORKS BID OPENING: City Manager Dodson informed Council that the 4th of July Committee met on February 29, 2008 to open and review the two bids that were received for the firework display. After reviewing the bids, it was the consensus of the committee to accept the bid from Kundis for an additional five years, unless otherwise negotiated. Fire Chief Robinson added that Kundis apologized for the presentation of fireworks in 2007 and guaranteed they will make up for it. It was moved by Councilmember LaLonde, seconded by Councilmember Wyse to accept the bid from Kundis with the changes. Motion carried unanimously. Consideration of Bills: Councilmember Gustafson inquired on the bill from OTIS for $900.00 to repair the City Hall elevator, asking if the repair is guaranteed for an amount of time. Les Therrian stated it is actually the annual load test that wasn't done in the prior year by Central Elevator because of an injured employee. In addition, Les informed Council that contract prices were compared between OTIS and Central Elevator and OTIS was 15% lower in cost. Councilmember Gustafson also inquired on the bill from R.S. Scott Associates regarding architectural hours, asking where it was done. City Manager Dodson stated it is a materials list and estimate requested by the Recreation Board regarding the locker room issue. Councilmember LaLonde inquired on the bill from Valley Truck Parts for rebuilding a pump. Les Therrian stated that a new hydraulic pump was purchased, but the bill also includes parts for the old hydraulic pump being rebuilt by the DPW mechanic. Public Comment: At this time, Mayor Grondin and Councilmembers addressed questions and comments received from several students regarding the duties of Councilmembers, the tennis court, the skateboard park, and paintball. Also at this time, Mary Nichols inquired why Council is not optimizing usage of Channel 2 to televise meetings by utilizing a volunteer from the community that has the equipment and expertise to provide this service. Councilmember Gustafson stated that there are certain criteria involved with this system and the committee will continue to pursue the best possible system.
The following bills were presented to Council for payment:
Mayor Paul Grondin Renee Vonderwerth, City Clerk |
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