Approval of Agenda

Mayor Gunderson asked to add Item C to the consent agenda – Temporary Street Closure, Item A to the business agenda – Resignation of city manager, and Item B to the business agenda – Appointment of acting city manager.

Council Member Scheid made a motion to approve the agenda as amended, supported by Council Member Feehan.

The question on the motion was called and the result of the voting is as follows:

            Ayes:               Council Members Miller, Meyers, Scheid, Feehan and Gunderson

            Nays:               None

Guest – Denny Craycraft

Denny Craycraft stated by the Labor Day weekend, there will be two more pillars in the park.  At the Ionia Free Fair for the Veterans Day program, he had a display of our park.  He talked to Dick Thalen who is 90 years old and one of the few survivors of the USS Indianapolis in WWII.  His grandson is trying to build a monument in Lansing.  This ship delivered the atomic bomb to Guam, to drop on China.  The ship was sunk by a German submarine.  He gave Denny a book with his signature.  He may be a guest speaker during the Labor Day weekend.  It may be held at 1 p.m. Saturday.  This Saturday he is going to Grayling to meet a 91 year old, one of the last of the Red Tail airmen.  He may also be a speaker.  Channel 17 and News 8 are helping locate the Medal of Honor recipient and he hopes to have him here.  He has been fundraising for the Foot of the Cross for first responders and veterans.  He gets a donation for the wall.  On July15th, there was a charter bus from Alma with 65 people.  Their VFW raised $1,800 for the wall.  They had a program at the wall.  The Belding Honor Guard participated.  150 motorcycles also came to see the wall.  He is working with Patten Monument on the back side of wall.  He is down to $50,000 to get it completed.  There will be a stone at the end of each wing, with the names in alphabetical order and their location on the wall to make it easier to locate a name.  He has permission for a fundraising program through the State of Michigan.  This has really exploded in Michigan.  Many people are visiting.  It was brought to his attention that one of the city officials went to a resident in town.  He had a flag on his front porch and he was told he could not fly it.  It was a Betsy Ross flag.  It is a federal law that any US flag can be flown, even with less than fifty stars.  There is no law in the State of Michigan prohibiting flying a US flag.  It was not a confederate flag.    

Public Comments

There were no public comments.

Consent Agenda

Reports by Council Liaisons

Council Member Miller stated the Historic District Commission and Planning Commission have not had a meeting. 

Council Member Meyers stated the Rec Board meeting was cancelled and the Housing Commission will meet Thursday at 6.

Council Member Scheid had no report. 

Council Member Feehan stated the Labor Day meeting was cancelled and the Museum Board will meet next week.

Mayor Gunderson stated his meetings are next week. 

Unfinished Business

There was no unfinished business.

New Business

1. Resignation of City Manager Bruce Brown

Mayor Gunderson read the letter of resignation.

Council Member Scheid made a motion to accept the resignation of City Manager Bruce Brown with an effective date of August 17, 2017 and to authorize the payment of salary, sick leave and vacation pay, supported by Council Member Miller.

The question on the motion was called and the result of the voting is as follows:

            Ayes:               Council Members Miller, Meyers, Scheid, Feehan and Gunderson

            Nays:               None

Mayor Gunderson stated in the past, council appointed Becky Schlienz as acting city manager and also put out a request for applications for an interim city manager, and actively searched for a city manager.  MML can be hired to do that process. 

Council Member Feehan made a motion to accept applications for interim city manager, supported by Council Member Miller.

The question on the motion was called and the result of the voting is as follows:

            Ayes:               Council Members Miller, Meyers, Scheid, Feehan and Gunderson

            Nays:               None

Council Member Miller made a motion to get a quote from MML for the city manager search process, supported by Council Member Feehan. 

The question on the motion was called and the result of the voting is as follows:

            Ayes:               Council Members Miller, Meyers, Scheid, Feehan and Gunderson

            Nays:               None

2. Appointment of Acting City Manager

The City Clerk read the preamble to the resolution.

Council Member Scheid moved the passage of the resolution and the motion was supported by Council Member Feehan.

Public Comments

Dave Hodges, Ionia County Commissioner, stated the Committee of the Whole met to hear reports.  He was sad to hear of Bruce.  That is a great loss.  He is a wonderful man.  Ionia County Household Hazardous Waste had great turnouts in each city and will be back in Ionia in September.  They talked about the MSU programs.  They will be moving from M-66 to the old District Court building next year.  The head is retiring.  The State did the yearly evaluation for Public Health.  120 points were checked and passed.  The new dental clinic open house will be held on September 12 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and will be serving those in the county who have financial issues and Medicaid.  Building and Grounds reported there are issues with the air conditioning in the Friend of the Court building.  The jail has small issues.  They gave an update on the new building.  A tour is available.  The Ionia County Treasurer held a tax sale last Friday with 18 parcels and buildings.  Half of them were sold and there will be a second sale in October. Juvenile Court had no report. 

Sam Mason, 516 W. May, stated they had the Gus Macker situation and the paperwork for the boil water order reached his store around 3:30 p.m.  The request was that they try to implement it as soon as possible.  It was an emergency response document.  The elderly and underpriviledged may not have known.  There was poor communication, there was no pamphlet or paperwork during the Gus Macker event.  It was on TV, Facebook.  He was given the wrong number to contact.  There was no communication downtown.  They need a response for door to door.  Businesses would help with employees to take an area of town.  It was very poor from a professional level.

Jeff Hunter, Zahm Rd., stated they are gung ho on code enforcement.  He asked what can the city do about the sign on Bridge St. and Leppinks, about the pan handlers who steal money?  On the flag thing, they should be ashamed to say they never heard of it.  He asked, as the liaison of the Housing Commission, why does the truck have no stickers?  There are two maintenance employees that drive around half the day.  He was working five miles out of town and both employees were out there.  They can’t get the apartments finished.  Maybe they should get rid of them and get workers for eight hours a day.  They should have some kind of plan for water.  Can they explain what happened?  His brother was sick for four days.  The water system should be separated from the sewer system.

City Manager Comments

There was no report.

Council Comments

Council Member Meyers stated he wanted to take the time to thank Bruce.  They worked on a couple of projects when he was on city council, and he appreciates the things he learned from him.  He was a man that had a lot of character.  He thinks as a city they owe him a lot.  He was a tireless worker for the city.  He spent a lot of time on different projects, even stuff that was not quite city related but would benefit the city in the long run.  At times, he deserved better than he got.  He talked a lot about negative energy and what they could do as a city to turn it into positive. Bruce shared a love for the city, like they all do.  He was a good friend. 

Council Member Scheid wished Bruce the best of luck.  It is always sad to have it end because of health but he hopes he has a speedy recovery.  He didn’t always have the outcomes he wanted, but he tried.  He wished him the best of luck.  They didn’t see the final outcome on the water or cause.  That will be handled.  He thanked them for coming tonight.

Council Member Feehan stated he wished Bruce well.  He was like a friend and he will miss him. Maybe Becky can work with the staff for the notification system.  They could put their heads together.

Council Member Miller read a statement regarding Bruce.  It is really a tough job.  He had the honor of meeting Bruce when there were changes in the Historic District.  Bruce has a passion for the City of Belding, and worked for the betterment of the city.  His past experience prepared him.  He was here in the time of healing for the city.  He understood what they were trying to accomplish. He was kindhearted.  He enforced standards for the betterment of Belding.  He was a self-starter on many projects, he held a leadership role, and he understood budgets and grants.  They were lucky to have him as city manager.  He wishes them future success without the daily demands of the city position.  He thanked him for all he has done. 

Mayor Gunderson stated the Belding Housing comments must be addressed to the Belding Housing Board, not council.  There is no report back yet on the water.  There are talks of a plan, but this has never happened before and it was a learning curve for everybody.   Staff did what they could do.  Endless hours were put in by many, many people.  He can’t thank them enough for what they did.  It was not the best timing.  He will deal with the report. He met with Bruce almost every Thursday.  They have so many things to thank him for in this community.  Bruce had a mural done for the community.  He tried so many times to bring arts to the community with no backing.  It is very fortunate to have the history of the city on a wall.  Bruce had a lot of things open and unfinished.  They are dealing with those as they come up.  A lot that was set aside will be picked up again.  Knowing Bruce, if he couldn’t come back like he was, he would not come back.  It was a pleasure working with Bruce.  He has such a variety of knowledge.  He knew who to contact.  He brought so many in town for their expertise at little cost, or out of his pocket.  He truly wishes he was here to move the town forward.  As a city council, they will move forward. 

Adjournment

Council Member Scheid moved to adjourn the meeting, supported by Council Member Feehan.

Ayes:               Council Members Miller, Meyers, Scheid, Feehan and Gunderson

            Nays:               None

The Mayor adjourned the meeting at 7:49 p.m.