REGULAR MEETING
BELDING CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Pere Marquette Depot
100 Depot Street
7:00 p.m.
A meeting of the Belding City Council was convened in open and public session at the Pere Marquette Depot, 100 Depot Street, Belding, MI 48809, at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.
Mayor Bruce Meyers called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and gave the Invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
City Clerk, Janae Ortego, took the roll call:
Members present: Shelley Gladding, Bonita Steele, Jorel Davis and Bruce Meyers
Members absent: Jeannine Leary
Moved by Davis, seconded by Gladding to approve the absence of Council Member Leary per section 4.5(f) of the City Charter. Motion carried by the following roll call vote: Yes – all.
Mayor Meyers noted the following addition to the agenda: Add check presentations for the cameras for Veterans Memorial Park after the first Public Comment. Moved by Davis, seconded by Steele to approve the amended agenda. Motion carried by the following roll call vote: Yes – all.
David Punches approached the podium and began to comment. Mayor Meyers advised Punches that the first public comment is for agenda items only and that he may comment on non-agenda related items during the second public comment period.
Dale Kremsreiter approached the podium and began to comment. Mayor Meyers advised Kremsreiter that the first public comment is for agenda items only and that he may comment on non-agenda related items during the second public comment period.
Hearing no further questions or comments, Mayor Meyers closed Public Comments.
Sharon Carlson, Belding Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Chairperson, presented Mayor Meyers with a check for $15,000 to go towards the purchase of security cameras from TKS Security for the Veteran’s Memorial and Central Riverside Parks.
Leslie Warner, Vice President of the Belding Area Community Fund, presented Mayor Meyers with a check for $4,995.00 to go towards the purchase of security cameras/installation for the Veteran’s Memorial and Central Riverside Parks.
Moved by Gladding, seconded by Davis to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Motion carried by the following roll call vote: Yes – all. The Consent Agenda is as follows:
A. Approve Independent Bank Checks 80634 to 80710 in the amount of $291,987.70.
Approve Independent Bank ACH Notifications
Approve Mercantile Bank Checks 1477 to 1482 in the amount of $20.579.52 and Mercantile Bank Checks 1483 to 1489 in the amount of $6,382.82.
B. Approve Minutes:
City Council regularly scheduled meeting minutes – October 3, 2023.
Mayor Meyers advised that in the Independent Bank checks that were approved $103,249.91 was for a new leaf vacuum, about $73,000 went towards new service lines and $10,000 went towards starting the camera installation.
Steele advised that she attended the Rec Board meeting. They have a vacancy which must be posted for 30 days to allow for interested parties to apply. The appointment/reappointment process, along with their bylaws need to be discussed further.
Gladding attended her first Solid Waste Committee meeting. The ZBA met last week and approved a temporary non-use variance, allowing the applicants to delay the construction of a garage for 18 months and delay a hard surface driveway for 36 months. A storage shed must be completed when the home is completed.
Davis reported that the Planning Commission is scheduled to meet next week.
Mayor Meyers reported that the Housing Commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday.
A. Budget Amendment – Deputy Clerk. Moved by Gladding, seconded by Steele to approve a budget amendment in the general fund to cover additional hours and pay for the deputy city clerk (16 hours per week @ $18.00/hour.) Motion carried by the following roll call vote: Yes – all.
B. Consider Restrictive Covenant DTE Remediation Project. A representative from DTE was not available to discuss this matter with the council members. Moved by Steele, seconded by Gladding to table the agenda item to a later date when a representative from DTE is available and we have more information. Motion carried by the following roll call vote: Yes - all.
C. City Manager Presentation – New Building Update. Since taking ownership of the new building at 115 Main Street, staff have been making a list of needed projects to update and customize the building for both city hall and police administration purposes. (A list is on file in the Clerk’s Office). Stoppels offered suggestions as to how we will solicit bids and cost proposals by advertising for bids for one or more items, thus offering the chance for multiple local contractors to perform work on the new city hall building. Stoppels reported that the city’s insurance valued the replacement cost of the new city hall building to be $2.7 million. Currently there is an agreement between Independent Bank and the Post Office for plowing and snow removal in exchange for use of parking spaces. Stoppels is interested in continuing this agreement.
Dale Kremsreiter commented on the following topics:
· operating offroad vehicles in the city.
· the purchase of 115 Main Street.
· increased tax and water bills.
As Kremsreiter sought answers from the City Council, Mayor Meyers advised him that Public Comments are just that – comments. There is no back and forth dialogue. Mayor Meyers advised Kremsreiter to reach out to Chief of Police Dion Sower to answer his questions regarding side-by-sides.
· Kremsreiter further commented on News 8 covering the recent cemetery clean -up.
David Punches commented on the following topic(s):
· The recent cemetery clean-up.
· Cemetery maintenance.
Hershel Brown commented on the following topic(s):
· The recent cemetery clean-up.
· Cemetery maintenance.
Marty Mills commented on the following topic(s):
· The recent cemetery clean-up.
Scott Ferman commented of the following topic(s):
· The recent cemetery clean-up.
· The ZBA’s decision to grant variances to the property at 811 Wildlife Trail.
· City sidewalks
Mayor Meyers asked Ferman to direct his comments to him and not to the city Manager. He further advised Ferman that the ZBA worked within their authority.
Erica VanKampen commented on the following topic(s):
· The recent cemetery clean-up.
William Ward commented on the following topic(s) regarding city work/repairs:
· The depth of cement at the end of his driveway.
· Replacement of ground during repairs.
· Erosion.
Huey Brown commented on the following topic(s):
· The recent cemetery clean-up.
Julie Brady commented on the following topic(s):
· The recent cemetery clean-up.
Carol Heaton commented on the following topic(s):
· The recent cemetery clean-up.
· Cemetery maintenance.
Ashley Brown commented on the following topic(s):
· The recent cemetery clean-up.
· Cemetery maintenance.
Marty Mills inquired if items removed from graves during the recent cemetery clean-up could still be retrieved.
Sam Mason commented on the following topic(s):
· The recent cemetery clean-up.
Jeff Hunter commented on the following topic(s):
· The recent cemetery clean-up.
Mayor Meyers asked Hunter to address his comments to him and not the City Manager or DPW Staff who were present at the meeting.
· Hunter commented on his constitutional rights.
Mayor Meyers again asked Hunter to address his comments to him.
· Hunter commented on the state law regarding graves.
· Cemetery maintenance
· Cemetery rules.
Jenny Bennett commented on the following topic(s):
· The recent cemetery clean-up.
Mayor Meyers closed public comment at 8:15 p.m. Before moving on, he expressed his how sorry the council members and the city staff are regarding the over zealous clean-up that took place at the cemetery. We need to move forward and make sure things like this don’t happen again. There was no malicious intent.
Carol Heaton commented on the cemetery maintenance and rules.
The Mayor asked those affected by the clean-up as to how to keep the cemetery nice and what is acceptable. There have been many discussions about the cemetery and part of the problem is the abundance of trees. This year the council authorized $10-12,000 to start removing dead and diseased trees. Cemeteries are different everywhere. Communication is always difficult, because many that visit the cemeteries (in Belding) do not live here.
Mary Miller inquired if the items that were removed could be retrieved.
Stoppels advised that the items will be secured in the DPW building.
Steele requested religious items to be disposed of properly.
Hunter commented on state laws regarding cemeteries.
Mayor Meyers advised Hunter that he has not had an opportunity read the law that he (Hunter) is referring to; if Hunter could leave a copy of the law and he (Mayor Meyers) will read it.
Stoppels advised council on the following topics of interest:
· There was no directive given to clean the cemetery; it is routine work that is done every year, just this time the people assigned to this task became over-zealous in their efforts. The current set of Cemetery Rules and Regulations have been posted at the cemetery in the bulletin board since August, 2022. The prior set that was posted were extremely faded and had been typewritten—an indication of just how old they were. Stoppels further commented that he does not like people commenting that he doesn’t care—because he does care. He can also disprove the allegations regarding the condition of the cemetery on Memorial Day as he has photos from the day before, the day of and the day after Memorial Day. He further commented that he is not the Director of DPW. He stated that he has lost sleep over this situation—it just happened and it is unfortunate. The majority of what is in the dumpster are old flowers. The dumpster will be placed in the DPW building this evening. Again, there was no directive, it was just routine work being performed and that is the truth, Stoppels said. He thanked the mayor for allowing him to comment.
· Bylaws for all boards are being reviewed for more uniformity. The boards/commissions will meet separately to discuss and then a representative from each will meet as a group to achieve as much uniformity as possible while still having their own uniqueness. At this time the major concern is for uniformity in handling vacancies, reappointments and how to apply.
· Stoppels is checking into code enforcement options. Currently it is managed as a part-time position held by an employee who has other responsibilities in the police department as well. Both jobs are technically full-time positions, and the manager recognized employee Marci Cooper for her efforts in handling both responsibilities. Stopples is looking into options of hiring a full-time code enforcement officer or hiring a privatized company.
· There has been a request to vacate Cleveland Street, which is 2 blocks south of M-44.
· The Wastewater Treatment Plant Groundbreaking Event is taking place on Wednesday, October 25th at 1:00 p.m. Stopples continues to seek opportunities for state and federal funding of the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Davis thanked the DDA and the BACF for their generous donations. He thanked everyone who commented. He further thanked Mills and Heaton for not only their comments but for offering resolutions as well. Davis stated that what happened can’t be undone but we can create a plan and move forward.
Steele commented that she can relate to many of the cemetery comments offered. What occurred was unacceptable and mentioned forming a committee so this never happens again.
Gladding stated that she had a lot to say but could not get it out.
Mayor Meyers stated that he has said all that he needed to say earlier. It is unfortunate but we will work together to make sure this never happens again.
He thanked those that came with suggestions to make things better. Mayor Meyers clarified a comment from earlier in the meeting regarding the purchase of a new building for city hall and why those funds were not put towards the new wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater treatment plant must be self-funded, meaning that funds cannot be taken from the general fund. Mayor Meyers reminded everyone that the city council members all pay the same bills as the residents. He further commented that he ran for City Council to give back to his community and because it is a worthwhile community. There are a lot of great, talented, caring people here he said. No one is going out of their way to cause pain, grief and stress, but things do happen. On behalf of the city council, the city manager and the DPW we are sorry. He thanked everyone who talked this evening.
Moved by Steele, seconded by Davis to adjourn the meeting at 8:54 p.m. Motion carried by the following roll call vote: Yes – all.
_________________________________________ _________________________________________
Bruce Meyers, Mayor Janae Ortego, City Clerk