City Council

PROCEEDINGS OF THE MANISTEE CITY COUNCIL – October 21, 2014 A regular meeting of the Manistee City Council was called to order by her honor, Mayor Colleen Kenny on Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 70 Maple Street, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. PRESENT: Colleen Kenny, Edward Cote, Robert Hornkohl, Robert Goodspeed, Catherine Zaring, Mark Wittlieff, and Eric Gustad. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager – Mitch Deisch, City Attorney – Richard Wilson, City Clerk – Michelle Wright, DPW Director – Jeff Mikula, Finance Director – Ed Bradford, Planning & Zoning Administrator – Denise Blakeslee, Public Safety Director – Dave Bachman, and City Engineer – Shawn Middleton. PUBLIC HEARING ON THE ADOPTION OF A BROWNFIELD PLAN FOR THE SOUTH WASHINGTON AREA. The purpose of the public hearing is to afford an opportunity for all citizens and interested parties to provide comments on the adoption of a Brownfield Plan for the South Washington Street Area. Mayor Kenny invited the public to speak on the South Washington Street Area Brownfield Plan. No comments received. Public hearing closed at 7:02 p.m. CITIZEN COMMENTS ON AGENDA RELATED ITEMS. William Kracht – 403 First Street commented on the deer kill issue: 1) opposed, letters to editor all opposed, hold a referendum on the issue, and questioned if it is a public safety or police safety issue; 2) stated Hornkohl has a conflict of interest, would receive monetary value if this passes; and 3) Hornkohl’s comments at the 8/12/14 council meeting regarding someone discharging a weapon and poaching – serious crime and should be prosecuted. Deborah Green – 300 Spruce Street is adamantly opposed to deer issue; agrees with Mr. Kracht: asked what the benefits of a deer cull would be; if food is available, they will come back; also has had damage at her home but never considered killing them; crash stats haven’t changed, 18 accidents/1000 people, no deer/car accident problems according to statistics; the black legged tick gets Lyme disease while it is in the larvae stage and gets it from field mice and chipmunks, eradicating deer doesn’t have much effect on Lyme disease risk; they chose Manistee because of the park like setting. Brad Kolk – 486 Fourth Street is a 16 year resident and a hunter; supports the culling of the deer; has tried treating plants and planting what the deer don’t like, and they still eat them; culling won’t cure the problem but will help; if it is done by the police department, it will be safe. Gary Cushing – 617 Spruce Street bought his house in 1969, there were very few deer then; enjoys hunting also; deer use his back yard as their bedroom and bathroom; he and his dog both got ticks on them and believe that is where they got them from. T Eftaxiadis – 817 Cherry Street said his neighborhood is infested with deer, numbers have increased in | Page 1  PROCEEDINGS OF THE MANISTEE CITY COUNCIL – October 21, 2014 the last 10 years; he questioned the reports of 50‐70 deer in town, he has counted over 50 deer at one time and in one place on the golf course; has seen starving deer which can barely walk, it is inhumane and cruel; supports reducing the population; police or DNR need to enforce the no feeding ordinance that is on the books; this is not a one‐time thing, it has to be done every few years. Norm Rebedew – 804 Tamarack Street said a deer hit his car coming out of the garage and caused $11,000 damage; has seen 30 deer walking down Tamarack Street because the snow banks have been so high in winter; ready to get rid of them. CONSENT AGENDA.  Minutes ‐ October 7, 2014 ‐ Regular Meeting ‐ October 13, 2014 ‐ Work Session  Payroll ‐ Sept. 29 – Oct. 12, 2014 ‐ $ 114,504.05  Monthly Bills ‐ September 10, 2014 ‐ $ 2,159,863.74 ‐ September 22, 2014 ‐ $ 281,431.55  Notification Regarding Next Work Session – December 9, 2014 There is no work session in November. A Council work session has been scheduled for Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at 7 p.m. A discussion will be conducted on the recycling contract and such business as may come before the Council.  Consideration of Annual Boos, Brews and Brats Event The Manistee Main Street Downtown Development Authority has requested authorization to conduct their annual Boos, Brews and Brats event on Saturday, October 25, 2014. This event has activities for the whole family; from kids’ movies, pumpkin painting, pie eating contest, and a Zombie run. It is capped off with live music, cold beer, brats and an adult costume contest in the River Street Stockyard parking lot. MOTION by Hornkohl, second by Goodspeed to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. With a roll call vote this motion passed unanimously. AYES: Kenny, Cote, Hornkohl, Goodspeed, Zaring, Wittlieff, and Gustad NAYS: None PRESENTATION BY ANDERSON TACKMAN AND FINANCE DIRECTOR ED BRADFORD ON THE JUNE 30, 2014 AUDIT. Ken Talsma – Anderson Tackman & Company gave a synopsis of the 2014 Audit including the City’s government‐wide net position, governmental activities, water and sewer revenues and expenses, and compared five years of fund balance for the General Fund. He stated the City received a clean/unqualified audit opinion. He thanked the Treasurer and Clerk’s departments for their help | Page 2  PROCEEDINGS OF THE MANISTEE CITY COUNCIL – October 21, 2014 during the auditing process. CONSIDERATION OF A PARCEL SPLIT, CITY OF MANISTEE. On October 2, 2014 the Planning Commission reviewed and recommends Council approval of a request from the City of Manistee to split parcel #51‐260‐703‐09 into four parcels. Parcel A & B meet the requirements of the R‐1 Low Density Residential Zoning District. Parcel C & D are part of the Monroe Street right‐of‐way. MOTION by Hornkohl, second by Goodspeed to approve a parcel split request from the City of Manistee that would split parcel #51‐260‐703‐09 into four parcels as shown on a survey prepared by the Spicer Group. With a roll call vote this motion passed unanimously. AYES: Kenny, Cote, Hornkohl, Goodspeed, Zaring, Wittlieff, and Gustad NAYS: None CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING DEER HERD CULL BY MANISTEE POLICE DEPARTMENT. The Manistee Police Department has applied for a Michigan Department of Natural Resources permit to reduce the number of nuisance deer in the City of Manistee by up to 50 deer. The deer cull would take place over the span of one month from January 5 through February 5, 2015. MOTION by Hornkohl, second by Wittlieff to authorize the Manistee Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Bachman, to harvest as many as 50 deer within the City according to provisions of a Michigan Department of Natural Resources issued permit. The City Attorney stated that Councilman Hornkohl did not need to recuse himself on this issue. Lengthy discussion followed. With a roll call vote this motion passed, 5‐2. AYES: Cote, Hornkohl, Goodspeed, Zaring, and Wittlieff NAYS: Kenny and Gustad CONSIDERATION OF A BROWNFIELD PLAN FOR THE SOUTH WASHINGTON STREET AREA REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT. Earlier this evening a public hearing was held on the proposed Brownfield Plan for the South Washington Street Area Redevelopment Project. The City of Manistee Brownfield Redevelopment Authority has approved a Brownfield Plan for the South Washington Street Area. The Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act PA 381 of 1996 requires that Brownfield Plans obtain approval from the municipality in which they are located. MOTION by Gustad, second by Zaring to adopt a resolution approving the Brownfield Plan for the South Washington Street Area Redevelopment Project. | Page 3  PROCEEDINGS OF THE MANISTEE CITY COUNCIL – October 21, 2014 With a roll call vote this motion passed unanimously. AYES: Kenny, Cote, Hornkohl, Goodspeed, Zaring, Wittlieff, and Gustad NAYS: None A REPORT FROM THE NON‐MOTORIZED TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE. Ms. Christa Johnson reported on the activities of the Non‐Motorized Transportation Committee and responded to questions the Council had regarding their activities. CITIZEN COMMENT. None received. OFFICIALS AND STAFF. Wright stated that the General Election will be held in two weeks and encouraged everyone to go out and vote. Deisch gave an update on activities on the Twelfth Street improvement project, received a letter from a student requesting that something be done; working on a newspaper article on streets and the real cost of doing upgrades or heavy rehabilitation. COUNCILMEMBERS. Hornkohl spoke to several people at the MML Conference in Marquette and stated that Manistee isn’t unique on the street issues. Zaring is a member of the Election Official Academy board and stated that they are looking into education on how to find finances for streets. Wittlieff asked for an update on the USWA contract, Deisch stated they are discussing wage calculations and promotions; also thanked Bachman and the police department for taking care of the unlicensed car issue in the City. ADJOURN. MOTION to adjourn was made by Zaring, second by Goodspeed. Meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Michelle Wright MMC / CPFA, MiCPT City Clerk/Deputy Treasurer | Page 4