City Council

MANISTEE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF MARCH 12, 2019 The Manistee City Council met in a work session on Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers, City Hall, 70 Maple Street, Manistee, Michigan 49660. MEMBERS PRESENT: Dale Cooper, Lynda Beaton, Roger Zielinski, Robert Goodspeed, Michael Szymanski, James Grabowski and Erin Pontiac MEMBERS ABSENT: ALSO PRESENT: City Manager, Department Directors, and Public Public Comments Councilmember Goodspeed stated he had to leave at 8:00 DISCUSSION ON CHARGES FOR SPECIAL EVENTS AND USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS – City Manager Thad Taylor – City Manager Thad Taylor led a discussion about City charges for special events. Council had previously directed staff to review the matter and bring back recommendations. Staff recommends breaking special events into two categories: Parades and Events. Parades for homecoming would be charged $0, parades that are held under statutes allowing the expenditure of public funds would be charged $0, other parades would be charged $100. Events that are held under statutes allowing the expenditure of public funds would be charged $0, non-profit events not covered would be charged $100, for profit events would be charged the actual cost of the services provided. Council consensus to have the City Manager prepare a Council Policy for future consideration. DISCUSSION WITH MANISTEE AREA PUBLIC SCHOOLS ON PAINE POOL OPERATIONS AND THE BLIGHTED BUILDING ON SIXTH STREET – City Manager Thad Taylor – City Manager Thad Taylor introduced Manistee Area Public Schools Superintendent Ron Stoneman and Finance Director Howard Vaas. Stoneman will address the school blight issue and Vaas will discuss the community pool. Stoneman stated that the school has taken several steps to address the blight, including fencing the site, removing brush and boarding up all windows for security. He then gave a presentation about the MAPS 2020 visioning effort which includes a facility needs assessment. He also discussed past MAPS bond initiatives and capital projects and upcoming community presentations. He would like feedback on three areas from the community. Stoneman answered Council questions and stated that there were no funds currently earmarked for demolishing the old high school. Council Work Session – March 12, 2019 Page 1 Vaas then discussed the history of the community pool, including that the Paine family paid for the full construction cost. He mentioned the joint City\MAPS meeting in October 2007 that focused on operational issues and culminated in the 2008 Intergovernmental Community Pool Agreement. Operations are funded primarily by MAPS ($85,000), City ($40,000), hospital ($45,000), user fees ($18,000) and Filer Township contribution. City residents pay ½ the standard rate. Capital needs and day to day operations are the responsibility of MAPS. In the last five years, 23,000 City residents used the pool, or about 56% of the total. Questions were asked about the operational hours, Friends of the Paine Pool, staffing, other Township involvement, lifeguards and what would happen if City contribution was reduced or eliminated. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN PRESENTATION – City Manager Thad Taylor and Public Works Director Jeff Mikula – Public Works Director Jeff Mikula gave a presentation on the various asset management plans the City has including Water, Wastewater, Streets and Motor Pool. He discussed the work that is being done to create Buildings\Facilities and Parking Lot asset management plans. Several slides were shown illustrating the extent of these City assets. Chief Financial Officer Ed Bradford presented information on the Capital Improvement fund. He discussed the history of the fund, mentioning that it is needed to supplement General Fund expenditures. Over $5,000,000 has been spent since 2007. Several charts were shown showing the current breakdown by category of expenditures, and recent trends. There will be more demands on the fund in the future as capital projects are identified thru the various asset management plans. The 50-year old electrical panel at the City Garage was mentioned as an example. DISCUSSION WITH THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY – City Manager Thad Taylor City Manager Thad Taylor led a discussion about what Council expectations are for the DDA. Representatives from the DDA were unable to attend due to a miscommunication. Mayor Zielinski said that communication and cooperation between the City and DDA are needed for the DDA to function properly. Currently, there is a lack of cooperation, communication and collaboration. There are new rules and reporting requirements for the DDA that will require diligence and compliance, or the TIF capture could be at risk. He also mentioned that the law and our Charter allow City Manager Thad Taylor to be appointed to the Board rather than the Mayor, and that he would like to do this. The City Manager stated that he is researching the needed changes for this to occur. Council consensus that this change would be beneficial. The Mayor also mentioned that the State seems to be focusing on job creation as a measurable outcome for DDA’s. The DDA Board needs to be in sync with City Council. Councilmember Beaton discussed some details of the mandated reporting, including expense details and also why cash hasn’t been spent if there is a fund balance. She felt the DDA needed to work hard to be compliant with the reporting. She also stated that that the DDA would like Council Work Session – March 12, 2019 Page 2 Council to provide them a list of expectations. Consensus: City Manager Thad Taylor to research any needed action to put him on the DDA Board instead of the Mayor. OTHER – None Adjourned at approximately 8:25 pm. Respectfully submitted, Ed Bradford CFO Council Work Session – March 12, 2019 Page 3