[0:00] The following presentation of the Midland City Council will begin in a moment.

[0:05] The Midland City Council is the city's legislative body.

[0:08] It sets policies, approves budgets, determines tax rates, and adopts ordinances and resolutions to govern the city.

[0:16] It is made up of five elected officials that represent the wards in which they reside, and councilmen are elected to two-year terms.

[0:23] The mayor is elected from among the council members by vote of the city council.

[0:26] City Council meetings are held at 7 p.m. to Mondays per month in council chambers at City Hall.

[0:33] This presentation is provided by the MCTV Network, a service of the City of Midland.

[0:38] Replays of this meeting can be found on MGTV channel 188 on Charter Spectrum,

[0:43] through channel 99 on 182 U-Verse, or on demand at www.cityofmidlandmi.gov.

[0:50] Select meetings are available on MCTV Network's Government Affairs podcast channel.

[0:59] Welcome to the September 14th, 2026 City Council meeting. Please, we're calling the meeting to order and please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

[1:16] United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[1:26] We'll

[1:30] see what you call the roll.

[1:32] Honorable Mayor Pro Tem Brown will help.

[1:34] Here.

[1:35] Councilman Wasbinski.

[1:36] Here.

[1:37] Councilman Soler.

[1:38] Here.

[1:38] Councilman Pasek.

[1:40] Here.

[1:40] Mayor Donker.

[1:44] All right.

[1:45] Does anyone on council have a conflict

[1:48] with any of the agenda items for tonight's meeting?

[1:52] Nope, no man.

[1:53] Okay, all right.

[1:54] We will continue to move forward here.

[1:58] for approval of the minutes.

[2:00] All resolutions marked with an asterisk

[2:02] are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion.

[2:06] There will be no separate consideration of these items

[2:08] unless a council member or a citizen

[2:11] so requests during the discussion stage of the motion

[2:15] to adopt the consent agenda as indicated.

[2:18] If there's even a single request,

[2:20] the item will be removed from the consent agenda

[2:22] without further motion

[2:23] and considered in its listed sequence in regular fashion.

[2:27] Anyone on council like anything removed

[2:30] from the consent agenda?

[2:31] Nope.

[2:33] Anyone in the audience?

[2:36] All right, can I have a motion?

[2:38] So moved.

[2:38] Second.

[2:40] Any discussion?

[2:43] All right, let's vote.

[2:44] All in favor, say aye.

[2:45] Aye.

[2:46] Oppose?

[2:48] All right, that passes 4-0.

[2:50] All right, tonight we have one public hearing.

[2:57] Before we open that up, I'd like to review the public hearing process.

[3:02] First, we will hear from a presentation from staff.

[3:06] Then council will have an opportunity to ask questions.

[3:11] We will open up the hearing for public comment on the item.

[3:16] Once that's closed, we'll have the reading of the resolution.

[3:20] Council will go into discussion and vote.

[3:23] So at this time, Mr. Cain, conditional use permit 99.

[3:29] Thank you very much. Good evening.

[3:32] Conditional use permit number 99 is a request from the Ark of Midland

[3:36] to locate a social service agency at a property at 5114 Jefferson Avenue.

[3:42] Subject property is located in an RA1 single family residential zoning district.

[3:47] social service agencies like the Ark of Midland are permitted in the RE-1

[3:51] district but they do require a conditional use permit. The subject

[3:55] property is 1.63 acres in size. And it's looking here on Jefferson Avenue. This is

[4:01] the east side of Jefferson. We're just a little bit north of Wheeler Street

[4:05] here. We have the Midland Baptist Church on the opposite west side of

[4:09] Jefferson Avenue. The property itself is located a little bit further south

[4:15] and halfway between Capital Drive and Adams Drive here.

[4:18] You can see primarily from this image with the exception of the church

[4:22] on the other side of Jefferson Avenue and we've got some office properties further

[4:27] to the south along that western side of Jefferson Avenue.

[4:29] The series is predominantly residential, predominantly single family

[4:33] and character and nature. So we zoom in a bit closer to the

[4:37] property, provide a little bit of background on it.

[4:40] So on the property you see that we do have a principal building here.

[4:44] it's 2243 square foot in size and one story in height. It was built in 1989 for use as

[4:52] a child care center. It appears from the records that there was a child care center originally

[4:57] located in the home immediately to the north within that structure. In 1989, that child

[5:03] care center moved into its own standalone building on the southern portion of the

[5:07] same property as the home. Subsequently, those properties were split and the day

[5:12] care, the child care center did end up presiding on its own property. It was originally 1,800

[5:18] square foot in size and was expanded in approximately 2007 to its current footprint. In addition

[5:26] to the principal building, there is a 512 square foot accessory building on the site,

[5:30] which appears to have been constructed around the same time as the building addition to

[5:34] the principal building, so around the mid-2000s. It's located there in the north-central

[5:38] part of the parcel itself. Both of the structures in the paved parking area that service them

[5:46] are located in the western half of the property, and the eastern half of the property is essentially

[5:51] vacant and vegetated primarily with grass. As I said, it was originally, this development

[5:58] was originally part of the site that includes the single family home to the north, and

[6:02] those were split at some point after construction. There is still a driveway connection between

[6:08] the two properties that exist along that northern property boundary.

[6:14] Can I have a quick question?

[6:16] Yeah.

[6:16] Okay, so I was over there and right now there's like a gate there, so does that mean you,

[6:25] it's really not a shared driveway or an exit. It's kind of like the boundary lines

[6:31] of where you can park and all those kind of things now.

[6:34] Yeah, I'm going to assume that that was probably installed relatively recently when

[6:38] staff conducted the site visit that driveway was at the time open okay so okay but in the event

[6:44] these are the current conditions the property itself um has been vacant since 2021 um so the

[6:50] most recent child care center that was located here actually relocated to a new building on

[6:55] joseph drive north of u.s. time is still in the city of midland and so since that time the

[7:00] property has been vacant um the ark of midland does intend to purchase this property to

[7:04] service their principal offices as a social service agency. They do serve folks with intellectual

[7:11] and developmental disabilities in order to increase their presence, participation and

[7:16] inclusion in the community. The ARC is currently located at a building on Loana Street within

[7:20] the city of Midland. They're not planning to make any changes to the site, but we'll

[7:25] talk a little bit more in a moment about some of the changes that are required to

[7:30] to address some existing deficiencies to the property as a component of this conditional

[7:34] use permit request. The severe property, as I noted earlier, is zoned RA-1 single-family

[7:41] residential. That is zoning shared by nearly all the properties in the immediate vicinity.

[7:46] As you move further south on that southwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Tacoma Drive,

[7:51] we do have office service zoning, which extends further to the south to the next

[7:55] Cross Street which is Wheeler Street. Future land use is a little bit more

[8:00] diverse than the zoning map so the existing I'm sorry the subject property

[8:03] has a neighborhood mixed use. Future land use designation. Properties immediately

[8:08] to the west have an institution and civic future land use which corresponds

[8:12] with the current use as a place of worship and you'll see as you move

[8:15] north and south along the corridor we do have a variety of land uses along

[8:19] the Jefferson Avenue corridor including a large number of single family

[8:23] homes as well as a mix of office, commercial, and institutional uses.

[8:29] So that's kind of reflected here in this segment of Jefferson Avenue as well.

[8:33] Can you remind us of, you know, just a smattering of what is in neighborhood mixed use?

[8:39] Yeah, so neighborhood mixed use, as we look at our future land use map, we've got two

[8:44] future land uses that are primarily intended for residential settings and those are conservation

[8:49] residential and neighborhood residential.

[8:52] So primary difference there is conservation residential is intended for areas that might

[8:56] have some natural elements that would kind of call for special treatment in terms of

[9:03] development patterns.

[9:03] So things like wetlands or flood plains, things of those nature.

[9:07] Neighborhood residential really would encompass most neighborhoods in Midland across the

[9:12] board.

[9:12] Neighborhood mixed use is sort of the next step up the intensity scale.

[9:16] So those would be places like an RB, multiple family district, or an office service district,

[9:22] a neighborhood commercial district, are things that you might find in a neighborhood mixed

[9:26] use feature line, a used district.

[9:27] And then you would move up from there to a regional mixed use, which would be the

[9:32] higher intensity mixed use area of the community where you'd expect to find more intensive

[9:38] residential office and commercial uses.

[9:40] Thank you.

[9:42] Absolutely.

[9:42] Absolutely. So again, the applicant is not planning to make any adjustments to the property,

[9:47] its current configuration or the parking lot. They do plan to make interior changes under

[9:54] a building permit in order to make the building work for their purposes. However, as I noted,

[9:58] there are a few deficiencies on the site. One, plainly obvious in this area of existing

[10:04] conditions is that the parking lot is not currently striped or marked for parking. Obviously

[10:08] we would need to see markings provided here which provide not only the minimal

[10:13] quantity of parking required but also the ADA parking required and we have

[10:18] discussed that with the petitioner they're aware of that requirement they

[10:21] would like to do that themselves and we we would look for a parking and

[10:26] striping plan to be submitted as part of a on contingency of approval tonight

[10:33] we do know however that there is sufficient room on the site we're

[10:36] to go back to historic aerials and look at prior striping plans to confirm that the dimensions

[10:42] are there to provide for code compliant parking in the quantity that would be required for

[10:47] the proposed use. The other deficiency here that is not possible to see from this aerial

[10:53] image has to do with lighting. There are two non-compliant lights located on the

[10:57] rear of the building that appear primarily designed to light the parking area. Those

[11:03] Those lights are not shielded, and they are of a design and a amount of light provided

[11:10] that would exceed the limits of the lighting standards within the zoning ordinance.

[11:15] So we would look for new lighting to be installed at the rear to properly light the parking

[11:19] lot and for that lighting to meet the specifications of the code, and so the applicant, again,

[11:25] is aware that that is a requirement.

[11:26] We would look for, as part of an electrical permit, a photometric plan that would

[11:30] it confirmed that the lighting is appropriate for the conditions and compliant with our

[11:35] lighting standards. On the screen you'll see an image of the property. This is from Jefferson

[11:40] Avenue. This is not a terribly recent image. So if you drove past more recently, it's looking

[11:46] a little bit more vacant than it does in this image. But this gives you a general

[11:50] idea of the configuration a lot. The former play area associated with childcare is located

[11:55] there along the Jefferson Avenue frontage. And this would be oriented looking towards

[11:59] the north and east so the driveway to Jefferson Avenue from the sector property is there on the

[12:04] right hand side where you see that vehicle parked. In terms of public comments before the public

[12:09] hearing we did receive one written correspondence from a neighboring property owner expressing

[12:14] opposition to the proposal. At the public hearing we received three public comments two

[12:19] in opposition and one that expressed general support along with some questions about the

[12:23] proposal and since the public hearing we have received two additional written correspondences

[12:27] is one in opposition, which came from that earlier

[12:30] correspondent before the public hearing,

[12:32] and one in support.

[12:36] Staff is recommending approval

[12:37] of the conditional use permit request.

[12:39] We do find that this represents

[12:40] an appropriate reuse of the site

[12:42] in a manner that's consistent with the context

[12:45] surrounding it and appropriate to a residential setting.

[12:49] The Planning Commission also recommends approval.

[12:51] They did that unanimously following their public hearing.

[12:55] We do recommend three contingencies

[12:57] with that recommendation of approval.

[12:58] The first is our general contingency, which basically just states that this approval is

[13:03] for this use and this use only in accordance with the materials that were submitted and

[13:07] reviewed by the City Council this evening.

[13:09] We are looking for a signage and striping plan for the parking lot, which would be consistent

[13:13] with the minimum requirements of the zoning ordinance, as well as specifications for

[13:16] new lighting fixtures compliant with the same.

[13:20] For the last step in the process with your public hearing this evening, the petitioner

[13:23] is here to answer questions and I would welcome questions as well.

[13:25] Okay, any questions for Mr. Cain?

[13:30] Is the back area fenced?

[13:34] There is fencing around the back area

[13:36] that primarily appears to be rear yard fencing

[13:39] of neighboring residential properties.

[13:41] So the property is surrounded by a number

[13:44] of single family homes,

[13:46] some of which have fencing,

[13:48] most of which have fencing and some of which do not.

[13:51] So would there be a requirement for the parking lot

[13:53] for like you know the headlights I forgot what we call that blocking of light or

[13:57] for late trespass yeah um there could be now we're in a residential district to

[14:04] residential district so it's a it's a little bit different than if we had a

[14:07] commercial or office zoning district here the property does provide for some

[14:12] screening particularly at the driveway so you'll see here on the aerial image

[14:16] that there is a large mass of evergreen shrubs there at the end of the

[14:20] driveway to deal with movements. They're coming in and out of the parking lot.

[14:25] There is also at that southerly end of the driveway and parking lot, a solid wall there.

[14:30] You can see the shadow of that wall. The other properties are a great distance from

[14:35] the parking lot. Certainly, if council felt like screening was appropriate in those areas

[14:40] as well to supplement what's already present, that would be a perfectly appropriate condition

[14:44] of approval to include.

[14:46] And then for the key to the area there, is there any need for shared access?

[14:51] I know we've had issues with the pass on that.

[14:53] Sure.

[14:54] Yeah.

[14:54] So there is not.

[14:55] Staff simply noted that the shared driveway exists.

[15:00] Currently, typically for a property of this size and this use, we would look for a maximum

[15:05] of one access point. We certainly encourage shared access when we can obtain it because it helps

[15:11] to reduce traffic on city streets and can improve safety. But given the expected amount

[15:19] of traffic from the city, which would be very low and the residential nature of the property

[15:22] to the north, it would be completely appropriate for the two property owners if they decide

[15:27] they don't want to continue having that shared access for that to be discontinued.

[15:31] Thank you. Any other questions for Mr. King?

[15:37] Thank you very much. The petitioner is here with you.

[15:46] My name is Laurel Bucci. I'm the Executive Director at the Arc of Midland.

[15:50] So the only one piece that I thought I would address, even though it was addressed at the

[15:55] planning commission meeting, there was a person, Roger Stanley, that sent in something stating

[16:04] that he is concerned for the Ark of Midland to house people at onsite, and that is not

[16:11] the case.

[16:12] We don't currently house anyone, and we don't have any plans to do so.

[16:17] That is not what we do, so we don't have any plans to have someone living.

[16:22] we don't have people live with us.

[16:24] So most of the people that we serve live within the community,

[16:28] apartments, housing, whatever that looks like for each

[16:32] and every person individually.

[16:34] So that's not our role.

[16:38] Go ahead.

[16:40] I'm assuming that this is going to be used basically for admin.

[16:44] It will be used for our entire office is moving.

[16:47] So we grant currently on the WANIS rate.

[16:49] so we're just going to be buying something

[16:52] to have an asset in our name

[16:54] after 70 years of being in business

[16:56] and it will occupy all of our staff.

[16:59] Is there any plans for,

[17:01] since you've got that big area in the back

[17:04] and everything of having events or concerts

[17:06] or anything like that?

[17:07] No concerts.

[17:08] We don't do concerts.

[17:10] We do and have had events.

[17:12] So our events are kind of few and far between.

[17:15] They're not on a regular basis.

[17:17] everything is within a typical working day.

[17:21] We don't open to the public until 8 a.m.

[17:24] and we close to the public at 4 p.m.

[17:27] So anything that we have would be just

[17:29] like a one-off type of a thing.

[17:32] And we do occasionally, like for instance,

[17:34] we have a picnic that we have in Sanford currently.

[17:37] That's one time of year in July.

[17:40] So things would just be, as we see,

[17:43] necessary fit fun for the people that we serve but it's not a daily or weekly

[17:49] activity. Thank you. Do you want to talk about your driveway? Sure. I know that

[17:57] Walters here also. We have talked, we've met, we've talked outside. We are

[18:03] aware that you know that is a driveway that he's concerned about. I know that

[18:08] he said previous years when the daycare was there, he had someone pulling out and potentially

[18:14] almost hit his child. So he has some real concerns for, you know, that not being a two-way

[18:22] and in and out where potentially it could become unsafe. We at this point will just

[18:27] work things out to the best of our abilities. I know that he's talked about potentially

[18:33] offense and I've talked about potentially landscaping it just so that it can look

[18:37] a little bit nicer, but I know that that's something that we'll just have to work out

[18:42] between us.

[18:43] Perfect.

[18:44] And we feel that the other side is fine, at this point we don't see it being an issue.

[18:49] Okay.

[18:50] Yeah, because it seems like it's just a little open, like it's just barely open to be able

[18:57] to drive through there, so I was actually kind of surprised anybody would actually,

[19:00] you know, try to exit from that side.

[19:02] Yeah, I guess I don't know about a gate with their gate with us.

[19:06] Actually, sir, we can't have you speak back there because it's because of the microphone.

[19:12] So I guess there was a chain put up and there's been cones since we've gone in and out.

[19:16] I know that it has been coned off and we haven't moved the cones and tried to pull through

[19:22] there or anything like that.

[19:24] But I know it's been useful for other things because things have been dumped and you

[19:29] know what not.

[19:30] So I think it just needs to be worked out.

[19:32] but we don't plan to use it as a primary access.

[19:37] Thank you.

[19:38] So if I can just clarify just for the record,

[19:40] so the residential home to the north,

[19:42] you do not have an interest in that property.

[19:45] That's the gentleman that's here, I take it.

[19:47] You do not.

[19:47] And you have no access, agreements in place

[19:49] to allow you to transfer or travel,

[19:52] excuse me, over that driveway.

[19:53] We don't.

[19:54] Thank you.

[19:57] Any other questions?

[19:59] Thank you.

[20:00] Thank you.

[20:02] All right.

[20:02] at this time we'll open it up for public comment any comments in support for

[20:11] opposed yes please come up and state your name and my name is Walter Keenbaum I

[20:18] love that 5200 Jefferson I did have the opportunity to meet with the owner of

[20:25] ARC we went through some different things I spoke it over with our head of the

[20:30] opportunity to speak with my wife. We have no issue whatsoever with them

[20:37] moving in. We look forward to it. I think it'll be a great relationship moving

[20:42] forward. The only concession that I do want is a fence put across there. That

[20:51] way I can take down the fence that's behind there. I work shift work and it

[20:56] is difficult with people driving through. We left it open for years and years just because

[21:05] it was vacant. We took the chain down and so forth. The other people that owned it prior

[21:12] to me, they came through with a snow plow truck and it was easier. They asked if I would

[21:18] do that, leave it open for them. No problem. I left it open. But in the same respect,

[21:24] In fact, they came through, hit my fence, broke my fence.

[21:28] So I think this is a good time and place where we just have a clean separation.

[21:32] I own the fence, I installed the fence.

[21:36] I'd just like to see it continued.

[21:39] In 2007, the city ordinance at the time, they made me put a fence up to shield my neighbors.

[21:47] I believe, what's one gentleman's name that was opposing Richard?

[21:52] Richard. He opposed that I had a school there. I took over Montessori. I purchased the Montessori

[22:01] and the property next door. I kept the Montessori name, kept it running for years and years.

[22:08] Richard, though, opposed me, vehicles being able to come in there because lights would

[22:16] flash into his home, so they made me put a fence in. No big deal. I put the fence

[22:21] and without any issue and I just I think that this is the same case we'll put in

[22:26] offense everyone will be happy and I think it will be a good relationship

[22:31] moving forward thank you for your time thank you good evening any other

[22:36] comments

[22:38] going once going twice right public care closed Lacey would you read

[22:48] the resolution this resolution approves a conditional use permit requests from

[22:53] the Ark of Midland for a social service agency located at 5114 Jefferson Avenue.

[22:59] Can we have a motion?

[23:00] So move.

[23:02] Second.

[23:02] Okay.

[23:03] All right.

[23:04] Discussion.

[23:05] So if there are no objections with this being in Word 4, can I share my thoughts?

[23:10] Mm-hmm.

[23:11] All right.

[23:14] First thing I think about, I had the opportunity last year to really learn about what the

[23:21] The support they provide, whether it's guardianship or representative, pay services management to

[23:30] help intellectually and developmental disabilities for them to be able to live independently and

[23:39] provide them support, I think we have, you know, community members that need that support

[23:46] And I think it's very important that it continues.

[23:50] At the same time, I feel that this particular property is a good fit.

[23:58] It's not that they have anybody coming in, day in, day out.

[24:02] It's low traffic.

[24:04] It was a school previously or a daycare.

[24:08] It's been vacant for about six years now.

[24:12] It was for sale for over a year.

[24:15] So, if somebody was interested in purchasing it for housing, I think that would have happened

[24:21] by now, but it didn't.

[24:23] So, I'm planning to support the conditional use permit.

[24:34] Yeah, my only concern was both the lighting and stuff like that, but with the hours that

[24:39] they're going to be open on and everything like that, I don't think that probably

[24:44] isn't a need to try to do an amendment for it before that one conditional use and

[24:50] everything I would encourage him probably the fence everything out probably to

[24:55] just make the whole property look good and everything but

[24:59] any other comments

[25:02] are we ready we're ready to vote all in favor I any opposed all right that

[25:10] passes for zero.

[25:14] All

[25:18] right, that takes us down to public comments. This is scheduled

[25:23] time on City Council's agenda for citizens to address us on a subject pertaining to

[25:30] city government that is not on the agenda this evening. Please note and remember this

[25:36] is not a back and forth conversation. Speak with council and it is now open. Anybody

[25:44] but do you have any public comments?

[25:46] Please state your name and address.

[25:49] Okay, John Ellison, 6106, Sturgeon Creek Parkway.

[25:53] I just want to make a comment about last week

[25:55] when they tried to do the rezoning.

[25:58] I want to tell you that the neighbors impressed me

[26:01] to no end how well organized,

[26:03] how well knowledgeable they were

[26:06] on trying to make sure that that wasn't rezoned to,

[26:09] to commit to retail business.

[26:12] I couldn't believe the enthusiasm, the effort that went into doing that, and I also have

[26:19] to thank the council for not approving that to happen, too, because it was unbelievable

[26:25] how many people were involved, how many people signed a petition, how many people were saying

[26:31] all kinds of things to try to make this not happen.

[26:33] And I was just totally impressed and I really am in awe of our neighbors in our area.

[26:41] So I just want you to know that was very good, and I also want to know that the city council did a real good job and

[26:48] What else is I going to say about that I

[26:53] Just that's not that's all I want to say about that. That was I was just really impressed and happy

[26:57] So next was I want to bring up another thing that kind of concerns me that kind of going around in our neighborhood

[27:03] And probably all around the city of Midland and that's about I think we talked about oak wealth before in the past

[27:10] It's a disease that's caused from

[27:13] transmitted by a beetle that carries a fungus from one tree to another.

[27:18] But once it's in an area, other oak trees in the same area can get the same disease even

[27:23] though they don't even see the beetle because the root system will transfer to it.

[27:28] So what happens is if you've got like one oak tree that has a disease, they actually

[27:35] recommend ten acres, remove all the trees within a ten acre area to try to prevent

[27:40] the transmission of the disease.

[27:42] Now, I know the city knows about this, I know they've known about it for quite a while, and

[27:47] I know that there's now cases in Midland County where it's happening.

[27:51] Now what concerns me the most about this is, this summer, I'm in bed, it's nine o'clock

[27:58] in the morning, I'm still in bed, so I hear this sawing going on.

[28:03] So my wife comes in, what's going on outside, well I'm just in bed, I'm in bed, I don't

[28:08] know.

[28:08] So I wake up, go outside and see my neighbors, there's a, I call them choppers, pruning trees

[28:17] and cutting down trees, a couple of doors down for me.

[28:21] I said, my next door neighbor, I said, what's going on?

[28:23] And they said, well, they've got oak wilt.

[28:27] I said, what?

[28:28] And they said, you sure?

[28:29] So I called this tree doctor who is ISA certified master arborist to come over to my house

[28:37] close to take a look, because if it is oak wilt, and it's so close to me, that means

[28:44] I've got 20, 80-foot red oak trees in my yard, and I'll have to be, something's going to

[28:49] have to happen to them. I've already done some work on it. I've done Propazol on 12 of

[28:55] them already, so that's a preventative measure. It doesn't kill the disease. All

[28:59] it does is it makes sure that your tree doesn't die, but it's a sad thing that'll

[29:05] happen is if a bunch of these trees start to get it. So I go over and call him. He comes

[29:10] over and takes a look at their trees. They don't have oak wilt. What they have is maybe

[29:15] two line chestnut borer, which is a different thing. It is treated completely differently

[29:20] and it's not like as hideous as the oak wilt is. So I talked to my next door neighbor.

[29:28] They already said, well, they got oak will too and they actually made a cross on the

[29:35] trees that think they thought had it with an X with a chain saw.

[29:40] So now, just so you know, this oak will from the picnic beetle, which is a sap eating beetle,

[29:52] can detect that within 30 minutes you can have these beetles on the sap.

[29:58] That's how quick they can.

[30:00] Because they can sense it in the air, right? So that's what their job is to find the SAP.

[30:07] So they find it, and they can do that. So anyways, they mark all these trees like that, and they

[30:11] start chopping some of them down. My guy comes over, takes a look at it and says he don't

[30:16] have oak wilt. They might have two-line chestnut bore instead. What bothers me most about

[30:22] that, there is no ordinance in the city. There's no permitting policy in the city

[30:26] to stop some companies are just there trying to chop down trees

[30:32] or making money on pruning trees that don't know anything about it

[30:36] and tell people that they have a disease with their trees.

[30:40] I think that's wrong to do that.

[30:42] It wasn't my trees because, like I said, I called the tree doctor.

[30:45] I think we didn't do anything in my house.

[30:48] But other people don't know about this.

[30:51] They can be drawn into this kind of thing and this shouldn't happen at all.

[30:55] So my thinking is, it seems simple enough to me, there should be a permit before you trim trees from April 15th, October 15th,

[31:05] which is what the State of Michigan actually says it's not the time to be pruning trees.

[31:10] It's by the, I should say Michigan State says that.

[31:14] And I think if we did a permit, we don't have to be expensive permit, $10, $15,

[31:20] dollars, just enough to pay for some of the city people's time to do the permit. But

[31:26] just to get people to know that there's a procedure on how to cut down trees, to prevent

[31:32] oak wilt, how to trim trees when it's not in season, okay? You can still prune trees.

[31:38] They just have to, right away, you have to seal the wound so that the picnic beetle

[31:42] can't get to them. And I just think it's really a sad thing to happen. This company,

[31:48] by the way that was doing the trees in my neighborhood, come from Pontiac.

[31:53] And they come up here, you see probably everybody in the city gets something in their mailbox

[31:57] saying we're going to be in town, we're going to be here during this time, we'll chop

[32:01] your trees down or we'll prune your trees or whatever, and you know you're supposed

[32:07] to give them a call if you want to have it done.

[32:09] But what I think is we can get a lot of bad things happening, we can get more oak

[32:14] and we could have just oak wilt is similar to Dutch Elm disease and I was

[32:19] here when that was going on so I was just a young kid at the time but there

[32:24] are hundreds thousands of elm trees that were chopped down during that time and I

[32:29] just don't want to have that happen to anybody else in the city and I think the

[32:31] city ought to do something about it and I think one of the ways to do that

[32:35] is have a permit have an ordinance something that least they have to go

[32:41] that company has to go through an effort to get some kind of thing so they're

[32:45] educated enough maybe even talk to an arborist or something to get

[32:50] confirmation but to say something that's not necessarily true they might have

[32:54] said it in such a matter like well we think you might have oak well but they

[32:59] none of those guys were arborist not even much less master arborists so I

[33:04] think it's an important thing and I think to bring it up now before more

[33:07] this happens within the city. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Olson.

[33:17] All right. Next on the agenda,

[33:20] Ordinance Amendment for Yard Waste Collection Fees. Ms. Murphy.

[33:30] This evening I am here with

[33:32] the first reading of an ordinance to increase the yard waste fees. The yard waste fees were

[33:38] last increased in 2023. Yard waste is a pay-as-you-throw program. So what that means is the more

[33:45] The more you use the program the more you pay to dispose of your materials.

[33:49] This is a pay-as-you-throw program because some residents choose instead to compost their

[33:53] leaves or dispose of them in a different manner.

[33:56] All yard waste bags and bins do require a collection sticker for the majority of the

[34:01] leaf collection season in April and then again in October we stop requiring the stickers.

[34:10] I'm sorry, November.

[34:11] We stopped requiring stickers in November.

[34:13] My bad.

[34:15] The fees are set then to recover the cost of collection and we estimate that yard waste

[34:20] is approximately 15% of the total refuse collection cost.

[34:24] And we base that on the fact that we have to run an extra route from April through

[34:29] November on our refuse crews to collect the yard waste that's out.

[34:35] So just to put this in perspective, our current fiscal year budget, 15% of the

[34:44] The revenue that we anticipate receiving based on the current fee structure would be $332,000,

[34:50] assuming that a similar amount of people participate in the program next year.

[34:55] So this would leave us a shortfall of $109,000.

[34:59] We do plan to increase, put the phase, the increase in over two years

[35:03] to make it a little bit more palatable to residents.

[35:08] So, here's a look at what's being proposed.

[35:12] The current annual bin sticker is $55 for your first bin, $25 for each additional bin.

[35:17] There are people that have three or four or five yard waste bins.

[35:24] And then the compost bag sticker is $0.60 per bag.

[35:27] So, what we're proposing is to increase the annual bin sticker to $70 for that first

[35:32] bin, $35 for each additional bin.

[35:36] and then the compost bag stickers would go from 60 to 80 cents per bag.

[35:40] And keep in mind we have not increased this right now in the last three years.

[35:46] At the current usage, the increase would generate about $90,000 in additional revenue every year.

[35:57] So tonight I'm here with the first reading of the ordinance.

[36:00] The second reading and adoption would come back to City Council at September 28th meeting,

[36:05] and the new fees would go into effect for the 2007 season.

[36:08] going forward we do pledge to evaluate the fees annually so that we can make

[36:13] smaller incremental increases as opposed to such a significant increase in one

[36:17] year. At the end of next year we will take a look at the revenue and see where

[36:24] we stand and decide what the with the following year increase will be. So 55 to

[36:30] 70 is just for 2027 and then in 2027 you'll come back with another.

[36:35] Yes, we'll take a look and see because we know that this increase won't get us all the way to close in the gap on the expense in revenue, but it will get us significantly closer than what we have been.

[36:48] Any questions? There's an issue because the attorney was chatting with the city manager.

[36:54] You have the ordinance in front of you.

[36:59] I knew I brought these reading glasses for a reason.

[37:05] Yes, I do.

[37:06] So if you look under section A for B.

[37:11] Oh, gracious.

[37:12] Should that also be changed to 80 cents in that location, in the ordinance?

[37:15] Yes, it should.

[37:16] Okay.

[37:16] So for council's purposes, we're just looking.

[37:19] There is two statements, one after the other, both B and C, that speak about the 80 cents

[37:24] per bag price that Ms. Murphy just mentioned.

[37:28] He has printed in the agenda packet, excuse me, still reflected at 60 when it should

[37:33] be 80.

[37:34] So to give first readings or introduction of first reading tonight, we would need

[37:38] to make that as amended with that

[37:41] so that it can continue forward to the second reading

[37:43] and adoption at a later time.

[37:44] Okay.

[37:45] And my apologies for that oversight.

[37:47] I thought I went through it multiple times, but.

[37:49] I didn't catch anything.

[37:51] Great.

[37:53] Any questions for Karen?

[37:55] Was there any, do we look at the actual bins?

[37:59] I know that we actually sell those also.

[38:03] We're not looking at doing any increase on that right now.

[38:05] No, we are still good with that.

[38:07] that we've been able to get some very competitive pricing

[38:09] and keep that bin price where it's been at.

[38:12] All right, thank you.

[38:14] Thank you.

[38:15] Okay, thank you.

[38:16] All right, at this point,

[38:20] we'll open it up for any public comments.

[38:22] Any comments on this agenda item?

[38:26] All right, seeing none.

[38:30] Okay, Mr. Case.

[38:31] So I'd like to make an amendment to the ordinance

[38:34] to go ahead and change that second area to 80 cents.

[38:38] So the proper motion would be, well, can you read it just to start with, if you would?

[38:45] Oh, I'm sorry.

[38:46] That's okay.

[38:47] This action gives introduction and first reading of an ordinance to amend Appendix A Article

[38:52] 1, Section A4 of the Code of Ordinances regarding Yard Waste Collection Fees.

[38:58] And then I'm going to look to Chris for property

[39:02] of the motion would be amending

[39:06] Section B to reflect the 80 cent.

[39:08] Spot on.

[39:09] Yes.

[39:09] Yes. So I apologize for you. You're correct. So I'm just trying to stop. No, no, move the

[39:17] resolution with the amendment.

[39:20] All right. Do we have a motion? So Marty made the motion.

[39:24] Okay. Second. Second. All right. And all in favor.

[39:31] Discussion. Okay. Any discussion?

[39:34] Yeah. Any discussion? Seeing none. Okay. No, I think we just need to continue to

[39:40] work to cover our costs for the things that are out there, right? This is all

[39:44] these little things that we've been working on, yeah, so. Okay. Ready to vote?

[39:50] Mm-hmm. All in favor? Aye. Oppose? Okay, that passes 4-0. And that's just the

[39:58] amendment to the per the first reading. Yep. This evening it will come back in

[40:04] to sign for second reading and if approved,

[40:08] which they say adopted.

[40:09] Okay, all right.

[40:11] All right, Ms. Murphy again.

[40:14] Ordinance amendment for purchase of bulk fuel.

[40:18] All right, so I am here this evening

[40:20] with an ordinance recommendation

[40:23] for the purchase of bulk fuel.

[40:25] So bulk fuel is purchased as needed by fleet services

[40:29] for the Municipal Service Center fueling station.

[40:31] We have two underground storage tanks.

[40:34] One has 25,000 gallon capacity for diesel,

[40:37] and the other 25,000 gallons for unleaded.

[40:40] The majority of our fleet in the city fill up at this station,

[40:47] and we use the readings of odometer readings that are entered at that pump

[40:51] to help us drive our preventive maintenance program for our fleet.

[40:55] The current process for bulk fuel purchasing is that fleet services will request a bid

[40:59] when the tanks are about half empty.

[41:01] So our standard bid is for 13,400 gallons

[41:04] of either diesel or unleaded fuel.

[41:08] We, at our current use, we typically purchase fuel

[41:12] anywhere from two to four times a month,

[41:15] depending on what season we're in.

[41:18] We use more diesel in the winter, for example.

[41:20] If it's a heavy winter for snow.

[41:22] Whereas in the summertime, we use probably more unleaded

[41:25] because we have a larger fleet of gasoline vehicles out.

[41:29] so finance sends out a spot bid so fleet services reaches out and says hey

[41:33] we need some unleaded fuel finance sends out a spot bid in it and we ask the

[41:37] vendors who provide the fuel for pricing for a following-day delivery and the

[41:42] bid is then awarded to the lowest responsive bidder the current ordinance

[41:46] allows for this spot bidding with post purchase approval at the next city

[41:50] council meeting if one of two conditions exist if there's more than

[41:54] three bids received and the cost exceeds $50,000. This rarely happened to us until the fuel

[42:00] prices started to rise. The one that was more common is if we had less than three bids and

[42:05] the cost exceeded $30,000. We had to come to City Council after the fact and get approval.

[42:12] With the rising fuel cost, now nearly every fuel purchase comes to City Council and you've

[42:16] seen it show up on your agenda every meeting for the past couple of months. Not only

[42:21] is that time consuming for the staff to compile the council item and have it edited and approved,

[42:27] but then council has to read that information and approve it each time.

[42:31] And due to the timing of the bid versus when the council meetings fall, it's very frequent

[42:36] that the fuel that council is approving has already been put into vehicles used up

[42:41] and we are on to our next delivery. So it's a bit of an antiquated process.

[42:46] So we are requesting to streamline the process while still maintaining that competitive

[42:50] procurement. This will also allow us to pair vendors quicker too. So we are proposing in

[42:57] addition to the purchasing ordinance we would add a section 2-29A titled City Manager's Duty

[43:04] Bulk Fuel Purchases. This would be just for bulk fuel purchases for the fleet. So purchases of

[43:10] bulk fuel for use by the city's fleet shall be procured using a spot bid process. The award

[43:16] shall be made by the City Manager without further approval of the City Council.

[43:22] So the first reading of the ordinance is before you tonight for consideration.

[43:26] If it's something that you agree is worth moving forward,

[43:30] then we will bring it back for second reading and potential adoption on September 28th.

[43:35] The new process would take effect for all purchases made after the adoption.

[43:39] So on tonight's agenda, you already approved a fuel item.

[43:41] you'll continue to approve them likely on September 28th as well until we can get the second reading back and

[43:48] This just picture of our fueling station out back. So any questions?

[43:55] Do you think this action would help get additional bids due to them being being paid

[44:03] Earlier than this it was waiting like a week. Yeah, probably not

[44:07] I mean we have just a standard set of vendors and and we have the bids usually flip

[44:13] back and forth between just a couple of vendors.

[44:16] I don't think it would increase the competitiveness

[44:18] only because there's only so many vendors

[44:20] that travel to this area,

[44:21] but it definitely would make our process smoother

[44:24] and we could pay people quicker,

[44:25] which is, they always appreciate that.

[44:29] Any other questions?

[44:32] Thank you.

[44:33] Okay, thank you.

[44:37] We're going to have to vote on this, right?

[44:39] Public comment, if there is any.

[44:41] Any public comment?

[44:45] Seeing none.

[44:46] Okay.

[44:47] Now, Lacey, would you read the resolution?

[44:51] This action gives introduction and first reading of an ordinance to add Section 2-29A to Article

[44:57] of chapter 2 of the Code of Ordnance.

[45:00] Regarding procurement of bulk fuel for use by the city's fleet.

[45:05] Can we have a motion?

[45:07] Second.

[45:09] Okay, discussion.

[45:12] I think it's a necessity. I mean, basically, we're playing catch-up all the time on this and everything like that.

[45:18] With spot bids, I think it's like 24-hour process type thing.

[45:22] So they got to make the decision within 24 hours. So it makes sense. I mean, we trust.

[45:28] I think it makes sense to and also because it's an operational activity. I mean it's something we have to do on a regular basis. I don't think this needs to come to council for approval and especially after the fact.

[45:48] Are we ready to vote? All in favor? Opposed? That passes for zero. Next, ordinance amendment

[45:59] for the police department fees. Chief Ford.

[46:05] Good evening. I am here for the first reading

[46:08] of the ordinance amendment to adjust the police department fees.

[46:13] The current rates

[46:14] that we are working on have been set to 2001 and some of them even previous to that

[46:20] and they have not changed since.

[46:23] Operating costs have continued to increase.

[46:25] Many of the services are no longer even offered.

[46:29] Other services no longer carry fees.

[46:32] The current rates are not in alignment with our partners

[46:34] that we share a front window with

[46:36] at the Midland County Sheriff's Office.

[46:39] And these fees also do not include

[46:41] the additional pass-through fees such as the FBI,

[46:43] the state, the mandated fees

[46:45] for the sex offender registry,

[46:47] live scan submissions, et cetera.

[46:51] We're proposing increased fees for the notary public services, preliminary breath tests

[46:58] for PBTs and fingerprinting as indicated on the following slides, and then we would like

[47:02] to remove the remaining fees for services that are no longer offered or charged for

[47:07] at this time.

[47:09] So you can take a look at the slide to see, for example, we used to charge $2 for crash

[47:18] reports.

[47:18] We no longer charge for those notary public. We're charging $2 the new rate

[47:24] We would be asking is 10, which is what the statute allows for

[47:28] Gun permits. We're no longer allowed to charge for those background checks. We actually don't even provide that service

[47:34] CPW RC

[47:38] CPW permits. We no longer do that either

[47:41] Several of the other ones dealer are our 1 9s PBT's we would like to move from five to ten dollars

[47:50] Report summaries for third parties. We no longer do ID cards for non-city employees. We don't do

[47:56] Um in fingerprinting upon

[47:59] Request we the old rate was 10 and we would like to move it to 15

[48:05] So I am here before you this evening for the first reading of the ordinance

[48:10] Ideally, I will see you again on September 28th for the second reading of the ordinance

[48:14] And then if approved by council rates and fees would be implemented for October 1st of this year

[48:22] Our department, unlike what you just heard from DPW, this is not as a result of this

[48:28] gaping hole.

[48:29] It's just at some point we have to update what we're doing, and as you can see there

[48:34] are several of these services we no longer even do that are still listed in our ordinance.

[48:38] So it just felt like it was a good time to clean that all up in one shot.

[48:42] Any questions?

[48:44] So I take it we did an extensive review of all the different fees that we have

[48:48] and everything, and this was the only one set.

[48:50] Yes, yeah, we literally went line by line to see,

[48:55] we of course always confer with the city attorney

[49:00] and whatnot, but the vast majority of them,

[49:03] we just don't even do anymore,

[49:04] so it felt irresponsible to leave them in the ordinance.

[49:09] And then the other ones, with us sharing

[49:11] the exact same window with the Sheriff's Department,

[49:14] We regularly entertain the movement from one window to the next to get the better bid,

[49:21] which doesn't feel particularly efficient either.

[49:25] How many of these things do you have overall or total of all of that stuff coming in?

[49:35] Well we do, obviously, sex offender registries are a fairly regular thing.

[49:40] Notaries, we do not do a whole lot, maybe a couple a week.

[49:44] Gun permits, those types of things are generally what we see,

[49:47] but there's not a fee attached for those.

[49:49] Thursdays do not come to the LAC on Thursday.

[49:51] That's Finger Printing Day.

[49:52] So at the beginning of the school year,

[49:54] they are basically lined up in our lobby.

[49:56] But other than that, we have generally about 10 each week.

[50:00] So.

[50:00] Thank you.

[50:04] Any other questions?

[50:07] Great. Thank you.

[50:08] Thank you.

[50:08] Any public comments on this agenda item?

[50:12] All right, seeing none.

[50:15] Lacey, would you read the resolution?

[50:17] This action gives introduction and first reading

[50:19] of an ordinance to amend section A-154 to Article 11

[50:23] of Appendix A of the Code of Ordinances

[50:26] addressing police department service fees.

[50:28] Can I get a motion?

[50:30] To move.

[50:31] Second board.

[50:32] All right.

[50:33] Discussion.

[50:35] Yeah, it makes sense.

[50:36] No.

[50:38] needs to be done. Ready to vote? All in favor? Oppose? All right. Thank you. All right. Next

[50:49] we have transit facility study consultant selection. Ms. Murphy.

[50:58] I kind of feel like

[50:59] a broken record. I feel like Jacob. So the transit facility study, I'm here to talk

[51:05] to you this evening about that. This one has been kind of lurking in the background for

[51:09] a few years now. In 2024, we received, Dailaride received a Section 5304 federal grant to do

[51:18] a transit facility study. $100,000 is federal funded and $25,000 is a state matching fund.

[51:25] At the time that we requested this money, Dailaride operates in a very small section

[51:32] of the municipal service center, so much so that their manager has to reside up in my office

[51:39] area as opposed to back with his Daila Ride staff. And we do not have adequate parking

[51:43] for all the buses. So we were looking at, looking towards a facility study for Daila

[51:48] Ride with the possibility of expanding if, you know, in the future there was a need

[51:51] to expand. At the same time, shortly thereafter, we received our money to grant funding

[51:57] to look at the transportation coordination study to see whether or not it would make

[52:01] sense in the future for Midland County to have one public transit authority as opposed

[52:06] to Daila ride in the city and county connection in the in the county. Just a little background

[52:12] on Daila ride. We've we've been sharing municipal service space since 1974. We have relocated

[52:18] Daila ride in my career. We've relocated them three different times to different areas

[52:23] of the building just because we didn't know where to plug them in. We have very

[52:28] limited space for dispatch. They all sit in one small room and it makes it difficult for

[52:32] them to hear conversations at time. And as I mentioned, we have inadequate indoor parking.

[52:38] So the Transit Coordination Study was completed in 2025. Back in January of this year, the

[52:46] City Council and the County Commission got together for an update on that report. The

[52:51] final report was shared in the long-term recommendation is to look at consolidating

[52:56] into a county-wide public transportation authority.

[53:00] The biggest piece, the biggest unknown at this time

[53:03] would be what would it cost to build a facility

[53:05] to house that type of operation.

[53:08] And so at that January meeting,

[53:10] both City Council and the County Commission

[53:12] asked if we would move forward

[53:14] and figure out what that cost might be.

[53:16] So that brings us to this, the study.

[53:22] Since we originally received the grant,

[53:25] Daila Ride's needs have been considered in the Municipal Service Center multi-phase renovation

[53:31] plan so that once if that plan carries through to completion, Daila Ride will finally have

[53:38] one final resting place at the Municipal Service Center with enough room for their manager

[53:43] to join them and some additional parking.

[53:46] So we have Daila Ride solution in mind for the foreseeable future.

[53:51] So with that in mind, we are going to focus the transit facility study just on what it would look like if we were to combine some time down the road into a public transportation authority.

[54:02] So what we've asked for in the transit facility study is a conceptual plan for the main hub, the main facility that would house a public transportation authority.

[54:12] And then consideration given to maybe a secondary bus location for bus storage and minor maintenance out in the county

[54:19] and then perhaps a remote bus storage location near the like the border of the county like for example maybe near up by Coleman

[54:28] where a lot of people are taking kind of connection currently from Coleman, you know, in towards Midland

[54:32] so that we would have efficiency in terms of where buses were staged and whatnot.

[54:37] that. So we went out and asked for requests for proposals. When you're using a Section

[54:44] 5304 grant, there's a lot of guidelines from the federal government that you have to follow.

[54:49] And this particular Section 5304 grant runs through the State of Michigan's passenger

[54:53] transportation division. So we worked closely with MDOT, our MDOT representatives, to make

[55:00] sure that we were following the process. So we asked for requests for proposals.

[55:04] we received seven. Because there was federal funding involved and it's an architectural

[55:10] and engineering design request is basically what we're looking for. We are not allowed

[55:14] to use price as a consideration. So we received all of the proposals. We had a selection committee

[55:21] review and we had a standard scoring matrix that we needed to follow. And then we interviewed

[55:26] the top two finalists in terms of the top scores. We selected a final consultant based

[55:32] on professional qualifications, experience with similar projects, and a proposed work

[55:37] plan.

[55:38] And as we were fortunate in the fact that their proposal fits well within our budget.

[55:43] But that was not a contributing factor to our decision.

[55:48] So we took our recommendation and we sent it to the Michigan Department of Transportation's

[55:52] Passenger Transportation Division.

[55:54] They reviewed it and they approved the proposal that we recommended from progressive companies

[55:58] of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

[55:59] The proposal complies with state and federal procurement requirements, and they have given

[56:03] us the green light to go ahead and request city council approval so that we can create

[56:08] a contract and move the study forward.

[56:11] So the resolution this evening would direct the mayor and city clerk to execute a contract

[56:16] as approved by the city attorney with progressive companies.

[56:20] It would also authorize the accounting manager to issue a purchase order for base services

[56:24] totaling $59,842 and it also authorizes the city manager to approve any modifications

[56:31] not to exceed $15,000. This has to do with some potential federal requirements on the

[56:38] investigation of the property site and there may be some additional things depending on

[56:43] what we find that we may have to study further so we thought we would just put that

[56:47] in place now rather than have to come back and make an amendment if we get to

[56:50] at that point. The study would start upon approval. Progressive companies are very

[56:56] excited to get going with us. The study would involve things like stakeholder meetings,

[57:02] excuse me, facility visits of the current facilities that both Dye the Ride and County

[57:06] Connection utilize, a building site review in terms of the location for the building,

[57:12] eventually some floor plan layouts and then of course budgetary estimates. In addition,

[57:18] we have asked for operational estimates to for like a three-year period after the

[57:22] building is put in place. This will be a cooperative effort between Daileride and

[57:28] County Connection and we have an anticipated timeline of nine to 12

[57:31] months. The vendor consultant thinks they can do it in nine. We're just going

[57:35] to give them a little extra cushion because things come up, right?

[57:39] Just don't tell them. Yeah. So anyhow, are there any questions that I can answer?

[57:45] So is this all federal or grand dollars for this?

[57:49] It's 80% federal, 20% state match.

[57:52] So there's no local funding that goes into this.

[57:55] Thank you.

[57:56] So once you nailed it down to the two, you were going to interview.

[57:59] Did you check with any other, like, previous communities?

[58:05] We had asked them for multiple references and examples of projects.

[58:09] So in their proposal, we required them to detail certain things about each project that they were going to show us.

[58:14] So yes, we did on the dial right manager called around and did reference checking if you will to make sure that people were happy with the services

[58:23] Any other questions for care

[58:26] All right. Thank you. Thank you any public comments

[58:31] Okay, seeing none. They see would you read the resolution?

[58:35] This resolution authorizes the mayor and city clerk to execute a contract with progressive companies of Grand Rapids, Michigan

[58:41] as the consultant selected to complete the work outlined in RFP 4667 Transit Facility Study.

[58:48] This resolution further authorizes the accounting manager to issue a purchase order

[58:52] not to exceed $59,842 to progressive companies with the city manager authorized

[58:58] to modify the contract up to $15,000 to allow for additional work if needed to meet federal guidelines.

[59:07] Move the resolution. Second. Second. All right. Discussion. I'm glad we're moving forward on it.

[59:16] So at least give us a lot of answers on potential items that may be coming up on it.

[59:26] Yeah, anything else?

[59:28] Everybody ready to vote? All in favor? All right. Opposed? All right. That passes 4-0. Thank you.

[59:36] All right, next we have new business. Any new business, Mr. K?

[59:42] Just quickly because I can't let a certain employee's first day go by without embarrassing her a little bit.

[59:48] Towards the back of the room, I think most of Council members are familiar with Melissa Farley.

[59:54] Say hi, Melissa. Wave your hand.

[59:56] So Melissa's first day was today as our new Director of CUNY.

[1:00:00] Community affairs. Replacing Selena as you know who retired after our last meeting officially

[1:00:05] retired as of Friday. So you will see Melissa come in front of you much more frequently dealing

[1:00:09] with matters like special events, proclamations, anything relative to the CCA or DDA boards

[1:00:16] as well. So if you have not had the chance to meet her, please say hi to her. Welcome

[1:00:20] her board. Again, today was her first day officially in her new role. She has just

[1:00:24] so the members of council are aware of Ben with the city since 2020 am I right

[1:00:28] at that date so I think it was 2020 was kind of almost either right before during

[1:00:33] COVID actually she joined so a difficult time started in the in the community

[1:00:37] affairs department moved to public works for the last number of years and

[1:00:41] jumping back now to the community fair so simply welcome to our board and like

[1:00:45] I said got embarrassed for a little bit at the end of her birthday so welcome

[1:00:49] Welcome, Melissa. We look forward to working with you.

[1:00:52] All right. Any other new business council?

[1:00:56] No.

[1:00:57] All right. Well, I think that's a wrap for today.

[1:01:02] Our next regular council meeting will be Monday, September 28th, 2026,

[1:01:07] and we are adjourned.

City Council Meeting 9/14/26

Transcript