[0:00] All
[0:02] right. Good evening and welcome
everybody to the village of Weberville
[0:05] uh council meeting. Today is January 13,
2026. Uh we'll do a call to order and
[0:11] started with a roll call, please.
>> Yes.
[0:15] » Sean Gordon
>> here. Stanfield
[0:17] » here.
>> Walter
[0:18] » here.
>> Here. Hey everybody, please stand for
[0:21] the pledge.
[0:28] of the United States of America and to
the republic for it stands one nation
[0:34] under God indivisible with liberty and
justice for all.
[0:40] [clears throat]
>> Thank you. So for the approval of the
[0:44] agenda this morning
>> this evening
[0:47] » I'd like to make motion to add the um
the back truck to the new business.
[0:54] of our last meeting. We were discussing
that and I thought it was going to be on
[0:59] here and it is not.
>> Um, is there something specific that you
[1:05] need to discuss there?
>> The motion is open if somebody wants to
[1:09] second it.
>> I second a discussion.
[1:16] » Second it'll do a
roll call.
[1:21] [laughter]
>> Yes. Shber,
[1:24] » yes.
>> Sum,
[1:25] » yes.
>> Walter,
[1:27] » yes.
>> No.
[1:30] Uh, I would also recommend that we add
item number five, uh, which is
[1:36] recognizing a vacant WDDA chair. Um, the
resignation of Diana Baxter with the
[1:44] [laughter] appointment of Andrew Nephew
to that open position.
[1:52] So four would be the back truck, right?
>> Correct.
[1:56] » And five is the empty
seat.
[2:02] » Yes.
[2:06] » So move.
[clears throat]
[2:11] » I second.
>> Second. Roll call.
[2:18] » Yes.
>> Shber. Yes.
[2:21] » Yes.
>> Walker.
[2:22] » Yes.
>> Yes. Okay. So, those added, I would
[2:27] recommend that we approve the agenda as
amended.
[2:31] » I'll make a motion to approve the uh
agenda.
[2:34] » Second.
>> Second. Uh all in favor say I.
[2:40] » I.
>> I. All opposed.
[2:43] Okay. First up, uh this evening, we have
a public hearing. Uh this is the master
[2:48] plan approval. Um we've been spending
say probably the past six months working
[2:54] with McKenna on updating this. So uh
we'll move into that. I recommend that
[3:01] we open the public hearing for the
master plan approval at 6:03 p.m.
[3:08] » So moved.
[3:11] » Second.
>> Second. All in favor say I.
[3:14] » I. All opposed. Okay. So, we'll now move
into public comment for the master plan
[3:20] approval. Um, so if anybody from the
public has any comments at this time,
[3:25] uh, now is time to do so.
[3:30] Okay, I'm seeing none. So, we will close
public comments at 604. I recommend that
[3:36] we close the public hearing for the
master plan approval.
[3:39] » So, move second.
>> Seconded. All in favor say I.
[3:43] » I. All opposed.
Okay, that brings us to regular public
[3:49] comment. So, at this time, if anybody
from the public has any comments, now is
[3:54] the time to do so.
[clears throat]
[4:01] » Yes, sir.
>> Um, I just got a question. Why was this
[4:06] meeting cancelled on the website?
[4:15] said that the meeting was cancelled. The
next meeting would be January 26
[4:20] for lack of members.
>> That was the BDA. That was last night.
[4:28] » Okay.
[4:32] Any other public comment this evening?
Okay.
[4:37] We'll close public comment at 6:05. Uh
at this time I have no comments. Uh for
[4:44] the consent agenda, the minutes of the
council meeting from December 9th, the
[4:48] accounts payable, the investment report,
revenue and expenditure report and
[4:52] balance sheet. Has anybody Everybody had
time to review that.
[4:58] Any questions?
Not I recommend that we approve the
[5:02] consent agenda as presented.
>> Some second.
[5:06] » Seconded. Any discussion?
Roll call.
[5:11] » M.
>> Yes.
[5:13] » Yes.
>> Stanfield.
[5:14] » Yes.
>> Yes.
[5:18] » Okay. On to our monthly reports. First
up is the police report.
[5:26] » Overall,
[5:30] on the 19th, Deputy Vincent was
contacted by the prosecutor's office. uh
[5:38] was investigated a possible bond or bill
violation of foreign inmate currently at
[5:43] the Enum County Jail. This inmate was
incarcerated for the previous incident
[5:48] that occurred in the village and led to
a felony domestic assault and false
[5:52] imprisonment charge. The original
incident occurred on the 300 block of
[5:57] Walnut Street October of 25.
[clears throat]
[6:00] Uh, Deputy Vincent reviewed jail
communications and confirmed multiple
[6:03] bond violations and is seeking
additional felony charges for witness
[6:07] intimidation.
This submitted [clears throat] his
[6:13] prosecutor's office.
On December 23rd, I responded to the 100
[6:19] block of Maple Street for a fraud
complaint. The victim arranged a sale on
[6:24] Facebook Marketplace and was defrauded
by the suspect to use bills to purchase
[6:28] the items.
The victim was able to provide a
[6:33] description of the suspect and his
vehicle, but was otherwise unknown. I
[6:37] turned the conflict bills over to
uh the Secret Service field office in
[6:43] Grand Rapids and ultimately was closed
due to lack of investigations.
[6:50] That's it for local calls and then
attached are the stands for review.
[6:58] Thank you very much. Any questions from
the council for our deputy?
[7:02] » Is there something that um you could
possibly give Jessica or even Josh that
[7:08] we could put out on Facebook for people
to what to look for in counterfeit bills
[7:14] so when they're selling on Facebook they
know.
[7:17] » Sure.
>> Thank you.
[7:20] » Any other questions?
Seeing none. Uh so uh for the DPW report
[7:27] tonight, uh Ryan is off. Um that's been
provided in the packet and the clerk
[7:33] treasure report.
>> Um
[7:37] he's in the audience. Why can't he give
his report?
[7:40] » Uh he is not on the clock right now. So
we're moving on to the clerk treasur
[7:44] report.
[7:47] Jessica
>> the monthly news well the monthly
[7:51] newsletters have gone from print to
digital format to reduce cost and
[7:54] improve the accessibility for residents.
You will be able to find the newsletters
[7:57] on the village website. We are fast
approaching the end of our fiscal year
[8:01] which means we will start working on the
26.7 fiscal year budget soon. I'll be
[8:06] attending the municipal Michigan
municipal treasures association winner
[8:10] workshop at the end of this week and I
was asked to leave a discussion topic.
[8:20] » Any ideas on what topic is?
>> Oh, yes.
[8:23] » Oh,
[8:26] » well, good luck. Thank you. Uh, any
questions for Jessica?
[8:30] » That's right up your alley.
Okay, brings us to WDDA report. Um, that
[8:38] was scheduled for last night, but due to
lack of attendance, um, forum was not
[8:44] met, so meeting was canceled.
I don't know, Josh, do you have anything
[8:48] to add?
>> Just that the fourth building's coming
[8:50] along that, uh, just talked to Bruce
today about Summon Street in the parking
[8:53] lot. Trying to hopefully get that outfit
so we can get that started first thing
[8:58] in the spring.
[9:02] Any questions for the WBDA report?
Seeing none. So, the building and zoning
[9:11] report um that's [snorts] been provided
per usual. I believe Chris Corey will be
[9:17] here very soon. Um I think he had the
traffic slowdown on 96. Um
[9:25] we move on to the Musa report.
Um so we just [clears throat] had our
[9:31] meeting last Thursday and um kind of a
summary for the year. Um the big thing
[9:37] was that there was about 17,043
runs for 2025
[9:45] which equates to about 47 calls per day.
Wow. So um fairly busy. Um that is
[9:52] definitely an increase from the year
before which was 17,026.
[9:57] Um also um if anybody had been looking
there was a um rain bin rescue on
[10:04] January 8th which um Lisa participated
in and um the piece of equipment that um
[10:13] we had um received came in very handy.
So, um that was a very successful rescue
[10:21] and the farmer that was trapped in the
soybeans is um he was rescued and um
[10:26] doing okay. Um
also the um full-time employees uh for
[10:34] the safer grant um have been reporting
to their shifts um as of Wednesday,
[10:40] January 7th. And so, um, if anybody goes
by the station at night now, they'll
[10:46] actually see cars there. So, they are
covering the station. Um, and then the
[10:51] county fire academy started on January 6
and they have um 13 students currently.
[10:59] And that is it for Nissa.
>> Thank you, Sandra. Any questions about
[11:04] the Nissa report?
Okay, brings us to attorney's report.
[11:10] The only thing that is hanging out there
at the moment is White Rose, which is
[11:15] still pending in the Mission Court of
Appeals. No answer on that from the
[11:18] courts.
That nothing further report at the
[11:21] moment.
>> Any questions for Mr. Gold? Did you ever
[11:25] talk to Bob Beldori?
>> I did. In fact, um, Mr. Baldori and I
[11:31] along with Jay Rittman met I'd have to
check my notes, but it must have been
[11:36] the latter part of December after our
December meeting. um discussed again
[11:41] with Jay Ritman what his need to bring
his property into compliance. Um it was
[11:48] a good meeting. It wasn't contentious.
Just laid it out there what the village
[11:52] expects of them. Uh followed up with Mr.
Beldori. I did with another written
[11:58] directive asking
um that's written comply with the terms
[12:03] spelled out. Get the buildings
in compliance. have not heard anything
[12:08] back yet, but Jay promised that he's
going to follow through on it and Mr.
[12:11] Bald already promised me the same. So,
um, given that it was right on the heels
[12:15] of the holidays, I figure I'd bug him in
the middle of this month and say, "Hey,
[12:19] where are we at?" So,
>> okay. Thank you.
[12:24] Any other questions?
If not, we'll move to engineering
[12:29] reports. [clears throat]
>> Uh, thank you. With respect to the Main
[12:34] Street project, um I've received the the
required bonds and insurance from
[12:40] Rereath Riley. Those were in order and
uh so we've executed the contract
[12:47] between him and the village and we'll
just wait to uh you know understand what
[12:52] his schedule is to get started on that
this spring. And then uh as Josh
[12:58] mentioned uh we're looking right now at
a plan for Summit Street between Grand
[13:04] River and the alley to get that fixed
up. [clears throat]
[13:08] And I had a meeting with Mr. Nephew
actually earlier this evening on that
[13:13] and we've got a good plan on attack and
so we'll be pushing hard on that to get
[13:18] that out to bid so um you know we can
get the Ford building open for open for
[13:23] business as soon as possible. Awesome.
Um, kind of dubtales with the Main
[13:29] Street project, which is um, the parking
lot behind the pharmacy. Scott, I failed
[13:35] to to ask where are we at with the
license agreement or easement for that?
[13:42] So, um, for the, uh, parking lots, um,
I'm of the position that an easement is
[13:50] truly
the best option for the village if,
[13:53] especially if the village is going to
invest any money in that property.
[13:56] However, um, the property owner buying
through his attorney wants to have only
[14:02] a license in place. And the difference
is really an easement generally in
[14:08] general terms run with the land. So no
matter who owns that pharmacy, that
[14:12] easement would be there. It would be
forever preserved to the village use. A
[14:16] license um allows for the village and
its citizens to use the parking lot just
[14:22] like a easement. The difference is
generally speaking again is that a
[14:26] license can be revoked by the private
property owner. So in this case, a
[14:30] license from the pharmacy owner to the
village would be in place and remain in
[14:36] place until or whenever the property
owner of the pharmacy said, "I'm not
[14:42] doing this anymore." And he could
unilaterally revoke that. Part of the
[14:46] negotiations that we've been having is
that if in fact the village were to
[14:50] invest any property in that or any money
in that property to improve the parking
[14:54] lot, resurface it, maintain it, um we
would want some kind of almost like a
[15:00] mathematical scale whereby we could
because let's say we put I'm just using
[15:07] generic numbers, but say you put $50,000
into the parking lot, new surface and
[15:12] everything.
um if we didn't have some kind of
[15:15] agreement in place the next year he
could unilaterally say oh we're done
[15:18] with the license we're out $50,000 and
we don't get to use the parking lot.
[15:22] That's what concerns me. So we did come
up with a mathematical scheme whereby we
[15:27] would essentially take a depreciation
table. So he could if he unilaterally
[15:32] tried to revoke the license um saying
year 1 or year two or year five whatever
[15:37] that scale is finalized to be whatever
that depreciation of value went down
[15:43] every year he would have to pay the
village back. So in theory, $50,000, say
[15:48] he couldn't do anything for five years,
but he did on the first year, he would
[15:51] essentially, and that's simple math, I
think if you were to say $10,000 a year
[15:55] in depreciation, he would then on year
one, if he revoked the license, owe the
[16:00] village $40,000 because we would get one
year of use with all the effort that we
[16:05] put into it. But he would be saying, "No
more deal." Then he would have to pay
[16:09] the village $40,000.
And it sounds like all the parties are
[16:13] in agreement that that is a system that
can work for both parties. The slight
[16:17] hangup that we're getting at the moment
is I want to be able to record that
[16:23] license, that agreement with the Ingam
County register of dees. And why I
[16:27] believe that is so important is because
effectively whenever you record a
[16:31] document that has interest in land, we
would have an interest in that parking
[16:35] lot um not only by use but by actual
money invested into it. I want the world
[16:41] to know that the village has in fact put
money in that ground and the attorney
[16:46] for uh the far the pharmacist who I'm
certain that the pharmacist is a nice
[16:51] guy. He's doing his due diligence. This
is probably coming down to difference of
[16:55] opinion on real property law between me
and this other attorney.
[16:59] um he doesn't want us to record that
agreement with Ingram County register
[17:04] deeds in fear that it would cloud the
title or cause a problem for his client
[17:09] down the road.
And my response to him on that matter
[17:14] was, well, if we're using taxpayers
money to improve private property,
[17:19] that's what we would be doing to some
extent. We're improving someone's
[17:23] property. The benefit that we get as a
village, we get to use it. But I believe
[17:28] that having that on record is more
secure for the village. And not to be
[17:33] too morbid, but in the event that the
pharmacist
[17:37] dies in a bizarre event, something
happens and or he goes bankrupt and he
[17:44] has creditors. What I'm getting at is if
there if someone takes control of that
[17:48] property because he's no longer here to
explain or to understand how this
[17:52] happens, we're going to be dealing with
people that are going to be like, I
[17:54] never cut a deal with the village of
Weberville for this parking lot. I'm not
[17:59] going to abide by it. Thus causing us
legal problems. And that's all the
[18:03] that's the only reason I want to record
it is just so that the world knows like,
[18:06] hey, the village has an interest in this
property over there to some extent. And
[18:11] I even promised the attorney on the
other side that if the day comes where
[18:15] the pharmacist wants to revoke the
license for whatever reason, that's
[18:19] fine. We will put together another
document effectively record that
[18:23] subsequent and whereby lifting our any
restriction that we would have on that
[18:28] property. He's not inclined to do that
either.
[18:33] The long the short of the long story is
I'm not certain that for me to go fight
[18:38] this legal fight to get down to the
brass tax is what is truly right and
[18:43] wrong here. It's worth it in real world
application.
[18:47] I am inclined to do a memo for the
village to essentially say look you can
[18:52] enter into this license. It does not
have to be recorded, but the village got
[18:58] to be diligent to pay attention to this
agreement because it will not be
[19:03] recorded in the register of deeds. And
so, um, it's kind of like a risk
[19:08] assessment. I think everyone will be
fine, but part of my job is to be
[19:13] paranoid, right? So, I'm a huge
proponent of just recording it, but that
[19:18] seems to be a sticking point between me
and the other side at this point. Um,
[19:23] but I could put it down into a memo
formally to help the council make a
[19:28] decision on how you want to proceed
because it's going to be a little bit of
[19:30] a risk assessment, I think, as to what
the council's inclined to do.
[19:36] » Sir, are you at a point where it's
effectively a stalemate and you need
[19:40] some sort of direction from the council
as how to proceed [snorts]
[19:44] » at this point? Uh,
yes. Um, I'm inclined to
[19:52] advise to go forward with the license
without the recording with the caveat
[19:56] that hey, this is there is risk to going
this direction. Um, if the council is
[20:02] more inclined to say no, we want it
recorded and I can give you legal
[20:06] reasons formally, I'd be willing to do
that for you, too. I'm not trying to
[20:10] create work, but it's
>> Has he responded to that that draft you
[20:15] sent back to him? um that it would be
appropriate. So, if we were to put in
[20:19] front of council at the next meeting
that it's reasonable if it was approved,
[20:23] you you would accept it. He has not
responded to it. Um
[20:29] I'd have to
I apologize. I have to double check to
[20:34] see where I'm at on it, but he has not
responded. We There has not been any
[20:37] more movement on it. Um
it's prepped, ready to go.
[20:43] I guess it's just the prerogative of the
council as to whether or not you wanted
[20:47] to have it recorded. Otherwise, we're
going to have to be good stewards of
[20:50] that contract and pay attention to it
for the duration of it because it will
[20:53] not be preserved in the in county
registered.
[20:58] So, so let's put that on the agenda for
next meeting.
[21:02] » Um try to get some clarity on that
between now [clears throat] and then.
[21:08] » Okay. So, sorry Bruce, I didn't mean to
go backwards. They're kind of tied
[21:12] together. So I guess for the sake of
Riley with the that part of that portion
[21:16] of the parking lot still a little
ambiguous as to whether or not the bill
[21:20] could be going forward with it.
>> Yep. We can pull it if you want if you
[21:22] need to.
>> Yeah. I mean could always be wrapped
[21:25] into the Summit Street part if we don't
>> potentially. [laughter]
[21:31] » Okay. So
>> anything else from
[21:34] » question for Bruce?
>> Yeah.
[21:36] » You said that you were only going from
Grand River to the alley. You're not
[21:40] going to pave repave that road to the
next intersection to the stop sign.
[21:44] » No, it's not the blame.
[21:49] » That's not tiff district, is it? From
the alley to the intersection.
[21:52] » It is.
>> Okay. Yeah. We can certainly look at it
[21:57] and just see what the cost would be. See
if that it can be handled. I mean, it
[22:02] would be past them at an intersection.
And then right on the other side of that
[22:05] alley, there's a big hole in the in the
road right there where it's been cut out
[22:09] for repairs for water main repair and
what have you. I mean, it's it's just a
[22:14] patch. I mean, I don't know why we can't
go another somehow go another 100 ft,
[22:19] » right?
>> Yeah. I think they I think they pulled a
[22:23] piece of the road out to put a storm
drain across the street.
[22:27] » Oh, yeah. But I think Ryan, well, Ryan's
on the clock, but I think right there at
[22:31] the corner by that next house behind the
alley, their driveway, there was a curb
[22:36] stop that had to be repaired there that
needed for quite a while. So, there's a
[22:39] big indentation there for that cut out.
>> Yeah.
[22:43] » Well, we could do I'll take a look at
it. We can maybe possibly just do a mill
[22:48] and fill on the rest of this.
>> Yeah. I mean, you know, I don't think it
[22:50] needs to be tore up. I mean, I just
think while you're there, why would you
[22:54] leave
>> that section of road not done?
[22:58] It's something to look at.
>> Yeah.
[23:01] » Yeah.
>> Okay. Any other questions for Bruce?
[23:06] See none. Any advocate reports before
new business?
[23:11] » All right. Uh first up, Chris, your
timing is impactful.
[23:16] » Um first item of business is adoption of
the master plan. Um so again, we've been
[23:22] discussing this for a number of months
now. Um different drafts of different
[23:26] sections have been proposed. So I
believe tonight is the final adoption.
[23:30] Correct.
>> That is accurate. Um you have the final
[23:34] version of you. Um there is as you know
this document is actually two documents
[23:41] as far as the state of Michigan is uh
concerned. Um it's both your master plan
[23:47] which is the basis for your zoning and
it is your parks and recreation plan
[23:52] which opens the door for grant funding
from uh MDN. Um the as it as it
[23:59] functions as the parks plan, it has to
be submitted to MDNR by February 1st. Um
[24:05] so after the adoption tonight, uh we
will be rounding up um the accompanying
[24:10] paperwork and getting that uh into their
system. Um, and of course, as your
[24:14] master plan, it is going to help you
make decisions on things like
[24:17] reszonings. Um, and special uses and
that kind of thing as they come in. Um,
[24:25] as it pertains to that piece of it, we
may be reopening this document
[24:33] fairly soon if I move forward 425.
Um,
[24:40] and it wouldn't be a wholesale change,
but it would be updated to reflect
[24:44] whatever happens there one way or
another.
[24:46] » Would it also need to be updated for
what's on agenda item number
[24:51] two, which is the zoning definitions
or or is that kind of separate?
[24:57] » No. Uh that's separate or not separate
so much as it is a that is a zoning
[25:03] ordinance thing that does not need a
sort of backing from the master because
[25:08] it doesn't change anything to do with
the map um or you know not immediately.
[25:13] So like it's um
[25:18] anything from that potentially we could
get pick up in anything post 425 if any
[25:23] of that happens but for the moment it's
fine.
[25:25] » Okay.
[25:30] So, any questions for Chris about the
master plan?
[25:36] [laughter]
>> And that has to be turned in by
[25:38] February.
>> February 1st. Yes.
[25:43] » Okay. There's no questions or
discussion. I would recommend that we
[25:48] adopt the master plan
uh as presented.
[25:53] » So, move second.
Roll call.
[25:59] » Yes.
>> Yes. S
[26:02] » no.
>> Yes.
[26:06] » All right. [snorts] Brings us to number
[clears throat] two. So I'll kick off
[26:09] the topic here. Um during our last
meeting there was a lot of discussion um
[26:14] with the potential of uh 425 and the
topic of data centers came up. It's a
[26:20] very hot topic in a number of
communities right now. Um, and what I
[26:24] heard from this board is that action
would want to be taken in regards to
[26:28] handling the zoning of those, but it was
decided it would be best handled in a
[26:32] separate meeting, which brings us to to
today. Um, I've asked Chris to prepare
[26:38] um this draft. Um I believe the state
and maybe the county has given some
[26:42] guidelines on on these types of things.
But so there's clarity for everybody
[26:47] here. Uh
regardless of anybody's
[26:53] feelings towards data centers in order
for the village to manage where they go
[26:58] or don't go, we have to adopt a
definition of what a data center is. If
[27:04] we do not by default these things are
categoriz categorized as warehousing
[27:09] which means anywhere that our
warehousing is permitted somebody could
[27:14] then uh put a data center there. Um so
that is the the gist of this. Chris
[27:21] would would you like to add to that or
what you presented today?
[27:24] » Yeah absolutely. Obviously, this has
become a hot topic very quickly
[27:28] um and is
uh to get to Sam's, you know, big point
[27:34] there. It's a little bit of a difficult
topic because actually the issue is
[27:38] scale.
Um any office that has a server in it
[27:43] connecting multiple computers is a data
center, just a tiny one. And then you
[27:48] have over the past 40 years since
there's been some some semblance of the
[27:54] internet existing, these these things
have existed.
[27:57] In the past couple of years, they have
exploded in size and scale. Um, and
[28:05] that's what causes the land use planning
zoning concern. Um, up to a certain
[28:11] level, they really are much of a concern
computer.
[28:15] Beyond that level, you're talking huge
energy and water needs as well as other
[28:19] potential off-site impacts. From the
villages perspective, you don't have a
[28:23] whole lot of control over energy. Um,
and we could add language in here to
[28:28] require submission of information on
where they're going to get energy from.
[28:32] Some communities have even required
on-site energy generation like rooftop
[28:36] solar panels and that kind of thing. And
we could take this fairly short
[28:40] amendment and expand it in lots and lots
of pages.
[28:44] But our initial thought here from your
perspective as the village of Weberville
[28:48] is that the big issue you're going to
run into if one of these wants to come
[28:52] here is water because you control the
water system. And if it if this facility
[28:59] comes in and it needs a huge capacity of
water that your system cannot
[29:06] support, then we have a problem.
Flip side to that, if one of these
[29:11] facilities came in and became a huge
water user and water payer, but you
[29:16] could support that capacity,
suddenly your water system is well
[29:20] funded because someone buy a lot of
water from you. That's only going to be
[29:24] that's only a positive thing. However,
if your residents still have water
[29:27] coming out of their taps. [snorts] Thus,
the key aspect of this potential
[29:33] amendment is section three, which is to
say
[29:38] it says very clearly, one of these will
not be approved in the village unless
[29:42] the DPW certifies that there is
sufficient capacity or the applicant
[29:48] pays for the upgrades to get you
sufficient capacity.
[29:52] If neither of those is met, this
ordinance says you vote to deny. In
[29:58] fact, this ordinance says they can't
believe we're coming to in the first
[30:02] place if they don't have one of those
two set to go before they come to
[30:05] council.
It It's our goal here to protect you
[30:09] guys from that particular aspect which
directly impacts your biggest piece of
[30:15] infrastructure in the village.
um if you'd like to we can get into
[30:20] other issues such as noise.
However, or or energy or any of that.
[30:26] However, unlike some of the rural
communities that have tackled this
[30:30] issue, you have an industrial park. The
industrial park has or is located such
[30:38] that it has a number of uses that have
noise, noises, smells, truck traffic.
[30:42] And while we have some issues with it,
there aren't very many residents, if
[30:45] any, that are directly impacted because
the industrial park is isolated from
[30:49] residential areas intentionally. And
this body in the past has said, "Yeah,
[30:54] we can have marijuana grow facilities,
for instance, because we have this
[30:57] industrial park that is isolated from
residents." You could take that TAC with
[31:02] a data center and say, "This is isolated
from residents, so we don't really care
[31:06] if it's making noise. We know it won't
actually have very much truck traffic.
[31:09] It won't none. We know it won't have a
lot of car traffic. They don't have very
[31:12] employees,
but we know it's going to take a lot of
[31:15] water and it's going to take a lot of
power. And while we don't provide the
[31:17] water or the power, we provide the
water. And so, we really need to know
[31:20] what's going on there and be locked and
loaded well in advance of anyone
[31:24] starting to pump water into this thing.
Anyway, that's the amendment in front of
[31:28] you. The uh the action tonight will be
to set a public hearing, but I'm also
[31:31] interested in your thoughts on the
policy item. Is this the direction you
[31:36] want to go? understanding that simply
saying no is not an option. As with all
[31:40] legal uses of land, you have to have
some possibility uh of allowing them,
[31:45] but you don't have to make it easy and
you have you can make rules to
[31:49] government. Well, and I think another
sorry to jump in here, Chris, but
[31:54] another key part of this of of what
Chris has presented is that this would
[31:58] be like like you said excluded to M1
Industrial, but it would only be
[32:02] permittable permissible by special use
permit, which means that applicant would
[32:08] have to come to this council seeking
permission by vote to be approved. Now,
[32:13] there are caveats, which is to deny a
special use permit, there has to be just
[32:18] cause, but I think we're trying to put
as many layers of protection in here as
[32:22] possible.
Um, so again, like Chris said, this
[32:27] meeting is to set a public hearing to
adopt a definition. And I I'm open at
[32:34] this point to having a discussion about
how this board feels this should be
[32:38] shaped um if it should be structured
differently than what Chris has
[32:42] presented here.
[32:47] [clears throat]
>> The way I understand it. I think he's
[32:49] got us covered pretty well. I mean with
what he's put in front of us right now
[32:54] and I don't have a problem moving
forward to a public comment on it,
[32:59] public hearing. Yeah.
And I would say I know this is kind of
[33:05] coming, you know, fresh tonight. We've
had a couple days advance to absorb
[33:10] this, but between now and whenever the
public hearing is set set if questions
[33:15] arise, um I would say let's try to
collect those and consolidate them.
[33:20] We'll reach out to Chris and try to
address those. And if there's anything
[33:24] that needs to be um I guess changed at
the next meeting after the public
[33:31] hearing that then we can adjust that as
needed. So unless anybody has any
[33:36] specific comments, questions or
concerns, food for thought. Um
[33:42] are we ready to set a public hearing for
this? Okay. So I recommend that we set a
[33:50] public hearing for zoning definitions
for February 10th, 2026.
[33:55] » So
>> second
[33:58] roll call.
>> Yes.
[34:01] » Yes. Stanfield.
>> Yes.
[34:04] » Yes.
[34:08] » The February 10th.
[34:16] Yeah.
Okay. Um, no further discussion on that.
[34:21] We'll move on to item number three,
which is resolution 2026-01,
[34:26] which is [clears throat] going to be our
midyear
[34:30] budget amendment for the 2025 2026
fiscal year. Um, so this is not
[34:36] particularly required. Um this is
something that we've elected to do um
[34:41] just to keep on track with any budget
amendments kind of mid year as we need
[34:45] to adjust the budget. Um so that's been
prepared in front of you this evening.
[34:51] Jessica, do you have anything to add? I
know you spent a lot of time with
[34:54] Caitlyn on this.
>> A lot of the notes are on the side.
[34:57] They're wondering what happened.
[35:02] Um,
but it's been a few months in the making
[35:06] to get this cleaned up.
[35:17] » Are there any glaring red flags or
concerns that you see in this?
[35:20] » No.
>> Okay.
[35:24] Any questions or discuss discussion from
the council on the budget amendment?
[35:27] » No, I love the little notes on the side.
>> I know. It's really awesome. makes it
[35:31] very easy to track.
[35:36] Okay. Um
I would recommend that we approve
[35:43] resolution 2026-01 for the 2025 2026
midyear budget amendments.
[35:49] » So move second.
>> Roll call.
[35:53] » Mer
>> yes.
[35:55] » Sher,
>> yes. Walford,
[35:58] » yes.
>> Shy,
[35:59] » yes.
[36:02] Okay. Um, brings us to item number four,
which was added to the agenda, uh, which
[36:09] is discussion of the back truck. So,
Deborah, if you would motion to have
[36:16] this added, I'll let you bring up your
concerns. Now, is this paperwork here
[36:22] the uh contractor price for the back
truck services versus
[36:27] us getting our own truck?
>> Uh, yes. The
[36:32] » to the hourly rate it would cost us for
our own truck.
[36:36] » Well,
>> because last meeting, if I remember
[36:39] correctly, we were supposed to think
about purchasing our own truck
[36:45] and versus having a company come in
and
[36:51] doing what they needed to do.
>> Sure. So, I I would just I would just
[36:56] caution you a little bit with the the
self- rental numbers being that they're
[37:01] budgetary numbers and that that's money
that we charge ourselves. So, it's not
[37:06] it's not a real cost if that makes
sense. It's just determining how much
[37:11] money needs to move from one fund to
another.
[37:14] Okay.
um th those numbers are not including
[37:19] the the labor cost to operate that piece
of equipment nor the cost of purchasing.
[37:26] Um so you you are correct that um the
numbers up above are the cost for um
[37:32] contractual hourly rates. Um those are
from ML chart here. It's a local company
[37:39] here in the business park. Um there
would also be a reduced discharge rate
[37:46] um provided that we're able to discharge
any sewer cleanouts into our lagoons.
[37:50] You know, theoretically that stuff would
be destined to end up there anyway. Um
[37:55] but this is just to give an idea uh to
the council of what those hourly rates
[38:01] would be.
I would also add to this discussion that
[38:06] um I've talked to Joe from Michigan
Rural Water Association. um he's the
[38:11] gentleman assigned to our community uh
who does all of our water rate studies
[38:16] and um I I thought I remembered this and
I did correctly which is part of the
[38:23] water rate study accounts for our
capital improvement plan which basically
[38:28] means any planned future expenses um
beyond just regular maintenance of the
[38:33] system. So, as of right now, we are
scheduled in the capital improvement
[38:38] plan for a large infrastructure update
in 2035, which is realistically only
[38:43] nine years away. Um, [clears throat] at
our current savings rate, with a a
[38:48] projected annual increase in our water
in our water rates and sewer rates,
[38:53] we're still going to fall $800,000 short
of what's projected that we'll meet in
[38:58] nine years. So the purchase of a truck
at $5 to $600,000 would mean that in
[39:05] nine years we would be 1.3 or $1.4
million short.
[39:10] » Okay. But purchase of that truck is
going to save Buku money from having to
[39:17] rent.
>> Well, we don't know.
[39:20] » Well, we don't know by purchasing that
truck that how much money we would be
[39:25] saving on that. So what what we don't
have accurate insight on right now is
[39:30] utilization rate of a truck and how much
we would actually use and to translate
[39:36] that into a annual cost for contracting
versus cost of ownership because there's
[39:42] not just the cost of the truck, there's
the cost of operating it, cost of
[39:46] keeping fuel in it, tires, maintenance,
all of those other things. I think Robin
[39:51] Robin Brian had stated within five years
that it would pay for itself if memory
[39:57] serves me correctly.
>> I I could be wrong.
[40:00] » So there's a lot of different routes
that this could go. There's no denying
[40:05] that there are services in this village
and activities that require a back
[40:09] truck. I mean, the only way you can
clean out a sewer system realistically
[40:13] is with that type of equipment, right?
Um,
[40:17] » well, I know there's fire hydrant that
needs to be replaced over by the
[40:21] firehouse
and
[40:24] we can't do it unless we have
>> not true and I'm not I'm not suggesting
[40:29] we do this, but technically the way that
that used to be done was with a shovel.
[40:34] » You know, I can go buy a lot of $20
shovels versus a $600,000 truck or pay
[40:40] somebody an hour to come in and do that.
So, there's other options that have yet
[40:45] to be explored here. There's purchasing
a truck. There's a contractual service.
[40:51] There's also the option for a used
truck. I've looked a number of different
[40:56] searches searches and found a couple of
hundred uh used units throughout the
[41:01] country that you know are much newer
than what we have now. Uh there's also
[41:06] the option that we need to explore and
understand of upfitting our current
[41:11] truck. So, as I understand it, our
current chassis, the nonvactor part of
[41:16] it, um, you may have some transmission
issues, but it's otherwise low mileage
[41:20] and in good shape. So, what would be the
cost of having somebody just put a new
[41:26] factory unit on that? These are all
things that this council needs to
[41:31] understand in full before making a
decision of this magnitude because in
[41:37] talking with Michigan Rural Water
Association,
[41:41] not only does this impact our future
projects, which I didn't even mention,
[41:44] in 2045, we have a capital improvement
plan that under our current savings rate
[41:50] will be $2 million short of. So
in the near term, that 2020, that 2035
[41:58] target, if we were to either
borrow the money out of the savings that
[42:03] we have and pay ourselves back or
finance this vehicle,
[42:07] the rough numbers that we're looking at
is we would have to increase the ready
[42:11] to serve rate on the sewer part for 3/4
inch service line by $10 a month. That
[42:17] that's ultimately what the cost of the
taxpayers would be to buy a truck.
[42:26] So given that we this board went through
this exercise
[42:33] 14 15 months ago when we raised water
rates u and we all know how that went
[42:38] over that that was a very large
increase. This is would be a similar
[42:43] increase on top of any other annual
increases that we would need to do to
[42:47] keep up with inflationary costs. So
that's why that I I cannot underestimate
[42:52] the magnitude of this type of decision.
I'm not saying no, we cannot buy a truck
[42:56] or no, we shouldn't, but we don't have a
complete view or picture yet, which is
[43:01] why I did not put it on the agenda
because I don't feel like we have enough
[43:06] information to make a responsible
decision.
[43:13] » I agree. I think we need to weigh every
option there is. I don't. Yeah, a new
[43:18] truck, a new shiny truck would be great
and it would work great. There's no
[43:22] doubt about it. But to jump in both feet
and just run out, buy a new truck is not
[43:27] a sensible decision. We have to shop
you. We have to shop the option. And
[43:34] I've never seen this truck in person. I
don't know what the frame looks like. I
[43:37] don't know anything about the truck
though. But we've got to look at every
[43:40] option there is
>> and whether it's even
[43:45] » better money spent for a year or two to
pay somebody to do it because we don't
[43:49] know if we can't
broadcast how many times we're going to
[43:53] need that truck in a year.
>> If we had it, would we use it more?
[43:57] Probably. But did we have to use it?
>> Probably not. Well, and and sorry if I
[44:03] may real quick to that point, it's not
like these trucks are going to be
[44:08] stopped being built tomorrow. There is
the option to go with a contractor
[44:12] service for 12 months to understand what
that cost is and how often we would need
[44:17] that truck. And at that point, the
council could make a decision of well,
[44:22] maybe there is a cost benefit to
purchasing versus renting. You know, so
[44:26] this to your point, it's not something
that we should just jump into. you know,
[44:30] there is that option to to wait. It's
not like by not buying one, we're going
[44:34] to give it out.
>> And see, I'm
[44:37] right there with both of you because I'm
like the pros and cons person, you know,
[44:40] and where you list it out, you sit down
and you've got like, okay, so we have
[44:45] one, we could do this, this, and this,
and you list it down a piece of paper
[44:48] and, you know, it's kind of like, I'm
looking at this cost. Whereas, if you're
[44:52] going with a new one, yeah, it's going
to be nice and great, but you know, if
[44:56] something breaks down after, you know,
you might have it a year, but you're
[45:00] still going to have repair costs either
way. And then, you know, you have to
[45:04] explain it because we're all taxpayers.
If something's going up, first of all,
[45:10] we spent this great big amount on this
and oh, by the way, now we have to
[45:15] raise, you know, your water bill because
of this.
[45:22] You just have to take that time, take a
step back and really think about it
[45:26] before you're doing that.
You know, does it mean that
[45:33] like you said, we just buy parts for
what we have now?
[45:38] Maybe we go elsewhere. It's just it's a
lot of thought before you make a
[45:42] [clears throat] huge investment like
that.
[45:45] Well, it's going to be a big investment
to even upgrade our truck because the
[45:49] parts aren't available to fix what the
problem is.
[45:52] » And like Ryan had said before, we just
put a new tank on it. I'd hate to throw
[45:56] it away, but if you can't buy parts, you
can't buy parts. So,
[45:59] » you got to weigh
>> the option of fixing ours cuz we all
[46:03] know it doesn't have miles. Is the
transmission a serious problem or is it?
[46:06] Who knows?
>> Um versus buying a used one versus
[46:10] paying somebody to do this for us for
one year. and now we've got an idea of
[46:14] what we spent on it and we can weigh
that to the option of buying a new one
[46:19] in a year or a used one. I mean, there's
just too many options that haven't been
[46:23] investigated yet in my mind to even talk
about
[46:28] » which route to go.
>> And and to provide some clarity, um I
[46:32] was only able to connect with Joe from
Michigan World Water like a couple days
[46:36] ago. So he and I have a meeting
scheduled in a couple of weeks to sit
[46:41] down and actually go through his
spreadsheet and run some numbers to so
[46:45] hopefully we can bring back you know
some more concrete information for the
[46:49] council in terms of you know
[clears throat] estimated cost for
[46:53] different options. What is the financial
impact to not only our savings and
[46:58] capital improvement plan but also to the
taxpayers and their water bills?
[47:02] » When is our next water hike scheduled
[snorts] for? We try to usually do that
[47:07] around budget season, right? So Joe's
probably going to start looking at those
[47:11] numbers here in the next few weeks. Um
with the idea of bringing that forward
[47:16] to council probably in March,
>> March or April.
[47:19] » Yeah.
>> So we could already be going to the
[47:23] people and saying your water bill is
going to go up $8, $10. We don't know
[47:27] that, right? I'm just throwing a number
out. And then to tell them that, oh, we
[47:31] need this truck, which is going to make
your water rate go up another 10 on top
[47:34] of that, right? Not gonna go well.
>> Can a sewer fund absorb some of that
[47:40] cost?
>> The sewer fund is well funded, but it's
[47:45] earmarked for those capital improvement
projects.
[47:48] So,
in the instance of borrowing from
[47:51] ourselves and paying it back over 10
years, that's where that $10 a month
[47:55] would come from.
[47:58] » [clears throat]
>> So lot lot of
[48:03] lot of different options not just in
terms of equipment but also how we pay
[48:07] for it be it financed pay for it wholly
um I doubt you can probably lease
[48:13] something like that um
you know not for not you know I had a
[48:19] really good productive meeting with ML
Shark here they're very excited about
[48:22] the prospect of working with us they
certainly love the village Um, obviously
[48:27] it would have to be inspected and
approved by them, but there would be
[48:31] interest
um for them to purchase our old
[48:35] equipment if we were to want to get rid
of it either for parts or for repair.
[48:39] Um, like I said, obvious they they need
to understand what it looks like,
[48:42] condition, all that stuff to make any
sort of offer. But that could help some
[48:47] offset some of the costs uh in the
future. And the nice thing, I think, why
[48:52] they're interested is ours is a Vector
brand and 90% of their fleet is Vector
[48:58] brand as well. So,
well, the other option is, and I'm not
[49:03] saying we're going with them, but if we
were to go with them or another
[49:06] contractor for a year, but ML Sharkier,
we treat them right, they treat us
[49:11] right. Maybe they have a truck that
comes up for sale because they're
[49:14] upgrading their fleet. they sell us one,
you know, one of their used trucks in a
[49:19] year.
>> I would be surprised by that. It's
[49:25] certainly possible and it's great
thought. Um, but being that these are
[49:28] very
uh the type of equipment that's very
[49:32] prone to breaking down. I was surprised
to learn out of their fleet of 40 some
[49:37] odd vehicles, I think like five or six
of those sit there as backups because
[49:42] it's anticipated that, you know, so that
that really reframed this in my mind of
[49:48] a cost of ownership of as well is, you
know, just because you buy a brand new
[49:52] unit doesn't mean that you're not going
to be putting 50 grand into it two or
[49:55] three years down the road,
>> right? I mean, that's right, from the
[49:59] experts.
So,
[50:04] I don't really have anything else to add
on the topic. Um, unless the council
[50:08] does. Like I said, I'm I'm working
diligently myself and trying to work
[50:13] with Ryan as well to really bring
together a full proposal to the council
[50:18] so we we know what we're deciding on.
[50:24] So,
unless there's anything else there,
[50:27] we'll move on to added item number five,
which is the WDA.
[50:32] Um, so it's brought to my attention that
Diana Baxter um has uh
[50:40] announced or or made known that she
wishes to resign from the board. Um, no
[50:46] longer really has a vested interest in
the community. I believe she's largely
[50:50] moved out. So, um, not really having the
time commitment or the vested interest,
[50:54] she's choosing to step down, uh, which
leaves an open seat. and uh our
[51:01] long-term audience member uh Andrew
Nephew has expressed interest and would
[51:06] like to join the WDDA.
Um
[51:10] any questions there? I know it's kind of
straightforward.
[51:17] So
that said, I recommend that we approve
[51:23] resolution 2026-2
recognizes the recognizing the vacant uh
[51:28] WDA seat and the appointment of Andrew
Nephew to the DDA [laughter] board.
[51:33] » So moved. [clears throat]
>> Roll call.
[51:38] » Yes.
>> Short.
[51:39] » Yes. Stanfield.
>> Yes.
[51:41] » Walter.
>> Yes.
[51:44] » Yes.
Welcome aboard, Andrew.
[51:48] Um, Jessica or somebody from the village
office will work with you on getting you
[51:52] sworn in.
[51:56] » What's Andrew's first name?
>> Nephew.
[51:59] » Nephew.
>> Yes.
[52:03] » Okay. Brings us to the end of new
business. And at this time, we'll open
[52:08] up for our second round of public
comment at 6:52.
[52:13] Yes, sir.
John Leonard, village [clears throat]
[52:16] resident. Mr. President, I've got a few
items here that I'm concerned about as
[52:23] uh things that are going on in the
village and I would like to have some
[52:26] address to this. Number one is is going
to be addressed to the village attorney
[52:32] if he can answer this which is a yes or
no. Is there again a pending lawsuit
[52:39] legal action against the village and
yourself as the president concerning the
[52:46] firing of a former
employee employee?
[52:53] Is there a yes or no on that
[52:57] or refusal to answer?
>> This is public comment.
[53:01] » I It's a question for the attorney. Is
there a pending loss? Yes or no? I know
[53:08] I know that there's been a serving, so
[clears throat] I just want to hear it
[53:12] as a public records. Yes or no?
And I'm taking that this failure to
[53:18] answer
is the comment I'm going to get tonight.
[53:23] Okay, move on.
Concern out of control spend out of
[53:27] control spending as a result of legal
advice.
[53:31] White Rose is an issue. Attorney fees
continue to rise. I'm not saying that's
[53:37] the fault of the attorney, but the
council needs to be aware. This is
[53:41] costing or potentially costing us
through attorney fees,
[53:46] and we as the taxpayer is going to be
responsible ultimately for this. Uh the
[53:51] equal fine, $32,500.
This was paid as a result of of action
[53:58] on the village at the taxpayers's
expense.
[54:02] The equipment [clears throat] request
for potential uh equipment. My concern
[54:07] is could this lead to potential property
damage again involving legal fees and
[54:15] increased legal costs passed on to the
village. and his hydro back again
[54:20] because I'm concerned about property
damage or potential litigation from
[54:24] property owners. Uh the budget I just
want to say in my opinion that the
[54:30] budget the village budget the taxpayers
dollars is not
[54:35] a personal spending account for the
village president. That's my opinion and
[54:40] I need to express that. Now I would like
to explain why if it's possible. I'm
[54:46] told that a village employee again
was disciplined
[54:52] and again there's probably a potential
for legal fees as a result of the
[54:58] president's decision making.
And I just want to remind the council
[55:02] and I know my time is up. One more
comment. The [clears throat] council has
[55:07] the ultimate control over the decision
making of this body and it's in my
[55:14] opinion that this council
should take control and control what is
[55:20] being decided at this at this board.
Thank you. Those are my comments.
[55:26] » Thank you. Any other public comment this
evening?
[55:31] Okay, seeing none. So, we will close
public comment at 656.
[55:36] Uh, as far as the president's comments,
Scott, I I know this is my section, but
[55:42] is there anything that you want to want
to address in in that public comment?
[55:46] » Um, I'm happy to. Um, yes, there is a
pending lawsuit that's been filed in the
[55:51] Ingam County Circuit Court, I believe.
Uh, I'm not handling the matter. It's
[55:57] being taken up by our insurance
provider, their attorneys. Um, so I I
[56:04] can't
I I I sincerely don't have any more
[56:08] information than that. The attorneys
through the MML have that now in their
[56:11] possession uh through our insurance
policy. Um,
[56:17] the white rose. Um,
yes. And the the very reason why this is
[56:24] still pending in the Michigan Court of
Appeals is that right now I have secured
[56:30] a judgment for all my attorney fees in
relation to the White Rose matter. And
[56:35] that is what they're essentially
appealing. Um there the defendant White
[56:40] Rose is essentially saying don't make me
responsible for all these attorney fees
[56:44] where the circuit court of Ben County
has already said White Rose you pay the
[56:48] bill for all the attorney fees. So
that's that's the piece that's in there.
[56:54] Um
[56:58] I think is that it for the attorney
questions? I believe so. So um all other
[57:04] questions um we'll try to get back to
you. Um
[57:09] within a week. Uh I have no further
comments beyond that which brings us to
[57:16] comments from the council.
>> Just like to say thank you for your
[57:19] time.
Jessica, was the check move out to
[57:24] Eagle?
>> So then that fine is definitely taken
[57:29] care of.
>> Mr. B, this question is then for you.
[57:34] Since we weren't even allowed to discuss
that until eagle rendered their decision
[57:41] we paid. Is this [clears throat] now the
time that you write a termination letter
[57:48] for Shane Batliff?
>> Well, I believe
[57:50] » we put this to bed.
>> I believe so. Uh well, let me back up. I
[57:55] believe that the matter has already been
resolved. Um, I would have to go back
[57:59] and check uh with the minutes or the
village record. I believe the matter was
[58:05] handled by pre former president Brad
Hitchcock. I haven't double checked
[58:08] that.
>> Yeah. But you had said, if memory serves
[58:11] me correctly,
>> said that you could not give him a
[58:15] letter of termination until we found out
what Eagle
[58:19] » was going to do and the Eagle fine.
>> Yeah. And I will have to double check
[58:24] all that. And I and that was a position
at one time, but I got to go back and
[58:29] double check because I have for whatever
reason I'm believing that former
[58:33] President Hitchcock
terminated the employment officially,
[58:39] but I will double check that. And if
that has not happened, then yes, an
[58:43] official termination letter would have
to be
[58:46] dispatched.
>> Okay. And council does not need to
[58:50] approve that at that point.
>> Nope.
[58:53] » Okay. Uh the normal course of business
of any kind of uh
[58:59] disciplinary action or discharge, the
employees are given a fiveday window to
[59:06] grieve any action whereby uh that
grievance then could come back in front
[59:12] of the council for review.
>> Okay. And is there any way to recover
[59:17] the 32,500
fine?
[59:21] » [clears throat]
>> Not that I'm aware of, but I can I I'd
[59:24] be willing to check into it. But as far
as I know from what I having gone
[59:28] through this at this very moment,
are you saying like to seek damages from
[59:33] an individual?
>> Well, well, yeah, we're out that money
[59:37] for something that he ultimately caused.
>> Yeah, that uh I do not believe that is
[59:44] an option, but [clears throat] I can
double check that.
[59:49] Any
other comments from the council for this
[59:53] evening?
I'm seeing none. So, is there a motion
[59:58] to adjurnn?
>> I will make motion to adjurnn at 6.
[1:00:02] Second. All in favor say I.
>> I. All opposed.
[1:00:07] Thank you all for coming.