SPECIAL MEETING OF THE WEST BRANCH CITY COUNCIL HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF CITY HALL, 121 NORTH FOURTH STREET, TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2015. Mayor William Ehinger called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Present: Mayor William Ehinger, Council Members Kim Ervans, Jim Hasty, Denise Lawrence, David Lucas, and Timothy Schaiberger. Absent: Rusty Showalter. Other officers present: City Manager Heather Grace, Clerk/Treasurer John Dantzer, Police Chief Ken Walters, Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Michelle Frechette, and DPW Superintendent Dennis Jameson. All stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Manager Grace noted there was an addition to the agenda that a public hearing was to be held on changes to zoning ordinance. She further noted that there was a clerical error in the posting of the public hearing so it was her recommendation to hold a public hearing at this meeting as well as next meeting for anyone who would like to speak on the subject. MOTION BY SCHAIBERGER, SECOND BY LUCAS, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AND SUMMARY OF THE REGULAR MEETING HELD AUGUST 17, 2015. MOTION BY LAWRENCE, SECOND BY SCHAIBERGER, TO OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON CHANGES TO THE ZONING ORIDINANCE AT 6:05 PM.
No one present in the audience or the Council wished to speak on the subject. MOTION BY SCHAIBERGER, SECOND BY EHINGER, TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 6:06 P.M. Sally Rea, on behalf of the Ogemaw Historical Society, asked Council if they would be able to take over the care of the Fireman s Monument. MOTION BY ERVANS, SECOND BY SCHAIBERGER, TO ALLOW THE OGEMAW HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO TAKE OVER THE CARE OF THE FIREMAN S MONUMENT. Manager Grace also noted as an addition to the agenda that there were two requests for inserts into the next water bills. One was from the Chamber of Commerce and one was from the Children s Museum Committee. MOTION BY SCHAIBERGER, SECOND BY EHINGER, TO ALLOW THE CHILDRENS MUSEUM AND ACTIVITY CENTER, AND THE WEST BRANCH VISITORS BUREAU/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TO PLACE INSERTS AT THEIR OWN COSTS INTO THE NEXT QUARTERLY WATER BILLS.
Manager Grace noted that the Riverwalk project was nominated by Heather Johnson of the Chamber of Commerce to Keep Michigan Beautiful Incorporated for their annual award competition and was happy to announce that West Branch was awarded the Presidential Award, which is the highest award given out. Manager Grace further noted that Kelli Collins walked the Riverwalk and took a bunch of pictures to help with the nomination project. MOTION BY SCHAIBERGER, SECOND BY LUCAS, TO RECEIVE AND FILE THE MINUTES OF THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING HELD JULY 28, 2015. Manager Grace noted that the City did receive confirmation that the Title VI Non-Discrimination Plan was accepted and approved for 2015. Manager Grace also noted that she had a meeting scheduled with MDOT where she would be introduced to our new representatives out of the Alpena location that we will be dealing with in the future as well as discussion about the Houghton Ave. reconstruction project. MOTION BY SCHAIBERGER, SECOND BY LAWRENCE, TO REAPPOINT KARA FACHTING TO THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS TO A THREE YEAR TERM TO EXPIRE ON A 8/15/2018. MOTION BY SCHAIBERGER, SECOND BY LUCAS, TO REAPPOINT BONNIE STEVENS TO THE ELECTION BOARD TO A TWO YEAR TERM TO EXPIRE ON 6/30/2016.
MOTION BY SCHAIBERGER, SECOND BY LAWRENCE, TO REAPPOINT DIANNE GAVITT TO THE ELECTION BOARD TO A TWO YEAR TERM TO EXPIRE ON 6/30/2017. Manager Grace noted that at her last meeting in Lansing, the City vehicle broke down and left her stranded in Lansing. She also noted that the insurance company did not give them much money for repairs for the damage done by the storm due to the condition of the vehicle. It was the consensus of the Council to have Manager Grace look into different options for a City vehicle. Member Schaiberger noted how well the roof work with all of the different companies seems to be going and hasn t heard of any problems with them yet. Member Lawrence noted she went to the last Fabulous Fridays meeting and they are continuing to work on next year s plans. Member Lawrence attended the last EMS meeting and they are awaiting delivery of their new ambulance. Member Lawrence also noted that she had a complaint from a local business about the sign ordinance of the City because he was denied the ability to put up more than two signs. Member Ervans noted that maybe the Planning Commission needs to relook at some of the sign ordinances because they seem to be hurting the local businesses rather than helping them. Manager Grace noted that according to the current ordinance there is no appeal process that allows a business to appeal a Planning Commission decision to City Council. She did note that it was her recommendation to include something to allow this in the new zoning ordinance. It was the consensus of the Council to submit a request to the Planning Commission to have them relook at this permit at their next meeting.
MOTION BY LUCAS, SECOND BY SCHAIBERGER, TO REQUEST THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO RECONSIDER THEIR DENIAL OF THE SIGN PERMITS FOR THE TIPSY BEAR BISTRO. * Manager Grace noted that the employee picnic will be Sunday Oct. 4 Manager Grace noted that they have begun their bi-weekly safety meetings for all employees. Manager Grace noted that the Houghton Ave. paving project is planned to begin on Sept. 15 and is expected to take two days to finish. Manager Grace updated Council on the housing project for Brenda Peters and that they are attempting to get the questioned flooring replaced. Manager Grace noted that she attended a Redevelopment Ready Communities meeting and she is continuing to work on requirements of the program. * Manager Grace noted that due to the meeting being a week early and the current audit going on there were not bills ready for approval for this meeting. * Manager Grace noted that as a part of the new park ordinances that was passed, Council had the option to set the amount of fines for the violations of those ordinances. It was the consensus of the Council to table the decision and look at what the State fines for similar offenses are. MOTION BY SCHAIBERGER, SECOND BY EHINGER, TO TABLE THE DECISION ON THE VIOLATION FINES TO GATHER MORE INFORMATION.
* Manager Grace noted that as a part of changing the zoning code, she had included a Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings which was good for blight enforcement, the International Property Maintenance Code which is helpful for the prevention of blight, and International Zoning Code which will help with updating our current Zoning Code. * Manager Grace noted that the Noise Ordinance that was passed at the last meeting was set for approval if Council still wanted to proceed with it. She further noted that the ordinance was available for anyone who wanted a copy of it to read. MOTION BY SCHAIBERGER, SECOND BY EHINGER, TO APPROVE THE PROPOSED NOISE ORDINANCE AS WRITTEN. * A map for the Earleen Fox Memorial 5K Walk/Run request was submitted to Council. Mayor Ehinger asked Chief Walters if he had any concerns about the route. Chief Walters noted that he did not have any concerns. MOTION BY SCHAIBERGER, SECOND BY EHINGER, TO APPROVE THE EARLEEN FOX MEMORIAL 5K WALK/ RUN ROUTE AS SUBMITTED. * Bids were opened and read for the City Attorney opening. Kim Higgs of Bay City submitted a bid for $80 an hour and William Engemann of West Branch submitted a bid for $85 an hour. Member Ervans noted that he had some concerns about hiring someone from out of town. Member Lawrence noted that as far as she knew we never had any problems with Mr. Engemann and that she also would prefer to keep the services with someone who is familiar with the area.
MOTION BY LAWRENCE, SECOND BY LUACS, TO AWARD THE BID FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY SERVICES TO WILLIAM ENGEMANN AS PRESENTED. * Manager Grace updated Council that the Children s Museum Committee, upon recommendation from Dan Leonard of the MEDC, is in the process of establishing a non-profit organization and a for profit organization so that they can receive grants that are available for both types of organizations. They are also starting to collect donations to help with the process. * Superintendent Jameson noted that they will be changing some of the fencing around the back and the side of the Pocket Park and are looking at some different fencing options for the front of the Park. Chief Walters updated Council on damage numbers from the storm to the City owned assets. He noted that they currently have some of the police cars in for repairs. Jerry Leazenby thanked the Council for their time and effort they give in trying to make the City of West Branch a better place. He did note that he had concerns with the Doctor situation in the City. Manager Grace presented information on the amounts that were available in the Housing Resource Fund as per the request from the last meeting due to the request from James Espinoza to be involved in a State regional home buyer program. Member Schaiberger asked if any other municipalities or organizations had pledged any money to the program yet. It was the consensus of the Council to see if any other municipalities had pledged any money yet. Mayor Ehinger adjourned the meeting at 7:20 pm.
William Ehinger, Mayor John Dantzer, Clerk