Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, yeah. Thank you. ... ... ...

I think that's similar.

Please.

And if we can stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Just as a reminder, if you happen to have your cell phone with you,

Let's make sure it's off or on silent. City President Maynard over to the paintball conference, please.

Council Member Williams. For. Me. Here. Stewart. Here. Brown. Here. Thaven.

Here.

French. Here. Anderson.

Here. Do I have a motion to approve on the agenda?

So moved.

Support. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? All right, so we do have a lengthy agenda in front of us. We can start off with a few presentations. First, I'm going to call up Mary Corby, the Thrive Council. Do you want this? Or is it not working for us?

Those are not working.

OK. That's OK. Is there a green light there, Mary?

There is a green light.

OK.

Well, I'm Mary Fortney. I am the mobility manager for Ride Calhoun. We just wanted to share some of our developments. I'm sure some of you here have heard of us. Formerly Battle Creek Transit, almost a year now of being Ride Calhoun. So that'll happen actually in October is when we kind of turn that page. I'll talk very, very briefly on what our services are overall, but I want to focus primarily on our RC Flex, which is the ride that comes here to Albion. We offer a fixed route. Fixed route is simply a fancy way of saying those buses that go from bus stop to bus stop that's in Battle Creek. We also have a paratransit, which is set up specifically for those people who maybe cannot access the fixed route because of disability. That also runs throughout Battle Creek and Springfield. So if you ever come to Battle Creek and Springfield and you want to ride any of those services, let me know. I'd be happy to take you on those rides. The one that is here for you all is RC Flex. I brought some updated brochures that kind of go over what the fares are for those. So RC Flex is a on-demand shared ride, which means you might, when you make your call or use the app to place your ride, you might be riding alongside with somebody else or they might be getting other staffs on the way. It's a really economical way of running that whole process. It runs within the city of Albion. It can also connect you to the cities of Marshall and the cities of Battle Creek and Springfield. If you are a person with a disability, a resident here in Albion, a veteran, or a senior citizen, you will ride at what's considered the reduced fare. So here in town, it will be a $3 ride to go to Marshall. It would be a $4 ride to go to Battle Creek. It would be a $5 ride. We have about 8 to 10 of those vehicles on the road at any given time. The demand is really high, but we're increasing our fleet and our staff as we speak, actually. I think we've got a couple of job openings listed on our website now for drivers. So that's a good deal. Anybody can ride our C-Flex. You can call our dispatch or you can use the app. And currently the app is called BC Go, but we've got some new technology coming on board. You'll see a brand new app. I wish I could flash it up there. I had some cool little screenshots of our brand new app that is still in development. But it'll be great to just create your little account and it's similar to like using an Uber. You would plug your ride in, your destination, all of that. So other upcoming things that we have coming in the RC Flex world that is going to directly impact the citizens of Albion. Number one, we have got in the works family car seats, child seats. because we recognize the importance of families being able to travel together. And that's been one thing that has been hit home really hard with us is that, you know, I need to go to the doctor, but I can't leave my three-year-old at home. I need to, whatever, right? So we are installing child safety seats in our vehicles. Our staff is going to be very heavily trained on that. And then that way we can pick up little along with their families as well. So that's one thing. We also have travel training. It's free. It's a free service. If anybody is maybe not familiar with our service, they, you know, I've not really ridden public transportation before. I feel a little, I don't know what to do. I'll do everything from sit down with somebody to teach them how to work the app. And then as soon as that new app rolls out, I'm going to start hitting like a lot of senior centers and, you know, to help people kind of get, the feel of it. That call-in option will always be an option, but I'll be there to teach people the app. I'll ride alongside them if they want, you know, jump on board with them, anything that they feel is necessary. For people with mobility devices, they might need a little bit of additional, like, hey, I don't know, I've never boarded a vehicle like this before. All of our vehicles are completely accessible. So, No, never fear. But if somebody wants like an orientation or an introduction to that, you know, we'll get them connected right up. And then part of that travel training, too, is that we will go to different organizations, do a little train the trainer thing as well so that they can help the people they serve get transportation. So. I did bring brochures and I'm going to turn to. Our executive director, Mallory, is in the back and Christy's in the back as well. Just tell me what I forgot because I am used to officials.

I'll pop up if you don't mind. Thank you for having us tonight. My name is Mallory Avis. I'm the executive director with Ride Calhoun. Mary did a great job even without your comments from your slides. We recognize that this is something new for the city of Albion and not something that you've had access to in the past. And so we're excited. We've kind of been keeping an eye specifically on Albion just to see what has the adoption of this looked like. And I would say pretty steadily, week after week, we've noticed an increase in the people who are using it and the new calls that we're getting of people asking, well, where can I go and how do I use it? The one piece that we're working on is we recognize that a lot of residents in Albion seek services in Jackson. And that's become even more apparent as people have called for trips to either seek services at Henry Ford Hospital instead of hospitals in Battle Creek or Marshall, or even to go to Meijer in Sam's Club in Jackson rather than going to Battle Creek. We've connected a lot of those people with similar options available in Battle Creek, but at the same time having those conversations with the mobility manager in Jackson on how can we start to coordinate services, create a central meetup point, and transfer people between our two counties. That's something that we are hoping to work on over the next year or so and figure out how residents of Albion can still maintain that connection with the services in Jackson, but also let them know what options are available to them for access in Battle Creek or Marshall. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Melanie, have you guys been able to kind of pinpoint the demographics? Like, is it mostly senior citizens looking to... request rides. I know you mentioned with families, but just trying to get a better understanding of what population is truly in need of transportation.

I would say a lot of our services are seniors. A lot of our services in Albion, I wouldn't want to break it down specifically without knowing for sure. I have seen quite a few education trips in Albion. Students either going to Battle Creek or even here in Albion. And then also employment. So we've noticed a couple recurring trips for specific individuals that we're assuming, and we don't always ask what is this trip purpose for, but that we're assuming must be employment due to the regularity of that trip. Yeah. You didn't even mention about paying for the service.

Is that just a certain area that they have to pay for, or?

The ferry? Yeah. It's $3 one way. So if you're staying within the city of Albion. So it would be $3 per passenger for a one-way trip. If you're going from Albion to Marshall, that would be $4. And if you're going from Albion to Battle Creek, that would be $5. Okay. One-way trip.

Yeah.

So I know you guys were first getting started. It took a while, like the other How is it currently?

I'd say that somewhat still rings true as we're growing our fleet. We just took delivery of two new vehicles. We have a couple more on the way. Part of it is our vehicles aren't vehicles that you'd go buy off of the dealership lots. All of our vehicles are custom built to be accessible and meet our federal procurement guidelines. So we have funding to order up to six more vehicles over the course of the next year. as we continue to ramp up that service. But from the early BC Go days when we had just two vehicles, our fleet is growing up to 27.

Another question. So as far as visibility and exposure to Albion residents, do you guys think that you've hit the target or could we help in some way to help out with the exposure and letting people know that this is available for the consumer?

I think anything you can do to spread the word would be great. You may start to notice our latest campaign just launched last Monday. So on some streaming channels, some radio stations, and then a billboard should be live if not already. Is it right out there already? So we've engaged a marketing team to help us connect and then also any community events that we can come to. That is specifically, you know, part of Mary's role is engaging directly with the community, and that means us coming to them, we support that.

Thank you. And I would say, kind of going back to what you had mentioned with regard to our senior center, that's going to be a great place to connect with a lot of our folks that are active. They're the ones that are going to be going back and forth, and they're the ones that are going to need a little assistance, I believe, in what that cap and how to utilize that. For sure. Yeah.

Yes, I think... Maple Grove as well. And I sit on the board. I got the honor of being one of the charter members, I guess, on this authority board. And there have been concerns regarding townships. And you have to respect that we have a large audience. Of course.

The elephant in the room.

So...

So you guys may recall, and this may be a different board than took action back in 2023, but the authority was formally created in 2023 by the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners. They adopted the Articles of Incorporation that created the authority under Public Act 196. Within that act, all of the jurisdictions have a 30-day window to opt out of participation. That means that if they opt out, they pass a resolution at their own local body, If they opt out, that means they are not part of the jurisdictional boundaries, their voters do not get to vote yes or no on a millage, and they're excluded from service. Unfortunately, all of our townships and villages in Calhoun County made that vote to opt out. Only the four cities chose to participate. That's why when we talk about fair structure and we talk about where to go, you hear us talking about Albion, Battle Creek, Marshall, and Springfield, because those were the four cities that chose to participate. We are actively talking to townships, specifically those that are adjacent to some of the cities that participate, because I think now they're starting to hear from residents or constituents that they previously had access to something, such as the Albion Marshall Connector, that now they no longer have access to because their township opted out. So that does impact both origin and destination. So just because somebody is an Albion resident and is in the jurisdictional boundaries, doesn't mean that we can take them, you know, to Tekansha. It means that they can go to one of the four participating cities. I'm happy to answer any questions around that.

Just, I'm Jim Stewart, and proceed to answer our three questions. stated um but um i just want to give you some feedback i i've run into two different rms i just found them to be very pleasant and helpful so thank you for the training that you're doing there and then one of our neighbors has suggested using the service and um just learning with you right now but um i'm thankful for it and for all thank you thank you i'm glad to hear that

So I do love seeing the vehicles in town. I know you know that LA Avion is taking advantage of that shared service and I appreciate that you all work so hard to get vehicles here to help our visits. Of course. And more to come.

Yes, even more to come.

Thank you.

Two more questions. The line with Would it be possible to raise, perhaps, for the Chamber of Commerce, for the sponsor, or especially just to get people around town, particularly, but for the festival reports and other events?

So that's an interesting concept. I'd be happy to talk to you about it afterward. Some of what we're restricted from doing, because we're federally and state-funded, is we're restricted from doing what's called charter service. However, there are some exemptions, and if that one meets an exemption, we'd be happy to talk about it. And typically those are at no cost. Those are things like an economic development tour or if an elected official or a government official comes to town and you want to showcase your city, give them a tour, a window tour kind of thing, we could do something like that. But if what you're looking for is like a open door style hop on, hop off, that's public transit. And as we continue to grow our fleet and as we continue to grow our service hours, We'll operate until midnight. Hopefully by later this year, we'll be going until midnight. And then by this time next year, we'll have Saturday and Sunday service as well, including Saturdays until midnight. So it creates an opportunity for people to engage in those social events, come downtown and still get a safe ride home after that event or not have to worry about parking their car downtown while one of those events are going on. And we can talk about what sponsorship or fair payment looks like for those events.

Thanks, Rabia, a lot. Council Member Davis mentioned to me that she would be interested in doing a emotional video.

I love it. I love it. We actually have a film crew coming in August.

Thank you all for being here.

Thank you.

Thank you. And I will let Mary leave these with you guys.

Great. Thank you.

Thank you. I always, I love Albion, so they know when there's a question.

What about Albion?

I don't know. So they have a very good Northwest, and they have a really smart one, too.

Excuse me, Mayor. Mayor, would you consider the PowerPoint for us? We can share it with the audience.

Absolutely. Thanks. All right. Lindsay Nolan from Albion College. Okay.

We have some gifts for you. There's some specially designed water bottles.

Council. My name is Galileo. And I live at 317 Crandall Street.

So that'd be precinct three, I believe.

I'm a senior at Albee College, and I'm a AmeriCorps member working as a CSD summer intern, mainly at the Center for Sustainability and Environment, which we call CSD. I'm joined here today by my fellow interns, Wiley Adams and Chloe Graffitz, as well as Jonathan McKnight and Jack Wiley. I'm speaking to introduce you to CSE and our coming fifth annual Community Day, which is scheduled for August 29th. Through CSE, we engage in and advocate for sustainable practices and environmental justice throughout the community and campus. And this summer, we have spent five days a week earning hands-on experience at the student farm and Albion Community Gardens. And we have harvested almost 1,000 pounds of fresh produce, and through collaboration with the Albion Community Table, we've been giving this food away to residents to mitigate food insecurity. And as stated, we're working on this year's Community Day event, and that's an initiative to bring together the City of Albion precincts, and these include cleanup, painting, gardening, as well as any other pertinent projects. So we're going to be asking you guys what you all think about that. And so now I'm just going to turn it over to Chloe, and she's going to talk about those stuff. Thank you.

Hello, everyone. My name is Chloe Krapitz. I'm a rising sophomore at Albion College and a CSE summer intern with the AmeriCorps program. Today I'm going to talk about the history and some background of the past Community Days. As Leo said, this is the fifth annual Community Day event. The goal of the event is to bring together college students and community members to work on beautification projects in the city. First, let me tell you how the event works. This year we will gather in the park at the pavilion for an introduction and to get project assignments. Each project team will spend about two hours on their project and then Return to the pavilion for a complimentary lunch. And you'll be able to see the schedule on the back of the paper that we gave you. Should be, yeah. And then we also put projects and stuff. In our past three community events, we have seen significant increases in the number of participants, number of projects, and the type of projects. Last year, we had over 150 participants working on 16 different projects. We've worked with the Public Works Department of the city and other community organizations to identify projects. Last year, Jason Kern helped us identify city projects and provided some support and supplies on the day of the event for painting and tree planning projects. Other projects were hosted by the Citizens to Beautify Albion, Albion Community Gardens, Albion Community Table, and There's Enough. Projects have included painting in city parks, weeding, gardening, tree planting, packing food boxes, litter pickup, such as in the streets, parks, trails, and the cemetery. In the past, there have been speakers at project sites giving some background information on the city and the Albany community and explaining why projects matter. It is my understanding that during one of the events, Council Member Reed joined us in Howland Park, which was great. So as you're thinking about project ideas, you could also think about whether you would like to join us for a project in your state. A couple of weeks ago, we met with Cheryl Terrio while Jason was out of town to discuss the upcoming event. One of the biggest challenges for us is finding projects. Now, Riley is going to talk to you more about this challenge. Thank you.

Hi, everyone. I'm Riley Adams. I'm a senior at Union College. And over the summer, I've been a summer intern with AmeriCorps and the Center for Sustainability for the Environment. And I'm here to ask a couple of requests regarding Community Day. First, as Chloe said, one of our biggest challenges is getting projects for community day, and we are interested in projects that are spread around the community in all different precincts. Ideally, we encourage you to begin thinking of these projects for your neighborhoods and what would be most beneficial to the community overall. We do have some safety and time limitations, so it would be great if they weren't too much, because we only have two hours and some projects are a bit too long. If you could share your ideas with us right now, that'd be great. But if you can't, email them to Cheryl and she'll forward them to us. We've also been working with Jason Kern to also get more ideas. Second, we also understand that we need a permit to use the pavilion. And we've already done all the worksheets in order to get the permit. We just need that approved. So we appreciate you guys doing that. And then on behalf of the Center for Sustainability, we thank you for allowing us to present today. And if you could help us grow the event with the community, members, and also you guys yourselves joining us today. That would be amazing. We appreciate that. And if there's any questions about projects or just any concerns, we'd love to hear them now. Thank you.

Any questions or comments for our students here today? Yes, Mayor, go ahead.

Linden Avenue from Erie Street along the river access side of the road is public property. And we grow up against that concrete barrier. That's just how it all looks.

Perfect. Any other views? Yes. Highlington Boulevard, there is a section that needs attention going right into Highlington off of Maple and Precinct 5.

I'm here at the brainstorm. Other... areas of need within our precincts, we'll get those to Dr. Perryoff. So they'll have a list, and then the Queen, Herb, and Jason will make sure we all have the appropriate tools to approach those students. Perfect.

Thank you guys so much.

All right, next we have a bunch of French delegates that are with us. Bonjour! Bonjour!

So we are the two of the three co-facilitators, two of the three muses of the Sister City Committee. So I'm Diane Gennilelli. Mary Slater. And Mayola Dunklin is at a reunion in Alabama right now. But you may know that we have a very dynamic French sister city relationship. I mean, I think everyone here has been involved one way or another, willingly or unwillingly, I think, over the course of the years. But 30 years, you know, has really given us an incredible array of experiences. And so I'm happy to say that we have yet another experience right now, something that we've tried really since COVID to do, which is have... a summer camp experience. And so we have a group of 11 people who are here in town. I would like to ask them just to stand so you can see that they're really here. Okay, so we have, raise your hand, Elio, Lissandro, Maceo, Elena, Elisa, Matisse, Marat, and Elia. And then four chaperones. Not that they need four chaperones, but they have four chaperones. Lilia was here four years ago as a basketball player and she fell in love with this place. So she's back and she brought her mother. And Elias is her brother. And then we also have the married couple. It was Béronie and Jérôme. And they hosted some members of the Albany College men's basketball team when they were there this past spring. So we are keeping things moving very, very fully. And the people are here for another week. We're attending this And then we have done all kinds of things. So after this greeting, they will leave to have their American dinner because they were at the American Lake Winnipeg. And before that, they were doing some other things. So we're just delighted to have them here. It's been lovely. And we look forward to planning future trips. And we do have an adult trip that's planned in September 2027. And you are all invited to participate. So please let me know. Is there anything else? I want to say. Please.

One of the things that's so important to me is how we partner with everything. So the kids, one thing they're partnering with is the Playwright Sports Academy. Another thing they're partnering with is. Yes. The Albion Arts Center.

So we have an activity there. So.

Yes, and it's also difference makers, the Kalamazoo Watershed Council, so many things. And then also we have 11 different host families. And so this has also allowed us to really create a kind of a community within a community. And so I'd like the host families to stand because you may not know them. So Thank you for this opportunity.

Well, I would like to say welcome, everyone, to the city of Albion. I know we do have a returning visitor, but the rest of you, I take it it's the first time to our great little city of Albion. You know, you've all been experiencing a lot on your agenda. I know they've been keeping you very busy so that you can see more areas than Albion. But always know that you will always have a place called home here at Alvin if you ever want a richer.

Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

So then we do have special certificates that we would like to give to each of you.

Okay, so maybe this can be our exit. Okay.

um um Thank you. I say I agree with you. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I was like,

Thank you. Thank you. All right, continuing on. All right. Public comments. If there's anybody in the gallery that would like to stand in the rest of the council in regards to an agenda item, we can come forward and address council. Mary Slater, 803 South Superior. I want to address number 9A, the approval of the assembly and sound system. I am a member of Salem United. I just want to speak with the faculty. This is Salem is sponsoring a pride event. and I'd like to encourage your support of this. Well, anybody else that would stand and address in regards to an agenda item? All right, seeing none, do I have a motion to approve of the consent of the calendar items? Support. In your package, we do have our July 20th regular session, the permit for the sale and merit through to the price, in regards to the . All in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Seeing none. Next, we have applications for Cheryl Sick for zoning and for . I have a motion to approve.

So moved.

Support. Any questions or comments in regards to the applications?

Do we have a sense for the rubble experience of the folks? I just, I don't know. There wasn't a lot. I was just looking for any kind of information from anyone. I didn't get much from it either.

Yeah.

That's the most important part. That's also a reason to ask the question.

So this isn't the, I think maybe you're thinking of the word review. Yeah. This is zone. Oh, yeah. So zoning has their very strict guidelines as to what they can approve and not approve. But again, just finding people who are willing to serve, that's the biggest challenge that we've experienced in the six years that I've been mayor. I know both of these individuals, I don't have them as a patient in regards to them being forthright in their decision making. So I don't believe both of them.

Thank you. And I know this one is from Sheriff Tom Schill. So I don't think we have any restrictions in regards to residents.

But usually we don't see anyone.

Yeah, I'm sure of that.

Any other questions or comments? Do we need a roll call on this one? All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Very good. Next, we'll have a motion to approve Resolution 202640 for bringing forth nominations for a pregnant in the 425 Advisory Committee. And improving the resolution.

So we need to make a correction with that 40 and the document itself.

So I made 23. It says 20-26-4. Page 25. It says 20-26-44. Oh, I see.

The number of the actual resolution is 45. Oh, the packet, the last version of the packet that was published said it was 45.

Oh, okay.

Question to approve. Revolution 20-26-41. So moved.

Support.

Yeah. Attorney Harkness or City Manager Theriault. Let's go to the League.

Well, Mayor and Council, if you recall, we had not one relationship with here in Township in regards to what's referred to as the industrial park west. Before we signed the agreement, and that's basically the agreement in which the property, although it's located in Township, The city provides utilities and sometimes work out those arrangements. So what this is doing is having an advisory committee to be created that can help with guiding what that document will finally look like. And then we'll have representation from shared township, the city, and the album.

Any questions for City Manager Theriault?

I have a question. This committee, long term, you want to be over basically the 4.5 area, long forward, right? Like we're creating the committee right now with this. Again, they'll oversee. We're going to pass it up to 4.5 going forward.

Not in the perfect period. Just for two years. The committee is two years extended for one additional year at the end of the year. But it's not intently long or it's just for that period of time. Okay.

And I'm trying hard to describe it. This is an advisory meeting. So the on any decisions that were to be made.

Right. So anything that any recommendations that they make would go to the respective board if you receive it or the city council. Got it.

So the advisor can find saying is helping create the language for that agreement. Perfect. So we have a motion and support. Any other questions or comments? Do I State my selection at this point or not? Yeah. That's a memory.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. So the, uh, appointments and as I asked for,

Certainly they can always be on the advisory committee. I would like to serve myself as this is very important to our city government. I have also asked Mr. Tom Welch, who is seated with us this evening, who is also part of our planning commission, and Mr. George Strander, who is the chair. Do we have any questions or comments in regards to my nominations?

Well, um, give me a second. So, I support.

Okay. City by cleanup.

Councilmember Stewart? Yes. Ross? Yes. Davis? Yes. French? Yes. Williams? Yes. Reed? Yes. Emerson?

Yes. Do I have a motion to approve of the easement for our water power? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So moved.

This is in regards to the water power at the Democratic 1917 East Michigan Avenue. And this is to establish electrical service. Consumer is going to get that from the easement to go across the city on property. We were looking at a different route initially. Oh, the kind of difficulties and not that you know, the band members, you know, determined that this would be more easier routes as well as they did in a timely fashion. So the resolution with the easement, or the electrical line for questions or comments or say, anybody up?

Council member for us.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes

and reporting to EGLE and to the EPA for the Sheridan Township landfill. We split the bill with Decker Manufacturing because they were part of that whole contamination portion of it. So this is just a yearly renewal that we do.

So this is a yearly renewal?

Yep, they do all the testing for us and for Decker. portion of it, half of it.

So is this amount that's in the resolution, this is something that would pay out every year?

It was a different company last year. They were bought out, and I can't recall what the company's name was. Oh, it's in the resolution. Oh, the NWD? Is that the one?

Well, this is the yearly closet.

All of the associates.

This is the yearly closet.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah, we just have to renew the contract each year and go over it. Last year, there was a little bit of a rate increase. This year, there wasn't so much of a rate increase, but last year, that was one of the questions council had was the substantial jump from the year before. I think it increased by 18,000 from around there.

Do we have questions?

Jason, who's responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the fencing rooms?

I don't know. So that's been an issue that we've asked before, and so I haven't quite gotten the answer. So before, I wouldn't spend money on it. Now, we mow it. We have to mow it twice a year right before. because it's not, it's not ours per se. Right, well that's the question. Right, it's actually owned by the state. So, and being kind of like a super fund, it's like, pays for what?

Okay. Do we know what the term is on this? I mean, how long is it? Forever? Forever. idea i mean we're trying to look at everything this carousel so just i don't i know that just they're at the mercy of the state epa for itself yeah well then here it says the initial contract was created in 1999 yeah it's something we can look at

Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

This is in regards to the sale of the Maple Grove Apartments that was previously owned by the Alvin Building Authority. That closed in 2024 and the proceeds totaled about $1.85 million. A portion of those proceeds were to go to the Alvin Building Authority and we were able to negotiate with a distribution plan for the allocation of $600,000 for those proceeds and they will be applied to them annually for three years at to 3,000 each year, starting by December of this year. So this approves the distribution of sale of both seats. The agreement, the ABA just approved the agreement themselves at the end.

Any questions or comments?

Oh, sorry. Thank you.

Maybe my memory's going, but I thought Bart's sale was over 2.29. He said we didn't see him get out.

Just bear with me. I'm not done with it today.

Yeah, that's something I remember.

The 1.8 or 2.5? 2.5. Oh, yeah, look at all of those. Okay. Thank you.

Those were some closing costs that were associated with that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like with any transaction.

Yeah. Yeah, that's fine.

Commission. Prepaid rent, which we got some of that back. Some struggle. We got some of that back. You need to sit down and show me that. I'm good. Because I've got some other stuff coming up, probably. All right.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes. Yes.

Yes. Okay, so.

Remember a couple of meetings ago, I came to you and said, we're going to need to put a roof on the wastewater treatment plant building. So we got the estimates and then it came in at $97,000. There is a markup of $20,000 between the contractor's markup and the labor markup because it's a federal program. So it has to have prevailing wage or Davis-Bacon wages compared to what we normally pay out of pocket. So it was decided to go ahead and wrap that into the grant itself. We had like 96,000 and some change in contingency funds left over after we paid for the repairs to that cement wall. So we got two bids. The company that we use, one of them is already a company that's already onsite doing repairs currently to the building. And so they do roofs as well.

So regardless of which bid we take, there's still going to be $20,000 or so of labor that's not counted. And markups.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yep.

And the thing was just we're not in a position to pay for it currently out of pocket. I don't have funds. So, yeah.

$30,000. Okay.

I'm holding that up for the last 75 minutes. Like, like 2 p.m. Yeah.

In the last, in the last, a while.

Yeah.

And if that's insurance. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes. Yes. I did not receive a response from Director Clarkson. Do you know what the budget allocation divinity is relative to conferences? I do. $1,500.

uh jason can we get another 15. oh that's nice I think we typically send three people to the fall conference.

Um, it's just kind of people who have very little bit of time. Well, it's 90 minutes. So that's 20 seconds.

Well, director Clark says we have some

We have members who would like to go. It's October 7th through the 9th. I think that's a Wednesday through Friday.

I myself enjoy attending these conferences. I get a lot out of them. just hearing what other municipalities are dealing with and learning from their mistakes and their accomplishments, see what would be better.

I would like to go if those who have not gone, for instance, would like to go. I enjoy the women's, women in government, as well as there's a lot of organization that is very helpful as well. But I don't want to take the opportunity from others.

Yeah.

So we have a motion for myself, Councilwoman Davis, Councilman Stewart to go.

So moved. Support. Okay. Councilmember Reed.

Yes.

Stewart. Yes. Frost. Yes. French. Yes. Williams. Yes. Reed. Yes. Yes.

Do I have a motion to approve? That's better. I don't know. 46, 42. For the multiple year, that's it. So move. Support. Okay, guys, thank you. Just bear with me.

So in year 2024, we had a terrible year in our equipment bump. Jason took over right towards the end of 2023. Jason, the box is right under there and he's throwing it high. So when Jason took over, we found the building was in terrible shape. All the equipment was not maintained. And so we used year 2024 to kind of get that place in shape. And as a result, it caused the fund to have a huge deficit fund balance. The deficit fund balance was $625,496. So as a result, I had to do a deficit elimination plan, which is required by the state of Michigan. And I did that plan and I brought it to council, I think in October, I think. And so luckily this year, our deficit improved 303,000, which was almost half of it. So we're on the right track, but When you have a deficit like that, you have to continue to follow up on your plan that you initially sent to the state. So I got the letter after the audit was submitted the last day that it could be by auditors on June 30th. The letter was sent to me, and I think Debbie will see her. She's going to go through. There were two funds that had deficits. The EDC fund and, of course, the internal service fund, just the equipment pool fund. So the plan that you're looking at, that number that we're starting with, we're going to look at the first number on 2026. That's our deficit as of now at the start of the year in 2026. Again, that number for last year was $625,000 and some change. So again, we improved $303,000. But I went and I looked at the equipment fund through the first six months of the year, annualized where I thought we were gonna be at the end of the year, and put a plan together. And if you look at the last column of the second section, there's two sections of this plan. I anticipate the deficit to be 156,000 negative at the end of 26. So hopefully taking care of half of what it is now. And then I'm hoping that in year 27, it will be out of the deficit, will be to the good 40,067. I'm on the last line of the second page down to 2027. I also showed a year in 2028, and I'm hoping that we're going to be $205,000 back on our feet. That's with the understanding that we're going to have a couple years in 27 and 28 where we're going to keep an eye on our capital improvements and our equipment purchases for the equipment fund. That's all discussions with Jason. So far this year, if you look at 2026, we had purchased $162,000 in improvements to the building and other equipment for the equipment fund. And we also took out some assets that we are leasing. So we have lease payments on the leases now. I can go through each number if you want, but it's not going to make a difference because that's where I think we're going to pull the

hoping that we're going to be. So this will get submitted to the state.

They either like it or they don't. If they don't, they send it back, and then I work out again, make some adjustments, and send it back to them. So hopefully this will go through like my plan did last year, but you never know. It depends on who looks at it.

Mayors, feel free.

of those things um we usually use the same because we don't know what assets are going to be sold it's going to be purchased so this is what our depreciation was for 2025 right so we use that until we know otherwise so at the end of 26 we may have a different depreciation number right but for now that's what i know about yeah good question though that number is calculated the fiscal year yeah Once we are done with the year, we figure out what assets we purchase, we put them on the depreciation schedule, and then we start depreciating, figure out what our number's going to be.

So you just don't buy anything more.

I'm hoping to not buy anything else for the rest of these. But we make that entry once a month for one-twelfth of what we think it's going to be. But I'm pretty confident that this will go through, but again, you never know. And then I think Debbie wants to come up and talk about hers. I did work with her and try to help her put a plan together. So I don't think we're going to approve that tonight, but she does want to give it to her board, let her board look at it, but I would let her speak on that. Any more questions for me? Thank you.

Thank you, Dr. Theriault, for your help with the plan that I have in place, and of course, Treasurer Clark, they've been kind of my jam man and Robin to this. I know that a couple weeks ago, I had mentioned that I was going to be presenting our deficit elimination plan for approval this evening. I would respectfully request that I seek your approval at the August 17th board meeting. Due to timing, the Albany EDC board doesn't meet until this Thursday morning, and they would like to review this prior to me bringing it to city council. But I'm pretty confident that we've got a really good plan. I'd like to hand it out now if I could. Basically, what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to get a lot of the funds organized to where all the expenses are coming out of one account instead of being split, which is causing a lot of confusion. And basically just so I can paint a really clear picture of where the revenues are coming in from, I'm doing a proposed admin services contract for the funds that go into the EDC fund. But like I said, just to get a clear picture, so we've got one fund with all of our overhead in there, where all of our grant funds are going into, and then the other funds reimbursing that EDC fund. So the plan you have before you, you'll see that we have a deficit of $64,021. And if you follow the operating revenues for intergovernmental, for 2026 to 2027, that includes the grant revenue. You'll see in column for the 2028 year, we don't have any grants as of now, but I wouldn't be doing my job well if we don't get any grants in 2028. So I'm very confident that there will be a number in that column that will present to you next year when we have this plan before you. The next item down under operating revenues for other for 2026 through 2028, That's for admin fees. We do have one grant that closes in September of 26 and the other funds associated with the EDC fund. And as I mentioned, working with Dr. Theriault and Treasurer Clark retroactively to January 1st of 2026, I'll be presenting to my board this Thursday, AEDC administrative service contract put in place. Each year for the TIPA, the BRA and the RLF funds to support programs staffed and served by the Albany Economic Development Corporation for all the work that myself and my team have been doing throughout the year for all the programs that we do staff and serve. And each year after that will be an increase of 5% added. Then we move down to the operating expenses for community and economic development. That's where all of the overhead will be going into and all of the overhead with associated grants that we'll be getting in the future. Then under the non-operating revenues that will consist, that does consist of interest earned and property sales for the AEC, specifically when the East industrial park comes online, on or about spring of 2027 when we can truly start marketing and selling the properties. But I am working with a local developer now. So we've got that amount in there for a gain on sale of property. So hopefully that will happen within a month or so. But basically, if you look at the columns, we start 2027 in a deficit of 21,000. But by year end, with the sale of property will be at $81,635 in the black. So again, I ask for patience and grace because I'm trying to turn the organization around financially. It's going to take a little bit of time, but I think this is a good plan that we have in place. Are there any questions that I could answer? Again, Dr. Terrio, thank you so much for your support. And Treasurer Clark, Thank you for being my best friend for the last two weeks. Can I just add one thing?

Yes, please. I'm sure I didn't hit all the highlights.

I think really, when you look at that, understand that there will be no salaries and wages in the TIFA fund. We took everything out of the TIFA fund, kept it in the EBC fund, and we're asking the other funds to reimburse just like the general fund does for administrative fees, for the work that the EDC does for all the other funds. Her time is just not spent on EDC, it's spent on the whole organization. So those funds should reimburse her and that will go up each year 5% just like the salaries and wages do. So I think it's gonna look better and it should make more sense.

In each last answer he there's Ali or director.

In terms of the status when we came on board for this says. I remember correctly that there were. Residual duties or obligations of funds that have not been Disperse for services rendered. You mean outstanding contracts? Outstanding contracts for services that have been rendered.

Did they all be received?

I'm not sure. Did they all be received? They're going contractors.

Oh, like for marketing contractors and all lots of contractors like this? Oh, yes, indeed. And I've worked very hard to get out of several contracts, and I'm still working on one, but I think we're at the point now where they're sick of me, and they're just throwing their hands up going, just, okay, you're good. Just forget it. So I'm a very squeaky wheel, and I'm trying to watch every penny. And we've reduced staff. We've done a lot of things to really cut back on expenses. So yeah, I haven't made a lot of people happy. But I think they understand where I'm coming from, the financial situation that the organization is in. So I've gotten the EDC out of a lot of . Yes.

Thank you for your question. Any other questions or comments? And I know this is a lot of hard work getting out of call in any regard. You know, trying to get out of call, it's harder than getting in that regard. So I appreciate all the time that you guys have put in on this because I know so many other things that you could utilize that time for. So I appreciate that. Thank you. Thanks, everybody. Thank you. Do I have a motion to approve of the letter of understanding? Council Member Stewart?

Yes.

Ross? Yes. Davis? Yes. French? Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes.

Well, specifically, it will be $300 for individuals who voluntarily obtain and maintain CDL banker enforcement, and $250 for each mechanic license or certification that they have.

So this is an incentive program? Yes. And so can we also pay for them with the academic training program?

That I don't know. Who did they pay for the education?

The city pays for the CDL and then we pay for the mechanics license. So right now we have the first time ever we've had a state certified mechanic that has state certifications in several disciplines. And so we came up with this because our pay rate compared to what a mechanic would make normally is much lower. we have now because it's been working out so well with all the interdepartmental repairs. We also do public safety repairs now too. And so we came up with this to try to help retain the staff that we have for the mechanic side of it. For the CDL portion, we pay for the CDL testing. That's part of it. That's in the contract now. Since we're doing the liquid de-icing, the amount of weight, if we're doing 750 gallons, We kind of fall because we're a city. We fall in a gray area where we aren't governed so much under MDOT's rule or DOT's rules. Like the border vehicle officer doesn't do any enforcement for us. It would be public safety. knowledge and the extra testing and actually have the license to have to be able to spray just in case we decide to go outside the city or do anything else because we've been there's been some talk of working with the county and mdot to help you go a little bit further outside our city to help with storms so okay any questions from her or submit how how do you

all board against them taking the test, getting the certification, and then leaving? Is there contract language in terms of a commitment clause?

No, not necessarily. We don't have that per se. We have a pretty good working environment. A lot of the toxicity is gone, and so If you ask some of the employees now, they'll tell you that it's just, we try to make it a little bit nicer place to work. And so we don't have, the only reason we have any type of turnover, it's usually because they're going to a much higher paying job. So this kind of bridges the gap. Yeah, it's just one extra thing to try to give them.

All right. Any other questions or comments? So you guys made up?

Council Member Frost? Yes. Davis? Yes. Summage? Yes. Williams? Yes. Lee? Yes. Stewart? Yes. Anderson?

Yes. Future Gen Ed? Things not so like it's the data coming in.

but um the appointment that has seen me earlier because i was at the zoning and naval gang that has every this statute members of the board have to be elected to the city just that's why so do we need to i think someone said that because one of the opportunities was to share it but that's what i would not be valid because they're not on our purpose it has required this statute this is for this is for prices i don't know i'll just put this on there oh there's only one oh okay So what it says is, it has to be a population of 5,000 or more. It has to be at least five members in a city or village, one of the regular members, maybe a member of the facility commissioner or the planning commission. And then the remaining regular members of the facility and any

So we don't approve it by default, then someone else will apply.

So the one is good, the other one is poor.

So do we have to make a note of you?

No, that person can't do a search, so it's just a

No, it would have to be within, because it has to be, it says the way that the statute reads, it would have to be residing within the zoning jurisdiction of our local unit of government.

So either, either the electors for the local unit of government, or I'm sorry, from the electors of the local unit of government residing within the zoning jurisdiction of the local unit of government. So it would have to be an elector of the city residing within our zoning jurisdiction. So hypothetically, it could be in the boundaries of the 425 area because they become an elector of the city at

you might be turning to the meeting and then all accounts there's anybody in the gallery that might stand and just come up you may do sort of stuff

I just want to make an announcement. I learned today that Austin Avenue at Eaton Street is going to be closed August 10th for eight weeks. Hold on. I know. Trust me. I was like, I'm glad I had my camera on the team's meeting. Eaton and Austin. Eaton and Austin. Yeah, I know. So what we're going to do is Albion Street is getting paved the 7th and 8th. Because that's going to have to be the only way to get through town if you're coming eastbound. So, however, they still have to core out the manholes and do concrete and everything else. So it's going to be lane by lane. about two and a half weeks further than we can without occurring some liquidated damages. So we're going to put it on social media, August 10th. That's when it's going to be closed, Eaton and Austin. And then we're going to have one lane open at a time on North Albany Street. That's the status of Broadway. Um, that is supposed to go, they just did all the tie-ins. They're supposed to be another couple of weeks. Cause that got pushed back too.

Yeah. Yeah. So.

I'm going to try to get signs, message boards outside of town.

The rest of the street is going to be still not finished. That's all right. Yeah. People won't call.

I gave CJ's number. Yeah.

Okay.

So we're closing Eaton and Austin. We mentioned how we're utilizing album industry. Um, South Albion Street will be complete before the end? I mean, halfway?

Halfway. So they're going to do, it'll be one lane at a time. Completely open is going to be the 14th. That's the target date they have for South Albion Street to be 100% open. Okay.

How far down Austin? To Albion Street?

No. No, just going straight across. Just the intersection? Yeah. Uh-oh. Right. Because originally they wanted to try to go outside of town by Anderson's and go down B Drive at 25 and a half and that's just never going to work.

To that point though, the brand new trucks are coming down Alvin Street. They could go all the way out to wherever that is. So to your point about the signage outside of town, if we can direct them either north and around somewhere so they don't have to come, because, yes, they're, you know, the big old semi trucks coming down the street is terrible right now, you know, so.

Yeah, a bundling team would be good for them. I also would ask, so for people who are heading north-west side of town or coming in probably northwest into town, what's the cutover or off of Albion Street, I believe, or south on Albion Street, where we've been cut over to get back.

It'll be here.

It's at Leonard Reed's house. Yes. It's still stretched out there, right? Yes.

So, Eaton Street's still tore up, so they'll be coming down Albion Street from Austin Avenue to Erie, and then have to jet around. So, we can take Cass, but it's... Cass is going to be tore up soon, too. The last one who blocks the cast.

South Albion down at, if you're supposed to guess, I'm thinking of a shape right now. Where at? South Albion, just north of here.

Correct. That's going to be a steel tour. That's going to be, that's hopefully being paid. Yes. Seventh and eighth, that's supposed to be paid. And I don't want to go into details.

I'm sure you're figuring out about it. I'm just trying to make a sense of where to cover. Yeah.

Can we communicate with the Andersons so that they can direct?

Yes, we're going to do our best to let everybody know as much as possible. That's specific to that room. We saw a lot of samples.

Yeah. That's what we're going to try to do. What is happening with the railroad?

Are we...

The engineers have found that the emails and the phone calls have gone to where Crick has learned to chirp. We are past a year now waiting for the Amtrak to the railroad to approve it so we can at least finish running the water manual. They approved the plans, but when it came down to actually calling up the permit, they said no. It's a spurt.

Yes.

You're at that point.

They really like their fines. Really, really like their fines. And I don't want to be ignored for a year. I know. But I don't want to go into Damon's office.

Dave said no. Dave said no.

Anything else? All right. Thank you.

I never thought I'm not turning blue. Oh, your turn.

Well, you said you have to come with the good news after the bad news. So, just like I say, National Night Out is tomorrow. I've been waiting to post about preferred routes and parking tomorrow. Wanted to let Mixed QA out of there, get as far as they can. I know they have Lee and Kirk. I could use that public parking on State Street and walk over and see what other areas we can utilize as best we can. I know that there's a lot of construction over there, but that's still, to me, the most ideal, perfect place for it. Because if we go into Victory Park, there's not a lot of work that's been done there. I really don't want to disturb anything that Jason's done. Jason and his people have done down there, spraying water down there. It just wouldn't be a good idea to me. So it is tomorrow, 6 to 8 p.m. Yep, in McIntosh Park, 6 to 8.

I went up there today trying to get around to, so they asked me about voting and stuff like that. I'm trying to get around to the house, and there was absolutely no way.

They were digging at Cooper Court State, and I know they filled in that hole. I drove through there again before the meeting. It looked a lot like that. Everything. And also want to encourage any questions anybody may have about Flock. So I'm still working on a presentation before I dug into it, before I realized how many ideas and misinformation is out there about it. So I want to try to make sure I answer all the questions

Thank you. Thank you for all the great work that you and your team have been doing.

Thank you.

I'd like to remind everyone that tomorrow is lecture day, and the book will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and the Adelaide District Library, another community office on the town. And I mentioned to you previously that we were working with the staff in regards to the 14 hours for a city hall. And what we're looking to do is to get a survey out to residents and vendors in regards to what really works best for them. That survey is already live. We've already had all the people respond to it. So definitely encourage your residents and your districts to respond to the survey so we can get a sense of how it's been best served. And as mentioned with the 425 agreement, their first meeting was scheduled for August 11th. And the county principal's plan and housing assessment had their kickoff meeting with consultants and PINNA, and they are looking to move forward with the next steps, and they want to have a work group. related to that. So we're identifying individuals to be a part of those conversations. So we also help with the logistics. The cheesecake conversation was on July 22nd. It turned out about 30 people came. They had a lot of questions. And I tried to answer all of them. And one of the key takeaways is they want to have more of these around the city. So I'll be talking with each of you on how to bring information out to the neighborhoods. Thank you. as we're talking about how we want to incentivize people staying with the city, one of the key benefits here is our medical insurance. We have a robust medical insurance. Unfortunately, we just received the initial pulse in regards to the new cross coverage and it's going to go up substantially. So we're going to talk with staff and also we want to come back to city council in regards to a group of what will take place. But in order to do that, we need to schedule a special meeting because the plan goes into effect October 1st, and we look out for the food by September 1st. And we don't have time to do that. And also, we will ask you if you could meet on a special meeting, either the 24th or the 25th, that might be a Tuesday. So if you get back to me on that. And I shared with each of you by email the update on the goals. So if you look that over and have any questions, additions, or comments to my page, so that you can vote on those at 517B. And probably most of, oh, two things. So on August 7th, we're having a celebration of Albany Recreation Program of special honor of former Recreation Director Larry Williams. So everyone's invited to come out. That will be at Island Park. We will start at 1 in the afternoon, 1 to 5 at Island Park. And then on the 14th, we're having the graduation program for the Albany and Southern Richmond Camp of all of the students. So we're inviting the family, the council, the community to come out. And we'll also have a special recognition of Joe. He just asked Joey. Who has laid unexpectedly. He was such a non-believer. Both the staff and the kids. But he meant tremendously. the work that he did, celebrating the work of the students. And I see Mr. Ryan Sims is here. So I've been wanting to take a moment and mention that the Albion NAACP Freedom Fund is set up by the 24th, and the thing is we will see folks In your packet, I also include gallery parks and recreation security strategies. We've been having a lot of issues in regards to the parks in general, the restrooms in particular, and just trying to find ways that we can both keep them secure and in a usable condition for our residents. Council Member Williams was nice enough to arrange for a conversation with me with the Battle Creek Park, Claude Evans Park, to talk about their procedures, and some of those included electronic-like locks for the horses. Yeah. So... I'm sorry, Dave. What did I say? I'm sorry. I didn't. Okay. I don't get to say it. And just trying to figure out what we can do, you know, realistically. They had also said that they had cameras. We've got cameras. Maybe they don't know we've got a camera. They're not inside the restrooms, but, you know, they are able to monitor, you know, the coming and goings of the restrooms. I also asked the chief if he could have the drones out doing surveillance. But there's only so much you can do, unless you have somebody standing there, you know, before and after. Sometimes parks have had special groups that are just dedicated to cleaning the restrooms. I don't know if we'll have funds to do that, but some will. For us next year, as well as I'm installed for the final switcher, you know, they'll be service once a week. People don't do anything to them, but at least there's an ongoing system for people to maintain. We're looking at all types of options relative to what we can do as a community to maintain the quality of standard that residents should expect.

But it happens during the day. The vandalism isn't so much overnight.

It's all during the day. That's interesting.

Good question.

Anything else hang up? That's it? Very good. How about another comment? Good news? Good morning. We're all here. So Ryan, what's the question? We adjourn 8 through 7.