Council - Regular Meeting

All right, thank you. The whistling may cease now. All right, welcome everyone to this regular city council meeting for July 20th, 2026. Mary, would you call the roll?

Fritz?

Here.

Callio? Here. Lyon? Dora?

Here.

Meneza?

Here. We have no invocation this evening, but please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,

Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Our next item is a new appointment to the Community Center Board. Would you please read that?

Appoint Thomas Pohl to the Community Center Board with the term ending June 30, 2031.

Can I get a motion on this? So moved. Motion by Fritz, second by Dora. Any questions on this appointment? Please call the roll.

Fritz?

Yes.

Dora? Yes. Callio? Yes. Meneza?

Yes. That brings us to the approval of the consent and regular agendas. Can I get a motion?

I'll make that motion. Second.

Motion by Fritz, second by Callio. Any changes or anyone want to make any modifications to the agenda? If not, then please call the roll.

Fritz? Yes. Callio? Yes. Dora? Yes. Manetza?

Yes. All right. Brings us to our first call to the audience. This is the first of two opportunities. At this time, members of the audience may address counsel on any item, whether on the agenda or not. Those addressing counsel are asked to provide their names and address will be limited to three minutes of speaking time. Council will hear all comments for future consideration. We'll not have a response at this time. Those not physically present, we'd like to call in at 616-935-3203. There are no public hearings this evening, so if you'd like to address council before we conduct our business on each item, this would be the time to address us.

My name is Jeffrey Miller, and I live at 1120 South Harbor Drive. I want to applaud the BLP for moving forward to sponsor a solar array that would be installed directly in our community. This initiative came about through feedback that the BLP received from its customers, who are also their stakeholders and owners. I, however, strongly object to the finance plan that was devised to accompany it. As I understand it, the community solar garden will not be built unless a total of 33% of the project is pledged and paid for. That is 333 solar panels, which equates to $189,000 that needs to be in escrow with the BLP by December 15th. The onus should not be on the owners of the BLP to make their wants come to fruition. The BLP Board of Directors should direct staff to pledge and cover the initial threshold amount. The roughly $190,000 investment is a mere drop in the bucket given the significant surpluses the BLP boasted just last week at their monthly meeting. I'm also hoping that there is planned an aggressive sales and marketing scheme that will be instituted along with clever branding, like the I love my BLP signs that were developed when challenging the change to the city charter a few years ago. Once the BLP has sold the remaining 667 solar panels to customers from all walks of life, companies, government agencies, churches, NGOs, and individuals, then the initial 330 panels that the BLP pledged can be transferred back to waiting, wanting customers at the same cost of $570 each, thus lessening the BLP obligation. Given the way the current program appears to be structured, the failure might be falsely used as future justifications to pursue other load-generating options that are capital intensive and not renewable. It should not be incumbent on the collective owners of the BLP to have to pony up the money. The BLP board of directors should lead the way with a financial commitment to and for the community. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Jeff. Who else would like to address council?

My name is Jenny Kier from I own Overtime Sports at 5 North 7th Street.

I'm Rachel Jakubiak. I own Fashion Forward Consignments on the corner of Washington and 7th.

I'm Joyce Workman. I own Vintage Green 7 North 7th.

We are here because we support the new Flatiron program that's going in the building that we currently Are in I've been there for 14 years. I love my location. I'm really excited I've been telling customers for over a year not only about the project on the corner, but the project that is going to be in our building and how much nicer our neighborhoods going to be and and all the opportunities that it's going to give to all the retailers that live in our neighborhood and restaurants. So I really am hoping to get support from the city council for that project to begin.

I agree. I have only been in my new location since last mid-November, and what a change for me from being around the corner on Columbus where nobody could see me And I always heard, well, we forget you're there. So I love where I'm at. And I think it'd be a great opportunity for the community to just have more business in that area and more people and just kind of flourish and become what it should be and just get better.

And I'm going to close with, I think TIFF should be, thank you for investing in the future of Centertown.

Thank you, ladies. Who else would like to address council?

Good evening. Jim Hagen, 400 Lake. I'm going to be speaking about the same topic I spoke about last council meeting, and that's the Flatiron project and my concerns about the safety due to the proximity of hazardous material shipment on the track. I sent all of you an email this afternoon. I hope some of you have looked at it. And it actually takes a dimensional snap from the Ottawa County GIS system from the middle of the track to the edge of the existing building, which people have said, we're going to use the same footprint. You know what it was? 16 feet. 16 feet is not an acceptable distance from a building to a hazardous corridor. I love the idea of building up center town, That's not the location for starting to put in residential housing above commercial and retail. When it started in 1858, we had retail. That's great. You know, as the community in West Michigan developed, we started shipping chemicals up to Muskegon, fuels up to Muskegon, propane up to Muskegon, ethanol up to Muskegon. As I mentioned last time, we have about 500 to 520 train shipments a month. And let me get the number. Here we go. Of the hazmat tank cars a year, it's 1,000 to 3,000. Each of those hazmat tank cars is between 20,000 and 30,000 gallons. 30,000 gallons is equivalent to 400 of the gasoline tankers that we see, the single tankers, not the double tankers. That is a huge amount of chemicals, of flammable materials. We've been fortunate in all the times that we've had shipments right through that area that we haven't had a terrible accident. Other areas have had terrible accidents. As a result of the one in Quebec, I don't know, a dozen or so years ago, The Railroad Association put out a recommendation that nothing be located closer than 100 foot to tracks. In Michigan, often the same type of minimum distance is followed, 100 foot. It's actually in Canada, it's 30 meters, 98 foot. And some areas have zoning regulations that go up to 300 foot. I have absolutely nothing against developing center town. I think it's a fantastic idea. What I am concerned about in my request is that we have a formal hazard analysis of that situation. We have a formal report. And then we have a formal sign-off by city officials, including administration and including our safety officials. I mean actual signatures. Thank you.

Thank you, Jim.

Hi, Craig Yost from 16620 Pine Dunes Court in Grand Haven Township.

You're good.

Thank you. Some history. Back in 2010, the state legislature enacted a Complete Streets Public Act, which defined all users as legal users of the streets In Grand Haven in the last few years, probably five years ago now, Beech Tree was completely renovated. Recently, Grand Avenue was completely renovated. And more recently, Harbor Drive was completely renovated with absolutely no consideration for any alternative transportation, especially Grand Avenue and Harbor Avenue. They're very narrow, high roads. solid concrete curbs and heading to a very popular beach area. You can only park so many people down there in that beach area. The boardwalk is really not conducive to a lot of bicycle use and e-bike use, especially lately. And from what I understand, that's about to be restricted. Somebody told me that the other day, but What I would like to suggest is the last corridor that exists, Lake Avenue, what I would suggest is to make that, change that into an alternative transportation corridor and have one-way vehicular traffic heading east and the other lane going down to the two-lane bike path. So we can have two-way on the one lane and one lane on the other. I realize there's going to need to be three or four left turns for people that have houses on that north side of Lake Avenue. But I think that could be accommodated. And a demonstration project like that could be completed pretty easily with some plastic plungers and some paint. And I think that would go a long ways to helping people get to the beach without having to drive their cars. And I guess to make an example of that, the amount of effort that Grand Haven expends keeping those few parking spaces on Harbor Drive that are adjacent to the state park, which in the summer are essentially used by people to avoid paying state park fees, in the winter, I don't even want to know how much that costs to keep those parking spots open year-round. I mean, with the snow and everything else that comes down there, for virtually no one to be parked in them. So I would like to say with e-bikes, not with these, with e-bikes and things like that, I think we should be encouraging people to use that kind of alternative transportation, especially during the summer with the parking situation. Thank you.

Thank you. Who else would like to address council at this time? There will be another call to the audience at the end of the meeting, but by that time, we will have dealt with our business for the evening. So if you'd like to address council now, now would be the time. Seeing no one come forward, we're going to close the call to the audience. And now we have a presentation. Nevermind, she's up there. We have a presentation by Marcy Lynch.

Hi, Marcy Lynch, 526 Colfax. I am a member of Buck's Pride Cancer Awareness Group through the Grand Haven Public Schools. And we are under the umbrella of Blue Bird Cancer Retreats. That's how we are able to do what we do because we're under their 5013 state. They do retreats, and we support them by carrying suitcases, snacks, all kinds of other ways. Right now we're trying to support them in a bigger way. Grand Haven is going to play Spring Lake for the first time since 1988. And the two coaches and the ADs from both schools came together and said, let's make this about something more than football. What can we do to have both communities come together? So they called Bucks Pride and said, what can we do? And we said, well, we found out selling purple T-shirts for $10, we've made a difference in people's lives. So we came up with... $10 signs that people can put in their yards. If they're from Spring Lake, they can buy a Spring Lake sign. If they're from Grand Haven, they can buy a Grand Haven sign. And today was our kickoff that we pre-sold, but today we were in our first location on Klingle, and it was awesome. And I know there's people in Spring Lake at Orchard Market right now, they're selling signs because they Grand Haven is currently ahead at 17% of the goal because each school is trying to raise 1,500 signs. So we're at 17%. Today they're at 5%. But I think that's going to change quite a bit by tomorrow. So I just want to thank you for letting me come and express what we're doing and let you know what the Spring Lake and the Grand Haven coaches and ADs are encouraging these kids to do in the community. is to give back. One of the things they said to me is it's not just about the money that they're selling, but they're out in the community, they're doing something, they're being active. At retreats they strip beds, the football players, we take them and they strip the beds for the cancer patients because we don't let cancer patients do anything on retreat, they're on retreat. WE CARRY THEIR SOUTCASES BECAUSE ONE OF THE REASONS WE CARRY THEIR SOUTCASES, SOMEBODY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO CARRY THEIR SOUTCASE BUT WE DON'T WANT THEM TO STICK OUT. SO IF WE CARRY EVERYBODY'S SOUTCASES, NOBODY IS LEFT OUT. SO JUST AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME COME. YOU WILL SEE US ALL AROUND TOWN. WE ARE AT CLINGLES TODAY. TOMORROW WE ARE AT BOWL PARK. Wednesday, we're at Washington Square and Verdines. Saturday, we're at the Hat downtown. So just thank you. That's all I got.

All right. Thanks, Marcy. Anybody want to question or comment?

Just a comment. Thank you so much for all you do with Bucks Pride. My daughter's... participating in sports at Grand Haven wore many Bucks Pride t-shirts. And it was not only a great way to bring awareness, but also for the kids to be able to connect and honor someone that they know that is going through the hardest time of their lives. So it really does help even the kids to express that. And I just want to say how much I appreciate it. And I'm excited to get my sign. So thank you.

Yeah. I wanna say thank you Marcy and also for sharing too for what you guys do. My friend has cancer and that and you guys reached out to him and it made a whole lot of difference to him. It was like, because he's kind of a loner kind of guy and then when I brought this package over to him, he couldn't believe all the things he could do in there and the things that you did for him. He appreciates it so very much. Thank you so very much for what you did.

I appreciate your thanks and Sharon and I are a conduit for this community. It's really the community that does this. They're the ones that donate the snacks. They're the ones that buy the t-shirts. So I appreciate your kind words and I appreciate this community. Thanks.

Very good. I'd like to thank you as well. We've volunteered to help out with, Marcy and Sharon at Bucks Pride for I don't even know how many years now. And to see the faces of the folks that actually receive some of these baskets and gifts and guiding words on a struggle that they're going through in their lives is really great. So on behalf of us, thank you very much for all you do. I have my sign.

I'll just comment to you and Sharon and the whole group. You're our treasure. Thank you. All right. And that brings us to our consent agenda. Would you please read that?

Item A, approve the special work session and regular city council meeting minutes for July 6, 2026. Item B, approve the bill's memo in the amount of $601,135.85. Item C, accept a Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program grant in the amount of $60,000.00. Providing matching funds in the amount of $60,000 to be reimbursed by the Grand Haven Lighthouse Conservancy and authorized expenditures in the amount of $120,000 for entrance lighthouse improvements, including interior repairs. Item D, approve a service agreement with Grand Haven Area Public Schools for use of GHAP's technology services in the budgeted amount of $53,545.44 and authorize the mayor and city clerk to execute the necessary documents. And item E, adopt the Michigan... mutual aid box alarm system agreement.

Can I get a motion on the consent agenda? So moved. And second. Motion by Doris, second by Fritz. Comments or questions on any item here?

I'm sorry, I just had a quick question on the Michigan mutual aid box alarm system.

I think Nicole. Chief Hudson would be the most appropriate to answer those.

I'm very in support. I was just more curious if that has any kind of specific requirement of us as a city kind of on top of what we already do with the MEMAC.

Yeah, so the Mavis agreement has actually been in place for years. It just wasn't executed appropriately several years ago when we came into the agreement. So that's why it's before you today is just to make sure the necessary documents are created. So there's no cost. It's just all the municipalities in the state working together when we need additional resources. But there is nothing out of our fund or resources at this time.

And there's no commitment from our city to go and assist others? It's just kind of how it's been done all along?

Correct. So if there is a need and something that we can supply that's not going to affect our operations here in the city of Grand Haven, then we will reach out to them and let them know what our available resources are. Sometimes you have to decline, and other times you're able to participate. But it's just an agreement that every municipality signs on for. We're just looking to make sure that we have the appropriate.

Yeah, and I just think it's important to highlight what a great system that is, I think, for our entire state to be able to request assistance and offer assistance at hard times.

Yeah, absolutely. The Police and Fire Service does really well partnering together because we can't. Thank you.

Thank you. All right, you please call the roll.

Dora?

Yes.

Fritz? Yes. Calio? Yes. Meneza?

Yes. All right, we have one item of unfinished business today. Would you please read that?

Item A, consideration by City Council of a resolution to approve and adopt the Brownfield plan for the Flatiron Redevelopment Project located at 7 North 7th Street, Grand Haven, Michigan 49417 for a period of 19 years. The EDC slash BRA recommends approval and administration recommends approval.

All right. Now at this time, Sarah?

I'd like to recuse myself based on the marketing work I do for Capstone.

Okay. We need a motion to recuse. So moved. And second. Motion by Dora. Second by Fritz to recuse Sarah. Please call the roll. Dora? Yes. Fritz? Yes. Manetza? Yes.

All right. FZ? No.

No, I'm not. She wasn't skipped.

Okay, now I need a motion for this item. So moved. And second. Motion by Doris, second by Fritz to consider this brownfield plan. All right, Dana, do you want to lead this?

Yes. Good evening. So it has been two weeks since you last considered this. an incentive request on what's commonly called the Flatiron Building. Since that meeting, we have not changed. The developer has not come forward with a changed incentive request. However, they did take in the feedback from City Council and have come forward with a modification that we would work into the actual development agreement following a potential approval of the incentive. And that would be including some additional public benefits beyond the ones that have been identified previously and stated. And that's enhancing and participating in some of the streetscape elements adjacent to their building. For the 7th Street plan so at the conclusion of their project they would help to execute some of those streetscape elements Where we had received more direct immediate public benefit that the center town neighborhood and the community could enjoy In addition I did want to call attention to in your packet. I included a letter of support from center town businesses and that amplifies their position on why they're recommending support of the project. We do have representatives of the development team here that are able to answer any questions or expand on anything that I shared about the request.

All right, thank you. Would the applicants like to speak? Nobody's rushing forward. It's not necessary. Just opportunity All right. Well then let's Let's start with mr. Fritz.

Not a problem. I was the one that made a comment saying that I'd like to see some kind of a public benefit and And I'm glad to see that they have offered that to us, and I'm very pleased with it. It would actually accent the whole area there for Center Town. I think that'd be part of it, along with the development itself. So I'm pretty well set now with this now, as long as we have some kind of benefit coming in for the people to use benches, bike racks, and everything else, a kiosk and that it's gonna really go with the streetscape there. I wanna say thank you for being a partner with the center town area and stepping up to your, what you should do. I appreciate it very much myself. So I gotta say thank you so very much for coming forward with that.

Yep. I was one, that supported this the last time, but I'm just curious, based on the comments that Mr. Hagan has brought up this evening, if any consideration has been given to, as he had described, the number of hazardous shipments that are going through the area and the close proximity to the residential portion of this, if that was looked into, or if not, or if anything was done with it, or just curious. Seems he brought it up. Good question.

Hi, good evening. John Grothuis, 115 Sherman and part of the development team. No, would be the short answer. We've had several discussions with the railroad about an easement if we need to access a portion of their property during construction. They've been very cooperative, but we have not had any discussion, nor have they brought it up in terms of any liability. since a couple weeks ago though I have done a little research and I Guess if we were held at a hundred foot or 98 foot Canadian standards. We'd have a lot of a lot of issues Along the railroad throughout our city so based on no problems with the railroad no existing legislation that would Tell us otherwise we're we're ready to go forward if we can Okay

So you're comfortable with the way it is and good to go?

Yes.

Okay.

Okay. Well, the size of the easement has been in place for a very long time. It was kind of planted that way in. And yes, there's other structures not terribly far from the railroad. And I believe staff review of this project at the outset involved public safety and those concerns.

During the preliminary intake process, the building official and fire marshal are part of that review process. They also have further review as the plans, formal plans are submitted, but preliminarily they did not issue any concerns as part of their review for planning commission approval or for moving the project forward for

All right, and no red flags from the railroad? No. Okay. I understand. All right, well, I voted for this last time. I intend to vote for it again.

I just think it was an important issue to bring up, and I'm sure it will be dealt with at some point.

I think it has been, at least preliminarily, and I believe there are no penetrations on this side of the building. It's the kind of thing that you do the best you can with the space you got, and it was planted this way ages ago, and... Kind of runs that way through the northern part of town. It's very narrow. And yet immediately south of Washington, it's a wide right-of-way. It's weird how it's set up, but it kind of goes back to the old days. All right. Any other comments or questions? Call the roll.

Dora?

Yes.

Fritz? Yes. Manetza?

Yes.

All right.

Now we'll welcome back Sarah, wherever she went. All right, first item of new business, please.

Item A, consideration by City Council of resolution to approve an event request by the Grand Haven Elks Lodge at 15 South 3rd Street, Grand Haven, Michigan, 49417 to add September 25, 2026 to their Whole Elk Ski Day celebration. Administration recommends approval.

All right, can I get a motion on this? So moved.

Second.

Second by Calio. Brian, are you presenting this?

Yes, sir. Good evening, City Council. Brian Droz, Waterfront Events Manager for the City. Before you tonight is a request from the Grand Haven Elks Lodge, number 1200, to expand their Pulaski Day celebration by adding a second day to this year's event. Last year's inaugural festival was a well-tended and a great success, prompting the organization to request adding Friday, September 25th, while continuing the Saturday festivities. The event celebrates Polish heritage with traditional food, live polka music, dancing, and family-friendly entertainment, while utilizing the same portion of Third Street as last year. This additional day will allow more residents and visitors the opportunity to enjoy a festival that was very well received in its first year.

Okay. Any questions? Comments? Great event.

The only comment I can say is it's in Sarah and mine backyard, basically, and I had such a great time there last year. Seeing my wife is Polish, it really makes it a lot of fun. And also my neighbor on the corner there, he's Len Bukinowski, enjoyed his time there. So I think it's a go another day, fine. I'd like to hear some more polka music, though. You know, it's... Yeah, it's really good. So I'm all for it. I think it's a great time and it was well attended and it was very well. Thank you.

Yeah, I think it sounds fun. So I'm hoping that we can join us this year.

It was great last year being one day long. It'll probably be even better this year being two days.

It'll be twice as much fun.

Twice as much.

All right. Please call the roll.

Fritz?

Yes.

Calio? Yes. Dora? Yes. Manetza? Yes.

All right, next item, please.

Item B, consideration by City Council of an introductory resolution to amend Section 36-A of Article 1 and Chapter 36 of the City of Grand Haven Code of Ordinances to include electric bicycles, electric scooters, and electric skateboards and create Section 36-8B, One incorporating prohibited items in the 10 block of Washington Ave during street closure. Administration recommends approval.

Alright, I need a motion.

So moved.

Second by Kelly will second by Dora. Chief, would you like to explain what we're doing?

Yes, Nicole Hudson, director of public safety. So before you, today is 1st of two readings. We're trying to bring our city ordinances up to date. This last ordinance has not been And it strictly did not have electric bicycles, electric scooters, or electric skateboards in that section. So we are adding those to make sure that enforcement is not going to be an issue on our end. And the second that we are adding new tour city ordinances is over the years with that 10 block of Washington being closed. It was a slow start over the first few years, but we've seen that area grow and DDA, the city of Grand Haven has done a great job trying to bring in events, picnic tables to make that a more welcoming family friendly spot. Unfortunately, with that comes. electric bicycles, electric scooters, bicycles, and whatnot through a large crowd of people throughout the days and evenings. So we're just looking at trying to make that a zone during the street closures from Memorial Day to Labor Day where it can be a no-wheeled zone, just like the sidewalks, to make sure everybody is attending downtown in a safe manner.

Questions, comments?

I think it mentioned signage or some kind of communication device. What will that look like?

So the city manager's office and I and DPW will get together to figure out what signage is going to be appropriate, obviously with DDA's input, to make sure that the signage is appropriate. It also still maintains that level of charm downtown, but a lot of it's just going to be through education. It's going to be making contact with everybody down there. We do have additional foot patrol down there during the weekends starting from now, so through the mid-August. So in hopes that we can start to educate, get the word around social media. And at some point, hopefully the word will spread. So then that way there is less enforcement down there. But we will get with the city manager's office to make sure there's appropriate signage down there.

And I think I'm going to kind of comment on both because I know they're separate. But I think this is important. I think that e-bikes, as beneficial as they can be for transport, have become a safety issue for pedestrians. So I'm grateful to your department for looking into this and trying to figure out ways to make our pedestrians in these areas as safe as they can. Um, and then the flip side of that is too, we want to make sure it's done in a way that isn't making everything look, you know, can't do this, can't do this, can't do this. And so the signage, and I think kind of how we're communicating that is very important and just to be as welcoming, particularly because we're having a huge influx of tourism. Yeah, absolutely.

We never want to deter people from going down there. But at the end of the day, when you have busy traffic and also electronic transportation, most of transportation, it's sometimes never user friendly. So we're taking baby steps instead of going zero to 100 and just saying no electronic bikes throughout the city. We're just trying to progressively change our city ordinance in hopes that at some point, parents will start to educate their children because it starts at home. And then we can hopefully enforce with our new city ordinances to make it a little bit safer in the downtown areas and then see how we can expand throughout the city.

And really what it's doing is just updating according to new technology. Absolutely. Wasn't available in 2011. Correct. Okay. Thank you very much.

You're welcome.

I'm good. Okay. Good. Okay. I've got a couple of questions for you. The... The memo that we have in our packet talks about amending a section 25-40 definitions But no language was included for that amendment So that needs to be part of this and the agenda item the motion that we have on the floor Elsa doesn't include that it just says

36 8 and then 25 44 so that got left out So I'll address that that's an astute observation We actually had removed that And that was unintentional after some misunderstanding about what that language was attempting to achieve but chief Hudson and I have since talked about it and we'll make sure that as we move forward in the process that There will be a first reading for that section as well in that new language as well as adoption separately. So we'll be one week behind on that particular update to the ordinance.

We could, if someone wanted to, amend the second item here, which deals with Section 25.

That's correct.

And add that in and then expect to see the formal language on the second reading.

Yes, that language is created, so certainly you could do that.

So when we get to that item, I might entertain an amendment if anybody's interested because it looks like something just got left out. Without those definitions, I don't know if you can do any of the rest of this.

So the definitions were submitted, unfortunately.

Well, they're in the memo, but they're not in anything else, nor in the write-up of the motion. So we'll deal with that in a few minutes. The prohibition on use is on the sidewalks in the first three blocks and in the social district.

So not the social district. It's strictly just the sidewalks.

The closed block, I'm sorry.

Correct. For this one, correct.

But it would still be allowed in the street?

Correct. Okay. Because they are classified as an e-bike for the state of Michigan. So they have everywhere to be on the road.

Okay, what about in Lynn Sherwood Stadium? Is that included in either of these areas? Is it considered part of the boardwalk or part of the downtown?

So if we look at the next agenda item that will be incorporated with the boardwalk,

Because I see people arriving at Lynn Sherwood Stadium on e-bikes and scooters and such, and that's really not a problem as long as they kind of check them at the door and don't go through the crowd in them. But then I see kids on, kids, sometimes big kids, on scooters and things and trying to navigate through the crowds. That gets to be a little bit scary. So I just wanted to make sure that was covered in here somewhere. Also, I noticed in section... Paragraph C of Section 36A talks about no person shall use bicycle electronics, bicycle electric scooters, so on and so forth in a reckless or careless, negligent manner. And that appears to be anywhere. Correct. Is that the intent?

Correct.

Again, we're just... Not just downtown on the sidewalks, but it gives you authority to use this anywhere somebody's being reckless.

So this is again just trying to make sure our city ordinance is up to date to add all the electronic modes of transportation So we already had that in our ordinance It just again hasn't been updated and so this is just allowing us an extra additional resource to be able Okay, all right those only other questions they had on this item in order to get to the next one We may may be prudent to amend that so we can get this stuff moving together.

I

Okay. Any other questions on item B here on chapter 36? Please call the roll.

Callio? Yes. Dora? Yes. Fritz? Yes. Manetza?

Yes. All right. Now, if I could have a motion on item C. Oh, I read item C. I'm sorry.

Consideration by City Council of an introductory resolution to amend section 25-44 of Article 3 in Chapter 25 of the City of Grand Haven Code of Ordinances to include electric bicycles electric scooters and electric skateboards Administration recommends approval.

Can I get a motion as it's written? So moved Okay motion by Keller second by Dora and as we just discussed this was This neglected to include the definitions of these things Anybody be interested in amending this to include an amendment to section 25 dash 40 for Definitions and if anybody needs a copy, I actually have it right here already written out as the city ordinance Well, you've already wants to actually see it.

All right. Well motion to amend okay to include the left out Thank you a motion by Dora

Second.

Second by Callio to amend this motion to include those definitions in 25-40. Everything else in the memo would be correct then?

Correct.

Any questions on what we're doing here? Nope. Okay. Let's vote on the amendment.

Dora?

Yes.

Callio? Yes. Fritz?

Yes.

Manetza?

Yes. Any other questions or comments before we vote?

On which one? Now we're on the main motion. We want to talk about it a little bit.

Okay.

Go ahead. This contains the boardwalk and all that, right?

Correct. So per definition with the city ordinance, it is the easterly section where the boardwalk and the state park end, technically where that gate is. And then it goes all the way through town, Sherwood Stadium, also up through Chinook Pier, and essentially by the Wharf Marina. So that is classified as the boardwalk under the city ordinance.

And what is what is the some people at home know? What do we have for regulations right now on the boardwalk in that whole distance?

So right now, foot traffic is a preferred method of transportation. Ever since 2011, skateboards were the only mode of transportation that was prohibited on the boardwalk because in 2011, we had a problem with skateboards. And so here we are 15 years later with the development of electronic scooters, skateboards, and e-bikes. And we even noticed when we're trying to get out to the pier or out to the state park, through that with the increase in pedestrian traffic regardless if you are abiding by the pedestrian right away staying to the right calling it is a very congested area especially when you get open water it's not always the safest so again this would prohibit any type of bicycles electric electric bicycles electric scooters etc on the boardwalk i was down there this weekend if you haven't noticed i'm a little red

watching the boats and stuff, and I also observed the e-bikes down there and the traffic, the foot traffic and that, which was pretty standard for the day because we had the smoke and everything, but they seemed, the people that were seen on the e-bikes seemed to be pretty well, they had bells on there, they let people know they were going by, or I listened to them say, on your left, on your right, just like any bicyclist that goes down there. You have, like, an old coach I had, Steve Sluka, told me, he says, one bad apple spoils a whole bunch. And it's one of the memo I kind of remember a lot. But what I saw this weekend, I did not see any of the hooligans, shall I say, or whatever you want to call them, getting in the way of people. They were very courteous. And I'm having a hard time trying to figure out, should we stop them or not? I know it's a new thing and all the e-bikes are, they are motorized. We don't want motorized stuff on there, but the state doesn't recognize it like a motorcycle.

Correct.

It makes it really difficult for us. I'm having a hard time with that right now. After my observant, what I saw,

Sure. I mean, it is difficult when the few are actually abiding by the right-of-way pedestrians and everything. I will tell you, out of the complaints that we do get, a lot are on the boardwalk. But unfortunately, when it comes to these electric bicycles and electric scooters, It's either all or nothing. Because when it comes down to the class one, two, three in the state of Michigan, from an enforcement standpoint, it's too difficult to distinguish how old they are, if they're supposed to have a helmet, what kind of class bike. And honestly, by the time that someone actually calls us to be able to enforce it, Those e-bikes and electric scooters are gone. So I understand where you're coming from, absolutely. It's never easy to prohibit all of these items from the people that are actually abiding by the rules. But with the amount of complaints, and this has been a hot topic, we had to start somewhere.

Yeah, I really think we should go to our legislators and tell them they are motorized and call them a motorized vehicle so we can get that on record for them. So people know that we don't allow motorized vehicles down there. That's been all the standard all along. You can't ride a scooter down there. So I see where you're coming from far safety-wise, but what I observed was totally different. If you have a really busy day, you don't want them down there. I understand that 100% because they do move along quite fast, and they come up on you really fast.

And I think ultimately our goal has been to kind of read what every other municipality in the state of Michigan is doing. And they're only doing what they can because they're really hoping the legislators finally step in with the amount of. And so if we take small baby steps to try to protect some of our areas where there's a larger percentage of population within our community, then maybe at some point something will stick on the state side that makes enforcement a little bit easier.

Thank you.

It is unfortunate. There are a few that ruin it for everyone, but it seems to be that with many things. I have been down on the boardwalk and witnessed some of the incidents that have occurred where people weren't quite as courteous as what Mr. Fritz had seen. It isn't just down there, it is all over town. I live on the east end of town, almost not even in town, and they go by my house, I dare to guess they're passing cars, so I don't know what kind of speed they're going. These are just kids. Somebody's going to get hurt sooner or later. If that's what it takes, it's sorry to say that that's what it's going to take. I'm glad to see that we are taking steps to mitigate this in some areas. Hopefully that will get the word out and folks will start looking at what their kids are doing and riding or what they're purchasing for them. Some of these will go up to 60 miles an hour. I mean, it's pretty wild. I wonder sometimes where were these things when I was a kid? I mean, geez. But I'm glad to see we're doing something, starting out with small steps and being able to adapt it to either more or less whatever we need to do. So I appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you for your patience.

This is one of those things that I've gotten more complaints about this than just about anything since I've been back. And it's like one of the biggest pet peeves of people is when they get startled or I haven't seen anybody actually knock down, but I've seen close calls and It's a bad mix. And fair or not fair, you've got to do something to protect people. I don't want to get to the point where somebody had to get hurt for us to do something. I think that it's just one of those situations which this is the best we can do at this time. If things change later, we can adjust. And I think it kind of goes back to the other section that I read a few minutes ago that when people are doing things in a reckless manner, you have the ability to enforce this. I think this is probably going to rise to some degree to a complaint level, but somebody's being reckless, you can enforce those. Right now, you really can't do much. I think your hands are tied, so I want to untie your hands.

Thank you.

Anything else?

I think just to remember that even if someone is not operating this in a bad way, they are so quiet that They come up so quickly on pedestrians that that's just another layer of complication for this. So it doesn't really take someone behaving badly to make it a dangerous situation. There are so many people in these places that we're talking about.

We're ready to vote. Please call the roll.

Calio? Yes. Dora? Yes. Fritz? Yes. Vanessa?

Yes. All right, this was our first reading, and we will see all the formal language next time and have a second reading.

Correct.

Thank you. All right, next item, please.

Item D, consideration by City Council of a resolution to retroactively approve an emergency purchase in the amount of $46,635 with Northwood Siteworks of Muskegon, Michigan, for the repair of a storm water line at the 1500 block of South Griffin Street, Grand Haven, Michigan, 49417. Administration recommends approval.

All right, can I get a motion to do this? So moved. Second. Motion by Fritz, second by Dora.

Good evening, Council. Greetings. Logan Cuttington, Streets and Utilities Manager. What I have for you is to retroactively approve an emergency repair on our storm system on the 1500 block of South Griffin. in the amount of forty six thousand six hundred and thirty five dollars to Northwood site works as an unfortunate situation, but What started as a sinkhole turned into multiple failing joints and high groundwater?

All right questions gotta be done unnecessary

I'm assuming this will be coming out of a contingency fund, or I should just say, what fund is this being pulled from?

We do have a storm lining budget that we can take out of to fund this.

And then out of curiosity, what's out of that budget, what percentage would this be of that?

I couldn't tell you right at the moment, but I can get that number for you.

Yeah. It's more of a curiosity because as these things come up is that just kind of helps me know how big this is compared to other contingencies that we set aside for these types of things. Um, mostly I just want to say thank you for handling it. I know this was a real, not great situation that a lot of man hours had to go into. So I appreciate, uh, being taken care of and i think as we look at the budget moving forward when we see these contingencies being eaten up i think that's important to understand future budgets and infrastructure budgeting moving forward so it's i'm glad we have a contingency once we've used a majority of that contingency up it means that we need to be putting money into infrastructure in a different way so Thank you. Of course. Thank you.

Okay.

I gather it's not so much a contingency as it's a budget for repairs.

Yeah.

And it has to be done. And the issue, as I understand this one, is that it was beyond the scope of what we can handle internally.

Yeah.

It had to be contracted. It had to be done without prior council approval. Correct me if I'm wrong. I think the limit for that is $50,000.

Yes, it is 50,000 sorry. I was looking at we did budget $250,000 in that budget So I was just getting clarification if we reach a point where that's gone We have more repairs to do we will have to reallocate money in it exactly We'd have to reevaluate what the line items are so so the process is I understand it because we dealt with this during the high water stuffed and

finance director, the city manager, and is it public safety or public works? Public works. Public works director. The three of them agree it has to be done. Then they can do it up to $50,000 and then come to council for retroactive approval. My question now, a few years later and several inflationary cycles later, is that a reasonable amount of money? $50,000, is that a good limit?

You know, I think every situation is a little bit different, but... That's something that we can talk about as a group and come up with a better number for you.

Maybe before our next budget cycle, we can talk about that. I just don't want us to be in a position where you've got an emergency and the rules require you to convene council for a hurry-up meeting to authorize something more than $50,000. That's the only question I have. Obviously, it has to be paid for, and I'm glad that you guys responded. It's all done now. Until next time.

I do want to just add, Sarah, to your point. We do keep track of where we're having breaks in our systems across our utilities. So if we start to see patterns emerge for capital planning and such, it'll help us maybe redirect or reprioritize if necessary.

Thank you. Okay. Any other questions? No. No. Call the roll.

Fritz?

Yes.

Dora? Yes. Calio? Yes. Manetza?

Yes. And that concludes our items of new business for the evening. That brings us to the report by city council. Who would like to make a report?

Well, I'll go if you want me to. Was it Thursday we took a trip down to Detroit for the change in command for the Army Corps of Engineers? Yes. And which was really nice. We all had our City of Grand Haven shirts on, stood in front of everybody as they're doing their ceremony. When they first came up and they introduced everybody, they introduced the exiting commander and his family. Then they introduced the new commander coming in and his family. And the next one on the line was they welcomed the City of Grand Haven for being here. And I thought that was very impressive that they recognized us as being the first ones there to recognize us. So I want to say thank you for all of us showing up for a ceremony like that because we let them know that we're very proactive on getting our dredging done. The mayor here definitely talked about four or five different ones. And we let them know that we need their assistance also here in Grand Haven. And they understood very much so. I'm glad that we were there to represent the city of Grand Haven for that. I've been always kind of proactive on doing things like that and showing up. And they knew right away when we walked in that we were city of Grand Haven because we were dressed entirely. It was really good. So I want to say thank you, guys. It makes me feel good. And then Friday we took a trip down to Zeeland to check out their power plants that they have. And that was pretty impressive, too. They got a really old plant. And I tell you what, if you walked into the floor, you could actually literally eat off the floor. If you dropped a sandwich down, you could pick it up and eat it. And that's in an old power plant, I mean an old one. It was so clean and so nice. I was so impressed with it. And what they're thinking about, how they're moving forward with it and taking care of some of the systems that we need to have to take care of something we're looking at here in Grand Haven. So I want to say thank you for them. Like I said, and then I went down to Rock the Coast to check out the powerboats. And I think I spent too much time in the sun there. But it was good. It was a good time. It's always nice to hear the roar of those engines as they head down through the channel. It's pretty impressive. I couldn't afford one, but I couldn't even afford the gas, but I tell you what, they are something else. I'm into speed anyway, so it's good. And the Tigers. They're still coming back now. We're almost there, so they're doing good.

Okay. Hope springs eternal.

There you go, I'm done.

Six games back, isn't it? Didn't I hear that right? What's that? There's like six games back right now.

Six games back. That's what I thought. What, three games out of the wild card? So, not bad.

Sarah, anything?

Yeah, so this is one of my favorite times of the year. Not only for the obvious Coast Guard fest that's coming up, and I mentioned that more, but... It's also blueberry season now. And I love that we are a very specific area that has a lot of heritage with blueberries and still pretty high production. And so I got my first round of blueberries. And FYI, I was able to pet a baby Highland cow at Crossroads Blueberry. shop and uh they'll be back august 1st so that was maybe one of the highlights of my life it was probably the cutest thing i've ever seen um and then coast guard fest i think this is very exciting time um and i'm wishing everyone a safe and happy start to that coming up um we were in maine few years ago and we were at a tourist spot as tourists and kind of a salty older gentleman came up to us and said what do you need to know and we had a nice conversation with them and he you know directed us to some great things in that area and it really stuck with me and I appreciated that a lot and I would challenge locals to maybe offer that to Some of the tourists that are coming in and let us see our kind of magical city through the eyes of new eyes again and. What would we want them to know and interact with them? Because it is a great great city and we can be proud of that. So and then just speaking back to the E bikes. I very much appreciate public safety and what they've they're putting in place for safety of our city. I also just want to keep kind of pushing the idea of making it possible to have a larger road system or some other options to bring in bikes and e-bikes and let that be a part of the movement of our city. And when we do do new projects, how can we incorporate that realistically in a way that we can create a movement in our town that doesn't always have to be cars and large parking areas. So as we continue to see technology grow, let's be able to incorporate that in the city to keep our movement possible. And then kids, please wear helmets.

All right, thank you. Yeah, I appreciate those comments, Sarah, because I have sure seen the mobility open up for many people with the electric bikes and the scooters and being able to get out and go places they normally couldn't. And it's nice to see that open up. I hope that there's ways we can capitalize on the folks who... actually are safer, let's say, with them versus those who are not and allow them to do maybe some of the things that right now we're saying they can't. Time will tell. Hopefully it'll all work out for the better. I attended the change of command as well. Very, very fabulous ceremony they had. Lieutenant Colonel Bandiff leaving. I had some conversation with him and Lieutenant Colonel Liu coming in. We had some good conversations with him and his group. Appreciate everything that the Corps of Engineers obviously does for us in working with the city, and look forward to that continuing on a good basis from conversations we had with those two gentlemen. So always good news. Mike's not kidding. We toured the Zeeland Power Plant, and Sarah was with us. And that place, for as old as it is, was immaculate.

I mean, immaculate.

Some of the diesel generating engines they had there were 40 years old.

I think they still had original paint without a mark on them.

I mean, they were very well maintained. That was not the reason of our tour. The reason of our tour was to take a look at the small diesel generators that they have for peaking units. This is something that's not new. We've talked about it. several times with the BLP and locations to put it and the benefits of it with the extended renewables that are coming online and the reliability. It's good to hear that the BLP is looking at contingency plans to come up with to help keep our rates low and our service as reliable as it always has been. So that was a great time as well. Adding on Sarah's, looking forward to the Coast Guard Festival. I'm not the salty old gentleman, but I spend plenty of time at the information kiosk if anybody wanders down there looking for something or information. Most likely I'll be around there somewhere with the many people that help us to run that. So looking forward to everything that's getting ready to kick off here in the next week. I wish everybody to be safe and careful.

Thank you. Yes, I enjoyed the trip to Detroit to the Corps of Engineers changes command. I think it's really important for communities to pay their respects. We work very closely and very well with the Corps of Engineers. They do a lot for us. And it's kind of the least we can do to go and say thank you to the outgoing Lieutenant Commander Bandov. Welcome to the incoming Lieutenant Commander Liu. And brief conversation with the Brigadier General who was they're both their commanders and just just good to get there and say well we appreciate what you do for us and glad we have a good working relationship so those things those little gestures i think they do mean something and i think it was appreciated by them as well so it's mutual so i'm glad we can do that um i attended the tour in zealand of course i came out of industry and i Our power plant where I worked at home, that was the cleanest place in the whole plant. You kind of expect that. But that's important. You've got to keep those things in order. Course Guard Festival is coming up, and it's a lot going on. You're going to have tons of people in town. There will be public safety, public works will all be stressed, and they'll all be busy. all the outside help that we can scrounge up just to make things safe, but we will make things safe, and we'll let people have an opportunity to have a good time. We'll pay proper respect to the Coast Guard, and we'll have our honorary citizenship ceremony next Monday morning for the Coasties who are here, assigned here since the last year. We always kind of make them honorary citizens of the city. It's another nice gesture that we do just to tell them that they're welcome. And, of course, the National Memorial Service is really the most solemn part of it. So I encourage people to come out and hear that because there have been a couple more people that we'll need to honor. So all those things are great. That's all I got. Anything from the city manager's office?

Nothing for you today.

Okay. In that case, that brings us to our second call to the audience. At this time, members of the audience may address counsel on any item. Please give us your name and address. You're limited to three minutes of speaking time. We will not have a response at this time.

Good evening. My name's Patricia Epler, and I live at 150 Clinton, and I also hold the office of Esquire at the Grand Haven Alex Lodge 1200, and that address is 15 South Third Street. And in the interest of the World Cup, I could kick a soccer ball to Fritz's house from either location. I just wanted to say thank you for voting for the event. I'm also the chairperson for Poll Elkski Days here in Grand Haven. Last year exceeded our wildest expectations. We wanted to create something that was our signature event that we do every year like Rib Fest and some of the other lodges have signature events that they hold every year so we hope that like last year that the weather gods were with us because it was fabulous weather we do want to expand so that it's all day Saturday like 12 to 10 all or all day Friday all day Saturday and then we will be out of your street by noon THIS YEAR, COUNCILMEMBER FRITZ MENTIONED EARLIER HE WOULD LIKE MORE POLISH MUSIC. IF THERE WAS ANY COMPLAINTS LAST YEAR, THAT WAS THE BIGGEST ONE. WE HAVE POLISH BANDS COMING BOTH NIGHTS. I think one might be 5 to 9 and one might be 6 to 9, but there is going to be Polish music. During the other times, we're going to make playlists with Polish music incorporated in them when a band is not playing during the day. There will be all the homemade food, guamkis, pierogies, rye bread, kielbasa. Last year we got all our kielbasa from Lewandowski's in Grand Rapids, but this year I'm hoping to meet with the representatives of Frank's Market, and we're hoping to market it as Frank's Friday. So we're hoping Friday night to feature Frank's kielbasa, and capusta. So there will be a limited menu on Friday, only kielbasa and capusta on Friday, because our volunteers, and I'm one of them that do all the cooking, we were about laid up for a week after we did it last year. So limited menu on Friday, but the full menu from noon till whenever it runs out. on saturday and we are doing all the things that we did last year the porta potties we're getting the tent again from the vfw and they're helping us put it up with all their safety features and the fencing so we're just excited that you guys are embracing this festival it's not when anything else is going on so that's what we like about it and it's a weekend before any of the Pulaski Day celebrations in Grand Rapids. So tell your friends in Grand Rapids to come out and celebrate and wear red and you'll be able to watch Dave Fritz Polka probably Friday and Saturday night. So thank you so much.

Thank you. That'll be a sight to see.

Joyce Workman, Vintage Green, 7 North 7th. I actually just want to say thank you again for embracing Flea on 7th, which is this coming Sunday. I feel like I just did the flea, and here we are again, so I think time is going faster. But thank you to the city. Thank you to DPW and DPS. I know it's already busy time, and I'm adding busy to it. The first year we did it in 2015, we had 28 vendors. This year we are a full house at 85 vendors. um the show actually fills up mid-march which is just a blessing and i want to remind you too we have 10 youth vendors in the parking lot between me and guitar haven and i always look at the city staff when i say this they're their future their future business owners so stop embrace them thank them they're getting their feet wet in the entrepreneurial world if you buy something that's lovely but just encourage them I'm anticipating about 5,000 people this year. So I have let Chief and the fire marshal know always so that we're within code But again, I do hope to see you there. I know it's a busy time, but if you get a chance swing by thank you Thank You Joyce

My name is Jeffrey Miller and I live at 1120 South Harbor Drive. To follow up on my earlier talk about the BLP's community solar garden, there are a few things council may want to consider. First, as mentioned at the BLP board meeting last week, they're hoping to have a joint meeting with you at the end of the third week in August. They want it to be closed door and to discuss legal and financial issues as it relates to Harbor Island. Whether the meeting takes place or not, and regardless of whether it is open or not, I think you should press them on why they can't financially support the community solar garden project. They have the money. Didn't they just buy a building that wasn't in their previous year's budget? And as leaders in our community, you might consider helping out the BLP. by getting people and organizations to think about being a part of the community solar garden. Wouldn't it be great if every institution, public and private, would get behind this project? Harbor Transit, Tri-Cities Museum, Four Point Senior Center, the various libraries in the area, the water company, the sewer treatment plant, the various schools, you name it. Just think if, when walking downtown, merchants could boast a small little window decal that said something to the effect, I've got a panel in the Grand Haven Community Solar Garden. And neighbors could consider having a yard sign in their front lawns saying, I've got a panel in the Grand Haven Community Solar Garden. Isn't that the kind of positive image Grand Haven would like to show its visitors? Everybody uses electricity and at the moment the BLP's energy portfolio boasts 33% of it being renewable But alas to date only 15 entities have pledged and paid for only 20 panels and the BLP stated last week that they're not going to do anything new or exciting or innovative to get the community excited and The community solar garden possibility is exciting, but the BLP needs to step up their game, think and work outside their traditional venues, and most definitely lead by example financially. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Jeff. Anyone else? Then we will close this call to the audience. And if there is no further business, meeting will be adjourned. Thank you for coming.