City Council - Regular Meeting

June 3, 2026, regular meeting of the Howland City Council. I'm Mayor Nathan Box. I'm calling this meeting to order. Brenda, would you please call the roll?

Klomparens. Here. Freeman.

Here.

Raymond. Here. Corbin.

Here.

Schultheis.

Present.

Merikene. Rowan? Here. Shea?

Present.

Mayor Box?

Present.

We have a quorum.

Wonderful, thank you. We're gonna begin this evening's meeting as we have for many years, first with an opening prayer followed immediately by the Pledge of Allegiance, and I would invite you to join us if you're so inclined. Please join me in prayer if you're so inclined. Lord, thank you for a beautiful day in this week where our schools are ending for this year. Our students are heading out for the summer to enjoy what we hope is a beautiful summer season. We pray for their safety and the time that they're able to celebrate. Lord, give us wisdom, give us discernment, give us patience to do the work of the people of the city of Holland. And let us, too, celebrate a wonderful summer season with our friends, our neighbors, and our community. In your name we pray, amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The next items on our agenda are consent agenda items. These are items that are considered to be fairly routine and have been reviewed by council members as part of our council packet. They will be enacted in one motion unless a member of the public or a member of council asked to have an item removed from the consent agenda. And then it will be placed in its regular order on the regular agenda. But before I ask if anyone would like to do that, Brenda, would you please review the consent agenda for us?

Yes. 4A, excuse the absences of council members Raymond and Marikeen. 4B, approve minutes May 20, 26, regular meeting. 4C, oaths of office. 4D, claims filed against the city. 4E, the commercial solid waste collection and disposal services agreement for 2027 to 2032. 4F, accept the bid for painting services. 4G, accept the bid for reconstruction. 4H, boardwalk replacement budget amendment. 4i designated assessor contract 4j downtown development authority board appointment and reappointment 4k windmill island gardens approval of catering agreements for the 2026 season 4l windmill island gardens approval of art on the island gala special liquor license And 4M, a revocable license agreement for 21 West 8th Street, a seasonal floral arch.

Great. Thank you, Brenda. Is there any member of the public that would like to have an item removed from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda? Seeing none. Any member of council that would like to have an item removed from consent? Seeing none there either. What is the pleasure of council in regard to the consent agenda? Move to approve the agenda as presented. Moved by Vreeman. Is there support? Support. Support by Clumpharns. Any discussion? Seeing none, Brenda, would you please call the roll? Next item on the agenda is public comment under the Open Meetings Act of the State of Michigan we provide the public the opportunity to address council at our regular meetings our study sessions and every one of our board committee and commission meetings. But we do have guidelines that we ask you to follow. Each person is allowed to speak one time for a total of five minutes. We ask that you please come to the podium, you please state your name and the municipality in which you live because it's important for us to know whether or not you're a resident of the city of Holland. You may speak on any topic, excuse me, you may speak on any subject that you like, but this is one-way communication. We don't answer questions during this time or engage in discussion, but if there's a question that staff can answer, they may be able to circle back to you at the end of the meeting. Now having said that, is there anyone here who would like to address council at this time? If so, please come forward. Yes, please come forward. And would you please state your name and municipality for the record?

I'm Karen Howells, and I live at 657 Appletree Drive, which is north of 32 between 31 and Lincoln Avenue, so Holland. I've been inviting you to come and see the fantastic resources we have in Holland, and I know many of you have already know a whole bunch about them, but I'm a new person, and I'm really impressed with the way we take care of the people here in Holland and offer the resources that they need and all the people here to make a better place to live. And I guess I really want to brag. I understand that many of you know all about this and you weren't able to come and take the tours that I offered, but I would like to give you an overview of some of the things that I think are really great about this city. And the first one I'm gonna do was the most recent tour that I invited you on, which was to go to Heights of Hope. Heights of Hope, I asked Laura Minkus, who works there, for five things that she thought they did really well and that I could tell you about. So it was started in 2003, which I think is really impressive, with the purpose of celebrating and cultivating a community where neighbors enjoy a healthy, caring, safe, affordable, and thriving place to live. the five things. Number one, they build community through coffee hours, block parties, a 5K run, flower planting, and welcome bags for new neighbors. And even some of us who don't belong to the neighborhood get to participate in some of that stuff. I walk the 5K every single time, and because I'm an old person, I usually get a medal, so just saying. Number two, they host Circles, which is a national organization who, along with Good Samaritan here, empower and equip families to move out of poverty. A Circle leader makes smart and long-term goals that can be accomplished, and then they're supported and encouraged by members of the community who become their allies. Number three, the Youth Leadership Coalition teaches middle and high school students job readiness skills, which they practice in the summer as they work with a community with a supervisor. They learn how to go through an interview. They learn how to show up and work and be dressed properly and to communicate with others, which is a really important skill that they'll use a lot. They receive a stipend for their work and they form a relationship with the people that they work with. And this is one of my favorites because this is the fourth summer that I'm going to have an intern. and the intern will come and help me at the community action house food club and we sort food that take out the stuff that's rotten and we recycle that and then we put stuff out on the floor that they can eat and and get with their points i think this is really an important thing because the kids learn that in order to get some money you have to do some work and you have to number one show up that's the best part number four is Explosion, which is a 10-week winter creative arts skill-building program for kids, teens, and adults. They do woodworking, crocheting, violin, cooking, and even theater. They're some of the courses that they offer. Number five is youth mentoring and it's about offering a way for kids to work with adults, form relationships and build trust. I know that we have somebody here who's from that district and knows all about it. I just really think that there's so many wonderful things that happen in the city of Holland and I wanted to share that with you. So thank you for listening. And if you'd like more information, please ask me or you could ask Tim too. And if you don't mind, I think I'll be back next time and tell you about another wonderful thing that happens here. Thank you.

Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to address council at this time? And would you please state your name and municipality for the record?

Ann Hendrickson, Zeeland. Good evening, City Council. First of all, I appreciate what you just said. It's highlighting. Good evening, Council. I'm amazed that I've been to almost every council meeting for six years. I have gained insights from the longevity experiencing the changes in the council's discussions and commitments. I have seen and heard the effects of the council's decisions upon the community and people. It would take a consistent watchful of observation to see the growth that has, in my eyes, advanced the kingdom of God, even though there has been situations that would bury God in his word with the separation of church and state. Albertus Van Raalte's statement resurfaces, Do not forget we received this land from God as a training school, for eternity, a workplace for God's kingdom. This shall prosper in your hands, provided God and his kingdom remain your precious portion in life. You see, Christianity has lasted 2,000 years, and the past six years cannot erase it even though the culture of man may try to. Our Constitution of the United States has for 250 years weathered many interpretations and challenges. For example, the canceling and misguided law, 1973 Lemon versus Kutzman, which canceled all religious expression from public taxpayer owned properties. You may remember 2017, the ACLU filed a lawsuit, separation of church and state against the city of Grand Haven for having a cross displayed on that hill by the channel. It was removed. The citizens of Grand Haven were devastated then and now have come alive again with their Christian faith in an event, Christ is King. I would like to introduce to you something that happened in Grand Haven last year. Churches came together and presented a family event, Christ is King. I would say that 500 people or more gathered for fun, family, food, and games, ending with worship on the band stage on the channel. The most beautiful thing to see was the teenagers who openly expressing their worship with dance and flags. The freedom of expression introduced by the 2020 sexual orientation movement in Holland has expanded expression to all areas, including religious expression. It is now legal to express our faith in libraries, museums, art galleries, schools, and et cetera. For example, the Herrick Library, 2026, included an event on their website raising gender-confident kids, helping kids embrace their God-given design. This year, we have in Holland something that's going to happen on June 13th at Collin Park. and it's Christ is King. Christ is King is coming to Holland. I want to read you the advertisement. West Michigan has deep Christian heritage, and Christ is King longs to see that restored. For far too long, Christians have retreated into a private piety and have ceded their public square to the secular world. By the grace of God, we want to reverse that trend. Christ as King exists to exalt Christ in the public square. Here's what that looks like. We press the lordship of Christ in every area of life, in our families, our churches, businesses, education, arts, and politics. The kingship of Christ doesn't stop at the church door, and we want to encourage and equip God's people to come out of the shadows and proclaim his name with boldness and joy. So I hope you attend this so that you can see the changes that are taking place in our community and What the community calls thriving?

So have a good evening Thank you, is there anyone else who would like to address council at this time I Seeing none, I will close the public comment period. Next item on the agenda is item number nine, written petitions and communications. In addition to providing the public the opportunity to address us in person at council meetings, we do also have an email address where you can send written communications, and that email address is publiccomment at cityofholland.com. Again, publiccomment at cityofholland.com. Those communications are reviewed by council members as part of our council packet. Are admitted into the record at our regular council meetings? We do not read them into the record But we accept them into the record and we do have them this evening and I would accept Or entertain a motion from council to accept those into the record at this time Moved by Schulte's is there support support by Rowan any discussion? Seeing none all those in favor say aye aye all opposed same side Motion carries. Next item on the agenda, item 10A, planning commission rezoning request for 721 East 64th Street. Mr. Van Beek. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council. It is the Steve Peterson night.

Good to have you here, Steve.

You'll have to hit, turn it on, I think.

THE FIRST TWO ITEMS, WE WILL DEAL WITH THEM SEPARATELY ON THE AGENDA, BUT I'M SURE YOU'VE SEEN THEY DEAL WITH REALLY THE SAME TOPIC WITH THE SAME ORGANIZATION. IT'S JUST TWO DIFFERENT PARCELS. SO STEVE IS GOING TO INTRODUCE WHAT THE APPLICANT IS TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH AND PROBABLY WHY THE PLANNING COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDED TO YOU THAT WE ADOPT THIS REZONING.

THANK YOU, KEITH. Yeah, so what you've got on your screen here, 721 East 64th Street. So this is some property out by the airport, southeast part of town. Outdoor Discovery Center is looking to expand their wetland mitigation bank. So real quick, wetland mitigation bank is essentially a tool that allows property owners, if they have some challenging issues on their property and they want to maybe fill in a wetland, you would be able to buy credits from this mitigation bank and so this would be this permanently protected wetland area that Developers property owners could utilize to develop their property So this is an expansion of the existing bank that's out there The only zoning district that we allow that in is our open space district. This property right now is zoned industrial This is what the zoning map looks like on the left, the master plan over there on the right. So you can kind of see all of that gray area is the industrial property out by the airport. And then over on the right, that master plan area, you can see we've already kind of planned for these, what we call, Cemetery and preserves on our master plan that really coincides with the open space zoning district so that this area was really already set aside with a thought of Some of this happening already in part because there's an existing mitigation bank just to the north. So all of that being said When the ODC wanted to expand that bank we said we really think we need to rezone that into that open space district to make it comply with Our zoning ordinance. There's no buildings that are built out here with this It really is if you're familiar with the existing bank that's out there. It really just looks like you know sort of grassland Area out there i will note on this when this first came to the planning commission one of the things that they were a little concerned with was the amount of industrial property that was being taken and what was being left so you look closely at that map 64th street this this rezoning doesn't go all the way to 64th street there is some property in between And the Planning Commission really asked them to look really hard at what they were going to rezone for the mitigation bank and make sure That we could retain as much of that industrial property as possible And make sure it was usable and give ODC a lot of credit. They did make some adjustments to that made that industrial area a little bit More usable in our opinion. So I guess I want to point that out and give them some credit for doing that. I But all that to say, this area outlined in yellow here is being recommended by the Planning Commission unanimously, as Keith mentioned, to be rezoned from industrial to open space to facilitate this expansion of the wetland mitigation bank.

Any questions? Yes, Mr. Shea. Thanks so much. Steve, this is great. Thank you so much for bringing this. I'm an outdoorsy person. I love the concept of wetland mitigation, but I also sit on the airport authority. Have you had discussions with the airport and any concerns they might have?

Yeah, we have. And, um, this has been approved by the airport, uh, board. Um, so early on in this process, ODC presented this to them. Um, and my feeling is probably part of the reason why they didn't have any issues with it is, uh, you have an ex, uh, uh, some experience of at least sense that maybe. maybe 2015 where the existing mitigation bank has been there and they haven't had any issues with it. So yeah, they readily approved the idea of expanding the mitigation bank.

Great. I just wanted to bring that to our attention. Thank you.

Good question.

Mr. Freeman.

Can you just, just for a color thing, what's on the master plan picture, the red picture,

yeah so the red would be our commercial or our corridor mixed use in terms of what that zoning would comply with which is essentially the interchange with 196 okay good thanks mr. Corbin just we have to update the master plan sooner it's coming up right our master plan

When is the next time our master plans?

It might be a while. We just did our refresh a couple years ago, so it might be a while before we get back into that.

Yeah, I just was wondering what the future of 64th Street might look like based on what we're doing here tonight. In terms of the actual road would there be other additional rezoning needed because I think you're starting to restrict the industrial use of that property I just was kind of wondering what what you might think that yeah that might look like going forward now that we're doing something like this and then the second part is Again, I'm support of this wetland mitigation effort to Can they use the land for other purposes?

You know, it's I mean like agricultural No, it's it's gonna be permanently protected protected and reserved wetland mitigation area. Yep Yep, and I guess just to respond to the first point which was really that effort I think that the Planning Commission asked the ODC to really dig into was to make sure that There we weren't taking more of that industrial area out of use than necessary if you're familiar with this area the the area that's in this mitigation bank is really difficult to develop and so it really does make a lot of sense for the mitigation bank to be on that property so again i think what is left over sort of that frontage area along 64th is very usable industrial property and so in a way i guess i feel like we're getting the best of both worlds

Any other questions for staff? This is not so much in regard to the rezoning, but just so that the public is aware. When a developer is using a mitigation bank like this, it's not typically a one-for-one exchange. It's more like a 1 to 1.2 or 1.3 or 1.4, correct?

It can depend. I think that's generally a good way to describe it, and it really does depend on the quality of the wetlands that are being mitigated. So there is some formulas, I think, that they use, but I think that's generally a good way to describe it. It's usually more than one-to-one.

Yeah, so that we're actually gaining... Overall, the world is gaining more wetland than they're losing when we're doing something like this.

Well, I think you're gaining more, and the quality is really much better. So just imagine a commercial retail development, and maybe they're preserving half an acre in the middle of some development versus being part of a 100-acre managed wetland environment. So I really think the quality is much better as well.

Great. Thank you. Any other questions for staff? Great. Thanks, Steve. What is the pleasure of counsel in regard to this item?

Motion to approve as presented.

Moved by Corbin. Is there support? Support. Support by Clumpharts. Any discussion? Seeing none, Brenda, would you please call the roll?

Freeman. Freeman.

Yes.

Corbin. Yes. Schultes.

Yes.

Rowan. Yes. Shea.

Yes.

Klump-Arrens. Yes. Mayer-Box.

Yes.

Motion carries.

Great, thank you. Next item on the agenda, item 10B, Planning Commission. Rezoning request for 1440M40. Mr. Van Beek.

Steve is going to present this. It's going to sound amazingly similar, just with a different yellow box.

Yeah, exactly. Thank you, Keith. Exactly what's happening. And so this is the existing wetland mitigation bank out here. Other than it being a different yellow box, it's about twice as big. So this is about 70 acres. And so this is the existing one. And so normally we wouldn't do this, but as we were working with the ODC, we said, since you're rezoning this to comply with the current regulations, why don't we also rezone the existing mitigation bank as well? And so really kind of two reasons for that. One, to have it comply with the current zoning ordinance. And two, we also think that that helps remove any confusion If developers and people are looking at property in the city and they see, oh, geez, there's 70 acres of industrial property. I'm going to go knock on doors. Let's just kind of remove that. This is off the table. This is that existing bank that's been out there for 15 years that groups like the airport have been able to experience any kind of impact. That's my quick version of saying we just took both of these projects through at the same time since we were doing the expansion. Planning Commission also recommended approval of the rezoning from industrial to open space for the existing mitigation bank.

Any questions for staff? Mr. Freeman. What's the story with the squiggly line on the top? Why it's not standing?

That's the actual property line, and that's kind of that stream that runs through there, kind of on the north side of the airport crossing M40. It's a stream? It's, yeah. Okay, thank you. Yeah. All right.

Any other questions for staff? and and Thank you for putting this one up and and we don't I'm guessing you don't have an overlay of the previous one in this one but for for those people watching at home and who aren't good with puzzles this Property is immediately to the north of the last one that we were looking at correct These two parcels at about one another these two parcels about one another so it'll be one big wetland mitigation zone. I

So it's about 110 acres of a big wetland mitigation bank. The existing mitigation bank is almost out of their credit. So another good reason for the expansion.

All right, great. Any other questions for staff? Great. Thank you, Steve. Appreciate it. What is the pleasure of council in regard to this item?

Motion approved by item 10B, as presented.

Motion by Corbin. Is there support? Support. Support by Schulteis. Any discussion? No discussion. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Schulteis. Seeing none, Brenda, would you please call the roll?

Corbin. Yes. Schulteis. Yes.

Yes.

Rowan? Yes. Shea? Yes. Clump-Arrens? Yes. Freeman?

Yes.

Mayer-Box?

Yes.

Motion carries.

Great, thank you. Item 10C, Community and Neighborhood Services Ordinance Amendment to Chapter 2, Article 15, Section 2-100.2, Historic District Established Landmark Properties. Mr. Van Beek?

Yes. Excuse me. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council. I joked last time this was on consent. It was pulled off to let the public know what we were doing here I joked that Anna was watching from afar on the video our historic preservation planner who's off Steve is about to potentially get this over the finish line after literally eight plus years of process so Steve

i'm handing it off to you man thank you keith you guys have seen a few slides i just have a couple um i copied these from anna's presentation that she gave you back in january so this just real quickly kind of tells you what we are doing here we are mending the city code to remove the greenhouse property as a landmark property so that is an ordinance amendment that we are doing so this was the process that you went through there was a little bit more involved just because of the historic designation so you appointed that committee they did a report which i believe you guys saw at the may meeting um It's actually very well written. I know it's about 20 pages. I hope everybody kind of made their way through there the spoiler alert right is that it's being recommended to remove the Section of our ordinance as a landmark status because the the greenhouses are gone now So that's just the real quick version of what that report says This was again one of those slides one picture in the middle shows you what it looks like today with the greenhouse gone and And I guess, to Keith's point, as I kind of looked at this, I thought this timeline was kind of interesting because in my mind, you know, some of this got going back in the 2015-2018 timeline that you see there. So I've described this as sort of the last I that's being dotted or T that's being crossed to deal with the landmark designation and our code And so this really does feel like it's sort of the last piece Of that part of the process. So yes, we are recommending as as the HDC already has we got comments from SHPO during that public hearing process and They are also in support of that landmark status going away. So the recommendation to you tonight is to amend that code to eliminate 496 Central as a landmark property. All right.

Questions for staff? Yes, Abby. Ms. Clomparts.

Yes, thank you. Can you just remind me, or maybe Keith or Matt, what the next steps would be for that property after this? Sure.

Yeah, so that's a fair question. We don't have any plans, so the... Yes, we do.

Actually, we do. The planning department doesn't have any plans. We'll get them the plans, but yeah, so we actually met with GMB today to come up with what that could look like to move into Centennial Park. We've actually been working on that for quite a while on what that could go and be, but we're actually... Really starting to compile bid specifications and what that will actually be moved into Senate Centennial Park right now the greenhouse that was kept the tall house the really really tall one that everybody took the pictures that is Cataloged and is sitting in the parks department warehouse building ready to go. So we just need to put the stuff together I believe if I remember the MCIF it is budgeted in Next fiscal year for three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, but don't quote me on that detail

And then the property itself really dates back to an agreement that still holds between Evergreen Commons and the city that this triangle, there's still an active agreement in place where Evergreen Commons would purchase the property from the city. And basically that's been held in abeyance, if you would, since then for an agreed upon dollar amount. So we would expect that Evergreen would exercise that option, and then this would become Evergreen Commons property.

Other questions for staff? Just a quick one, Steve. In your comments, you mentioned that SHPO weighed in on this for people at home. What's SHPO? state historic preservation office yeah thank you yeah great thank you any other questions for staff all right what is the pleasure of council in regard to this item i would like to make a motion on this since i've been dealing with it for eight years myself um item 10c motion to support that moved by corbin the only member of council who has been here through the entire process is their support support support by rowan any discussion

Yes, Mr. Shea. Thank you. All in favor of this, I know I'm speaking a little bit out of turn here because we are not talking about the future. I just want to say I would like to, I want everyone to know that I would like to not see a significant amount of asphalt on that site going forward. Thanks.

Any other discussion? Seeing none, Brenda, would you please call the roll?

Schultes.

Yes.

Rowan? Yes. Shea? Yes. Clomparns? Yes. Vreeman?

Yes.

Corbin? Yes. And Mayerbox?

Yes.

Motion carries.

Great, thank you. Next item on the agenda, item 12, echo 6.1, gifts. Brenda, would you please review the gifts for us?

The city manager's office is pleased to report the following gift. For the Department of Public Safety Police Division, a donation of $3,000 from Catherine Hobbs.

Thank you, what is the pleasure of council in regard to the gifts?

Move to approve as presented.

Moved by Rowan, is there support?

Support by Vreeman. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion carries. Item 13, communications from the city manager, Mr. Van Beek.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just three quick things tonight. One, tomorrow, this is not a city project. We're happy to partner, though, and support Courtyard by Marriott Hotel downtown. A lot of people think that that courtyard next to the courtyard is public property. It's not. There's easements and agreements on it. But they have paid to replace the splash pad there and they have a grand opening ribbon cutting of that at 4 o'clock tomorrow. The bike park grand opening and groundbreaking is on Friday at 2 o'clock. And I know they've asked just to make sure Mallory sent out a note to all of you. So for those of you that are hoping to attend that, please let Mallory know so we can get a good number for our staff that's coordinating that. and then finally while we're juan and i are working on a variety of our housing tiff projects and have some expect to have more information for you on that that will not be ready for next week we also like to have during the summer some of our partners that we have contracts with lakeshore advantage and outdoor discovery center we're going to bring them in at some point during the summer but nothing planned for study session next week. So hopefully it's a nice night and you can enjoy it. That's all I have.

Great, thank you. Next item on the agenda, item 14, appointments and communications from the mayor. I have a number of things this evening. First, mayoral reappointments to a city committee. I am recommending to city council to approve the reappointment of Fred Van Antwerp and Priscilla Lopez to the Neighborhood Improvement Committee for their second three-year term expiring on June 30, 2029. And I would entertain a motion in that regard. So moved. Moved by Vreeman. Is there support?

Support.

Support by Clumpharns. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. And then next item on the agenda, I just got to scroll to it here, I apologize.

Mr. Mayor? Yes, sir. Could I just correct? I think I said that the Splash Pad grand opening tomorrow is at 4 o'clock, and I think I'm incorrect. It's at 11 o'clock.

Yes, you did say 4 o'clock, and suddenly I thought I'm available, but I'm not available at 11.

Yeah, thanks for, I saw some eyes, and I was like, I think I said that wrong. So 11 o'clock, 11 o'clock, 11 o'clock.

Great. Well, I'm glad I gave you that opportunity while I was looking for my notes on the next agenda item. Thank you. next agenda item is the my recommendation on the appointment of the reappointment of Vincent L Duckworth as city attorney with an effective date to commence on July 1 2026 for a term of two years and to adopt the proposed rates and for legal services charged to the City of Holland and the Holland Board of Public Works and I would be looking for a motion in that regard

So moved, Corbin.

Moved by Corbin. Is there support? Support, Shea. Support by Shea. Any discussion? I just have to comment. It has been an absolute pleasure, Vince, to work with you on this great work, and there are not a lot of firms that have the ability to be able to provide the stellar support and the stellar legal services that you and your firm have been able to provide to the city, so thank you very much. a member of the legal community as well I often say I could not never do the job that you that you and your team do for the for the city so thank you very much for the work that you guys do we really appreciate that yes thanks Brenda would you please call the roll Rowan yes Shea yes Klump-Irons yes Riemann yes Corbin yes Schultes yes Yes.

Mayor Box?

Yes. Motion carries. Great, thank you. And then one last item that I have this evening is a proclamation in regard to Pride Month. Whereas nationwide, individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual, LGBTQIA+, celebrate Pride Month each June. And whereas we commemorate the events that took place more than 50 years ago at Stonewall Inn in Manhattan, New York, on June 28, 1969, that brought great awareness to the injustices faced by the LGBTQIA plus community. And whereas LGBTQIA plus Americans have achieved significant milestones, ensuring that future generations of people in the United States will enjoy a more equal and just society, still members of the LGBTQIA plus Americans still face discrimination today more than ever. whereas in passing city ordinance 1784 the city provides protection of the rights of all persons against discrimination in employment housing public accommodations or public services based on age race national origin color disability education familial status sex sexual orientation gender expression gender identity marital status, religion, source of income, or weight. And whereas, on March 16, 2023, the State of Michigan followed, also expanding the Elliot Larson Civil Rights Act to prohibit discriminatory practices, policies, and customs in the exercise of those rights based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. And whereas as a municipality, we value and welcome all people, regardless of age, disability, education, familial status, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, marital status, or source of income, And whereas we value the cultural, civic, and economic contributions of the LGBTQIA plus community and organizations like Out on the Lakeshore and the PFLAG Holland Lakeshore, our first Lakeshore organization to support LGBTQIA plus people, their parents and families and allies. and whereas it is the desire of the city to promote opportunity, access, and belonging for all those we serve and for those that find themselves in our community. Now therefore, I, Nathan Box, Mayor of the City of Holland, Michigan, proclaim the month of June as Pride Month. We recognize the rights inherent in our United States Constitution, the State of Michigan, and Municipal Code. We encourage our community to support the LGBTQIA plus community and actively promote the principles of liberty and justice for all and encourage participation in community events to show support for the LGBTQIA plus neighbors during the month of June. we invite you to attend the Pride Festival held in Collin Park on Sunday, June 27. Given under my hand and the seal of the city of Holland, this third day of June, 2026, Mayor Nathan Box. And that is all I have this evening. Next item on the agenda, appointments, motions, communications from city council members. Anything from council members this evening?

Mr. Mayor, I have an appointment. Yes, Mr. Corbin. It is recommended that the City Council approve the reappointment of George Benitez to the Board of Appeals for his first term expiring June 30, 2029, and Fred Benette to the Board of Appeals as the alternate member for the second full term expiring June 30, 2029.

And we would be looking for a motion in that regard.

Move to approve.

Moved by Klomparns. Is there support? Support. Support by Shea. Any discussion? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion carries. Any other motions, communications from council members? Ms. Clomparns.

Yes, I just wanted to thank you, Mr. Mayor, for declaring June as Pride Month. I don't know if you're the first mayor of Holland to do that. I think you might be the first. But just wanted to thank you and happy Pride to folks and look forward to the Pride event on the 27th. And just hope that Holland continues to grow and be welcoming. And I'm glad that we're communicating with our queer neighbors that they are safe and welcome here in Holland. So thank you so much for doing that.

Mr. Freeman.

I just wanted to take a second to just express gratitude to yes to the public safety for sure for the Memorial Day parade and everything that took place last week but for me there's a just a greater a larger team and I see Andy Kenyon in the audience with Parks and Rec and everything that took place with our cemeteries and Flowers downtown are being now redone and tulips and all the stuff that has taken place and now it's transitioning to summer But the cemeteries they look just outstanding For all the work that was done for the ceremony out there. Just know that you're appreciated your leadership and your broader team By us and what's taking place in our city.

So, thank you Any other communications from council members Seeing none, there's just one more motion I would entertain at this time. Move to adjourn. Moved by Vreeman. Is there support? Support. Support by Rowan. All those in favor say aye. Aye. We are adjourned. Thank you all. Have a wonderful evening.