City Council - Regular Meeting

and welcome to the august 5 2026 regular meeting of the holland city council i'm mayor nathan box calling this meeting to order brenda would you please call the roll clump irons freeman here

Raymond? Here. Corbin? Here. Schultes?

Present.

Markeen?

Here.

Rowan? Present. Shea?

Present.

Mayor Box? Present. We have a quorum.

Wonderful, thank you. We're going to begin this evening's meeting as we have for many years, first with an opening prayer this evening by Councilmember Vreeman, followed immediately by the Pledge of Allegiance, and we would invite you to join us.

I ask you to join with me in prayer if you're inclined. Heavenly Father, we come before you today and we are grateful for the gift of life that you have granted to each one of us and for the many different responsibilities that we carry as we live and engage in this city. We ask now that you would grant to each one here of wisdom and discernment and clarity of thought as we would take on this agenda that we might reflect your will and the will of the people that we represent. Thank you, Lord, for this time. And it's by your name we pray. Amen.

Thank you, Mr. Vreeman. Next item on our agenda are consent agenda items. These are items that are considered to be fairly routine, and they will be enacted in one motion, as they have been previously reviewed by council members. And we'll act them in one motion unless a member of the public or a member of council asks to have an item removed from the consent agenda, and then it'll 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 call the roll? Would you please review the consent agenda for us?

OK, 4A, excuse the absence of Council Member Klomparens. 4B, the minutes of July 15, 2026 regular meeting. 4C, oaths of office. 4D, an appointment to the Water System Advisory Council. 4E, claims filed against the city. 4F, approve a quote from Rentex Solutions for emergency repairs to Vactor Truck. 4G, accept sidewalk easements from CCT Real Estate LLC for property at 650 East 8th Street. 4H, fiscal year 2027 beginning of year budget amendments. 4i, award a bid for holiday lighting in downtown in Centennial Park. 4j, approve the purchase of 2027 Ford F250 four-wheel drive pickup truck. 4K, reappointments to business improvement district boards. 4L, approval of a special liquor license for Taste of Downtown Holland fundraiser. And 4M, the delegates to the municipal employees retirement system annual meeting.

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? All right, is there any member of council that would like to have an item removed from consent and placed on the regular agenda? Seeing none, 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 Rowan, any discussion?

Seeing none, Brenda, would you please call the roll?

Vreeman?

Yes.

Raymond? Yes. Corbin? Yes. Schultes?

Yes.

Marikeen?

Yes.

Rowan? Yes. Shea? Yes. Mayer-Box?

Yes.

Motion carries.

Great, thank you. Next item on the agenda, item number five, is public comment. Under the Open Meetings Act of the State of Michigan, we provide the public the opportunity to address council in person at our regular meetings, our study sessions, and at every one of our board, committee, and commission meetings. We do have guidelines that we ask you to follow, however. Each person is allowed to speak one time for a total of five minutes. There are three lights on the dais in front of me to assist you with that. A green light means that you're doing well on time. Yellow light means that you have one minute left. And the red light means that your time has expired, and we are strict about that. Now, you may speak on any subject that you think is important, but please remember that this is one-way communication. We do not answer questions during this time or engage in discussion, but if there's a question that can be answered by staff after the meeting, they may be able to circle back to you with that. We also ask that when you approach 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. Now, having said that, is there anyone here who would like to address council at this time? If so, please come forward. And would you please state your name and municipality for the record?

Anne Henriksen, Zeeland. The stars of the Holland night out were the firefighters and safety officers. Their huge vehicles dominated the spaces. Thank you, council, for making sure they have the top equipment and facilities to perform with. They don't have an easy job, but their dedication is stellar. We keep them and their families in our prayers. We are blessed. July 15th short council meeting was on YouTube last night, so I watched my public comment again. I believe others did too because of the favorable comments I have gotten. It appeared perhaps to be a rambling about Muslims in the country and Sharia law when it was in fact with the bits and pieces presented about being true patriots of America. pledging our allegiance to our democratic freedoms and standards, which are based on the Bible. Something has become apparent since the last council, city council election. Something has changed. If you watch the meeting, you would see at the beginning of every meeting is tradition, a prayer offered. Then the camera centers on the mayor announcing the pledge. Then the camera lens opens to part of the gathered council, and quickly switches back to the flag. Watch carefully at the frame before the flag. Do you notice something? You can look back into November and see the same thing recorded every meeting. We pledge allegiance to the United States of America, not the flag, one nation under God. If you are observing, you will see that not all council members say the pledge. No one in America is forced to participate in the nation's pledge, except one exception. If you are elected public office, you are sworn in to uphold the Constitution of Michigan and the United States because you are elected. You are part of the ruling body for the people and by the people. You're expected to be loyal to that. One council member does not say the pledge. I will not call him out. This is a political smearing and I don't believe in that. He has a right to remain silent as part of a community member. but not one elected in November as a representative of the people. He may have friends who agree with him or nominated him because of his beliefs. He was elected by a ward of people who trust him to make laws protecting their well-being. Was he honest when campaigning with them and saying, I don't believe the American government And I support anyone who believes in changing it. I doubt it. This council prides itself in unity. The Holland government is American. Does this particular member of council represent you? How does the council respond to this? Favorably? 2019, during the present mayor's campaign, he was accused of being a socialist following Bernie Sanders. He vehemently denied it. I'm an advocate for religious freedom as a writer in our constitution. Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus, et cetera, can practice their form of religion as the expression of speech. Everyone in the military pledges their life to protect this right until it becomes a vehicle to overthrow our United States government. It is then tyrannical. A Muslim may be in public office as a religious right. Christians follow the Bible. Muslims follow the Quran. Their religion is Islam, and it is a Sharia government. Its movement is to replace Americans' form of government. Two present city council members campaigned for Abdul, and it is his intent to replace our capitalism with socialism and communism, leading to the downfall in the establishment of Sharia law. This is a hidden threat of our freedoms. 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?

Martha Capistani, Holland. Thank you again, counsel, for your service. To begin, we have a very important election coming up for Michigan in November, and I think the choices are clear. We have already seen the beginning of the downfall of New York City with the actions of Mayor Mamdani. He is making promises he can't keep and is already being sued by the Multicultural Business Coalition of New York, which includes African, Asian, Caribbean, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Jewish, South Asian, and other immigrant-owned businesses for his policies. There are other things on his platform that are nonsensical, like defunding the police, abolishing prisons and borders. We already have more people here illegally receiving money and services than ever before. They are likely taking services away from American citizens, many of whom have already likely paid into these programs. It is estimated that there were 10 million or more people who entered the country illegally under the Biden administration, and there were over 300,000 children that were lost and unaccounted for. Let that sink in. And 40 of our states have a population of 10 million or less. The Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman stated, it's obvious you can't have free immigration and a welfare state. So capitalism, well, it's the least bad political system of them all. It's imperfect, but it promotes a person to take agency for their life and their decisions. Using your decisions to shape your future, then acting as a passive... using your decisions to shape your future rather than acting as a passive victim of circumstance. The Bible says we will always have the poor, and we have social safety nets in place, such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, and other charities. These already exist within our capitalist framework, and we generously support them through taxes. Our taxes also support public services, first responders, the fire department, Police and our fees are paid toward public utilities, so we don't need the government to take over the free market. For example, let's look at Cuba. When Castro began taking over, my family fled Cuba to legally come to the United States with only the clothes on their back. The government seized their house, their cars, their land, and their bank accounts, everything. My father took no money from the government. He said, all I want is a job. And he and the family became legal citizens, and worked in the same factory for 40 years, providing for his family's security while displaying a strong work ethic. So don't expect me to cheer for anyone who's promoting anything close to a socialist or communist ideology. Which leads me to Abdul El-Saeed. He has an impressive resume, but he is another democratic socialist. He has been endorsed by Hassan Piker, who is a very popular far-left-leaning podcaster with millions of followers. He's a proclaimed Marxist and communist. While Mr. Piker recently went to Cuba on a so-called humanitarian mission, tour, but I think it's more like a propaganda tour, praising its leaders and attempting to blame our current administration for the 60 years of suffering that has occurred in Cuba. It is a failed communist state 90 miles from the United States. What more proof do you need? It's right in our backyard. It is a tiny country. Think about the mass implosion of a country the size of the United States that would give power to the wrong people, like in New York. Flowery language and empty promises can't run a city or a country. Also during a live stream, Mr. Piker made the controversial remark, that America deserved 9-11. He attempted to walk it back later, of course. He also stated in another podcast, and I'll paraphrase, that anyone who has sympathy for Israel should be put down like a rapid neo-Nazi dog. You can look that up yourself. Mr. Said has defended his decision to appear with Hasan Piker, although he said he does not agree with some of the streamer's views. Some of his views, I would think that either one of those statements would be a non-starter. If Mr. Saeed wins the Senate seat, will he be sworn in with his hand on the Quran like Mayor Mondami? Many of the tenets of Islam and Sharia law are antithetical to our Western values and our Constitution. So where will his allegiance lie? If he gets into a position of power and influence, we don't know. And that's a chance I and many others are not willing to take. Mr. Said also used a highly charged violent political metaphor to describe what he would do with Senator John Fetterman, a moderate. Ogre on a pike, he said. The metaphor refers to the days when historical practices involved displaying enemy heads on wooden pikes as a gruesome warning to the enemy. I've never heard the metaphor before, but in modern terms, it means publicly destroying a political figure's career to scare other politicians into changing their positions. Well, he did not take it back or apologize. If his positions were practical and reasonable, then shouldn't he be able to convince others on the merits? But they are not. They are dangerous and they are divisive. And this new wing of the Democrat Party seeks to divide us by class, fomenting a dangerous and distorted reality of resentment and envy of others. Thank you.

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

Brian Barlow, and I am represented by the Honorable Kim Rowan. Okay, on the lighter side here, I've been hearing and seeing a lot of things about this new apartment going on down on 8th Street. It's great. It's going to build an apartment down. Do you know what I'm talking about down at the end? And people I'm seeing online are... really afraid about parking parking parking oh they can use the 9th street parking which sounds good but that's pretty full already but i was thinking to add to make that more attractive maybe put a tin roof on top of it so when the weather gets bad you don't have to dig out your car that's just a thought i've come in here before and talked about getting the lines painted and everything so we can see in a good paint makes it look good but van ralte right in front of the holland high school Those crosswalks are almost nil. You can't see them. And I go up and down Van Raalte all the time, and I'm seeing the kids crossing and everything. It would be nice to have them if they were painted. Going south on Van Raalte, there is one stop sign at 22nd Street. Right now, the stop sign is kind of obscured by trees. I have seen three cars go through that stop sign just completely or get into the middle and hit their brakes So maybe paint a big stop in the road Maybe for those who can't see that sign, you know, the trees obscure Next thing I'm seeing and talk people are talking about the new cruise ship marina. I think it's a great idea. I I have been a private yacht captain for 30 plus years, and I know marinas, and if you need any help, just let me know. I'll be glad to give you my opinion. I don't know if this is within your power. People talk about traffic, and on Highway 31 between 16th and James, This always seems to be a backup in that area, and I was wondering maybe someone should take a look at the streetlight timing something. There's something that is creating a really big backup. It's just in that, I don't know, maybe about a mile, and it gets really, really bad.

So that's all I have. Thank you, Kim, and all.

Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to address council at this time? 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 council in person at our meetings, we do also have an email address where they can send written communications that will be received and reviewed by all council members. And that email address is publiccommentatcityofholland.com. Again, publiccommentatcityofholland.com. When we receive those, we accept those into the record at our regular meetings. We don't read them out loud, but accept them into the record. We do have one this evening, so I would entertain a motion from council to accept that into the record. Moved by Schultes, is there support? Support. Support by Vreeman. Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion carries. And then again, once again, if you'd like to send public comment to the city council, that is publiccomment at cityofholland.com. Next item on the agenda, item 12, echo 2.1, to set a public hearing for Jubilee Ministries Incorporated and Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity Incorporated, a request to approve a first amendment to the Brownfield plan for the 467 Ottawa Avenue redevelopment project.

Mr. Van Beek. Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council. Just to be clear here, the action that we're recommending tonight is just to set the public hearing. There's no other action. But just for a little information on this, the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority has already taken a look at this and has recommended action to approve the First Amendment to the Brownfield Plan. And just a reminder for all of you and the listening public, it's an amendment because originally back in July of 24, City Council approved a brownfield for that site. It was an old office building that had gone many years without any activity in it. We were approached by a developer that had a pretty innovative idea where they put some storage units on the site, which has been generating tax dollars. But then along the front of it, they did it in partnership with Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity and Jubilee Ministries. And there are, in process, 11 units that are ownership units, some with Habitat, obviously, and some with Jubilee. And when we did the original brownfield, they made clear that they would be coming back at a later date for an amendment that would involve the later activity of building these units and then having some affordability built into that project. So this public hearing that you would be sitting tonight is so that this then would come before you at the date specified and then we would have this entire project presented with the recommendation from the Brownfield and then an opportunity for the public to make comment.

Great, thank you. Any questions for staff? What is the pleasure of counsel in regard to this item? I just have one question. I'm so sorry.

Are we setting the date or just the action to get the date set?

Just as moved, but the exact date of the public hearing is August 19. All right.

Any other questions for staff?

All right.

What is the pleasure of counsel in regard to this item?

Motion to move item 12.E2.1 for public hearing for Jubilee Ministries. I'd like Shore Habitat Humanity Incorporated to request approval of First Amendment to Brownfield Plan for 467 Ottawa Avenue Redevelopment Project on August 19, 2026. All right.

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

Raymond? Yes. Corbin? Yes. Schultheis? Yes. Mayor Keene? Yes. Rowan? Yes. Shea? Yes. Vreeman?

Yes.

Mayor Box?

Yes.

Motion carries.

Great, thank you. Next item on the agenda, item 12, echo 6.1, gifts. Brenda, keeping you busy tonight. Would you please review the gifts?

Okay. The City Manager's Office is pleased to report the following gifts. For the Parks and Recreation Department, Sal Perez Scholarship Program, $1,170 fundraised at the 2026 Sal Perez Youth Scholarship Softball Tournament held in July. And for Windmill Island Gardens, $1,000 from Joyce Cortman for the gardens and programming at Windmill Island Gardens.

Great, thank you. What is the pleasure of counsel in regard to the gifts?

Move to approve as presented.

Moved by Rowan, is there support?

Support.

Support by Raymond. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye.

All opposed, same sign. motion carries next item on the agenda item 13 communications from the city manager mr van beek yes thank you two quick things for me and then i'm going to hand it off to matt first just i've been signaling in my communications to you next week wednesday housing support policy continued discussion and then meeting for the first time the outside consultant that's helping us work through a lot of the complexities in the financial deals that are part of those and then a review right now we're planning on four different projects that will kind of highlight to bring some substance to the policy discussions that we're having but plan on that will be a longer meeting than what we had tonight for example Okay. Very busy summer in town. I think you all know it with visitors and lots of events. Just really proud of our staff across multiple departments, whether that's being putting on events, staffing events, making the community look beautiful and safe. So just want to call them out because we're in the height of it right now, aren't we? And then finally, I'm going to hand it over to Matt. No action on this tonight, but just like to keep you all updated on the process and all the things that we're doing behind the scenes to proceed with building a rec center.

Yeah, thanks, Keith. So the project that we've been talking about for a very long time is hurtling towards reality. So we've actually released the site package. If you remember to the budget process, we talked about having to do some dewatering and address some Soils in the area didn't to be able to do this so that package hit the street yesterday We plan to come back to you on September 2nd with a recommendation to award the entire site package We would not release contractually the subcontractor to do all of the work just the work that we need to do now If we ever want to build anything on that site, this has to be done. We would then, later in September, release the entire building package. Maybe Keith, there you go, thank you. You can see from the slides on the screen, this is becoming what we are going to absolutely build. We intend to release the rest of those bids later in September and then come back to council later this fall with an entire project as bid amount with a recommendation we think to proceed. We've got to go through a little bit of a VE process as we always do, a value engineering, to bring some costs down. There's always a push and a pull in all the projects. um and as i always tell you cost estimates are estimates uh bid numbers are when the rubber hits the road and we really know what the project's going to cost so we don't want to come to you in september with kind of an out of the blue here here's your site package for x amount of dollars but this is the process that we're going through so that we can continue start that work really probably in September and get that accomplished before it gets so cold that we can't dewater and accomplish what we need to do to get this project done by the middle of next November. So really, it's coming pretty quick. And I can tell you that our Parks and Recreation staff is They pinch themselves every time we talk about this, that this is really a reality. This is really a reality. Yeah, it's really going to be a reality. So a question we get a lot is, well, what are you going to do with Hope's right there? And they've got home football games. And I wanted to let everybody know we have been in constant communication with Hope. May be doing a couple things with them in conjunction with them to ease some of the parking issues that we're gonna create But we we all feel hope and the city that long term having the additional parking at the recreation center is gonna do nothing but help Evaluate some of the pressure on the neighborhoods when they have home football games. So just for information No, I'm happy to answer any questions. You do have questions, but really that's kind of the process moving forward. Yeah Miss Rowan and then mr. Corbin

I just wanted to say I think that you've already been in front of the Planning Commission which I serve on to talk about the parking issues and I think that when that comes before council that people will be delighted with the solutions that are proposed and I'm really excited about the Recreation Center as well so good luck and thanks for the update

Scott? So this is a two-part. What I'm hearing is there's going to be some information provided to us about where we're headed with the engineering recommendations for the RFP to build. That's the first step.

So what we're doing is because of some of the soil conditions on the site, In speaking with the architects the engineers and Lakewood our construction managers their recommendation to us is to release the site work early before the rest of that Construction documentation is complete because if we run too close into winter We're not going to be able to accomplish this work until next spring delaying the entire project so as we've

But it's not the actual award. It's more about the engineering recommendations.

No, this is the award of the site work piece, that division of the entire package.

We'd have to do it either way, no matter what would be there. So then the second phase would actually be putting an RFP out to award the entire amount to build or construct the

There is no RFP. We have put out RFPs for a construction manager and an architect engineer. One of the things that they are taxed with is putting together the actual bid documentation. So this is actually a bid solicitation for all the different divisions. So metals, woodwork, windows, all those will go out in the next package. This is, think of the big bulldozers moving dirt around and getting the site ready to actually come out of the ground. That's what this division is responsible for.

Okay, and so that's the build side of this. So are we going to have additional study session between now and then at all? This is just moving directly to, in that direction?

Yep, so on the financing side, I'm not gonna name every meeting right, but I think we've had multiple discussions about doing this, talked about the long-term financial forecast for this for several years, identified that this would be the year that we'd be able to bond within our current capacity and actually lowering the bond amount because of the pension obligation bond that came off and Council you already took action I don't have the exact date but a month or so ago putting out the intent to bond which is a legal step that's required and then it gives 45 days for someone to object to that and then the plan is next meeting then you would have the authorization to bond resolution which then authorized Lynn and myself to complete the process of actually going out to the market to get bonds as long as they fall within certain interest rates. And then the financing would be in place. And then, as Matt said, the final step then is just – This would be bid out one portion of the package early and then bid out all the other remaining packages at a later date.

Any other questions? Great, thank you. Is that all you have, Mr. Van Beek? All right, great, thanks. Next item on the agenda, appointments and communications from the mayor. I do have some appointment recommendations this evening. I'm recommending to city council that they approve the reappointment of Lisa Walcott to the Public Art Advisory Committee for her second term expiring on June 30, 2029, and to approve the appointment of Peter Barnes to the Neighborhood Improvement Committee to fill a partial term expiring on June 30, 2027, and accept the resignation of Mitchell Mudd from the Neighborhood Improvement Committee. And I would be looking for a motion in that regard.

So moved.

Moved by Raymond. Is there support? Support. Support by Schultheis. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion carries. That is all I have this evening. Next item on the agenda is item 15, appointments, motions, communications from council members. Anything from council members? Ms. Rowan.

Thank you. I just want to play off of what Keith was talking about. The number of visitors to the city, how much is going on. But I just want to comment again, those lovely marigolds on every one of the tulip lanes. Have we done that before?

That is the first year, and as you might know, Andy and Jamie and crew, and as we lovingly call them, the tulip goddesses that handle all, they just are always coming up with new ideas, and they decided to do that this year, and it's like they glow, there's so many of them down those tulip lanes.

It looks amazing, and dare I say... prettier or as pretty as the tulips oh that's controversial I don't mean to cause a ruckus here but really I just want to compliment how lovely they look and I would say keep it going it looks great thank you anything else from council members this evening

Then there is just one more motion I would entertain. Move to adjourn. Moved by Vreeman, is there support?

Support.

Support by Raymond. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion carries. We are adjourned. Thank you all. Have a wonderful evening.