City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you for watching.

Good evening and welcome to the regular meeting of the City Council of Holland on the 19th of August, 2026. I am Naatim, mayor of Eltenbach. I am in charge of the meeting. What would you please say about the presence? Clump on.

Presented.

Presented. Raymond. Corbyn. Schultz. Later. We thank you for this community and for the opportunity to serve it. Wir danken dir für den vollen Raum heute Abend mit Menschen, die sich um diese Gemeinschaft sorgen und an ihr interessiert sind. Wir bitten besonders um Schutz für unsere Polizei- und Feuerwehrleute, die einem höheren Maß an potenzieller Gefahr und Leid ausgesetzt sind. Um deinen Schutz für sie und für uns alle. Wir bitten um Weisheit an diesem Abend, während wir die Aufgaben der Stadt und die Fragen der Stadt prüfen. I give us patience, the ability to listen and the wisdom to make the right decisions for the well-being of all. Thank you, Mr. van Beek. The next point on our agenda is the agenda. These are points that are considered quite routine and have been checked by the council as part of our council documents. They will be approved in a vote, whether it is a member of the public or a member of the council who has applied for a point from the list of approval, then a regular order will be put on the regular agenda. But before I ask if anyone wants to do this, Matt, could you please go through the list of approval for us? Point 4a, excuse me, the absence of the members of Schultiesel and Raymond. Point 4b, approval of the protocol of the regular session on August 26th and the work session on August 12th, 2026. 4c, official oath. 4D of the BPW, services for the distribution of electricity for Pine Bay Avenue. 4E of the BPW, provision of services for public supply companies for Robert Denoyer Chevrolet. 4F, BPW, water treatment plant, construction agreement for emergency power supply for low-income services.

4G, BPW, change of the capital budget, unplanned replacement of abandoned infrastructure.

4H, BPW, declaration of excess material summer. 4i BPW inspection and improvements at the combustion turbine generator B 4j BPW renovation of the Pomp Station Scenic Shores 4k BPW change of the capital budget for repairs at the Southside Tank 4l City Writer against the city's application 4m Transport Wage order delivery for the carpet project in the building of the transport services 4 N Finance Transport Wages. Acquisition of purchase of a Honda Accord Hybrid and a Honda CRV Sport Hybrid in 2026. 4 N Finance Transport Wages. Acquisition of purchase of a 2026 Elgin Pelican Diesel Carrier. And finally 4 P for the administration, appointment for the board of directors of the main shopping district. Thank you, Matt. Does a member of the public want to remove a point from the consent agenda and let it be put on the regular agenda? Since this is not the case, does a member of the council want to remove a point from the consent agenda? There is nothing there either. What does the council wish in relation to the consent agenda?

I apply for the agenda to be approved as intended.

Application by Rehman. Disappointment. Support. Supported by Rowan. Is there any discussion? No, not at all. Matt, would you please give us your address? Clemson. Bremen? Corbyn?

May?

Rowan? Shea? And Bürgermeister Box? That's accepted. Wonderful. The next point on the agenda, point number five, is the public opinion. According to the Open Meetings Act of the state of Michigan, we offer the public the opportunity to make an appointment at our regular meetings, work meetings, as well as at all meetings of our committees, committees and commissions. We have guidelines on their compliance. If you do this, each person is allowed to speak for a maximum of five minutes. You can talk about any topic you want. Just remember that this is a one-way communication. It is an opportunity for you to share with us what you think is important, but we do not answer any questions during this time and do not enter into a discussion. Please also mention your name and the community you live in when you reach the podium, as it is important for us to know whether you are a resident of the city of Holland or not. And if two people come to the podium at the same time, you have a total of five minutes, unless one of the people steps back from the podium, because it is impossible for us to track how long someone speaks while they are up there. After that has been said, someone here would like to speak to the council at this time. If so, please come forward. Please come straight forward. Would you please name your name and your community for the protocol?

My name is Zahabia Emadmani and I actually live in Park Township. And I thank you all very much that I am allowed to speak today. I know that I do not live here, but my children visit the school in this area. And I just wanted to speak because I heard in earlier sessions that people say a lot of things against Islam. And that's why I wanted to give my public comment on the tradition that I belong to. I have the privilege of doing inter-religious work myself and one of the first things we learn in this organization is to speak from my own experience. That's why I thought it was especially important to speak here today, because I wanted you to all hear someone who actually belongs to this tradition. One of the things I wanted to say is that women or people in Islam love this community. We give something back to this community. We sit in committees. We work in committees. We try to do good ethical and hard work to make this community better. My children have the same values and the rhetoric we hear is dangerous. It is dangerous for all of us. It is dangerous for the community we want to create, which is loving and friendly. I teach my children that our own blossoming is closely connected to the blossoming of all others and that we have to work together to become better as a community. And these are the values we represent in my family. I just want to say, when things are addressed, such as certain politicians who want to impose Sharia, what we call our legal system in the Muslim tradition. That does not mean Sharia law. That would be a law. These things are thought of as a guide for us as Muslims. I am by no means an expert in this area. But what I want to say is that this is not intended to be forced upon anyone. And even as Muslims, we have free will and we have rights. So basically, I just wanted to tell you all that we are here to speak and just let you know that we exist in this community and that we want you to know that we believe in love, kindness and care for everyone. Finally, a small personal request, since I am often in the city of Holland. More charging stations for electric cars, as many charging stations as possible. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Thank you. I forgot to mention one thing. There are three lights on the desk in front of me that should help you with the timing.

The green light means that we are well on time.

Yellow light means you have one minute left and the red light means your time is up. We are tight. Is there anyone else who wants to speak to the city council at this time? Please come forward.

I was told I'm not allowed to hold it up, but I'll show it to you.

My name is ... I actually live in Lake Township.

Let me look for my notes for a moment.

But I was born here in Holland, in the Holland Hospital, a long, long time ago. And I love this community. My great-grandfather built his family home in 1871, on the corner of College and 7th Street. You may know that there is a building there called Curtis Center, which was named after my grandparents. If you go into the lobby of this building, you will see a picture of your house, your old, 100-year-old brick house. And there is a brick, a Wemloin brick in the wall, in the lobby, on which 78 stands. The family of my grandmother came here from Apleska in Friesland. And they came to this area to farm and they did that until my great-grandfather was killed by a collapsing tree. My grandparents were enthusiastic participants in the civil life of this city in a diverse way. They loved it here and they taught us to love it here. Your example of kindness and responsibility is the reason why I am here today. The misleading comments of two participants at the last city council meeting in Holland, which were aimed at Muslim residents, must not remain unanswered. That's why I'm here tonight to talk about it. I had the feeling I had to explain why what happens in this community is so important to me, even though I live in Lake Township. All of us, all of us are affected by attempts to instill fear and cause division. False claims about a kind of Islamic takeover or an agenda of subversion under Islam would be ridiculous if they did not lead some of us to question the motives of their fellow citizens or, even worse, to follow the intended incitement. Let us ask ourselves who benefits when we mistrust and act against each other. While Americans are currently fighting for their families without adequate health care, living space and even without enough food, our taxes somehow finance health care and bombs for a nation that is being slaughtered by thousands, over thousands of women, children, men, grandparents and grandparents. Our taxes are also used to wage a war with Iran, which at home here leads to ever-increasing fuel prices. In the meantime, our public country is being divided. Accounting centers and the surveillance state are being forced on us, while irresponsible masked agents in the guise of federal officials terrorize innocent people, kidnap and sometimes even shoot on our streets. Nothing wrong with the wonderful members of the police in Holland. I wish all this were an exaggeration. Unfortunately, the regime that is currently in power is instrumentalizing Islamophobia and irrational fear and hatred towards Muslims in order to distract and divide us further. If we are tempted to point fingers at others, Let us not pay attention to the robbery of all that America once actually did to the envy of the world. Our Muslim neighbors, friends and family members do not deserve the ugly accusations that are raised against them in any way. And no, there is no secret plan for taking power. There will be no kind of mass subversion or attack on Christianity. Let's focus on the real threat we are facing. A regime that only works for the oligarchs. Let's all work together for a better future. Hatred doesn't do anyone any good.

Thank you. Would anyone like to take the floor at this time? Would you please come forward? and would you please please name your name and your community according to the protocol?

My name is Farah Barrett and I live in Park Township. Hello. In the last city council meetings in Holland, a certain person expressed her fears or bigoted concerns. One of her concerns was that one of the council members had not fulfilled the oath of loyalty. Individual councils themselves decide whether they want to open their meetings with the oath of loyalty or not. Some cities have completely removed prayers and the oath of faithfulness from their city council meetings. You should not judge members of the council after whether they reject the oath of faithfulness or not. Rather, you should judge them after whether they fulfill their duties as a member of the council. Your next concern is that of the Sharia. She was born exactly like me in Ohio. We are both probably raised to speak the true religion, to learn the Declaration of Independence and to adhere to the American Constitution. One of the founding fathers of America, Thomas Jefferson, designed the Declaration of Independence. Did you know that Thomas Jefferson had a copy of the Koran 11 years before he wrote the Declaration of Independence? I didn't know. What was in the Declaration of Independence? that all people have the right to life, freedom and striving for happiness. In the Quran, the holy book of Muslims, it says in chapter 5, verse 82, that those are those who say they are Christians, who say they are Christians. Despite the statements of some world leaders and the representation in the media, there are many similarities between Christianity and Islam. Thomas Jefferson met as president and later with Muslim leaders. Muslims have been part of American society since the beginning. Recently there was an increase in Islamophobia, as Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic candidate for the US Senate from Michigan, is a Muslim. Dr. Abdul would not be the first Muslim in Congress. Keith Ellison, the current Minnesota Attorney General, served in Congress for 12 years. From January 2007 to January 2019. Er wurde tatsächlich vereidigt, indem er seine Hand auf Thomas Jefferson's Koran legte. Hat Amerika damals begonnen, die Scharia einzuführen? Abdul kandidiert nicht, weil er Muslim ist. Er kandidiert nicht, weil er die Scharia einführen will. Er kandidiert nicht, weil er den Kapitalismus ersetzen will. Er ist selbst ein Kapitalist. Er kandidiert nicht, um jemanden zum Tragen eines Hitschaps zu zwingen. Er kandidiert nicht, um Leute zu zwingen, den Gebetsruf zu hören. Können doch weiter aufzählen. Er kandidiert, weil er möchte, dass jeder eine Gesundheitsversorgung hat. Er kandidiert, um Geld aus der Politik herauszuhalten. Er kandidiert, um das Leben erschwinglicher zu machen. Er kandidiert, um unsere Umwelt zu schützen. Er kandidiert, weil ihm die Menschen wirklich am Herzen liegen. Es ist eine Ehre, dass einige Ratsmitglieder hier Abdul unterstützt haben und, wenn sie davor Angst haben, sollten sie sich selbst hinterfragen. Sind ihre Ängste und bigotten Ansichten dem geschuldet, was ihnen vorgesetzt wird, oder sind sie ein Teil von ihnen? Vielen Dank.

Vielen Dank. Gibt es noch jemanden, der jetzt vor dem Rat sprechen möchte? Und würden Sie bitte für das Protokoll Ihren Namen und Ihre Gemeinde nennen?

Und Henrik St. Zealand? Ich schätze die bisherigen Kommentare hier sehr und wir sprechen hier von einer politischen Rede, die wir verlangen. Das sind Meinungen und das ist es, was die Leute bevorzugen. In a discussion I had with a young woman in Colin Park. I think we also have to look at the reality of America and September 11th. And it's a matter of the heart. It's about whether people really love this country or not and how they act accordingly. I met a young woman there, a Hispanic woman, and had a good conversation in Collin Park. We were there this week for a Feast of Remembrance. A great event where many people celebrated their freedom in Christ. Only one interesting observation, the band had to shut up because they had built their stage on the tracks. Many of them spent the whole summer at the American Legion and the Friday concerts. Friday concerts. I don't ask what they thought of the politics of the city, the public, the use of public property. This young woman and I had a conversation. She watched the city council and noticed that she knew that I was using myself for our freedom of religion, also for Muslims. She is a believer. She was invited to a Hispanic church, which I was already in. She did not know that the pastor had spoken in front of the council about the dismissal of the LGBT plus ordinance in 2020. You may remember that he and his wife fought for their freedom in Iraq, not for indoctrination. I'll show you the screenshot on which her council member refused to show his loyalty. I also said that he was fighting for Abdul. Sie liebt dieses Land. Ihre Mutter hat ein unternehmerisches Reinigungsunternehmen. Sie schien verwirrt darüber, warum ein Ratsmitglied den Treueeid nicht ablegen würde. Es ist sein Recht, aber er vertritt die Menschen seines Bezirks. Ich sagte ihr, sie könne selbst auf YouTube nachsehen, aber es ist nicht mehr dort. When I followed the last council meeting and saw that the panorama of the council was removed when the loyalty was removed, was it necessary to represent the measure of unity that is demanded by the council, or is it necessary to hide the truth? By the way, the young woman was at an Abdul announcement and was impressed by him. He is young, handsome and from Michigan. He is educated. I would say that it disturbed her that her council member for Abdul was in a election campaign and then did not perform the loyalty oath. A young woman and I discussed socialism and communism. Es klingt gut, sogar biblisch, den Wohlstand teilen, gute Nachbarn sein. Die Grundlage für beides ist historisch gesehen ein festes Muster, das bei den Jungen beginnt, bei der Jugend und bei der Unzufriedenheit und Wut gegenüber dem Establishment. I asked myself whether she had heard the guest during the public comment phase at the meeting on 5 August, who spoke of her father, who fled from the communist Cuba. The communist government had seized the house, property, business and bank account of her father. After his arrival on US soil, he worked hard to become a citizen of the state and to raise his family as Americans. I think he would get up to make the oath of loyalty. This young woman loves her country. She loves freedom through hard work and entrepreneurship. Abdul is the perfect example for freedom. When I mentioned that he is a Muslim, I was trained at the Michigan State. Hush there a question over your face, because it is a religion like his Christian. The freedom of religion is anchored in the Constitution. Anyone who enters a public office, elected by the people and for the people, should bear the responsibility to praise the faithfulness to the Constitution of America. Thank you.

Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to turn to the council at this time? Since this is not the case, I conclude the public comment phase. Next agenda item, point number 6, special presentation and recognitions by the mayor, the council or the city director. A state honor for the fireman and the police officer of the year by the state deputy Nancy Debor Niebor. Mr. van Beek, as is tradition, I hand over the word to you, but I am sure that Deputy Debor will also come to us right away. Welcome. And I leave it to you, Madam Speaker, once mayor, always mayor, to come forward. We always ask that the presentation, think of the rules, be directed to the council. But I leave it to you to decide who you first honor, our official or our fireman of the year. Welcome.

Thank you very much.

So Jacob Johnson, would you please come forward?

Es ist mir eine große Ehre, hier zu sein und Sie sowie Ihre Kollegen zu würdigen, die ebenfalls gekommen sind, um Sie zu ehren. Wir hätten keine Gemeinschaft ohne die öffentliche Sicherheit. Es ist das, wofür Sie jeden Tag aufstehen, den Menschen zu dienen und Menschen zu retten.

Und wir sind so dankbar, dass Sie dies so beständig getan haben.

I was told that you are a trainer for the rescue service and have actually initiated a program for continuous improvement for the rescue service. You never give up, but always strive for the next level. And I can just feel it in you as a person. Your engine just always runs. And it's going so well because you use yourself for the success of other people. Whenever you learn something, you come back to teach it. And you are the dean of the Academy for Ottawa County, right? You teach the southern part and coordinate the whole thing. So you didn't quit on your own.

Nein, du hast weitergemacht und kamst 2019 kurz vor all den schwierigen Zeiten. Wer wusste damals schon, was passieren würde? Und statt aufzugeben, bist du aufgestanden.

Du hast weitergearbeitet und Menschen geholfen und du hast so viele Leute mit deiner Einstellung, inspiriert damit, wie du über Probleme hinausblickst, um sie zu lösen, für das Gute eintrittst und andere durch dein Beispiel für die Gemeinschaft herausforderst. Außerdem hast du neun Auszeichnungen für Lebensrettung an... Neun.

Das ist erstaunlich. Ich würde mich gerne hinsetzen und zuerst über diese neun Geschichten sprechen.

Das sind ne Menge Geschichten.

Das sind ne Menge Geschichten. Aber es gibt einfach keine Möglichkeit, unsere Dankbarkeit für deinen Dienst und dein Vorbild für diese Gemeinschaft zusammenzufassen. Wir sind so dankbar, dass du dich für Highland und unsere Feuerwehr entschieden hast. Vielen herzlichen Dank, Sarah.

Danke.

Danke, Sir. Bescheidenheit ist eine Tugend. Aber du hast definitiv standing ovations verdient. Ich würde als nächstes gerne Sergeant Adam Israels zu mir bitten. Danke, Sir, dass du Teil von Sophie Gutemann Howland bist. Teil unseres Department of Public Safety and Sergeant bei unserer Polizei. Du kamst 2010 als Kadett hierher. Das ist lange her.

Fühlt es sich an.

Nun, wir schätzen es sehr, dass du uns treu geblieben bist. Du gingst zur Grand Valley, hast dort abgeschlossen. Dann haben wir dich 2013 eingestellt und als 2020 alle anderen irgendwie Aufgaben und nichts mehr taten und hast beschlossen, die Battle of the Badges wieder zu beleben, wieder zu beleben. That was a game that fell asleep about 15 years ago. And even though you didn't have enough to do, you actually had enough to do, you decided to rebuild it. What a perfect time, 2020, to bring the fire department and the police together, to organize a comfortable softball game and to donate the profits. After the last stand, you have collected over 45,000 dollars.

In the last five years,

for beneficial purposes in the community. They create so much good will, so much camaraderie, so much unity in the community and give more than they already do every day, by risking their lives for us. It is such an honor. And then they were promoted to sergeant in 2023 and have served us since then in this function. They were in the Eherenwache, as field trainers, as field training supervisors, as members of the special unit and as the head of the service group staff. They have such a pronounced respect for the law and such a strong sense of personal responsibility. They were in extreme danger and nevertheless ensured that everyone would follow the necessary procedures under such stress. It is one thing to think about it. It is another thing to read about it. It is another thing to believe in it. But it is something completely different to experience it in the midst of a threatening situation. I cannot imagine all the life-threatening situations you have experienced while you help to protect this community with such integrity and honor. That is why I am very happy that the leaders have recommended you as the Police Officer of the Year for the Holland Department of Public Safety. I have seen you for so many years now, always in service, always with a smile on your face, always doing what you should do with such strength for our community. And we feel honored to be able to honor her tonight.

Thank you, Deputy Debor.

And congratulations to our police officers and our fireman of the year. Well done and we couldn't be prouder of our Department of Public Safety. Everyone does such a wonderful job here. We always say here, our main goal is to ensure the safety of the people in the city of Holland. And they all make it possible. And we know that every single day to appreciate. Thank you again. Next point on the agenda. Special agenda points. Public hearing. An application for approval of a Brownfield plan for GF&K Equity Holdings LLC Jubilee Ministries Inc. and Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity Inc. for Ottawa Avenue 467. Herr van Beek.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor and City Council. And yes, you are right. This is a public hearing tonight. Before the beginning of the public hearing, we would like to give some information so that everyone is on the same page about what we are talking about. I will ask Juan Gnum to come here for a moment. And he will then ... You can also come forward. Juan R. will also introduce representatives of both Habitat and Jubilee, as well as his advisor Jared Bala. One thing, and I hope I don't take Juan up on anything, he will go through some information, but we had a lot of conversations in recent times, wasn't it? City Council on housing policy and housing building financing. And we sat on it last Wednesday evening, two and a half hours or so, right? This is one of the projects that we have really raised as two organizations over several years in our conversations, which implement exactly what we want to achieve in partnership by introducing very high-quality projects in a way as a common useful organization, where we have used the term, they are the gold standard of that we are looking for. Although this project has not yet passed some of the tests carried out by us by third parties, I think we have done this with the knowledge and understanding of everyone. And this comes with a consistent recommendation from the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority with RIT. And hopefully, Juan, I haven't missed half of your introduction. But get started and tell us something about the project. All right. Please introduce yourself.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of the city council.

I am very happy to present to you a Brownfield Plan or an application for approval of a Brownfield Plan that has been submitted by the applicants mentioned by Mr. van Beek just now. And in fact, I think I will now ask you to go ahead, as you have been waiting patiently for a while. So you see the director of the Jubilee Ministry, Steve Gross, the director of Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity, Dave Rossman, and then as a representative Mr. Jared Belelka from Warner, Norcross and Judd. And I will give you the word right away. We will be able to provide you with a little more details than I can, but I will give you an overview, as indicated in your documents for the council meeting and the employee report. The reason why you are aware of this is that you have approved a Brownfield plan for this project in 2024. A traditional Brownfield project that included demolition as well as lead and asbestos sanitation. Now on your screen. Oh, you are next to each other.

On the left side of your screen you see the building that used to stand in Ottawa Avenue 467 and has now been renamed in Cleveland 460 and 470.

And in the original plan, which was approved by this council, the intention was explained to return with an application for a housing construction TIF in front of this board. So there is a new component in the plan and the applicants hope to receive funds in connection with the construction of TÜV through potential development losses, which is basically the difference between the construction costs and the sales price of the houses. But even more details will follow. The urban guideline states that applicants can receive up to $40,000 per unit. There are 11 units, 11 townhouses and 4 buildings that are being built and I think they should be finished pretty soon. So that's a total of $440,000 for the Brownfield census on the part of the TÜV housing development. The total census period is 15 years. The total census is $1.8 million. From which the developers receive $ 980,000 for supportable activities, including the so-called housing construction activities. The city will receive $ 159,000 in administrative fees. The city's Brownfield Fund receives $ 75,000. And finally, the local Brownfield Fund of the LBHF will receive $ 380,000. Wir werden also elf neue Stadthäuser haben, die für Personen zwischen 30 und 120 Prozent des AMI zur Verfügung stehen werden. Damit möchte ich Ihnen nicht länger die Schau stehlen und begrüße diese Herren, die ans Mikrofon kommen und ein paar weitere Details mitteilen können und einpeilen können. Ich denke, Sie werden dieses Projekt als äußerst interessant empfinden. Die Brownfield Redevelopment Authority hatte vor ein paar Wochen ein großartiges Treffen und wie Herr van Beek sagte, unterstützten Sie einstimmig und enthusiastisch die Genehmigung durch dieses Gremium. Meine Herren.

Thank you, Juan.

Good evening. Come on.

Good evening. Jared Belko from War and Norcross. Thank you for your time tonight. Juan gave a great introduction. I will be very brief. As you know, Lakeshore Habitat and Jubilee were already with you in the past. You are aiming for 30 to 120 percent of the medium regional income from These are residential units for sale, 11 townhouses. As Juan mentioned, we came up with phase 1, we call it that, the demolition of the empty building and the construction of Men's caves, I guess you could call them. Those were also units for sale, but they had the rest of the land. Doug Galker from Fusion Properties had made contact with Dave and Steve. And they thought this would be a great opportunity for a re-sealing. So I'm going to take a break and leave the word to these gentlemen, but Juan did a great job, but I don't have much to add, so I'll step back and see if these gentlemen want to contribute anything.

First of all, I tell my wife that Keith calls us the gold standard, but she doesn't quite believe it yet. Steve, Steve, could you please introduce yourself so that the people at home know who you are?

Steve Gross from the Jubilee Ministries.

Um, Steve. Yes, please. We are just coming from an event in the Ottawa Town Homes, where we talk to our homeowners a little bit about what it means to be part of a community of owners. You know, a lot of people belong to a self-managed community and have a pretty moody feeling. We try to make it as simple as possible because it is a self-managed community. But this is a really exciting project. Through the TIF financing of the city, the participation of MESA and a lot of very strong philanthropy in our community, we were able to offer four of our six Rheinhäuser for 199,000 dollars. And two of them for 160,000 dollars. That is far below the construction costs. But we were able to bring two teachers, a caretaker, someone who works in a local hospice, someone from a local dispensary company and someone from a local wood store into a new living space. All these people have moved out of rental apartments.

So it's a two-in-one effect. When we build property apartments, we also make a rental apartment free.

So we are super excited about this project. It should be over by the end of this winter and we are really looking forward to what will happen there.

Dave Rosman, Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity. I would like to add a few points from the perspective of Lakeshore. Juan, Jared and Steve did a great job by giving an overview of the project. At Lakeshore Habitat, we see the growing demand. Just as an example, for these five units that come from Lakeshore Habitat, we had 75 applicants. So the demand is great. And one of the prerequisites is that you already live and work in the community. So we don't hire people from other communities. They are people who already live and work in our community and need a place to live. What keeps me awake at night are the other 70 people that we couldn't accommodate in these row houses. But this is exactly where things like the tax increment financing help us. Because such instruments bring us money back, which we can then reinvest in further living space for our community.

Our numbers are similar to Steve's.

We don't have any final costs for this house yet. For us, it's a bit different, since 80% of our houses are built by volunteers. That's why we only estimate the costs. We also receive special donations from some local subcontractors. So the prices can vary. But the construction costs are definitely over $200,000, probably more at $240,000 to $250,000 per unit. Our average mortgage for our homeowners is currently under $180,000. So we serve 30 to 80 percent of the regional median income. We help them find something affordable, but, as Steve already said, these are people who live and work in our community. Yesterday we were at the construction site and one of our house owners worked there voluntarily. She works on the local mission, the Gateway Mission, the Gateway Mission. She is committed to our community and helps homeless people, but herself struggles with housing insecurity. So we were able to help her with a home. I would like to emphasize once again that instruments like this enable us to act faster and to put money back in other houses. If we keep this money back from the TIF, it will flow directly into our next project. I just wanted to underline that once more. Thank you. Thank you.

Are there any questions from the council members to the employees or the applicant? Wonderful. Thank you. You're welcome. We have to hold a public hearing on this topic. I therefore open this public hearing for anyone who would like to turn to the council regarding this special topic. This is your opportunity and the same rules apply for this public hearing as for our public comment phase. Yes, please come forward. And please come to the microphone, because I know that the people back there can't hear you otherwise. Could you please again mention your name and your community for the protocol?

My name is Claire and I live in Lake Township and that sounds like a wonderful plan. I only have one question and that's because I'm not well informed enough. If you call it industrial waste, it means that there are toxic waste under this country. And if not, it would be easier for me to hear that. But if so, what was done to mitigate that?

All right, thank you. Would anyone like to speak before the council on this point? Before we come back to the agenda.

We'll continue. We'll continue. I just want to clarify this briefly for the public. This applies as an apartment building TIF. It is suspended.

You have to speak into the microphone, otherwise the people at home can't hear you.

It falls under the Brownfield Act. In an ideal world, one would have created an independent housing construction TIF law, but it was attached to the Brownfield law. The location is not contaminated. It was classified as functionally outdated for qualification purposes.

Does anyone else want to speak to this special point before the council? Since this is not the case, I conclude the public hearing phase. What is the wish of the council in relation to this point?

Antrag zur Annahme von Punkt 7a. Beantragung der Genehmigung des Brownfield Plans für GF&K Equity Holdings LSC Jubiläum Ministries Incorporated und Lakeshore Habitat Premier Incorporated für 407. 60 Ottawa Avenue. Okay, wir haben einen Antrag.

Gibt es Unterstützung? Dann können wir in die Diskussion einsteigen.

Unterstützung. Antrag von Korb.

Unterstützung geschickt. Gibt es eine Diskussion?

Mr. Freeman, ich frage mich nur, ob es eine Anfrage oder eine Genehmigung war in diesem Antrag.

Was the application approved? Okay, understood. All right. Are there any further discussions among the council members? Mr. Mitt, yesterday I had the opportunity to help on a voluntary basis.

I just want to say, you always hear about the influential and important things that this organization does, but to see it firsthand and to speak to volunteers, our representative Nancy D. Vohr and the owner of the house, and to work gives you an insight into the importance and value of this kind of urban, public and private partnerships. I'll get some rest with a few games, but it was still a great experience, Mr. Shea. Yes, I would like to thank all the parties involved. This is a hard fight and you all climbed up this mountain all the way.

So a great praise to all of you and thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Any further discussions or comments from members of parliament? Mr. Van Beek, I think I'll let you have the floor now. Yes, excuse me. Actually, this is just a procedural matter that you should know about, because I think it will be more important if we handle it that way in the future. One part of it is that we will work together with VINs and a replacement agreement is part of it. It is already included in the original plan, but changes are being made to it, which has worked very well so far. I have to say, historically, we have carried out projects in a certain way. But as we discussed last Wednesday evening, the plans are becoming more complicated and have more elements. So expect us to carry out a transition in the future. If we are at this point in the process in which you not only check a brownfield plan, we will also have a replacement agreement as part of this overall package and, if appropriate, an agreement on services of the metropolitan region. So I think it is helpful to know that we are also in a transition to get to the point where all elements of the plan will be part of the complete test package.

Thank you, Mr. Korbin. Maybe you can clarify that, Keith. We are also conducting a fundamental discussion about these TIFs, these housing construction TIFs, and not all of them will be exactly the same. Ich denke, wir müssen die Öffentlichkeit wissen lassen, dass wir jedes einzelne davon durchsprechen werden und sie nicht genau gleich sein werden, da wir uns mit der Art des Wohnungsbaus befassen, wie sie uns zur Prüfung gibt.

Wenn Sie das also klarstellen könnten. Nun gut gesagt. Nicht einmal Projekte, zum Beispiel diese Partnerschaft mit Jubilee und Habitat, Ihre verschiedenen Projekte sind jedes Mal auch anders. Council Member Corbyn, I agree with what you said. I think you will see some that fall into similar categories, but even they are different within these categories. But we will definitely have different categories of projects that are being proposed to us and that are fundamentally different from others. And we really estimate it to lead the discussion with the Council on a political level, so that we, when we are at the point of checking specific projects, can really delve into the details. Any further comments or discussions? Of course I have a few things that I absolutely have to say. I will not hide the fact that I have been incredibly enthusiastic about this project since I first heard about it. A creative project for the members of the public. A relatively new possibility is to use tax increase funding for residential projects. And this is a hybrid project. This is a project on a former industrial site. One part of the property now consists of storage units, man caves, as you said. And the other part consists of living space. And I vote for Mr. van Beek when he says that Habitat and Jubilee are the gold standard. They are great partners in this matter. They come to us with really innovative projects that meet the goals of this council, namely that the benefit that we want to offer with this kind of tax incentives is good for the house owners or the residents themselves. I was overwhelmed when I heard that you offer living space for people whose income is 30% of the regional median income. Every time a project is announced that we are working on, I see comments on social media, but will it also be affordable? Can normal people afford it? No. You know, people always say they won't make it. I am very happy that you mentioned the kind of people who will live in these houses. They are the life elixir of a community like Holland, Michigan, Michigan. This is living space for workers. These are people who live here, people who work here, people we want to have here. And they have, as Mr. Shea said, worked very hard to make this project and other projects a success. And we know that there is more work ahead of us and we know that we have more projects in the pipeline. that may not provide the same amount of enthusiasm for the mayor or other council members. But if we want to address the housing shortage and the housing problems that we have in this area, projects like this are the key to it. And although there are still 70 people who hope to be able to enter this project, there are five who have made it. And one of the things I learned during my time at Habitat is that stable living space contributes to creating stable families. Children get better grades in school. In the end, parents find better jobs. And one of the complaints we used to hear a lot at Habitat was that people improved their financial situation so much that they no longer fulfilled the requirements for being a Habitat owner. that after only a few years they had a better job in a housing estate. They had a higher income and people complained about it, but our answer was that this was exactly our goal. We want people to live in more stable living conditions. We want their children to get better grades. We want people to find better jobs. We want to create a better, more stable community for people in Holland, Michigan. And there are projects of this kind that will contribute to making this possible in Holland. So thank you. You're welcome to appreciate it. Would you please give me the address, please?

Hermann. Corbyn.

Prime Minister Keane. Rowan. Shay. Clowns. Herr Bürgermeister? Punkt angenommen. Wunderbar. Danke. Nächster Punkt auf der Tagesordnung, Punkt Nummer 9, schriftliche Petitionen und Mitteilungen. Zusätzlich zur Möglichkeit für die Öffentlichkeit, sich bei unseren Ratssitzungen persönlich an den Rat zu wenden, haben wir auch eine E-Mail-Adresse, an die Sie schriftliche Mitteilungen senden können, die von allen Ratsmitgliedern empfangen und geprüft werden. This email address is publiccomment at cityofholland.com. Once again, publiccomment at cityofholland.com. If we receive these, we will open the protocols. We do not read them aloud, but we open them in the documents. We have one this week, so I would welcome an application from the Council to open this public comment in the protocols.

The application for the recording of the public comment.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council Members.

Sorry, I had to switch the screen on. I will introduce this topic and then Matt will say a few things about it. Haha. Lynn will probably also say a few things about it. Even more important is that both of them will probably be able to answer all their questions. But I really think this is an important step. That's why I want to present this well. First of all, the concrete request this evening. What exactly do we recommend? To agree precisely. It is about lending me and Lynn as City Manager and Financial Director within the limits set within the constraints set within the limits set within the limits set within the limits set within the limits set within the limits. That would be up to 22 million dollars within certain parameters, especially the interest rates, depending on whether unusual things happen on the market. For example, it would be a bad idea if the interest rates suddenly tripled or ... So that's what we're asking you for. I would like to let you know that Matt will talk a little about the process that we are going through. Although this step would empower me and Lynn to do this at a later time, we would sell the loans only after receiving the construction offers. And as I said, Matt will explain this process. For those of you who have been with us for a long time, this will sound very familiar and feel like we are wrapping up all construction projects, especially with regard to the fire stations, because we have also taken loans for this. Let us briefly remember what the project is about and why we are so enthusiastic about it and recommend it. It is a leisure center with an area of ​​83,000 square feet. There are some nice pictures of it in the background. And let's be very clear about the purpose of why we are building this leisure center. Basically, these are the reasons 1, 2 and 3. Well, there are other reasons that we can develop over time. But the points 1, 2 and 3 are at home for the leisure programs that our department of this community has been offering for decades. I know that as a child I have participated in some myself and that is even further back. So it's probably decades over decades. We had and have great partners in this community who shared their space with us as a department and really shared with the entire community to carry out our leisure programs. This is not a new conversation for all of you, but for all of you who may be listening so that you are clear about the purpose. It's not just the schools, but it's mostly the schools. And what we have seen in schools is that due to operational changes and growing demands, it becomes more difficult in schools every year to find space in these facilities. This is not because of anything negative. It is simply the reality of the situation. And on top of that, I remember how it was when I was a kid. You probably had an extra key for the gym and could just go in and throw a few balls whenever you wanted. Sounds like a basketball fan, doesn't it? Well, we all know that this world no longer exists in the same form for security and other reasons. So, we still have great partnerships with all those with whom we carry out our programs, but the reality is that we have long known that we need a home for our own leisure activities, which is why we have taken this into account as a plan. And without this home that we build for our leisure activities, we would probably, no, not probably, we would come to the point where we would have to shorten the offers for the community because we would no longer have room for it. Hopefully this is no surprise to any of you, but this is one of these steps. To say it loudly once again, you all have approved this in several municipal investment funds. You have adopted it in several strategy and business plans and approved it. We have approved and recognized this, as well as the details that Lynn has incorporated into several long-term financial forecasts. This was approved specifically in this year's Household Book. And you will remember that there is a page in the Household Book on which each project is briefly presented with some highlights and a few nice pictures. And another thing we are doing is looking into the future. For several years, we have been checking whether this will have any operational impact on us, whether in the form of additional costs or cost savings. Over the coming years, we have shown that this will cause some operating costs, which we can still talk about, but we have planned this. They have approved contracts for the architects and construction management companies. Because in order to get to the point where we are standing tonight, we had to work out all the plans and get a better idea of ​​which level we can accept loans. But very soon we will also issue very specific expropriation packages for construction. They have already approved a declaration of intent for the sale of these loans. We have informed you that we would carry out a preliminary signature for the construction works and Matt will now share a good message that we have received today, as the offers for these construction works have come in today. And again, as I have already mentioned, before we actually sell these loans, if you agree and give me the permission to sell these loans, we will provide you with the final construction offers before we do this. Maybe you, Matt, could briefly explain the parallel processes that we go through in building management, and then Lynn can talk about the pleasant things like finance manager, loan advisor and all that. Thank you, Keith.

That was really a great project. I mean, all the projects that we are allowed to do are great while we are implementing them. But, uh, if you remember a few city council meetings, we talked about it, actually already during the budget planning, that we could issue a preliminary package for the construction work. My favorite term that I have shaped, man does not dehydrate in December. I know, I think I'm smart. No one else does. Thank you. So the construction package was written out. We actually received the offers for it today. We had five providers who submitted the offers and we were pleasantly surprised that these offers were about 25 to 30 percent below the original construction cost estimates. So that's good news for the start-up. We still have a whole series of other units that we have to bring through the writing process. So the plan is to issue the remaining building packages, all the different areas of work that have to be handed over to all subcontractors to be commissioned for the completion of the project. This will happen shortly. Our plan is to come back on September 2nd at your first meeting in September with a recommendation to hand over part of the construction work that still has to be done before the winter break. We would not release the entire package by contract. We would actually give up about half in order to be able to do the necessary work so that this building can be built in November. In the meantime, we would return to you on October 7 with the complete construction offer package to name the actual costs for the construction. We are constantly talking about it. We can have the construction cost estimates of the world, but only if we hold a fixed offer in our hands and someone says that it will cost to move the floor or to paint the entire facility, then we actually know how high the costs, including possible liabilities, are. So that's the process for the future. But we could possibly start with the earthworks there in September. We have to clear the terrain. We have to get rid of an old playground that has exceeded its duration of use. We have to tear down a pavilion. Unfortunately, we also have to remove some trees. But we really believe that this is the right way. We knocked on wood three times today and put a stop to it. But as Kies already mentioned, this has been discussed and discussed here for several years. And it is exciting for us to get to the point where we can actually start with the earthworks, have the heavy machinery on site and prepare the terrain for the construction of the building.

Now to the entertainment department. The loan process in the federal state of Michigan and actually in every federal state is strictly regulated. The city therefore works together with financial advisor PFM and Miller Canfield as a loan advisor, as there are many steps, forms and documents that we have to complete to ensure that we do everything according to the procedures established in the state laws. As Keith already mentioned, this process began through the council when we submitted a declaration of intent to issue loans in May. And that is what has been done so far. That was approved and was based on a amount of at most 22 million 20 thousand. Would have been nice. 20 million for 25 years. We are now at the point where it is time to approve the loan authorization resolution that was contained in the documents. And what this means, they force Keith and me to carry out the transaction. This simply means that we can sign some documents to actually issue the loans. There are some parameters in it. Once again, it must not exceed 22 million dollars, it must not run longer than 25 years. And I think there is a fixed interest rate, as the markets can be quite variable. The interest rate in the loan or in the resolution is 5.75%, but we will pursue this further as we move closer together with the financial advisor, because they keep an eye on the markets. They even proposed a timetable and that is exactly what they would approve. But did you also want to take a quick look at the further steps? So what do we do until then if this is approved? We work together with the financial advisor and have to turn to the rating agency. The rating agency will then ask us a whole series of questions. Keith and I will probably be in a room together with Matt because they will ask us a lot of questions about the city's financial health. Based on this, they will give a rating that is important for potential buyers of our loans Another important part of this process, as shown here, is that we will not carry out a traded sale, but a competitive sale on account of the size of the loan emission and the bondage of the city. We will be able to achieve the best interest rate for these loans and we have had success in the past, even in markets in which we did not expect a large inflow for other emitters. The city has always received good response and many offers, which of course makes the emissions for the city more cost-efficient. I'm just thinking about what you're counting on, because according to Matt's schedule, we would hold the rating meeting in the week of August 31st and the loan emissions then around the third week of October. But we would of course observe the market. The choice of a specific day depends on which economic data will be published this week. Therefore, I would like to answer questions about the process or the budget component of the project.

Mr. Corbin, does anyone else have any questions? I'll start by mentioning that the loan interest rate would not exceed 5.7 percent, correct? No. If we were to reach this point, how would it behave with a shift for a certain period of time? And how does this affect the technology and the approval of the engineering contracts and similar outstanding matters in time?

Wir hatten diese Diskussion mit dem Anleiheanwalt und dem Finanzberater und der Zeitplan ist so ausgelegt, dass wir aufgrund des engen zeitlichen Zusammenhangs zwischen der Vertragsgenehmigung und dem Verkauf über die entsprechenden Daten verfügen würden. Wenn also keine Verträge offiziell genehmigt sind und auf den Märkten etwas völlig schief geht, hätten wir die Möglichkeit, nachzuverhandeln. We could, right? We could postpone it or whatever we think is appropriate, depending on what happens to the financial markets at this point in time.

I don't know if this question is for Matt, for you or for Keith. So, you mentioned, in terms of time, it would be August, possibly even October before we sell the loans or agree to sell them on the market. Would you have the signature documents by then and would you present them to the City Council?

I mean, we would not provide you with the expropriation documents. We would provide you with the expropriation results for discussion. We think we have them by then. And I would suggest, as we have discussed, the recommendation to the city council would be to give the audience, if we receive favorable offers, from which we assume and we are of the opinion that the project is bearable to move forward. We would then ask the city council to authorize Lakewood to sign contracts in the name of the city, which we have done with everything else, depending on the sale of the loan, so that we know that we have the money before actually signing a contract. You can talk to the commissioners and tell them that this is true, but we will first let them sign a contract and get in touch with us when the loan has been sold.

Absolutely. We have already received the money and are still in contact with the representative and the donor.

This is still well under control.

according to our budget. And you have already mentioned it, I think, and Kieth has already integrated this into our household process. It is already firmly included in our budget plan. If we were to receive the loan to pay the payments in accordance with the regulations, this is also considered in our budget process.

So if we do that, it will be specified more specifically in the long-term forecast. And that's why we get in March, when we create the long-term forecast, actually a estimate of the financial advisor, what it could cost at this time. Of course, this could be different, but just like with any other estimate that we use in the forecast, we proceed in this way. And then we predict how high the demand for the debt service will be. If you remember the diagram in my forecast, it shows which debts will come in and which will fall away. This is all taken into account there, because we have to know that in order to determine our leverage for the next ten years in particular, because you know, if it is used for debts, then it will not be used for the company, then it will not be used for the company. So we include all of this in the costs for the debts as well as in the operating costs. We ask the department for its best assessment of the costs that go beyond our current expenses for the operation of the leisure department and include them together with corresponding inflation data for all future years. So we take these projects into account when planning. Because we want to avoid, of course, that we give something on order and then realize, oh, we have to pay this debt. So everything is included.

I thank the team for the detailed summary of what this project is about.

So thank you very much.

Mr. Freeman.

I just have one more comment on the side, because I am enthusiastic about the project and what is happening and support it very much. And I think one of you could answer that. Wie war die Reaktion der Nachbarschaft und der Partner vor Ort, dass dies an diesem Standort entsteht? Wir hatten viele Gespräche mit dem wichtigsten Nachbarn, dem Hope College. Ein Herr vom Bestattungsunternehmen kam sogar zu uns und äußerte sich positiv über das Projekt. Er wollte, dass wir Dinge tun, bei denen ich nicht sicher bin, ob wir sie umsetzen können. Aber das Hope College freut sich aus verschiedenen Gründen auf das Projekt. One of their problems is that home games in football cause chaotic parking conditions in this area, right? So we can work together with them and, for example, plan a volleyball course with 8,000 children on the day they have home games on Saturday. In fact, we believe that there are possibilities to make some money by parking at our parking lot at a cost. Whereby we ensure that our citizens can continue to use it. But we do not plan any special programs in these few times. The graduation ceremony is another such appointment for you. We have been in this regard for two years now, maybe one and a half, with you in the exchange and the response was very good. You know, one of the things we have here is a multi-purpose room. And we have, I call it a dance and ballet multi-purpose room with mirrors and everything around it. And whether you believe it or not, the Hope College is actually lacking in such facilities. We therefore think that there could be even more partnerships

where you have your dancers or your ballet lessons or whatever you have here.

And by the way, we need people who teach our six to ten-year-old children dance and ballet in the community. Let's work together with you and some of these students from Hope College to teach such courses. A few questions. The playground said it would be removed. Will it be replaced elsewhere? If you remember, Bias Pool is also potential for next year. We have put 2 million dollars back for it. We would probably set up a new playground. The playground there has exceeded its lifespan. That's a question we get all the time. And the parking authority says there's really nothing left to save. We would destroy it during the demolition. So it will be removed and later we will build a new playground at a different location. And then... Last but not least, I would like to encourage you to support the partnerships that we use in the community with all our students. First of all, we must continue to use them while the construction work is taking place. But also afterwards, I would encourage us to continue to maximize these relationships and maintain them in the community. and not sometimes an island for us to be alone. So that's just my encouragement. I have observed this in the community area.

You get your own thing and suddenly you are not a good partner. And I don't want that to be the story of the city.

So I think, although it is difficult at the moment and it will become even more difficult in the future to use these rooms, I think that there is a great chance that there will be a huge opportunity for you to use our rooms in the future. Mr. Winnig.

I thought he would ask Matt afterwards, simply because we were initially very interested in it.

Yes, I know the question you will ask. Okay, then just take it away. Yes, one of the questions we are often asked is what will happen to the skate park. And we had originally talked about dismantling it, keeping parts of it and then moving it. That will not be the case. It is actually the most cost-effective for the city to leave it where it is, so it stays exactly there. The construction workers are aware of what's going on. I actually spoke to some of the guys who skated there. They will probably have to use the northern access to the skate park. So we will pull our construction site right up there, open the north gate and then it can remain open during the entire construction period. Did I guess right? Well done, my Lord. Are there any further questions about the spell? Yes, Mayor King.

Will there be any improvements at the skatepark?

There are currently no planned improvements for the skatepark. We are not losing anything from it, so it is not part of this project. Are there any further questions about the staff? I have a few questions simply because this can be a confusing process for the public. So I will try to find an analogy that hopefully people at home can understand. So have patience with me. So we needed a new home for our leisure facilities. So we decided to build a house. So far, you follow me, right? We have found out what kind of house we need and what kind of house we can afford. Under consideration of our future finances.

Right.

We are now at the point where we basically go to the bank and say that we need a mortgage. We have to borrow some money to be able to build the house in which we want to live for the next 25 to 50 years. And that's why we want to borrow this money. And since cities don't take up mortgages, cities lend out, but basically that's exactly what we do.

Right.

So we vote tonight to empower you and Mr. van Beek to go through this mortgage process in a way that cities or municipalities have to do in order to be able to borrow money in the long term or to be able to borrow it.

Right? That's absolutely right.

Das ist die Analogie, die ich den Leuten vermitteln wollte. Es ist so einfach wie, dass wir die Genehmigung erteilen, um sicherzustellen, dass wir uns die Hypothek leisten können, die wir für dieses neue Zuhause unserer Freizeitprogramme für nötig halten. We haven't signed the mortgage yet, because we first have to find out what it looks like. In fact, most people, when they want to buy a house, first sign a permit for the mortgage before they buy the house. And that's exactly what we're doing here, because we don't know exactly what this house will cost. So we find out what we can borrow and what it will cost us to borrow this amount of money over this period of time. As soon as Mr. van Duyken presents us with the offers that have been submitted, we will know exactly what the house costs and can then go through the details of the mortgage, if all of this makes sense. Correct.

Very good.

That's all I had. Are there any further questions from the council members to the staff?

All right.

Thank you, Lynn. You're welcome. Thank you for your patience. How does the council want to proceed with this point? I request your approval. I request your approval. Is there any support? Support. Support Shea. Is there a discussion? Shoot, Devin. Yes, Mr. Shea.

Yes, I just want to convey one message to the congregation, that this, it probably seems as if this was a short conversation, but it is a conversation that has been going on for a long time. I think this is probably one of the biggest decisions I was involved in in the council. Ich nehme das sehr ernst und deshalb bin ich Lynn und ihrem Team so dankbar, weil sie alles herausfinden.

Der Umfang der Planung, der hier hineinfließt, ist unglaublich. Sie wissen alles, was in Zukunft auf uns zukommt.

Oder sie tun ihr Bestes, es vorherzusehen. Das wollte ich nur klarstellen und die Tragweite dessen verdeutlichen und ich freue mich darauf.

Danke.

If no one else is doing it, then me. Just to, Mr. Korbel. I have a few comments to make, but I just want to make sure, you know, if you have some patience with me. Many questions have come up about it in the last few months, especially in the last few weeks and even the last few days. So I had a lot of time to think about it. So I had some time to think about this voting and had some considerable concerns. We are talking about permits of up to 22 million dollars for a large new urban facility to be approved. I question whether we have sufficiently discussed the long-term operating costs and the possible subsidization by the taxpayers, who will actually use the facility and whether we are moving too quickly towards financing before we fully understand these obligations. I especially question the future costs. But when I looked more closely at how we are spending our free time today, I also recognized something more important. We already pay a lot of these costs, only in a different way. Today, we offer our free time programs for the community in facilities and spaces that we have rented, rented, shared or independently made dependent on others. These are already costs that are associated with the provision of these programs and rental areas are becoming more and more expensive and difficult to secure. So the question is not simply what these new facilities will cost us, We also have to ask what we are already spending to offer these services without a permanent home. What will this model cost us in the future and will the premises be available at all if we need them? This has led me to consider the whole story of this project in more detail. I went through the earlier council protocols, project documents, early discussions and decisions and have checked this over the past few years and found other assumptions. This examination reminded me that we have been dealing with these questions for a long time. This project did not come suddenly and landed in front of us this evening. We started in 2024 with the development of the concept, approved the next phases for planning and professional work in November 2024 and waived the declaration of intent for the loans in May this year. Have we answered every operational question to the last dollar? No, but there are still improvements that need to be made. But after reviewing this story and the progress it has made, I am satisfied that these remaining refineries should not go to waste at the cost of delaying the next steps. Our parks and leisure programs need a permanent home. We are currently strongly dependent on facilities that we do not control. It is not a sustainable, long-term solution to continue to put together program areas in the entire municipality. We also have the chance and we already own land. We have considerable donations that we talked about tonight. And we spent almost two years planning and developing this project. The progress also gives us the opportunity to pursue further private investments. Hopefully more partnerships, sponsoring and donations. These are not just four basketball courts. These are about 701,000 square meters, as Keith mentioned earlier, for whole-year areas for sports and other community programs. A permanent home where children, families and seniors of our community can come together all year round. We believe that the government must act carefully and fiscally responsibly with tax money. But that does not mean that we should never invest or make any significant investments. It means that we ask difficult questions, understand alternatives and make investments that offer a lasting value. I think we have done this work. There are still decisions ahead of us. Income sources, program design, cost coverage, operating costs. The city council must remain engaged in these discussions. I hope we will be integrated. But I don't think that these remaining fine-tuning will justify the delay of the project. I think it is important to understand that this project is not connected to a new purpose-bound tax increase. The debt service was planned within the existing capital budget and the financial structure of the city.

We own the construction site.

We have received considerable donations for this project and should continue to seek aggressive additional private support. This is important to me because we do not ask the inhabitants to build a new tax on this facility. It is about investing existing resources in our children, our families and our community. At some point planning has to be done and I think we have reached this point. Now it is our responsibility that city council, employees, committee partners, companies and residents work together to make this project as successful and financially responsible as possible. We will continue to support this project in our vote.

Any further comments from council members? Matt, would you please call for the vote? Corbyn? Nadine? Rowan? Thank you, Mr. Mayor and City Council. Three short things this evening. First of all, the bike park is open. And for those of you who may have been there or not, you know, in many respects, you know nothing.

It's almost this expansion. If you ask this question, council member Marin, the bike park almost creates another place on a skateboard, but also on bicycles and scooters. And it's really great out there, especially when you see the 9, 10 and 11-year-olds. I mean, man, I'm glad that your body is more flexible than mine at the moment. Let's just say it like this. I tried the ice pack. I'm not sure if I'll try the bike pack. Let's just say it like this. Also, it was officially announced in the news today. I think many of us already knew that. But I'm glad that the West Michigan Community Bank, we somehow already knew it, but they published a press release today. They bought the home realty building, we now call it the West Michigan Community Bank building, at the corner of 7th and College to be more precise. At the northeast corner, um, um, uh, the Mayaf, Anert, lower corner, um. Southeast corner. Southeast corner. Yes, southeast corner. Man, I was close, Matt. Um, but you know, I think this is a really important place that was empty for a while. We knew that this was going to happen, and I think this is another good indication, together with many of our discussions, that many people are not only interested in Holland, but also in our city center and in investments there. So these are good news. And finally, to be honest, a bitterly sweet matter. Today I was able to quickly drive over to Holland Charter Township. Steve Boatice, the long-time manager of Holland Charter Township and formerly managing director of the Makatawa Area Coordinating Council, has finally found out how to get into a calm state. So I just want to wish him all the best. And certainly we have many great relationships with our regionals. Um, administrative units. And since there has been a pretty big fluctuation lately, we certainly want to continue to be a great partner and will build these partnerships with leadership changes there and are already starting to work on it. But I would like to express my congratulations and my thanks to Steve. I would like to tell him something just for a moment of simplicity. Ich habe Anfang des Jahres von Steve erfahren und es wurde auch in seinen Kommentaren erwähnt, dass sein erster Job im öffentlichen Dienst, der als Hausmeister hier im Rathaus von Holland war, I think I'm authorized for that. I offered him a job offer today and said that he can come back at any time and work in the town hall of Holland. And he said he would consider that and would let me know. So, I thought that was funny. That's all I have. Thanks.

Great, thank you. Next point on the agenda, point 14, appointment and notification of the mayor. I do have an appointment, but I would like to come back to your comment on the bike park for a moment. I haven't been there since the opening, but I was there shortly before in the afternoon. It's really great, much bigger, steeper and more curved than I ever imagined. I walked the entire terrain. If you haven't had a chance to look around there yet, do so. Take your family with you, take your children with you. As far as I know, there are also skateboards there. Welcome. And wow, what a challenge that would be. But I think it goes well together. You mentioned the ice park. We are planning the new leisure center. One of our tasks here is to improve the quality of life for the citizens of the city of Holland. As city council we have to invest the tax money, but we must not forget that these facilities that we build are also economic engines for the community. They help to bring people to Holland, which is great, but they also help our employers to win people and to keep in this community, because people want to live in a place that is worth living. So if we make this decision, do these things and celebrate these great spaces, remember that this brings a variety of benefits for the community. And then I have another appointment and it fits into the same framework. I recommend the City Council to confirm the re-appointment of Carolyn Marquise in the Council for Public Art. Yes, we have a Council for Public Art in the city of Holland. And one of the requirements for this committee is that a member of the Parks and Recreation Committee is appointed for a one-year term. Carolyn Marquise is a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission. Therefore, I would like to ask you for a motion to call for your seventh term as a representative of the Park and Freizeitkommission in the Council for Public Art with a term up to June 30, 2027. Opposed? Roe's application. Is there any support?

Support.

Support through Klemperz. Is there any need for discussion? Since that's not the case, everyone for it, please say so. Everyone against it, the same sign. The application has been accepted. And that's all I have for tonight? Number 15. Appointments, applications, messages from the council members. Is there anything from the council members? The Freeman. I'm just asking, Keith, is this Juan's last session or is he back here in two weeks? I'll have a lot for you in a few weeks.

I wanted to say I was 99% sure, but Juan will be there again.

Then the other... No, that's it.

That's it. Mr. Shea, then Ms. Rowan.

Yes, I just want to point out that this weekend my favorite festival is actually taking place. Tulip City Awards are taking place. Local, regional and international talents come to create wall paintings and that is really exciting. So come over and have a look. It's a great time. Ms. Rowan.

Thank you. A few short comments about the park, the bicycle park. My husband had a colleague who was very enthusiastic about how great he is and I said I would definitely pass on the information. And I'm not even sure if the gentleman is a resident of Holland or not. But I also told him he should know that I am praising him because he and his child enjoyed the park. And I also remembered that this property really didn't have many good use cases. And therefore even more recognition for that, because we turned something that was a pretty useless place into something useful. That can also be combined with the ice park and some other parks in this area. So just a little side note about that. Last time I wanted to say to my colleague with whom I work together, it is a privilege and I remember that each of us stood up and made an oath before we joined the council. So thank you. It is a privilege to work with you. That's it.

Thank you. Anyone else? This is Mr. Freeman. He reminded me of my forgotten points.

I only have one question for Keith. On the agenda, we have approved the purchase of a turning machine.

Do you know when the expected delivery will take place?

I actually went through that again. It's not horribly long, but the delivery time is extended. And one of the reasons why I'm talking about it, I don't have an exact date for you, Tim, but remember that we had one that broke down and we approved repairs for it. And one of the reasons why we did that is that we can continue to use it and then continue with the purchase of the new one. And you will remember that we have several turning machines. Some people may not know that. I think it was introduced there. We have experimented and still have an electric turning machine. But I just want to inform you about the maintenance history that we had with this. Of course, we will not buy a second electric tractor, at least not at the present time. We bought the diesel machine here. Your decision, Mr. Mayor Kiehn.

I would miss it if I didn't mention the street festival that is being held by the West Corn Neighbors.

Westfest is on August 21st from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Washington Square. It will include our neighbors from the Boys and Girls Club as well as the shops in Washington Square and our police from Holland will also be there. A great opportunity for the residents of W3 to come out, exchange ideas and participate, but openly for everyone.

I will be present and I look forward to answering all the questions you may have.

Okay.

Thank you. Anything else from the council members? Mr. Corbin. May the councilor of W5 also come? Is there ice cream? That's one of the main reasons why I'm going. Polar Patrol.

You said there would be ice cream. He didn't say you were allowed to go. Anything else from the council members? All right. Then there is only one more application. I would like to respond to you this time. Application for application. Submitted and supported. Supported by Rowan and others. The meeting is over. Thank you all. Have a wonderful evening.