City Council - Regular Meeting

Seconds, four, three, two, one.

Good evening and welcome to the September 2, 2026 regular meeting of the Holland City Council. I'm Mayor Nathan Vox. I'm calling the meeting to order. Brenda, would you please call the roll?

Yes. Clump Irons. Here. Vreeman.

Present.

Raymond. Here. Corbin.

Here.

Schultheis. Merrick Keane.

Here.

Here.

Rowan? Present. Shea?

Present.

And Mayor Box?

Present.

Mr. Mayor, we have a quorum.

Wonderful, thank you. We're gonna begin this evening's meeting as we have for many years, first with an opening prayer followed immediately by the Pledge of Allegiance, and we would invite you to join us if you're so inclined. Please feel free to join me in prayer. Lord, thank you for these last days of summer and the smooth transition of students back to school, teachers back to school, and our lives back in headed into the autumn and the holiday season. Lord, help this council have good ears to hear, voices that speak good words, do your work, and work hard for the people of the city of Holland. In your name we pray. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The next item on our agenda are our consent agenda items. These are items that are considered to be fairly routine, and they have been reviewed by council members as part of our council packet, and they will be enacted 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 will be placed in its regular order on the regular agenda. But before I ask if anyone would like to do that, Brenda, would you please review the consent agenda for us?

OK, 4A, excuse the absence of Council Member Schultheis. 4B, approve the minutes of August 19, 2026, regular meeting. 4C, oaths of office. 4D, claims filed against the city. 4e award the bid for ottawa avenue storm sewer lining project 4f award the bid and approve agreement for morningside drive culvert lining project 4g schedule a public hearing to establish an industrial development district at 376 east 40th street 4H, scheduling a public hearing for the 2025-26 CDBG Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report submission. 4I, amend the resolution for South Shore Village Business Improvement District. 4J, approve Lakeshore Advantage Agreement for Economic Development Services. 4k approved project clarity watershed improvement agreement with the ODC network For L or the bid for bike park site lighting for M the June financial reports for n quarterly investment report for 4O, award the bid for replacement computer equipment. 4P, MCOL's Public Safety Academy Assistance Program grant acceptance. 4Q, Office of Highway Safety Planning traffic grant acceptance. 4R, appointment to and resignation from the Washington Square Business Improvement District Board. 4S, approval of City of Holland trustee nominee to Holland Historical Board of Trustees. And 4T, a revocable license agreement for 171 College Avenue, a marquee sign and balconies.

Great, thank you Brenda. Is there any member of the public that would like to have an item removed from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda? Seeing none, any member of council that would like to have an item removed from consent and placed on the regular agenda? Seeing none there either, what is the pleasure of council in regard to the consent agenda?

Move to approve the agenda as presented.

Moved by Vreeman, is there support? Support. Support by Rowan, any discussion? Seeing none, Brenda, would you please call the roll?

Klump-Irons? Yes. Vreeman?

Yes.

Raymond? Yes. Corbin?

Yes.

Mayor Keene?

Yes.

Rowan? Yes. Shea?

Yes.

Mayor Box?

Yes.

Motion carries.

Great, thank you. Next item on the agenda, item number five, 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 city council 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. First, when you come to the podium, please state your name and the municipality in which you live. It's important for us to know whether or not you're a resident of the city of Holland. You may speak on any subject that you would like to, but please also note that this is one-way communication. It's an opportunity for you to be able to speak to us. We don't answer questions during this time or engage in discussion, but if there's a question that staff can answer after the meeting, they may be able to circle back with you on that. Also, there are three lights on the dais in front of me. There's a green light, a yellow light, and a red light. Green light means you're doing well on time. Yellow light means that you have one minute left. And the red light means your time has expired, and we are strict about that. And we also ask that you come up to the podium one at a time. You may have someone come up with you, but you're still only allowed to have five minutes total. If there are two people and you both want to speak, you'll have to come up to the podium separately. 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?

Corinna Lee.

Just your municipality. What city you live in?

Holland. Holland? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Actually, mine's a good one. I just want you to know, first of all, your taxes, your property taxes are way high. But I can see what they pay for. You have the best construction crews. You have the best guys that work on the roads. You have the best guys that do the trees. And I just wanted you to hear something good, that I appreciate it. It'd be great if you gave me ice cream next time though, okay? I have a lot more nice things to say. Thank you.

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

Martha Kapustany, Holland.

First of all, thank you, council, for your service. My recent talk on August 5th about the election was forceful, and it upset some people. So they came out to speak, and that's good. We need input from all sides, and I hold no ill will against them for what they shared. That's their right as members of the community, and we should probably actually meet and listen to one another's concerns and find common ground. What I shared last time was factual about the New York mayor's policies and what the democratic socialists stand for, which are things like open borders, defunding police, and abolishing prisons, and you can find that on their platform. What I am concerned about when it comes to Mr. El-Sayed is that he claims to be a capitalist, but his former socialist policies and his ties to the communist Hassan Piker are extremely concerning. He has recently tried to distance himself from Mr. Piker, but Hassan Piker campaigned with Mr. El-Sayed appearing on stage often during his primary bid and at the celebration of his victory. You see, you are the company you keep. Hasan Piker hates America and said America deserved 9-11. He is anti-Semitic and foments hatred and violence toward Israel, and the number of violent acts against American Jewish community, including murder, has increased. 2025 was the third highest record of violence compared to 2020 and 2024 dating all the way back to 1979 and you can look that up i believe that hassan piker was an integral part in getting the younger college age vote and now mr saeed claims his ties to him don't matter and he's just a streamer again you are the company you keep i said that mr saeed has an impressive resume and he does but that doesn't automatically equate good character or honesty He has faced recent accusations from critics and media anchors of dodging questions on CNN, primarily regarding his past progressive stances and Middle East foreign policy. In a June 2026 interview, CNN anchor Caitlin Collins confronted Mr. El-Sayed regarding a CNN K-file investigation. The report revealed that he had selectively deleted thousands of past social media posts, including 2020 statements championing the defund the police movement and labeling police departments standing armies. When Collins directly asked him why he deleted them, El-Sayed gave a 65-second response pivoting to a vision for public safety without answering why the posts were scrubbed. Why was he deleting them? What is he afraid of? In July, Manu Raju pressed him again on CNN's inside politics, where El-Sayed again pivoted and did not answer the question. During interviews with CNN's Casey Hunt and Jake Tappert, El-Sayed was repeatedly questioned on whether he recognized Israel's right to exist. Rather than giving a direct affirmative or negative, El-Sayed dismissed the line of inquiry as a gotcha game. He redirected the conversation, arguing that the true focus should be on whether a foreign government has a right to tax dollars instead of investing that money in Michigan schools and healthcare. Yes, but let's say hypothetically we take away our monetary support for Israel, what would his answer be then? He also did an interview recently with Jesse Waters on Fox where he appeared uncomfortably defensive, talking over the interview and again evasive with his answers. It was hard to watch. Based on my research and other videos that have resurfaced, which are many, I don't think he even likes Michigan and what our state is about. I believe he wants power and I believe he will say what itching ears want to hear. I'm concerned about his past stances and his relationship with the communist Hassan Piker. For example, there was a hot mic video of Abdul El Salid, Hassan Piker, and his supporter. And I do have a picture of them together, and you can look up this video yourself. And what was said was the supporter began with, people are stupid. The politics of no translation is going to be the way forward. And then Hasan Piker said, no, for sure. And then the supporter said, Medicare for all, followed by, no one has to decipher what the hell that means. And then Abdul said, more people, and then the video stopped. You see, you are the company you keep. And I don't think the women that spoke on August 19th are stupid either. What I do know is that my family fled Cuba, came to the U.S. legally with nothing but the clothes on their back. And my guess is what most of you don't know is that Fidel Castro also proclaimed to be a capitalist. And we all know how that ended for Cuba. Thank you.

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

Yes, my name is Anna White. I actually live in Park Township. I am here tonight. I met many of you a few months back at a coffee with council to announce my candidacy for the district court here in Ottawa County. Since that time in June, I was appointed to the bench because the judge retired early in that seat. so i've been on the bench now for a couple months in the holland district court right down the street here so i just wanted to come announce that and just express that it has been a profound privilege to work and experience being on the bench here in the city so i know that even though i reside in park township many of the people i serve reside here in the city and so it's been a wonderful opportunity to do that i am still on the ballot in november to be elected for the term starting in january and i'm hoping that i'll have the opportunity to continue to serve the community there it's mostly been it's been interesting to be on the bench now for about two months and be able to see already that some of the experiences I've had that I hoped would be applicable and really helpful for me really have been so it's been nice to be able to use those skills running hearings even today and having people express thank you so much for listening to me thank you for giving me an opportunity to share my story and so I think my background doing mediation My experience in social work, I've worked with victims directly and also worked with the Public Defender Office representing people's constitutional rights. So all of those experiences together, it's been really a wonderful privilege to serve this community here. So just wanted to thank you all for the work you do as well, and hopefully we'll be able to continue to work together. 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 Holland. And I'd like to say some positive things. Because of the progressive mind of our mayor and this council, I really think that Holland is... doing very very well we're seeing a lot of things done my wife was saying how the roads are great and they're doing so much work thank you for all you do i will mention some things just what i'm seeing out there that could use attention some of the railroad crossings are getting really rough and i've had to hit my brakes hard there maybe you're aware of some of them there's one particular one by colin park and 12th as you turn into the parking lot the wood is gone and it's like a big pothole and i've always had to go around i'm afraid i'm going to take out a tire so i don't know if you guys have anything to do with that and some of the other railroad crossings as well i found are pretty rough the one on River this past summer was repaired and it was great so 16th Street has some really great murals have you seen them really nice ones in this one area and I was thinking you know Holland could really do well having some murals I mean you have lots of subject you know flowers tulips. So just an idea. There's a lot of walls that could be used for this. It would help. We've traveled across the United States, and we've come across a lot of towns that are known for their murals. And Holland could benefit from that, just a thought. I'd like to talk about marigolds, because Kim Rowan brought it up a couple sometimes back, and they're still blooming. I know Holland, tulip time, you know. But they last, what, three weeks, four weeks? And sometimes, you know, the marigolds are forever. And I looked up. There's one little town somewhere out there that has a marigold festival. And they're about the size of this parking lot. There's nothing. And these things last all summer. And they're still great coming here. Maybe something could be thought about. The marigold festival. Springtime is the tulips. The fall can be...

Marigolds?

I think something could be done. Anyway, tree trimming, as you know, a lot of big trees in this town. And recently a neighbor of ours had two trees taken down, big ones. and because they dropped two large branches right in the road luckily no car was parked there no one's walking by but they finally took him down talked to my neighbor she said we've been calling a year for them to come over and look at this and then across another neighbor of mine caddy corner he had a tree not looking good called the city they came and looked at it and they said okay thank you they went away three days ago it fell just by itself just fell and i've spoken to these guys and they say we're really you know we're thin we don't have enough help and so if there's any extra money hanging around maybe consider helping out these tree trimming guys you know and get another crew or something because they have said that They're having a tough time keeping up, and I know I had a tree that I asked them to take down, and it took nearly a year for them to show up for that because they said they just have so much work. So just something to think about. But if we have Marigold Festival, we can have some extra money, you know. So 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?

Yes. My name is Brianna Jones, and I live in Holland, Michigan. I'm here to just tell you about a wonderful resource in the community. I'm the clinic manager at the Holland Free Health Clinic, and this is not to be confused with the Holland Community Health Center, so the Holland Free Health Clinic. provides free healthcare services to those in need, those who are uninsured or underinsured, maybe have Medicaid, but with a lot of limitations. And we provide dental, vision, chiropractic, foot care, among some other things. So those are the things that go unnoticed. When you have primary care, you know, those things aren't covered. Um, under that, so I'm here to just tell you about an amazing resource, the Holland free health clinic. Um, our address is 99 west 26th street or across the street from Holland hospital. Um, kind of tucked away, but, um, don't forget about us. We're a great resource for the community. If you know anyone who needs, uh, any, anyone who needs help. Um, and of course also always looking for volunteers, all of our providers, our dentists, our eye doctors, they're all volunteers. And we can't do it without them. So if you know anyone who's looking to get involved in the community, it's a great opportunity. And thank you.

Great. 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?

Good evening. My name is Heidi Wolf, and I'm actually from Allegan. I know it's going to sound odd, but I'm running for judge in Allegan County, which is probably... strange that i'm here but there is a small portion of alleghen county that does enter into the city of holland and i just wanted to come and introduce myself to the residents of holland that this may pertain to and say hello and let everybody know that this is what i look like people have probably seen signs and names and everybody's confused just to clarify there are two open seats in district court during this election cycle There are four candidates, so there's a lot of activity for the judicial positions in Allegan. I myself am running for the seat that's being vacated by Judge Scotulis. He's retiring, and I'll be running for that position. I'm here this evening with my husband, Tom. We've been married for 32 years. He works at Holland Hospital, so we have a fondness for the city and spend a fair bit of time here. I grew up in Wayland. I graduated with Matt Messer, who, as I understand, is your chief of Public safety services, I think is what you call it. Obviously, he's a great guy. Don't ask him too many questions about what I was like in high school because I was very nerdy then. I graduated from high school, went to law school, and started my own practice and worked very hard and diligently and became successful and obviously have learned over the years quite a bit about law. Now I want to take those skills and abilities and apply it to the bench really is what it boils down to So I won't take too much of your time. I just wanted to come out and say hello This is who I am. And if you want to know more I have a website and a Facebook page, but thank you for your time and I appreciate it Thank you.

Is there anyone else who would like to address council at this time? I Seeing none, I will close the public comment period. Next item on the agenda is item number nine, written petitions and communications. In addition to providing the public the opportunity to address council in person during our meetings, we also do have an email address where you can send written communications, and that email address is publiccomment.org. cityofholland.com again public comment at cityofholland.com when we have those we enter those into the record council has reviewed them as part of our packet we don't read them out loud during the meeting but we do accept them into the record we do have comments this evening so I would be looking for a motion to accept those into the record moved by Raymond is there support support support by Freeman any discussion seeing none all those in favor say aye aye all opposed same sign motion carries next item on the agenda item 12 echo 2.1 set a public hearing for Hotel Ventures 7th Street LLC request to approve sixth amendment to the brownfield plan for parking deck north of 7th Street between Columbia Avenue and College Avenue mr. van Beek

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. That's a long agenda item there, isn't it? You might recognize that the action on this item and the one immediately following are items that quite often would be on the consent agenda, just setting a public hearing. Let me explain why we decided to put it on regular agenda tonight. First, because Juan Gnum, who's here tonight looking very dapper in the back row with his suit coat on, this is his last meeting before he takes on a new adventure being the Berrien County Administrator. I've given him a little bit of a hard time, certainly in private and also in public, but the reality is Juan has been a longtime colleague. There was a reason that when we had an opening, I made a phone call very quickly to Juan. We were all very happy to have him join us. We're sad to see him go. He's done a fantastic job, but he also has an opportunity that's great, and I'm excited for him and his family to do that. We'll miss you Juan. But Juan won't be here September 16 when this actually is here and I'm gonna be gone that night also. I think that this item and the one upcoming are something that have been on the edges of your conversations and study sessions and alike. But it made sense maybe to just give one the podium one last time and also Even though the only action that we're looking to do tonight is set the public hearing Maybe have one and I available so that if you have some questions or want a little bit more background We'd be available also so

juan why don't you come on up and again even though the only action we're looking for is to set a public hearing i think it'd be helpful to just talk about both of these projects and why the bra recommended both of them unanimously and juan i'm going to break the rules a little bit here and because it's your last meeting and i want to make sure i don't forget to say this it has been an absolute pleasure and joy to work with you thank you so much for your great service to the city of holland we do we hate to see you go but we know that there are bigger and brighter things ahead and a shorter commute for you as well. So thank you, thank you, thank you from all of us for all of the great work that you've done. It's a pleasure.

Thank you for the kind words. It has been a true privilege and honor to serve the city of Holland and all of you. I'm really going to miss you dearly and all the folks up on the third floor that I befriended. It feels like it's been more than 11 months. It's fleeting on a calendar, but... I feel like I was embraced from the minute I walked through the door. And I've sung this gentleman's praises many times. And I will say, you're in excellent hands here. And I'm really proud to have served in Holland. And I'll always remember this time fondly. With that, I'll move on to the action item before you. And as Mr. Van Beek said, these are typically items that you would see on a consent agenda. Scheduling a public hearing is a fairly routine, mundane action. But because we are both going to be gone that evening, How about a little bit of background to prepare you and maybe have an exchange if you have any questions here? The parking deck north of 7th Street between Columbia Avenue and College Avenue, it's probably best if you imagine in parentheses Tulip Hotel Expansion Project. This is a sixth amendment to an existing plan that this body approved way back in the fall of 2007. And you approve that original plan with the intention of financing the parking deck on 7th Street. The plan was subsequently amended several times, and on February 6th, 2019, you approved a fourth amendment and a restating of the plan, which allowed the city to pursue very important public infrastructure projects along 6th Street. I think several of you were here, probably, so you know that that was an important project, and it financed... well over a million dollars to make improvements to 6th street and then expand the snowmelt system the fifth amendment was approved on february 20 2023 to finance the construction of a new three-story 15 000 square foot building on the corner of college avenue and 7th street i think we all know that by the name by lakeshore advantages headquarters and now west coast chamber of headquarters west coast chamber of commerce headquarters Last year, the folks that own the Tulip approached the city and they said, we would like to expand the Tulip Hotel by adding 31 rooms into the area that's immediately adjacent in the parking lot. And they originally wanted to pursue a standalone brownfield plan. And at the time, our finance director had some questions about how that would work and whether or not we could possibly incorporate this into an amended plan, which is this plan right here. So the reason it's taken so long, from October of 25 roughly to now, is that we went back and forth quite a bit on deciding whether or not there should be a standalone plan for this new project or whether it could be incorporated into this existing tax increment financing plan that's been amended five previous times. And it turned out the numbers would allow for the plan to be amended and for this project to be incorporated into the plan. You will not have another amendment in front of you for the 7th Street parking deck plan. This is it. There's only so much more time that can be so much more tax increment financing capability and time in the table. So this is going to be it. This is going to allow eligible activities of over $900,000 to take place. And if you've been down there recently, which I'm sure many of you have, the project's already started. So it's moving along and it should be completed probably sometime in the spring of 2027. So that is the plan. It will generate A total of $2.5 million for the local brownfield revolving fund. That's a question that frequently pops up. So that's what's going to happen for the LBRF. I'd be happy to answer any other questions. Keith has more background on these projects and amendments than I do. So if you have anything to add, I would welcome it. But it's a fairly straightforward project. It's a traditional brownfield project.

All right.

questions for staff so when you say that we can't we won't do another one because there isn't i don't know if it's money or time or what like what's the what what's the limitation the limitation is generally time okay the maximum amount of time typically the state allows is a total of 30 years

And this will go until 2037 so at that point they're really even if you add additional Development and try to extract the value from the tax increment Financing there's only so much room within this district and my understanding is there's really no place else to build unless you decide to take a parking lot and Then build something on it A private lot.

Other questions for staff? Juan, for the public, because we talk about brownfields all the time, we talk about TIFs all the time, and it seems complex and opaque, but I'm going to do my very best to give a layman's explanation of what a brownfield TIF is. So brownfield normally describes a property that has been built on previously, as opposed to a greenfield that hasn't been built on before. And when a project is being built in a place where there has been construction before, there are usually additional costs that are associated with that, correct? Correct. And what the brownfield TIF does is it allows... us to capture the difference in or some of the difference in the taxes that would be paid on that property before it was developed versus after it was developed. That's the increment that we're talking about. So when this property is developed, it will generate more property taxes for the community. We're pulling some of that out in order to be able to help pay for these additional infrastructure costs. Correct? Spot on. Okay. So I just want to make sure public at home knows we're not giving money away here, but what we're doing is we're saying, hey, as an incentive to improve the property and to increase the amount of taxes that the city will be able to receive long-term, We're willing to invest part of that increase for a certain period of time. And as Ms. Raymond said, you know, only 10 more years or 11 more years on this one that we'll be able to pull some of that off, pay for those infrastructure costs or some of those infrastructure costs. But then after that time, that property will have been approved. The taxes that will be paid on that property will be higher. The area will have improvement and development on it. And everybody wins in the long run on something like this.

And everybody is the correct term because it's not just the individuals that are making private investments. They're helping finance a lot of public infrastructure that all of us and all of Holland residents are using and benefiting from.

Talking about things like roads and snow melt and... Sewers and all of those. And parking structures. And parking structures. That are free. And you mentioned the last amendment that we did for this, and I love that last amendment that we did for this. Do you know off the top of your head, I bet Mr. Van Beek does, how much the city was able to save on the construction costs that were done on 6th Street with that last brownfield plan that had to do with the next center? $7 million. $7 million in infrastructure that was paid for with tax increment financing. So it's a... an incredible tool to be able to improve the city so i just want to make sure that the public knew that that's what we were the kind of thing that we're talking about we're talking about brownfield tips that's a great summary all right any other questions or comments all right great thank you on this one count uh what is the pleasure of council in regard to setting a public hearing for hotel venture 7th street llc

Move to set the hearing. All right.

Moved by Vreeman. Is there support? Support. Support. Was it Clomp Harts? Yes. Sorry, I wasn't looking in that direction. Any discussion? All right. Brenda, would you please call the roll?

Freeman?

Yes.

Raymond? Yes. Corbin? Yes. Marikeen? Yes. Rowan? Yes. Shea? Yes. Klomparns? Yes. Mayerbachs?

Yes.

Motion carries.

Great, thank you. Next item on the agenda, item 12, echo 2.2, set public hearing for AMK Holdings LLC, request to approve a first amendment to a Brownfield plan for 493 West 32nd Street. Mr. Van Beek? Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Mr. Ghanoum, last time with a microphone.

You know how much I love to talk. I know. I'll keep it short. This one's more straightforward than the sixth amendment to the plan that you just set this public hearing for. This is an amendment. This is the first amendment to a plan that you approved in 2024 for AMK Holdings that desires to build 25... for sale townhouses at 493 West 32nd Street, which was the site of a former nursing facility, nursing home, an assisted living facility. The plan that you approved in 24 allowed monies to be captured to begin the demolition and any abatement associated with demolition. That was conducted. So you've got a site that's ready to be developed. The folks who are developing the property, AMK Holdings, have an approved site plan. So that's completed. And what they're asking for now is for the plan to be amended to incorporate additional costs that can support the project. those costs would be infrastructure associated with developing the utilities on-site and the roads on-site the roads that are going to be built in this property are going to be private roads they're not going to be public roads coming off of 32nd Street so The tax increment financing is going to help finance those roads and the utilities. The total amount of eligible activities that the developer is seeking to capture is $1.5 million. And the city will receive $100,000 in administrative fees. And our local brownfield revolving fund will capture over the life of the TIF, which is 19 years, $532,000.

All right, any questions for staff? It's your last chance to grill Juan. Great, thank you, Juan. Thank you. Yeah, what is the pleasure of council in regard to this item?

Move to set the public hearing for AMK Holdings LLC, request to approve First Amendment to Brownfield Plan for 493 West 32nd Street.

Moved by Rowan, is there support?

Support.

Support by Raymond, any discussion? Seeing none, Brenda, would you please call the roll? Raymond yes Corbin yes Mayor Keene yes Rowan yes Shea yes Klomparens yes Freeman yes Mayor Box yes motion carries great thank you next item on the agenda item 12 echo 6.1 gifts Brenda would you please review the gifts for us

The city manager's office is pleased to report the following gift for Windmill Island Gardens, a gift of $150 from Bear Schultz for refurbishment of the four column street organ. It's recommended this donation be accepted with appreciation credited to the appropriate account and an expression of gratitude be forwarded to the donor.

Wonderful. What is the pleasure of council in regard to the gifts?

Move to accept the gift. receive it with appreciation, forward a note of appreciation, and allocate the money, all of it as presented in them.

All right. Move 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. Item 12, ECHO 6.2, approval of the Holland Recreation Center early site bid package and amendments to the construction contract. Mr. Van Beek.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'm going to hand this off to Assistant City Manager Matt Van Dyken, who is about to get really busy with a project.

Yes, I am, and good evening, Mayor and Council, and Keith, Juan, thank you very much for covering the two prior items tonight, and that will make my life much, much easier being here on the 16th, so thank you, guys. So the item in front of you tonight is just over $1 million worth of work to begin the project at the Holland Recreation Center. We had bid out the entire site work package. So if you think about dirt work and parking lots and all that kind of stuff, clearing the site, the entire package was sent out. So we will work with one contractor. That number was about 1.7 for everything. What is being presented to you tonight is the first phase of that. We asked the contractors to break out the first phase to address soils, get the project going. We'll come back to you in November with the entire project number, and then at that time release them to do the rest of the work. We were very happy with the results that we got back in that bid. We had actually I think the top three bidders were within 2% on the project. That is a very, very good sign when people are that tight that they are sharpening their pencils and really wanting to do the work. So we're really excited for that. But this would then kick off soon. We would have the site fenced off and begin the work before Hope College's first home football game so that people would not be in there. We've been working very, very closely with Hope to accommodate them to have some additional parking in the area so we're not impacting the neighbors even more. But this is really, should you choose to approve this tonight, this is a really exciting piece and gets us started down the road to have our own recreation center. You might ask, well, what's included besides the first phase of work, if that's only 800,000 and we're to a million, well, we've gotta fence off the site, we've gotta have a job trailer, we've gotta have temporary utilities, we've gotta have port-a-potties, we've gotta have all the things that go with a project. So we will be, again, should you choose to approve this tonight, making impact on that area very, very soon.

Okay, great, thanks, Matt. Any questions for staff? All right, what is the pleasure of council in regard to this item?

A move to approve the recreation site early site bid package and amendment to construction as presented.

Moved by Mayor Keene. Is there support?

Support.

Support by Raymond. Any discussion? Seeing none. Oh, I'm sorry. Mr. Raymond.

Matt, as the project starts, how long is the anticipated construction to completion?

So I would anticipate we would be between 12 and 15 months. So we're looking at next November to be actually complete with the project.

And what has Hope's response been with losing some parking and getting additional parking? How is that going to happen? So the parking they're losing is only the game day parking where they were parking people in the grass. Which is the impact of the area.

which is the impact of the area we've actually walked the site where their athletic director and multiple people and we actually have other areas of that site where they can move the parking to that will not be inside of this fence and it will be a temporary situation once the facility is built they're actually quite excited about having additional parking in there i don't know if you're aware but they do charge for parking on game days in their lot and it kind of becomes i guess the parent lot But, you know, if we don't have anything scheduled going on, any scheduled programming at our recreation center during that game day time, which we probably won't because that would be a huge conflict, it actually opens up additional parking potentially to them, and we potentially could charge for parking and bring some revenue in on our side as well. So it's been a very – we started talking to Hope. two or three years ago now, and the response from them to a person has been very positive.

I appreciate that there's additional parking being allotted and planned for. Thank you.

Any other discussion? All right. Brenda, would you please call the roll?

Corbin?

Yes.

Marqueen? Yes. Rowan? Yes. Shea? Yes. Clump-Arms? Yes. Rehman?

Yes.

Raymond? Yes. Mayor Box?

Yes.

Motion carries.

Great, thank you. Next item on the agenda, item 13, communications from the city manager. Mr. Van Beek? Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor and council.

Four quick things tonight, I promise. First, just a reminder, we're moving into that time of the year where there's a lot of partner agencies, nonprofits and the like that are having their season of events. You know that I communicate those to you in communications and Mallory is always available to you. So maybe just a little extra encouragement to take a look at those. And the value, I think, that you've communicated, I know the community communicates back to us, is that when you're out at those events, you learn about those entities, but you also are connecting with community. Definitely recognized Juan already tonight. Also have communicated in my other communications, very appropriate and well-earned Tricia Dreyer, the Assistant director of community and neighborhood services has now been appointed the director of community and neighborhood services So she will do a fantastic job The only we're just juggling a few duties and then earlier today we also put out a job description for a manager level position basically different than how we had arranged with Juan and that will focus just on economic development measures. So as you might suspect, we're eager to get that job posted and applicants screened and get someone up in that important position. Ambassador Academy note, Mallory sent something out to all of you that begins not next week, Monday, but the following Monday. So then we're on that 10-week, every Monday night schedule, 6 to 9. So some of those nights, if some of you can make it, kind of spread that out, that'd be great. But I know that that is upcoming and we're excited we got a full class. Finally, this is something that I've done quite often in the falls. I'm not going to chase you down or have Mallory send you multiple emails or anything, but just try to make myself extra available to any of you that if you have something to chat about. If you don't have something to chat about, if it's just good to have breakfast or lunch or coffee or something, certainly want to make that available. I try to kind of be more intentional and communicate that to you in the fall. So if you're interested in that, I would love to do that. Just reach out to Mallory and I and we'll get it on the calendar. And that's all I have.

Thank you. Great. Thank you, Mr. Van Beek. Next item on the agenda, item 14, appointments and communications from the mayor. I do have an appointment this evening, a resignation and also a proclamation. First, the appointment. I would recommend to the city council approve the appointment of Jeanette Sweeney to the Board of Appeals as an alternate member. She will fill the remainder of the term vacated by former member David Barr, who resigned from his position as an alternate in March of 2026. And I would be looking for a motion in that regard. so moved moved by freeman is there support support support by rowan any discussion seeing none all those in favor say aye aye all opposed same sign motion carries and i do also have a proclamation this evening for good neighbor or national good neighbor month Whereas, in 1978, United States President Jimmy Carter, by proclamation, established National Good Neighbor Day, eventually set to occur on September 28th of each year, a day set aside to observe the importance of neighboring, neighborhoods, and community. Whereas research shows that neighborhoods are a vital factor in creating safe, healthy, inclusive, and flourishing communities. And whereas it has been established that the development of socially cohesive and inclusive neighborhoods positively impacts the physical and mental health, life expectancy, and overall well-being of individuals. And whereas neighborhoods and cities are healthier, their economies are stronger, and their social problems more limited and manageable when people who live in proximity to one another experience a shared sense of belonging and connectedness. And whereas it has been demonstrated that communities with strong neighbor to neighbor connections show greater civic pride and engagement and more effective crime prevention, disaster response, and economic resilience. And whereas the City of Holland is fortunate to benefit from the efforts of countless number of Holland residents who display neighborliness every day on their blocks and in their neighborhoods. And whereas the City of Holland is also fortunate to benefit from the efforts of numerous groups and organizations working intently to build stronger and more connected neighborhoods, including Heights of Hope, 360, West Core Neighbors, and Washington School Neighbors. Now, therefore, I, Nathan Box, Mayor of the City of Holland, Michigan, do hereby proclaim the month of September as National Good Neighbor Month in the City of Holland, and I urge all citizens to celebrate National Good Neighbor Month by making a genuine and renewed effort to support the flourishing of your neighborhood during the month of September and throughout the year.

given under my hand and the seal of the city of holland on the second day of september 2026 mayor nathan box and that is all i have this evening mr mayor yes i'm sorry to interrupt and yes possibly be wrong but i think uh you may have opened the wrong attachment when you did your appointments and resignations for city commission i apologize i think you actually handled the board of appeals one i did

that was the attachment that was attached to my agenda so you're looking for the one that is the appointment of peter kennedy to the planning commission for a three-year term and the resignation of how did i get that one okay well thank you i appreciate that i do have more appointments this evening thank you thank you uh i'm gonna make a recommendation to city council to approve the appointment of peter kennedy to the planning commission for a three-year term expiring on june 30 2029 and to accept the resignation resignation of derek mackie from the historic district commission and i would be looking for a motion in that regard so moved moved by rowan is there support support support by vreeman any discussion Seeing none all those in favor say aye. Aye all opposed same sign motion carries. Thank you. Mr. Van Beek. I appreciate that Then next item on the agenda appointments motions communications from council members anything from council members I do believe we have a council appointment to a city board. Did I that's the one I That's the one we did. That's the one we already did. Okay. All right, I grabbed the wrong That's what I did wrong. I clicked on the wrong thing. Thank you I was sitting here wondering what I had what I hadn't made a mistake on miss Rowan. I

Yeah, so since we were talking about the Board of Appeals, I did have a question for Keith on, so Tricia Dreyer's moving up to the head of the CNS. Correct. And then will she continue to be the staff liaison for the Board of Appeals, or are they gonna fill that with another staff?

So we're juggling some things. I hesitate to say this for sure. I know that Steve Peterson is gonna take some things. I don't recall exactly if we're changing the Board of Appeals or not. Stay tuned.

I wait with bated breath. I do want to compliment Tricia she's excellent she was I worked with her I think several of us here worked with her on the Board of Appeals and she's very capable very qualified one has big shoes to fill and I think that she'll do an excellent job doing that thank you any other motions communications appointments from council members no seeing none just one more motion I accept at this time move to adjourn move by Vreeman is there support

Support.

Support by Mayor Aquino. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion carries. We are adjourned. Thank you all. Have a wonderful day and a wonderful holiday weekend.