City Council - Regular Meeting

[laughter] [laughter] It's a new year. You had to play musical chairs. The finest Why so deep? All right, 7 o'clock. We'll call the meeting to order and rise for the pledge of allegiance. 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.

Susie, roll call, please. Council member here. Council member Vargas, here. Council member Sal here. Council member Eric here. Mayor here. Uh motion for the consent agenda for tonight. And I'll support discussion or changes.

I'd like to make one comment that I noticed. Everything looked good. There's a check for $2,500 to JNK roadside service. It's a little confusing. Mike filled me in. someone purchased a vehicle from and paid the city and then the city is now paying the uh roadside service to take that away. So, if any questions, it just looked a little strange, but it's all straightforward. Thank you. Yep. Any other discussion? Sue, council member. Yes. Mayor D'vor, yes. Council member Sal, yes. Council member Eric Vargas. Yes. Council member Brellus.

Yes. All right. Uh, citizen comment for agenda items tonight.

Perry Bechum reside at 924 Riverside Drive. Um just regarding the Riverside Drive um traffic um different options. I know you're looking at um reading the agenda, looking at different things to do on Riverside um because um this summer is going to get uh the first part of it is going to get repaved. Um, so, um, and I know that, uh, there's quite a few citizens here from Riverside Drive tonight. Uh, the one thing, whatever I can live with, whatever you do. Um, uh, except for I wasn't I wasn't enthused about changing the direction and having it go the traffic flow to the come to the south. Um cuz you know I I would not be in favor of that. The other things um it's been it's been fine. You just I guess I just have to learn a different traffic pattern of turning and going up Riverside Drive. Um, it it has reduced it has it doesn't it hasn't necessarily reduced speeding, but it has reduced the amount of speeding because there's not the flow of traffic that there once was. But there's there's still traffic that goes at a pretty good clip down Riverside Drive. And that's that was my concern. The only other thing, and I've mentioned it before, that during this process, um, because I know that, uh, the I would certainly like to see something similar to maybe the Riverwalk or whatever. Um, but a lot of those power poles, um, former power poles that have street lights on, everything, some of them are getting in really bad shape. Um, I just would like to see a more decorative light because we're now

seeing uh we're now seeing a lot more people utilize Riverside Drive in walking, biking with their kids and everything. And I just think it would be uh advantageous to do that project now as compared to paving it and then all a sudden, oh, we need to put new wires in and that type of thing. So, cuz I'd like to see the we the only above um wiring right now is to light the lights. Um low light power has moved um off Riverside Drive. Um so that's the only reason for you know the wires that are above. So

thanks Bar. [snorts] Good evening, Dale Lapa. Um, 904 Riverside Drive. And, uh, first I'd like to address the the, you know, the repaving and project of Riverside Drive. I I I have three thoughts on this. Number one, after you repave it, leave it alone. Let it be the way it was. and possibly if that's the case put in a couple of electronic speed limits or speed signs so people are aware how fast they're going cuz I think when those those things when those were up I think people paid attention to that all right and also have it patrolled a little bit more as far as and give out a few tickets and see if see what kind of reaction there is to that and I'm assuming there might be some good reaction from the people that live there and other people because the people that get the tickets aren't going to like Okay. So, that that'd be my first my my preference as far as don't don't do anything other than maybe the the electronic signs and have it um patrolled more better. Okay. Number two, um get rid I as far as the barricades go, I don't ever want to see those barricades again as long as I live, as far as I'm concerned. All right. I think the barricades have been uh a pain for those of us that live there and probably a pain for a lot of people that use that to travel north on especially on Flat River Drive. The barricades I think are are a bad idea. I said this before earlier when they were done that it's a bad idea and I don't like it and I would just soon see them gone forever and ever. Amen. And [laughter] uh the uh uh the other the other thing uh that I wanted to address and I don't know I don't I didn't read the agenda so is about the uh the data center out at Cascade. Um I

I know I read the the minutes from a previous meeting that and I guess maybe somebody can correct me if this is right or wrong that we l city of l had pulled out of the water and sewer to be run out there. Is that definite positively 100% or not?

Okay. While I would like it to be, I don't think we need to be running water and sewer 5 miles out to there to compensate or to to I not to compensate, but to fulfill what the data center people might need if they decide to put one there. And of course, I'm dead set against the data center anyway. Anyway, so as far as us running water and stew out there, unless unless they're going to pay for every penny of it, and I mean every penny the company is, and our rates are not going to go up in water and sewer at all. Maybe charge them more so you can charge us less. But, uh, as far as I I'm totally against running the water and sewer out there for those people. Let them figure it out. Drill a bunch of wells. That's what the people do that live out there. And I don't know if that's possible for a big company or a big place to do that, but do it that way. I mean, it's it just doesn't, you know, I just I think it's a bad idea. Thank you for listening.

Thank you. Uh Mike, since that is not an [clears throat] agenda item, I would recommend that that anything else on the project out there comes next at the end of it, not now.

Yep. I agree. Hi, I'm Annette Rutzma and I live on Riverside Drive at 525 North Hudson. And um you know this is a big topic and I want to congratulate the city council for the intervention they've made this past how many months in restricting the flow of traffic on that road because as you said we've seen an increase in leisure use there children and bikers and runners and things like that. we think about developing, you know, what do you call them? Trails,

places for people to recreate, we have a built-in one right there, and it that it has been used and it has been enjoyed. And so, I think that's working well. To Dell's point about the barricades, um I'm thinking if we just put take the barricades down and put down uh an arm like they have going into Bush now, then it would have access for emergency vehicles. The problem that I have with opening it up to as it was is traffic started. It appeared to uh me and several people that had businesses and things along Maine that people would start at Maine and go tearing up behind Sabore, behind the dumpsters and things like that. So their freeway in quotes would start there that was a a bypass of l and it's the only city in l that you can go directly out of l without a stop. And so that makes sense. I'm sure that played into their hand well and you know that was convenient but then it was an obstacle and a a physical hazard to people that were you know it wasn't a road it's really like a parking lot for the um board of light and power for Sabore for potential housing that's going into the lounge line shack for all the people along there that was a dangerous situation to have people coming off Maine and shooting up the road so I I would I would ask you to consider leaving in place a barricade maybe in a the form of a liftable arm so that pedestrians can enjoy that and as opposed to developing other rails to trails and things like that. We have a built-in one. Now in terms of the obstacle that it provides for all of us or anybody that wants to

use Riverside Drive, we all have to come out and go back in. So it's not like we're like a private drive or something like that. And I've heard that argument and I have to kind of chuckle because we have to come out and move and turn back in. We're not zipping up the road because we live there. We don't have a key card that we can get by just because we live there. We have to we have the same rules to follow. So, I think it's um it makes sense and it brings the whole atmosphere down. We're in a unique position because and I have to call your time. Sorry. Thank you so much. You probably saved yourself the worst reason though. [laughter] Yep.

Kimble Lou 810 Riverside the one putting up the big garage. Um I I do want to say his but was awesome working with Lil Light and Power. Their responsiveness getting there working with me. I could ask for no more. So, I at least want to put a nice plug in. Um, as far as Riverside goes, I don't mind the barricades. I don't mind some of the other options. Um, I think speed bumps. I think stop signs. I think the speed um sign could help, though. I think after a while people might just ignore that unless it's really enforced. Um, so I think there's many ways that could be handled. I don't know that short of at least a stop sign there that anything is going to be better for Sabora and the um and that area where that where we'll call it the glorified parking lot. Um I just know something has to be done and it has been better. We still do get the occasional 50 mph going through there but not like it was. So thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Rob Newman, 928 Riverside Drive. Um I'm excited that you're going to do some on on the road. I received my letter. Understand that they're going to repair the water area on that last block of Riverside. Super glad the barriers in. I know a lot of people don't like them, but uh I'm home every day now. They aren't doing 50 miles an hour down on a regular basis. So it's few and far between that I see. um would like to have a little more clearance or uh understanding of when they're going to start that project, how they're going to proceed with it, and uh what exactly it's going to entail for the residents on Riverside Drive. All of them, not just the ones at the end of the block. So, um that's my point.

Cool. Thanks, R. Anybody else?

Greg Canfield, 12491 Woodland Park Drive, Northeast Belding, Michigan. No longer a resident, but um I I think that Riverside Drive is one of the most beautiful picturesque drives we have in town. The other side of the river, the houses are between the street and you really can't see the river like you can from Riverside. Um, selfishly, I think for the 95% of us or 98% of us that don't live on that road, it's nice to have it open, I agree. Um, it'd be nice some stop signs or speed bumps to slow things down. Um, I was at the line shack a couple weeks ago and somebody in the Cadillac came through there about 40 miles an hour. I had to jump out of their way and um, pulled into the post office and was making a delivery there in the back like a federal employee or something. So, it is a thing. People speed. It's just when they're behind, whatever, they have a reason. But I think some stop signs would be good there. Um, I'm sure for the residents, it's nice to have your own private drive there, but it kind of takes, you know, we can certainly get back to it, but it does take it away from the rest of us a little bit of being able to drive up the street and enjoy the view.

Thanks, Gary. [laughter] [clears throat] David Banga, 804 Riverside Drive. Um, I've got two little kids and just since we've put in the barricades, the traffic's been way down and uh I feel more comfortable with them playing outside and it's just been really nice. But I also understand that it's a pain for other people. I think coming up with a solution to control the speed might be a good middle ground. But it has been nice to have it more safe. Thank you. Thank you.

Last call. [clears throat] Good evening. Uh Steve Doyle, 706 uh Riverside Drive. Um been there for over 35 years. Um, I think if there's anything that that was achieved, you know, overnight putting the barricades in, we had we had what was the count? Close to 4,000 cars per week. Correct.

It was a day. No, it was a week. Yeah. Right. So,

so 4 thou 4 4,000 cars per per week on a on a local street. Riverside Drive is a local street. It's not a major street. It's just a local street. It's very unique because it's it's one of the it's the only local street that you can travel basically through the city and out of town. So, putting the barricades in was very simple. overnight it it changed the traffic. I don't know what the count is now, but it's signi significant and achieved what it really what it needed to achieve was the was the volume of the cars, the speed of the cars, you know, traveling, you know, through l out of town. So, I think it's it's a very very simple solution. I mean, you can do speed bumps and all those sorts of things, but this is very clean, simple situation. And uh, you know, the barricades eventually could be uh, you know, done a little bit nicer with a gate or some sort. So, that's that's my my view on it. Thank you.

Thank you. Liz Sparks at 257 Donna. I don't live on Riverside Drive, so I don't have a dog in this fight, but I live in Valley Vista and um talk about speeding. Um and down Bose Road. I've had people pass me on Bose Road. I don't like the looks of the barricades at the beginning of Riverside Drive. Um, I just don't think it's a good look for our town. I don't like the idea of a gate. I like the idea of the speed bumps and stop signs. I think that would be more appealing to our beautiful, beautiful town. And I have to agree with people. This it Riverside Drive is is beautiful and I was one of the people that would use Riverside Drive to get out of town, but I didn't speed out of town. Um, the other thing I enjoyed years ago, [clears throat] Perry, was when you had your Christmas lights up. [clears throat] It's going to happen again.

Good. Okay. Um, so that's that's my opinion of a resident of a non-resident on Herbicide Drive. Um, I think we have a beautiful town and that's a beautiful street. The barricades I just don't think is it's just not a good look at all. I don't care how fancy you make them. Uh, or the gate because if you have somebody from out of town comes in and they drive down that street and they see those barricades and then they see this gate or an arm. It's like what? You know, we're not allowed to go down that street. You know, that's pretty sad. So, that's my opinion. Thank you.

Thank you. Last call part two. Is it possible to speak? No. Okay. All right. move on to the trail clearing update. Mike Dave Austin here to give you an update.

Hi, uh Dave Austin with Williams and Works, also a resident of Cole at 908 Lincoln Lake. Uh 99% of the time, 1% working on trails. Uh after many uh years and many months, we're finally getting approval, all the approval from our permits. As of today, I understand we've got the final paperwork going into MDOT. So, we're looking like we're going to be able to advertise and bid this job uh in April of this year through the MDAT process. The approvals that we got in late December were uh from the environmental review standpoint and it was at that time that they said you may now proceed with clearing for the trail and the reason that they brought that up is that we are limited to clearing operations up to March 31st and that's a long time requirement maybe 30 years 25 30 years now that in the state of Michigan in this area we have to protect against uh creatures that might nest in in in those areas, particularly the Indiana bat has always been an issue. So, any clearing has to be done before March 31st. Uh last week, uh it was advertised in the ledger and on the city's web page for that clearing. U so I wanted to update that for you. Hopefully, I'll be coming back to you at your February 16th meeting, I think, uh with the bids for that work. And then uh we will have a more formal schedule and presentation to you about when bids would be taken on the full project, when construction would take place and anticipated completion. A lot more details about the project that is many of you have been aware of for years. Uh but some of you may be the first time you're hearing about it. But this will be the trail that connects the rail trail that ends on Foreman Street next to Metric Manufacturing, goes all the

way to Beldin, Greenville, and Elma

to the trail that is dead ends at Mount Colm Avenue and goes east to Sarin, Sarinac, Ionia, and east. And that's 125 mile trail of which we're the only gap in that trail. So, good news finally. I've been waiting for a while to uh to share that with you. The clearing uh is covered uh in your city or ordinance, your tree ordinance that a couple years ago. It was amended to allow for the clearing of trees and other vegetation uh for trail projects outside of your uh tree replacement uh requirements. Is is that cost covered under what you already have set aside or is there going to be additional cost?

Those those these costs are included in the overall budget of the project. Yes. Um it will be done outside of the MDOT contract that'll be let but there are funds set aside for this process. Yep. Any questions for Dave? Comments? Okay. Thank you. Okay. We see you in a couple months.

Riverside Drive traffic calming.

Good evening. Uh Riverside Drive is nearing the point where we will be ready to submit the resurfacing design for bidding. The project includes milling and resurfacing Riverside Drive from Elm to Foreman um with Foreman to Hunt identified as the phase 2 part of this project uh later this summer as well as paving all the cross streets from Hudson to Riverside between Elm and Foreman. The work is anticipated to begin sometime this spring. The final outstanding issue we need to address is how we will handle traffic calming on Riverside Drive. Riverside is classified as a local street on our act 51 road map. Elm between Riverside and Hudson is deemed as a major street. As a one-way street, Riverside is too narrow to be designated as a major street and ineligible for additional funding. We have received ongoing complaints that the street functions as a primary or collector road, which would typically fall under a major street classification. It is well known that Riverside Drive has been used as a shortcut to exit the city rather than utilizing Hudson Street. Due to safety concerns, the city installed a temporary barrier at Elm and Riverside nearly two years ago. The approach mirrors what was done at Lincoln Lake on the opposite side of Hudson in the 1980s when a permanent BM was installed to divert traffic at Elman Mercer. With Riverside Drive about to be paved, city staff needs direction. How would you like to manage traffic calming? One option is to simply pave the road and leave it fully open. However, we anticipate that it would quickly resume being used as a shortcut with traffic volume and speed issues. With one only with only one police officer on patrol at a time, it is not realistic to expect enforcement to focus solely on Riverside during peak traffic hours when they may be called to other areas of the city. Without additional police staffing, enforcement alone is not an effective long-term solution. The administration has revisited this issue and would like to prevent several options for consideration. Our goal is to address

traffic concerns in the most cost-effective and consistent manner possible as we continue paving other remaining streets in the network as planned. City administration does not have a preferred option and is seeking council direction. The second option is to install a gate at Riverside. This would achieve the same purpose as the current barrier and is similar to what was done at Lincoln at Elm and Mercer. A gate would allow us to reopen the roadway during snow emergencies or special events such as parades. A permanent BM would require ongoing maintenance if landscaped and there's a concern it could be driven over. The other option would be that homeowners will be responsible for maintaining it like they would other rights other rightway areas. I'm not sure we want to place these maintenance responsibilities on property owners. While maintenance costs would be nominal, they would still draw from local street funds that are needed for road repairs. Additionally, approving a a permanent reroute raises concerns about future requests and how we determine when such me measures are warranted. The third option would be to install either permanent speed bumps or speed tables. These can be placed strategically such as at North Elm and near Foreman with two locations recommended. Proper signage will be required which may appear awkward in a residential neighborhood. This option would allow the road to remain open while forcing drivers to reduce speed. My preference would be speed tables as they perform generally perform better during snow removal than the smaller speed bumps. This option balances accessibility with traffic calming. Another option would be to install bumpouts on the roadway. Given that Riverside is already narrow, further narrowing would likely require recurbing, which is costly. It would also increase the amount of rightway that adjacent property owners would need to maintain. The city does not have the resources to take on additional rightway maintenance. While permanent or temporary bumpouts could slow traffic,

the reduced width could create challenges for snowplows, refuge trucks, and emergency vehicles. A fourth option would be to reverse the direction of the one-way traffic so that it is southbound instead of northbound. This would keep the road open and the configuration configuration would make it less appealing as a shortcut. However, when this disc idea was discussed informally, it did not receive favorable feedback. With any of these options, it's important to recognize that we will not satisfy everyone. We like to make the best decision for our 4,4142 residents. Any decision made here may lead to similar requests on other streets and the city cannot feasibly address every such concern. That said, each of these options could reasonably address the traffic and safety concerns on Riverside Drive better than what is was previous to the temporary barrier. At this time, you know, we don't need to make necessarily a decision tonight, but we'd like to make it soon. We'd like to go out for bid sometime in February or late February, early March because uh the federal government would like us to spend those funds relatively quickly and then the quicker we get the project done then we can move to phase two.

Okay. Any thoughts? In your packet there's a couple of different options like little ver visuals and um there's a screen and then Katie's here from Williams works if you have any questions.

All right. Who's first? Eric. Sure. I have always said from the beginning that pedestrian safety is number one and these barricades were a very quick solution to reduce the volume and speed. Uh it was in my opinion incredible how much it helped as as someone mentioned it uh as Steve mentioned it really did slow down people. Uh there was it was a racetrack or or it was once you hit Sabore it just people just flew and it was every morning I saw three or four cars doing this. It was not a once in a while thing. I did say also that I would like to try different things and we didn't. We just we tried the barricade and it worked well so we stayed with that. I personally would like to try speed tables next. I think some of the residents have said they would entertain speed tables. I was traveling last week in an area that their roads are filled with speed tables that are not marked and you hit those and you won't do that more than once or twice. You would need a speed table right in the Sabbore Mexico area and then strate strategically placed up Riverside Drive. I think that would solve or again allow pedestrian safety and then it would possibly not have the appearance of a private road which I don't totally agree with but because the residents on Riverside have to have that same uh go out and back to to use their road. So it's it's not a private road but I think [clears throat] speed tables should be uh tried if other areas have speed problems. Rich has a very good tra traffic calming guidelines. So, it's

it's easy to monitor the speeds on roads and is as problems develop then we have we have uh these speed tables and I think possibly they could be removable too. I think I've seen some that you just screw them down. So, I I really would like to try speed tables. parked.

I I [clears throat] just assume keep the gate because there are still people, you know, we have to make the change. If we want to go up, we got to do the turn around and go up like everybody else. There has been a lot less traffic. There are still some that come speeding through there and there's still some that are doing the wrong way going southbound. One time I saw three [clears throat] of them within two hours a couple weeks ago. I think from a cost factor, I think the gate would be cheaper than the other and it'd be less maintenance on the road or signage. That's my opinion.

Yeah. During the during the election, I probably talked with 2530 residents who wanted to see the street open at at all costs. This is what they were telling me. I told him once the first of the year came around, I would reach out to to Mike to encourage him to to look at different options, but he beat me to it. So, thank you, Mike, for for being proactive. There there was a lot of it. And they said as a lot of citizens were just disappointed that that we would close one of the most beautiful streets in the city and uh restrict flow. And that that was most of their concerns that they told me. So, they didn't have any solutions. I'm extremely disappointed that none of them came here tonight to speak on their behalf that they'd like to see something different. So I I do if we don't if we table this night and come back with I encourage them to come and at least speak about it and let us know what some of those other residents are thinking about this. That's all I got.

I love it.

I just will echo what everyone else has said. Um I see two options. I see the gate as a very good option. I think having the ability to open it up for snow removal, street cleaning, that type parades, there was some discussion of that emergencies. I think that's a a good option. It is better than having to maintain a curb. Um that was similar to what was done on Lincoln Lake um and the side streets on the west side of Hudson. the the speed tables. Yes, we experienced some serious speed tables and but I think they would need to be strategically placed including in the parking lot because as I said on that side of the desk, I'll say the same thing. The safety in that parking lot, if you open that up as it is, the safety in the parking lot would be bad. I already had one of my employees hit by a car, knocked off her bicycle. So, it does happen and I don't think we want to see, you know, losing that safety factor. So, I think the ste speed tables or gate could be a possible solution. If we could try it in advance, that'd be great, but I realize we're now we're down to the wire of getting the road repaired.

Yep. I agree. So, my number one speeding on Riverside Drive was my number two concern. The walkability of that whole area was my number one concern. And I sit in Charlie West's office a couple times a month, and it's noticeable, slower going up that little thing. I would be in favor of speed tables, I think, over a a barricade, but I agree that we can't just put them two of them somewhere randomly on Riverside Drive. I think we need to curb it over here still because that was the part of the whole thing. But I also don't know enough about any of these options to make a decision. So, what I'd really like is to get maybe two options and come back with a ton of information and maybe do it as a public hearing so all the Riverside Drive residents can see their options and maybe, you know, have some input cuz it was mentioned to me before the meeting that a few of the the majority of the Riverside Drive residents didn't even know this was on the agenda. So, I think holding a public hearing with a couple of options on the table would give everybody a chance to come and [snorts] voice their opinions, but speed tables would obviously be my [snorts] number one preference.

Mr. Mayor, since time is of the essence, would you entertain removing the barricades and placing three temporary speed tables? You just screw them to the road and test that for a month. What would the cost of that be?

When we don't have any and my understanding is those speed tables are not cheap. And my concern is that additional cost. It's I don't want to keep there's a there's a pretty from my experience from what I research this it was a pretty pretty significant cost to purchase the proper speed tables. It was the proper speed tables was very costly and the cost to remove and and and and install them annually is very costly. Um I want to say it was I I believe it was about $35,000 annually. Um that's a significant cost for one street. Um I would be concerned about having to incur that cost annually.

I just know when I did a I believe on Uline I looked and just a simple speed bump was about $600. I I would caution on a simple I would caution on those because those are not street grade. A lot of those are in trailer parks, um smaller areas, you know, where they're not having the the the the major traffic. My concern with those would be that they would get damaged very quickly.

I'm not suggesting those permanently. It's just a test to see if the residents would adhere to the speed bump and if it would uh help. It's I'm just I'm just thinking we we don't have much time. So, we need to make a smart decision smartest decision as we can.

I So, I personally think we should make the correct decision regardless of how long it takes. I'm not looking six months, but but but I think we could look at this for within the next couple months. Mike can get some cost to us on what these look like and what direction we want to move in. I just don't want to just put something down temporary that just isn't going to work. Period. I' I' I'd rather do it right the first time. And when we did the gate, we thought that was the short-term fix, but we were going to come back and address this at a later date in time. And we're here. Fair enough.

Yep. I would like to see [clears throat] maybe I mean I know it isn't the only factor but cost is a factor. So [snorts] I would like to see what each option costs. I'd like to see places maybe is there a way to give examples maybe of where they've been successful and maybe places that they haven't. I don't

I know the city of Fairiesburg is the one that installs the the temporary one and that's where I got the cost. It was very costly to do and it's a temporary one. It's one of the they they have to screw it into the road and that's that causes issues as well. I'd be very concerned about screwing something into the road and removing it. Is what effect do bumps versus speed tables have on like snow removal or road maintenance? mostly snow removal.

Yeah. So, there's a lot of down pressure on the from the blade on the device. So, it's very possible that something that's just bolted down could easily get popped up. Um the speed table's a little bit wider. Hopefully, um the plow wouldn't be as harsh on that. Um but yeah, I think we can look at some options. I'm kind of looking at Katie over here. We might have some time in the project that we can maybe just build in an allowance for something too and then just have an allowance as a placeholder financially while you all work through the decision-m process. That buys you some time to make the right choice. And then we can also at some point maybe even do a um a tour of where speed tables and and speed bumps are installed. I know there's several locations at Grand Rapids. We could even look at a roundabout if you want to JUST [laughter]

But yeah, there are speed tables and speed bumps in Grand Rapids. I lost you, didn't I? [laughter] Instead of a bump, can you concave them? [snorts] So when you're hitting typically hit it that much is maybe that, but I'll let you speak. I'm sorry. Yes, concave is not a great option. Holds water. Uh could become a drainage problem. Um, the speed table, pedestrian tables are great because they have a ramp up, they flatten out, and then they ramp back down again. And they do achieve the objective of slowing you down. So, yeah, we can certainly point you in the direction of where some are. You can see them yourself or we can take you out there and see them. You've got something on your mind. I can see it. It's not for the meeting, okay? [laughter]

It's not for a time where we're [clears throat] being recorded. Is there a way you could also put together maybe the prices on a few different [snorts] sign options, speed sign options, something like that? I'd like to get all the information at once y and let people is it possible? Is it possible to do a quick traffic study of how many cars are coming down there in the next two months? maybe take a sample of four or five days and here's the average cars and maybe maybe we find out that there's more or a lot less than what is going down the street. The last time we did a study was when the other chief was here and that's all we've seen. I

I will tell you this is not the ideal time to do uh vehicle counts. generally um end of the school year before summer or in the fall when we got normal traffic with school bus routes and that sort of thing is the best time to do it. So if we can delay some kind of a traffic count until warmer weather that'd be probably a better time to do it. I understand. Yeah. Just throwing it out there. Yeah. No, it's good. I I like data. I will say that there is a speed table or a very large speed bump at the high school. And if you've ever driven to the high school, it slows you down. Wicked. It's it's wicked. Yeah.

I mean, I think you would have to take it very seriously. Whatever we put in there, assuming we did that, I think it should not just be a little little bump that you go, "Oh, I was going too fast." It needs to be something that you hit the brakes for. Yep. I agree. So, I don't know. That might be too much. I would rather get a bunch of accurate data. So maybe two weeks is too soon. Yeah. My thought would be is we're going to if you're wanting a public hearing, maybe we have the public hearing the second February meeting and then it gives us time to get all that information. Yeah, I like that a lot. And then maybe which still gives us plenty of time with the bidding and all that. We can we can start the bidding process and get rolling.

And I don't want I want to make sure that we do a better job of notifying the residents that Riverside Drive is on there. Not just the Riverside Drive neighborhood, but the residents who use that road for travel for the scenic route. Walk it, bike it. So maybe a couple of earlier notices on the website and the Facebook page and the Okay. Get the word out a little bit more. But what is that? February 16th would be our second February meeting. Is everybody good if we shoot for that? We good with that? Left side. Yep. Good. All right, that's the way to go.

What do we got? All right. The new business number A, proposed zoning ordinance text amendment.

At its meeting of January 12, 2026, the planning commission held a public hearing and reviewed a zoning ordinance text amendment to allow pet cremation services as a special land use in the industrial zoning district. There is currently an applicant who wishes to establish such a facility within the city and the recommended motion is that the Louisville city council accept the recommendation of the planning commission and approve the proposed zoning ordinance text amendment 26-01.

Yep. And the business owners are here. If you guys have any questions, Jim and I attended that planning commission meeting and it I I think it seems like a really cool business. So, there was concerns about um the handoff of the pets to the facility, which will all be occurring indoors. So, they'll have an overhead door you pull in, you drop off, then you leave. So, there's nothing external. There was a concern about the I don't know what you call it. Oven. Is that correct? the smell or

Yeah, there was a concern about odor because there is an open one in Cascade that has had some concerns, but um there's an odorless and internal machine. We also um some really smart person during public comment suggested maybe a clawback of some kind to avoid a biodigtor marijuana facility ordinance odor thing. Um, so that'll be written in and I I was really impressed with it. I don't know how you felt. I thought it was a a cool business and I think it's way more in demand than you would [snorts] ever think of. So,

and there are so many regul regulations that they have to follow by the state and you know there's just not you just can't do certain things. You have to follow those and they were very thorough about what those are. I still lost a little bit on a couple of them, but uh as long as they know that what they have to perform, I I was I was good with it, too. And I think the uh planning commission was all in agreement that they they like what they saw. And if anybody doesn't know where this is, it's the old vape shop on um Main Street out there. Yellow building says vape. It's where they'll be moving into.

Yep. Yep. I thought the planning commission did a really good job too of um [clears throat] addressing concerns because it is a one-of-a-kind type of business. We've never dealt with it. They did a good job. So, anybody have any questions or concerns about the amendment? I was just going to ask where it was. Yep. [snorts] Yep. All right. Uh then I I will make a motion that we approve text amendment 26-01. And I'll support Any discussion? Sue. Mayor D'vor. Yes. Council members. Yes. Council member [clears throat] Eric Vargas. Yes. Council member Burl Vargas. Yes.

And council member Ritzma. Yes. Easy enough. Yeah.

Uh Mike, the public hearing for 1160 West Main Brownfield. The Brownfield Authority reviewed and recommended to the city council 381 Brownfield plan at their January 8th 2026 brownfield authority meeting. The city council would need to approve the plan before enacting it. Prior to this action, the city council needs to set a public hearing for the meeting and notify the tax jurisdictions no less than 15 days prior to the meeting. We are requesting the public hearing for the Monday, February 26, I'm sorry, February 16th, 2026 city council meeting. Um, in your packet was a notice and I'm recommending the whole city council set the public hearing for the 381 Brownfield plan at 1160 West Main for the Monday, February 16, 2026 meeting.

Yeah. Public hearing Monday. Any concerns, comments, questions? And this property is is what again? That will be the old It's the old It's the Green Ridge property. Yep. Okay. Just want to public to know. Yep. I didn't know. I had to ask. All right. Uh then I will look for a motion to set the public hearing for February 16th. I'll make that motion. I'll second. [laughter] A motion and a second. Any discussion? Sue. Council member Salido. Yes. Council member Eric Barkus. [snorts] Yes. Council member Burl Barkus. Yes. Council member Ritzma. Yes. And Mayor D'vor. Yes.

All right. Uh board and commission reports. Eric. Uh, nothing tonight. Mark, I went to the my first airport board meeting last week and that was interesting. It was uh snowy and they didn't have a whole lot, but they are 30% of their 5-year plan completed. Oh, cool. And they said it might be a little more, but it sounded good and it was a it was a good meeting. And the parks commission meeting got cancelled.

All right, Jim. Um, just a reminder for those who want to apply for the LCTV grant, it's due February 5th at 5:30 here at city hall. Um, coffee with council will be held next Monday at 5:30 at the chamber. Um, I did attend the low light and power meeting and and I did recognize the great job that the low light and power board does. Um they did get me choked up so it was it was a little embarrassing because um um they they do a great job and and if you attend them you you will see that part of it. Um they had three special anniversaries this year. Tony, believe it or not, has been there three years. Zach has been there eight years and Julie had been there 15 years. And um Charlie will be working on the budget along the way so that we can get information. and I attended the chamber with Burl this morning and um they were looking at nominating uh bis businesses people of the year the brick awards so they will be coming out and be announced at expo which is March 28th up at the high school so look look for that so a lot of good things coming on out and that's it

love it uh recently appointed to the planning commission unfortunately I skipped town and was out of town for two weeks but I'm excited about being on that commission very soon, too. All right. And I haven't pinned anything. We are fire authority is Thursday, so we'll have a draft budget in that packet to look at. And uh I'll be there weather permitting. Mayor Board. Yes. May I make one correction? Sure. Um LCTV grants are due at 5:00. Oh, 5:00. Oh, I thought you were open till 5:30 on that Thursday. But the board said it for Oh, five. Okay. Thank you. I'll make that change.

All right. Uh, any questions, comments, concerns on budget or monthly reports in this packet. I did my six-month analysis that I usually do every year around January. I start taking a real deep dive at it. Um, looking at our all our funds, um, the real, you know, we're on track as to what we budgeted. Um, I haven't had anything really um, out of the ordinary expenditure wise other than the one I briefed you about um, with the personnel issue. Um, other than that um, at the moment everything's on pace. So hopefully it stays that way. Yep. All right, we'll keep it going. City manager report.

Sure. Um, couple items. Uh the first one um last a week ago Friday I received uh notice that Representative Mullinar um uh honored our grant request. So we submitted a congressional designation spending request of $3 million to um to the federal government for the water plant expansions. Um and um we were notified that we received that was approved through the US House 1 I'm sorry. Yeah, $1.25 million appropriation that is still subject to approval from the US Senate and obviously s signature by the president, but um that is uh more than 10% of the cost. So, we still got about $8.75 million to go for that. Um the uh ADU ordinance um will come to you at the next council meeting. Is that that's correct? Andy will be here next meeting, correct?

That's what I thought. Okay. Um I am working on the street plan um to complete the remaining streets in the street network. Um obviously I have to have it reviewed um by row. Um but my my initial projection is it's possible by 2031 we could have all the streets done. Um the big one's going to be Bose. Um that's probably about a $2 million job that we'll seek um funding through Federal Highway for. But um the remaining streets um I think it's preliminary estimates about $5 million we still have to complete if if you include bows. Um but we're there's not as many streets as I thought on that list that need to be done. So um we've been obviously very aggressive the last four or five years and we'll continue to do that. Um, on street parking, snow snow hours, uh, 2 am to 6:00 a.m., no parking on the streets. Uh, last week we did have one night we submitted, we issued 23 parking tickets and the police department, I directed the police department to do that nightly um to get that uh, in compliance. And um, also want to um, thank the police department. Uh, they had excellent work uh, two weeks ago on their arson arrest uh, at Schneider Matter. uh they did arrest a a juvenile um and uh they're going through that process and uh last thing is I'll be at the city manager conference the remaining of the week remainder of the week up in Trevor City. That's all I have.

All right, any questions? Good. How about citizen comment for items not on the agenda? Perry Beachham, 924 Riverside Drive. Um, one you might want to thank you, the coffee with council. Um, it's going to be the same. The township, I know we're separate, but is having their planning commission meeting out at the uh, high school that evening at 7. So, I I would just say that a lot of people are going to want to because the

we can wrap that up sooner and excuse those who want to go and those who want to stay and have one last cup of coffee. Ju just letting you know I didn't know if you knew or not. No, I I didn't know when they had rescheduled. So the um what I wanted to talk to has somewhat bought the city but um we are in dangerous times politically. Yeah.

Um ICE, Greenland, NATO, Venezuela, Putin's war with Ukraine. Um it's it's just uh it's very disheartening. Um I know that some people will say I watch too much news. Um if you don't see it with your own eyes, you know, but you know, I've seen it. Um, I've seen what's going on with the with the Greenland and far smarter people than me, [clears throat] England, France, Denmark, they're all sending troops to Greenland. I mean, it's we're in a very um very tough times. And my point being is the citizens of Lel, you know, oh, it'll never happen here, you know. Well, I'm going to tell you that uh the big beautiful bill increased ICE budget by $75 billion going from 9.9 billion a year to 28 billion a year. Um it very well you you could see it happening all over in in the next five six months. Um, you know, and it's it's just very disheartening to see what's going on. You know, I was I did my and I've said this before, my grandfather, my father served in the military. I did not um but I was brought up, you know, as the United States is helping every other um country around. Um, and it it's it's I'm just telling you it's scary time. Um,

you know, and we've had we've had representatives like Gina Johnson, John Molar do a lot of things for the city and the community in finance. You just mentioned tonight getting that. But those mean nothing if if all of a sudden you and I have got to carry papers with us, you know, whether we are United States citizens or not. Um it's it's just it is just crazy out there. And so I I just am upset that um you can disagree agree with with the president's direction or whatever, but when it goes against the constitution, and I believe a lot of a lot of it is, um it's it's just crazy. And my point being is as LOL, we need to citizens need to call their representative, write their representatives, and and have your voice heard. Um cuz it's scary.

Yeah. So, thanks, Gary. Anybody else? [clears throat] resident. My name is Tracy. My name is Tracy Johnson. You grab the microphone. Just grab it. Grab it. Hi. Uh my name is Tracy Johnson. I live at 824 Lincoln Lake. And um I was wondering um if we could possibly get another um recycle uh thing going on at the old fairgrounds maybe um in the spring or the fall. Community you talking about community cleanup day?

Yes. We are meeting about that on February I think 3rd. Is that what we decided? Yeah. Oh good. Yep. We're setting dates right now and we're working on it for a fall cleanup. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Anybody else? to the 810 Riverside. Uh I'm very much hopeful that the data center does not go through the amount of water and power that those consume. Um I have an IT background. Um work for a what was at one point a Fortune two country or company. Um so very familiar with large data centers and all that. um we really need to make sure that um what the the long-term goal would be and then it does not cost the residents a dime because it would truly be a shame if um we get all that in place and our our rates all start going up. Um I know that contractors and company owners are happy to see that those costs shared with the public, but um we don't really need that here. It's not going to give us that many jobs. Um, so my my inclination would be to not have it. Um, but that's just my two cents. Thank you.

Thank you. [cough and clears throat] Last call.

Oh, yeah. Yep. Go ahead.

Good evening, mayor and council members. My name is Tyler Shepard. I am deaf and use two cocar implants along with live captioning to follow and participate in public meetings. Thank you to the city of Lel for continuing to pro provide recorded city council meetings. These recordings help me and other residents stay informed and engaged. I am currently working with Lel Charter Township on accessibility improvements including live streaming. I respectfully ask the city to encourage the township to move forward with live streaming services so both municipalities can provide consistent access to residents. Real lifetime streaming and reliable captioning are essential for deaf and heart of hearing residents to participate meaningfully in meetings. I am also respectfully asking that the city provide live streaming for city council meetings and continue improving accessibility so all residents can fully take part. On behalf of myself, residents united for a healthy ll and local resident Betsy Lopez Wagner, I invite members of the council to meet with us, learn about our concerns, and work with us toward a 12-month moratorum on data center proposals while prioritizing transparency, community engagement, and public health. Residents united for a healthy Lowel can be contacted through our Facebook page or by email at residentsunitedlogmail.com. Thank you for your time, leadership, and continued commitment to accessibility and community engagement.

Thank you. All right, council comments. Eric, uh, yes, two things. I really appreciate the residents reaching out to us. I've had a number of people ask to meet with me and text me. I I really appreciate that. It's very good for you to come to meetings, but it was great. I met one-on-one with a lady named Margaret on ADUs and I it really was time well spent. So please, we're [snorts] all all of us want to hear from you and continue to ask for a meeting or get getting together a text. Uh so just just I really appreciate that. So thank you. U the one lady wrote us a six-page typed letter on the on the uh data data centers. Carolyn, I just I was super impressed. mailed it to us and I'm not saying you you need to do that but I I read every word and it was she spent a lot of time writing that and it really makes an impact me to me and I believe all of us when when when the residents really latch on. Uh second thing I I really appreciate Brian and Cody at the wastewater plant. They had an excellent year and an excellent annual report that you wrote. Thank you. Very interesting. Uh, we really appreciate all you you and Cody and uh your part-time per lady. I don't know how to pronounce her name, but

Shauna Shauna, I really appreciate what you do day in and day out and keeping that uh very much needed facility running very well. Appreciate your 15 years uh here at the plant. Cody is coming up on eight years next month at the at the at the plant. And to get certification, it's it's quite the process. This is a a technology that that takes a lot of training. And so if you see Brian or Cody or Shauna, please tell them thank you. And I had one more thing on that thought.

Oh, I wanted to ask you the flow has been decreasing the last few years. Is that due to the pipes being fixed or could you tell me why that is? Partially the pipes and partially probably just climate. conditions, but yeah, I think Great. Good to hear. Thank you. Thank you, Mark. Well, I want to thank Rich and the crew on the snow removal. Uh we left town to go into Grand Rapids to doctor's appointments and you get outside of town and it's like ice city.

We were in Grand Rapids today and it was like you couldn't even see the road. So, thank you, Rich, and thank other guys. They're doing a great job. Yes. Yep.

Yeah. I'd like to to add on what what um Perry Perry was saying. I I'm a prodigy or of the 60s when the Vietnam War was going on and and you had one nightly news that you got to watch for a half an hour and and and that's the information you got dated with. Today, it's on 24/7. You could turn on CNN and see this opinion. You go to Fox News and see this. You go to script news, you see that. There's so many confusing ways to think and how how do you move forward? Um I I remember the u Cuban missile crisis. Man, that was a scary time in in our history. And I I hope that this administration continues to to do something that that we don't look at something like that again. I mean, there's just so many hot spots in the world and uh we got hot spots right right right here in town uh that that we need to address. Not like that that it's life-threatening or anything, but there are some things we we have to take care of ourselves. So, um and also thanks DPW for doing a a great job. I've had to move very little snow out of my driveway, so thank you. I don't know what you're doing, but thank you.

You're up.

I would say thank you for the sidewalks, too. I had a meeting at 7:30 at the Chamber of Commerce this morning and they were clear so that was well not quite clear but I could walk through them without like up to my knees so [snorts] it was good. Um and we greatly appreciate that. Uh I would say I'm now sitting on the other side of the desk. Thank you people for being here. I think it's super important for you guys to be sitting in those chairs and walking up to the microphone and speaking what you need to speak. Uh because that is what helps us uh coming and talking about Riverside Drive and your concerns. Whichever direction you you feel is best. We we need to hear that to make a an honest decision that's going to be best for you and for the other citizens of town. So, thank you for sitting in these chairs and I'm glad you're here. So, thank you. I will fourth fifth I'll fifth the DPW kudos like I do every year. I notice it as soon as I hit Merkantile Bank that I'm in the city and I can see the roads. And since it's not an election year, I'm going to say this out loud. I love this weather. I love everything about it. And I I do I don't care. I love it. Um yeah, I don't have anything else. uh appointments and boards and commissions. I did talk to Jake Davenport, Sue. He will continue on historic district. You can take my thing off the airport board because Mark filled that. Um I still I got I'll call Amanda Rogers tomorrow. There is a vacancy two vacancies on the airport board if anybody's interested in that.

[snorts] There's a vacancy on the local officer compensation which decides how much your council members and other commission and boards get paid. Um a vacancy still on the downtown historic district and currently a vacancy on DDA. So, if there's any local property owners, even if they maybe recently moved to Belding or something, but they still have a vested interest in our downtown and they'd like to serve on DDA, uh, there are spots open on that. Board meeting's already got somebody that maybe put their name on.

Okay. And if you want the applications, they're available on our website and on the chamber website. So, it's an easy fill out. Not a lot of qualifications. You just got to be nice. Jim, make a motion to journ at 8:07. Second. Motion and a second to adjurnn. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. We are adjourned.