City Commission - Regular Meeting

like to call to order the Monday, April 27th, 2026 meeting of the Marquette City Commission here in chambers. Um, please 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. Thank you very much. Uh, roll call, please. City clerk. Commissioner Davis here. Commissioner Gotautle here. Commissioner Hanley here. Commissioner Larson here. Commissioner Mayor here. Mayor Prom Ottawa. And Mayor Schlaggel

here. Uh, commissioners, can I get a motion to excuse Mayor to Prom Otawway for this evening's meeting? Commissioner Gotley move out uh Commissioner Otawaway for uh personal reasons, please. Thank you. Second, Commissioner Davis. I'll second the motion. Thank you. Any discussion? All right. Hearing none. Uh all in favor, please say yes. Yes. Opposed? No. Motion passes six to nothing. Uh thank you. We've got an agenda in front of us. Uh commissioners, can I get a motion to approve the agenda? Commissioner Davis, I move the we approve the agenda as presented. Thank you. Second. Commissioner Hanley, I second.

Thank you. Any discussion? No. All right. All in favor, please say yes. Opposed? No. Again, motion passes 6 to nothing. Um, unless the deputy city manager has something to add to announcements, I don't have anything tonight. I do not. Okay. Thank you. And we'll move on to our number two, boards and committees. We've got a couple of items to address here. Uh motion for the appointment, please. Commissioner Hanley. I move that we appoint Brian Shy to the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee for an unexpired term expiring six or unexpired term ending 61 of 27. Thank you. Second, Commissioner Mayor. I'll second the motion.

Thank you. Discussing? No. None. Okay. All in favor, please say yes. Yes. Opposed? No. Motion passes 60. Uh, another one. We got one on Marie appointment here. Commissioners, is there a motion, please? Commissioner, mayor. Uh, I move to reappoint Nicole Bates, the traffic parking advisor committee for term ending 5:30 of 2029. Thank you. Uh, is there a second? Commissioner Hanley, I second.

Thank you. Any discussion? No. All I would say is uh in conjunction with both of these, I'd like to thank them both for stepping back into their stepping up to the role and and returning to the role of uh their committees and appreciate all their efforts uh from here on out. Uh all in favor, please say yes. Yes. Opposed? No.

Thank you. Motion passes six to nothing. That brings us to our first public comment. Public comments may not exceed three minutes per person. Please state your name and physical address when making public comment. Anyone for public comment like crowd tonight? Anyone for public comment? Seeing none, public comment is closed. Moving right along tonight. brings us to our public hearing for this evening uh regarding ordinance 26-03 resoning of uh 1308400 and 1402 Division Street. City clerk background, please. Thank you, mayor. The city received a request to reszone three parcels of land in South Marquette uh 1308400 and 1402 Division Street from mixeduse zoning to general commercial zoning. On February 17th, 2026, the planning commission conducted a public hearing and discussed the proposed resoning in accordance with procedures established in the land development code for evaluating the merits of resoning requests and the administrative procedures for processing such a request. The following motion was made. It was moved by Jay Gutter, seconded by S. Lowry and carried 7 to zero that after conducting a public hearing and review of the application and staff report and analysis for 01-EZ-2-26 the planning commission finds that the proposed resoning is consistent with the community master plan and meets the requirements of the land development code section 54.1405 and hereby recommends that the city commission approve 01-Z-2-26 for the following reasons. One, the master plan and the future land use plan recognize that this area has unique properties and provides a lot of flexibility. Two, the general commercial zoning is included in the master plan for this area. Three, that it does not meet the criteria for spot zoning. Four, and that it serves a neighborhood and community need in our community. Fiscal

effect, none. Recommendation adopt ordinance 26-03 to reszone 1308,400 and 1402 division from mixeduse zoning to general commercial zoning for the reasons articulated by and pursuant to the recommendation of the planning commission and authorize the mayor and city clerk to sign the ordinance alternatives as determined by the commission. Thank you, city clerk. Uh motion commissioner Gotautle. I move we adopt the ordinance 2603 to reszone. Um, oh, public hearing. I was just following his lead. Thank you. Yeah. Um, is there anyone for public comment? Good catch. I didn't put that in here.

Uh, okay. From I've never done one of those. So, we open up a public hearing. Y. Okay. Great. Uh, anybody like to speak to the matter? Okay. None. We're closer. There we go. Do we have a motion? Thank you, Commissioner Gley. I move we adopt ordinance 2603 to reszone 1308,400 and 1402 Division Street for mixeduse zoning to general commercial zoning for the reasons articulated by and pursuant to the recommendation of the planning commission and authorize the mayor and city clerk to sign the ordinance.

Thank you. Is there a second? Commissioner Davis, I'll second the motion. Discussion. Commissioner Gota. I read through the planning commission's uh minutes very carefully and I thought they were very easy to read and I I was very impressed with how the planning commission handled this and it made a very cogent uh uh argument for moving for their their recommendation to do this. I also am aware of what uh uh Marcy Dotes is doing down there and I think it's a great asset to our community and if we can help them out, this is a easy way to do it.

Thank you, Commissioner Davis. Yeah, when I first saw this come on the agenda, I was a little concerned because we had um a recent request to reszone on on Division Street, but then again, as I like Commissioner Gotlib says, as I read the the minutes of the planning commission, um I really appreciate the the work that they did, the deep discussion that they had over this issue, and I this is when the planning commission is of great value to us commissioners. Thank you, Commissioner Larson.

Yeah, I just want to say after kind of reading through this, I want to be clear that, you know, I'm not overly comfortable with the idea of something being built first uh and then coming back to us after the fact. So, it's not really how the process, you know, here should work. And I certainly don't want that to become any of the expectation. Uh, you know, at the same time, I do think that there's some differences uh here than we've seen before. The parcels function all together as one in a large block. It's a long-standing business that's part of that corridor. uh that has always had a mix of uses in it. And so I've been really thinking about that previous storage related request that we had that's kind of in that area and that we denied. Um but um I don't know that we're actually opening the door to those types here more broadly. But I do have a bigger concern that you know by reszoning it to general commercial it'll it'll allow more down the road but not you know more than what's necessarily here today. Granted it's still different. It's 150y old you know business that's kind of been there. So I think you know uh you know I'm I'm a little bit conflicted on it. Uh but I do understand the context and the nuance that have been provided by the planning commission and some of the reasonings that go along with that uh there. So uh you know I'm I'm I'm comfortable kind of thinking about this but I certainly don't um I don't like the fact that it was that it was built and then come back to us uh you know for approval. I certainly don't want that to become uh you know that that exception there. I um and uh hopefully this action, you know, won't uh set the intent of a broader uh precedent for similar requests in that mixeduse district.

Commissioner Henley,

um I had a lot I have a couple questions about this. I don't know who I would point them to. Um in going through it, I know that there was a lot of discussion in the planning commission notes about other options of what they could have taken for this route. I worry that going forth with reszoning this, whereas Meridotes is a wonderful business that we have and I we trust and they are great, they could just as easily sell the property tomorrow and it opens it up to a lot more options for commercial use for whoever picks it up. Is there a reason we didn't go with a special land use or a conditional reasonzoning for this? Besides that, I saw that someone said it would be more complicated Yeah, Commissioner Hanley, I believe this is what they applied for under the advice of our community development office. So that's

okay. This is the path that we saw as appropriate. Okay. I just it it I don't like that we just I mean as a commission four months ago went through the making sure that we're keeping it mixed use and keeping that area a specific way for zoning and now it looks like we're looking at it completely differently just because they already built it so we're trying to make an exception for them. I I do think there's a small difference here between the case you heard a couple months ago. Um the case tonight has a very close proximity to that general commercial that you're looking at reszoning it to. Um I can have the city pull up the map if you'd like.

Um but you can see a significant uh different differentiation between um the case a couple months ago and the properties you're looking at tonight when you're talking about is this spot zoning? Is this an inappropriate in congregate use? I mean, they're um you can see right there, we're basically on top of general commercial across the street. Um and if you go further south, there's there's a pretty big differentiation right there. So, I I think that's

I mean, if you could zoom in just a smidge on that because that other property would be just right past there, right? So, that's Mary's we're looking at there, right? Yes. And so across and behind off of the highway, we're looking at the general commercial. Correct. The red. Yes.

Yes. But the other one, if you come down just a block to the other property that we looked at, we also are looking at across and behind. It's not too far from them either. It's just not on that specific corridor that I've seen. The other thing is there's still a lot lot of residential. The buffer zones are still not conforming in this. Correct. like this would still be a non-conforming property with the buffer zones for residential based on what I looked at. Can you ask that again?

Um I it's from what I saw the buffer zones that you have to have in between commercial and mixed use and residential properties. They won't be met based on this property. Correct. My understanding is that this met the criteria the planning commission when they evaluated it met all criteria to be reszoned in this manner. That's my understanding. Um and I was it'd be legal non-conforming for meeting a ter buffer zones. Okay. But is that for the I'm sorry. I'm trying to find it in the notes. And then I had looked it up through the land development code and I didn't it didn't seem to me like it actually met the buffer zones and it would be legal non-conforming for not meeting them is what I thought it was

which is pretty much all of South Mar

which is yes everything in South Marquette. just I worry a lot about making a decision for something because it's already there just like Commissioner Larson did. And I also worry about having made this decision to protect from this because there's a lot of uses you can do in general commercial that aren't used in mixed use currently. And not to say that Meridotes would do any of them, but if they did sell tomorrow, 5 years, 10 years, we wouldn't have any control over that as we would have already reszoned it. So, I just really hope that we take the time to look and make sure that we know the impacts that this will make in the future, which is what we look at with our master planning process is what we wanted this to be in the future, not what we want it to be today.

Anything else, Commissioner Mayor?

Thank you, your honor. I don't know if I necessarily have anything um to add. I just I kind of have the similar thought to Commissioner Hanley here. I'm a little confused why this wasn't a one-off kind of uh special request instead of reszoning it to commercial entirely. Um I guess maybe I do have a question for uh city attorney. Um you know, if we as a commission wanted to do this under a different classification, would they need to reapply or is that something we have a certain level of discretion with? The only thing we can do is approve or deny the request that's in front of you. Okay?

So, if you wanted to push them in a different direction, your only option would be to deny it and have them apply under a different, you know, whatever that different direction is. Um, and I I apologize because I've not been at all involved with this one. Sometimes um I speak with the zoning staff um you know as they're working through these if they have questions, but this is not one that I've had any involvement with. So I apologize. I just don't have a lot of familiarity with it. Thank you. Anything else, Commissioners? Okay. Um Oh, yes. Commissioner Davis,

you know, I think the um I'm trying to find it in the minutes and um it that question was asked at the planning committee and it was responded to in a comfortable enough way for me to support this. Um it didn't look like the folk the staff in the planning department saw a better way to do this. I and I'm trying to find it in my minutes in the minutes. So I apologize for that. Okay.

Okay. Um, having experience going through the master plan revision process, I can tell you that that these this twob block area here from the main corridor coming in up to division was probably one of the most difficult areas to to kind of reassess because we literally had to go uh lot by lot, parcel by parcel and and it could there's, you know, I think the mixed use uh option that was there was to be as forgiving as possible. And I think that um it could have gone in this direction originally, but they were giving maybe uh something that was going to have a little bit few more options to it. But I guess uh I have to go along with the recommendation from the planning commission because I know that you know a lot of South Marquette is non-conforming just because it's it was built uh at a time when things just weren't uh as you know there's a lot of setback issues. There's a lot of uh lot lines and things that are very difficult to define over there. But um it was just built at a time that uh things for whatever reason when one way or another were done the way that they were done. So um I will uh I will have to uh bow to the planning commission's wisdom here and uh support this. That being said um

we have a Do you want to you want to speak to that at all?

Oh, sure. Um, to Sally's point, page five, um, com Commissioner Fitkin had had asked about special land uses and cautioning people that she didn't want to be reverting a neighborhood back to its past uses when we're intentionally moving towards more residential uses. And Dave Sensus said he'd like to point out that if you look at the permitted uses for special uses in zoning, that special uses have much more intense process. But it's worth thinking about that if any of those uses conflict in the area, though a lot of them already exist in the area. He does answer it there. And then some of the special land uses could pose more concerns, but he didn't think they'd be out of line to or approve or recommend this approval as where they discussed it.

Thank you. Um yeah, and I think you know goes on I think there was the question about um the setbacks uh for 1400 and 1402 Division Street. They've been in place for decades and you know currently do not meet side and rear setbacks but the approval of the resoning is not necessarily going to change that status and they'll remain legally non-conforming as that primarily because the buildings are so particularly old. Uh however, regarding the recently built hoop house, uh it looks like they would be required to be brought back into compliance with those setbacks. So those may need to be shifted and moved to be in compliance as if this goes to resoning.

Excellent observation. Thank you. With nothing further, we'll take this uh to a roll call vote, please. City clerk. Commissioner Davis, yes. Commissioner Gotautle, yes. Commissioner Hanley, no. Commissioner Larson, yes. Commissioner Mayor, no. And Mayor Schlaggel, yes. Uh, motion passes 4 to2.

Uh, thank you for that spirited discussion. That brings us to our consent agenda. Um, is there a motion, please, commissioners? Commissioner Larson. I move that we accept the consent agenda as presented. A second, please. Commissioner Gav, I'll second that. Thank you. Um, any discussion? Seeing none, we'll take this to another roll call vote. Uh, city clerk, please. Thank you, mayor. Uh, this is a roll call. There is an ordinance at 4D and a social district permit at 4G that require a roll call. Uh, Commissioner Davis, yes. Commissioner Gotle,

yes. Commissioner Hanley, yes. Commissioner Larson, yes. Commissioner Mayor, yes. And Mayor Schlaggel, uh, yes. Motion passes 60. Uh, brings us to two items of new business. The first one is about our office computer lease. take it away.

Thank you, mayor. The city's current four-year computer lease is scheduled to expire on September 30th, 2026. In preparation for replacing the city's existing computer systems, information technology staff solicited pricing proposals from multiple vendors, including H Heartland Business Systems for Lenovo and HP equipment and CDW for Dell Equipment. Following a review and evaluation of the proposals, Hartland Business Systems is being recommended to provide HP Elite Book laptops and Lenovo desktop computers and monitors to replace the currently leased equipment. Staff further recommends entering into a new 4-year lease agreement with CCA Financial, the city's current leasing partner. Fiscal effect. The total cost of the proposed computer refresh is $237,888 over a 48-month lease term, which equates to $59,472 annually. Sufficient funds are available in the current fiscal year budget to cover the associated lease payments. Recommendation: Approve the order through Hartland Business Systems and authorize the city manager or designate to sign a lease agreement with CCA Financial for 48 months to replace desktop and laptop computers at a cost not to exceed $250,000. Alternatives as determined by the commission.

Thank you, city clerk. Commissioners, do we have a motion? Commissioner Hamley. I move that we approve the order through H Heartland Business Systems and authorize the city manager or her designate to sign a lease agreement with CCA Financial for 48 months to replace desktop and laptop computers at a cost not to exceed $250,000. Thank you. Is there a second, please? Commissioner Larson, I'll second it. Thank you. Discussion. Not really. This seems very standard and I think the work has been done to make sure that we are getting the best equipment for the best price. Thank you, Mr. Larson. Anybody else?

Yeah, I'd like to hear it from deputy city manager. Sure. What the benefit is here?

Yeah, this is uh actually my department that I oversee. Um and I just wanted to say thank you to my staff who have really worked hard to lock in a price for us. Um we've seen incredible technology price increases over the past year. Um between the AI data farms and everything that are using all that equipment and then the uh war in Iran. Um everything is skyrocketing and our staff have been watching prices like a hawk and um really they're ready to execute this contract tomorrow morning and get everything started moving um to prevent you know this price going up by 25 to 50% in the next couple of months. So we we really have already operated in a really prudent manner with this leasing program and getting this price locked in now is really going to benefit the city.

Thank you. I'd like the uh explanation there and it's the reason why we moved to new business because it really is being proactive and uh I compliment the the team on their work. Uh that being said, all in favor please say yes. Yes. Opposed? No. Motion passes. 60. Well, that brings us to our final item of new business, sidewalk repair and replacement project. City clerk, background, please.

Thank you, mayor. Plans have been developed for the city's annual sidewalk repair and replacement project. The work includes repair and replacement of sidewalks throughout the city to reduce pedestrian hazards and to increase ADA compliance. This work was advertised for bids on March 3rd, 2026 and bids were open on April 8th, 2026. Four bids were received and the results are summarized below. Uh associated constructors $64,565. Primo Constructions uh bid total $73,682. Arrow Constructions uh $82,144 and UP Concrete Co. at $94,947. Uh the engineers estimate for the project was $89,137. Uh fiscal effect sufficient funds are available in the approved fiscal year 2026 budget for the contract amount and the requested contingency. Recommendation: Approve a contract with Associated Constructors LLC for the sidewalk repair and replacement project at a cost of $64,565 based on quantities and unit prices in the proposal. Allow the city manager to use a 15% contingency for any unknown circumstances and authorize the mayor and clerk to sign the contract. Alternatives as determined by the commission.

Thank you, city clerk. Uh motion, please. Commissioner Gutle. I move to approve the contract with Associated Constructors LLC for the sidewalk repair replacement project at a cost of $64,565 based on quantities and unit prices in the proposal. Allow the city manager to use a 15% contingency for any unknown circumstances and authorize the mayor and clerk to sign the contract. Thank you. Uh, second, please. Commissioner Mayor, I'll second the motion. Your honor,

discussion. Commissioner Gotautle. U, my reading of the contract is, uh, it looked pretty straightforward. I I see no reason not to do it. It was the cheapest bid. Okay, Mr. Yeah, just uh you know doing basic infrastructure like sidewalk repairs for 64,000 for the year is uh certainly not not a bad deal. So, thank you. Anybody else? Commissioner Hanley, can I just ask how our engineers bid was so much higher than the bid we received from them? Thank you.

Sorry to put you on the spot, Mle. Um, yeah, that's that was our our best uh um I want I don't want to say guess, but our our best estimation as to what the project would cost based on last year's unit prices. And uh it's kind of a surprise that it was it came in a lot lower. So, yeah. Okay.

Anybody else? I'm going to kind of jump a little bit further on that. I mean, that's $30,000 less. That's third of the project. I mean, is there any reason? I mean, even with 15% on there, we're still way under. Um, I'm I'm very happy to see that, but at the same time, uh, I just I'm I'm I'm very surprised that we're looking at that number. So, if you're happy with it, I'm happy with it. But, I guess my point is is that's significant. Um, and it, you know, it's continued, uh, sidewalk improvements. It's a great example of our public works commitment to safe walking space and it's something that we do every year. I'm just really uh pleased to see this topic come up each season. As dry as it may sound to the people that uh are nerding off about the infrastructure ideas that we are always uh utilizing in this town, it's great to see. So, keep up that good work. That being said, anybody um I guess all in favor, please say yes.

Yes. Oppos? No. Motion passes 60. Okay, that brings us to second public comment. Please remember that uh public comment cannot last more than 3 minutes per person. Please state your name and address when you reach up to the podium.

Good evening. Uh Tony Ruiz is 665 Lakewood Lane in Harvey. Uh first off, I want to say uh thank you tonight. I'm proud of this commission for reasonzoning Mayot. They've been a long-standing uh business. They've been very responsible. Um, you know, I shop there. They deserve their, you know, they deserve this commission's difference. Um, I represent a property owner who owns similar property situated 827 ft from the prop the three parcels that you just reszoned this evening. Uh, you reszone them because it fits in with the master plan. uh you reszone them because it fits in with the top topography and the current zoning of the area. You eliminated a buffer zone that was there before. Um and we look forward to in the future resubmitting our application so that you can give us the same considerations that you guys gave mayor notes today. So I I do appreciate I think it was the right decision. Uh May notes deserved what uh to be able to run their business. They've been responsible. Um the history there is one thing but that's not everything and uh what we want to promote in this community is a atmosphere where businesses can grow can grow build and grow. Uh business has have to change. They have to put storage units up. Uh they sometimes they do it and they will go and ask for forgiveness later. Um, we asked for a conditional resoning and we'll evaluate what we're going to do in the future. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else for public comment this evening? Public comment. Seeing none, public comment is closed. That brings us to comments from the commission. We're going to start on the end with Commissioner Davis, please. Okay, I um just want to point out

something that we did under the consent agenda when we approved the workers Memorial Day uh proclamation. And I just want to emphasize that the US Department of Labor and Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that people in Michigan have died on the job on an average rate of 151 people per year over the last decade. That's a pretty appalling statistics and um it came real close to us last summer uh with one of those deaths. I just want to make sure that just remind people to be very cautious around those work settings. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Gotautle.

Um it's springtime and my thoughts have turned to ebikes. Uh, I really hope that the city commission and uh, the city administration work together fairly quickly to come up with a uh, recommendations or work or or follow up on recommendations presented by the uh, uh, task force and the uh, plan presented a few weeks ago. We need to move on this now. We should have moved on it while it was still snow on the ground. There was at least one emo moto on the bike path today and they go too fast and there's just nothing we can do about them yet. Thank you, Commissioner Hanley.

Commissioner Davis, I'm sorry, Commissioner Larson. Thank you. Uh same color here. On our on our on our next coming up on our next uh commission meeting on May 11th, uh that is going to be bike to work week. Uh and kind of in the tradition of what we have done in the past, I would challenge our commissioners to ride our bicycles to the meeting. Thanks. Great.

Commissioner Mayor, you know, I didn't have anything, but now uh w with that uh I'm going to steal two of my commissioner's comments. Um what a great meeting to discuss uh said ebike task force recommendation uh than our bike week meeting where hopefully everyone will be biking here. Um yeah, that's all I got. Thank you. Um I have a couple things basically. Uh um we got the news Friday that uh our student Trenton who was lost a couple months back during tragic events of uh that winter event that we had was located on Friday. And uh I just want to say how um how much I appreciate what the community has done through this process for the family. Um, I want to appreciate everybody that was uh was looking for Trenton and was also um the the crew from Traverse City that uh located uh the young man. And u I just want to uh recognize um the difficulty of this this topic and uh I hope that we never have to deal with something like this again. But um thank you for everybody that was involved. Um, Friday is the last day for the winter dog park to be open at Touers Park. Um, it's going to be a cool week, so get out and take advantage of it. It's been a a really nice couple of weeks out there. And I might have mentioned it at the not this past meeting because I wasn't there, but one prior. Uh, I just want to compliment the public works department on keeping that facility open for everybody to use. And you know, I realize I I focus on it probably more than people really want to hear about it, but the point is is that, you know, even with all the three blizzards and

everything else, they did a wonderful job of uh maintaining the the pathway for the walkers and for the dogs and uh and you know, taking care of the services that are offered out there. And I know that there's a lot of services that they are in charge of uh throughout the you know the four full seasons that we have but uh coming from from uh something that I'm passionate about I just can't thank them enough for uh their their work. So thank you so much for to the public works department parks and wreck for all their efforts there. Uh deputy city manager do you have anything?

I do. I have a couple of things. Um first the city rubbish site uh is open for the season. Um we added a couple of extra days at the beginning of the season here. Um but it is normally open Mondays, Wednesdays, and the second Saturday of each month. Um please make sure you get there early as it will close if we hit capacity and that capacity is permit controlled. It's not something that we have a say over really. Um so when those dumpsters are full, we have to close for the night. So if you're trying to get stuff out there, try and get out there as early as possible. Um brush pickup starts next week and then leaf pickup is the following two weeks. Remember in the spring we only make one pass per zone um for leaf pickup and you can find all that information on our brand new city website that we launched. Um we're still um going through it a little bit and making tweaks here and there. Um, but we uh have been without a website for the past couple of weeks due to a crash and we've managed to launch the new one and I think it um really looks great. I'd like to thank my staff for for launching that. Um, and that's all I got.

Okay, great. Uh, thank you very much. With that, we are adjourned at 6:34.