City Commission - Regular Meeting

meeting for December 2nd, 2025. It is 700 p.m. We welcome you to our meeting. We're going to have a moment of silence for our invocation to start our meeting and then I'll call upon Commissioner Patrick O'Donnell to lead us in the pledge. Would you please stand if you're able to?

Commissioner Patrick O'Donnell. 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, Commissioner Patrick O'Donnell. Next item on our agenda is roll call. Madame Clerk, Commissioner Katarsi Smith here. Lacrosse here. Mayor Banky here. Commissioner Reynolds present. Commissioner O'Donnell here. Commissioner Simmons here. Vice Mayor Sophia

here. Noting that Commissioner Morris and Lance are both absent. That's correct. Thank you very much, clerk. Next item on our agenda is chair noting any added or deleted resolutions. There were none. Thank you very much. Next item on our agenda is petitions, communications, and reports. There were none.

Thank you very much. Next item on our agenda is public comment regarding any remaining agenda items. If you'd like to make public comment regarding any remaining agenda item, please raise your hand and we will acknowledge you to come forward to the podium. You will have four minutes to make your comments. Please state your name and address before beginning your comment and indicate which agenda item you are speaking to. Are there any public comments regarding any agenda remaining items? Are there any comments? Seeing none, we'll move on to commission comment regarding me meeting business. Move forward the approval of this consent agenda. Second.

So moved and supported to approve the consent agenda. Are there any items that the commissioner would like to discuss, ask questions about? Anything? Not seeing anything. Would you please vote on the consent agenda? I'm not showing Carla is in Commissioner Reynolds. There we go. Got it. [snorts] Oh, I didn't show them.

Yes. Thank you.

The consent agenda has been approved. Next item on our agenda is resolution 276. Madame clerk, when you're ready. This resolution approves an amendment to the Lake View Downtown Development Authority bylaws section two, number, tenure, and qualifications to add language stipulating that a representative of the city commission appointed by the city manager with the approval of the city commission shall also be a member of the board and that the term of the city commissioners appointed to the board shall expire upon expiration of his or her service as an elected official. In addition, the city commissioner's membership on the board expires on their resignation from office as an elected official. Furthermore, the amendment includes changes to accommodate genderneutral language and sets the annual meeting of the LDDA board of directors for the fourth Tuesday in October at 4:30 p.m.

Move for approval. Second.

So moved and supported to approve resolution 276. There any comments by the commission? Seeing none, would you please vote on resolution 276? Resolution 276 has been approved. Next item on our agenda is resolution 277. Madame clerk, when you're ready. If approved, this resolution would authorize the city manager to execute a grant agreement for the fiscal year 2026 Medicaid CHIPLE Health and Safety Grant in the amount of $62,000 from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. This authorization would also cover accepting any additional amounts that may be added to the grant agreement during the fiscal year. The city of Battle Creek's community develop department has administered a lead abatement program funded by the state of Michigan since 2017.

Move to approve resolution 277. Second. It's been moved and supported to approve resolution 277. Are there any comments by the commission? Seeing none, would you please vote on resolution 277? Resolution 277 has been approved. Next item on our agenda is resolution 278. Madame clerk, when you're ready.

This resolution, if approved, accepts a bid from the Phoenix Builds LLC in a not to exceed amount of $797,314 for the rehabilitation of the Valentine Center. This resolution also authorizes the city manager to execute all necessary contracts and approve change orders up to 10% in aggregate for the city initiated pre-approved changes for unforeseen conditions that were not itemized in the contract. The project consists of renovation work at the Valentine Center, a city-owned facility located at 75 Irving Park Drive in Battle Creek, Michigan. Currently leased for daycare operations, the facility will undergo comprehensive improvements to create a welcoming, modern, early learning environment as a new daycare operator prepares to occupy the space.

Move to re to approve resolution 278. Second move been supported to approve resolution 278. Are there any comments by the commission? Questions? Commissioner Patrick O'Donnell. Uh, thank you, Mayor. I just would comment. Um earlier this week I ran into a few people that have actually asked me about the Valentine Center and they they uh actually went there when they were younger and uh it's so great that we can uh get the improvements that are needed definitely in that building to complete that so we can have more generations go through there. Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner. Any other commission comments or questions? Very good. Please vote on resolution 278. Resolution 278 has been approved. Next item on our agenda is general public comment. If you'd like to make general public comment regarding matters over which the city commission has control, please raise your hand and wait for us to acknowledge you to come forward to the podium. You will have three minutes to make your comments. Please state your name and address prior to beginning your comment. There any general public comments tonight? Mary Fields. Yes. Hi 89 Lre. [laughter]

Thank you. It's

nice to be so well known. Anyways, hi. I'm here talking to you about revenue. I love revenue. I love making revenue. I love revenue streams. It's a lot of fun. Not everybody has that same focus. A lot of people just don't comprehend the subject matter and it can be frustrating. And I've talked to you guys about this before and I talked to the mayor and what I want to talk to you about is your list of city- owned properties. Last conversation I had with the mayor and I have a a few copies for you if you want them. I actually fought with a copy machine to win the battle of two-sided copies. Anyways, he asked me, "Why do we own these? What who sold them to? How long have we had them?" Well, a lot of them don't have a sales history, which means maybe they were owned in the 80s. You don't most of them you don't buy. They were transferred to you by wonderful organizations like the Cow County Road Commission, the Michigan Department of DNR, uh, Cow County Treasure, uh, most of them you've got like in 98. You've owned these for decades. But this is the really, really frustrating part for me. These should be revenue. All lots in this town are revenue for you. People pay you property tax. That's your revenue. When you own them, you don't get revenue. You get expenses since 98 or before. How much you think a lot costs you each? You got You do know. Do you know how many? Probably close to 100. I haven't added them all up. What do you spend a year on them? Uh, at momentum's probably at least 600. Your property taxes are at least 100. I'm I'm guessing you're spending about a hundred grand a year on these for 25 years. What could I have done with a 100red grand a year for 25 years? What you could have done with a

hundred grand a year for 25 years? I could have owned $2.5 million worth of real estate if I had invested the 100 grand a year. If you had invested the hundred grand a year in a house and rehabbed it, gave it to the housing commission, you'd have had two4 million worth of housing for I mean, you know, $2.5 million worth of housing for people. This is lack of focus on revenue and expense is important. you need and I realize that, you know, you can't pay attention to every line in your budget, but one that's been there for 25 years needs to catch your attention because it's a real waste of taxpayer dollars. And everybody in the room will agree this isn't what you would have wanted to spend 25 years later. You didn't start out this way. You just ended up this way. Anyways, I'm not going over my time. If you want some copies, I'll give them to you. I I know the mayor wants one because he was asking about it, but raise your hand if you want any more.

You can leave them You can leave them in the basket there. Your time's done now. And we once again want to say thank you for building your new house in the Post Franklin edition. Thank you very much. Are there any other general public comments at this time?

Yes, sir. Steve Cotch, 548 Washington Avenue North, Battle Creek, Michigan. Since 1995, I've lived in that house. [clears throat] We won't talk about that. Um, I just got my bill. I'm sure you all did, too. Okay. And, you know, I'm just kind of curious why it was what it was. One of the things I caught was TAC, which we're all going to, I guess, vote on a commissioner being installed in that position or reinstalled in that position, whatever. Give you an idea. [clears throat] Almost $62 of my money goes toward TAC, which has a rate of 2.66 millillage. Okay, that's just for winter. What is summer going to be? Number two, what is TAC actually going to do differently that we don't already have now? And how many people is it actually going to serve? I've never used a bus in my life in this district. Never. I have no need for bus service. whatsoever. Uh when I didn't live in this town, every town I've ever lived in, I've never needed a bus service. Okay. [clears throat] Okay. So, of my taxes, I figured it out here. It say here, Battle Creek Debt 2.75. Battle Creek School Funding.99. the um Kellogg Community College, which I haven't used since 1982, where I paid 100% of my money for my schooling that I went to because I was out of district because I lived in K in Kazoo County because I was in Bedford. All right. All right. Let's continue on. [clears throat] Calhoun County ISD 3.11. I'm paying $72 for that. of my taxes, over half of my taxes go to pay for school funding, school repair,

school millage, school this, school that. This is all I keep hearing. But yet, I keep hearing from other people that the kids are failing. I keep hearing that, you know, there's all these expenditures, these debts, and everything else that are going on. But I don't see any real improvements here. I just see I keep seeing debt. Okay. So, I'm kind of curious now that this TAC is kicking in, which has they even started that program yet? But it's been we've been paying taxes on it since last year. So, my question is at what point will we start seeing this money actually being used for more than special projects or otherwise? So, I'm just kind of curious because like I said, my taxes there, they are. I'm paying for all this stuff, but I don't see anything. So, just FYI.

Thank you for your comments. Are there any other comments tonight? Are there any other public comments? Seeing none, are there any commission comments? Commissioner Patrick O'Donnell.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, like to thank the uh crews out there that did all the work on the roads this last week and a lot of that. Uh, it was quite a lot of snow, a lot of slushy, heavy snow, especially some of us that cleaned up our driveways. We realize that and uh I know we got a lot of mountains, but I know they're getting those picked up soon and moved out of the way. So, I just want to thank them for all that and I hope everybody comes this weekend downtown and visits all the uh wonderful holiday and Christmas decorations that we have uh in our town and it looks beautiful uh with with the snow around it. So, thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. Any other comments by the commission? Seeing none, we'll adjourn the meeting. Thank you very much for being here.