City Council - Special Meeting

And if it's.

I open the session of the Municipal Council of the city of Pasquy, special session of August 18, 2026. M. Beck, could you please stand up with me for the oath of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

I pledge an oath of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic which it represents, a nation under the aegis of God, indivisible, with freedom and justice for all.

Can you please make the call?

Mo? Present. Wilma?

Present. Present.

Walker? Present.

Present. The first point of the day is the intervention of the public. Does anyone want to speak to the council at the moment? In the absence of a question. Oh, is there someone? Yes.

You have to press a button. Good evening, I am Kate Scullin. I am the current president of the administration council of the Top of Michigan Trails Council. And I would like to mention a few points about our council, which is actually quite recent. Over the past two years, we have had some changes due to the limits of the mandates. We have several new members and we are very enthusiastic about the idea of bringing our help. Il y a plusieurs choses que nous envisageons en plus du wheelway et que sachez que nous rassemblons un groupe de personnes pour réfléchir ensemble à la manière d'intégrer les vélos électriques en toute sécurité sur nos sentiers. Nous étudions également l'entretien Comment pouvons-nous gérer l'entretien de ces sentiers grâce à une coalition de parties prenantes, vous savez, de groupes intéressés dans toute la région ? Ce sont quelques-uns des dossiers sur lesquels nous travaillons. Vous devriez en être informés.

Merci. Quelqu'un d'autre souhaiterait ça au Conseil en ce moment ?

Hello to the Municipal Council. This is the first time I'm doing this, so I brought written notes that I'm going to read, but first of all, Ms. Murphy, I'm glad you brought your glasses. So, hello to Pasky, to the Municipal Council, to the Municipal Director Horne, and to Secretary Beck. For those of you that I haven't met in person yet, I'm Becka Nelson, I'm currently the executive director of the Top of Michigan Trails Council and Booker. J'ai apprécié le travail que nous avons accompli ensemble jusqu'à présent sur le Little Traverse Wheelway qui m'a au cours des dernières années et j'ai hâte de poursuivre ces efforts. À ce stade, vous devriez avoir reçu une lettre de notre conseiller juridique dont je souhaite souligner les trois points principaux. Premièrement, le Conseil des sentiers reconnaît à quel point cette tâche est difficile. Bien que je n'ai pas été personnellement impliquée dans les travaux initiaux pour créer ce sentier, beaucoup de personnes présentes présentent dans cette salle, assises derrière moi. can talk about it, but what I know is that it took many years and many partners to get there. We are committed to continuing to support the city to find a way to follow, and we have begun to explore alternative options to restore the connection to the road corridor, which would reduce costs and reduce environmental impacts presented in the initial plan. Secondly, we want to move forward not only on planning, but we are ready to unblock counterparty funds for justice fees up to $20,000 for costs committed outside your insurance coverage. We understand that this is expensive, it is a constraint. It is a regional incentive, but the city is stuck with this trial. We recognize it and we want to intervene. And thirdly, as the regulation agreement has been made public, we do not recommend signing this agreement. Although the final result depends on you and your vote, we want to emphasize that, whatever happens, we want to continue to work together. If the service is preserved, the Little Traverse Railway is ready to continue to offer impassable views of the Little Traverse Bay, which attracts users of the trail in the region and allows us, as a resident, I am currently a resident of the city, this allows us to cherish one of the things that makes life here so special and makes us feel so lucky to call this place our home. I am really enthusiastic about the idea of continuing these conversations and working on reconnection, security and what makes the north of Michigan unique. Thank you.

Does anyone else wish to speak to the council at this time?

You all say to yourself, oh no, not him again, but here I am again. Last time I spoke at the wrong time. Is now the right time to talk about feeling? I don't know if what I did meant anything in the long run, but my main theme was that the city should try to keep this servitude, And I think that, yes, you are under the threat of legal sources, which could perhaps drag you in front of the courts. And I continue to say that a judge of average intelligence and reasonable mental attitude could examine this and wonder how to sanction the city when it has done no wrong. You know, you really didn't do anything wrong. I don't see any binding law. Everything that is here corresponds to 100 property owners who have signed acts, legally registered, in court. And some of them have not only signed an act to grant servitude, they have also given money. I mean, like $ 300,000. It turns out that it was the former owners before the Doctor Law. It was the last room on the entire Charlevoix road. In Alençon, we could say. It's a part of the cycle track that crosses the station and the city. And we had a very noble citizen who bought this property from a renown owner. At the time, he lived in the East. So this person bought the property at its market value with the intention of reselling it to the Compte d'Emmet, which he did. The Compte d'Emmet imposed a servitude, put the rest of the so-called surplus property on the free market, and Dr. Law bought it. He bought it with one of the most examined acts that we can probably imagine. So that's where it is. Okay, where are we now? My only message was that, if nothing else happens, keep the servitude. Because without it, it is useless to recover the slopes. There is nothing you can do there by the water. And I don't think you should do that alone. I mean, if you can keep the servitude, I think you will find a lot of people to support you. If it goes to court, unless it is withdrawn. You know, I think the court should reject the case right now. Et je ne sais pas si nous avons déjà demandé au tribunal de faire cela, ou demandé au Dr Law de retirer son procès, qui nous coûte du temps, de l'argent, et nous empêche de réparer le sentier. Je ne vais pas y passer toute la journée. Je voulais juste reprendre. Là où nous en sommes, là où nous en sommes. L'objectif numéro un pour moi, du moins, était de conserver la servitude. C'est une ancienne emprise. C'est un corridor de transport historique. Cela nourrit la vitalité de Péthosquet durant ses années de formation, et c'est toujours là. Les servitudes ont toutes été légalement acquises, et la géologie du sentier est ce qui le rend si beau. You are located under the highway, so your cyclists are not bothered by the noise of traffic. The smoke of carbon monoxide and diesel coming from vehicles is simply a peaceful and pleasant way to enjoy the Little Traverse Bay, which adds to the great things you have accomplished in the city to rehabilitate the seafront. When I moved here, this seafront looked like the ground floor of a limestone mine with a railway that crossed it. It was dirty and the city did a wonderful job to rehabilitate all this. This could complete this layout and extend it to another park. You only have one second.

You have 30 seconds.

You only have 30 seconds. I think I'm done. You've already heard all this. You have received some of the documents that I have gathered and I think that a large part of my research could help you in a trial, but I am not a lawyer. I don't know. Well, thank you very much for listening to me. Thank you Max.

Would anyone else like to speak to the council at the moment?

Good evening. Hello, my name is Gilles O'Neill. I know some of you and I appreciate your commitment here. I have been a resident of the Comté des Maîtres for 30 years. I currently live in the canton of Résor. I have been a frequent user of the trails over the years, both for leisure and for travel. I encourage you all to reject this proposed agreement. I ask you to do so in order to be able to defend this service so that future solutions can be developed for future generations. And I also ask and encourage the canton of Rizor and the county of Emet to join you to achieve a positive solution in the future. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else would like to speak to the council at the moment?

Can virtual participants speak?

D'abord, je vais m'adresser au public présent ici, puis je passerai à ceux qui sont à distance.

Bonsoir, je suis Marie Campbell. Je viens du canton de Rizor, ancienne urbaniste de la région et utilisatrice fréquente du sentier. Je souhaiterais réitérer ce que Max a dit ainsi que la dame qui m'a précédé. Je vous encourage à... maintenir cette servitude. Il a fallu plus de 30 ans pour établir ce sentier. Je détesterais voir cette propriété perdre sa servitude et avoir un sentier fragmenté pour toujours. Je sais qu'il y a des efforts pour le déplacer sur la route. Quiconque a emprunté le sentier sait que ce n'est pas la même chose. You know, this beautiful area along the Little Traverse Bay is spectacular. And really, I made a request to both the Canton of Rizor and the county commissioner so that we join the city in this legal battle. So thank you. Thank you. Does anyone else wish to speak to the council at this stage?

My name is Marilou. I am a resident of the centre-ville of Petoskey and I support everything that has been said here today. After the letter I sent to the council, I spoke with Tina. I learned more and it set the fire on fire. And so, in the last 24 hours, the municipal councils of Charlevoix and Arbor Springs, as well as the Townservancy Council and all the shopping centres in our region have received letters encouraging them, telling them that we need their support and that a demonstration of strength is important to get there. Ce magnifique sentier était le fruit d'un travail régional et c'est la seule façon de le sauver grâce à une participation régionale. Je ne suis pas experte en matière de vote et de financement, mais Tina évoquait potentiellement des impôts, un partage des revenus, des réallocations de fonds, I think it's something that happens. It must happen all the time because priorities change. And I think it's a priority that people could support. Share income. You know, I've heard several people say that they had contacted other leaders in our region. And I think these voices are heard. J'ai eu des retours de trois entités différentes aujourd'hui, espérant être présentes ce soir, mais j'admets que je m'y prends à la dernière minute. Et je regrette d'avoir agi ainsi, mais je me berçais de l'idée que vous aviez déjà annulé votre décision. Et je suis arrivée tard. Mais qu'en est-il des taxes foncières, vous savez ? If a tax was encouraged, not only by Petoskey, but also by the other two communities, it would be a much lighter tax to help raise funds, not only to fight against it, but potentially for reparations. Si nous unissons nos esprits pour apporter des idées créatives, je prie pour qu'il ne soit pas trop tard et je soutiens que nous fassions tout ce qui est en notre pouvoir pour protéger cela. And just one last thing, beyond the economy, the wheelway is one of the latest free and accessible coastal experiences, open to residents and visitors of all levels of income and of all capacities in all our municipalities. And that's something I shared today. Protecting this corridor is essential for the future of the restoration of all continuous improvements. entre nos communautés et pour préserver l'accès public le long du rivage partagé, surtout alors que nos vues préservées continuent d'être menacées par de nouveaux projets. Alors, merci. Je crois que c'est tout.

Quelqu'un d'autre souhaite-t-il s'adresser au Conseil en ce moment?

Autorisez-vous deux interventions d'un même foyer? I am Greg Lowe. I am mayor of Muray. We are in the first district and we have been here for 23 years because it is the age of our son. He moved here when he was two weeks old. And to add to what Marie said, we have shared a large part of the same research. She has done much more than me. But I will just add two points that I would like to express in addition to the other comments of tonight. The first is that, from the point of view of a resident, our son has directly benefited from this path to grow within the community. He brought a lot of friends who also took advantage of it. We certainly had a lot of friends who came and the wheelway was always a mandatory passage. It is easily even where there is erosion, one of the most beautiful places if you are on a bike. And if you do the whole journey, it's a strong moment, isn't it? Je pense donc que sa valeur est difficile à comprendre ou, disons, à chiffrer de manière comparable à ce que pourraient être des frais juridiques dans un conflit. Je pense. Je ne suis pas avocat. Cependant, les recherches que nous avons vues me semblent très défendables. Et je ferai écho à ce que je perçois des réactions. Notre région soutiendra cela, tout comme les autres dirigeants. Then, the only other comment I would add is, you know, I would say that I might encourage you to make a decision tonight on the direction to follow, based on the information we have, and there are important figures circulating, aren't they, on the real cost of reconstruction and repairs. This is not a definitive answer, I suppose, in my opinion. I don't think we should speculate and believe that all alternatives have not been examined. And some of them have been expressed by, I think, communications suggesting that there may be other alternatives. But when it comes to making decisions, I would say to decide with the information you have, which, in my opinion, weighs heavily in favor of the defense of this and the opposition to the agreement. So thank you for listening to me and thank you all for your public service.

We really appreciate it. Hello, my name?

Yes, you have the floor.

Thank you very much. My name is Lisa Anger.

My husband and I have the chance to own a house in Petoskey and spend a good part of the year there. We have been and are still frequent users of the road and we wish to echo our support, our firm support, to all the possible efforts to maintain this very important service. As others have said, and I could no longer agree, large expenses in dollars and human effort have been devoted to obtaining this service Elle a très bien servi la communauté et toute la région avant l'effondrement en 2020. Et nous devons lui donner toutes les chances possibles de trouver des solutions qui seront réalisables et nous permettront de reconnecter le sentier en toute sécurité. To bring back the circulation that has been diverted on the A31 towards a safer route, not to mention much more beautiful, and try to support as much as possible the quality of life that permanent and seasonal residents enjoy and deserve. Nous avons des revenus touristiques en jeu ici et nous voulons nous assurer que tout ce que nous faisons soutient la croissance dans cette direction. Encore une fois, ainsi que de simplement maximiser la qualité de vie. Merci beaucoup pour tout ce que vous faites pour la ville et j'espère que vous prendrez très au sérieux mes commentaires ainsi que tous ceux qui ont été faits ce soir alors que vous abordez cette décision difficile. Merci.

Merci. Quelqu'un d'autre ?

Non.

D'accord. Let's now move on to the adoption of a resolution proposal that would authorize the adjournment in session at 8 p.m. according to MCL 152008 1E to consult the city attorney concerning the strategies of trial and regulation related to the litigation in progress in the Law case against the city of Petoskey, District Court of the United States for the West District of Michigan, file number 1.1.25 Since a public meeting would have a negative financial effect on the disputes and the position of the city in terms of regulation. I ask for a motion. I propose. I press. Motion of MNOB-TRAB, supported by MOL-EL-DESOU. Théore. I pass the floor to Melbeck for the appeal.

Knock. For Walker. For Murphy.

The motion is adopted five times out of ten. We will come back with the option to act or not, depending on what the municipal council decides in session at 8 p.m. Or we won't go.

We go down to Kilbourne. Thank you.

the question is what are your questions to come

The session, the council is back in session. I will read a statement that the council has written, on which we have worked. The council's consensus at this stage is not to approve the regulation agreement as presented and to authorize the city attorney to move forward with the litigation, to defend the litigation for the moment. Do you all agree with that? Would you like to intervene? No other case is submitted to this council.