City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

Order. Clerk, please call the roll.

Commissioner Steelgrave? Here. Feining? Excuse me. Germani? Here. Stringham? Here. Felder? Here. Hayter? Here. Mayor Clark?

Here.

Ready? The first item on the Election Commission meeting is the approval of the minutes. These minutes are from the regular meeting and the public accuracy test.

There's no question. A motion to approve the minutes.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Motion by Commissioner Hayes, part of the Commissioner Felder to approve the minutes from the two meetings listed. Clerk, please call the roll. We can do all in favor if everyone is okay with that. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Very good.

Please the next item is under Commission action and it's the resolution to delegate at election duties to the clerk treasurer and the list has remained Remains unchanged from the last meeting where you approved it.

We have the resolution attached Is there any questions from the Commission if not a motion?

We'll make a motion to delegate certain duties to the clerk treasurer second

Second. Okay.

Motion by Commissioner Felder, Commissioner Germani. All in favor say aye. Aye. Okay. Clerk, next item, please.

The next item is resolution to establish absent voter counting boards and authorize early processing. This will need to be reported to the county clerk September 4th, which is part of the reason that we're meeting earlier than we usually do. But the resolution outlines the pattern, basically. The highlights are that there will be two AV counting boards. AV County Board one will be precinct one two three south and four and AV County Board two will be three north five and six they're divided that way because We basically have found that if we divide it that way then the two boards have about the same number of ballots to count so they get to start about the same time and they get to finish about the same time and We will have early tabulation as allowed under the law beginning Saturday, October 31st. And then we will count the remainder of the ballots on the election day, which is November 3rd. And in the August election, that seemed to work out fairly well. The AV counting board was done about the same time that all the other precincts were Completed so that was that was good. So we just need a An approval of this resolution to authorize the AB counting boards and then authorize the early processing and tabulation.

Okay.

Thank you There's no questions Mr. Young make a resolution to establish the absent bounty voter counting boards and authorize early processing second

Motion by Commissioner Stringer, supported by Commissioner Stilgrave on the item 6094. Clerk, please call the roll. Oh, I'm sorry, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Very good.

All right, and the last item that we need to tackle this evening is the establishment of the public accuracy test date and time. We will need to have the testing done by Monday, October 19th, because it needs to be done I think five days prior to the start of early voting. I am suggesting that we either schedule it for Wednesday the 14th of October or for Monday the 19th. But we will need four members of the commission, and so it's really what works best for your schedule. We can have it at 7.30 in the morning again if that works for everyone. 7.30.

I know I'm available on that date on the 14th, and if we add to the 19th, that 19th is also a regular scheduled meeting, so it would be early and late.

I can do it. I can do the 14th, I'm not sure about the 19th.

Okay, 14th, Michelle?

Yes, I'm good, I'm good.

Okay, so we have, well, we have at least two. Yeah, we have a quorum.

I have Kathy Stringham, Michelle Germani, Deb Stilgrave, Mike Hader, and of course Mayor Clark, you're available on the 14th at 7.30.

Yeah, if there's a change by a schedule or something, then I can fill in. Excellent. All right.

So we'll need a motion.

We need a motion on item 6095. Setting the date and time for the accuracy test.

That we set the date and time for the accuracy test for October 14th at 730 a.m. Support motion by Commissioner Stringer supported by Commissioner Germania on item 6095 the public accuracy test

Call the roll. Do you want me to call the roll? Yeah, I'd like to have the roll. Councilperson, I mean, Commissioner Steelegrave? Yes. Germani? Yes. Stringham? Yes. Felder? Yes. Hader? Yes. Mayor Clark?

Yes.

All right, wonderful. That concludes the items for this evening. I have no additional comments. I'll be talking about the I Voted Sticker Contest later this evening. Okay.

Well, is there no other comments from the commissioners? Just, let's see. Seeing none, then public comment. Any comments from those present here this evening regarding the elections commissions and the actions taken? Seeing none, need a motion to adjourn.

I'll make a motion to adjourn.

Second motion by Commissioner Hayes, by Commissioner Germani to adjourn. All in favor say aye. Aye. Very good, thank you.

Councilperson, oops, one second. The Election Commission roll call was correct, but the work session is not, so I'm going to get the right month so we don't throw ourselves off here. Councilperson Steelegrave? Here. Germany? Here. I'm sorry, Vining should have been called. She's excused. Germany Stringham? Here. Felder? Here. Hayter? Here. Mayor Clark?

Here. Next item is public comment. We'll see if there's any public comment from those present here this evening. We have two items on our work session agenda. Discussion on proposed east first, east front street gateway modifications and the e-bike regulations update. Seeing no comments, clerk, please.

The next item is under work session agenda and it's item 6084, discussion on proposed first front street gateway modifications.

Manager Cochran.

Yeah, good evening. So you may recall earlier this year, the city received a grant through the Michigan Infrastructure Office to look at the redesign, possible reconfigurations of the east front an East 1st Street intersection in the city. This is an advance of the I-75 rehabilitation project that will impact the Front Street interchange on I-75 as well as the Elm Avenue interchange with the intent of taking a look at this to be a more welcoming gateway into the city as we do anticipate it being the main thoroughfare into the city and then into downtown on I-75 once that interchange is significantly improved. So you had approved a contract with OHM Advisors to work with administration to review possible design alternatives. And I should say the grant is due to be closed out, is required to be closed out, is almost closed out by September 30th. And so in advance of that, this has been presented to both the Heritage Corridor Advisory Commission, and now we're presenting it to you for your feedback. Certainly we do expect, now that we've got the funds from the Michigan Infrastructure Office, and once we have a preliminary design set, to apply for funds to actually move toward construction in advance of the 2029 MDOT I-75 project. Matt's been leading the group with Patrick and working on this project. So I'll turn over to Matt.

Matt, welcome. Yes. Good evening, Honorable Mayor, City Council, Clerk, Treasurer Lavoie, Matt Van Nessacker, Deputy Director of the Economic and Community Development Department and Neighborhood Services Coordinator for the city. As Interim City Manager Cochran stated, this was a $50,000 grant through the Michigan Infrastructure Office's pre-development accelerator pilot program. Try saying that four times fast. But it really was suited for projects exactly like this. Communities that were looking to make enhancements, changes to infrastructure, INTERCHANGES, AREAS AROUND INTERCHANGES, AND REALLY OVERALL INCREASE THE SAFETY OF TRAFFIC AND TRAVEL, BOTH MOTORIZED AND NONMOTORIZED THROUGH CORRIDORS. SO WE SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION FOR THIS INTERSECTION, WHICH I BELIEVE HAS LONG BEEN AN INTERSECTION THAT HAS CAUSED SOME TROUBLE FOR THE CITY JUST IN THE GENERAL CONFIGURATION, THE WAY THAT IT'S DESIGNED, THE REDUCTION OF SOME OF THE LANES AND SOME OF THE INDUSTRIAL USES AS WELL. in the area that are required to transport through the area. As Mr. Cocker mentioned, the overarching goal was to create safer access. The interchange with what is being proposed at I-75 will be a much more enjoyable experience for folks getting off and getting on to the expressway. And so we really see this interchange as being one of the primary gateways into the city of Monroe. once these enhancements are made. Still, currently, quite a few people do choose to use this entrance-exit ramp, but with some of the proposed enhancements that are being made, it will be much safer. We did have an internal team working on this project. Patrick Lewis, Chris Schaefer, Maria Suferdini, Brad Willey, Mark Cochran, and myself working on the internal team. And as Mark mentioned, we did have a deadline to wrap this up by August. So it was a fairly tight window for the grant period. And that was the parameters that were set before us by the grant itself. And leading the OHM advisors team was actually a local resident, Steve Loveland, who has worked with OHM for quite a while and led through the project, did an excellent job coordinating. We held biweekly progress team meetings as we moved throughout the progress that was made. The process in itself started with a current conditions assessment. Then we went into a planning document review. So all of the plans that were put forward for the Orchard East neighborhood, even the downtown master plan, the standard master plan, as well as some of our other corridor improvement plans, the Heritage Corridor Plan, a number of documents that went into the plan review and design, schematic design alternatives development and concept exhibits, we'll get through some of those here this evening for you, preferred alternative refinement, And then a couple of steps that are yet to come, we're waiting on some of the final deliverables, would be an order of magnitude cost estimate, and then some other side action steps for our team to consider. So on the screen right now, you can see kind of the existing configuration of this corridor. As I move to the next, highlights the ownership of each. And that may be a little small on your screens. We can definitely get a printout for you all. But as you can see, the city of Monroe is the primary property owner in this area. both between Hellenberg Park, but then also some additional parcels that have been acquired or accumulated throughout the years. And so you could see that there are a few different paths that could be taken with this project. The team from OHM actually presented our internal team with six different alternatives. based on the review of the plans, review of feedback, and just also looking at how much land is there, what can we look at. We took those six different options and we narrowed them down to two. One would move the existing roadway to the northwest around the back of those two properties, E and F, that you see. And then the other one was a proposed roundabout that would have connected Conant Avenue, East Front, East First, and the section of East First in front of Detroit Stoker. So when we were evaluating both of those options, we were, you know, the OHM team was looking at the standard options. size of a large truck moving through the area, a small SUV moving through the area, small car, different size of vehicle, but then also looking at some of those off-street pedestrian facilities and so on and so forth. So when it came down to it, we were looking at really out of those two designs, we gravitated a little bit more toward the design that would simply shift the roadway to the northwest. around the back. And so I'll show, these are just some overarching views of what it looks like right now. And then I will show you what this would look like in concept with that slide. So as you can see, that brings that road, it stretches it just to the northwest. It ties in a little bit more, creating that gateway between the actual, you know, the gateway to the city itself. But then we also have the gateway of Helenberg Park, which is something extremely important that we were trying to increase access for the neighborhood to be able to access Helenberg Park. have some added beautiful landscaping, beautification efforts, knowing that this is transforming into a more primary gateway into our city. And this is showing it from the southwest looking northeast.

And that would tie in around that way.

And a couple shots from the street angle, which I think really kind of puts it into perspective. And Zeke Boland and Stacey Tobar from the OHM team putting together the assortment of landscaping and the visuals. We were very impressed with the layout. You can also see the lighting features, which mimic that of downtown Monroe. and and some of the Some of the linkage you know obviously we see first Street as a link into downtown as well As the orchard East neighborhood and some of our amenities that we've included there Just a couple other shots You'll notice too, the landscaping selection and a true credit to Brad Willey for being a part of this project. Brad obviously is an expert in landscaping and landscape design with his service in the parks division. And he had mentioned a lot of the elements that we wanted to keep in this design, obviously keeping maintenance low. but also incorporating some of those elements that we've heard about in terms of keeping with the orchard heritage of the neighborhood and producing some species types that give that effect without having the large maintenance obligations that would come with some of those things. So a lot of the plantings that you see are native plantings, or they are adjacent to the area, but also create that visual color effect that you can see. And disregard the spelling of Hellenberg Park in this graphic. This is strictly for the draft purposes, but showing there is a planned walkway there in front. So that would be the closest connection point from Conant. They're moving, but then also a trail that's proposed behind the landscaping buffer there as well. That's just another view looking there to the southwest. And some more landscaping. And so I'm going to show you, they actually put together a little video, and it kind of shows the perspective that people would have as they are entering into the area and driving in. So that's the deep dive into the preferred alternative that was identified based on our conversations, the team's conversations. Again, just some next steps and close out things. Obviously, order of magnitude cost. THAT'S GOING TO BE A PRIMARY THING. THAT WILL GIVE US THE TARGET AS WE'RE GOING FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS. THERE ARE A FEW FUNDS BOTH FEDERAL AND STATE LEVEL THAT WE IDENTIFIED IN OUR APPLICATION FOR THIS $50,000 GRANT THAT WE WILL BE PURSUING AND THAT WAS REALLY WHAT WE WERE TARGETING THIS ASSEMBLY TO BE ABLE TO GO AFTER AND TARGET SOME OF THOSE FUNDS. We're also optimistic that as a result of the I-75 enhancements that there may be some MDOT support available through that that could go toward upgrading some of the areas that would be impacted by the influx of vehicular traffic and attention to the area. So we're very excited for that. We also, not to be understated, is that the railroad has right of way in this area. And that was part of the challenge. This was originally looked at back in 2000, as Patrick was reminding me. And at the time, the railroad, they were a little bit more active in this corridor, and they had some strong opinions on how this should lay out, which is why this step was not considered previously. But we're pretty confident in the layout, and I'll go back to this original page that That shows kind of the existing condition. You can see the right-of-way that the railroad has there off of the north-south connection, and then also what would be that east-west connection through the area. But it's actually a minimal intrusion in comparison to any of the other alternatives that we were looking into. The other reason that we selected this alternative was because of the fact that it would not require the city to acquire additional parcels as a part of that. And so it really kind of has minimal impact to the existing footprint that's there, but still achieves the end of beautification and gateway. So that's a couple of the additional things that we're still working on. The next step, obviously, engaging the railroad and then also applying for grant funds for the project. So with that, Honorable Mayor, I would accept any questions or comments.

Thanks, Matt. Any questions or comments from Kathy?

When what's your the picture that you listed as the likely proposal? It feels like Front Street just kind of blends in a curve into first, how would that be identified as we've just changed roads? Or did I miss it?

No, that's a great question. I think what the roads would be identified as is a question through this process. Because the way it's currently configured, obviously, it would kind of naturally become First Street in a way. But then there's also the history of it being Front Street and having the addresses on it. So that's something that definitely would have to be worked through. And I don't know if there's an identifying marker that would have to be planted as such.

That's a good question. Where I-75 is, they're going to go to the port, which is Front Street, and try to minimize the number of people changing their addresses, right? Right. I think that's something we'll have to have further conversation about how that's done, and we don't want to confuse people. At the same time, we want to make sure they find their way through the community and then through downtown. Other questions or comments?

I have one.

Michelle? Michelle?

So further toward the expressway where that small marina is with boats, what would that look like there?

So that would, you know, we're anticipating that there are going to be some changes to that with the project that's going on with I-75. It's not necessarily a part of the scope of what this study was covering in this analysis, but we do anticipate that there may be some changes as a result of some of that.

Okay, thank you.

The thoughts? So Matt, I don't know if it's the one before this slide that was just most recently up. No, the one that's kind of, doesn't matter. There, that one. That one. So I look at, I think about the mobility and I had four things I was looking for and you've answered all of them. And one, I think about the pedestrian bike, getting to Hellenberg Park from the community without being a challenge for residents or visitors. So I see that as you go, I guess I'm going to say First Street and it's going out to the freeway. I see the bike path that crosses over to Hellenberg Park. But I think to, I think Michelle's point, you know, access for those that may want to get to work at Hanwha or what may come after that. So I'm assuming the possibility is there to continue in the sidewalks on that side to get down there. And if there's, there's still more some access. properties, we have to think about it on the riverside, but there's a possibility that could be expanded that way as well, for those that may be going down to the, maybe there's going to be a fishing pier or something there or an access. So we have a kayak launch in Hellenberg, but maybe there's other aspects in the future we think about. I'm sure you've thought of it. I just thought, you know, I don't want somebody to say, well, that ends there. How am I going to go here?

Absolutely. Yeah, we did have that conversation with OHM as well for the purposes of the demonstration. Not knowing really what the outcome of the eventual configuration a little bit closer to the expressway would look like. We didn't look into that too much, but that is certainly a possibility in the future. And the other thing that I'll mention is you could see on the kind of southwest corner here, we do have the planned Orchard Greenway Trail as well. So we would want this trail to connect into that and provide an adequate shift so that way folks using the Orchard Greenway Trail can naturally transition into Hellenberg Park for some additional mileage.

Yeah, it looks wonderful. I mean, you have the orchards as well, the planning we've talked about for many months and years. But how do we put that feature within this development? Because that's what many in the community are asking for. Absolutely. Other thoughts? So I guess timeline-wise, I know you said 2029 is when MDOT and the I-75 project. So one question I have, what's our next steps and how does that tie into the, say, public input sessions that I'm sure are going to be planned with this as well?

Absolutely. Yeah, I think given the time frame for the initial kind of grant period, we did not include public engagement as part of that portion of it. We do plan to have this set out for public engagement as well with the neighborhood, the community. And obviously with the wonderful new building and some of the new opportunities that we have there, there's been an uptick in some of those events. And we've been welcome to come and present and do certain things at that.

So I think definitely that's really kind of our next step.

And then, of course, the railroad, the conversation with the railroad, broaching that subject, seeing realistically how quick this could happen. I was joking with the team from OHM. I was like, I wish I could just snap my fingers and have it be this because it just kind of naturally seems like the way that it was meant to be. But with that, obviously the pursuit of grant funds as well is going to be our primary next target.

I would think that from what I'm hearing is that we're trying to get this done before I-75 conversion is done on the exits. Absolutely. Manager Cochran?

Yeah, Mayor. So a couple notes. I really wish, thank you, Matt. That was a great presentation. I wish Mr. James were here because this touches on, I think, a few of his comments that he's told us all over the years. But thinking about the orchard and, of course, Matt and Brad's comments about maintenance, orchards are a lot of maintenance to keep them up. But how do we symbolize an orchard possibly without fruit-bearing trees, I think, was what they were getting at with that entrance way. But Also, the question that we get is, well, what's going to be Hellenberg Park? And so with this project, as Matt alluded to, there were boundaries with this project. We could have kept going all the way to the river and all the way out to the port. And Mr. James talks a lot about the trailway going out to the port. And next year, I think is when those comments will be addressed because our parks and rec master plan, our parks, rec and trails master plan is due to be updated in 2027. So I think Hellenberg Park and the vision we've, We've had a lot of discussion about that in the Orchard East Master Plan and the Heritage Corridor Master Plan, but really cementing that vision with public engagement will be done through the Parks and Rec Master Plan update. And then looking at how do we link this beautiful new gateway, the Orchard East Greenway Trail, out to the port and those amenities will be something that the Trail Commission can look at as we update the Trail Master Plan as well. This scope really just focused on that intersection design, and we added, of course, the gateway beautification, but we really could have kept going.

Thanks, Matt. That's a great job.

I don't see any further questions or thoughts for this. Mark?

Yep. One last note. The Heritage Corridor Advisory Commission, when this was presented to them, I think it was pretty overwhelmingly resounding that they did not favor the roundabout. And that's why that was not shown to you tonight. Based on the commissions that you've set up to advise you, we really focused primarily on the smoothing of Front Street into First Street rather than carrying that one forward a little bit more. So... There were two alternatives in case you're interested in seeing them, but that one did require some additional property acquisition and really made for the point of this project was to make it easier to get into downtown and there was some confusion about how the roads and the driveways intersected with the roundabout that it may have been confusing for visitors trying to access the community. Just wanted to share their feedback. By all means, we can send this presentation out as you're looking at it. And if you have feedback, please send that along and share it.

Very good. Thank you.

Move on to the next item.

The next item will be item 6089, e-bike regulation implementation update.

Thanks Michelle.

You're welcome.

Okay, so as you recall, city council updated the ordinance, ordinance 199, plus the park rules and regulations to address the rise in usage of e-bikes across the city. And so since those updates were made, we've been working internally with staff, Jody Egan, Brad Willey, Public Safety, and administration to look at how we're going to implement that and educate the public regarding the new regulations. I think it's no secret that this has been an issue and a challenge that we have dealt with this summer, particularly with the rise in youth use of e-bikes, but also this is an issue that is widespread, not just at Monroe, but also across the across the state. And so I think we are doing really good work here in Monroe to try and address it the best that we can. And we'll kind of walk through what the plan is and get your feedback as we move through that. So Jody has done a great job, the communications office, with coming up with what the signage will look like. And just as a reminder, the ordinance amendment did address different provisions regarding the use of e-bikes. The opportunity to not allow them in certain areas and certain trails where it's posted. But also the regulations that you have put in place regarding the maximum speed, the yielding to pedestrians, audible signalization to pedestrians, as well as also other modes of transportation that may be found on trails like snowmobiles and dirt bikes and many bikes. This is about education, but you'll see we really did not want to just create regulatory street signs that look like every other street sign. We wanted these to pop. We wanted them to get people's attention as they're going by them so it catches their eye. But also we can use this as collateral for public education as well, not just on a sign that's posted, but also through the e-newsletter, through social media, through handouts and other opportunities too. There were four different signs that were created. The one first that prohibits e-bikes and scooters on certain trails. A sign that tells what are those regulations passed by city council. And then speed limit signs that will go throughout the trail system. And we'll show you exactly where the location plan is for all these signs as we go through this. And then information about e-bikes. These are more just informational signs, not so much dealing with the ordinance, but an opportunity if somebody is passing it to learn more. So through our plan, we'll start at the left of the screen, the e-bike informational sign. These are intended to, obviously that's a lot to read as you're going by it. So these are intended to be at places where people are stopping to rest, so to speak. So if you've seen some of the publicity that we've The new trail, the Greenway Loop Trail, has gotten from front to fifth that's not completely open yet. But there's an exercise area and there's some seating areas there. So these signs would be posted there where people are stopped that they can read it, get out their phone, check the QR code, get more information. Also, certain spots along the rural trail where there's a bench where people are stopping to take a break. The next sign, the trail regulation signs, are posted at the trail head. So all of the entry points where people may be accessing the trail from different locations. And you'll see the count on that is 20. So this is intended to be where folks are riding by, that this will catch their eye, hopefully slow down, read it, but at least it's posted where folks will be entering into the trail system. The next is the prohibition of e-bikes and scooters. So city council through the park regulations, we do prohibit the use of e-bikes and e-scooters on the north natural trails at Munson. So the red trail, the orange trail, this does not apply to the perimeter trail around Munson, just the natural trails, the nature trails. And so that's where it's prohibited right now. But of course, if there's future areas where we would like to close the trail or sidewalks to the use of e-bikes, this would be the sign that gets posted. And then finally, the speed limit sign and the yield sign. So that will be the most common one that users see on the right. You'll see the yellow background and then the bottom information about yielding to pedestrians. These will be, you can see there's 58 of them, and this will be all along the trail network and the trail system. So Jody helped create these maps. These are not the exact locations, but just to give you an idea where we look at the trail regulations, for example, if you look on the left of the screen, the big green area is Munson Park. And the new trail that links both the county and the Heritage Trail near Airport Drive is where you would see first encounter that trail regulation sign. So the one that talks about more simple information. And then also the speed limit signs. And then you would also come upon that at the driveway into Munson Park. And then all along the rural trail from Munson Park into downtown in Telegraph Road, you'll see that The e-bike regulation is the purple square, so there's a bench there, the Mineral Milers bench, if you're familiar with that marker. There'll be an informational sign posted there. The hearts are all the speed limit signs that will be posted along the way. trying to think about where are people accessing the trails off the neighborhood, making sure that there's one speed limit sign at each of those areas, and then the regulation sign again at access points. So at Frenchman's Bend, at Cranbrook, at the Riverside Manor location, and then also off of Custer Drive coming from Telegraph Road is where that regulation sign would be. And then you'll also see all the way up at the top is the Telegraph Road bridge. So that is as you're nearing the Lazy Boy site. Because if you remember the Telegraph Road corridor plan calls for an eight-foot trail going down Telegraph Road linking into the larger trail system. So while they're just sidewalks right now, in the future those do call to be expanded and we want to make sure that those are identified appropriately too. As we get into downtown, so you'll see that spot along Telegraph Road. So one thing to note, as you see kind of along the river at the Telegraph Road Bridge, at the Rossler Street Bridge, the Monroe Street Bridge, and then as we move out east, the Winchester Street Bridge, there will be speed limit signs as you're crossing those bridges too. Because they do widen at the bridges and the trail gets a little bit wider and we want to make sure that people are cognizant of each other. Pedestrians as they're crossing. We don't plan to put signs all over all the sidewalks across the city. In general, the ordinance says if it's not posted, the speed limit is 10 miles an hour. We don't want to overkill sign and make them benign that people drive right by them. But again, this is particularly paying attention to our trail system. So at Kalani and 7th Street, you'll see the trail regulation sign. That's where you move from the county's trail into the city and begin to enter the city's Greenway Loop Trail. And you'll see where the speed limit signs are along 5th Street. That e-bike regulation, the more informational sign at that exercise station and rest area along that trail. And then at Front Street, as well as down near Soldiers and Sailors Park, we also have the trail regulation sign as well. And then continuing to move east toward the state park. Cappuccelli Park, we've got a bike repair station. That would be another appropriate spot for the e-bike regulations. And then again, the trail speed limit signs at the Winchester Street Bridge. And then as you go from the National Battlefield Park out to Sterling State Park, the trailway that goes underneath I-75 off of Elm, that's where you enter the city network again. So a trail regulation sign there. But after that is where the DNR regulations take effect, not the city's ordinance. So that's really where the Heritage Trail begins. Any question about trails specifically? We'll get into downtown next.

Michelle and then Andrew.

So do we know if Frenchtown and the township are doing any kind of regulations to complement ours?

Thank you, that's a great question. So as the county was finishing up the Greenway Trail that goes Seventh Street out to Her Road, out to Raisinville, across Raisinville and M50, Jason Berry reached out and said, what are the city's trail regulations? Because we want ours to be consistent with yours. We've had several calls from Frenchtown residents thinking that the trail in front of their house was our trail. And so I know the mayor saw it, but out near Munson Park, you can actually see one of the county signs. They've begun posting speed limit signs, same as ours, 10 miles an hour on that trail, yield to pedestrians, other things. So the county has adopted the same regulations as the city on their trail. Andrew.

Can you go back to the... The slide with all the signs on it.

There we go.

So the sign that prohibits use on the trail is the third one.

Yeah.

Yep. And those will be in the back on the natural trails at Munson Park that we saw on the map. Yep. I guess it's not immediately obvious to me that that sign is prohibiting The trail that I am currently on is one of those prohibited trails.

Yeah. I think adding the word no before e-bikes and scooters would help with that. That's a good catch.

Because if I'm on that trail and I say, only allowed on designated trails, well, I must be on a designated trail. Thank you for putting up the sign. I'll make sure to keep it on the trail. This is like an anti-erosion thing where I'm not supposed to go off-roading, right? In addition to that, and I think would be complementary specifically to those locations, is to guide people to what we want them to do rather than just say no to what we don't want them to do and put up a map of these are where the allowable trails are to use e-bikes and e-scooters, you know, and say, you can't do it here, this is prohibited, but you can go in all these other places, have fun in any of those. You know, here's a map to the loop trail, just highlight the... We did the same thing, I think, with the... The prohibited sections of bicycles in the downtown were, that was always confusing to me until I actually saw a map with the streets highlighted saying, don't do it here. I'm like, oh, now it makes perfect sense. You know, you just need the map there. So those are my two points.

That's a great point. One of the next projects that we're also working on is a trail map project that we can help identify that. We don't want to get overkill on because these signs are that big. The whole thing is you're trying to keep it simple.

I get that.

Yep. But a larger overall trail network, especially as we're continuing to build trails and Munson in particular is one of the areas we'll be working on.

Even if it's a QR code that takes you to a digital form.

Yep. So, okay. Good thoughts. Thanks.

I'll just add that the one that the notice evac scooters, that one did not, I had to think probably two or three times while I'm looking at it here to realize what it was saying. And obviously people in a hurry, they're doing whatever they're going to do. We don't want to make them think that hard.

Questions or thoughts? I think this will probably come later, Mark, because I know as we go through the downtown trail there and then come back to, um, FRONT STREET, JUST LOOKING AT WHERE THE SYMBOLS WERE, WAS CONTINUING DOWN ON EAST FRONT STREET. AND OF COURSE WITH OUR ONE-WAY STREETS, IT COULD BE CHALLENGING IF YOU'RE, UNLESS WE'RE EXPECTING THAT THEY'LL REMAIN ON THE SIDEWALKS. And the only alternative is first street, but then how far do you go before you change it? And we want to simplify it. There's no question. So I think that's going to come out later when you start doing the maps and the visual to that, I think will assist people.

Yeah. Yep. So the downtown, of course, has its own set of regulations, and we've received a lot of feedback on the signs that are existing downtown, whether they're visible or not, whether they catch your eye. So we are working. When we met last week, we came up and really looked at a lot of different examples, a lot of different ideas of what other downtowns do. And so on the right, you'll see this is a very working concept. It's an example that Jody's been working to refine with us, but We want the signs to pop downtown, and so having a round sign versus a square sign that catches your eye, having these still posted on the signs downtown, but bring them down more to an eye level, not necessarily high up, but where one would actually see them. And then we are also looking at large sidewalk signs, so on the pavement itself as well as up high. having round versus square to catch your eye. But you'll see on the bottom right is the map right now where the signs currently are, the little red squares. We're not saying we're going to replace like for like at the same location, but we're going to be reevaluating the entire downtown signage program for pedestrian zone, walk your wheels. We just don't have that refined yet. But wanted to at least show you kind of the direction that we're going and what we're thinking to make that more visible. And then also some communication at those gateways, whether it's down West Front Street at West First Street, East Front Street down near Macomb Street and kind of those gateways. How do we tell people park your bike here, walk and get around a little bit easier? So more to come on that. Electronic signage, so the information with Director Tolstad and the Public Safety Department, when we talked about the e-bike change regulations, we talked about the Your Speed signs that will tell you how you know you're going 10 miles an hour or over or under. And so we're still looking at that and the deployment and the location of those. We just don't have that completely set yet. First and foremost, we wanted to get the standard signs up to begin to get the word out. And then we have been rolling out information about this in the e-newsletter as well as social media. You may have taken notice. I was going to show it, but the interest of time, we'll skip it tonight. Commander Wall, J.D. Wall, did a video that got a lot of traction both for him but also for the regulations on social media about how to safely ride a bike. So if you'd like to check that out. But working on a lot more of those collaborations with public safety as well as the communications office to push this out for education. And then education and enforcement. Public safety has done a great job in trying to identify folks who need an education on how to safely operate an e-bike or a bicycle throughout the city. They've done at least 120 touch points with folks and have actually written citations as well since the new ordinance took effect. And so getting the word out there is gonna take some time and it's not all about enforcement, but also education before we step it up and move it in that direction. And then also peer and legislative engagement. Like I said, this is an issue all across the state. It's not just a city of Monroe issue. And it's something that many, many communities across the state are dealing with. And so we do expect that there to be some language or conversation with the state legislature about The state law as well, that we can't do it all alone locally, and so having that input. And then also working with Simcog and others to find out how are other communities addressing this challenge to get some ideas and thoughts to bring back here as well.

Thanks, Mark. Reminder to council, SEMCOG is having a session on September 2nd. I don't recall the time exactly now. Kathy, I'm looking at you, because I know I intend to go, and Kathy's going to go as well. And while we know some of the DEFINITIONS AND GUIDELINES OF TYPES OF E-BIKES AND THAT TYPES OF E-BIKES AND THAT PART. PART. AT THE CONCLUSION THERE WILL BE AT THE CONCLUSION THERE WILL BE SOME EXAMPLES OF THE COMMUNITIES SOME EXAMPLES OF THE COMMUNITIES AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND HOW AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND HOW THEY'RE DOING AND JUST GIVE YOU SOME THEY'RE DOING AND JUST GIVE YOU SOME ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS AND IDEAS. If you can't go, I know SEMCOG always puts back out their information from their sessions, training sessions, and puts it back onto their website. They'll send a follow-up email, says it's attached, or you can just go direct to the SEMCOG website as well. But we may have some more information after that to provide too. Any other questions or comments? Thanks, Mark. We have about nine minutes, just as we kind of do from our upcoming meeting here, starting. Anything of nature that you wish to have the manager be prepared for, or any topics on the agenda? Mr. Cochran, if you want to do this or not, but we have time that in the interim if there's something we could put on the screen for about three to five minutes that Matt showed us. I think that it might be interesting to some of our residents and people here to look at it. And they can go back and watch the session as well if they didn't have a chance to see it. But I want to continue on with our work session. Is there, Clerk LaVoy, anything additional?

No, I don't think so. I will be talking more about the I voted sticker context Contest in the next meeting, but we are running it again this year for age groups 5 to 9 10 to 13 and 14 to 18 so It was we already have folks that have applied and sent their designs. So But I would yield my time to mr. Vanisacker if he's able to I thought if you put it up there and just maybe

A MINUTE, SAY THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT IN THE PLANNING PROCESS AND THEN WHAT THE CONCEPT IS. OBVIOUSLY COUNCIL NEEDS TO TAKE THE MOMENTS BEFORE WE CAN PLEASE DO SO. I'LL JUST DO THIS FOR A MINUTE.

ABSOLUTELY. SO FOR THOSE WHO WEREN'T ABLE TO BE AT THE AT THE INITIAL PART OF THE WORK SESSION PRESENTATION, FEAR NOT, BECAUSE WE HAVE THE PLANS UP HERE. SO WE RECEIVED A GRANT BACK IN MAY TO START LOOKING AT THE RECONFIGURATION OF FIRST AND FRONT STREET AND WHERE IT INTERSECTS WITH CONANT AND ALSO THE DETROIT STOKER PROPERTY. I just want to show we had evaluated probably six different concepts, and we, with the help of OHM advisors and the guidance of OHM advisors, came up with a singular concept that we are looking at. So this would just shift the road to the northwest of its existing location. And here's a look from the southwest looking northeast. And you can see adding in some landscaping and some other decorative features into the area to truly make it a natural gateway into the city and a more prominent gateway into the city as a result of some of the anticipated work on I-75. Thanks, Matt.

Go ahead and do it.

Yeah, I'll just go through some of the photos here. I can actually shift to the... actually here.

I'll just keep this up. I think I may have exited out of the video.

And the goal, of course, is to draw some of the inspiration both from the Orchard East Neighborhood Plan, the River Raisin Heritage Corridor Plan, the Downtown Master Plan, and several other planning documents. You can see some of the features there.

Thanks. Thanks, Matt. Yeah, absolutely. I know that they can go back and watch that at their leisure, but just thought we'd throw that up for a minute. If there's nothing further for the work session, I need a motion to adjourn.

I'll make a motion to adjourn. Support.

Motion by Councilwoman Germani, supported by Councilwoman Stringham to adjourn. Please call the roll.

Councilperson Stilgrave? Yes. Germani? Yes. Stringham? Yes. Felder? Yes. Hader? Yes. Mayor Clark?

Yes, and we'll be back in about five minutes to start the regular meeting.

Good, how are you?

Good. That's the election commission. That was the work session. There's the regular meeting. I don't want to take them down. Thank you. You're welcome. Hi.

How are you? Good. Good. What's that?

That's the regular meeting work session.

Oh, I know.

You're welcome. Hey, of course, of course, yeah. That's why we wanted to bring that back up. That's right, I don't need a motion for that.

You looked so serious though. I was like, well, I'm gonna call this.

I'm gonna do that. Okay. Thank you.

so yeah so if you use your mouse that's probably the easiest way

It will show up on all the screens around. So we're going to end up doing the discussion. Pretty good. Okay. Okay. For sure. All right. That's a lot.

That's sort of exciting.

Right, exactly. That adrenaline you don't need. Got it. Right.

So anyway, so this conference. One minute. Okay, I'll make a note. I actually have a

Okay, got it. That makes sense. Hi, Michelle.

Hi, how are you?

I'm good. How are you? This is the...

This was for the election commission.

That was for the work center.

Did she count us down?

She said one minute. Okay.

Call the roll person. Steelgrave Vining excused Germany Stringham Felder here hater Mayor Clark.

Here, I'd ask we all please rise for the invocation. Remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

This evening, may we be guided by wisdom, fairness, and good judgment. May we listen respectfully, consider differing viewpoints, and work together in a spirit of cooperation. May the decisions we make today reflect our commitment to serving our community and those we represent.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands,

with liberty and justice for all.

Clerk, next item, please.

The next item is the approval of the regular agenda.

Manager Cochran, any adjustments to the agenda?

None from administration tonight.

Council members, any adjustments to the agenda or recommendations? Seeing none, and a motion to approve the regular agenda.

Approve the regular agenda.

by Councilman Hader, supported by Councilwoman Steelgrave to approve the regular agenda. Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilperson Steelgrave? Yes. Germani? Yes. Stringham? Yes. Felder? Yes. Hader? Yes. Mayor Clark?

Yes. Next item, please.

The next item is the consent agenda, and for approval of payments to vendors, the amount should read $1,403,245.48. 1-4-0-3-2-4-5-point-4-8.

Thank you. Are there any items on the consent agenda that council wishes to have pulled for further discussion? Items on the consent agenda. Seeing none, are there any items on the consent agenda those present here this evening wish to have pulled for further discussion? Items on the consent agenda get passed on one motion collectively, but if there's an item that you want to make comments about or have questions about, that's the first few items under the consent agenda, now would be the time to ask to have it pulled. Any items on the consent agenda those present here this evening wish to have pulled? Seeing none, a motion would be in order. Councilman Felder.

Yes, Your Honor, I'd like to make a motion that all items on the consent agenda be accepted, placed on file, recommendations carried out, and resolutions adopted.

It's a motion by Councilman Fellowship or by Councilman Hader on all items on the consent agenda be accepted, placed on file, recommendations carried out, and resolutions adopted. Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilperson Steelgrave? Yes. Germani? Yes. Stringham? Yes. Felder? Yes. Hader? Yes. Mayor Clark?

Yes. Next item, please.

The next item is under Presentations, Communications, and Public Hearings. Item 6085, Public Hearing on Ordinance 26-008, an amendment to Chapter 720, rezoning of 747 South Telegraph Road. And there are no comments in the Clerk Treasurer's Office.

Thank you. Manager Cochran, introduction or?

Yep. So we've got two items that have public hearings tonight that deal with zoning issues. And for the first, I'd ask Matt Van Nessacker to come and do an introduction in regard to what this item is, as well as the action that was previously taken at the Planning Commission.

Thank you. Welcome, Matt. Absolutely. Honorable Mayor, City Council, Clerk-Treasurer Lavoie, Matt Van Nessacker, Deputy Director of the Economic and Community Development Department, and Neighborhood Services Coordinator. ON THE SCREEN, I JUST HAVE THE PROPOSED PRELIMINARY CONCEPT LAYOUT FOR CASE PUD 26-001. IT'S AN APPLICATION FROM IHM SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY INC. FIRST IS SOUTH TELEGRAPH. I'M SO SORRY. SO SOUTH TELEGRAPH, THE The item, it's a requested rezoning from R3 to CT, commercial telegraph, which also appeared on the July planning commission meeting. This is one that was brought to us. The existing owners of the location are looking to make some enhancements, modifications to their convenience store that's attached to the gas station. Right now it's about a 500 square foot small unit. They're actually looking to increase that to be a 1500 square foot facility. But in 2019-2020, the property was rezoned to R3 as a part of the comprehensive 2020 zoning code update. So gas stations obviously are not a permitted or special use within that. So an expansion of a non-conforming use. is not allowed to take place. So they came, they have requested the parcel to be rezoned to Commercial Telegraph, and the planning division was in consensus with their recommendation. There were a couple of different options that they had. They could have also proposed a rezoning to MU2 or MU, I believe, for some of the adjacent properties in the area. But really, when you look at the site, it is consistent with the uses that are in the commercial telegraph corridor. So the recommendation from the planning division was for the planning commission to recommend approval. The planning commission did proceed with that recommendation as well, and they voted at their meeting in July to recommend that city council approve the rezoning as presented.

Thank you.

Matt, just a quick question. Obviously, the rezoning is the purpose to do some adjustments to the lot and the facility. Is that correct?

That's correct. Yep. That's the primary objective. But also, too, when you look at the standards and the criteria that we go through when we evaluate a rezoning, one of them is that the owner would not have a feasible economic return if they were to sell or do something, you know, in the future with the property. And seeing that, you know, it would primarily be geared toward residential uses, we felt that that was pretty strong in this case.

I found it interesting when I saw a residential three when a busy corridor, which it is, and the purpose currently is a station. and getting into zone makes it in line with what the public future is going to be. Correct. Okay, thanks Matt. So before we get any further, this is a public hearing. So at this time, I'll open the public hearing on item 6085. It's a public hearing to amend chapter 720 rezoning of 747 South Telegraph Road. Any comments from those present here this evening for this public hearing? Any comments? Seeing none, I'll close the public hearing and move on to the second public hearing. Manager Cochran?

Yes, so this item is actually not a rezoning. However, it is a requested update to an existing planned unit development plan and agreement. This is the former IHM mother house, now the St. Therese IHM senior living community property. and they have requested an amendment to not only the plan but also the agreement with both items included in your council agenda this evening with the full staff report for the proposed plan as well as the final agreement that is also going to be a contract between an updated contract between the City of Monroe and St. Therese the property owner as well so With this, Matt will do an introduction, then Mayor Clark, if you're comfortable with it. I know we have representatives from St. Therese here as well that would like to provide an introduction from the applicant side into more information about the proposed project prior to the public hearing for community and public awareness.

We have public hearing as well for those that wish to make comments. Matt.

Absolutely. Welcome. I jumped the gun, but I'm back. So this is case PUD 26-001. It's an application from IHM Senior Living Community, Inc., and they are requesting an amendment to the current IHM planned unit development concept plan and agreement for the construction of a new 32-bed memory care facility in to the northwest of the existing Motherhouse building on the IHM campus, as we're all familiar. The building is proposed to be approximately 26,289 square feet. It's proposed to be rectangular and featuring a center interior courtyard for residents of the facility The initial planned unit development for the IHM was put in place in May of 2001 and since then it's been amended approximately four times in its history and for a variety of different reasons. First and foremost, the Norman Towers deal where that was partitioned off as part of it, and then also some subsequent land rehabs and kind of splits, and then also the solar project that was on the IHM's property. The applicants initially submitted a plan set in April after having some conversations with with our team And the proposal was placed on the June 8th Planning Commission meeting where it was tabled following a public hearing as CPC members had comments expressing the request for some additional information on parking and some of the setbacks and some of some more defined site plan characteristics the applicant then resubmitted in late June for inclusion on the July 13th Planning Commission meeting. And as part of that, they voluntarily removed some proposed development that was planned in future phases that were intended to strictly focus the purpose of this review on the 32-bed memory care facility. At the meeting, the Citizens Planning Commission voted to recommend that City Council approve the resubmitted plan set and amendments to the planned unit development agreement. So the action before Council this evening is twofold. It's the approval of the preliminary concept plan, but then also the approval of the amended planned unit development agreement. The plan itself, the memory care unit operates inside of the mother house currently, but has a number of care challenges that Calvin will speak to in a moment. And it also adds additional parking for the new memory care facility and modifies the parking at the entrance of the mother house building to provide additional parking, but also to increase ADA compliance entryway into the building. And then the agreement, some of the primary changes and updates that you'll see in the agreement is that it updates the parking requirements and switches the underlying zoning district for the sites owned and operated by IHM Senior Living Community, Inc., to CM from a use standpoint, and then RM from a dimensional standard standpoint. So that's twofold. The reason being is that it was formerly C2, a commercial district that governed the uses. And there are uses spelled out in the plan. but also it stems over into the C2 use type. That zoning district no longer exists. So the uses were most similar to that found in the CM Monroe Commercial District. And then from a dimensional standpoint, it was R1A, which also does not exist anymore. And the R1 standards are most closely associated with that. Just as a reminder the preliminary concept review and amendment to the PUD language is the first step required in the PUD amendment process. If the preliminary concept plan and agreement amendment are approved this evening the next step would be for the applicant to submit a formal site plan. for review by the Citizens Planning Commission and City Council. We would then plan to schedule, if they were to have a proposed plan, we would schedule a pre-development meeting with the applicant, as we do for the majority of our other projects. And given the size of this one as well, we would definitely want to do that. So that way we can review certain elements against the zoning code and the standards prior to bringing it to the Citizens Planning Commission and Council. I will say, based on the Citizens Planning Commission recommendations, staff are also in concurrence with this recommendation and would provide the recommendation to approve the preliminary concept plan and agreement amendments as presented. And with that, Honorable Mayor, I believe that there are representatives from the organization, the applicant, that are here to provide some additional context as to the why.

who's wishing to speak as the applicant, if they wanted to come forward and make comments and it would help if there's public comment for the upfront information and discussion.

All right, good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of the council. Thank you for this opportunity. My name is Calvin Shelangoski. I'm the CFO for IHM Senior Living Community. And as Matt was saying, really just want to provide some context and a little bit of background as to, you know, the avenue as to what we're proposing for the amendment to the PUD. So I'll start just with a brief, brief background. As you all know, this is... A site that's been in existence for nearly 100 years in terms of prior uses. The most recent history is really what I want to focus on. And just the overall evolution of the site and the uses on the site. So to get familiar just with the site here, I'll speak to the colorful image on the right. This is the existing site as it stood really in, I would say, roughly 2000, at the time of the previous master plan that was really completed in 2003. That master plan really is what prompted the PUD agreement in 2001. And really it was for future land use planning and the projected changes in uses there on the IHM site, mainly to address just the changing needs of all the residents that live there on site. So as Matt was saying, the solar array was developed in 2012. That's the gray box just up towards the northwest side of the campus here. In 2013, there were some property divisions and transfers that are not shown on here, just to the north. In 2020, there was a PUD amendment, and that was for one of the first major transformations of, I would say, of the motherhouse campus, or motherhouse building. And that was when a large portion of the campus was open to the general public. So it was registered with Laura as a continuing care retirement community. And the areas of the campus that were really opened up at that time were this small wing here on the left, as well as some of the healthcare facilities that had been, I would say, evolved, organized, and then licensed throughout 2009 to 2019. So the 2020 amendment really, I think, marked the time when there was change between sisters occupying most of the units to now start inviting the general public and some of the more residential non-healthcare spaces. And then in 2024, we brought forward a PUD amendment to divide more of the rust or maroon color property, which is the former academy, just to the right, which you may be familiar with. As it stood in 2024, you can see there's still a lot of color on the site plan that I haven't spoken to. These are all existing structures and purposes that were really a part of the 2003 master plan that still exists today. And we plan and are committed to continuing those. So you can see the motherhouse buildings are looking to stay and find some of the uses that I'll speak to. The prairies, savannas, and the meadows really operate as an ecosystem. So their placement, their orientation, Serve serve a great purpose. There's gray water wetland, which is a smaller smaller blue area up to the Up to the center part of the site That really is connected to the to the mother house building and I'm so it serves serves a purpose for for bringing and bringing in gray water, which is water from the more of the showers and sinks. It's considered wastewater, but it's not sanitary wastewater. And then there's also geothermal infrastructure that's really not shown on here in color, but it's just beneath the parking structure here and then some of the prairies. So those wells were installed back in early 2000. There's also an organic farm that exists on the campus. And then, as I mentioned, the solar field does have an easement that runs through for 20 years. So until 2032. So as I mentioned, one of the big transformations for the campus that began in 2009 really started in the upper or the northernmost T-shaped building here, which was the licensure of a nursing facility. As time progressed, additional licenses were added. to the campuses. And for the most part, those licenses started continuing really through the Motherhouse building. So most of the building today is either licensed or registered as a continuing care retirement community, which packages and bundles healthcare facilities as a part of those residential contracts. So why are we here this evening? We're here to discuss the need for an additional freestanding healthcare facility outside of the Motherhouse. So when we took sponsorship of the campus, Back in 2023, we went through a master planning process as a continuation of that 2003 master plan as to how, you know, what is the highest and best use for the land and then also the motherhouse building. And as a part of that, we did a full market study. It really starts with the assessment, not only of the needs of the campus, but the needs of the Monroe community. And that market study really determined, rose to two primary needs. One is for more senior housing or independent living as well as memory care. And at the time, memory care was full. At a hundred percent and it continues to be to be full another another part of the master plan process really was to Reassess the unit mix of the different the number of units and the uses Amongst all the various health care licenses that are in the building so are those are those units still being optimized utilized by the by the local community and Another primary objective was to reassess the fit and finish, so the size of the units and then the finish of the units. So most of these rooms were reconfigured in the 2000 major renovation that was done. However, most of the units are less than 400 square feet. And so as we look to the needs of the community of Monroe, and most of those being independent living, really the market norms are closer to an 800 square foot apartment upwards to a 1,000 square foot apartment. And then the last part really was twofold. It was just to repurpose some of the amenity space once the unit mix was reconfigured, just to optimize the square footage of the mother house building. But also all the while, the campus is nearly fully occupied. So we were very conscious of living situations of all of our residents on campus and just making sure that relocation activities didn't occur more than once. So that really got us to the memory care needing to be a separate freestanding building. So we really considered three concept plans. But before we considered those, I just wanted to kind of level set. The memory care currently is on the very top floor of the mother house building. So it's not conducive for those that live there in terms of being able to have access outdoors. So we explored and tested three concept plans. One was to keep memory care within the motherhouse. One was to add it as an appendage to the motherhouse, being both inside and outside. And then the other really was to have a freestanding building that was adjacent to the motherhouse. So some of the concept plans that we had considered or the main considerations really drove, what really drove was it just the design for an environment for those that would be living in the building. And so rather than function following the forms of some of the long corridors that we have in the mother house building, we really went back to a design that was truly more appropriate for those with dementia. So rather than treating someone's inabilities, we really look to designing functional spaces, bringing in natural light to help maximize the abilities that the residents do have. Operations, it was important for us just to keep service delivery quality and all of our standards of care congruent. So when we looked across the site, I'll flip back, you can see there's not a whole lot of open spaces that really would have been close enough to some of the main functions of the mother house. So it was really important for us to keep the memory care close to the mother house. Community was obviously a big one. Over half of our residents are sisters or also have spouses. And so when we have folks move in with us, they always will be visiting someone or a loved one over or up in memory care. So it was important for us to keep that connectivity to the mother house building. And then lastly was just feasibility. The first two options that we had really with exploring memory care within the mother house or as an appendage really deemed to be just cost prohibitive. Trying to attach an appendage to a historic building, also one that has lots of utilities that are coming in at various different costs. spaces and areas of the motherhouse, it just didn't pencil out, was really the short of it. So those are really just the key, some of the key drivers and objectives and more or less just the path that brings us to needing to amend the PUD for a separate freestanding building. There's obviously going to be a lot of other reconfiguration of the motherhouse building, but I just wanted to bring some of these details to light this evening. I'd be happy to answer any questions after the public hearing.

I think what we'll do is open the public hearing and see first comments and then also the council members. And if council members have inquiries yourself or administration, they can ask that and we get responses as well.

Great, thank you. All right, thank you.

At this time, I'll open the public hearing on item 6082. It's case PUD 26-001 for 610 West Elm Avenue, the proposed IHM PUD amendment. Any comments from those present here this evening? Any public comment from those present? I see none, but I'll see if council members, if there's items that you wish to have any inquiries on. I'LL START BY SAYING I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN PAST DISCUSSIONS THROUGH THE PLANNING COMMISSION WHICH WERE WELL ATTENDED BY THE COMMUNITY. I THINK SOME DISCUSSIONS WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE SOME OF THE WHAT WOULD BE EXPECTED OR WHAT THEY CAN EXPECT TO OCCUR. I KNOW THAT THE SECOND PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING HAD A LITTLE MORE SUPPORT AND THEN THERE WAS A a meeting that the administration had for the community as a follow-up. And there was just a couple maybe or one person that had some specific questions they were able to get answered as well. So go through the process and that's what this process is with government is to make sure we have input, make sure we get here together to hear comments. knowing that as the applicant moves forward, that this is the first step, as was stated earlier. Next step, of course, is a site plan. And the site plan has opportunities for additional input. That's where it gets to the details of the structure, the distance, the location specific that'll come through. I'll just see if the council has any questions for administration or the applicant. And Manager Cochran.

Yes, Mayor. When we get into the approval of the item, I've got some comments and additional detail to walk council through as you're considering your options regarding this application.

Very well. If there's no public comment, I see none. I'll close the public hearing and we'll move on to the council action. Clerk LaVoie.

action is item 6086, which is the second proposed second reading of ordinance 26-008. Manager Cochran.

Yeah, so some differences between this item and the IHM PUD item, a rezoning is actually an ordinance amendment. And so that's why this one requires a second reading and then it's amending the zoning ordinance. The IHM PUD does not require that because it's not an ordinance amendment, rather a planning action. So for this one, we'll have a second reading of the ordinance amendment before your consideration for the rezoning on South Telegraph.

Any questions from council? If not, a motion, Councilwoman Stringham.

I move to place Ordinance 26-008, an ordinance to amend the zoning district map of Chapter 720 on the floor for its second reading and final reading. Second.

Motion by Councilwoman Stringham, supported by Councilwoman Stilgrave on Item 6086, the second reading of Ordinance 26-008, and proposed rezoning of 747 South Telegraph. Clerk DeVoy.

Councilperson Stilgrave? Yes. Germani? Yes. Stringham? Yes. Felder? Yes. Hader? Yes. Mayor Clark?

Yes.

Ordinance 26-008, Chapter 720, Zoning. An ordinance to amend the zoning map of Chapter 720, Zoning of the Code of the City of Monroe. The City of Monroe ordains.

Shall this ordinance pass?

Councilperson Stilgrave? Yes. Vining? I'm sorry. Germani? Yes. Stringham? Yes. Felder? Yes. Hayter? Yes. Mayor Clark?

Yes. Thank you. Next item, please.

The next item is item 6083, case number PUD 26-001, 610 West Elm Avenue, proposed IHM PUD amendment.

Yeah. So before you consider your options regarding this item, if you'll bear with me, as Mayor indicated, there have been a lot of public comment related to this application. And I think that shows how much the community cherishes this property that has certainly been an anchor institution for a very long time in the city. But I'd like to take some time as you're thinking about this significant amendment to the PUD for the IHM property. Some of the considerations we want to make sure that you feel comfortable moving forward with this. And so I'd like to take a few minutes to talk about some of the comments that have been made publicly in whether the Planning Commission public hearings or that you may have heard out in the community or on social media regarding this item. So First, there's been conversation about this action amending the PUD circumventing the city's zoning ordinance. In the zoning ordinance, planned unit developments exist to be able to do creative land use in a way that protects the character of the site and also the neighborhood. In this instance, we are not circumventing the zoning ordinance to allow for things on this site that wouldn't other be allowed if it were zoned R3 or another use. Because this is already established as a planned unit development, our obligation here is to look at the applicant's request to make sure that it complies with the PUD requirements in the zoning ordinance. So we are not going around it because it's already zoned. And I just want to make that clear because there's been some conversation about that. Also, when we think about the impact that this proposed development is going to have on whether it's the existing site or the neighboring sites, some of the things we have to think about will be hashed through the site plan as the Mayor and Matt indicated, but When we think about traffic impact and the impact that this will have on activity on the site, as Calvin mentioned, there are 28 existing memory care beds within the facility that are being moved out of the existing mother house into the new development. You know, we had some conversation with St. Teresa. It's anticipated and expected that the residents within memory care do not drive. So the addition of an additional six to eight beds in the memory care building will not increase traffic by new users to the site because they are generally going to be residents within the institution. However, we do look at what staffing levels are going to be, what visitor levels will be in order to consider whether there's sufficient parking and also traffic circulation. As part of the site plan, St. Teresa will have to provide us with the highest number of employees on peak shift to understand what is going to be the traffic impact from those users. But we don't expect it in this case to be very much again because of the nature of the use. We've heard about the impact that this may have on surrounding property values. We've done research over the past couple weeks to look at what is the impact of memory care buildings or senior living communities on neighboring properties. And we were only able to find two studies through the American Planning Association that discuss this and the fact that senior living communities generally have a low impact. They're not commercial in nature. They're very well kept. They tend to have little to actually positive impact on neighboring property owners. The open space on the site within our PUD ordinance and our zoning ordinance, the applicant is required to keep a minimum of 20% open space on the property. We did a calculation on the proposed development using GIS to look at what is the existing development on the site plus the new. And by our rough calculations, there would still be about 70% open space left on this site. And so the impact of reducing open space, we don't feel that it would have an overall negative impact. But of course, it's very hard to speculate about uses on property values. But those were the studies that we were able to find on the impact for economic impact on neighborhoods. Additionally, it's come up in the public hearings that this is in the floodplain. It is in the floodplain where they're proposing to build. However, our zoning ordinance does allow for the opportunity for property owners in the floodplain to develop it for reasonable economic use. And so in this case, in order to build in a floodplain, you do have to get necessary permits through the state. And before we can issue building permits and final site plan approval, those will have to be achieved. Additionally, there was a lot of concern about the impact in stormwater and flooding in the adjacent neighborhood. As part of the site plan approval, the applicant, in this case, St. Teresa, is going to have to provide the city with a full set of engineering prints that does show both existing and proposed underground and above ground infrastructure. We do have a whole section in our zoning ordinance that deals with stormwater management. It specifically calls out that you cannot cause flooding on adjacent property owners as a result of your development. So they're going to have to show to the city how their stormwater is going to be managed onsite that may be created as a result of this development. Onsite is key there. It cannot be dumped into the river. That was a concern that we heard, the impact on the natural resources. Stormwater has to be either detained onsite in the yard or in the stormwater system or through a stormwater detention system. But that is for the applicant to show us. And again, we cannot approve the project until that is determined. So the impact on neighboring property owners will be mitigated by our ordinance having those requirements. Additionally, the site plan that comes next, so this is just a preliminary concept plan that you're reviewing and considering this evening, just to look at the proposed plan for the site. The site plan, if you've never seen a site plan, there are over 46 items that have to be addressed as part of the final site plan approval. That will go before the planning commission as well as city council next steps. So when they turn in the site plan, we're gonna look at 16 total criteria that have to be reviewed and achieved before we would recommend to the planning commission and the city council that a final approval be granted. Only at that point are they allowed to begin construction. And all of those deal with everything from the stormwater management, landscaping, because we know, of course, it's a beautiful campus. And so the landscaping requirements will have to make sure that it's compatible with the property as well as the neighborhood. Lighting has been a concern with the neighbors. What kind of light is there going to be that spills over on the property? As part of the site plan, a full lighting plan is required to be submitted. And our zoning ordinance does not allow for negative impact on adjacent properties for lighting. They can't see the fixture. There has to be buffering and screening between nearby residential properties in the development. So all of that will have to be achieved before, again, a final site plan can be approved. I know there was a resident that talked about access by the fire truck. The Public Safety Department has to review the site plan to make sure that there's ample facilities for emergency personnel to access the site, and certainly given the nature of this property being a senior living community, that's going to be especially important as well. So those facilities have to be both designed and called out and reviewed by the fire marshal to make sure that emergency services can be provided. So as I continue through this, I just wanted to, like I said, bring up some of these concerns that we've heard throughout the community and talk about how these items are going to be mitigated. Additionally, this is considered a legacy site in our zoning code. There are five of them in our zoning code. And when Calvin brought up, and we heard this from the community as well, why are they choosing to build it where they do? INSTEAD OF ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE BUILDING OR ELSEWHERE ON THE PROPERTY. I WANT TO REMIND COUNCIL, TOO, THAT THIS IS ONLY FOR THE IHM PROPERTY, NOT THE ACADEMY. SO THE ACADEMY WAS SPLIT OFF AS ITS OWN PARCEL, AND THE CHANGES THAT ARE CONSIDERED TODAY WILL NOT APPLY TO THE ACADEMY. ONLY THOSE PORTIONS REMAINING OWNED BY ST. THERESE. One of the requirements in the Legacy District that specifically called out for the IHM site is that the development must preserve the natural character of the site, including woodlands and wetlands to the extent possible. St. Therese, when Calvin just showed the map, the north end of the mother house building itself, a lot of that is regulated wetlands. And so if they were proposing to build it there, we would probably have to look at not recommending that move forward based on the requirement to preserve spaces like that on this campus. And so hopefully that answers some of the questions, some of the things that you've heard in the public, but also through the planning commission public hearings. Again, a reminder for you, the ordinance allows you to approve the application as submitted, to table the application or deny the application, or you may approve it with certain conditions that are provided under certain circumstances if there were additional conditions that you would like to put forward. But again, as Matt indicated, based on the great job that St. Teresa's done putting this application together, I will say to their credit, The zoning ordinance also recommends applicants hold neighborhood outreach meetings to get neighborhood feedback directly. And so last week they did invite residents from the Lavender side of the property who will be most directly impacted by this proposed addition who have adjacent property owners and they made themself available. Matt and I also attended to be able to answer questions and a lot of their concerns we were able to talk through them with to let them know about what the next steps are. So certainly as you begin to deliberate this item, if you have questions, myself, Matt, or the applicant themselves are available to provide clarification. Thanks for bearing with me through that.

Thanks, Mark. Any additional comments from council members or questions for the administration or applicants?

Just to clarify, there is already a building on the proposed site that they're going to, isn't that where the boiler house is, correct?

just south of the boiler house where they're proposing to build, if you're familiar with the campus, there's a carport right now in the north end of that parking lot on the western side behind Norman Towers, but also a labyrinth, a pavilion with a labyrinth underneath it, and then it's a grassy space with trees. So it's south of where Noble is. The noble gate is I'm not quite to the boiler house and I should point out I on the proposed plan that that was shown they do propose to relocate that labyrinth and that space as well to the north side to keep that amenity on the property as well that was installed by I understand some of the donors.

The questions or comments. Stream.

I just want to say that I appreciate everybody and how focused they are on this subject. This is a beautiful property this is something that the community in the neighborhood has had the chance to be part of and I think sometimes we forget that it's private property because we're able to walk our dogs were able to go back into just enjoy the deer and all of the nature, but I appreciate the city for being very focused and educational on helping us understand this. I appreciate all of the comments from the neighbors. I attended both of the Citizen Planning Commission hearings just so I could find out because my property backs up to St. Mary's Academy. And so this is very, you know, I'm very interested in what is going to happen in my backyard. And I appreciate all of that. But I also, after looking at all this and after looking at what we're being requested of, I don't have any reason to go against it, you know, and to have a challenge it. I just wanted to say that right up front that I've spent a lot of time, extra education, met with Mark. You know, I've asked for all of that extra and so that I could understand it. One of my promises to the constituents is that you may not always agree with how I vote, but I will be able to explain why I voted that way. And this is one of those situations.

Are there comments or questions from council? Manager Cochran?

Yeah, to one of Councilwoman Stringham's point about this being private property and not public property, our zoning cannot require someone to allow for public access on their property. This is a private property. They have private property rights, and I think that's worth remembering. But what our zoning ordinance does say, and I touched on it earlier, The proposed PUD shall provide a minimum of 20% of the gross site acreage as open space. Such open space will remain undisturbed and reserved in its stress for the passive enjoyment of the users of the development. It is not required to be open and used by the public, but rather the folks who are living in, residing on the site, and I think that's an important distinction to make. And then one more reminder, this property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As such, it's subject to our Historic District Commission review, and I know one of our commissioners is in the audience this evening. We have preliminarily reviewed the plan against the Secretary of Interior standards and find that it does achieve that, but the final site plan will also have to be reviewed by the Historic District Commission to protect the historic integrity of the property as well.

Thank you. Councilman Hader. Thank you, Your Honor. I'd just like to make a motion. I'd like to make a motion to approve the proposed preliminary concept plan and agreement modifications for the IHM plan unit development as resubmitted and presented.

Second.

Motion by Councilman Hader, supported by Councilman Stilgrave on item 6083, the West Elm Avenue proposed IHMPUD amendment. Clerk, please call the roll.

Council President Stilgrave? Yes. Germani? Yes. Stringham? Yes. Felder? Yes. Hader? Yes. Mayor Clark?

Before we go to the next item, I also want to thank everybody who's been a part of this process, both not just from the administration, the applicant, but the residents. I said, this is what makes how we get to good decisions and understanding just as Councilwoman Stringer said, you know, how we make decisions and the foundation of which is done. And of course that's with participation. So I thank everybody and I look forward to as we go to the next step here to continue to hear everybody's thoughts so we get this correct.

The next item is item 6078, tree removal contract award large storm damaged trees.

Thank you. Manager Cochran?

Yes, so we're still talking about the July 3rd storm that unfortunately ravaged our city quite seriously. But in your council packet tonight, we do have a recommendation. The Forestry Division DPS had requested to seek bids from tree removal companies to bring in reinforcements, so to speak, to help with some of the tree removals from trees that were damaged as a result of that storm. They didn't produce or they weren't an imminent threat, meaning they had to be removed within a week or so, but they do need to be removed. And so There's a number of 21 large trees that need to be removed as a result of the storm. And the importance why, of course, we sought bids for this. We do have a great forestry crew, but it's a crew of three. And I think it's worth noting in the fact sheet, typically in any given year, they remove 250 to 300 trees and at least two to three times that many limbs that they have to deal with. 21 trees unexpectedly from a list that is included in your packet this evening of trees that they're still trying to get through from before the storm and after. The 21 trees represents about a month worth of work. And so we did go out and seek bids to help with those removals, obviously wanting to make sure that there's no risk to damage public and private property any further. But to be as expeditious as possible, we are recommending moving forward with triple D tree service to remove the 21 trees while our forestry crew, while small but mighty, can focus on the rest of the residence requests that have come through as well as prepare for our fall planting.

Thank you. Any questions or comments from council? I'm just going to add that we talk about having to remove because of the storm and that, and we regularly have a system that's there, but we also have tree planting that comes up as well, and it's the numerous and hundreds of trees that get planted each year, and it only happens in the spring and the fall, and so fall is coming, and if we don't have some of these opportunities to take care of this, it'd just put further back, and I'd hate to miss the opportunity to meet all our planting expectations as well. Councilwoman Germani. Okay.

If you all make a motion, move that the City Council award a purchase order for the removal of 21 trees to Triple D Tree Services in the amount of $42,000 that the Director of Engineering and Public Services, Interim Director of water and wastewater utilities or his designee be authorized to execute any necessary agreements and that the assistant city manager finance director be authorized to make any necessary transfers including from refuge funds, contingencies and or reserves and set up any necessary accounts.

It's a motion by Councilman Germani, supported by Councilwoman Stilgrave on item 6078, the Tree Removal Contract Award, as stated. Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilperson Stilgrave? Yes. Germani? Yes. Stringham? Yes. Felder? Yes. Hader? Yes. Mayor Clark?

Yes. Next item, please.

The next item is item 6088, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Grant Agreement Acceptance for Dam 5.

Thank you. Manager Cochran.

Yeah, so to continue the great work that we have been doing jointly with state and federal partners, as well as our Commission on the Environment, we've been awarded a grant in the amount of $1,629,040 with no matching funds to proceed and continue with the project. removal and rehabilitation of the dam number five. And so your action tonight would be to formally accept that grant. And certainly for more technical things, questions, Patrick Lewis is in the audience and can assist with that if you'd like.

Any council questions for Mr. Cochran or Mr. Lewis? Councilman Stringham.

Make a motion move that the City Council accept the Department of Commerce and OAA and CPO NOA grant agreement titled recovering resilience in the river raisin through restoration to support fisheries and the communities that depend on them. in the amount of $1,629,040 that the city manager be authorized to affirm the agreement via ERA Commons on behalf of the city of Monroe and that the assistant city manager finance director be authorized to amend the project budget to reflect grant acceptance.

Motion by Councilman Stringham, supported by Councilwoman Germani. Item 6088, the grant agreement acceptance regarding Dam 5. Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilperson Steelegrave? Yes. Germani? Yes. Sorry. Stringham? Yes. Felder? Yes. Hader? Yes. Mayor Clark?

Yes. One thing I want to add in relation to this, we've had a previous grant that was approved over $3 million regarding how we're making restoration improvements to the River Raisin and the dam removals and passages. This grant here has no match, so we don't have to put 10%, 20%, as we see in many matches and grants we do, so this is 100% funded through the NOAA grant process. Clerk, next item, please.

I have no further items this evening, Your Honor.

Council comments? Councilman Stalegrave.

I have nothing this evening, Your Honor.

Councilwoman Germani.

Thank you, Your Honor. I want to thank all the 220 people that came out to the river cleanup to help us clean that river up. And I won't go through what was all found, some interesting objects, like a shower door, and numerous other items. So thank you, everybody, who helped clean up the river. Fun was had by all, as always. Thank you.

Thank you. Councilwoman Stringham.

Just add to my comments on the St. Therese plan. You know, it's not a done deal. They still have to, you know, put in the final site plan and I will be reviewing along with the city just to kind of keep myself informed so that we can. make sure that the citizens' concerns that I've heard in the past are also addressed, and I look forward to progress. I'll say that as a former nurse, I am excited to have more health care in the neighborhood. Who knows? It might be me needing it someday.

Councilman Felder. No comments this evening, no. Councilman Hader.

Thank you, Your Honor. Just one thing. Coming up on September 5th, the Monroe-Lennyway AFL-CIO will be holding their annual Labor Day parade and festival. Parade starts at 1, and the first band will come on at 2, which will be Shout. So come on down and enjoy the festivities. Thank you.

Thank you. Just a couple comments. I first want to give recognition and thanks to the administration and the staff FOR THE THOROUGH COMPLETENESS AND ALSO THE INCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC COMMENTS BOTH AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND HERE THIS EVENING WITHIN OUR INFORMATION THAT'S PROVIDED TO THE CITY COUNCIL. WE CAN GET THINGS FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, BUT IF IT DOESN'T HAVE THE OTHER PERSON'S COMMENTS, IT HELPS US BALANCE IN OUR DELIBERATION AND THOUGHTS. SO I APPRECIATE THE THOROUGHNESS not only the topic regarding the PUD, but I think about the, if you have looked at the packet for the trees, there is detail in there and every tree you want to think that's possible is staying, that's not staying, where they're located, the location, and the time it's going to take to address that. So I really appreciate that. And I want to thank the Tree Advisory Commission as well for their input. and diligence of doing their duties there. I mentioned about the grant. I just want to thank again, aggressively that the staff looks at every grant opportunity, and it may be, in this case, from NOAA, but it may be from others. Ralph Wilson we've had, SEMCOG has grants. I know there's more that the staff is looking at when we talk about our consideration. The resiliency grant that we just talked about, I think, at our last meeting. So, thanks to the hard work that's done there. Councilman Hayter, thanks for mentioning about the Labor Day activities in downtown Monroe, Oranger Square, and of course around. We'll have many activities through the, I look forward to that weekend. Again, it was, I know last year was very much, a lot of excitement, a lot of activity, and people in downtown. along with the markets that continue are coming up and with the market Wednesdays as well. The last thing is our next meeting is until September 7th. So we'll see everybody in September here at least at this location, but I'm sure we'll see everybody through the community activities and also through our daily work. Clerk, Treasurer LaVoy, exciting information coming.

I do have exciting information. See if I can get the technology to cooperate. That's not bad. All right, so two things. One, I'm very pleased to announce that the canvass for the August election for the county has been completed, and there were no questions or irregularities with the City of Monroe's, so I did not have to appear before the canvassing board. They were able to take the information we provided and accept the results for the city. And then we are launching again the I Voted Sticker Contest. If you all recall, we did that last year, and it was very popular. So we're doing it again. The state did have one, for those of you who are thinking about that, and that has already come and gone, and so we're not in competition with voting or designs anymore. because we're not doing it at the same time. But basically it's a contest to design I voted stickers. They're to be nonpartisan and not favor any particular group. The idea hopefully this year with America 250 is for our young designers, artists to include the America 250 in their designs. They don't have to, but that's encouraged. It will be age groups, again, ages 5 to 9, 10 to 13, and 14 to 18, and the top three in each category. And they're submitting now through September 28th. The top three from each category will be selected, and then a vote of the public in October will – will determine which are our winners and which stickers will be reproduced. We're really excited about it. We had a lot of great participation last year from individuals. I've already heard from a couple of moms who say that they helped their their youngsters load their recent designs. So we've already got folks who have submitted and we hope to have quite a few more. The idea is to just give youth the opportunity to participate on the local level and hopefully connect at a young age with elections and know that that they can grow up and be participants in the process. And this is just one way for them to get involved. So I appreciate everyone's support. We will have social media postings about it. So if you have the opportunity to share or talk to families or youngsters that you know about submitting, we're really looking forward to celebrating our young artists and to see their amazing designs. On the screen, it's, I don't know if I can make it bigger. I guess I can. There's a QR code. We'll also have those at the clerk's counter. If you happen to be in the building, you can scan that, and it will take you right to the location on our website. But if you go to MonroeMI.gov, there's also the elections are on the front page, and you can access the application that way as well. I could talk about it all night, probably not what everybody wants me to talk about. So I guess I'll just close my comments there. But if you have any questions, let me know.

Thank you. It was great in our last election. I think we'll have youth and others that we'll be putting in, so it'll be wonderful. I will mention we had an election commission here earlier this evening. And what comes with that is we prepare, and the clerk has duties and obligations, but we also are going to have a public accuracy test again.

Yes, we've scheduled. So there are quite a few deadlines that come upon us really quickly. It's not too late. It's not too early. It's not too late to submit your application to vote already in the November election if you choose to vote absentee. But we will have the public accuracy test, which tests the programming and the equipment that will be used on election day. And that's scheduled for October 14th. And it'll be at 7.30 a.m. here at City Hall. in the council chamber so it's easily accessible to anyone who would like to come in and watch it. And then the week before, the clerk's office actually tests all the equipment as well, and then the election commission randomly selects a precinct to test. So we thoroughly vet the machinery and the programming.

Thank you.

Thank you. Manager Cochran, comments?

Just to this evening, your honor. First, it was great to join council staff and family and fellow department members to congratulate Lieutenant Herrick on retirement after 25 years of service to the city and the public safety department. And certainly. take an opportunity to wish her well as she begins her next chapter in retirement. And then the second, to go along with the river cleanup, we also had the stewardship camps. And you may have seen they were not only busy in the water, but also artists as well. So they started working with Presley Bergmoser on the mural underneath the McComb Street Bridge. And at your seat tonight is a rendering of the next phase of the mural installation in public art this year. And it's the mural that will continue on with the theme from the McComb Street Riverwalk to the Monroe Street, underneath the Monroe Street Bridge on the Riverwalk. With the next phase, it includes a turtle, a bald eagle, and a canvas back duck. And so... Presley sent this along to us today. If you have any comments, be sure to let us know. But I believe she's planning to get started rather quickly with a public event, inviting the public August 26th to join her in creating the next piece of art. So that's all.

Thanks. I think it was great. The stewardship camp and some of the youth were able to be there. to start on one of the murals under the Macomb Street Bridge. So it was excellent. Thanks for bringing up all Lieutenant Herrick's retirement. Long-term command officer who's retiring from the city police. Besides the valor that she brought PROVIDED TO THE DEPARTMENT AND OUR COMMUNITY. I ALWAYS THINK OF THERESE WITH THE COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES AND I TELL YOU BY THE END WHETHER IT BE PARADES, HOMETOWN HOLIDAY LIGHTS, ANYTHING, IT HAD TO GO THROUGH HER AS WELL. SO I SAW HER AT HER RETIREMENT AND I JUST TOLD HER WHEN SHE COMES BACK WE'LL GIVE HER A RIDE IN THE LITTLE GOLF CAR TO PUBLIC SAFETY CAR BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SHE ALWAYS DROVE. SO I APPRECIATE ALL OF HER SERVICE AND WE WISH HER WELL. So next is citizens' comments. So if anybody here wishes to make comments this evening, please come forward, state your name, jurisdiction of residence, and mindful of the rules of the chamber, three minutes. Comments from you, yes, please come forward.

Hello. I'm Sister Margaret Chapman. And I think I'm the only IHM here tonight. And I just want to say thank you. I can't speak on behalf of all the IHMs. I'm not in a position to do that. But I was on the team that negotiated the agreement to transfer ownership to St. Teresa. And I want to tell you that I can't be happier and more proud of the thoughtful and sincere and dedicated work that they've done. to make our campus, the campus that we all love and that many of you love, lasting into the future. So, thank you.

Thanks, Sister. Other comments from those present here this evening?

Chris Cull, 519 Godfroy Avenue. I just want to say thank you to whoever changed the flashing light on Elm Avenue when you cross the street, you push this little button, and it was flashing white for the longest time. And I don't think cars saw it, but now it's yellow and white, and they see that. And every Sunday morning I'm walking to church, and I'm wondering, you know, am I going to get crossed, especially when I come back? But, you know, that flashing yellow light really makes a difference. So thank you.

Appreciate the comment. Thank you. Other comments from those present here this evening? Any further additional comments? With that, thank you, everybody, for being here. And I need a motion to adjourn. Councilman Hader? Second. Second. Motion by Councilman Hader, supported by Councilman Feller to adjourn. Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilperson Steelgrave? Yes. Germani? Yes. Stringham? Yes. Feller? Yes. Hader? Yes. Mayor Clark?

Yes.