Commission - Regular Meeting

All right, I think we gave the camera guy enough time for our broadcast at home. So, I'm going to officially open up this uh regular city commission meeting of Monday, May 18th. All please rise for the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation, indivisibley andice for all. We begin as always by acknowledging the land on which we gather as the territory of the Ottawa and Chipua peoples who have stewarded this land through the generations. Thank you for your strength and resilience in protecting this land and inspiring us to uphold our responsibilities to do the same. With that, I will have um you go ahead with Sarah with roll call, please. Commissioner Bulmer

here. Commissioner Anderson here. Mayor Promesses here. Commissioner Shaw here. Commissioner Funk here. Commissioner Treadwell here. Mayor here. And we'll continue with announcements from the city manager, please. Yes. Good evening. I have some announcements for this week, the week of May 18th, 2026. I first want to say that today is Traverse City's 131st birthday. Uh 131 years ago today, Traverse City was incorporated as a city.

Oh. Uh I want I want to thank our uh humanitarian honores for all they do for Traverse City, and I congratulate them. They'll be presented here shortly. Uh the city recently was awarded a $100,000 community placemaking grant from Project for Public Spaces to support improvements in the East Side Social District. Uh after hosting a community uh workshop on May 6th, a survey is now available on the city's website for those who couldn't attend. So that survey is up until or through May 22nd. It can be found on the city's website under news and I encourage people uh to complete that. Uh last week uh Wednesday uh of last week uh the city welcomed our new fire chief Erin Bunet who is here with us. Uh he began service on May 13th. And I want to also remind the community that they're invited to attend an open house to welcome our new chief uh Chief Bunet on May 28th. That's from 400 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Fire Station 1 on West Front Street. And I encourage residents to join to join us in welcoming this important addition to our team. I want to congratulate technology director Jerry Swanson on his recent completion of a 12-week program in IT management and leadership studies from the IT management and leadership institute. We certainly encourage the professional development of our team and I appreciate Jerry's initiative in pursuing this level of development which covered areas including team building, budgeting, AI strategy, leadership management, of course technology and change management. So again congratulations to Jerry. And then the last announcement that I have is that the city offices will be closed Monday, May 25th in observance of Memorial Day. And as a reminder, Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday dedicated to mourning and honor honoring military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. So we do thank them and it's a a day to uh observe their contributions to our country. And that's all that I've got. Thank you.

Thank you for that, Benjamin. And Sarah, announcements from the city clerk, please. I just have a couple uh meeting scheduled for this week is the planning commission will meet on Tuesday, May 19th at 6 PM here in the commission chambers. The complete streets advisory committee will meet Thursday, May hold on 21st and I've had the wrong day. Um at 9:00 a.m. in the committee room and I'm anticipating no meeting for us next week. Correct.

All right. Well, thank you for that. Now I'm going to hand over the kind of chair here to the chair of the human rights commission, Jen Loop, to go over our winners for the human rights businesses and organizations and our Sarah Hardy Awards winner. So take it away, Jen.

Thanks. Hello, city commissioners. Um I'm Jen Loop. I'm the chair of the human rights commission. Every year we uh like to honor a person in the an individual in a community that exemplifies the values of the human human rights commission um and their humanitarian work in the community. We also now recognize a b two businesses and organizations each year. So I have three awardees tonight. Um, all of these people were nominated and there were many good nominations and I commission then votes on who we'd like to honor this year. They all have a few things to say. Um, but I'll go through uh each of these organizations. First, the reason we do two organizations is one with employees 30 number of employees 30 and under and then 30 and over does different sizes of businesses and different things. So, first I would like to welcome up Abigail McCirin um from Health.

Hello. I don't know who to address. I want to address. Technically, you address us, but the public's all behind you.

That's perfect. I prefer that. So, uh, I want to start this really fast with how many of you, whether at two, at 52, at 102, have ever helped somebody with a car repair, with a ride to the airport, with groceries. Everyone, someone's got to raise your hands. I know. Good, good, good. How many of you, whether two or 52 or 102, have ever needed help because your car broke down or you lost your wallet, right? Okay, good. So, congratulations. I think we're all uh in a humanitarian effort together here. Uh all we did, I'd love to take all of the credit here, but the truth is we took that reality that every single one of us is both a giver and a receiver. uh and then created this space that allows people to both ask and give in a safe environment where both parties feel connected uh to their community. I moved to this community when I was 15. I lived in a car. I have gone through domestic violence. I have done a whole life of living. Uh, and every one of those moments has led us to create Spark in the Dark and then Help Link with the goal that everybody is worthy of help. You, me, the guy down the street, right? And so our software platform essentially allows companies to give to their employees to remove barriers to work for their staff before it's too late, before they sleep in a car, before they end up in a domestic violence situation. Right? Uh but we also allow communities like each one of us to also give to those needs to donate $5 or $10. We do it all anonymously. We do it through a software platform. Uh and I have to tell you, I've been on this fight every day for the last 10 years and it is our absolute honor um to

come out of Trevor City. It's our absolute honor to serve each and every one of you. uh we continue to grow nationally, but we get to point back to this community really specifically as what it looks like to truly, you know, come together and to show what it looks like to care about your neighbor even if you do not know them. So, thank you so much for the honor. You'll see us in another 10 years and another 20 years and another 50 years. Uh we're not going anywhere. So, only just begun.

Thank you. Next, we'd like to recognize the neur neurodeiversity support center at Northwestern Michigan College. Michael Anderson will be speaking on their behalf.

Good evening. Uh thanks to the TC Human Rights Commission, uh the City Commission of Traverse City, uh and to the leaders and citizens gathered here today to celebrate the achievements of local humanitarians. Um my name is Michael Anderson. I'm the academic chair of the communications department at NMC. Uh and it's an honor to accept this award on behalf of my longtime colleague Nancy Gray, uh who passed away suddenly in January. Um NY's partner Chuck and child Basil are here tonight. um to help us celebrate um her work. Um several of her close friends are also here this evening um to honor Nancy and the humanitarian spirit that she brought to her work. Three years ago, when Nancy returned from a sabbatical, she and I began planning for what became NMC's neurodeiversity support center. It's the first of its kind at a community college in Michigan to give neurodeiverse people the support some need to succeed in college classes and life uh during that sometimes awkward transition between high school and college. We weren't sure that the college would support this effort, but to quote one of NY's favorite sayings, well, we going to ask, what's the harm in asking? I always ask. End quote. Nancy could be very convincing and make your belly hurt from laughter as she was convincing you. Miss her a lot. Uh but it didn't take much to get a commitment from Vice President Steven Sicciliano and Todd Nybower and President Nick Nisley. Uh they too saw that starting the center was something that the college needed to do. It was the right thing to do. In the past, neurodeiverse people have been known by a number of labels, many of them derogatory. uh and when they came to college they were grouped together if at all uh with people needing disability support services. As I say that I must acknowledge two things. Uh the fine work that NMC's office of disability support services does for our students and the fact that many neurodeiverse learners do need traditional disability

accommodations. Yet Nancy saw what was missing. A place on campus for neurodeiverse people to go to shut out the noise and reset. Nancy saw that they need wraparound support specific to the neurodeiverse. Most importantly, Nancy saw that they also need belongingness. They need connectedness to the college and to each other so that their unique subjectivities could bloom and among friends. Nancy brought her signature patience, humor, and expertise to supporting neurodeiverse people. Tireless and adept, Nancy the humanitarian led by holding weekly seminars and training the supplemental employees and student workers, some of whom are here tonight. Thank you. Uh who provide the frontline support at the center. Always willing to take a meeting or work through a difficult student situation. Nancy also provided training and support to instructors. And she did all of this while continuing to teach developmental English. Nancy was one of those people who just by being around them, you want to learn and grow. you want to be better. I can say that having Nancy as a colleague and working with her so closely made me a better educator. Today, the Neurodeiversity Support Center has a new director, uh, Taylor Nash. Where are you, Taylor? There he is. Uh, and new and returning staffers and renewed support from the college. It will go on. And it's a great example of NMC enacting its core values and mission. I want to close with another of NY's favorite sayings. We celebrate neurodeiversity. We celebrate neurodeiversity. Through her vision and her dedication, Nancy forever changed education at NMC, humanizing it so that neurodeiverse people would not would be not just tolerated but celebrated. Thank you.

Thank you, Michael. And finally, I'd like to recognize Marcelo Betty um as the recipient of the Sarah Hardy Humanitarian. Hi.

I have written remarks, too. Um Okay. Um and I promise I won't take more than five minutes because I know you guys have a busy agenda. Okay. So, I'm going to start by saying that I'm very thankful uh for the recognition. Um I am an immigration lawyer. Interesting job to have these days. Um and I work for a nonprofit organization, Immigration Law and Justice Michigan. Uh and we we offer immigration legal services to lowincome individuals specifically. Uh and we're the only organization of this kind that has an office in Trevor City. Um and it's interesting time to do this work. Um, and I have been very fortunate to have a job that helps others. Um, that was actually the main reason I went to law school. Uh, I don't know whether I would say that's a good enough reason to go to law school. So, a lot of young folks here like I don't know. Uh, you know, uh, but, um, I'm glad I did it. You know, in life being what it is, uh, you you make certain decisions and then you make you try to make the best out of them. Um, so I've been practicing immigration law since the end of the Obama administration, which means I have about 75 years of experience, approximately. Uh, it feels that way. Um, and the immigration system, it's very complicated. Uh, in part because the rules change a lot u all the time every time you get a new administration. Uh, and the system is also very unfair. Uh it's uh you know obviously I'm not going to take the time to do a history lesson here. Uh but if you look into the history of our immigration system, you will see that a lot of it is uh built upon racial and class discrimination. Uh and anyone dealing with this system, including immigration attorneys, often feels powerless. Uh, in fact, part of what makes it difficult, you know, to stand here and receive this award is because I know that when a new client

comes into my office, there's a good chance that I'm not going to be able to fix their problem just because of the way that the laws are written. I can tell them what their rights are, um, but I can't change the law, right? Um, so those are the times that make you wonder, you know, whether your work makes any difference. Um, so I wanted to thank, you know, the commission and, you know, the city as a whole for forcing me and our organization to, you know, take the time to pause and reflect, uh, on the work that we've been doing. You know, um, we cannot make anyone's life easy. Uh, but when you help fix someone's immigration status, uh, you are helping them have greater opportunity, right, to thrive in the country that they call home, which is this country. Um, so thanks for reaffirming that our work is valuable to the community. Okay. Now, I got to tell you a client story. Okay. Um, so one of the first cases that I worked on when I started my nonprofit career, uh, was helping a woman, um, I'm going to give her a madeup name, Dalia. Uh, and at this point, this is fall 2015. Uh, she had been living in the United States without any papers for more than 10 years. Uh and like so many women uh she was a victim of domestic violence uh perpetrated by her husband at the time and for many years she was a victim in silence. Uh she was afraid of calling the police and reporting the crime because since she didn't have papers she thought if the police come they're going to arrest me and deport me. Um but eventually she had enough and she had the courage to call for help. So she reported the crime and talked to the police. Um, and then after her husband was arrested and deported, uh, Dalia became a single mother with a young US citizen son born here. Uh, and you know, one of the big misconceptions, you know, people, many people don't realize that

having a US citizen child is not a free ticket for you to stay in the United States. Okay? And there are two legal reasons for that. Um, so the first one is a US citizen child cannot really help their parent immigrate until that child is 21 years old. Okay, so most people don't plan that far ahead. Uh, and then the second and more important reason is because Dalia had entered the country without authorization. Even when her son turns 21 and petitions for her, she would not be allowed to actually apply for a green card and fix her status here because she had entered without authorization. Instead, she would have to leave the country, wait for 10 years abroad, and then come back. So, she was in a real pickle. Okay. Um to put it mildly. So, fortunately for Dalia, um our immigration laws, they're very flawed. Uh but they do have one provision that was helpful to her. Uh it's a section of law that says that even if you are undocumented, if you are the victim of certain crimes, including domestic violence, and then you help law enforcement investigate and prosecute that crime, you can apply for the U visa. Okay? So that the U visa is valid for four years, but after three years that you have it, you can apply for a green card. But there's a catch. And the catch is that the government can only issue 10,000 of those visas per year. pretty small amount when you look at how many victims there are. Um, so there's a huge backlog to get the visa in the first place. So that's what I helped Dalia with uh back in the fall of 2015. You know, we completed a pile of paperwork. We filed her petition back then and then we waited for many years. uh during those years her mother passed away in Mexico and Dalia could not go visit her or attend her funeral because if she left the US she couldn't come

back she had a kid here who she had to take care of um and then because of this backlog her U visa petition was not approved until 2020 in the middle of the pandemic and then we had to wait another three years before uh we could apply for her green card for lawful permanent resident status and Then we applied and then we waited some more and finally this spring almost 11 years later she finally received her green card on her birthday

all days. Um and I actually didn't have the heart to give her the card myself. I had to ask my legal assistant to do it because it was uh you know just a such a long journey. Uh, so I stayed on my side of the office and even though I couldn't see or or hear what was happening, I could just feel, you know, like the emotion and the energy coming from from the other room. Um, which really confirms that I made the right choice not to give her the card in person because then I would have just melted, right? So, um, so now that she has a green card, uh, Dalia can live and work in the United States indefinitely. Uh, and because she's authorized to work, she's no longer stuck working for an employer who mistreated her in a job that Adalia felt that she couldn't quit because she may not have been able to find someone else who would have hired her under the table. Um, and then in another five years, she can apply to become a US citizen. And then in the meantime, uh, she can travel abroad and visit relatives who she hasn't seen in decades and also to visit her mom's resting place. So I wanted to share her story um to give you an idea of how long uh and how difficult the journey is for some people to fix their immigration status. Uh and mostly I wanted to share her story because I don't think that you know this type of award is meant to celebrate only the people who are receiving it. Um I think the award should and hopefully does celebrate members of our community you know who may not be as visible but who have lives that are just as meaningful. Thank you.

Thank you, Marcelo.

And thank you to the city of Trevor City and all of you commissioners for taking time to honor humanitarian efforts in the community um and individuals that are doing good work like you are. So, thank you. And that goes also to our human rights commission. So, thank you all. Thank you. All right. I'm going to give everybody a moment because some of you were just here for this. So, please feel free and if you want to stay for the budget again, you're more than welcome to, but I'm guessing many of you won't.

If anybody's been waiting in the hall, you can come in. There's some open seats now, so please feel free to come fill in. Get a little bit of our salmon flow here.

Don't correct me if I'm wrong, Mitch. Okay. And one more thing before we start our consent calendar. Um, I was honored today to be invited to speak to the Optimus Club uh lunchon for honoring fifth graders from around the TECAPS, actually Grand Traverse County because it's not just TECAPS. Um, that were winners nominated by their classmates and their teachers for being uh optimists, which meant being caring and positive leadership, showing caring and positive leadership. So not just being leaders and not just winning awards or being really great at their sport but also helping their fellow students and all this was mostly student generated. So this is by their own peers. So I will now read the proclamation uh declaring May 18th 2026 as youth appreciation day. Whereas the city of uh Trevor City Optimist Club has designated May 18th 2026 as uh youth appreciation day. Sorry. And the future of our community, nation, and world rests in the hands of our youth whose energy, creativity, and determination continue to inspire positive change. And whereas young people embody the promise of a brighter tomorrow through their ambition, passion, and commitment to learning, growth, and innovation. And whereas youth appreciation day provides an opportunity to honor and recognize the vital contributions of our youth to our society and to encourage them to pursue their dreams, express their talents, and engage in activities that foster personal development and the well-being of others. And whereas the importance of supporting, empowering, and nurturing the potential of young individuals cannot be overstated as they are the leaders, creators, and the change makers of today and tomorrow. Whereas communities across the country are encouraged to celebrate the accomplishments, aspirations, and

potential of all young people while also providing them with resources, opportunities, and guidance necessary for their continued success success and growth. Resolve that I, Amy Shamro, mayor of Trevor City, do hereby proclaim Monday, May 18th, 2026 as Youth Appreciation Day. In recognition of the invaluable contributions of young people and their vital role in shaping the future, I along with the Optimist Club of Trevor City call upon all citizens to join together in celebrating the spirit of youth and continue supporting their growth, development, and achievement. And I think that's a very appropriate after our presentation we just had and all of the young people who are in here waiting to get your signatures at the end of the semester. I I see you and I hear you. Um but I just think that this is a really important um message for us to carry forward to. All of you are future leaders. Believe me, when I was in high school, I didn't think I'd be sitting up here as mayor of Trevor City. Not that that has to be your ambition, but you never know where the road's going to take you. So, I hope all of you uh continue to be supported and continue to engage. Even if it is because you're forced to sit at a meeting, maybe something will spark some interest for you. So, with that, I will go back to our regularly scheduled events and have Sarah take the consent calendar, please.

All right. The purpose of the consent calendar is to expedite business by grouping non-controversial items together to be dealt with by one commission motion without discussion. Any member of the commission, staff, or the public may ask that any item on the consent calendar be removed there from and placed elsewhere on the agenda for individual consideration by the commission. And such requests will be automatically respected. If an item is not removed from the consent calendar, the action noted in parentheses on the agenda is approved by a single commission action adopting the consent calendar. One, consideration of approving the minutes of May 4th, 2026 and May 11th, 2026 meetings of the city commission with a note that a motion in the May 6th minutes has been um a word lease has been changed to management agreement within the motion in connection with the Confoster building and the minutes on the website reflect that change. Two, consideration of authorizing a purchase order for patrol rifles and suppressors and consideration of declaring patrol rifles surplus with the balance to be covered by private donation. Approval recommended. Three, consideration of authorizing a purchase order for the purchase of a 2025 Ram 5500 aerial bucket truck for use by Trevor City Light and Power and consideration of declaring a 2018 Ford F550 aerial bucket truck surplus. Approval recommended. Four, consideration of authorizing a renewal of lease with Chubby Unicorn LLC for its use of city product adjacent to its business for outdoor dining purposes. Approval recommended. Five, consideration of authorizing agreement for event management at Hickory Hills. Approval recommended. Six, consideration of authorizing a six-month extension of the agreement for restroom cleaning for all city parks, parking services, downtown restrooms, and various city facilities. Approval recommended. Seven, consideration of authorizing a contract for parking structure restoration of the Larry C. Hardy and Oldtown parking structures. Approval recommended. Eight,

consideration of authorizing an agreement for the comprehensive water and sewer rate study. Approval recommended. Nine. Consideration of authorizing an out of scope agreement for endpoint detection and response and Microsoft Office software subscription purchases. Approval recommended. 10. Consideration of declaring equipment held by police department as surplus so it may be traded in. Approval recommended. 11. Consideration of approving the recreational authority fiscal year 2026 2027 budgets as required by authority bylaws. Approval recommended. 12. Consideration of adopting resolution descertifying local street mileage to amend the act 51 certified street met which is a housekeeping matter. Adoption recommended. Would any commissioner like an item pulled from the consent calendar?

That's Heather. Oh, sorry. Yeah. Me. I said yes. Heather. Yeah. Sorry. Five. Five. Any other items? Is that five? No, I'm sorry. Okay, I'm wrong. Three. Three. Okay, no problem. So, three, not five. Any others? Seeing none, are Oh, go ahead, Ken. Six. Okay. Any others? Is there any member of the public that would like an item pulled that is not three or six? You want three or five? I want three. Three. That's what I said. I thought you said the trucks. Yeah. So, okay. Bringing it back to the commission. I take a motion. I'm move to present or to accept the consent calendar as amended. Support and we'll give that to Anderson. Okay.

All in favor? I opposed. Motion passes. We will go to item number three and go ahead with that. Heather, so my question is that um the we added three hybrid bucket trucks to the fleet in 24 and 25. And so I want to know why we're going backwards. We're going back to gasoline here. Absolutely. Uh Joel Tapio, who's the director of fleet management, uh is coming up and I'll ask him to address that question for you. Thank you.

Thanks, Commissioner Shaw. Joel Tapio. Um so with this vehicle, there's an accident and the insurance company um declared it u total loss. So the hybrid bucket trucks are like three years out. and there's an immediate operational need for Traverse City Light and Power and this was the only one available um within a short notice. We did look into other brands and options but um the Altech brand is really what we want to stick with. Um and they're they again they're three years out with the with the hybrid option and there's really not not else out there at this point in time.

And I do just want to say for what it's worth that Trevor City Light and Power, Brandy Ekran, has indicated this is a critical piece of equipment for their fleet uh for um uh restoration of power that's out for emergency repairs and those types of things. So for them, it is a critical piece of equipment that was was total in an accident. But it I you know, it's a brand new truck. It's going to last for a long time with higher emissions. It's gonna have outdated technology. Why Why wouldn't you consider buying a used anything?

Yeah. And we we did look at used options and it was kind of uh kind of eye opening how how much they actually go for. Um the hours and miles that were on them and you're looking at around $100,000 for something that's over halfway worn out already. So, and and none of those were the hybrid option. So the hybrids are pretty uncommon especially in the used market. So I mean one one thing I was thinking we could discuss during our uh fleet monetization discussions with light and power is the fact that these trucks do hold their value so well we could maybe declare this one surplus early and get a get a hybrid one on order.

That would be really nice. Yeah, I'd appreciate that. Yeah. And like the lease costs we looked at. I mean, you couldn't justify a lease for the difference in in cost that would be. So, and I want you to know I support that approach to and encourage that that when the time is right to if if it makes sense to sell this vehicle um so that when there is a hybrid option that comes available, we can get that and replace it with that. Well, you know, if there if you have to order three years out, I mean, I hope you're thinking about that soon. Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

And and just a question because I've I was on the power board for eight years and been up here for 10 years. I can't recall a time we've had a bucket truck get totaled. Um, so I just say that as like this isn't something we can just have waiting in the wings either with anticipation because it my understanding is that this doesn't happen very often, right? That our trucks like this. Forunately, Fortunately, it doesn't. So, thank you. At least it wasn't one of the hybrid bucket trucks, right? Yes. All right. Well, very reluctantly, I'm going to accept this very reluctantly. You know, we have uh if we're serious about reducing our our costs and modernizing the fleet, we have to continue down the path of

hybridization and eventually electrification. Absolutely. Go ahead, Mitch. Yeah. Speaking to the urgency of the situation, we are at about peak of the spring storm season. So, I am glad that uh it is being addressed pretty quickly. We don't have outages right now, but statewide there's I can check the map and see over 86,000 Michiganers are currently out of power. So, it is important that we have fleet readiness. Thank you. Do we have any questions or a motion? I can make the motion.

Thank you. I move that Traverse City Light and Power Vehicle 125, a 2018 Ford F550, be declared as surplus and transferred to the city's insurance carrier to be sold as salvage. that the city manager be authorized to issue a purchase order to Altech of Indianapolis, Indiana for the 2025 Ram 5500 aerial bucket truck in an amount not to exceed $150,12 with funds available in the garage fund 661. Second.

Okay. Thank you, Commissioners Ness and Bulmer. Any further discussion on this? Any public comment on this? Seeing none, I'll bring it back. All in favor? I opposed. Motion passes. And then item number six. And you had this pulled, Ken.

Yeah. Um, this was in regard to so on the consent calendar. It generally lists it. It specifies that it was for bathrooms, uh, downtown restrooms and various city facilities. Like does our parks director schedule the maintenance and cleaning of 400 boardmen? No. Uh, no. That's a the uh 400 boardman is uh owned majority of it is owned by the county. So, okay. I was just I was just curious what like what those other

there is a variety of them. Uh I can look up that 2022 or 23 approval. Um uh let's see here. And I know Miss Hunt is here as well, but I looked at this actually this morning and um it is uh spaces such as um well actually Miss Hunt if you could come up. I know it's it's parks properties marina garage, Hickory Hills, and Oakwood Cemetery, right?

Yes. Hi Michelle Hunt, director of parks and recreation. So it is Oakwood Cemetery, the Marina, Hickory Hills, the parks, bathrooms, the department of public services building, the water and sewer maintenance building, and parking. All the parking, the Hardy parking deck, Oldtown, and what else, Nicole? The retail space. So, it's one large contract for all of our needs. Okay. I was just I was kind of surprised. it said if it was just like the park bathrooms I like it would make sense but it was I was just surprised by what other facilities would also mean because you're a certified arborist too right no I'm not

you are not okay we just had a lot of interest in the parks and the trees in the community and I just was surprised that you were spending time setting up management contracts for cleaning facilities when people want to walk through Oakwood Cemetery and have deep discussions about the trees there and replacement of the trees and um the heights of the replacements, just different the health of the trees. So, that was just my general question. I have no problem with this. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that the bathrooms at the parks weren't clean. So, they're obviously doing a good job. So, that's how they can have the luxury of of uh enjoying the talks and the walks because we have clean bathrooms, so they don't have to worry about so.

And just just for clarity, too, this is a six-month extension at the exact same price. Yep. Mhm. Go ahead, Heather. And you looked at this this morning, Ben, because I asked about it, too, because there was no cost associated. Usually, it says, you know, at the same price, which is XXX, and there's nothing there. Well, I can answer that just because I know it came up in the email. So, you know, parks, the parks department pays separately than what like Hickory gets charged. The parking gets charged differently than what the marina gets charged. So, I could give you a rough monthly total, but it's because every department has different expenses because we it's it's vastly the marina doesn't cost nearly the same as what the parks bathrooms cost. It's

funny. I've never seen this before. Yeah. Well, we've this one's been for a few years, so I think that's why I don't remember. Yeah, it was before you joined the team here or as a city commissioner, I should say. BH. So, wait really quick, Jackie. Thank you very much. Yep. Just to confirm, this is going to include the additional daily cleaning services connected with the Hickory summer camp day camp program. Th that amendment already happened, but this summer, yes, there will be the additional cleaning. Yes. Thank you. Do we have another question or motion? Go ahead. Yeah, I was just thank you for clarifying that. I just wondered because we have a facilities manager now and I just was surprised that you did that. So, he's very much working in collaboration on this. Awesome.

Yeah. Do we have a motion? Sure. Okay. I move that the mayor and city clerk be authorized to execute a one-year term contract with a ventures up north LLC in the amount not to exceed $25. Universal cleaners. We're number six. I pulled the wrong one. I'm ready if you are. Yeah. Go ahead. Um, I make a motion that the mayor and the city clerk be authorized to execute a six-month agreement extension with universal cleaners to commence on November 1st, 2026 for services outlined in the current agreement with rates to remain unchanged such contract subject to its substance by the city manager and its form by the city attorney.

Support and thank you, Jackie. All right, any further discussion at this time? Seeing none, any public comment on this item? Seeing none, I'll bring it back to the commission. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion passes. Okay. Now we'll move on to our old business and we have a public hearing on the drinking water for the state revolving fund. We do have a presentation with this, right?

Yes. Uh just very briefly uh we'll have a brief presentation. This of course was uh reviewed in February 2026 to a degree. And we've got Art Kger, our director of municipal utilities. And I'll turn it over to him. And again, if we can just try to keep the presentation pace to be about 5 minutes or so. We've got a long meeting with a potentially lengthy close session. So, thank you very much. That'll be a great goal. Great.

So, hi, Art Kger, director of utilities with the city of Traverse City. I'm here to uh just introduce Doug Urkart from Hubble Roth Clark, our consultant, who has helped us put an updated five-year project plan together uh revolving around our drinking water system includes the treatment plant as well as improvements to our distribution pipe network. and uh going to turn it over to Doug now and he's going to provide this uh presentation to show you what's in the plan, the nuts and bolts part of it. Okay, I'm going to start my stopwatch.

All right. Okay. So, this is the presentation regarding the 2026 project plan for the DWSRF program. Um so this presentation presents the uh draft project plan which was made available to the city um a couple weeks ago. Uh the loan program it provides low interest loans to uh eligible facilities for drinking water projects. So it's administered through the Eagle Water Infrastructure Division. And to qualify, the city must prepare and submit a project plan, um provide a public hearing, and then pass a commission resolution adopting the plan. Excuse me. But the past project from uh 22 um from the last project plan, one the current galvanized service line replacement project uh was funded and it did provide the city opportunity for a $ 1.5 million grant. So, history of the city system. Um, the original water supply was actually constructed in 1881. Um, transferred over to the city in the early 1900s and then was relocated to East Bay um in 1965 where it is now. It's 20 million gallon per day water treatment plant. Uh, direct filtration which means there's no settling. It's less uh less solids. Um, it's very high quality water source. Uh the city services uh many um three customer communities in addition to the city. So Garfield and portions of Elmwood and Peninsula Township. So the projects included in this plan are uh within the there's 10 within the distribution system and then eight uh at the water treatment plant. And these even though it shows that there are many, it's the main goal is to improve transmission from the east side to the west side. Uh currently it's um pumped from the water treatment plant and then

so what these projects would do would increase the uh um the the ability to pump over to Wayne Hill um the in the western portions of Garfield Garfield Township. Uh so the projects at the water treatment plant are primarily electrical pump station, pump replacement, sodium hypocchlorite and then other electrical improvements and then one project at the low service pump station. So overall needs are to address aging infrastructure, water quality improvements and then improve uh efficiency uh both treatment and electrical. So Eagle does require us to consider the no action alternative. Uh it's not considered favorable um which because it would uh result in continued degradation of the existing facilities and more costly intervention in the future. Uh and then the second re is regionalization. Much of the city system is already regionalized. So this these projects kind of continue that regionalization of the city's water supply um within the the township water systems. So these are the projects uh included in the packet at the water treatment plant uh pump replacements improvements um and projects to improve reliability of of treatment when within the distribution system. The service line replacement as you may be aware is the uh lead service line or to help the city maintain compliance with the lead and copper rule, which means replacement of galvanized service lines as well as the water main construction that that I talked about earlier. So, the overall cost of these projects is 24 million broken up here in this table. Um and then that impact uh at at using a conservative estimate of 3% loan is a roughly $9.33 per um per residential connection uh per month. Um now that just want to remind everybody that this is not a rate

increase. It's a actual impact of these projects. Many of these projects are already incorporated into the capital improvements plan but it is a required metric from uh from the state when they evaluate projects. So impacts of the project plan, many are positive. Um improving the ability to provide clean drinking water and public health protection. Um however, short-term impacts are those associated with construction. Go to the slide. So mitigation impacts are um uh compliance with all permits, uh filing regulations, environmental regulations, and then notification of uh uh residents when construction is occurring in their neighborhood. the city's really really good about um providing the uh a space for that. So this schedule shows that we're on track to submit uh the project plan by the required date of June 1. And then drinking water projects would occur between 27 and 29. Uh and then sorry distribution system and then treatment projects from 27 through 31.

458 458. All right. All right. All right. I'll leave it up for any questions. And that that concludes my presentation. And so we we can ask questions now. We do have a public hearing before we make our motion just for our p our process part here. Go ahead other I just have one question. Um back on the page that it uh said uh you know you we have to look at the alternatives it mentioned regionalization is is that and that is is the loan program recommending that we continue to regionalize and does that give an advantage?

Um it does give an advantage that is the state um acknowledges that there's um the second highest number of community water supplies in the in the country as a state. Um so it encourages regionalization of systems. Um so that's primarily for smaller systems for the city. It's already regionalized and then continued regionalization. It just needs to be considered but continued regionalization like for instance East Bay they're serviced by wells they have iron removal. It's a different water system and it really doesn't match. So we we acknowledge that regional regionalization has already occurred between the city and the townships and that um that this these projects support that

and we intend to of course continue that. That's part of the water rate study too as we look at renegotiating that 30-year bulk water services agreement. That's interesting. Does that conversation take place at like public works or where where that will be uh negotiated by uh me and your new city attorney? Okay. Interesting. Thank you very much. Welcome. Other questions? Go ahead, Ken. Do we know how many of these galvanized or le goose necks are still in our city?

I can help you answer or I can help answer that. U we started out estimating around a thousand and as we go through our information closely, we're pairing that down to about 750 is our estimated amount now. And at this point, we replaced over 500 of them. So, we're looking to hopefully wrap that up in the next year to two years with about 170 remaining. And we have a contract right now with Elmer's that we've uh been working on. I think we're into year four now.

And we're hoping to get the remainder done, but we are a little bit underfunded. So, we've been applying for uh the earmark funds. Benjamin's been meeting with um Senator and so forth. And uh we did get moved to the next step of that process to hopefully uh the the request was around $600,000 for and and we feel that you know these are about $10,000 a piece average. So we're about 50 short, but we need a little extra room too for inflationary and engineering field work things like that. So

other questions? Oh, go ahead. kind of the floor and then so once we is this an application are we automatically incl enrolled in this so that we can get these low interest loans or is this compet a competitive process? It is a very competitive process. This project plan gives us the ability to enter into that contest if you will for the money at the state level. Gotcha. And what fiscal year do we have to do all the do we have to do all the projects in the same fiscal year? Not at all. We we actually don't have to do any of them, but we put in if they're not included in the plan, we really can't do them if we you can't get the interest rates on the loans for the project. Correct. So, like we put everything we think is uh doable,

but we don't we're not committing to any or all. It's what we can work through the process and get, you know, we'll apply each year by fall and we'll I'm sorry, we apply in the spring, but we'll know by fall. Gotcha. because it when we were there was a a very small list of projects on there like there were W1 through such and such and then there were D's and some of the D's were really interesting the D7 D8 D10

um particularly very around seventh street and I just wondered because I know those are coming up in our plan to redo those streets and when we redo that street that was one of the things that I really hope that we focus on and aligns with our strategic priorities is we do the underneath when we're doing the top and all that stuff's happening together. Correct. Like wisely spending money. The the W's stand for the water plant related projects and then the D's are the distribution system. So I assume that was various segments are are um plan that we did about five years ago. What is the name of that plan, Doug?

Reliability study. Yeah, our our water system reliability study had recommendations in there for an additional transmission main across town. And so those are those D projects. D as in distribution are different segments of that. And we've already gotten some of that done like on 8th Street. We have that 24inch main Yep. in there and we're down to like Lake Street and Cass area now. And we're trying to get that all the way to the west side and up to Wayne Street. I think it's Spruce that we're trying to visit. Yeah, and that was another little question that or little thing that I noticed is that we're kind of redoing Seventh Street right now. And it looks like we might open it back up to put this new water line in there, which I don't love, but I know

things don't always line up. And we're we're making our best effort to not do it twice. So, I I know that's the goal. There might be just a surface project to make it smooth again. that's in the works, I believe, um through our mobility division department. You're easy to forgive, Art, so it's okay. Thanks. That's all I got. Jackie, I was going to offer to make the recommended motion.

Well, we have to do the public hearing first. Sorry. And then I'm right to you, though. Thank you. You volunteered now. Okay. So, right now, I'll take a moment and I will go ahead and open up our uh I have to remember what it's called here. public public well I meant the title of it is the public hearing for the project plan for drinking water improvements. So that is now officially open. Sarah, if you want to do the rules or do we just do it? Anybody like to speak on it? Please approach the podium. This will be on a matter of the public record then if anybody has any thoughts as I suspected. Seeing none, I will now close the public hearing. And now Jackie, please. Thank you.

Thank you. I move that the resolution authorizing the Submission of the application to the state revolving loan fund, adopting an updated project plan, and authorizing project representative uh be adopted. Second. Thank you, Commissioners Anderson and Commissioner Bulmer. Any further questions or comments now? Great. You did a great job, Art. Thank you very much. Appreciate the support. Yeah. Any public comment on this item? kind of had the chance but okay seeing none I'll bring it back all in favor I opposed motion passes thanks guys good luck thank you thank you

okay now we have another public hearing good times in this one do we have do we have a presentation or we just discuss I just have a few things okay go right please

great thank you so we're at the point in time where uh this is the soonest date uh under our city charter that the city commission can approve the budget uh I shared last week that it is a tremendous honor for me to present The first budget that I presented as city manager. The 2026 2027 uh fiscal year budget across all funds is approximately $126 million and I am proud to say that approximately $42 million of that is linked to our communitydriven strategic action plan. 42 million of approximately 126 million. I do want to acknowledge that uh distinguishing between strategic investments and core services is not black and white. Uh so there's some overlap there for sure. Uh but absolutely uh the city is moving intentionally uh to implement that strategic plan that was communitydriven. I want to thank uh Mayor Shamro uh for her uh support as a longest serving member of the city commission and the mayor in uh me being extremely candid with the city commission and all of the commissioners for endorsing and supporting and creating an environment for candid conversations. I did share last week and mayor promst sort of uh referred to this as a transitional budget. Uh this September we will be convening an ad hoc committee of the city commission the city treasurer Heidi Shepy and myself to review the city commission's fund balance policy uh to take a look at what is included in the projections associated with that fund balance and to look at uh other ongoing uh cost pressures uh significant upcoming cost pressures that will require us to take a systemic and transformational look at how we uh deliver services and budget. And so I appreciate the support. Uh I am optimistic about Traverse City's future. Uh and I wholeheartedly uh recommend approval of the budget. And of course uh the city commission always has a prerogative to pass uh budget amendments throughout the fiscal year. So while if

you approve this tonight, it can be revisited at a future date. And I'm happy to answer any questions. You have any questions? I know that everybody was really good about bonus time. So go ahead, Jackie. Um, I I first wanted to express my gratitude for the approach that's been taken, all of the work from departments through our city manager, city treasurer, and and her team. I'm I'm dazzled by the um progress that's been made and grateful for the help in answering additional questions that were raised since last meeting. Um, I did have two very brief questions for the DDA based on some additional information that was provided. Uh, is this the right time for that? Yes.

Yes. Okay. I know Lauren Bohack, the deputy director, and Harry Burkholder, the executive director of the DDA are here. So,

wonderful. Well, hopefully these won't won't be tough. Um the first one was in terms of the consolidated fund um estimates for upcoming years which I really think that the the looking a couple years out is is a good discipline for us all. I I noticed that the combined revenues were anticipated to decline um in in 2728 and 2829. So, you know, for this upcoming budget year, the the DDA total fund revenues were 8.5 million. By um 28 and 29, it was down to 3.9. And I just thought some commentary explanation on that would be helpful.

I think there Bohawk is approaching the podium.

Hi. So the way that it is represented in the consolidation of all of the budgets for the next three years, it is representing the potential expiration of of TIP 97. So that is um representing you'll see if you see all three of the years together on the TIP 97 budget, you'll see it's zeros across the board. So right now we're planning for as we most departments do the potential worst case scenario of not having that fund source at all. So you'll see a significant dip in the revenue. um if planning for um TIFF 97 to expire with uh no TIFF um extension. Thank you. That that was my suspicion, but it's good to be confirmed. Um and then second really quick question. I noticed there's a source of revenue that continues, you know, for the upcoming year and two further years out. Uh it's a small line item. It's $75,000 a year called um charges for services. Is that what uh the Downtown Traverse City Association pays to the DDA for executing their events and and planning?

Yep, that's exactly right. That's the fee that the DTCA um pays to the DDA for their services. Great. Thank you. Great. Other questions?

Okay. Thank you for that. Okay. Then what I'm going to do right now is we have now another public hearing on the budget. So because when the budget if we as we are going through this and the motions are made we do not open for public comment. Um that's how that the rules go for that one. So if you have any comments you'd like to make on the budget when I open the public hearing this is your chance. So with that going to open the public hearing for the 2026 2027 budget. Is there anyone who'd like to make any public comment on this? Thank you. Please state your name and address. indicate if you're a city or non- city resident and or bis business owner. We have a threeminut time aotment per speaker.

Red Bimber, 1223 Randolph Street, city resident. I'm going to comment at this point though my comment is primarily directed toward the resolution that has been proposed to approve the budget uh and also the city tax rate. What I think needs to be understood, but what is glossed over in the proposed resolution is that the city is proposing to tax all taxpayers in the city a little bit over 11.5 mills and that is for the stated purpose of raising 16.5 million for the general fund. But with our tax base, if there was nothing interfering, we could raise $16.5 million with 9.5 mills. The difference is due to the fact primarily of all the tiff programs that the city has accumulated. TIFF 97 all by itself increases the need for taxes by 1.2 mills. And that's assessed not just in the tiff district, but all throughout the city. We have about $2 million per year diverted just from the city operating millillage by TIFF 97. We have nearly half a million dollars diverted from the city's operating mill by Oldtown TIF. We have another $900,000 diverted each year by the brownfield tiffs that the city has accumulated. And they explain the difference between the $16.5 million that the city has budgeted this year as what it needs for

property tax revenue for the general fund. And the $20.1 million that 15 and a half plus mills will actually generate by way of tax revenue on our tax base. So, let's just keep that in mind as we do this. I also had heard that at least one commissioner was concerned with the fact that this proposed budget depletes the general fund by $1.5 million. And that's something we need to take a good hard look at before we continue down this road. Thank you.

Thank you, Fred. Is there any other public comment for the public hearing on the budget as Larry makes his way up. If other people want to, you can also start lining up as well if there's more.

I'm Larry Gersbacher, 925 Kelly Street, Traverse City resident for 54 years. Um, I'm a little bit concerned about the uh Traverse City Light and Power report that they lost $150,000 by accepting credit cards for payment of the utility bill. And I see the budget on here is over $52 million. And I don't know whether that includes their reported loss as a result of people using credit cards or not. But uh if it is, I think Traverse City Light and Power has to take a look at their process and if a uh loss is incurred by people using credit cards, the people using those cards ought to absorb the the penalty. Uh, in other words, if it's three and a half to 5% that people uh are uh by using their credit cards, Traverse City Light and Power is losing three and a half to 5%. Then there ought to be some note on the electrical bill that this is the amount you pay. If you have a credit card payment, this is the amount that you're going to pay and add that additional amount for the service of using that credit card to the customer. or put a note on the bill. We no longer accept credit cards for payment for your utility bill because I'm not going to be responsible for somebody using a credit card that's going to earn money in points from their credit card company for using the card to pay their electric bill and then wind up driver city light and power taking a penalty of what was reported I think $150,000. So if that if this amount includes uh the loss or the amount that would normally be uh subtracted, I guess you could say from the from the payment, then when I get my electric bill, uh I'm going to take the three and a half or 5% right off of the amount, subtract it from that, and pay

the electric bill based on the amount that it should be less the penalty that I'm paying for for the credit card companies or the credit card users, I'm sorry. So, that's that's not right. There should not be a penalty to those of us that pay by cash, check, or direct withdrawal from our accounts to cover the cost of loss because of the credit card used. Thank you. Thank you, Larry. Is there any other public comment on the budget at this time? A long pause. Seeing none, I will close the public hearing for the 2026 2027 city budget. And I know you wanted to make a couple comments.

Yes, thank you. I just wanted to respectfully comment in response to Mr. Bimber's comment uh that uh um stating that the millage rate could be reduced by approximately a couple mills if we didn't have tiff. That is entirely contingent on priorities. Uh so if uh the city commission ultimately or the voters if they were to approve a new tiff plan uh decided that uh certain capital improvements things that are funded through tiff needed to be done that money would have to come from somewhere. So, uh, to suggest that without TIFF, automatically the city could reduce its millage rate by 2 mills is not a complete picture. And I say that respectfully, and it's my obligation to point that out. And if any member of the commission has any clarifying questions for me in that regard, I'd be happy to answer them. And I also lean on Miss Shepy to assist with those, too. Just wanted to make that point. Well, seeing seeing none, then we uh thank you everyone for your public comment. That was the public hearing. We will now go on to our next item, which is the actual budget and the motions. Um so I don't know, we don't usually see that up, right? We just start

those could all be passed as one big motion if the commission's prepared. If there's not uh if if there's any member of the commission that may wish to vote against any of the resolutions in here, then they should be made individually. I guess that's a question to the commissioners if you are prepared to support all of the resolutions that are listed on the agenda and if you're not then those could be taken up individually even though it says need to be adopted separately they they can be adopted as one if it's unanimous if anybody wants to um I would think would the motion be something like that we move that we accept the um

I can read that the resolution waving one half of Trevor City property tax administration fee for fiscal year 2026 2027 be adopted in and that the resolution certifying tax levy for act 345 police and fire pension system for fiscal year 2026 2027 be adopted and that the resolution certifying tax levy for fire department and emergency transportation services for fiscal year 2026 2027 be adopted and that the resolution certifying tax levy for the city of Traverse City for fiscal year 2026 2027 be adopted and that the resolution adopting the city of Traverse City fiscal year 2026 2027 capital improvements plan and capital projects fund be adopted and that the resolution adopting the city of Traverse City fiscal year 2026 2027 comprehensive annual budget report be adopted and that the resolution adopting the Trevor city light and power budget for fiscal year 2026 26, 2027, including the capital improvement plan be adopted. And that the resolution certifying tax levy for Downtown Development Authority for fiscal year 2026 2027 be adopted. And that the resolution adopting the downtown development authority budget for fiscal year 2026 2027 be adopted. And that the resolution to establish the city managers per transaction spending authority pursuant to section 40 of the city charter be adopted. And finally, that the resolution establishing water rates, water service charges, and sewer rates be adopted.

That sounds like a great motion that I just made. That's great. Great job, Mitch. You're welcome. And great second on that, Lance. Okay, so with that, we have one full motion for that. I was trying to think of a succinct one as the editor and me, but we itemize each one. Well done, Mitch. Um, all in favor? I opposed. Motions pass. motion made into motions uh passed. So, thank you all. We now have our 2026 27 budget. Again, this can be modified and this can be um updated throughout the year as we work on other projects, but we're we're well on our way now. Thank you all. Thank you.

And now we'll hand it over to you again, Benjamin, for the Carnegie building update, please. Yes, at the April 2nd city commission meeting, the commission directed me to bring back at tonight's meeting uh a status update on uh discussions with Crooked Tree Arts Center and Traverse Area District Library on the possibility of colllocating uh at the Carnegie building. And we have had two facilitated discussions, one as recently as last Monday. And uh it's clear to me that at the June 1st commission meeting, I should have a substantive update to the city commission. I don't anticipate at that meeting that there would be uh any agreements to authorize. It will be an update and then getting direction from the city commission. So, I just wanted to return as directed uh to you with that update and I'm happy to answer any questions. But that's the gist of it.

Good with all we'll have a more comprehensive update on June 1, Mitch. Yes. Uh I know that the last time we discussed this it was a very lengthy discussion. We did have a lot of public comment. Uh I am looking forward to having a little more discussion as we go through the process because I think that there still can be more discussion that we can have that can inform the process about uh direction we want to take more information that is still needed and uh opportunities that may be available. Absolutely. I'll take the direction from the commission. Thank you.

Absolutely. But in in the meantime, we do thank you and uh Michelle Howard and Christie for doing the work of coming together and working on that and finding out what works for everybody rather than us just dictating from up here. So that will be part of the conversation, but I appreciate that you all are engaging very earnestly on this as we move forward. So with that, we will now move on to item number five. And thank you to commissioners Anderson, uh, Bulmer, and Shaw for continuing your work with this, um, for the resolution. And, um, I don't know if anybody want to give a quick update or just make something to say. Go ahead, Heather, please. Yeah. Uh, the question of this um, governance on the NAA board came up

over the last year. It's been about a year, right? When we um Jackie and I and many other people, including almost the entire Triangle neighborhood, attended um meetings at the airport to talk about their zoning overlay.

Um and we chipped away at it and chipped away at and I believe that we're now at a point where um it conforms both to FAA requirements and it meets the needs of neighborhoods and city staff. That was another problem. So, um, but a few months ago, we were in a pretty tense place and relationships were definitely falling apart because of confusing threshold numbers and unclear tree impacts and very broad unchecked um, discretion. But today we have explicit tree exemptions, removal of the arbitrary height numbers, acknowledgment of local coordination. So nice. more reasonable variance language and a much clearer public record. I think we've preserved enough enough trust through this process to move us into the next phase which will be Oakwood Cemetery and also keeping an eye on how enforcement discretion is actually used plus what you see before you which is governance and representation. And I'm really hoping that we have unanimous board support for this resolution. Although I do think Judy Nelson has point

I've updated it. Okay. Thank you very much. Go ahead.

Yeah. Um so when the three of us worked together to write this resolution, um I'm not going to read the whole thing aloud to everybody unless I have to. Um uh but you know in 1988 we gave up our our seat at the table per se uh to be on the airport authority or what was just the the airport back then. Um yeah it represents more than 19% of our city land. Uh and so it is this is an ask to the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners and the Leelon County Board of Commissioners um that they redesate two seats. Uh it fits the legal framework. Um Lauren has looked this over and made sure that everything fits. Um originally, I think last meeting we talked about it, I had suggested raising that to 11. Well, turns out that takes a whole statute change at the state level. Uh and we all know how those work, right? Uh they don't work very fast. Um so I'm going to make a motion. Uh

but Lance, do we need to Oh, you're gonna as amended I'm gonna amend the motion. Yeah. Yeah. So there's a I had made a small clerical error. uh when writing the uh motion that you see in front of you. So I'm just going to add uh the language of after county board of commissioners andor Leland County Board of Commissioners. So we're adding so both boards are looking at this. Um, so motion is I move that the resolution requesting that the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners andor the Leland County Board of Commissioners redesate two existing seats on the Northwest Regional Airport Authority Board to provide formal representation for the city of Traverse City be adopted. Second. All right. All of us.

I was going to say I'll put Shaw only because I gave Anderson one earlier. So, but thank you for your enthusiasm, Commissioner Anderson. All right. Um, any discussion on this item? Go ahead, Mitch. Yes, I appreciate uh in the motion incorporating u Judy Nelson's I think very salient point and the fact that Traverse City does cover both Grand Travers and Leela counties although it's mostly in Grand Traverse County by population

but then it provides flexibility that uh not just um both part counties are party to this discussion but that it doesn't shoehorn the um person or persons from the city of Traverse City to be only in that Grand Traverse County portion. Exactly.

Great. Any other comments from the commission at this time? I thank all of you for your work on this. It's been hugely important. Don't you know I'm not going to guess. I'm sure we could go back. I'm not going to go back and look why they gave it up in 1988. I'm glad that we're doing the work now to get back and have our residents voices on there. So, thank you for that. Any public comment on this? Seeing none, I'll bring it back. All in favor? I opposed. Motion passes. Okay. Now we're on to our new business, which is the pilot request for 414 East 8th Street. And Ben, do you want to kick that off?

Yes. I'll just state briefly that you have a memo in your packet from the city assessor regarding an application from Nest Community Partners. This is for 16 units, eight studios for uh onebedroom, three two-bedroom, and one fourbedroom. I think this might be the first pilot that the city commission's seen that would apply to an existing uh building that this commission

that this commission, excuse me. Yeah. Uh and so we do have city assessor Amy Robbins here to answer any questions that you have. And I know that Kate Redmond, who is representing or is the applicant, is also here in attendance to answer any questions that the commission may have. And this has gone through the policy adopted by the city commission and the rubric. But ultimately this is a policy decision of the city commission and the decision is entirely uh yours. And so uh with that I'll I'll stop talking. Do we have questions first off? Go ahead, Ken.

Uh yeah, just a couple quick questions. Um, we've talked about these pilots a lot and one of the things that gets um, expressed back to us when we have concerns about these is the city actual share that we are forfeiting when we when we uh, accept these pilots and what is the exact amount per year and then what will it be over the 35 years? I'm going to ask Miss Robbins to address that question. Our city assessor hi there. Um, so under the pilot is there was a 16,000 and a 10,000 and I wasn't sure that that's the sharing.

Yeah. So the the pilot itself for the 16 units was the 10 or 11,000. Just a minute here. Got to find it. Yeah. So they the pilot that was requested was 10,7481. of that the city's portion was 2,911 per year. So that's what we will be forfeiting. Correct. That's what of all the taxes collected. That's the city share that we're forfeiting. Yes. Do some longhand here. Good calculator. Mitch was you can do it. Okay. Did you say anyway? 2,911. Yes.

Okay. Okay. That is that's one year over 35 years. Yeah. Right. Really? So 111,000 over 1018 over 35 years. Over 35 years. Heidi, she says yes. City treasurer says yes. 11 years. I'm not taking account. One of the one of the questions that I had, it was on page 42 of the agenda packet for this item and it was page 15 of the supplemental information provided by the Nest LLC, I think is what it was,

but it said that um due to this nonprofit having not completed an entire year of existence, it is not the financial report or financial statement for them is not available at this time. But it was they said that in that packet that they would have one by May 15th and that was last Friday. Do we is does one of those exist at this point. I was just kind of curious. I do not know Katie here. Yes.

Yes, we could provide that at this point for last year. Okay. Um is is the board compensated at all because there was a bunch of board members that were all listed in there. Are they compensated board members? No, it's all volunteer board members. Great. That's good stuff. Thank you. The budget our budget is pretty simple at this point. It's mostly just um I'm the executive director. My salary and like the cost of Zoom and Google Suites. Yeah, I I definitely didn't want to beat you up about this. I appreciate housing. This is a good project and I I believe that most people have good intentions, but there's always the concerns about nonprofits that have

large salaries for, you know, benefited employees. And I there was no way for us to look at that with this being a brand new one and not having a financial report yet. So that was my Sure. I'm actually I'm glad to tell you my salary is 72,000 a year plus benefits. Um and we have uncompensated directors, but we're totally transparent. So any other information you want, we're glad to hear. I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Uh Mitch had his hand up and then I see you, Jackie.

Yes. As was uh just mentioned introducing this, this is um the first uh time we've had to deal with a pilot for an existing building this session. In previous uh pilots that we've dealt with with uh Ruth Park with um Anukica Place one, an place phase 2 um those were all new builds with East Bay Flats. That was a change of the ownership structure and how it was done. In this case, it is not only an existing building but uh an existing structure without um as I'm seeing it a significant uh change except for how the property is being financially structured and managed. Uh in the other cases they also are strictly residential properties um with no expectation of um aside from individual tenants leaving any change in ownership or um management structure. Uh there has been some um for lack of a better ter term turn at common grounds with um tenants leaving and coming back. uh what is the certainty of long-term uh organizational stability over the 35 year lifespan?

Um so it is a sale to a new organization the 501c3 nest community partners. I know I Kate Redmond worked on common ground so it's confusing because I now work for Nest Community Partners. A lot of the names are really the same.

Yes. But Nest is independent. It has a completely independent board of directors from Common Grounds without overlap and it's completely separate books just completely separate organization. I am on the board of Common Grounds cooperative still but um any transactions between the two are reviewed by independent attorneys and you know I wouldn't vote on anything for the cooperative so that they operate independently. Um and the this sale allows us to preserve to make sure that this can stay workforce housing and stay affordable. Um C the cooperative has operated it at a loss um of 250,000 a year. So

obviously not sustainable. Um and the sale to Nest Nest can qualify for financing that the cooperative can't qualify for. And also honestly back in 2018 and 2019 when I was still working for the cooperative, you know, we knocked on every door trying to get help for the workforce housing and the tools just weren't available that are available now. Um, so it's also the 501c3 is able to take advantage of the fact that thank goodness we have better tools available now for affordable workforce housing than we did back in 2018. So, the 501c3 is able to obtain um more affordable financing through the USDA um plus a MISTA grant, which was not an option previously. And between those two things and the pilot, it allows the workforce housing to actually pay for itself and be sustainable for the long term. And 35 years is the term of the USDA loan, which is great. As you know, it's hard to get a a loan with that long of a term, and it really makes a difference in how affordable it is. So, it is actually this transfer to the 501c3 and change change in structure that make sure that it's it's sustainable. Um, both that the the co-op is no longer carrying that loss and that the housing does now actually fully pay for itself with these changes in structure.

Thank you, Jackie. You had your hand up.

I just wanted to be sure I was understanding correctly. Um, does this project and proposal create any net change in the number of affordable housing units? um it doesn't change the number of units but it does increase the number that we can offer at a lower income rate. So we see you know in our community really below 80% AMI is where the big gap is. Um honestly back in 2018 2019 there was more of a gap at 120%. But, you know, the county is right now doing an updated housing needs assessment and I think we'll see that we have made progress at the 100 and 120% AMI level. And we see that in our weight lists at Common Grounds. Our weight list for our 60% AMI apartments is 100. You know, it's as long as we could advertise and take in applications. It's very different. The when you get up to the 120%, you're really at market rate. And we want to be able to meet the community need and offer more of those 60% AMI units and 80% uni. And this is letting us shift more units into those because of the affordability factor.

Okay. And there those are about 16 units, correct? Yes. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions at this time? Go ahead, Heather. I don't have a question. Oh, good. Yeah. Go ahead then. I don't have a question. I have a statement. Okay. Uh, can we get a Do we have a motion? A motion. Happy to make a I'll I'll make a motion. Great. Okay. Go ahead. Uh, I move that the resolution Make sure I'm reading the right one. Yes. Resolution granting tax exemption for the property at 414 East 8th Street as requested by the Nest Community Partners at a rate of 4% and a term of 35 years be adopted. Support. All right. Thank you, Commissioner Commissioners Bonor and Treadmill. And then go ahead. Uh

I just want to say I fully support this. Um I think you found a very neat solution to a a problem that I I didn't know you were having, but I can see that this is a this is a great solution. It's very affordable. I think that the more people, the more working people that we have living downtown, the more that downtown will reflect what the rest of the city looks like. Um, which is a diversity of ages and family structures and wages and jobs and interests. Um, I think that downtowns and small cities like ours become very fragile when they're monocultures. And I sent Ben earlier to today, it was kind of towards the end of the day, an article about Paskki that was in Bridge magazine recently.

Paskki is in terrible trouble. And there's a nice little picture in the in the article showing how quaint and um friendly the downtown is. It's not, at least it wasn't in October, which is still tourist season. It's empty. It's boarded up. Paskki is in a terrible situation because they've allowed summer homes and short-term rentals. They've allowed a tourist monoculture to take over. So, thank you very much for helping to prevent that. And along those lines, if I may, of course, a key item in your strategic plan is downtown serving as a neighborhood. Exactly. Go ahead, Laura.

Yeah. So, I just have a few comments um regarding pilot programs in general as we discuss this project tonight. First of all, Heidi, I really appreciated on page 38 of our budget documents the very succinct um table with the uh impacts of pilot programs to the city. And I appreciated that because over the last couple of years, I've I've heard that question come up multiple times from various city commissioners. And I think it's important that we make these decisions grounded in data and not just on assumptions. So, thank you for including that. Um, and that report shows that in 2025, the city's share of tax revenue concessions from pilot programs was nearly $500,000 in a year and more than $6 million cumulatively to date. So, two things can be true at once. Pilot programs can be a very important tool in addressing one of the most pressing challenges that we have, and that's housing. But also pilots have fiscal implications on implications on the city. And I appreciate Commissioner Funks as asking the question and the answer that the cost to the city for this particular project is $2,911 annually and just over $100,000 over five 35 years. So that being said, um I believe this project demonstrates the type of public benefit that supports our approval. But pilot programs should never become automatic and every proposal really needs to be judged on its merits. And so I appreciate the proposal. I appreciate the effort um and Commissioner Funk's questions, but I think it's important that we keep our eye on on the long-term strategy with respect to pilot programs. Thank you.

I I did want to say that during our agenda review, we get myself, Mayor Prom, and another commissioner. In this case, it was Commissioner Anderson this for this meeting together. And part of that conversation was asking that in the not too distant future, we get a report from staff on what is the common or not common but best practices for percentage of bud budget and income to pilots to make sure that we keep a balance. That said, um, and this is a little bit of a rant on Kate's, uh, project, but not specifically Kate's project is this is a public service as was mentioned just now by, uh, Mayor Prom Nest. Without it, we could totally get rid of all pilots and not do them ever again. We would have no affordable housing, especially in Trevor City, but in most places that problem. And so, this is where we have to come into that fine balance. So sometimes, a lot of times to make the numbers work, you'll find developers or people using brownfield or MISTA or other things plus requesting a pilot because that's the only way that we can make numbers work so that people like as Heather aptly pointed out so we can have young working people in our community so we can have people who aren't just a monoculture living in our community. So that is a bigger conversation we're going to be having going forward um to have that better perspective. But I think that we also have to be cognizant as was said of projects like this every time they come to us um assessing them on their merits. But we also have the rubric and I think it's good that we go over that again soon to show that we don't just let anybody who applies for a pilot come to us and ask for a pilot either. I think that's been a few years since we reviewed that. So I think it'd be good if we brought that back for the discussion too. Go ahead, Ken.

All right. Yeah. I just want to wrap up. The question that's always asked is that we just have the tough conversations especially when we talk about these things because there's this strong feeling that we will say we will give up and do anything for housing and that can't be and that can't be what we do. We have to ask a tough question. So Kate, you're phenomenal. Thank you for doing what you're doing. And I need to clarify something. Heidi and Amy, thank you. Go ahead. Mhm. So, when we were talking about the pilot amount of the 10,700, whatever it is, I said that we were going to get of the city's portion of that was 2,911. That's not the city's loss. I I think that might have been misunderstood. It might have been my mistake.

Is that the 4% we're collecting? That's of the 4% that we are collecting. Correct. So, the actual loss is $26,000. That makes more sense. 911,000. That does make more sense. Thank you. Well, and and I was thinking about it, too. And then she's Yeah. So, we just wanted to make sure we clarified. What's that over 35 years? 911,000. 911,000. Well, it's not 100, but it's 35 years. It is. It is. Ma math's hard sometimes. Definitely. Well, I looked at the wrong resolution, so it's okay. Thank you for the clarification. Yes, sir. Do we have any public comment on this item?

Seeing none, I'll bring it back to the commission. All in favor? I opposed. Motion passes. Thank you to everybody for the hard work on that. Okay. Now we have our ordinance amendments here. Ben, do you want to take that?

Yes. And I I'm sorry. I see that our deputy or actually acting planning director Leslie is not here for these two items. So I will uh do my best. And we also have the city attorney here. uh you have uh an ordinance amendment that's proposed in your packet uh related to autocentric uses. So things like car washes, um oil change places, car mechanics, those types of things that would require that those types of uses uh obtain a special land use permit. And so uh this is a recommendation that you make this change to that process. This is this motion would introduce the ordinance amendment and schedule it for possible enactment on June 1st. And if you've got any questions, we'll do our best to answer them or we can always um answer them on June 1st if we're not able to tonight.

Mitch, do you have a question? Well, just as further explanation as a planning commissioner, uh this was prompted both as one of the recommendations that is in our master plan that uh we've been working through what the master plan recommends for adopting as a city and this is one of the things. But it became especially timely when earlier this year there was um permits uh applied and a site plan permitted for uh Atomy's car wash at um the location currently occupied Burger King and Cupa Joe at Front and 8 Front and um Garfield. uh that project at the time and it's currently meets our zoning code. But uh many of the planning commission as well as many in the community that we have listened to felt that uh that wasn't the best use of that site. That wasn't furthering um the economic and uh community future of Traverse City. And uh this is a tool that we can take um to not stop uh drive-throughs going in in places where they might make sense, but to give a little more scrutiny to the process and to make it something that will require more review uh going forward.

Well said. Okay. Um any other questions or motion? Question. Go ahead. How would this have changed what happened on front in Garfield? Would there have been a different outcome possible.

Um I don't I don't know. Uh but the process would have been much different. Um the standards that are now in the special land use permit section or would be if this is adopted and enacted um are more or less the same as what is in there now. They're just moved to a different process. So there are a lot of factors that go into that process. Um and as you know from probably previous uh special land use permits that the city commission has dealt with, it depends upon the record and and what is presented to the city commission and that may have been different or may not have been different than what was presented to the planning commission. So I can't say with certainty it would have been different but it would have been a much different process um different uh public hearings, things like that. it would have probably highlighted the the project more to the community um and it would have been a more rigorous process before this body.

Yeah. And I can speak to that as well. Yes, it would have meant a fee that really is nominal, but it would have increased the cost on that point. But the bigger issue is it increases the time uh for both

the planning commission, the city commission, and the community as a whole to review to understand the process and It can avoid a scenario of uh a developer or a property owner coming in guns blazing when they have a very narrow timeline to make a project work and trying to rush a project through. This means that it would slow things down. And in this case, I can tell you that the property owner was giving the developer a very narrow window of uh time on their option to act on it. And with a special land use permit requirement, that window would have elapsed.

Any other questions at this time or a motion? Go ahead, Jackie. I'm happy to make the motion um that an amendment to the Traverse City Code of Ordinances, chapter 1342, C2, Neighborhood Center District, Chapter 1344, C3, Community Center District. Chapter 1347, Development Districts. Chapter 1364, Special Land Use Regulations. Section 1366.03, 03 site plan requirements as recommended by the city planning commission be introduced and scheduled for possible enactment on June 1st, 2026.

Second. I'll give that to Mitch and I'll give it to our planning commissioners on that one. Thank you, Jackie. Um, any further discussion on this item? Seeing none, any public comment on this item? Seeing none, I'll bring it back. All in favor? I opposed. Motion passes. Okay. And now our next is the open space district amendment. I don't know if I kick that off to you.

Absolutely. Yes, you do have a memo in your packet from Leslie Sikman, our acting planning director again who who's not here. Uh but uh given that the farmers market pavilion is being con construct reconstructed uh if you will uh the city attorney asked the planning commission to clarify the language in the zoning ordinance and regarding uh this use and formally add formally add municipal markets as a use allowed by OS and this uh uh change was uh recommended by the planning commission uh with commissioner Anderson uh opposed and that's indicated in the uh the memo from Miss Sterman. Great. Go ahead, Heather.

Where is all the information? There's no definition of municipal markets. There's nothing there that shows how they work. You know that you have to get a a permit that there's nothing here. How how are we supposed to know what we're voting for?

Municipal markets are already uh defined in the zoning ordinance. I can read that for the commission if you'd like. It's basically a market that is owned or operated by a municipality. So the city would have to either own the market and operate it or give a permit to uh to an operator. In this case, the DDA and lot be operates the market on behalf of the city. So um I thought we covered that pretty extensively at the last meeting. Um if you have more questions, I can read the definition if you'd like. We have more questions or a motion. I can make the motion.

I move that amendments to the Traverse City Code of Ordinances section 1328.01 uses allowed as recommended by the city planning commission be introduced and scheduled for the possible enactment on June 1st, 2026. Second.

Thank you, Mayor Prones and Commissioner Bulmer. Any further discussion on this? Go ahead, Jackie. Just just to reiterate my concerns from from our prior conversation. Um I I am concerned about unintended consequences on the 28 other OSzoned city parks that that could be impacted by this text amendment. Um, I have shared with the city attorney the um input that was received from a a legal uh representative in the community um uh some concerns about prior legal um history of of lot B and and its approved uses. So, I'll I'm going to be continuing to vote no against it tonight. I haven't received any additional information that is going was changing my mind. So, thank you.

Sorry. Can I ask just a little bit of clarification from you, Jackie? Because when we had the discussion about the farmers market, your question was that or the discussion that I took from it was there's confusion as to parkland and park definition and we were waiting for the OS changes to come forward and become solidified. Now, they are here before us. we've already moved forward with the lot B. This would be that clarification point that we were waiting on. So, but now you're not supporting it. So, I just want to clarify a little bit. Help me understand where you're coming from.

My my concern at the prior vote had to do with going forward with a $3 million construction contract when we had not completely addressed the zoning issues. So um and at that time the the rationale for the uh confusion surrounding the the zoning issue came up as a major point of of discussion. So I am um I I was um hoping for some additional uh guidance. We understood that the the city attorney had given her full endorsement of of the uh you know proposal for for this as a resolution of of the zoning issue. And um so I am I am simply not convinced that um this is uh a prudent way of of resolving a zoning ambiguity that that came up during really the the process of moving forward with a major construction project. um at at the time that it came to the planning commission, I was also concerned about um possible ramifications and unintended consequences and I expressed them in that forum and um so I'm I'm continuing to to withhold my vote and support for this.

Thank you. Thank you for your clarification, Lance, Mitch, and then Heather, I yield. Okay, L or Mitch,

I do not see how this could be in any way construed as an imprudent use of the our process to change zoning when it is literally our process to change zoning. We have a text amendment introduced at the planning commission. We have a public hearing at the planning commission. They vote on it. We have a subsequent meeting when they uh recommend it uh to the city commission or recommend against uh it to the city commission. In this case, uh by near unanimous vote, it was recommended to the city commission. Now it is before the city commission. We vote on it here um for possible in action uh next month and then we'll vote on it again. That is what is outlined in our bylaws. That is what is following uh state law and all enabling legislation for how zoning gets changed in this community. It's literally the process.

Heather, um, this should have been done months ago, even years ago, and I'm I continue to be really disappointed in how the whole thing was handled. However, I did read the packet from the May 5th planning commission meeting, which is a good thing because the information was in there and it certainly isn't here, and I don't find anything wrong with it. It's reasonable and I I will be supporting that despite being very disappointed with the whole process that went on here. Thank you for that, Heather. Any other Go ahead, C.

Just just a quick thought. Um, I'm I'm really frustrated that I echo the comment from Commissioner Shaw in regard to this was missed a while ago and we spent a lot of time trying to force a transition neighborhood onto Bay Street for no good reason when we could have been looking at other things and we missed these last this one and the previous um item. So, that's just my thought on that. Okay. Other comments from the commissioners? Seeing none, any public comment on this item? Seeing none, I'll bring it back. All in favor? I opposed.

No. Roll call, please. Commissioner Bmer, yes. Commissioner Anderson, no. Mayor Promesses, yes. Commissioner Shaw, yes. Commissioner Funk, yes. Commissioner Treadwell, yes. Mayor, yes. Motion passes. All right. And with that, we'll go now to this one I'm very excited about. It's our paramedic program. And so, go ahead and kick it off.

Yes. And we have uh EMS administrator Katherine Dunlow with us. Uh and uh she's going to share with the city commission, a partnership that she helped identify to bring paramedic education to Traverse City, which will help with our recruitment efforts. that will help with public safety in the sense that folks won't have to travel out of community to take this type of training and uh this technically could be uh approved by me but it's a big win for our community and I thought it would be good for the city commission and the public to hear about it and so uh Miss Dunlow if you'd take it away.

Yeah, thank you. Um we are very very excited at uh the fire department for this as well. It's um been a long time coming, a very long process, labor of love, so to speak. Um, and I did want to highlight that this week is EMS week also. And the theme for today is education. So, it's kind of serendipitous that we're here talking about these things. Also, um, to my right are, uh, some of our partners from West Shore Community College. We have program director Yoast right here and, uh, Dean Masters sitting here who have been a great help and support throughout this process, as well as, um, you three sitting up there. So, thank you very much. Um without further ado, here we go. So our uh current reality is we are hiring um licensed EMTs that need to go to paramedic school within three years to maintain employment with the city of Trevor City Fire Department. And uh there was a history of uncertainty for future local available courses which caused um you know a little bit of um question in our mind of where do we go from here? or do we have to start looking elsewhere in the state to get this education? And that took us down the road of well, what if we have or like host our own paramedic program here. So, we started looking at feasibility for that. Um, and we contacted Westshore Community College to see if they would be interested or able to host a course at Traverse City Fire Department. And we chose them. We compared quite a few programs. We chose them based on past program success as well as the benefits that come with attending a college um as well as like the resources that a college can provide. So as far as um we will be an alternate site and um Westshore is responsible for the overall program all the administration accreditation state approval they handle all of those

things. um clinical contracts um meaning like if our EMTs that are going through the paramedic program need to get clinical hours um like the ambulance or in the emergency department, they have established contracts locally and um in the surrounding area for students to obtain those clinical hours that are required for lensure. And I already talked about Dan. Um, the training equipment will be provided by West Community College as well as the faculty and we set up a training room with AV equipment. Um, and special thanks to our IT team for help with that as well. Here's the classroom. Um, right now it's in that 520 building and um, he set us up with a projector and um, some cameras and things and we're looking forward to using this space. It looks a little bit um funky right now because MSU Extension is still in there and you know moving some stuff around, but we're excited.

11th. Okay. All right.

Well, we love having them. Um but we are looking forward to utilizing that classroom, sprucing it up, and and making it a really nice space to learn. So course information uh the total course fee is $13,249 and that is um pretty remarkable because that is much lower. It saves about $5,000 per student. Mushore Community College has graciously offered to give us in district tuition for this even though we are out of district which is very generous and we're we're uh extremely grateful for that. And that course fee includes all the college courses required for paramedic certification including anatomy and physiology and all the certifications required to function in our medical control authority as well for when they're um done with the program. The total course length is 11 months and it's a hybrid. So one day a week on Fridays starting August 28th the students um will be in the classroom for eight hours and the rest of their learning is done online. And um we think that's that's pretty nice. Um, as far as work life balance goes, so program start, I already got a little ahead of myself. August 28th, the program finish will be end of July 2027. New courses will recur beginning with each fall semester, and we're capped at 12 students for enrollment, although the um agreement does allow for up to 16 students. Enrollment is going to be open to all agencies and uh we already have some guys that have started the enrollment process which is really exciting for us and there are also some grant opportunities for tuition and we really benefit from this because we we'll have a guaranteed future paramedic program. We know that it's going to occur. We're not going to question whether or not our um guys can get licensed in time for that three-year, you know, time frame. um work life balance for students. A lot of the guys have young families and we

really want this to be a good place for them to want to stay um as far as like retention goes. There's some cost-saving opportunities, recruitment opportunities for other students that may be attending the program. Um some professional development for staff. So, we have some staff that are looking into becoming faculty for West Shore Community College as well. So, that's great professional development for them. And um really it's it's a great opportunity to benefit EMS not just for us but for other agencies in the area too. Um we have partnerships with our local hospital um MSA medical center and lo other local EMS agencies some clinical contracts and there are also um other clinical opportunities throughout the state in the Grand Rapids area too so that we can get some of those um you know lower the calls that we don't see as often like pediatric calls like really sick pediatrics we can go and see those patients so our our students can get exposure to that and um we'll become a clinical ical site as well. So, we'll be able to have paramedic students come and ride on our ambulance, which will also give us an opportunity for recruitment so we can show them how great our department really is and the guys there. And uh that's that's all I have. So, thank you. Questions? Anybody?

Go ahead, Jackie. Um you mentioned that there's a cap of 12 students to start off. Is there a a minimum number of students to be able to get the the program kicked off and continuing? Um that would be I believe we spoke about four um but that would be college feasibility question. That's great. there's a lot of a lot of interest and it's not even like well now it's fully out there right it's fully public but um yeah lots of interest

and and then um my only other question is about um the tuition you know the the in district tuition benefit which is wonderful um is are are uh non-traverse city for instance um an employee of MMR who might be you know employed in Antrum County, are they also eligible for that same in district tuition or Yes, it would it would be um it would be for that our program in in totality. So, everyone that would enroll in our program would be eligible for that industry tuition cost. Thank you. Absolutely. Go ahead, Heather.

I'm going to make the motion if that's okay. I move that the city commission affirm the educational affiliation agreement with Westshore Community College. And thank you very much for looking over the horizon and solving a local problem of recruitment and training. Brava. Yes. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. West Shore College. Second. We need to second the motion.

We just got Lance. I got it. I'm following. But I'm all for the praise. No, thank you for bringing this program and um as I'll say out of obligation and as a a kudos to this for whether they're MMR or our own guys um you know if people get tired of hauling people in out of buses, these are also credits that can count towards programs like nursing and PA that are all available in our region. And so this is also a great stepping stone for a lot of our people in our community to not just have a strong fire department and great paramedics in our region but also strengthen our our working middle class here. So thank you for all of this. This is amazing. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you very much gentlemen. Any other comments really quick?

Oh just real quick. I'm I'm excited about this program. Uh, I know it's been talked about for a long time and I'm looking forward to it coming and when we make this large investment in the city personnel, I hope that we are putting the right mechanisms in place to make sure that there's a requirement to pay it back if they leave. So, yeah, I'm sure I'm sure those things will get looked into. No comment necessary. Any other questions or comments? Any public comment on this item? Okay, seeing none, I'll bring it back. All in favor? I opposed. Motion passes. Thank you so much, Katherine. And so excited for everybody.

Okay. And just to let everybody know because I know we have some students here, we've got about two more three more quick items and then we'll go into our uh hopefully go into our close session. We will sign your signatures before our close session though. So, just a couple more minutes here. So, with that, I will go on to our next item, which is entering into close session for our attorney client privilege communications. Do we have a motion for this? I move. Thank you. I move that Commissioner Kenneth Funk be reappointed. Oh, no. No. Sorry. We're on the Oh, close session. Oh, sorry. See, she was already two items ahead. She's ready to be done. Guys, I was going to skip first. Go ahead. I move that the city commission I was going to ask a question. Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry. Um, could we amend the agenda to do the appointments first and then go into close session?

We go into close session after public final public comment. It's in the It's in the motion. Yep. Sorry. Yep. Yeah. Go ahead, Heather. Thank you. You're on it. I move that the city commission enter into close session immediately following following oops oops the public comment portion of the agenda to discuss an attorney client communication as authorized by MCL 15.268 parenthesis h second. Thank you commissioner Shaw and Mayor Pro Ness. Um all in favor this is a roll call vote. Oh yeah that says thank you. I always forget that. Go ahead. Commissioner Treadwell. Yes. Commissioner Funk. Yes. Commissioner Shaw. Yes. Mayor Promnes. Yes. Commissioner Anderson. Yes. Commissioner Bulmer.

Yes. Mayor. Yes. Motion passes. We will go into that after final public comment. We will take care of all our business and no anticipated action afterwards. So, um we won't be coming back for a motion. Correct. Or it depends. Okay. There's potential. Sorry. Yep. Um okay. With that, um Heather, would you like to take the uh our next item is I would be happy to. I the Kenneth Funk one. Yes, please. I move that Commissioner Kenneth Funk be reappointed as commission representative to to the term expiring June 30th, 2027 on the Trevor City and Garfield Township Recreational Authority Board. Second.

All right, I'm going to give that to Anderson. Any further discussion on that? Thank you, Commissioner. This is a great board and I've felt honored to serve on it and uh work with some great people. So, I appreciate the opportunity to continue to do that. Thanks for your continued service. Any public comment on this item? Seeing none, I'll bring it back. All in favor? I opposed. Motion passes. All right. And then our other one is the Garfield Township Recreation Board for a nominee here. I know it's taking me a second to load. So, if anybody wants to start, go ahead. Uh, Jackie. Oh. Oh, go ahead. Okay. Okay. Um, you guys are so polite.

I move that Laura Nest be reappointed to the term expiring June 30, 2029 on the Traverse City and Garfield Township Recreational Authority Board as recommended by the ad hoc committee consisting of Commissioner Anderson, Commissioner Bulmer, and Commissioner Funk. Support. Thank you, Commissioners Bulmer and Anderson. Any further comment on this? Yes, Mitch.

Yes. Uh, in our previous motion, we did appoint a city commission representative. Uh we do have many boards and commissions that uh have designated as this one does um members of the city commission that sit on them or a acknowledged advantage to having a city commissioner. But that role is already filled. So I do not see a reason why we would need two commissioners when they could be filled by a commissioner and a member of the public. I'll provide some com some uh context communication context in regard to that. That's a great point and it was brought up in our ad hoc when we discussed the appointment to this. Um

Laura Ness is currently serving as a chair of the rec authority and we have several new members on the board going through a little bit of transition and growth right now along with um a change in the event organization management as well right now. So, we wanted to see our chair continue to operate in her capacity for a period of time until she um we're anticipating it will be um two to three two years to the end of that term. But um Laura has suggested that she does not want to serve after this term. And uh she did arm wrestle Richard Lewis for the appointment as well and she won. So,

all right. And Mitchell, if you do have concerns, it is allowed in the uh rec authority bylaws. It specifically states at least one member of each participating municipalities legislative body shall be appointed to the board. Any public comment on this item? Seeing none, I'll bring it back. All in favor? Opposed? No. Roll call, please. Um, Commissioner Bmer, yes. Commissioner Henderson, yes. Mayor Promnesus, yes. Commissioner Shaw, yes. Commissioner Funk, yes. Commissioner Treadwell, no. Mayor, yes. All right, motion passes. On to reports and announcements. Does anybody have any reports from their respective boards? Go ahead, Mitch.

Well, for tomorrow at the planning commission, we're going to have a discussion about uh a reasonzoning request immediately adjacent to the pros Tommy's car wash. So I do expect that we will have uh updates on how that uh is developing and it will uh be significantly informed by our process going forward um as we discussed today requiring special land use permits for autoentric uses.

Thank you. Any other updates? Go ahead, Lance. Uh, and I noticed that the public commenter has left, but the public comment regarding the $150,000 in TCLP uh fees um that are absorbed. Um both uh Mayor Prom Ness and myself brought this up during the budget meeting. I just wanted to address that. We saw that and the entire board um was on board with uh looking at removing that and starting to potentially um charge for those fees so that the taxpayer is not absorbing them. Um so I just wanted to let that person know and the public know that this is something that we are paying attention to. Thank you for that. Anything else from our commissioners?

All right with that now we will go into final public comment. This can be about anything not just any specific agenda item. You can share how your day went or you can talk about the budget or anything else you'd like to. Please feel free to approach the podium. Hello everybody. I had this whole speech prepared and I can see you're all very diligently working on it. So I'm going to completely change everything I was going to say pretty much. But my name is Asadil Stavis. I reside at 2931 North Liam in Interlockan. I am not a city resident, but as always, I come before you to speak about things that know no borders. I spent the better part of the last three years putting everything of me into a paper that I wrote about homelessness in our area. And again, I can see that you have all made that a priority to make sure that people are housed. And I'm actually really moved because I think you're

Oh, no. I've seen such big changes and I'm just really proud. So, thank you. And if you have a few minutes right after the meeting, I'd like to share a couple things with you if you wouldn't mind. Thank you very much. Thank you. I wasn't supposed to do that. Thank you. We appreciate your sincerity and for your willingness to speak. Do we have any other public comment tonight? Okay, seeing none, I will um say that we are going to go into a close session with possible action at the end. Um and all the students who need signatures, come up and grab them right now. We won't make you wait until our public's and anybody up here around there can sign for you. I have a pen. Thank you.

Hi. He's on leave. on leave for a period.

a horse.

Doesn't matter. We lose Jackie and Heather. Jackie and Heather. She's coming. I'm used to just looking for I'm here. I know you are. Yeah, that was just kind of like a little

Okay, we're back in session after our close session. And uh Lance, did you want to Yes. Um, I move that the city commission direct the city manager to hire outside municipal council to provide an opinion on the relationship between historic district's ordinance uh the city charter and the historic district's state statute as recommended by the city attorney with a budget not to exceed $15,000. As uh recommended by the city attorney. Uh as recommended by the city attorney. Correct. Okay. Laura, get that. Okay. We'll give it to

Okay. Any discussion on this item? Okay. Any public comment on this item? I know it's very informal because we're the only people here, but anything about the petitions that you'll be hearing from me or from city staff in the next few days officially. I just need to confer with the city attorney, but you will be hearing something and we will be officially acknowledging receipt of the petitions and the rest of that story will be communicated in writing after I can confer with our city attorney a little more. Pardon me for saying that I heard that effect.

Well, we're saying it on the record now in a meeting.

I hope this finally can get moved forward. It's I I don't I'm very puzzled by this whole process that this doesn't seem like something that should have been in a closed session that it seemed like it's policy um and that it should have been at least some parts of this should have been talked about and acted upon in public as your citizens were acting under a law that's not to this date been declared invalid or unconstitutional or anything like that. And yet It's been delayed and no action has been taken for nine ten months now with no word to the citizens that have petitioned you. And I really hope that you would understand how wrong that seems to us citizens. Um to have been ignored in that way and been left out of the conversation and to have no understanding of what was going on or if anything was ever going to happen. That how our government's supposed to work. I I I'm just dumbfounded by it. I know. could be threatened and you're worried about all kinds of things like that. But um you know there are different pieces to this and and yet the whole thing was just shut down unilaterally and you left your citizens out and you that really I trust and I think it's going to take a while for the city for your citizens for you guys to regain that and it's not you guys necessarily our staff Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you. I hope

any other public comment.

Fred Bimber, 1223 Randall Street. Uh, I would ask in connection with this to be informed of the outside council uh chosen to do this. Not that I am saying I have any sort of uh uh say in that but would like to be informed early in the process as to who that council is. Uh also I do think one of the most significant things about this is simply how local residents have been treated by city staff and it's been very poorly. Thank you.

Any other public comment from our one other member of the public? Thank you. All right, with that I will bring it back for a vote. All in favor? I opposed. Motion passes. Thank you everyone. Have a good rest of your evening.

15 minutes earlier. I got to get home. I got to relieve my mom. My husband's