The Pentwater Village Council met on Monday, June 23, 6 p.m., with all members present except for Dan Nugent. It was a productive meeting with five items addressed under new business and two additional concerns brought up under council comments, including Pentwater’s parking ordinance.
The first two proposals addressed came from the Pentwater Lake Improvement Board (PLIB) for shoreline improvements to the Village Boat Launch and the Fourth Street Road End. The proposals were explained by PLIB President Joe Primozich and Shoreline Manager Chris Pierce. The PLIB had been hopeful of a large grant to help fund nine shoreline projects planned by Pierce for both village-owned properties and individual residential properties. Because the grant was denied, the PLIB and Pierce are focused on projects on village-owned properties that can be funded and carried out with the cooperative efforts of local organizations.
Concern for the safety of Jr. Sailing Program participants is one impetus for changes at the Village Boat Launch. Plans include removal of the deteriorating seawall and installation of steel runners for sliding Jr. Sailing boats into the water instead of dragging them. The project goals are stopping beach erosion and the restoration and beautification of a natural shoreline. The cost is variable, depending on in-kind contributions. The 4th Street road-end project entails adding stones in front of the current seawall and installing two small rain gardens where stones have been haphazardly placed behind the seawall. The goals are to capture rainwater from the street and absorb the nutrients before they drain into the lake and to beautify the space. The cost for the project is estimated at $2,000-$3,000. Residents from the condo association next to the road end have volunteered to help maintain the rain gardens in the future.
Pierce asked for no cash funding from the council at this time but asked members to consider what in-kind contribution the village might be able to make through the use of village-owned equipment and DPW personnel. The council voted unanimously to approve the concept of both shoreline improvement proposals, with a discussion of details to occur in the future.
The third and fourth proposals addressed by the council came from the DPW Supervisor Jeff Gier. Gier asked for approval of the purchase of a dump trailer for $11,149 from the equipment fund. The 14-foot-long vehicle with ramps would be used for multiple tasks not possible with current equipment until the time that a dump truck can be purchased. The request was approved unanimously.
Gier’s second request was for permission to take his DPW vehicle home for transportation to and from work projects to save time and miles required by driving and switching his personal vehicle for the DPW vehicle at the DPW garage each workday. The DPW vehicle would be reserved for DPW work only. Council member Don Palmer said the current policy requiring DPW vehicles to be kept at the DPW garage was adopted for good reasons, one of which was to encourage DPW employees to live in the village. A vote on Gier’s proposal was postponed until liability issues could be clarified, mileage between home and the DPW garage was defined, and language used by other municipalities for similar policies could be found.
The fifth proposal addressed by the council came from the Pentwater Police Department and was explained by Officer Darwin Mitchell, who is currently the School Resource Officer at Pentwater Public Schools. He requested approval for the acquisition of a therapy dog. He listed the benefits of a therapy dog, showed a video of training for a police therapy dog (used primarily to help victims of crime), and gave the various expenses involved – the dog purchase price, the equipment costs, the extensive training costs, the original veterinarian costs, the food and annual vet visits and the cost of the handler involvement.
Questioned about the dog’s value to our community of low crime, Mitchell replied its primary value would be to the school. Chief Laude Hartrum added it would be helpful to deescalate situations where the police are dealing with mental health issues (which constitutes about one-third of their calls), and it would be helpful in initiating conversation with residents and building community relationships. A motion was made to approve the concept so the police department could pay a $100 deposit to reserve a dog of their choice. The concept was given approval. However, a vote to approve any expenses from the village budget was postponed. Council member David Bluhm voiced his hope that initial expenses could be covered by private donations, as he would not approve total expenses coming out of the village budget.
In other business, Council President Mary Marshall commented on the progress of the strategic plan, the upcoming June 30 open meeting for residents’ participation, and the consultant’s recommendation that council members do not attend the open meeting. He wanted residents to feel free to express themselves. Village Manager Rachel Witherspoon reported that resident responses submitted via the village website emphasized community involvement as a significant strength in Pentwater.
When the opportunity for council comments opened during the meeting, it led to personal concerns shared by members Kathy O’Connor and Karl Schrumpf. Both concerns related to local ordinances and their enforcement. Recently the village hired an employee whose job is to enforce ordinances by ticketing persons not in compliance with the codes. “I was hopeful this would help the village deal with situations of blight in the community that had been ignored for too long,” O’Connor said. “I know it has helped in some situations. But I was mortified when my elderly neighbor, a long-time resident, received a citation for a poorly maintained lawn. It was a warning that threatened fines and a lien on her property if she did not comply with the code. She was very upset…So was I. We have missed an opportunity to be more communicative with our residents about our enforcement intentions and priorities.”
Manager Witherspoon was sympathetic but defended the use of specific ordinance language in the citations issued (for transparency and authority) and said Pentwater's code of ordinances does not list ordinances with designated priority.
Schrumpf shared his concern about parking issues when special events are held downtown. “I know our merchants depend on the influx of visitors for special events. I also know how hard it is for visitors to find parking spaces. They don’t know what our parking ordinance is, and we don’t have any signage to tell them what it is. Last weekend I saw four vehicles near my house get citations for illegal parking. One couple with two children, visiting for the first time, was stunned to find the ticket. ‘We didn’t want to park on your lawn,’ they told me.”
The Pentwater parking ordinance requires vehicles to park on all secondary streets with all four tires on the grass and no tires on the road. The reason is that parking on the road limits the width and prohibits the passage of emergency vehicles. Witherspoon said signage had been discontinued due to expense and loss of signs. Schrumpf suggested that residents on the corners be asked to post the limited number of signs available on just the corners for the sake of visitors.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m.
