The Pentwater Village Council met Aug. 11, 6 p.m. at Park Place. Members present were Don Palmer, David Bluhm, Dan Nugent, Jared Griffis, Kathy O’Connor and president Mary Marshall. Absent was Carl Schrumpf.
There were only two items to note prior to new business.
The treasurer, Rande Listerman, reported there still remains some confusion on the tax bill due date because of the conflicting dates printed on the tax document. Clarification is online in several places. She will email residents who fail to pay by Sept. 15 to reiterate the September deadline and to avoid having to levy late fees.
Jared Griffis reported the personnel committee had met Aug. 6 and had a fruitful discussion on the relationship of the council and the village manager.
Under new business, the first item was a proposal to amend the contract with Fleis & Vanden Brink for engineering services on the waterline project. In July 2024 the project was amended to include $103,000 for Lowell Street, but the contract had never been changed to reflect the added cost. The actual cost had been $50,000. Council voted unanimously to amend the contract to reflect that cost.
The second item was a proposal submitted by Fleis & Vanden Brink to complete a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for the village’s streets, water system, sanitary system and storm system for $10,000 which would be charged to the professional services account. The village has no CIPs and council members expressed misgivings about the narrow scope of the proposal. Manager Witherspoon explained that budgetary constraints limited the plan to only the most necessary items at this time and additional items could be covered over time. A motion to approve the proposal passed unanimously.
The third item was a proposal from VC3 to upgrade the computer systems in the village offices for $16,000. The upgrade would replace computers too old to update, update where possible to Windows 11, and improve protection against cyber attacks on all the computers. The security upgrade is necessary for cyber attack insurance. A motion to approve the proposal was passed unanimously.
The fourth item was a proposal from the DPW to purchase a new F-150 truck complete with plow equipment for $60,404. The DPW equipment rotation policy has been to buy a new truck every ten years and give the oldest truck to the marina. The marina truck is not operational at this time and ten years have passed since the last truck was purchased. Currently the equipment account has only $55,000 in it, so the proposal was to take out a five-year loan at 4.8% interest, build up the equipment fund for a year or more, and pay the loan off early.
Council had many questions regarding the inventory of trucks, the necessity for a new one, the option of delaying the purchase, and the wisdom of borrowing money. The vote to approve the proposal was split. Palmer, Bluhm, and O’Connor voted no. Nugent, Griffis, and Marshall voted yes. The proposal was defeated.
The fifth item was a proposal from the DPW to purchase a side arm mower attachment for the village skid steer at a cost of $23,055.20 to maintain property the village now pays an outside contractor to mow, and to mow the lagoons at the Waste Water Treatment Plant. EGLE is poised to levy a fine on the village because the lagoons are not being mowed. After some discussion, the council voted unanimously to approve the proposal.
The final item under new business was a recommendation from president Marshall to approve Dan Gerben for a 3-year term on the planning commission. Council unanimously approved the recommendation.
Two items for discussion followed. President Marshall reported the Strategic Plan steering committee met Aug. 8. They formulated some goals and proposed that effective government be one of the pillars on which to build the goals. Their next meeting will be with the village staff, prior to their next meeting with council.
Related to effective government, council members had been given a lengthy document regarding the Council-Manager relationship to read. They discussed what they had gleaned from it.
Public comments included disappointment in the uneven quality of the microphones used by council members, a question about the condition of the trees on Hancock, and concern about the cameras in use for FLOCK surveillance. “When will it end?” Police Chief Laude Hartrum reported, “The ending date of the original 90-day trial period is unknown because not all of the cameras for the county are yet installed and the trial does not officially start until all of them are functioning.”
Council comments emphasized the need for a CIP that includes a full inventory of all systems and all assets. “I’m frustrated by all the stuff that comes out of left field. We need to see the big picture so we can anticipate our expenses. It’s difficult to vote on unbudgeted expenses when we don’t know what’s coming in the future.”
Village Manager Witherspoon responded to the concern about all the dead trees on Hancock. “I have gotten mixed messages about the trees. We sent samples to a laboratory but don’t have a definitive answer yet.” She expressed enthusiasm about upcoming Homecoming events and said the village staff was planning to spend their lunch hour on Friday at the sand sculpture contest.
The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.
