MONTAGUE — The Montague city council authorized city manager Jeff
Auch to move forward with a planned $98,000 purchase of the property
that previously housed Teddy's Car Wash on Water Street during its
regular meeting Monday.
The council gave 6-0 approval to the
resolution; council member Lisa Kiel had an excused absence. Auch said
the council discussed the potential purchase of this property in a
closed session at its July meeting.
Auch said the city could
potentially gain revenue with a resale of the property at some point,
though various rehabilitations are necessary to the property. Part of
the reason the city decided to go forward with the purchase, Auch said,
is that it would still likely have had to provide financial assistance
with such rehabilitations whether it owned the property or not. He added
that some of the equipment in the building needs to be decommissioned.
It's possible the property could be usable by winter if the city pushed
the timeline, but more likely work on the property will carry into 2026.
The
council also approved a request that the Michigan Department of
Transportation commence a study of its proposed changes to Water Street.
MDOT
hosted a public feedback session in August about the proposed changes,
which would span from the intersection at Dowling Street to the
intersection at Stanton Boulevard near the edge of town. The changes
being proposed include the road being made three lanes wide instead of
two, with on-street parking taking up much of the area that now
comprises the northernmost lane. There would be a turn lane leading into
the stoplight. The department said at the August meeting that its data
indicate the changes would reduce collisions and encourage compliance
with posted speed limits.
City manager Jeff Auch said during
discussion that potential lane changes from the causeway to the
stoplight are also possible, but MDOT does not intend to do a study on
those now because a rehabilitation or replacement of the causeway bridge
is a longer-term project it intends to complete. Public commenter Bill
Tarr said he hopes crosswalks are considered as part of the project, as
the road is already not easy to cross for pedestrians.
Three
deer hunting permits were granted, all by 6-0 votes, in three different
deer management areas (DMAs) that had previously been approved. Two of
the permits were granted to owners of property that were part of the
DMA.
Auch shared that the city did not receive positive
feedback from WinBerg Construction regarding the state of the White Lake
Senior Center building when asked to do an appraisal. The feedback was
that the building is not in good shape and the necessary work to
stabilize it would cost in excess of $200,000 to complete. Auch informed
the council that he has already engaged in preliminary discussions with
other building owners in the city about potential purchases to provide
an alternative site for the Senior Center in the long term.
Auch
also informed the council that it will be voting on a new site plan for
Whitehall Products at its next meeting. The planning commission
unanimously approved the plan, which calls for the property to move 35
feet closer to Water Street, at a recent meeting.
The council
voted 4-2 against adding a reaffirmation of state sovereignty to the
council agenda prior to the rest of the meeting taking place. Mahoney,
who brought the motion, and Susan Newhof voted in favor. Newhof stated
later in the meeting that she'd like to discuss adding such a thing to a
later meeting agenda if the council is open to it. She added that the
issue is a timely one, and Kathy Pelleran-Mahoney, Ken's wife and the
2024 Democratic candidate for Curt VanderWall's seat in the state house,
spoke during public comment noting recent deployments of state National
Guard units by President Donald Trump as the impetus for the
affirmation.
