The Pentwater Village Council met on Monday, October 27, with a short agenda of new business. All council members were present except for president Mary Marshall. Jared Griffis chaired the meeting in her absence.
Council approved a motion for DPW employees to provide in-kind assistance in the work to remove shoreline structures in disrepair at the Jr. Sailing Club site and make improvements to the public launch ramp location.
Ian Reeves from Gabridge & Company attended the meeting on Zoom and reviewed the completed 2024-2025 audit with council. No problems or discrepancies were found. Council received the report for information.
Council approved the village’s official Halloween Trick-or-Treat hours on Oct. 31 for 5-7 p.m.
The longest discussion of the meeting was in regard to the vacant Zoning Administrator position. Village Manager Toby Van Ess proposed that council hire the Fresh Coast Planning firm to fill the vacancy. Since Van Ess moved into the manager position, the zoning work has been accumulating. He has not had time to handle it in addition to his new workload, and zoning work regarding the museum development has been put on hold until the zoning position is filled. No applicant with sufficient experience in zoning administration has applied. This concerned Van Ess. He said he has worked with Fresh Coast Planning frequently in the past and found them to be exemplary.
Fresh Coast Planning has a staff of five who work out of a home office in Grand Haven. Their proposal included a staff member spending two days a week (14 hours) in the village office while being available the rest of the week by phone or email for additional hourly fees. Mileage costs would be added only for extra trips required. Council asked for a cost comparison between a full-time administrator and contracting an outside firm. Van Ess calculated the cost for hiring Fresh Coast for a year, including an estimated cost of the museum project, would be $65,000–$66,000 and the cost of a full-time zoning administrator on the village staff (based on his previous zoning salary) would be $75,000-$76,000.
Since there is council consensus that rewriting the village’s zoning ordinances will be a priority for the next zoning administrator, Van Ess underscored that Fresh Coast had significant and successful experience in ordinance formulation specifically directed to the community for which they were written.
Council appreciated Van Ess’s concern for a prompt resolution and trusted his assessment of Fresh Coast Planning. But they were uncomfortable approving a contract with Fresh Coast without other prospects to consider. Van Ess was asked to expand a search through further advertising, to look at other firms with whom the village might contract, and to ask Fresh Coast if they were willing to contract for less than a year. Van Ess agreed to do so, and a decision on the proposal to hire Fresh Coast was tabled until the next meeting.
Council also approved Marshall’s recommendation to appoint Kyle Jansen and Kristine Kietke to the two open positions on the DDA.
In view of Rande Listerman’s upcoming retirement as village clerk/treasurer, the personnel committee interviewed Michelle Bieri, an internal candidate. Bieri has been serving as the deputy clerk/treasurer. The committee proposed that she be hired as Listerman’s replacement in January but start as the official trainee on Dec. 1, with contract details to be determined. Council gave unanimous approval.
Van Ess left the meeting early to handle a waterline emergency problem. On Tuesday a Boil Water Advisory was issued from the village office for Carrol Street between 1st and 4th streets for a minimum of 48 hours.
During the time for public comment Chris Conroy urged council to pursue two firms she would recommend for zoning work: Williams and Works and OHM. She was familiar with their work and said Williams and Works does a very good job. By way of Zoom, Ted Cuchna recommended that Van Ess contact the village’s former zoning administrator, Keith Edwards, to ask for his temporary help and support until the vacancy was filled.
Kathy O’Connor offered the only council comments. She referred to the concerns expressed at the previous council meeting regarding services for seniors. She met with administrators at the Oceana County Council on Aging and found printed materials with information about programs offered there to all county residents for everything except housing. She reported two Pentwater residents are on the board and encouraged the council to find the best way to communicate to local residents all the services available to them.
