The Pentwater Village Council met on Monday, July 13. Present were Mary Marshall, president, Police Chief Laude Hartrum, and council members Jared Griffis, Don Palmer, Karl Schrumpf, Dan Nugent and Kathy O’Connor. Council member Dave Bluhm was absent. Following opening exercises, approval of the consent agenda included minutes of the June 26 Planning Commission meeting and three requests for use of the Village Green property. The only correspondence reported was a note that came with a utility bill payment that read “cheap price to live in paradise.”
Treasurer Michelle Bieri reported she is working toward consolidating some of the accounts the village has at several banks. She and Village Manager Toby Van Ess are meeting with bank officials to decide which banks can offer the most advantageous terms for the village. She also explained that she is reporting funds deducted as bills are paid rather than in a lump sum at the end of each month. This accounts for the temporary negative figures in some line items that will be eliminated as tax funds are received and applied to the accounts from which those bills were paid. Her report reflected the $28,000 transferred from the Park Place account to the village general fund in accordance with the decision made at the June council meeting. Bieri also reported that Casey Kies started in the office this week as a new staff member who will be managing reservations at Park Place and other village properties as well as being a general office assistant.
The police department report indicated 62 complaints were received in June, an uptick in the number of incidents requiring police intervention, which is normal for this time of year. Chief Hartrum took the opportunity to introduce the newest department full-time officer hire, Ethan Lassiter, from Howell, Michigan. Lassiter is a graduate of Central Michigan University and the Delta College Police Academy. He will be training with Officer Darwin Glassford until Glassford returns to his responsibilities as the School Resource Officer. The therapy dog, Dune, will be at the school this fall with Glassford.
The zoning department issued seven zoning permits in June. Zoning Administrator Aaron Bigelow reported a draft for a sidewalk ordinance has been formulated, and the planning commission is reviewing ordinances for signs, generators and solar energy systems.
Five items were taken up under new business, but decisions on three of them were tabled until next month. The first item was Victoria Street road work. Two bids were received, and council voted unanimously to award the work to the Oceana County Road Commission. Since there are seven home sites not yet developed and no underground utilities to those sites, appreciation was expressed later during public comment for accepting the lower bid. The second item was a request from Joe Primozich on behalf of the Jr. Sailing Program for written confirmation that the program has permission for continued usage of the east 20-foot section of the municipal boat launch property on Pentwater Lake. A decision was tabled pending clarification of liability implications.
The third item was approval of a contract agreement between the police department and the school for the hiring of the School Resource Officer (SRO) with the cost being 50% for each entity. The grant, which formerly covered 75% of the cost, has ended. The school’s portion of the cost will come from the school’s budget, funded by taxes from the village and the township. O’Connor wanted more clarity on what the phrase “fully funded” included regarding overtime, benefits, etc. and how any financial dispute would be resolved. A decision was tabled until those financial details were handled.
The fourth item was an agreement between the village and the township for access to the Park Place Event Center. The arrangement returned to a former agreement that requires the township to pay the village a flat fee of $7,500 per year, which entitles township residents to use the facility for the same cost per usage that village residents pay. This agreement received unanimous approval by council members present.
The fifth item was approval of the proposed West Michigan Fire Authority. A lengthy discussion included concerns about village representation on the Fire Authority Board, the impact of the new entity on the village-township's current fire department agreement, the question of what Pentwater would gain or lose with the change and the desire to hear from Pentwater Fire Chief Jonathan Hughart on this matter. Council members wondered if they could approve the concept for further pursuit without agreeing to the proposal as presented. Support levels varied among members. A motion to table a decision until August when Hughart could attend the meeting was approved, with negative votes from Marshall and Nugent.
Public comments ranged from concerns about the library millage and shared salary amounts for the SRO, to a request for more attention to safety and security for persons crossing 6th Street to St. Vincent's Church for worship and other events, to thanks for the fine work of Aaron Bigelow and included testimonies from two retired firemen about the challenges faced today by fire departments.
Greg Hopkins, a firefighter for 34 years in the Indianapolis area, said a fire doubles in size every two minutes, and the availability of one full-time person to get a pumper truck to a fire as soon as a call comes in makes all the difference in the world to putting out fires and saving lives. He urged the council to keep that in mind as they consider the fire authority proposal. Ron Christians, a former fire chief in the Grand Rapids area, spoke to the challenges of securing younger fire department members and reminded the council that fire protection coverage impacts the cost of house insurance policies for residents. He also raised information about the newest forms of fire protection by aerial devices, such as our fire department’s drone, and the importance of keeping local equipment in the village.
The report from Van Ess gave high praise to the DPW, whose work on the lift stations has greatly improved the sewer system efficiency and whose installation work on the meter reading system has drastically reduced the time required to read meters. Borrowing a golf cart from the police department also helped the DPW to reduce the recent meter reading time from 14 to 3 days. Van Ess reported that well No. 4 was approved for use and is awaiting a final signature; the dredging of the channel by the Army Corps of Engineers has been completed with a confirmed depth of 15-16 feet; and a purchase agreement for 327 Hancock St. has been drafted for the prospective buyer.
Council members Griffis and Nugent expressed thanks to Hopkins and Christians for their thoughtful and very helpful comments regarding fire protection coverage.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.
