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Meeting Minutes for March 19, 2007
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Harbor Beach was held on Monday, March 19, 2007 at City Hall. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Swartz. Present: Burkhard, Goniewicha, Kleinknecht, Wood and Mayor Swartz, Absent: None It was moved by Kleinknecht, seconded by Goniewicha to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried. 5 yeas. It was moved by Wood, seconded by Kleinknecht to approve the minutes of the March 5, 2007 Council meeting as presented. Motion carried. 5 yeas. It was moved by Goniewicha, seconded by Kleinknecht to approve the minutes of the March 14, 2007 Administration Committee meeting as presented. Motion carried. 5 yeas. It was moved by Wood, seconded by Kleinknecht to approve payment of a bill from Wade-Trim for $ 5,583.02 for IPP Management Assistance. Motion carried. 5 yeas. It was moved by Wood, seconded by Burkhard to approve payment of a bill from Wade-Trim for $ 3,475.77 for the Davidson Park Survey. Motion carried. 5 yeas. Citizen Comment: Ron Knepfler informed Council of a complaint regarding Finance Officer Youatt. Mr. Knepfler spotted Mr. Youatt talking with a business owner downtown and told him he wanted to talk with him. According to Mr. Knepfler, Youatt stated he could see him tomorrow morning at City Hall and that he was on his own time. Mr. Knepfler stated he wanted to inform Youatt of a protruding sign post which was a dangerous situation. Mayor Swartz stated he discussed this with Mr. Youatt and Youatt explained that if Mr. Knepfler had stated this was an emergency situation, he would have contacted the appropriate department to resolve the situation. Kathleen Holdwick stated that she had contacted Mr. Dale Cubbit, an attorney in Bad Axe, about the Mayor having an office at City Hall. Kathleen stated that if the Mayor wanted an office at City Hall, he did not need City Council approval. Bill Duerr stated concern regarding the need for handicap accessibility for the Visitor Center. PRESENTATIONS: Gerry Schroeder and Cynthia Goniewicha presented the Vision for Harbor Beach waterfront plan. Mr. Schroeder stated the major change from plans created by JJR was that the Vision Committee focused on property owned by the City. Cynthia Goniewicha reviewed the specific items included in the proposed plan. Mayor Swartz stated the Planning Commission has reviewed the plan and has recommended Council approval of same. The Council thanked the Committee for their effort. Tom Traciak, President, ACI Finance and the City’s financial consultant, reviewed with Council the proposed Sewer Rate cash flow regarding the City’s State Revolving Loan project. Mr. Traciak stated he has worked with the City for about 17 years and has performed water and sewer rate studies in the past for the City. He reviewed with Council and the citizens the projected cash flow required to cover expenditures. He recommended that the City not increase the ready to serve charge, but should increase sewer rates from the current $ 2.84 per 1,000 gallons to $ 3.50 on July 1, 2007. The rate should increase again to $ 4.25 effective July 1, 2008. Following these two increases, Mr. Traciak recommended Council review cash flow for the sewer fund and then adjust accordingly, although it is anticipated that increases after July 1, 2008 would be to adust for inflation, only. Mr. Traciak noted that the interest rate on the SRF loan at 1.625 % was a very good interest rate, compared to an open market rate of between 4.25 % and 4.5 %. Council thanked Mr. Traciak for his presentation. OLD BUSINESS: It was moved by Goniewicha, seconded by Kleinknecht to approve the waterfront development plan as presented by the Vision for Harbor Beach Committee and as recommended by the Planning Commission. Motion carried. 5 yeas. Resolution # 2007-06, “2007 General Obligation Bonds,” was presented to Council. The Resolution would authorize issuance and sale of bonds not to exceed Four Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($ 4,200,000) to the Michigan Municipal Bond Authority (MMBA), with respect to a State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) from the DEQ, for construction of a sanitary sewer retention basin project in accordance with an Administrative Consent Order (ACO) with the DEQ. It was moved by Wood, seconded by Kleinknecht to adopt Resolution # 2007-06 as presented. Motion carried. 5 yeas. Resolution # 2006-07, “Sewer Rate Schedule,” was presented
to Council. The Resolution would approve an increase in the sewer rate
for all City customers, including industrial customers, from the current
$ 2.84 per 1,000 gallons to $ 3.50 per 1,000 gallons effective July 1,
2007 and to NEW BUSINESS: Resolution # 2006-08, “Harbor Beach Resort Association Water Main Agreement,” was presented to Council. The Resolution would approve a maintenance agreement with the Harbor Beach Resort Association for their new 8 inch water main to be constructed this year and authorize the Finance Officer to execute same on behalf of the City. It was moved by Kleinknecht, seconded by Wood to adopt Resolution # 2006-08 as presented. Motion carried. 5 yeas. A Beautification Award Program was presented to Council by Jennifer Kerry, dated March 5, 2007. It was moved by Kleinknecht, seconded by Goniewicha to approve the program on a one year basis. Motion carried. 5 yeas. Engineer Report: Youatt referred to the report provided by Engineer Bergdolt. Finance Officer Report: Youatt reported meeting with Forester Township Supervisor Gary Daly and their engineer, Rob Stiverson, Wilcox Associates, regarding a change in the maximum amount of water the Township needs and the resulting reduction in a proposed connection fee. The annual MML Legislative Conference is held this week and Councilmember Wood and Finance Officer Youatt will attend. There is a need to hold a Negotiating Committee meeting. Mayor Swartz also requested scheduling an Administration Committee meeting for the same night. Council Reports: Councilmember Wood noted potential savings of up to $ 8,000 per month if the City moves health insurance coverage from BC/BS to MERS, with a slightly better program. Councilmember Burkhard stated he was pleased with the positive and forward moving meeting tonight. Mayor Swartz informed the citizens of a meeting on March 26th at 7:00 p.m. for those interested in starting a winter festival for the City. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
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