WORK SESSION (@ 6p)

The purpose of the work session is to review and update our Organizational Matters document, a document that outlines the assignment of Council and staff representatives to various boards and commissions and designating firms and individuals for various responsibilities. We will also review and update our Council Norms document, a document that outlines norms for conducting Council business, including where and when Council meets, the standard order of business (i.e., order of agenda items), council member behavior, and how council member vacancies will be filled.

REGULAR MEETING (@ 7p)

As always, there are two opportunities for non-arranged public participation: one near the beginning of the meeting and one near the end of the meeting. See the agenda for details.

During pre-arranged participation, resident Ella Dunajsky will address Council regarding Broad Street’s designation as a truck route. (Note: Those who notify the City office before 5:00p Monday of the week preceding the meeting will be included on the agenda under pre-arranged participation.)

Council will consider and discuss the following (with clarifying excerpts from the packet):

• Conflict of Interest Ordinance (Justin Breyer, Interim City Manager and City Clerk)
  • City Charter Section 5.06 states:
    • CONFLICT OF INTEREST The use of public office for private gain or the appearance of private gain is prohibited. The City Council shall implement this prohibition by ordinance. This ordinance shall include a statement of purpose and shall provide for reasonable public disclosure of finances by officials and staff who provide input into the decision of making significant monetary expenditures, contractor selection and regulatory matters, and insofar as permissible under state law shall provide for fines and imprisonment for violations.
  • City Council is being provided with two draft Conflict of Interest Ordinances for review and consideration. City Council is asked to select a draft ordinance with or without edits to move forward in the process. If City Council is comfortable, the next step would be sharing the draft ordinance with the City Attorney and the City’s boards and committees for review. The draft ordinance would then come back to Council for the September 13, 2021 meeting to set a public hearing in October.
    • The two drafts differ in their conceptualization of “private gain” and the resulting range of possible conflicts of interest. Generally speaking, the first draft defines private gain to be financial gain realized by a public official or the public official’s immediate family whereas the second draft uses an expanded definition of private gain that extends beyond financial gain and beyond the public official’s immediate family.
    • If you haven’t already done so, please share your thoughts about what you are looking for in a conflict of interest/ethics ordinance. You can share your thoughts in any number of ways, for example, by attending a Council meeting, emailing Council, emailing our City Manager or other City staff, or speaking with Council Members outside of a meeting. If you prefer your response to be anonymous, consider creating a free account on Polco, a survey platform I am using, as an individual council member, to gather public input: https://polco.us/s6m7h8
• Resolution for New On-Premise Club Liquor License for Encore Theatre (Michelle Aniol, Community Development Manager)
  • The Encore Musical Theatre Company has submitted an applicant for a Club License to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC), for its facility at 7714 Ann Arbor Street. Prior to the MLCC issuing that license, City Council must grant approval.
• Potential Conflict of Interest - Urban Wireless Solutions Contract (Michelle Aniol, Community Development Manager; Justin Breyer, City Manager and City Clerk)
  • In 2019, the City contracted with Doug Weber, Managing Director of Urban Wireless Solutions, for consultation services relating to the development of a small cell/5G wireless ordinance and its implementation. Mr. Weber was recommended by City Attorney, Steve Estey, specifically because of his expertise with small cell/5G technologies.
  • In June 2021, staff informed Council about inquiries she received regarding the deployment of small cell wireless facilities in the City. The inquiring company was Verizon Wireless, and Verizon is working with TeleCAD Engineering on two potential deployments. In the interest of full disclosure, Doug Weber informed staff that he has an independent contractor relationship with TeleCAD Engineering, on behalf of T-Mobile in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. As was discussed at the July 26, 2021 Council meeting, Mr. Weber explained that he has not engaged in any work with TeleCAD on behalf of Verizon in any capacity. At staffs' request, Mr. Weber submitted a written statement, which was shared with City Council, and also accompanies this memorandum.
  • Staff respectfully request that Council determine if Mr. Weber and Urban Wireless Solutions should continue to assist staff and the City on the TeleCAD/Verizon project or if Mr. Weber and Urban Wireless Solution should recuse themselves from any matter involving TeleCAD Engineering and the City.
• 3515 Broad Street Third Amendment to the Purchase Agreement (Justin Breyer, City Manager and City Clerk)
  • TCE (trichloroethylene), a compound that can volatilize into the air, and elevated levels of mercury were detected during the Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment.
  • Staff and the City Attorney discussed these findings with the sellers’ representatives, who indicated a willingness to reduce the purchase price and put dollars into escrow to allow for the additional testing to take place. The negotiated Third Amendment to the Purchase Agreement proposes to:
    • 1) Reduce the purchase price by $14,000, which is intended to be the seller’s contribution towards the additional sub-slab testing.
    • 2) Have the sellers place $20,000 in escrow for up to one year. If a remediation system is required, the escrowed funds would be put towards the remediation system. If no remediation system is required, then the escrowed funds would be returned to the seller.
    • 3) Set the closing date for Wednesday, August 11, 2021.
• Potential City Council Discussion Topics Timeline (Justin Breyer, City Manager and City Clerk)
  • Staff has prepared a draft list of discussion items for upcoming City Council meetings. The intent of this document is to spread these conversations so that Council is not inundated with too many items that require in-depth conversations at one time.
• Guidance for In-Person Meetings (Justin Breyer, City Manager and City Clerk; Michelle Aniol, Community Development Manager)
  • In anticipation of the resumption of in-person meetings in September, regardless of the location, staff offers information for Council’s consideration relating to holding the meetings safely and in accordance with the Open Meetings Act (OMA) (PA 267 of 1976), as amended.
    • Due to the County’s State of Emergency (through 12/31/2021), if the City resumes in-person meetings, members of a public body are allowed to attend remotely, regardless of whether or not they have a medical condition or military duty.
    • Staff anticipates that, with a return to in-person meetings, Council desires to continue the use of Zoom and recording meetings.
    • Although the federal government does not require that people get the COVID-19 vaccination, the City has the jurisdiction to require staff and attendees of in-person public meetings to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
• Adopting a Traffic Control Order (TCO) Policy (Justin Breyer, City Manager and City Clerk)
  • The City of Dexter does not currently have an adopted policy outlining a single, clear process for how and when Traffic Control Orders (TCO) are utilized. Occasionally, the City receives requests from residents about traffic issues and signage in the right-of-way. A TCO Policy would be beneficial for residents to clearly understand the process and determination for new, or changes to existing, traffic signals and signage.

REMINDER: Video recordings of past Council meetings are now available on the City's website (in addition to the City's YouTube channel): https://www.dextermi.gov/government/cc.php. If there's a particular past discussion you're interested in watching, just let me know and I'll do my best to point you to the relevant excerpt.

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Work Session Agenda: https://www.dextermi.gov/City_Council/2021/Agendas/2021-08-09-CC-A-WS.pdf

Work Session Packet: https://www.dextermi.gov/City_Council/2021/Packets/2021-08-09-CC-P-WS.pdf

Meeting Agenda: https://www.dextermi.gov/City_Council/2021/Agendas/2021-08-09-CC-A.pdf

Meeting Packet: https://www.dextermi.gov/City_Council/2021/Packets/2021-08-09-CC-P.pdf

Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Budget Document: https://www.dextermi.gov/City_Council/2021/Packets/2021-08-09-FY-2021-22_Budget.pdf

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