Dexter City Council in-person (3515 Broad Street) and virtual (see Zoom details below) meeting on Monday, October 25 at 7 p.m.

Please note that there are two public hearings. See below for details.

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, Mayor Keough will share a proclamation commemorating Pat Cousins. (Pre-arranged participation will be limited to those who notify the City office before 5:00 p.m. Monday of the week preceding the meeting, stating name, intent and time requirements. There is a 10-minute time limit per participant.)

Public Hearing #1: Ethics and Conflicts of Interest Ordinance

Per Section 5.06 of the City Charter: 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.

At the September 27th meeting, City Council voted to set a public hearing for Monday, October 25th and to publish a draft of the ordinance that incorporated the ZBA bylaws. The City Attorney and staff made the requested changes to the ordinance and published the attached version. The redlines have been included in the attached version so that Council is aware of the changes that have been made since the September 27th meeting.

Public Hearing #2: Adopting Ordinance for the General Code of Ordinances

Per Charter, once every three years the City shall provide for a general (re)codification of the City’s General Code of Ordinances. City Council last performed a re-codification in September 2017. As a part of the re-codification process, the City made updates to ordinance language to accompany the transition from a village to a city. There are no significant changes proposed to the General Code of Ordinances as part of this re-codification.

Council also will discuss and/or consider (i.e., take action on) the following (with clarifying excerpts from the packet):

Fire Station Guiding Principles

• On Monday, October 11, 2021, City Council voted to postpone discussion of the Fire Station Guiding Principles until the October 25, 2021 meeting. The information below was provided in the October 11, 2021 agenda packet.
• During budget work sessions earlier in 2021, City Council discussed the concept of approaching the Fire Station discussion through the development of a set of guiding principles that would help frame the “nuts and bolts” discussion. To help with this discussion, staff outlined a potential timeline for when conversations could be held (Potential Topics Discussed List that is included in the City Manager’s Report) and prepared a binder of information related to prior discussions held, and prior research compiled, related to the Fire Station.
• Development of a set of Guiding Principles is a common practice by community leaders, elected officials, and organizations. Based on the conversations held earlier in 2021, it is staff’s understanding that when City Council refers to developing Guiding Principles, City Council is looking to engage in what is essentially a visioning process, which could involve the following:
• 1) Developing a framework or process for how the conversation will be held.
• 2) Developing an understanding as to how each member is approaching the Fire Station conversation (their background on the topic, expectations, and information needed).
• 3) Identifying City Council’s values as a body related to the topic
• 4) Shaping those values into more concrete Principles and ultimately the body’s vision
• 
  

Sale of Equipment

• During the November 3, 2020 election, the residents of Dexter adopted a Charter Amendment restricting the City from selling property without a vote of the people.
• The implementation of this Charter Amendment created questions about what the City was (and is) able to do with outdated equipment and personal (non-land) property. In the spring of 2021, staff contacted City Attorney Scott Munzel with these questions. City Attorney Munzel performed research and has offered the opinion that there is a legal distinction between a “sale” and “bartering” (i.e. a trade-in). Following this advice, City Council voted to approve the purchase of a wood chipper while trading-in the old wood chipper.
• During City Council’s Goal Setting Sessions, City Council identified the inability to sell or auction equipment as an item that warranted further discussion. This agenda item has been provided for that discussion.

Meeting Agenda: https://www.dextermi.gov/City_Council/2021/Agendas/2021-10-25-CC-A.pdf

Meeting Packet: https://www.dextermi.gov/City_Council/2021/Packets/2021-10-25-CC-P.pdf

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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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