Dexter City Council discussed the possibility of making the land at Monument Park into designated park lands at the Nov. 24 meeting. According to the meeting’s packet, dedicating Monument Park has been a topic of debate for the city since 1991 and was last seriously considered in 2009, when then-Assistant Village Manager Courtney Nicholls researched the history of the park and the possibility of dedicating the land.
“It does appear that a previous Village Council adopted a resolution to dedicate the park land in 1991 (P135 – P138 of prior packet),” the Nov. 24 packet reads. “It also appears that prior Village Councils discussed alternative options, such as ‘lobby State Legislature of Michigan to enact law language preventing future actions (not likely at all), enact ordinance language (not only not wise, but may not be legal to attempt restricting actions of future Village Councils), amend Village by laws (not wise to amend by-laws with single issue items), or draft resolution language (can be reversed, or overturned by future Council vote).’”
Councilmember Joe Semifero suggested designating Monument Park as park lands in an amendment to the City Charter, which would be voted on by the city’s residents.
“Then it goes into the charter, and then there isn’t any changing that the city council can do,” he said. “I mean, literally, you have to have another charter amendment if you decided you want to do something else with that park.”
City Manager Justin Breyer suggested speaking with the city’s attorney to further investigate options for dedication. Currently, no decision regarding the land’s designation has been made.
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
