In an email dated January 7, 2025, Dexter City Councilmember Zach Michels notified the city of his immediate resignation from the city council. Michels’ terse statement read, “I can no longer serve as a member of this city council. I resign with immediate effect.” Michels also stated he would continue as a Dexter Area Fire Department Board member.
Michels was first sworn into the Dexter City Council on November 23, 2015, contributing his expertise in urban planning and architecture to the community.
Michels has been a vocal advocate for addressing housing affordability in Dexter. He emphasized the challenges faced by local educators and employees who struggle to find affordable housing within the city.
Committed to enhancing transparency, Michels has advocated for clear communication between the city council and residents. He proposed the adoption of a public participation plan to improve community involvement in decision-making processes.
In September 2024, Michels led efforts to advance a historical marker program to formally recognize and preserve Dexter’s historical assets.
Michels was heavily involved in Dexter’s early site selection and design stages for a new fire station. But as years transpired, the gap between Michels and a majority of council members widened over key decisions regarding the project’s scope, cost, and location. Michels raised concerns about transparency and the thoroughness of public input, often questioning whether the chosen plans best served the community’s long-term needs.
These differences in vision sometimes led to heated debates during council meetings. The discord highlighted a philosophical divide over balancing immediate practicalities with broader strategic goals, making the fire station project a focal point of tension during his tenure.
Michels was relected to the council in November’s election. When asked to elaborate on the reasons for his abrupt departure from the city council, Michels responded with the familiar first eight verses of Ecclesiastes chapter three, which reads in part:
To everything there is a season,
And a time to every purpose under Heaven:
A time to be born, a time to die;
A time to plant, a time to reap;
A time to kill, a time to heal;
A time to laugh, a time to weep;
And then with characteristic dry humor, adding,
Wise men know how to tell the time.
The rest of us must must (sic) use clocks.
Michels also invited those wishing to contact him directly to do so at ZachForDexter@gmail.com.