Event

Dexter City Council Virtual Meeting

Image

Share this post!

This post expresses the views and opinions of the author(s) and not necessarily that of The Sun Times News management or staff.

Dexter City Council Virtual Meeting on Monday, July 12 at 6p via Zoom.

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, Jennifer Olmstead from Ann Arbor Spark will address Council. (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):

  • Setting a Public Hearing Regarding a 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 started discussing the development of a Conflict of Interest Ordinance in early 2019. A draft ordinance was presented to City Council in October 2019. City Council has continued to see revised editions of the ordinance through present.
    • Council Member Griffin has provided a redlined version of the Rochester-based ordinance and an associated memo for City Council’s review, which are also attached to this memo. If City Council is interested in pursuing the draft ordinance based on that provided by the City of Rochester, then, staff would agree with the statement in Council Member Griffin’s memo about providing time to allow the City’s boards and committees, and the City Attorney to review the draft ordinance.
  • Fire Facilities General Discussion (Justin Breyer, Interim City Manager and City Clerk)
    • As City Council moves forward with discussions on fire facilities, it is staff’s goal to ensure that all of Council has access to the information that they need to make informed decisions. With that in mind, staff has prepared a few questions for Council relating to this discussion:
      • Are there pieces of information that members of Council feel that they are lacking with regard to the fire facilities discussion?
      • What information or details does City Council as a body need in order to move this item or discussion forward?
      • What does City Council see as the process for determining next steps?
      • Is City Council interested in having staff populate a webpage with information on the fire facilities discussion? If yes, due to the deep history of the discussion, what pieces of information would Council like to see on that page?
        • Rephrased: what pieces of information do members of Council feel would be the most useful to other members of Council and the public?
  • Authorization to Request Consultation Assistance from MIOSHA (Justin Breyer, Interim City Manager and City Clerk)
    • Council Member Michels requested that an item be included on the Monday, June 14, 2021 meeting relating to submitting a request for consultation assistance from MIOSHA for 8140 Main St. During the June 14th meeting, a motion was adopted to postpone the item to the July 12, 2021 meeting. At the start of this item for the July 12, 2021 meeting, there is no active motion (Council would begin by making a motion).
    • The link to access the form to request the inspection is available at https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dleg/wsh_rca_275285_7.pdf
  • Authorization for NFPA 1500 Inspection (Justin Breyer, Interim City Manager and City Clerk)
    • Council Member Michels requested that an item be included on the Monday, June 14, 2021 meeting relating to authorizing an inspection of 8140 Main St. for compliance with NFPA 1500 (Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety, Health, and Wellness Program). During that meeting, a motion was adopted to postpone the item to the July 12, 2021 meeting. At the start of this item for the July 12, 2021 meeting, there is no active motion (Council would start by making a motion).
    • NFPA 1500 is a standard set by the National Fire Prevention Association specifying “the minimum requirements for an occupational safety and health program for fire departments or organizations that provide rescue, fire suppression, emergency medical services, hazardous materials mitigation, special operations, and other emergency services.”
    • The intent is that a NFPA Certified Fire Inspector (CFI) would be engaged to perform the inspection of 8140 Main St. for compliance with NFPA 1500.
  • Seeking the Support of an External Facilitator (Justin Breyer, Interim City Manager and City Clerk)
    • Council Member Griffin requested that an item be included on the June 28, 2021 City Council agenda related to seeking the support of an external facilitator. Council Member Griffin also provided a memo and supporting documentation, which are attached to this memo. While no action was taken, following discussion of this item at the June 28th meeting, City Council expressed an interest in postponing further discussion or consideration to the July 12, 2021 meeting.
    • In addition to the options provided by Council Member Griffin, staff is aware of a few strategic plan coaches, facilitators, and team builders that have worked with other councils and boards in Michigan, such as Dr. Lew Bender and Nancy Ohle. If this is a direction that Council is interested in pursuing, then staff can solicit proposals.
  • City Manager Contract (Mayor Keough)
    • As a follow up to the discussion that we had at our June 30, 2021 Council Workshop, I met with Justin Breyer on Thursday, July 1st to discuss a proposed contract for employment as City Manager. We discussed a three-year contract with a starting salary of $85,000. I am proposing that the official start date would be July 12, 2021.
    • The proposed contract contains provisions for annual increases to this annual salary as well as a 7% salary contribution to Justin’s MERS Defined Contribution plan. The proposed contract also includes a $3,000 stipend for maintaining an Elections Administrator Certification. The proposed contract has been reviewed by City Attorney Scott Munzel.
    • If Council finds this acceptable, I recommend a motion to approve the City Manager Contract with an official starting date of July 12, 2021. As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
  • Bid Award to T&M Asphalt Paving Inc. for Dexter Crossing Road Work for an Amount not to Exceed $454,100 (Justin Breyer, Interim City Manager and City Clerk)
    • Bids for the City’s Dexter Crossing Road Work were due on July 1, 2021. At the deadline, the City received bids from six vendors, with bids ranging from $454,028.60 to $589,659.70. The low bidder was T&M Asphalt with a bid of $454,028.60. OHM Advisors has checked references for T&M Asphalt and received positive feedback.
    • Initially, the City was looking to perform work on Bristol Dr., Kingsley Cir., and an extended portion of Wellington Dr. Following engineering review, only a small portion of Wellington Dr. will require a full mill and overlay. Instead, staff and OHM Advisors is recommending replacing a portion of Wellington Dr. with Lexington Circle, which has a PASER rating of 2 (poor), similar to Bristol Dr. and Kingsley Cir. Per the City’s engineer, it would be appropriate for Lexington Cir. to receive the same treatment (mill and overlay) as Bristol Dr. and Kingsley Cir. The bid amount accommodates this road segment swap. If approved, staff would look to schedule an on-site meeting with the residents of Lexington Circle. The low bid falls under the engineer’s estimate and approved budgeted amount.
    • Construction is anticipated to start in mid-August and substantial completion will fall in mid-October.
    • Image removed.
  • Contract with MDOT for 3rd and Broad St. Reconstruction (Justin Breyer, Interim City Manager and City Clerk)
    • Provided for Council’s consideration is a resolution and contract from MDOT for the 3rd and Broad Street Reconstruction Project. The project limits are Third St. from Central to Broad, and a portion of Broad Street from the railroad tracks to just south of Third Street. This is a standard MDOT contract; the City entered into a similar contract for the Central St. reconstruction project. The bids for this project are due on July 9, 2021 through MDOT’s bid letting process. Construction is expected to start July 1, 2022.
    • Image removed.
  • Return to In-Person Meetings (Justin Breyer, Interim City Manager and City Clerk)
    • During their June 2, 2021 meeting, the Arts, Culture, and Heritage Committee voted unanimously to recommend to City Council that the ACH Committee be permitted to return to in-person meetings starting in September. The September date was selected due to the Committee anticipating that its August meeting will be cancelled.
    • When this topic was discussed during the June 28, 2021 meeting, City Council expressed interest in returning to in-person meetings at some point in the near future, but no specific date was determined. City Council may want to give the following considerations:
      • Does City Council want to require all committees to return to in-person starting in September? The first Council meeting date in September is Monday, September 13, 2021.
      • If City Council opts to return to in-person meetings, does City Council want to return to the pre-Covid 7:00pm meeting time?
  • 3515 Broad Street User Group (Justin Breyer, Interim City Manager and City Clerk)
    • During the June 28, 2021 meeting, City Council heard from David Gassen with Partners in Architecture that the next steps following closing on the 3515 Broad Street property would be for Partners in Architecture to meet with a user group to create a final design and develop the construction timeline. The final design, once approved by City Council, would form the basis for the bid documents that would be created and released with the goal of selecting a general contractor. Staff anticipates that the Interim City Manager, Finance Director, Community Development Manager, and Public Services Superintendent will be the most involved members of staff in the user group; however, all members of the City Office staff and DPW will be consulted on the design at different points in the process. To date, with regard to Council representation, Mayor Keough has expressed an interest in serving on the 3515 Broad Street User Group. Other Council Members with an interest in serving on the User Group could also participate.
    • Partners in Architecture has also provided the attached proposal for $60,000 to: 1) develop the final design; 2) work through the Planning Commission process; 3) develop the bid specifications; and 4) serve as the City’s advocate in inspection oversight to the selected general contractor. This proposal will come back as an item to City Council likely at the July 26, 2021 meeting. If City Council is agreeable with this direction, the City Manager will provide project management for the final design and construction phase of the project, and will work with Partners in Architecture to set meetings, release the bid, and bring a bid award recommendation back to City Council.

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.

**If you would like to subscribe to my personal meeting updates, please visit https://www.griffinfordexter.com/ and scroll to the bottom to enter your email address where directed. 

Meeting Agenda: https://www.dextermi.gov/City_Council/2021/Agendas/2021-07-12-CC-A.pdf

Meeting Packet: https://www.dextermi.gov/City_Council/2021/Packets/2021-07-12-CC-P.pdf

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/97018502327

Dial In 877 853 5247 OR 888 788 0099 US Toll-free

Meeting ID: 970 1850 2327#

Dexter, MI
United States

I'm interested
I disagree with this
This is unverified
Spam
Offensive