Saline Council Approves Health Care Renewal, Youth Appointments, and Trail Project

Photo: Saline River Valley Trail map. Source: council packet.

At its October 20, 2025, meeting, the Saline City Council tackled a full agenda, approving 2026 employee health care plans, welcoming new members to the Youth Council, and finalizing an agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation for the first phase of the Saline River Valley Trail.

Employee Health Care Renewal Approved

City Council heard a presentation from Debbie Youngs of Kapnick Insurance Group about the City’s employee and retiree health insurance plans for 2026. The total cost to the City will increase by about $138,900, which is a 10.6% rise in Blue Cross Blue Shield premiums after plan adjustments.

To keep costs in check, the City will continue using the P.A. 152 “Hard Cap” option, which sets a yearly limit on how much the City can contribute toward employee health insurance. Those limits will rise slightly, 2.9% for 2026, to match state guidelines.

Youth Council Appointments

Council approved the appointments to the 2025–2026 Saline Youth Council, which provides high school students opportunities to engage with local government. The newly appointed members are:

Caleb Ciechanowski, Dante Costanzo, Ishani Deswal, Dylan Erickson, Hayley Hummel, Ava Jenkins, William Maloy, Sophie Pletz, Mayur Reddy, Alisha Sachdeva, Marlowe Samp, Sidak Singh, and Avery Winfree.

Nicole Rice will serve as the City Council representative, and Sunshine Lambert, Parks & Recreation Director, continues as staff liaison

Saline River Valley Trail Agreement with MDOT

Council unanimously approved Resolution No. 25-176, authorizing a contract between the City of Saline and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) for the Saline River Valley Trail – Phase I project in Mill Pond Park.

The agreement (MDOT Contract No. 25-5471) covers construction of 0.93 miles of hot mix asphalt shared-use path extending from Bennett Street to Curtis Park, crossing U.S. 12. The project includes earthwork, drainage, tree removal, and landscaping improvements.

The total estimated cost is $1.11 million, with $786,187 in federal funding from the Carbon Reduction Program, and the remaining $323,813 paid by the City. The Council authorized City Manager Dan Swallow and City Engineer Tesha Humphriss to sign all documents and manage the project. Once completed, the City will assume maintenance responsibility for the new trail facilities.

Other Actions

Council also approved:

• FY 2026 first quarter budget amendments (5–2 vote).
• Recreation Fund budget adjustments for the Rec Center.
• Roof repairs and wall design work for Oakwood Cemetery.
• Vehicle Equipment Replacement Fund (VERF) amendment to purchase a new plow truck.

The meeting adjourned at 8:31 p.m.

Visit the City’s website to find links to the meeting agenda, minutes, and video.