Village of Constantine
Council Meeting Minutes
February 4, 2008

President Weiss called the Regular February 4, 2008 meeting of the Constantine Village Council to order at 7:30PM at the Village Hall.

Present at Roll Call: Trustees Brewer, Harder, Mathers and Witek, and President Weiss. Also present: Manager Honeysett, Treasurer Strawser, Fire Chief Haydon, Rental Inspector Lammott and Clerk Strawser. Absent: Trustees Brown and Chiddister. The pledge of allegiance followed Roll Call.

Motion by Harder, Seconded by Weiss, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed by Roll Call 5 – 0. (Trustees Brown and Chiddister absent.)

AMENDS

Motion by Mathers, Seconded by Harder, to approve the January 21, 2008 regular meeting minutes as corrected. Motion passed by Roll Call 5 – 0. (Trustees Brown and Chiddister absent.)

Correction: Page 1, Paragraph 7, Line 2 – Diana Lammott said they would go out in October, 2008. - changed to - Diana Lammott said she had a note saying October, 2008, but that she did not know what it meant.

No one stood to speak during audience participation.

President Weiss presented the resolution of appreciation to members of the Meek’s Mill Garden Club.

Manager Honeysett reported that Clean Earth has identified roughly 2,500 feet of sewer main that is a source of water infiltration “at an alarming rate”, with Riverside Drive being an area of major concern. (This increases sewer flow to Three Rivers, thereby increasing Village costs.) Manager Honeysett said Clean Earth inspected an additional 4,600 feet of sewer main, reporting cracks and damage that permit some infiltration. The Sewer Ad Hoc Committee asked him to prepare two RFP’s (Request for Proposal) to perform the recommended maintenance, the same being presented to Council. Trustee Brewer asked if the RFP needed to contain more information. Manager Honeysett said it did not as bidding companies would do site visits.

Motion by Mathers, Seconded by Witek, to disseminate the RFP (Request for Proposal) to do sewer sleeving as written by Manager Honeysett on [revised] page 6 of the meeting packet.

Motion passed by Roll Call 5 – 0. (Trustees Brown and Chiddister absent.) (The RFP are for the cost of slip-lining 2,500 of 12” sanitary sewer with 16 lateral connections, and for the cost of slip-lining 7,100 feet of sewer main with 36 lateral connections.)

Manager Honeysett, referring to Trustee Brown’s January 31, 2007 memo, explained that the St. Joseph County Mutual Aid Agreement for Fire Departments was for information and review; no action expected before the next regular council meeting. Fire Chief Haydon said that the mutual aid agreement was similar to the previous agreement, with only part of Section IV re-worded to reflect department reimbursement responsibilities under FEMA and Homeland Security or major incident reimbursements. Treasurer Strawser asked if the Village attorney had reviewed the document; Fire Chief Haydon said they had relied on the larger city’s attorney reviews.

Clerk Strawser reported that a search of Village records yielded a single report dated 6-11-07 concerning MDOT negotiations of the five (5) areas of concern to the Village and that four (4) of those concerns remain unresolved. Leonard Moyer said that is because nothing can be resolved until MDOT completes its Impact Statement, which has yet to be released.

Motion by Brewer, Seconded by Harder, to accept the resignation of H. Scott Chiddister with regret. Motion passed by Roll Call 4 – 1. Voting YES: Trustees Brewer, Harder, Mathers and President Weiss. Voting NO: Witek. (Trustees Brown and Chiddister absent.)

Manager Honeysett referred the Council to a draft of the proposed 50-year Lease Agreement between the Village and the Constantine Little League, asking for the Council to review it and provide input away from the Council table, saying he expects some people to find the terms controversial. Manager Honeysett expects Village Attorney Bush to provide a written legal opinion before signing any agreement with the Little League.

At President Weiss’ invitation, State Representative Rich Shaffer spoke, thanking the Council for it’s forward-thinking actions and support of the US-131 Bypass, and invited everyone to Lansing for a personal tour of the Legislature before his term expires.

The Council was asked to read and review the 2007 Year-End Parks and Recreation Board report, President Weiss reminding everyone of the need to find a replacement for the chairman, since David Horn’s resignation went into effect at the start of 2008.

Diana Lammott explained that she would like the Village to apply for a DNR grant and possibly other grants, for putting a “Life Trail” system in Riverview Park, saying it would be much like the original Phase II Riverview Park grant request previously denied. Trustees were assured that more information would be forthcoming, but that a public hearing would have to be held before applying, and the application deadline is March 1, 2008.

Motion by Mathers, Seconded by Witek, to set a public hearing for the February 18, 2008 Regular meeting for the purpose of applying for a DNR Recreation Grant /”Life Trail” system at Riverview Park. Motion passed by Roll Call 5 – 0. (Trustees Brown absent.)

Adjourned meeting at 8:11PM.

Ruth Strawser
Village Clerk