Village of Constanitne
Regular Council Meeting May 14, 2009
Village Hall 8:00 P.M.

President Weiss called the Regular May 4, 2009 Meeting of the Constantine Village Council to order at 8:00PM at the Village Hall.

ROLL CALL
Present at Roll Call: Trustees Brewer, Harder, LaFluer, Mathers, Moore and President Weiss. Absent: Trustee Brown. Also present: Manager Honeysett, Fire Chief Haydon, Treasurer Strawser, Administrative Assistant Lammott and Clerk Strawser. The pledge of allegiance followed Roll Call.

AGENDA
Motion by Brewer, Seconded by LaFluer, to adopt the agenda as amended. Motion passed by Roll Call 6 – 0. (Brown absent.) Added: under New Business - add SBI Signature Building Grant through MEDC.

Trustee Brown entered at 8:04PM.

MINUTES
Motion by Mathers, Seconded by Harder, to accept the Regular April 20, 2009 Meeting minutes as correct. Motion passed by Roll Call 7 – 0. Correction: Page 2, Paragraph 5, Line 1 - Manager Honeysett said that while the Council had voted to cut down the tree as soon as possible…so the Garden Club use the boughs for the annual Christmas wreath project. - Insert - Manager Honeysett said that while the Council had voted to cut down the tree as soon as possible, after discussions with Trustee Harder and DPW foreman Hamminga, he had decided to wait until November to make time for the nesting birds and so the Garden Club coulduse the boughs for the annual Christmas wreath project.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
President Weiss welcomed CHS government students. No one rose to address the Council.

MAYOR EXCHANGE DAY
Manager Honeysett confirmed June 16 th (here) and 23 rd (there) as the dates for the Mayor’s exchange with Coloma and asked Council members to RSVP by the next regular meeting.

LEAF TRUCK MOTOR
In response to questions, Manager Honeysett said because of the specialized nature of the leaf truck’s motor, only one (1) Michigan company had been sent bid specifications. Only one (1) vendor (from out of state) had responded. Manager Honeysett said he had not asked for warranty information. Administrative Assistant Lammott said there would be additional costs for DPW employee Waltke to adapt the motor to our needs.

Motion by Harder, Seconded by Brewer, to authorize the purchase of a Ford LRG-425 Gasoline Power Unit for its leaf truck from the Graham Ford Power Products of Columbus Ohio at a cost of $6,580.00 including materials and shipping. Motion passed by Roll Call 7 – 0.

CONSTANTINE TOWNSHIP MASTER PLAN COMMITTEE
Manager Honeysett reported that Constantine Township Supervisor invited the village to appoint someone to the committee creating (or updating) its Master Plan, since the Village, lying within the township, has a vested interest ed. Trustee Brown, attending most township meetings, said our representative should expect monthly committee meetings. Trustee Moore volunteered to serve.

Motion by Brown, Seconded by LaFluer, to appoint Trustee Moore to serve on the Constantine Township Master Plan Committee. Motion passed by affirmation 7 – 0.

COUNCIL ROOM CHAIRS
In response to questions, Manager Honeysett said that he did not seek bids for replacing the council and audience chairs since he has been happy with the furniture previously purchased from Interstate Office Interiors, Kalamazoo . Manager Honeysett said the Council could vote on either or both purchases of ten (10) council chairs, and twenty (20) audience chairs. Clerk Strawser advised he review the rules regarding the minimum requirement of audience chairs. Manager Honeysett said he preferred purchasing and fewer good quality chairs, but that they could store the better of the old audience chairs for use should the need arise. He also said they were purchasing/would store an extra council chair. Administrative Assistant Lammott said there to expect additional shipping and handling costs, but that the Village saved $150 per council chair by declining company installment. Council expressed reservations on the proposed model of audience chairs, asking for more options.

Motion by Brown, Seconded by Mathers, to authorize purchase of ten (10) council chairs from Interstate Office Interiors of Kalamazoo, MI for $2098.80, plus shipping and handling. Motion passed by Roll Call 7 – 0.

UNSAFE BUILDING – 557 OSBORN STREET
Manager Honeysett reported that in response to the building inspector’s opinion, Attorney Bush is preparing condemnation paperwork on the house and garage at 557 Osborn Street , and said that he would ask for a public hearing in the near future to condemn the property.

CONSTANTINE FIRE DEPARTMENT – EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS
Fire Chief Haydon asked if the Village had any objections to his instituting a new policy limiting volunteer firefighters to serving only one department. He said that while there were no problems, he was concerned that with the limited number of volunteers within the county he might be short-handed during mutual aid calls if firefighters worked for more than one department. Manager Honeysett said he agreed. President Weiss said he has been an excellent chief and it was his decision. Hearing no objection, he thanked the Council.

SBI SIGNATURE BUILDING GRANT THROUGH MEDC
Manager Honeysett and Administrative Assistant Lammott briefly explained the rules for MSHDA, now SBI MEDC small business loans for new purchasers of existing downtown buildings, saying Rachel Mullins wanted to purchase the Donley building from her current employer in order to open an ice cream and coffee bar there. She would provide $11,000 of the $45,000 purchase price with the remainder coming from the SBI MEDC grant underwritten by the Village. In response to questions, Manager Honeysett said that the current MSHDA grant buildings have met the grant requirements, and that the rules are for such grants are even easier to comply with, although such loans cannot be offered to existing building owners. When Treasurer Strawser disputed their contention that the Village no longer carried the financial risk once the grant was formally closed, Manager Honeysett characterized the risk as minimal, briefly explaining the five-year requirements and pro-ration. Trustee Brown said he preferred to wait on committing to another grant until the MSHDA grants are officially completed. Manager Honeysett and Administrative Assistant said that would unnecessarily delay Ms. Mullins efforts to open the business this summer, and that the Council could always decline to accept the grant later. In response to questions, Manager Honeysett said he did not understand the reasons, but the State required a public hearing prior to initiating and closing such grants.

Motion by Brewer, Seconded by Weiss, to authorize the Village Manager to apply to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation for a Signature Building Notice of Intent for a Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $45,000.00 with a private investment of $11,000.00. Motion passed by Roll Call 7 – 0.

Motion by Brown, Seconded by Mathers, to set a public hearing for the purpose of receiving public input on the new SBI grant for Monday, May 18, 2009 at 8:15PM. Motion passed by Roll Call 7 – 0.

Reminders were made for the Tuesday election, the May 12 th Pride Day and Annual Fish Fry.

Adjourned meeting at 8:55PM .

Ruth Strawser
Village Clerk

Included in the packet, but not discussed: Spring 2009 I&M Community Wire newsletter from AEP.