Village of Constantine
Regular Council Meeting June 15, 2009
Village Hall 8:00 P.M.

NOTE: Some portions of the meeting were unrecorded or of poor quality because of recorder problems.

President Weiss called the Regular June 15, 2009 Meeting of the Constantine Village Council to order at 8:00PM at the Village Hall.

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

AGENDA
Motion by Brown, Seconded by LaFluer, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion passed by affirmation 7 – 0.

MINUTES
Trustee LaFluer asked that her personal email address be removed from the minutes since she wished it to remain private. Clerk Strawser said she had confirmed that since the Manager and Council continued to use their personal email instead of their official email to conduct Village business, their personal email addresses were considered the official email and therefore, public information. Discussion ensued as to the legal and ethical use of personal email for official business and subsequent obstruction to mandatory recordkeeping. Manager Honeysett suggested the email addresses be stricken with the promise that all business be conducted using the official email or they would be published.

Motion by LaFluer, Seconded by Harder, to strike the publication of personal email addresses and use official email for all official business. Motion passed by Roll Call 7 – 0.

Motion by Brewer, Seconded by Moore , to approve the Regular June 1, 2009 Meeting minutes as amended. Motion passed by Roll Call 7 – 0.

Corrections: Page C, Paragraph 4, Lines 2 through 7: removed – personal email addresses of Council.

PAYMENT OF BILLS
Treasurer Strawser reported that three (3) checks presented to her for signatures just prior to the meeting were not included on the list of bills and needed to be added: Bank of America - $486,59, Semco Energy - $168.11, Grotenhuis - $313.44.

In response to questions, Manager Honeysett said that the DDA had been making principle payments on the Incubator building since last year, that Big Trash Day costs had increased by $500, that the Lift Station standby pump had arrived, and that the pump repairs were to the sewer station, not the filter building.

Motion by LaFluer, Seconded by Mathers, to pay the bills and make the necessary transfers totaling $181,133.96.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
No one rose to speak.

CONSENT AGENDA
Manager Honeysett read the list of meetings he attended in May 2009, saying he was particularly pleased with having a hand in the graduation of twenty (20) Alternative Education students. In response to Clerk Strawser’s question if the DDA was finally prepared to take the oath of office, Manager Honeysett said he did not agree that it was necessary, but that he would not object if she swore them in at their next meeting. Clerk Strawser asked that the Downtown Brainstormers be placed under Community meetings since they were not an official Village committee. Manager Honeysett said he would do so.

Treasurer Strawser pointed out (despite sleeving projects) the sewer usage amounts to Three Rivers remained high. Manager Honeysett said he was convinced this was due to high rain levels and groundwater infiltration, probably near the river, since BOD and Suspended Solids were not a problem. The Treasurer expressed concern at the continued increased cost of such high usage amounts. Manager Honeysett said he was confident that the DPW could discover the source(s) of the infiltration with camera work.

Police Commissioner Brewer gave a synopsis of the May 2009 Police Department report. Chief Bedell said that citations had doubled from April, but was still not at acceptable levels, and asked that the Council give him at least to August to improve, saying that the department had undergone many changes. He said he was working on a new daily activity report for the officers.

In response to questions, Manager Honeysett said he had received nothing but positive comments on the portable radar, placing it according to citizen request.

DPW Commissioner Harder gave a synopsis of the May 2009 DPW report. Manager Honeysett said that the work shown as done for the Garden Club was actually for the Village’s Gateway Park, which the Meeks’ Mill Garden Club helps to maintain. Trustee Harder said that the need to repair benches in Shelby Park was a common problem. Trustee LaFluer asked about the status of the portable bathroom in Riverview Park. Diana Lammott said that VRT was working to have it installed. Trustee Brewer said the Village’s displaying of the American flag made him feel good.

Fire Commissioner Moore read the May 2009 Fire Department report, making note that the figures provided do not add up. Manager Honeysett promised a corrected copy for the next council meeting.

Motion by Mathers, Seconded by Brewer, to accept and file the consent agenda (Manager’s and Commissioners’ reports) as presented. Motion passed y affirmation 7 – 0.

UNSAFE BUILDING – 557 OSBORN STREET
Manager Honeysett confirmed that the hearing on the unsafe building at 557 Osborn Street is proceeding, saying the last known owner and the current mortgage company has informed him neither intends to attend. Manager Honeysett said that upon hearing of activity at the property, he contacted the potential buyer, learned she had made a down payment for purchase, put her in contact with the State Building Inspector, and explained the procedures now in place before any rehabilitation can proceed. He urged her to seek legal counsel before proceeding

SAAC (STURGIS AREA AMBULANCE COMMITTEE)
Village SAAC Representative Brown gave a quarterly report on SAAC and the LifeCare Ambulance Service for February-April 2009. He said that there had been no complaints against LifeCare’s service at the recent SAAC meeting. Trustee Brown noted that ambulance calls are down, perhaps due economic restrictions, resulting in less money/collectable fees for the ambulance service.

MICHIGAN WORKS/YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES UNLIMITED
Manager Honeysett reported that Tyler Whelpley (working with the DPW) and Cody Rogers (fixing up Hoffman House) are working under the Y.O.U. program and that he is pleased with their performance thus far.

MAYOR EXCHANGE DAY
Manager Honeysett reported that Coloma had to withdraw from the Mayor’s Exchange Program and asked if he should try to find a replacement village or wait till next year, the Council asking for the latter.

FARMERS’ MARKET
Manager Honeysett reported the first Farmers’ Market was a phenomenal success, the follow-ups less so because of no live music, but still encouraging, with a eight to nine vendors offering a mix of traditional items and crafts. He said several merchants said they had increased business, and one merchant who complained it took away from his business; he was invited to set up a booth at the market. Manager Honeysett said they would take steps to control vendor quality.

4 TH OF JULY
Manager Honeysett reported that the 4 th of July activities are progressing and asked for volunteers for the bucket brigade and teams for the golf tournament fundraiser. Trustee LaFluer asked if there was going to be fireworks. Saying that the Village Clerk had been asking him about fireworks and MDOT paperwork, Manager Honeysett said that he had signed a contract for fireworks with Night Magic for $6,500. Clerk Strawser asked how he could sign a contract above his allowable limit of $2,500 without Council approval. Manager Honeysett said that he did so with Cool Cities Committee approval. Clerk Strawser reminded him that committees cannot approve or enter into contracts, only recommend action, and that it is up to the Council to take such action. Manager Honeysett said that he had signed the contract upon approval of the 4 th of July Committee. Clerk Strawser pointed out that while the 4 th of July Committee is unique in having limited fiduciary rights under State statute, it has long been recognized that it does not have the legal right to enter into such a contract, which is why the Council has always had to approve the fireworks and parade route. She also pointed out that the 4 th of July Committee has neither the funds nor the requisite number of legal signators to sign any check from their account. Manager Honeysett’s said that the 4 th of July Committee has fiduciary rights under Cool Cities/Harvest Festival Committee. Clerk Strawser said that while the Cool Cities Committee might volunteer to oversee the Harvest Festival or 4 th of July, by virtue the rules and procedures at their creation, they remained separate committees. She went on to explain that under State statute, the Cool Cities and Harvest Festival committees have no more fiduciary or contract rights than the Sewer Ad Hoc, Hoffman House or Personnel or any Village committee, but that the 4 th of July Committee is by statute, unique, with its own line item/account in the Village budget. Manager Honeysett disagreed. Clerk Strawser asked to see a statute stating otherwise. Manager Honeysett said he would not discuss it further at the meeting.

CHILDREN’S SAFETY FAIR
Manager Honeysett announced a Children’s Safety Fair at the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds in Centreville on Saturday, June 27 th.

Adjourned meeting at 8:46PM.

Ruth Strawser
Village Clerk