Village of Constantine
Regular Council Meeting July 20, 2009
Village Hall 8:00 P.M.

NOTE: Most portions of the meeting were of poor quality/unintelligible, President Weiss’ microphone [apparently] being the only one that was consistently picked up on tape.

President Weiss called the Regular July 20, 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. Also present: Manager Honeysett, Treasurer Strawser, Police Chief Bedell, Administrative Assistant Lammott and Clerk Strawser. Absent: Trustee Brown. The pledge of allegiance followed Roll Call.

Trustee Brown entered at 8:01PM.

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

MINUTES
Motion by Weiss, Seconded by Brewer, to adopt the Regular July 6, 2009 meeting minutes as presented. Unsure of the results of the vote by affirmation, Clerk Strawser asked for a Roll Call vote to clarify results. Motion failed by Roll Call 3 – 4. Voting YES: Harder, Moore and Weiss. Voting NO: Brewer, Brown, LaFluer and Mathers.

When the motion failed, President Weiss asked if there were corrections to the minutes. None were offered, the consensus of those objecting to the minutes as presented being that the content was uncontrollable by the Council until the minutes were available to the public and that the corrections were conspicuous because they were in bold print. Manager Honeysett posited that the Council could direct the Clerk to use only the minimum legal requirements. Clerk Strawser explained the [legal] requirements of the minutes versus the allowable content of minutes, the [legal] control of minutes based on the system of checks and balances, and the publication rules, as well as the availability of draft minutes, and the Clerk, prior to council meetings based on the Open Meetings Act, Rules and Procedures, and maintained contact with the Michigan Municipal League, the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, and other clerks and certified parliamentarians. The Clerk said that in the past she had been told by the MML that the Council has a [legal] duty to either pass the minutes as presented or make corrections, but that she was recently informed that should the Council fail to pass or correct, the minutes automatically stand as written. President Weiss said that the minutes apparently stand as written.

PAYMENT OF BILLS
In response to questions, Manager Honeysett said that the police squad car suffered the same fuel tank problem as the previous vehicle and was repaired; he is seeking a rebate since it is a known problem with Ford Crown Victoria models. He said that the annual inspection of the Fire Department fleet also resulted in vehicle repairs. Manager Honeysett also explained that the DPW normally performs random water tests throughout the Village as required by the DEQ; we had an excellent water report. Treasurer Strawser said that the late addendum of $2,183.75 to the bills changed the bill total to $53,105.39.

Motion by Brewer, Seconded by LaFluer, to pay the bills and make the necessary transfers totaling $53,105.39. Motion passed by Roll Call 7 – 0.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
No one rose to speak.

CONSENT AGENDA
Manager Honeysett read the list of meetings he attended in June 2009, adding the June 24 th Personnel Committee meeting. Trustee LaFluer, noting the low number of rental inspections and resultant fees, asked how the Village expected to meet the budgeted $4,200 figure. Manager Honeysett said collected fees depended on the number of inspections made, but he expects a significant portion will be collected.

Police Commissioner Brewer gave a synopsis of the June 2009 Police Department report. Chief Bedell acknowledged the poor citation numbers, reminding the Council that the department is still in transition. He said that the numbers should improve as more than three officers become radar-certified. His expects to personally focus on the Parrack murder investigation.

DPW Commissioner Harder gave a synopsis of the June 2009 DPW report. Trustee Harder praised Morris Excavating and the DPW for clearing out much of the river blockage near the East Water Street Bridge , saying more work remained. Treasurer Strawser said the Laundromat owners praised the DPW during the recent hydrant flushing.

Fire Commissioner Moore gave a synopsis of the June 2009 Fire Department report, noting much of June was spent in training.

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

UNSAFE BUILDING – 557 OSBORN STREET
Manager Honeysett said while he called RECA, the mortgage company has not responded. A request for bid to demolish the buildings will be on the September 4 th agenda. President Weiss said the property still has a “for sale” sign. (It is illegal to sell property facing demolition.)

CHIP & SEAL PROJECT
Manager Honeysett said St. Joseph County Road Commissioner Bruce Jones said the Road Commission did not have figures for limestone versus slag, preferring slag because of its ready availability and lower cost. He said that DPW Foreman Hamminga concurred.

Motion by Mathers, Seconded by Brown, to authorize its manager to contract with the St. Joseph County Road Commission, Centreville MI, to perform chip and seal work using slag on Cherry Street, Plum Street, East Clinton Street and West Third Street at a cost of $11,900.00. Motion passed by Roll Call 7 – 0.

FOURTH OF JULY
Manager Honeysett said all figures are not in, but that donations and fundraising for the 4 th of July is approximately $5,000. He said that he would not ask the Council to make up the difference for the $6,500 cost of the fireworks, saying the money will come from the Cool Cities committee.

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT
Manager Honeysett and Police Chief Bedell praised Administrative Assistant Lammott and Officer Holly Czerny for coordinating the “National Night Out” event on August 4 th. Ms. Lammott said that East Water Street will be closed for displays from county police/fire departments, and there will be a community cookout (she is seeking cookout donations from area merchants) and other activities supporting police and community cooperation.

Adjourned meeting at 8:38PM.

Ruth Strawser
Village Clerk

Included in the packet, but not discussed: History of National Night Out, Senior Citizen Dinner report, St. Joseph County Grange Fair fundraising letter