Village of Constantine
Regular Council Meeting June 1
Village Hall 8:00 P.M.

President Weiss called the Regular June 1, 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, Fire Chief Haydon, Treasurer Strawser, Administrative Assistant Lammott and Clerk Strawser. The pledge of allegiance followed Roll Call.

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

MINUTES
Motion by Mathers, Seconded by LaFluer, to approve the Regular May 18, 2009 Meeting minutes as corrected. Motion passed by Roll Call 7 – 0.

Corrections: Page 1, Paragraph 8, Line 1 - In response to Police Commissioner

Brewer’s questions, Manager Honeysett said that although…- corrected to read - In

response to Trustee Brown’s and Police Commissioner Brewer’s questions, Manager

Honeysett said that although one of the Tasers had never been fired in the line-of-duty,

its relatively exposed holster caused irreparable damage necessitating replacement, and

that the units were not as long-lived as regular firearms.

Page 2, Paragraph 8, Line 3 - Manager Honeysett admitted that he had not yet

received… - corrected to read - Manager Honeysett indicated that he had not yet

received the second appraisal, but that he did not expect a great difference.

Page 3, Paragraph 2, Line 3 - He said that the DPW is jack cleaning sewer lines…

- corrected to read - He said that the DPW is jet cleaning sewer lines, but have not

found any serious breaks so far.

Page 3, Paragraph 7, Line 1 - Motion by Brown, Seconded by Mathers, to go in

opposition of the changing the Fire Department policy …- remove typo - Motion by

Brown, Seconded by Mathers, to go in opposition of the changing the Fire Department

policy to make it exclusive to be on the Fire Department.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
State Representative Matt Lori spoke briefly on fiscal concerns facing the state and local areas, that there will be deep cuts, but that there is a likelihood of no revenue sharing cuts, but there is a possible delay in the Constantine US-131 Bypass. Trustee Brown said that he preferred that any revenue enhancements happen through existing mechanisms, such as income tax, instead of creating new taxable sources.

Treasurer Strawser asked if the Village was moving forward re: seeking a grant to repair 6 th Street. Manager Honeysett said the grant they are seeking is for the year 2010 and that no significant repairs can be made to the street beforehand or the Village would risk losing the grant money.

In response to questions re: the sewer/pipeline, Manager Honeysett said he had not spoken with Three Rivers Clean Water Plant Director Rozeboom for several weeks.

In response to questions re: the MEDC Signature Building Grant sought by Ms. Mullins, Manager Honeysett said he hasn’t any more information on the second building appraisal since appraisals are arranged by the grant seeker and not the Village.

MAYOR EXCHANGE DAY
The Council was reminded of the Mayor’s Exchange dates with Coloma, asking for any last minutes RSVP’s. In response to questions, Manager Honeysett said spouses were invited to the Exchange dinners.

CONSTANTINE FIRE DEPARTMENT – EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS
Fire Chief Haydon defended his position of limiting volunteer firefighters to serving on only one department, restating his earlier arguments. Firefighter Josh Smith, saying he spoke for a half dozen volunteers, contested several statements made by Chief Haydon. Firefighter Moore supported Chief Haydon’s concern that without the restriction the department would find it difficult to meet the 80% training ratio imposed by the State. All agreed that most firefighters seeking to serve multiple departments did so to supplement their earnings. Discussion ensued over concerns of which governmental entity pays for damaged equipment in multi-response situations if volunteers serve more than one department, or for missed training, etc. Several trustees expressed concern that Fire Chief Haydon implemented the policy despite knowing it was a Village agenda item and before each entity of the Fire Board had been provided all the information. President Weiss praised the fire chief and department and warned against micro managing. During discussion regarding the timetable of implementation, Chief Haydon admitted that while no governmental entity belonging to the Fire Board had expressed disapproval of his idea at his first presentation, he had promised to get more information, and that in retrospect, while it had not been his intention, he could understand why his implementation of the policy before sharing that information might be seen as circumventing the Council.

Motion by Brown, Seconded by Mathers, that the Village Council be in opposition to the personnel policy placed in effect by the Fire Chief that firefighters be part of one (1) fire department, and not more than one (1). Motion passed by Roll Call 5 – 2. Voting YES: Brewer, Brown, Harder, LaFluer and Mathers. Voting NO: Moore and Weiss.

UNSAFE BUILDING – 557 OSBORN STREET
Manager Honeysett reported that there has been activity at the house, three (3) persons contacting the Village about its status and being told of its pending demolition hearing set for June 17, 2009. The State Inspector has said that he will not approve a building permit without a specific rehabilitation plan.

MEDC SIGNATURE BUILDING GRANT INITIATIVE – 130 EAST WATER STREET
Manager Honeysett reported the grant application process for 130 E Water Street has been delayed, the second appraiser not providing his report to the grant applicant, Rachel Mullins.

MICHIGAN WORKS/YOUTH OPPPORTUNITIES UNLIMITED
Manager Honeysett reported that one (1) of the Michigan Works/YOU workers has begun working with the DPW, the second worker expected in two weeks. In addition to working with the DPW, they will be working at the Hoffman House (next to the Village offices).

FARMER’S MARKET/NATIONAL DAIRY MONTH
Manager Honeysett reminded everyone of the MMPA’s National Dairy month free ice cream and milk giveaway at this week’s Downtown Brainstormers’ farmers’ market and music in Shelby Park. MMPA has also provided butter at a discounted cost, sliced and re-packaged by the Brainstormers to be sold as a fundraiser for Christmas decorations. In response to questions, Manager Honeysett said the Downtown Brainstormers, not the Village, undertook the events and fundraising. He praised the Brainstormers’ recent Arts & Antiques Walk.

SIDEWALK BIDS
In response to questions and concerns, Manager Honeysett said that he hadn’t asked for references since the three (3) bidders had done work for the Village, the determining factor was the lowest bid, that while he hadn’t asked if the bids included hauling away the old cement, the provision could be added to the motion, and that while he could not guarantee vandalism of newly poured cement, he would ask the company to work during hours less likely to provide time for such behavior and beef up police patrols of work areas.

Motion by Mathers, Seconded by Harder, to authorize the Village Manager to contract with John Young of 11369 Quarterline Road, Constantine MI 49042, to tear out and replace (form and pour) and remove, 1,294 feet of sidewalk at total cost of $4,076.10 Motion passed by Roll Call 7 – 0.

FAWN RIVER CLEAN UP
Trustee Harder asked that the Village seek volunteers or others to help cleanup the deadfall and debris affecting the flow of the Fawn River Bridge on East Water Street near his business. Discussion ensued as to safety, DNR restrictions, possible volunteers, etc. Clerk Strawser asked that any undertaking be expanded to include cleanup of Riverview Park, saying its scenic qualities were compromised by the similarly ignored problems.

NEW EMAIL ADDRESS
Trustee Mathers asked the Council to note the change in his email address to: gmathers@mymidway.com, saying trustees could use that or his official email address.

Adjourned meeting at 8:50PM.

Ruth Strawser
Village Clerk