By Barb Pert Templeton
The June 4 meeting of the Marine City Commission lasted a little over 16 minutes as officials, minus former City Manager Michael Reaves whose last day with the city was June 4, moved quickly though the agenda. Commissioner Trish May was absent and Interim City Manager Scott Adkins was also absent due to a prior out-of-town commitment.
Business licenses approved
A new business license was approved for Tietzes Auto and Transmission on Degurse Avenue in Marine City. The business application stated the business would be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The application noted it was a new business and the application date was April 11. Licenses were also approved for Ameerah Beauty Boutique on 611 Broadway and for West Boulevard Men’s Hair Lounge LL at 519 West Boulevard.
Davis comments on petitions related to PA33
City Attorney Robert Davis provided a short update to the commission on the issue regarding petitions that sought to have the city’s plan to adopt a Special Assessment District (SAD) taken to a vote of the people. At the recent meeting, Davis said there is some law out there regarding certain petitions and the MML is looking into the methodology as it relates to Public Act 33, but one has yet to be found.
“I’ll have a report on that prior to your next meeting by way of a written opinion, I wanted to give the MML attorney a couple more days to respond,” Davis said.
The SAD resolution, known as PA33 – the Police and Fire Protection Act, was being considered in order to offset a $650,000 general fund deficit. The plan was to be good for three years and bring $706,000 to the city to cover deficits with a cap of 10 percent.
Marine City resident Heather Warner speaks during public comments at the city commission meeting on June 4.
Instead, after a public hearing on May 7 that included more than a dozen property owners speaking out against the new taxes, the commission did a strong reversal and voted down Resolution 09-2026.
At the same time, Marine City resident Heather Warner, who led the petition drive to put the special assessment district on the ballot, turned the petitions over to the city clerk. She collected 471 signatures which she said represented about 22% of those affected by the plan.
Once the commission turned down the resolution for new taxes former City Manager Michael Reaves took another crack at the budget and ended up creating extensive cuts across all city departments in order to adopt a balanced budget. Then he announced his resignation.
O’Brien gives commissioners a reminder
Although Commissioner Sean O’Brien will not be seeking another term in office when his seat expires in November, he used his comments at the end of the recent meeting to remind others on the commission of a few things. He said commissioners can’t negotiate on behalf of the city or
preform acts that make it look like they are doing so. O’Brien said commissioners also can’t tell city employees how to do their jobs, they must go through the city manager. “These acts leave us vulnerable, we can’t afford lawsuits or fines…we have to be careful of these things,” O’Brien said. “Since my time started up here, I’ve seen commissioners get slapped on the wrist or reminded that this is behavior we have to do and I think that’s really slipping right now and I think it’s putting us in some hot water that we should just be careful of, to all of us here as a reminder.”
Roehrig asks for patience
Commissioner Rita Roehrig said she just wanted to remind everyone that they aren’t just fixing the roads in the city they are fixing the infrastructure. “The roads are just a really nice added bonus since we have to dig everything up,” she said. “Please be patient, they’re not just repaving the road they are fixing all the infrastructure beneath it.”
Local volunteer shares more ideas
Marine City resident Heather Warner spoke during public comments at the recent meeting and stated that she sent an email to the city on May 29 regarding some of the issues at hand in the city but has yet to hear a response to it. Werner has previously suggested getting volunteers together to pickup around town and hosting fundraisers to bring money into the city. At the June 4th meeting she asked if the Adopt a Park Program even exists in Marine City. She also said a resident stopped her recently and asked why the city doesn’t get local landscaping companies to start maintaining the parks and then they could put up a sign advertising the business as payment for the service. Another idea she proposed was having some police cadets utilized for bike patrols in the city. She said you’d have cheap labor to patrol the beach, patrol downtown and keep an eye on the e-bikers flying through town. A community watch program with signs is also of interest in the community. Warner readily admitted she doesn’t have all the answers but she’s willing to work with someone in the city to get the answers.
