In November, Mount Pleasant residents filled the meeting room at City Hall, 320 W. Broadway St., to support establishing an all-inclusive law intended to prevent discriminatory acts against other residents. Currently, Mount Pleasant is the only city in the state that is home to a large public university and does not already have such a law.

Norma Bailey, spokeswoman for the movement and a professor of teacher education and professional development at Central Michigan University, had asked commissioners to review an ordinance for the city that has already been drafted. She said members of the movement’s steering committee will be in attendance on Monday, should they be needed.

“We have understood that what they’re concerned about is cost — the amount of work it’s going to cost the city and the amount of money — as well as any, what they consider, ‘unintended consequences,’” Bailey said. “We want to make sure we have somebody there who is legally sound and knowledgeable to answer any questions that they might have.”

City Manager Kathie Grinzinger said the primary focus of Monday’s work session is the deliberate with the city’s attorney, who will “provide some information” about the drafted ordinance given to commissioners last year.

At this month’s second City Commission meeting, on Feb. 27, Bailey and others involved will formally present on the subject. Before anything is approved, Grinzinger said commissioners may choose to amend language in the ordinance and will hold a public hearing on the matter.

Once the ordinance is approved, there is a 30-day waiting period, during which members of the community may file a referendum. Otherwise, Grinzinger said the law would go into effect after the 30 days.

“It’s going exactly as it should, where people bring an idea to the commission and the commission begins its discussion,” she said. “I expect it will follow the process through the charter.”

Down the road

Bailey said the Feb. 27 meeting will do a number of things, but especially demonstrate the broad range of support the ordinance has gained. That has been a primary focus since November, she said.

She said support includes more than 30 businesses that have agreed to sign on, which is up from the original 10 businesses that signed a letter of support given to the commissioners last year.

She said they have also created a list of people “who have influence” in the community, whether it be through politics or business, to additionally seek support.

Since their first appearance at a commission meeting, the proposed ordinance has been made available to the public online. Bailey said people involved have begun to collect signatures in support of its passing via postcards and an Internet petition, which can be found at www.mpwelcome.org.

As of Wednesday afternoon, she said more than 400 signatures had been collected with the online petition and 50 to 60 postcards had been collected.

Last year, commissioners had acknowledged the potential need for an anti-discrimination ordinance. Commissioner Sharon Tilmann said one would have to “be living in a cave” not to have heard of an instance of discrimination in Mount Pleasant.

“What I do think (is) the commission will be very open-minded …” she told Central Michigan Life Nov. 29. “It works very diligently to do the homework and listen to what the citizens want.”

In general, Bailey said the ordinance would be a “welcoming statement” to people in and outside the community; that it shows good business and involves a diverse body of residents.

City Manager Kathie Grinzinger

City Manager Kathie Grinzinger, along with five other local government officials, was appointed last week to the Michigan Municipal League Board of Trustees.

The league is an advocacy nonprofit that provides services to cities statewide. Grinzinger joins 13 officials who already sit on the board, which is responsible for prodding the league’s public policy and legislative endeavors, according to a news release.

Grinzinger is out of town this week at a conference in Lansing and was unavailable for comment as of Wednesday morning.

The other five appointees include Kingsley Village Manager Adam Umbrasas, Battle Creek Mayor Susan Baldwin, Rogers City Mayor Pro-Tem Debra Greene, East Lansing Mayor Pro-Tem Nathan Triplett and Jackson City Councilman Daniel Greer.

Application deadline for City Commission vacancy Monday

Since Erik Robinette’s resignation from the City Commission last week, Mount Pleasant is still accepting applications to fill his vacancy. According to the city’s website, the application deadline is set for Monday.

The two-page application requires those interested be registered to vote within city limits. It additionally asks applicants to list his or her reason for interest, past board or commission experience, other training and three references.

Robinette announced his resignation during the Jan. 23 commission meeting, making him the third to step down in two years. He replaced David McGuire, who left in February 2011. Jeffrey Palmer also resigned in May 2010.

The former commissioner last week said his family’s recent purchase of a home outside of city limits made him ineligible to stay on.

For more information regarding the vacancy and other city matters, visit www.mt-pleasant.org.

At the end of Monday’s meeting, Robinette cited his ineligibility to remain on the commission with his family’s recent purchase of a home outside the limits of Mount Pleasant. However, he said he will continue to work in the area as director of business development-Isabella County for MidMichigan Health.

“I would recommend people that are interested to try and start out on some local board or commission and work their way up to learn more about different topics and things like that,” he said. “It’s unfortunate, because I was kind of feeling like I was getting in my groove. I just got elected.”

Two other commissioners in recent years have also stepped down mid-term. Jeffrey Palmer resigned in May 2010 and, in February 2011, it was David McGuire, who Robinette was appointed to replace last April. Robinette was elected for a full three-year term in November.

Robinette came to the commission with experience on both Mount Pleasant’s Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Commission. Commissioner Sharon Tilmann first recommended Robinette’s appointment in April.

But City Manager Kathie Grinzinger said, based on the city’s charter, the manner in which a commissioner is replaced differs between circumstances.

“This particular resignation is less than 12 months from the nearest regular election, which is going to be held in November,” she said.  “So the commission will appoint their own colleague.”

Other business

Also at Monday’s meeting, city commissioners approved a scope of work involved in updating Mount Pleasant’s Master Plan, which is required by the state every several years.

Within the approved proposal were several strategies and goals for city development in areas such as downtown, public facilities and services, public safety and community economic vitality.

The scope included an estimated $40,000 to $50,000 cost for the update, though city documents and state recommendations for budget amendments will be made at a later date. City Commissioner Jim Holton expressed concern that these estimations were “astronomical” and remained the sole dissenting voice in the 5-1 vote.

According to a memo from Jeff Gray, director of planning and community development, the scope could also accommodate the City Commission’s desire to have ZBA and Planning Commission zoning procedures documented if they’re in a region heavy with student housing redevelopments.

But some commissioners pointed to previous discussions during which they expressed the need for a more general sense of transparency. Commissioner Jon Joslin said the system of reviewing and approving items seems backwards in an area with increases in student density.

Variances are currently looked at on a case-by-case basis, he said, and consideration may not be applied equally.

“The way it’s happening is it’s starting at the zoning board and coming to the Planning Commission rather than the City Commission developing a policy that says, ‘This is what we want’ and that policy working its way down,” Joslin said. “We want a procedure that makes it so people have more opportunities to attend public hearings and offer input.”

Earlier this week, city commissioners had a preview of the site before its official launch. City Manager Kathie Grinzinger said the city’s partnership with CMU has evolved over the last 12 months with the hope each site will “sport similar looks linking us more in the eyes and memories of our users.”

“The city (has) had a Web presence for many, many years, but the look, feel and operation of that site hasn’t substantially been updated for nearly that long,” Grinzinger said. To remain a community trumpeting a competitive sense of place, she added, “It’s critical that our public face match our vision.”

Stephanie Brown, the project’s Web content manager, said CMU had developed a wireframe for mt-pleasant.org, based very much from cmich.edu, when she came in to “fill in the blanks.”

In order to configure the navigation and architecture of the site, she said she had to collect all of the necessary information from each department.

“Also in this process, we wanted to consider the content,” Brown said. “It’s very important to look at the search engine optimization and to build content that’s related around that, so search engines like Google and Yahoo will quickly pick up on the content and make sure the city (is brought up as) No. 1 in the search rankings.”

On the city’s homepage, three different areas are designated for residents, businesses and visitors, which Brown said act as gateways to general city information. At the bottom are quick links, city updates and upcoming events.

Included in the new features of the site is a designated section that allows contractors and builders to peruse through all of the city’s bids and quotations for planned construction or capital projects.

Renee Walker, associate vice president of University Communications, said her office helped with the Web design and planning for the CMU Research Corporation, and that a member of her team helped identify a vendor and goals for a new Mid Michigan Development Corporation website.

She said there were several goals for the city’s site, such as heightened usability and performance.

Though the city’s website is up and running, the university’s involvement isn’t quite over.

“There will be a phase two, so we will get all of the subsites addressed as well in the coming months,” Walker said at Monday’s city commission meeting.

She said this next phase will mostly consist of working with Mount Pleasant’s partnering vendors to redesign subsites like the “pay your ticket now” page, which still matches the site’s old design.

Grinzinger couldn’t put an exact number of man hours from city or UComm staff during its partnership, saying it couldn’t have done it without CMU’s in-kind contribution of time. The city did pay about $30,000 to contract with its content manager from March to November, she said, which were funds that would have otherwise been allotted for a communications coordinator.

“We did not have the  budget and would not have been able to pull it off,” she said.

During the meeting’s public comment, the Mount Pleasant resident, along with several others, proposed an all-inclusive ordinance aimed at preventing discriminatory acts against city residents.

Currently, Mount Pleasant is without such an ordinance and remains the state’s only municipality that is home to a large university and doesn’t have one.

“We’ve done a great deal of our homework, but tonight was not about presenting that,” said Bailey, who is a professor of teacher education and professional development at Central Michigan University. “Tonight was about just making our statement.”

Acting as spokesperson for the crowd of nearly 60, Bailey presented commissioners with a draft ordinance and a letter of support signed by 13 community leaders, 10 business owners, nine clergy and faith groups, and a number of CMU staff and faculty.

She said it demonstrated a “broadness of support” for the movement.

Commissioners were asked to review the draft ordinance and express any concerns with the city manager by the start of next year.

The hope, Bailey said, is to make a formal presentation, equipped with evidence of discrimination in the community, by the end of January. She said they have until then to establish the need.

Commissioner Sharon Tilmann said someone would have to “be living in a cave” not to have heard of an instance of discrimination in Mount Pleasant. But she maintained it was too soon to know how the commission would perceive the ordinance.

“What I do think (is) this commission will be very open-minded. I don’t see us as closed-minded,” Tilmann said. “It works very diligently to do the homework and listen to what the citizens want. If this is an ordinance the time (for which) has come, I think the commission will be sensitive to that.”

Still, Mayor Bruce Kilmer said some legal issues need to be involved in its development.

“I just think we need to refer it to (the city attorney) to see if a city ordinance is an appropriate way to enforce anti-discrimination,” he said.

Part of a larger movement

Bailey preferred not to identify the exact group spearheading the effort, but pointed to a 10-member steering committee that has been researching the issue since April.

It’s also not the first time such a law has been proposed.

Isabella County Commissioner Jim Moreno said he presented a similar idea to the City Commission when he was on it several years ago.

Now, Moreno said the biggest difference is that other communities in Michigan are considering similar policies and the Mount Pleasant movement comes amid a statewide push to include sexual orientation and gender identity in Michigan’s Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act.

Bailey said the statewide effort has spurred much of the local drive, but the proposal before the city includes everything from height, marital status and age, to disability, race and religion.

“The reality is the state already protects everyone else,” she said. “But they don’t protect gender identity and sexual orientation, so many municipalities just let that go. They say, ‘Oh, everyone’s already protected. We don’t need to worry about it.’”

Adopting regulation to protect all demographics would also make students feel safer and more welcome in the community, said Shannon Jolliff, CMU’s director of gay and lesbian programs.

She said there is a need, despite the fact that students are protected inclusively under CMU policy.

“As soon as they step off campus, they are open to potential harassment and discrimination,” Jolliff said. “So when you think of going for a job interview, going to an apartment (complex), what this ordinance will do is provide them that protection.”

Adopting the ordinance came up to the CMU Student Government Association’s House of Representatives the Monday before Thanksgiving, and SGA President Vincent Cavataio said he personally gave his signature to the letter received by the commission.

The Shelby Township senior said he hadn’t heard of any specific examples of students being discriminated against in the community.

“But I do believe there is a need. I think people should be protected should an issue arise,” he said. “I don’t think people being protected is out of line.”

“It seems like something that would be obviously granted to people,” he added.

City commissioners approved an ordinance on Monday that would allow officials to consider hotels on a case-by-case basis downtown, an area otherwise largely zoned for commercial businesses.

“There were two big hotels downtown,” said City Manager Kathie Grinzinger. “It must be somewhere between the 1950s and whenever they changed the zoning ordinance and took the hotels out. Now you’re thinking if you really want to have a walkable, vibrant community, you have to have people staying overnight. So it made sense.”

The decision comes after both the City and Planning commissions’ approval of a special use permit for constructing and opening the Ginkgo Tree Inn, 309 N. Main St., last year.

During Mount Pleasant’s former boom as the state’s oil capital, the Park and Bennett hotels were open at separate downtown intersections.

As a long-time city resident, Commissioner Sharon Tilmann recalled to officials her memories of the facilities. She pointed to specific businesses that had been open below the hotels, and she remembered when the hotel at Broadway and Court streets was demolished.

“I appreciate the Planning Commission taking the time and the effort to bring this forward,” Tilmann said. “I was rather surprised when it was brought to our attention that the current ordinance did not allow hotels downtown.”

As the approved zoning regulations are limited to downtown, it includes provisions that only allow access to hotel rooms internally from inside a facility.

This is in addition to applicant requirements officials would look for in a hotel’s scale and design, its parking, how its presence affects traffic through neighborhoods and the surrounding area, and how a new establishment would impact planned uses of the land around it.

Commissioner Jon Joslin questioned whether the ordinance should also prevent future hotel proposals from including one-story facilities.

“I would hate to see a one-story hotel build up on parcel B. I think that would be a great tragedy to our downtown aesthetics,” Joslin said. “Everybody says, ‘You know, you’ve got the special use permit,’ but that is very interpreted language … and as our Planning Commission has changed over the years, we’ve seen that interpreted (much) differently.”

Upon Joslin’s inquiry, Jeff Gray, the city’s director of planning and community development, suggested commissioners include language that limits future hotels to a two-story minimum if they wished to amend the ordinance.

Some commissioners expressed discomfort with approving an amendment along with the ordinance without further discussion. However, a 4-3 vote declined sending it back to city planners.

Commissioners eventually approved the two-story minimum requirement in a 5-2 vote, and the overall zoning ordinance was approved unanimously.

The City Commission on Monday approved a special meeting for 6 p.m. Nov. 7 at City Hall, 300 W. Broadway St., to look over a potential management firm to work with the city and identify plans to develop the property.

Over the past four months, City Manager Kathie Grinzinger said a four-or five-person committee has conducted two rounds of interviews in a search for firms that specialize in developing obsolete or brownfield properties.

“We went to the two top firms and went through a different series of tours (at the center) and interviews with them,” Grinzinger said. “I don’t want to get too detailed with them until we finish all the reference checks.”

In September, the city reduced the security coverage on the Mount Pleasant Center property from 16 to 12 hours daily. The property, especially as Halloween nears, has become target of thrill-seekers, and it has seen incidents of trespassing.

The center, a former home for the developmentally challenged until 2009, was purchased by the city in April. It was decision, according to previously published reports, that commissioners hoped would lead to economic development and job creation.

Environmental studies had also been conducted prior to the city’s purchase of the property, revealing amounts of “very minimal” contamination on the more than 300 acres.

The city manager said officials hope to vote on a contract with a project management firm at the commission’s Nov. 14 meeting. Succeeding steps, Grinzinger said, would include identifying potential grant opportunities, a budget for the project and forming a more official project timeline.

During a work session for the 2012 operating budget on Monday, Mayor Bruce Kilmer asked city staff whether next year’s budget will be approved in December and amended later to accommodate funds for the center project. Grinzinger confirmed funds would come from the city’s Economic Development Fund.

No specific dollar amount or exact project idea has been determined.

“As time rolls,” Grinzinger said, “we will produce ideas and work with the community to try and figure out what other ideas are out there.”

Also on Monday, city commissioners authorized city staff to continue a month-to-month contract with a local resident to farm 102 acres of the Mount Pleasant Center property.

Bids to farms were sent to 12 farmers, according to city documents, and by Oct. 12, two responded. Commissioners accepted a bid from Robert Ervin of Mount Pleasant to use the land for $1,311.55 per month, or $15,738.60 annually.

City Commissioner Sharon Tilmann said Ervin has leased the property for a number of years. She said she questioned earlier this year how the farming would disturb the land, referencing how the discovery of American Indian remains would affect the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

“The city manager and I did meet with the tribe here a number of weeks ago and this was an opportunity to reassure them that whatever development took place and farming,” Tilmann said, “that if remains were located, they’d be treated with respect.”

On Monday, city commissioners approved a $100,000 purchase of 40 acres that could allow a 2,500-foot turf runway to be paved, bordered with lighting and extended to 3,500 feet.

The decision comes from what some city officials say has been an increase in flight traffic into the region over the last several years.

Mount Pleasant already has one paved runway facing east and west. The current turf, or grassy, runway faces northeast and limits both the months of when and what kind of planes can land, said City Manager Kathie Grinzinger.

“The problem is, under federal aviation rules, an airport must control more land than just what’s on the runway. They have to control clear zones on either side,” she said. “Not only for airplanes that overshoot or land sooner, but to protect and provide safety.”

The land is now owned by a company called Turf, Inc.

Extending and paving the “crosswinds” runway has been part of the city capital improvement plan and municipal airport’s master plan for a number of years.

But 10 to 15 years ago, Grinzinger said aviation authorities were not “in a position” to reimburse the city for the purchase.

According to a note to commissioners, about 97.5 percent will be financed with Federal Aviation Administration grand funds and others from the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Aeronautics. The airport’s 2.5-percent contribution of the financial cost was included in the city’s 2011 operating budget.

Support for the airport

Commissioners each chose their top five proposed projects and programs on Monday to submit to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe for consideration to receive funds as part of its 2-percent disbursement program.

Among the most selected was street resurfacing, funding for the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, a new recycling program truck and the city’s Partners Empowering All Kids program.

However, Mayor Bruce Kilmer and Commissioner Jon Joslin were the only two to include a new $275,000 corporate aircraft hanger at the municipal airport.

Kilmer said investing in the airport would help the city at large, whether it be by bringing more supplies and goods for local business or bringing in entertainers to perform at Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort, 6800 Soaring Eagle Blvd.

“I thought the airport would help us as a city expand because the larger hangers we have, the larger the jets that can come in here,” he said.

Joslin said any time the city expands use of the airport, it has the potential to make money, especially with a “steady flow” of traffic.

“We make a good amount of money on fuel sales out there,” he said. “If it’s more viable to use that airport, especially for corporate-type stuff, that helps recruiting and retaining businesses in the area.”

According to the proposal, which is available for view at www.mt-pleasant.org, this year’s 15.75 millage rate is expected to be continued with just a 1-percent increase in property tax values across the city.

The majority of city services may be safe from cuts, but exhausted undesignated funds do have some officials looking ahead to 2013 amid a continued loss in state-shared revenue.

“The question becomes: Are we going to cut services or are we going to cut revenues?” said Vice Mayor Kathy Ling. “I think we need to be looking at if we can change the nature of the revenues we collect.”

Last year, city commissioners approved more than $960,000 in revenue transfers, service reductions and increases of fees to balance the 2011 budget.

A part of the cuts was an eliminated position in both property assessment and code and building enforcement. Other areas, such as city-sponsored recreation programs with lower registration rates, were also affected.

“It was really throughout the city,” said Nancy Ridley, assistant city manager and finance director. “We decreased a position in assessing, so we said to people, ‘If you have assessing questions, it may take longer to get answered. We may not always have somebody in the office.’”

Like the millage rate, the 2011 cuts to services are proposed to be maintained next year.

Depleted savings, state revenue

Past and ongoing efforts to balance Mount Pleasant’s budget could leave the city’s undesignated fund, or in what Ridley calls its “savings,” at just $170,786 by December 2012 — an 88.5 percent decrease since 2008.

Ridley said savings is typically generated when the city attains grants for projects it had originally intended to pay for itself.

“Now our concern is, as we whittle away at that, we’re looking at 2013. What’s going to happen then?” Ridley said. “We’re still trying to be conservative in that response, so that hopefully we can replenish that number.”

According to city documents, large financial loss over several years for the city has been the decline in state-shared funds, which in nearly 10 years has fallen from 40 percent to 21 percent of its total revenue.

Economic development investments to expand the city’s tax base and holding on to funds that would’ve gone to pay for unfilled positions could be possible solutions, Ridley said, though the decision comes down to the City Commission.

Looking ahead

Commissioners are required to approve the 2012 budget before the end of the year. It may be too soon for officials to know where the discussion for potential changes will go this fall, but some have ideas of where they’d like to start.

Commissioner Jim Holton will likely concentrate on the infrastructure points of the budget, though he said there weren’t any “red flags” in the area.

“You got to start looking at the future,” Holton said. “I think it’s just key. You have to have good sewer lines. You have to have good sidewalks.”

Ling said cuts to services have always been a concern of hers because they’re “quality of life issues.”

Ling anticipates the balance between cutting services and increases revenue will come up in discussion, she said, and maybe even refurbishing an old talk of a city income tax. She said she doesn’t necessarily support the idea, but that “one of the questions in my mind is if it’s time for us to look at that again.”

Ling pointed to an area close to campus she thought commissioners ought to look at — the mini-circle and back-in parking changes made on Bellows Street. She said it’s an issue with the meters.

“What’s the point of having those empty spaces sitting there?” she said. “Maybe for a couple years, we should take the meters out.”

Both Holton and Ling agree they hope the public is more involved for this year’s budget talks.

City staff will present the budget to the City Commission on Oct. 24. Over November and December, potential cuts or changes could be discussed, and a public hearing will be scheduled for city residents to come share concerns.

With no expected increase in state-shared revenue in the next couple of years, Ridley said now is a good time for city officials to start planning for 2013. However, not everyone might agree.

It was under Holton as mayor that the close to $1 million was put on the chopping block. He said the economy seems to be making a slight turn forward.

“I’ll worry about 2013 in 2012,” he said.

In a 6-1 vote, commissioners selected a company within city limits, which along with a reduction in hours, will cost 19.6 percent less annually to provide security on the West Pickard Street property.

But the $57,089 expenditure is still about $6,028 more than the bid submitted by a company in Georgia.

Commissioner Jon Joslin expressed his concern for the move because $6,028 was “a lot to leave on the table” regarding the city’s budget.

“This is a tough one for me because we sit up here and we preach about policies and we preach about percents,” he said. “We’ve a 2 percent local preference. This is a 10 percent preference.”

Joslin was referring to a six-year-old purchasing policy that gives companies within city limits preference in bidding if the proposed amount is within 2 percent of the next project offer.

The Mount Pleasant Center, formerly a state home for people with developmental disabilities, first closed in the fall of 2009. Afterward, City Manager Kathie Grinzinger said state government maintained security services 24 hours a day and seven days a week for an annual cost between $100,000 and $104,000.

The city first purchased the center earlier this year. Several adjustments were made in terms of hours and methodology of how security was provided, Grinzinger said, costing the city about $71,000.

Capt. Thomas Forsberg of Mount Pleasant Police said 16 hours of daily security was previously provided, but has now been reduced to 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

“What happens with the security at the state home, from my perspective, was part of the reason we made the decision that we were going to go ahead and purchase it rather than have the state keep it,” Vice Mayor Kathy Ling said, “because we wanted to make sure that we have a bit more say in what was happening.”

A change in policy

At the Aug. 22 meeting, an out-of-state financial bid to repair sewer manholes was approved despite several commissioners’ dissatisfaction of the selection over an in-state company that would cost the city $521 more.

The debate in August left commissioners desiring added language to the purchasing policy that allows them the option to take preference with in-state companies on financial project bids. In response, a proposal for a 2- to 3-percent differential was also approved during Monday’s meeting.

Despite the change, individual variables in project bids could affect which are accepted.

“That’s my problem with policies,” Joslin said, “that you can never write one for every circumstance.”