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CITY OF MUSKEGON
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
NOVEMBER 22, 2022 @ 5:30 P.M.
MUSKEGON CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS
933 TERRACE STREET, MUSKEGON, MI 49440
MINUTES
The Regular Commission Meeting of the City of Muskegon was held at City Hall,
933 Terrace Street, Muskegon, Michigan at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, November 22,
2022, Reverend D.W. Tolbert, New Hope Baptist Church, opened the meeting
with a prayer, after which the Commission and public recited the Pledge of
Allegiance to the Flag.
Present: Mayor Ken Johnson, Commissioners, Rebecca St.Clair, Rachel Gorman,
Michael Ramsey, Interim City Manager LeighAnn Mikesell, City Attorney John
Schrier, and City Clerk Ann Meisch.
Absent: Vice Mayor Willie German, Jr., Commissioners Eric Hood and Teresa
Emory
HONORS, AWARDS, AND PRESENTATIONS:
A. Years of Service Award/Recognition
The Mayor and Commissioners congratulated and thanked city employees for
various levels of years of distinguished, loyal service. Certificates of Appreciation
were presented to those employees that were in attendance.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: Public comments were received.
2022-99 CONSENT AGENDA:
A. Approval of Minutes City Clerk
SUMMARY OF REQUEST: To approve the minutes of the October 25, 2022
Regular Meeting.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: To approve the minutes.
B. Sale – 522 Ottawa Planning
SUMMARY OF REQUEST: City staff is seeking authorization to sell the City owned
unbuildable vacant lot to West Urban Properties, LLC.
West Urban Properties LLC would like to purchase the City owned
unbuildable lot to join with the property adjacent to it in order to construct
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commercial structure(s) on the lots (once combined) within eighteen (18)
months. The property is zoned B-4 (General Business). The buyer made an
offer of $5,625 which is less than 75% of the True Cash Value (TCV). If this were
a buildable lot; then the asking price would be $11,250. There has been no
interest in developing this property. The City has owned this property since
1983. There are easements on this property for the vacated Giddings Avenue
as well as a telephone company easement.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: To authorize the Code Coordinator to work with
the developer and complete the sale of the City-owned buildable lot as
described and to have the Mayor and Clerk sign the purchase agreement and
deed.
C. Sale – 754 Leonard Planning
SUMMARY OF REQUEST: City staff is seeking authorization to sell the city-owned
home at 754 Leonard in Jackson Hill to Nicole R. Blackshire.
The city is constructing a single-family detached home as part of our ARP infill
housing program with Mr. Rubin Briggs and LRS Enterprises. Our contract to
construct six homes was for $1.5 million, and the estimated finished costs of this
home will be $235,000. We also anticipated $10,000 in sales commissions. The
accepted purchase price is $220,000, and the incurred sales commissions are
$10,000. The City will not contribute funds toward closing costs outside of seller’s
agent commission.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: To authorize the Code Coordinator to complete
the sale of 754 Leonard Street, as described in the purchase agreement and for
the Mayor and Clerk to sign the deed.
D. CSX Rail Line Acquisition City Manager
SUMMARY OF REQUEST: Staff is requesting that Commission authorize an
extension to the closing deadline for the acquisition of the CSX Rail Line
Property.
CSX is working on their contracted due diligence period for the closing of the
Rail Line property and has requested an extension. The City Attorney’s Office
has prepared the attached amendment that has been mutually agreed upon.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: To approve the Amended Closing Agreement as
presented and authorize the Mayor and Clerk to sign.
E. Stormwater Maintenance Agreements Public Works
SUMMARY OF REQUEST: Staff seeks authorization to enter into stormwater
maintenance agreements with two recent property owners, Newkirk Electric
and Pioneer Resources, in accordance with the recently adopted stormwater
ordinance.
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The recently adopted stormwater ordinance requires that private developers
subject to the rules enter into an agreement with the City. The agreement
requires them to maintain their private stormwater system in perpetuity,
because it connects to the City’s system and good maintenance of the
private system ensures problems do not migrate downstream and become
the City’s problems. Previously, developers subject to the rules were required
to enter into these agreements with the County Drain Commissioner’s Office;
as a part of taking over management of our own stormwater ordinance, the
City must now be a party to the agreements. We are required to enter into
these agreements as a part of our responsibilities to the Michigan
Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).
Two developments have gone through reviews under the City’s rules during
the transition process, and now seek to close out their stormwater permitting
by completing the agreements. They are Newkirk Electric located at the
corner of Roberts and Laketon, and Pioneer Resources, located at the corner
of Roberts and Wesley.
The agreements, if approved, will be recorded at the County Register of
Deeds and include requirements to make sure the property owner maintains
the system and provides records of that maintenance to the City. EGLE will
audit the City occasionally to make sure the maintenance and records are
according to procedure.
Staff also seeks guidance as to whether the Commission would like these
agreements to continue to come to Commission for approval, or if staff should
develop a policy that authorizes an appropriate staff member to be designated
to enter into these agreements on behalf of the City.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: To authorize staff to enter into stormwater
maintenance agreements with Newkirk Electric and Pioneer Resources in
accordance with the recently adopted stormwater ordinance.
G. Amendment to Marihuana Overlay District – Drive Thrus/Signs 2nd Reading
Planning
SUMMARY OF REQUEST: Staff-initiated request to amend Section 2331 of the
zoning ordinance to reduce signage restrictions on marihuana businesses and to
allow drive-thru marihuana facilities under certain conditions.
After discussing the proposed ordinance at the Planning Commission
meeting, the board decided to slightly modify the proposal and request that
all drive thru’s require a special use permit. The final language approved in
the motion is as follows:
Section 2331:
B. Grower, Excess Grower, and Processor Requirements:
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1. Signage. Signage shall follow the regulations set forth by the
underlying zoning district.
C. Provisioning Center, Retailer, Microbusiness and Designated
Consumption Establishment Requirements:
1. Signage. Signage shall follow the regulations set forth by the
underlying zoning district.
4. Curbside/Drive Thru. Curbside delivery is allowed at all retail sale
locations with an approved site plan that does not impede traffic or
pedestrian safety. Drive thru’s are allowed as a special use
permitted under the following conditions:
a. The underlying zoning designation must be B-2, B-4, MC, I-1, I-2
or any Form Based Code designation/building type that allows
for drive thru businesses.
b. Drive-thru windows must be located on private property. Streets
and alleys may only be used for the movement of traffic and
may not be used for drive-thru vehicular stacking.
c. A traffic study must be performed showing anticipated number
of stacking spaces and where they would be located on site.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: To approve the request to amend Section 2331
of the zoning ordinance to reduce signage restrictions on marihuana businesses
and to allow drive-thru marihuana facilities with the conditions listed as
proposed.
Motion by Commissioner Ramsey, second by Commissioner Gorman, to accept
the consent agenda as presented, minus item F.
ROLL VOTE: Ayes: Johnson, Ramsey, Gorman, and St.Clair
Nays: None
MOTION PASSES
2022-100 REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA:
F. MDNR Conversion Assistance Public Works
SUMMARY OF REQUEST: Staff requests authorization to enter into a Professional
Services Agreement with Ramboll for assistance in resolving the conversion of
several grant-encumbered recreation properties throughout the City.
The Adelaide Pointe and Hartshorn Village projects are going to impact grant-
encumbered recreation properties in the form of Hartshorn Marina and the
Lakeshore Trail. As those development projects progress, the city will need to
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work with the MDNR and the National Park Service to ensure that the impacts to
those and other encumbered properties are properly mitigated.
The MDNR manages this process on the state level and terms this as a
“conversion,” wherein an area that is encumbered for public outdoor
recreation is converted into another use. The encumbered area that is
converted into non-recreation space must be replaced by an equal or greater
value area that is newly dedicated to public outdoor recreation.
The MDNR allows for multiple conversions to be resolved concurrently. As such,
we have requested assistance with other potential conversion properties, such
as the Third Street Wharf, Fisherman’s Landing and Mid-Michigan Railroad
Muskegon Lake south spur properties so that we may reach a more complete
resolution that mitigates the possibility of future conversions.
No one on city staff has experience working through the multi-step process
proscribed by the MDNR, so we have requested solicit proposals from interested
firms to provide us technical assistance and experience in navigating the
complex process.
Upon reviewing the proposals, it was clear that the first half of the MDNR-
proscribed process is quite different from the second half. The first half involves
identifying potential candidate new recreation properties and discussing their
value with the MDNR, while the second half involves detailed appraisals and
environmental work on properties that have been determined good
candidates. To that end, staff recommends award only of the first half of the
process at this time. This will help to ensure expensive appraisal and
environmental services are only invested in good candidates, and will allow
staff to more accurately budget for the second half of the process in the next
fiscal year.
Staff is requesting to award the services for the first half of the process to
Ramboll, the highest scoring firm. Staff scored the proposals using Qualifications
Based Selection criteria to ensure we were selecting the best partner for this
important project. The scoring showed Ramboll as the leading firm, and staff
recommends contracting with them based on their proposal and their history of
service. Ramboll has provided engineering services for partner organizations in
the past, including award-winning service to WMSRDC for the Amoco Fish and
Wildlife Habitat Restoration Project near the west end of Laketon Ave, which
included repairs to the Lakeshore Trail from high water damage.
As was noted in July when the RFP for these services was presented to the
Commission:
• This item was not included in the FY22-23 budget due to the unknown
timelines for the development of the Adelaide Pointe and Hartshorn
Village properties. With development now moving forward quickly, the
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properties are already considered to be under conversion by the MDNR,
and this process needs to move forward to begin to resolve them.
• Entering into the conversion process will effectively eliminate the City
from consideration for most MDNR grant programs until such time that the
conversion is satisfactorily resolved. This does not include the Spark grant
program, which does not have scoring implications for being in an active
conversion.
The conversion process is expected to take at least a year to complete as some
of the impacted properties are encumbered through the National Park Service
and require federal concurrence.
AMOUNT REQUESTED: $58,501
FUND OR ACCOUNT: 101-770 (Parks Maintenance)
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Authorize staff to enter into a Professional
Services Agreement with Ramboll for assistance in resolving the conversion of
several grant-encumbered recreation properties throughout the city.
Motion by Commissioner St.Clair, second by Commissioner Gorman, to authorize
staff to enter into a Professional Services agreement with Ramboll for assistance
in resolving the conversion of several grant-encumbered recreation properties
throughout the city.
ROLL VOTE: Ayes: Gorman, St.Clair, Johnson, and Ramsey
Nays: None
MOTION PASSES
2022-101 NEW BUSINESS:
A. First Quarter Budget Reforecast Finance
SUMMARY OF REQUEST: At this time staff is asking for approval of the 1st Quarter
Budget Reforecast for the FY2022-23 budget year.
Staff has prepared the 1st Quarter Budget Reforecast memo outlining some
of the highlights is attached and supporting documentation.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: To approve the 1st Quarter FY 2022-23 Budget
Reforecast as presented.
Motion by Commissioner Ramsey, second by Commissioner St.Clair, to approve
the 1st Quarter FY 2022-23 Budget Reforecast as presented.
ROLL VOTE: Ayes: Gorman, St.Clair, Johnson, and Ramsey
Nays: None
MOTION PASSES
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ANY OTHER BUSINESS:
Commissioner St.Clair recognized the clerk and staff as well as other city staff
that helped with the election. Mayor Johnson expressed the commission’s
appreciation to Interim City Manager, LeighAnn Mikesell, as this will be her last
meeting as Interim.
Mayor Johnson invited all to the house swearing-in ceremony for Jonathan at
9:00 a.m. with light refreshments. The Mayor also invited all to participate in the
Christmas Tree Lighting on Saturday, November 26, 2022 at 5:15 at Hackley Park.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS: Public comments were received.
ADJOURNMENT: The City Commission meeting adjourned at 6:46 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ann Marie Meisch, MMC – City Clerk
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