City Commission Worksession Minutes 11-13-2023

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                                         City of Muskegon

                                           Work Session

                                              Minutes


                                 November 13, 2023, 5:30 pm
                                      Muskegon City Hall
                            933 Terrace Street, Muskegon, MI 49440

Present:                   Mayor Ken Johnson
                           Commissioner Rachel Gorman
                           Commissioner Rebecca St.Clair
                           Commissioner Eric Hood
                           Commissioner Teresa Emory

Absent:                    Vice Mayor Willie German, Jr.
                           Commissioner Michael Ramsey

Staff Present:             City Manager Jonathan Seyferth
                           City Clerk Ann Meisch



1.     Call to Order

2.     New Business

       2.a       Bebot Report - Manager's Office

                 Jamie Cross presented on the beach clean up efforts with GVSU’s Bebot. Grand
                 Valley State University’s R.B. Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI) is
                 partnering with the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup (GLPC). AWRI is one of four
                 University partners in the region working on this project. As part of that
                 partnership, AWRI has been using an innovative pollution cleanup technology, a
                 remote-controlled beach cleaning robot, at Pere Marquette Park Beach. The
                 BeBot robot, run by AWRI staff, removes debris from the beach, which is taken
                 back to AWRI to be weighed and sorted. Wood and litter items are separated
                 from the debris. Litter items are cataloged and separated by item, size, plastic
                 and non-plastic material. This information is shared with the GLPC to create an
                 inventory for areas throughout the Great Lakes Basin. Goodwill Industries of

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      West Michigan will be recycling the wood and plastic items removed from the
      beach. This presentation provides an overview of the project and results to date.

2.b   Regional Transit Authority Resolution - Manager's Office

      The Deputy City Manager has been participating with other municipalities in an
      effort to explore the establishment of a regional transit authority. Muskegon
      County wishes to transition its control of public transportation services to a new
      public transportation authority and are seeking confirmation and support from
      the municipalities who want to continue transit service. The West Michigan
      Shoreline Regional Development Commission and the Muskegon Area Transit
      System will be presenting on the topic at the work session.

      Staff is seeking approval of a resolution of intent to join other municipalities in
      forming a regional transit authority which will establish articles of incorporation
      to meet requirements in Act 196.

      Discussion took place regarding this item. This will be on the agenda for the
      November 14, 2023 for consideration.

2.c   Local Street Reconstructions - DPW

      Staff requests authorization for a change to the capital improvement plan and
      FY24 budget to allow for the reconstruction of several local streets using street
      fund reserves.

      During discussions this past summer, the Commission expressed a desire to
      begin investing street fund dollars into local streets without any assessment or
      other cost implications to the homeowners. This is a shift from the current
      (although long-dormant) policy of local street work being funded by special
      assessments to the property owners (except the portions funded by underlying
      utility work).

      Staff has reviewed many local streets throughout town for street condition,
      utility conditions, any related lead service line work and other factors. Staff
      recommends the following locations:

          •   New Street, Calvin to Evanston

          •   2nd Street, Muskegon to Houston

          •   Millard Street, Lake Dunes to the west end

          •   Edgewater Street, Lakeshore to Thompson


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      Staff proposes to design Millard and Edgewater this winter and build in the
      spring, and to design New and 2nd in the spring for late summer and fall
      construction. This has the following impacts on FY24:

          •   $325,000 for engineering and construction of Millard from Lake Dunes to
              the west end

          •   $225,000 for engineering and construction of Edgewater from Lakeshore
              to Thompson

          •   $50,000 for engineering of New Street (construction dollars will fall in
              FY25)

          •   $25,000 for engineering of 2nd Street (construction dollars will fall in
              FY25)

          •   Total: $625,000

      To fund the improvements, staff proposes to increase the transfer from the
      Major Streets fund to the Local Streets fund by $625,000, which is allowable
      under State of Michigan Act 51 rules. The Major Street fund is projected to have
      approximately $5.5 million in reserves at the end of FY24, and will still have more
      than six months of funds in reserve if the transfer is approved.

      Discussion took place regarding this item after the information was presented by
      Dan VanderHeide, Director of Public Works. This item will be on a future agenda
      for further consideration.

2.d   Buster Keaton Public Art - Manager's Office

      Deputy City Manager, LeighAnn Mikesell, presented information to the City
      Commission regarding options for a new public art piece honoring Buster
      Keaton.

      The Downtown Arts Committee would like to install a sculpture honoring Buster
      Keaton in the artists’ colony area of the Beachwood/Bluffton Neighborhood.
      This art work would be part of the ten pieces partially funded by the Muskegon
      City Public Art Initiative.

      Two locations are being considered: Lakeshore at Edgewater and Lakeshore at
      Waterworks.

      Ron Pesch also provided background and details, adding to the presentation, for
      Commission consideration.


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     2.e   DPW Asset Management Software - DPW

           Department of Public Works Director, Dan VanderHeide, presented information
           to the City Commission regarding Asset Management Software he would like to
           purchase for use at the Department of Public Works.

           Staff has been investigating asset management software designed specifically for
           public works departments. These kinds of system track assets condition and
           maintenance practices and use department priorities and AI to recommend new
           maintenance tasks, replacement schedules and other valuable information.
           They also have the important benefit of including a work order management
           system that allows for electronic work order management, improving efficiency,
           providing better tools for tracking labor, equipment and materials, and
           increasing the data available for reporting and decisions.

           Staff will presented such a system called Cartegraph, detailed the benefits it will
           provide to DPW’s operations, explained how this system would interface with
           other City systems such as BS&A, and presented the short- and long-term costs
           of the system.

           Discussion took place, this item will appear on the November 14, 2023 Agenda
           for Commission consideration.

     2.f   SafeBuilt Overview and Update on Short Term Rentals - Public Safety

           Kathryne Leonard, from the City's Inspections Department (SafeBuilt) provided
           an overview and update of the Short Term Rental program that is managed by
           SafeBuilt.

           Earlier this year, the city received questions and comments from residents and
           business owners interested in learning more about short-term rentals and its
           impact in our community. A STR Community Workshop was held on May 16th,
           2023. The city has since created an online Short-Term Rentals link for residents
           to remain engaged on this topic. It includes additional information and issue
           updates, along with tools for the public to provide important feedback. At the
           July 10th worksession meeting it was discussed for staff to provide the
           commission with an overview of the functions of SafeBuilt and update in the fall
           on STRs.

3.   Public Comment

     Public comment was received.



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4.   Adjournment

     The Work Session meeting adjourned at 8:34 p.m.

     Motion by: Commissioner Hood
     Second by: Commissioner St.Clair

     To adjourn.

                                                                         MOTION PASSES


5.   CRC Immediately Following



                                                            _________________________

                                                                  Respectfully Submitted,

                                                       Ann Marie Meisch, MMC - City Clerk




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