Minutes and Agendas

City Commission Minutes

WALKER CITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS
4243 Remembrance Rd.
August 10, 2009

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING:

Mayor VerHeulen called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

Present: Mayor VerHeulen, Commissioners: Deschaine, Holt, Parent, Stek, Versluis.

Also Present: Assistant City Manager Schmalzel.

Absent: Commissioner Kent.

Assistant City Manager Schmalzel introduced Jeff and Blair from Pyper Tool and Die. They are requesting the Establishment of a Tool and Die Renaissance Recovery Zone.

Jeff Pyper spoke and gave a little history on Pyper Tool & Die. Jeff stated they were approached by Walker Tool and Die, who has recently been through the same process with the City, if we would consider joining the coalition they are forming. Mr. Pyper stated the tooling business is very competitive right now and that any assistance would be very beneficial.

Police Chief Garcia-Lindstrom spoke in regards to National Night Out. She also spoke about two events that were held over the weekend. A triathlon held at Millennium Park that was cancelled due to the weather, and an event at Walker Reserve Center that the Walker Police Department assisted with.

Mayor VerHeulen stated the LLOC Committee meeting has been scheduled for the end of the month. The Mayor attended an Eagle Scout award ceremony for Thomas Kaminski who cleaned 5,000 tomb stones at the veterans’ facility. Mayor VerHeulen stated he picked up a Regis Map Catalogue if anyone was interested in taking a look at it.

No questions on City expenditures.

Assistant City Manager Schmalzel stated they sent out bid packets for our property and liability insurance coverage to four companies and also placed an ad in the Grand Rapids Press. The Assistant City Manager stated they have received responses from four companies. They have been reviewed by staff and the recommendation is to continue our coverage with the Michigan Twp. Participating Plan with an annual premium of $149,924.00, which is $10,000 less than we are currently paying.

Assistant City Manager talked about the Court Remodel Bid. The City hired TJA Architecture to put together a set of plans so that when we received bids, we would have comparable compare-sons to make. The plans are to rebuild the Judges bench, the witness stand, and the court recorders area. There was a pre-bid meeting on July 10 that 17 general contractors attended. We received bids from 10 of these companies. Wolverine North America was low bid at $33,535 base bid and alternate one additional carpeting $9,753. We met with Wolverine to clarify some items with their bid. Following execution of a contract, work would begin and be completed in a 3-4 week timeframe.

Commissioner Versluis asked if the Building Committee will be meeting time to time as decisions are to be made because this happened when they re-did City Hall. Mayor VerHeulen said if there are decisions to be made maybe they can gather up all the information and have a committee meeting.

Commissioner Parent commented on a Park that is next to Klingman’s on 28^th Street called Klingman Park. He stated that maybe someday we could see if any of our bigger business would like to put their name on a park or a ball diamond to give them some additional advertising and we could charge them a fee.

Commissioner Stek stated she is very sad to see that the Starbuck’s on Wilson has closed.

Commissioner Holt stated she attend the Michigan Association of Mayors in Grand Haven. The subject was recreation and how that plays in the economic development. She was very impressed.

REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING:

Mayor VerHeulen called the meeting to order at 8:00 PM.

Commissioner Parent gave the invocation and the Deputy City Clerk called the roll.

Present: Mayor VerHeulen, Commissioners: Parent, Holt, Deschaine, Stek and Versluis.

Absent: Commissioner Kent.

Motion by Commissioner Parent, seconded by Commissioner Versluis, to approve the minutes of July 27, 2009. Motion carried.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Diane Schwaiger – 1178 Blythe Ellen Ct. spoke in regard to a possible monument to be placed in City Central Park in memory of past city officials.

Motion by Commissioner Deschaine, seconded by Commissioner Versluis to approve a Resolution to consent to the Establishment of a Tool and Die Renaissance Recovery Zone for Pyper Tool & Die. Motion carried.

Motion by Commissioner Deschaine, supported by Commissioner to approve the expenditures in the amount of $1,368,251.13. Motion carried.

Motion by Commissioner Parent, seconded by Commissioner Versluis to approve the bid for our Property and Liability Insurance with the Michigan Township Participating Plan with an annual premium of $149, 924.00 for a three year period. Motion carried.

Motion by Commissioner Versluis, seconded by Commissioner Holt to enter into an agreement with Wolverine North American for the remodeling of the court room with an amount not to exceed $45,000 and will work with the Building Committee on execution of the project. Motion carried.

Motion by Commissioner Versluis, seconded by Commissioner Parent to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:20 PM.

Respectfully submitted:

Sue Richards

Deputy City Clerk

The City of Walker, Michigan
4243 Remembrance Rd. NW
Walker, MI 49534
(616)453-6311
City Hall hours: Mon-Thursday from 7:30am to 5:30pm. Closed Fridays
All information © 2012 City of Walker

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