Oct 03, 2023 Township Board

WE'LL MOVE ON TO BOARD MEMBER REPORTS OF ACTIVITIES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS.

[7. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS OF ACTIVITIES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS]

MR. DESCHAINE.

THANK YOU. LET ME START BY PASSING OUT THESE FLIERS.

REFER BACK TO THIS IN A MINUTE.

THE PAST TWO WEEKS HAVE BEEN REALLY BUSY FOR THE TREASURER'S OFFICE.

I'VE PARTICIPATED IN THE COUNTY TREASURER'S QUARTERLY MEETING, THE SEPTEMBER MEETING, THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING, TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, OUR LISTENING SESSION, WHICH WAS AN AWESOME EVENT, GREAT TURNOUT, AS WE ALL KNOW, BECAUSE WE WERE ALL THERE.

AND THEN ON MONDAY, THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING.

I DO WANT TO ANNOUNCE THAT MERIDIAN CARES AND THE TREASURER'S OFFICE WILL BE HOLDING ONE MORE.

MY HALF WORKSHOP. THIS IS THE FLIER WE JUST PUT OUT.

JUST HOT OFF THE PRESS.

I BROUGHT IT TO ME JUST A FEW MINUTES AGO.

THE SESSION WILL BE OCTOBER 12TH, RIGHT HERE IN THIS ROOM FROM 11 A.M.

TO 3 P.M. AND LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED.

MY HALF STANDS FOR THE MICHIGAN HOMEOWNERS ASSISTANCE FUND.

IT'S REALLY COVID FUNDING FOR ANYONE AFFECTED BY COVID, WHICH MEANS EVERYONE.

AND THEY CAN HELP WITH MORTGAGES, TAXES, UTILITIES, ANY HOMEOWNER RELATED NEED IS THERE.

IT DOESN'T COVER RENTERS, UNFORTUNATELY.

IT'S REALLY MEANT TO SPECIFICALLY TO KEEP PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES THAT ARE AT RISK FOR LOSING THEM AFTER FALLING BEHIND DURING COVID.

PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE AT 853-4204 TO RESERVE A PLACE, BUT ALSO WALK INS ARE WELCOME SO PEOPLE CAN COME IN AND WE'LL BE HERE TO HELP YOU AND TAKE YOU THROUGH THE WHOLE APPLICATION PROCESS.

IT CAN TAKE 30 MINUTES.

IT CAN TAKE TWO HOURS, WHATEVER IT TAKES THAT OUR RESIDENTS WILL STAY WITH THEM.

THERE ARE UP TO $25,000 PER HOUSEHOLD IN GRANTS AVAILABLE.

IT WAS SUPPOSED TO END OCTOBER 1ST.

MR. HASN'T CLOSED IT OFF YET.

SO, WE'RE GOING TO KEEP PUTTING APPLICATIONS UNTIL MR. SAYS NO MORE MONEY.

LASTLY, I WANT TO TAKE PERSONAL PRIVILEGE HERE AND RECOGNIZE THAT MERIDIAN RESIDENT DR.

RICHARD WITTER FOR HIS 50 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE KIWANIS CLUB OF OKEMOS AND HASLETT, AS WELL AS MANY OTHER LOCAL GROUPS AND ESPECIALLY HIS CHURCH OKEMOS COMMUNITY CHURCH.

DR. WITTER IS THE RETIRED DIRECTOR OF THE USDA AVIAN LAB, LOCATED ON CAMPUS AND WAS RESPONSIBLE IN THAT POSITION FOR BREAKTHROUGH RESEARCH THAT REALLY BENEFITED POULTRY PRODUCTION ACROSS THE GLOBE.

HE MADE ANNUAL TRIPS TO RUSSIA TO SHARE IDEAS AND RESEARCH WITH THEM.

I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU, DICK, FOR YOUR HALF CENTURY OF EXCEPTIONAL COMMUNITY SERVICE.

HE'S REMARKABLE.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. THE BOARD MEMBERS, TRUSTEE WILSON, ONE QUICK THING IS LIAISON TO THE COMMUNITY RESOURCE COMMISSION.

WE REALLY HAVE A DYNAMIC LEADER IN THAT SPECIALIST POSITION.

AND KATIE LOVE, WHO CONTINUES TO BRING MANY GREAT IDEAS TO US.

AND SO, SHE JUST NOTIFIED US TWO DAYS AGO THAT SHE'S RECEIVED A $1,500 GRANT THAT WILL GO TOWARD HOLIDAY BASKETS FOR SOME OF OUR LOW-INCOME RESIDENTS.

THIS IS REALLY REMARKABLE THAT SHE'S ABLE TO BRING THIS MONEY IN TO HELP US DO MORE THAN WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO BEFORE.

SO CONGRATULATE KATIE, IF YOU SEE HER.

ANYONE ELSE? CERTAINLY.

CONGRATULATIONS TO KATIE FROM ME AND THE BOARD AT THIS POINT IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS.

AMONG OTHER THINGS, I ATTENDED THE MOST RECENT BOARD MEETING FOR THE TRI-COUNTY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION AND ONLINE.

THEY HAVE PROVIDED SEVERAL THINGS ONLINE THAT YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE INTERESTED IN.

THEY'RE WORKING DILIGENTLY ON A THE, I THINK, 25 YEAR TRANSPORTATION PLAN.

[00:15:07]

AND SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, FIRST OF ALL, READING THAT AND PARTICIPATING, THEY ARE CERTAINLY OPEN TO PUBLIC COMMENT, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THEIR MANAGING THIS MONEY AND SO ON ON THEIR WEBSITE, THEY ARE ALSO FINISHING UP ON A HOUSING ASSESSMENT AND THE REGION THREE COUNTY REGION.

AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE A SEPTIC SYSTEM IN YOUR ON YOUR PROPERTY, THEY HAVE WHAT THEY ARE TOUTING AS THIS WONDERFUL NEW EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ASSOCIATED WITH THE THE THE WATER.

OH, I'VE FORGOTTEN THE NAME OF THE GROUP THAT WATERSHED.

YEAH, THE WATERSHED GROUP.

AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO DEALS WITH THAT ASSET TO CHECK OUT THE INFORMATION THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO PROVIDE.

BUT THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS ABOUT ACTIVITIES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS.

[8. APPROVAL OF AGENDA]

WE WILL MOVE TO APPROVAL OF OUR AGENDA.

TRUSTEE WILSON. MOVE TO APPROVE THE AGENDA.

SUPPORT SUPPORTED BY TRUSTEE WISINSKI ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION.

PLEASE SAY YES.

YES. YES. OPPOSED.

NO. CHAIR VOTES.

YES. AND THE MOTION PASSES.

WE MOVE NOW TO THE CONSENT AGENDA, ITEM NINE.

[9. CONSENT AGENDA]

ON THE CONSENT AGENDA ARE TYPICAL COMMUNICATIONS MINUTES OF OUR SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2023 REGULAR TOWNSHIP BOARD MEETING.

THE TYPICAL BOARD BILLS I AND JUST ON THAT POINT WE USUALLY I THINK WE USUALLY SAY THE MANAGER'S BILLS, BUT I NOTED THAT OUR NEW FINANCE DIRECTOR LABELED THEM THE BOARD'S BILLS.

SO, IN ADDITION WE HAVE ITEM NINE D ACCEPTANCE OF THE 2024 OFFICE OF HIGHWAY SAFETY PLANNING, OHSP PROJECT GRANT.

THIS WAS SUBMITTED BY CAPTAIN BY CHIEF GRILLO, AND IT HAS TO DO WITH TRAFFIC AND TRAFFIC ISSUES, THE PAYMENT OF OVERTIME FOR THAT ISSUE.

AND I THINK THIS IS A NEW GRANT AVAILABLE TO OUR PROGRAM.

ITEM NINE D IS SET A PUBLIC HEARING DATE FOR THE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY TAX INCREMENT FINANCING.

TRUSTEE HENDRICKSON? THANK YOU, MADAM SUPERVISOR. I MOVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED.

SUPPORT SUPPORTED BY TRUSTEE WILSON.

AND BECAUSE THERE ARE BILLS IN THE.

MR. DESCHAINE? WE JUST NOTE THAT THE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT PUBLIC HEARING IS THE 9TH OF NOVEMBER, A THURSDAY.

WE TYPICALLY MEET ON TUESDAY.

THAT IS THE WEEK OF ELECTION DAY.

WHILE WE DON'T HAVE AN ELECTION IN ANTICIPATION OF ONE, WE MOVED OUR MEETING TO THE THURSDAY THAT DAY.

SO, IT'S NOT TUESDAY NIGHT, BUT A THURSDAY NIGHT, THAT FIRST WEEK IN NOVEMBER.

THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ADDITION TO THAT INFORMATION.

AND BECAUSE THE CONSENT AGENDA INCLUDES OUR BILLS, WE NEED A ROLL CALL VOTE.

. MOTION CARRIES 6-0.

THANK YOU. NEXT IS ITEM TEN QUESTIONS FOR THE ATTORNEY.

WE HAVE NONE.

I DON'T KNOW WHO'S CHANGING THE AGENDA ON ME, BUT A SHEEPISH GRIN OVER ITEM 11 IS HEARINGS.

WE HAVE NONE TONIGHT, AND ITEM 12 IS OUR ACTION ITEMS.

[12.A. Paid Parental Leave Program]

THE FIRST IS ITEM 12, A PAID PARENTAL LEAVE PROGRAM.

UM, AND IF I CATCH UP WITH MR. OPSOMMER, WAIT A MINUTE.

HE'S GOT AN THIS WILL BE PRESENTED.

THIS IS A PROGRAM SUGGESTED AND BROUGHT TO THE BOARD BY TRUSTEE HENDERSON, TRUSTEE WILSON AND

[00:20:04]

CLERK GUTHRIE.

AND SO, I PRESUME ONE OF YOU IS GOING TO PRESENT THIS TO US TONIGHT.

I'D BE HAPPY TO. PLEASE, MR. HENDERSON. SO THANK YOU, MADAM SUPERVISOR.

THIS IS THE SAME MEMORANDUM THAT WE BROUGHT BEFORE THE BOARD FOR DISCUSSION LAST MEETING.

AS A SMALL REFRESHER, THE STATE OF MICHIGAN OFFERS A PAID PARENTAL LEAVE PROGRAM FOR STATE EMPLOYEES, WHICH ALLOWS NEW PARENTS AND NEW ADOPTIVE PARENTS OF YOUNG CHILDREN UP TO 12 WEEKS OF PAID TIME OFF AFTER THE BIRTH OR ADOPTION OF A CHILD.

THERE ARE GUARDRAILS IN PLACE.

THERE'S PROOF REQUIRED THAT THEY BE NAMED ON A BIRTH RECORD OR THE ADOPTION RECORD.

THE APPLICANTS FOR THE PROGRAM MUST HAVE COMPLETED THEIR PROBATIONARY PERIOD WITH THE STATE AS WELL IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS.

I'M SORRY, WITH THE TOWNSHIP.

I'M SORRY. WELL, THAT WAS THE STATE PROGRAM REQUIRES IT WITH THE STATE, BUT HERE WE WOULD HAVE IT WITH THE TOWNSHIP.

SINCE ITS INCEPTION, OVER 1000 STATE WORKERS HAVE TAKEN PART IN THEIR VERSION OF THE PROGRAM, AND THERE'S BEEN A MARKED INCREASE AMONGST THOSE EMPLOYEES IN MORALE, AS WELL AS INCREASED RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION FOR THOSE POSITIONS.

WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS AN EXCELLENT NOTION TO BRING HERE TO THE TOWNSHIP, ESPECIALLY GIVEN OUR CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE STATE.

WE HAVE TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE WITH EMPLOYERS IN THE AREA, AND WE BELIEVE THAT IT'S A PROGRAM THAT WILL BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF.

WE DID I DID CONSULT WITH THE TOWNSHIP MANAGER ON THIS PROGRAM AS IT CURRENTLY STANDS.

WHAT WHAT AN EMPLOYEE WOULD HAVE TO DO WITH A NEW CHILD IS THEY WOULD HAVE TO RELY ON THEIR BANKED VACATION OR SICK TIME, THEIR LEAVE BANKS, IN ORDER TO COVER ANY TIME THAT THEY'RE AWAY WITH A NEW CHILD.

CURRENTLY, CURRENTLY, THEY ARE, OF COURSE, ABLE TO AVAIL THEMSELVES OF THE FMLA PROTECTIONS PROVIDED TO ALL EMPLOYEES, WHICH IS 12 WEEKS OF UNPAID TIME.

12 WEEKS OF PAID TIME WOULD COVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME THAT THEY ARE PROTECTED.

AND SO WE BRING THIS TONIGHT FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BOARD WITH AND THE MOTION WITHIN THIS IS TO ASK THE TOWNSHIP MANAGER AND THE TOWNSHIP HR DIRECTOR TO BRING US A POLICY TO IMPLEMENT BY JANUARY 1ST OF NEXT YEAR.

OKAY. I'LL LEAVE IT TO MY COLLEAGUES IF THEY'D LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING ON THAT.

TRUSTEE WILSON THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF PAYING AN EMPLOYEE TO TAKE TIME OFF TO BE WITH THEIR NEWBORN OR TO BE WITH THEIR NEW ADOPTEE IS VERY MINIMAL BECAUSE THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY HAVING THE SAME SALARY COME IN.

THAT TAKES AWAY A LOT OF ECONOMIC STRESSORS ON THE EMPLOYEES, AND ONLY IF WE NEEDED TO DO A TEMPORARY FILL IN FOR THE PERIOD THAT THEY WOULD BE GONE.

BUT WE DO CAP THIS AT 12 WEEKS.

I THINK THIS IS A WONDERFUL POLICY TO BE ABLE TO OFFER TO OUR EMPLOYEES AT VERY LOW COST OR NO COST.

SO, I'M VERY MUCH IN FAVOR OF THIS.

OKAY. ANYONE ELSE? WE DON'T HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR, BUT YOU'RE WELCOME TO COMMENT AT THIS POINT.

I WAS GOING TO MAKE THE MOTION.

OKAY. I MOVED TO INSTRUCT THE TOWNSHIP MANAGER AND TOWNSHIP HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR TO CREATE A DRAFT PAID PARENTAL LEAVE POLICY FOR MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP EMPLOYEES AND RETURN IT TO THE TOWNSHIP BOARD FOR FINAL APPROVAL IN TIME FOR IMPLEMENTATION BY JANUARY 1ST, 2024.

SUPPORT. SUPPORTED BY TRUSTEE HENDRICKSON.

CLERK GUTHRIE? THANK YOU, MADAM SUPERVISOR.

I WANT TO THANK TRUSTEE HENDRICKSON FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD AND FOR TAKING THIS ON AND SEEING THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR EMPLOYEES.

AND IT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WE COULD DO, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT RETENTION.

AND I KNOW MANAGER WALSH AND MYSELF SPECIFICALLY TOUT FAMILY FIRST AND THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY

[00:25:03]

AND SPENDING TIME WITH FAMILY AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR LOVED ONES ARE TAKEN CARE OF AND HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS.

AND WE'RE LIKE, I DON'T I CAN'T SPEAK FOR ANYONE ELSE, BUT I KNOW THAT THE MANAGER AND MYSELF ARE LIKE BROKEN RECORDS SAYING THAT I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION FOR OUR HUMAN RESOURCE DIRECTOR, ABBY HOFF, WHO IS HERE TONIGHT.

I DON'T KNOW IF NOW IS THE TIME TO ASK THAT OR WOULD IT BE OKAY IF I THINK SO, WOULD YOU? MANAGER WALSH WOULD YOU MIND IF I ASK DIRECTOR HOFF A QUESTION? NOT AT ALL. I JUST HAD ONE COMMENT AND I'LL RESERVE IT FOR WHEN YOU'RE READY.

OKAY. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, BOARD.

WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU? FIRST, I WANT TO APOLOGIZE.

I KNOW THAT DURING THE LAST MEETING THAT YOU WERE NOT HERE, AND SO IT'S SORT OF A LITTLE WEIRD BECAUSE YOU WERE ABSENT DURING THAT MEETING.

BUT I AM GLAD THAT YOU ARE HERE THIS EVENING.

AND SO, I'LL ASK YOU THE QUESTION THAT I WOULD HAVE ASKED THEN, AND THIS IS COMING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A CLERK WHO HAS 12 NEW ELECTION LAWS OR SO TO IMPLEMENT AND HOW MUCH TIME IT TAKES TO IMPLEMENT ALL OF THOSE NEW LAWS.

AND WE'RE WORKING LIKE A FRENZY OF BEES OR SOMETHING AROUND THE CLOCK TRYING TO GET THIS.

ALL THESE LAWS IMPLEMENTED.

SO, I WANTED TO EXTEND A QUESTION TO YOU ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME THIS TAKES TO IMPLEMENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS AND HOW MUCH WORK THERE IS ON THE BACK END. BECAUSE SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, WE MAKE THESE POLICIES, AND WE DON'T REALLY KNOW ALL OF THE STEPS THAT IT TAKES IN THE BACKGROUND AND HOW MUCH WORK THIS IS FOR STAFF. SO, I JUST SORT OF HAD THAT THAT QUESTION FOR YOU, WHAT THIS WOULD TAKE FOR YOU AND I'LL SAY TEAM, BUT REALLY, CAROL HAS HERE OR PAYROLL CLERK IT'LL PROBABLY BE ME.

OKAY. I THINK CAROL, SHE'S OUR FULL TIME PROFESSIONAL.

SHE'S GOT HER HANDS FULL WITH OUR REGULAR PROCESSING AND PAYROLL AND REPORTING AND WORKER'S COMP AND A LAUNDRY LIST OF MANY THINGS THAT KEEP HER VERY, VERY BUSY. WHAT I THINK WOULD PROBABLY BE A GOOD START FOR ME, JUST GOING BACK, I'VE DONE SOME DIGGING AND RESEARCH INTO THE STATE PROGRAM AND OBVIOUSLY WHAT WOULD BE IDEAL FOR US IS TO RIGHT SIZE IT.

AND I THINK THERE ARE GOING TO BE THERE ARE GOING TO BE MULTIPLE CONSIDERATIONS HERE BECAUSE WE HAVE, I THINK, THE STATE WE HAVE, WHAT, 48,001 THOUSAND PEOPLE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT FOR US.

I WOULD LOVE TO TAKE A GLOBAL LOOK AT HOW WE'RE DOING DEPARTMENT WISE, FIGURE OUT STAFFING WISE, BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, AND WE JUST TALKED ABOUT WITH OUR POLICE AND FIRE THAT WE WERE WORKING REALLY HARD TO TRY TO GET FULLY STAFFED IN THE FIRST PLACE.

SO TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO ADAPT WHEN WE HAVE PEOPLE OFF CELEBRATING THIS JOYOUS OCCASION AND WELCOMING THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS HOME, GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH ADOPTIVE CHILDREN, THEIR BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN GETTING ACQUAINTED AND JUST TRYING TO FIGURE HOW WE COVER THAT.

SO IF WE'RE GOING TO BE DOWN, FOLKS, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY, WE'VE JUST WE HAVE A LOT OF CONSIDERATIONS, A LOT OF THINGS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.

IS IT TOUGH TECHNICALLY WITH A PAYROLL SYSTEM TO DO IT OR IS IT PRETTY EASY THROUGH THE PAYROLL SYSTEM? NO, IT'S VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD.

FOR PAYROLL, WE CAN FIGURE THAT OUT.

THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM.

I THINK FOR US, IT'S JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR OPERATIONS AND MAKING SURE WE'RE DOING IT RIGHT AND TAKING CARE OF EVERYBODY ALL ACROSS THE BOARD SO THAT THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE OFF WITH THEIR THEIR LOVED ONES ARE HAVING A WONDERFUL BONDING EXPERIENCE AND LOOKING WE'RE NOT TEXTING THEM EVERY DAY.

HOW DO WE DO THIS? HELP US OUT.

RIGHT. THAT WAS MY ONLY QUESTION.

THANK YOU, DIRECTOR. I APPRECIATE YOU RESPONDING TO THAT.

AND ANY TIME. AND SORRY I MISSED THAT.

I WAS VERY SICK AT THAT LAST MEETING, SO I'M SORRY I MISSED IT.

COULD I ASK YOU A QUESTION? THIS TIME LIMIT FOR IMPLEMENTATION? JANUARY 1ST, 2024.

DO YOU HAVE ANY RESERVATIONS ABOUT THAT LIMITED TIME? IT'S GOING TO BE TRICKY, I CAN TELL YOU.

AND I THINK WITH ALL THE OTHER THINGS WE'VE GOT GOING, WE STILL DO NEED TO WORK ON OUR RFP FOR THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS.

SO THAT'S STILL WITHIN THIS QUARTER DOES NEED TO TAKE PLACE.

AND AS I SAID, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE YEAR, SO OUR HR ADMINISTRATOR, CAROL, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE END OF YEAR WRAP UP PAYROLL CHANGES, STIPENDS, LOTS OF PROCESSING.

SO SHE'S GOING TO BE VERY, VERY BUSY AS AS USUAL, BUT ESPECIALLY SO AT THE END OF THE YEAR.

SO IT'LL TAKE SOME DOING.

BUT IF THIS WE WANT TO DO WHAT WE CAN, ESPECIALLY TO MAKE THIS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR FOLKS.

SO IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THERE WAS NO REAL OBJECTION TO TRYING TRUSTEE WISINSKI THANK YOU.

[00:30:07]

SUPERVISOR. AGAIN, WANT TO THANK TRUSTEES AND CLERK FOR DOING THIS, BRINGING THIS TO US.

IT IS FANTASTIC.

I DO WORK FOR THE STATE OF MICHIGAN.

I'VE HAD SEVERAL EMPLOYEES TAKE ADVANTAGE AND IT REALLY HAS BOOSTED MORALE AND GIVES THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK TO WORK FULLY PREPARED, SO CLOSE TO FULLY.

AND THAT DEPENDS ON NEW OR SECOND PARENTS.

BUT THAT'S THE ONLY THING I WANTED TO BRING UP.

IT SAYS ALLOWING NEW PARENTS UP TO 12 WEEKS.

I UNDERSTAND THAT'S WHAT THE STATE OF MICHIGAN SAYS AS WELL.

I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THAT IT'S FOR EACH CHILD AND NOT JUST NEW.

THAT'S RIGHT. YES.

OKAY. GOOD CLARIFICATION.

THANK YOU. MR. DESCHAINE, I DO WANT TO THANK THE TRUSTEES AND THE CLERK FOR BRINGING THIS TO THE BOARD'S ATTENTION.

IT REALLY DOVETAILS WITH THE CONVERSATION WE HAD EARLIER ABOUT POLICE STAFFING AND HOW IT'S LOW.

WE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE 30% OF OUR POLICE FORCE FEMALE AT THIS POINT, AND I THINK MANY OF THEM, MORE THAN HALF AT LEAST, WOULD BE OF THE AGE THAT THEY MAY BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS. AND THIS WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT INCENTIVE.

I WOULD HOPE TO HOLD ON TO THEM AND LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY CAN START A FAMILY AND STAY WITH THE MERIDIAN TEAM AND.

COME BACK TO WORK, HAVING HAD A SUFFICIENT TIME TO RECOVER.

AND WHEN THOSE FIRST THREE MONTHS OR SO WITH THEIR NEW BABY.

SO, IT'S A GREAT NEW POLICY.

IT MAY COST US SOME MONEY.

IT'S GOING TO COST SOME MONEY PERHAPS IN OVERTIME OR PART TIME WORK.

BUT IT'S WORTH THE TRADE OFF OF RETAINING OUR HIGH QUALITY EMPLOYEES.

I'D LIKE TO.

OKAY. I THINK SHE'S GOING TO SAY TRUSTEE THE CLERK GUTHRIE.

I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR WITH YOUR COMMENT THAT IT IS FOR FATHERS AND MOTHERS, NOT JUST MOTHERS.

I JUST WANTED TO BE PARENTS FOR PARENTS.

I JUST WANTED TO BE CLEAR FOR PARENTS.

YES, FOR FATHERS AND MOTHERS, WHICH MAKES 100% OF THE POLICE FORCE COULD QUALIFY.

30% COULD QUALIFY.

MR. WALSH, YOU HAD A COMMENT TO ADD TO THIS? WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING IT FORWARD.

I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IN THIS CASE SO THAT WE DON'T IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CARRY FORWARD THE AIM AND THE GOAL THAT THE BOARD WANTS.

I THINK THIS CAN BE DONE IN SHORT ORDER.

I THINK IF YOU GO TO COUNCIL AND YOU SIT DOWN WITH LEGAL COUNSEL, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE 30 EXAMPLES OF POLICIES ACROSS THE STATE THAT THEY'VE USED.

AND I THINK MEETING THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE THAT DIFFICULT.

HONEST. I THINK WE'LL HAVE SOMETHING BACK TO YOU.

THE FIRST MEETING IN DECEMBER EASILY AND THE SECOND MEETING IN DECEMBER FOR ACTION.

SO, I'M NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THE TIMELINE SO MUCH, BUT I REALLY THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ALIGN CLOSELY WITH THE BOARD HERE BECAUSE NOW IT'S BEING HANDED TO STAFF, AND I DON'T WANT THE BOARD TO BE OUT OF THE PROCESS.

SO IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL IF THE BOARD WERE TO APPOINT ONE PERSON THAT WANTS TO SIT DOWN WHEN WE MEET AND MEET WITH US AND MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING ALIGNS, BECAUSE WE COULD GO TAKE OFF AND DO SOMETHING AND NOT BE WHAT YOU WANT AND IT'S GOING TO SLOW US DOWN IN THE END.

SO WHY NOT INVITE YOU INTO THE TENT NOW RATHER THAN TRYING TO CREATE THAT LATER? SO WHOEVER, IF THERE'S A MEMBER WHO WANTS TO SERVE WITH US, THEN WE CAN MAKE SURE WE'RE ALIGNED TOGETHER WHEN WE BRING IT BACK.

THAT'S JUST MY POINT. OKAY.

BUT TRUSTEE HENDRICKSON, I'D BE HAPPY TO DO THAT IF THE BOARD WOULD ENTRUST ME WITH THAT.

OKAY. YES.

THAT DOES NOT NEED TO GO INTO OUR MOTION NECESSARILY.

NO, NO, NO. BUT WE APPRECIATE WE APPRECIATE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO HELP US PUT THAT TOGETHER.

TRUSTEE, I MEAN, TREASURER.

CLERK GUTHRIE THANK YOU.

YOU LOOK NOTHING LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST MEETING.

I JUST HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE MANAGER.

SO, WHEN YOU SAY BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT BRINGING A POLICY BACK TO THE BOARD AT A BOARD MEETING? OKAY. I JUST WANTED TO BE CLEAR. THANK YOU.

YEAH. AND I THINK THIS PROCESS THAT WE NOW HAVE, IF YOU VOTE FOR IT TONIGHT IN PLACE, WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL ALIGNED TOGETHER.

AND WHEN IT COMES BACK IN DECEMBER, IT WILL BE RESEMBLANCE OF WHAT THE BOARD WANTED BACK IN OCTOBER.

RIGHT. AND YOU WILL BE TAKING BURDEN OFF STAFF, WORKING WITH THE TOWNSHIP ATTORNEYS ON THIS LIKE THEY DON'T HAVE TO WRITE IT AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.

OH, NO, NO. WE'LL BE WORKING WITH COUNSEL ON THIS.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE GET IT RIGHT AND LEGAL AT THE SAME TIME.

AND ALSO IT NEEDS TO BE RESEMBLE WHAT THE BOARD POLICY WANTS.

SO WE'LL HAVE THAT.

WE'LL WORK TOGETHER, WE'LL WORK AROUND SCHEDULES, AND I THINK WE'LL COME UP WITH A GOOD POLICY.

I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA.

OTHER COMMENTS THEN? THE MOTION IS TO INSTRUCT THE MANAGER AND THE HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR TO CREATE A DRAFT PAID PARENTAL LEAVE

[00:35:08]

POLICY FOR MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP EMPLOYEES AND RETURN IT TO THE TOWNSHIP BOARD FOR FINAL APPROVAL IN TIME FOR IMPLEMENTATION BY JANUARY 1ST, 2024. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION? PLEASE SAY YES.

YES. YES. OPPOSED? NO. THE CHAIR VOTES YES AND THE MOTION PASSES.

THANK YOU. ITEM 12.B HAS TO DO WITH HALLOWEEN TRICK OR

[12.B. 2023 Halloween Trick-or-Treat Hours]

TREATING HOURS.

THIS ALSO COMES TO US FROM CHIEF OF POLICE, NEWLY NEW CHIEF OF POLICE.

GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I KNOW THIS IS THE PART OF THE MEETING THAT ALL THE KIDS AT HOME THAT ARE WATCHING HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE HALLOWEEN HOURS THIS YEAR.

HISTORICALLY, WE HAVE DONE HALLOWEEN HOURS FOR TRICK OR TREATING FROM 6 P.M.

TO 8 P.M. I PROPOSE THAT WE CONTINUE WITH THE SAME HOURS THIS YEAR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31ST, 6 P.M.

TO 8 P.M. OKAY.

THANK YOU. TRUSTEE WILSON.

I MOVE TO AUTHORIZE TRICK OR TREATING ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31ST, 2023, FROM 6 P.M.

TO 8 P.M.

SUPPORT SUPPORTED BY CLERK GUTHRIE.

MR. DESCHAINE, BEFORE YOU VOTE ON THIS, YOU WANT TO GIVE US THE DATE AND TIME OF YOUR HALLOWEEN OPEN HOUSE, WHICH IS A HUGE HIT WITH OUR KIDS EVERY YEAR.

ABSOLUTELY, YEAH. THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO COME OUT OCTOBER 28TH, WHICH IS A SATURDAY.

WE'RE DOING IT 10 A.M.

TO 1 P.M.

THIS YEAR. AND I GUESS WE'RE HAPPY THAT WE'RE KIND OF PAST THE THE SOME OF THE RESTRICTIONS WE HAD WITH COVID THIS YEAR.

WE CAN HOPEFULLY GET THROUGH A COUPLE HUNDRED KIDS AS WE DID LAST YEAR.

OUR COSTUMES ALLOWED FOR THIS.

THEY ARE ENCOURAGED. YES, WE ENCOURAGED.

YES. THANK YOU.

AND TRUSTEE HENDRICKSON.

I'LL SAY THAT MY FAMILY AND I ATTENDED THE OPEN HOUSE LAST YEAR AND ABSOLUTELY HAD A BLAST.

AND I'M SURE WE'LL BE BACK AGAIN.

AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE'VE FIXED OUR AUDIO ISSUES ON HOME TV.

SO IF WE HAVEN'T, TRICK OR TREATING IS FROM SIX EIGHT, COUNT THE RINGS.

OKAY, CLERK GUTHRIE, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS TO THE BOARD.

IT SEEMS SIMPLE, BUT I KNOW FOR MY FORMER POSITION, ONCE OCTOBER HITS, EVERYBODY'S CALLING AND ASKING WHEN THEIR TRICK OR TREAT IS ON.

SO YES, AND THAT'S GREAT.

SO, I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THIS AND THE BOARD MAKING A MOTION TO PASS THIS HOPEFULLY TONIGHT.

SO, ANYONE ELSE? YOURS A LITTLE OLD FOR THIS I'M NOT.

OKAY, SO THE MOTION IS TO AUTHORIZE TRICK OR TREATING ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31ST, 2023, FROM 6 P.M.

TO 8:00 PM.

ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION? PLEASE SAY YES.

YES. YES. OPPOSED? NO. CHAIR VOTES YES.

AND THE MOTION PASSES.

THANK YOU. THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS

[13.A. Corridor Improvement Authority Tax Increment Financing]

13 B.

HEY, HEY, HEY.

THERE IS NOT A 29 IN THE PACKET.

OH, SORRY, I DIDN'T BOOKMARK IT.

OH, OKAY.

SO, I'M LOST IN MY PACKET.

PAGE 29. I'M ALREADY ON 91, SO THAT DOESN'T WORK.

NO, IT'S BECAUSE IT WAS.

IT WAS ALREADY ON.

IT WAS ALSO 12 OR 9 E SO IT WAS MUCH EARLIER IN THE PACKET.

OH, IT SHOULD BE.

IT'S PROBABLY WITH CONSENT.

IT'S 9 A.M. 13.A.

OH, OKAY.

I DIDN'T CATCH THAT ONE.

GIVE ME A MINUTE, PLEASE.

NINE AND 13.A.

YES, YOU GOT IT. THIS IS ABOUT THE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY TIFF DISCUSSION AND REQUEST TO SET A PUBLIC HEARING FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER THE 9TH, 2023, WHICH WE HAVE ALREADY DONE.

AND THIS ISSUE WILL BE BROUGHT TO US BY AMBER CLARK NEIGHBORHOODS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR.

PLEASE. GOOD EVENING.

[00:40:02]

WE'VE BEEN ANTICIPATING I'VE BEEN ANTICIPATING BEING IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY.

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.

EARLIER THIS YEAR, WHEN WE SET OUR TOWNSHIP GOALS, THE GOAL OF PURSUING A TAX INCREMENT FINANCE PLAN FOR THE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY WAS SET BY THE TOWNSHIP BOARD AND OUR FIRST STEP WAS TO ALLOW THE CIA TO EVEN HAVE A TIFF DISCUSSION.

SO THIS BOARD ALLOWED THAT.

AFTER OUR APRIL MEETING OF THIS YEAR.

THE CIA IS A SMALL BODY RIGHT NOW.

WE'RE WORKING ON TRYING TO BUILD THE BUILD UP OUR COMMISSION SO WE MEET EVERY OTHER MONTH.

AND SO TONIGHT WE ARE ENTERING OUR FIRST PUBLIC DISCUSSION WITH THE BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY ABOUT OUR PROPOSED TAX INCREMENT FINANCE PLAN.

OOPS, I'M NOT POINTING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

FIGURE THAT OUT. OKAY, SO THIS IS THE CIA, THE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY.

YES, I LIKE SAYING I'M IN THE CIA BECAUSE IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I'M A SPY.

YEAH, IT IS HUGE.

AS FAR AS A DISTRICT IN THE COMMUNITY, WE HAVE TWO DEFINED DISTRICTS PARCELED OFF WITH THE ABILITY FOR A TAX INCREMENT FINANCE PLAN.

THE FIRST IS THE DDA, THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, THAT WE TALK ABOUT WITH THE VILLAGE OF OKEMOS PROJECT.

I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT A PORTION OF THIS BOUNDARY FOR THE CIA DOES INCLUDE PARCELS THAT ARE IN THE DDA, AND SO WE'LL GET TO HOW WE MANAGE COMING UP WITH A CAPTURE PLAN BECAUSE THOSE PARCELS CANNOT BE A PART OF THE TIFF, SO THEY WILL NOT ACTUALLY BE INVOLVED WITH THE TIFF, BUT BECAUSE THEY ARE WITHIN THE BOUNDARY, ANY OF THOSE PARCELS IN THEORY COULD COME TO THE CIA FOR THIS TAX INCENTIVE.

THE PARCELS IN BLUE ARE THE PARCELS THAT ARE GOING TO BE INCORPORATED WITH OUR TAX CAPTURE.

SO I'M GOING TO GO BACK REALLY QUICKLY.

REMEMBER, THIS IS THE WHOLE THING, BUT THE PARCELS IN BLUE ARE THE ONLY PART OF THE CAPTURE.

WHAT YOU'LL SEE MISSING, BESIDES THE PARCELS THAT ARE A PART OF THE DDA IS ARE THE MALL PARCELS AND THE MALL IS ACTUALLY ON A COMMERCIAL PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT ZONING.

SO THAT ACTUALLY INCLUDES PARCELS THAT ARE ACROSS THE STREET ON CENTRAL PARK.

SO THAT'S KOHL'S, HOME DEPOT, TARGET, MARSHALLS, THAT COMMERCIAL COMPLEX, THE KELLY'S CONSIGNMENT COMPLEX, THAT WHOLE AREA OVER THERE IS ALL COMMERCIAL AND ALL INCLUDED UNDERNEATH ONE ZONING.

THE PARCELS IN BLUE HAVE REMOVED MANY OF THOSE BIG BOX STORES FROM THE CAPTURE.

PART OF THAT REASON IS THE BIG BOX THEORY, RIGHT? WE KNOW THAT MANY OF THE STORES EVERY YEAR COME BACK TO OUR ASSESSOR'S OFFICE, DO A TAX APPEAL, AND THEY REDUCE THE VALUE OF THEIR OF THEIR PROPERTY.

THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO LOTS OF BIG BOX STORES HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT FOR QUITE SOME TIME.

MICHIGAN TAX LOCAL UNITS OF GOVERNMENTS HAVE BEEN FIGHTING THAT TAX LAW.

BUT IT DOES WORK.

AND WE'VE KNOWN FROM HISTORY THAT ANY BIG BOX OFFICE STORE THAT DOES THAT IN AN ACTIVE TIFF, IT REDUCES THE OVERALL CAPTURE FOR THE ENTIRE TIFF.

SO WE SELECTIVELY REMOVED ANY OF THE MAJOR BOX OFFICE LOCATIONS OUT OF THE CAPTURE.

THEY CAN STILL PRESENT THEMSELVES WITH A PROPOSED PLAN TO THE CIA IF THEY HAD ONE.

IT DOESN'T MEAN THE CIA HAS TO SUPPORT THEM.

THAT WOULD BE UP TO THAT BODY.

BUT WE HAVE REMOVED THEM FROM THE CAPTURE.

AND IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE, PLEASE FEEL FREE.

I HAVE ONE BEFORE YOU MOVE THAT SOME A LITTLE MAP CHALLENGE.

I CAN FIND GRAND RIVER ANYWHERE ON ANY MAP.

WHERE IS OKEMOS ROAD ON THIS MAP? OKEMOS ROAD.

OH, SHOOT. THAT'S DOWNTOWN OKEMOS.

OH, DO I HAVE A POINTER? I DO.

IT'S RIGHT HERE.

OH, NO, YOU'RE WRONG. SO, THIS IS MARSH AND GRAND RIVER.

GRAND RIVER? THAT'S OKEMOS RIGHT HERE.

THIS IS GRAND RIVER ALL ALONG HERE.

SO, THIS INTERSECTION IS MARSH AND GRAND RIVER.

THIS IS OKEMOS AND GRAND RIVER RIGHT THERE.

SO WHERE ARE YOU? POINT IS, IT'S PETSMART.

YEAH, LIKE PET SUPPLIES.

PLUS, WALGREENS RIGHT HERE.

YEP. NOTHING.

BUNDT CAKES. AND THEN THE NEW ASPEN DENTAL.

SO WHY DOES MARSH AND GRAND RIVER LOOK LIKE THE ROUNDABOUT? I'M NOT SURE.

I DIDN'T. I DIDN'T DRAW THIS MAP, MA'AM.

I'M SORRY. THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THREW ME OFF.

THIS IS ZOOMED IN. I'M SORRY.

TINY PARCELS. I APOLOGIZE, MA'AM.

THAT'S OKAY. PLEASE, PLEASE CONTINUE.

SO I DON'T WANT TO.

THIS IS THE THING THAT I FEEL LIKE EVERY TAX JURISDICTION THAT'S GOING TO BE THAT WE HOPE TO BE A PART OF THIS PLAN IS GOING TO BE WAITING FOR.

OKAY, GIVE ME THE MEAT AND POTATOES.

SO I DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE YOU WAIT FOR THE MEAT AND POTATOES AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.

SO. OH, GEEZ, I HOPE THESE ARE BIG ENOUGH FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO SEE.

[00:45:01]

BUT WE WANTED TO SHOW EVERYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY WHAT THE GENERAL CAPTURE WOULD BE OVER 20 YEARS.

SO THIS IS A 20 YEAR DURATION PLAN.

WE ARE PROPOSING A 20% PASS THROUGH.

THAT'S FUN TAX INCENTIVE LANGUAGE TO SAY FOR EVERY TAX JURISDICTION THAT'S GOING TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PLAN, WHICH WOULD BE THE TOWNSHIP, INGHAM COUNTY, ELK, CATA AND THE AIRPORT.

WE ARE WE ARE NOT TAKING OUR REQUESTS TO CATTLE BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT PARTICIPATED IN A TIF PLAN BEFORE.

WE DON'T BELIEVE THAT THEY WOULD MAKE THAT DECISION NOW.

BUT THE OTHER FIVE WE'VE CONSIDERED A 20% PASS THROUGH, SO THE CIA WOULD TAKE 80% OF THE INCREASED GENERATED VALUES OF THE PROPERTIES AND 20% WOULD MOVE THROUGH TO ALL FIVE TAX JURISDICTIONS, AND THAT CAN BE NEGOTIATED.

SO IF CATA WANTS 30% OF WHAT THEY INITIALLY WOULD GET, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN USE AS A NEGOTIATION TACTIC WITH EACH TAX JURISDICTION TO GET THEM COMMITTED FOR THE 20 YEAR DURATION.

SO THOSE ARE THE FIRST FEW YEARS.

SORRY, I DIDN'T HAVE A BIG ENOUGH SCREEN TO PUT IT ALL THROUGH.

BUT YOU SEE, AS WE INCREASE OVER THE FIRST FEW YEARS, MY FIRST YEAR THERE AT THE END OF 2024, OUR CAPTURE WOULD BE ABOUT $27,196. IT'S NOT A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY, BUT AS YOU SEE OVER THE YEARS, WE DO INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY AND IT'S A LARGE AMOUNT TO INVEST IN THE CORRIDOR.

AND AS YOU SEE, THE CORRIDOR IS VERY LARGE.

AND SO ANY MAJOR REDEVELOPMENT MORE THAN LIKELY IS GOING TO BE COSTLY.

ALL RIGHT. AND HERE'S EVERYBODY.

SO THE QUESTION I'VE HAD MOST OFTEN FROM ANYBODY THAT I'VE HAD A DISCUSSION WITH ABOUT BEING A PART OF THE TIFF IS WHAT IS THE CIA GOING TO GET AND WHAT WHAT IS THE IMPACT TO ANYBODY'S REGULAR GENERAL FUND? FIRST YEAR OF CAPTURE FOR MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP IS A $10,000 INVESTMENT ESSENTIALLY, OR $9,000 INVESTMENT IN THE CIA.

AFTER 20 YEARS, THE TOWNSHIP WILL HAVE INVESTED WITH A 2% INFLATION.

SO WE'RE NOT WE'RE NOT MAKING A LARGE ASSUMPTION ABOUT ABOUT THE INFLATION MULTIPLIER.

2% IS TYPICALLY THE SUGGESTED AMOUNT FOR ANY TIFF PLAN BECAUSE IT FLUCTUATES.

AND FOR, I HAD THIS STATISTIC WRITTEN DOWN ON MY NOTES FOR FROM 2020, FROM 2010 TO 2019, OUR MULTIPLIER WAS 2.6%.

OUR INFLATION RATE WAS 2.6%.

OBVIOUSLY IT'S CHANGED SINCE COVID AND THE ENVIRONMENT, BUT IT'S EASIER FOR US TO MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT THINKING THAT OUR CAPTURE WILL BE SMALLER AND LOWER THAN ASSUMING WE'RE GOING TO GET TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO INVEST.

AND THAT NOT BEING THE CASE AND INAPPROPRIATELY APPROVING A PLAN TO REIMBURSE WITHOUT GETTING THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF CAPTURE.

SO OVER 20 YEARS, MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP IS $2.6 MILLION.

THE CIA WOULD CAPTURE $6.5 MILLION.

THE OTHER ENTITIES THAT HAVE A VERY HIGH CONTRIBUTION ARE ELK, AS YOU CAN SEE IN INGHAM COUNTY.

SO DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CAPTURE AND THE TOWNSHIPS AND THE IMPLICATION TO THE TOWNSHIP? ALMOST A $200,000 INVESTMENT OVER THE OVER THE YEARS? OKAY. SO, WHERE DID THIS COME FROM? WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS AND WHY ARE WE TALKING NOW? OUR CIA WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2017 AS A PART OF OUR CONVERSATION RELATED TO THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT.

WE WANTED TO HAVE A FACE.

WE WANTED TO HAVE A POSITION AND SPEAK FOR MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP RESIDENTS.

SINCE THIS HUGE VISION FOR MICHIGAN AVENUE TO GRAND RIVER WAS COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE, THE BRT DID NOT GO FORWARD, BUT IT SEEMED LIKE OUR COMMUNITY HAD A LOT OF SUPPORT FOR COMING UP WITH A VISION AND A DEVELOPMENT GOAL FOR THE GRAND RIVER CORRIDOR THAT WE SEE THAT AS THE MOST ATTRACTIVE AREA IT IS.

IT DOES HAVE THE MOST BIG BOX RETAIL LOCATIONS.

IT CONTINUES TO GROW.

IT'S VERY ATTRACTIVE.

BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT MUCH OF DEVELOPMENT IS GOING TO START AT THE BEGINNING OF MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP ON GRAND RIVER AT BROOKFIELD.

IT STOPS.

I'VE HAD REAL ESTATE AGENTS TELL ME YOUR RETAIL STOPS AT CENTRAL PARK AT THE END OF CENTRAL PARK, ADOBE GRAND RIVER AREA.

SO THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX AND A LOT OF SUBDIVISIONS MOVING THAT WAY.

WE ALSO START COMING INTO OUR INNER URBAN AREA, OUR URBAN SERVICE BOUNDARY AREA.

SO WE'VE ESSENTIALLY TOLD THE DEVELOPMENT THAT'S OUR PLAN.

WE WANT CONCENTRATED AREAS WEST OF CENTRAL PARK AND THAT INCORPORATES MUCH OF THE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT

[00:50:01]

AUTHORITY. THIS IS WHAT WE GOT GOING ON.

OH, 2755 GRAND RIVER.

THAT'S SPECIALTY'S GROCERY STORE.

THAT THAT LOCATION, THAT PROJECT SITE.

IT'S SPEAKING TO US.

IT'S SCREAMING, HEY, THIS IS THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S VERY ATTRACTIVE FOR GRAND RIVER.

BUT ALSO LOOK AT WHERE THEY PUT THIS PROJECT, RIGHT? THEY COULD PUT IT ANYWHERE IN MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP, BUT THEY PICKED RIGHT THERE.

WE HAVE WHOLE FOODS ACROSS THE STREET.

YOU'VE SEEN THE DEVELOPMENT REPORTS.

YOU SEE THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF ACTIVITY COMING ALONG HERE.

CONSUMERS CREDIT UNION IS ACROSS THE STREET, WEST OF THE TRADER JOE'S, OR THE 277 SPECIALTY GROCERY STORE SITE.

SORRY, SORRY ABOUT THAT.

THERE'S A LOT OF ACTIVITY.

IT'S BEEN ESTABLISHED.

WE LOVE THIS AREA.

IT PULLS TOGETHER THE EAST LANSING MERIDIAN KIND OF CORRIDOR.

WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF TRAFFIC, HEAVILY TRAFFICKED AREAS.

BUT I WILL POINT OUT THAT WE DID NOT GIVE AN ESTIMATE OF WHAT ANY OF THOSE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENTS ARE GOING TO DO TO THE POTENTIAL CAPTURE.

WE JUST WE LEFT THEM WITH THE VALUES THAT THEY CURRENTLY HAVE.

AND THAT IS ANOTHER REASON WHY WE'RE HOPING TO GET THE PLAN ADOPTED IN 2023 SO THAT THAT BASE YEAR WOULD BE ESTABLISHED, WHICH MEANS WHEN ANY OF THOSE PROJECTS COME ONLINE INTO 2024, THAT INCREASE WOULD COME BACK TO THE CIA ESSENTIALLY PAYING OURSELVES IN ORDER TO REINVEST BACK INTO THE CORRIDOR. AND I LOOK AT THIS GUY ALL THE TIME, AND I CANNOT WAIT TO REDEVELOP THAT THING.

RIGHT. PULL PULL THE PROPERTY UP TO THE ROAD, GIVE IT SOME, GIVE IT SOME BEAUTY.

BUT IT'S REALLY HARD TO GO UP TO PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE CIA AND SAY, HEY, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO WITH YOUR PROPERTY? AND THEY SAY, WELL, I KNOW I NEED TO DO THIS, THIS AND THIS.

MUCH OF IT'S GOING TO BE PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE.

I NEED TO MOVE MY WHOLE BUILDING.

I NEED TO DEMO.

THERE ARE SOME SITES ALONG GRAND RIVER.

THERE'S A COUPLE I CAN THINK OF OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD THAT USED TO BE GAS STATIONS.

THEY WOULD NEED A BROWNFIELD PLAN THERE.

THE PROPERTY OWNERS ARE IMMEDIATELY TIRED, AND I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO TO GIVE THEM IN ORDER TO INCENTIVIZE THEM FOR REDEVELOPMENT.

AND THEN MERIDIAN MALL.

MERIDIAN MALL IS INCLUDED.

IT'S IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CORRIDOR ITSELF, IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR COMMUNITY.

IT IS OUR MAJOR COMMERCIAL RETAIL AREA.

IT DOES DRAG DOWN OUR COMMERCIAL VACANCY RATE.

I THINK WE'RE AT A 13% COMMERCIAL VACANCY RATE ACROSS THE ENTIRE TOWNSHIP.

AND THEY'RE JUST MEANING COMMERCIAL RETAIL PROFESSIONAL OFFICES NOT INCLUDED IN THAT.

WE HAVE TARGET MARSHALLS ACROSS THE WAY, HUGE PARKING LOTS, A LOT OF HUGE PARKING LOTS IN THIS AREA.

AND WE ALL HAVE A VISION FOR UTILIZING EACH OF THESE SPACES AT THEIR HIGHEST USE.

EVERY TIME WE SPEAK WITH THE MALL ABOUT ANY POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY, WE'RE THIS CLOSE.

BUT THEY KNOW THAT IN ORDER TO MAKE THE SITE WORK FOR ANY POTENTIAL TENANT, IT'S GOING TO NEED A MAJOR UPDATE.

I MEAN, I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE PUBLICLY, THERE THEY ARE ON DIAL UP.

THEY HAVE DIAL UP INTERNET FOR THE TENANTS IN THE MALL.

IT'S VERY OUTDATED.

IT'S COMPLICATED.

THERE ARE VERY MANY LAYERS TO WHO OWNS AND MANAGES THE MALL.

SO ANYTIME THEY WANT TO BRING AN EXCITING OPERATOR TO ANY WING OF THE MALL, THAT'S A HUGE DISCUSSION.

AND MOST OF THE TIME IT COMES DOWN TO COST.

WE'VE HAD TWO POTENTIAL PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN PUSHED BACK ALSO BECAUSE OF PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS.

THE DRAIN OFFICE HAS SAID MULTIPLE TIMES THAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO REDUCE THE IMPERVIOUS ACREAGE AT THE MALL.

IT'S TOO MUCH PARKING.

IT'S EXACERBATING THE FLOODING ISSUES OF THE COMMUNITY, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN A MOMENT.

OKAY. SO OUR TYPICAL PLAN, OUR PLAN AS PROPOSED, AGREES TO THE PASS THROUGH.

AS I SPOKE ABOUT IT PRIORITIZES INFILL DEVELOPMENT AND SPECIFICALLY CONCENTRATED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COMMUNITY AT MERIDIAN MALL.

THE CIA IS VERY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT FINDING ENHANCED PEDESTRIAN SAFETY OPPORTUNITIES.

SO THERE'S THREE PEDESTRIAN ISLANDS ALONG GRAND RIVER RIGHT NOW BETWEEN THE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY COMMISSION AND THE CIA.

THEY CAME TOGETHER WITH SUPPORT OF MDOT AND GOT THOSE INSTALLED WITH THE RECONSTRUCTION OF GRAND RIVER.

THEY DON'T LIKE THAT.

IT DOESN'T HAVE FLASHING BEACONS.

THEY DON'T LIKE THAT THERE AREN'T OTHER ENHANCED OPPORTUNITIES ALONG THE CORRIDOR FOR PEDESTRIANS OR BIKERS TRYING TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SAFETY.

MDOT HAD TOLD US WE'LL PUT IN THOSE BEACONS, BUT YOU'VE GOT TO PAY FOR THEM.

THEY DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY. SO THERE WAS NOTHING WE COULD DO.

WE'RE HOPING THAT AFTER THE CREATION OF THE TAX INCREMENT FINANCE PLAN, WE WILL BE ABLE TO GET SOME MONEY.

[00:55:04]

AS A GROUP PLAN AND EXECUTE GETTING THOSE RRFB, I THINK, BEACONS SET UP ON EITHER SIDE OF THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING SO THAT PEOPLE CAN INDICATE TO TRAFFIC THEY'RE GOING TO BE INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AS THEY ARE NOW.

IT IS UP TO THE PEDESTRIAN TO MAINTAIN THEIR SAFETY.

SO, I'LL SAY THAT SINCE WE'VE HAD SOME INCIDENCES IN THE PUBLIC RECENTLY ABOUT PEDESTRIAN SAFETY, BUT THE LAW IS THIS IS NOT.

PEDESTRIAN CROSSING IS NOT A TRAFFIC CONTROLLED LOCATION.

SO THE DRIVER IS NOT VIOLATING ANY LAWS IF THEY DO NOT SLOW DOWN OR STOP YOU AS A PEDESTRIAN ARE REQUIRED TO.

SO THE CIA KNOWS THAT.

AND WE'RE TRYING TO COME TOGETHER TO FIND ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE RECOGNIZE PEOPLE MIGHT BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET HERE IN GRAND RIVER AND THEN PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE, AS WE TALKED ABOUT, THE DRAIN OFFICE AND ANY OTHER PUBLIC UPDATES, MAKING A BETTER NON-MOTORIZED PATHWAY ALONG GRAND RIVER FOR THE FUTURE.

IT SUPPORTS OUR EFFORTS FOR REDEVELOPMENT, HIGHLY CONCENTRATION, AS I SAID, AND THE ACT THAT SUPPORTS THE CREATION OF A CIA SPECIFIES MIXED USE.

SO IT DOES PRIORITIZE MIXED USE AS AS A REASON TO INSTITUTE SOMETHING IN A MAJOR CORRIDOR.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CIA AND A DDA IS YOU CAN HAVE MORE THAN ONE CIA, YOU CAN ONLY HAVE ONE DDA, AND THERE'S ONLY THERE'S A COUPLE OTHER FINANCING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO, BUT THEY FUNCTION AND OPERATE BASICALLY THE SAME.

SO OUR PROPOSED PRIORITIES, AS YOU CAN SEE, ARE THE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS CONCENTRATED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COMMUNITY, CREATE SUPPORT AND ENHANCE SAFETY OPTIONS FOR TRAVEL, IMPLEMENT BEAUTIFICATION PROJECTS ALONG THE CORRIDOR AS WELL, AND MIXED USE PROJECTS.

AND I HAVE A SMALL SHORT TIMELINE ON THE SIDE SHOWING WHAT I'M HOPING TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH, THE FIRST THING BEING THE RFP INSTALLATION PROJECT AND THEN STARTING TO WORK ON A BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT AND WORKING WITH THE MALL TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE DO HAVE A TAX INCENTIVE THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO USE IN ORDER TO MAKE A DEVELOPMENT COME TRUE.

OH, GOSH. THIS IS BRINGING BACK NIGHTMARES, ISN'T IT? IT'S A VERY, VERY LONG EXPERIENCE FOR MANY BUSINESSES ON GRAND RIVER AFTER TWO YEARS OF COVID.

I MEAN, WE FELT AWFUL, BUT THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE THAT WE COULD DO.

THIS IS A PART OF THE BEGINNING OF TAKING CARE OF THE CORRIDOR.

RIGHT. AND WE WE TOOK THIS TO THE DRAIN OFFICE AND THE DRAIN OFFICE AND MDOT TOGETHER ADDRESSED THE FLOODING AT OKEMOS AND GRAND RIVER.

AND IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE CIA NEEDS ACCESS TO PUBLIC TO FUNDING FOR PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IS FOR THIS.

THESE ARE ACTUALLY FROM THE PRESENTATION FROM THE DRAIN OFFICE AND THEY'RE OKEMOS CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT PROJECT THAT THEY HOPE TO BRING FORWARD IN THE COMMUNITY AND ANTICIPATING THE FACT THAT IT'S GOING TO COST MANY INDIVIDUAL PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS A HEFTY SUM IN ORDER TO KEEP THIS FROM HAPPENING, IN ORDER FOR THEIR SITE TO BE UPDATED, TO KEEP THIS FROM HAPPENING IS ANOTHER REASON WHY WE WOULD LIKE TO INSTITUTE THE TIF PLAN.

AND AGAIN, TALKING ABOUT VEHICLE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY.

THESE ARE THESE ARE SOME QUICK STATISTICS, BUT FASTER YOU'RE GOING OBVIOUSLY HARDER TO SEE AND EASIER TO PERMANENTLY HURT A PEDESTRIAN IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND OF COURSE, THAT'S NONE OF OUR MISSION WHEN WE'RE ON GRAND RIVER.

BUT WE'RE TRYING TO CHANGE THE WAY THAT PEOPLE USE THIS ROAD, A FIVE-LANE HIGHWAY WITH A BUNCH OF ACTIVITY ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROAD.

I CAN UNDERSTAND AND SUPPORT THE CIA'S MISSION TO MAKE IT EVIDENT ABOUT THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS.

HERE ARE SOME OPTIONS FOR US.

SO FOR THE COMMUNITY SAKE, I PUT SOME DEFINITIONS IN HERE BECAUSE WE THROW AROUND A LOT OF A LOT OF WORDS.

AND NO, I'M REALLY NOT IN THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY.

THE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY BY TAX LAW IS IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS EVENING.

SO A TIFF I COMPARE IT SOMETIMES TO LIKE AN EQUITY LOAN WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S GOING TO BE VALUE, YOU'RE GOING TO REIMBURSE YOURSELF BASED OFF THE VALUE.

SO TIF IS NOT AN ADDITIONAL TAX, EVEN THOUGH THE WORD TAX IS IN THE DEFINITION.

I WISH THEY'D PICK SOMETHING ELSE.

IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT IS TAXED TO YOU.

THIS IS NOT AN ADDITIONAL PAYMENT ANYONE IS GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE.

THIS IS HOW THIS IS THE VEHICLE OF HOW WE'RE GOING TO GET THE FUNDING.

OKAY. SO BACK TO OUR GENERAL REVENUES.

THIS IS ESSENTIALLY THE END OF MY PRESENTATION ON OUR PROPOSAL.

I WILL ENTERTAIN SOME QUESTIONS.

BOARD MEMBERS. MR. DUCHAINE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

DIRECTOR CLARKE THIS IS VERY EXCITING AND WE, MANY OF US ON THE BOARD HEARD THE SAME KIND OF PRESENTATION ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN

[01:00:11]

TIF IN 2017 AND 2018.

WE APPROVED IT. WE WERE EXCITED ABOUT IT.

AND AS WE ALL KNOW, WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR FIVE YEARS, AND WE STILL AREN'T GOING VERTICAL.

THIS CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY TIF WILL, I THINK, TAKE SOME IMMEDIATE HAVE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT BECAUSE WE KNOW TRADER JOE'S IS BEING BUILT.

WE KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF REDEVELOPMENT GOING ON ALONG THE CORRIDOR AND SO THERE WILL BE INCREMENT TO CAPTURE AND TO FURTHER ENCOURAGE MORE DEVELOPMENT.

SO IT'S A GREAT IDEA.

IT'S TOO BAD THAT WE DIDN'T ALLOW THIS IN THE BEGINNING WITH THE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY TO ALLOW IT TO ALSO HAVE A TIF, BUT BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.

MY QUESTION FOR YOU IS, WHAT IS YOUR PLAN FOR REACHING OUT TO INGHAM COUNTY IN PARTICULAR TO GET THEIR BUY IN? YOU ASKED ME TO HELP PRESENT TO.

I'M GLAD TO DO THAT.

BUT INGHAM COUNTY IS THE BIG PLAYER IN THIS.

THEY ARE A BIG PLAYER IN THIS.

MY PLAN IS TO REACH OUT TO OUR WONDERFUL TOWNSHIP, INGHAM COUNTY COMMISSIONERS THAT REPRESENT MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP.

THAT WOULD BE IRENE CAHILL AND PULSIFER.

COMMISSIONER ZIMMER AND I'M MISSING ONE.

SCHAFER. SCHAFER YES.

AND COMMISSIONER SCHAFER. AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT OUR INTENT IS.

I THINK IF WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO SAY AS FAR AS CONVINCING THEM TO PARTICIPATE, IT'S A WIN-WIN FOR THE COUNTY AND THE TOWNSHIP SPECIFICALLY.

YOU'RE GETTING NEW RESIDENTS.

YOU'RE GETTING MORE PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING TO THE COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO USE ALL OF THE TOWNSHIP SERVICES, BUT ALSO ALL OF THE COUNTY SERVICES.

MY PLAN WILL BE TO REACH OUT TO OUR COMMISSIONERS, GET A FEEL FOR THEM, BUT THEY'VE BEEN EXCELLENT PARTNERS IN ANY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES BEFORE. I WAS ACTUALLY COMMISSIONER PULSIFER THAT GOT US FORWARD IN THE BOARD ABOUT THE COMMERCIAL REHABILITATION EXEMPTION THAT WE DID FOR HASLETT.

SO FAR, THEY'VE BEEN RESPONSIVE TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

THEY UNDERSTAND ITS POSITION IN THE TOWNSHIP.

IT'S A POWERFUL DECISION BECAUSE THEY ARE DECIDING, MAKING A POLICY TO ACCEPT LESS REVENUE FOR THE GREATER GOOD OF MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP.

PART OF THE TOWNSHIP. SO AS A POLITICAL DECISION, YOU SHOULD FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME AND I'M SURE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS FOR HELP WITH THIS.

THIS NEEDS TO BE A TEAM EFFORT.

WE ALL HAVE CONNECTIONS IN THE COUNTY, AT THE COUNTY LEVEL AND WE ALL NEED TO BE PART OF THIS BECAUSE IF WE DON'T GIVE IT THE FULL COURT PRESS AND ALL EFFORT WE'VE GOT, IT COULD VERY WELL FAIL. FAIL? ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY.

WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

LOOK FORWARD TO THAT. JESSE WODZINSKI THANK YOU, MADAM SUPERVISOR.

THANK YOU, DIRECTOR CLARK.

THAT WAS, I THINK, THE BEST PRESENTATION THAT I'VE HEARD TO EXPLAIN A TIF.

SO, THANK YOU. ALTHOUGH I READ IT SEVERAL TIMES.

THANK YOU. IT'S TOUGH.

IT IS. YOU'VE MADE SOME GREAT ANALOGIES THAT WERE VERY HELPFUL.

TWO VERY MINOR THINGS.

BUT IF I GO TO PAGE 13, WHICH IS A FUTURE LAND USE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY DISTRICT, IT LOOKS LIKE THE MALL AREA HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS MIXED-USE CORE.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE WHAT MIXED USE WOULD YOU HAVE IN A PREDOMINANTLY COMMERCIAL AREA? CORRECT. YEAH, THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.

SO PART OF IT COMES FROM SOME CONVERSATIONS WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD WITH THE CBL PARTNERS.

IT SOUNDS LIKE THEIR PROPOSAL WOULD BE A COMBINATION OF USE AND SO I WOULD SUGGEST RESIDENTIAL IN SOME CAPACITY AND THEN EITHER A COUPLE SIZED COMMERCIAL TENANTS OR A VERY LARGE COMMERCIAL TENANT ON SOME PORTION OF THE MALL.

IT IS MIXED USE IN THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP BECAUSE IT MAKES GOOD SENSE FOR MULTIPLE THINGS TO BE HAPPENING ON SUCH A LARGE COMPLEX IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL AS WE'RE HOPING WITH THE ADOPTION OF THE MASTER PLAN, THAT THAT'S ALSO THE LANGUAGE THAT'S IN THE MASTER PLAN IS THAT THIS COULD POSSIBLY BECOME A PCA IS A HOPE.

IF THE COMMUNITY SUPPORTS SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WHICH WOULD GRANT IT.

THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE OKEMOS AND HASLETT PCA HAD FOR AN EXPANDED VISION AND DENSITY IN THE AREA.

IT ALSO CIRCUMVENTS THE NEED TO CHANGE THE ZONING, WHICH COULD GET VERY COMPLICATED BECAUSE THERE'S OTHER PARCELS THAT ARE CONNECTED WITH THE MALL PARCEL THAT HAVE THE CPWD AND WE DON'T WANT THEM TO HAVE A NECESSARILY A MIXED USE OR A RESIDENTIAL USE.

SO, ALLOWING THE MALL TO HAVE THIS MIXED-USE KIND OF FEEL IN THIS MIXED-USE LOOK WOULD FOR ANY.

POSSIBLE TENANT MAKES IT EASIER FOR THE MALL TO POTENTIALLY FIND A TENANT AND GET THEM SIGNED AND THEN LET US KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO NEED TO DO TO THE DEVELOPMENT.

[01:05:04]

AND THESE HAVE BEEN SOME PRETTY BIG NAMES FOR PROJECTS THAT HAVE COME FORWARD AND FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GO THROUGH BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO REALLY UPDATE THE MALL AREA.

THANK YOU. ONE OTHER VERY SMALL PAGE FIVE IN I SORRY I DIDN'T BRING MY GLASSES.

AUTHORITY'S SPELLED WRONG.

OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I APPRECIATE THAT. THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

THANK YOU, SUPERVISOR. THANK YOU, DIRECTOR.

OKAY, I SEE IT. THANK YOU, JUSTIN HENDRICKSON.

THANK YOU, MA'AM. SUPERVISOR AND THANK YOU TO DIRECTOR CLARK AND THE CIA FOR THEIR WORK ON ON THIS PLAN.

WHEN I WAS ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION, I WAS THE LIAISON TO THE CIA.

AND TO SAY THAT THIS CAME UP AT EVERY MEETING, HOW THEY WISHED THEY HAD A TIFF WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT.

YOU KNOW, IT WAS SORT OF A BODY WITH A REALLY HOPEFUL GROUP OF PEOPLE AND NOT A WHOLE LOT THEY COULD DO EXCEPT WRITE LETTERS TO SUPPORT VARIOUS THINGS THAT WERE ALREADY HAPPENING OR GOING TO HAPPEN ANYWAY.

SO TO GIVE THEM ESSENTIALLY A BUDGET AND SAY, NOW YOU CAN ACTUALLY GO DO THOSE THINGS THAT YOU'VE BEEN WANTING TO I MEAN, YOU LOOK AT PAGES EIGHT, NINE AND TEN OF YOUR YOUR PLAN HERE.

THERE'S $24 MILLION OF WANT AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT $6.5 MILLION OF OF CAPTURE.

AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE NEED FOR THIS INVESTMENT CERTAINLY IS THERE.

AND IT'S JUST GOING TO BE A QUESTION OF HOW BEST TO DIRECT THE MONEY SHOULD ALL THIS GO THROUGH TO SEE IMPACTFUL CHANGE QUICKLY.

AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST DEVELOPMENT COMES IN AND THE AMOUNT GROWS AND THE SNOWBALL EFFECT OF THIS MONEY, THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT IS SUBSTANTIAL OR CAN BE SUBSTANTIAL.

AND THAT'S, OF COURSE, WHAT WE ALL WE ALL HOPE FOR.

AND SO I'M REALLY THRILLED TO SEE THIS COME UP.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR BIGGEST FORESEEN ROADBLOCK AHEAD OF YOU? IS IT INGHAM COUNTY? I DON'T THINK SO.

I THINK I THINK IF ANY OF THE TAX JURISDICTIONS REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE OR DON'T WANT TO PARTICIPATE OR WANT TO HIRE PASS THROUGH, IT'S JUST GOING TO FLUCTUATE HOW MUCH MONEY WE ARE ESTIMATING IN OUR PROPOSAL.

I THINK IT SOUNDS LIKE AND I'M HAPPY WE'RE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THE BOARD IS NOT UNANIMOUS, BUT HAS THE CONSENSUS OF WE DO NEED TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO MEET A DEVELOPER IN THE MIDDLE FOR ANY MAJOR REDEVELOPMENT.

AND WE ALL KNOW THE STATUS OF MERIDIAN MALL.

I THINK THE BIGGEST HURDLE I'M GOING TO FACE WOULD BE THE INSTITUTION OF THE CAPTURE.

OUR FIRST YEAR.

THE FIRST YEAR IS SMALL.

IT'S A SMALL CAPTURE.

IT'S $30,000.

SO, I DON'T EXPECT TO REALLY DO VERY MUCH WITH THAT.

I THINK THE BIGGEST HURDLE WILL BE GOING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY TO GET ANY OTHER PROPERTY OWNERS THAT ARE WITHIN THE CORRIDOR TO REINVIGORATE THEIR FAITH THAT WE'RE BACK TO FOCUS OR REDEVELOPMENT EFFORTS ON THE CORRIDOR, GET THEIR PERSPECTIVE AND THEIR PARTICIPATION.

WE HAVE FIVE MEMBERS, INCLUDING THE TOWNSHIP SUPERVISOR, SO WE CAN'T HAVE ANYBODY ABSENT AT A MEETING.

OTHERWISE WE CAN'T GET WORK DONE.

I THINK THAT ACTUALLY WILL BE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS GETTING PARTICIPANTS BACK NOW THAT WE HAVE THAT ENGINE, BECAUSE WE HAD THAT MOTIVATION BEFORE AND IT GOT IT GOT LOST FOR HALF OF OUR OR HALF OF OUR BOARD.

I THINK IF A TAX JURISDICTION DOES NOT PARTICIPATE, IT'S JUST GOING TO FLUCTUATE OUR NUMBERS.

BUT OUR HEART IS STILL IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

OUR VISION IS STILL IN THE RIGHT PLACE AND THE MONEY WILL COME IF IT'S NOT SET UP, WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT.

THANK YOU, TRUSTEE WILSON.

TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT SAME CONCERN, IF ANY ONE OF THE TAXING JURISDICTIONS DOES NOT PARTICIPATE, IT WILL NOT SCOTCH THE ENTIRE PROCESS, CORRECT? CORRECT.

MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP COULD BY THEMSELVES ADOPT.

TO DO THIS, WE DON'T HAVE TO REACH OUT TO THE OTHER JURISDICTIONS AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO PARTICIPATE.

IF THEY DON'T, THE TOWNSHIP COULD DECIDE, OKAY, IN 20 YEARS WE'RE GOING TO COMMIT THE 2.1, YOU KNOW, THE $2 MILLION OVER THE 20 YEARS OR WHATEVER OUR CAPTURE IS. OKAY.

THANK YOU. TRUSTEE HENDRICKSON, I THINK THE TREASURER POINTED OUT AT OUR LAST LISTENING.

SESSION THAT WE MAKE UP A MUCH HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF THE COUNTY'S TAX REVENUE THAN WE DO.

ITS POPULATION, WHICH CERTAINLY WOULD BE WISE TO REMIND THEM IN IN THOSE DISCUSSIONS.

[01:10:08]

YOU KNOW, WE REPRESENT A SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC ENGINE FOR THE COUNTY AND EVEN CAPPING.

THE INCREMENTAL GROWTH OVER 20 YEARS, I SUSPECT WE WOULD STILL MAKE UP A FAR LARGER PERCENTAGE OF THE COUNTY'S TAX BASE THAN THAN WE DO ITS POPULATION. AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT THE COUNTY SHOULD DO THIS JUST BECAUSE OF THAT, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY WE HAVE A STRONG ARGUMENT TO MAKE TO THEM. YES.

YEAH. I PERSONALLY BELIEVE WE HAVE A GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH EACH OF THESE ENTITIES AS SHOWN ABOVE.

WE'LL BE WORKING HARD TO REACH OUT TO LCC, BUT WE'VE ALREADY HAVE A MEETING WITH THE AIRPORT AUTHORITY THIS WEEK TO DISCUSS THE PLAN.

WE'LL ALSO BE MEETING WITH CATA SOON.

OUR PRESENTATION TO THE COMMUNITY.

BUT I ALSO THINK THE DRAIN OFFICE WAS AT OUR LAST CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY MEETING.

THEY CAME TO SPEAK ABOUT THEIR OKEMOS CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT PLAN, AND THEY WERE IN SUPPORT.

SO, IT'S NICE TO SEE AN ARM OF THE COUNTY BEING IN SUPPORT OF WHAT THEY WHAT THEY ALSO KNOW IS GOING TO BE MAJOR REDEVELOPMENT IN THE COMMUNITY IN THE COMING YEARS.

AND THAT DEVELOPMENT MAY NOT OCCUR IF THEY'RE HINDERED BY A VERY LARGE DRAIN INFRASTRUCTURE.

UPDATE AND WE DO KNOW THAT THE MALL IS OUTDATED AS FAR AS THAT AND THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO SUPPORT THAT PROPERTY TO GET APPROVAL FROM THE DRAIN OFFICE TO MOVE FORWARD.

YEAH. OTHER QUESTIONS? DIRECTOR CLARKE. THE NEXT.

SO WE'VE ALREADY COMMITTED TO A PUBLIC HEARING ON YOUR PRESENTATION AND YOUR PROJECT ON NOVEMBER THE 9TH.

BETWEEN NOW AND NOVEMBER THE 9TH, YOU WOULD HAVE MET WITH ALL OF THESE POTENTIAL PARTNERS TO SEE IF THEY WILL PARTICIPATE AND AT WHAT LEVEL.

AND AFTER THAT, THE BOARD WILL VOTE ON DECIDE ON WHETHER OR NOT TO APPROVE THE PROPOSED TIF AUTHORITY.

CORRECT. CORRECT.

THIS WEEK, NOTICES WILL GO OUT TO ALL THE PROPERTY OWNERS, BUT OVER THE NEXT 30 DAYS, WE WILL BE MEETING WITH EACH OF THE TAX JURISDICTIONS AND GETTING A FEEL FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM.

THE PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH.

AND THEN AT EITHER AT THAT MEETING OR AFTER, THE BOARD CAN MAKE THE DECISION TO ADOPT THE PLAN.

OKAY, BOARD MEMBERS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

OH, I'M SORRY, CLERK GUTHRIE THANK YOU, MADAM SUPERVISOR.

SO I'M CONFUSED.

IS IS THERE A MOTION THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO PASS TO MOVE TO SET A PUBLIC HEARING FOR NOVEMBER 9TH, LIKE IN YOUR MEMO? OR YOU ALREADY DID IT ACTUALLY DURING CONSENT? OH, WE DID IT DURING CONSENT.

OKAY. THANK YOU. I WANTED TO BE CLEAR THAT IT WAS PASSED AND WE DIDN'T MISS ANYTHING.

THANK YOU. I THINK IT'S A GOOD MOVE TO LEAVE THE BIG BOX STORES OUT OF THE TIFF.

WE HAD REAL PROBLEMS WHEN WE HAD THE MAJOR AND THE TIF 15 YEARS AGO.

THEY APPEALED THEIR TAXES AND WON, AND THE DDA THEN OWED THEM MONEY BACK AND WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY, SO THE TOWNSHIP HAD TO LOAN THEM $200,000 TO PAY BACK MYERS FOR TAXES THEY PAID.

AND WHAT THEY'VE DONE IS THEY'VE GONE BEFORE THE TAX TRIBUNAL, AND THEY'VE ARGUED THAT THEIR STORES ARE SINGLE PURPOSE STORES OF NO VALUE TO ANYONE BUT MYERS OR WALMART OR MENARDS. THREE GOOD EXAMPLES.

AND THEY'VE SUCCEEDED IN DOING THAT.

THERE IS A MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT CASE, ESCANABA VERSUS MENARDS, THAT'S LOOKING PROMISING FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

THE PROBLEM IS THEY GOT THEY'VE GOTTEN THEIR VALUES SLASHED.

A STORE IN LANSING, MICHIGAN, PAYS 40% OF THE TAXES OF MENARDS, PAYS IN WISCONSIN.

SO THEY'RE REALLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF MICHIGAN COMMUNITIES.

THEY'RE SOLD FOR DOING THAT.

BIG BOX STORES ARE LIKE $22 A SQUARE FOOT AS FAR AS THEIR ASSESSMENT HERE IN MICHIGAN, WHEREAS THE SAME STORE IN NEVADA IS $76 A SQUARE FOOT.

SO IT'S A CRIME THAT THEY'RE DOING.

BUT THE FACT IS, EVEN IF WE WON EVERYTHING IN COURT, THEY'RE STILL AT THIS BASE VALUE.

IT ONLY GOES UP BY THE RATE OF INFLATION.

THEY'RE TRYING TO CHANGE THAT AS WELL IN THE LEGISLATURE, BUT THAT'S A LONG SHOT.

SO WE'RE REALLY GOING TO BE HAMSTRUNG BY THESE BIG BOX STORES FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.

ABSOLUTELY. SO, I'M GLAD YOU LEFT HIM OUT.

YEAH, THAT WAS OUR ANTICIPATION.

WE FIGURED LET'S KEEP THE PROPERTIES THAT WE KNOW ARE GOING TO HAVE A DEVELOPMENT OR AN OVERTURN, BASICALLY.

SO HERE ARE OUR PROPOSED PLANS.

THOSE ARE IN THE CAPTURE.

BUT WE DID REMOVE THOSE BIG STORES, SO WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE THE DDA.

[01:15:05]

COULD I ASK IF A PROPERTY HAS BEEN LEFT OUT OF THE CAPTURE ON THE PLAN? CAN THEY BE ADDED BACK TO THE PLAN AT SOME OTHER TIME TO ADD PARCELS BACK INTO THE PLAN AFTER ADOPTION? I HAVE TO DO THIS ALL OVER, SO I HAVE TO GET THE PERMISSION OF ALL THE I DO EVERYTHING WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW ALL OVER, SO I HAVE TO GET THE TYPICALLY WE DON'T CHANGE THE BOUNDARIES. OH, THAT WAS A LITTLE STICKY NOTE I HAD FOR MYSELF.

WE FELT LIKE SINCE WE WERE CREATING THE CAPTURE ONLY RIGHT NOW AND WE COULD IDENTIFY SPECIFIC PARCELS FOR THAT, WE DID NOT NEED TO CHANGE THE BOUNDARY LINES.

WE COULD AT THIS POINT CHANGE THE BOUNDARY LINES FOR THE CAR WITH ADOPTION, BUT WE DIDN'T FEEL LIKE IT WAS NECESSARY.

WE WANTED TO LEAVE THE OPTION AS FAR AS THE CIA WAS CONCERNED.

THEY WANTED TO LEAVE THE OPTION OPEN FOR FOR PARCELS THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE CAPTURE TO PRESENT A PROPOSAL IF THEY NEEDED SOMETHING.

AS FAR AS GAP FINANCING, MARKETING ASSISTANCE, PROMOTION, THOSE THE ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.

BUT OUR PRIORITY FOCUS IS ON MERIDIAN MALL AND ANY OF THOSE COMMERCIAL PARCELS THAT ARE IN THE CAPTURE.

AND WE JUST FELT LIKE THIS WAS CLEANER AND EASIER TO DO IT THIS WAY.

BUT THOSE PROPERTIES, I JUST NEED TO BE CLEAR.

THOSE PROPERTIES DO RETAIN THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE.

THEY RETAIN THE RIGHT TO ASK.

YEP. SO, IN THEORY, MAYA COULD COME TO THE CIA AND SAY, WOULD YOU PLEASE HELP US DEMO OUR ENTIRE BUILDING? AND THE CIA COULD SAY, NO, YOU'RE A PART OF IT.

YOU'RE A PART OF A DIFFERENT AUTHORITY AND YOU SHOULD ASK THEM ABOUT PARTICIPATION, CORRECT? OKAY. NO FURTHER QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU.

I AGREE WITH TRUSTEE WISINSKI.

I'VE HEARD THIS.

I'VE HEARD THE EXPLANATION FOR MANY, MANY TIMES.

YOU DID A VERY GOOD JOB.

I APPRECIATE IT'S A VERY BIG COMPLIMENT THAT CLEAR AND CLEAR TO ME.

ANYWAY, THANK YOU.

I APPRECIATE IT. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. ITEM 13.B IS TOWNSHIP AUDIT SERVICES.

[13.B. Township Audit Services Request for Proposals]

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.

AND THIS WILL BE PRESENTED TO US FOR DISCUSSION BY OUR NEW FINANCE DIRECTOR, [INAUDIBLE].

SUPERVISOR, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

SEVERAL WEEKS AGO, THE TOWNSHIP ISSUED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR AUDIT SERVICES.

WE BID THIS CONTRACT OUT SINCE I THINK 2017.

SO, IT'S BEEN A WHILE.

PERIODICALLY WE HAVE TO BET JUST TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY BETTER VALUES, IF ANY OF THE COSTS HAVE CHANGED.

SO, WE PUT IT OUT.

I'VE READ THE PROPOSALS WITH MANAGER WALSH, WITH TREASURER DESCHAINE AND WITH OUR ACCOUNTANT, BERNIE BOND.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE TOOK A LOOK AT IT.

SO, THEY WERE OFFERING.

I'VE ISSUED A MATRIX HERE SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE DIFFERENT COSTS ARE.

THESE COSTS INCLUDE BOTH A FINANCIAL AUDIT AS WELL AS A SINGLE AUDIT WITH ONE MAJOR FEDERAL PROGRAM.

RIGHT NOW, WE ANTICIPATE NEEDING A SINGLE AUDIT BECAUSE OF THE ARPA FUNDS YOU RECEIVE, BUT THAT COULD CHANGE IN THE FUTURE DEPENDING ON WHAT KIND OF FEDERAL GRANTS WE GET EACH YEAR. SO YOU CAN SEE I'VE DONE A TOTAL COSTS ON THE FAR RIGHT.

IN YELLOW IS A LOW BID WITH A THREE YEAR TOTAL COST $165,575.

THAT'S ABOUT $18,275 LOWER, THE NEXT LOWEST BID OVER THREE YEARS.

ALL THESE FIRMS ARE CONSIDERED REPUTABLE.

THEY'RE ALL KNOWN FOR HIGH QUALITY.

[INAUDIBLE] HAS BEEN OUR AUDITOR FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.

WE WEREN'T NECESSARILY UNHAPPY WITH THEM.

IT'S JUST OUR PROCUREMENT POLICY REQUIRES US TO BID THIS OUT PERIODICALLY JUST TO REEVALUATE, TO MAKE SURE WE'RE STILL GETTING GOOD VALUE FOR OUR DOLLARS.

THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBERS, TRUSTEE WILSON.

THANK YOU, DIRECTOR HANNI.

I THINK IT'S VERY INTERESTING THAT YO AND YO HAS BEEN OUR PROVIDER OF THESE SERVICES FOR MANY YEARS AND THAT THEY CAME IN WITH THE LOWER BID, LOWEST BID. DO YOU BELIEVE THEIR FAMILIARITY WITH THE TOWNSHIP IS PART OF THE REASON WHY THE BID IS LOWER? I THINK THEY KNOW WHAT WE NEED.

THEY'RE FAMILIAR WITH OUR RECORDS.

AND AGAIN, THAT'S SPEAKS TO THEM BECAUSE IT CREATES LESS WORK FOR THEM.

AND IF YOU RECREATE WORKPAPERS FROM SCRATCH, IT REDUCES THEIR AUDIT EFFORT.

SO, IT MAKES THE PROCESS A LOT EASIER BECAUSE THEY HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION OR SYSTEM FROM LAST YEAR AND THEY JUST IMPORT AND UPDATE THE CURRENT YEAR INFORMATION.

AND YOU FEEL THAT THEY HAVE SERVED US WELL BASED ON YOUR HISTORY? I BELIEVE SO. I WAS WITH THEM PRIOR TO COMING HERE.

I THINK THEY'RE ALL VERY COMPETENT PEOPLE.

THE PARTNER WHO SERVES OUR TOWNSHIP IS OUT OF THE OFFICE.

YO AND YO IS A MICHIGAN BASED FIRM HEADQUARTERED IN SAGINAW, BUT THEY OFFICES ALL OVER THE STATE, INCLUDING ON THE WEST SIDE OF LANSING, WHERE I WORK.

SO, THEY'RE VERY REPUTABLE AS WELL.

THANK YOU.

OTHER BOARD MEMBERS?

[01:20:04]

SO, THIS ITEM WILL COME BACK TO US FOR AN ACTION AT OUR NEXT MEETING.

AT THE NEXT MEETING.

I THINK AT THIS POINT, IF YOU'RE MEETING WITH TREASURER DESCHAINE AND THE REST OF THE STAFF, I'D PROBABLY RECOMMEND YOU STAY WITH THE LOW BID.

OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. DESCHAINE. I SUGGEST YOU BRING IT BACK AND PUT IT ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.

I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY OBJECTION TO THIS AND WE'RE LIKELY TO HAVE A FULL AGENDA NEXT MEETING, AND THAT WAY WE CAN APPROVE IT.

BUT WE DON'T REALLY NEED TO DISCUSS THIS AGAIN.

I DON'T BELIEVE. OKAY.

THANK YOU. THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA FOR

[13.C. Ordinance 2023-05 Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC) Housing Updates]

DISCUSSION IS ORDINANCE 2023-05 REDEVELOPMENT READY COMMUNITIES R C HOUSING UPDATES. DIRECTOR SCHMIDT? MADAM SPEAKER, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

SO, THIS IS A COMMON, IT'S KIND OF A COMBINATION OF THINGS.

THIS IS A AS WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE REDEVELOPMENT READY COMMUNITY'S RECERTIFICATION PROCESS, LED ADMIRABLY BY DIRECTOR CLARK, IT WAS NOTED THAT THERE WERE SOME CHANGES TO THE PROGRAM WITH RESPECT TO SPECIFICALLY HOUSING OPTIONS AND TYPES.

AND I KNOW THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS WITH THE BOARD AT SOME LENGTH PREVIOUSLY, BUT ULTIMATELY IT WAS DETERMINED THAT WE NEEDED TO MAKE SOME CHANGES TO OUR ORDINANCE TO BE A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBLE GIVEN THE CHANGES IN SOCIETY OVER THE PAST, YOU KNOW, 50 YEARS SINCE OUR ORDINANCE WAS LAST MAJOR UPDATED.

ADDITIONALLY, STAFF HAD A COUPLE OF OTHER MINOR THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN FLOATING OUT THERE.

AND SO WE'VE SORT OF AMALGAMATED THEM TOGETHER IN THIS OVERALL UPDATE THAT WE'RE BRINGING BACK TO YOU THIS EVENING.

THE TOWNSHIP BOARD PREVIOUSLY SAW THIS EARLIER THIS SUMMER ON JULY 6TH AND REFERRED IT BACK TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION.

THE PLANNING COMMISSION MET A COUPLE TIMES ON IT AND THEN HELD A PUBLIC HEARING ON IT AND RECOMMENDED APPROVAL OF THE ORDINANCE.

THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S BIGGEST.

AND THIS, I WILL SAY, THEY HAD A NUMBER OF GREAT QUESTIONS THAT CAME UP, BUT THEY DID KIND OF FINISH VETTING THE IDEA OF AN ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT.

AND THE PROPOSAL IN FRONT OF YOU THIS EVENING IS WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S INPUT.

AND SO, I'M JUST GOING TO GO THROUGH SECTION BY SECTION HERE REAL QUICK.

MOST OF THESE ARE RELATIVELY STRAIGHTFORWARD, SO THIS WON'T TAKE AS LONG AS IT SOUNDS.

BUT IN TERMS OF THE ORDINANCE CHANGES, SECTION ONE JUST ADDS A DEFINITION OF ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT.

THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE TRY TO DO WITH ANY ORDINANCE WHEN WE'RE BRINGING IN NEW TERMS. THE PLANNING COMMISSION DID TRY AND DID ASK THAT WE CLARIFY IT EVEN FURTHER, THAT TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT A MANUFACTURED HOME DOES NOT QUALIFY, BECAUSE THAT IS A SEPARATE THAT IS A SEPARATE HOME.

THAT IS NOT THE INTENTION HERE.

THE INTENTION IS TO GET SMALL ACCESSORY UNITS.

SECTION TWO OF THE ORDINANCE IS ONE IS BOTH AN RRC AND A STAFF THING.

THIS WOULD REMOVE THE PUBLIC HEARING REQUIREMENT FROM THE SITE PLAN REVIEW.

JUST TO REITERATE A SPECIAL USE PERMIT IS A DISCRETIONARY APPROVAL THAT ALWAYS REQUIRES A PUBLIC HEARING THAT HAS TO GO TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR EITHER APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION OF APPROVAL.

A SITE PLAN IS NOT A DISCRETIONARY APPROVAL.

IT'S A MINISTERIAL REVIEW UNDER MICHIGAN LAW.

AND SO IF SOMETHING MEETS THE SITE PLAN STANDARDS, IT HAS TO BE APPROVED.

AND SO BY PUTTING A PUTTING A PUBLIC HEARING AT THE END OF THE PROCESS LIKE THIS, WHAT WE'VE FOUND IS WE ARE GIVING PEOPLE SOME FALSE HOPE, WHEREAS THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN INVOLVED SEVERAL MONTHS EARLIER DURING THE SPECIAL USE PERMIT PROCESS.

AND SO WE ARE PROPOSING TO ELIMINATE THAT AT THIS TIME.

I WILL ALSO TELL YOU THAT I CAN COUNT ON ONE HAND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE SHOWED UP TO THOSE MEETINGS IN MY THREE YEARS HERE.

SECTION THREE ALSO INCLUDES IS INCLUDES.

THERE'S TWO CHANGES HERE. ONE IS A CHANGE TO REMOVE SOME OLD LANGUAGE ABOUT ACCESSORY USES FOR DOMESTIC EMPLOYEES, WHICH WE THOUGHT WAS SLIGHTLY OUTDATED AND IT REMOVES THE MINIMUM LIVING SPACE SIZE REQUIREMENT.

SO, THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS TO, TO MEET THE STANDARDS, IS TO ALLOW FOR THE POTENTIAL OF SOMEONE DOING A TINY HOUSE.

NOW, PERSONALLY, I DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP BECAUSE OUR LAND VALUES ARE TOO HIGH.

WITH THAT SAID, THERE ARE SEVERAL LOTS UP IN THE AREA AROUND THE MAYFAIR, BLUEGILL AND WATERSHED THAT ARE PRETTY SMALL, THAT ARE GOING TO BE HARD TO BUILD ON REGARDLESS.

AND SO THIS WOULD MAKE IT EASIER TO BUILD A CONFORMING STRUCTURE ON THOSE LOTS WITHOUT HAVING TO GO TO THE ZBA AND THEN SECTION FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN AND EIGHT, DO THE SAME THING.

REMOVE THAT SPECIFIC LANGUAGE ABOUT THE MINIMUM UNIT SIZE.

SECTION NINE ARE CHANGES TO THE MULTIPLE FAMILY DISTRICTS, AND IT DOES A COUPLE THINGS HAPPEN HERE.

[01:25:06]

ONE, IT REMOVES ALL THE DUPLICATIVE LANGUAGE OF PROCEDURE ABOUT SPECIAL USE PERMIT, WHICH IS ALREADY IN THE ORDINANCE.

WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE WHY IT'S REPEATED HERE, BUT WE'VE REMOVED IT.

SO AGAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO PUT THINGS WHERE THEY BELONG.

IT CHANGES THE ACTUAL PERMITTED USE TO MAKE MULTIFAMILY USES PERMITTED IN THEIR ZONING DISTRICT.

AGAIN, THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER REQUIREMENTS THAT STILL COME INTO PLAY.

THIS IS NOT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SEE A BUNCH OF APARTMENTS BUILT OVERNIGHT BECAUSE AGAIN, THERE'S SPECIAL USE PERMIT REQUIREMENTS FOR AT LEAST TWO OTHER THINGS THAT I CAN THINK OF THAT WOULD BE TRIGGERED. ALSO, THERE'S NOT MUCH VACANT LAND THAT'S ZONED FOR MULTIPLE FAMILY USES.

IT WOULD ALSO CLARIFY THE GROUP HOUSING DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION BECAUSE THAT IS A SEPARATELY DEFINED TERM IN THE ORDINANCE.

AND SO, WE WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT A LITTLE BIT HERE.

AND IT ALSO REMOVES THE VERY CONFUSING LANGUAGE ABOUT DOING SINGLE FAMILY USE, SINGLE FAMILY PROPERTIES IN MULTIPLE FAMILY ZONING DISTRICTS.

IT'S COME UP A COUPLE OF TIMES AND IT JUST CAUSES CONFUSION.

AND INEVITABLY WE TELL INEVITABLY THE DEVELOPER EITHER GOES TO THE PD OR THE PD ROUTE TO DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO.

SO WE'RE JUST ELIMINATING THAT AT THIS AT THIS TIME TO FOR CLARITY'S SAKE AND AGAIN, IT REMOVES THE MINIMUM UNIT SIZE.

SECTION TEN AND 11 ARE ACTUAL THESE ARE THESE ARE THE CIA CHANGES.

THIS ALLOWS FOR BY.

RIGHT. ACTUALLY, THIS IS BY SPECIFIC CONDITION.

AND THE CONDITION BEING THE FIRST FLOOR HAS TO BE COMMERCIAL.

BUT YOU COULD DO A SECOND FLOOR, MULTIPLE FAMILY DWELLING UNITS IN A BUILDING WITH A FIRST FLOOR COMMERCIAL USE.

SO IT HAS TO BE A PERMITTED USE ON THE FIRST FLOOR.

SECOND FLOOR COULD THEN BE MULTIPLE FAMILY DWELLING UNITS.

THIS IS THE CHANGE THAT DIRECTOR CLARK MENTIONED WITH RESPECT TO THE CIA REQUIRING THAT YOU ALLOW THIS.

THIS IS HOW WE ALLOW THAT.

SO THAT'S SECTION TEN AND 11.

SECTION 12 IS THE MEAT AND POTATOES HERE.

THIS IS THE ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT STANDARDS.

SO WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE IS THE THE IDEA BEHIND THIS IS THAT YOU.

CAN EITHER DO IT ATTACHED OR DETACHED YOUR EXISTING HOUSE, BUT IT IS NOT GOING TO FUNCTIONALLY CHANGE THE WAY THINGS LOOK.

IT'S STILL GOING TO LOOK LIKE IF IT'S STILL PROBABLY GOING TO LOOK LIKE A GARAGE.

JUST GOING TO BE A LITTLE TALLER GARAGE.

SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS THERE'S LIMITATIONS ON THE SIZE.

THERE'S LIMITATIONS ON THE HEIGHT.

THERE'S LIMITATIONS ON THE OCCUPANCY.

RIGHT. WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP IT SO THAT IT'S ACCESSORY TO THE MAIN USE.

THE PLANNING COMMISSION ADDED SOME LANGUAGE OR ASKED US TO ADD LANGUAGE TO MAKE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR THAT THE OWNER HAS TO LIVE IN ONE OF THE TWO UNITS.

ONLY ONE OF THE TWO UNITS CAN BE LICENSED AS A RENTAL.

THERE HAS TO BE A LICENSE, A RENTAL LICENSE ON THE UNIT IF THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY IS NOT LIVING THERE.

AND SO WE'VE JUST TIGHTENED THAT LANGUAGE UP AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO THE POINT WHERE WE ARE ACTUALLY PROPOSING TO REQUIRE A DEED RESTRICTION BEING FILED WITH THE REGISTER OF DEEDS FOR THE PROPERTIES THAT GO FORWARD WITH THIS.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE DONE.

WHAT IT DOES IS IT SHOWS IN THE CHAIN OF TITLE TO A FUTURE OWNER.

IT IS NOT A DUPLEX PROPERTY, IT IS NOT AN AIRBNB PROPERTY.

IT IS OWNER CAN LIVE THERE AND CAN HAVE RENT OUT THE SECONDARY SPACE.

SO WE JUST WANT TO MAKE THAT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR.

BUT OVERALL, THE IDEA BEHIND THIS IS THAT THEY WILL IT WILL BLEND INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD STICK OUT.

AND TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST WITH YOU, BASED ON CONSTRUCTION COSTS RIGHT NOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF THEM RIGHT AWAY.

THIS IS GOING TO THIS IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT I THINK PEOPLE ARE GOING TO.

WE HAVE CALLS ABOUT.

WE GET CALLS ABOUT THIS REGULARLY ON THE WEEKLY BASIS.

I MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, BUT THERE HAD TO HAVE BEEN AN HGTV SHOW RECENTLY BECAUSE WE GET THEM A LOT.

IT'S BECOME A MUCH MORE COMMON THING IN THE PAST NINE MONTHS.

AND SO THIS IS PUTTING THOSE GUARDRAILS IN PLACE FOR OKAY, HERE'S HOW YOU CAN DO IT.

AND THERE ARE, I ASSURE YOU, NOT EVERYONE IS GOING TO LIKE THIS.

I'VE GOT ONE RIGHT NOW THAT'S GOING TO LOOK AT THE 600 MAXIMUM SQUARE FEET AND THEY'RE GOING TO GET REALLY MAD AT ME BECAUSE THEY HAD A PROPOSAL FOR ONE THAT'S LARGER THAN MY HOUSE. AND I EXPLAINED THAT'S NOT IT'S NOT EXACTLY ACCESSORY NOW, IS IT? BUT THIS WILL AT LEAST GET US A BASELINE TO TRY THIS OUT AND SEE WHAT SEE WHERE IT GOES, BECAUSE THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE A HUGE RUSH OF THESE.

WE'RE GOING TO SEE THESE IN ONES AND TWOS OVER THE COURSES OF THE YEARS.

SECTION 13 WOULD ELIMINATE CLEAN UP THAT GROUP HOUSING ITEM THAT I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY BECAUSE IT'S THIS IT'S GOT ITS OWN LITTLE SECTION FLOATING OFF IN THE SUPPLEMENTARY REGS.

AND THEN IN SECTION 14 ACTUALLY IS AN AMENDMENT TO THE CHART AT THE END OF THE ORDINANCE THAT IMPLEMENTS THE STANDARDS IN THE ZONING DISTRICTS

[01:30:03]

THAT THE CHANGES WE DISCUSSED BEFORE.

AND SO, THAT'S THE LONG AND THE LONG OF IT.

WE'D BE HAPPY TO DISCUSS THIS AT ANY LENGTH YOU WOULD LIKE.

AGAIN, THE PLANNING COMMISSION WAS LARGELY SUPPORTIVE OF ALL THIS, AND ESPECIALLY AFTER WE WILL MAKE SOME CHANGES TO THE ADU STANDARDS.

THEY WERE IN UNANIMOUS SUPPORT AT THE END.

BOARD MEMBERS, TRUSTEE WILSON.

A FEW QUESTIONS.

CAN ANY OF THESE UNITS EVER BE PUT IN A FRONT YARD? NO, MA'AM. OKAY, SO A SIDE YARD OR BACK YARD? UM, YES, IT IS.

AS LONG AS IT MEETS THE SETBACKS AND SO ON.

YEAH. YES, WE CAN.

CERTAINLY. SO IT'S BY WAY OF ACCESSORY.

DWELLING UNITS AREN'T PERMITTED IN THE FRONT YARD TO BEGIN OR ACCESSORY BUILDINGS IN GENERAL ARE NOT WRITTEN IN THE FRONT YARD.

SO, IT'S NOT EXPLICIT HERE, BUT IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO PUT.

IT'S NOT POSSIBLE. OKAY.

I SEE THAT UTILITIES HAVE TO CONNECT TO THE MAIN HOME.

WOULD YOU ALLOW AN ACCESSORY BUILDING THAT DID NOT HAVE UTILITIES? SO AT THAT POINT, IT'S INTERESTING THAT YOU BRING THAT UP BECAUSE THAT IS THE OVER THE YEARS THAT'S BEEN THE COMMON WORKAROUND IS NOT PUTTING UTILITIES IN.

SO IF I WANT TO DO A SHED OR A MAN CAVE OR WHATEVER, PEOPLE WILL PUT IT IN WITHOUT UTILITIES BECAUSE ONCE YOU PUT IN FUNCTIONALLY, YOU NEED BOTH A KITCHEN AND A BATHROOM FOR IT TO BE CONSIDERED A UNIT BATHROOM.

IF YOU PUT THAT IN WITHOUT THE KITCHEN, MAYBE YOU'RE OKAY.

BUT ONCE YOU PUT BOTH OF THEM IN, IT'S A UNIT, RIGHT? AND SO RIGHT NOW, YOU COULD, IN THEORY, BUILD A GARAGE AND FINISH IT IN WHATEVER WAY YOU WANTED.

AND IF IT DIDN'T HAVE UTILITIES, WE'RE NONE THE WISER BECAUSE IT'S JUST A GARAGE PERMIT.

FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET AT WITH THAT IS THAT WE'RE NOT TAPPING THE MAIN OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN A LIMITED SPACE, POTENTIALLY.

BUT YES, YOU COULD DO IT WITH.

UTILITIES. IT WOULDN'T BE A UNIT, IT WOULD NOT BE LEASABLE OR LIVABLE, BUT IT WOULD BE YOUR MAN CAVE TYPE SETUP.

YOU CAN STILL DO IT. AND HOW DO YOU GET OUT OF THE AIR BNB BUSINESS? HOW DO WE STAY OUT OF THE AIR BNB RIGHT NOW? SO, ISN'T THERE A LIMIT AS TO HOW MANY DAYS THAT YOU CAN RENT? SHORT TERM, WE TREAT THEM AS RENTAL PROPERTIES.

IT'S A RENTAL PROPERTY. FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, THE ISSUE WE HAVE IS THAT THE LEGISLATURE HAS PRETTY CONTINUOUSLY FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS, I'LL SAY, BROUGHT UP A BILL THAT WOULD FUNCTIONALLY PROHIBIT LOCALS FROM REGULATING THEM.

SO, THE APPROACH THAT MOST LOCALS HAVE TAKEN FOR THE PAST THREE, FOUR, FIVE YEARS HAS JUST BEEN OKAY, LET'S DO OUR BEST WITH WHAT WE'VE GOT.

THAT APPROACH IS RAPIDLY CRUMBLING.

MANY PLACES ARE STARTING TO REGULATE THEM MORE DIRECTLY AND LIMIT THEM IN ADVANCE OF OKAY STATE.

IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING GREAT.

BUT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM.

IF YOU'RE ASKING ME HOW THAT AFFECTS ALL THIS, IT DOESN'T, BECAUSE WE DON'T AT THIS TIME REGULATE AIRBNBS OR VRBOS SEPARATELY FROM RENTALS.

WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN THE ADU SECTION IS PUT IN LANGUAGE THAT HAS TO BE LEASED FOR AT LEAST 30 DAYS, BECAUSE WHAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO IS CREATE A SITUATION THAT'S RIPE FOR THAT.

OKAY? IN A TOPIC THAT'S ALREADY NEW, RIGHT? YOU DON'T WANT TO BRING THE NEW THING IN AND THEN MAKE IT EVEN MORE DISRUPTIVE.

AND SO WE ARE STARTING TO REGULATE THAT A LITTLE BIT.

IF THE BOARD WOULD LIKE TO GET INTO THAT TOPIC, THAT IS A STICKY WICKET THAT WE WILL WE'RE HAPPY TO GET INTO.

BUT, YOU KNOW, THE LAST I HEARD FROM THE LEGISLATURE, THERE WAS ANOTHER DRAFT LOADED BY THE REALTORS ASSOCIATION THAT I PROVIDED COMMENTS.

I'M ON THE LAND USE SUBCOMMITTEE AND I PROVIDED SOME LOCAL PERSPECTIVE TOO.

IT'S STILL A PRETTY TRASH BILL FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, BUT I THINK WE'RE AT A BIT OF HOSTAGE HERE IN TERMS OF AIRBNBS UNTIL THE STATE DECIDES THEY'RE GOING TO DO IT OR THEY'RE NOT SURE.

SO RIGHT NOW YOU CAN LEASE, BUT IT'S GOT TO BE A MINIMUM OF 30 DAYS UNDER THIS ORDINANCE FOR THE ADUS.

OKAY. UNDER OUR GENERAL ORDINANCE, WE TREAT THEM JUST AS RENTAL PROPERTIES, OKAY? AND WE DON'T REGULATE WHO'S COMING OR GOING.

IT'S JUST IT MEETS IT'S GOT TO MEET THE STANDARDS FOR A RENTAL PROPERTY.

OKAY. THAT'S WHAT I HAVE RIGHT NOW.

THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THESE ADUS THAT ARE IN A UNIT.

[01:35:03]

IS IT PERMIT REQUIRED TO BUILD THESE? WHAT'S THE MAXIMUM SIZE OF THESE? ABSOLUTELY. SO, IT'S JUST IF YOU DO IT DETACHED, IT'S JUST AN ACCESSORY STRUCTURE.

IT'S A SHE SHED, IT'S A GARDENING SHED, IT'S A WOODWORKING SHOP.

IT'S SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE YOU GET SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO PUT A BATHROOM OUT THERE.

I CAN THINK OF 2 OR 3 OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT USUALLY IT'S SOMEONE WHO HAS AN ATTACHED GARAGE.

LIKE THIS IS THE PROFILE THAT I USUALLY SEE.

IT'S A DETACHED GARAGE.

IT'S A BIG LOT.

AND THEY THEY HAVE SOME HOBBY THAT THEY NEED SPACE FOR.

A LOT OF THEM, LIKE I SAID, ARE WOODWORKING SHOPS THAT I'VE HAD.

BUT IT'S, IF IT'S NOT WE DON'T CONSIDER THAT LIVABLE SPACE.

RIGHT, IT'S NOT THAT IT'S UNFINISHED BUT IT'S NOT LIVABLE BECAUSE IT DOESN'T HAVE A KITCHEN, IT DOESN'T HAVE A BATHROOM KIND OF THING.

WHAT IF THEY HAVE ELECTRICITY? ALMOST EVERY GARAGE HAS ELECTRICITY.

ELECTRICITY IS NOT THE ELECTRICITY IS NOT THE KITCHEN AND BATHROOM.

UNDER THE BUILDING CODE, IT'S TECHNICALLY JUST A KITCHEN.

BUT WE WHEN YOU START TO WHEN YOU GO TO PUT A BATHROOM IN, WE GET VERY WE HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.

THEN AT THE BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW PROCESS.

ONE MORE QUESTION, MADAM.

TRUSTEE WILSON? THANK YOU. I RAN THIS BY MY HOMEOWNER'S BOARD ASSOCIATION FOR HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION.

GOT MIXED REVIEWS BECAUSE WE HAVE IN THE BYLAWS THAT YOU CAN ONLY HAVE A SINGLE-FAMILY HOME PER LOT.

SO WHERE DOES THIS PUT US? BECAUSE WOULD A HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION HAVE TO ADJUST THEIR BYLAWS TO ALLOW AN ACCESSORY BUILDING? NOT AT ALL. NOT AT ALL.

OKAY. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? SO HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATIONS ARE WHAT THEY ARE.

THEY'RE FUNCTIONALLY, YOU KNOW, THE FOURTH LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES.

BUT WE DO NOT ENFORCE THEIR THEIR RULES, NOR ARE WE GOING TO STEP IN.

WE ARE PUTTING OUR STANDARDS IN PLACE AND A HOMEOWNER HAS TO FOLLOW ALL THE RULES THAT APPLY TO THEIR PROPERTY FROM THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION.

TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

YOU RAISE AN INTERESTING POINT.

I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FIND THAT THEY'RE NOT PERMITTED IN THEIR IN THEIR SUBDIVISIONS.

HOWEVER, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE WAYS AROUND THAT IS YOU BUILD IT AS AN ATTACHED UNIT AND IT'S STILL A SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE.

AND YOU JUST ON THE INTERIOR, YOU FUNCTIONALLY JUST CHANGE THE WAY YOU ACCESS THE AREA ABOVE THE GARAGE.

YEAH, THAT'S FAIRLY COMMON.

THAT AND IN FACT, I SUSPECT IF WE STARTED LOOKING, WE'D FIND A LOT OF THOSE ALREADY.

YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST AN EASY PLACE TO PUT A REC ROOM OR A FOURTH BEDROOM OR, YOU KNOW, ETCETERA.

OVER THE YEARS. YOU JUST DON'T CHANGE THE FOOTPRINT.

EXACTLY. AND SO, HOAS ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO ALLOW THEM.

IN FACT, I THINK THERE WILL PROBABLY BE SEVERAL THAT WILL FIGHT THEM.

BUT WE ARE NOT IN THE POSITION TO ENFORCE THOSE RULES, AS I TELL MANY PEOPLE EVERY DAY.

THANK YOU. TRUSTEE CLERK GUTHRIE.

THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.

THAT WAS MY QUESTION ABOUT THE HOA AS WELL AND WHAT WAS ALLOWED OR NOT.

HOW THEY HANDLE IT.

HOW DO YOU REGULATE THESE SO THEY WILL BE REQUIRED TO GET BUILDING PERMITS, OBVIOUSLY.

YEAH. AND AS PART OF I MEAN, FUNCTIONALLY, IT GETS TREATED.

IT GETS TREATED LIKE A NEW A NEW HOUSE ACTUALLY, BECAUSE IT IS LIVABLE SPACE IN A NEW BUILDING.

SO THEY WOULD GO THROUGH THE STANDARD REVIEW PROCESS.

IF IT MEETS ALL THE ZONING REQUIREMENTS, IT GETS SENT OVER TO THE BUILDING GUYS, THE BUILDING GUYS REVIEW IT.

AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW IF THEY'RE LEASING FOR 30 DAYS OR NOT? SO WE'LL HAVE TO BE THEY'LL HAVE TO BE A LICENSED RENTAL WITH US.

OKAY. IN TERMS OF ENFORCING THAT PROVISION, IT'S IT'S LIKELY TO BE BY COMPLAINT ONLY, RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. AS YOU REALLY DON'T KNOW IF SOMEONE'S IN THERE FOR 30 MINIMUM OF 30 DAYS OR NOT.

CORRECT. I MEAN, THERE'S NO WAY TO KNOW THIS UNLESS THERE'S A COMPLAINT, UNLESS SOMEBODY'S SAYING SOMETHING.

I MEAN, WE KNOW WHERE ALL, WE KNOW WHERE ALL THE AIRBNBS ARE IN TOWN.

IT'S NOT HARD TO FIND.

SO BUT, YES, MOST OF OUR ORDINANCES, WE DON'T PROACTIVELY SEEK THESE THINGS OUT.

I MEAN, A LOT IS THE PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THIS TO HAVE A QUOTE UNQUOTE MOTHER-IN-LAW SUITE, OR TO BE A RENTAL, BECAUSE I THOUGHT THE PURPOSE OF THIS WAS TO HAVE A HOME FOR AGING PARENTS.

AND NOW I'M HEARING RENTING OUT OUT TO PEOPLE.

TO ME, THAT'S CONTRADICTORY.

SO I THINK THE PURPOSE IS SIMPLY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.

[01:40:01]

WE HAVE WE CANNOT I DON'T THINK THERE IS A GOOD WAY FOR US TO RESTRICT THEM SIMPLY TO JUST PEOPLE THAT ARE ON THE DEED OR DIRECT FAMILY MEMBERS.

I SUSPECT THAT WE WILL NOT GET MANY PEOPLE TAKE US UP ON THAT OFFER AND THEN WE WILL BE IN AN EVEN WORSE POSITION TRYING TO ENFORCE THAT.

AND SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS BE A LITTLE PROACTIVE HERE AND LAY OUT IF YOU ARE GOING TO RENT IT, HERE ARE THE STANDARDS TO DO SO, AND WE EXPECT YOU TO FOLLOW THEM, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE GOING SO FAR AS TO REQUIRE A REGISTER OF DEEDS FILING.

DO YOU REQUIRE HOAS TO SUBMIT THEIR BYLAWS TO WHETHER THESE ARE PERMISSIBLE OR NOT IN THEIR HOA? NO. WHEN SOMEBODY BRINGS A SITE PLAN TO YOU WITH THE RULES ARE IN THAT COMMUNITY OR NOT? NO, WE DO NOT ENFORCE HOA BYLAWS.

THAT'S SOMETHING THE HOA IS GOING TO HAVE TO, HOAS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE INVOLVED IF THEY WANT TO MONITOR IT THEMSELVES, IF THEY WANT TO ENFORCE THE RULES, THE HOA NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED. OKAY.

I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE OTHER PARTS OF THE ORDINANCE.

SO, THE SITE PLAN REVIEW? YES, MA'AM. WHERE? SO, THERE'S NO PUBLIC HEARING.

AND I GET YOUR ARGUMENTS.

IT MAKES SENSE.

WILL YOU CONTINUE TO INFORM THE PUBLIC THAT A PROJECT IS GOING THROUGH SITE PLAN REVIEW JUST SO THEY CAN KEEP UP WITH IF THEY'RE INTERESTED, KEEP UP WITH THE PROGRESS OF A PROJECT? YEAH. AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S GOING TO BE EARLY PREVIEW OF MY GOALS FOR THE DEPARTMENT NEXT YEAR IS YOU KNOW, BETTER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION ON WHAT'S GOING ON. I THINK WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB OF KEEPING THE PUBLIC INFORMED WHEN WE KNOW THINGS.

OKAY, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF TIMES, WE DON'T KNOW THINGS.

AND SO, I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO DO.

I THINK WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB IN MY DEPARTMENT.

OF BEING A LITTLE MORE PROACTIVE IN THAT WHEN WE HAVE INFORMATION.

SO YES, I COMMEND THAT, THAT APPROACH.

AND LET'S TALK ABOUT MULTIPLES.

SO I GET MIXING DIFFERENT TYPES OF MULTIPLE UNITS IN A MULTIPLE ZONING DISTRICT AT THE SAME DOESN'T APPLY TO SINGLE FAMILY ZONING.

SINGER SING YEAH.

SO YEAH, I MEAN, THERE'S CERTAINLY A MOVEMENT AFOOT IN THE PLANNING COMMUNITY TO ELIMINATE SINGLE FAMILY ZONING BECAUSE IT'S ANY NUMBER OF REASONS THAT I WOULD LOVE TO GET INTO OVER A BEER SOMETIME WITH PEOPLE.

BUT I DON'T KNOW NECESSARILY THAT THAT'S THE APPROACH THAT WE SHOULD TAKE AT THIS POINT.

OKAY. UM, THE THERE'S, THERE'S MANY REASONS, BUT YOU KNOW, THE WAY OUR SINGLE FAMILY DISTRICTS ARE SET UP, THEY ARE SINGLE.

I MEAN, THEY ARE DETACHED FROM EVERYTHING, AND THEY'RE BUFFERED FROM EVERYTHING.

AND SO, TRYING TO MIX USES INTO THERE JUST DOESN'T MAKE A LOT OF SENSE TO US AT THIS POINT, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE STUFF THAT'S IN THE MAIN CORRIDOR IS THE STUFF THAT'S ON THE MAIN STREETS, THE STUFF THAT WE ALREADY EXPECT THERE TO BE HIGHER DENSITY.

AND THEN OVER HERE, IF YOU WANT TO DO AN ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT AND YOUR HOA ALLOWS IT, THERE'S POTENTIAL FOR YOU TO ADD A UNIT HERE OR THERE.

SO, BABY STEPS ON THE SINGLE-FAMILY SIDE, MAYBE A LITTLE MORE ROBUST STEPS ON THE MULTIFAMILY COMMERCIAL SIDE.

OKAY. WELL, I SUPPORT THAT APPROACH AT THIS TIME.

MR. HENDRICKSON? SO, WITH REGARD TO SECTIONS TEN AND 11, YOU HAD STATED THAT THESE WERE CHANGES THAT WERE NECESSARY FOR THE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY TO FUNCTION AND EXIST.

IS THAT ACCURATE? CORRECT. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE DONE WHEN WE FIRST ADOPTED THE CIA.

THEY OUR CHANGES, HOWEVER, THAT APPLY NOT ONLY TO PARCELS IN THE CIA, BUT ALSO TO ANY C-2 AND C-3 PARCEL.

CORRECT. OKAY.

AND SO ESSENTIALLY, I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE THEORETICALLY, THAT IF SOMEONE WANTED TO ADD A SECOND STORY TO WHOLE FOODS AND HOBBY LOBBY IN C-2 AND C-3 ZONING AND SELL THEM OFF AS APARTMENTS OR RENT THEM AS APARTMENTS, THAT WOULD BE A PERMITTED USE AT THAT POINT.

CERTAINLY. COOL.

I CAN I CAN. IT'S FUNNY YOU BRING THAT UP.

WE'VE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS INTERNALLY AND I CAN THINK OF LITERALLY TWO BUILDINGS IN THE TOWNSHIP.

YOU BE ABLE TO DO THIS TOO.

[01:45:02]

IT'S JUST IT'S SO INFEASIBLE TO RETROFIT AN EXISTING ONE-STOREY BUILDING.

I MEAN, YOU'VE GOT ROOFTOP UNITS, YOU'VE GOT STRUCTURAL STEEL.

YEAH. I'M THINKING OF I'M THINKING OF THE C TWO AND C THREE PARCELS.

AND IT'S BIG BOX STORES AND CAR DEALERSHIPS.

AND I'M TRYING TO IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TRYING TO PUT APARTMENTS ON TOP.

I MEAN, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS IS TRYING TO LOOK AHEAD TO THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE CORAL GABLES PLAZA, THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE HASLETT PLAZA WITH THE RITE AID, STUFF LIKE THAT. AND THIS IS, YOU KNOW, STREETSCAPE, YOU KNOW, OLD TOWN, VILLAGE SQUARE STYLE FEEL THEY'RE GOING FOR, RIGHT? THIS IS DOWNTOWN MASON, BUT HERE ON GRAND RIVER.

YEAH. AND IT'S WHAT MAKES US A LITTLE UNIQUE IN THAT WE'RE A EXURBAN TOWNSHIP THAT'S IN THE RC PROGRAM.

WE ARE UNIQUE IN THAT WAY.

NOWHERE ELSE CAN YOU BUILD OFF OF THE CAN THE MALL BUILD ON TOP OF THE MALL? I AM SURE WITH ENOUGH MONEY THAT'S A GIVEN.

ENOUGH MONEY CONNECTION.

YEAH. YEAH.

WITH ENOUGH MONEY YOU CAN DO ANYTHING.

BUT I THINK THAT THE MORE LIKELY SCENARIO THERE AGAIN IS YOU'RE GOING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, PORTIONS OF BUILDINGS TORN DOWN, NEW BUILDINGS PUT UP WHERE MAYBE YOU DO FIRST FLOOR COMMERCIAL AROUND THE RING ROAD AND SOME APARTMENTS.

BUT THAT'S THE MORE LIKELY SCENARIO IN ANY CASE, IS TO TEAR DOWN AND BUILD NEW BECAUSE AGAIN, TRYING TO STRUCTURALLY ENGINEER ADDING STUFF ON TOP OF AN EXISTING BUILDING THAT WAS DESIGNED FOR X IS ALWAYS AN EXPENSIVE PROPOSITION.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I DON'T THINK THERE ARE ANY MORE QUESTIONS ON THIS SUBJECT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. CERTAINLY, APPRECIATE THIS.

MY ASSUMPTION IS THAT WE'RE PRETTY IN TOUCH WITH THE SENTIMENTS OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION.

AND SO, AT THIS POINT, WE CAN, THEY EXPECT TO SEE THIS ORDINANCE.

THESE ORDINANCE CHANGES TO COME BACK TO US.

AND HOW LONG? WELL, I'M BACK AT THE NEXT MEETING FOR INTRODUCTION AND THEN WE WILL PUBLISH AND BE BACK FOR ADOPTION AT THE FIRST MEETING OF NOVEMBER.

NICE JOB. THANKS. UM, THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS STUDY SESSION TO SET A DATE FOR SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTER DISCUSSION.

THIS IS ITEM 13.D, AND MR. WALSH IS GOING TO BRING US UP TO DATE ON THAT.

YEAH, I THINK I'LL DEFER TO TRUSTEE WILSON, IF YOU DON'T MIND.

MADAM SUPERVISOR, I JUST HAD ONE QUICK POINT ABOUT THE LAST ISSUE, IF YOU DON'T MIND.

SURE. JUST REAL QUICK.

THE ISSUE OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS IS A BURNING ISSUE IN THIS STATE.

AS DIRECTOR SCHMIDT INDICATED, IF ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO, SAINT JOSEPH WAS THE FIRST IN THE STATE TO REALLY LEGISLATE EFFECTIVELY SHORT-TERM RENTALS. SO IF IN YOUR SPARE TIME IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE SAINT JOE SHORT TERM RENTAL ORDINANCE, IT'S BEEN IN EFFECT FOR 15 YEARS, IT'S HIGHLY EFFECTIVE AND ONE THAT WE, AT SOME POINT, IF WE GET TO THAT ISSUE, WE MAY WANT TO LOOK AT AND MODEL IN THE FUTURE.

I WAS THERE AND INVOLVED IN NOT DRAFTING IT, BUT HAVING INPUT ON ITS PROCESS.

SO I JUST WANTED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THAT, THAT THERE IS A VERY MODEL OUT THERE.

THANK YOU. BEFORE YOU LEAVE, COULD I ASK MAYBE.

MR. SCHMIDT, DID HE LEAVE THE ROOM? NO, HE. OH, THERE HE IS.

OKAY. DO YOU FEEL WE NEED AN ORDINANCE TO REGULATE SHORT TERM RENTALS? I AM HAPPY TO IMPLEMENT WHATEVER POLICY THE BOARD DECIDES.

WELL, OKAY.

OKAY. THANK YOU. AM GOING TO GIVE ME THE ANSWER.

I'M COMPLETELY AGNOSTIC.

I MEAN, THE ISSUE IS THAT I AM AGNOSTIC TO THE QUESTION BECAUSE THEY CERTAINLY SERVE A ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT DON'T LIKE THEM.

AND SO I DON'T THINK THERE IS A RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER FOR ANY COMMUNITY.

FOR MOST COMMUNITIES, THERE ARE CERTAINLY COMMUNITIES UP NORTH THAT HAVE LIMITED HOUSING STOCK THAT NEED EVERY UNIT THEY CAN GET FOR THEIR RESIDENTS, AND THEY SHOULD ABSOLUTELY BE REGULATING THE HECK OUT OF THESE THINGS TO TRY AND KEEP HOUSING PRICES DOWN. BUT FOR MOST COMMUNITIES, IT'S REALLY A QUESTION OF WHAT DO YOU WANT TO RENT? REGULATE THEM? I DON'T HAVE THE SILVER BULLET ON THIS ISSUE.

THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE THAT WILL TAKE SOME TIME.

AND I THINK MANAGER WALSH POINTS OUT AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE IN SAINT JOE'S HAS BEEN ON THE FOREFRONT OF THIS.

I KNOW THAT THERE IS A LOT OF COMMUNITIES IN THE PAST YEAR MOVING ON THIS, WHICH I THINK IS WHY THE REALTORS GOT ANOTHER DRAFT OF THE LEGISLATION OUT, BECAUSE

[01:50:09]

THEY'RE TRYING TO COMBAT IT. BUT IT'S A MOVING TARGET.

OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. WALSH. MY RESPONSE TO THAT QUESTION WOULD BE, IF IT'S NOT BROKE, DON'T FIX IT.

AND RIGHT NOW I WOULD STAY OUT OF THAT ISSUE.

THERE'S ENOUGH COMMUNITIES THAT ARE DOVETAILING INTO THAT ISSUE, AND IT'S A VERY MURKY WATER.

OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU. I THINK WE'RE AT THE POINT WHERE TRUSTEE WILSON IS GOING TO BRING US UP TO DATE AND HELP US SET A DATE FOR A STUDY SESSION.

[13.D. Study Session-Set a Date for Senior/Community Center Discussion]

AS YOU MAY KNOW, THE TASK FORCE TO LOOK AT A COMMUNITY CENTER THAT WOULD INCORPORATE A SENIOR CENTER HAS BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY EVERY TWO WEEKS.

WE MEET SINCE LATE FEBRUARY, EARLY FEBRUARY.

SO, WE SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME TOGETHER GOING THROUGH.

WE'VE DONE SITE VISITS.

WE'VE HAD EXPERTS COME IN AND TALK TO US ABOUT BONDING ISSUES.

WE'VE HAD EXPERTS COME IN AND TALK TO US ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION AND HOW WE WOULD GO ABOUT THAT.

AND WE'RE AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT YET IDENTIFIED A SITE.

WE HAVE AN OPTION OF A NEW BUILD AND WE MAY POTENTIALLY HAVE AN OPTION OF A REPURPOSING OF A PROPERTY HERE IN THE CENTRAL AREA, BUT THAT IS NOT YET COME TO FRUITION.

SO, WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW IS WE BELIEVE WE HAVE IDENTIFIED ALL OF THE NEEDS THAT WE THINK SHOULD BE IN SUCH A CENTER.

TO GET US AN IDEA OF THE SCOPE OF WHAT WE COULD OFFER TO THE COMMUNITY.

WE'VE ALSO IDENTIFIED THE PIE IN THE SKY WANTS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN IT IF INDEED WE HAD THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO DO THAT.

WHAT'S ON THE TABLE RIGHT NOW IS WE HAVE $5 MILLION FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN.

WE MUST ENCUMBER THAT IS IN THE 2024 BUDGET.

WE MUST ENCUMBER THOSE FUNDS BY DECEMBER 31ST OF 2024.

SO THAT IS ONLY 14.5 MONTHS AWAY.

SO IT'S WE REALLY WANT TO MOVE OUR PROCESS FORWARD.

SO WHAT WE'VE ELECTED TO DO, WE BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE SOME GENERAL KNOWLEDGE WITH OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

AND I KNOW SUPERVISOR JACKSON IS ON THE COMMITTEE AND AND TRUSTEE NOW I'M GOING TO GET IT WRONG.

TREASURER DESCHAINE IS ON THE COMMITTEE.

WE HAVE THE DIRECTOR OF THE SENIOR CENTER ON THE COMMITTEE.

WE HAVE THE PARKS DIRECTOR.

WE HAVE MANAGER WALSH.

WE HAVE THE PROJECT MANAGER.

A PROJECT DIRECTOR.

MARCY IS WITH US.

DIRECTOR SCHMIDT IS WITH US.

SO, WE HAVE SOME VARIED EXPERTISE ABOUT WHAT WE THINK WE WANT.

BUT NOW IT'S TIME TO BRING IN SOME EXPERTISE FROM THOSE WHO ACTUALLY CONSTRUCT THESE KINDS OF BUILDINGS AND TO GET A PLAN OF WHAT WE WANT TO DO.

SO TO THAT END, WE HAVE ISSUED AN RFP BECAUSE WE DO HAVE $200,000 THAT THE BOARD ALLOCATED FOR THE PURPOSE OF DOING THE FEASIBILITY OF A COMMUNITY SLASH SENIOR CENTER IN THIS FISCAL YEAR.

SO WE WOULD COME BACK TO THE BOARD ONCE WE HAVE DECIDED WHO THE VENDOR IS, WE PUT THE RFP OUT TO PERHAPS SIX DIFFERENT ENTITIES THAT REALLY COVER THE WHOLE SCOPE OF DESIGN AND BUILD VERSUS ARCHITECT AND AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGER.

THERE ARE JUST SO MANY VARIABLES THAT WE BELIEVE THAT IT'S TIME TO SIT DOWN AND PUT THIS ON PAPER AND TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT IT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE.

SO, TO THAT PURPOSE, WE WANT TO MOVE THAT EXPEDITIOUSLY, EXPEDITIOUSLY, EXPEDITIOUSLY.

THROUGH THE PROCESS. SO WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE OUR INTERVIEWS, THE COMMITTEE, THE COMMITTEE WILL HAVE INTERVIEWS WITH THE VARIOUS VENDORS THAT DO COME FORWARD.

AND WE'D LIKE TO BRING YOU ON NOVEMBER 9TH A RECOMMENDATION OF WHO WE GO WITH.

AND BECAUSE THIS WILL BE INVOICED WITH THE BOARD, HAS TO AGREE THAT TO THIS AND ENTITY, THIS COMPANY THAT WE WILL SELECT BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE.

I'D LIKE TO SEE IF WE COULD SCHEDULE A STUDY SESSION AROUND THAT TIME, PERHAPS EARLIER, SO THAT WE COULD GET EVERYBODY'S INPUT IN A MORE INFORMAL SETTING.

IT WOULD BE A BOARD MEETING, BUT IT WOULD NOT BE TELEVISED.

BUT PERHAPS WE COULD DO A SESSION AROUND 5:00 SOME EVENING WHEN IT WOULD MEET YOUR PERSONAL

[01:55:09]

CALENDARS. I JUST THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AND I THINK THE COMMITTEE REALLY FEELS THIS THE WAY THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO ENGAGE WITH THE BOARD AND SHARE WITH YOU ALL WE HAVE LEARNED SINCE LAST FEBRUARY.

YES, SIR. AROUND WHICH DATE? EXCUSE ME. I'M SORRY, MR. HENDRICKSON. THANK YOU.

I'M SORRY. NO, YOU'RE RIGHT.

I WAS SPUN AROUND.

AROUND WHICH. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? WELL, I THINK SO.

WE'RE GOING TO BRING THE PROPOSAL FOR THE COMPANY TO YOU ON NOVEMBER 9TH.

SO, I WOULD HOPE THAT WE COULD HAVE A DISCUSSION PERHAPS PRIOR TO THAT.

I DON'T, I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOUR SCHEDULES ARE.

AND I COULD PROPOSE SOME DATES, MAYBE A THURSDAY EVENING, BECAUSE IT DOES MAKE THE BOARD MEETINGS LONG WHEN WE HAVE A STUDY SESSION BEFORE A BOARD MEETING.

TO THAT POINT, WE ALSO CONTINUE TO HAVE TUESDAY LISTENING SESSIONS, LISTENING SESSIONS INTO NOVEMBER.

I KNOW. JUST TO POINT THAT OUT.

DID YOU HAVE A COMMENT? OH, I WAS JUST TRYING TO CLARIFY IF TRUSTEE WILSON WAS SUGGESTING WE MEET BEFORE OR AFTER THE PROPOSAL ON THE NINTH.

SO IT SOUNDS LIKE BEFORE, WHAT WOULD BE BETTER? I THINK WE'D LIKE TO BRING EVERYTHING WE HAVE TO YOU.

AT THAT POINT, WE WOULD HAVE ANY TIME AFTER THE 24TH OF OCTOBER, WE WILL HAVE INTERVIEWED THE COMPANIES.

SO MY THOUGHT ON THIS WHEN I SAW THIS COME ACROSS THE AGENDA IS THAT THE BOARD HAS NOT HAD A BOARD RETREAT THIS YEAR, AND PERHAPS THIS WOULD BE A TOPIC THAT WOULD BE RIPE FOR THAT SETTING ON SOME SOME DAY OVER THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO WEEKS.

FIND AN AFTERNOON ON A WEEKEND DAY, A SATURDAY OR A SUNDAY WHEN WE COULD ALL GATHER TOGETHER AND TAKE ON THIS AND WHATEVER OTHER TOPICS WE WOULD COVER IN A BOARD RETREAT, IF THAT'S AMENABLE TO THE GROUP.

I HEAR YOU. I DON'T WANT TO TAKE AWAY YOUR FALSE SATURDAYS.

I KNOW THERE'S ONLY SO MANY, YOU KNOW.

YES, IN THE FALL, WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT FOOTBALL GAMES AND ALL THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.

CLERK GUTHRIE. THANK YOU, MADAM SUPERVISOR.

WE HAVE A CLERK'S ACADEMY ON EVERY THURSDAY IN OCTOBER.

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THAT WOULD BE DIFFICULT FOR ME, BUT THAT BEGINS AT SIX, 6 TO 7, SO ANY OTHER TIME IS FINE.

MR. DESCHAINE. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ELECTION DAY.

BUT NOT FOR US IS AN OPEN TUESDAY THERE.

THERE'S NO LISTENING SESSION.

THAT FOR ME. OH, THAT'S RIGHT.

SORRY. THERE ARE STILL ELECTIONS.

THIS IS A GOOD PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT.

IT MAY NOT BE ELECTIONS IN MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP ON NOVEMBER 7TH, BUT THERE ARE IN LANSING, EAST LANSING, EATON, RESA AND THE CITY OF LESLIE.

SO IF YOU'RE IN ONE OF THOSE COMMUNITIES AND YOU CHOSE TO WATCH US TONIGHT, PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE.

CAN YOU DO THAT IN SIGN LANGUAGE? JUST IN CASE YOU'RE MOVING TO THE WEEK BEFORE.

SINCE THURSDAY SEEMED TO WORK, IT APPEARS THAT THURSDAY, THE 2ND OF NOVEMBER, MIGHT BE AVAILABLE, ALTHOUGH THAT'S LEADING UP TO THE ELECTION.

IS THAT A WORKABLE DATE FOR YOU? TRUSTEE HENDRICKSON YEAH.

AND IS THE CLERK DONE WITH HER? OH, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A WINNER.

GIVE US TIME TO GET FACILITATOR AGAIN FOR THAT.

DO WE WANT TO BRING BACK LARRY MERRILL FOR THAT? WE WANT TO FIND SOMEONE NEW.

THE FOCUS IS THIS CORRECT? YEAH, I'D BE MULTIPLE THINGS.

DO WE NEED A FACILITATOR? MAY I? YES.

YES, PLEASE. I'M SORRY.

OKAY. DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TWO FOR TWO, I THINK, ON THIS SUBJECT.

I THINK WE COULD CONDUCT OURSELVES WITHOUT A FACILITATOR.

I THINK IT'S A ONE ISSUE, WHICH IS THAT'S THE ONLY ISSUE ON THE AGENDA.

AND I THINK WE'RE JUST A ROUNDTABLE.

NO FACILITATOR REALLY NEEDED.

OKAY. OKAY. SO THE SUGGESTION ON NOVEMBER THE 2ND, DO WE ALL LIKE NOVEMBER THE 2ND? YES, MR. HENDRICKSON IS AVAILABLE.

EVERYBODY'S AVAILABLE.

OKAY. OKAY, THEN THAT'S IT.

CAN WE DO IT AS A 5 P.M.? THAT'S 5;30. THAT'S FINE.

I CAN MAKE FIVE. THIS IS THE THURSDAY.

SO, 5:35? 30 WOULD BE BETTER. I CAN MAKE IT WORK IF THAT IS WHAT EVERYONE ELSE CAN ONLY DO.

[02:00:01]

ALL RIGHT. 530 NOVEMBER THE 2ND.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER THE 2ND, WE'LL HAVE OUR STUDY SESSION AND I'LL MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S DINNER INCLUDED.

WE'RE GOING TO BE HERE A WHILE.

OKAY? THANK YOU. OKAY.

WE CAN NOW COME TO ITEM 14 ON OUR AGENDA.

COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC, OTHER MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.

ONE MORE. I'M SORRY.

13.E.

13 OH, SORRY.

13 UNION TOWNSHIP INVESTMENT POLICY REVISION.

[13.E. Meridian Township Investment Policy Revision]

THIS DISCUSSION WILL BE LED BY TREASURER DESCHAINE.

THANK YOU. BASED ON HOW EXCITING THIS IS, I CAN SEE YOU MOVING ON TO THIS POLICY THAT I BROUGHT BEFORE YOU THAT PROPOSED REVISED POLICY USES THE FUNDAMENTAL LANGUAGE OF THE FIRST ADOPTED IN 2009, WHICH IS ONE TWO TREASURES BACK TREASURE HUNTING BEFORE TREASURER BRIXEY, AND IT'S BEEN RATIFIED IN 2015, 2017, 2019, AND I BELIEVE IN 2021.

SO, WE GOT ON OUR INVESTMENT ADVISORS ROBINSON GROUP AND TO HELP US WITH TO CONTINUE TO MAKE SAFE, PRUDENT INVESTMENTS AND MAXIMIZE OUR RETURN ONLY AFTER WE'RE ASSURED THAT THE SECURITY OF OUR RESERVES ARE MAXIMIZED.

SECURITY. THREE RULES WE WORK BY HAS TO BE SECURE, HAS TO BE LIQUID AVAILABLE WHEN WE NEED IT, AND THE THIRD OF ALL HAS TO HAVE A RETURN.

SO, I'M SORRY.

ROBINSON LOOKED AT OUR INVESTMENT POLICY AND AS A FIRST STEP, BROUGHT TO ME SOME PROPOSED NEW LANGUAGE FOR OUR INVESTMENT POLICY.

AND I BROUGHT THAT BEFORE YOU TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT IT.

NOTHING IS REALLY THERE'S NOT A BIG CHANGE HERE EXCEPT IN THE PERCENTAGES.

WE INVEST IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS AND THE PERCENTAGES WITH ANY ONE COMPANY.

SO IF WE CAN GO THROUGH THIS REAL QUICKLY, PAGE BY PAGE PURPOSE IS THE SAME, SCOPE IS THE SAME.

IT DOES LIST FUND TYPE FUND TYPES.

AND THESE LISTED HERE, SOME OF THEM APPLY TO US, SOME DON'T.

OUR FUND TYPES WE'RE NOT BRINGING BACK TO YOU.

THE FINAL PROPOSAL WOULD BE OUR GENERAL FUND, WHICH INCLUDES THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS FUND, THE PENSION STABILIZATION FUND, OUR PUBLIC WORKS FUNDS, OUR LAND PRESERVATION FUND, AND OUR BIKE AND PATHWAY FUND, WHICH ARE BOTH MILLAGE BASED ASSESSMENTS.

AND THOSE MONEYS HAVE TO BE ALWAYS SEPARATED AND ACCOUNTED FOR SEPARATELY.

IN TERMS OF THE OBJECTIVE, SAFETY, OF COURSE, IS THE FIRST OBJECTIVE.

AND THEN THEY HELPED ME TO BRING UP SOME ADDITIONAL SAFETY OBJECTIVES, THE CUSTODIAL CREDIT RISK, WHICH IS WHO'S HOLDING ONTO OUR INVESTMENTS, HIGH INTEREST RISK, INTEREST RATE RISK, MEANING WE LEVEL OFF THE INTEREST RATE SO THAT IF RATES FALL ONE YEAR, WE DON'T GET WIPED OUT.

INSTEAD, WE'VE GOT THE SPREAD OUT OVER MANY YEARS.

SO WE CAN WITHSTAND THE UPS AND DOWNS OF THE INTEREST RATE MARKET CREDIT RISK, AGAIN, FOCUSING ON THE SAFEST INVESTMENTS, NOT THE ONES NECESSARILY WITH THE HIGHEST RETURN.

MOVING ON TO PAGE TWO, CONCENTRATION OF CREDIT RISK.

THIS IS WHERE WE'RE SUGGESTING A NEW MATRIX AS TO HOW WE INVEST AND WHERE WE INVEST.

AND THEN FOREIGN CURRENCY RISK, MEANING WE DON'T INVEST IN ANY FOREIGN CURRENCIES, DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.

THAT FIRST PARAGRAPH THERE OR FIRST SENTENCE THERE JUST REFERENCES PUBLIC ACT 20, WHICH IS OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLE FOR ALL THIS.

MOVING ON TO AUTHORIZED INVESTMENTS, SOME CLARIFICATION ON WHAT THOSE ARE AND THE DISCUSSION OF COMMERCIAL PAPER REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS.

MOVING ON TO THE THIRD PAGE, WE CONTINUE WITH MORE OF THE AUTHORIZED INVESTMENTS ALL WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE STATE PUBLIC ACT 20 SAFEKEEPING PRUDENCE ARE THE SAME DIVERSIFICATION IN OF INVESTMENTS WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN A MINUTE.

MAXIMUM MATURITY IS ANOTHER THING WE'RE GOING TO INTRODUCE WITH THIS POLICY.

IF THE BOARD APPROVES AN INTERNAL CONTROLS, THIS IS NEW THAT WE ARE SURE THAT THE THERE'S AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW PROCESS BY AN EXTERNAL AUDITOR EVERY YEAR.

WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT IN THE PAST.

THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING WE TASK OUR AUDITOR WITH, LOOK AT OUR INVESTMENTS, REPORT BACK TO THE BOARD ON THE ON THE SAFETY OF OUR AUDITORS.

THE WHOLE POINT OF BRINGING IN ROBINSON WAS THAT THERE'S TOO MUCH MONEY HERE, $60 MILLION TO HAVE ONE PERSON, THE TREASURER BEING THE ONLY ONE WITH EYES ON THIS AND THE BOARD NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED AND AN AUDITOR NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED FOR THE SAFEKEEPING OF THE OF THE TOWNSHIP'S MONEY, THE MONEY THAT DOESN'T BELONG TO US, IT BELONGS TO OUR 44,000 RESIDENTS.

[02:05:02]

THEY PAY THAT MONEY AND IT'S OUR DUTY TO PROTECT IT.

MOVING ON TO THE NEXT PAGE, THE ONE NEW ITEM HERE IS SIGNATURE ON BANK ACCOUNTS REQUIRING THE THE TREASURER, THE DEPUTY CLERK TO BE LISTED ON ALL DOCUMENTS.

WE CURRENTLY FILE THAT POLICY.

IT JUST CODIFIES IT FOR US.

THE CHANGE YOU REALLY WANT TO FOCUS ON WITH YOU IS THE MATRIX.

YOU'LL SEE ON THE NEXT PAGE.

AND LET ME BRING THAT UP.

IF YOU GO ON TO EMILY, ONE MORE PAGE OR TWO MORE PAGES.

THERE WE GO. THIS MATRIX HERE, THERE'S TWO THINGS IN THIS, ALL THESE SECURITIES, BEGINNING WITH THE US TREASURY.

ALL THE WAY DOWN TO MUTUAL FUNDS.

AND WHAT WE DO IS SET A MAXIMUM AMOUNT WE CAN INVEST IN THOSE.

THE FIRST TWO BEING TREASURIES OR US AGENCIES LIKE FANNIE MAE, FREDDIE MAC.

WE COULD HAVE UP TO 100% OF THOSE BECAUSE THOSE ARE AS GOOD AS ANY OTHER INVESTMENT.

THEY ARE THE SAFEST PRIME INVESTMENT VEHICLE.

THEY BOTH HAVE A FIVE YEAR MAXIMUM MATURITY AND ONE OF THEM, SINCE YOU BUY TREASURIES DIRECTLY FROM THE GOVERNMENT, THE THERE'S NO ISSUER, IT'S THE GOVERNMENT.

SO WE CAN HAVE IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO WE BUY IT FROM.

WE ULTIMATELY WE'RE BUYING THEM FROM THE GOVERNMENT.

ANY AGENCIES, WE COULD ONLY BUY 50% FROM A PARTICULAR BROKER DEALER.

NOT ALL OF THEM. WE HAVE NOW THEN MOVES ON TO CDS.

IT WOULD DICTATE THAT NO MORE OF OUR CDS MADE UP NO MORE THAN 50% OF OUR PORTFOLIO AND WITH A MAXIMUM MATURITY OF TWO YEARS.

THERE'S A NON NEGOTIABLE AND A NEGOTIABLE.

WE ONLY DEAL WITH NON NEGOTIABLES AND THE NEGOTIABLE TYPES ARE ONES FOR INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS WHERE YOU CAN BUY A CD AND GO BACK TO THE ISSUER AND NEGOTIATE A SHORTER TERM OR A HIGHER RATE.

THOSE JUST ARE NOT THE WE'RE NOT IN THAT GAME OF NEGOTIATING A CD AFTER WE INVITE.

TYPICALLY, THE CDS WE BUY OR THE CDS WE BUY FOR THE ROAD BONDS, WE GET $12 MILLION AT THE START OF OUR THREE YEAR OLD PROGRAM.

WE BUY 4 MILLION FOR THE FIRST YEAR, 4 MILLION FOR THE SECOND, 4 MILLION FOR THE THIRD YEAR.

MUNICIPAL BONDS ARE ON HERE AS WELL.

THAT COULD BE A SCHOOL BOND.

THAT COULD BE ANOTHER WE WOULDN'T LIKELY BUY FROM THIS DISTRICT OR THIS AREA WOULD BUY OUTSIDE THE AREA.

BUT SCHOOL BONDS OR MUNICIPAL BONDS ARE ALSO SOME OF THE SAFEST INVESTMENTS YOU CAN BUY BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE BACKING OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN.

FOR ONE THING, IF A SCHOOL BOND GOES SOUTH, THE STATE OF MICHIGAN WILL STEP IN AND MAKE THE MAKE THE BOND HOLD.

IT'S EXTRA SECURITY LEVEL THERE.

COMMERCIAL PAPER WE DO NOW, COMMERCIAL PAPER, SHORT TERM AND IT'S SHORT TERM CORPORATE DEBT.

AND THEY CAN ONLY LAST 270 DAYS, ABOUT NINE MONTHS.

WE DON'T BUY THEM DIRECTLY. WE BUY THEM THROUGH A GROUP CALLED MICHIGAN CLASS INVESTMENT POOL.

BANKER'S ACCEPTANCE, OVERNIGHT DEPOSITS.

THOSE ARE BOTH UNIQUE INSTRUMENTS.

WE DON'T MESS WITH THOSE.

WE SOME AT SOME FUTURE POINT, THEY MIGHT BECOME ATTRACTIVE.

THE MAXIMUM WE WOULD INVEST IN EITHER ONE OF THOSE ARE 25% AND MUTUAL FUNDS.

LIKEWISE, WE DON'T INVEST IN THOSE NOW THEY OFFER A HIGHER YIELD, BUT BUT THEY'RE ALSO A BIT MORE RISK WITH THOSE.

AND SO ALL OF THESE AFTER AGENCIES THAT ANY OF THIS WE OWNED, WE PURCHASED, WE'D ONLY BUY 10% FROM A INDIVIDUAL BROKER, 10% OF THE TOTAL PORTFOLIO, AND THEN A MAXIMUM IS LISTED FIVE YEARS FOR THE TREASURIES, TWO YEARS, THREE YEARS, FIVE YEARS, 270 DAYS, 184 DAYS, ONE DAY FOR A DEPOSIT AND UP TO THREE YEARS.

ONE OF THE SITUATIONS THAT I INHERITED, AND I PUT THIS IN MY MEMO IS RIGHT BEFORE I BECAME TREASURER, RATES WERE LOW FOR A VERY LONG TIME, FOR YEARS AND YEARS AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION.

AND THE PREVIOUS TREASURER TRYING TO GET SOMETHING OTHER THAN ESSENTIALLY 0%, BOUGHT SOME LONG-TERM INVESTMENT TOOLS AT 1 IN 1- AND ONE-HALF PERCENT. MANY OF THOSE WERE SOME OF THOSE WERE 15 YEARS.

SOME OF THOSE WERE 20 YEARS TRYING TO LOCK IN SOME RATES.

AND SO THOSE SOME OF THOSE WON'T BE AVAILABLE UNTIL 2030.

AND YOU CAN'T SELL THOSE TODAY BECAUSE YOU TAKE A HUGE LOSS BECAUSE THE CURRENT RATES ARE 5%.

SO YOU TAKE A HUGE LOSS TO SELL THOSE.

SO YOU'D BE CRAZY TO DO THAT.

WE WON'T DO THAT FOLLOWING THIS POLICY.

THAT WOULD NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.

THE MAXIMUM TERM FOR ANY KIND OF TREASURY OR AGENCY WOULD BE FIVE YEARS.

SO I CAN'T LOCK IN A FUTURE TREASURER BEYOND FIVE YEARS AND FUTURE TREASURERS CAN'T LOCK IN OTHER TREASURIES OR BOARDS LONGER THAN FIVE YEARS.

IT'S A GOOD POLICY.

FIVE YEARS IS ABOUT AS FAR OUT AS YOU CAN REASONABLY ANTICIPATE AND IT'S REALLY JUST SPECULATIVE TO GUESS WHAT'S GOING TO BE HAPPENING TEN YEARS FROM NOW OR 15 YEARS FROM NOW. IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT WORLD.

SO THAT'S THAT'S THIS MATRIX IS THE BIGGEST CHANGE.

IT LISTS THE THE INSTRUMENTS, WHICH IS WE'VE ALREADY AGREED ON INSTRUMENTS IN PREVIOUS POLICIES, BUT IT SETS A MAXIMUM SECURITY THAT WE CAN HAVE IN OUR

[02:10:09]

INVESTMENTS TOTAL AND THE AMOUNT WE CAN BUY BY ANY INDIVIDUAL BROKER, DEALER OR BANK, AND THEN ALSO A MAXIMUM MATURITY.

SO WHEN THEY SUGGESTED THIS TO ME, AT FIRST I LOOKED AT IT AND THOUGHT, WELL, THIS IS GOING TO BE DIFFICULT.

BUT THE MORE I THOUGHT ABOUT IT, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE THAT DIFFICULT.

IT JUST REQUIRES THAT WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING AT THE BALANCE THAT'S IN OUR CURRENT INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO, MAKING SURE WE'RE NOT OVERLY BALANCED ON ANY ONE AREA.

TO SHOW YOU PART OF THE NEED FOR THIS, I'M GOING TO PASS OUT THIS THIS GRID HERE.

WE CAN FIND IT. THERE IT IS.

THIS IS AN. ANALYSIS THEY DID OF OUR CURRENT PORTFOLIO AND I'M SORRY TO THE PUBLIC, WE CAN'T PUT THIS ON THE SCREEN.

WE USED TO DO WITH OUR PROJECTOR.

WE DON'T HAVE THAT ABILITY TO PROJECT ONTO A SCREEN.

OKAY. I THINK WE DO.

ANYWAY, THIS, THIS SHOWS THAT UNDER OUR MATURITY DISTRIBUTION, 60% OF OUR CURRENT PORTFOLIO IS INVESTED IN CASH OR CHECKING ACCOUNTS, WHICH MEANS ZERO MATURITY.

I MEAN, WE CAN GET IT ALL TOMORROW.

THAT'S GREAT FOR TODAY BECAUSE RATES ARE 5.25%.

BUT A YEAR FROM NOW, TWO YEARS FROM NOW, THEY'RE GOING TO BE VERY LIKELY HALF THAT OR LESS.

SO WE NEED TO BALANCE THESE OUT.

YOU CAN SEE 1021 YEAR.

WE'VE ONLY AT 5%, 1 TO 2 7%, 2 TO 3 YEARS, 8% AND SO FORTH.

NONE OF THOSE ARE ONE IS CLOSE TO 10%, BUT MOST ARE WELL BELOW THAT.

LIKEWISE, IF YOU LOOK AT SECTOR ALLOCATION, WE'RE VERY BALANCED OFF BALANCE TO THE RIGHT WITH CHECKING ACCOUNTS AND CASH AND COMMERCIAL PAPER MONEY TO 60% OF OUR INVESTMENTS.

AGAIN, IDEALLY WHAT WE SHOULD HAVE HERE IN THIS MATRIX IS THAT WE WOULD HAVE ABOUT 20%, 0 TO 1 YEAR, 20%, TWO YEARS, 20%, THREE, FOUR AND FIVE.

SO WE'VE GOT A BEAUTIFUL LADDER SET UP SO THAT WE CAN TAKE ANY BUMP IN THE MARKET KNOWING THAT BY THE TIME WE COME OUT OF THAT, THAT BUMP, THAT DECLINE OR INCLINE, OUR INVESTMENTS WILL REMAIN STABLE.

NO MARKET DIP OR MARKET RISE WILL REALLY CHANGE OUR FUNDAMENTAL FINANCIAL POSITION.

LIKEWISE, UNDER SECTOR ALLOCATION, WE SHOULD HAVE 20% IN TREASURIES, 20% IN CDS, 20% IN CASH AND COMMERCIAL PAPER.

THAT'S A TRULY BALANCED, BALANCED PORTFOLIO.

SO THIS IS WHERE WE BROUGHT ON ROBINSON.

I LIKE WHAT THEY'RE SUGGESTING HERE.

AND WITH THIS INVESTMENT POLICY CHANGE, WE CAN DO THAT.

WE CAN ACTUALLY DO IT. NOW, WHAT THIS POLICY DOES IS IT SETS IT INTO A FORMAL POLICY THAT I WILL FOLLOW IN FUTURE.

TREASURERS WILL FOLLOW AS WELL.

ANY QUESTIONS? LET ME START.

SO WHAT YOU WILL BE ASKING US TO DO IS TO ADOPT AN APPROVE AND ADOPT THE POLICY.

THE NEW POLICY.

THE POLICY BEFORE YOU.

YEP. OTHER QUESTIONS.

TRUSTEE WILSON. THANK YOU, MADAM SUPERVISOR.

SO, APPENDIX A PORTFOLIO DIVERSIFICATION GUIDELINES.

YOU SAY THAT WE DO NOT INVEST IN NEGOTIABLE CDS.

WE DO NOT INVEST IN MUTUAL FUNDS.

IS THIS YOUR MATRIX? AND WHY DID YOU INCLUDE THOSE? THEY'RE NOT INVESTMENT VEHICLES.

THESE ARE ALL ALLOWED UNDER PUBLIC ACT 20 AND THAT WE DON'T INVEST.

THEY'RE AVAILABLE, NOT OURS.

THIS IS NOT OURS. THIS IS PUBLIC ACT 20 ALLOWABLE SECURITIES THAT WE COULD INVEST IN.

GOTCHA. I JUST WANTED TO BE SURE THE MARKET WASN'T OURS.

RIGHT NOW, COMMERCIAL PAPER IS REALLY BIG, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE HEAVILY IN THERE.

2 OR 3 YEARS FROM NOW, IT MIGHT FLIP.

IT MIGHT BE IN BANKER'S ACCEPTANCE OR IN CDS AND TREASURIES.

SO THANK YOU.

TRUSTEE HENDRICKSON.