Greg Styczynski

GLADSTONE — The Gladstone City Commission appointed Greg Styczynski to fill former City Commissioner Dave Nemacheck’s vacant seat Monday night.

Nemacheck died Aug. 13 as a result of an ongoing illness.

Six applicants applied for the position — Styczynski, Wesley Rhein, Mike O’Connor, Cooper Koski, Steven Viau and Jeff Diebolt.

After four of the six applicants present at the meeting were given an opportunity to address the commission and answer questions, the commission unanimously appointed Styczynski.

“I’d like to thank the commissioners for the appointment this evening. I look forward to working with all of you and getting to know each of you a little better,” Styczynski said.

The appointment will be in effect until August 2020. The remainder of the term, which expires November 2021, would be decided in the August 2020 election.

Styczynski, who owns Rock Electric Service in Gladstone, explained although he isn’t originally from the Gladstone area, he has become increasingly involved in the city since moving here in 2014.

“I’m not a Gladstone native, I actually grew up in the Detroit area and I was fortunate to find Gladstone here in the Upper Peninsula. I chose to make it my home. I’ve lived in a number of communities around the state and Gladstone has really stolen my heart,” he said.

Styczynski joined the Gladstone Downtown Development Authority a year ago. He said he really enjoyed being more involved with the community and likes the direction the city is going.

According to Styczynski, with his involvement with the DDA, he has seen the budget process first-hand and he views the fiscal conservatism of the city as a positive.

Styczynski said the commission could do a better job communicating with the public.

He said the city commission is doing great things for the city and the public should be more aware of it.

The commission praised everyone who applied for the position.

Many of the commissioners felt the choice was a tough one, especially between Styczynski and Jeff Diebolt.

In the end, the commissioners felt Styczynski was the best choice and unanimously approved his appointment.

In other news, the commission:

– were asked by City Clerk Kim Berry to review the documents from the previous city manager search and to recommend changes by Oct. 7 so it can all be finalized for presenting to the city commission at its next meeting on Oct. 14.

– adopted the ordinance No. 612 rezoning, which was introduced at the last city commission meeting. A public hearing was held at Monday night’s meeting, however no one spoke at it. Eight parcels of land from the 200 block of Dakota South to Minneapolis were zoned from two family residential to a multi-family residential classification.

– tabled again the request from the Housing Commission to reduce their Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) from 10 percent to zero. The Gladstone Housing Commission currently pays 10 percent of the aggregated Shelter Rent as its annual PILT, which comes to around $24,000 and is split between various taxing entities.

– approved the Gladstone Parks and Recreation Department application for a Hannahville 2% grant for engineering costs for the proposed pump track and obstacle course.

– approved the one-year contract between the city and Gladstone Yacht Club in order to supply natural gas to the marina’s new outdoor fireplace. The agreement allows the city to use gas through the club’s meter for $50 every two months for a year, and forgo the metering cost and the cost of vacationing the service during the winter months. After a year, the contract will be reassessed.

– approved the purchase of nine sets of firefighter turnout gear from Pomasl Fire Equipment for $23,400. The purchase was budgeted.

– approved the reappointment of Pam Bialik for the Housing Commission.

– approved the recommendation from the DDA for the $6,000 North Shore Property Redevelopment Marketing Proposal from Place + Main, which has worked with the city and DDA on the North Shore Property Redevelopment project in the past. The DDA had budgeted $10,000 for the North Shore Marketing line item, so the proposal came in under-budget.

– approved the sale of land lots east of the Family Dollar parking lot for $26,000, which is city-owned and vacant for many years. The sale contract would be pending the approval of the Planning Commission for the developer’s plan of storage units.

– heard a presentation on the DDA from Ron Miaso. Many of the commissioners praised the DDA and how it is a crucial part in accomplishing projects to improve the city.