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ESCANABA -- The Escanaba City Council is expected to revisit a number of items and possibly look at the future of the city’s leadership during Thursday’s regular council meeting.
CITY MANAGER
While not on the agenda, it is likely the council will discuss the future of the city manager’s position.
Patrick Jordan, who has served as the city’s manager since 2017, was offered the position of Ionia County manager in mid-October. He has made no public statements about whether he intends to accept the position or remain with the city.
The offer comes at a pivotal moment for Jordan, following months of sparring with the city council, which sought to replace his existing contract with a new contract that would have cut the manager’s salary by a third.
The council pressed Jordan to accept the new contract, but the manager balked, instead suggesting the council could terminate his contract, pay him the required severance under his existing contract, and then renegotiate with him. With the council unwilling to fire Jordan and Jordan unwilling to accept the new contract or quit outright, the manager and the city were at an impasse.
The stalemate may be broken by Ionia County’s offer.
DDA APPLICATION PROCESS
The council will decide Thursday whether or not to authorize changes to the Escanaba Downtown Development Authority application and appointment process. The proposed changes were already approved by the DDA at its regular board meeting on Oct. 27, but must be accepted by the council to take effect.
Key among the proposed changes is the DDA’s request to take control of the application and selection process for DDA board appointments from the city’s mayor, who is currently responsible for appointments with the consent of the rest of the council. Under the proposal, applications would be reviewed by a subcommittee composed of the city manager, DDA executive director, and three trustees of the DDA board. In addition to having an initial vote, the executive director would break any ties.
“Our goal is to be self governing as we were in the past and to take the burden off of city council for appointments to our board,” said DDA Trustee Kelli VanGinhoven in an email outlining the proposed changes made by a subcommittee of the DDA that is included in Thursday’s council meeting board packet.
DDA appointments have been a sticking point for VanGinhoven since long before her appointment to the DDA. For more than a year, she attended city council meetings seeking appointment by former Mayor Marc Tall. She was appointed by current Mayor Mark Ammel after Tall failed to secure reelection.
WATER TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT
The council will revisit a request from the water department to approve a $1,055,995 contingency (10%) of the $9,783,000 water treatment plant project for work by Staab Construction.
The contingency was originally on the Oct. 20 council agenda but was postponed until Thursday to allow the city attorney to review the contract with Staab.
Later in the meeting, the council will go into closed session with the city attorney to discuss a written legal opinion on a matter regarding the water treatment plant project.
JAIL REVEDELOPMENT
Jordan is expected to give a brief update on the state of the sale of the former Delta County Jail and former Delta County Chamber of Commerce sites. This update has become a staple of the meetings, and is expected to continue being an agenda item until the sales are all finalized.
K9 REPLACEMENT AND ALARM
Escanaba Public Safety is requesting to purchase a dual-purpose narcotic detector dog to replace its current K9. The dog, which would be purchased from Vohne Liche Kennel, is expected to cost $20,275.78.
The purchase of the dog is not in the department’s budget, however, the department intends to purchase the dog through grants and the use of drug forfeiture funds.
Public safety is also requesting Thursday to enter into the Michigan Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MI-MABAS), which will allow the city to access resources from around the state in the event of a large emergency.
STUMP GRINDING
The Department of Public Works is seeking to hire Dombrowski Tree Service for stump grinding. According to the bid, removing the 161 stumps and restoring the ground would cost $17,015. The funds for the stump removal are budgeted.