Work continues on 5th Street fire property remediation, starts on Short Term rental ordinance
Calumet Village Council, Dec. 21, 2021
Meeting Highlights
Council votes to exempt itself from health insurance caps
The village council exempted the village from PA 152, which limits the amount a government unit can spend on healthcare for employees. The village meets the requirements that the law gives for opting out of the law, which includes a population of less than 600,000. As long as they vote each year to exempt themselves, they can continue to do so.
$250,000 to spend on fire site, committee formed to explore expenses
Among other funds, the village has received an earmark from the State of Michigan’s budget for $250,000 toward remediating the 5th Street fire site for redevelopment. Concerned that the money may not be able to cover everything they want, the village council intends to form a committee to evaluate options for the property and the costs of securing those possibilities. Jeff Ratcliffe, the executive director of the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance, spoke during the meeting and will be working with the committee.
Roof collapse insurance payout underwhelms, soda fountain reconstruction considered
The village’s insurance agent attended the council meeting to speak about the insurance claim on the roof collapse and damaged soda fountain. The insurance company is only offering cash for about a third of the insured value of the property — $20,000. Because of the low offer, the council is considering trying to replace and rebuild the items, which they could get up to about $68,000 to do.
Calumet Theatre attains coverage, waiting for policy to take effect
The theatre has reported to the council that their insurance is straightened out and it’s simply a matter of time for the coverage to take effect. A representative from the theatre board was unable to attend the meeting.
Village to move forward with Short Term Rental ordinances
Under advice that HB 4722 would not be a quickly-passed bill, the council decided to initiate the process of implementing a Short Term Rental ordinance. They also intend to consider a resolution against HB 4722 at their January meeting.
Other notes:
The council voted to spend $450 on three new pagers for the fire department.
The council voted to give full-time village employees the same federal holidays that are in Village Manager Amber Goodman’s contract.
Property rights -- and wrongs
A podcast on short term rental legislation
Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash
House Bill 4722 is “all the rage” right now in local government circles. Having recently passed the House, it threatens to override most local ordinances regarding short-term rentals (broadly defined as a rental lasting under 28 days).
Proponents of the bill say that local ordinances have been stripping the property rights of owners who want to use them for short-term rentals. Others fear that the proliferation of these establishments threatens the security, financial stability, and livability of their neighborhoods.
This podcast includes interviews with Houghton City Manager Eric Waara, who spoke out against the bill at a recent city council meeting; Houghton City Councilor Brian Irizarry, who declined to support a resolution against the bill; and excerpts from a public meeting with Senator Ed McBroom and Representative Greg Markkanen.
Important links:
The official text of HB 4722 as introduced, as passed, and bill history
Record of who voted for and against HB 4722
Coverage of Houghton City Council’s vote against HB 4722
Hancock City Council comments on HB 4722
No councilor chosen, decision goes to the public in May
Houghton City Council, Nov. 18, 2021
Meeting highlights
Resolution opposing state-level “Airbnb” legislation
City Manager Eric Waara said that after extensive conversations with other interested parties, he calls House Bill 4722 “just bad legislation”. The bill would override most local regulations of short-term rental units, often referred to as Airbnbs. Houghton and Hancock both recently passed ordinances that would be wiped out by the legislation.
“We’ve got to do everything within our power to make sure that this hopefully never gets to the governor’s desk,” Waara said.
He said there are “forces at work in Lansing that just want to ram this through”. The bill is moving forward despite widespread opposition among municipalities across the state.
Waara said Sen. Ed McBroom hadn’t returned his phone calls on the issue, and Rep. Greg Markkanen has already voted in favor of the bill.
The council voted in favor of the resolution opposing HB 4722.
New councilmember Q&A and selection process
The process started with a brief explanation from the city manager followed by some discussion and comments from a couple of the interested candidates. The candidates’ letters of interest and other information can be found in the meeting documents link above.
Nomination process review
City Manager Waara explained the nomination and voting process. Any number of nominations can be made by the councilors, and each required a supporting vote to be advanced to the voting rounds. Once nominations were closed, each nominated candidate is voted on in the order they are nominated. Councilors can vote for as many candidates as they want. If no winner is found, the vote can be repeated up to two more times.
Brad Baltensperger, Philip Buck Foltz, Robyn Johnson, Jennifer Rachels, Michael Salmi, Sally Ann Snyder, Norma Veurink and Craig Waddell all submitted letters of interest in the position.
Of the eight interested candidates, six received initial nominations, and five received support and advanced to the vote. Waddell, Rachels, Johnson, Baltensperger and Veurink were the candidates who moved forward.
Initial vote
All five candidates tied with three supporting votes.
During the discussion that followed the first vote, Councilors Joan Suits and Robert Megowen, whose votes countered each other, both highlighted what they were looking for in the candidates. Megowen specifically supported the candidacy of Baltensperger.
Councilor Brian Irizarry noted that Johnson was the only candidate that had votes outside the 3-person blocks that voted for and against the other candidates.
Councilor Jan Cole spoke in favor of Rachels.
Rachels, Baltensperger, Johnson, and Waddell rose and advocated for themselves as candidates.
The second vote
The second vote furnished the same results. Several councilors expressed that they would not be altering their votes for a third round.
Some of the councilors offered comments, including about the risk of operating for six months with only six members on the council and how they may deadlock on other issues.
Baltensperger returned to the floor and expressed interest in why three of the councilors voted so adamantly against him based on the limited—if any—conversation they had with him. He also pointed out the uniqueness of the voting pattern for Johnson, and that perhaps they should give that greater consideration considering the deadlocked position of the board.
Waddell confirmed with Clerk Ann Vollrath that the cost to taxpayers to run a special election would be about $7,000. He suggested he’d be willing to withdraw his nomination but didn’t. As the councilors can vote yes for any number of candidates, it would not benefit another candidate to withdraw.
Johnson echoed Waddell’s sentiments about possibly withdrawing in favor of the other qualified candidates but settled instead for simply endorsing Baltensperger.
Councilor Needham made some comments about why he favored Baltensperger and expressed frustration with the format of the selection process.
Rachels rose and briefly spoke about the local housing crisis and her desire to bring her knowledge and experience about the issue to the council.
The third vote
Once again, the council offered the same vote, tying all the candidates with three supporting and three against.
The council then quickly adjourned.
A city election will be held on May 3, 2022, to choose a new councilor. Clerk Vollrath will be preparing nominating petitions that should be ready by January.
Other notes
A family-friendly winter triathlon event is in development, possibly to be in Kestner Park. Details are to be determined.
The enforcement hearing for 915 College Avenue proceeded uneventfully. The city will act to demolish the building in 30 days if the owner doesn’t take action before then. Costs of the demolition will be recouped through an insurance escrow and possibly a tax lien on the property.
DPW employees have been taking advantage of the mild start to winter to hang Christmas decorations and take their leave to go hunting.
Kevin Maki is retiring as the manager of the Dee Stadium.
The Firestation sign at the corner of Sharon Avenue and M-26 has an MDOT billboard permit but is still in violation of the city sign ordinance. City Manager Eric Waara continues to work on addressing the issue.
The police department is investigating options for eliminating unnecessary access points to M-26 in the commercial district. It’s an effort to reduce injury-causing accidents that happen at intersections not controlled by signal lights on that stretch of road.
Editor’s note: I’d like to make a motion that the council get new, quieter chairs.