Mayor Robert Backon, Councilors Gernot Joachim, Mike Needham, and Dan Salo.

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1 REGULAR MEETING HOUGHTON CITY COUNCIL WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, :30 p.m. CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY CENTER PRESENT: Mayor Robert Backon, Councilors Gernot Joachim, Mike Needham, and Dan Salo. Also present for the City: City Manager Scott MacInnes, Director of Public Works Mark Zenner, Treasurer Jodi Reynolds, Clerk Ann Vollrath, and Police Chief John Donnelly. ABSENT: ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Pro Tem Megowen, Councilors Rachel Lankton and Craig Kurtz. A Representative of the Daily Mining Gazette, WMPL, WLUC-TV6, WOLV, Sara Salo, Ann West, and Tom Katalin. REGULAR MEETING: Mayor Backon called to order a Regular Meeting of the Houghton City Council and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES: A motion was made by Joachim and seconded by Salo to approve the minutes of the April 24, 2013 Regular Meeting as written. Yes: All REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF AGENDA: OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC TO ADDRESS COUNCIL: Item D under New Business Peddler s License was added and moved after Reports Item A. No one addressed the Council. PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS:. PUBLIC HEARINGS: REPORTS: Sara Salo and Ann West of the City of Houghton Bike and Pedestrian Committee gave the Council an update of the work being done by the committee: A Bike and Pedestrian Survey was competed in the fall of They had 695 respondents to the survey which included questions about biking and walking in Houghton, Hancock and Michigan Tech. They received feedback about routes used, 1

2 common destinations, and lift bridge utilization. The complete survey results are located on the City s website. The committee combined the prior pedestrian and bike plans and created a new Bike and Pedestrian Plan of 2012 using the data received in the 2012 survey. The plan will build on the bike-friendly recommendations received from the League of American Bicyclists. This year the committee will work on the renewal of bikefriendly status. Presently the City has bronze status. The committee would like to work on silver status. There is a new regional bike advocacy group which was created to provide bike safety and education. BIKE stands for Bike Initiative Keweenaw. This group is organizing the Bike 2 Work Day on May 16 th and promoting the National Bike Challenge which is May 1 to September 30. Michigan Tech University received the Bike-Friendly University bronze level. The university will be installing bike fix-it stations around campus. NEW BUSINESS: Tom Katalin asked the Council to renew his peddler s license for mobile food sales. He will again locate in the Coon s Automotive parking lot at 401 Shelden Avenue between 11:00 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. on weather-permitting nights. He said he received positive comments last year. He also asked permission to locate in front of the Good Times Music store on some of the nights and at the Kestner Park. A motion was made by Joachim and seconded by Salo to approve a peddler s license for Thomas Katalin to operate at 401 Shelden Avenue between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. He is allowed to operate in front of Good Time s Music during those hours as long as he does not block the sidewalk. Mr. Katalin can operate at the Kestner Park when permitted by the police department and city manager as long as it is not after dark. This license will expire on May 31, Yes: Joachim, Salo, Backon, Needham REPORTS: Director of Public Works Mark Zenner reported that there have been some flooding problems caused by the rapid snow melt. At Nara Park the new cross culvert worked as the water did not go over the dam. There are some erosion problems on the Nara Park boardwalks caused by the river washing over the trail. The water in the Woodhaven pond needed to be pumped down to prevent it from overflowing. There was water damage to one basement in Woodhaven. The RV Park is ready for the season. The dump will be open for the weekends from May 17 th to June 16 th. 2

3 Police Chief John Donnelly reported that the department answered 127 calls, made 17 misdemeanor arrests, issued 29 civil infractions and 5 city tickets since the last meeting. The department is preparing to take part in Bike to School Day which is Monday, May 13 th. City Manager MacInnes provided the Council with a report created by Denise Hanson of Impact Retailing on marketing efforts downtown. She gave action items to work on for the website and facebook page. She also sent out ghost shoppers to different businesses and provided feedback on their experience. Mr. MacInnes said this document will be discussed at a Downtown Business Meeting to start working on the action items. Mr. MacInnes reported that he brought the Ralph Raffaelli photo collection to Dee Stadium to prepare for the summer museum. They expect to have a full museum for the summer. Advertising is being prepared. A suggestion was made to put some advertising for the museum on the busses. Mr. MacInnes reported that he is taking part in the State History Conference this week. Today the group toured Downtown Houghton and the Quincy Smelter site. Tomorrow the meetings will be in Marquette. The Isle Royale National Park Service should be ready to take over the visitor s center in the Hodge building on June 1 st. It was discussed to call the center a Welcome Center or a Visitor s Center. There will be a community workshop held on Monday, May 13 th from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. to gather information for the recreation plan update. The Michigan Municipal League Region 7 Education Summit will be held in Bessemer on June 13 th and 14 th. The City Manager told the council members to let him know if they would like to attend. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: NEW BUSINESS:. A motion was made by Joachim and seconded by Needham to approve the accounts payable for April 25, 2013 to May 8, 2013 as presented. Yes: Joachim, Needham, Backon, Salo 3 City Manager MacInnes presented a Resolution for the bond refinance. He is proposing to refinance four water bonds, the Library bond, and the 1999 TIFA bond. This resolution will authorize the City Manager to sell the refinancing bonds if it will result in a savings. A motion was made by Joachim and seconded by Salo to adopt Resolution

4 Yes: Joachim, Salo, Backon, Needham A motion was made by Joachim and seconded by Needham to adopt Resolution to support Bike to Work Week. Yes: Joachim, Needham, Backon, Salo There will be a budget work session on Wednesday, May 15 th at 5:00 p.m. A motion to adjourn was made by Needham and seconded by Salo. Yes: All Motion carried Adjourned 6:20 p.m. Ann Vollrath, Clerk 4

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