Hartford appoints new members to the Planning Commission and the Fire Board

The Hartford City Commissioners appointed new members to their Planning Commission and Fire Board during the Monday, Dec. 18 business meeting for the month. City officials in attendance were Mayor Richard Hall, Mayor Pro-Tem John Miller, Commissioner Frank Dockter, Commissioner Charles Weeden, Commissioner Lindsy Morsaw, and Commissioner Nancy Spoula. Commissioner Jane Danger was unable to attend.

Deputy Clerk Rebecca Senard, Clerk RoxAnn Rodney-Isbrecht, and Pam Shultz, the City Treasurer, were also in attendance.

Following the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance, Roll Call was taken and the approval for the agenda was granted. Juan Garcia of Paw Paw, a guest at the meeting, introduced himself as a new property owner in the area.

Public comments

John Spoula welcomed the new commissioners and is looking forward to some positive improvements within the city.

Dan Danger was present questioning the expenditure of Christmas lights both at Ely Park as well as those on City Hall.

Mike Menck brought up that since the city’s attorney was present, that maybe he could tell the people how to interpret who has the authority to contact the city attorney for city business.

Communications

The communications that were reviewed were from the Van Buren County Legal Self-Help Center Network where county residents can now get legal help from their local library. Every library in Van Buren County has partnered with the Van Buren County courts to form the Van Buren County Legal Self-Help Center Network.

Visitors to the center can access high-speed internet, computers, and printers to use the Michigan Legal Help website in English (MichiganLegalHelp.org) or Spanish (AyudaLegaldeMichigan.org). The Michigan Legal Help website contains free, easy-to-understand information on common legal issues.

The launch of the Van Buren County Legal Self Help Center Network marks the biggest expansion in legal self-help services with more than 50 centers across the state now offering free, high quality legal self-help services to the citizens of Michigan.

Police department activity

The city of Hartford’s Police Chief, Mike Prince, submitted the November Police Report to the board. The report reflected 800 hours worked with seven arrests, six arrest warrants issued, 15 traffic citations written, four assaults, one burglary, four traffic crashes, and two drug investigations.

Lt. James Ivy presented the board with information about the department’s involvement in the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Excess Property “1033 program.” This program has assisted law enforcement agencies for nearly 25 years in providing law enforcement agencies with critical but previously unavailable equipment for little to no cost.

Thus far the police department has received six rifles and six pistols. They also just acquired a used Humvee for severe weather need.

Hartford Fire Department

Fire Chief, Rob Harding submitted the November statistics from the fire report. The report reflected 60 calls for the month. The breakdown of the calls was for five fires, 37 rescue and emergency medical services, eight service calls, eight good intent calls, and two false alarms for the month.

The chief informed the board that the department’s radio system is becoming obsolete, and will no longer support Hartford’s current radio technology. This means that the Chief is looking for different grant opportunities to help fund the needed equipment.

Public Works Department

Danny Staunton from the Department of Public Works was called out during the meeting but his report was submitted in the agenda packet for review.

Wastewater Treatment Plant

It was reported that the wastewater treatment plant is running well. The plant is stable and in compliance. Necessary PFAS monitoring is complete and the report was submitted to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).

Financial Report

The board approved the paying of bills totaling $411,693.32 for December 18, 2023; a detailed list was included in the agenda packet.

City Manager updates board

Interim City Manager, Linnea Rader informed the council that the City of Hartford will be applying for a Spark Grant to fund much needed improvements to Ely Park. These grants support projects that provide safe, accessible, public recreation facilities and spaces to improve people’s health, introduce new recreation experiences, build on existing park infrastructure and make it easier for people to enjoy both indoor and outdoor recreation. A public survey is being sent to the homes of residents and posted online.

The police union has informed Rader that they will be proceeding to arbitration for the Union Grievance on scheduling and shift posting that was brought up last month. Rader also announced that the city attorney is filing for summary judgment in the case against the former Hartford police officer who has not repaid their contractual obligation for police academy expenses.

There has been a conditional offer of employment to a new member of the Department of Public Works, said Rader. She followed up with the plan to look at options for hiring and recruitment for the police department openings.

Rader has met with Surf Internet whom has submitted a permit to install fiber internet throughout the city. However, she is awaiting guidance from the city attorney about the next steps necessary under the Metro Act.

Old business

The council approved the 2024 Commission Meeting Schedule and it will be posted as soon as possible. The group also agreed to move forward with the candidate selection for the City Manager as the field has been narrowed down to three candidates.

Also, under old business, they discussed the city manager performance appraisal tool that will be used to evaluate the performance of the incoming city manager.

New business

The council approved the appointment of new members to both the Planning Commission and the Fire Board. Eric Germinder has been appointed to the Fire Board and he and Gage Gardner, who was not present at the meeting, were both approved to fill the two seats on the Planning Commission Board.

In other new business, the board passed Resolution 2023–026 Board of Review Alternate Starting Dates, Resolution 2023–027 Board of Review Accepting Letters of Protest, Resolution 2023–02 Board of Review Poverty and Asset Test Guidelines, the acceptance of the new vehicle, a new Lift Station Alarm System, the new Waste Water Treatment Plant Operator contract, and modifications to the Clark and Linden Street contract, as well as a water main extension contract, to name a few.

The board decided to table two ordinances for the second time. They tabled Proposed Ordinance Amendment No. 335–2023 and No. 336–2023, pending legal advice. Commissioner Miller addressed one of these ordinances with the city attorney at the council meeting. However, after the attorney left, he had some additional questions that could not be answered.

Having no further business, Mayor Hall adjourned the meeting at 8:08 p.m.