Commissioners approve resolution on pedestrian lighting, discuss mayoral election process
Commissioners talked about pedestrian lighting and mayoral election methods during the Feb. 24 Mount Pleasant City Commission meeting.
The city approved a resolution regarding pedestrian lights on Michigan Street downtown that was postponed from the previous city commission meeting on Feb. 10. Commissioner Lori Gillis also gave a speech about her issues with mayoral elections in Mount Pleasant.
Pedestrian lighting
The pedestrian lighting resolution calls for re-using eight lights, moving two existing lights, and buying six new lights, said City Manager Nancy Ridley. These will be done on Michigan Street, between Oak and Washington downtown. This issue was initially postponed by the commission at the Jan. 27 meeting when commissioner Petro Tolas proposed to change the original resolution. The original one called for replacing all the existing lights and purchasing six new ones.
The city's engineering staff redesigned for the last commission meeting on Feb. 10, but that vote was postponed due to three commissioners being out with sickness. That resolution is what was passed on Feb. 24.
In the resolution that was passed on Feb. 24, the lighting project would cost $76,500. The project would be funded halfway by the city’s capital improvement plan and the other by a special assessment, Ridley said.
However, Tolas wanted to change where the money came from for the project. He brought up partly funding the project through the city’s Principle Shopping District and the Jan. 27 commission meeting (he was absent due to illness on the Feb. 10 meeting).
Tolas also meant to bring up the idea of partly funding the project through the Tax Increment Finance Authority (TIFA), by having the city pay one half of the $76,500 and the for TIFA to pay the other half. He said TIFA should have enough funds to pay for it, since they have $818,000.
Tolas said it’s not fair for the business owners on Michigan Street because there were lighting projects done in the past on Main and Broadway streets that were paid by TIFA and the city. Special assessments are only supposed to be used when the property will increase in value, something he said the lighting wouldn’t do.
However, Vice Mayor Amy Perschbacher said that section of Michigan Street will be undergoing reconstruction, including stamped concrete, trees, benches and trash cans. The new lighting is all the city's asking for, she said. The value of the land would increase because it would feel safer walking across it, she said.
“I manage a building downtown and at some point, we’re probably going to be asked (for) that same special assessment, which I’ll support,” Perschbacher said. “I want people to feel safe at night when walking through (downtown).”
The resolution passed in a 5-2 vote, with Gillis and Tolas being the dissenting votes. The commission also approved a public hearing on the resolution for the March 9 commission meeting in a 5-2 vote, with Gillis and Tolas being the dissenting votes.
Mayoral election
Gillis gave a fiery rant during the meeting about the process of electing Mount Pleasant’s mayor. She said she has been advocating for the mayor to be voted in by the community for 16 years.
Currently, the mayor is appointed by a vote between city commissioners every January. Gillis said it’s always been a partisan decision on how the mayor is chosen and is not based on public desire. It’s the majority party of the commission that usually uses the advantage to select the mayor, she said.
Gillis and Tolas regularly make dissenting votes in the commission.
Gillis also said that the city’s mayor position is used to “train” the person selected for a higher political office.
“This is very disturbing,” Gillis said. “Our selection of mayor should not be based on one party or for our mayor to get ‘training.’”
She also talked about the committees commissioners were appointed to at the start of this year, something the mayor is in charge of. Gillis said she has served on three boards ever since she was elected city commissioner. But this year, she and Tolas were selected for one committee each, while Mayor Will Joseph appointed himself to seven committees.
Joseph said the appointments were made based on the commissioners' availabilities and that Lori’s was limited by her work schedule and her interests. He said his schedule was more flexible and filled spots that had a lack of interest.
The topic of the mayoral election will be reviewed in the charter committee later in the month, Joseph said. He isn’t sure on how he will vote.
“I just think there’s significant factors to weigh,” Joseph said. “There’s choice by the people and then there’s the system (Mount Pleasant) has. There’s pluses and minuses to both.”
Other news:
- The draft of the Mount Pleasant 2050 Master Plan recently approved by the planning commission was unanimously approved by the city commission. Ridley said this opens the draft to a 63-day public comment period, where surrounding jurisdiction, utilities and citizens can give input before the city’s formal approval process. There are three upcoming open houses regarding the master plan scheduled for March 25, and two on April 23.
- During a work session, commissioners discussed the marketing of downtown Mount Pleasant. Ridley said the commission discussed this last year when the TIFA Board presented a plan to spend $80,000 dollars for promotion and marketing from the Economic Initiatives Fund. The commission wasn’t comfortable with that proposal, so the TIFA board was asked to revise the plan. Now the proposal is for $40,000 this year for promotion and marketing, with a review of it at the end of the year, Ridley said. Gillis said that businesses should be left to do their own marketing. Joseph, who serves on the TIFA board, said it represents businesses and that small businesses don’t always have the funds for marketing. The City Commission will take action on the proposed plan at a future meeting
