The commissioners discussed the search for a new City Manager once current manager Nancy Ridley retires in the fall. After putting out a request for executive search firms to lead the effort, the commission received eight responses.

An ad hoc committee reviewed the applications and interviewed three applicants. The committee recommended Walsh Municipal services, Ridley said.

“As a member of the ad hoc committee,” Mayor William Joseph said. “I thought that Walsh, Frank Walsh, really stood out in his preparation, meeting the requirements we were asking for.”

Commissioner George Rohan moved to approve the motion, it was seconded by Vice-Mayor Amy Perschbacher.

Update on the R.I.S.E Advocacy police program

Leutenent Don Sytsema gave a pre-recorded presentation on the success of a pilot program the city entered into with R.I.S.E Advocacy in November 2020 to provide on-scene advocacy for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

The program formed a response team who would provide on-scene response to victims, crisis intervention, information for crime victims, emotional support, and victim-centered services to eliminate further trauma to the victim, Sytsema said.

The goals of the program were to improve law enforcement’s ability to obtain information that may reduce rates of re-offending and facilitate prosecution when necessary.

Since December, police would contact R.I.S.E. to come to the scene of a domestic violence situation between the hours of 7 a.m. and 12 a.m.

For anything that happened outside of those hours, R.I.S.E. would respond the next day.

Officers would wait at the scene until the R.I.S.E. advocate was no longer needed.

Between December 2020 and May 2021, R.I.S.E. responded to the scene seven times and made contact with victims over the phone on several occasions.

“Officers have had the opportunity to interact with R.I.S.E. staff, to gain a better understanding of their services,” Sytsema said. “That allowed them to make referrals to other citizens to R.I.S.E.’s services.”

The R.I.S.E. partnership program ended in May 2021, but officers will still follow the same procedure when working with victims of assault and abuse.

The Mount Pleasant Police Department will provide R.I.S.E with a weekly update on domestic abuse and sexual assault so R.I.S.E can reach out to victims and provide additional support, Sytsema said.

Commissioner George Ronan, who is a licensed psychologist, said, “I can tell you it's great to see the police and R.I.S.E. working together. It’s state-of-the-art, it’s where it needs to go, it’s absolutely impressive.”

Other business

The commission passed a resolution to adjust the Union Township payment for fire protection services to reflect a reduction in the net cost of the services after Mount Pleasant received a public safety grant in 2020. The net reduction would equate to $54,090 and would apply to 2021 only, Ridley said.
The commission approved the scheduling of a public hearing regarding ordinance changes to chapters 10 and 91 of the Code of Ordinances in response to health and safety concerns regarding colonies of stray cats.
The commission went into closed session to discuss strategy for upcoming contract negotiation sessions with unions whose contracts will be expiring this year.

The entire city commission meeting can be viewed on the city commission's YouTube.