001[Music] I've got 7:00. Let's uh call this meeting to order. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance and the invocation following. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Dear God, please bless our elected officials. Grant them the wisdom to know and the courage to do what is right for all citizens. Amen. Amen. Amen. Okay. Roll call, please. Allan here. Leaf here. Mr. Ravage here. Ricks here. Schultz here. Warren here. Yellen here. Good to see everybody here tonight. Let's move on to the approval of minutes of the city council meeting of May 19th. Is there a motion? I'll make the motion. Support. Motion been made in supporting. Any discussion on those minutes?
002Being not. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I. I against. Motion does pass. We also have the budget meeting from the same date May 19th. Is there a motion to accept those minutes? Motion. Support. Motion been made in support. Any discussion on those minutes? Being not, all in favor of the motion signify by saying I. I. Against. Motion does pass. We move on to audience comments on any non-aggenda items. If anybody'd like to address the city council, uh we would ask that you would come up to the podium, state your name and address to the clerk, and we allow three minutes. Anybody want to speak to anything that's not on the agenda? Doesn't look like it. So when we get to the agenda, council will first talk about it and then I'll
003open it up for comments from the public and then once that's over with, it comes back to council for further deliberation if needed. So uh that's where we're at and those those uh those are down at the bottom of your agenda if you have one which are available over on the table there those rules. Okay. Adoption agenda. Mr. City Manager, any changes? No changes. City Council, any changes? Motion to accept the agenda as presented would be in order. I'll make that motion. Support made and supported. Any discussion? All in favor of the motion signify by saying I. I. Against. Motion does pass. Is there a motion for the consent agenda? Make a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. Support. Motion made and supported. According to our rules, there are no disc there is
004no discussion on the items for cons uh for on the consent agenda. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I. I. I. against. Motion does pass. We move on to items for consideration, which we have six this evening. The first one being consideration of special request from 67808 Leland Court dwarf goats. Mr. City Manager, council is scheduled to consider a petition from Scott Bell to keep two dwarf Nigerian goats on property located at 67808 Lee Lane Court. Uh the properties to the north, south, east, and west are developed with single family residential. The subject property is approximately 64 acres in size. The property is roughly pentagonal in shape with uh and has a frontage of 77 ft on Leelane Court and varies in depth. Um, as we have done uh with previous uh
005requests to keep animals, whether they're chickens or other, uh we have sent uh letters to all of the uh property owners that whose properties adjoin this property. Uh that included uh eight properties. Uh in prior to the packet going out to council, we received two letters, one for one against. Over the weekend, we did receive two more letters, again, one for one against. So, we have two letters in favor of the goats, two letters uh opposing the goats. Uh we did receive a phone call uh from somebody in the neighborhood, not one of the eight that we mailed letters to uh opposing the goats. Um so, uh as has been our past practice, uh we did provide council with uh the following information. from the place where the applicant proposes to keep the animal, the
006number uh they are proposing, the distance from such uh place where they're keeping them to uh the boundary lines and and neighboring properties and the distance to uh the street and everything. So, uh, with that, um, there was one other question that was raised, uh, regarding, uh, the, uh, fair housing act and reviewed that was reviewed by our city attorney and, uh, he did indicate that it wasn't, uh, relevant to this request, that it's more related to, uh, people that are going into public housing, that sort of stuff, or uh, real estate agents. is showing houses in a particular neighborhood, things like that, but not related to a request to keep goats. Um, so with that, uh, based on the information provided by the applicant, uh, I think they're, uh, as you can see, the,
007uh, distances to the neighboring houses, I think the closest houses are, uh, sorry, I get my variance straight, 93 feet and 98 ft to the closest neighboring houses. With that, As in the past, the council's or the administration has provided council with uh two motions for your consideration as the ordinance uh provides that uh these are subject to the approval of council. Thank you, Mr. Bell. Yes. Would you like to address council before council makes a motion? Yes. Um not much to say really. the goats are brought in uh to provide therapeutic benefits to the family, which um our doctor will write a letter stating that without getting into too much detail, I'd be glad to give you guys the letter. Uh the goats have been on my property for 2 weeks, as you guys
008already know. I was here uh two weeks ago to let you know I had brought them home. I started this process over a month ago. My first call was to the Richmond Police Department. I understand that there's ordinances and all sorts of stuff like that. So, we weren't just going to bring goats into the city without checking. Um, we got funny feedback from the police department. They thought it was funny and they said, "Other people in town have these goats and you should be okay." They called me the following Monday and said, "You actually need city approval." Well, we had bought the goats over the weekend. Not a big deal, but I started the process with Troy, so I've been following the steps all along, except I did bring them home two weeks earlier and
009before your approval. Um, the goats aren't a nuisance. I understand the law. I'd like to be an example. According to the um investigation, nobody in Richmond has these. So, I'd like to be the example on what a responsible pet owner looks like in the city. I take full responsibility for the goats and the cleanliness and not to disturb any neighbors. I went to all of my neighbors and spoke to them. They all gave me overwhelming support except for one. Um so, that's what I have to say. Okay. Thank you. Council ready to make a motion for before discussion. Actually, I'd like to make a motion to postpone until our second meeting and workshop in July. uh to be fair to all parties involved. Um with the lawyer's um recommendation um there is issues on health,
010safety, and welfare of any inhabitants in the city that needs to be determined. Um and I don't think I'm prepared and I'm not sure the rest of the council, but um that's how I feel. Is there a second? Can I say something? No, not yet. Not now. Remember what I said about the rules? I have a hearing impairment. So do I. I wear hearing aids so I can hear and we have microphones. Um but uh once council's done debating then I'll come back to the Thank you very much. You'll be the first one I come to. Okay. Um do I have a second support support discussion there? Uh this motion is debatable also. Uh so it's uh something we we can totally uh discuss before we turn it over to the public and then bring
011it back to the table. Yeah, Mr. Mayor, I guess I would um agree with the motion to postpone just because this is the first one for goats. There are we do know of some other goats in the city. So I think we need to kind of look at this further and see what um what the ramifications are. And I mean, I know the applicant has all the positive about it, which overall, I'm I'm I'm in favor of goats, but I think we just need a little bit more time to uh to go through it in detail and and uh look at our ordinance to make sure that it's up to up to the current times. That was written so long ago that I think we need to address it and take a look at it
012and take Mr. Bell's uh concerns, you know, take a look at that as well. So, Okay. Anybody else? I would tend to agree. This is something new for us. Um, as far as the goats go, it's the first first application that I know of that we've had for uh other than chickens and and one domesticated pig. Um, we have not had a a a farm animal other than uh horses on a established horse farm. uh when it traded uh the property traded hands, which we allow uh because the neighbors were all for it. Um we have the two letters that are uh against this are from those two neighbors that are directly behind uh the property. Uh so that has some weight to it uh in previous discussions that the council has had. Of course,
013we all know that. Um and quite often uh they haven't gone through. Um, but I I think this is a a something that we need to have a a more indepth look at when we talk about uh this type of a a farm animal in the community. And there are issues, I believe, that need to be explained to us even further because there's four criteria that uh one of those four can can uh cause denial. And um from what I've seen so far, there's they teeter on whether or not any of it uh makes uh any of those four. So, um the only concern I have is right now is the possibility uh of, you know, having to rehome them. If uh council decides that they're not going to allow it, then um they need
014to be removed from the property and uh council will have to deal with that and and the petitioner will have to deal with that sadly. Um but I think we need to take a bigger look at this uh given uh I think the implications to further farm animals within the city limits. That's my big hangup right now. Chickens are one thing, it's poultry, but when we get into a four-legged animal, that where where does that stop? And um I think we have to make sure that what we're doing is right. Mike, you brought it up. The the ordinance slash um charter provision on this is from approximately 1965 adopted in ' 66 when we became a city. Otherwise, there were we were parts of our community uh were cut in half and one side was
015town uh one Richmond Township, the other side was Lennox Township. So, I believe you know back then we did have farms and uh I happened to live next to one of the last farms in town as Dennis was two doors down growing up and um it was it was nasty. I don't think we're talking the same thing here, but I'm afraid that if we go ahead and allow a goat then what's to stop other animals that definitely are going to create a lot more possible nuisance type issues such as smell and whatnot. Um, so that's where I'm at with this. Any other discussion before I turn it over to the public? Sir, your name and address, please, to the clerk. My name is Brian Mccardi. Address Woodside. Uh, I'm probably the second closest neighbor to
016uh, Scott and Josephine. And I think the first thing I want to say is, uh, I I've lived in a lot of places and I've had some interesting neighbors, but Scott and Josephine are some of the best people you'd ever want to meet. Um, the other thing is is I'm familiar with the miniature goats. My sister and brother-in-law had them back when my kids were little. They're very docel. They're good with kids. They don't bite. They don't bark. They wear pajamas. And um I think they're probably a whole lot smaller than most of the dogs parading around our neighborhood. As far as the smell goes, uh we have certain areas in the neighborhood where you can smell the dog waste, but I never smell the goat waste. Um so I don't really see a problem.
017I welcome them. I'd rather see a few more goats and a few less aggressive dogs. That's just me. Thank you. Thank you for listening. Thank you. Anybody else like to address this? Hi, my name is Lenor Warren. I live at 67791 Erns Court, which is directly behind this property. Um, you guys got my message, uh, obviously my letter. Um, just a couple of things that I want to kind of point out to you because you can obviously read it. I have been living at my residence for over 20 years. Um, when he came and talked to me, um, some of the things I mean, it kind of caught me off guard, so I really didn't say yes or no. I kind of just talked to him. Um, the thing that bothered me the most was
018he came to my house on a Thursday. Within 48 hours, two goats appeared in my backyard. I called that morning. Uh, that following week on Monday morning, talked to Troy and I said I was under the impression that we had to have a permit, but they're already in my backyard. Um, they've been there for the last two weeks, and as far as I know, nothing has been done in those two weeks. Um, they are very small at this point, but I mean my concern is is it a female and a male? Is it, you know, and how big are they going to get? Cuz they're very small. Um, the smell is my concern along with um, as of what I can see from my backyard in the last two weeks, they kind of wander around
019the whole entire backyard. So, they're peeing and pooing all over the whole entire backyard. Um, when you look up problems that happen because of goats, things like flies, rodents, mites, ticks are common um problems that do occur after the after you have them. I live in the city limits. I feel like goats are kind of animals that should be out in the country, not in the city. Um, so with all those things in mind and after your discussion, what are we going to if we table this until July, they're going to be allowed to also stay for June and July? They've already been there two weeks without permission and now it's another two months. So that is probably my biggest concern along with everything else that I've that I've shared. So again, I am one
020of those people that, you know, am against it. Um, unfortunately, my neighbor to the north could not come. He's an elderly man that has a hard time getting around. I'm the one that told him about the goats. So, I just wanted to point that out as well. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, first I got to see if there's anybody else, then I can come back around. Anybody else want to address this item? Now, you can go. Go ahead. Um, it's a male and a female goat and the male is scheduled to be neutered tomorrow at 11:00. Uh, as far as the feces goes and the droppings, they look similar to deer feces, little pellets like rabbits. Um, so there's that and there's also guidance in the ordinances on how to handle that. Um, and that'll
021be followed. As far as running around the backyard, they do I have a fenced in backyard. So, that's where they stay. And then there'll be something more permanent obviously if we get a permit. And I assume that the property will be reviewed and the permit will be renewed every year. So, we're going to follow everything that's in the current ordinance. And, um, I worry I understand what's next to cow. Um, and if the ordinance gets changed because this thing is from 1963, um, does that impact where we're at now or am I grandfathered in? So, those are a few things. Another thing that runs around in my backyard all the time are my kids. So, there's no difference. These things make no noise. Um, they bring joy to everybody and we have plans for the
022goats once we can get them registered as emotional support animals to take them to places like elderly homes. My wife donates her time to charitable uh foundations like Mcrist. She's hosting fundraisers for them. We're involved in the community and we plan on staying involved. Um as my neighbor said, we're good people and we're responsible people and we can handle these two goats. The goats usually get about 60 lbs. The mom and dad were about 50. That's a medium-sized dog. Oh, also we have quote already for privacy fence. So that's in the works on our our property as well. Thank you. Anybody else like to address this issue being not back to the table? Council, any further discussion on the motion to postpone? Um, well, I guess if we're if we postpone until the second meeting
023in July, I guess that'll give more time for to see how the goats are within the backyard. I mean, some of the neighbors can see and maybe change their mind and be in favor of it or maybe the other way and they're seeing problems. So, I guess it'll be a little bit of a trial period as well. Okay. Anything else? I just uh was wondering, you said a privacy fence. How soon were you thinking of doing something like that? I could probably get it sooner rather than later. It's a large expense and I prefer not to do it like right off the rip, but it's in the works for the house. Okay. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I. I. Against. Motion does pass. Um I would suggest that you stay in
024touch with the city manager and um more than likely uh if the meeting is that second um typically due to the fourth the July quarterly is always that second or the third Wednesday but the second meeting in July. Yes. Right. We would probably I would assume a determination no later than that third w third Monday of the month in July if not sooner. Okay, moving on. Item number two is consideration of special event request Richmond Little League fireworks. Mr. City Manager, city council is scheduled to consider a special event request from Richmond Little League to conduct fire a fireworks display at uh dusk on Friday, July 4th. Uh this request is being made in celebration of the Michigan Little League state tournament which begins Thursday, July 3rd. Uh Richmond Little League is purchasing consumer grade
025fireworks from Pyro Joe's and will be setting them off themselves. Uh as you can see in the application, the first page we talk about uh what days of the year we do allow consumer uh fireworks. So had they not been doing it on city property, um they could have set these off, you know, at their homes or at their businesses. Um but uh because it's on city property, I did require them to come and and get a permit because they're doing it with in conjunction with a public event on on city- owned property. Um so anybody here from Little League tonight? Is there a motion council? I'll make a motion to approve the request from Richmond Little League to conduct a firework display near Diamond E at dusk on Friday, July 4th, 2025 to celebrate
026the Michigan Little League state tournament subject to the following condition that Richmond Little League will ensure the hike bike path is closed during the show. Made in supported. Any discussion on this [Applause] item? Any audience participation on this item? Being not back to the table. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I. I. Against. Motion does pass. Hope for good weather. There. Item number three is consideration of special revent special event request Richmond Foot and Ankle Clinic. Mr. City Manager. City Council is scheduled to consider a special event request for a mobile food vendor from Richmond Foot and Ankle Clinic to have a mobile food vendor, Martinez Tacos and Catering at their 20 an 20th anniversary event. Uh Martinez Tacos specializes in tacos, nachos, and quesadillas. Uh the event is Monday, July 7th.
027Uh and the mobile food truck is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The event will celebrate Dr. Montifire's 20 years in practice as well as incorporating it as a customer appreciation day and and an appreciation for the staff as well. Thank you. Is there a motion? I'll make a motion to approve the special event request from Richmond Foot and Ankle Clinic to have the mobile food vendor Martinez Tacos at the 20th anniversary customer appreciation day on Monday, July 7th from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Support. Motion made and supported. Is there any discussion on this item? I'm sorry. Is there anybody here on this? Oh, well, come on up if you'd like to say something. Okay. Okay. Well, motion to deny. [Music] You'll get your chance. Yeah. Um, okay. So, we have a motion.
028Um, I'm going to be all for this also. Uh it's a free event. They're not charging the public. If it was charging the public, I still have my issues with uh the trucks coming into town. Um but this is uh this is exactly what we want to see happen uh to some of these events. Any other discussion? All in favor of the motion signify by saying I. I. I. Motion does pass. Hope you have nice weather. Item number four, consideration of board appointments. Mr. City Manager, terms on several boards and commissions expire as of June 30th, 2025. Uh there's also one open seat on the EDC. Letters were sent to all of the individuals on April 8th, 2025 whose terms are expiring. Uh we have several that responded. We have uh on the cable TV
029committee, committee members Mish, Ricks, and Shotti all uh expressed their interest on being reappointed. On the library board library board, uh we had board member Mallister uh resubmit for their reappointment. And then on planning commission, uh we had Kaminsky, commissioners Kaminsky, Mish, and Zinc all uh send in their applications. Thank you. Is there a motion for the cable commission? I'll make a motion to reappoint Lori Mish, Lori Ricks, and Mike Shotty to the cable commission for three-year terms with expiration date of June 30th, 2028. Support motion made and supported. Any discussion on this item? Those all reappointments to those positions. Anything from the audience on this item? Back to the table. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I. I. Against. Motion does pass and we thank them for accepting the reappoint. We
030also have a a reappointment to the library board. Is there a motion? I'll make a motion to reappoint Heather Mallister to the library board for a 2-year term with an expiration date of June 30th, 2027. Support. Must been made and supported. Any discussion on this item? Anything from the public on this? Back to the table. Heather, are you sure? No. Doing a great job there. Thank you. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I. I. Against. Motion does pass. Uh I would like to uh get your confirmation of my appointment reappoint of Mike Kaminsky, Kevin Mish, and Mark Zinc to the planning commission for three-year terms. Is there a motion for that? I make a motion to confirm the mayor's reappoint of Mike Kaminsky, Kevin Mish, and Mark Zinc to the planning commission
031for three-year terms with an expiration date of June 30th, 2028. Support most been made and support. Any discussion on that? They're all doing a great job. I sit on that planning commission and uh all three of these guys, I'm glad to see that they're coming back. they all uh are very into the planning commission and do their uh due diligence there before they make decisions. So, we got a good board there also. Any other discussion? Any audience participation on this item? Troy, do you like them? Troy's our planner. Of course, he likes him. All back to the table. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I. I. Against. Motion does pass. We thank all of them for taking the reappoints. Item number five is consideration of wastewater treatment plant raw sewage pump installation.
032Mr. City Manager, the city council is scheduled to approve the purchase of the raw sewage pump control panel at the wastewater treatment plant. The upcoming 2526 budget includes funding for the replacement uh that was reviewed by council uh as we went through the budget uh prep work. Uh due to the time uh concerns on ordering a new pump, the DPW director is requesting authorization to order the control panel uh for the raw sewage pump as there's a 12week lead time and we're starting to do some of the work uh under the grant to get uh prepared for this. Um and the control panel is a sole source. So we're asking to wave the purchasing ordinance requirements. Thank you. Is there a motion before discussion? Make a motion to wave purchasing ordinance requirements due to section
03364-53A and to authorize the expense of $40,965 for the purchase of a control panel and related accessories from Kennedy Industries for the expense is charged the appropriate line item wastewater treatment equipment replacement fund. Support motion made and supported. Jim, did you have anything to add to this? Uh just to say that council this is similar to council previously approving the purchase of the pumps themselves. This panel wasn't requested at that time because the design wasn't completed. So now that the electrical design is completed, we can proceed with the panel. So good. Good. Okay. Any other discussion at the table? Yeah, I think it's just uh good for the residents to realize that every year we're constantly upgrading. As the plant gets older, we have to continue to upgrade. So things might seem expensive, but it's
034a lot better than trying to do it all in one one year. Absolutely. Absolutely. Anything else, council? Any audience comments on this item? Back to the table. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I. Call. I'm sorry. Roll call. He just pointed that out again. Boy, do I have a terrible time with roll calls. Mr. Avich? Yes. Allen? Yes. Schultz? Yes. Ricks. Yep. Leaf. Yes. Warren. Yes. Yellen. Yes. Motion does pass. Should have like a yellow light or something in front of the names when it goes for roll call. I have terrible history at remembering it's a roll call vote. Even when my friend here circles it and puts funny things around it to remind me. I still forget about it. It's one of those crazy things. Item number six, consideration of water
035tower valve and hydrant replacement. Mr. for city manager. The city's water tower is periodically drained for the interior cleanout and inspection. Uh recently the company informed us they'd be here this week. Uh our public service director did request a quote from Telto Contracting who is in town doing underground work with associated with uh Oak and Streets. Uh so they are available to do the work this week while the while the tower is out of service. So due to the kind of the timeliness that's required with this, we are requesting uh waving the purchasing ordinance requirements as there's a benefit not otherwise obtainable by uh going out for competitive bids and that is the coordination of the work while the tower's down. Um and so with that, we're requesting uh approval to replace a valve and
036hydrant at the base of the water tr uh tower that's been uh leaking. and Jim can answer any technical questions you may have. Jim, anything else to add to this? Uh, so the the hydrant and the valve are both original from the 60s when the tower was built. As the city manager mentioned, when tower is taken out of service, that valve uh needs to be closed. And currently, it does have flow by. So, we have to keep that hydrant open and water is running for the duration that the tower is out of service. So, we can only replace the valve and the hydrant when the tower is out of service. So it's it's either now or in two years or in for you know for obviously coordinate with the tower veno. Okay. Thank you. Is
037there a motion before discussion? I'll make a motion to wave purchasing ordinance requirements due to section 64-53D and authorized expenses of $20,525 for the replacement of the main valve and hydrant at the water tower by Telto Contracting with expenses charged to the appropriate light item in the water fund. Support most made and support. Is there any discussion on this? It makes all the sense in the world to do it now. Otherwise, it's a two-year wait. Yeah. Anything else on this? Anything from the audience on this? Back to the table. All in favor of the motion sign. Roll call, please. Ricks. Ricks. Yeah, I'm first. Yes. Leaf. Yes. Yellen. Yes. Allen. Yes. Schultz. Yes. Warren. Yes. Mr. Ravit. Yes. Motion does pass. We move on to uh mis latest banners from the city manager. Sir, anything?
038Uh previously council had approved the sale of the uh vacant lot that the city had purchased. Well, had a building on it when we purchased it. It's just south of the town clock. We uh demoed the kind of dilapidated structure that was there. Um and we are selling it to the owners of the parlor house whose uh building is adjacent to it. So uh we did close on that today and they are officially now the owners of that property. So very good. It was nice to get that taken care of. Um and then uh today myself and I think members of the police department, the fire department and possibly our library uh gave tours of city facilities to the third grade class from SA. So, uh, they were, uh, very energetic as they went through
039all of our facilities and, uh, and, uh, I think had a good time and it's always kind of hard kind of explaining what happens at city hall versus, you know, a little more fun tours at the police and fire, but they they all seem to enjoy it. Very good. Very good. Moving on to council comments. Michael, uh, nothing today. Thank you, Dennis. Nothing. Jim, nothing tonight, sir. Emily, nothing. Thank you. nothing tonight. I'd just like to say thank John and uh all of his people that help him on the city's end and the Richmond VFW um for our Memorial Day services. Again, I think they were very good. They were well attended. Um and uh we had weather that uh in between all that lousy weather that we had. So, um again, thank you very
040much. Little League had a great opening day. Uh if you know where Diamond D is, the entire outfield was filled with people. It was huge this year. It was really really nice showing there. Um and that was this past Saturday. So uh that takes us into today. Today being the 2nd of June. Uh uh mostly I think half days I think for the rest of the week at school. Half days. Um Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Tomorrow is the last Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. So watch for the kids. They're going to be out and about. Uh last day of school is Friday the 6th. So, uh, careful there. Planning Commission will be meeting right here at 7 o'clock, uh, on the 12th. Uh, happy Father's Day to all those, uh, fathers, uh, on the 15th. And then the
041city council will meet once again, uh, 7:00 on the 16th. Is there anything else that we need to add to the calendar? Uh, there is one event this uh, month uh, put on by the historical society. It's called the Heritage Festival and Fiber Festival. that will be happening on Saturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th. Uh that's a a free event also. It's pretty pretty nice event they have there. Um is there anything else that we need to add to the calendar at all? If there isn't, then we need uh we will be going into close session. We need a motion to go into the closed session. I'll make a motion to convene into close session in accordance with section 8C of the Michigan Open Meetings Act public act 267 of 1976 as amended for
042strategy and negotiation sessions connected with the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement as requested by administration support made and support. Is there any discussion on this item? Is there anything from the audience on this item? We may be a while before we come back, but we will come back. Back to the table. Roll call, please. Schultz, yes. Leaf, yes. Allen, yes. War, yes. Yellen, yes. Mr. Dravich, yes. Ricks, yes. Motion does pass. We'll take a 5minut break before we go into close [Music] session. Heat. Heat. [Music]