REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF PORT HURON, JUNE 22, 2009

The Port Huron City Council met for their regular meeting on June 22, 2009 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers of the Municipal Office Center. The agenda and all members were present except Tim McCulloch.

The minutes from the June 8, 2009 meeting were approved.

The first presentation was from City Manager Bruce Brown who introduced Tony Schifano, Executive Director, Office of Industrial Development. Mr. Brown stated that about a month ago, City Council asked to withdraw from the Economic Development Alliance and create an office that would focus on Commercial and Industrial Development and Retention. Mr. Brown was happy to introduce Tony Schifano as the person he had hired for the job. Mr. Brown said that Mr. Schifano had an outstanding career in Industrial attraction and retention and it was his pleasure to introduce him to the council.

Mr. Schifano came to the podium and spoke to the council, letting them know that he planned to put in place a program from the experience he has had and tailor it to work with the unique area that Port Huron is. He plans on starting out with visitation to the existing companies we have here to find out what they are doing, and what their needs are. He will meet with outside Commercial and Industrial Multipliers. These are people like Commercial and Industrial Real Estate Brokers who know this business and can lead companies here. Mr. Schifano will get information on what strengths we have and what this area can offer companies should they decide to move here. He will then set up a marketing plan and set it in motion by sharing it with the outside Commercial and Industrial Multipliers. He will report back to the council as often as possible to keep them updated on any progress made. He thanked the council for this opportunity to work in this area and help get new businesses to locate here.

Mayor Moeller mentioned that he and Mr. Brown have met with a couple of developers recently. He said for many years he has been told that we have a very poor workforce, but the developers he has met with think we have a very good workforce.

Presentation #2 was from Lee-Perry Belleau, Executive Director of Studio 1219. He was there to update the council on the Port Huron Arts Incubator. Lee-Perry talked about what art can do for the community. The Studio will be adding literary and performing arts to it's list of art forms that it supports. He informed the council that there are still art incubators there to help artists start their own business and help them through the initial start up so when they go out on their own they will be able to keep their businesses going. Mr. Belleau shared that there will be new things happening at the Studio this summer. He said there are 30 summer programs available to the Community which will include things like "Happy Art Fridays" which is a twist on "Happy Hour Fridays". People will be encouraged to come to the Studio to hang out, drink some wine and enjoy the art. On the other side of that, there will be "Saturday Morning Coffee" for people to come in, drink some coffee and view the art. The Studio is installing wireless internet to encourage people to stop in and sit and view the art and work on their projects for a bit. Mr. Belleau said they have just started a new program to offer local businesses artwork to display. When certain art displays are coming down in the galleries, they would like to place them in local businesses for people to view. He also said that businesses could rent artwork to decide if they like it and if they do they can buy it or return it. This summer they hope to have artists out on the street creating on the street corners for people to watch. Also, in September, the annual Fire & Ice will combine with Art on the Avenue to help make a larger event. Renaissance Roam just took place this last weekend. It was a huge success and there were lots of people who attended. Mr. Belleau said he feels confident that the Studio wil continue to grow. He said this town has some amazing talent. The city leaders and business community have been amazing. He hasn't been Executive Director for very long but from what he has experienced so far he is very excited and hopeful that more great things will happen.

At that time Public Hearing #1 was presented. It was to hear public comments from all persons interested in the maintenance costs of the Huron Avenue streetscape project (from the north side of Black River to the south side of McMorran Boulevard) for the purpose of reviewing said special assessment roll. There were two local business owners in the audience but no one commented on this hearing.

For Council Consideration, the resolution approving the continuance of the downtown special assessment district for the ongoing maintenance of the Huron Avenue streetscape project (from the north side of Black River to the south side of McMorran Boulevard), including the special assessment roll and estimated maintenance costs. Councilman Byrne asked if anyone on council or city administration had heard any feedback on this. No one had so the clerk took the roll and it was passed unanimously.

Public Hearing #2 was to hear public comment from all persons interested in the maintenance costs of Military Street streetscape project (from the south side of Black River to the north of Court Street) and for the purpose of reviewing said special assessment roll. Again no one in the audience came forward to comment.

For Council Consideration, the resolution approving the continuance of the downtown special assessment district for the ongoing maintenance of the Military Street streetscape project (from the south side of Black River to the north side of Court Street), including the special assessment roll and estimated maintenance costs. Mayor Moeller brought up that last year there were some concerns but this year there seemed to be none so it appeared the city had done a good job of communicating to those business owners. The clerk took the roll and it was passed unanimously.

At this time Public Audience comments were heard.

Margaret Enright said that she was involved with the new Ice & Hockey museum. She has asked the school district for some showcases for this project but she has heard nothing back. She was publicly asking for anyone else who might know of some showcases that could be donated or at the very least embarrass the school district into getting ahold of her.

David Ellenwood from Peru Village felt that the music playing on the speakers downtown is a hazard because it is louder music and it comes out of the speakers too loud from the speakers. He is legally vision impaired and he finds it hard to cross the street because it is so loud.

Mark Bessette of the McMorran Authority stopped in to let the council know that things are moving along nicely and lots of exciting things are happening.

Trina Avedisian wanted to mention that The Citizens for A Vibrant Community were putting on a Car Show Afterglow on July 11th in the evening. She wanted to give applause to the McMorran staff for being so helpful and communicating so well during the planning of the event since we were using McMorran property to hold the event. Also, she was there to represent Mike McCauley of Just In Time Concessions who has now placed the french fry wagon on the Thomas Edison Parkway. Mike is having a Grand Opening Event on Wednesday, June 24th at noon. At that time the Blue Water Chamber of Commerce will cut the ribbon, local dignitaries will say a few words, the name of the french fry wagon will be unveiled. Everyone is invited.

Don Anderson of Port Huron spoke to the council about a house fire his family suffered through. They were having problems with the insurance and had to speak to an attorney. Don was asking the city for more time to get things squared away with the house. Mayor Moeller referred him to Kim Harmers office to work something out.

The city council voted on and approved items marked as consent agenda items which included.

Resolution 2 - Approving the South Park Heritage Group Plaza Project and designating Robert W. Eick, Fire Chief, as the point of contact for the City's Parks Department.

Resolution 3 - Authorizing the submission of the Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER) for the program year 2008 (April 2, 2008 through March 31, 2009), regarding the use of the Community Development Block Grant and HOME funds to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for their review and approval.

At this point, the Mayor read the list of upcoming events in the city of Port Huron:

June 22 - 28: Sam Kromer Singles Tennis Tournament at Sanborn Park
June 23: Charter Commission meeting at 7 p.m. in Room 408 of the MOC building
June 23: Journey to the Center of the Earth, Big Screen Movie at dusk in Lincoln Park.
June 25: Taste of Port Huron
June 27: Port Huron Fireworks at Desmone Landing
June 27: Welkin Base Ball Club hosts Mt. Clemens, 2 p.m. at Lincoln Park
July 2: Taste of Port Huron
July 3: City offices will be closed for the 4th of July holiday
July 7: Close of voter registration for the August primary election if you're not already registered
July 7: Rockin' the Rivers - Port Huron Idol Contest at Keifer Park
July 7: Paul Blart, Mall Cop, Big Screen Movie at dusk at Crull School
July 9: Taste of Port Huron
July 10: Southside Cruise
July 11: Downtown Classic Cruise and Car Show
July 11: Tot Contest
July 11 - 18: Coast Guard Days
July 11: Coast Guard Days Softball Challenge, 10 a.m. at Pine Grove Park
July 11 - 12: USIRC Great Lakes Championship
July 12: Music Fest
July 13 & 14: Sidewalk Sale Downtown

Resolution #1 to approve the agreement with the Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce to provide business attraction and retention services and incentive funding to businesses not served by the Downtown Development Authority. There was no discussion and the resolution was passed unanimously.

Resolution #4 to designate properties located between Grand River Avenue, Huron Avenue, the Black River and Erie Street, except those parcels adjoining Huron Avenue, consisting of 4.8 acres, as the City of Port Huron Quay Street Neighborhood Enterprise Zone and directing the City Clerk to forward the resolution, along with a list of each parcel of property located within the Quay Street NEZ, indicating the parcel code number and address, to the Michigan State Tax Commission. There was no discussion and the resolution was passed unanimously.

Resolution #5 to approve the agreement with the St. Clair County Department of Public Works and Fort Gratiot Township for the direct billing and payment of quarterly water services between the City and Township and authorizing the appropriate City officials to execute the agreement. Councilmember Byrne was glad to see this was happening. He was hoping this was a sign of more trust between the township and city. John Ogden, City Finance Director, explained that this was set up originally because of construction and other infrastructure repairs in the township. The city would invoice the county and the county would then invoice the township. Mr. Ogden felt this would streamline the whole procedure and things would go much faster. The resolution was voted on and adopted unanimously.

Resolution #6 to approve the grant agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to receive reimbursement of up to 50% of the total project cost for the 2008 dredging of the River Street Marina and the Fort Street Marina and designating Daniel L. Collins, Harbormaster, as the Project Coordinator. There was no discussion and the resolution was passed unanimously.

Resolution #7 to approve the application from Arashi LLC (David and Georgina Witt), 504-506 and 508-512 Quay Street, for a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) Rehabilitation Certificate for the period December 31, 2009 through December 31, 2018 and authorizing the City Clerk to forward the application to the State Tax Commission. Councilmember Byrne stated that he was very glad this was happening. Councilmember Doorn thanked the Witts for their investment in our downtown and noted that it has made a huge difference so far. The resolution was voted on and passed unanimously.

At this time, Councilmember Stevens asked that a Resolution #8 be added to the agenda which would be to fill a vacancy for the attorney on the McMorran Authority. The resolution was added and Councilmember Stevens nominated Cynthia Lane, Attorney at Law to the Authority to serve in the role of the attorney needed. The mayor explained that an attorney was needed on the Authority. The council voted on this resolution and it passed unanimously.

For the good of the order, Mayor Moeller announced there would be a special closed meeting on Monday, June 29th at 7 p.m. to discuss the issue with Fort Gratiot about the water.

Councilmember Fisher reminded everyone what a great time watching the old time baseball was and how it was fun to come out and watch them break their fingers as they do not play with gloves.

Councilmember Doorn thanked Mayor Moeller, City Manager Brown and City Finance Director Ogden for coming to the luncheon earlier that day for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.

The meeting was adjourned.

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