The next regular meeting of the City Commission is Monday, March 17, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers at the East Grand Rapids Community Center.
As announced by the City this week, Gaslight Investors is working on a revised concept site plan; thus, there are no items related to the proposed development on this agenda. The city anticipates that the revised concept site plan will come before the Commission on March 31, 2025. From the “Gaslight Investors Update” memo included in the agenda packet linked below (corresponding to Non-agenda Item A), “The revisions they (Gaslight Investors) are considering are due to current economic conditions as well as planning commission, city commission, and thoughtful community input.”
Residents and neighbors are always welcome to utilize the public comment period at the beginning of the meeting to come and speak about any issue of interest or concern that is not on the evening’s agenda.
Department of Natural Resources Grant Application
The Community Parks and Recreation Plan, approved at the January 21, 2025 City Commission meeting, included a list of projects that, by virtue of their inclusion in that plan, are eligible for various grants awarded by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The Parks and Recreation Commission subsequently recommended that improvements to Waterfront Park be the focus of DNR grant applications for 2025, and the City Commission expressed support for submitting applications to multiple programs in the current grants cycle to fund a number of projects within Waterfront Park. This agenda item is a request for the City Commission to adopt formal resolutions in support of three DNR grant applications:
A request for a $500,000 grant through the Land and Water Conservation fund for woodland and wetland restoration, trail and boardwalk development, parking lot expansion and environmental education opportunities. The grant requires a $500,000 match from the applicant; if awarded, those matching funds would primarily come from remaining Parks Improvement Millage funds.
A request for a $400,000 grant through the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund for woodland and wetland restoration, trail and boardwalk development, parking lot expansion and environmental education opportunities. The grant requires a $400,000 match from the applicant; if awarded, those matching funds would primarily come from remaining Parks Improvement Millage funds.
A request for a $150,000 grant through the Recreation Passport program for a natural themed playground area. The grant requires a $150,000 match from the applicant; if awarded, those matching funds would primarily come from remaining Parks Improvement Millage funds.
All three programs are independent points-based competitive grants; thus, the City could be awarded up to all three - or none at all - depending on how well the applications score in DNR review.
Contract for Pavement Marking Services
Pavement markings are a regular maintenance activity overseen by the Department of Public Works. Various markings are maintained with various materials at various intervals, from street re-striping necessitated by construction projects to the annual refresh of pedestrian crossings in advance of the start of the school year. This item requests an approval of a one-year contract with Michigan Pavement Markings, LLC, based in Wyoming, MI, in the amount of $44,163.46 with renewal options for two additional years to complete pavement marking projects throughout the city.
Changes to the City’s Sick Leave Policy
As a result of recent legislation related to Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act, the City is now required to provide paid sick leave to seasonal and irregular part-time employees at a rate of one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked beginning at the date of hire. Regular full- and part-time City employees already earn paid sick leave in excess of the minimum required by the recent legislation. This item requests approval of changes made to the City’s Employee Handbook based on this new requirement. (Note that this item was originally on the March 3, 2025 City Commission agenda, but removed and postponed to this agenda based on a need for further review and editing.)
Contract for Mowing and Turfgrass Maintenance of City Property
The City contracts for mowing and turfgrass maintenance of City property every three years. In this year’s bid process, the City specifically solicited information about all-electric and hybrid gas- and electric-powered equipment operations in addition to traditional all-gas-powered equipment operations. Only one company, Thornapple Inc. (who holds the current contract for mowing and turfgrass maintenance), submitted a bid for a hybrid option; no bids were received for all-electric operations. This item requests the approval of a three-year contract with Thornapple Inc. for hybrid gas- and electric-powered mowing and turfgrass maintenance for an annual amount of $113,155.
Water Main Projects for FY 25/26
East Grand Rapids’ water distribution system consists of approximately 54 miles of water main, the condition of which is regularly monitored and assessed by the Department of Public Works. Each year, the city undertakes the rehabilitation of certain segments of the system based on their condition and other coordinated projects. This year’s rehabilitation work will focus on the water mains located on
Audubon Drive and Estelle Drive (Easement)
Eastlawn Road (Easement to Elmwood Drive)
Beechwood Drive (Lake Drive to Woodcliff Drive)
Boston Street (Easement to Woodlawn Avenue)
Oakwood Drive (Lake Drive to Woodcliff Drive)
Additionally, new water main is planned for installation at Reeds Lake Boulevard (Manhattan Road through Manhattan Park to East Beltline/Cascade Road) to provide additional volume for maintenance and enhanced fire protection on the north side of Reeds Lake.
This item requests the approval of a contract with Fer-Pal Construction USA, LLC, based in Taylor, MI, in the amount of $486,295 (with 15% contingency) for water main restoration as well as authorization to bid and award a contract for the new water main installation not to exceed $450,000 (with 15% contingency). Each of these expenditures is within the allocated amount for the FY25/26 budget.
Mehney Field Turf Replacement
The City and the East Grand Rapids Public Schools jointly manage a number of athletic and recreational facilities throughout the community, including the two turf playing surfaces at Mehney and Memorial Fields. The turf at both of these fields is nearing the end of its typical lifespan, and is in need of replacement. This item requests the allocation of up to $325,000 toward the replacement of the turf at Mehney Field this fall by AstroTruf Great Lakes, based in Novi, MI. This allocation would constitute 50% of the total cost, with the other 50% to be covered by the school district. It is anticipated that the turf at Memorial Field would be replaced in 2026.
Waiving Attorney Client Privilege and Authorizing Release of a Recent Legal Opinion
The City’s attorney recently provided an opinion to the City Commission about a question of alleged conflicts of interest related to the Gaslight Investors project. This item requests that the opinion be released and made available publicly.
Thank you for information