right now the council member from the second floor from the great second ward is here good evening everyone welcome to this regular scheduled meeting in the hall and city council it is excellent to have you here with us in chambers tonight perhaps you heard some of the sounds coming from the rotunda we were really privileged to have the course of the children's choir with us tonight it's the second year row that they've come to city council to do some singing for all of us the last meeting of the year the meeting right before christmas and this year we also arrange it so that the singing was broadcast live over public access television and will be available on the website as well so thanks to them for being here and thanks to you for being here let's make sure we can conduct business is this evening by making sure that we have a quorum would you please call the rol two items first a prayer this evening which will be led by our colleague brian birch the council member of the third ward mediately thereafter we will have the pledge of allegiance to the flag so i would invite everyone in chambers to rise and join us in both of these fire heads and join me in prayer lord during this christmas season we await your coming and we respond to your invitation to journey to the holy mountain where there is no harm or ruin and where the lion can lie down with the lamb help us be like the baptist that we may recognize and announce your love to a world of darkness spread our creativity so that we may create the way hear peace and justice working with our sisters and brothers to open new vistas to promote new ways of being in a community and in communion may the wings of the holy spirit open  us racing us with inspiration so our waiting itself becomes the place of a new creation i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america thank you brian there are paper copies of this evening's agenda located in the rack in the rear of the room if you'd like to get a copy otherwise if you do have an electronic device with you cellphone smartphone or i pad something along those lines you can not only find a copy of the agenda on our website but also you can find a copy of all the back from material that council has reviewed in preparation for this evening's meeting to do that simply go to city of holland dot com go to the calendar page today's date and you'll find all that information typically that is on the website the friday or monday prior to our meeting so you can see what it is that we see as we prepare for these meetings as you review the agenda you'll know that there are a variety of items that haven't asterix next to them these are what are the items that are currently on the consent agenda meaning that we think that they're relatively routine or that council has dealt with them on a previous occasion and our intention tonight is to handle them with one motion and one vote collectively taking them all together and collapsing them into one vote  what we will do is we'll have our clerk read for us those items and then i'll explain a procedure in case you'd like to talk individually about them but and if you would please read for us what is presently on tonight's consent agenda the minutes of the regular meeting held the summer for an study session held december eleventh two thousand and thirteen item eleven eight to accept and file executed oaths of office fourteen eighty one to approve a one year service agreement extension with jayco environmental for appliance recycling in the amount of thirty eight thousand dollars for calendar year two thousand and fourteen pending the city attorney approval fortini two to approve a five year contract in the amount of one hundred ninety five thousand dollars was with to section thirty nine dash two and thirty nine dash fourteen which is essential services requirements of the zoning ordinance with a final hearing scheduled for january fifteenth two thousand and fourteen council meeting item fourteen do you want to refer claims filed against the city to the city's insurance carrier and city attorney for consideration fourteen easy one point one to adopt a resolution authorizing the some of the certified local government programs in the amount of fifty six thousand one hundred dollars in support of the hauen historic trust repair windows at the how a museum building and that the mayor and deputy city clerk be authorized to sign the grant application and also if the grant is approved to sign the grant documents subject to approval by the city attorney with the matching funds of thirty seven thousand four hundred dollars to be transferred from the municipal capital improvement fund to support the monies budgeted in the fiscal year fourteen for historical trust objects i to approve an agreement with the little league baseball highland effective january one two thousand and fourteen for a period of ten years and the use of the maple would use complex be part of the annual fee paid to the cost of the three public safety officers assigned to we met and that's a local budget for the grant be part of the fiscal year two thousand and fourteen subject to city attorney approval fortini five point two to authorize the mayor city manager of public works general manager to execute the non binding letter of intent and follow through on implementation activity used with a georgetown university challenge energy award program including some middle of the cit community energy plan and a baseline energy application by their respective deadline in two thousand and fourteen i had imported point three to approve the amendment to the personal personnel policy by including a yearly city sponsor until the position of a technical support computer g i s employ fourteen east six point one to approve a twelve sixty agreement extension with t d s metro card for phone services to city facilities at the same terms and cost of the current agreement subject to approval as to form by the city attorney all right thank you and so that's what's presently on the consent agenda in the intention that we have now is to have them all with one motion and one vote perhaps you don't think that one of those items is quite as rich as we do so what i would ask at this point is if you would like us to take one of those items off the consent agenda kindly step forward to the podium and tell us which item it is and then we will take it in its ordinary spot in the agenda why don't you come on up and i will meet you will rendezvous with the podium let's drive out ok so i'll see you there in just thirty seconds or so all right now usually we have we have a cordless mike but tonight the choir bumped you on that one so i don't have it with me so we're going have to use this one instead so folks watching at home and your grandparents in you know boca raton can can also watch this on the on the web as well well it's to go there from a month on here on here it's a real pleasure for all of us tonight on council and on the city staff and really for the whole community you know we've had state champions  in our athletic programs at you know many of our area high schools and we've we've been privileged to have excellent theater programs and football programs and you know just you name it but but i think this crew and the folks who have gone before you the past two years and have graduated out of the program probably have set the buy and the bar as high as it will ever get unless you want to get next year because of course this team is now not state champions one time two times but this team has now won the state championship three times in a row which is really quite i mean it's beyond quite impressive it's really really impressive so we wanted to do what we could do as a council to recognize that tremendous achievement that you all have achieved and just say congratulations and thank you and you've made us really proud in this community and we're just thrilled to have you here tonight so thank you much we asked you we asked you to bring along the the the official trophy is it sort of like the stanley cup that each member of the team gets to hold onto it for twenty four hours kind of especially at the state meet when they hand it over you know everybody wants to touch it and take a picture with it  most of the ladies realize that this is usually a once a lifetime opportunity right and i know this isn't this is close to the entire team but there's actually more of you right well here's what i do know there will year actually my first year as head coach and they did a crate job this year and put a lot of faith and trust in me for a first year head coach so i just want to thank them and thank the community for all the support they've given us throughout this year  congratulations again thanks for being here tonight and happy holiday would recommend to the city council but under fourteen a a new item to be added to the board of public works that would involve the review of a settlement agreement with the sierra club through a decree and settlement agreement for consideration by the council but you have heard the recommendation of the city attorney is the let me just clarify one thing we have we  which is a good one procedurally is there a motion to amend the agenda as stated so approved by the mayor pro tem supported by truth that can be accomplished by a voice vote all in favor of amending the agenda please say i pose the same all right the agenda is amended as indicated that then takes us down to item twelve communications from the audience this is the opportunity in the meeting where anyone from the audience can address council on matters that do not otherwise appear on the agenda if something shows up on the agenda you can handle it at that particular point all we ask is that you step forward to the podium and microphone state your name and residential address for the record so that we do have a record of it plus everyone in chambers and at home can hear what you have to say council rules permit up to five minutes to address council and you'll note when you begin speaking they'll be a little green light that shows up in the sight line and when it gets to the one minute mark it will turn yellow when it turns red five minutes have expired so sorry ben philips my business address in holland is seven sixty one east a street i live in zealand at seven hundred twenty one west clearwater monday i stopped off the letters for everybody i don't know if you had received those from both old firearms i know were not on the agenda tonight but i did want to address the board i want to thank you for allowing me to speak tonight i am one of the owners of bullet hole firearms and training and how in my partners are here with me tonight  we have been moving forward with the construction on our indoor facility to shoot inside the city limits of holland we are working with the local building department and we were pretty much  with them we didn't we thought because there was some precedence prior to us we didn't have a problem with the construction mark danner plute contacted me and said  the city attorney had a problem with ordinance twenty dash four which does not allow a firearm to be charged just charge within the city limits i have a simple change to twenty days for ordinance if that is required to correct the issue for both of us if that's possible and that example would be only an only want to professionally designed and mechanically and ventilated equipped facility is constructed to contain within its footprint the project out from a gun meeting the preferred specifications of the equipment installed no projectile may escape the walls ceilings or floor and escape to the atmosphere this is a den of projects the city of facility that exists and the one we're proposing to build fifteen hundred to two thousand how and city residents now carry a concealed firearm or county issues five hundred new concealed weapons permits every year four thousand concealed licenses now exist in ottawa county and this does not include allegan the state of michigan mandates all pistol license holders most shoot fifty rounds per year and where they where do they shoot now they go to grand rapids they shoot in the city here inside the city limits and they shoot outside the city limits and would lots in places that they probably shouldn't outdoor angels are becoming dangerous as homes and businesses are slowly moving to them north out of our range a project l left the berm there at one time and had a gentleman at his home other cities have indoor ranges referencing silver bullet and in wyoming there's a brand new one six one six in cascade inside their city limits i appreciate your view of the proposal and we hope you can vote so thank you sir typically we wouldn't comment on something that comes to us but just i think this is a slightly unique request i think will ultimately will do once the public comment period is over we may  microphone remains open good evening and welcome good evening thank you for your time my name is michelle drink and my address this for three zero zero forty seventh street howlin michigan four hundred four two  three so once again many of us michelle drink and i am here to speak on behalf of my community as well as the facebook page i helped to create together people who also seek the support of our council as well as members of our community to encourage the michigan department of transportation to implement the necessary traffic controls near the tulip city truck stop n m forty this area is particularly dangerous as church overs are constantly are constantly struggling to enter safely and the busy highway which has caused many accidents and fatalities throughout the years we understand the council has no authority over traffic devices but we would like to adjust the council as well as our community and ask for the support and helping us appeal to who does have control over this issue due to the multitude of both fatal and non fatal accidents that have resulted because of the lack of appropriate traffic controls when killing the movie family in two thousand and seven the most recent involving mr happy as well as others and we are asking them to place the necessary controls whether in the form of a traffic light separate ramp of the highway for semis reduction of speed limits etc to protect those traveling through this section of am forty i have seen an impact these accidents have had in my community and have witnessed the suffering as i went to school with the with the with members of the movie family and had the privilege of being one of mr happy students others has suffered in my community due to other crashes of similar nature at this exact intersection upon talking to the member to members of my community news reporters and a member from the council i know that we are facing a facing an abundance of opposition however this does not make our cars less relevant or less important but rather shows how much support is needed to see the change that we seek and we need and i conducted this study a few years ago that showed no need for improved traffic regulation in this area however if you take a look at our facebook page or talk to members of our community you would find stories and sentiments quite the opposite the overall consensus is that this area is still dangerous a sentiment shared by both truck drivers and regular drivers alike the movement of the scales in the truck stop has decreased the amount of trucks needing to exit at problem employees do not daily take the m forty route to work and school nor understand the rest this drive entails so how then can ignore the concern of those that do we know that i am god is currently working with our local government regarding this issue and we urge them to take into consideration our concerns and safety when making future decisions in addition many believe that the traffic light will only cause a threat to safety as it would back up traffic however this would include fender benders rear end collisions and other minor accidents nothing compared to getting struck by a semi therefore we have people who not only have been affected by the deaths of those in our community but also try for this intersection frequently and have experienced it's problematic nature are asking for support and and connections within our government necessary for the implementation of traffic controllers to protect our community and those that travel through it the last thought i would like to leave everyone with is the possibility of another fatal accident how would you feel if it killed an entire beloved teacher or a loved one of your own and you hadn't stood up beforehand we have an obligation to protect our community and we must respectfully take a stand thank you thank you address the council then perhaps it might be appropriate for you because i know you've got a few slides and i just think if we have some others who want to address counsel perhaps we'll have that first and then i know you're listening and then give  to the microphone so if anyone would care to address council on this or any other item that is not otherwise on the agenda pleas pfeifer perhaps you wanted to step up to the microphone here so you can have a good view of the slides and also the ability to control the movement of the thank you for that impassioned plea there we are what you're saying we've got a lot of feedback from people right in our organization seen you know we want some changes here and your voices might hurt the city of holland asked me to come and speak a little bit about what's been done in the past some people don't know what's been done on that stretch and forty to up city truck stop and speak a little bit about what we plan to do in the future so first thing i want to highlight is  back in two thousand and five that was a two lane road way with with narrow shoulders and there was a widening project that came in there wide net to three lanes with very wide twelve foot shoulders so there was a pretty significant change in that stretch of  there was a some things that were done the first is some signs and some additional pavement markings that was noticed as a slight improvement there no no passing on shoulder signs were placed in some  some in the center left turn lane to designate it as a turn lane and not a passing lane there was a lot of passing happy shoulders and in the center left turn lane as well in two thousand and eight there were some truck crossing symbol signs you'll see them out there today in advance of those driveways at the truck stop with flashers installed the scales were relocated as mentioned earlier and in two thousand and nine so that after trucks fueled prior to the scales be relocated there was about forty trucks a day that were coming back out on the highway to go and way themselves so there was some positive improvements there reducing at least forty  semis entering the and forty and then in two thousand and eleven the mac the area cordoning council funded operational and safety analysis   the first thing that has happened is continue to happen is the holland traffic safety committee is as reconvene in met to discuss the circumstances that crash and review other safety considerations that includes law enforcement both from the state police and the hauen police department as well as some city government officials even including the planning arm of the city government there have been increased law enforcement patrols in this area by holland public safety or the police department as well as the michigan state police c b e stands for commercial vehicle and forstmann those are the police officers that work specifically with trucks make sure that they're operating safely i have received approval to do a road safety audit this is a new process and tool endorsed by the federal government the federal federal highway this this audit has never been completed in this stretch of m forty that is expected to start in late january and it's a multi discipline team that's going to look at this from a very holistic point of view rather than a very center to study not just the data but considering things like driver behavior considerations and near misses and land use things of that nature so all that will kick off shortly here and then i also want to highlight that in twenty fourteen beginning mid april construction is expected to begin on a large project on eastbound i  from us thirty one north to the ottawa county line that's a total replacement that freeway there and the eastbound direction part of that project includes the construction of a new branch for southbound and forty traffic to enter eastbound i one hundred six currently that's a left turn and during busy times of the day that can get very congested and there have been some traffic crashes associated with those backups this picture on the screen there shows where the new ramp will be so this is north this is south here's i wanted six so left turns we'll be able to get out of that through stream of traffic going southbound go on this new loop ramp and head towards zealand in grand rapids destinations so i think the city council for give me the opportunity to share those thoughts for the the new tools that it is now able to use that hadn't been done before because as i recall there's been at least what three traffic studies done in this rough stretch of m forty over the past decade and describe a little bit more if you would what exactly this new tool is because of that was an unfamiliar concept to me ok road safety audit is a multi disciplinary team of not just engineers those were the people that have done some of the past studies but it includes law enforcement it includes the play any part of highways and and highway structures includes some of the  property owners probably if they're willing to participate who a but that section of highway there and it takes a little bit more of a holistic auditing and review then what  traditionally been done with all engineering data what are the crashes what what with the pavement do we have out there are the sides of the road clear from obstructions that's kind of the traditional portion of studies done by engineers in the past this is a more holistic and qualitative i guess study that looks more at not just the traditional engineering components of the study but also things that i mentioned earlier driver behaviors well why are drivers behaving in a certain matter what can what countermeasures can we take to address those driver behaviors maybe maybe their behaviors aren't necessarily poor decisions but decisions they're forced to make as drivers so it's there's a little bit of legwork but the the primary portion of the study is probably about two days the first as a daytime review of how traffic operates what the problems might be and then there's a nighttime portion as well there's need to be some consideration about dark times where when traffic is moving through there in dark times it's relatively dark out there critical wide roadway with not a lot of side of street lights and they give recommendations about what the issues are and what some of the solutions could be and so when do you think that the report that gets generated out of this process media ballpark idea we talking three months six months  or longer how soon do you think before that i think it will be a little bit quicker in that my office recently was involved in one of these road safety audit and eastern allegan county by the casino there and they turned around that final report a month after they did their study ryan will have city staff in participating in this process as well as i understand  five that's good information tonight and i would encourage you to keep us posted especially you know staff this is as much to you perhaps mr pfeifer keep us up to date as to how this is going and what we're finding and if there are ways that this stretch of roadway can be improved ultimately you know it is as we've said before this isn't a roadway that we control nonetheless you know we certainly want to be kept  abreast of what the options are and how we might be able to be helpful in helping to implement those options i believe consumer whiteman one had a question about it mr pfeifer if i understand correctly this this new tool this new process the multidisciplinary and tool his is maybe not so much specific to some of the stuff that's been suggested by our neighbors here and specifically i don't this altering reference to stop life per se that's that's an entirely different study if i understand things correctly that the and i only bring this up in that you know from a timing perspective you know the works going to start here pretty soon in this this particular study you just referenced seems to be in alignment with that but it also seems appropriate to me that if we're going to be throwing dirt out that way that we might want to study out that option as well don't see that for applause i say it for efficiency sake for what it's worth a empathize with everybody that's in the room and i've spoken with my soldering on the phone and i said this is there's too many of these incidents on th stretch of road i don't speak for just myself i know i've spoken to other council members and their concern and how tired we are of this type of headline that you know these processes are are unique in their i don't say this in a negative way that they're bureaucratic in nature and there's there's processes that have to happen for you know their can their suggestion to be considered can you  little bit i'm familiar with the phrase war but maybe not everyone else is and i know that whether it's a stop sign in my neighborhood or whether it's a stoplight out there that there's a different type of study that comes for something such as what's be consideration that's a common traffic control device and speaking to the to the so there could be a recommendation that by this road safety audit team that hey there needs to be further study there that traffic signal might be the best option to solve some of these traffic safety problems but let's let that team look at this holistically and all the possible problems and all the best solutions that are available and you know if that road safety audit team suggests that traffic signal study does need to be done then then that can ensue and i would just add one thing to that  d i know we all share a passion for this and as much as the mayor says keep us as a council updated on that obviously the rooms full of concerned citizens as well and this this body takes a great deal of pride in transparency  over the last couple days with my phone stopwatch and it takes between nine and eleven seconds for a semi to get from a dead stop on to him forty and you start thinking about that at fifty five miles an hour if you look at cars travelling that eighty feet per second truck driver is going to have to have a lot of distance do that and we need to think about what can we do to make this behavior with drivers and truck drivers work better i'm going to throw out an idea this is not my idea it's actually my wife's idea who happens to be a principal who does a study party in downtown houghton on street parking what about having some of the high schoolers do a project it would include a project to study the m forty co concerning safety i throw that challenge of to you this is a math project it's a science project it could get technology project a video project interviews with government city and state agencies with him looking up legal information business along that area truckie driving judgement whether simulations perhaps come up with several plans and ideas presented to find beans on the media to councils or what listen and i think this could be another way to honor someone and help others in the future and i just hope maybe somebody here will say i think we can do that and don't just going to work out of work but if you keep this thing going it's going to have to have people like in our audience that really sincerely want to dig in and want to see something happen here i don't know what the answer is but let's not let this thing just go away so that's why the microphone remains open if anyone would care to address coun ok well surely whatever comes out of the review audit we will make sure to post prominently on the city's website as well so that can be a spot where you continue to look for updates on this particular matter also we will move on from item twelve and unless anyone else would care to address the council one last time take thirty seconds or so as the chambers clear before we move into that day of cost or perhaps you can get in position to address this item thank you hold that thought for a second this is as as an appropriate time as any i suspect for us to refer the the matter related to that at the range to the city attorney's office or its design office has indicated to the city that we have a conflict of interest in continuing to represent the city in this matter because of the fact that we represented a gentleman that has acted as a  lender for purposes of financing the proposed range in the acquisition of the property by bullet hole l l c so we have made contact with  financing although this gentleman does that have ownership interest in the real estate or in the business because obviously the uses of the property can impact the value of the collateral we felt it was appropriate to make that  pretty evening and welcome good evening there member city council thank you for the opportunity to address you this evening and thank you for mending the agenda to to allow for this is true we did meet with the board of public works in a special joint session earlier this evening in the board has reviewed what is now before the council and that is to agreements consent decree and a settlement agreement and at that time the board of public works was pursuing a permit to install a new circulating fluid eyes bed coal boiler at the james a young plant  at that time we were sued by the sierra club alleging violations of the clean air act there have been two suits one alleging that certain projects at the plant  stack those cases have been ongoing for some time they have been handled that the western district federal court here in the state of michigan and  there have been challenges in the state court in the state court the syrup in the natural resources defense council challenge the issuance of that circulating fluid as bed permit and the extension of that after we had  t an eighteen month extension to that that permit since two thousand and eight a lot has happened in two thousand and eight it was a much different place in the world of energy than it is today  since that time this community has done a number of things not because of the sira clubs lawsuit but in spite of that we have moved forward on a forty year community energy plan to  not only how we produce energy but how we use energy in this community as part of that strategy coming out of that community energy plan we have engaged in a very robust innovative process called a sustainable return on investment where we analyzed over the next twenty five years what is our best course of action for power supply for this community looking at not only the fiscal or the financial impacts but also the social and community and environmental impacts of these decisions that lead us to a very sound recommendation last year at this time that was approved by board and council through resolution to move forward not only on a new altar efficient natural gas combined cycle plant but also to incorporate two new wind contracts into our portfolio of resources those to win contracts along with the other a new will resources that we have put us well beyond the state mandate of ten percent of our power supply coming from renewable resources by two thousand and fifteen we will actually be closer to sixteen percent of our power supply coming from a new energy this new gas plant will be very low emission very ultra clean resource very high efficiency resource that can not only be used for power in the community but has great promise for the potential of utilizing waste heat for beneficial use including what we're already doing in terms of providing a wonderful downtown area with our snow melt system but in addition to that being able to potentially heat homes that are not homes but commercial buildings maybe eventually homes you know within certain parts of the the community so when you look at what's happened since two thousand and eight and where we are today in two thousand and thirteen a lot has changed in terms of our direction these cases still remain pending in the court in the federal court we are approaching a trial for each of those lawsuits what's happened on the state court level is we've actually successfully defended our right to have these these permits that we've had for the circling food eyes but winning both at the court to the circuit court level and also at in both the original permit and on the extension so even with that in mind we are facing significant costs going forward and certain amount of risk there's always an unknown when you go to trial from a cost standpoint we know that the expected defense costs are going to at least be a million dollars could be additional up to two million dollars of cost to try both of these cases we have sought and i think to the benefit of our  rate payers been able to secure support from our insurance provider for one of those two cases that insurance providers come forward to actually pay for past defense costs and also a commitment to pay dollar for dollar on ongoing in future defense costs the other case we are working to seek defense costs for that that particular case so not only is the city hall and in the b p w looking at the  risk associated with the defense cost but our insurance carriers looking at the costs associated with that as well so when you sit back and you look at where we are today versus where we were in two thousand and eight you look at the progress that's been made in this community in the decisions that have been made in terms of where we're going you know it's appropriate to sit back and contemplate whether or not there's a path forward towards settlement given the fact that our trajectory is a little bit different than what it was back then so for the past several months you know several individuals including myself our city attorney our legal counsel that's been supporting us at least them and walk ins and other key staff at how public works been working to try to find resolution with the sira club you know on these key issues i'm pleased to say that i think we've got to a point now where the we've reached an agreement that's embodied within these two documents that provides us a number of things that provides us some flexibility going forward on our operation because it preserves some fuel flexibility at the existing the young unit as we ultimately will phase out coal over a period of time but it does give us some operating flexibility over the next decade to do that in a way that is consistent with what the communities goals are and committed to consistent with what our counsel and board would like to see in terms of the use of that resource it also provides us some peace and security going forward on our new plant in that embodied within this agreement the sierra club in the natural resource defense council have agreed not to oppose or otherwise comment on the new natural gas combined cycle unit and as we move forward into the the bonding and financing for that plant as well as the construction you know knowing that there will not be delays or other challenges to that plant is certainly a valuable thing the agreement you know of course as we are moving forward in that direction we have agreed to void our permit that we had for the circulating flu dies but which centrally is a moot issue given the fact that we're moving forward towards a natural gas plant and so you know with that i think those are really the primary elements of the agreement it's important also note that there is a provision of a payment to the sierra club and the natural resource not to natural sort of fence which of the sierra club for past costs incurred fees and costs but really when you look at that again it's it's it's an evaluation of risk of us moving forward on the trials i mentioned that's a seven figure kind of investment of both on our part and the insurance providers the insurance provider in this particular case x l has agreed to pay three hundred thousand of that four hundred fifty thousand dollars payment that's agreed to in this so that really leaves one hundred fifty thousand dollars on the table as i have mentioned we are seeking defense costs on the second case that case we haven't reached agreement with that insurance provider at this point but we do intend to seek recovery not only a pass cost but also the hundred fifty thousand dollars which i view and i think we have preserved as being future defense cost mitigation in looking at what that otherwise could be going forward is also important to note that in this agreement there is no admission of wrongdoing or liability associated with this we have and we continue to feel very strongly about what our position was in those cases and continues to be this is merely a recognition of the fact that we are on a different path than we were at that point and there is an opportunity to resolve issues to avoid risk to avoid delay and to avoid future expense and so the board did hear these recommendation earlier tonight and did act unanimously to approve the consent decree and settlement agreement that you have before you tonight and with that i'd be happy to answer any questions that you have right david thank you any questions for mr koster  it's good except for one provision in there and that of course is the payment piece we don't like to do it but when you look at both the struggles that this has been in terms of the amount of staff time the amount of litigation costs that has already been incurred and the fact that we're moving in a much different direction now that is well on its way this this is nothing this is simply become even more than what initially was an trial so i'm with you mike i think probably we all are but this puts the matter to rest hopefully for good and forever and now we move forward please call the  motion passes all right thank you thank you thanks to them that we flip to page two of the agenda tonight and that takes us down to five point one some gifts the city managers can sink in the amount of one thousand dollars to grap nature center received three donations one is from elizabeth and douglas not man in the amount of four hundred dollars the louvers family foundation in the amount of one thousand one hundred hours and from joseph and susan strauss next in the amount of three thousand dollars fire services also received donations totally four thousand and forty dollars from various entities to cover the cost of the two thousand and that the that begins in donation of the actually talk with numbers against family but they were reading for a family christmas celebration and they did this in honor of their parents i believe so they picked up the you know the receipt five point to the authorization to submit a letter of intent to compete in the georgetown challenge energy award program mr city manager thank you mr mayor members of the city council this came to our attention via sustainable strategies  agency that the city is become affiliated with in washington d c two diocese of national opportunities for ways to plan our community energy plan and perhaps for every sea of additional resources in this case for public works and saw pastor is here myself members of the community plan steering committee reviewed this matter and believe that we are uniquely suited to compete for this award it's not only the award but it's more a recognition of everything that's in the forty year community energy plan seven task forces and the outcomes that are being worked upon for energy efficiencies of course all the improvements to the environment that creates and also to our bottom lines  budgets and being a sustainable community so with this review of the letter of intent that's in your packet and submit all of it is a no obligation it can be and we can decide not to move forward any time if we do move forward this middle of the community plan will take place in march and they will review that and determine whether we were one of one hundred seven finalists who will compete for the the prize the measures are very simply subjective objective completely objective it's based on energy use compared to a baseline here for residential via public works we're participating as well for residential so with that we asked for your review and consideration and recommend approval and should we become a sign finalist it will take a team city the  of always on society that we live in that we would like to have these things accomplished right away but the fact is the various almost of this plan are going to require resources you know it's going to take time to implement those things  so i would just want to make folks aware that there is movement on this and also sort of leading to the second reason why i asked for this to be taken off is that this highlights a trend and another in a series of income henri's that staff i under the leadership of ryan is constantly looking into looking into opportunities for grants and the money that those grants represent that we can leverage for any number of activities and good projects and initiatives in this city i think it's a  yeah through my trip to people wanting any other comments on this item all rights and please call the role peters yes birch  communications from the city manager this evening award winning as far as i can tell this one is no different so there's alter are also extremely black meaning we have good finances sound finances and i just like to except to say i appreciate all that effort and i know that you do too i want to recognize that the swim team will soon be permanently as long as i think this is a year i should say permanently but for a period of time recognize on the but that is what it will look like when they go up and we hope to have that as soon as possible to recognize that team also you're about ready to have appointments and there's a list here i believe  feel in your packet will not be appointed tonight so i just want to bring that to your attention and the last thing is it is a season of receiving packages and i have a package here that has been delivered special delivery via the state of wisconsin and it is for an occasion that i think that you should know about we have an individual in our dykstra who was recently honored by the wisconsin supreme court justices for six years of service to the state of wisconsin as a member of the board of examiners board of bar examiners now as a member of the board of bar examiners and their doctrine was responsible for administering bar admission to compliance with the within the code of national responsibility for the state of michigan so i have this in my presence thank you ryan and andy will appreciate this little story more than anyone else probably the state of wisconsin is a unique state in that it has two law schools the university of wisconsin and marquette university and if you go to either one of those two schools  michigan has this nifty little rule that if you practice three out of the five years in a jurisdiction that has reciprocity with it then they will just simply wave you in without having to retake the bar exam or in my case take the bar exam so i am the member of tuesday bars having never actually sat for the bar exam and that i have someone who works in my office who followed a very similar path to me with two notable exceptions his first job was in milwaukee except he went to university of iowa law school straight to take the wisconsin bar and then he didn't wait three years before coming into michigan the only way to do so he then had to take the michigan primary when he came to michigan so anyway and then of course i got to grade that part of the job was to grade the bar exams that i complex we take a lot of time to grade these things so in any event thank you ron that was unexpected embarrassing but very kind i don't little help ok communications for me this evening you know with the signs on the screen tremendous awards that dahlan highest theater program has has received for example and it strikes me that we better keep those polls firmly planted along us thirty one because i like this tradition now of putting this kind of information up for everyone who not only comes into town to come home but those who go through town to see some of the remarkable achievements of some of our youth in this community so i like the direction we're headed and this will not be the last of these signs these kinds of signs to that end i want to also have a special shout out quickly for the holland high theater program you know a remarkable production of phantom of the opera the leads were fantastic the chorus was outstanding  daughter jay's senior daughter both in the chorus and in just the set in the costumes and the production is just really really quite amazing and if you want a monstrously ornamental an ornamented large chandelier for your next gathering holland high has built one so you think they're erect the thing that's really it was it was quite a quite a technological marvel so congratulations to them a little bit of humming in chambers tonight but hopefully you are also hearing things in chambers tonight and that is because literally as of about five o two tonight the finishing installation touches of the new audio system were put in place and this is the part of the three or so year technological upgrade of council chambers how we've done some of the presentation equipment some of the screens the audio was just in a state of pretty deplorable condition  yeah that's close enough and we're upgrading the sound system such that when we have meetings in different locations i will be able to shut certain speakers off so there's not the feedback that happens we'll actually be able to hear things we got rid of the you know spark a m speakers and actually have have good ones and the installation guys have a good sense of humor they set one of the old ones on my desk so i've been complaining about those for years so anyway they're still working out some of the kinks but the system is much livelier hopefully the audio is much better and in the long run it will be really a great improvement for this room so that people who come here people who watch the recordings of this are in a much better position to hear what is going on and then aside from the usual stuff of check the website where you can find out great information about how to get ahold of us and find out simply great information about what's going on in the city of holland including how to attain permits and find tax information and reports and studies and all those kinds of things we do our best to put it out there city of holland dot com is the place to look and if you can't find it there i suppose give us a call but if you can't find it there might be because it just doesn't exist because it's it's a pretty chock full of information website and then finally and i know i say this for many i suspect we'll get more saying it's a happy holidays to everyone both up here in the audience tonight as well as the viewing public twenty thirteen has been a good year in the city of holland overall and we look forward to good things happening in twenty fourteen and we wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday season members  right than we do have a couple of motions and resolutions tonight and i would place before you for your consideration the reappointment deal weingarten bob carlson the development authority for second term which would expire july thirty one of twenty seventeen and bob carlson and friends for a fourth term which is set to expire on january thirty one twenty seven eighteen and then we have brett converse to the teen court advisory board for a third term with an expiration date of january thirty one of twenty sixteen cindy vander pile to the teen court advisory board for third term january thirty one twenty sixteen duane baker to the teen court advisory board for a third term with his term set to expire on january thirty one twenty sixteen i would place those before you for your consideration and hopefully approval move we would like to say let's head off into the sunset for our meeting schedule for the year twenty fifteen we're not quite there yet because we have a request from the city attorney to go into a closed session for the purposes of reviewing a legal opinion to legal opinions any down so friends in the public friends and chambers thanks for watching merry christmas happy holidays to all see you in twenty fourteen