Regular City Council Meeting Minutes, May 11, 2026

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CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING May 11, 2026 The City Council met to have a Regular Council Meeting at City Hall at 6:30 p.m. 102 Butler St., Saugatuck, Ml 49453. Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Anderson at 6:30 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Attendance:

Present: Mayor Anderson, Mayor Pro-Tern Clark and Councilmembers Dean, Gardner, Muncey, Peterson and Stanton. Absent: None. Others Present: City Manager Cummins, Attorney Witte, Clerk Wolters and Treasurer Bredeweg. Mayor's Comments:

Mayor Holly Anderson expressed personal and civic gratitude that the City of Saugatuck and the council continue to support the LGBTQ community through the annual Pride proclamation. She contrasted Saugatuck's stance with other communities that are retreating from visible DEi effortssuch as removing pride symbols or facing backlash for supporting marginalized communities-and emphasized that Saugatuck remains a place where everyone is welcome and where the city is not afraid to publicly "show our pride." City Manager Comments:

City Manager Ryan Cummins began by apologizing for not having a formal written report in the council packet but said he had several key updates. He announced the appointment of Mark Ondersma as the new Director of Public Works, highlighting his nearly two decades of municipal and military public works experience, including his role in the Michigan Air National Guard and his current work with the City of Hudsonville. Ryan praised the existing public works team-especially Michelle Gibson, Adam Kerridge, and Angela Stasewich-for stepping up during the leadership gap and preparing the city for the busy summer season. He then provided detailed updates on infrastructure projects: completion of seawall and sidewalk work at Wicks and Coghlin Park, storm sewer and sidewalk work on Francis Street, and catch basin and sanitary sewer work on Mary Street, with road milling, concrete work, and paving scheduled in the coming days. He also described progress at Spear Street near the boat launch and explained that, with downtown work largely wrapping up (except for valve work tied to a consent agenda change order), crews would shift focus to Maple Street for several months. He outlined

upcoming traffic control, tree removal, water main work sequencing from south to north, mailbox relocation notices, biweekly coordination meetings with contractors and engineers, and ongoing email updates for more than 70 residents who have signed up for Maple Street project communications.

Agenda Changes: None. Guest Speakers: None. Public Comment on Agenda Item Only: None. Consent Agenda: A. Approval of City Council Special Meeting Minutes - May 4, 2026. B. Approval of City Council Workshop Minutes - May 6, 2026. C. Proclamation 260511-Pl: Proclamation Designating June as Pride Month. D. 2026 Street and Utility Improvements - Change Order #1. E. Agreement with Assessing Solutions for Professional Contractor Services. F. Proposal from Granicus for Continued Short Term Rental Address Identification and Monitoring and 24/7 Hotline. G. Revocable License Agreement for Restaurant Seating in the Public Right of Way-JW Pizza LLC (Scooters). H. Letter of Support for Allegan County Grant Application to EGLE for 640 Water Street Environmental Cleanup I. Special Event - Memorial Day Parade J. Special Event-Town Crier K. Special Event-Fourth of July

Motion by Peterson, second by Clark to approve the consent agenda. Via roll call vote, motion carried unanimously. Approval of Accounts Payable: Motion by Gardner, second by Stanton, to approve the accounts payable in the amount of $140,806.09. Via roll call, motion carried unanimously. Public Hearing: None. Unfinished Business: None. New Business: A. Conditional Rezoning Request - 510 Butler Street: Motion by Clark, second by Peterson to deny the proposed conditional rezoning of 510, Butler Street and 120, Mary street from our four city residential trans city center, transitional residential district, to the c2 Water Street East district, on the basis that the request is not consistent with section 150, 4.17, 6c, lb of the zoning ordinance is not compatible with surrounding land uses or the character of the area. Via roll call vote, motion carried unanimously.

B. Ordinance No. 260511-A - Zoning Ordinance Amendment to Update Signage Regulations to Regulate Signs in a Content-Neutral Manner:

Motion by Stanton, second by Muncey to approve Ordinance 260511-A a zoning ordinance amendment to update signage regulations to regulate signs in a content neutral manner. Via roll call vote, motion carried 6-1. Yes -Anderson, Clark, Dean, Gardner, Muncey, Stanton. No Peterson. Staff Reports, Boards, Commissions & Committees:

Monthly department activity reports were provided by the City Staff, Engineer and Police Sergeant. Public Comment:

Heidi Wolf provided comment. Correspondence:

Correspondence provided by the following: Jennifer Davenport Brian Elmore Julie Maguire Lew Wessel Rosemary Johnson Randall Miller Catherine Simon Council Comments:

Councilmember Peterson expressed appreciation for the recent stretch of sunny weather and said she is looking forward to the upcoming Pride events. She also thanked Clerk Wolters and election staff for their strong work administering the recent election and closed by saying she is excited for the coming season in the community. Council member Gardner commented on the Spear Street water valve work, noting that he regularly walks his dogs in that area and finds the engineering work fascinating to watch. He suggested the city consider placing small signs at such project sites-e.g., "Your tax dollars at work - water valve replacement"-to help residents understand what's happening and to positively highlight how public funds are being used. Mayor Pro-Tern Clark thanked staff and contractor Schippers for moving quickly to adjust the construction schedule, especially around staging and mobilization. He announced that the TriCommunity Water & Sewer Advisory Committee meets Friday at 1:00 p.m. at Douglas City Hall for a public presentation from the consultant on moving toward a full authority model. He also publicly welcomed Mark Ondersma as the incoming Director of Public Works and thanked Clerk Wolters and the election team for their hard work.

Councilmember Dean his thanks to Clerk Wolters and all the volunteers involved in running the recent election, recognizing the effort required to administer it successfully. Councilmember Muncey wished everyone Happy Mother's Day, noting how nice it was to see town looking beautiful and busy, with many families out celebrating. He reminded the public about the Parking Task Force meeting on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. at City Hall, encouraging all those with strong opinions on parking to attend, emphasizing that now is the critical time for input before the task force finishes its work and forwards recommendations to council. Councilmember Stanton reported that the Kalamazoo River Greenway quarterly meeting is scheduled for tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Douglas. She highlighted the upcoming "Crazy for the Kazoo" event on May 30, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at Wade's Bayou, where participants can use free kayaks or bring their own small craft to help clean up trash and remove invasive species along the river, with expert guidance on site. She said she is looking forward to working with incoming Public Works Director Mark Ondersma as a member of the PPW committee. She also updated council on the logo and branding committee, noting that Concept A is digesting community feedback and will bring creative ideas to the next meeting on June 9. Finally, she thanked the Clerk Wolters and Deputy Clerk Williams and the election volunteers for a well-run election and expressed appreciation that the community approved renewal of the school sinking fund to support the school district. Mayor Anderson closed by sharing a positive story from church coffee hour, where a friend's daughter visiting from Chicago lit up upon hearing she was speaking with the Mayor of Saugatuck and enthusiastically described her love for Saugatuck and spending Mother's Day there. Mayor Anderson said that kind of unsolicited praise-a "big Saugatuck hug"-helps validate and energize the work the council and staff do for the community. Adjournment:

Motion by Dean, second by Muncey to adjourn the meeting. Upon voice vote, motion carried unanimously. Mayor Anderson adjourned at 7:13 p.m. Respectfully Submitted

Jamie Wolters, City Clerk