Special Meeting Minutes, July 30, 2025

Planning Commission Special Meeting Minutes - Proposed The Planning Commission met for a Special Committee Meeting, July 30, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. at City Hall, 102 Butler St., Saugatuck, MI 49453. 1. Call to Order/Attendance: The meeting was called to order by Chair Manns at 4:00 p.m. Present: Commission members Baldwin, Clark, Gaunt, LaChey, & Manns. Absent: Commission members Bagierek & Marineau. Others Present: Deputy Clerk Williams. 2. Approval of Agenda: Motion by LaChey, second by Clark, to approve the meeting agenda for July 30 , 2025. Upon voice vote, motion carried 5-0. 3. Approval of Minutes: None. 4. Public Comment (Agenda Items Only): • CJ Bagierek (Planning Commission member via Zoom): He mentioned that he was listening in and had made two comments: one about a typo and another suggestion to add a reason why people walk in town. He said he looked forward to hearing the discussion and would provide feedback again at the end of the meeting. 5. Old Business: A. Master Plan – Continued Discussion. The Planning Commission held a special meeting to discuss the survey questions for the City of Saugatuck’s 2026 Master Plan. The discussion about survey questions was comprehensive and covered several key points: 1. Survey Length and Response Rate: • The survey was estimated to take about 30-31 minutes to complete. • Commissioners discussed strategies to maintain participant engagement. • Goal is to achieve a 35-40% response rate from residents.3

2. Question Modification: • Discussed combining or streamlining some questions to reduce survey length. • Added more nuanced response options (e.g., “strongly agree/disagree”, “somewhat agree/disagree”). • Revised language in race/ethnicity questions to be more culturally sensitive. • Added “Not Applicable” options to certain questions. • Clarified instructions and formatting for multiple-choice questions. 3. Survey Content: • Expanded the introduction to explain the importance of the master plan. • Included questions about community priorities, infrastructure, services, and future development. • Aimed to capture residents’ perspectives on topics like public works, policing, and city expansion. 4. Timeline and Public Engagement. • Plan to release survey in early August. • Hold an open house on September 30th to discuss initial survey results. • Keep survey open until early October to maximize participation. The overall goal was to create a comprehensive, user-friendly survey that would provide meaningful insights for the master plan update. 6. New Business: None. 7. Communications: None. 8. Reports of Officers and Committees: None. 9. Public Comments: • CJ Bagierek (Planning Commission member via Zoom): Bagierek commented that he was happy with the meeting. He noted that the September 30th date for the open house works for him. He appreciated that the commissioners got through all the survey selections and expressed hope that the survey would be shortened. He concluded by saying “fantastic” about the overall process. • Auston Marineau (Planning Commission member via Zoom): Marineau echoed Bagierek’s comments. He thanked everyone for their hard work in getting through the meeting and preparing the master plan survey. He expressed appreciation for the commissioners’ efforts and confirmed he could make the planned events. 10. Commissioner Comments: None.

11. Adjournment: Motion by Gaunt, second by Baldwin, to approve adjournment of the meeting. Upon voice vote, motion carried unanimously. Chair Manns adjourned the meeting at 5:11 pm. Respectfully Submitted, ________________________ Sara Williams, Deputy Clerk