During a one hour meeting last night, Lowell City Council spent the most time talking about whether to spend $6,750 to hire a consultant for the Lowell Area Fire Department. If approved, the consultant would review the operations of the department and make a recommendation regarding if and how to add full-time firefighters to the force.
The board also discussed naming rights for the Showboat, approved expenditures for the Ware Road landfill and a generator preventative maintenance program and ok’d two adult use marijuana ordinances.
Fire Authority Board’s Ability to Govern Questioned
The longest discussion of the night centered on a proposal from the Lowell Area Fire and Emergency Services Authority Board. At its September meeting, the board voted to hire a consultant at a cost of $20,250 to conduct a review of the Lowell Area Fire Department and make a recommendation regarding the addition of full-time firefighters. This cost would be split three ways between the three member municipalities. As a result, the City of Lowell, Lowell Charter Township and Vergennes Township would each pay $6,750.
At its October meeting, the board agreed by consensus to a stipulation that if a consultant was brought on to review the department, the board would also hold a training session with organizational consultant Lew Bender. That stipulation was added at the request of City of Lowell Mayor Mike DeVore.
“In a discussion with [Lowell Charter Township Supervisor] Jerry Hale about stomaching this proposal…Jerry and [Lowell Township Board Representative] Carl Blough and I added…a Lew Bender rider on the proposal,” DeVore told the Lowell City councilmembers. “That board is dysfunctional right now. There is no nice way to say it.” Later he added, “If that board is ever going to be of any benefit to that department, it’s going to be Lew who’s going to be the one who made it (sic).”
DeVore has made no secret of his unhappiness with the Lowell Area Fire and Emergency Services Authority Board. However, the source of this frustration does not seem clear. Lowell’s First Look attended the September and October authority board meetings. During those meetings, DeVore made several comments about the board needing to work better together, but there did not appear to be any friction or similar comments from other board members.
The authority board meetings are not recorded and the minutes provide no detail on board discussions. If there is discord between members, it is not reflected in the votes which are almost always unanimous.
A review of meeting minutes dating back to January 2018 shows only three votes in which the board was not in agreement. January 2018 was DeVore’s first meeting as a member of the board, and he voted no on reappointing Jim Herb to the position of Chair. In January 2019, DeVore and City Representative Dave Pasquale voted no on using Chris Brown for the 2019 financial reports. And in September 2019, DeVore voted no on hiring a consultant to review the fire department.
Otherwise, all board motions appear to pass unanimously. However, minutes for the February 2019 and June 2019 meetings are not available online, and key discussions regarding whether to hire a consultant may have taken place at that time.
Lowell City Council Votes Down Fire Department Consultant
The suggestion to add full-time firefighters to the Lowell Area Fire Department dates back to June 2018. According to the minutes from that meeting, “Chief van Overbeek and Mike presented a wage study and discussed the needs for full time staffing.” Based on the recorded attendance at this meeting, the Mike mentioned appears to be DeVore. Since then, the department has made presentations to each municipality, and the authority has continued its discussions of the matter.
Herb told Lowell’s First Look that since no one in the department has direct experience running a force with full-time staff, getting an expert opinion is essential. He also wonders whether changing the training schedule from the weekend to a weeknight or similar adjustments could boost the number of available on-call firefighters and eliminate the need for full-time staff.
DeVore adamantly disagrees, arguing it is not appropriate for the authority board or an outside consultant to provide input on department operations and training schedules. He believes the department will have trouble finding adequate on-call firefighters regardless of when trainings are held.
The majority of Lowell councilmembers agreed with DeVore, and the council voted against the consultant proposal by a 3-2 margin. Councilmembers Cliff Yankovich and Jim Salzwedel joined DeVore in voting no. Yankovich said he thought it would be a waste of money, and Salzwedel did not provide a reason for his vote.
Councilmembers Greg Canfield and Marty Chambers voted in favor of the proposal. “This is a ten-year program at a minimum [to add full-time firefighters],” Canfield said. “We’re talking a couple million dollars, and we’re in a tight financial situation already.” He argued that spending $6,750 for a non-binding expert opinion would be money well-spent.
The City of Lowell vote may be largely symbolic though. Vergennes Township had previously voted in favor of hiring the consultant, and Lowell Charter Township voted last night to approve the study as well. Since two of the three municipalities have voted in favor of the proposal, the consultant review will proceed.
Showboat Naming Rights Debated
The Showboat was the other issue garnering significant discussion during the council meeting. As part of its continued fundraising efforts, the Showboat Committee drafted a list of naming opportunities modeled on those used by LowellArts when it was renovating its new gallery space. The suggested donor naming opportunities range from $2,500 for tables to $200,000 for the entire boat.
Councilmembers were quick to nix any idea of allowing a donor to name the boat. “I don’t want it to say Meijer,” Chambers said. “I don’t want it to say Attwood.” Yankovich also noted that the bulk of the money for the Showboat is coming from taxpayer-funded state grants.
Then, there was discussion of an LED message board for the back of the boat which could be used to display the name of special events or other messages. It too could be a naming opportunity for donors.
Again, councilmembers seemed less than enthusiastic. “Are we really going to put some billboard like that on the Showboat?” Canfield asked. DeVore added that he thought a LED sign facing Main Street might be a distraction to drivers, and Salzwedel wondered whether it would meet zoning requirements.
Councilmembers were supportive of naming rights for other aspects of the boat though. Rooms and floors could be naming opportunities although it still needs to be determined how best to acknowledge those donors. Plaques could be placed on the boat or all donors could be listed somewhere on the Riverwalk so they could be viewed even when the boat is not open to the public.
Ware Road Landfill, Adult Use Marijuana, Generator Maintenance
In other action, Lowell City Council ok’d $28,399.83 to be paid to Pearson Drilling to drill nine monitoring wells on the site of the Ware Road landfill. They also approved $30,500 to pay engineering firm BLDI to monitor the project. Groundwater samples will be taken 3-6 weeks after the wells are drilled to check for contamination.
Councilmembers unanimously approved two ordinances that will pave the way for adult use marijuana facilities within the city limits. They first added a provision to clarify the 1,000 foot buffer between facilities and preschools applies even if the school is located in a township. The State of Michigan will begin taking adult use marijuana business applications on November 1, 2019, and once applicants have met state requirements, they can apply to open a facility in the city.
The final vote of the evening was to approve a 5-year contract with Michigan Caterpillar at a total cost of $21,641. Michigan Caterpillar will provide maintenance for four city generators and conduct infrared thermographic imagery to look for faulty connections, damaged fuses or other problems.
The next regular meeting of Lowell City Council will be held on Monday, November 4, at 7pm on the second floor of City Hall.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to clarify that the Fire Authority Board agreed by consensus, rather than a vote, to retain the services of Lew Bender should the proposal to have a consultant evaluate the department be adopted.
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