OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Midland City Council Meeting - February 23, 2026

City Council — Monday, February 23, 2026
BodyMidland, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, February 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 57:04

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

The following presentation of the Midland City Council will begin in a moment.

0:05

The Midland City Council is the city's legislative body.

0:08

It sets policies, approves budgets, determines tax rates, and adopts ordinances and resolutions to govern the city.

0:16

It is made up of five elected officials that represent the wards in which they reside.

0:20

And councilmen are elected to two year terms.

0:23

The mayor is elected from among the council members by vote of the city council.

0:27

City Council meetings are held at 7 p.m.

0:30

two Mondays per month in council chambers at City Hall.

0:33

This presentation is provided by the MCTV Network, a service of the City of Midland.

0:38

Replays of this meeting can be found on MGTV Channel 188 on Charter Spectrum through Channel 99 on AT2 Uverse or on demand at WWW.city of Midland MI.gov.

0:50

Select meetings are available on MC TV Network's Government Affairs Podcast Channel.

1:02

Good evening and welcome to our February 23rd, 2026 meeting of City Council.

1:07

Please stand and join us for the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:16

And we all stand one year.

1:28

All right.

1:31

Honorable Mayor Donker.

1:32

Here.

1:32

Councilman Soler.

1:34

Here.

1:34

Councilman Brown Wilhelm.

1:35

Here.

1:36

Councilman Passick.

1:37

Here.

1:37

Councilman Wasbinski.

1:40

Okay, thank you very much.

1:42

That takes us down to conflict of interest.

1:44

Does anyone in council have a conflict of interest with anything that's on this evening's agenda?

1:48

Nope.

1:49

Okay.

1:49

Seeing none, then we'll move on to the consent agenda.

1:52

All resolutions marked with an asterisk are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion.

1:57

There'll be no separate consideration of these items unless the citizen or council member so request during the discussion stage of the motion to adopt the consent agenda as indicated.

2:06

If there's even a single request, the item will be removed from the consent agenda without further motion and considered in its listed sequence in regular fashion.

2:14

Okay, can we have a motion to approve the consent agenda?

2:17

So moved.

2:18

Second.

2:18

Okay.

2:19

Does anyone um want an item removed from the consent agenda?

2:23

Okay, seeing anyone from the public want an item removed from the consent agenda.

2:28

All right.

2:29

All in favor we have a motion to approve.

2:32

Yeah.

2:32

Yeah.

2:32

Okay.

2:33

All in favor, then please say aye.

2:35

Aye.

2:35

Opposed.

2:36

Okay, that passes 4-0.

2:39

All right.

2:39

That takes us now down to public hearings.

2:41

So let's just talk about public hearings for a second.

2:44

Um this is how they work.

2:46

The staff member will come up and they'll do a presentation once their presentation is done.

2:51

Um, council will ask any questions that they might have.

2:54

Once we have our questions answered, we'll open the public hearing.

2:57

You can come up, you just stand at the podium.

3:00

You're going to state your name and address, and any questions you might have, you're gonna um speak directly to council on those.

3:06

Once that's done, um you're and you're done with that, then we'll vote.

3:10

With that, that takes us down to the equipment rolling fund, Karen Murphy.

3:15

It's all yours.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████51%
Capital Improvement Planning████████████████18%
Public Engagement████████████14%
Procedural████████9%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Fiscal Sustainability██2%
Public Safety██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Midland City Council Meeting - February 23, 2026

The Midland City Council met on February 23, 2026, at 7 p.m. in council chambers. All members were present except one (votes showed 4-0 or 3-1, indicating one absence). The meeting covered consent agenda approvals, a public hearing and budget amendment for parks equipment, a woody debris management project with budget and contract approvals, and adoption of the 2027-2032 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). A public comment on including a section of Woodview Pass in the CIP led to a failed amendment.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the consent agenda (all routine resolutions marked with asterisk) by a vote of 4-0.

Public Hearings

  • Equipment Revolving Fund (Parks Trash Tipper Truck): Karen Murphy presented a request to reallocate $82,000 from existing equipment revolving fund (ERF) amortization funds to replace a parks trash tipper truck and tipper unit. The new truck (2026 Ford, ~$50,000) and tipper unit (~$29,000) total $78,777, with extra for upfitting. The funds came from previously set-aside amortization for a totaled toolcat (insurance covered replacement). Council approved the resolution (4-0) to amend the FY2026 ERF budget and authorize the reallocation.
  • Woody Debris Management Project: Tony Dressel presented a CDBG-DR funded project ($2.665 million total) to remove dead/down trees in Sturgeon Creek, Snake Creek, and other waterways to improve flood resilience. A contract award to Spicer Group for engineering services ($232,620) was sought. The project has a construction window of October 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026 due to endangered species constraints. Two resolutions: (1) budget amendment for $2.665M to the stormwater management fund, and (2) contract award to Spicer Group. Both approved 4-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Ron Warzinski (5810 Woodview Pass) spoke in favor of adding Woodview Pass (Scenic Drive to Courtside Court) to the CIP. He argued the block was overlooked, its PASER rating (6) is inflated due to alligator cracking, and the omission should be corrected. He shared resident frustration over pavement distress and safety issues, and urged council to include the section.

Discussion Items

  • Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) 2027-2032: Todd Kane reviewed the plan: $35 million proposed for FY2027, over $300 million over six years, covering streets, water, sewer, vehicles, facilities. Planning commission recommended adoption 9-0. Public comments about Woodview Pass were noted but not in the presented plan. Council discussed road prioritization, PASER ratings, mill-and-fill vs reconstruction, and the need to balance resources. A motion to amend the CIP by adding Woodview Pass (Scenic to Courtside, ~700 feet, estimated $455,000 reconstruction in year 2032) was made. Council debated: supporters noted the block was overlooked; opponents argued other roads (e.g., Willis) are in worse condition and process should be followed. The amendment failed 2-2 (motion defeated). The original motion to adopt the CIP as recommended passed 3-1.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved 4-0.
  • Equipment Revolving Fund budget amendment and reallocation approved 4-0.
  • Woody Debris Management Project budget amendment and Spicer Group contract approved 4-0.
  • Amendment to add Woodview Pass to CIP failed 2-2.
  • Capital Improvement Plan 2027-2032 adopted 3-1.

Meeting Transcript

The following presentation of the Midland City Council will begin in a moment. The Midland City Council is the city's legislative body. It sets policies, approves budgets, determines tax rates, and adopts ordinances and resolutions to govern the city. It is made up of five elected officials that represent the wards in which they reside. And councilmen are elected to two year terms. The mayor is elected from among the council members by vote of the city council. City Council meetings are held at 7 p.m. two Mondays per month in council chambers at City Hall. This presentation is provided by the MCTV Network, a service of the City of Midland. Replays of this meeting can be found on MGTV Channel 188 on Charter Spectrum through Channel 99 on AT2 Uverse or on demand at WWW.city of Midland MI.gov. Select meetings are available on MC TV Network's Government Affairs Podcast Channel. Good evening and welcome to our February 23rd, 2026 meeting of City Council. Please stand and join us for the Pledge of Allegiance. And we all stand one year. All right. Honorable Mayor Donker. Here. Councilman Soler. Here. Councilman Brown Wilhelm. Here. Councilman Passick. Here. Councilman Wasbinski. Okay, thank you very much. That takes us down to conflict of interest. Does anyone in council have a conflict of interest with anything that's on this evening's agenda? Nope. Okay. Seeing none, then we'll move on to the consent agenda. All resolutions marked with an asterisk are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion. There'll be no separate consideration of these items unless the citizen or council member so request during the discussion stage of the motion to adopt the consent agenda as indicated. If there's even a single request, the item will be removed from the consent agenda without further motion and considered in its listed sequence in regular fashion. Okay, can we have a motion to approve the consent agenda? So moved. Second. Okay. Does anyone um want an item removed from the consent agenda? Okay, seeing anyone from the public want an item removed from the consent agenda. All right. All in favor we have a motion to approve. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All in favor, then please say aye. Aye. Opposed. Okay, that passes 4-0. All right. That takes us now down to public hearings.

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