OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Midland City Council Meeting - July 27, 2026

City Council — Monday, July 27, 2026
BodyMidland, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, July 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 36:36

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

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

0:06

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

0:09

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.

0:21

And councilmen are elected to two year terms.

0:24

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

0:28

City Council meetings are held at 7 p.m.

0:30

two Mondays per month in council chambers at City Hall.

0:34

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

0:39

Replays of this meeting can be found on MGTV Channel 188 on Charter Spectrum through Channel 99 on ATTUverse or on demand at WWW.city of MidlandMI.gov.

0:51

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

1:04

Good evening and welcome to our July 27, 2026 meeting of City Council.

1:08

Would you all please stand and join us for the Pledge of Allegiance?

1:29

Lacey, would you please call roll?

1:31

Honorable Mayor Donker.

1:32

Councilman Soler.

1:34

Here.

1:34

Councilman Wasbinski.

1:35

Here.

1:36

Councilman Brownwell Helm.

1:37

Here.

1:37

Councilman Passick.

1:38

Here.

1:39

All right.

1:39

Thank you very much.

1:40

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

1:45

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

1:48

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

1:53

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 is indicated.

2:01

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.

2:09

Anyone from council want an item removed or um yep from the consent agenda?

2:14

No, madam mayor.

2:15

Okay, I would like to move item number four up to item number one, seeing we have guests here who I know are traveling and they might like to leave early.

2:26

And we've spent time with them already today, so we've just been delightful.

2:31

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

2:37

Did I do that?

2:37

So move you ask for councils and anybody from the council.

2:40

You didn't ask them anybody from the public.

2:42

Oh I am so sorry.

2:45

Anyone from the public like an item removed from the consent agenda?

2:48

Okay.

2:49

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

2:52

So move second versus seconding.

2:54

Any discussion?

2:55

All right, all in favor, please say aye.

2:57

Aye, aye.

2:58

Opposed.

2:59

Okay.

3:00

That passes five zero.

3:02

All right, that now takes us to item number one, which is actually item number four, and that is Mr.

3:08

K.

3:11

Thank you, Mayor Donker.

3:12

Uh, happy to be here tonight uh regarding the city's certification as a redevelopment ready community.

3:18

Um, the city of Midland has been engaged in this voluntary technical assistance initiative of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation or MEDC since 2014.

3:28

The program was created with the intent of helping Michigan communities to adopt planning, zoning, and economic development best practices.

3:36

So basically, how do we create competitive communities within Michigan that foster investment?

3:42

Um promulgated through the program, and then communities have the opportunity to participate.

3:49

And as I said, we were one of the first communities to engage in that program back in 2014, and uh now coming around to meeting all the requirements and receiving our certification tonight.

4:00

There are five best practice areas currently within the program.

4:04

These primarily are best practices around planning and zoning processes and kind of to sum everything up.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████29%
Parks and Recreation██████████████14%
Economic Development████████████12%
Public Safety████████████12%
Community Engagement███████████11%
Water And Wastewater Management██████████10%
Budget Equity Analysis█████5%
Technology and Innovation████4%
Engineering And Infrastructure███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Midland City Council Meeting - July 27, 2026

The Midland City Council met on July 27, 2026 at 7:00 PM in council chambers. The meeting included a consent agenda, a presentation on the city's Redevelopment Ready Communities certification, a public hearing on a landfill budget amendment, a first reading of an ordinance to increase civic arena fees, and a resolution to replace outdoor emergency sirens. All votes were unanimous (5-0).

Consent Calendar

  • The consent agenda, consisting of routine items marked with an asterisk, was approved unanimously (5-0) without any requests for removal.

Redevelopment Ready Communities Certification

  • Jacob King (city staff) and Blake Newman (Michigan Economic Development Corporation) presented the city's certification as a Redevelopment Ready Community at the highest level. The city has been engaged in the program since 2014. Blake highlighted the in-house development of the Midland City Modern Plan, a comprehensive plan praised for its creativity and community engagement, and a resiliency plan created after the 2020 floods. Mayor Donker commended staff for the plan. Council passed a resolution accepting the certification (5-0).

Public Hearing: Landfill Budget Amendment

  • Karen Murphy (city staff) presented a proposed budget amendment for the landfill enterprise fund. Loader #633 suffered engine damage from debris; insurance paid ~$65,000, but the loader is near end of life. Staff recommended replacing it earlier than planned via cooperative purchasing from AIS Equipment (Bridgeport, MI) for $328,410.81. The budget amendment requests $345,000 from landfill working capital to cover the purchase and any unforeseen modifications. The public hearing was opened and closed with no comments. Council passed the budget amendment resolution (5-0) and then the purchase order resolution (5-0), which also authorizes the city manager to approve change orders up to $16,589.19.

First Reading: Civic Arena Fee Increases

  • Mr. Saladin (city staff) presented the first reading of an ordinance to increase rates and fees at the civic arena. Ice rental would increase from $260 to $290 per hour in 2026 (11.5% increase) and to $325 in 2027 (12% increase). Other fees (open skate, skate rentals, skate sharpening, drop-in programs, turf field rental) would also increase. Expenses have risen approximately $240,000 per year (low 20% increase) since 2024, driven by utilities, minimum wage increases (48% from $10.33 to $15.00), and maintenance costs (67% increase). The phased increases aim to mitigate shock to user groups. The first year would generate $120,000 in additional revenue, the second year $127,000. Council passed the first reading (5-0); second reading and potential adoption are scheduled for August 10, 2026, with rates effective September 1, 2026.

Outdoor Emergency Siren Replacement

  • Chief Mosher presented a resolution to replace the city's outdoor emergency sirens, which date from the early 1990s. A contract with West Shore Services Inc. (Allendale, MI) for $383,005.38 was recommended, with a three-fifths vote required. The project includes replacement of 13 city sirens, coordination with the county for a unified system, a new control point at Homer Township backup 911 center, and new poles at St. Charles Park and Caldwell boat launch. The city manager is authorized to approve change orders up to $40,000. Discussion clarified that the sirens are primarily for chemical releases and severe weather, but not for floods (to avoid directing people to basements). Other notification methods (Nixel, social media, TV, radio) are used for floods. Council passed the resolution (5-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made during the public comment period.

Key Outcomes

  • Redevelopment Ready Communities certification resolution adopted (5-0).
  • Landfill budget amendment and purchase order for new wheel loader approved (5-0 each).
  • First reading of civic arena fee increase ordinance approved (5-0); second reading set for August 10, 2026.
  • Contract for outdoor emergency siren replacement approved (5-0).
  • Meeting adjourned with no new business.

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 ATTUverse or on demand at WWW.city of MidlandMI.gov. Select meetings are available on MZ TV Network's Government Affairs Podcast Channel. Good evening and welcome to our July 27, 2026 meeting of City Council. Would you all please stand and join us for the Pledge of Allegiance? Lacey, would you please call roll? Honorable Mayor Donker. Councilman Soler. Here. Councilman Wasbinski. Here. Councilman Brownwell Helm. Here. Councilman Passick. Here. All right. Thank you very much. Does anyone in council have a conflict of interest with anything that's on tonight's agenda? Okay, seeing none, then we'll move on to the consent agenda. Um, 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 is indicated. 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. Anyone from council want an item removed or um yep from the consent agenda? No, madam mayor. Okay, I would like to move item number four up to item number one, seeing we have guests here who I know are traveling and they might like to leave early. And we've spent time with them already today, so we've just been delightful. Okay, so can we have a motion to um approve the consent agenda? Did I do that? So move you ask for councils and anybody from the council. You didn't ask them anybody from the public. Oh I am so sorry. Anyone from the public like an item removed from the consent agenda? Okay. All right, can we have a motion to approve the consent agenda? So move second versus seconding. Any discussion? All right, all in favor, please say aye. Aye, aye. Opposed. Okay. That passes five zero. All right, that now takes us to item number one, which is actually item number four, and that is Mr.

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