The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners and the Three Rivers City Commission will both hold regular meetings as planned this evening, Tuesday, October 6. Both are accessible via the Zoom online meeting platform, which is also accessible by telephone. During public comment periods, members of the public can request an opportunity to speak using the chat function of the online platform, the “raise hand” feature, or by pressing *9 if attending by telephone.

County Commission (5 p.m.)

The County Commission meets through a Zoom meeting link for anyone who wishes to attend remotely. Attendance requires entry of the access passcode of 145609. For the County meetings, the link and passcode changes for each meeting. It is also possible to phone into the Zoom sessions by dialing 312-626-6799 and entering the meeting’s conference ID code, 851 3479 7406, along with the passcode.

The County Commission typically holds an Executive Committee meeting on the Wednesday prior to each regular Tuesday meeting, at which members discuss possible agenda items for the regular meeting, usually in some detail. The most recent such meeting took place last Wednesday, October 30. Many of the agenda items listed below were detailed at that meeting. Up for County Commission approval on Tuesday are the following:

1. Adoption of the Family Court’s Fiscal Year 2021 Child Care Fund budget, which funds activities of the court’s Juvenile Division. This budget is separate from the county’s general fund budget and operates on a separate fiscal year.
2. Exceptions to a current hiring freeze in order to authorize hiring of a Corrections Officer and a Road Patrol Officer for the Sheriff’s Department.
3. A Fiscal Year 2020 grant agreement package for an Emergency Management Performance Grant, which covers 34.83 percent of the county Emergency Manager’s salary and benefits, as well as a Fiscal Year 2021 work agreement that governs what emergency staff will be responsible for doing over the course of the year.
4. A modification to a previously approved land deal in which Covered Bridge Healthcare is buying its building from the County. The modification would convert a three-year, $144,000 land contract to an outright purchase, enabling Covered Bridge to merge the land with an adjacent property and resolve zoning issues that are affecting proposed renovations.
5. Letters of Understanding with Union bargaining units representing general employees and court employees regarding early retirement incentive packages.
6. The current year’s Healthcare Savings Plan (HCSP) agreement through the Michigan Employee Retirement System (MERS).
7. The purchase of a copy machine for the Prosecutor’s Office.
8. A proposed, draft letter to the Governor seeking advice on next steps regarding the status of Prosecutor John McDonough, who faces trial on a May drunk driving charge. Since the incident, McDonough has been on medical leave and has twice been arrested on bond violations. 

The County Commission meeting will also include standard monthly reports and updates from the county administrator, finance director, and various department and committee heads.

City Commission (6 p.m.)

The City Commission normally meets at Three Rivers City Hall, but currently holds its meetings via Zoom as a pandemic precautionary measure. The city’s Zoom meeting channel uses the conference ID code of 267 406 2635 for each meeting, and there is no passcode. The Zoom meeting can also be accessed using the same telephone number as the county commission meetings, but by entering the city’s conference ID code instead.

Under Action Items at the City Commission are the following:

1. The sale of approximately four acres of city-owned property on Garfield Court to a developer, Allen Edwin Homes, for the construction of new housing. The land’s proposed price is set at $35,000.
2. The sale of an empty, tax-delinquent lot to the adjacent property owner at 705 Madison Place at a price of $500.
3. Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding for continued use of the City of Three Rivers Wastewater Treatment Plant by the Michigan Milk Producers Association dairy plant in Constantine. 
4. Approval of a purchase order and acceptance of a bid by Thompson Construction of Coldwater in the amount of $270,535 for the completion of the loop trail at the Armstrong Youth Sports Complex. 
5. Approval of a $25,000 purchase order to enable the 2020-21 season’s road salt purchase of up to 350 tons, at a price of up to $23,764 plus a five percent contingency amounting to $1,236.
6. Approval of a $71,700 purchase order to move forward with design engineering by Flies and Vandenbrink for proposed work on Railroad Drive in downtown Three Rivers.
7. A 2020-21 Fiscal Year Budget revision that includes increases of $65,569 in revenues and $80,480 in expenditures, causing use of $14,911 from the city’s fund reserves. The changes incorporate several previously approved purchases and other expenditures, including some that carried forward from the previous fiscal year and some that were newly approved during the current one. There have also been revenue adjustments due to changes in actual revenues from anticipated levels at the time the budget was adopted in the spring.
8. Election of hard cap limits on employer contributions to employees’ medical benefit plans at $1,029,090, with anticipated net employer premium costs at $961,396.
9. Setting of a public hearing for October 20 regarding establishment of a Special Assessment Roll for delinquent accounts in which the city addressed hazards and nuisances in violation of the city code and subsequently billed the property owners. The outstanding accounts total $14,407.79.
10. Setting of an additional public hearing, also for a Special Assessment Roll and also scheduled for October 20, addressing $7,806.87 worth of delinquent water and sewer accounts.
11. Acceptance of a $5,000 grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life that funds a variety of costs associated with planning and administration of safe and secure elections.

Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.