Kent Whitcomb, director of Member Services at MiEnergy, returned to the Houston City Council’s regular meeting on August 9 to further discuss MiEnergy’s offer of a car charging station for Houston. The offer was for a $5,139 level 2 charger. The 7.7 kW charger would have ports for two vehicles and would charge at the rate of 20–30 miles per hour.
The city had contacted Hoskins Electric and received a $1,000 estimate for installation charges at the community center. Councilman Cody Mathers suggested that they spend a little more and get a faster charger. City Clerk Michelle Quinn shared that the city had funds left over from a recent seal coating project that could cover the additional expense. Ultimately, the council decided to spend an additional $1,090 to get a 15.4 kW charger with the ability to charge at the rate of 45–60 miles per hour. Quinn will check with Hoskins regarding the additional installation expense. The unit will use an app with a QR code for billing; this will not incur an additional expense for the city. The first five years upkeep will be free to the city; after five years there will be an expense of $320 per year.
OHV exit committee created
After a lengthy discussion, the council voted to establish an OHV exit committee to research the possibility of exiting the agreement with the DNR. Community members Anna Benda, Karla Bloem, Larry Connery, and Ron Evenson have volunteered to serve on the community; Councilman Cody Mathers was appointed as the council’s representative. City Clerk Quinn will not be attending the meetings of the committee.
Councilman Tony Schultz was hesitant to proceed with the committee, “We are not at that point now.” He advocated for the completion of the noise study first, saying that it might not be necessary to have the committee if the project failed in the noise study. He also pointed to the fact that a needed archeological study was yet to be completed, sharing that an OHV sponsor club was looking for grants to cover the expense of such a study.
Evenson offered that the exit committee could work at the same time the studies were being conducted. Mathers agreed that the two could work in parallel to find out all the options. Agreeing to the creation of the exit committee, the council clarified that this does not mean that they are necessarily in favor of withdrawal from the agreement.
The anti-OHV presentation of the previous evening brought up more discussion by citizens. Anna Benda shared that she had contacted Mandy Skypala, a DNR grants specialist and learned that the DNR wouldn’t blacklist the city of Houston from all grants, but rather the OHV department of the DNR wouldn’t approve OHV grants to Houston if they backed out of the current contract.
Karla Bloem asked the city to ask a SWCD representative to come and discuss the potential effects of the trail. A retired SWCD manager had attended the anti-OHV meeting and opined that, “It will be really risky to do this (the OHV trail).” Bloem also suggested the council watch the YouTube recording of the meeting. The city agreed to have the SWCD come and talk.
Local OHV rider Phil Pedretti told the council, “It’d be really great to have the trail; we go to other communities to ride now. They get a lot of money from the trail.” He pointed out the rapidly growing OHV and motorhome industry.
A newcomer to Houston asked for an economic study. The city lists four studies from other communities on its website. It would cost $15,000 for Houston to conduct its own study.
Other business
In other business the council:
• Approved final payment on the completed Lincoln Street project and a payment to Wapasha Construction on the treatment plant; $201,834.99 remains to be paid;
• Accepted donations of two six-foot benches for the community center from Silver Creek Rustlers 4H group and Houston County Farm Bureau and an anonymous donation of $7,200 for acoustic panels for the community center;
• Hired Grace Shupe as Houston Nature Center assistant;
• Approved a mutual aid agreement with Caledonia Ambulance;
• Accepted a bid from Dan Smith for the harvesting of seeds at the Nature Center; the city will receive 10% of the seed harvest and will receive credit directly to their account at Prairie Moon for future payment.
• Agreed to look for a summer rec director in December so recruiting of new staff can begin earlier next year.
The next Houston City Council meeting will be September 13, 2021, at the community center; all citizens are welcome to attend.
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