During their November meeting, the Clearwater City Council discussed their orderly annexation agreement with Clearwater Twp.

The city and township had originally approved an orderly annexation agreement in June 2019, however, due to a change requested by the county, neither side had signed it. The agreement included four parcels to be immediately annexed into the city. The township signed the agreement at their November meeting.

City Administrator Annita Smyth reminded the council on the changes that had been made, including that the city wouldn’t require anyone who had just installed their own septic system to have to connect to the city’s municipal services for 20 years or until the septic system failed. A condition was removed stating if they sold the property, they would have to connect to the system.

Member Richard Petty stated he felt the Michaelson property currently being developed should be included in the agreement and excluded from paying the township their share of taxes for five years like is stated in the original agreement, because it’s what was agreed to last year and would have been in place if the agreement had been signed then A lengthy discussion followed.

“The agreement had extremely small changes,” said Mayor Andrea Lawrence-Wheeler. “I’m not disagreeing with your intent, but I think it’s a bigger deal than just slipping it in there and seeing what happens. I think this would have to be a separate discussion.”

“I feel that we’re totally disregarded as to not caring what the city’s future is by moving forward and not opposing it,” said Petty. “We even asked for a moratorium at one point so this doesn’t happen. We’re not asking for anything we wouldn’t have had with both parties signing it the day we agreed to it. If we’d moved forward with the agreement back then this would have been the result.”

“We’d already negotiated and signed an agreement,” said Smyth. “If that’s changed and if this is no longer the agreement you want, just understand that you’re reopening negotiations at that point.”

Petty said he wasn’t opposed to renegotiating the entire thing, stating the current agreement is very liberal and gives the township a lot of power. He added that the city needs to start working their way out at some point, and reopening negotiations wouldn’t be in the township’s best interest. 

A motion carried 4 to 1 accepting the orderly annexation agreement, with a clause excluding the city from paying the taxation reimbursement to the township for the Michaelson parcels.

Mosquito Survey

During the public forum, a resident asked the council to stop spraying for mosquitos for one year, citing health issues. 

The council reviewed results from their Facebook survey asking residents what their opinions on the subject were. The survey had 112 respondents; 96 said yes to continuing to spray, 16 said no. In the comments section some residents responded that they felt it was a waste of money because it didn’t make a difference to the number of mosquitos, or that they were concerned about the chemicals used or the health impact.

Council Member Vern Scott said he would like to see it suspended for a year and see what happens; Council Member Wayne Kruchten agreed. Council Member Kris Crandall wasn’t opposed to either but felt parameters should be put in place if it’s continued. 

A lengthy discussion ensued, with Mayor Andera Lawrence-Wheeler stating that although there are health aspects from the spraying, there are also health aspects from mosquitos. She asked what the council would base stopping the policy on, as the overwhelming majority of residents responding to the survey wanted it continued. 

A motion to discontinue spraying for one year failed to pass, 3-2. The provider will be asked to submit a new contract, to which the city may add parameters to.

Playground Repairs

The council discussed the new playground equipment at Riverside Park, which has a chip out of one of its pieces and a climbing rope net that was installed upside down with the bolts facing up. The city has been attempting to work with the vender to get it resolved, however the vender now states they were never informed of any issues.

Smyth recommended the city have their staff fix the issues, which was agreed upon by the council.

Other Business

Motion passed approving Resolution 2020-69 Canvassing 2020 Election Results.

The council acknowledged the retirements of Clearwater Fire Captain Doug Zupan, Lt. Ryan Simms, and Firefighter Mike Flynn.

Petty and Crandall volunteered to be on the committee to request an RFP for city attorney.

The sheriff reported one medical, one gas drive off, one disorderly conduct, three domestics, three theft from vehicles, and seven accidents. There were a total of 56 traffic stops within city limits, resulting in two warrant arrests, one DUI, and 15 citations.

The next Clearwater City Council meeting will be Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.