MONTAGUE — Despite strong objections from city council member Paul Schultz, the Montague council adopted the Muskegon County Hazard Mitigation Plan by a 4-2 vote during its regular meeting Monday. Laura LaGuire was the other dissenting vote, and Ken Mahoney was absent, with the other council members excusing him.
Schultz called the mitigation plan "more fiction than fact" and said there are at least 30 errors in the document regarding Montague. He did not enumerate each error, but as an example, said the plan included a reference to the city having five emergency storm warning sirens when it does not have any. He added that there are errors regarding other local municipalities as well and expressed frustration that those bodies "rubber-stamped" the plan anyway, saying he was chuckled at when he asked one unnamed representative from another municipality if they'd read it.
The council noted the errors in the June meeting and expressed their concerns to the county, temporarily tabling approval until it received an answer. The county verified receipt of those concerns, but did not change the plan document. The changes could be made when work begins on the 2030 update of the mitigation plan, which will begin sometime in 2027.
The main reason the council gave for approving the document despite its errors was that not doing so would keep the city from being eligible for Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) funding should a natural disaster befall the city. Schultz downplayed this concern, saying Whitehall did not get FEMA relief after the June 2024 wind storm that blew through the area despite having an approved plan.
"There's a big funnel of $9 billion, and a trickle when something bad happens," Schultz said, referencing a $20 billion infusion the U.S. Congress gave FEMA last fall, of which $9 billion was reportedly spent in just over a week, most of it responding to earlier disasters.
Schultz added that his reading indicated nothing has happened in Montague in 100 years that would have made the city eligible for FEMA relief anyway. Council member Bob Hires shared Schultz' concerns regarding the errors in the plan, but did not feel comfortable taking the risk of something unprecedented occurring.
Council member Susan Newhof asked during discussion if the council could make note of the errors Schultz said were made in their motion to approve, and was told it could.
In other council business Monday, the council approved mayor Tom Lohman's appointment of Sarah Riehl of Greenridge Realty to the Downtown Development Authority by a 6-0 vote. Riehl will take over Mark Peets' term, which expires in 2026; Peets previously owned Pappy's Pad downtown.
The council shared feedback from the July 4 fireworks show, most of it positive; Newhof, who has shared objections to the show in the past, said she got negative feedback, citing animals being frightened and military veterans who could be affected by post-traumatic stress disorder. There was discussion of fireworks that were shot outside the show, with reports of residents doing so past midnight in violation of city ordinances.
