MONTAGUE — The Montague City Council unanimously approved a bid from Press's LLC in Holton during its regular meeting Monday for a cost of $11,560 to demolish the former car wash building on Water Street.
The bid from Press's was considerably less - just barely more than half - than the lower of either of the other two bids received, a difference that led to council member Susan Newhof asking how that could be. City Manager Jeff Auch said there was no misunderstanding about the scope of the work, and shared that sometimes companies who do not necessarily want a government project due to lack of available personnel will make much higher bids in these circumstances, reasoning that the extra work is worth it at a certain price.
Auch added that all three bidders included a provision that they would recycle the leftover concrete following the demolition. The explanation satisfied the city council, which then voted to approve.
The council then unanimously approved a budget amendment to account for the new expense, as was required, as well as an official authorization to Press's that it could begin work when it was ready.
The council did not pass an updated Rules of Procedure for the city council after some discussion about it, instead voting 5-2 (Lisa Kiel and Ken Mahoney dissented) to take the document back to May's work session. The council had been receiving updates about the proposed changes from Auch over the past few work sessions, but had questions about some provisions.
Most of those questions were not enumerated by the council - council member Paul Schultz said that if he asked all the questions he had, the meeting would last over four hours - but one that generated discussion would count any abstention from a vote, unless stated in writing to the mayor in advance of a meeting, as an approval. The reasoning, Auch said, is that council members have a 'duty to vote,' as stated in the Rules of Procedure, and cannot be permitted to abstain from a vote simply to avoid taking a position on a topic that could generate controversy; the abstentions are only supposed to be used when there is a conflict of interest in play. However, Newhof disapproved of this provision, and Schultz and Bob Hires echoed Newhof's statement. Hires added that although the council is permitted to supersede Robert's Rules of Order, he still did not agree with some provisions in the updated document, which Auch said is a "living document" and can be reexamined after each election as new council members come in.
During the city manager's report, Auch referenced the recent heavy rainfall, which resulted in the temporary closure of a section of Old Channel Trail late last week. Two culverts - one on Old Channel Trail and another, Schultz said, on Hancock Road - did not hold up as well as the city would hope, and Auch said they are being looked at. The city will consider adding lining to those and to the culvert on Wilcox Street in hopes of better results the next time, as they are older.
Auch also noted the July 21 deadline for Montague residents to file forms of interest to run for city council or mayor in time for the November 2026 election.
Mahoney reported that the city council will likely field a resolution regarding allowing Fruitland Township to join the White Lake Ambulance Authority at May's meeting. All five participating municipalities must pass such a resolution before Fruitland is permitted to rejoin, pending a millage vote in August.
Newhof shared information about the city's voucher program to help offset the costs of spaying and neutering for residents' cats. The voucher, which is available at City Hall, covers half the cost of the procedure and includes vaccines for rabies and a contagious virus.
The council also continued discussion about what name to give Industrial Park Street, a currently unoccupied dead-end street that will soon be used by businesses. The council discussed naming the road Gillen, after previous Montague Mayor Wayne Gillen and his family, which Auch said has deep roots in the city. Newhof said after researching the family, she'd reversed her usual position on being against naming streets after people that weren't as well-known. As it was a work session, the council did not make any final decision but agreed it could come to a resolution in May.
