The Whitehall City Council spent some of its regular meeting Tuesday discussing the possibility of installing a dog park, though no formal action was taken. The council informally agreed to authorize City Manager Dan Tavernier to research the matter and report back at a future meeting.
Tavernier, though he said he was "agnostic" on whether to install a dog park, broached the issue because of online complaints about the police department not enforcing the city's leash law, complaints he found frustrating as officers have not reported seeing violations of the law when on patrol. Installing a park, he reasoned, where dogs are permitted to run without a leash would limit violations, confrontations and complaints.
The council was not fully in favor of the concept, with Scott Brown and Tanya Cabala voicing dissent while Jeff Holmstrom supported the idea. Bryan Mahan and Debi Hillebrand also supported learning more.
The City of Montague has a dog park on Cook Street, and Tavernier said conversations with Jeff Auch, the Montague city manager, showed minimal upkeep necessary and no issues that Auch has been made aware of. Cabala shared concerns of dogs potentially becoming aggressive with one another at a dog park, while Brown felt dogs have areas to walk already and would prefer the issue be settled via a referendum rather than by the council. Holmstrom said the installation of a dog park would offer an easy place to direct dog owners to if they're seen with their leashless pets, and Hillebrand said she supported a dog park "done right." She added that Iams, a former employer of hers, is on record in support of dog parks and even offers grants to facilitate their construction.
In other matters Tuesday, the council offered unanimous approval to four resolutions, including one that will see Whitehall District Schools increase its contribution to the School Resource Officer program via an updated memorandum of understanding. The district will now pay $50,000 to the city annually in support of the program, up from $35,000. Police Chief Brandon Mahoney, whose career began as the Whitehall SRO, renegotiated the MOU with the district a year ahead of its expiration. The new agreement will be in place through the 2029-30 academic year.
The council also approved a $40,317 expenditure for the purchase of a new well pump generator from Wolverine Power Systems and its installation by Windemueller Electric. The generator had previously been approved as part of the 2025-26 budget - the cost came in nearly $20,000 under budget - and will be carried over to the following fiscal year.
Approval was given to a lot split for a land parcel near the Whitehall High School building and behind HarborLight Credit Union. The land is being split to facilitate the sale of just over five acres; the remaining nearly 2.5 acres will remain the city's, as the city has been unable to find a buyer due to a sewer easement on the land. Tavernier said HarborLight was receptive when he proposed their taking on the property a while back, but nothing further has come of it.
The council unanimously approved a new contract with the Teamsters union, which represents six city employees. No discussion took place about the contract.
Scott Brown shared his wish that the White Lake Fire Authority improve communication with nearby homeowners when they are doing a controlled burn such as the one they did with a Division Street house Monday. He said his son lives near the house and only found out about it because Brown told him. He would prefer the WLFA, which posts on Facebook in advance of the burns, to also alert nearby homeowners personally.
