CITY OF LENOX

A regular meeting of the Lenox City Council was called to order by Mayor Douglas on June 22, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall with the following council members answering roll call: Peterson, Huffman, Tull, Hodges and Beck. Staff present was City Administrator, Allison Kitzman and City Clerk, Dawne Bowman. Visitors at the meeting were Colleen Larimer, Galen and Sharleen McFee, Cindy Cox and George Pryor.

Hodges made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Tull, all ayes, motion carried. Peterson made a motion to approve 6/8/26 regular meeting minutes, seconded by Huffman, all ayes, motion carried. Tull made a motion to approve payment of the bills, seconded by Hodges, all ayes, motion carried.

There was a discussion on the road project, in which Kitzman mentioned that according to the engineers, there would be a 15% increase on the project with doing 3 roads (Birch, Allen and Nebraska) and there would be a 10% increase on the project with doing all roads, except for Westwind Drive. This increase is the unit increase on asphalt without bulk pricing. Kitzman provided a tax increase breakdown for each option. Galen McFee questioned why all streets are not being considered and added that there is a lot of traffic on Oak Street. Peterson explained the push back from the public on doing a street with no residents, such as East Michigan. It was the consensus of the council that Westwind Drive and East Michigan would not be included in the project. Peterson made a motion to move forward with the Asphalt Road Project, to include Oak, Birch, Nebraska and Allen, seconded by Hodges. Roll call votes-all ayes, motion carried.

Hodges made a motion to approve a Portable Toilet on the Walking Trail, seconded by Tull, all ayes, motion carried.

Cindy Cox was present to discuss the Pool Project. Cox mentioned that even though the bids came in high, the Leading Ladies of Lenox are committed to the project, as well as the community and are moving forward in hopes to find ways to cut costs on the project and raise more funds. Kitzman stated that no grants can be applied for once the project has been started and that compromising items, such as finding a cheaper pump is not a good idea, as the integrity of the electrical components is crucial in the project. This will be on the July 13th meeting to approve or reject bids, as bids are only valid for 45 days. Currently the engineers are discussing with the lowest bidder ways to cut costs on the project. Cox mentioned that the items added for the big pool, such as the basketball hoops and the climbing wall could be omitted from the project.

Peterson made a motion to approve El Guero Mexican Restaurants and Cantina Class C Retail Alcohol License Renewal, seconded by Hodges, all ayes, motion carried.

Hodges made a motion to approve Resolution 26-21 Authorizing Transfer from TIF to Internal Gas Loan, seconded by Beck, all ayes, motion carried. Kitzman stated this is TIF funds received from the Trailer Park and a percentage of Dalton Ag that are being used to pay back the gas department for the loan. The amount transferred was $41,385.40 and the remaining on the loan is $209,282.49.

Tull made a motion to approve Resolution 26-22 Authorizing Transfer from RUT to Capital Projects, seconded by Peterson, all ayes, motion carried. Kitzman stated this is for the 2025 Road Project that was bonded, as this project is not complete, due to an area that we have asked the contractor to come back and fix, the retainer fee has not been paid. The final payment for the project will be in FY27. The amount of transfer for this FY is $100,000.

Peterson made a motion to approve Jacqi Reed to the Library Board for a term of 6 years, ending July 2032, seconded by Tull, all ayes, motion carried.

Peterson made a motion to approve Resolution 26-23 Employee Wages FY27, seconded by Tull, all ayes, motion carried. Wages are as follows: Ryan Brown $29.50 to $31.00, Dylan Douglas $26.50 to $28.00, Quent Dalton $35.50 to $37.00, Blake Horton $33.80 to $35.30, Dawne Bowman $27.80 to $28.55, Allison Kitzman $82,600 to $85,904, Shari Burger $21.00 to $21.60, Tracy Thompson $14.00 to $14.40, Carol Rogers $14.00 to $14.40, Bobbie Gillespie $14.00 to $14.40, Lisa Tiepelman $17.00 to $18.00, and Jannica Bradley $14.00 to $15.00.

Tull motioned to adjourn the meeting, Hodges seconded, all ayes, motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:00 PM.