GRATIOT COUNTY — Residents have two chances on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to ask questions of local officials in person. The Gratiot County Board of Commissioners meets at 4:30 p.m. at the courthouse in Ithaca, and the St. Louis City Council meets at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. Both bodies have posted their agendas, and both agendas include public comment.
County board: 4:30 p.m., Gratiot County Courthouse
The county lists the Oct. 6 meeting as a “Regular Full Board Meeting” at the Gratiot County Courthouse, 214 E. Center St., Ithaca. The agenda was posted Oct. 1. It sets aside “brief public comment on agenda items” near the start, and “additional public comment” near the end. A note on the agenda says each period is limited to one 3-minute comment.
Business on the agenda includes the 2026 apportionment report (Resolution 26-463), a $128,740 Commission on Aging parking lot proposal (26-464), a loan agreement for Drain No. 050 (26-465), agreements with MSU Extension, the Conservation District and a clinical-services provider (26-466, 26-467, 26-469), a grant agreement (26-468) and the claims for the period. This publication has reported on the apportionment report, the Drain No. 050 loan and the agreements with blank dollar amounts.
The closed-session item
The last item on the agenda reads: “Consideration to enter into closed session to consider Strategy connected with the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement (MCL 15.268(c)).” That is a proposal to go into closed session for one stated purpose, after the public portions of the meeting. It is not a private meeting. Michigan’s Open Meetings Act lets a public body meet in closed session only for reasons listed in the law, and collective-bargaining strategy is one of them. The board’s vote on whether to go into closed session is taken in the open and recorded in the minutes. Whether the board goes into closed session will be decided at the meeting; the county’s meeting list shows no other special or closed meeting posted.
St. Louis City Council: 6:00 p.m., City Hall
The council’s Oct. 6 agenda lists 6:00 p.m., the time of its Sept. 15 meeting, which was held in the City Hall Council Chambers. It opens with a public hearing on establishing an Obsolete Property Rehabilitation district, with public comments. “Audience Recognition” follows the approval of minutes, claims and board minutes. The agenda states that “each person will be allowed to speak for up to five (5) minutes,” and that the mayor may reduce that to three minutes if many people speak. “Public Comments” appears again near the end of the meeting.
The council’s business includes a cemetery expansion proposal, a petition to abandon part of Drain #199, the bid to demolish 117 S. East Street, and a lift station on North Union Street, all of which this publication has reported on: the cemetery proposal, the lift station and the demolition bid.
New in the packet: the hydro-generator motors
Item 11.B is a “Quote for Reconditioning of Hydro Generators-York Repair.” The agenda statement says that “early in the spring of 2026 we found the exciter motor for Hydro generator #6 was producing low voltage, thus rendering Hydro #6 inoperable.” It says another exciter motor, removed from Hydro #5 “several years ago as it was not functioning properly,” was never repaired. The city sent both DC motors to York Repair in Bay City, which quoted $5,992 and $7,590 to recondition them, $13,582 in all. The statement adds: “Hydro #6 is completely inoperable currently. Repairing both motors will put Hydro #6 back in operation and provide a spare.” It lists the item as not budgeted and needing no budget amendment, and says a contractor who was consulted did not have a direct replacement.
The statement does not say whether Hydro #5 is operating, how long Hydro #6 has been down beyond “spring,” or what other work the units need. Our report on the plant’s output covers the federal figures and the statements of the city’s engineer and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Questions the record leaves open
These come from gaps in the public documents. They are not accusations, and officials may have answers.
- County: What will the Conservation District and clinical-services agreements cost, and what services do they cover? Where is Drain No. 050, and how is the loan to be repaid? What is the status of the Animal Control staffing and pay changes discussed on Sept. 15, and may county departments answer questions from the press directly? (Our closed report and earlier report on the pay request have the background.)
- City: What does it cost, in total and per year, to keep the hydro units and dam in service, and does the new electric rate include any of it? When is Hydro #5 expected to run? What happens to the cemetery proposal if the 2026 survey differs from the 1999 plan?
What the record does not say
The county agenda does not state the scope of the additional public comment period. The city packet does not say where the council will take public comment on the hydro item specifically. Neither the agendas nor this report can say what will be decided; the votes happen at the meetings. This report will be followed by reports on what was decided.