Durand council takes up Amtrak lease, Vinewood lift station repair

Durand's city council meets Monday at 6:30 p.m. with a short list of spending decisions in front of it and, in the published agenda, not a single dollar figure to go with them.

The eight items of business include an extension of the city's lease with Amtrak, an invoice from Kerr Pump for an emergency repair to the Vinewood Lift Station, a hot patch job by MB Asphalt, an extension of the Clean Cut lawnmowing contract, an invoice from Haviland and the purchase of a Talon Incident Management System for the police department. The agenda also carries a mayoral appointment to the Downtown Development Authority board and a discussion item listed only as "Top Shelf Request - Fans."

The Vinewood Lift Station is one of the city's sewer pump stations, and the agenda describes the Kerr Pump work as an emergency repair — meaning the work is already done and the council is being asked to pay for it. The agenda does not state what failed, when it failed or what the repair cost.

The Amtrak item is listed simply as "Lease Extension Amtrak," with no term, rent or property named. Durand is a stop on Amtrak's line, and the city has been in litigation with Durand Union Station Inc.; The Current reported that the council held closed sessions on trial and settlement strategy in Durand Union Station Inc. v. City of Durand at both its Aug. 3 and Aug. 17 meetings. Monday's agenda does not say which property the Amtrak lease covers, and it lists no closed session at all.

Council will also be asked to approve bills numbered 60198 through 60415 — 218 invoices — with no total printed on the agenda.

The minutes up for approval are from the Aug. 3 regular meeting and its closed session and the Aug. 17 special meeting and its closed session. Mayor Pro-tem Folaron is listed to call the meeting to order.

Residents can speak twice: a general public comment period near the top of the meeting and a second round limited to agenda items, both with a five-minute limit and a sign-in. People needing accommodations are asked to contact City Clerk Mindy McKay at least five business days before the meeting.

What happens next: the council meets Monday, Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m. The dollar amounts on the Kerr Pump invoice, the Talon system, the Haviland invoice, the mowing extension and the asphalt work — and the terms of the Amtrak lease — should be stated when each item is taken up. The Current has asked the city for the supporting documents.