Owosso weighs towing cars over unpaid parking tickets

Owosso drivers who let parking tickets pile up could have their cars towed under an ordinance the City Council takes up Tuesday night. The Sept. 8 agenda lists a first reading of a new Sec. 33-54, "Removal of Vehicle for Unpaid Parking Violations," which the agenda says would "allow the City to tow the vehicle of repeat offenders with unpaid tickets." The item sits on the consent agenda along with a request to set a public hearing on it for Sept. 21.

The agenda does not say how many unpaid tickets, or how large an unpaid balance, would make a vehicle eligible for towing, or who would pay the tow and storage. Those terms would be in the ordinance text itself, which is not part of the agenda listing. Because the item is on the consent agenda, the first reading and the hearing date can be approved in a single vote with the rest of the consent items unless a council member pulls it out for separate discussion.

The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 301 West Main St.

Before that, the council holds three public hearings on unpaid city cleanup bills. Special Assessment Districts No. 2027-101, 2027-102 and 2027-103 cover costs the city says it has already incurred "in the altering, repairing, tearing down, abating or removing of hazards and nuisances" at 117 W. Exchange St., 321 E. Williams St. and 326 S. Dewey St. Once a special assessment is confirmed, the cost follows the property on its tax bill. The agenda does not list a dollar figure for any of the three. The Current reported that the council approved three similar nuisance-cost assessment rolls on Aug. 3, in minutes adopted Aug. 17.

The spending on Tuesday's consent agenda is mostly winter and maintenance work. The city would waive competitive bidding to buy road salt from The Detroit Salt Company through two State of Michigan contracts — 400 tons delivered early at $67.08 a ton, or $26,832, plus up to 1,400 more tons at $63.70 a ton, or $89,180, with a $26,754 contingency and payment authorized up to $142,766. Ronald's Tree Service would get the 2026-27 city tree removal contract at $46,280, plus $18,000 in contingency to be used only on written authorization. Roofing materials for the DPW city garage would come from Home Depot on the state's MiDeal contract at $22,491.64, with payment authorized up to $24,991.64. And the city would buy bulk CO2 — used in water treatment — sole-source from Nippon Sanso Matheson at $0.1148 a pound, an estimated 92 tons and $21,395.52 for the year ending June 30, 2027.

Two street-closing requests from the Owosso Farmers Market would shut parts of downtown for the Art Walk on Friday, Sept. 18. Traffic Control Order No. 1566 would close Main Street Plaza from noon to 8 p.m. Traffic Control Order No. 1567 would close North Ball Street from the south side of Fountain Park to West Mason Street, Exchange Street from North Ball to North Washington, and the city parking lot at the southwest corner of West Main and North Washington from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. for the Art Walk Market and a movie in Fountain Park. The agenda does not name the film.

Under items of business, the council considers adopting a Whistleblower and Non-Retaliation Policy that the agenda says is meant to supplement federal and Michigan law, including the Michigan Whistleblowers' Protection Act. The council will also enter a notice of pecuniary interest on the record for Councilmember Carl Ludington concerning proposed contracts with Ludington Electric, Inc. for August 2026 — the standard disclosure a member makes when the city does business with a company he has an interest in. The consent agenda also includes a resolution naming who may sign on city accounts at Huntington Bank.

The agenda lists eight vacancies on city boards, including three on the Planning Commission — two terms expiring June 30, 2027 and one expiring June 30, 2029 — plus two Building Board of Appeals alternates, two Zoning Board of Appeals alternates, a Downtown Historic District Commission seat and a Parks and Recreation Commission seat. City Manager Nathan R. Henne's August report and the July revenues and expenditures report are listed as communications, along with minutes from the Parks and Recreation Commission (Aug. 26) and the Downtown Historic District Commission (Aug. 19).

What happens next: The council meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, at City Hall. If the towing ordinance clears its first reading, the public hearing is set for the next regular meeting, Monday, Sept. 21, when the council could adopt it. The Current will report the votes and the assessment amounts after the meeting.