WHITEHALL — Tension between Whitehall mayor Steven Salter and the city council was again obvious Tuesday at the council's regular meeting, as several council members accused Salter of dishonesty regarding statements he made at the end of the Feb. 11 meeting.
Salter closed that meeting by declaring he was embarrassed of the council for refusing to renew city manager Scott Huebler's contract beyond its scheduled August expiration, but council members, and later Huebler, clarified that Huebler submitted his intent to retire at the end of the contract in writing last August.
Four council members stated their dispute with the Feb. 11 statement, with council member Steve Sikkenga going as far as calling it "a bald-faced lie."
Debi Hillebrand, Tom Ziemer and Scott Brown each also shared their disagreement with Salter's statement; Brown added that if the council had anything to be embarrassed of, it was having to deal with Salter's behavior and offered that if the mayor was so angry with the council, he was free to resign. Ziemer stated that he ran for his seat on the council to focus on honesty and transparency and felt compelled to speak up about the statement.
"If I allow a lie to go unchallenged, that is not being transparent or honest," Ziemer said.
Salter responded to all this by stating that even prior to Huebler's retirement announcement, he felt the council members were micromanaging Huebler and had made clear they would not renew his contract, in effect pushing Huebler out. When asked for examples of this, he said they could be found via recordings of prior meetings, and that to state the council was supporting Huebler was tantamount to being in denial.
As the discussion continued to be heated, council member Tanya Cabala expressed that she has grown increasingly frustrated with the nature of the arguments taking place during recent meetings. She previously served 12 years on the council before being elected again in 2023, and stated in that first stint she did not recall any of the issues that have raised hackles on the current council.
"We need to hold our tempers...I'm tired of it," Cabala said. "This is not what I signed up for."
Cabala also said she'd be willing to revisit Huebler's contract if there had been a misunderstanding about Huebler's intent to retire, because she is not eager to lose Huebler as city manager.
At this point, Huebler stepped in to clear the air. He said as far as he was concerned, there was no misunderstanding and he did intend to retire. He said he wrote the letter stating that last August because his contract had a provision calling for automatic renewal if neither side addressed the issue prior to its expiration, and he wanted to provide advance notice. He said he felt the timing was right to retire following discussions with family. He added that he has not felt a lack of support from the council now or in the past. Huebler has been involved in the early process to identify and hire the next city manager; previous work session minutes indicate the goal is to choose a candidate by July, with the scope of the search not necessarily limited to Michigan candidates.
With all of that in the rear view, the council moved to the only new item on its agenda, unanimously approving the purchase of two LED speed signs that will be used in the city with the intent of promoting safe driving. The two signs are being purchased from a company called Radarsign in Georgia for $6,707, which will be covered by the Major Street Fund. The fund had already budgeted $6,000 for the purchase and the remainder will be covered by excess fund balance.
One of the two new signs is stationary and will be placed on Colby Street outside city hall, and the other is mobile; council member Jeff Holmstrom suggested Warner Street would be a good location for that one. There was some discussion about whether the signs could be used to automatically charge drivers with tickets, but police chief Roger Squiers said such a thing is illegal in the state.
