The Tecumseh City Council saw several presentations on Monday night, including a presentation of the Redevelopment Ready Community certificate, the annual report of the police department, and a demonstration of the new city website.

The presentation of the Redevelopment Ready Community certification was performed by Bronna Kahle, representative for Michigan’s 57th district. The city was formally recognized at a ceremony on January 30 and received a plaque and certificate.

“It is a big deal that Tecumseh has earned the certification of a Redevelopment Ready Community,” Kahle said. “It is a rigorous and aggressive undertaking.”
Kahle hopes that this accomplishment will help drive business into Tecumseh and allow more and more people to move back to the city as Michigan makes its comeback.

With this certification, City Manager Dan Swallow hopes to use the tools of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to begin to prime redevelopment sites for potential developers. This includes a marketing assistance program that will help supply marketing materials to potential buyers.

The annual report of the police department was presented by Chief Brett Coker. He highlighted changes in personnel within the department, as well as new programs that were implemented during 2019. These programs include car seat checks, free bike helmets for children, an upgrade to the radio system, and a drug drop-off box at the department for unwanted prescriptions.

Chief Coker also discussed the numbers of arrests and calls for service within the city during the past year. These numbers were slightly up from 2018. Chief Coker expressed surprise at the increase in arrests, given that many driving and marijuana misdemeanours have been decriminalized.

Drunk-driving arrests were slightly increased from 2018, but still much lower than 2015 and 2016.

“Speaking to my officers on nights who specialize in locating these drivers, they have told me that there are a lot fewer of them out there,” Coker said. “Hopefully people are getting smarter and safer.”

The final presentation was given by Economic Development Director Jessica Sattler regarding the new website for the City of Tecumseh. She and several others from City Hall worked together with web developers to make a website that is easy to use and gives citizens all of the necessary information.

“There is only one click,” Sattler said. “You can see everything that you would need to go to.”

With this upgrade, city employees can easily update the website to make sure that it has all current information. Sattler will continue to update the website in the coming weeks to make sure that it stays relevant in search engines.

Citizens can use this website to contact city hall personnel, find information about events in the city, and pay their tax and utility bills. Businesses can also use the website to find information on economic development in Tecumseh.

In addition to these presentations, the City Council voted to award masonry and mechanical contracts for the Tecumseh Park bathrooms and to use the state revolving fund to finance the clean water projects in 2020.

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