The Chelsea City Council unanimously approved a 3-year contract with Marty Colburn on Aug. 7 and welcomed the new city manager to the city.
Colburn began his employment Monday in Chelsea, after serving as a city manager for 33 years, 24 in Michigan serving in Mason from 1999-2015, and in Traverse City from 2015-2023.
Prior to that he served as city manager in Kearny, AZ, Coolidge, AZ and Rawlins, Wy.
Colburn’s contract includes $140,000 a year compensation as well as $200 car allowance and $5,000 in moving expenses.
He said, “I’m thrilled for the opportunity to serve here.”
In other business, the City Council approved a request by Julianne Chard to send a formal letter to MDOT requesting safety upgrades at the intersection of M-52 and Dewey. The letter requests “actuated crossing lights” (flashing lights) for the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists at the highly utilized intersection.
Because M-52 is a state highway, it’s under the jurisdiction of the Michigan Department of Transportation, and has long been considered dangerous by city residents.
The city council also unanimously approved:
- Alternate meeting dates if needed in July and December for the city’s Board of Review
- Adopted a resolution to appoint Chuck Stevens as the city’s commissioner to the Michigan Public Power Agency. (Ray Schmidt as the alternate.)
- Approved a $31,850 budgeted purchase for computer software for the electric department called SCADA or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. This software will allow the city’s system to communicate with other systems offsite and comply with state regulations.
- The City Council also heard a presentation about three potential community center concepts from Steve Petty, CEO of 5 Healthy Towns Foundation. (You can listen to the presentation here. Go to city meeting videos on the right side of the site.)
