Cityhood public meeting will take place via zoom April 28

Manchester--village or city?

On Thursday, March 4, a meeting of the State Boundary Commission (SBC) was held to determine if there was adequate cause to move forward with a public hearing regarding the Village of Manchester's request for cityhood.

The three members of the Commission — chair Robin Beltramini, Richard Datema, and Chris Beland — determined after confirming that the boundary maps submitted were consistent and no concerns existed, that there was "legally sufficient" reason to proceed with the process of Manchester becoming a city.

The next step was to set a local public hearing so that Manchester residents could make comments about the process. That meeting was planned to take place at 7 pm on April 28 at Manchester High School.

While the date and time of the meeting remains the same, however, the SBC has decided that due to COVID emergency orders existing in both Ingham and Washtenaw Counties, the meeting will now be held virtually via Zoom.

"In accordance with the Open Meeting Act, as both Ingham and Washtenaw Counties have emergency orders, the public hearing will be held remotely," according to an email from Tracie Pack of the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). "For ease of the Commissioners and to assist the Village of Manchester, the Bureau of Construction Codes has scheduled the public hearing via Zoom. It is still scheduled for Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 7 pm. Attendees will have the ability to either join the meeting by Zoom or telephone."

A newsletter from the Village of Manchester will be mailed out this week with complete instructions for joining the Zoom meeting via computer or phone. Those outside the village who wish to attend may call the Village office at 734.428.7877 for more information on participating in the meeting.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.