The Village of Saint Charles Council voted to hire Thurston's to remove dangerous, tornado-damaged trees in the village park and adjacent state-owned land, approving a daily-rate contract after comparing two bids.

Councilmember Christine Newman, Councilmember Michael Nesbitt, Councilmember Kathy Harris and Councilmember Jennifer Rosser Nesbitt voted yes; Paul Jenderski, Edgar Tidoff and Darcy McSwain were absent. The motion to contract Thurston's passed on a roll call vote.

In presenting the item, a staff member said the backside of the park "is still awful and unsafe, and somebody could really get hurt." The council was told Thurston's quoted $3,500 per day for up to five days and has equipment to grind logs up to 16 inches and leave chips on site; the other responsive bid was $4,500 per day with a $20,000 cap. The staff member said the work will prioritize "the very unsafe things" — hanging trees and branches about 40 feet up — and that smaller brush could be handled by volunteers later.

Council members discussed that part of the cleanup lies on state-owned land maintained by the village as a partnership stemming from a Michigan Trust Fund project. The staff member said the village maintains the disc-golf course in that area and aims to reopen the course and replace baskets once hazardous hangers are removed.

The council directed staff to proceed with Thurston's under the approved daily-rate arrangement and to coordinate access; a public commenter later confirmed the work had been approved and said crews could use an opening through a private backyard if needed to reach the Frisbee-golf course.

The vote and contractor selection complete the immediate procurement step; the council did not adopt a larger capital appropriation for long-term forest management in this action.