Port Huron council approves marina engineering agreement, extends AI 'Ask the City' service and refers several parcels for rezoning

Port Huron’s City Council on Nov. 10 approved a series of operational contracts and referrals and discussed numerous public comments about downtown conditions.

Key votes and approvals

- The council approved Resolution 1, authorizing an agreement with BMJ Engineers & Surveyors for professional engineering services related to Port Huron Marina maintenance, sonar/depth surveying and possible dredging for 2026 through 2030. The city manager said the sonar testing will determine whether dredging is required and noted some marina slips were measuring as shallow as 4–6 feet.

- Resolution 2 was approved to extend a two‑year master service agreement (approximately $36,000) for the city’s "Ask the City" AI communications tool on the municipal website. The city manager reported roughly 3,000 engagements during the pilot and said the tool only mines city‑produced documents; staff will receive quarterly raw reports and can provide dashboards summarizing usage and topics. Council members asked who would monitor the AI answers and whether accuracy checks would continue; the manager said staff oversight and quarterly reports are planned.

- Resolution 3 was approved to refer several addresses (including parcels on Washington Avenue, Kearney Street and 12th Avenue) to the planning commission for consideration as Planned Unit Development (PUD) districts, allowing the planning commission flexibility to evaluate mixed‑use or redevelopment proposals for legacy industrial or underused sites.

- The consent agenda passed. The clerk and city manager described a sale of a vacant lot at 1430 Pine Grove Avenue (to be combined with a local match of about $55,000) to fund removal and resurfacing of the Lincoln tennis court for tennis and pickleball, a $25,000 allocation for a half basketball court at Renaissance Park, and single‑lot assessments for brush/branch pickup in the right of way.

Public comment and downtown concerns

Multiple downtown business owners and residents used the public‑comment period to press for more action on downtown retail vacancy, blight, parking and event logistics. Greg Whittaker (327 Huron Ave) said he heard explicit rap music played downtown on a speaker system and questioned downtown vitality and retail presence. Steve Fernandez presented photos of construction sites and burned‑out street lights, questioned retail recruitment, and cited past private and public investments in downtown redevelopment. Several speakers urged the council and DDA to do more to attract retail tenants and to fix operational problems such as malfunctioning parking gates at large events.

City manager response and operational follow-up

City Manager (S23) told the council the downtown speaker system in the north end was not working according to the DDA director and that the source of the vulgar music reported by a speaker was uncertain; the manager said staff will investigate. He noted more than $100 million of private investment downtown in the past 12 years, nearly 1,000 new downtown residents, and the city’s use of façade grants and events to support businesses. On the parking‑gate issue the manager said staff will place an attendant or booth assistant at large events to help patrons with permit cards and egress; council members discussed a flat fee structure for event parking negotiated within vendor contracts.

What happens next

The planning commission will review the PUD referrals and report back to council. The BMJ survey work will precede any dredging decision and will inform whether dredging is required in 2026. The AI tool will continue under a two‑year agreement with quarterly reporting to council staff. Consent‑agenda items such as the lot sale and park improvements will move forward under the usual contract and implementation processes described by staff.