Monday night’s special meeting in Applegate was well attended by local citizens as the village council answered to a letter circulated among residents advocating for the disincorporation of the village. The meeting, led by board president Aidan Dove, saw a public reading of the circulated letter, an answer to the allegations within, and an official reading of a proposed response letter.
The original letter, signed by the husband of former Village President Michelle Warren, claims that a “small group of village residents” conspired against Warren, resulting in her stepping down from her position, along with a “majority of village council members.” On this point, the letter also alleges that council vacancies were filled by supporters and family members of the remaining council members. The letter also claims that FOIA requests for public records were ignored or withheld.
Mr. Warren ended his letter by stating that a petition will be circulated for residents to sign that would disincorporate the village of Applegate, and place operation and control of it under Washington Township if voters formally approved the measure on a ballot. Mr. Warren claimed that the Applegate Fire Department would be unaffected by the proposed change, as it operates as a separate entity independent from the village.
In their response, the village notes that, following Warren’s official resignation and the resignation of three other council members in June, village president pro tem Donna Gellar placed a two week advertisement in the Sanilac County News to broadcast the need for a clerk, treasurer and new council members. The village ultimately received five letters of interest from this advertisement, with positions filled from that pool of applicants.
In response to the FOIA allegations, Dove notes that the FOIA policy was adopted in September, with an undated explanation of the policy posted to their website, and the records request by Mr. Warren was first made in November. Records requested included council minutes for June through September 2025, financial records for the same period, and anything related to any attorney and law firm that had provided legal services or advice to the council from January 2024 to the present. The village was informed of the request via email on November 7, 2025.
By November 11, three business days had elapsed and the village had presented Mr. Warren with invoices for the FOIA request. They did waive this fee, however, when Mr. Warren informed them he had been unaware of the previously adopted policy. In addition, the requested information that the Village was able to find was posted online, with the link sent to Mr. Warren.
They were limited in some of the information that could be disclosed, due in part to attorney-client confidentiality, and in part because, as they allege, they were unable to locate certain information, as Warren herself had used her personal email for official duties while president and only sent 14 emails when asked to share relevant information by the sitting council.
As to the claim that the fire department is a separate entity from the village, the village’s charter from the state actually says that the fire department operates under the council, and the council may maintain and establish the rules and regulations for the department and the firefighters.
Following the reading of the drafted response letter, the village council of Applegate voted in approval to disperse the response letter. The council will meet again for their monthly meeting on Monday, March 2, 2026.
