Belleville Councilman Jesse Marcotte, Melly Shmyr get engaged

At the end of the Jan. 3 Belleville City Council meeting, Councilman Tom Smith congratulated Councilman Jesse Marcotte on his engagement to be married. The rest of the council members seemed surprised and also offered congratulations.
Councilman Marcotte explained the special preparations he took to prepare for the proposal of marriage to Melly Shmyr. The couple lives together on Potter Drive with their dogs.
He said his parents got married on Belle Isle and his first date with Melly was on Belle Isle at the aquarium, so that’s where he popped the question.
“I’m really glad she said yes,” he said at the council meeting.
After the meeting, Shmyr, who was in the audience said they had kept a bottle of champagne in the refrigerator to drink when they got engaged. She showed her diamond ring to council members.
Marcotte secretly got both sides of the family to Belle Isle for the proposal. They also were able to get into the aquarium although it is closed for the winter. Shmyr said when they got to Belle Isle she called her father on the phone and he brushed her off by saying he was busy, which hurt her feelings until she saw him with the rest of the family members in the aquarium – about 17.
She said the bottle of champagne was there, too, but she didn’t think anything about it because she was so interested in watching the fish. Marcotte also had prepared a tree with pictures of the couple hanging from its branches that was in the aquarium.
“We drank the champagne — responsibly,” Marcotte told the council.
Shmyr said the date for the wedding has yet to be set, but she wants it to be in 2018, probably in the fall or winter.