CITY OF SOUTH LYON
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
July 23, 2007
Mayor Doyle called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Mayor
Doyle led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
PRESENT:
Mayor Doyle
Council Members:
Kivell, Kopkowski, Maida, Morelli, and Wedell (1 vacancy)
City Manager Cook
Attorney Lee
City Clerk/Treasurer Zemke
Department Heads: Collins, Martin & Renwick
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Council Member Maida indicated that page 2 of the minutes in
the first paragraph reflects the word vactor and should be tractor.
Superintendent Renwick indicated that vactor is the correct word.
Council Member Maida indicated that on page 2 the last paragraph, the
word discuss is misspelled.
CM 7-1-07- APPROVAL OF MINUTES – REGULAR MEETING OF JULY 9,
2007
Motion
by Morelli, supported by Kivell
To
approve the minutes of the regular meeting of July 9, 2007 as amended
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
APPROVAL OF MONTHLY BILLS:
None
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Councilman Kivell stated that he would like to switch the
Executive Session and Council Comments so that we can complete the public
portion of the agenda prior to entering Executive Session.
Councilman Kivell further indicated that he would like to add a
discussion item as New Business #4 for discussion on the Whipple Street
improvements.
Mayor Doyle stated that he would like to Old Business #1(a)
for election of Mayor Pro-tem
CM 7-2-07 – APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Motion by Kivell, supported by Kopkowski
To approve the agenda as amended
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
CITIZENS SUGGESTIONS:
None
OLD
BUSINESS:
1.
Application for City Council Seat- Discussion/Selection
Mayor Doyle stated that Councilman Ray Dryer resigned at our
last meeting. Council has 30 days
to fill that vacancy. We received 3
applications. In the past we have
had a lot more people who have shown interest and would like to defer the
appointment for an additional meeting in order to review the applications that
we have just received and to also allow anyone else to express interest.
We would not be in any jeopardy of being in violation.
Attorney Lee stated that Council has 30 days to make the
replacement and we would have to give the Governor notice after 45 days that we
have not found a replacement.
It was stated that we already have qualified people in
contention for the seat so waiting a couple more weeks will not hurt anything.
Attorney Lee suggested that rather than give people up to
August 13th to apply, set an earlier deadline to allow Council to
review the applications and be prepared to make a selection.
CM 7-3-07 – DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTAL OF LETTER OF INTERST FOR
COUNCIL VACANCY
Motion
by Wedell, supported by Maida
To
set the deadline of August 6th for letter of interest and resume
submittal to the City Clerk’s office to
fill
the vacancy on City Council
It was stated that August 6th is one week prior to
the meeting.
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Election
of Mayor Pro-tem
Mayor Doyle stated that we can do this now or at the time
that Council fills the vacancy. Historically,
we have appointed the continuously serving member of Council.
If we continue with that, Councilman Wedell would be that person.
Discussion was held on Councilman Kivell having served on Council
previously. It was stated that
historically it has been consecutive time.
Discussion was held on how the Charter reads in regards to
this issue. Attorney Lee stated
that the Charter states that once there is a resignation, the vacancy can be
filled. Council Member Maida read
from the charter that until such vacancy is filled, the senior member of the
Council, from the standpoint of continuous service, shall act as Mayor Pro Tem.
Attorney Lee stated that is in the absence of Council taking action.
It was stated that Council could appoint someone other than the senior
member.
Mayor Doyle stated that it is his desire that Councilman
Wedell be considered for that position.
CM 7-4-07 – APPOINTMENT OF MAYOR PRO-TEM
Motion
by Maida, supported by Kivell
To
appoint Councilman Wedell as Mayor Pro-tem
Council Member Kopkowski stated that she would like to see
someone with more experience on Council, which would be Councilman Kivell.
Councilman Kivell stated that he would like to see the new
member have the ability to act on this as well.
Councilman Morelli stated that he would not have a problem
with Councilman Wedell in that position, but he would agree that the new member
should have the opportunity to vote on it as well.
CM 7-5-07 – TABLE MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF MAYOR PRO-TEM
Motion
by Kivell, supported by Kopkowski
To
table the motion to appoint Councilman Wedell as Mayor Pro-tem
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
2.
MML Annual Convention- Traverse City- who will attend?
Council Members Maida, Morelli, and Wedell indicated that
they would be attending. Councilman
Kivell stated that he is not sure at this point. Mayor Doyle stated that he will not be attending.
3.
Compensation Commission- Recommendation
Mayor Doyle stated that before Council is a recommendation by
the Compensation Commission. He
would like to thank the members of the Commission for the time they put into
this. He stated that the
Compensation Commission should meet every odd year, but that does not happen on
a regular basis. The last time they
met was six years ago and prior to that was six years.
The Commission has unanimously recommended to increase the Mayor’s
compensation from $200 to $220 per month and the Council’s compensation from
$160 to $180 per month and the compensation for training to remain unchanged.
Attorney Lee stated that State Law that was adopted by the
City Council indicates that the only action to be taken would be for Council to
make a motion to reject the compensation. If
you do not reject, it automatically takes affect.
Council Member Kopkowski stated she too would like to thank
the Commission for their time. However,
there is no surprise that there is an economical condition in Michigan.
She believes that as Council Members, they set examples for the other
City employees. Although she appreciates the recommendation, she would like to
reject it. She stated that she is
not here for an extra $20 per month and believes that the money would be better
spent in the City. She stated that she can see the planters being watered, which
is great, but they are using the biggest truck we have to do one of the smallest
jobs. She would like to see Council
put this extra money toward buying a gator.
This is not a large amount of money, but percentage it is 10%.
Councilman Kivell stated that this would be 10% increase over a six year
period. All of the employees have
earned more than that.
CM 7-6-07 – MOTION TO REJECT RECOMMENDATION BY COMPENSATION
COMMISSION.
Motion
by Kopkowski, supported by Kivell
To
reject the recommendation of the Compensation Commission
Mayor Doyle stated that a rejection would have to be approved
by 2/3 of the body.
VOTE:
MOTION FAILED 1 YEA, 5 NAY
Councilman Kivell stated that although he can appreciate what
Council Member Kopkowski is saying, it is not a large increase.
He has never agreed with the notion that Council can passively allow an
increase to take place without taking action to approve it.
4.
Street Closure- Whipple Street Block Party 8/4/07 noon-9pm
Chief Collins stated that this group does a good job every
year. They have submitted their
application along with all of the necessary signatures.
It has never impacted traffic negatively and he would recommend approval.
CM 7-7-07 – APPROVAL OF STREET CLOSURE – WHIPPLE STREET
Motion
by Kivell, supported by Morelli
To
approve the closure of Whipple Street on August 4, 2007, noon until 9:30 for the
Whipple Street
block
party
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
NEW BUSINESS:
1.
Bids- 2007-08 Street Improvements
City Manager Cook stated that before Council are the bids for
2007-08 Street Improvement Program. The recommendation is for approval of the
low bid from ASIX Asphalt Paving in the amount of $298,899.50.
If we get through this, it may be possible to look at some other areas
and add to it. That would be
brought back at the next available meeting.
Council Member Kopkowski asked what streets are involved with
this project. City Manager Cook
stated that this would include Ada, Dorothy, Hagadorn, Norchester and Mayfair
area, and Princeton. The question
was asked if Detroit is also included. City
Manager Cook stated that it would include a small portion of Detroit.
It was stated that it might be helpful to include the information on the
recommendation by HRC.
The question was asked if we have used this company in the
past. City Manager Cook stated that
we have not. However, they are one
of a number of companies that use to work for Detroit Concrete.
CM 7-8-07 – APPROVAL OF LOW BID – 2007-08 STREET
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
Motion
by Maida, supported by Wedell
To
approve the low bid from ASIX Asphalt Paving, LLC in the amount of $298,899.50
for the 2007-08
Street
Improvement Program
Mayor Doyle asked if a contingency is needed.
City Manager Cook stated that if there is no contingency, we would have
to add and bring it back to Council for approval.
A 10% contingency would cover any extra costs.
Motion
by Maida, supported by Wedell
To
amend the previous motion to include a 10% contingency
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
2.
Street Closure- Appaloosa Court- 8/4/07 noon- 10 p.m.
Chief Collins stated that the residents of Appaloosa Court
have submitted application for street closure.
All required signatures have been submitted. It should not interfere with traffic in the area and he would
recommend approval.
CM 7-9-07 – APPROVAL OF STREET CLOSURE – APPALOOSA COURT
Motion
by Kivell, supported by Morelli
To
approve the closure of Appaloosa Ct. on August 4, 2007, noon until 10:00 p.m.
for the Appaloosa
Ct.
block Party
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
3.
MML Workers Compensation Fund- Official Ballot- 2007
City Manager Cook stated that once again, there are three
people running for three positions. Council
can either take action or simply ignore it.
3.
Discussion – Whipple Street Improvements
Councilman Kivell presented pictures of Whipple Street.
He stated that this is the road improvement on Whipple Street that
occurred last summer. The surface
of Whipple has already had to have hot tar seal at seams where paving machine
abutting joints left ruts even after being rolled.
This work is not even one year old.
A large percentage of the tar seal will be scraped off this winter during
snow plowing leaving these bad seams exposed allowing water to seep down into
joints where it will freeze and expand and accelerate the failure of this new
road surface. He stated that he had a conversation with Jesse VanDeCreek
about the water being retained at the end of the driveway about 1/3 of the way
down the block. Mr. VanDeCreek had
indicated he was aware of that and at that time the contractor cut that section
and reinstalled asphalt, but being it was a small repair and the only other
section of road that needed repair was around a man hole, the large roller was
already off site so the contractor brought in a smaller roller that was
incapable of compressing the concrete to the proper compaction. When you walk up to this repair, you can scuff the surface
simply by dragging your shoe over it. He
stated that he made both HRC and the City Manager aware of this, and he was
informed that it was late in the season and it would be addressed in
construction 2007. The asphalt has
been eroded away exposing a large aggregate in the surface of this repair.
It will not take any time at all for that section to fail.
Their repair was to hot tar the perimeter of that section so water will
not seep into the edges, but the surface will certainly not withstand a couple
of seasons. He stated that he is
really disappointed in this. He was
holding out hope that this would still be addressed.
However, when he saw the status update, he could not let it slide. HRC’s recommendation has been to pay the final bill.
We spent $434,755 for both major and local street sections, but that is a
great deal of money to end up not making the contractor follow through to meet
our expectations of a road that will last more than a couple of years.
City Manager Cook stated that there was one patch further to
the north side of the road that was completely re-done with the big roller.
Councilman Kivell stated that this still does not “get them off the
hook” for the base of the driveway, which is the one that never got taken care
of. City Manager Cook stated that
they did repair the driveway. Councilman
Kivell stated that all they did was hot tar the perimeter and not repair the
surface. City Manager Cook stated that he will check into it.
Councilman Kivell stated that he would suggest that we hold off final
payment.
Councilman Morelli stated that a lot of the driveways still
hold water, but he does not know the acceptable amount of water.
Councilman Kivell stated that it is an improvement from what they had.
City Manager Cook stated that unfortunately it is a very flat road and it
will take time for it to drain. Mayor
Doyle stated that it is also a very wide street.
Councilman Kivell stated that in the beginning we talked
about holding the contractor responsible in the event that it does not perform
as we expected. It does move the
water better than it did before, but the road is not going to end up lasting
long term, and we paid for a road that should last long term.
Council Member Kopkowski stated there is no discussion whether it is a
challenging road or not, the contractor took responsibility to get it done and
felt that they could meet that challenge. It
needs to be followed up and make sure it is done correctly.
Councilman Kivell stated that their argument is going to be that this was
maintenance and not a re-build of the road, but the failures that are going to
take place will not be the result of not doing a completely new road but rather
installation.
Mayor Doyle stated that we will let the City Manager check on
this and report back when there is more information.
COUNCIL COMMENTS:
Councilman Kivell stated that there has been some recent news
both in the paper and on television regarding the use of prison crews.
He asked if that is going to impact us.
City Manager Cook stated that it will.
We had an executed agreement and have been waiting.
There may be some hope that there will be crews available. The prisons would like to have these crews out there, but
with the amount of money the State contends they are losing, which is in the
neighborhood of $10 million per year, they decided that the program will not
move forward except for the DEQ, DNR and MDOT crews. Discussion was held on possible changes in charges for these
crews. City Manager Cook stated
that there had been no discussion and there had been no change when we renewed
the contract.
Councilman Kivell stated that he wanted to extend his
gratitude for Norma Wallace and the time she dedicated to this community.
Her loss was very unfortunate.
Councilman Wedell stated that on the trail between 9 Mile and
the railroad by the mill, the bridge is missing 6 +/- planks as well as spray
paint on trees and bridges.
Council Member Maida stated that she would like to invite
everyone to the grand opening of Busch’s on August 1st at
8:00 a.m. She further stated that
the fundraiser at Big Boy was able to raise $522 and would like to thank
everyone who came out for that. She
further stated that she would like to thank Chief Collins for his assistance in
putting together the Pumpkin Run. Chief
Collins stated that the new route is very workable and much preferable.
Mayor Doyle stated that at the next meeting he would like to
see an item on the agenda for the City Manager’s Annual Review.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
CM 7-10-07 – ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION – LAND
ACQUISITION
Motion
by Morelli, supported by Kopkowski
To
enter into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing land acquisition
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Council entered into Executive Session at 8:10 p.m. and
reconvened the regular session at 9:05 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT
CM 7-11-07 – ADJOURNMENT
Motion
by Kivell, supported by Morelli
To
adjourn the meeting at 9:05 p.m.
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Respectfully
Submitted,
_______________________________
________________________________
John Doyle, Jr.
Julie C. Zemke
Mayor
City Clerk/Treasurer