CITY OF SOUTH LYON
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
September 24, 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, Maida,
Morelli, Rodman and Wedell
City Manager Cook
Attorney Lee
City Clerk/Treasurer Zemke
Department Heads: Martin & Renwick
ABSENT:
Council Member Kopkowski
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
CM 9-1-06- APPROVAL OF MINUTES – REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 10, 2007
Motion by
Kivell, supported by Rodman
To approve the
minutes of regular meeting of September 10, 2007 as written
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
CM 9-2-06 – APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Motion by
Wedell, supported by Maida
To approve
the agenda as presented
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
APPROVAL OF MONTHLY BILLS:
None
CITIZENS SUGGESTIONS:
None
OLD BUSINESS:
1.
Bids- Community Development Block Grant- Sidewalk- Calkins & Whipple
City Manager Cook stated that we received bids for our sidewalk program.
The low bid was Goretski Construction Company in the amount of $45,999.
Our original estimate including engineering was $60,760 without
contingencies. He further stated
that this company also did our last sidewalk program so we are familiar with
them.
CM 9-3-07 – ACCEPTANCE OF LOW BID – SIDEWALK PROGRAM –CDBG
Motion by
Morelli, supported by Rodman
To accept the
low bid from Goretski Construction in the amount of $45,999 plus a 10%
contingency for
our 2007 Sidewalk
Extension Program
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
2.
Chamber of Commerce Request for Road Closure- 10 Mile- Pontiac Trail to Wells
St. October 6th 3:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Tamara Ward, Executive Director of the South Lyon Area Chamber of Commerce
stated that they are requesting approval to close Lake Street between Lafayette
and Wells Streets for downtown Saturday night.
This will be the first annual street concerts in conjunction with
Pumpkinfest. They are planning six
live bands on stage in front of Bella Luna between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
They are grateful for the sponsorship of the Downtown Development
Authority for this venture and hope that this will be the first of many.
CM 9-4-07 – APPROVAL OF ROAD CLOSURE – 2007 PUMPKINFEST ENTERTAINMENT
Motion by Maida,
supported by Wedell
Resolved That Julie Zemke, City Clerk/Treasurer is hereby authorized make
application to the Road Commission for Oakland County on behalf of the City of
South Lyon in the County of Oakland, Michigan for the necessary permits to
conduct the 2007 Pumpkinfest Entertainment on October 6, 2007 from 3:30 p.m. to
10:00 p.m. and the related road closures:
·
Lake Street between Lafayette and Wells Street
and that the City of South Lyon in the County of Oakland, Michigan will
faithfully fulfill all permit requirements, and shall save harmless, indemnify,
defend and represent the Board against any and all claims for bodily injury or
property damage, or any other claim arising out of or related to operations
authorized by such permits as issued.
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
3.
Resignation Acceptance from Mary Ann King- Housing Commission
CM 9-5-07 – ACCEPTANCE OF RESIGNATION – HOUSING COMMISSION
Motion by
Wedell, supported by Maida
To accept the
resignation of Mary Ann King from the Housing Commission with thanks
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Discussion was held on board vacancies.
It was stated that we have two vacancies on the Board of Review and two
on the Housing Commission.
Discussion was held on what each of these boards do.
4.
Proposed Ordinance increasing fees for violation
Mayor Doyle stated that the proposed amendment is what was discussed at the last
meeting.
Councilman Kivell stated that he does not favor the raising of the lowest fine
and would be in favor of raising the first repeat offense to $300.
He further stated that he would like to request that Council receive
minutes from every ZBA and Planning Commission meeting and be prepared to file
suit on ZBA when they act without justification for rulings.
He stated that he does not think that this issue is a function of not
having a disincentive high enough as far as the fines, but rather the process
has been corrupted and needs to be corrected.
Discussion was held on Council receiving minutes.
It was stated that Council does receive these minutes.
It was stated that ZBA only meets approximately 7 times per year.
City Manager Cook stated that once he receives them, they go into the
packet. Discussion was held on the
time frame to act if Council does not agree.
Attorney Lee stated that you have 21 days.
Councilman Kivell stated that possibly the minutes should be mailed to
Council if there is going to be a prolonged gap between meetings.
Council Member Maida stated that she somewhat agrees with Councilman Kivell
regarding the first offense because it might be something that the individual
overlooked. A repeat offense is
something that they would know better or did not react to the initial offense.
Mayor Doyle stated that we need to keep in mind that as a rule, the Building
Department tries to go through and work with people not just write tickets.
They have the discretion.
Attorney Lee stated that the City typically bends over backwards to work with
people. We write letter after
letter sometimes before we get close to writing the first ticket.
Ignorance does not exist because they have been talked to, received
letters, often more than one before writing a ticket.
Not only do we give them warning, but also give them time to make
whatever adjustment or repair needed to bring it up to code.
This is not about some poor person who did not realize what the situation
was and suddenly gets a ticket.
Councilman Morelli stated that there are
a number of people who would rather ask for forgiveness instead of permission.
They go ahead and do something and wait to see if they get caught before
they do it the right way.
Councilman Rodman stated that he does not think that the $100 fine for the first
offense is unfair due to the fact that our Building Department does work with
the people to bring things up to code.
Councilman Wedell stated that although he was not at the last meeting, in
reading the minutes there was considerable discussion on enforcement.
He would agree that this is something that needs to be stepped up.
Discussion was held on the need for consistency so that everyone is given the
same opportunity for forgiveness no matter how big the project is.
Councilman Rodman stated that the first issuance of forgiveness is due
diligence on the City’s part, but if the person does not follow through, it is
our responsibility to make sure it goes through the process.
City Manager Cook stated that often times someone has a plan and they simply
omit something that was on the plan.
They need to be given opportunity to correct it.
At that point it is premature to ticket them.
Other times they submit a plan and when it is done, it does not come
anywhere near what the plan indicates.
Now you have a problem. You
give them time to correct it, but sometimes they do not correct it.
The time when the individual is simply ignoring what you are asking for
would be the time when you might want to ticket.
Often they indicate they want to go before the ZBA at that point.
Councilman Rodman stated that he does not have a problem with the $100.
This community allows the citizens to respond to the violation prior to
getting the ticket.
Attorney Lee stated that when we take these individuals to court, we ask the
court to compel them to make some correction, at least to the extent that they
can.
Councilman Kivell stated that communities that are more vigilant in making
people follow the rules, have a lot less of these types of incidents.
We bring a great deal of these things on ourselves when we “let them off
the hook”. It becomes acceptable.
CM 9-6-07 – FIRST READING – AMENDMENT TO CITY CODE SECTION 2-246
Motion by
Morelli, supported by Rodman
That this be the
first reading of an amendment to the City Code Section 2-246
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED (1 opposed)
5.
Comparison of monetary rewards for damages to City Property
Attorney Lee stated that as he expected, nobody has an ordinance setting rewards
for damage. The reason being is if
you have a general ordinance that commands rewards for any arrest or conviction
for anything, every arrest and conviction results in the City putting up money.
Other communities, like we have in the past, do it on an adhoc basis for
individual problems as they occur.
He stated that he feels that is the best way to do it.
If we have a vandalism problem, lets narrow a reward resolution to that
specific problem.
Councilman Morelli asked what criteria would be used to do it on a case by case
basis. Attorney Lee stated that
this would be up to Council based on what you feel the damage to the City is and
how important it is to apprehend the individual.
Council could address the problem as it appears and adjust the reward to
what you feel the City’s needs are.
City Manager Cook stated that the City does not have insurance coverage from $0
to $1000. We get a lot of little incidents, but each one is its own claim, you
cannot lump them together. If we
did find someone, we can seek restitution.
Council Member Maida asked if there is an area that gets more damage than other
areas of the City. Chief Collins
stated that it would be the area around the Depot.
To a lesser extent, some of the walkways and bridges.
He stated that he has contacted the City’s Technology contactor, and we
are waiting for a price from them for motion detecting or motion sensor web cams
for that area. We might be able to
do this inexpensively. The motion
sensor would tell the cameras that there is a presence there.
The cameras would come on and could have the ability to notify the Police
Department and record the images in the area and possibly identify the
perpetrators. Depending on
the price, that might be a viable option for that area.
The question was asked if they would work in the dark.
Chief Collins stated that you can get very low lux cameras or infrared in
total darkness. Councilman Wedell
stated that the County is using these cameras on the Clemis towers to help fight
copper theft. He stated that it may
be possible to “piggy back” on their contract.
Councilman Wedell asked if someone is caught as a result of a tip and reward and
the individual is found responsible, can restitution include the amount of a
reward. Attorney Lee stated that it
cannot.
Councilman Rodman stated that although he did make a motion at the last meeting
regarding this issue, he has since had opportunity to discuss the issues with
others and to read the Charter.
Council is capable of rendering a reward at any time for any given
circumstance. Some of the other
incidentals that could occur as a result of a reward system, such as extra
signage, etc. could be a nuisance to the residents.
Although his motion was done in good-will, it was more of an emotional
issue because he does spend considerable amount of time trying to keep this
community beautiful. After further
investigation, he does not feel that we need an ordinance in place like this.
Councilman Kivell stated that Council is able to handle these issues, but the
weak link is time. Council needs to
be informed fairly quickly after an occurrence so that Council can implement a
reward quickly. As time goes by,
the likelihood of someone stepping forward lessens.
Tedd Wallace of 115 Elm Place stated that he understands Councilman Kivell’s
comments. There is a concern that
if there is an urgency, we want to get after these individuals right away.
He asked if the City Manager could be authorized to put that into affect.
Attorney Lee stated that the City Manager has a $5,000 limit on his own
and has the authority to authorize that.
City Manager Cook stated that it would have to be something significant.
If we had a $600 incident, the City would simply take care of it.
Discussion was held on the number of vandalism occurrences at the Depot.
Chief Collins stated that without having opportunity to go through the
files, every 2-3 months we might have some type of vandalism.
This is the vandalism that is reported to the Police Department.
At times, the DPW does do minor repairs that does not come to the
attention of the Police Department.
Superintendent Renwick stated that from time to time, they will find where a
post is broken, etc. that is not worth making a police report.
Councilman Rodman stated that he is all for cameras in strategic areas, but he
would not want to see us purchase equipment that may have a life expectancy of
2-3 years and not have us recoup our cost.
Councilman Kivell stated that the Depot is a substantial asset to the
community. The protection realized
would be beneficial. He further
stated that one incident of vandalism could end up paying for it. Councilman
Rodman stated that there is always cost recovery in having peace of mind, but to
expend large amounts for cameras that may catch $400-500 worth of vandalism over
a 3-year period would not be a good expenditure for the community.
Councilman Wedell stated that prevention is as important as the actual
capture of someone.
The question was asked if the installation of cameras would affect our liability
insurance. City Manager stated that
more than likely not.
Council Member Maida stated that she would like to receive input from the
Historical Commission regarding the cameras.
Chief Collins stated that in talking with Norm Somers, they are
investigating an alarm system alternative as well.
He further stated that we would definitely be working with them.
Discussion was held on the vandalism to the drinking fountain, bridge along
Pontiac Trail, etc.
NEW BUSINESS:
1.
Purchase of In-Car Digital Video for Police Department
Chief Collins stated that this item was brought up last fall, and as part of the
budgeting process, they included those funds within the budget.
We have, in conjunction with the Novi Police Department, reviewed 8-9
potential vendors and narrowed that down to 3 vendors that would be able to
provide the best systems. Since the
City does so much with Novi as far as dispatch and other things, it could be to
our advantage to have the same system that they have.
The recommended system, Vision Hawk, is offered at an additional $1,200
discount as an incentive to do two departments at one time.
Initially, they thought the cost would be $37,000, but they did budget
$41,000. They would like to include
a 10% contingency for a total of $40,424.25 or $575 under the budgeted amount.
Councilman Kivell asked if this could impact our liability rating in the event
of false police action. City
Manager Cook stated that we can check.
Attorney Lee stated that in his 27 years here he can only think of one
case where there was even a question regarding that.
He further stated that they have a stock letter they send when an
attorney is hired for any arrest that says be advised that the City of South
Lyon does not video tape any portion of the arrest process. With these cameras,
that will change and the cost in defending cases will go up slightly.
There will also be additional cost to the Police Department because when
the demand for discovery is made, we will have to supply a copy of the video
taken from the cameras. The
question was asked if that cost is something that we could recoup upon
successful prosecution. Attorney
Lee stated that we do collect some of those costs today through Cost Recovery
and we would attempt to collect those costs.
Councilman Morelli stated that you would think that there would be less people
going to court if they knew they were filmed.
Attorney Lee stated that what happens when someone is arrested for drunk
driving, and they may be falling down drunk, they still come in and try to come
up with some type of argument in attempt to reduce the penalty.
Having the video does cause people to not want to go to trial and have
that shown to six of their peers.
But, it should not have that much impact.
The OWI standard today does not matter how you drove, it you are at a .08
or higher you are guilty.
Councilman Wedell stated that he has long been a proponent of the cameras in the
cars so he is glad to see this. It
is a safety factor for the department, the City and the officers.
He further stated that he would be interested in the comments the
department has after six months to a year as to the effectiveness of the
cameras.
Councilman Wedell asked who will be doing the installation.
Chief Collins stated that installation was included in the estimate.
Councilman Wedell asked if there is any chance for interference with
either current or future radio.
Chief Collins stated that he has not heard of any instance where the video
interfered with radios, but he will check before proceeding.
Council Member Maida stated that she thinks that this is a good idea.
It will take away any second guessing.
It will be on tape and know exactly how things happened.
Mayor Doyle asked after approval how long before these units are installed.
Chief Collins stated that he would have to check with the company but
feels it should be completed within a month to two months.
Councilman Rodman asked how the cost will be handled for the Ethernet and
antennae that needs to routed for the system.
Chief Collins stated that they can handle that within the department’s
existing funds.
CM 9-7-07 – APPROVAL OF PURCHASE – IN-CAR DIGITAL VIDEO EQUIPMENT
Motion by
Wedell, supported by Morelli
To approve the
purchase of the Vision Hawk system for in-car digital video at a cost of
$40,424.25
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
COUNCIL COMMENTS:
Councilman Kivell stated that Detroit Street is complete and looks very nice.
Councilman Kivell stated that the weeds in front of the Police Department have
gotten out of control and asked if we could invite the Beautification to look at
that for a future project.
Chief Collins stated that we did lose the A-Team who use to take care of that.
Councilman Kivell stated that the railroad crossing looks nice but was surprised
to see that they paved between the tracks rather than the rubber.
City Manager Cook stated that it was asphalt before.
Further discussion was held on the difference between the crossings.
Councilman Kivell stated that there were a lot random railroad gates going over
the weekend. Chief Collins stated
that it was bad this weekend and we did notify the railroad every time it
happened. Unfortunately, they will
never give us a time frame for repair nor do they tell us what caused it.
City Manager Cook stated that in prior years it related to heavy truck
traffic which triggered it. They
have tried to correct that and it may help with the repairs on Pontiac Trail.
Usually, when you have a problem there it ends up affecting Ten Mile or
Reese or even Mill. They also get a
lot of moisture under these tracks.
You can see the movement of the tracks which also can cause it to happen.
Councilman Morelli stated that a few months ago they changed the timing of the
light at the railroad on Ten Mile. When
a train came through it used to be that all of the lights were red.
Now, the first set of lights blink red, but the second set still goes
through the cycle. City Manager
Cook stated that you can still turn left from Reynolds Sweet onto Ten Mile.
Further discussion was held on the cycling of the lights.
Councilman Morelli stated that although he was glad to hear that Belle Luna is
finally getting their liquor license, do we know if they needed to comply with
the ADA requirements. City Manager
Cook stated that they already drew up the architectural drawings with the
elevator. Councilman Morelli stated
that they had talked about putting one in on the theater side where they had
more room. He stated that he would
hope that they do that because there are a lot of people who have difficulty
getting up those stairs.
Councilman Morelli stated that the MML meeting was very good.
There were a lot of eye-opening things regarding the state of the state
with not a lot of great things to say about the budget situation.
One thing he was dismayed at was that 50% of our revenue checks will not
be coming unless they approve a budget before October 1st.
It is amazing to see how lucky we are to be in the City given the
financial situation we are in compared to a lot of other cities throughout the
state that are in bad financial situation.
It is a credit to our administration and everyone who has worked within
these budgets.
Council Member Maida asked how things are progressing on Wellington.
Superintendent Renwick stated that this was part of the work being done
on Norchester. There will be some
patching on those intersections.
They did part of it and will be doing the rest this week.
Council Member Maida asked how it is determined where the flower pots are
located downtown. Councilman Rodman
stated that the Beautification Committee decides that and this year their
determination to put most of them going down Ten Mile coming into the City was
due to the fact that the streetscape project was going to take place this year.
They did not want to place them and then have to move them.
City Manager Cook stated that we will have the same issue next year.
Council Member Maida asked if the hedge around the gazebo at McHattie Park could
be trimmed. Superintendent Renwick
stated that they will take care of it.
Council Member Maida asked Tamara Ward from the Chamber to talk about what is
going to be happening at Pumpkinfest.
Ms. Ward stated that they will be opening on Friday night at Kent Lake
Elementary School where they will have the inflatable screens that Lyon Township
purchased for their Parks and Recreation.
They will have a jack-o-lantern contest and then show the movie E.T.
Starting at 7 a.m. on Saturday they will have their first annual
Pumpkinfest Run. She stated that
they are very grateful to Chief Collins because without his guidance and
assistance they would not have had that event.
They are looking at a turkey trot experience and as part of the 5K run
they will be running down part of the parade route.
At 10:00 they will start the parade with over 75 floats entered into the
parade. At 11:00 the festival opens
at Millennium Middle School. They
will have an Arts and Crafts Festival.
The children’s activities venue has gotten bigger and better.
Over 39 non-profit organizations are participating in the event.
The activity stage is full of every type of local entertainment you could
want from dance troops to Phoenix Players.
At 6 p.m. the entertainment downtown begins opening with Seven Bridges
and five other local bands. They
are working with the local merchants to offer incentives, extended hours, etc.
Sunday morning the festival opens at 11 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m.
The support has been tremendous and the publicity has been enhanced by
the DPW by placing the banners out early this year.
Their fundraising efforts will be greatly enhanced next year as the DPW
has purchased additional brackets for additional banners with the business names
underneath.
The question was asked if Oakland County Parks is still heavily invested in the
event. Ms. Ward stated that they
are, and their production costs have been reduced due to the resources they
share. There is also a scarecrow
contest with the most scarecrows they have ever had.
There will be a cookie baking contest and three children’s contests;
stick art contest, decorated pumpkin contest and jack-o-lantern contest.
She stated that additional information is available at
www.southlyonpumpkinfest.com.
Chief Collins stated that Pontiac Trail will be very difficult, if not
impossible to navigate starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
Between 10-11:30 p.m. there will be no
traffic going north and south on Pontiac Trail.
The DPW will post detour routes and we request peoples patience and
cooperation.
Council Member Maida stated that the MML Convention was a fantastic event.
You meet so many people and find out what is going on in the different
communities. There are a lot of
communities not doing very well, so we are very fortunate.
It is an opportunity to share new ideas.
She stated that there was an event called Race for the Cup.
She explained the event and would like our City to get involved in the
future.
Councilman Rodman stated that he would like to thank the community for giving
him the opportunity to attend the MML.
It was an eye-opening experience.
Our community is very fortunate to have the budget that we do and it
speaks to the fiscal responsibility that past Councils and City Management have
taken to maintain that budget balance.
He too would like to see our City take opportunity to try to facilitate
some of the things that MML has to offer.
Councilman Rodman stated that regarding the request for the Beautification
Committee to take on additional responsibility, with the loss of the A-Team,
they have been asked to take on a substantial amount of work and the DDA has
been asked to take on some of that as well.
He further stated that he would like to urge anyone interested to come
out and get involved in beautifying the City.
Mr. Dick Selden of 62401-1 Raleigh Court stated that Tamara Ward needs to be
recognized for all of her hard work on the Pumpkinfest.
He further stated that he would like to urge the Council to recognize
Steve Lackey for all of his hard work with the Recreation Authority.
He stated that they will be holding an open house for him on October 2nd
honoring him as he leaves for another position.
ADJOURNMENT
CM 9-8-07 – ADJOURNMENT
Motion by
Morelli, supported by Kivell
To adjourn the
meeting at 8:33 p.m.
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Respectfully Submitted,
_______________________________
________________________________
John Doyle, Jr.
Julie C. Zemke
Mayor
City Clerk/Treasurer