CITY OF SOUTH LYON
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
March 27, 2006
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:
Dryer, Kivell, Kopkowski, Maida, Morelli and Wedell
City Manager Cook
Attorney Lee
City Clerk/Treasurer Zemke
Department Heads: Martin & Renwick
APPROVAL
OF MINUTES:
CM
3-1-06- APPROVAL OF MINUTES – MARCH 13, 2006
Motion by Kivell, supported by Kopkowski
To approve the minutes of the regular meeting of March 13, 2006 as
amended
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
APPROVAL
OF MONTHLY BILLS: None
APPROVAL
OF AGENDA
CM
3-2-06 – APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Motion by Wedell, supported by Dryer
To approve the agenda as presented
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
CITIZENS
SUGGESTIONS:
Mr.
Clark Bailo of 21388 Winding Creek Drive stated that he sent several emails
recently to Council regarding a recent incident that occurred. He stated that he did a lot of review on solicitation because
of an incident that occurred with a couple of high school students who were out
doing some work for a business, which is registered with the State and practices
throughout 35 states for over 35 years. They were doing “cold calls” in the neighborhood where
the Police Chief lives. Two tickets
were issued for soliciting. The
officer never saw the incident occur, but was notified by the Police Chief.
The concern he has is, after reviewing the ordinances from the
surrounding townships, as you move about the townships, all of which are in the
48178 mailing code, the laws change significantly on solicitation.
In this case, these kids were not selling anything, they were offering
estimates. The business painted
over 20 homes in this neighborhood last year and has done 20 estimates and
painted 10 this year. Obviously
this is a legitimate business working in the area for quite some time.
Because of someone’s insistence that this issue get resolved, they were
issued tickets. He stated that
there is additional confidential information that he has that he cannot share in
the event that the City decides to take this forward. His suggestion is that the City of South Lyon consider
putting together a group of citizens to make a recommendation on how a
solicitation license should be and agreed
upon amongst the City and surrounding communities.
Today, you cannot walk across the street and know, unless you have done
the research, that you are breaking the law.
He stated that he has indicated that he is willing to pay these tickets
if the City or the Police Department and the paid servants of the City can tell
him why these tickets were issued. But,
he has not heard anything back so he will take his check home as well as the
tickets and pursue the matter as is necessary.
Further, he would like to point out that the only ordinance that allows
leeway of how you are charged is the Solicitation Ordinance, everybody else has
a fixed fee.
Mr.
Todd Boyer of 1348 Cartwright stated that he recently received his tax
assessment notice. They pay
considerable taxes to live in the fine City of South Lyon.
With the way the economy is currently with companies downsizing, etc. he
would like to encourage the Council to think about what the City is spending and
try to be as efficient as they can. It
was stated that the budget process is approaching and they will take a close
look at what is being spent.
OLD
BUSINESS:
Purchase of replacement
pick-up (utility type) for Water Department
Superintendent
Martin stated that on January 5, 2006, our meter truck was involved in an
accident on Dixboro Road; a head-on collision with a tree.
John, our driver was injured and transported to the hospital, but he is
doing fine. However, the insurance
company notified us the truck was beyond repair and will be paying us off for it
in the amount of $12,225. This
truck is used a lot and is our only cover truck.
We have moved the equipment to an open-bed truck, which is not nearly as
efficient. This issue was not going
to come before the Council this year, but given the circumstances, we need to
secure a new vehicle. We received
two bids with Brighton Chrysler indicating they did not wish to bid on it.
We have very good experience with Hines Ford.
Even though this bid is $85 more, it is a completely different vehicle.
It is a pick-up cab. Liberty
Chevrolet quoted a much lighter vehicle with a van-type cab.
When we requested that we receive a bid with a truck cab, Liberty
indicated that we would be adding at least $3-4,000, which would put it quite a
bit higher than Hines Park Ford.
Councilman
Kivell asked if there was any service bulletin on the steering gear on the old
truck or any rationale why it failed. Superintendent
Martin stated that he is not aware of anything.
Discussion was held on the accident. It was stated that John was heading
south on Dixboro when the steering went. Superintendent
Martin stated that John is a very conservative driver and was traveling
approximately 25 miles per hour.
Council
Member Kopkowski stated that it was very helpful to see the spreadsheet on the
water and wastewater vehicles. She
stated that she would like this shared with the other departments and would like
to see this for all of the City’s vehicles.
Further discussion was held on Council being able to identify the
vehicles when repairs or replacements are requested. Superintendent Martin stated that it is obvious that our
vehicles do not log a lot of miles, but they are very hard miles and are very
hard on the equipment.
Councilman
Dryer stated that the Fire Department recently purchased a diesel and asked if
there is reason to go with diesel on this truck. Superintendent Martin stated that with a diesel, you would
add about $5,000 to the vehicle and in most cases, it is the body that takes the
most abuse in driving the back roads not the engine.
Superintendent
Martin stated that they did look at the State bid, and you cannot get a specific
vehicle with the working box, you have to choose from what they have available.
Most of these vehicles were step trucks or step vans, etc.
Although the accident was unfortunate, we are getting a new vehicle and
only putting in $15,000 of our own money.
The
question was asked if this vehicle could be outfitted with a plow.
Superintendent Martin stated that it could, however we currently have 3
F-350 pick-ups now outfitted plus the front end loader and DPW vehicles.
But, this is a 350 truck and we could easily do that.
Discussion
was held on taking the box off the old truck. City Manager Cook stated that we would have had to transport
the vehicle to Flint to do that. It
was the decision of the insurance company to total the whole thing.
The
question was asked if a 4x2 is sufficient.
Superintendent Martin stated that it is plenty.
He stated that this is the exact vehicle that we had.
Discussion
was held on delivery time. Superintendent
Martin stated that they have indicated that we would receive it in 6-8 weeks.
Furthermore, they have indicated that the price goes up April 15th.
CM
3-3-06 – AUTHORIZE PURCHASE OF METER TRUCK
Motion by Dryer, supported by Morelli
To approve the bid from Hines Park Ford for the purchase of a 2006 Ford
F-350 Chassis Xl with a
covered 9’ service body in the amount of $27,422
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Proclamations
Fair Housing Month –
April
Mayor
Doyle stated that this is a proclamation done by the County as well.
He stated that fair housing is not an option, it’s the law.
CM
3-4-06 – PROCLAMATION – FAIR HOUSING MONTH
Motion by Morelli, supported by Wedell
WHEREAS
April has been declared as Fair Housing Month in recognition of the 38th
anniversary of the signing of the Federal Fair Housing acts; and
WHEREAS
this landmark law along with the other federal and state legislation strictly
prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of sex, color, race, age,
religion, national origin, disability, family or marital status; and
WHEREAS
Fair Housing Month is designed to heighten people’s awareness of their rights
under the law when pursuing the purchase or rental of housing; and
WHEREAS
all citizens are entitled to freedom of choice in the selection of housing and
are guaranteed certain protections under the law if they are victims of
discrimination.
NOW
THEREFORE LET IT BE KNOWN that the City of South Lyon does hereby authorize the
issuance of this special proclamation which declares April 2006 as Fair Housing
Month.
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Severe Weather Week
– March 26-April 1
Mayor
Doyle stated that on Tuesday, March 28th at 10:30 in the morning
there will be a test of the severe weather warning system. Governor Granholm and the County Executive have declared the
week of March 26th through April 1st as Severe Weather
Awareness week.
CM
3-5-06 – PROCLAMATION – SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK
Motion by Kopkowsi, supported by Maida
To declare the week of March 26, 2006 through April 1, 2006 as Severe
Weather Awareness Week in
the City of South Lyon
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Discussion of
Engineering Services
Mayor
Doyle stated that included in the Council’s packet is additional information
provided by HRC as well as the City Manager.
Mr. Jed Hubbell, President of HRC is available for any questions.
Council
Member Maida asked how the cities were determined to poll regarding their
services. She stated that these
communities are so far away, and Novi, Brighton, Northville, etc. are not
included. City Manager Cook stated
that we were looking at comparable sized communities. The bigger cities are not relevant to our issue.
Councilman
Morelli stated that Mr. McCormack indicated at the last meeting that what most
communities do, is every 3-5 years go through the bid process.
He asked Mr. Hubbell how often do they win the bid.
Mr. Hubbell stated that some communities go through the RFP process every
4-6 years and others they have represented for 30-40 years and have not gone
through that process. They are very
successful in the process with the communities they have been representing and
they are also very successful in getting new municipalities to represent.
Council
Member Maida stated that they received information with regards to the services
that are provided by HRC. She
stated that they had specifically requested a list of services that have been
provided to the City of South Lyon rather than some general information.
Councilman Kivell stated that most of the things on the list have been
performed for South Lyon. Council
Member Kopkowski stated that she would also like to see a breakdown from the
last fiscal year how much the City has paid for the various services, site plan
review, civil engineering, etc. Mr.
Hubbell stated that they can provide that information.
Councilman
Kivell asked why the engineering firms were not listed on all of the communities
that were polled. City Manager Cook
stated that he could get that information, it was simply not included for all of
the communities.
Council
Member Kopkowski stated that some general ledger information was provided and
indicated that certain charges were for DDA boundaries, legal descriptions, etc.
She asked if Council ever approved the enlargement of the DDA.
City Manager Cook stated that we have not gotten to that point yet, we
are still in the process. Council
Member Kopkowski asked if Council approved the funds for HRC to do this work.
City Manager Cook stated that this will probably be charged off to the
DDA. He stated that this is a
proposal that will be coming forth down the road.
City Manager Cook stated that because we approached this
administratively, we needed legal descriptions, etc. to provide to the Oakland
County Economic Development people including the Commissioner to look at
squaring of our DDA. He stated that
there were some residential properties that were excluded because of the millage
issue, but some development such as the telephone building is part in the DDA
and part not. Council Member
Kopkowski stated that the monies have been approved by nobody.
City Manager Cook stated that it has been authorized by him.
Discussion
was held on expectation or timeline for this process.
Councilman
Kivell stated that part of the discussion has been, is this the right fit or do
we want to look at a “hybrid” situation and have a lesser, expanded
qualification engineering company take some of the more mundane jobs.
Mayor Doyle asked if there is any interest on the Council to look at this
hybrid model.
Councilman
Morelli stated that he does not feel we have enough information at this time.
He stated that we do not know what else is out there.
He is not convinced that we are paying too much, however in 12 years, it
should have been bid at least once. It would appear that most communities use
one firm. The fact that they know everything about our City to this point, he
would expect HRC to win if we go out for bid.
He is not willing to say he is happy with the way things are.
Mayor
Doyle stated that we need to give the City Manager some exact direction.
Discussion was held on the need to justify what we are spending.
Mayor Doyle stated that we are happy with the services, but there is some
concern that there is no frame of reference.
Mr.
Hubbell stated that a business is built on trust. He stated that Council needs to trust that HRC is providing a
good product, good value and what they are giving Council is what their
constituents want. He in turn needs
to trust that Council will treat him fairly and treat his people fairly and
professionally. When there is a
lack of trust, things fall apart. He is here to say that they will do whatever
they need to do to get that trust. If going through an RFP process will
accomplish that, he would welcome it. He is confident about his firm’s
capability and confident that what they are charging is more than in line with
what similar firms would charge.
Councilman
Kivell stated that the Novi model is what they have looked at.
Novi has a firm that produces the scope of the project and they bid it
out with a handful of pre-approved companies and they end up determining who
will get that bid from that group. He
asked if that kind of approach would help us here.
We do not have the scale that Novi does, but Council wanted to look at
it. How do we get the assurance
that our current approach is the way to go in that a single entity always gets
our work. Although we like the way
things turn out, we just don’t know if someone else could have accomplished it
for less.
Council
Member Kopkowski stated that the other issue is consulting versus construction;
HRC does both. Mr. Hubbell stated
that they do not construct anything. She
stated that she is referring to on-site engineering; you are supervising
something that you consult on. She
stated that Novi, for example, has a consulting engineer on staff, we do not.
We could contract with HRC as the consulting engineer and hire the other
stuff out.
Mr.
Hubbell stated a community is best served in having a consultant overseeing the
construction by a developer. Likewise,
his firm designs a lot of things and then acts as construction observers to
ensure that the City is getting what you pay for with the contractor.
He stated that most consultants would agree with this approach.
Councilman Kivell stated that it only makes sense that if HRC comes up
with the design, they know what the important and critical issues are and see if
it is being preformed correctly during installation and application.
Mr. Hubbell stated that they have a vested interest in making sure that a
project is successful.
Councilman
Dryer stated that next month we will be going through the budget process.
He asked if we could choose a couple of the proposed projects and bid
them out as a check. Mr. Hubbell
stated that if you bid out projects, it is going to cost more money.
There is a high level of probability you will not get the product you are
looking for. It is a misconception
that if you bid engineering you will save money; in fact the opposite is true.
Engineering is a service that requires technical expertise.
An analogy would be if you need an operation, you do not go to the least
expensive surgeon, but rather you need to go with the one you have confidence
in. The same is true in his
business. It could take only one
cost overrun that was necessitated by inferior engineering that would negate any
perceived savings.
Councilman
Morelli discussed the problems that had occurred with the DDA streetscape
project; replacement of the bricks twice and a saw cut into the road after it
had been complete. He asked who’s
fault those were and should those issues have been caught by HRC.
He stated that he does not know, but we paid a hefty price for having
them there. Mayor Doyle stated
weather played a factor with the brickscape and had nothing to do with the
engineer and we were not charged for it the second time.
The second issue had nothing to do with HRC or us.
The County came in for some type of repair and cut it out and did an
awful job. Councilman Kivell
stated that irrespective of the weather, the engineers are supposed to be
forecasting that as being a problem. It
may not have come out of our pocket, but it was certainly reflected in sales for
the businesses downtown. Mayor
Doyle stated that you can go through and name dozens of projects that have gone
very well, with the Wastewater Treatment Plant being one of them, which was an
enormous undertaking.
Mayor
Doyle stated that we need to give HRC a realistic expectation and direct the
City Manager as to what specifically we are looking for.
We do not want to go through this piece-meal.
Council Member Morelli stated that HRC seems confident if we were to go
though an RFP process, why don’t we go through that process.
Mayor Doyle suggested that the City Manager look at our future projects
for a possible bid process. City
Manager Cook stated that we do not have any future projects on the books at this
point. We have engineering moving
forward so that we can get them completed this year.
We have not identified any additional projects that we could bid out.
City Manager Cook stated that we would have to go out for an RFQ and get
qualified firms on a list, which is going to take time.
Council
Member Maida stated that we may not be looking at the cheapest, but we need to
make sure that they are competitive and know that we are spending money wisely.
Councilman Kivell stated that it is not about HRC. He stated that it is on Council to determine what direction
we want to take.
Mayor
Doyle asked what we need to do next; do we need to check on our plumber, do we
need to look at Vilican Leman, etc. Councilman
Morelli stated that we need to look at every angle to make sure that we are
getting the best deal. We are very
comfortable with where we are with the finances of the City.
It is amazing to see the number of cities on the verge of bankruptcy, but
we do not have that. But, because
we have money, does not mean we need to spend it.
We need to make sure we are getting the best deal we can on everything
that we do. He stated that if we
have been doing our job right, which he is sure we have been and the City
Manager does look at these issues, but we need to prove to our citizens that we
have been doing it right all this time. Mayor
Doyle stated that the form of government is a City Manager form of government,
and there is a tremendous amount of work that goes into these purchases and
everything that is done. There has
to be a certain level of trust, and he will not support any effort to
micro-manage the City Manager’s efforts.
Every year we have a balanced budget and money in the bank.
There is nothing wrong with going through and asking questions, but we
cannot go through and double check everything that he does.
Councilman
Wedell stated that even before this engineering issue came forward he heard from
the City Manager and Administration that they were very happy with the services
and work provided by HRC. The only
issue that he sees is that it has not been tested in 12 years.
If we go through a Request for Proposal, he would like to see the exact
same scope of services that are currently being provided, written into that RFP
and test that against the market as far as economics and value.
Mr.
Hubbell stated that he does not want his confidence to be misconstrued as taking
anything for granted. He is very
comfortable with what they do and not afraid of the RFP process at all.
They hope to have a relationship with the City for the next 30 years, and
if going through this allows a level of comfort, he would support that 100%.
Councilman
Wedell stated that he does not think that we should be bidding out every project
as it comes up. He would like to go
through an RFP for the entire scope of services.
You do not need to wait for a project.
Further discussion was held on the RFP process.
City Manager Cook stated that we have a lot of different services we
require. He stated that there may be 5-8 companies that are able to
provide all of the services we will need on a full-time basis.
Councilman
Kivell stated that we have certain needs such as the treatment plant that it
might not serve us well to bring in another entity. On the other hand, when we have a road that is simply being
milled and re-paved, we do not need to have someone with the ability to make a
skyscraper. This is what he was
hoping to come up with some balance. He
does not know if going out and having a blanket change will accomplish what this
whole thing started out to be, which was the Novi model where you have an
oversight body and bidding out to selected companies. City Manager Cook stated that Novi has the advantage of
having four staff engineers who put things together and put it out for bid.
We do not have qualified engineers on staff, which is the difficulty we
are going to have. Further he
stated that we still have to have a list of qualified firms. If we have not got
a relationship with a firm, in the end we may be looking at them under
estimating their services. It makes
it more difficult when we do not have the expertise on staff to deal with some
of the issues. City Manager Cook
stated that we need to have an engineering firm able to provide the services we
need for water, GIS, storm sewer, etc. In
the bid process, there is no engineer here to do the evaluation of a firm and
whether they can provide the service or not.
We would be dealing with lay people dealing with engineers, and he does
not want to be put into a position of having a project where we have a
contractor that we are having and adversarial position with and then have an
engineer that we are having a disagreement with.
We would be in the middle and would not win that argument.
He stated that we could go out for qualifications and narrow it down to a
reasonable number of firms so that when we do a project we can contact them and
ask for a quote. The fact is that
we do not have staff engineer to evaluate.
If we hire a part-time staff engineer, it could be very expensive.
There are logistical issues that need to be addressed.
If we want to bid it out every six years, as has been suggested, then we
can.
Discussion
was held on the RFP procedure used in 1994.
City manager Cook stated that we went out for qualifications, received
proposals, and Council selected HRC. Mayor
Doyle stated that he feels that we are going to go through that process again
given the number of concerns. City
Manager Cook stated that we do have some time to go through this process, but we
need to leave the projects that are in the process as they are.
It may take us 5-6 months to do this.
Mayor
Doyle stated that he does not think this is necessary in any way.
We have gotten everything that we have asked for.
He does agree that it has been 12 years and it is worth while taking a
look at, but he is not happy with the way this came forth because of Mr. Clark.
Council Member Kivell stated that is not the case.
Mayor Doyle stated that he is speaking for himself only.
City
Manager Cook stated that we do not have an urgency to do this because there is
nothing coming up that would be delayed by the process.
He stated that he will get some firms and qualifications together and
ready for RFP.
Joint Meeting with Lyon
Township
Mayor
Doyle stated that we will be holding the 2nd joint meeting with Lyon
Township on March 30th at 7:00 p.m. here at City Hall.
Discussion
was held on the agenda being a continuation of the previous agenda.
Mayor Doyle stated that he has also requested that an item be placed on
the agenda per the request of Council Member Maida, which is a discussion
regarding the intersection of Eleven Mile and Pontiac Trail.
The
question was asked if this will be video taped. City Clerk/Treasurer Zemke stated that it will be taped and
broadcast.
NEW
BUSINESS:
Appointment – South
Lyon Area Youth Assistance – Jenny Little
Mayor
Doyle stated that we have a recommendation from Thomas Mihalic, Chairperson of
the South Lyon Area Youth Assistance to appoint Jenny Little to their Board of
Directors. He asked if this is a
mayoral appointment. Attorney Lee
stated that Council simply needs to support the appointment as a sponsoring
body. He stated that technically
you do not have the power to do so; it is more of a public relations issue.
CM
3-6-06 – APPOINTMENT – SOUTH LYON AREA YOUTH ASSISTANCE
Motion by Dryer, supported by Wedell
To support the appointment of Ms. Jenny Little of 434 W. Lake Street to
the Board of Directors of the
South Lyon Area Youth Assistance
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Resolution on cable
franchising
Attorney
Lee stated that AT&T wants to get into the cable business by using the
Michigan Bell franchise given back in 1904 as a means of saying they are not
obligated to pay franchise fees under the current Federal FCC regulations and
current Constitution of 1963. We,
of course, disagree. The Michigan
Municipal League has passed a number of resolutions disagreeing.
AT&T has refused to negotiate with any community in the State
regarding a franchise agreement and have now hired a number of lobbyists in
Lansing to try to force through some legislation, which would try to take away
our power to franchise utilities within our community.
Our power to franchise is specifically written into the constitution of
1963. Unless they are talking about submitting some constitutional
amendment, it would have to be litigated. The
legislation currently pending would move franchising for specific communication
issues away from communities and up to Lansing, and thereby taking away our
revenues for franchising. Michigan
Municipal League is asking communities to adopt these resolutions and send them
to Lansing.
The
question was asked what the revenue is that we currently receive for franchise
fees. City Manager Cook stated that
it would be $80-90,000. He stated
that this legislation would eliminate our contract provisions after our contract
expires. Attorney Lee stated that
if AT&T were able to provide cable services through its phone lines and did
not have a franchise with us, we would have a lawsuit filed by Millennium
indicating that they were being treated unequally, and he would have to agree
with them. There is no way to tax
one competitor and make them compete with an untaxed company.
City
Manager Cook stated that the other issue is that AT&T is not going to
provide service for 100% of the users of the system. They could exclude non-profitable customers.
City
Manager Cook stated that this is a Home Rule issue and we should be able to
control those people using our right of way.
We typically support Home Rule issue resolutions and distribute them to
our legislators, Senator, etc.
Discussion
was held on the need for competition with cable providers.
City Manager Cook stated that if they wanted to do that they should be
treated the same way as every cable provider.
He further stated that the industry as a whole is not competitive from
one community to the next. Attorney
Lee stated that if they wanted to come in and sign a franchise agreement, we
would do it in a minute. He stated
that AT&T is different in that Comcast is not going to come and duplicate
stringing all the wire that Millennium has already done.
Because of new technological advancements, you can now run telephone,
television, broadband, etc. down the same piece of wire, and AT&T is trying
to take advantage of that in that they have already strung the wire for
telephone.
Councilman
Morelli discussed services available such as satellite dish, services through
the phone company, etc. He stated
that he can see the courts someday saying that the franchises are going to go
away because these franchises are hindering competition. Attorney Lee stated that the cable industry fears a greater
competition from satellite wireless because everything that can come through
fiber optic cable can come out of the sky, and you can pick up your computer and
internet service and take it with you. You
cannot argue that the cable companies do not have competition.
He believes that the courts would say that the cable company has strung
wire, the telephone company has strung wire and they both owe an obligation to
the City to pay for right-of-way costs.
The
question was asked if the phone company currently pays right-of-way costs.
Attorney Lee stated that they do. However,
unfortunately, in 1904 in the eagerness of the legislature to bring telephone to
the area, they made an agreement. At
some point that should be undone and he would suspect that the courts some time
in the next 10 years will do that.
CM 3-7-06 - RESOLUTION EXPRESSING SUPPORT OF LOCAL CONTROL OF
CABLE FRANCHISING AND OPPOSITION TO MICHIGAN SENATE BILL 1157 AND HOUSE BILL
5895
Motion by Wedell, supported by Kivell
WHEREAS, AT&T and Verizon have been actively
advocating across the country that
local
cable franchise agreements be eliminated, and
WHEREAS,
AT&T is blaming Michigan communities as the reason they can not enter into
the cable/video business, while local communities, and local residents, want
more cable competition and would quickly allow AT&T into their community,
AT&T has refused to negotiate a franchise with any city, village, or
township, and
WHEREAS, legislation
introduced in the Michigan Legislature, House Bill 5895 and Senate Bill 1157
would:
Ø
Eliminate
local cable franchising, and requires Secretary of State to grant a statewide
franchise.
Ø
Allows
any cable, or video provider, to stop serving any area in a city, village, or
townships based on out-of-state corporate economic decisions.
Current law guarantees service to all local residents. Cable and phone
companies could turn off service to neighborhoods because they are not
profitable, basically ‘cherry-picking’ and ‘redlining’ neighborhoods,
and
WHEREAS,
local government participation in the cable franchising process ensures
build-out requirements so that all residents irrespective of age, race,
education, or income level, receive the same service, and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of South Lyon opposes Senate Bill 1157 and
House Bill 5895 and urges our state legislators to oppose the bills.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the
city/village council hereby affirms its support for the current local cable
franchise agreement system and urges federal and state policymakers to only
support legislation that:
Maintains
local control of the cable franchise process;
Ensures
build-out requirements so that providers are not able to “cherry-pick”
customers;
Preserves
local governments’ ability to manage the public rights-of-way;
Ensures
no reduction in direct revenues and that Michigan’s Metro Act is
preserved.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to our state legislators in Lansing,
our Congressional representatives in Washington, D.C., Governor Granholm and the
Michigan Municipal League.
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED ( 1 OPPOSED)
Resolution to oppose reductions in State Shared Revenues
City
Manager Cook stated that this is an annual battle. It is in our best interest to support this resolution.
If the reductions go through, it will put a lot of communities in a
difficult situation.
Discussion
was held on current State Shared Revenues.
City Manager Cook stated that we should be at $1.4 million.
Before they started cutting us, we were at $1.3 million then we were
reduced and now we are at roughly $880,000.
CM 3-8-06 - RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH LYON, MICHIGAN URGING THE
STATE TO SUPPORT LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & INCREASE STATUTORY REVENUE
SHARING
Motion by Kivell, supported by
Kopkowski
Whereas,
local communities are the foundation of successful economic development in
Michigan; and
Whereas,
safe streets and functioning infrastructure in our cities and villages are
critical
to attracting and maintaining
businesses; and
Whereas,
local governments cannot continue to provide essential services if statutory
revenue sharing is continually
redistributed to other state budget priorities; and
Whereas,
there are over 1,500 fewer police officers on the streets in Michigan today than
on September 11, 2001; and
Whereas,
that figure stands to increase this year, as local communities will have to
grapple with no increased support
from the state if funding is not increased; and
Whereas,
local government recognizes and accepts the fact that there will be fluctuations
in the state economy impacting the
statutorily shared revenues, however, the state began ignoring the revenue
sharing commitment in 1991; and
Whereas,
the state has reallocated $1.5 billion from local community services to fund
other state programs; and
Whereas,
the current budget proposed by Governor Granholm diverts an additional $600
million of
statutory
funding for local communities; and
Whereas,
in the past 5 years approximately 40% of the state budget deficit has been
assumed by local communities as the
state continues to reduce revenue commitments and shift funding responsibility;
and
Whereas,
it is unacceptable that the Governor and Legislature continue to put our
state’s future in
jeopardy
by mandating cuts to public safety and core services which define our quality of
life.
Now,
Therefore, Be It Resolved that the Governor, Senate, and House of
Representatives of the State of Michigan are hereby strongly urged to
increase local
revenues collected by the state and
distributed under the Revenue Sharing Act.
Be
It Further Resolved that a copy of the Resolution be forwarded to
Governor Granholm,
Senator Nancy Cassis,
Representative Craig DeRoche, and the Michigan Municipal League.
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
COUNCIL COMMENTS:
Discussion
was held on the recent MML Legislative Meeting held in Lansing attended by
members of Council.
Councilman
Kivell stated that we are approaching the summer months and expressed his
concern about loud vehicles and motorcycles.
Council Member Kopkowski too expressed the noise level of the South Lyon
Hotel.
Councilman
Wedell asked if Council had interest in pursuing the idea of approaching some of
our neighbors to talk about extending the bike trail down toward Eight Mile Road
with the idea of connecting the Library. City
Manager Cook stated that this issue is already in progress.
We have an estimate that has been presented to the Trailway Council for
consideration. Part of the problem
is that the cost is roughly $540,000 to run from Volunteer Park to the eastern
boundary. There may be a problem
with Eight Mile Road as it relates to the standard of putting in a 10 foot wide
trail using federal monies. The
right-of-way is 60 feet on Eight Mile, which may be a problem.
The Trailway Council does not meet again until April 21st, and
it will take a couple of meetings to go through this process. We could submit
for a grant, but we do already have a project running, and the question is
whether they would fund two projects simultaneously.
He will report back to Council, but it will probably be a couple months.
Discussion was held on eventually connecting to the Ann Arbor link.
Councilman
Dryer stated that the cross-walk across from Centennial Middle school leads to
no sidewalk; a piece is missing. Further
discussion was held on the location of the concern.
City Manager Cook stated that he will go out and look.
Councilman
Kivell stated that when you go through the back lot of Centennial, there is a
link that ties back to the trail. The link that goes back into that subdivision
is signed “Residents Only”. He
asked when and how that was allowed. Attorney
Lee stated that customarily when a project is completed and the roads are
dedicated to the City, the trail is dedicated to the City as well.
Councilman Kivell stated that it is a small link between two homes.
Mayor
Doyle stated that stated that there were approximately 1250 people at the recent
Taste & Expo. He stated that it
was a wonderful event and everyone had a good time.
CM
3-9-06 – ADJOURNMENT
Motion by Wedell, supported by Morelli
To adjourn the meeting at 9:15 p.m.
VOTE:
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Respectfully
Submitted,
_______________________________
________________________________
John Doyle, Jr.
Julie
C. Zemke
Mayor
City Clerk/Treasurer