City Council Minutes

Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:30 p.m. in the Northville City Hall Council Chambers, 215 West Main Street, Northville, Michigan.

Present: Mayor Christopher Johnson, Mayor Pro Tem Carolann Ayers, Councilmembers Kevin Hartshorne, Jerome Mittman, and Thomas Swigart

Absent: None

Jody Humphries was introduced as the new Chamber of Commerce President. Ms. Humphries stated that she looked forward to carrying on the fine work of the Northville Chamber of Commerce.

Craig Roney, 456 Orchard, requested that consent agenda item 4E "Reappointment to the BZA" be moved to the main agenda for further review. Mr. Roney read from his July 6, 2004 letter, which outlined his concerns in reappointing Rolland Stapleton. The concerns included alleged violations of the Open Meetings Act during the May 5, 2004 BZA meeting and Mr. Stapleton’s ability to deal with issues fairly and objectively.

Paul Bacigal, 302 Orchard, reiterated the concerns brought forth by Mr. Roney.

Brief discussion ensued relative to board and commission appointments, the residents that volunteer to serve on the various commissions, the balance of viewpoints represented on each commission, the inevitability that decisions will not please all of the public, and the fact that there is pending litigation regarding the May 5^th BZA decision. It was voiced that action on Mr. Stapleton’s reappointment should be deferred pending further investigation of the concerns raised this evening. It was countered that Mr. Stapleton conducts an efficient meeting with appropriate demeanor and that there has not been negative comments pertaining to Mr. Stapleton until the May 5^th BZA decision regarding Our Lady of Victory Church. It was stated that concerns with the May 5^th BZA meeting should have been brought to the attention of the City administration immediately and not the night the reappointment was being considered. A final comment noted that, if necessary, the City Charter has avenues for removal of board and commission members.

It was questioned whether appointments to the BZA were made by the Mayor or the City Council. It was responded that BZA appointments were made by the City Council.

Michelle McGraw, 254 Wing Ct., represented the residents of Wing Court, and read from a prepared statement, which outlined their concerns related to the temporary Dog Park. The concerns included alleged elevated levels of urine present in the soil, increased urine and feces odor, noise levels, and fighting dogs.

The Director of Parks and Recreation commented on the steps the Department had taken to address the Wing Ct. resident concerns, which included logging of daily odor inspections, sending letters to dog park pass holders regarding noise levels, adding no barking signage at the park, and installing temporary fencing 10 feet from the property line. It was noted that the Parks and Recreation Department received written correspondence from McDowell and Associates, an environmental and hydro geological services and testing company. The letter advised against soil testing at this time, suggesting that air monitoring would be sufficient.

It was noted that the City Council will consider the Dog Park extension in August and will further address dog park concerns at that time. Persons interested in being notified of that meeting were asked to leave their name and telephone number with the City Clerk.

Fred Shadko, 47040 Timberline, distributed a handout titled "Asian Longhorned Beetle Found in Woodbridge, Ontario," alerting the City Council to another possible infestation that could destroy the maple tree population.

Susan Hubbard introduced herself as a candidate running for Wayne County Treasurer.

Denise Nash, 417 Dunlap, voiced concern with music and noise levels at the start of the Solstice Run Event, feeling that the band and noisemakers were inappropriate.

City Council noted that the band was not approved as part of the Solstice Run event. Concern was raised relative to the course markings done in permanent paint on the streets and parking lots.

Motion Swigart to remove "4E – Board and Commissioner Appointment / Board of Appeals" from the consent agenda. No support.

The June 21, 2004 City Council meeting minutes were amended to include the vote following the motion "to remove consent agenda "4E-Reapointment of Rolland Stapleton to the Board of Zoning Appeals and approve the agenda and consent agenda as amended."

"Reappointment to the Planning Commission / Richard Birdsall / 3 year term expiring June 30, 2007" was added to the consent agenda.

Motion Mittman, seconded by Ayers to approve the agenda and consent agenda as amended. Voice Vote. Yes: Mittman, Ayers, Hartshorne, Johnson. No: Swigart. Motion carried.

Consent agenda as follows:

Approve City Council Minutes:

Regular Meeting of June 21, 2004 as amended

Approve Bills List: Checks #38152 to #38330, and #38331 to #38416

Receive Board and Commission Minutes: None

Receive Departmental Reports: None

Board of Zoning Appeals / three year terms expiring 7/1/07: James Bress, James Haveraneck, Rolland Stapleton

Planning Commission / three year term expiring 6/30/07: Richard Birdsall

Resolution / July as Parks and Recreation Month in Northville

Request to Hold Street Dance / First Presbyterian Church / August 21, 2004

Proposed Amendment to Irrigation System Contract / Northville Senior Community Center

Oakland County West Nile Virus Fund Expense Reimbursement Request

The City received a request from the Northville Central Business Association (NCBA) to hold its annual sidewalk sale on Friday, August 6 and Saturday, August7, 2004. Friday’s event will involve only local merchants and streets will not be closed. Saturday’s event includes local merchants, outside vendors, musical entertainment with a band stand, antique car displays, jump rides, antique booths, resident garage sale booths, arts and craft booths, and various food and drink booths. To accommodate these events, the request asks for permission to close Main Street between Wing and Hutton, Center Street between Dunlap and Cady, and the band shell (Lot #1) between E. Main and Mary Alexander Court. Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority (MMRMA), the City’s insurer, recommended a certificate of liability insurance in the amount of $3,000,000 general liability be submitted, naming the City as an additional insured.

Motion Ayers, seconded by Mittman to approve the annual Sidewalk Sale event for August 6-7, 2004, as described by the NCBA, conditioned upon the receipt of a certificate of liability insurance within ten days prior to the event. The certificate shall name the City as an additional insured with general liability coverage not less than $3,000,000. Further, it is authorized that the downtown streets and identified parking areas be closed for the event on Saturday, August 7, 2004 from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Motion carried unanimously.

At the June 7, 2004 City Council meeting, a proposed contract between the DDA and Gibbs Planning Group was submitted for approval. The $14,500 contract would update the 1997 Commercial Planning Study for downtown Northville. Following lengthy discussion, Staff was directed to solicit a revised proposal that would include services to provide for the development of a public participation process and a retail market study. Subsequently, a proposal was submitted to the DDA for the additional services at a cost of $38,500.

The DDA met on June 29, 2004 to review the revised proposal and supported the expanded scope of services. The DDA recommended that the DDA’s existing Downtown Planning Committee, comprised of two members of the Planning Commission and two members of the DDA, be expanded to include representatives of other commissions and interest groups in an effort to gain as much input as possible through the planning process. This Committee would serve as the Steering Committee for the planning process. The DDA has a line item budget for planning and design studies that will adequately fund the revised proposal of $38,500.

Council Comments/Discussion: Discussion took place regarding the scope of both proposals. It was voiced that the original proposal encompassed the overall needs of the businesses and would give a good feel for prospects for retail, commercial, and professional services within the DDA. It was felt that the increased cost was not a useful expenditure as the use of existing resources, such as the Planning Commission, could assist in meeting the goal of determining the vision of the community without the additional expense. A final comment reiterated concern with the proposal’s maximum growth model.

It was countered that the expanded proposal would assist in building community consensus. The increased cost would be funds well spent as opposed to the "trial and error" of expending funds for projects that do not have the support of the community. Additional comments noted the importance of having a new study that would provide valuable information to keep the downtown viable, and the fact that a viable downtown is in the best interest of the community.

Motion Mittman, seconded by Swigart to approve the proposed contract with Gibbs Planning Group to update the 1997 Commercial Planning Study for an amount not to exceed $38,500 plus reimbursable expenses, and direct staff to meet with Mr. Gibbs to explore cost saving options for the project, and further, that the Mayor appoint additional members to the DDA’s Downtown Planning Committee and direct the committee to serve as the project’s Steering Committee. Voice Vote. Yes: Mittman, Swigart, Johnson. No: Ayers, Hartshorne. Motion carried.

In June 2002, City Council approved the downtown parking management plan presented to the City Council. Following the approval, the Parking Committee was asked to monitor the parking situation, review the impact of the management program, and consider citizen concerns. The Parking Committee formulated a list of proposed changes to the Parking Management Plan. The list was initially presented to the DDA earlier this spring and was also presented to the City Council, Planning Commission, and Historic District Commission at a joint meeting held on March 23, 2004. The proposed changes include:

• Reduction in the number of spaces provided in the Orange Dot Program.
• An increase in the $5 parking fine in the downtown area to discourage parkers from using the low ticket amount as a paid parking program. This would be accomplished through increased enforcement and implementation of an escalated fine system managed by electronic hand held systems to access parking information in the field.
• Increased parking enforcement and enforcement of "3 hour parking lots" vs. "3 hour parking space."
• Reduction of the on-street parking time limit from two to one hour.
• Request that the Planning Commission review how parking requirements are calculated.
• Sign all public parking lots for public use.

The DDA 2004-05 budget includes line items to address parking. However, the purchase of hand held electronic equipment would require a budget amendment.

Council Comments/Discussion: Discussion took place regarding downtown residential spaces, proposed orange dot program changes, the proposed parking fee increases, enforcement of the three hour parking lot versus parking space, and parking space/credit fees and requirements. It was voiced that decreasing on street parking to one hour might deter people from visiting the downtown as one hour of parking might not be adequate. It was noted that discussions with the Gibbs Planning Group would include consideration of parking ratios, parking decks and parking expansion, and parking spaces.

Motion Ayers, seconded by Swigart to approve the proposed Parking Management Plan as presented, with the modification to retain the current two hour limit for on-street parking. Motion carried unanimously.

The Parks and Recreation Department solicited sealed bids for the printing and mailing of the three annual Parks and Recreation program catalogs. The low bid was submitted by Willett Communications (Journal Newspapers) of Wayne, Michigan, at a cost of $15,585 annually, with advertisement sale commission paid to Willett Communications in the amount of 38% of the total ads sold.

Motion Mittman, seconded by Ayers to award the bid for the FY2005 Parks and Recreation catalog printing to Willet Communications of Wayne, Michigan, in the annual amount of $15,585 and advertising sales commission of 38%. Motion carried unanimously.

In support of the City of Northville Police Department’s Drug Awareness Resistance Education (DARE) program, Blackwell Ford of Plymouth, Michigan is donating a zero-cost two year lease for a 2004 Ford Ranger XLT extended cab pickup truck. The vehicle is valued at $22,000 and will be used to increase public awareness and support of DARE activities.

Motion Swigart, seconded by Hartshorne to accept the donation from Blackwell Ford of a zero-cost two year lease for a 2004 Ford Ranger XLT extended cab pick up truck for the DARE program and authorize the City Manager to execute the related documents. Motion carried unanimously.

Ayers commented on the dedication of the Northville Senior Community Center. It was suggested that more information be made available to the community regarding age and activities.

Swigart commented on his recent attendance at the Rouge River Watershed conference, which focused on the significance of water ecology. He also suggested funding a video history record of long time Northville community residents.

Mittman extended "happy birthday" wishes to the City Manager.

B. Staff Communications None

There being no further business to come before Council, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Dianne Massa
City Clerk