2004 City Commission Meetings

20 December 2004

Commissioner Terry Drinkwine was VersagiVoice's hero during this commission meeting.

• First -- remembering how over a million dollars was "found" during the previous round of budget hearings -- Drinkwine insisted that Finance Director Rick Eva declare that the financial statements presented in the CPA-conducted audit do not contain hidden or undeclared funds which might be "discovered" later. That made clear, the commission accepted the audit as submitted.

• Second, operating on sound principle, Drinkwine cast the lone no-vote against making a temporary loan to the Animal Shelter. He reminded his colleagues that several consecutive city commissions had stated clearly that the Animal Shelter should be self-sufficient and not be funded by the city. Drinkwine suggested that -- if precedent was being established -- there might be other, more legitimate, needs for a temporary loan, like "funding for a couple more police officers."

Responding to widespread and vigorous detailed objections to MDOT plans for "improving" the I-75/I-696 interchange at Eleven Mile -- from the city commission, the business community, and residents -- that state agency is reported to have made modifications which address most of those objections. 

Former commissioner Andy Prentice was sworn in by District Court Judge Terry Brennan to fill the seat vacated by now State Rep Marie Donigan. Prentice chuckled that one of his first votes was on a lot-split.

It was a cold, cold winter night, so only five individuals showed up to speak during public comment.

• A self-described homeless man repeated his earlier complaints of police harassment, stating, "I am not a criminal." Also, he said he was to have a meeting with a local newspaper which referred to him in an unflattering manner after his presentation at the 06 December commission meeting.

• Two residents, speaking for themselves and others, complained about flooded basements, in one case repeatedly over the years. One speaker wondered why the city can't take preventive action, since the city successfully corrects the problem each time it occurs. Mayor Ellison directed city manager Hoover to follow up on the specific complaints.

• Civic activist Alex Schnaider promoted a fund-raiser for the Animal Shelter (earlier, Farmers Market Manager Gwen Ross had made another several hundred dollar contribution). Schnaider also reported that the vibration problems continue in his neighborhood.

• One of the flooded basement speakers said he experiences vibrations from the nearby railroad tracks and wondered -- half-jokingly? -- whether the city could get the trains to run slower through his neighborhood.

06 December 2004

Five of the ten speakers during Public Comment were in support of Metaldyne Corporation's request for the creation of an Industrial Development District (read: tax abatement) for the company on 14 Mile Road. A Public Hearing is scheduled for 24 January 2005. The automotive supplier hopes to expand its current facilities.

The commissioners and the city manager seemed to have trouble understanding what they some nit-picking about language changes suggested by Fresard's attorney.  Planning Director Tim Thwing made it clear that the commission was merely being asked to authorize Staff to move ahead with preparing legal documents -- including whichever modifications Staff and Fresard agree to -- and the commission, as usual, has the final say.

Late in the evening (VersagiVoice stopped watching about 11:15) City Manager Tom Hoover reported that after his meeting with the administrator of the District Court, Hoover would no longer recommend such actions as the city's attempting to take over the Parking Ticket process. The 44th District Court compares well with other district courts, Hoover said.

Those south end vibrations came in for another long deliberation which went nowhere, despite an excellent historical summary by Deputy City Attorney Jim Marcinkowski. A couple of the commissioners reacted negatively to Marcinkowski's suggestion that the neighborhood association might want to mount a private legal action, since all that has gone on since the suspected offending business began in 1937 makes it unlikely that there is any winnable legal action the city can take. Commissioner Hallock, losing his normal cool, criticized the behavior of the company (which everyone chose not to name), going so far as to suggest questionable ethical behavior and conspiracy on the part of the owner. After much to-ing and fro-ing about everything from hiring a seismologist to having a face-to-face, the decision was that Mayor Ellison, City Manager Hoover, and Commissioner Drinkwine will meet with the owner.

With Commissioners Ginotti and Capello doing most of the talking (too much of it in both their cases), the commission took almost as much time rehashing the problems of the Animal Shelter as with really important matters. Capello, especially, seemed flustered when Commissioner Drinkwine asked, "Why does the city operate an animal shelter?" The conversation strayed from the primary function of picking up strays to how nice it is to have a facility where people can adopt a pet -- by paying significantly increased fees. The commission approved the increased fees, with animal lovers hoping that the fees plus volunteer contributions will keep the shelter open without city funding.

Former commissioner Andy Prentice was appointed to fill outgoing commissioner Donigan's slot; she has been elected to the Michigan House of Representative. The vote was 4-2, with Donigan abstaining. Those favoring Prentice said that he had most recently served (all three finalists are former commissioners) and that he was the runner-up in the latest election. Ellison and Drinkwine commented that they would have liked Jim Johnson's CPA skills on the commission during these troublesome budget times.

County Drain Commissioner John McCulloch reviewed progress and developments about the 12-Town Drain and the County Master Plan. McCulloch then answered questions about rodents coming from sewers and about the finding that on one major development  the drain was found 45 feet away from where it was supposed to be.

During a discussion of the proposal by Staff that $100,000 be transferred from the $400,000 11 Mile Improvement Project to the Business Improvement Program, commissioners again seemed uncertain about facts and procedures, such as what Block Grants include and exclude and what happens to Section 8 requests now that the program has apparently been dropped by the city.  Despite Tim Thwing's usually lucid clarification, that entire discussion left VersagiVoice uncertain of details but able to make note of a certain anti-business tone in a couple of commissioners' comments.

The homeowner who had requested vacation of a portion of Glendale Avenue seemed upset to learn that there would still be an easement. Then a neighbor complained of fraud in the sequence of events leading to the Public Hearing about the proposed vacation. The commission wisely put the matter on hold and will continue the Public Hearing if necessary after further discussion between the requester and the city.

City Manager Hoover, Fire Chief Strehlke, and Fire Fighters Union President Upton were appointed to the Regional Fire Study Committee. Good show. 

15 November 2004

The City Commission earns an A for its performance viewing the budget-impact resulting from voter-approval of Proposal A. City Manager Tom Hoover deserves an A-plus for preparing, in one week, a workable overview for the commission to use, as it looked at everything from Police to the number of Boards, Committees, and Commissions. Here, I summarize the commission meeting. Elsewhere, I offer editorial comment.

Several common thrusts were obvious as Hoover briefly described, one-by-one,  his observations and recommendations for 24 "budget-clusters," I'll call them, as distinguished from departments. Example: the Animal Shelter is a cluster which falls under the Police Department.

• Reduce overtime. Convert to comp-time wherever permissible
• Consolidate some functions; allow some workers to multi-task, collective bargaining contract permitting. 
• Very few fillings of existing vacant positions
• Monitoring of any budget cluster which generates a fund surplus, exercising judgment before transferring any surplus to the city's General Fund
• Hire permanent employees where appropriate, to meet collective bargaining requirements which would mandate eliminating all part-time employees if a permanent slot is left empty.
• Eliminate attendance of administration personnel, unless mandated by statute, at meetings of Boards, Committees, Commissions.

Putting a dollar number on the proposed actions comes later. For now, VersagiVoice readers can get the flavor of  what the commission faces by reviewing the sketch, below, resulting from my notes.

POLICE
Already cut, 13 vacancies, low on supervision, vacancy in dispatching, one deputy chief will be retiring, as will key record-keeping person . . . consider some shifting of sergeants, of narcotics team . . . reduce/eliminate community affairs officer . . . DDA will fund two officers for downtown patrol . . . Hoover was authorized to fill the record-keeping vacancy and to hold on most other suggestions until after the Police Delivery Services Committee and  Budget Committee have made their recommendations

Fire
Move quickly to add six additional firefighters, as mandated by the voters. This staffing should reduce Fire Department overtime . .. some internal reshuffling . . . monitor, modify, current policy of permitting back-to-back shifts . . . monitor apparent abuse of sick-time.

Recreation & Public Service
Currently 7 vacancies . . . leave Recycling Coordinator position vacant . . . expand on multi-tasking already in place to accommodate seasonal needs . . . eliminate overtime, except in emergencies . . . fill vacancies funded by enterprise funds ( budget clusters which pay for themselves)

Code Enforcement
Fees taken in support the operation . . . replace part-time sign enforcement officer . . . consider reducing the hours that the counter is open to the public

Planning
Do not replace Downtown Manager, even though that salary is paid by DDA . . . Consolidate some Boards . . . may be necessary to transfer a secretary . . Eliminate Section 8 Housing activity . . . Send a tape recorder, not a secretary, to appropriate meetings.

Downtown Development Authority
Come to understand what the DDA can and cannot properly do . . . the Commission-requested report may be presented at the 23 November DDA meeting . . . DDA expects to fund addition of two officers to patrol downtown . . . City Manager is a member of DDA . . . general sense of cooperation between City Hall and DDA.

Engineering
some shuffling of people . . . leaving one position vacant . . . secretarial staff is part-time . . . review whether too many marginal prospective projects are evaluated . . . Traffic Committee may not get all the services it is accustomed to.

Finance
no vacancies . . . one high-level employee splitting time with Treasurer duties . . . some revision of assignments being explored, taking collective bargaining agreement considerations in mind.

Treasurer
no vacancies . . . borrows a part-time employee from another department . . . 3,700 telephone calls a month . . . also a very busy counter . . . recommend keeping the counter open

Assessing
no vacancies . . . no recommended changes

Human Resources
Director is retiring . . . "looking at available talent,"  replacement has been selected . . . her spot in the City Manager's office will be filled by other in-house talent

City Manager's Office
City Manager and Deputy will share secretary . . . current Deputy Manager's assistant will be transferred . . . multi-tasking will be the norm.

City Attorney
recently lost a half-time attorney who worked primarily with District Court . . . need to change some policies at court to make joint operations more efficient . . . Parking ticket income used to go to City, now goes to Court . . . other District Courts provide more income to their City than ours . . . need new protocol in activities of Liquor Control Committee and Police Dept . . . do more grievance/arbitration work at lower staff levels

City Clerk's Office
no vacancies . . . two workers are shared with other departments . . . overtime is comp time, mostly near elections . . . use tape recorders, instead of sending secretary, for appropriate meetings

Information Systems
lost 3 people a couple of years ago . . . some technical support can't be done as expeditiously as before . . . small amount of overtime budgeted, mostly in case of a computer crash . . . can use volunteer high-school students for some peak-load relief . . . no changes recommended.

Golf Course
self-supporting operation . . . works on a contract basis with the City . . . two more full golf seasons left in current contract . . . According to Hallock, eliminating a golf course has been suggested but no recommendation has been presented

Ice Arena
self-supporting operation . . . have accumulated a fund balance . . . will require some repairs, some capital expenditures . . . recommend their accumulated funds be left for their use

Senior Citizens
some problem getting enough drivers . . . transfer of a key worker from M&M Center to Salter Center will result in having to move some M&M programs to Salter Center

Library
have their own millage . . . now open 60 hours/week . . . increasing the number of part-timers . . . talk of seeking a bond for capital projects . . . recommend close Commission review and oversight of Library's financial operation, before considering any bond request.

District Court
had not replied to requests for information in time to be included in Hoover's overview . . . see City Attorney, above

Farmer's Market
runs at a profit . . . has sizeable fund balance . . . capital expenditures will need to be made for such items as a new roof, lighting, a sprinkler system . . . DDA has contributed $500,000 to the Market . . . recommend City not attempt to capture Market's fund balance for the General Fund.

Animal Shelter
shelter has to be closed (committee will be asked for advice about shutting down and transferring the population to the Humane Society and equivalent agencies, as surrounding cities already do) . . .  unlikely that volunteers can keep it going . . . the Animal Shelter falls under the Police Department, and Andrzejak reported that the Service Delivery Committee put the shelter at the very bottom of the priority list. Sadly ironical, Farmer's Market Manager Gwen Ross jubilantly made another contribution to the Animal Shelter fund during Public Comment.

Cable TV
can operate without the new equipment which has been requested . . . Hoover will examine the Intergovernmental Group's operations and financing, to determine whether the cable operation can provide more money to the city's General Fund.

Boards, Commissions, Committees
Royal Oak has a high number of these, a few required by statute . . . all need to be looked at, with elimination or consolidation in mind . . . Performance Management Committee requires excessive amount of staff time, can be considered an attempt at micromanaging . . . Hoover recommends the committee be de-activated for the time being.

08 November 2004

Two high points in this meeting: First, City Clerk Mary Ellen Graver was cited for earning designation as Master Municipal Clerk, a prestigious professional recognition. As one who more than occasionally deals with the City Clerk's office, I agree she deserves a gold star on her forehead. Second, for the first time that I remember, Commissioner Carlo Ginotti did not cast a symbolic no-vote against a lot split. Have to talk to him about that.

The low point is actually a follow-up of my suggestion after the 18 October meeting that it was an abuse of power to postpone a scheduled vote at the request of an absent commissioner. Attending the 08 November meeting, Commissioner Mike Andrzejak simply repeated his long-known concern about liquor licenses. Andrzejak said nothing which he could not have provided in a written statement to be read by a colleague during the meeting he couldn't attend. Andrzejak cast his symbolic no-vote when the commission approved the Liquor Control Committee recommendation to grant the request of the restaurant Bastone. He also cast the lone no-vote when -- at the Fire Department's request -- the commission voted to execute an easement agreement to make an alley more accessible for fire-fighting vehicles and equipment.

A mid-point might be Commissioner Pat Capello's taking several minutes to praise the 40 or so people who one way or another have helped the Animal Shelter. No animal lover myself, I reluctantly admire the dedicated volunteers who contributed money, skills, and professional services and whom Capello took the time to name.

Public Comment was rather subdued, with only nine speakers and no really hot items, just a little quiet grumbling about such matters as leaf collection, billing procedures for sidewalk improvement, "wasted" money spent by political candidates on direct mail and TV advertising, and Traffic Committee recommendations.

Parents who simply ignore all traffic-control attempts when they drop off or pick up their kids at school were the focus of a Traffic Committee recommendation which the commission sent back to committee. The issue will also be addressed in a future meeting of the commission and the school board.

During a public hearing about the request of a used car lot on Main Street to vacate the alley behind its business, an attorney representing the petitioner contended that "someone, we don't know who" was planting trees in that portion of the alley which backs up the property. Residents expressed incredulity, claiming to have received permission of the manager of the lot to clean up the broken bottles and trash and to plant grass. The residents say the manager supplied paint with which they painted the

Residents planted shrubs, and painted the unsightly back of the sign, and mow the grass.

unsightly back of a sign which faces their neighborhood. "We mow the lawn. I planted  the trees," said one resident. A couple of the residents suspect that the property owner wants to expand his area with future sale in mind, and they fear further encroachment on their neighborhood. The commission denied the request to vacate the alley.

Despite a valiant effort by the Historic District Study Committee to save the  deteriorating Waterworks Building, the commission approved the DPS recommendation to demolish the building after the youth leagues find alternative storage for their equipment, with a 01 March 2005 deadline.

Voter approval of Proposal A, the Fire Fighters Union's effort to amend the City Charter to mandate department staffing levels, requires faster action than is in-place with the studies being conducted by the several appointed "service delivery" committees. City Manager Tom Hoover was asked to do a quick overview and present it to the commission at its 15 November meeting.

Any resident interested in being considered for appointment to fill the commission slot which opens in January when Commissioner Marie Donigan moves to her new post -- State Representative, in Lansing -- needs to have an application in the City Clerk's hands by 5 p.m., Monday 22 November.

18 October 2004

The high point of this commission meeting was the class act by Fire Fighters Union President Ben Upton. The eleventh of 15 speakers during Public Comment, after several of those who preceded him had spoken against his Union's proposed charter amendment, Upton -- dressed as a civilian -- praised the commission and the community for their support of the Fire Department's Open House, which attracted more than 1,000 visitors. Then he sat down.

The low point was the commission's decision to use Commissioner Andrzejak's absence as the excuse not to consider an agenda item having to do with a liquor license, about which Andrzejak has strong opinions. Commissioner Ginotti acknowledged that he has a good understanding of Andrzejak's thoughts. The issue has been active since July. The petitioner was present expecting a vote. Why call this a low point? Consider how easily an elected official can abuse the power of her position by not attending a meeting where the agenda includes an issue about which she has already expressed herself. Or the games an official body like the commission can play with "absences." As commissioners Donigan and Drinkwine commented, the ill Andrzejak has been out of circulation for quite a while and there is no assurance he will be present at the next commission meeting. Bad show.

Well, looking at my notes, I find another high point or two: 

• Mayor Ellison took a moment to praise commissioners Donigan and Ginotti, who are competing in a race for State Representative, for not bringing their political campaign to the commission table.

• Ellison, City Manager Hoover, and this or that commissioner took the time to comment about some of the statements made during Public Comment, mostly about the proposed charter amendment to mandate staffing levels in the Fire Department and about Mongolian BBQ's request to transfer its liquor license from its present location to the 400 block of Main Street. Replying to every complaint during Public Comment isn't a good idea, but clarifying confusion and correcting facts on-the-spot serves the public well.

• Congressman Joe Knollenberg, citing unanimous or almost unanimous votes on three bills -- after weeks and months of debate -- maintained that the country is not nearly as divided as depicted in the media. 

About Proposal A, public comment included the now familiar arguments for and against. What was new were the comments from the table: City Attorney Semchena sees a relationship between what he termed the breakdown in collective bargaining and the Fire Fighters' introduction of Proposal A. City Manager Hoover saw the need to hold a press conference to correct "misinformation." He said that fire fighters are going door-to-door trying to frighten senior citizens in high-rise buildings; that of 65 fire fighters, only 10 live in Royal Oak; that there is no "secret source" within the administration feeding information to the union. Mayor Ellison explained once again that the common practice of examining "what-if" scenarios is not the same as planning. There is no plan to reduce Fire Department staffing, he repeated, making me think of President Bush's having to repeatedly say he has no plans to reinstate the Draft. 

Mongolian BBQ's desire to move into the Skylofts building was the other major matter raised during Public Comment. The Skylofts Owners Association is concerned about odors and noise and fire hazard from a proposed state-of-the art kitchen-venting system; they fear even more noise on the streets from increased people traffic; they join those who don't like the idea of another liquor license in the area surrounding Skylofts; they agree with those who maintain that a restaurant, even one which claims that 91% of its income is from food, 9% from alcohol, is not "retail," which they say they were promised when purchasing their units. 

Several residents and one or  two commissioners pointed out that issues between the condo owners and the developer are simply none of the City's business, so long as zoning ordinances and the like are not violated. Those tensions between the condo owners and the developer are also coloring the dialogue over the fate of the "historic" bank building at Fourth & Main.

About the city's Sidewalk Improvement program, most of the commissioners visited and met with those seven homeowners who were seeking exemption. Although the Engineering Department is working "flexibly" with the petitioners -- to accommodate trees already in-place, for example -- all the requests were simultaneously denied, 6 votes to 1 (Cappello). 

04 October 2004

Democracy worked.
About 40 owners and tenants from the Industrial Park north of Normandy, centered around Delemere, near the Normandy Oaks golf course, attended the meeting. Quietly, politely, their spokesmen and spokeswomen made their case against installing sidewalks in the industrial area: The area was properly and successfully zoned, during the sixties, to keep the industrial and residential areas from impinging on each other . . . To replace the existing front-of-building parking with sidewalks would throw most of the buildings into nonconformance with the city's parking codes . . . Why would you want children, skateboards, moms with baby strollers walking through an area busy with commercial vehicles? . . . There are no retailers in the area, so there is no need for pedestrian traffic unrelated to the business conducted in the industrial park.

The Commission listened and -- after a surprisingly brief discussion -- exempted the industrial park from the city's sidewalk improvement program.

A couple of homeowner associations and a separate resident or two also requested exemption, and the commissioners agreed to visit each site, as a group, and meet with the homeowners before making those separate decisions. Ten of the 24 speakers during Public Comment addressed the sidewalk improvement program. Some asked for exemption; some approved the program; one multiple-property owner approved but asked that the city permit him to continue his in-place, years-long sidewalk maintenance and replacement practices.

During unusual pre-agenda presentations, spokesmen for two city-appointed advisory groups and for the Charter Review Committee expressed opposition to Proposal A, the Fire Fighters' proposed charter amendment which would mandate staffing levels. Not long after, as the second speaker of 24 during Public Comment, a friendly, smiling, uniformed fireman announced and invited everyone to a safety program for children being conducted by the Fire Department.

During Public Comment, a resident praised and thanked the firefighters for three times "saving my life" and made a general plea for everyone to support them. One city department head, stating that there was no pressure from city officials, voiced the opposition of a managers' union to Proposal A.

The four residents who will be affected by the proposed widening, curbing, and paving of a portion of Altadena split 2-2 about whether the improvement is really needed. During the public hearing on the matter, everything from aesthetics to child safety was tossed into the dialogue. The discussion was polite, except for an insinuation by one opponent of the improvement that Mayor Ellison's joint service on the Traffic Committee with one of the proponents tainted the mayor's vote. Ellison bristled a bit, but the situation remained calm. Decision: Go ahead with the improvement and assess the property owners.  

In contrast, despite the fact that his logic was unassailable, the bulldog-side of Commissioner Drinkwine's personality (he has a generally cordial side, too!) made it necessary for him to apologize for alleged rudeness for wanting to deny a petitioner who had been waiting for hours to make his tax abatement plea.

At issue: Legally, "tax-abatement districts" no longer exist in Royal Oak; they were eliminated in a 1997 policy adopted after some problems of State interference with local decisions. During the 04 October commission meeting, City Attorney Semchena explained that unless or until that policy is reversed, no tax abatement can be considered. By consensus, the commission decided not to revisit that policy, so Drinkwine contended it would be useless and a waste of time to listen to a petition. Mayor Ellison suggested that because the item was on the agenda and because the petitioner had asked earlier whether to speak during Public Comment or to wait for the agenda item, and had been told to wait, it would be discourteous not to provide him the ten minutes he requested. During Public Comment, two speakers contended that to offer tax abatement to a "giant, profitable company" would be a slap-in-the-face to all those Royal Oak businesses which have paid full rates for years, for decades. No action was taken, leaving the no-tax-abatements policy in-place.

Another potentially contentious issue was resolved when discussion showed that the original "contingencies" demanded by the Plan Department and previously approved by the City Commission were still in-place and were not being diluted as misunderstood by a couple of speakers during Public Comment.

At issue: Talk of a "drop-off area" on Washington, at the front entrance to developer Jack Hanna's Fifth project led some to envision a loading dock, including parked truck-trailers. Actually, because of the boundary constraints imposed by the location of the project, there needs to be a place for emergency vehicles to park and for residents/visitors to enter the facility. Two existing parking spaces will be eliminated to accommodate this drop-off area. Decision: Approved. The contingency is the same as already approved by the Plan Commission and the City Commission.

29 September 2004

Is the long-awaited Gateway development at 696 ever going to become a reality?

It was easy to lose hope sitting in for an hour on a joint meeting of the Downtown Development Authority and the City Commission. The meeting was a study session, which in the private sector would be called an informational meeting, meaning no actions would be taken, no votes cast.

It seems that about six months ago, a concept was approved, then was aborted to give the developer (Schostak) and car dealer Fresard the opportunity to explore the feasibility of moving the Fresard dealership from Main Street and incorporating it into the hotel/condo/office/parking complex at 696. At the joint meeting, the developer presented architectural renderings and floor plans, stated that Schostak and Fresard are ready to formalize their gentlemen's agreement, and indicated that they would be meeting with the condo association whose members would be affected by the development.

That done, there was one perfunctory question about the development. Thereafter, representative from the DDA, the City Commission, and the City Administration ignored the 30-minute vision presented by the developer. Instead they wanted to argue with Doug Fresard about his plans for his current Main Street properties.

Oversimplifying to get to the point, the City wants to get quick access or control of the property  so it can be rezoned -- with some wanting to make it available to private developers and some hoping for a parking structure to serve that part of Royal Oak. On his part, Fresard seemed willing to immediately raze his bump shop, negotiate about his Service and Car Wash facilities, but he wants to maintain his current showroom for at least two years, and perhaps four.

Not during the hour VersagiVoice sat in the joint meeting, but in separate conversations, Voice was told that Fresard has already received a private sector bid for his Main Street property.

There have been umpteen projects proposed and quasi-approved in the years (decades?) since the City acquired the 696 property, but something always goes awry. It may another ten years before we see any actual Gateway construction. [NOTE: Historical Museum Curator Muriel Versagi found an 1872 map of Royal Oak which shows a hotel at Main Street & 10 Mile, although those streets were not yet named, and Woodward was called Pontiac Turnpike.]

 20 September 2004

The 20 September meeting was preceded by a Study Session to hear a presentation about the Fire Department by management consultant Jeff Roeme. VersagiVoice tuned in just as the allotted hour was ending and the Commission voted to extend the session. Before long, Commissioners Andrzejak and Drinkwine and Mayor Ellison seemed to be ganging up on Commissioner Ginotti.

Andrzejak was miffed because, he said, Ginotti misrepresented something Andrzejak had just said, making it seem that Andrzejak was suggesting a mixed -- permanent and volunteer -- fire department. Drinkwine maintained it was inappropriate for Ginotti to be questioning the consultant during this study session. Ellison suggested that Ginotti had gone on long enough, given the need to get the actual City Commission meeting started. (Ginotti was still standing tall at the Woman's Club Community Awards Banquet the next night.)

It seems that consultant Roeme has concluded that Royal Oak's Fire Department is adequately staffed and can become more efficient with a little fine-tuning. More, his lead recommendation was the the city should oppose attempts to amend the City Charter to mandate firefighters staffing levels. Click here to see a summary of Roemer's presentation. The Fire Fighters Union has reportedly published a study about staffing levels. VersagiVoice will obtain a copy and review it for readers.

During the commission's discussion about Library Staffing, Ginotti got in a lick when he guided the discussion enough to force the City Manager and the City Attorney to acknowledge, very reluctantly, that they were covering their rears relative to potential collective bargaining issues by depriving Library Director Carol Windorf of the full-time assistant she was requesting -- and which is within budget, given the Library's dedicated millage. The Administration played games with permitted total hours worked by part- and full-time workers to create a "compromise" which Windorf's "body language" implied was less than consensual, Ginotti suggested.

Ironically, during a quiet, polite, subdued Public Hearing, the noise of motorcycles was mentioned by two of the eight speakers. The synopsis-minutes on the city's website reports, "City Manager to report on motorcycle noise and include Chamber of Commerce in discussion." VersagiVoice concludes from off the-record conversations with four city officials that the motorcycle issue is gaining momentum and will have to be addressed.

And the presentation to save the Water Works Building made by several members of the Historic District Study Committee was countered by a citizen who described the condition of the structure as "deplorable" and encouraged the commission to support the Administration's advice to raze the building. One speaker suggested that the City is guilty of "demolition by neglect," a concept included in several historic preservation ordinances. (Although the Historic District Study Committee considers the Water Works Building as worthy of preservation, the committee has made no move to have the structure designated an historic district.)

13 September 2004

VersagiVoice couldn't get to a TV until Item 13 had been reached. That's the proposed 11 Mile and Main project. Once, the commissioners were discussing Liquor Licenses. Bored, I surfed away for a few minutes. When I came back, they were going on and on about Parking. Bored again, I left for good. If the minutes show something which deserves comment, I'll add it here later.

30 August 2004

• Thirty Public Comments, many of them about two topics: The Fire Fighters' proposed Charter Amendment and the Buffalo Wild Wings liquor license request. 
• About the proposed Charter Amendment, I counted four supporting and four opposing. The reasons for support or opposition ranged widely, from quality of life to the charge that the Commission and the Administration are exaggerating the cost of adding bodies and the suspicion that decisions have already been made about gutting the Fire Department. "The money was there all the time," said one speaker, referring to the "discovery" of over a million dollars during the recent budget deliberations.
• There was a suggestion (from a police officer? -- I was flipping back and forth between the Commission meeting and the Republican Convention) that the Fire Fighters' work schedule isn't very demanding for the pay they receive. And there was repetition of the feeling that Commissioner Drinkwine's previously expressed concern that the dialogue might get ugly was a threat.
• About the Buffalo Wild Wings liquor license request, which was denied, I counted four in favor and six against. The arguments came in two categories: first, antipathy towards liquor in any form, anywhere; second, objection to enlarging downtown's reputation as a "food court." And there was convoluted discussion about the number of licenses Royal Oak "should" have and their availability or not on the open market.
• Two or three public comments dealt with whether Commissioners Ginotti and Donigan should have recused themselves from voting on issues having to do with developments whose proponents had contributed to  their campaigns for State Representative. Bowing to an apparent U.S. Constitutional imperative, the Commission backed off from forbidding residents from naming individual commissioner during such comments. On the other hand, City Attorney Semchena commented that his first look at what has occurred raises no concern about conflict of interest. According to press reports, Ginotti returned the suspect contribution and Donigan countered that she almost always votes in favor of liquor licenses and did again this time. Which commissioner responded correctly? Both.
• Caught up in all this is the fate of the decrepitly historical Fourth & Main Bank Building, about which I comment elsewhere.
• I was watching the Republican Convention during the Commission's deliberations before they approved establishing the position of Deputy City Manager, but I had read the documents which City Manager Hoover had provided. My first impression is one of uneasiness: For one thing, with the city's population dropping, how has it happened that the City Manager's workload has increased so that it cannot be handled under the staffing that served previous managers? For another, if I read the document correctly, the position of Superintendent of Public Works has not been eliminated; it is merely being "left vacant." That is troublesome, but it would be premature to jump up and down right now.
• Reading the City Clerk's preliminary synopsis of the meeting (on the city's website, which later carries extended minutes), I realize that I missed discussions about the widening of Eleven Mile and about something involving the Michigan Attorney Grievance Committee. I'll follow up.
• There were a couple of straightforwardly political presentations which, again for constitutional reasons, can't be prohibited -- unfortunately.
• Oh, yes, Royal Oak is having trouble with rats, although the City seems to react quickly to specific complaints.

16 August 2004

• Great meeting. City Manager Hoover and Commissioner Hallock were especially helpful in re-focusing two or three wandering conversations. Mayor Ellison continues to be too nice. There are several polite parliamentary ways to cut off  dialogue among the commissioners which has become repetitive, has begun to circle. It was fun, though, to hear the several commissioners and the new city manager teasing each other about talking too long.
• I stopped counting after 25 individuals had spoken during Public Comment. With two or three exceptions, the speakers were courteous and soft-spoken, even in sharp disagreement.
• Main Street Loft owners, for example, spoke for and against putting a restaurant in the bank building at Fourth and Main. Two or three were puzzled why the few  dissenting loft owners bought a unit if they don't like the noise, traffic tie-ups,  aromas, bustle that come with "the urban experience." Some who have visited other locations of Buffalo Wings Restaurant describe it as a "sports bar." Others maintain it is truly a "family restaurant."
• About widening Main Street north of Eleven Mile, proponents consider it necessary to prevent traffic backups as more vehicles need to make left turns and to reduce the number of fender-bender and rear-enders on the strip. Opponents maintain that widening Main Street will cause increased speed, less safety, and is contrary to what other cities are doing to make their downtowns more pedestrian-friendly. There was unseemly confusion, official and unofficial, about whether the widening project was to be voted on during the meeting (or ever?). Is the project under way and unstoppable because Federal funds are involved? The confusion was shared by commissioners, at least one member of the Traffic Committee, and by residents.
• There was a bit more visible tension when Fire Fighters commented about the City Commission's proposed resolution to oppose the City Charter Amendment proposed by the Fire Fighters' union, but even here the presentations were subdued, rather than oratorically vehement. (VersagiVoice has previously commented that the dialogue will get vigorous without getting ugly. While proposing that an independent auditor be retained to conduct an organizational review of the Fire Department, Commissioner Drinkwine suggested that the debate unfortunately is "going to get ugly.") The resolution can be viewed or downloaded from the city's website: www.ci.royal-oak.mi.us.
• Several residents pleaded with the commission to appoint "neighborhood-friendly" people to vacancies on the Plan Commission -- as opposed, one gathers, to appointees who might be too accommodating toward developers.
• An especially wandering and time-wasting conversation dealt with removing  decades-old "temporary" barrels on Center South of Sixth Street, to enable a traffic count to determine whether a more attractive permanent barricade should be installed. Everything from how old the barrels are, to something involving an old lease arrangement, to "who asked for this?" were tossed into what was a straightforward recommendation from the Traffic Committee.
• The city's insistence on declaring the Fourth and Main bank building "historical," in the late Nineties, was a major factor in reducing that development's ability to attract major retailers, like Banana Republic or The Gap, the commission heard during its consideration of whether to grant Buffalo Wings's request to transfer a Class C Liquor License. The commission moved to table the request until the 30 August meeting.  
• One resident pointed out that the Senior Center is expected to go into deficit next year and the year after, and he is concerned that there will be no General Fund money available to help out (until now, the Senior Center has not been supported by General Fund). 
• Hoover's research about the status of the Farmers Market Manager revealed that two documents existed which establish the position as a contract-employee. The commission acted on his recommendations to (a) rescind one of the contracts, (b) retain the position as a contract-employee, and (c) increase the compensation to provide for previously promised health insurance coverage.

02 August 2004

• It would be helpful if the City provided a laser-pointer at the lectern when a presentation requires pointing to an easel-mounted display which is projected both on a screen in the commission room and over television. 
• Intentionally or not, the Commission has been misled by advocates of an Animal Shelter. The promise was of enthusiastic volunteers who would strongly support full-time and part-time staff. Instead, the part-time worker has quit, two volunteers left and no volunteers have stepped forward to replace them, so advocates were forced to plead for emergency action from the City Commission. Still faced with budget problems and with worker shortages at Police and Fire, the Commission spent even more valuable time debating about cats and dogs.
• Why was one speaker during Public Comment permitted to deliver a self-serving political campaign speech?
• Two spokesman for the Fire Fighters did an excellent job of laying out their reasoning for continuing to seek a Charter Amendment to mandate staffing levels. Of concern to observers is the Fire Fighter's contention, expressed during Public Comment and previously in the press, that they need something in writing because previous oral assurances were not implemented.
• On his part, Mayor Ellison pointed out that "what if" scenarios -- which must be a part of any deliberations concerning the future -- are not recommendations or proposals, so there has never been any truth to the rumor that the City plans to eliminate one fire station and 15 workers. Less convincing was his explanation of why the City would not put its position in writing, especially since both parties agree that none of this dialogue is collective bargaining.
• An unfortunate development from the Fire Fighter's fight is that Royal Oak's Police and Fire Fighters have been pushed into opposition with each other.  The two spokesman for the Police made it clear that they would prefer not to have to disagree with their fellow first-responders about public policy.
• Planning Director Tim Thwing behaves with remarkable patience during City Commission meetings. Either some of the Commissioner have not been paying attention or they are posturing when Thwing has to explain the same decades-old procedures over and over again -- about the path which property development proposals must follow, for example.
• One wonders how much shorter commission meetings would last if the code-word "parking" was banned from all dialogue. "No parking," get it?
• Speaking of code-words, one suspects that Commissioner Capello has assumed the role previously filled by former Commissioners Lanfear and Sarnacki. That is, find occasion in every meeting to use the word "residents" as a mantra, as a cover for any and all agendas, open or hidden. VersagiVoice found it hard to believe that Capello actually suggested to an attending developer that a few more meetings with the residents would have resulted in 100% agreement with his project. Worse, Capello implied -- perhaps VersagiVoice erroneously inferred -- that protesting residents have more credibility than the spokeswomen who represent residents who support the project.
• Concerning Farmers Market Manager, Gwen Ross, the commissioners all made the right sounds, but the dialogue showed the lack of consistency in the City's employment practices --  full-time employee, part-time employee, independent contractor, third-party employment agency. The resulting confusion generates uncertainty about who an individual works for.
• New City Manager, Tom Hoover, gets an "A" for his first commission meeting. He spoke only when he had something to contribute, not merely to call attention to himself. He spoke on-point and briefly. He respectfully but firmly disagreed with Commissioners Ginotti and Capello during the debate about an emergency hiring for the Animal Shelter.