REGULAR MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NOVI
 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2006 AT 7:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS – NOVI CIVIC CENTER – 45175 W. TEN MILE ROAD

Mayor Landry called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.

ROLL CALL: Mayor Landry, Mayor Pro Tem Capello, Council Members Gatt, Margolis, Mutch, Nagy-absent, Paul

ALSO PRESENT: Clay Pearson, City Manager

Pam Antil, Assistant City Manager

Rob Hayes, City Engineer

Sheryl Walsh, Community Relations Manager

Kathy Smith-Roy, Director of Finance

Member Mutch requested that Main Street Wetland Permit be added as item #1 under Mayor and Council Issues.

Mayor Landry read a proclamation on the 125^th anniversary of the American Association of University Women. Mayor Landry proclaimed November 28, 2006 to be American Association of University Women Day. The proclamation was presented to Joyce Murdock.

Joyce Murdock thanked Mayor Landry for the proclamation and said their association had been in existence since 1881, and their goal had been to promote education for women and girls. She said they had put books about women and girls in the Novi and Northville schools, and their main fund raiser was the home tour during the Victorian Festival. Ms. Murdock said their proceeds go toward endowment funds at Oakland Community College, Orchard Ridge Campus, and to Schoolcraft College. She said the women’s center and the women’s resource center would choose a girl or woman who was a non-traditional student. This person was usually someone trying to raise a family, and do it better by furthering her education. Ms. Murdock said their theme was "Education is the Gateway to Economic Security".

Sheryl Walsh stated she was pleased and honored to tell everyone that the City of Novi had earned a Silver Recognition Award for promoting active communities by the Governor’s Council on Fitness. She said 70 communities participated and it was the first time Novi had participated. She said the actual idea came from Providence Hospital and Rob Casalou, and one of Mr. Casalou’s goals was to make Novi one of the healthiest communities in Michigan. She said they sat down together and collaborated on how they could bring all the communities entities together from restaurants, health and fitness clubs, schools, local government, etc., and they were going to complete the survey together. However, the 2006 survey was different as it looked a lot at community planning, so Providence handed it over to the City. She said they looked at Council policy and direction as far as sidewalk connections, walk ability of the community, Parks and Recreation programs the City had in place, and partnering with health care organizations throughout the community. Ms. Walsh said Providence Hospital, Mr. Casalou’s office, Mary Watson and Tammy Pollum, were great partners in helping complete the survey which was submitted this spring. She said they found out they were Silver Award winners this fall, and out of the seven communities that were new to participating, Novi was the only new applicant to receive a Silver Award. Ms.Walsh said plans were in place to achieve a gold award next year, and they would work with Parks and Recreation to put some walking programs in place, look at some runs partnering with a few organizations in town, and they would submit the new sidewalk connections Council had approved. She thanked Council for their good work and moving Novi forward as a very active community.

Lou Martin said Providence wanted to commend City Council and Administration for putting forth the effort to be a part of this program. The first phase was assessment, and the lion’s share of that fell on Ms. Walsh’s shoulders. He said the reason the award was received was because of the ability of Ms. Walsh to put together the comprehensive data that went into this. Mr. Martin said the next step would be collaboration and to brain storm, and figure what they needed to do to remove the barriers to access a healthy lifestyle, which could minimize certain chronic diseases and keep people from being sedentary far into their lives. Mr. Martin said he was glad Council and Mr. Pearson agreed to do this with them, and were proud that the City, school district, and Providence were able to partner in order to receive this award.

Mayor Landry said Providence Hospital always seemed to be there and caring for the community, and Council was very proud to be partners with Providence Hospital in this endeavor. Mr. Casalou sent a message that Silver was great but they were focused on Gold, and he would watch closely that all their resources were put toward it too.

Mayor Landry said they read with interest this wonderful report, and Council was very happy to receive it.

Joseph Heffernan of Plante and Moran was present. He said the financial statements, graphs, and letter of comments were in Council packets, the thickest of which, the financial statement, was not the result of Plante/Moran, and was the product of the City Finance Department. He

said Plante/Moran would study the systems of checks and balances so they could see if there were any interim controls that would impact the ability to provide accurate numbers. Then an audit test, a sample of the transactions and numbers, so they could give an opinion as to whether or not the financial statements were fairly stated. He said if they found any significant deficiencies in the interim controls, they would be responsible to report those to Council as part of the audit. He said each year he had been involved in the audit there had not been those kinds of internal control deficiencies to report to Council, and today would be no different.

Mr. Heffernan said, as he had in the past, Novi had a top class Finance Department, they’ve put the right emphasis on it, and the right number and quality of people in that department. He thought it was fantastic that Council had put that strong an emphasis on good interim controls, and good people in finance so they could maintain the strong financial help that Council has had.

Mr. Heffernan said they had performed tests on the numbers and believed that the interim controls and financial statements were fairly stated. He said focusing on the General Fund, and looking at the five year trend in the revenues graph, they were trying to demonstrate two things. First, what were the most significant revenues, and second how each of them was changing. He said property taxes were the most significant revenue, which had always been the case for Novi. State Shared Revenue was the second and had been decreasing because of the budgetary problems of the State, and Council was well aware of that. He said if they were to follow the formula of the State Shared Revenue, based just on sales taxes, the number would have been increasing a little faster than inflation the last three years. The State intended to keep State Shared Revenues flat again next year. Mr. Heffernan said, regarding State Shared Revenues, the legislation for that would sunset September 30, 2007. He said about 85% of what Novi was receiving the legislature couldn’t change as it was constitutionally mandated. However, a significant portion of that would still come through the Statutory Portion of Revenue Sharing, and that would sunset a year from now. He said the legislature would need to renew it, and the last time it was renewed they changed the formulas drastically. Mr. Heffernan said it would be problematic to just renew it because the formulas won’t work at this point with the reductions we’ve had over the last six years, since 2000, that they were not using the formula. He said it would make it more difficult to just renew. He thought it was worth the effort for each Council member to talk to their State legislatures, and remind them of the importance of State Shared Revenues to local communities.

Mr. Heffernan said the Building Permits continued to go up a little, which was unusual relative to the rest of southeast Michigan. He said there was about a 10% increase this year and 13% last year, and the strong tax base was what was maintaining Novi’s strong fiscal health.

Mr. Heffernan said regarding other revenues they saw a little bit of a blip for 2006, which was more of an accounting change than anything else. The Tree Fund money that had been counted as an Agency Fund was now being counted as Revenues and Expenses. He said it was not really an increase in other types of charges it was an accounting change for the Tree Fund.

Mr. Heffernan said the next graph was expenditures and showed which expenditures were most significant, and how they were changing. He said police followed by fire were the most significant, which was true for most communities, and were having a little more than inflationary increase. This was because of the cost of people when looking at pension, health care, retiree health care, and special capital outlay of the fire department for the current year; it was going up significantly faster than inflation. However, all of these categories came in below budget, which meant Novi was definitely within budget. He said the departments continued to spend between 5% and 7% below budget, which was what they expected to see, and that was fantastic. He said it meant that all departments were taking the budget given to them, and providing a level of service more economically than was in the budget, which contributed to the growth in the Fund Balance.

Mr. Heffernan said the next graph showed the undesignated portion of Fund Balance in the blue graph and in the red bar it showed the following year’s budgeted expenditures. So on June 30, 2006 there was about $7.3 million in undesignated Fund Balance, which was being compared to the 2007 budgeted expenditures. He said Novi ended up the year with an increase in the undesignated Fund Balance from about $7 million to about $7.3 million, which was a little less than a 5% increase. He said the percentage dropped from 26% to 22% because of the planned budget for 2007, and 22% was a healthy level of Fund Balance.

Mr. Heffernan said the next graph showed a significant increase in the Fund Balance for 2006. However, for the most part, it would be expected that if everything in the budget were spent for 2007, it would bring the undesignated portion of Fund Balance to about $7.3 million.

He said the Water and Sewer Fund graph compared the annual revenues of the fund to the annual expenditures. Mr. Heffernan said over the last several years they were close to matching each other but for this past year the revenues were in excess of expenditures, which told him the rates were set about right. He said the red bar was the amount of working capital, which decreased primarily because during 2006 they defeased the revenue bonds that were out there, basically paying off the mortgage. Therefore, the reason the working capital dipped a bit was because the bonds were paid off early.

Mr. Heffernan commented the last graph put the city’s property tax rate into perspective. He said they were looking at the millage rate in Novi compared to all the other Oakland County communities, and Novi was about the fifth lowest in terms of the millage rate. This demonstrated that Novi was keeping the tax burden on the residents well in check. Mr. Heffernan offered to answer questions.

Member Margolis agreed that the Finance Department did excellent work, and that she had been continually impressed by their work. She also commended the Administration because one of the reasons Novi had such a healthy Fund Balance was because the staff continually cut corners and did not spend their budgeted amount. She was also pleased to see a clean report and thought, in these economic times, the health of the Fund Balance and the health of Novi’s financial position was outstanding.

Member Margolis referred to the full report on page 8 of the Financial Report, the charge for services of 9% of revenue, and asked if those were mostly Parks and Recreation charges for services. Mr. Heffernan said he would say Parks and Recreation was about one third of it, the more significant portion would be public safety charges for services. He said the District Court would be the biggest portion of that.

Member Margolis said about 5% of revenue was unrestricted interest earnings, money being made on investments, and interest on long term debt was only 6%. She thought that was healthy and asked how it compared to other municipalities. Ms. Smith-Roy said one of the items she would need to keep in mind, regarding the General Fund, was that they received interest earnings on cash financial guarantees. She said that interest flowed through the General Fund and they were not tracking that on the new software system. However, they would be tracking what that difference was so they could see what the General Fund interest earnings were and get a projection of the future, because those financial guarantees would go down as build out got closer. She said it looked healthier than other communities, in part, because of interest earnings from escrow accounts that went directly to the General Fund. Ms. Smith-Roy said they didn’t charge an administrative fee on some of those, and that helped offset some of the administrative costs.

Member Margolis referenced page 40 in terms of the police station bond. She thought there might be confusion among the citizens and other people regarding this bond. She asked that the call issue on those bonds be explained regarding when those bonds could be paid off and how they could go about doing that.

Ms. Smith-Roy said the earliest call date on those bonds was October 1, 2008, and there were excess proceeds from the bond proceeds when they initially completed the construction. So, they had been using those proceeds to pay off the current millage amount that was due rather than charge a millage rate to the taxpayers on their property tax bill. She said those proceeds were anticipated to take them through the 2006-2007 fiscal year, and then Council authorized $1,200,000.00 from the Federal Forfeiture Funds approved by the DEA to be used for these construction bond proceeds. She said that was in the Construction Fund, and would be used in the following year until they were able to call the bonds. She said there were options when they called the bonds that she felt should be discussed at a later time. They could use the $1.2 million to continue to pay the debt service payments to call earlier or later issues. She said the interest rates varied by year on the debt, and the range of interest rate being paid was shown on page 40. Member Margolis said then it was a financial decision at the time as to what would be the most beneficial financially and when to call. She said the previous Council allocated $1.2 million to put aside in an escrow to be included as part of the two years that they had to pay the police bond. She asked if Council wanted to pay off that police bond completely, her understanding was they would have to put money away in the same way that would grow until those bonds could be called. She asked if Ms. Smith-Roy could give Council an estimate as to how much they would have to put away. Ms. Smith-Roy said yes, they provided an estimate with the Forfeiture Fund information, and the estimate was from $1,375,000 to $1,425,000, if the money was deposited now. She said that amount would increase each month because they would not be earning the interest recorded in the Federal Forfeiture Funds, and it would have to be recomputed when the decision was made to do that. Member Margolis said the sooner the money could be allocated to an escrow fund the better off they’d be because more would have to be put away the longer they wait. Ms. Smith-Roy agreed, and said the interest would not be lost as it would go to the Federal Forfeiture Fund for other purposes.

Member Margolis referred to page 84 having to do with Fund Balance. She said one of the things they saw was that the General Fund Fund Balance had increased over ten years, which was a positive thing. She asked what their professional thoughts and guidance would be regarding this. Mr. Heffernan thought Council was looking at Fund Balance the right way, although a lot of people would argue that technically it was not a savings account. He thought it was very analogist to a savings account in terms of why they would have it, etc. Mr. Heffernan said they needed some minimum amount because of the fact that their cash flow was not even, meaning it didn’t come in and out at the same time, and they would always have emergencies they needed to deal with quickly. He said the minimum would be in the range of 10% to 12% for a City the size of Novi, but beyond that, just like a savings account, he thought they should ask themselves if they should have more than that because of things coming up in the near future. He said probably the #1 item for the City of Novi would be the requirement in a year and a half to be counting and measuring the retiree health care costs. He said that was a significant accounting rule change, and while it would not require them to fund what the actuary estimated, it would require them to have the debate. They would have to consider what the actuary recommended be set aside, how much the City could afford, and what the right amount was. He said those two figures might not be the same answer. He thought the right thing to do was to pay as much of the actuaries recommended contribution as possible, and if they did it would be an adjustment to the budget.

Member Margolis referred to page 86 and that the Fire Department really jumped in 2006. She thought he had talked about that in his presentation that it was an unusual capital expenditure. She asked if that was correct. Mr. Heffernan said it was. Member Margolis said the DPW seemed to be varying a lot from year to year, and she asked why. Ms. Smith-Roy said the DPW equipment was purchased from the General Fund, and got charged to the Street Fund and the Drain Fund based on usage. So, the usage was fairly even, but when a large truck was purchased it hit in one year. Mr. Heffernan said that was one of the unusual requirements of Act 51. The Act that collected the gas tax state wide, then sent it out based on miles of roads and population, specifically stated the money could not be used to purchase the equipment necessary to take care of the roads. He said they had to find another way to do that, which Ms. Smith-Roy talked about, and then charge for that based on the hours of usage.

Member Mutch said they touched on the retiree health care costs and when they needed to start reflecting those in the financial statements, and asked if that was something that would start appearing in the audit, and at what point would Council start seeing those numbers. Mr. Heffernan said the requirement was July 1, 2008, and the financial statements would have to measure what the actuary said the annual cost of retiree health care was, and then compare that to what the Council chose to actually fund. It was not a requirement to fund it but it was a requirement to compare those two numbers. Member Mutch said regarding the questions about the police bond levy, he said they were levying that millage now, and asked if that was correct. Ms. Smith-Roy responded it was. He asked when she anticipated levying that millage again if they chose not to put any money towards it in the short term. She replied probably next year.

Member Paul asked what they paid last year in interest for the police station bond. Ms. Smith-Roy responded she would guess it was about $160,000; she didn’t have the number in front of her. Member Paul said, then to estimate, they paid interest on the bond for the previous police station improvements of approximately $150,000-$160,000. Ms. Smith-Roy stated she would get back with her because she was not sure of that figure. Member Paul agreed. Member Paul asked what it took to maintain the police station for maintenance, heating, cooling, repairs, etc. Mr. Heffernan said this showed the total expenses for the police department. He said the information she was requesting would have to be looked up in the detail of the records, and they would have to get back to her.

Mayor Landry asked Chief Molloy to join him at the podium, and said he had received a letter and wanted to read it into the record as it was something Novi residents should know. The letter was dated November 15, 2006 and addressed to Chief Molloy.

Dear Chief Molloy,

On Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at approximately 10 P.M., I had the experience of having to bail my little sister out of the Novi Police Jail. As you can imagine no one ever wants to bail a family member out of jail. For me this was especially hard because my little sister, as I affectionately refer to her, has always been somewhat of a magnet for minor troubles throughout her life. However, nothing has ever led to an arrest. I was embarrassed, humiliated, and down right angry. As a member of law enforcement myself I felt let down by her. I tell you all of this to frame the reason for this letter.

My little sister, whose name is ________, contacted me and told me the circumstances of the arrest. She also informed me that she would need $500 to get out of jail. My initial response was "what precinct are you in" thinking she was in Detroit. She informs me she was at the Novi Police Station. I must tell you that my first and only experience with the Novi Police was not pleasant. It occurred 20 years ago when I was pulled over at age 18. I was leaving Sunshine Acura in Farmington Hills where I worked as a mechanic. I was driving a new Acura Legend with a dealer plate in the window. At times they would let us take a car home on the weekend. I decided to drive to the mall before going home and was pulled over. The officer was accusatory and quite suspicious of how I attained the vehicle. With this as my only experience with your police department, believe me when I tell you I was not looking forward to my second encounter with the Novi Police Department. In my mind this experience would be one of humiliation. I actually rehearsed my responses to what I thought would be witty insults. I even thought to myself that maybe I would let them know that I was a fellow police officer so that they would treat me a little better. I quickly dismissed this notion thinking that it would further the already poor image that some departments have about Detroit and its police officers. I felt that even though this was my sister and I can not control her actions, somehow, someway, this would make me and my department look bad. With that I prepared myself with what I thought would be a tough night as I proceeded to your police station to bail her out.

Upon my entry to the station an officer was working with a citizen and her father on a stalking case. This officer epitomized professionalism. Not only was his uniform neat and crisp, he was thorough with his explanation of the laws regarding stalking. The young female citizen must have asked the same question 20 different ways. Each time the officer patiently and professionally explained her options. He excused himself from his conversation with the complainants and greeted me respectfully and professionally, and advised me to use the phone to get the service I needed. Approximately 15 minutes later another police officer entered the desk area and proceeded to help me with the bond procedures. Professional and dare I say it again polite. This officer took my bond and escorted my sister out of the back holding area.

On the drive home, after taking a scolding from me, I calmed down long enough to ask my sister how she was treated. Her exact words were "very respectfully". I know that I have chronicled a lot here, but the purpose of this letter was to simply say thank you. In this day and age of rude, condescending people it is refreshing to see an organization that has it right. This is clearly a direct result of your good leadership. Being in law enforcement for some 15 years now, I have learned that the key to success in an organization is training good people and leadership. Unfortunately, I did not get those officers names, but if you can figure out who they are please thank them for me. Thank them for not prejudging me and my sister. Thank them for not making it necessary for me to identify myself as fellow enforcement in order to get service and respect. Thank them for not making me feel my race, a black male, was ever even noticed. Thank them for treating my little sister like she was innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Thank them for reminding me why I chose to do this job, why we strap this uniform on everyday. The reason we do it is simple, you never know when it will happen but sometimes you really do get a chance to help people and make a difference in the lives of strangers.

These officers in your organization should be commended. The service you provide your citizens through courtesy and professionalism should be copied by all in law enforcement.

Sincerely,

Lt. White
Detroit Police Department

Mayor Landry asked if the Chief knew the names of the two officers involved in this. Chief Molloy said they did, and had recognized them, and they had conducted some follow up with Mr. White to let him know that, and thanked him for his letter. Mayor Landry said the Chief was to be commended, and asked him to pass on the commendations of every Council member.

Member Mutch drew attention to a needed correction on page 16 of the minutes. Mr. Grobe from Meadowbrook Glens was spelled incorrectly.

Approve Minutes of:

1. November 13, 2006 – Regular meeting

B. Enter Executive Session immediately following the regular meeting of November 27, 2006 in the Council Annex for the purpose of discussing pending litigation and privileged correspondence from legal counsel.

C. Approval to renew Uniform Cleaning Contract for the Police and Fire Departments with Mai Kai cleaners based on unit pricing under the same terms, conditions, and pricing as the original contract (one year renewal).

D. Approval to award the bid for the Fire Alarm System upgrade at the Novi Civic Center to Healy Fire Protection, the low bidder, in the amount of $23,900.

E. Approval to award bid for Sign Removal for non-compliant signage to MTI Lighting, Inc., low bidder, based on hourly rates.

F. Approval of the storm drainage facility maintenance easement agreement associated with the Twelve Oaks Mall expansion project.

G. Consideration of request from Kim’s of Novi, Inc. to transfer stock in 2006 Class C licensed business, located at 26150 Novi Road, Novi, MI 48375, Oakland County, by removing Dedan Wong, deceased; and transfer 25,000 shares of stock, to new stockholder, Betty Wong (personal representative).

H. Approval to award bid for one (1) Vacuum Assisted trash pump to Global Pump Company in the amount of $21,900.

I. Adoption of MERS Revised Uniform Defined Contribution Program Resolution for the Teamster Division (effective for all employees hired after December 1, 2006).

J. Approval of Resolution to Amend the VantageCare Retirement Health Savings (RHS) Program to include the Teamster Division (effective for all Teamster employees hired after December 1, 2006).

K. Approval of Claims and Accounts – Warrant No. 733

Mr. Pearson said these are flow through funds from the Federal government, and have been through a bidding process, and a citizens committee reviewed a variety of applications. He said their recommendations were before Council. Also, Ron Boron was one of the residents that served on that committee and made things happen, and everyone participated. He said this money went towards our residential repair program, and individual home repairs. Mr. Pearson said this was a valuable tool that we have to work with to help residents who meet the criteria to make necessary life safety home improvements to individual residences in Novi. There are other expenditures that are recommended to fit into public services. We are limited in the amount of money that could be used towards that, but the criteria had been met and we are recommending what’s before Council this evening.

Member Paul asked how people in the community were aware that there were home improvements that they could apply for. She felt it was something they could improve on.

Mr. Pearson responded that one of the key points of contact was Neighborhood Services through Cindy Uglow and her staff. He said this was something they could offer in terms of residents that had to meet obligations for keeping up their properties. He said they also put it out in the Community Newsletter, Youth Assistance, schools, and agencies that people might come in contact with. He said it was constant awareness inside and out.

Member Paul asked if they could inform the people who are on assisted lunch programs through the schools, possibly through a news letter or form letter that would go home to those families. She said the schools would have those addresses.

Member Paul said she recently found out there were three homeless families in the Novi Middle School, which was something she was unaware of. She said if they weren’t in trouble with the law, could they get involved with Novi Youth Assistance because they are truly at risk. She said they need help and asked how they could be reached through programs within the City. Mr. Pearson said the beauty of Novi Youth Assistance was that it was an open program, and was geared toward youth referred by court services at the county, locally or a police department. Mr. Pearson said there were referrals and the school counselors were heavily involved with this program. It was also a partnership between the schools, Youth Assistance and the City in a lot of ways. Mr. Pearson said it was a coalition of people who genuinely care, and want to help kids out and prevent problems. He said with their open summer recreation programs and activities they try to provide alternatives and positive things, and he felt they could speak to it more effectively than he could. He said that was his impression based on his contact with them, and Chief Molloy and others support the group.

Member Paul said she was asking because she talked with the principle at the middle school, and he said they had to have been in trouble with the law to become a part of Novi Youth Assistance. She said there was a divorce in the family she was thinking about, and he and his parent were living at the Fairlane Motel and before that they lived in a car, and there were several other families living in a car. She said those people are at risk and need a little more help, and she was looking to see what was available. Mr. Pearson said they didn’t have to have a law enforcement problem to get involved in Youth Assistance. He said if he and Member Paul were talking about the same case, they were involved in the Youth Assistance Program and with school counselors, and others who cared. He thought the Goodfellows were also involved. He said it was a network that tried to bring together the resources of the schools and the City.

Member Mutch reiterated a point he had made while interviewing applicants for the Housing and Community Development Committee, and that was that he thought Council shouldn’t restrict themselves simply to the funding available through the CDGB program. He said, as the information provided to Council reflected, Federal funding never provided enough money to meet the needs and requests of the various programs. In particular, he would like to see if there was additional funding needed for the minor home repair program. All these programs are targeted at very low income residents, and in these economic times the very small amount of money that could be put towards those programs could have a tremendous impact on those residents. He thought that programs like minor home repair were an investment in the community because it insured residents could continue to stay in their homes long term until they get on their feet, and that benefited the entire area, and not just the residents themselves. He said at the point Council would look at budget amendments or the upcoming budget, he would like to see more attention given to this. Member Mutch felt there was more that could be done, as a City, to help those residents beyond what Council would do this evening.

Mayor Pro Tem Capello said there were certain categories that were capped in regard to the amount of money they could allocate. Mr. Pearson thought they were allowed to spend 45% on the public portion. He asked if senior van transportation was capped at $25,000. Mr. Pearson said that was their request, and obviously that was not the only portion that funded that. He said there were also allocations, other funding sources, General Fund and other things. Mr. Pearson said they were capped at $52,000 out of this allocation for Public Services in total, and they and the committee were recommending fully funding what the senior van program requested.

Mayor Pro Tem Capello said the amount the City provided to OLHSA wouldn’t affect the salary of the senior manager, correct. He said if Council gave them more they contributed less and if Council gave them less they contributed more. He asked if that was how it worked. Mr. Pearson said this recommendation would not decrease or increase the individual salary by this amount. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said by changing that number, whether greater or less, would not affect Ms. Zagaroli’s salary. Mr. Pearson said no, another individual was responsible for both Ms. Janes and Ms. Zagaroli’s salaries. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said it would not affect Ms. Zagaroli’s salary, and Mr. Pearson agreed. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said last year he supported the entire budget because he wanted more money to go to Novi Youth Assistance, as he felt they dealt more directly with residents and citizens. He understood that HAVEN dealt with a lot of battered spouses within the Novi area, but he thought the dollars were better spent allocating them directly to Novi Youth. He noted HAVEN had a budget of $3.2 million, and he didn’t think reducing $2,000 from HAVEN and granting an additional $2,000 to Novi Youth would affect HAVEN’s operations.

Member Gatt pointed out that it was not just the Novi Youth they were talking about. It was Novi Youth Assistance, which was a program funded by the county. He said if Council gave

less to the Senior Center Manager, OLSHA would give more. He thought the same held true for Novi Youth Assistance. They have a multi million dollar budget at the county and rely on local entities to provide contributions. However, if funding wasn’t increased, he didn’t think that any Novi Youth would go unassisted.

Member Margolis thanked the Housing and Community Development Committee for all their work as she knew they agonized over this, and she appreciated it.

Member Mutch had a question about Mayor Pro Tem Capello’s comments regarding Novi Youth Assistance and providing them with additional funding. He asked if there was anything that would preclude them from following the suggestion he made to allocate funds at a later date. Mr. Schultz replied it would not be a problem outside of the Block Grant issue at a later date. Member Mutch reiterated that he would be looking at doing that down the road, and thought it would be the appropriate time to raise those funding requests.

Mr. Pearson said this was in compliance with the Master Plan for Land Use additional Office Service Technology District property on the south side of 12 Mile Road. He said after deliberations and a public hearing, it had a positive recommendation from staff and the Planning Commission.

Mayor Landry said Council was adopting the reasons stated on page 2 of the Plan Review and Rezoning request. Mayor Pro Tem Capello agreed.

Mr. Pearson said Council had the staff reports and recommendations, the police departments review of the applicants and their backgrounds, and the Building Departments comments.

Member Paul said this business owner had been managing a facility in Colorado for over 17 years and had never had a violation for serving a minor. Also, they have experience in business, and she welcomed them into the community and wished them good luck.

Member Mutch asked the applicant when they expected to open for business. Kelly Allen, applicant’s attorney, responded they would like to be open for St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2007. Member Mutch asked what volume of restaurant business they were expecting on a regular basis. Ms. Allen introduced Mr. Todd Milner, owner of the business, and she responded that they didn’t have a capacity yet from the Fire Department. She said the location had been Steak on Main before, and significant renovations would have to be done. Ms. Allen explained that it was a specialty pizza place, and they hoped to do a big lunch and dinner business, and a nighttime business as well. She said in terms of numbers, they thought they were looking at about 250, but would go with whatever the Fire Department recommended.

Member Mutch asked Mr. Milner how involved he would be with this location. Mr. Milner replied he would probably be as involved as he was with his place Charlotte. He would be involved in the build up before opening, the hiring, and then once opening occurred he would be very involved. He said when he opened the Charlotte location, he moved there for three or four months, and visited 6 to 8 times after that for the first year. Mr. Milner said, in the 2 ½ years since then, he probably averaged going back to Charlotte quarterly because of how smooth it was running, and because of his relationship with the general manager and the good a job he was doing.

Member Mutch said everything looked good, and he appreciated the investment he was making in Novi and the Main Street development.

Mayor Landry advised everyone that Items 4 and 5 had been postponed.

4. Approval of allocation of $1,244,350 in existing Federal Forfeiture Funds for construction of an Indoor Gun Range at the Field Services Complex ($725,300) and critical maintenance needs at Police Headquarters ($519,050). POSTPONED

5. Approval to solicit for Requests for Proposals (RFP) for architectural design and engineering services, including on site storm drainage, for an Indoor Gun Range at the Department of Public Works Field Services Complex. POSTPONED

Member Paul asked the engineer if there was a back way to get into the subdivision to do any new construction in an area that had not been approved. She said they were accepting a large area, and they had already accepted the other portion of Scarborough, and asked if there was any other portion that would be driven over by construction vehicles being accepted tonight.

Mr. Hayes said he couldn’t think of any that would be impacted by the streets being considered this evening. Member Paul said it looked like there were several homes that were not built on the northern corner of 41336, 41324, 41012, and 41300 that was under construction. Mr. Hayes said he didn’t know if those sites were developable or not. She said usually when there was a lot line there was a home, so she wanted to see the percentage of build out that the City was accepting, and how the traffic patterns would be after the road was accepted. Mr. Hayes said he knew they were over the 90% threshold.

Mr. Pearson said this was an item that Council initiated. He said there were a couple of cases where individual lots had been developed and found that the City did not have a requirement for street trees like they would have when a site plan was developed for an entire subdivision. Council made a referral to the Planning Commission who conducted a public hearing, and recommended the text before Council tonight with a positive recommendation from the Planning Commission and staff.

Mayor Pro Tem Capello asked if in doing this, did Council send Mr. Pearson a request to do the same thing with sidewalks. He asked if they realized there was an ordinance to require individual homes to put sidewalks on 11 Mile, but not on 10 Mile. Mr. Pearson said the ones they had come up with had been a case of making sure they were meeting what was already on the books. He thought they were covered for the sidewalks. He said they had a couple of cases where it wasn’t caught on the individual plot plan reviews. He commented he had just been on 11 Mile, and then went to 10 Mile and Beck and noticed that one of the sidewalks Mayor Pro Tem Capello brought up was going in. He said he thought they were catching those. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said every mile road, and every road of individual homes had to put a sidewalk in so they didn’t have to go back and review that. Mr. Pearson said correct.

Member Mutch thanked the Administration, Planning Department and Planning Commission for turning this around in a timely manner. He thought this would be a great benefit to new and existing restaurants, and would revitalize some of those locations by giving them additional options for outdoor eating.

Mayor Landry agreed and thanked them for turning this around as fast as they did. He said it was a great job by the Administration and the Planning Commission.

Member Margolis said as she read this it struck her as strange that they were restricting outdoor eating to only between April 15^th and October 31^st. She said she read the Planning Commission minutes and the idea that people leaving things out all winter would look unsightly. However, it seemed unfairly regulatory that if it was a nice day on November 1^st, patrons couldn’t sit outside at the table. Member Margolis said she would like to see something else done with that.

Mr. Pearson said he thought it was a question of enforcement. He said today they were lucky. Obviously, no one was going over to Picasso on Grand River Avenue if they happened to have theirs out. However, by the same token, they would want to have a mechanism so if things were stored underneath a tarp during the winter months it could be addressed. Member Margolis asked if that could be accomplished if it said they could not store things outside that were not being used so people could run their business as they saw fit. She said that was really the issue, and asked if they could put wording in regarding that.

Mr. Schultz commented they would think about that between now and the next reading. He said the other reason for having a date certain was that the reality was these outdoor eating areas would come in as the weather started to turn and people stopped using them, but if the weather was good they really didn’t want the property owner to put everything back. The way the ordinance was set up the building official would have to go out to make sure the requirements such as metal railing, etc. were being adhered to. Mr. Schultz asked if Council wanted to go back and forth with that. He said the hard date was so that things weren’t going in and out of storage, but they would address that.

Mr. Pearson said there was a requirement that he had asked about regarding parking requirements in the site plan and between the first and second reading, if Council agreed, he would like to work on that wording. He said he would not want something to get caught up in the whole site plan review for the number of parking stalls for three or four tables, as it didn’t seem to make a lot of sense. He wanted to see if they could come up with something that if it was a certain amount of space they would forego the parking study. Mayor Landry thought that was a great idea.

Member Paul supported Mr. Pearson’s request, and thought it would expedite time, which was the whole purpose of bringing this forward, so they wouldn’t have to keep reapplying. She asked how they would let the businesses in Novi know this had been changed after approval.

Mr. Pearson said they have had successful roll out of the new sign ordinance, which was quite extensive and done in many different layers. He said they would put the information and materials out along with the original text. They would also do mailings to every business with a Business Registration Permit. He said Ms. Uglow had hosted a business familiarization meeting where about 30 or 40 residents attended to walk through the sign ordinance with Mr. Schultz. Mr. Pearson said letters were also sent to the two Chambers, and they were both very open to that. He anticipated the same sort of idea. Council had been very proactive with a number of changes, and they just try to keep letting people know what had been done lately, and release that information in as many different ways as possible.

Member Mutch said, after reviewing his notes of the last regular meeting where Council voted on the Main Street Development, what he noted was that it didn’t appear that the wetland permit was approved. He went back and reviewed the video on line and in fact Member Nagy’s motion did not include the Wetland Permit. He said he and Mr. Schultz discussed what was actually in the motion but the minutes also reflect that only the site plan was approved. Member Mutch thought the cleanest way to address this was to request a motion sheet for the next Council meeting that would include the approval of the Wetland Permit with the necessary conditions, vote on it, and then it would be officially addressed.

Mr. Schultz said he and Member Mutch did have a conversation by email and the City Manager, Member Nagy, and the Mayor were copied. He said what the answer was to whether the wetland permit was approved or not was that when he looked at the entire motion, Member Nagy’s language from the motion sheet, discussion afterwards, reference to the consultant comments, the idea that they were both on the agenda, and no discussion was had about not approving the Wetland Permit, his opinion was, absent anything from the maker of the motion that might cause a different conclusion, the permit had been granted. Mr. Schultz said having said that there was probably no motion ever made that they couldn’t improve upon. Mr. Schultz said his final answer to Member Mutch was that he thought it was covered. However, if Council wanted to do this again to make sure the triangle was covered, and there was no issue with the Wetland Permit, that would be Council’s call. Mr. Schultz said reconsideration would be the appropriate thing, and then placement on the next agenda. He said under the Council Rules, he thought it was probably supposed to have been brought up as reconsideration before this agenda was finalized, so Council would suspend the rules and make a motion for reconsideration.

Mayor Landry asked if the original motion passed unanimously. Mr. Schultz believed it did. Mayor Landry said the Council Rules are that reconsideration was to be requested by someone on the victorious side, which could be any Council member, and it was supposed to be made by Wednesday before the next Council meeting. Mr. Schultz agreed. Mayor Landry said general rule was that they were free to, as a Council, deal with it however they wanted. Mayor Landry did not want any member of Council to think they voted on something they actually didn’t vote on. He said it appeared to him that Council approved the Wetland Permit or it certainly could be read as if it was approved. However, Member Mutch had a question about that, and suggested it be brought back and voted on again. He asked if Council needed to do something other than simply approve the Wetland Permit.

Member Mutch said no, but he thought the record should reflect that Council did approve it, and when reading the minutes or looking at the meeting tape, nothing indicated that Council did that. Mayor Landry said if Member Mutch believed it was not clear, he had no problem revisiting the issue. He asked if this could be put on the Consent Agenda and Mr. Schultz said it could. Mayor Landry suggested placing it on the Consent Agenda and if someone wanted to pull it they could, otherwise it was there to be approved. Member Mutch thought that was fine.

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

8:17 P.M.

________________________________ _______________________________

David Landry, Mayor Maryanne Cornelius, City Clerk

________________________________ Date approved: December 4, 2006

Transcribed by Charlene Mc Lean