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SPECIAL MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NOVI
 THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2006, AT 7 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS – NOVI CIVIC CENTER – 45175 W. TEN MILE ROAD

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

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

ROLL CALL: Mayor Landry, Mayor Pro Tem Capello, Council Members Gatt, Margolis, Mutch, Nagy and Member Paul.

ALSO PRESENT: Tom Schultz, City Attorney

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION - None

PURPOSE OF SPECIAL MEETING

Discussion and/or vote regarding City Manager Search

Mayor Landry explained that Council retained the services of a search consultant, Robert Slavin and Associates. The consultants met individually with each of the Council members, and discussed their ideas of a profile for the perfect City Manager for the City of Novi. The search consultant then met with members of the Administration and discussed their thoughts on a City Manager. The search consultant also spent time in Novi trying to get a flavor for the community. They then embarked on a search with advertisements, and the consultant contacted individuals they thought would be good applicants. Approximately 32 applications and resumes were forwarded. Council discussed them and the individuals with Mr. Slavin, background checks were done, and Council pared it down to six finalists. The City Council then interviewed those six finalists on two different occasions, and each Council member had an opportunity to question the finalists. Mayor Landry noted that the candidates also sent follow up information, thank you notes, and additional information they asked Council to consider. He stated the ground rules of tonight’s meeting. First, Mayor Landry anticipated opening up discussion on whether Council was prepared to make a decision, whether additional interviews were required, or any other investigation was needed. He said the majority of Council would decide that issue. Mayor Landry explained that if a decision was made tonight, the proper motion would be to ask the Mayor and the City Attorney to offer the candidate the position and negotiate a contract. If the candidate was interested, that contract would then be taken back to the Council for ratification. The contract would include salary, benefits and things of that nature. The decision on whether to offer the position to a particular candidate would require four votes of the Council. The decision to ratify a contract would, if it didn’t require any additional funds other than already in the budget for City Manager, require at least four votes of Council. If the candidate, who was offered the position, required more money than what was in the City Council budget the ratification would require five votes.

DISCUSSION

Member Margolis said there was some discussion about delaying this and interviewing again. She said she didn’t need more information to make a decision. Member Margolis noted Council had received a lot of information from resumes, written information, and interviews with the candidates. She was ready to make a decision tonight, but wasn’t sure if Council wanted to have more discussion about that before discussing candidates. She would leave it to Council, and offered to lead off and discuss her impressions of the candidates.

Member Paul said she would rather have a second interview for the top two candidates. She thought each Council member should select the top two or three candidates, and then decide on the top two or three out of the chosen ones, and re-interview those individuals. She said when looking at this position, one interview for a salary of $120,000 plus benefits was a very sizable decision. She commented that someone who was to steer the City of Novi in the right direction was not something she took lightly. She said Council had one interview with six candidates, and felt that a second interview was absolutely necessary. She wanted to do it soon because the process was labor intensive and long.

Member Gatt concurred with Member Margolis and stated he didn’t need a second interview. He said he did his own personal background of all six finalists, listened intently to everything that had been said, and he was ready to make a decision tonight.

Member Nagy stated she appreciated the comments of her fellow Council members. She thought this was the most important decision this Council would make, and it was not a decision just for the present time but for future Councils. She thought these people were very qualified candidates, and a lot of questioned had been asked. The prudent thing would be to interview the top two people, because that’s what was done with other cities she had talked with. The City Council, for Mr. Helwig, did the same thing as well. She didn’t want to make a hasty decision, and wanted to interview back to back those she felt were the strongest candidates, and make that comparison right then and there. She wanted a vote of the top two candidates by Council, a final interview, and after the interview she would be prepared to make a decision. She felt this decision was way too important to make without a second interview.

Member Mutch agreed with Member Nagy and said he had several excellent candidates in mind, based on qualifications and interviews. He said he had not settled on one yet, and felt he would benefit from a second interview narrowing it down to a couple of candidates. He said Council had the benefit of one hour of time with these candidates, some supplemental information provided by the candidates, and the search firm. He said for Council to hire a CEO to oversee a $60 million operation and several hundred employees, more than an hour of time, to evaluate the candidates and make that decision, would be a reasonable request. He said not only for this Council, Novi, and the place it was today, but more importantly to him, was looking down the road, and where they wanted to be in the next five or ten years. Member Mutch thought if Council could narrow it down, they could have a ranking of the top candidates, and hopefully come to a consensus on who that person would be.

Mayor Pro Tem Capello stated Council has had the information for over two months. As a group, Council tried to narrow the number of candidates that would be interviewed. Council interviewed them, and had an opportunity not only to listen to them answer Council questions, but listened to them answer many other questions that were on most of Council’s minds. It was narrowed down to three candidates, and he didn’t feel any additional interviews would change his decision, as his mind was made up. He saw no reason to invite one or two people back who weren’t going to get the job, and give them some type of anticipation that they might be the stronger candidate. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said he was ready to act tonight.

Mayor Landry stated he was also ready to act tonight. Council had the information for a considerable amount of time, and he had read everything there was to read about the candidates. He didn’t see any benefit in bringing people back if ready to make a decision tonight, and felt they knew everything they were going to know. All had been investigated by every person on Council, in addition to the consultant, and a thorough search had been done. He felt the City should move on with a permanent City Manager, and a decision should be made tonight.

Member Nagy stated past Council’s had two interviews. She wanted a second interview because she would be looking at something she had not looked at before. It might be their demeanor, or the way she saw them interacting. She noted that obviously, if it came to a vote there were four people that had made up their minds and three that had not. She was disappointed in not being able to re-interview the top two candidates because this was a very important decision. She hoped Council members, who had decided, would accommodate everyone on Council and their interests. This was the most important decision they would make for Council, future Councils, the Administration, and for the City. She said with the economic issues and development before Council, and talking with developers and residents, she thought it was very important. It wouldn’t hurt anyone to ask members of Council to comply because of its importance. She said not everyone had the opportunity to watch the interviews, and one resident said they watched the interviews, but couldn’t watch all six hours. She requested the indulgence of other Council members on this decision.

Member Gatt agreed with Member Nagy that it was the most important decision Council would make. He spent many hours researching each candidate reading the blogs, and doing background investigation. Member Gatt didn’t feel they were there to accommodate other Council members or the public who didn’t get a chance to see the interviews, he wasn’t sure it was really pertinent. He said what Council saw was what counted. It was the Council members who were elected, and they were the ones charged with making this very important decision. Member Gatt stated he was ready to move forward tonight.

Member Paul noted that a previous Council member, who hired Mr. Helwig, made a very good point to her regarding the social event they had for the finalists. The finalists came to City Hall to intermix with City staff, boards, commission members, and Council members. She said while at the social event they interacted with their wives and the people in the community. The Council members were able to evaluate how personable that person was and how gregarious or serious they could be. They thought that it was very important to see the interaction with the community. She said those candidates had two interviews, and a social event specifically to see their interaction with people. Member Paul said she didn’t realize that when talking about it in executive session. She believed a second interview was necessary, but didn’t think it would happen because of the four Council members who didn’t think it was necessary. Member Paul said she had been absent from one of the interview meetings so she listened to the tape more than once. Each time there were different points she picked up, and that was why a second interview was valuable. She said a one hour interview was not adequate in her opinion. Also, when Mr. Helwig was hired, there were three interviews not two.

Member Gatt said he would not divulge what was discussed in executive session, but when a social event in the atrium was brought up, Member Paul was against it. He didn’t know why she would be for it now. Member Paul said she wasn’t for it she was just stating the information.

Member Mutch stated it was obvious that four members of Council were ready to move forward on a particular candidate. He said being in a position of struggling to pick between a couple of strong candidates, he hoped when Council members discussed their choice, they would illuminate the remainder of Council on why they selected a particular candidate over the others. He said no one jumped out as a clear cut favorite after going through the interview process, additional information, and news articles related to the candidates. He was surprised the process had gone the direction it had, and hoped there would be some discussion from Council members on why they were picking a particular candidate, and not narrowing it down further.

Member Gatt explained his thought processes. He thought all six of the candidates were excellent speakers and people. The first three candidates on May 6th were all unemployed. All three had been fired, let go or left under duress from their previous job. He felt that the citizens of Novi deserved better than that. The citizens of Novi should not have to settle for someone who was let go from a position in another City. Member Gatt said on May 11th Council interviewed three more people. Of those three one of them had a lawsuit pending against him, and he thought the citizens of Novi shouldn’t be saddled with that baggage. Of the last two candidates, one began with Novi 25 or 30 years ago and left. He was a fine person, a fine City Manager, and a resident of our City. Another candidate who interviewed knows the City inside and out, has been with the City for the last several years, had the pulse on everything that was happening in the City from the newest employee to the one that just retired. He knows the problems facing the City, the hidden secrets, and the ambitions. Member Gatt said this candidate was the clear choice in his mind. Member Gatt stated it was his honor to make the following motion.

CM-06-01-144 Moved by Gatt, seconded by Capello; MOTION CARRIED:

That the City Attorney and the Mayor enter into negotiations

and offer the position of City Manager to Mr. Clay Pearson.

DISCUSSION

Member Nagy stated she would not support the motion. She said when Mr. Helwig came to them he wasn’t employed either. She mentioned Mr. Pearson was named a defendant in a lawsuit in the City of Elgin. However, she wasn’t concerned with that because when the City of Novi was sued there were many named defendants. She said the first three candidates were Mr. Stampfler, Mr. Dorgan and Mr. Suso. She liked all three of them, and felt they were all exceedingly well qualified, and had proven themselves. She was not concerned with whether they were employed or left under duress, because as a City Manger they had to play politics. In the second round of interviews, she was only impressed with Alex Allie. He stated he was here in Novi, and had accepted the job of Assistant City Manager with the intention of going onto City Manager. Mr. Suso had taken a job in Massachusetts. She said Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Stampfler or Mr. Allie were her choices. She said Mr. Pearson was a fine gentleman; she had worked with him while she chaired the Planning Commission and on Council.

Member Nagy said she watched him interact with residents and developers, and had gotten a lot of feedback. Although she thought he was a fine, intelligent man she didn’t feel he was ready to take on the job of City Manager of Novi. She said the others were so much more qualified, had so much experience, especially with Economic Development, County involvement, Municipal league, etc. Their experience was vastly broad, and because they were in other cities they could actually bring something positive to the Novi. Mr. Pearson was not one of the three she chose, and she couldn’t support the motion.

Member Margolis believed this was Council’s most important choice, and wanted to share the process she had gone through. She was asked what she was looking for in a new City Manager and her answer was someone with experience as a City Manager in a city like Novi. Member Margolis said until Mr. Pearson took over as interim, it was still her belief. As she worked with Mr. Pearson she was quite surprised at the capacity he showed for learning. One of her interview questions was "what have you learned since becoming City Manager". She said when she hired an employee it was a huge thing for her, because what she was hiring was someone who could continue to grow with their division. Member Margolis said she had been extremely impressed with Mr. Pearson’s ability to learn, to grow and to administer the City for the last several months with no assistant. Mr. Pearson was responsive, pulled the budget together well, and led employees who knew he was an interim, which was a very difficult way to lead employees. She said employee’s who know there’s a good chance a person might not be here in a few months are very difficult to lead. There’s been some talk about morale not being good, and she hated to bring up things she had heard because it was a poor way for Council to make a decision. However, she had heard about the morale not being good, but that must be from other people because she had heard the opposite. Her top choices were Mr. Stampfler, Mr. Dorgan and Mr. Pearson. Member Margolis found with Mr. Dorgan and Mr. Stampfler two people who had a great deal of experience, led cities through things Novi’s going through. However, what she didn’t find was an enthusiasm for this City and this job. She brought her hiring experience with her, and could work with an employee who had enthusiasm, wanted to learn, and had shown through experience they could do the job. Mr. Stampfler was eliminated when he answered he didn’t know much about the City; she wouldn’t hire someone who hadn’t done their research. Mr. Dorgan was asked why he wanted to come to Michigan. He answered he didn’t want to but couldn’t work in Illinois now. She was looking for someone with the skills and enthusiasm for this City. She noted we are blessed, as Mr. Pearson said, with this location that produced this terrific City. Mr. Pearson had both the skills, the ability to grow with the City long term, a proven ability over the past several months, and the biggest indicator of future performance was past performance. She said when looking over the past five months, she would be pleased to have a City Manager who worked the way Mr. Pearson worked. She said combine that with the enthusiasm he had for the City, and she would absolutely be supporting the motion, and would be pleased if Mr. Pearson agreed to work with this Council over the next several years.

Mayor Pro Tem Capello said he had known Mr. Pearson the longest. He explained he was on Planning Commission when Mr. Helwig brought Mr. Pearson on board. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said he and Mr. Pearson butted heads on some issues, and Mr. Pearson had his own personality and wasn’t afraid to do what was right. Mayor Pro Tem Capello also chose Mr. Stampfler, Mr. Dorgan and Mr. Pearson. It wasn’t too difficult to bring Mr. Pearson to the top of that list. As Member Margolis said Council had worked with Mr. Pearson the last several months, and he had been outstanding in being responsive to residents and Council. He thought Mr. Pearson would continue to be responsive to the needs of the City. Mr. Dorgan seemed to be at the end of his career, and didn‘t seem to have the enthusiasm for the City of Novi that Council would get out of Mr. Pearson. Granted, Mr. Pearson didn’t have the experience as City Manager, except for the last few months. However, Mr. Pearson had enthusiasm, and Mayor Pro Tem Capello thought he wanted to and could accomplish a lot. Mr. Stampfler caused concerned about the way he had left his last two jobs. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said when they went to Portage the people he worked with didn’t say anything good or bad about him. He heard nothing, and Mr. Stampfler had been there for a while. People should be proud to speak about a previous City Manager. He said the most important thing to him was that the Council was doing new and unique things that other Councils had not done. Council needed someone to work with them, and be as enthusiastic as they were to get these things accomplished; that’s Administrations job. He thought Mr. Pearson was the person to do that and that he was not locked in to his own ideas, and would not be one sided. Mr. Pearson and Council could make decisions together and get things done. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said Mr. Pearson was the man to get things done. When Mr. Pearson was working under Mr. Helwig, who was a dominant and strong person, Mr. Pearson followed his direction and orders. If he accepted the position, he thought they would see changes Council was looking for because Mr. Pearson knew there were problems and issues there. Mayor Pro Tem Capello thought Mr. Pearson was the man to implement those changes. He felt the other candidates would have been too set in their ways, and would try to replicate what was going on in their cities.

Mayor Landry said he was also very honored to support the motion for Mr. Clay Pearson. He felt that of the interviewees, other than Mr. Pearson, the first three were the superior candidates. Mr. Suso accepted another job, which narrowed it down to Mr. Dorgan and Mr. Stampfler, and they were almost polar opposites. They both were very experienced; both had shown success in the past, both had problems in their last job. Mr. Dorgan appeared to be a very, very heavy handed hands on Manager. He made the comment that in his previous job he laid off 15 people in the first week he was hired, and that might have been the situation he walked into. But this was a man that was very hands on, not afraid to make decisions, and a powerful kind of person. In the situation Novi’s in regarding negotiations with a number of unions, the administration was concerned and moved to unionize, and then pulled back. He didn’t think it was a time to be laying off 15 people. Mayor Landry thought that this was a time they, as a City, needed to listen to all employees, union and non-union. He felt they needed someone who was not that overbearing, gung ho strong kind of personality. Although, Mr. Dorgan might have been successful he didn’t think he was the right person for that reason. One other thing he thought was very important, when he asked Mr. Dorgan why he left. He said "he was hired on a 5-2 vote and he would never do that again". Mayor Landry thought if Mr. Dorgan was brought back for a second interview, and he didn’t have unanimity, he didn’t think he would come back. Mr. Stampfler was quiet, laid back, qualified but on the down side of his career. He had been a City Manager for a long time, and Mayor Landry thought the City of Novi needed someone a little more dynamic. Mayor Landry said he was asked what he thought about participating in regional projects. His answer was "he would only support participating in regional projects if it would benefit his City". Mayor Landry said Council went to Portage recently for Mayor’s Exchange Day, and the Mayor of Portage specifically e-mailed him asking that Mayor Landry not ask questions about Mr. Stampfler, because he didn’t want to answer. Mayor Landry honored that, did not answer any questions, and received no information about Mr. Stampfler. Mayor Landry said, when he read the newspaper articles about Portage and what was going on with the new City Manager, it was interesting to note that one of the things everyone was touting was how recently Portage was getting a lot of regional cooperation, and mending fences with other communities and the county. Mayor Landry said that said something about a City Manager who was reticent to participate in regional activities. In Oakland County we are participating and competing with Milford, Wixom, Commerce, and Walled Lake, but while competing we are on the same team. He said Michigan was losing jobs, and we have to band together, and work together as communities. We have to encourage foreign corporations and domestic corporations to come to Novi, and if they aren’t going to move to Novi there was no better place he would like to see them move than the afore mentioned cities. He wanted someone who would work with other communities around us as part of the team.

Mayor Landry said with respect to Mr. Pearson, he was in a little different position because he had worked directly with him for the past four months. He said Mr. Pearson was not only impressed with him but he literally had knocked his socks off! Mayor Landry said before he took over as City Manager, he, too, was not as supportive. However, since he has stepped out from behind Mr. Helwig’s shadow he has become a much stronger administrator. Mayor Landry said he had seen him in various situations. He had seen him interact with staff, members of the business community, and the residential community. He had seen him separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to complaints in interactions. Mayor Landry said most importantly, and the true test was he disagreed with him. He stated his reasons, and the Mayor stated his, they discussed them both, and they arrived at a joint decision, and then supported it going forward whether it was his or the Mayor’s, and it had been both. He thought the true value of a City Manager was to give the elected officials advice and expertise, and Mr. Pearson had both of those, and was able to give those. A City Manager cannot be a yes man, and he can’t be autocrat, overbearing and unyielding. Clay Pearson was neither of those. He took his time, he listened and he offered advice. Successful leaders know when to lead from the front, and when to lead from the rear. There are times to step forward, and times to step back and let someone take the spotlight. Mayor Landry said that was the sign of a true leader, one who knows when to do that because that builds teams. Clay Pearson knows Novi and the surrounding communities. He had seen him interact with leaders of other communities and neighbors, and Mr. Pearson did a wonderful job. Mayor Landry said this had been a long search process and throughout this entire search process it had shown him that who was out there, Clay Pearson, was clearly the top candidate in his opinion. Mayor Landry said Mr. Pearson would only get better; this was a perfect time to hire him, as he was vibrant, respectful, and considerate. Mayor Landry said this was clearly the most important decision he had ever been involved in in this City, and having said that there was not one ounce of doubt in his body about this decision. Mayor Landry said Clay Pearson was his number one choice and he would be honored if he took the job, and was very confident he would do the job for the City of Novi.

Member Paul concurred with some of his comments. She said while Mr. Pearson was under Mr. Helwig’s shadow ,as Assistant City Manager, she saw a different person. In

the last four months she had truly seen some changes. However, the number one department that Council got complaints about from the business and residential communities was the Building Department. Every person she had talked to, 90% of the time, complained about the Building Department, and Clay Pearson was the head over that department. When a CEO or manager comes into a corporation they have six months to one year to turn that ship around, and that department had not turned around. She said Council was spending money to have an outside source come in and investigate what could be done. She said it was not that Clay Pearson was a bad person or that he couldn’t be a good City Manager, but she was looking at track records, and he had done a good job for the last four months. He had been responsive, attentive to everyone’s interests and needs, but now the City was spending $30,000 to review the operations of the Building Department. She wanted to get someone new in, someone with 25 or 30 years experience that could bring a wealth of information on how it had been done in different cities. To top that off, almost every single person of the top six had at least 15 years experience as City Manager, and Mr. Pearson had four months. Member Paul said when she went to Portage, Mr. Stampfler was one of her top candidates. She said she looked at the City of Portage, and thought he had done an unbelievable job for 20 years. She at least wanted to have the opportunity to interview him a second time. He had done a fine job in that City prior to leaving for Florida. She said he was not unemployed; he was a consultant. Member Paul said Mr. Dorgan was another candidate that had a lot of life left. Mr. Helwig was hired to give Novi 5 years at the end of his career. Mr. Allie also had experience in the City and other smaller cities he was City Manager in, and could bring a lot to the table. She thought Mr. Pearson, Mr. Stampfler, Mr. Allie and Mr. Dorgan should all come back. She would not support the motion because she didn’t think it was appropriate to just push something through. Member Paul said she had been looking at some of the things Council had been discussing such as goal setting sessions, etc. She felt that whatever person they hired, any one of them would have come in, and tried to help Council with those goals. She thought Mr. Pearson was a good person, but there were four good candidates. She didn’t want someone learning on the taxpayer’s dime.

Member Mutch stated he would not be supporting the motion. Mr. Pearson wasn’t one of his top candidates. He had done a good job in moving the City forward in the interim process. What he wanted was a City Manager with a track record, and experience in a community comparable to Novi. There were several candidates who had quite a bit of experience, and that was critical to the person who would be running this operation. He appreciated the enthusiasm that Mr. Pearson had for this community, and his willingness to learn and to try new ideas. However, this wasn’t a position to have on the job training and teaching someone to take on the job of City Manager. There are life experiences, and even though he was the youngest Council member and Mr. Pearson was five years older than he was, in his shorter number of years he had at least been around long enough to have the experience that there are experiences learned over time that one can only have by going through those processes. Member Mutch said being in the position of Assistant City Manager, and then Interim City Manager for 4 months was not a track record. He said ten and fifteen years was a track record, and the experiences those other candidates would bring to this position. He said things would happen in this community, and the other candidates had experience regarding litigation, public emergency, employment issues, and they would have been able to react immediately. He said Council’s hope was that Mr. Pearson would be the one who could step up, face these challenges head on, and make the right decisions, and he might, but he thought they were taking a leap of faith. He felt Mr. Pearson was smart enough to grow into the position but it’s the lack of experience he kept looking at. Everyone started somewhere. Every one of these candidates was the Assistant City Manager who stepped up to the City Manager, whether in Owasso or Portage, but across the board those were not communities like Novi. Some of those were communities that grew into places like Novi but they weren’t communities like Novi, with the challenges and demands that Novi was facing. Member Mutch could not support Mr. Pearson as a candidate now with the needs Novi would have over the next 5 to 10 years. He said if he was coming with experience as a City Manager from another community, he would be at the top of his list. Member Mutch said that Mr. Pearson said himself, when Member Mutch told him he was the only finalist without City Manager experience, Mr. Pearson said Council needed to look at past performance. Member Mutch said that was what he was doing, he was looking at other candidates with track records of leading successful communities like Tinley Park or Portage, and comparable to Novi, and he wanted to bring in someone with that experience. He said four months wasn’t enough time for him. Member Mutch said obviously, the majority of Council was ready to move forward in support of Mr. Pearson, and whatever final decision was made he would look forward to working with that candidate. He hoped Council recognized they were taking a leap of faith with Mr. Pearson’s candidacy as City Manager, and he hoped they kept that in mind in discussing the parameters of what they would offer him, and recognize he didn’t have the track record the other candidates had. Member Mutch said, in terms of what he would be offered, he thought there needed to be a time period to prove himself to Council, and to future Councils. Then evaluate whether he was the person Council saw leading Novi for the next 5 to 10 years.

Member Nagy thought it was unfortunate it wouldn’t be a unanimous decision. She didn’t want it to be about what Mr. Pearson could or couldn’t do because it sounded so personal. She said she liked and respected Mr. Pearson. However, enthusiasm was important, but she thought it was a small part of it. She felt they needed someone to unify and make a very effective team when dealing with such things as having the strength to negotiate with the unions, the ability to deal with an overbearing developer, ability to deal with employee problems, morale problems, etc. She thought Mr. Allie had such a depth of knowledge. He understood Michigan economics, long range budget planning, his comments about the next 5 to 10 years, and she thought he would be the person that could lead the City. She commented that she was totally impressed. This was a big decision, and she saw it differently. Mr. Helwig accomplished getting a contract with the Novi Police Department. She was looking for more strength because that and calmness were very important. Member Nagy said she and some residents, who had dealt with Mr. Pearson, had experienced Mr. Pearson as someone who was emotionally immature. Member Nagy said if he became City manager, she would support and respect his position. However, she could not vote for him.

Mayor Landry commented on the Building Department. He explained the most common complaint about the Building Department was that it didn’t move fast enough. He said they were talking about the busiest, and most over burdened Building Department in Oakland County. Novi was the fastest growing community in Oakland County, and they are talking about a Building Department that was doing the job of two communities Building Departments. They don’t move fast enough was the complaint, and the complaint comes from people who they couldn’t possibly move fast enough for, developers. They want it done yesterday. However, an Interim City Manager would never make drastic changes in any department, and Council could not expect that. He would never get support from Council; a City Manager does that not an interim. He said let’s not forget that when the Building Director came to this Council, and said there were two huge projects coming up, Providence Hospital and Nordstroms, they needed more help, and asked to build a satellite station, it took this Council three meetings to muster the five votes to appropriate the money to do that. So there was a department telling Council they wanted to change, move faster, and needed more help, and a City Council that was reticent to give them the money to do it. In fact, he had more than one person complain to him about the Building Department, and he told them to call Mr. Pearson, and the problems were solved. Mayor Landry said Mr. Pearson was not responsible for the complaints being made about the Building Department. He thought the Building Department was doing everything it could possibly do. He thought it needed help and realized it, and thought they were making strides and doing a wonderful job, and were to be commended.

Roll call vote on CM-06-06-144 Yeas: Landry, Capello, Gatt, Margolis

Nays: Mutch, Nagy, Paul

ADJOURNMENT

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

8:03 P.M.

______________________________ _____________________________

David Landry, Mayor Maryanne Cornelius, City Clerk

 

______________________________ Date approved: June 19, 2006

Transcribed by Charlene Mc Lean