City Council recap of Sept. 5 meeting
Meeting was moved from Sept. 2 due to Labor Day holiday
The consent agenda was changed with the following additions
Purchase of F-150 truck for Fire Dept. in the amount of $57,000 – requested by City Manager George Lahanas (became item N). Reappointment of commissioners for the Liquor License Review Committee (new item O) and the Housing Commission (new item P) – requested by Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Moroski-Browne
Presentation – An update was provided on Ford Field projects by Strategic Planning and Special Projects Director Wendy Wilmers-Longpre. The project involves construction of a new entrance off Hutton, stabilization of the embarkment and constructing a walkway from Downtown Northville to the park. A community meeting to discuss the project was held in July. An EGLE permit has been received for the work in the flood plain, which factors into the location of the new pathway. In lieu of burying the electrical poles near the new gateway, which is expensive; Longpre said the city has found an alternative that involves taller poles and cleaning up the low-hanging cable lines, which DTE will cover as a maintenance cost.
She reviewed the scheduling of the projects and noted the Randolph Drain improvements will be completed prior to the new gateway and pathway construction. The wooden stairs are slated to be repaired this fall. She said the city is asking for a one-year extension on the state allocation of $910,000 for the gateway project. Construction bidding on the gateway/pathway project will occur over the winter months with the project commencing in the spring. Longpre said she will have a construction cost update in early 2025. The DDA has committed $100,000 to the project over a two-year period and the city has some targeted funds in addition to some grant money. The restrooms and playground will be Phase II of this project. A subcommittee on the playground has been formed and engineering firm Spalding DeDecker is working on park concepts.
Dog permit ordinance – This was the second reading of the ordinance, which allows registrants the option to purchase a three-year dog license in addition to the standard one-year license, among other changes. Council unanimously approved the new ordinance.
Tree preservation ordinance – At the second reading, Council unanimously approved the new ordinance. The 20-page document is clear and specific about a range of situations, such as how to preserve trees in a construction zone, the number of healthy trees that residents can remove on their property in a year (2), and notifying neighbors via a sign when a tree will be removed. It also details city inspector monitoring of the tree ordinance. This document is a living document, which means it can be amended. This was noted by the mayor, Community Development Director Justin Quagliata, and members of the Planning Commission.
Public comment on this matter
Thom Barry, 239 High St.
Steve Kirk, 502 Beal
Public comment on items not on the agenda
Nancy Darga: 516 N. Center St
Thom Barry: 239 High St
John Roby (via email)
Stacey Tardich (via email)
Council Communication
Mayor Brian Turnbull mentioned a dedication was being held at Fish Hatchery Park on Friday, 9/6, and the public was invited. He said Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Debbie Dingell would be there. He mentioned the Victorian Festival is coming the weekend of Sept. 20. He asked for two updates on the water infrastructure plan and the ballot advisory question about the downtown street closure. He later mentioned that he is hosting a Mayoral Town Hall at the Northville Township municipal building on Oct. 2, where he will moderate a panel of candidates seeking to serve on the Northville School Board. The mayor asked for updates on the water infrastructure and the advisory question regarding street closures.
Water infrastructure plan – City Manager George Lahanas said the city needs to update its aging water/sewer system. An essential project is to replace the outdated underground reservoir with a pump station that replenishes the water tower, which will conform to an Administrative Consent Order (ACO) issued by the state. Other improvements include adjusting water pressure levels evenly across the city and replacing smaller pipes with larger pipes. The projected cost is $22 million over the next five years. Some of these repairs are being made now, with $14 million being spent over the next two-three years. A new billing system for water/sewer rates has a ‘ready to serve’ component to cover fixed costs. Lahanas said the city makes no money off the water system, and noted that adding more users to the system, via the Downs development, could help bring rates down.
Advisory question regarding street closures – Anne Gabbert, a lawyer attending on behalf of Anthony Chubb, said both Wayne County and Oakland County clerks approved the ballot language to have an advisory question on the November ballot about whether or not to close sections of Main and Center to traffic downtown. Subsequently, the state director of elections advised that they were not in agreement with the placement of an advisory, non-binding question on the ballot and both counties then removed it from the proposed ballot proof. The state determined that, by law, the city must have an option for advisory ballot questions in their charter and Northville doesn’t have one. Moving forward would require emergency litigation in both County Circuit Courts, which would be expensive. After a brief discussion among Council members, none of them said they wanted to pursue litigation on this matter. No vote was taken.
Council Member John Carter, who noted that it was still Council Communications, mentioned two weekend events – one was a fundraiser for Main Street League and the other was Sweep the Streets, a clean-up effort led by the Dental office of Dr. Demray. He also promoted the Victorian Festival, saying it’s a great shared experience.
Council Member Andrew Krenz – He said the condominium building at Baseline and Center was reapproved by the (Board of) Zoning Appeals. He noted the Cemetery Task Force is meeting and it provides a way to honor the history of the city’s predecessors. He also promoted the Victorian Festival, saying there’s a lot of work involved in hosting the event and we can’t take it for granted.
City Manager Lahanas said there are four new sessions planned for Coffee with Council and the dates/times are changing to Thursday afternoon/evening. The first fall session will be held Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Garage with Council Members Genitti and Krenz, and the city manager.
View the meeting video
here.