Mayor McLallen called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M.

ROLL CALL: Mayor McLallen, Mayor Pro Tem Crawford, Council Members Clark, Kramer, Mitzel (Arrived 8:20 p.m.), Mutch, Schmid

ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Ed Kriewall, Assistant City Manager Craig Klaver, Finance Director Les Gibson, City Clerk Tonni Bartholomew

Laura Lorenzo - expressed her concern regarding the Drain Revenue and Maintenance Fund Budgets. She is particularly concerned about the back log and incomplete storm drainage system maintenance for the years 1995, 1996 and 1997. She reported in a conversation on February 7, 1997 with Bruce Jerome, he indicated to her that the reason for the back log is because of lack of personnel and equipment. She explained lack of personnel is due to the enhanced mowing program that utilizes D.P.S. personnel that would otherwise be available for drain maintenance. She added other city activities also draw from D.P.S. personnel. She stressed the importance of the storm drainage maintenance program and urged Council to prioritize this issue even if it means delaying construction of some regional basins. She believes they need to first maintain what they have.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Mr. Klaver requested they add as Item 6, Schedule an Executive Session for Monday, April 28, 1997 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss Union Negotiations.

CM-97-04-135: MOVED BY CRAWFORD, SECONDED BY CLARK: MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY: To approve Agenda as amended

1. Consultant Services - MML Presentation - Mark Knottley

Mayor McLallen stated Council requested further information regarding the organization the city’s work force.

Mr. Knottley stated there are a number of terms that get used in regard to organizational use, but he prefers operational review. He explained when he uses that term he is talking about anything from looking at a whole city to looking at a specific parcel. Mr. Knottley reviewed his outline and discussed how the process works in terms of why it is different for different types of cities. In terms of his own background, Mr. Knottley advised he worked for Plante & Moran as Manager of Local Government Consulting and was with another CPA firm before that. Mr. Knottley began at the League in January 1995 and they founded the Municipal Consulting Services Department shortly afterward. Their objective was to assure that the cities and villages across Michigan would all have access to good quality consulting services at affordable prices.

Mr. Knottley stated because some people are more veteran than others, he put together a very fundamental presentation about operational review. Mr. Knottley reported the first thing they would do is profile the City of Novi in relation to other municipalities. He stated municipalities are like people in the sense that they have growth stages. Mr. Knottley believes Novi is at the first stage, where it is not yet developed. He explained rapid economic development is taking place and they are adding a lot of new SEV each year. Mr. Knottley believes much of that money has to go to expanding services and operations. He added the emphasis is more on building things and not so much on maintenance.

Mr. Knottley reported in Step 2, cities at some point shift into a maintenance mode. He explained when the building is done, the city is full, and growth is slow, the revenues also drop. Mr. Knottley said things like Proposal A begin limiting the tax revenues each year and that last year’s tax revenues were below 3%. He also stated that if a city is fully developed and the property tax revenue is lower than what their employees are demanding as a wage increase, real problems can arise. Mr. Knottley stated the service needs and priorities of a city also get redefined because they are filling more potholes and connecting less tap ins. Further, they are not as dependent upon things like engineering and planning, but become more dependent on fundamental things like D.P.W. workers or police officers. At that point, the whole composition of the city is changing and at the end, there are limited resources in which to operate a city. He noted there is a larger emphasis of determining ways to maintain existing assets with limited resources and cited Rochester Hills as an example.

In Step 3, Mr. Knottley reported cities go into a retrenchment mode, but added not all cities enter this mode. Mr. Knottley stated they are currently working with the City of Ecorse, which is in a post industrial mode and in a poor state in terms of their tax base and ability to run their government. Mr. Knottley noted there is a lot of excess baggage in these kinds of cities. He explained employee numbers are sometimes very high and employee compensation has built up over the years when they had a better economic situation. Further, there are sometimes entrenched unions that keep the city from doing things they need to do to save themselves. He added there is also demands on this type of city in terms of deferred maintenance in the crumbling infrastructure.

Mr. Knottley referred to Exhibit 4 and explained it is a sample of the matrix they use for financial planning purposes. He added all cities fit into a matrix like this and it is helpful in the sense of conceptualizing where the city and the neighboring cities are. Mr. Knottley then referred to Exhibit 5 and stated they should ask themselves why would a city conduct an operational review. Mr. Knottley stated the answer to that question depends upon where they are in the cycle. He explained if they are at the front end of that cycle, they sometimes get requests for organizational analyses to look at service expansion. He added they might also look at service enhancements in terms of how they can provide a better quality of services. These cities usually have more dollars and are looking at developing their communities. Conversely, they look at issues like productivity improvement or service consolidation for the more mature cities. They may also need a redefinition of operational need and that is what their objective is in doing the study. Further, when it becomes more crucial to save money, they begin looking at operational analysis and they may focus on privatizing or out-sourcing. In the case of Ecorse, they may look at cutting back their management. Mr. Knottley stated all of these things could potentially be the focus of an operational review.

Mr. Knottley reported operational reviews can be either very cursory or very thorough. He advised before agreeing to an operational review, a city should first get a very solid work plan to review in regard to what people are going to be doing, who is going to be doing it and how much time the study will take. From his own experience, it takes about three hundred hours to thoroughly review and understand the operation of one department. He explained they not only want to be on the outside looking in; they want to be on the inside looking in also. Further, by the time they are ready to write the operational review, the consultant better be able to understand what they are talking about because they are talking about the future of a particular department and people’s livelihoods. He noted that the report becomes more costly as they get more input, but they also get more value with that kind of approach.

Mr. Knottley stated that they also want to involve all the employees in a particular operational area. He stated they usually interview everybody concerned in the study. He explained they are going away when they are done, but it is the employees that implement it. He believes if they have not brought them into the process to some degree, then it will not work. Further, there are times he does not know the answers for particular things and they rely on the input of the employees when they are putting their recommendations together.

Mr. Knottley stated he is often asked what do they know that allows them to perform these types of studies. He believes that every consultant brings something different to the table. In his case, he has run an operation or a department in the past. Further, he has human resources training from being a consultant and financial training from being with CPA firms. Consequently, he will be looking at personnel issues, financial issues, and operational issues. Typically, they will bring in subcontractors if they study specialty areas.

Mr. Knottley believes the study should focus on solutions and not just answers. He added answers are easy and a lot of consulting reports will provide a boiler plate recommending things they should do. He stated they should try to fashion their recommendations so they come out with a solution taking into account all the variables they need for that particular organization. They would then form all those elements into something that is workable.

Mr. Knottley stated there are specific steps involved in doing this kind of review. He explained the first thing they do is collect as much operational data as they can. The data will include things like job descriptions, work procedures, union contracts, financial statements and so on. Mr. Knottley stated as they go through the process, they keep building the work base as more people become part of the study. Again, they should interview all of the employees and look at all of the work activities, even if they do not know what they are looking at because some inefficiencies seem to stand out regardless. Mr. Knottley noted that they sometimes bring in a systems consultant for systems equipment and facilities. Further, they want the political perspective from the council people, the mayor and concerned citizens. They may also want to interview city contractors or the chamber. He explained there are all kinds of different groups and individuals who may have an impact on not only what the study says, but how they implement it and how effective the results are.

They also look at alternative operating scenarios. He explained they look at opportunities to combine and eliminate things, or they look at opportunities to bring things in house if it makes sense. They also look at other municipalities once they have identified the issues to get comparable information from them.

Mr. Knottley stated the final report is fifty to one hundred pages with four sections and an executive summary. The report is very specific, is well thought out and has well-written findings and conclusions. Further, there is a recommendation section and an implementation section. He believes the final report should give them everything they need to start implementing in a systematic way what is in the report.

In closing, Mr. Knottley reported to do this kind of study in terms of project hours, they cannot cut costs. He advised that they make sure that their work plan is realistic and gets to the heart of things. He reiterated that they should focus on solutions, not just answers; make sure they involve all departments, and integrate all the findings and recommendations concisely. Mr. Knottley added that he included the projects he has done as a consultant from 1987 until the present in the packet information Council has before them.

Mayor McLallen asked how long would it take to conduct this type of study. Mr. Knottley asked if she is asking in terms of a single department or something larger.

Mayor McLallen does not believe Council has defined that. She explained they are in a transition from a young city to a more mature city that is growing rapidly. She added that they have almost the same number of employees they had when they were young. She believes they are looking for a reaffirmation that would determine if the lean operation the city currently has is really the best thing to do or is there a way to make it leaner. The Mayor reported the departments are currently very stressed because the work load is enormous. She added the city has the luxury of having many projects, but each project spins off into more and more responsibility for the departments who are still working on last years projects. As someone mentioned earlier, the Mayor asked if they should concentrate on the maintenance of existing things or keep building things. Further, she noted that the city has a history of not wanting to spend more taxpayer dollars.

Mr. Knottley suggested that they try to hone in on particular operational areas that either they feel do not have adequate resources or they feel they can improve upon for other reasons. Mr. Knottley stated this is a massive organization in transition. He added it will probably remain in transition until they have completed a number of the large projects and developed a larger percentage of the total city. Mr. Knottley believes that doing a total organizational review would be very difficult and expensive. Further, five years from now, it might be very inconsequential. Mr. Knottley stated if everyone concurs, they might want to isolate those areas that they need greater input from and conduct a thorough review of one department. If they like the process, they could then move onto the next department.

Mayor McLallen asked what is the typical cost to study a single department. Mr. Knottley replied they currently charge $50.00 per hour which would equate to approximately $15,000 for three hundred hours spread over three months.

Mr. Knottley added they have to set up a good work plan and noted operational reviews are the most challenging because they cannot set it aside and come back to it a month later. He explained the first thing they do is charge everyone up. They then build on something and do not know the answers until they get closer to the end of the project.

Councilwoman Mutch asked if they often find it is not a simple matter of spending or reducing and that it might be a matter of restructuring in a changing city. Mr. Knottley believes that is true and that is the focus of study intake. He explained usually a city has five to six operating divisions and sometimes it does not make sense to have them; sometimes it makes sense to have ten. Mr. Knottley reported in four out of the five studies they conduct, the end result focus is really cost savings or getting rid of some inefficiencies. The fine line is not to destroy the organizational mentality if it is good.

Councilman Kramer asked how soon would Mr. Knottley be available to begin a study for Novi. Mr. Knottley said he would not be available for another six weeks to two months. He explained their work cycle coincides with people’s budget cycle and they are currently being inundated with pay plans. Mr. Knottley added they turn down very little work, but similarly they will not over extend themselves.

Councilman Schmid asked what things would Mr. Knottley look at in an administrative organization. Mr. Knottley replied they would have to look at the whole city. He added they are currently looking at that for the City of Escanaba.

Councilman Schmid asked if he could provide a stereotypical organizational chart instead of having to go through the whole process. Mr. Knottley replied some cities have different organizational arrangements by charter. Mr. Knottley believes he could find a similar city to Novi, but he could also find a million variables. He added they typically compare work load indicators and how much is being processed with cities comparable to Novi as they move through the study. He believes it is good supporting information, but reiterated every organization is unique.

Mr. Knottley will forward copies of reports they have completed for Council’s review.

Eda Weddington stated she was selected as spokesperson. She added Peter Hoadley and Laura Lorenzo, members of the Planning Budget Studies Committee, are also present. Ms. Weddington distributed additional background information to Council.

Ms. Weddington reported there is a summary on Page 111 that shows a total of $87,200 for the Planning Commission Budget. She noted that it is much less than prior years’ budgets because they removed the Consultant’s Service Fees.

Ms. Weddington reported Supplies includes magazines and periodical subscriptions, and memberships to planning organizations for $700.00. Further, there are items grouped under Administrative Services that total $6,000. Ms. Weddington reported the bulk of the budget is in Planning Commission Studies. She explained they have broken that into two main categories and it is similar to past years. The first major category is for studies that they feel are the building blocks of the master plan. She explained they are things they do from year to year as they prepare to build up the master plan. She cited demographic studies, economic-based studies, industrial land inventory, the wetland and woodland map update and so forth as examples from previous years. Ms. Weddington reported this year that group includes the demographic study projection, and economic base and public participation projects for a total of $14,500. She added apart from the master plan studies, there are many other studies they are conducting for planning purposes that do not necessarily get categorized in the master plan. One study is the Design Build Out Year 2020, Phase II that they represent on the large graphic. Another study is being conducted by the city’s woodland consultant, Linda Lemke and she will explain it further if Council would like. Further, there are some special planning, zoning, engineering and research studies on emerging issues. Last year, Council gave the Planning Commission the opportunity to have a budget for contingencies to address hot topics that arose during the year and they would like to continue that. They also have Community Liaison Program Services which includes materials provided to residents and the development community, as well as the seminar series that they instituted this year. The last item in that category is an Imperviousness Survey Study that they are initiating to get a better understanding about water management for the watersheds in the city to help prevent floods. Ms. Weddington reported the total budgeted amount to conduct these studies is $66,000. Ms. Weddington concluded by stating the entire Commission is asking for Council’s approval of their budget request for $87,200.

Councilwoman Mutch asked if they expect to spend more for the Special Planning and Zoning, and Wetlands update by the end of the fiscal year. Ms. Weddington replied those are coming in and they do expect to spend the balance of the budgeted money by the end of the fiscal year.

Councilwoman Mutch asked if that means that they expect to spend $15,000 from the budget this year, but they will still need an additional $15,000 for next year. Ms. Weddington asked if she is specifically asking about the wetlands map update. Councilwoman Mutch said they estimated it at approximately $9,000, but they only spent $960. Ms. Weddington reiterated they expect to spend everything for which they budgeted.

Councilman Schmid asked who is going to conduct the Economic Base Study Phase II. Ms. Weddington believes Mr. Rogers will conduct that study. Mr. Rogers interjected, the intent was to use city staff for gathering a lot of the data. Mr. Rogers said his and Mr. Arroyo’s role is to evaluate and format the data, and prepare an Economic Base Study Phase II. He explained it is not a lot of hours, but they would like to have some involvement in supervision to expand on the ideas they have had since 1992.

Councilman Schmid asked what is involved in the Public Participation Process. Mr. Wahl replied because the master plan is supposed to be completed by 2000 and before they get into the process of looking at the land use map itself, cities typically conduct a series of public hearings by sector. Mr. Wahl cited Farmington Hills as an example. Mr. Wahl noted that other cities might do more of a visioning type program. Mr. Wahl explained public input is an early part of the process when they have done all of their research, but they have not reached any conclusions. Mr. Wahl reported Novi is currently at the point where within the next year all the research work should be finished and then the input from the public should come. He reported there are different ways to accomplish that. They can do extensive surveys, telephone surveys, written surveys, public hearings, visioning sessions and so forth. Mr. Wahl believes when they prepared the 1988 and 1993 plans, the Planning Commission felt they needed more emphasis on getting public input for the master plan process and they developed these alternatives as a method of getting more public input into the master plan.

Councilman Schmid agrees there should be public input, but he believes professionals should be providing information that relates to the growth of the city. He asked what kinds of public input are they looking for. Mr. Wahl replied Farmington Hills had a series of public hearings by sector and basically, they went over what the existing conditions were. They then collated public ideas with the existing master plan, and then projected it out. He does not know what they did with all the information, but every time he tuned into the Farmington Hills station they were doing another sector of the city as a part of getting public input to the master plan. Mr. Wahl noted Novi has never done anything that extensive with their master plan. He believes Novi has basically had one public hearing and that they may have studied some specific issues that the public identified. Mr. Wahl added that Mr. Arroyo has worked on approaches where they prepare written or telephone surveys and hold brainstorming sessions, but the Planning Commission has not decided how they should do that. However, Mr. Wahl noted that the Planning Commission did recommend that they need to try to get more public input to the master plan.

Councilman Schmid is still not certain what they are going to do with the $5,500 request. Mr. Arroyo interjected, a lot of it is going to depend upon the option chosen. He explained if they chose the Town Meeting option, there would be some time prepared in providing background information for the people who are coming. They would need several pages identifying what information has already been collected by all the ongoing studies as part of the Master Plan Update, provide a summary so that those who want to be involved will understand what the city has done to date and provide what other information is available. Mr. Arroyo reported the purpose of a Town Meeting would be to go into different quadrants and let people know that the Planning Commission is updating the master plan and that it is a long range policy document, and they would like to hear what the city’s citizens have to say about the future of the land use in the community. This helps the Planning Commission formulate their goals and objectives as they draw up the new master plan. Mr. Arroyo noted it is a statutory responsibility of the Planning Commission to seek public input as part of the master plan process.

Mr. Hoadley reported they have had two controversial issues come before Council in the last couple years; one is the Ten Mile corridor being widened and the other is the golf course proposed at Twelve ½ Mile Road. Mr. Hoadley reported a survey would provide citizen reaction from the city as a whole.

Councilman Schmid asked if this is a part of the 20/20 Program. Ms. Lorenzo interjected, this is doing everything but the land use plan and added what they are attempting to do in this study is take the pulse of the public.

Councilman Schmid asked what is the purpose of the Design Build-Out 2020, Phase II work item. Linda Lemke stated the work programs includes the area at Taft Road to Napier Road and Eight Mile to Twelve Mile. She explained it is a planning tool, but they have used it as a design study. Further, the overlay includes the master plan, zoning, wetlands and woodlands, habitat, and existing utilities so they can also look at them individually. She added that they have the capability of putting it on the computer, but that is not yet a part of the budget. Ms. Lemke reported when used as a planning tool, the map gives a clear picture of where there are vacant areas, and where there are buildable and nonbuildable areas. In addition, Ms. Lemke stated they can also require a developer to prepare a clear mylar for their project to place over this map as a planning aid.

Ms. Lemke advised that they are calculating an overall maximum build out by taking anything that could be vacant or conceivably purchased. Ms. Lemke stated the design plan will use a modified version of the zoning ordinance and master plan. Further, Ms. Lemke noted that the final phase is more realistic because they consider environmental factors and what committee members would like the city to be like in 2020 in terms of good planning principles. Finally, the final design will have a similar format so they can compare them.

Councilman Schmid asked if she is suggesting that this would change the master plan. Ms. Lemke replied it would. She explained one of their tasks was to see if the zoning made sense. They agreed to put in things that fit the zoning and accomplished the city’s goals. They identified a certain amount of those goals while considering the importance of open space preservation.

Councilman Schmid asked her to suppose he is not a fan of open space preservation. Ms. Lemke said they would then look at other parts that followed the underlying zoning and maximized the housing that would go in. They would then have a comparison and they could see that it does not have to build out that way; it could be a hybrid of the two.

Councilman Schmid asked what will they have when it is completed. Ms. Lemke said they would have a planning tool that can be used repeatedly and updated readily. Further, they can put it on the computer. Visually, they will have a scaled drawing that changes the whole perspective of what is really out there. They also have a comparison of basically two designs where they are building out all the vacant land in the city. She noted it will include everything except the southeast section because they already build that area out.

Ms. Lemke added they did realize how much it cost until they got into it and noted the boards are expensive. Further, she would not want to do more than four boards because it is time consuming.

Councilman Schmid asked for an explanation about Special Research Assignments on Emerging Issues. Ms. Weddington explained this is a contingency to address unforseen issues. She cited the PD-1 Option, Novi and Twelve Mile Road, the Donelson Drive Study and the REC proposal as some of the most recent issues where they needed additional information from the consultants in a timely manner. Ms. Lorenzo interjected, these are studies that they do not calculate into the consultants’ retainers.

The Mayor noted these would otherwise need a budget amendment from Council which is time consuming.

Mr. Hoadley said the OST District and split zoning are some other current emerging issues before them.

Councilman Schmid asked what is included in the Communications & Community Liaison Program and Services. Ms. Weddington reported $5,500 is for maps they sell to the public, $3,000 is for large scale mounted display maps, they propose $4,000 for newsletters for the public and $11,000 is for a series of seminars. Ms. Weddington explained the topics suggested for the seminars are; Growth Management, Impact of Watershed Development on Water Quality, Master Plan Process, Habitat Preservation, Fiscal Impacts of Growth and Thoroughfare Corridor Study.

Mr. Hoadley added that they felt if was less expensive and more educational if they brought the seminars to the city. He added they are all televised so the public can share in the same knowledge they are getting. He believes an informed community makes wise decisions.

Mayor McLallen noted the seminars usually occur thirty minutes before the Commission’s regularly scheduled meetings.

Councilman Kramer asked what is the current cycle for the master plan update. Ms. Weddington replied they published the last update in 1993 and they have planned the next update for 2000 with most of the work done during the next two years.

Mr. Wahl reported they included the work projected out through the year 2000 in their informational packet. He further reported that they prepared a five-year projection of work two years ago that would be done in steps. They thought that phasing it over a longer period would be more responsible and they began their efforts in 1994-95 for publication in the year 2000.

Councilman Kramer asked if they will include parkland in their overall plan. Mr. Rogers said they would include it. He explained they included the Parks and Recreation Plan in the 1993 plan to a degree. He also believes they should include historic district preservation once it gets underway.

Councilman Kramer asked if the Planning Commission has experienced any benefits from the yet completed 20/20 process. Ms. Lorenzo believes they will integrate it with the vision statement. She thinks at least during the initial stages that she was involved in, it was to be everything but land use and master planning because that was to be left to the Planning Commission.

Councilman Kramer stated they are assembling the citizen’s vision of what the city wants to be and that should include a description of their visualization of what the city consists of.

Ms. Lorenzo believes they intended to integrate the visioning portion input into the process at some point when Planning Commission is actually getting into the process of master planning. She noted they will integrate it by way of the participation that has already taken place within Novi 20/20 and by the additional public participation through the futuring process on behalf of the Planning Commission’s efforts.

Councilman Kramer asked if they intend to propose many alternatives. Ms. Lorenzo replied they would conduct town meetings or surveys.

Councilman Kramer asked how detailed of a master plan vision do they expect to get from the public. Ms. Lorenzo replied that remains to be seen.

Councilman Kramer asked if the bulk of the increase in the Communications & Community Liaison Program and Services is a result of the seminars. Ms. Weddington replied that is correct.

Councilman Kramer asked how they funded the most recent seminars. Mr. Hoadley replied they had a budget to begin the seminars and the request is for next year’s seminars.

Councilman Kramer asked who conducts the seminars. Mr. Rogers replied they plan to invite professionals to conduct the seminars. He added some may be local, but they may have to pay for travel expenses for others.

Councilman Kramer appreciates the Planning Commission’s focus on the public process and communications.

Councilman Clark asked if they have researched the imperviousness survey studies conducted by the state, county and Department of the Interior. Ms. Weddington reported those studies are part of their background information. She explained they are focusing on studying each of the eight watersheds.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked for further elaboration about the request for $5,500 for the Public Participation Process. Mr. Wahl referred to Pages 21 and 22 of the Work Program and advised it is for staff and for costs outside the consultants’ retainer.

Mayor ProTem Crawford is unclear how the Demographic and Economic Base Studies would be used. He asked how would they implement the Demographic Study. Mr. Rogers replied it would be used by all the cities’ departments. For example, the police department has come to him for demographics for their grant applications.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked if they could ascertain this information from the census. Mr. Rogers replied census data is not usually aggregated in the right format. He added all four school districts in Novi have contacted him about population projections for the next three to five years. It also helps in recreation planning. Further, he has had more than a dozen requests about unassisted elderly housing in terms of demand. Mr. Rogers stated

the four areas of planning are; demographics, economic base, land use and traffic. Mr. Rogers reported the new data they have is from; school fourth Friday counts, the mid-decade census, and SEMCOG’s 1995-96 projections.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked if they receive any reimbursement from the agencies that make the request. Mr. Rogers replied they do not charge public agencies. He noted Oakland County Planning provides a lot of data and he reciprocates. He believes they are providing a service.

Mr. Wahl said Mr. Knottley gave a good outline of how much information he would use to study city services and personnel needs. Mr. Wahl said instead of that kind of concentrated city, they as Administrators do that work annually and the master planning process is a part of that type of study in terms of what is happening in the community and what it tells them. He realizes they are looking at it more from a standpoint of planning and development implications, but basically they are taking a lot of raw information from a lot of different sources and bringing it together by putting it in a form that is usable. They then draw conclusions in terms of what it tells them about the future of the city. In conclusion, demographic and economic studies are integral parts of a master plan.

Councilman Mitzel realizes state law mandates that the authority to develop and adopt a master plan rests with the Planning Commission and it is up to the City Council then to implement the rezoning. Councilman Mitzel noted a lot of these studies are a part that responsibility. Councilman Mitzel said if the demographic’s study focus would be to simulate the data that is already there and put it in a usable format, then the mid-decade census should be the most detailed information that is currently available. Mr. Wahl agreed that would be their principal source. Ms. Weddington interjected, the mid-decade census was just a count and it does not include the other demographics. Councilman Mitzel stated the demographic part would come from the federal count.

Councilman Mitzel’s concern about all the studies is how often would they really be used. Further, they are not going to be available in an electronic format for some time. Ms. Lemke stated they plan to transpose the design build out from CAD to GIS. Ms. Lorenzo interjected, she anticipates that this study will be used by the Master Plan & Zoning Committee, the Planning Commission and included in the master planning process.

Councilman Mitzel asked if an imperviousness survey would be a better fit under the jurisdiction of the storm water budget. Ms. Lorenzo replied the Environmental Committee of the Planning Commission submitted the request for the study and added if they cannot maintain what they currently have, she is not certain if they can afford to take on future studies. Ms. Weddington interjected, their studies are looking at the issue from the standpoint of development.

Councilwoman Mutch stated if theirs is a cooperative effort to assemble demographics for the users, they may have the potential to recover some costs. Secondly, she asked how does the Economic Base Study Phase II differ from what the EDC is requesting. Mr. Wahl replied they proposed to conduct three quarters of that study with the Planning Staff and consequently, they were able to reduce that number. Further, they asked the consultants to provide a higher level of analysis because of the input received from the economic development professional who worked with Mr. Arroyo. He also noted although they expect to work with the EDC, it would be only at an input level.

Councilwoman Mutch asked if they are aware of the proposed studies that EDC would like to be conducted. Ms. Lorenzo replied the Planning Commission is not aware of that request.

Mayor McLallen reported the EDC was working with Detroit Edison to conduct a survey of the existing community and the nonresidential tax base.

Mr. Arroyo recalled they are working on an economic retention and expansion program. He noted Detroit Edison is providing aerial photographs of the city. Mr. Arroyo believes it is more of a marketing based study in terms of needs and revenues associated with economic development.

Councilwoman Mutch asked if they see any overlap in these studies. Mr. Wahl replied one reason they decided to conduct part of the study in house is because they recognized that there was some connection between some things that the EDC would need and some things the Planning Commission would need.

Councilwoman Mutch discussed the advantages of holding public sector meetings.

Mayor McLallen noted the Planning Commission’s base budget only increased $6,000 from last year and believes it is not much given what challenges are brought before them. Further, there are some challenges about whether they apportion the money the right way and Council will review that. Mayor McLallen requested that Council schedule a public joint meeting with the Planning Commission in July so that they can explain all of the maps they were unable to discuss tonight.

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3. Community Development

James Wahl, Director of Planning and Community Development reported the basic function, organization and assignment of the department is the same as what was presented last year in that they really have three principal activities. They are; economic development, planning and community development. Mr. Wahl stated they have made some proposals differently this year as a result from Council comments and from the fact that the Planning Commission is emphasizing environmental planning and public participation. He advised the Planning Commission has moved away from community development related planning and the department believes that filling those areas is necessary.

Mr. Wahl reported their principal initiative is basically the same as they did for Main Street on the east side in 1993-94 when they prepared a preliminary streetscape and roadway design. Mr. Wahl stated the preliminary gave them a road map for what needed to be done to the infrastructure for that quadrant. Consequently, they could take an idea, work with the developers and turn it into construction. Mr. Wahl believes they need to do the same thing for Main Street West. He explained they completed a right-of-way study this year and they now need to take it to the next level which is design and engineering. The cost estimate basically utilizes the same consultants, but because the nature of the property is somewhat different and offers different challenges, they had to add some things.

Mr. Wahl reported Greg Capote will be working with Rod Arroyo in updating the display for the Economic Development Program. Mr. Wahl stated in the past, they used the Novi Special for trade shows, and noted the display, all of the photographs, brochures and public relations information are in serious need of updating. Mr. Wahl believes if they are going to become seriously involved in an economic development program, they need to secure new equipment.

Mr. Wahl reported they also propose to update their Site Plan Manual so that it is more streamlined in communicating the development process without compromising the requirements. He explained they want to make the process easier by making it better understood.

Mr. Wahl stated their request also includes additional funding for Mr. Capote to acquire economic development certification. Mr. Wahl believes it is money well spent in terms of the type of information Novi needs as to what has gone on in the last three years until right now in terms of economic development. Mr. Wahl reported he has been an economic development professional for twenty-five years, but he has spent more time on planning and community development during the last ten years. He believes Mr. Capote has been working toward what is required for economic development in 1997 and this is a sound investment since they did not hire someone with twenty years of economic development experience.

Mayor McLallen stated there is an $80,000 change in the Planning Department’s base budget that is largely directed toward design for Main Street and their continued focus on the economic development initiative.

Councilman Mitzel asked if they included the design in the Main Street cost. Mr. Wahl replied they have already completed some of the work and they budgeted approximately $4,000 for that work.

Councilman Mitzel asked what is included in the design and engineering costs. Mr. Wahl replied it includes everything at the preliminary stage. Mr. Wahl explained it includes environmental assessment, streetscape signs, conceptual development planning, traffic analysis, financial analysis and public services.

Councilman Mitzel did not realize the Planning Department would be involved with engineering specifications for roads. Mr. Wahl replied they only provide conceptual specifications.

Councilman Mitzel asked when it comes time to prepare the drawings for the roadway construction, where would it be forwarded. Mr. Wahl has worked with Mr. Nowicki on all of this. He noted the department is really just bringing the conceptual design proposal forward because that is what they did with Main Street East and the Grand River Corridor.

Councilwoman Mutch asked for a hypothetical example that would involve Mr. Capote from an Economic Development standpoint and Mr. Frey from a Community Development standpoint. Mr. Wahl believes it would be best to describe Mr. Capote’s position as an ambassador for Novi in terms of marketing and outreach; Mr. Capote is contacting people and promoting the community. Once they come in and begin to discuss projects in terms of design plans, the infrastructure and so forth, he and Mr. Frey will then meet with Mr. Capote’s contacts. Further, the maps are intended to focus on the three principal areas the department will be concentrating on and indicate areas that either are under developed or will be developed in the future. The three areas are the Grand River Corridor, Twelve Mile Road Corridor and the Town Center. He added that he and Mr. Frey will focus on project oriented, planning and design coordination.

Mr. Wahl believes there is probably more of a relationship between Mr. Capote and Mr. Cohen in terms of planning and zoning. Mr. Wahl explained when they are at the initial phases, planning and zoning either has to be in place or moving in the right direction. Consequently, there is more of a relationship between Mr. Capote’s responsibilities and the planning functions.

Councilwoman Mutch stated if Mr. Capote makes a contact would he at some point turn him over to Mr. Frey. Mr. Wahl explained that would happen once they start to get into some sort of development posture.

Councilwoman Mutch noted they list Mr. Cohen’s position as City Planner. Mr. Wahl replied they have proposed some minor internal changes that relate to what staff members’ responsibilities are. Mr. Wahl said the title City Planner is what Ed Gardiner is in Farmington Hills and it denotes that he is a principal planning contact. Mr. Wahl explained Staff Planner implies there may be more than one. Further, it was their attempt to respond to Council by giving better definition about what the principal roles are of the individual staff members and eliminate some confusion.

Councilwoman Mutch is concerned that if they hire someone else, they would have to be a Staff Planner and they would be subordinate somehow. She added they do not necessarily need someone who is subordinate, but they may need people who are peers.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked why are they proposing to change Mr. Wahl’s title to Director of Planning and Development Services. Mr. Wahl replied they are proposing that change because it relates to the fact that the functions of the department have changed and expanded. For example, they added Economic Development in Farmington Hills and they are proposing to call it Department of Planning, Community and Economic Development. Mr. Wahl believes their suggestion is more concise and is a better way to reflect the addition of economic development, and the increased responsibilities and services of the department.

Mayor ProTem Crawford believes the current title is concise. Mr. Wahl believes the proposed title is the way they recognize it in the profession.

Councilman Clark noted half the Planning Department’s increase is for Main Street West and added he believes they are all concerned about how it develops so that it ties in with the east side. He believes they are taking a step in the right direction because this is the only way they can take the lead and accomplish what has to be done.

Councilman Kramer asked what is meant by the Town Center and Grand River project item. Mr. Wahl explained they typically have some limited amounts of money in the Planning Commission budget to provide the capability to respond to the Town Center Steering Committee’s desire to look at particular issues. Mr. Wahl reported the Planning Commission was not interested in doing that this year and furthermore, he sees the Grand River Corridor as the next major community development focus. Mr. Wahl believes they cannot deal with something like this on a staff only response. Consequently, this is a minimal amount of money to be able to deal with things that are going to come up during the year.

Councilman Kramer noted the significant increase to Conferences and Workshops. Mr. Wahl replied they allocated these funds for Mr. Capote’s certification.

Although Councilwoman Mutch supports further education, she asked if they protect the city when they pay for an employee’s education or certification. Further, she asked if the city is unprotected, is there a mechanism they could adopt to provide protection. Mr. Klaver replied the city is not protected and that enforcing a mechanism that would protect them is difficult if an employee should choose to terminate their employment.

Mr. Wahl stated if they were to hire someone with this certification, they would have had five to ten years of experience and they would be paying ten thousand dollars per year more than what they currently have retained Mr. Capote. Mr. Wahl noted that Mr. Capote has been on their staff for quite some time; they are counting on his staying and making that investment for the community worthwhile.

Councilman Schmid asked how do they track Mr. Capote’s success. Mr. Wahl replied that he and Mr. Capote discuss his projects at least every other day. He explained there are many projects that are not public because they are just at the beginning stages. Mr. Wahl added that he receives a monthly report from Mr. Capote, but they no longer give Council a copy of it.

Councilman Schmid asked if Mr. Wahl has a report from Mr. Capote for last month’s activity. Mr. Wahl replied he does.

Councilman Kramer asked if it would be worthwhile for Mr. Capote to provide a quarterly update. Mr. Wahl replied Mr. Capote currently provides a progress report.

The Mayor advised that Mr. Capote requested a meeting with her for next Thursday to provide her with update. She knows there are several initiatives they cannot make public for sensitivity reasons. Mayor McLallen stated all Mr. Capote has to do is land one major project and he will have paid for himself for a couple of years. She reminded Council that he has only been in this position since July.

Mr. Wahl reported things like the Main Street proposal typically come in outside the budget process on a project by project basis. However, they identified a need through the Town Center process to move forward with this. Mr. Wahl thought the logical thing to do was to address it through the budget process.

Mr. Kriewall stated Paul Black is present for the drain items and asked if they could move him up on the agenda.

Mr. Nowicki briefly introduced the functions the Department of Public Services. He explained they are a large diverse umbrella type of department that has many different and distinct operational aspects. They include; construction, engineering, forestry, weighmaster, data management (GIS system), Building Department, code enforcement, Department of Public Works and the Water and Sewer Department. Mr. Nowicki reported

each department head has prepared a budget that includes goals, objectives and accomplishments.

Mr. Nowicki reported Paul Black is the Chairman of the Storm Water Drain Fund and they have worked together for the past six years. Throughout the many years Mr. Black has served as Chair, Mr. Nowicki reported that he has helped the city repair and keep the drain fund in good condition. He has also helped to guide the city through capital improvements and the planning process in respect to city projects.

5. Drain Perpetual Maintenance

Mr. Black reported this program has been around since approximately 1983. He explained it began with a committee and as a result, they prepared a storm water master plan. The major emphasis of the master plan is to avoid flooding and keep the storm water flowing properly. They basically accomplish this through the location of specific basins in certain areas. Mr. Black stated the program is ongoing and along with the CIP, they take the projects and try to develop them throughout the city as the city itself develops. He said if they look at the plan over the next six years they will see the storm water portion through the 2003 Budget will take care of all the projects anticipated at this time. He added that the budget is from dedicated millage for this purpose. Further, there are areas that they design every year, they take care of obtaining the easements that they need and then the construction takes place for the different basins. He noted the Leavenworth-Grand River Basin was put on line this past year. The proposed budget currently before Council is about the same as last year and their emphasis for 1997-98 is toward north Novi and the Regional Basin, as well as completing what they need from the current year. Mr. Black asked Council to recall that they have run into problems with the DNR and DEQ because they determine where basins go and how they are constructed. As a result, they find that the program moves slower than anticipated because they have to generate reports for them. Mr. Black reiterated their goal is to try to complete all the basins with the dedicated millage that funds them.

Mayor McLallen asked if they are anticipating a lower revenue based on the millage. Mr. Gibson replied the decrease is a result of a fluctuation in the Fund Balance. He explained the Fund Balance is down by approximately $400,000 because construction decreased.

Councilman Schmid asked what was the $605,475 construction appropriation for. Mr. Black replied it was primarily for the Grand River-Leavenworth Basin.

Councilman Schmid asked who tracked the $605,475. Mr. Nowicki replied that he, the Finance Department and D.P.W. manage the tracking. Mr. Black added they look at the preparation of the budget each year and they track the expenses quarterly. He reported that they rely on Mr. Nowicki and the reports from the Finance Department to accomplish this task. He added the idea is to have citizen input to determine if they are doing what they should be doing in this program. Mr. Black stated all of it is not strictly construction, and that it also includes a lot of the design phases and easement acquisitions.

Councilman Schmid asked how do they track the $200,000 for storm sewer maintenance. Mr. Black reported Mr. Jerome tracks this item and he has an overall plan for what segments the city is cleaning. The plan is to clean out or at least inspect all of the storm sewers throughout the city over five years. Mr. Black believes they are currently on the second cycle for that. Mr. Black reported they are requesting a little more money this year and as was anticipated, they did not get as much done in the last season as they thought. Consequently, they thought they would step up the process and try to catch up. If they do not do it on a regular cycle basis, they fall behind. They found that storm sewer maintenance is an important part of this program because sewers need to flow freely.

Councilman Schmid asked what is the $140,000 data processing cost for. Mr. Nowicki replied that is the contribution to the Geographic Information System that they approved last year and rolled over this year. Mr. Gibson added one fourth of that went to the drain fund, one fourth went to water and sewer, and one fourth went to the street fund to cover the GIS.

Councilman Schmid asked if Mr. Black gets involved in determining if the expenses are appropriate. Mr. Black stated that determination is the responsibility of Administration.

Councilman Kramer asked why is there such a huge increase in the lake clarity testing. Mr. Black replied they have a couple new programs they would like to get into. He explained there is a need to conduct a study on the weeds and sedimentation in Walled Lake. He noted this has been one role of the program from the very beginning, but they have never performed any cleaning in Walled Lake itself. He reminded Council they did Meadowbrook Lake as part of the bond issue ten to fifteen years ago and that sediment is now starting to build up again, so they want to study that again.

Mr. Nowicki added as the water comes into these various bodies of water, the sediment begins to drop out as the velocity decreases. Mr. Nowicki explained this causes the build up of silt, weeds and everything around those outfalls. Consequently, it impacts the ability of the conveyance system to take that water into the lakes which causes flooding conditions further upstream.

Councilman Mitzel asked if they included a description of the clarity program. Mr. Nowicki stated he would forward a copy to him.

Councilman Mitzel asked if the committee is aware of the Imperviousness Survey that the Planning Commission requested in their budget. Mr. Nowicki replied their budget was prepared in December and January, and they were not aware of that study.

Councilman Mitzel explained the focus of the study is to identify areas that are impervious in the city as built now on a watershed basis. They then expect to make recommendations about how it impacts storm water conveyance, generation and so forth. Further, they will attempt to determine how they can incorporate that into the development guidelines. Councilman Mitzel is not certain how this study fits into the big picture and asked whether they really need it. Mr. Black believes it is a waste of money. He explained the storm water plan prepared a rough idea of imperviousness because that is what they base tap fees on.

Councilman Kramer asked if Councilman Mitzel would like to propose that the Storm Water Committee study the Planning Commission proposal and give Council an overview before they make their decision. Councilman Mitzel understands that they only meet once every quarter and asked if one of the departments could determine what they may have already covered in their existing storm water plan. Mr. Nowicki interjected, they will call a meeting.

Councilman Kramer stated this could potentially be the basis for them to consider an update for their plan.

Councilman Mitzel agreed. He stated there has been discussion that it is time to update the Storm Water Master Plan, but one problem is waiting for the DNR to decide what they are looking for.

Mr. Nowicki reported their plan is predicated on the use of in line basins for storm water detention and retention. He noted they just received word from the DNR about the Oak Creek Basin and they do not know if they want any more in line basins. This would create major problems with respect to the way they do business and would result in their buying more property to build basins. This is something the Storm Water Committee wanted to avoid initially.

Mr. Kriewall stated the assemblage of the tree farm is significant. However, he overheard discussion from the engineers about actually putting in a structure, but they fear they might flood more of the property that they already use for storm water storage. Mr. Black stated Mr. Kriewall is referring to the North Novi Basin. Mr. Black reported there is one channel coming down from Walled Lake and the wetland around it is very flat. Mr. Black explained if they put in a dam type storm structure and it flooded six inches, the engineers’ study indicates that it just goes where it is already wetland.

Mr. Kriewall is concerned that they may waste a lot of the park land area if it continually retains water. Mr. Black believes as they developed it and as they paid costs for obtaining the easements, the storm water fund would pay for the wetlands in the low areas which are those areas that could not be used anyway.

Councilman Mitzel believes that changes because the DNR does not allow in line basins. Mr. Nowicki stated the detailed design of that basin will not really begin until July 1 when they put the budget together.

Mayor McLallen asked if Ms. Lorenzo’s statement that the scheduling of storm drainage maintenance is behind three years is accurate. Mr. Nowicki is not certain what the length of time is and added they can discuss that when Mr. Jerome is before them with his budget request.

Mayor McLallen noted that there is increased funding in this budget to address part of the back log. Mr. Nowicki believes there was a fundamental misunderstanding on how the fund works. He thinks the limiting factor here would be manpower and not so much dollars.

Mr. Black reported the perpetual maintenance fund is a constantly growing fund of developer’s cap fees for storm water. Mr. Black explained the purpose of the fund is to have money available so when the program is built out, the funds that are there will generate enough interest to pay for the maintenance of all the basins so that the taxpayers will not have to fund them any longer.

Mr. Gibson reported as of last year, the fund has $2,225,000 and it should be at $2,500,000 by the end of this year.

Chris Pargoff, City Forester stated their program is basically a tree planting program. He reported Lochmoor, Chase Farms, Bradford and Barclay Estates are areas planted in the 1996 Tree Planting Program. They also used funding from the paving and woodlands replacement along Eleven Mile Road. Mr. Pargoff stated they are hoping to address some hazardous tree situations that they mentioned last year through a privatized tree trimming program. Mr. Pargoff added the city was able to maintain their Tree City USA status.

Mayor McLallen referred to Page 93 and noted that it shows a major change in Personnel Services and asked if they are adding more staff. Mr. Pargoff is not certain, but he believes the biggest increase was between 1996 and 1997 where they allocated a second summer helper. Mr. Pargoff stated they have never used that position. However, they did have an intern and that was where most of that funding was used. Mr. Pargoff explained they have been unable to find somebody to fill that position.

Mayor McLallen asked Mr. Pargoff to highlight the $50,000 increase in Other Services and Capital Outlay in the Forestry budget. Mr. Pargoff reported Other Services includes the Tree Trimming Program for $30,000. This would primarily be the hazardous tree trimming areas in Meadowbrook Glens and possibly along Christina. It would also include their final clean up efforts that are ongoing at this point in time. The other $20,000 is for a new vehicle for him.

Councilman Kramer asked if tree maintenance is a contracted service. Mr. Pargoff replied the $30,000 would be for the contracted service.

Councilman Kramer noted that Administration did not support hiring a staff person and he assumes that would have facilitated the City doing their own tree maintenance. Mr. Pargoff would prefer to hire a staff person, but this has not met with favorable response in the past. Councilman Kramer said that would mean they would continue with contract help if Council approves the budget as proposed. Mr. Pargoff agreed.

Councilman Schmid noted the high maintenance cost expenditure. Mr. Pargoff said the $30,0000 is for contract services for the tree trimming work as opposed to hiring a staff person. He believes the first year would be the largest expenditure and that they would seek bids similar to the street tree program.

Councilman Mitzel said because this would not be in place until after July 1, they hope that nothing happens to the trees between now and then. Mr. Pargoff agreed and added the problem according to the Finance Department is that they have committed the $10,000 for tree planting. They are also looking at other sources for possible removal because they have several other situations that they need to address.

Councilman Mitzel stated he asked this because he is aware of one situation in particular.

Mr. Pargoff added there are several trees down on Galway that they also have to look at.

Mr. Kriewall believes tree trimming is something that is better to privatize and there are several individual contractors they can bring in. Further, if they had to hire staff for that, they would also have to purchase equipment. Mr. Kriewall noted that this is also a very dangerous job.

Councilwoman Mutch said there was confusion at the last Council meeting about what the city does in terms of limb removal on the street right-of-way and personal property. She asked if any residents have approached Mr. Pargoff about this issue or is he able to make recommendations about how they can contract a private service to remove the limbs their property. Mr. Pargoff replied he asks the residents to check the contractor’s insurance and check their professional qualifications in terms of organizations they may belong to or any certifications they may have. Mr. Pargoff believes the more education a resident has, the better the quality a resident can get from the private sector.

Councilwoman Mutch stated she raised this question because this is one of those things people just assume the city is responsible for. She believes if they give them instruction early on about what they need to do privately as a neighborhood, it will resolve this issue. Mr. Pargoff replied if they come to their office, he offers them a publication they have prepared for public distribution. One pamphlet is How to Hire an Arborist.

B. Building

Don Saven, Building Official reported their department has experienced a very good year and he anticipates another promising year in 1997-98. Mr. Saven complimented his staff and believes they are doing the best job possible.

Mr. Saven reported the department has initiated many things in terms of communications to improve their relationship with the community and the developers. Mr. Saven stated they have conducted several seminars and one was about the 1993 code updates and more recently, they conducted a program called How to Survive Building Inspections from State and for Final. Mr. Saven explained this was a step by step procedure which would educate any new developer coming into the community about Novi’s policies.

Mr. Saven added he is proud to report that they also assisted the City of Detroit with their residential development building program. Further, Mr. Saven reported they were recently featured in the Detroit News/Free Press regarding the Model Energy Code. Mr. Saven discussed the new code changes and noted that it passed in a six to five vote. He further reported they will pass it on into further legislation for fine tuning.

Mr. Saven stated one challenge for next year is the 1996 Code Update. In addition, Mr. Saven reported they also have to address Senate Bill 653 which deals with community impact and mandating inspections for apartments. Mr. Saven explained if they pass the bill, it may mean Novi must become involved in certain requirements or they may have to come back before Council midyear for additional help in this area. Mr. Saven added that the department will also be graded through ISO (Insurance Service Office) in 1998. Mr. Saven reported it will be the first time that they will grade all building departments nationally and request insurances for all new construction from that point on. That means they must meet certain criteria and consequently, they contacted BOCA for an evaluation to help the department prepare for this.

Mayor McLallen noted the bulk of the budget increase is in Personnel. The Mayor said they questioned this because they wondered how were they able to accomplish the inspections for 461 constructed units with only nine inspectors in addition to their other responsibilities. Mr. Saven replied they are extremely busy and added there are actually several inspection requirements on every home which may amount to as many as eight inspections per home.

Mayor McLallen asked if they can increase the staff temporarily to meet the fluctuating work load demands. Mr. Saven believes that is possible, but because they have to be qualified with Public Act 54, building inspectors are very scarce. Mr. Klaver interjected, they have not made allowances for that in the budget.

Mr. Kriewall said this is one department that has had to come back before Council after budget adoption in the past to increase building inspectors because it is subject to the fluctuations of the building industry. Mr. Kriewall anticipates this action will occur this year because of the major impact that the moratorium lifting had.

Mayor McLallen added there is also concern about how the number of potential non-residential projects currently in the pipe line will affect the timeliness of residential inspections. She has spoken with new residents who are dissatisfied with the delay they experienced for new home inspections. Further, the margin for human error increases when the demands are that great and asked if they have reached that point.

Mr. Saven replied they reviewed their BOCA evaluation that trains the ISO people who in turn tell them what their rating should be in terms of inspection/inspection ration on a yearly average. Mr. Saven reported Novi is above it.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked if they have to come back before Council and request more people, is it self-funded. Mr. Kriewall replied it is.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked what happens in a down turn market. Mr. Klaver replied they have experienced lay offs during down turns.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked if they address layoffs in the union contract. Mr. Kriewall replied they do address layoffs.

Councilman Schmid noticed a sharp increase in Pension for all the departments. Mr. Klaver replied that was an anomaly in the way they reported it last year. He explained it does not really represent any change in programs or any long term increase of cost. Mr. Gibson added part of it goes back to an overly complex spread sheet they were using at the beginning of last year and it basically had some bad numbers in it. Consequently, part of what is shown, is that information.

Councilman Schmid asked if that means they under budgeted last year. Mr. Gibson replied what they are comparing to is the original budget at the beginning of the current year and those numbers had some inaccuracies in them. He reported they are identifying the change between those original numbers and what this budget is recognizing.

Councilman Schmid said they will spend $40,000 this year and next year they are recommending $60,000. Mr. Gibson agreed and explained the difference between the estimated and the recommended are good numbers and asked that his earlier comment be disregarded. He explained those reflect changes in retirement programs and there is always a one year lag in them before the actuaries catch up with it.

Councilman Schmid asked what will that figure be next year. Mr. Gibson replied it should remain approximately the same because the only thing that really affects it is the change in the program and they will experience no change in the program next year. He added it is basically a percentage of the payroll, so it should not change dramatically.

Councilman Schmid questioned the request for $12,000 in Overtime and noted they recommended $20,000. Mr. Gibson reported they included a full time person in that request. He explained with the addition of that full time person, a temporary person was removed. Mr. Gibson stated when they removed the full time person from the second line, they had to return the temporary salary. Mr. Klaver interjected, they currently handle an overflow on plan examination by offering it on an overtime basis to other members of the department. He explained with the new plan examiner position, the overtime will be cut. They then administratively removed the position, so they assume they will continue to accomplish that with overtime and consequently, they increased that category.

Councilman Schmid asked Mr. Saven to rate the quality and timeliness of inspections on a scale of one to ten. Mr. Saven stated although they are behind, he would rate quality high because they spend a lot of critical time in the large homes and they are becoming more knowledgeable about the requirements. Therefore, he would rate quality at nine. Mr. Saven would rate their timeliness at four because he sometimes sends one person out with thirty-two inspections per day during the high volume season. Mr. Saven noted they also just experienced a transition when they lost a plan examiner to another community. In turn, they hired within by moving one of their inspectors into the plan examiner position. They are currently in the process of filling the inspector position and consequently, it is causing some high anxiety. He agrees they are over loaded. Although he is cautious, if the money and availability is there, he will take an extra person. Mr. Saven explained how the department responsibilities have changed over the years.

Mr. Klaver asked Council if they would like Administration to watch this situation so they can respond quickly if they determine additional staff is needed because of the excessive work load. He reminded Council that the recent transition within the department only occurred approximately six weeks ago.

Mayor ProTem Crawford is concerned the process may still take too much time to address an immediate problem. He asked how much of it is self funded if Council authorized another person tonight.

As Council indicated, Mr. Klaver said the down side is if for some reason the anticipated work load is not there, laying people off is not economically prudent.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked if they can anticipate an increased work load based on the water moratorium and the overall obvious growth compared to last year. Mayor ProTem Crawford understands they still have the same number of inspectors that they had last year and it sounds as though they were over loaded last year. He believes there will be more work for them this year.

Councilman Schmid recalled that the department hired part time people at one time. Mr. Klaver replied the problem with this business is that when they are busy, everybody is busy. He noted the best people can make almost double the money building houses instead of inspecting them.

Councilman Schmid asked if they considered retirees. Mr. Klaver replied that is difficult in terms of certification.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked how long does it typically take to hire someone. Mr. Klaver replied it is usually six weeks depending upon the position.

Mayor McLallen noted it is unusual for this Council even to consider hiring more staff. The Mayor asked if they do hire an additional person and the work load decreases, can that person be cross trained for another position or would the union prohibit that. Mr. Saven does not believe that will be an issue because he is anticipating some action on Senate Bill 653 in terms of housing inspection for apartment buildings existing buildings. He explained they will have to begin a new program and expects a tremendous work load from this.

Mayor ProTem Crawford suggested that Administration provide more detail about the work load and the possibility of hiring a new person for the Building Department before they finish the budget process.

C. Ordinance

Mr. Saven reported the Ordinance budget did not experience too many changes. However, he added they removed the weighmaster position and that is reflected by a decrease in the budget.

Mr. Saven reported they are becoming more sensitive to environmental issues in terms of training for their staff. He noted he wants to add the housing inspection portion into the ordinance division because it does not require them to be Public Act 54 certified. Mr. Saven reported that the ordinance officer can inspect the house exterior and write violations under Property Maintenance or the Ordinance Codes. Consequently, if they have any problems, they can utilize the housing code. Mr. Saven noted citizen’s have raised concerns relative to that. Mr. Saven reported they are going to try to work with a group called MAHO, Michigan Association for Housing Officials and added that one of the ordinance officer’s will become a member to provide information in terms of code enforcement.

Mayor McLallen noted three ordinance officers responded to 628 complaints received and they issued 1,575 violations. Mayor McLallen asked if tickets are issued once the people do not comply. Mr. Saven stated that is correct.

Councilman Mitzel asked where is the weighmaster now budgeted. The Mayor replied it is budgeted under D.P.W.

Councilwoman Mutch noted when people come in to complain about particular things, it comes down to ordinance enforcement.

D. D.P.W.

Bruce Jerome, Superintendent/D.P.W. reported they have two major areas of responsibility and the first is maintaining the city street system. Mr. Jerome reported the city currently has a combination of major and local streets which equates to approximately 136 miles of streets in their system. The second area of responsibility is their work on the operation and maintenance of the storm water system. Mr. Jerome stated one goal for this year is to continue to improve the maintenance for the street system and they are looking for increased funding in the Six Year Road Program. They are further proposing a continuation of their contractual street sweeping agreement and have asked for additional equipment to improve their winter maintenance operations. Mr. Jerome reported they are actively pursuing sign change outs and the sign technician is currently working on the major streets. He reported over the last five to six years as they change a sign, they replace the standard six-inch sign with a four-inch letter with a nine-inch sign with a six-inch letter. Mr. Jerome believes the larger signs provide safer conditions.

Mr. Jerome further reported they currently have thirteen individuals compared to ten in 1987 with eighty miles of road. Mr. Jerome stated he would appreciate an additional labor at a later date. He explained the road system has grown 70% in the last ten years and staffing has only increased 30%. Mr. Jerome believes if they have a major storm event, it is common to have drivers driving eighteen to twenty hours and then work twenty to thirty hours. Mr. Jerome reported they assign the trucks ten miles of road during a storm event and he advised there are other options. He explained they could hire contractual work or reduce the level of service. Mr. Jerome reported the hours they sometimes work during a major storm event is at a dangerous level.

Councilman Schmid asked what does Mr. Jerome mean by dangerous. Mr. Jerome replied there have been several occasions where he was unable to entice his staff with overtime because they are so tired and the problem lies with getting them back. Mr. Jerome reported he has tried to establish a work/rest cycle to address this issue. He realizes they do not experience this situation often, but when they get into the winter operations, it is something they are concerned about.

Mr. Jerome stated one significant increase is in Office Supplies because it now supports seven people in two different buildings. There is also a significant increase in Medical Services as part of the Federal Highway Department’s Commercial Drivers License Program. He explained they require that their drivers have a commercial drivers license and it requires a physical every two years. They are also subject to random drug and alcohol testing.

Mayor McLallen noted the overall budget has increased by $138,000 and the bulk of it is for a truck.

Mr. Jerome added that the Public Works Department is unique in that when they look at the bottom line, there is an appropriation to Other Funds. He explained the personnel in that department work for different funds; if they work in the municipal garage, they charge their time against Municipal Garage and so forth.

Councilman Schmid asked for a further explanation about the $11,200 expenditure for Consultants. Mr. Nowicki believes it should be under Data Processing.

Councilman Schmid asked for additional information.

Mayor McLallen noted all the background information is available from Cheryl McNamara.

Mr. Gibson reported on a small item like this, they passed out a one page schedule for data processing to everybody. However, when Councilman Mitzel asked for the book, they did not supply it to everybody.

Councilman Mitzel thought it might be beneficial to notate that when they have assembled and given other information to a specific council member for the benefit of the other council members.

Conversely, Mayor McLallen believes the person making the request obviously has a significant reason for making that request and hopefully, will find the response beneficial to their decision making and will share that response with everyone. She does not want to get into the pitfall of creating paper for paper sake without it going anywhere.

Mayor McLallen asked if there is a consensus to move Item 5. Balance of Funds to their April 28 agenda.

Councilman Schmid noted he will be out of town for the last budget meeting scheduled for May 1. Mayor McLallen is hoping they can finish by April 28.

Mr. Kriewall stated they can move Item 5 to the April 28 agenda.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked if there are additional funds for street sweeping under equipment rental. Mayor ProTem Crawford explained he is disturbed about the condition of most of their intersections. Mr. Jerome stated he would like to continue the contractual street sweeping that is funded out of the Major & Local Street Fund as part of routine maintenance which specifies four sweepings per year; the last sweeping occurred in September.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked what streets are swept. Mr. Jerome replied they sweep intersections, the mile roads, and subdivision streets. Further, only those areas that have curbs would be swept.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked about Novi Road and Grand River. Mr. Jerome replied those are county roads and they sweep that area once before the Memorial Day Parade, once in July prior to the 50's Festival and once in the fall.

Mayor ProTem Crawford asked if there is a need for expanded sweeping service. Mr. Jerome replied he only has thirteen field employees and has to set priorities.

Mayor ProTem Crawford believes Mr. Jerome is saying that if he had more staff and money, he could do more.

Mayor ProTem Crawford is very concerned about the road conditions at Grand River and Novi Road from Meadowbrook to Taft and from Ten Mile to Twelve Mile because it is an important corridor.

Mr. Jerome noted as a point of correction, the $138,000 for a vehicle is actually under Municipal Garage.

Mayor McLallen asked if they have a real program for the $10,000 for sidewalks. Mr. Nowicki replied they are under a contractual agreement with the county to inspect and repair bike paths and sidewalks along county roads. It was one of their requirements to allow development to install sidewalks within the county road right-of-way. Last year they began with $7,500 and they increased it slightly for this year.

Councilman Kramer noted there is no sidewalk plan in the budget. Mr. Nowicki replied if they would like to allocate additional dollars to construct new sidewalks, it would go into this account. He noted it usually falls under General Administration and Carol Kalinovik manages it.

Mr. Nowicki said they were proposing to create a new water and sewer superintendent position and noted Mr. Jerome currently heads that particular fund.

Councilman Kramer asked if it would be a parallel position to Mr. Jerome’s because he is currently doing both. Mr. Nowicki replied that is correct.

Mr. Nowicki noted the Major Street, Local Street, Municipal Funds and the Six Year Road Program they recently approved are reflected in those numbers.

Councilman Kramer asked if the budget is acceptable to Mr. Jerome in terms of the garage needs. Mr. Jerome replied they have approximately $2-2.5M in equipment and they have two full time mechanics that service them. He noted they asked for an additional mechanic, but it did not survive the first cut. He reported the large truck mechanics perform regular maintenance service approximately every four months and every three months on the gasoline powered vehicles. Mr. Jerome reported that as the vehicles age, the maintenance demands increase. He added they originally asked for more people and equipment, but he does not know if he would ever have enough people to complete all the things that need to be done.

Mr. Nowicki said they know that increasing staffing levels is difficult, so they try to increase the productivity of the equipment.

6. Schedule Executive Session

CM-97-04-136: Moved by Crawford, Seconded by Clark, MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY: To schedule an Executive Session Monday, April 28, 1997 at 7:00 p.m.

Nay: None

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business before City Council, the meeting was adjourned at 11:40 P.M.

Transcribed by Barbara Holmes