ROLL CALL Mayor Clark, Mayor Pro Tem Bononi, Council Members Capello, Csordas, Landry, Lorenzo, Sanghvi

ALSO PRESENT: Richard Helwig, City Manager

Craig Klaver, Chief Operating Officer

Maryanne Cornelius, City Clerk

Chief Doug Shaeffer, Police Chief

Asa Smith – 1294 E. Lake Dr., President of Lakes Area Homeowners Association and a member of the Storm Water Management Committee. He wanted to bring forward an issue regarding a letter to the City about communications between Novi and Walled Lake regarding lake issues common to both cities. He sought a liaison or committee action between the City of Novi and Walled Lake to resolve problems that are growing at the Lake area. Mr. Smith distributed a letter to Council only. The letter had been circulated throughout the City previously and discussed at different levels. He has contacted some Walled Lake residents, and they are in favor of the implementation of a liaison between the two cities with the common goals of controlling weeds, duck and goose problems, debris, and low levels. One idea to solve these problems is to establish a working relationship with the Oakland County Drain Commission and the State for the quality and upkeep of the lake for the future. He suggested a Council Committee, with representatives from Council and the Community, or a group to address this critical issue and to begin a study. The letter, passed out to Council, stated that a liaison between the two cities be established to work on rules and regulations for the preservation of the lake. He stated there are about 1,000 members of the homeowner’s association group and they are concerned with the lake issues. He asked Council to try and add these issues to their program.

Mayor Pro Tem Bononi commended Mr. Smith for his goal with regard to providing communication between communities. She could provide him with some models that have worked and the benefit of her experience sitting on a lake group committee trying to do what he has expressed.

Member Sanghvi asked what type of response did he get from Walled Lake. Mr. Smith stated the response has been tremendous. Walled Lake has a public beach that their Department of Public Works maintains, but they are willing to work together on the common issues. The first step is to itemize the problems then work together toward solutions.

Member Lorenzo asked Mr. Smith to assemble the minutes from his presentation to the Walled Lake City Council. She is interested in the additional information in how he presented this information to them and how they responded.

Member Lorenzo added two items under short-term goals. She noted her frustration is with the untimely responses to requests for information. The first item she added is that Council would have deliverables for all contracts, all council actions and all requests. She further explained that it would be up to Council to let the Administration and others know what the expectations are. She also asked for a timely implementation of responses to Council actions and requests.

Member Lorenzo added under long-term goals to continue our risk management efforts and objectives, which has stalled. She feels part of the problem was because of issues with the consultancy the City was working with. It is one thing to talk about what Council can do when they make decisions and also to talk about how to minimize their risk and exposure. Everything that is done during the daily routine by the different Departments adds liability, risk and exposure to the City.

Member Lorenzo also added under long-term goals the corporate naming rights for the ice arena.

Member Landry asked to add, under short-term goals, that Council creates a plan for adding police officers every year. Currently we are at sixty-three police officers. The FBI standards are 1.5 officers for every thousand residents, which would put us at seventy-five. At build out, with approximately 80,000 residents, we will need one hundred twenty police officers. If the City adds one police officer a year, we still would be short. He feels Council needs to create a plan that they can implement every single year. They need to find the money to add at least one or two officers every year.

Member Landry also added under short-term goals a meeting about lessons learned from Sandstone. He thinks they need to meet with the Planning Commission, perhaps the Zoning Board of Appeals, and the City Attorney to have a study session to ensure it does not happen in the future.

Member Landry stated a long-term goal would be to do something with Main Street. They need to look at the zoning, and density, to encourage developers to come in and finish Main Street. The City needs to take a more active role.

Member Landry added two other long-term goals, one is the municipal court currently generates about $750,000 in traffic fines and the city receives back $124,000. Chief Shaeffer stated we generate $1.7 million in fines each year and receive back in return $250,000. Member Landry stated the City shares all these fees with the County court, and the State. He understands that the County can charge exorbitant expenses for information technology and services. If you are a County court system they can charge you what ever rent they want to. If you are a municipal court system you have to pay all the expenses, but you can keep all of the money. He asked that Council look into turning the 52-1 court into a municipal court as a long-term goal.

Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi thanked all the municipal employees for attending. She brought forward, under policy issues, item #3 on the agenda. After looking over the materials for the meeting she noted one thing she was struck by, with both short and long-term goals is prioritizing. She is concerned that the City has not prioritized because we have been busy putting out fires, from the standpoint of such things as the intersection improvements that were proposed and approved under the 2000 Road Bond that are very much in arrears. Considering the sacrifices everyone will make with regard to finding alternative routes while Grand River is under construction will come back and bite us. She felt it was not only Council’s responsibility to set priority and to give policy to the Administration, but up to the Administration to do that as well. Another short-term consideration she thinks may help is a more specific targeted approach to documents such as this one. If they have measurements of performance such as in progress, there is no specific target attached, if they have specific notations that they are going to make significant progress. Council will have to state the target and explain how it was prioritized and by percentage what they have achieved. If they do not do that, they will only be looking into a rear view mirror at something they have not committed to in the beginning. Another point she feels is both a short and long-term goal is to look into the manner in which we receive requests and negotiate with applicants who wish to develop in Novi. She is not convinced that the City has the give and take they should have in regard to receiving positive items as a result of development proposals that can benefit this City; we give a lot but do not receive nearly enough. She provided Mr. Helwig with an example of a recent development proposal in a neighboring community that can be used as a model. She further stated Mr. Helwig has come up with the idea of a fiscal impact analysis as another aligning tool with regard to development proposals in the City of Novi.

Member Csordas had a short-term goal to strive to keep the millage rate for the city at the current level. Also he requested a quote for partially self-funding the city’s health plans and asked as a guideline for $100,000 spec and 12/12 contract and suggested using a firm such as Marsh McLennan to put together a quote from different entities. When that is done he would like to see if partially self-funding the health plan would help hold down the City’s costs. There would be no change in the benefits to employees or retirees, just another funding mechanism.

Member Capello had two short-term goals; one was ordinance revisions for Main Street. Also on Main Street the City needs to be more involved in events at the central location. He was pleased with the Christmas Walk, a great improvement from the past years, and the Motor Fest was tremendous last summer. The City needs to focus on making Main Street a central point for civic activities. He would like to see more park development and upgrades in the next eighteen months. He would also like the City to provide more tangible services for the citizens, i.e., garbage pickup, brush pickup or chipping, and leaf collection. He also feels the City needs to assess all City owned property for the cost of installing sidewalks, to bring them up to compliance. He hopes this one will be a very short-term goal; the pavers at the entrance to city hall are not in good shape but we require high quality from developers. One last short-term goal is revising the process for existing ordinances and creating new ordinances because currently it is a long-term process. The Council also needs to review the ordinance adoption procedures that are in place. Member Capello also feels we should move number six to short-term goals, that being to determine the need, costs and benefits of regional stormwater basins. If we do not do this in the near future the land will not be available. His long-term goals are a study being done to determine the feasibility of designing our own sewage disposal system and to provide our own water supply and distribution systems.

Mayor Clark stated his short-term goal is entry point signs to the city are needed. Also two problems we need to address and resolve in the next eighteen months are the Seeley Drain issue with Commerce Township and the effect it has on Haverhill and the Dunbarton Pines stormwater basins/detention issue. His suggestion for a long-term goal is Grand River Avenue improvements east from the intersection of Novi Road to the City limits.

Member Lorenzo stated that she was not ready to place all the ideas on the Council goals board. She asked for further information regarding the Municipal courts as she wondered if they are such good revenue generators, why are there not more communities doing it. She asked how much it cost to have a Municipal Court, would we be able to use the same public structure. What all the costs are, from the probation officers to workers in the court house. She would like a comparison of the costs with the revenue generated from the court and ideas on how would the City pay for the court. The other issue she would like more information on would be the Main Street ordinance revision. She did not want to do anything that might cheapen the quality of the project. She also needs more information on the scope of revisions. Regarding the events in the central location at Main Street, they are good but she does not want to spend tax payer’s money to create events or to have city personnel involved in events where money would be taken from other areas that we need for services for the citizens. She felt a proviso of no tax dollars spent should be added to Main Street goal. The Police issue is a very laudable goal but needs more discussion. One of the long-term goals that Council has is to enter the twelve step program to break urban sprawl addiction. One of the issues Council is going forward with is the growth management plan which involves taking a look at the big picture as to how the City will build out. She did not think the outline of the plan fits the City’s situation. She referred to a Novi News article that brought to Council’s attention the number of police officers needed as the city reaches build out. She stated it is imperative that every Master Plan, Zoning, and land use decision that is made we keep this issue in mind. We can not be looking at these issues in a vacuum. She suggested using the studies already done. Member Lorenzo referred to the citizen’s survey, complete in July 2002, as to what the citizens perceive to be issues, positive and negative. They have the 1998 update, Novi at the Cross Roads of Development, which high-lighted the same issues they have today, the imbalance between residential and non-residential development, and how population increases continues to be imbalanced which overburden the City regarding City services and infrastructure. They also have Office Service Zoning Valuations, November 2002; the second page has an estimate of 45% taxable value non-residential in this community which leaves 55% residential; non-residential needs to be increased. Also there is the Industrial Land Inventory and Analysis Study completed June 1997 by Brandon Rogers. The background has been done; the figures just need to be updated. Another resource is How Development Trends are Impacting Novi’s Tax Base, completed September 1998 by Birchler Arroyo, once again only the financials need to be updated. Novi 2020 which people participated in, in April 1997, also produced a vision statement. She felt we have all the studies and information, it is about compiling the information, giving it to the Planning Commission and City Council and having a long-term discussion about how they are going to implement the information in their daily/weekly/ monthly decisions.

The Planning Commission and City Council are making decisions that impact the imbalance of services to citizens. Member Lorenzo felt the growth management plan as presented should be scrapped. She suggested placing moratoriums on Master Plan and Zoning amendments coming forward to the Planning Commission or Council until they get a handle on the growth. Decisions such as Catholic Central, no doubt a great feature for the City of Novi and students attending the facility, however sixty acres were taken off of the tax rolls that were Office and Service Technology (OST) and Light Industrial. How will we compensate for that in the overall plan? She asked for every dollar that a tax dollar brings for a person living in Novi, how much are they receiving back from the City in benefits. They need to make the decisions now and take action now. Council cannot meet the goals as proposed unless we take action first.

Regarding the Dunbarton basin, she would like more information, and as Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi mentioned, prioritizing, we can not afford $500,000 from the Storm Water Fund for that particular basin. We already have Meadowbrook Lake and Village Oaks on the waiting list for money to take care of their issues. She did not feel the Dunbarton Basin is a priority. Prioritizing is an excellent goal and she does not want to put unrealistic goals on the goal board. She felt we should prioritize South Lake Drive, they awarded contract to Giffels – Webster over a year ago and Council still does not have an acceptable final design. The design presented last week had too many bells and whistles and she asked why it went from the proposal of $1.8 million to $1.36 million in the 2002-2003 Budget. She asked to have the basics of what it would cost the City to do a plan like East Lake Drive. She asked for that to come to Council sooner rather than later.

Member Lorenzo raised the issue of paving Delmont and Dinser Drive. She also agreed with the valid concerns of Council member Csordas but she would like comparisons done of the Dinser and Delmont types of homes with other similar types of homes with regard to how much taxes they pay. If they are paying equal taxes, the city has some if not all obligation to pave and maintain those streets as we are doing for other neighborhoods under the neighborhood paving plan. She will request the roads issue formally at a Council meeting.

She continued with financial guarantees for unfinished site work, which should be a priority goal and she would address that during policy issues. Another priority and goal is determining how predevelopment conferences can result in higher quality projects and with fewer referrals to the Zoning Board Appeals. She commented on her disappointment with the second quarter of the City Goals Report and found the referrals still remain the same as 2002. She knows the Planning Department can not force an applicant to change plans but the department should take the lead and recommend a way to reduce variances. Other goals are completing all improvements in City parks and how we balance that goal with all other issues coming to Council, whether it is Police, loss of state revenue sharing, or health care. She would like, from the administration, a look at everything; not to reduce the benefits but to look at all options available to Council in detail. She would like a separation of union vs. non-union, and a lot of information to Council on where we are with health care benefits. The employees are valued, the City can not function without employees but they understand they need to be competitive. On the other hand we exist for the constituents and the number one goal and responsibility is to the citizens. She will not say that they will not have to look at adjusting benefits or co-payments or benefits until she sees the numbers and how we will meet the goals. Council will ultimately be responsible for making the hard choices; they will be directing the administration to say at the next bargaining session let us offer "thus" very strongly, or to all current or future employees, let us start instituting "this" policy. It will not be easy. She wants to know in dollars and cents, if we increased a co-pay to $5.00, how much further ahead we would be. She stated the City’s goals are to provide services and legislate.

Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi asked for clarification on prioritizing.

Member Sanghvi stated this is a wish list. He stated wishes are fine but we have to remember all things cannot be done at the same time; we have to cut our coat according to our cloth. He feels it needs to be stated very clearly that our revenue generating instrument in this City is not just the residents but the business community as well as the industry and maybe we want to change the perception of the business and industry that Yes, the City of Novi is looking for this kind of business to invest in the City, do business in the City, and we are going to welcome them. As was pointed out, 45% of the revenues come from business and industry. He has felt for many years there has been animosity between the residents, business, and industry in the City of Novi. We need to change that perception and the lead needs to come from Council and City Hall needs to follow through with that. With only residential growth, who will pay for the services that are needed unless we are willing to raise taxes and the millage? The private enterprise is the basis for the economy and he stated the best government is the least government. Raising taxes is a dirty word and keeping a small government and responsible government in tune with the needs of the people is most important. He explained he believes this is a wish list, and it is contradictory to believe we can give all kinds of services and not raise the taxes. Member Sanghvi commented they need to be realistic, except that everything is a wish list and then decide what can be afforded with the monies available.

Mr. Helwig noted the usual process is first to reach a consensus on which short and long-term goals to add. After the goals have been put on the board, clarify, and go through a process, such as by motion or by using dots, those with the most dots would be added. He also stated that Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi stated a critical point that has never been seen since doing the goal setting, which is to revisit the short and long-term goals with additions and then prioritize them. Mr. Helwig commented that we can not be all things to all people and does not want to create false expectations.

Member Csordas added to the short-term goals the forming of a public safety committee to forecast the allocation of resources to maintain the level of services for police and fire staffing. He stated another goal would be regarding the senior center on Meadowbrook Road having additional staffing to maximize the facility. At this time there are only one and a half City employees plus the management company. He has discovered that if they add ten hours per week to the center it would take them to two staff persons. On the same topic, there seems to be a mini senior social services crisis; there are a lot of activities and events that were held in the Civic Center that are being currently taxed because of the number of Senior citizens going to Meadowbrook Commons. The staff is having a hard time honoring the requested services because of a lack of staff and facilities. He requested a needs analysis for Powers Park with a report back to Council. It was brought up In the Capital Improvement Committee meeting that the park is in poor condition and possibly hazardous. He learned there is not any irrigation and the fences are in poor condition. A final goal is to review the intersection of Novi Road and West Oaks Drive at Sheraton Drive for a traffic flow change.

The Mayor recessed the meeting at 10:25 a.m.

The Mayor reconvened the meeting at 10:36 a.m.

Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi asked with regard to the short and long-term goals that were already on the board, are they going to evaluate which ones have been completed, comment on any that they wish to revise, eliminate, or not address. Mr. Helwig stated they were reviewed in October; the ones completed have been removed, the ones remaining are on the board, and a twelfth short-term goal had been added in October. He commented what would be helpful after Council has decided which short and long-term goals to add, is to take the goals and prioritize them with those added at this meeting. Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi added under short-term goals the bringing forward of the chip seal program for residential streets that have a difficult time negotiating through mud in winter and have severe dust problems in summer. She knows there is a program that has been investigated; she asked for a status of it and for it to be brought to Council. She also added as a short-term goal the resolution and remedy of the Westmont Village Subdivision drainage and pavement problems. Another short-term goal in that same area is resolution and remedy of drainage problems at the Walden Woods Subdivision on Eleven Mile Road. Then under long-term problems an investigation and resolution of the log of drainage problems, hopefully prioritized city wide, but not yet addressed. The next short-term goal is to determine why the water service study has been delayed and in conjunction with that a statement about water pressure problems in the City of Novi, how they can hope to be exacerbated and also an explanation of the elevated water storage towers proposed in the Capital Improvements Plan. Next under short-term goals, the status of the Economic Development Commission and the Main Street Committee, but she does not believe they have met. The next short-term goal is the extension of sidewalk service to provide Meadowbrook Commons residents the ability to traverse on foot along Meadowbrook Road to Ten Mile Road. The sidewalk ends at the shopping center at the northwest quadrant of the intersection and prevents people from utilizing other services such as banking. Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi also added to the SAD analysis, under short-term goals item number twelve, the need for a simple graphic tracking process, so they can know where each of the proposals are at all times. She is also interested in how residents can receive more bang for the tax dollars they pay. When you look at the services provided, relative to the tax rate, there is nothing fabulous going on here. We are number eleven, with regard to the lowest tax paid, but what are we getting for that tax dollar? Are there other ways to look at what we are doing? A general goal under short or long-term goals is a formal communication plan between administration and City Council. Often times there are questions about who has what, who knows what, who knew it when, who is included in what loop and etc. She does not feel this is professional, it is not effective, and does not enable members of Council to have the best information at all times to pass on to our residents or anyone else who asks questions about our current status.

Member Lorenzo added under short-term goals the implementation of a practical growth management strategy that utilizes former studies with updated information. Also added to her first short-term goal was deliverables for all City contracts, Council actions and requests.

Mayor Clark noted that he agrees with some members of Council and obviously some he does not. When he hears the term urban sprawl and growth management all the time he feels it denotes that the City is doing something bad. In Europe, it is called Socialism; he is not in favor of Socialism. He asked who in this room would like to be told that we have enough residential in Novi, you are not welcome; we do not want you here. This is not what America is about. The First Amendment of the Constitution talks about the freedom of association, not like a lot of places in Europe where you have to show papers for identification to go to another area. People want to live where they want to live. He suggested that Council be careful when referring to growth management and urban sprawl as that might denote the city was closing its doors to people. He also suggested being careful in defining a community and he cited the Catholic Central development that the donators of the property tried for many years to get someone to develop that as OST. Potential developers said it is too much of a problem thanks, but no thanks. You do not define a quality community necessarily by how much we are getting in taxes. That is not the be all and end all of a quality community. Often times there are many intangibles that define what a quality community is and have nothing to do with the generation of tax dollars.

Mayor Clark referred to the Dunbarton Pines basin issue being important because it ties into another one which is risk management. Along the lines of risk management he knows a resident who has flooding problems down stream from Dunbarton Pines and has already spent $160,000, of his own money dealing with this problem. If we can take care of the problems between ourselves and Northville, with the problem of going under Eight Mile Road, we certainly can take care of the flooding problem. He does not believe that South Lake Drive has too many bells and whistles, it is long overdue, and change is always hard. There are problems on South Lake Drive that you did not have on East Lake Drive. With reference to the number of requests to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), he would like to see the numbers go down but realistically you can not stop people from going; ZBA is there for the purpose to hear requests but does not mean the ZBA will grant the requests. He continued speaking about the goals mentioned, the courts had been talked about, many of the communities might benefit from Municipal courts and this might be beneficial to our community and the court. In terms of more bang for the buck, he would like to see more services for the residents, but keep in mind garbage pickup would cost the city more with more employees to drive rubbish trucks and purchasing the trucks. As Member Sanghvi stated it all comes with a price tag, there are no freebies in life. Mayor Clark felt the City runs a very lean operation given that we are the fifth lowest municipal tax base of any community in Oakland County; the city does a lot with the dollars we have. He is always willing to look at new and creative ways to deliver services, but keep in mind if we do it, we are going to have to find a mechanism to pay for it. He asked them to keep in mind that no one likes the T word, taxes.

Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi asked to set the record straight; as a member of the planning profession, she has been an urban planner for more than twenty-three years. She wanted to clarify the comment of the previous speaker with regard to suggesting that growth management and smart growth have anything to do with Socialism is incorrect. We are all drawn to communities for many different reasons. The reason she was drawn to Novi was to see the choices that are here and despite the fact we are a planned community, we do have choices to live wherever we wish. To suggest that simply because we want to do whatever we want to do on a piece of land that we own that we have the right to do that and expect others to pay for that luxury is inflammatory, unfair, and untrue. She respectfully offered this in disagreement and asks to give the Master Plan, Planning Department, the City in regard to zoning the credit that they deserve. It is a tough game, no one wants to do it, we tramp on peoples feet all the time, but it is the reason we have the City we have.

Mayor Clark agreed with Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi; he has no problem. He suggested using the word planning as opposed to management. He quoted President Gerald Ford, "The government that is big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take everything you have." Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi stated if that is what we were discussing she would agree, but did not feel they were. Mayor Clark responded that in most places where that exists, it started out in small increments.

Member Landry commented about prioritizing. He stated that as he looked at the sixty plus goals listed, they are laudable, a wonderful Christmas wish list, but in his mind he would like to separate the goals into revenue generating, revenue neutral and revenue costing goals. He stated the highest priority goals should be those that generate revenue, directly or indirectly.

Member Capello agreed with Member Landry on the separation of goals. He also wanted to clarify he was asking for a study on the municipal court. He explained that the 52-1 District Court generates income, with our dollars going to the County and funding the Troy and Rochester District Courts. We do not have to take it on ourselves; part of the study would be deciding if we want to bring Lyon Township and Wixom in. He reiterated that it is only a study, to see what the costs are, what costs we would have to pay and to see if there would be any income generated. Regarding the Main Street Ordinances, he believed 8 & 9 could be combined. He does not want to amend the ordinance so there is less of a quality product. We know from experience that some things did not work, and need to be fixed. His opinion on events is not to spend money on events, but some of the events that the City has should be incorporated with the downtown. He felt goals 30 and 11 can be combined as they both deal with additional City services. Also 16, 17, old no. 11,and 25 can be combined into one goal; these all have to do with detention basins and prioritizing which basins need work. Numbers 31 and old #5 talks about Council consultant relationships and communications and Council administration communications; they should be combined because they are similar. Also, if Member Csordas does not mind, numbers, new #10 and 20 should be combined; the needs analysis could be included in the park upgrades. If Member Landry does not object, take Main Street off long-term and move it to short-term.

Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi stated she could not support revenue generators being the priority issues only because revenue generation is not necessarily of interest in serving the citizens first and foremost. The items that are going to service the citizens are the priorities she is looking at not revenue generating. Revenue generating is fine, any department or activity that the City can have that is self funded is a plus. The City is not here to generate profits as much as we are to serve people at a reasonable cost and to cover those costs.

Member Landry stated he was not suggesting that the revenue generating goals would be the highest in priority; he simply asked they be grouped into those that would either pay for themselves or allow the City revenue to pay for other things. He only suggested grouping them into three, and then do their priorities.

Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi suggested they attach a symbol to those that are revenue generating. Mayor Clark stated a color or the initials RG would work.

Member Sanghvi stated there are various ways to classify and group the goals, but the focus is on what can be fixed as soon as possible with the least amount of money. If you have the money you can provide the services; they go hand in hand. He felt the problems needed to be solved first.

Mr. Helwig, City Manager, said there are twelve existing short-term goals and thirty-three new short-term goals. He asked Council to scan the posted lists, and see if there are any connections. The example he gave was if thirty goals remain, each Council member will be given fifteen dots and can only place one dot on an item. This is an effort to narrow the goals down. There was a suggestion to combine deliverables and targeted measures, which was found to be acceptable. He added that number three, meeting with the Planning Commission to discuss lessons learned from Sandstone borders on being an activity. Council has spoken of it before; it does not have to be clouded in the short-term goals. Mr. Helwig stated there is a commitment to doing number three.

Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi asked for clarification on number 5; she was speaking about negotiating upfront for give backs. Member Lorenzo asked if the original number 4 and number 5 go together. Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi responded no.

Mr. Helwig moved on to the next posted page, numbers 6 – 11. Member Capello asked to combine numbers 8 and 9, Main Street issues. Member Capello asked that the park upgrades be combined. Mr. Helwig stated Number 20 reads needs analysis for Power Park. Member Capello asked to remove number 5 from under the long-term goals, which is to complete all improvements in City parks. Mr. Helwig asked if there was an objection to adding the improvements to numbers 10 and 20, park upgrades.

He added number 33, to complete year 2000 road bond intersection improvements.

Member Capello asked to delete number11; he is happy with Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi’s addition of number 30, more bang for buck. He asked if number 6 is a new short-term goal or long-term. He felt if it was kept as a long-term goal, it just means they are extending it out further. Member Csordas asked for it to be in long and short-term. Mr. Helwig added number 6, short-term goal. He continued on with numbers 12 -33, assess locations for the City to complete sidewalks, and to replace pavers at the City Hall entrance. Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi asked if number 29 can be placed with number 12; it is a sidewalk assessment issue, the Meadowbrook Commons link. Member Capello suggested combining numbers 16, 17 and old 11 and 25 into an assess, prioritize and resolve type of issue; they all have to do with drain and regional basins. Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi agreed number 16 and 17 should be one, and 25 should not be included. Number 25 is about specific neighborhood problems. Member Landry asked if numbers 23, 24, and 25 are the same.

Mr. Helwig asked if there was an objection to putting numbers 16 and 17, the Seeley Drain and Dunbarton Basin issues together. There were no objections. Mr. Helwig asked about items number 18 through 21. The Public Safety Committee for police and fire level of service staffing, additional staffing to support Meadowbrook Commons, analysis review of Novi Road, West Oaks Drive, (Dead mans turn). Mr. Helwig feels that the Novi Road, West Oaks Drive is an activity that can be done. Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi asked if numbers 18 and 19 can be placed with the staffing concerns or are they too different in their concepts. Mr. Helwig suggested they be kept different. Member Lorenzo felt numbers, 26, 27, and 28 are status questions, not necessarily short-term goals. Mr. Helwig mentioned the Water Study arrived on Friday, February 7^th and a draft document will be given to Council in a week. Mr. Helwig stated the status of the Economic Development Committee (EDC) is a "do" item for Administration. Member Landry asked if number 28 goes with numbers 8 and 9, Main Street. Mr. Helwig explained the Main Street Committee was proffered to Council at the same time the Town Center Committee was eliminated, and then Main Street hit the financial rocks. He felt it was hard to frame a charge to a group of members and leaders in the community until the dust settled on Main Street. He stated it would be brought back to Council on a future Agenda for further direction. Member Lorenzo asked for the Main Street Committee to be brought back to Council on March 3, 2003. Mr. Helwig added, to number 12, the simple tracking of outstanding Special Assessment Districts and a review of the process. He continued with numbers 30 through 32. Member Capello stated that number 31 could be combined with old number 5, communication between consultants and administration and Council. It was felt that communication between consultants and Council was different than between administration and Council.

Mr. Helwig stated there are now twenty-one possible additions to the short-term goals. Council had been given eleven dots that can be applied to any one of the goals.

Member Sanghvi asked that the word practical, in number 32, be changed to fiscally responsible. It was agreed that the wording in number 32 be changed to implementation that utilizes former studies.

Member Capello asked if they are going to use a color code system. Mr. Helwig stated that any item revenue generating will have a green dollar sign. Items numbers 5 and 7 were given a dollar sign. Member Landry asked that numbers 8 and 9 be combined, if Main Street can be completed it will be a tax base generator. Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi did not agree, she stated it depends on how it goes. She asked where the grant component came into any of this, particularly with regard to Dunbarton; is there a reference any where else? This could be revenue generating, even if it is matching, it would be a reduction in using our own funding. Mr. Helwig stated it is not on the board but an undercurrent. From information recently received there may or may not be dollars available. Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi stated it sets apart a project or an activity that may have non-taxpayer related dollars as an attraction; she feels Dunbarton Drain would receive money. Mr. Helwig asked if there was any objection. Member Landry asked if it would be revenue neutral or does the City have to pay money for that. Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi replied the City would have to pay $235,000 fewer if an option is taken. Member Sanghvi explained you are saving money but it will not be generating income. Member Landry suggested adding a dollar sign with one slash. There was only one objection.

Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi asked why number 2 was long-term. Member Lorenzo stated she is agreeable to it being made short-term. The consensus was to leave it long-term.

Member Capello asked about making numbers 2 and 4 revenue. There were no objections. Member Lorenzo stated there has not been any follow-up on this item per her direction. Mayor Clark stated part of the problem is the economy; no one has come forward with corporate dollars to spend for putting their name on the Ice Arena. Mr. Helwig moved on to items number 5 and 7. Member Capello stated numbers 5 and 6 would generate revenue if we provide our own services and sell the water and sewage. The goal would be that our cost to develop these would be less than what we are paying the City of Detroit. The consensus was that it was a big stretch. Mayor Clark stated there was a discussion several years ago in looking at a system with Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, and Salem Township in getting away from the Detroit System. The costs were very prohibitive. Member Capello stated Salem and Lyon Townships are doing it now and it is working. Mr. Helwig continued with goal number 9, in keeping the millage rate at the current level and item number 8 water pressure issues, and asked if there was any green on these. The reply was no.

Mr. Helwig stated there would be four dots for the long-term goals. He also reminded Council only one dot per item per person. They have eleven red dots for the short-term goals and four green dots for the long-term goals.

The new long-term goal, Main Street, to look at the zoning density was eliminated.

The following is a listing of the goals with discussion and dot tally.

New long-term goals:

1. Continue risk management efforts – 7 dots
2. Corporate naming rights for ice arena – 2 dots
3. Main Street look at zoning density (eliminated)
4. Turning 52-1 court into municipal court – 5 dots
5. Analysis for providing city’s own Waste Water Treatment system – 1 dot
6. Explore establishing city’s own water supply system. – 1 dot
7. Grand River Ave improvements east of Novi road to city limits – 6 dots
8. Water pressure problems – how to resolve specific necessity for elevated towers. 4 dots
9. Also #6 of new short-term goals - 1

New short-term goals:

1. Deliverables for all city contracts, council actions and requests/timely implementation -6
2. Create plan for adding police officers each year-4
3. Meet with PC on sandstone (deleted)
4. Prioritizing goals with targeted measurements (deleted)
5. Manner in which we negotiated community benefits for development-5
6. Strive to keep city millage rate at current levels - 5
7. RFP for self funding health insurance - 4
8. Main Street revision to ordinances (combined with 9) - 5
9. Main Street events – central location (combined with 8)
10. More park upgrades
11. Better services for citizens
12. Assess locations in city to complete sidewalks - 5
13. Replace pavers at city hall entrance
14. Review ordinance adoption procedures - 1
15. City entryway signage needed – 3
16. Seeley drain issue – impact on Haverhill (combined with 17)
17. Dunbarton basin/detention issue (combined with 16)
18. Form public safety committee to formulate goals for police and fire staffing - 4
19. Consider additional support for Meadowbrook Commons - 3
20. Power Park needs (deleted)
21. Dead man’s turn Novi Road at West Oaks(deleted)
22. Chip seal program for residential streets - 3
23. Resolution/remedy for Westmont paving drainage problems - 4
24. Walton woods drainage problems
25. Resolve list of drainage problems - 5
26. Where is water study (deleted)
27. Status of EDC (deleted)
28. Status of Main Street (deleted)
29. Sidewalks Meadowbrook Commons (combined with 12)
30. Give more bang for the buck - 3
31. Formal communications plan with administration and city council - 4
32. Implementation of a growth management plan that utilizes existing studies - 2
33. Complete 2000 road bond intersection improvements - 4

Previous short-term goals from the October meeting:

1. Establish fund to eliminate need for future road bonds. (OST zoning)
2. Financial guarantees for unfinished site work
3. Move at speed of business
4. Determine how pre development conferences etc.
5. Consultants
6. (previous long-term goal of improve city parks)
7. old #6 Delmont Dinser
8. old #7 less dependence on consultants
9. old #8 south lake drive
10. old #9 street trees and tree ordinance
11. old #10 soil erosion
12. old #11 – maintenance of storm water systems
13. old #12 review SAD process

Mr. Helwig stated the dot tally for each of the short-term goals was taken down to four dots. There were a total of twelve goals; numbers 1 and 5 with 6 dots, 6, 8, 12 and 25 with 5 dots, 2, 7, 18, 23, 31 and 33 had 4 dots. He asked if Council had a consensus to add those in the three dot category, which would add four other goals; numbers 15, 19, 22, and 30. Member Lorenzo stated yes. Member Capello stated twenty-five short-term goals was plenty, and if they have four out of seven, they should take the goals that have the majority of Council member’s interest. Mayor Clark stated he would like to see goal number 15, entrance to the City signage, stay as Council can do much of the work themselves. Member Sanghvi asked for number 15 to be put on the action list. Number 15 was moved to the "do" list. Mayor Pro-Tem asked if this was also the case for number 22, Chip seal program for residential streets, since there has been a commitment to do that. Mr. Helwig stated this year, there will be a budget proposal brought to Council in the budget document. The consensus was number 22 can be left out. Mr. Helwig state numbers 19 and 30 were the other two. Member Sanghvi asked, about number 19, what happens if there is not additional staff? Mr. Helwig stated he would need to analyze this. Member Sanghvi asked if there was any liability being short staffed because of Senior citizens. Mayor Clark took a vote on support for number 19, and it was left in. Member Landry commented on number 30, give more bang for the buck, that there was not a lot of meat to it, a great goal, but he does not know what it means. He does not know what we can do toward that goal that we are not doing with the other goals. Member Sanghvi replied it sounds like a slogan. Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi stated that when she brought it forward she was looking for a continuous improvement with regard to cost savings and feels it needs to be more than a slogan, it needs to be something they do. Mayor Clark called for a vote on goal number 30, it was deleted.

Mr. Helwig stated there are thirteen additional short-term goals, for a total or twenty-six short-term goals. Mr. Helwig asked Council to do the same with the long-term goals and then to prioritize them. The additional long-term goals are numbers 1, 7, 4, and 8, for a total of eleven long-term goals. The consensus was to leave the long-term goals as they are. Mr. Helwig stated that Council would be given thirteen blue dots to vote on the new set of short-term goals and six yellow for the long-term goals, this will give a sense of accomplishments and resource efforts.

Member Sanghvi asked for clarification of some of the terms being used. Mayor Pro-Tem Bononi suggested that anyone who is new should be provided with the minutes from previous goal sessions for clarifications.

The results were as follows:

New long-term goals are as follows:

Member Lorenzo asked about setting March 3, 2003 for discussing the growth management plan and be placed under Mayor and Council issues on the agenda. She felt they needed to discuss how much time and money Council would like Administration to focus on that issue. She continued, stating that the Planning Department recently provided information on what they have done thus far and are intending to do and she believes Council needs to provide clear judgment and clarity on Council’s expectations.

Asa Smith, 1294 East Lake Drive, asked for information in writing from Council in support of his plan for the lake.

Mayor Clark asked Mr. Helwig to contact the City of Walled Lake administration to set up a meeting. Mr. Helwig replied he will work with the City Clerk, Maryanne Cornelius, in obtaining the information for Council.

Member Landry asked that the Walled Lake concerns be placed on the next agenda, under Mayor and Council Issues, so they can discuss it and give administration some direction.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to come before Council, the meeting was adjourned at 12:22 p.m.

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Richard J. Clark, Mayor Maryanne Cornelius, City Clerk

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Transcribed by Susan E. Blumer

Date Approved: February 24, 2003