East Michigan News

City Council recap of March 20 meeting

Elected Official update – State Senator Rosemary Bayer, 13th District, greeted Council and members of the audience. She represents Northville and other municipalities in the redrawn district. Bayer is chair of the Department of Education Appropriations Subcommittee and sits on the EGLE appropriations subcommittee, among others. She said, “With new leadership in the House and Senate, big-picture things are getting done.” She cited: repealing the retirement tax on senior pensions; increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit from 6% to a 30% match, up to $3,000 per year for qualifying families; and protecting workers’ rights and equal rights; among other actions. She was excited by the engagement of citizens who came to the meeting and provided contact information for her office. (The phone number is 517-373-2417.)

Mobility Network presentation – Co-chairs Dave Gutman and Nancy Darga presented a report to Council that outlined new developments from their previous report on street safety, walkability, shared routes and related items. Council voiced support of their efforts and said they should continue to provide input on ways to make city streets and pathways safer and more connected. Darga requested that Council ask traffic engineers to confirm findings of problem crossings and intersections detailed in the report and develop solutions. She said, and Council Member Barbara Moroski-Browne agreed, that grant money is available but a plan needs to be in place to secure those funds. View the report here. 

Traffic speed monitoring signs – Council approved the Police Department’s request to purchase three radar signs, with strobes, to be used around the city as a traffic-calming measure. The signs digitally display a driver’s speed in LED lights and the strobe flashes can be set to activate if it’s over the posted speed limit. The RadarSign TC-600 S Solar, StreetSmart data collection software, mounting kit and shipping cost $12,534. The city already has two radar signs, which are set up in areas where police receive speed complaints. The new signs may be permanently set on streets were speeding frequently occurs. The data collection and reporting software allows the Police Dept. to download, analyze and report the speed and traffic data recorded by the signs.

Fire Dept. renews shared service agreement – The Northville City Fire Department (NCFD) will renew a 12-year interlocal agreement with the city of Plymouth that shares fire and emergency services, following Council’s approval. Northville Fire Chief Matt Samhat leads this effort, while the Northville Plymouth Fire Advisory Board provides input into departmental operations. NCFD hires and manages a staff of up to 60 part-time, paid-on-call firefighters who are assigned to one of the two cities as their primary station. In addition to firefighting, they provide basic life support (BLS) services. Each city maintains their respective fire stations and engines. Two separate dispatch centers field calls for service. The agreement saves costs operationally and for long-term capital equipment, and provides quality services to each community.

City to pay for a section of the 8 Mile resurfacing project – Eight Mile Road is slated to be repaved. The Oakland County Road Commission (OCRC) is calling on the Tri-Party agreement between itself, Oakland County and the city of Northville to cover the cost of repaving the section of 8 Mile between Beck and Taft roads – each would pay one-third of the $300,000 cost. Council approved the request made by Mike Domine, director of the Department of Public Works (DPW) to use $100,000 of Tri-Party funds for this project. Tri-Party funds that are allocated to the City from the County are to be only used on County Right of Way projects. The last time the city used Tri-Party funds was for a portion of the 8 Mile resurfacing in 2013.

Entrance signs  – ASI Signage, of Troy, Mich., was awarded a contract in June 2022 to construct and install new city-branded signage designed by the DDA’s sign maker, Bizzell Design, of North Carolina. The signage incorporates the new logo and brand for the city, is reflective and contains a three-dimensional cut-out of the logo. However, the initial fabrication blueprints did not include all of the design specifications. Council approved the additional cost of $21,982 to add the three-dimensional and reflective elements to the fabrication process for six entrance signs and three building signs.

Closed session – City Council entered a closed session with the city’s real estate attorney to discuss the purchase of real property, and an attorney-client privileged communication.

Due diligence to continue on land proposed for Farmers’ Market – As part of the city’s intention to purchase the land at 550 Seven Mile (former McDonald Ford site), it is conducting due diligence of the site. AKT Peerless, an environmental engineering firm, found the site has five Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs). To ascertain the degree of contamination, AKT Peerless recommends a Phase II environmental study, which involves bore drilling to test samples of soil and water. However, without a signed purchase agreement or a fully executed access easement, the city has no legal authority to enter the site to proceed with the Phase II scope of work. City Council approved the Phase II environmental study to be performed by AKT Peerless at a cost of $26,975, plus a 15% contingency. This is conditional upon a fully executed purchase agreement, or a fully executed access agreement, as reviewed and approved by legal counsel. Council also committed $13,325 of FY2021 breakage revenue to the Farmers’ Market project.

From the consent agenda
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Project Plan (DWSRF) – Council approved DPW Director Mike Domine’s request for OHM engineers to provide the city with a draft DWSRF project planning document by April 17. The final DWSRF project planning document will include a summary of the project meeting and will be submitted to EGLE by the June 1, 2023 deadline. The final project planning document (and presentations made to the City Council) will be provided in digital format since EGLE now accepts electronic submittals. The cost to complete this study is $48,200, which includes $39,000 for the project planning document and, if required, an additional $9,200 for the federal notification letters and SHPO application.

Public comment

Linda Krieter, 44920 Byrne Dr. (Novi), said she drove a neighbor’s child to school at Amerman and wanted to report the flashing light on the west side of the bridge isn’t working. She asked Council if they could get the county to fix the signs for the safety of children.

Many people spoke about the downtown street closures. Listen to their remarks beginning at 12:35 in the video.

Due to it being after midnight when the meeting drew to a close, there were no council communications

Original source can be found here.