HomeMy WebLinkAboutInterlocal Agreements - 2013.04.17 - 6467
July 8, 2013
Michigan Department of State Office of the Great Seal
108 South Washington Square, Suite 1 Lansing, MI 48918
Dear Office of the Great Seal:
On April 17, 2013, the Board of Commissioners for Oakland County entered into an agreement per MR #13080 – Department of Management and Budget/Equalization Division – Approval of Contract for Oakland County Equalization Division Assistance Services with the City of Wixom.
As required by Urban Cooperation Act 7 of 1967 - MCL 124.510(4), a copy of the signed agreement with the
County of Oakland and the City of Wixom and the authorizing Board of Commissioners Resolution are enclosed for filing by your office.
Send confirmation of receipt of this agreement to:
Mr. Joseph Rozell, Director of Elections Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds County Service Center, Building #12 East
1200 N. Telegraph Rd. Pontiac, MI 48341
(Please include our Miscellaneous Resolution number on the confirmation of receipt letter for filing
purposes.)
Contact our office at (248) 858-0564 if you have any questions regarding this matter. Sincerely,
COUNTY OF OAKLAND
Joseph J. Rozell Director of Elections Cc: Pat Davis, Corporation Counsel, Oakland County Kimberly Hampton, Equalization Division, Oakland County
Catherine Buck, Clerk, City of Wixom Enclosures
CITY OF WIXOM
49045 PONTIAC TRAIL
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2013
Mayor Hinkley called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. at which time the Pledge of
Allegiance was recited.
Present: Mayor: K. Hinkley
Deputy Mayor: J. Cutright
P. Beagle
M. Giddings
L. Rich
T. Rzeznik
R. Ziegler
Also Present: City Attorney Gary Dovre
AGENDA CHANGES:
Councilmember Ziegler requested to add New Business #6 – Continued Discussion
of Fiscal Action Plan for FY 2014-2015 to FY 2017-2018, Police Department.
PRESENTATION:
1.) Wayne State University – GIS Presentation by Dr. Timothy Gates
and Adam McArthur
Mr. Nowicki stated that last summer, Wixom entered into an agreement with Wayne
State University to redevelop our Geographic Information System (GIS) to address
some of the inconsistencies we have found in our data set and to modernize and
expand our system for use by all Departments. Heading this initiative is Debe
Barker, who introduced the two gentlemen.
Ms. Barker introduced Dr. Timothy Gates and graduate student Adam McArthur.
Because of the privatized GIS we had previously, we were very limited. We sought
out Wayne State because of their expertise and she has been working almost daily
through email with Mr. McArthur to create this database, which is created around
Assessing. From this, he will be able to build on any other layers we may need for
Police and Economic Development.
Mr. McArthur stated that they use a flex base viewer, which launches in any
browser. This viewer enables us to introduce different widgets that allow different
functions within the viewer. We can do text base search, graphical search and
spatial search. Oakland County does a bi-yearly flyover to get these images.
Information can be exported into excel to create lists for mailers. There is also a
buffer option to retrieve properties within a certain number of feet from a particular
property. The system allows us the ability to select parcels using different
methods, which is useful to each Department. We can print from this, as well.
Mr. McArthur said that they have included some of the utility information, which is
hydrant layer, water valves, water pipes, storm pipes, manholes and catch basins.
This leads into the second part of the contract where we are assessing this data by
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 2
looking for spatial inaccuracies. If a fire hydrant shows up in the middle of the right
of way, we know that is a problem. He said they update Wixom’s data set so we
have the most accurate information available.
Mr. Nowicki said that the GIS representatives met with the Department Heads
earlier today. The value of this information is immeasurable, especially for a fire
apparatus responding to an incident. They will be able to click on a particular
parcel and know where the closest hydrant is located. They will be able to pull up
the aerials to see if there are any possible obstructions that are permanently in
place. Future information would include hazardous materials on site, as well as any
other information they may need in order to adequately fight a fire and protect the
firefighters as they enter a structure.
Mayor Hinkley asked if this could be utilized in real time. Mr. Nowicki replied no.
They are from flyovers that are only done every other year.
Councilmember Rzeznik asked if they envisioned being able to add a layer in the
near future for real time tracking of City assets, such as vehicles or snow plows.
Mr. Nowicki thought that would be possible, but not right now. There is so much
that we have to do to catch up with now. There are applications out there to track
assets in real time, but we are not to that point as of yet. He said earlier today he
spoke to Dr. Gates about geo-tagging all of the infrastructure components. They
can then geo-tag all of the information and put it into the GIS.
Dr. Gates indicated that the data collection part is pretty straight forward as long as
we can get an image of it. We can get both geo-linked video and photograph
capabilities. It operates as a street-view that is linked into a GIS interface. We can
then photo-tag various features such as road signs and Fire Department
connections. We could click on the image and it would pull up the photo. Dr.
Gates said that he knows the real-time capabilities exist for transit operations, but
that is not something we have focused on. He thought that would be a future plug-
in, which would open another avenue. With minimal staff training, we can really
become efficient with our data collection and interfacing. It is a matter of taking
the data from the field and putting into the database. It can then interface with the
browser.
Mayor Hinkley asked when the photographs were last taken. Ms. Barker replied
August of 2012. Mayor Hinkley wondered if this would benefit the Building
Department for opportunities that may or may not cause the Official to make a site
visit. Mr. Nowicki indicated that the Building Department currently uses that
particular application. They view the aerials and allow the homeowners to see the
dimensions visually.
Mayor Hinkley asked when the next upgrade for visuals would be. Mr. Nowicki
replied that Oakland County does the flyovers every other year and they provide
that data to us. Dr. Gates added that we do get biweekly updates from Oakland
County on the sales and transfers of the properties.
Mr. Nowicki said we are very pleased with the progress we have seen from Wayne
State University. He thought Wixom would be on the leading edge of GIS.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 3
Mayor Hinkley asked if we could utilize this to identify our inventory of industrial
buildings available. Mr. Nowicki replied that would be part of our analysis through
the grant.
MINUTES:
CM-03-22-13: Moved and seconded by Deputy Mayor Cutright and Councilmember
Beagle to approve the Special City Council meeting minutes of February 26, 2013.
Vote: Motion Carried
CM-03-23-13: Moved and seconded by Councilmember Rzeznik and Deputy Mayor
Cutright to approve the Regular City Council meeting minutes of February 26, 2013.
Vote: Motion Carried
CORRESPONDENCE: (none)
CALL TO THE PUBLIC:
Reggie Nickerson, 4042 E. Commerce in Commerce Township, said he was
interested in information regarding a liquor license. He happened to walk into City
Hall today and found out this was on the agenda for tonight’s meeting. He wanted
to know if there was any way he could be involved in this or if he could have a
chance at this last license. Mr. Nickerson indicated that he has 30 years experience
in the business and his wife has been in the business for about 12 years. The
property located at 2055 Wixom Road was an old liquor store. He is interested in a
build-out at this location but he doesn’t have all of the information yet. He brought
the property manager with him. He also wondered if he or the Council could apply
to the State to get another license. He knows how it works per capita, but there
are many cities that have lots of licenses that don’t go per capita. He thought it
was possible to get one but he might need the Council’s backing before he could get
it himself.
Mayor Hinkley said that we don’t say yea or nay. That comes from the Liquor
Control Commission. He thought that with what Mr. Nickerson was requesting, it
would involve the Police Department. It would also involve a mid-year census,
which is a significant cost to the City where there aren’t funds available for that
now.
Mr. Nickerson wondered if the license on the agenda this evening was a given to be
approved for this business. Mayor Hinkley said that there has not been a vote on it
yet, so he couldn’t say it was a given or not a given. It will be discussed a little
later at this meeting.
CITY MANAGER REPORTS:
1.) Summary of Fire Activities for January 2013
Councilmember Beagle noted that under the Building Inspections for January, there
were 112 businesses inspected and 102 businesses re-inspected. He wondered if
they had to go back to a business more than once or if that was 102 businesses
they had to go back to twice to have them corrected. Chief Roberts replied that
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 4
these could be from months previous but they were revisited for one reason or
another to verify compliance. Councilmember Beagle clarified that even though
there were 89 licenses issued, it doesn’t mean we have 23 businesses that aren’t
compliant. Chief Roberts answered that was correct. They may be waiting for re-
inspections or the paperwork.
2.) Summary of Police Activities for January 2013
There were no comments regarding this Summary.
3.) Budget Report – January 2013
There were no comments regarding this Report.
CONSENT AGENDA:
CM-03-24-13: Motion and second by Councilmember Ziegler and Deputy Mayor
Cutright to approve the Consent Agenda as presented which included:
1.) Consideration of an approval to receive and file:
a) Tax Abatement Meeting Minutes of November 28, 2012
b) Library Board Meeting Minutes of January 28, 2013
c) Planning Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes of January 28, 2013
d) Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of February 4, 2013
2.) Consideration of the Annual Review of City-Owned Property and
Determination of Use Classification
Vote: Motion Carried
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: (none)
NEW BUSINESS:
1.) Consideration of Renewing a Contract with Oakland County
Equalization Division Assistance Services
CM-03-25-13: Moved and seconded by Councilmembers Rzeznik and Beagle to
approve a contract with the Oakland County Equalization Division Assistance
Services to provide equalization services and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to
sign the agreement on behalf of the City.
Vote: Motion Carried
2.) Consideration of an Application from Viktor Lajcaj (d/b/a Backyard
Coney Island, Inc.) for a Michigan Liquor Control Commission Tavern
License
CM-03-26-13: Moved and seconded by Councilmembers Ziegler and Beagle to
consider and discuss the application from Viktor Lajcaj d/b/a Backyard Coney
Island, Inc. (49378 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, Michigan) for a Michigan Liquor Control
Commission Tavern License.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 5
Mr. Nowicki introduced Attorney Gary Dovre, an associate of Carol Rosati. Attorney
Rosati had a previous engagement and was not able to attend tonight’s meeting so
Attorney Dovre is filling in for her. Attorney Dovre has many years of municipal law
experience and has served other communities in the area.
Attorney Dovre stated that the motion does not contain any findings or reasons to
approve this. The staff report has addressed the criteria spelled out in the
Ordinance indicating from their prospective what has been addressed or not. When
it comes to the issuance of the liquor license, we don’t issue them. When it is a
new license, the LCC does require the local government approval, which is before
the Council now. He recommended that if the motion is to approve that some
findings be made and he could assist in that regard based off the information in the
packet.
Councilmember Ziegler thanked Attorney Dovre for the explanation. He knows this
is up to the Council, but he was curious why there wasn’t some kind of
administrative recommendation on this. He has been used to that over the years
and there wasn’t any direction. He wondered if that was something he would have
to learn to live with.
Mr. Nowicki stated that the Ordinance is specific. This is a discretionary decision of
the Council. It says that the City Council shall present or develop findings with
respect to this liquor license. He knows in the past that we had some solid
recommendations, but he didn’t think the Council ever considered the specific
provisions of the Ordinance. In consultation with our Attorney, this report was
prepared to provide Council the opportunity to develop their own findings and to
comply with the Ordinance as it is written.
Attorney Dovre said that when it comes to a new license, the Ordinance states,
“Under no circumstances is the City Council obligated to issue an available license.
No applicant for a liquor license has the right to the issuance of such license to him,
her, or it, and the City Council reserves the right to exercise reasonable discretion
to determine who, if anyone, shall be entitled.” The Ordinance goes on to talk
about two things the Council needs to do. First of all, it needs to make a
determination that a need exists for issuance of the license. Staff has commented
on those six criteria on page 2 and 3 of the report. The Ordinance then goes on to
list a whole host of criteria in terms of whether an applicant’s proposal is considered
reasonable. The staff report provides comments and in some situations, they have
determined that the Ordinance standard had not been addressed. In many
situations they determined that there was no problem with this from the Ordinance
standard prospective. Attorney Dovre said he went through the report and
identified things that would weigh against this application and weigh in favor of it.
He wondered if the Council wanted to move to approve this application for the
reasons identified in the report and identify the criteria where there has been a
positive finding. At the end of the day, the Ordinance is structured to be a
discretionary call. Liquor license law in Michigan favors the legislative body making
the decision rather than staff. He thought Mr. Nowicki’s concern, which he shared,
is that if we have an Ordinance such as ours where it doesn’t call for a staff
recommendation and there is staff recommendation given, in some respects, it can
put the Council in a bad position. We are either left with going against staff’s
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 6
recommendation or running the risk that someone claims Council did not exercise
the independent discretion that is described in the Ordinance. That is why it has
been presented in this fashion. It makes it more difficult but there are solid legal
reasons to do that. The Council has already heard that there is at least one other
person interested in the City’s last quota license, which isn’t uncommon. The
ordinance even addresses if the City did have two applications how we would go
about sorting through that. At the end of the day, it comes back to the Council’s
sole discretion. Mr. Dovre said he could point out things that he thought would
support the motion to approve.
Councilmember Rzeznik asked Attorney Dovre to clarify if the issuance of this final
available class of license precluded the City from obtaining any others and what the
procedures were for obtaining any if it were possible. Attorney Dovre said that this
would be the City’s last quota license based on its population. He thought there
were two additional licenses that someone could buy and bring into the City. It
would still come to the Council for approval. It typically involves someone buying
one that is in escrow in another community. Licenses can be transferred from one
community to another.
Mayor Hinkley asked if there were leftover licenses in Walled Lake, could the City
obtain them through purchase or the individual. Attorney Dovre replied that the
individual would have to purchase it. The DDA may be a source of that authority.
Mr. Nowicki added that through our DDA, two additional licenses can be purchased.
They are $20,000 each and we would apply through the State for those additional
licenses. All of the quota licenses have to be exhausted prior to approaching the
State for the additional license. The establishment that wishes the liquor license
would pay the fee. They would go through the State and the Council would weigh
in on it as well.
Councilmember Rzeznik wondered about the timing of these two additional licenses.
If we depleted our quota licenses, he wondered if that was a year or two
timeframe. Mr. Nowicki said he didn’t have an answer on that but would research it
and reply back.
Mayor Hinkley clarified that no quota is required for the licenses that cost $20,000.
Mr. Nowicki said that was correct. Mayor Hinkley asked when the current census
was taken and what census our current quota was based from. Mr. Nowicki replied
that the last census was completed in 2010. Our population increased by 100
people between 2000 and 2010.
Deputy Mayor Cutright stated that the odds of us obtaining another license because
of the census are slim to none. Mr. Nowicki said it could be fairly remote, yes.
Councilmember Giddings asked if the remaining license, whether issued to the
applicant here or to a proprietor of a national restaurant chain for some out lot next
to the Wixom Road and I-96 development that is coming, is the same quota
license. Mr. Nowicki replied yes. Councilmember Giddings said that there are out
lots being proposed that might bring a 7,000 to 10,000 square foot restaurant
business over there with 200 to 400 seats and it is the same license that is being
proposed for the Backyard Coney Island. Mr. Nowicki said that was correct.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 7
Councilmember Rich said it has long been the intent of Council and various
presentations to the community and City administration over the years that we
really work toward growing the area across the street. We should make that area a
destination in the belief that this area will bring enhancements to the rest of the
City that almost nothing can. There are size limitations and constraints over there.
We have had various discussions over the years dealing with limiting the use to the
downtown area. The destination to her was the area directly across the street.
Many people have expressed the desire to have a neighborhood pub across the
street in our downtown. That would be another source for that last liquor license.
Deputy Mayor Cutright agreed that we have been talking for years about the
possibility of a restaurant or pub across the street from here. He thought this was
one of the reasons why we still have this one liquor license available. He thought
we should continue that for either across the street or the possibility of the Wixom
Road and I-96 area. It is nothing against Backyard Coney as he eats there himself.
The point is that this is something we have talked about for years – building our
downtown area. He understood that Backyard Coney is part of the downtown area,
but he still felt this was something we needed to keep in abeyance for either here
or at the freeway. Deputy Mayor Cutright said he would be against the motion to
approve this license.
Mayor Hinkley indicated that he would like to hear from the applicant.
Mr. Marshall Garmo, Attorney for the applicant, 28230 Orchard Lake Road in
Farmington Hills, Michigan, clarified that Mr. Lajcaj was applying for a Tavern
license, not a liquor license. There is a Class C license that allows you to have
beer, wine and hard liquor. Mr. Lajcaj is only applying for beer and wine. A
national chain would be seeking a Class C license, not a Tavern license. They can
simply pay the $20,000 and bring it to Wixom. He thought this would be good for
the community. Mr. Lajcaj intends to hire more people.
Mr. Viktor Lajcaj, owner of Backyard Coney Island at 49378 Pontiac Trail, thanked
the Council for their consideration.
Mr. Garmo added that Mr. Lajcaj has been waiting for six months for this license
and he asked the Council to approve it. His customers want to have a glass of wine
with their dinner.
Mayor Hinkley said that there is a bar right across the street from the Backyard
Coney Island that has a full liquor license. As Mr. Garmo has indicated, Mr. Lajcaj
is only looking for beer and wine. Mayor Hinkley wondered what his intent was with
this license. He didn’t see people coming down for breakfast at 7:00 in the morning
and having a couple beers.
Mr. Lajcaj said that he intends to change his dinner menu. He has a new system
coming in called Rock Cooking Stones. They are going to have some of the choice
beefs you can buy. Customers will cook the meat on their own hot stone at their
table. They will not change their hours of business.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 8
Mayor Hinkley said he would like to see a business plan before we divest ourselves
of our last liquor license. Whether or not they only serve beer and wine at this
establishment, it is the last license we have. There are no other licenses available.
Director Goodlein said that was correct. If a person applies for any on-premise
consumption license for beer and wine or liquor, beer and wine, it exhausts a quota
license. It would exhaust the last license and there would be no licenses available
after that time unless someone was to buy a license and bring it into the
community. Attorney Dovre agreed. He added that a Tavern license, even though
it doesn’t involve liquor, is considered an on-premise license for quota purposes.
Councilmember Rzeznik asked if that would also include brew pubs. Attorney Dovre
said he believed so.
Mayor Hinkley asked if this would entail just bottled beer and wine, or if they were
going to have tap facilities. With no business plan, it was hard for him as a
Councilmember to make a decision about a business opportunity within the City.
Mayor Hinkley said he has had a lot of people in the community clamor for another
type of restaurant, different than what we currently have within the DDA. He
wondered if there had been any inspections made regarding the traffic increase. He
saw that Director Goodlein wrote in the brief that there would be no potential
increase in traffic. If he is looking for increased business, he said he would feel
more comfortable making a decision if he had a business plan.
Councilmember Giddings questioned if the application had anything to do with an
expansion of the size of the restaurant. Mr. Lajcaj replied that at this point, no. He
did talk to the landlord who is hoping to expand to where Performance Personnel is
currently located.
Councilmember Beagle asked if Mr. Lajcaj would be removing any of the seating if
they get a bar. He replied no. They would just be selling bottled beer and wine.
Mayor Hinkley asked if there was another form of license that allowed an individual
to bring in beer or wine that would be outside of using our last Class C. If we have
the opportunity to develop the eastern portion of our business district with someone
other than a chain restaurant, the enticement for that individual is gone. He
wondered if there was some type of license that allowed just beer and wine.
Attorney Dovre said that was the Tavern license, which is treated as a quota
license.
Mr. Garmo thought the City had the authority to issue another license called a
Resort license. Attorney Dovre said that there is a Resort license recognized in the
statute, but he wasn’t sure that was something allowed in this City.
Councilmember Giddings asked if Mr. Garmo was a liquor license specialist. Mr.
Garmo said he wouldn’t say he was a specialist but he does a lot of transactions.
Councilmember Giddings said he is in the commercial real estate business and not
in the liquor license business or restaurant business. He has a fair amount of
opportunity to see licenses issued and transferred in other communities. He said
he relies on an attorney by the name of Kelly Allen who does liquor licenses almost
exclusively. He believed that there may be a specialty license for small businesses,
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 9
maybe in a DDA or designated district. He thought there may be another
opportunity other than this quota license we are talking about today.
Councilmember Giddings encouraged Mr. Garmo to contact this attorney.
Mr. Garmo said that the only other option would be a Resort license. He said they
have explored all other possibilities and there is no way Mr. Lajcaj can get a license
except if he were to buy a Class C from outside the community or apply for the
existing Tavern license. He thought the City had the discretion to authorize a
Resort license.
Councilmember Giddings asked if it was legal to have an outside Class C transferred
into the City if we still have a quota license available. Attorney Dovre replied yes.
Attorney Dovre commented that Resort licenses are issued at the discretion of the
Liquor Control Commission in resort areas. He didn’t know if that was what we had
here. There is another type of Resort license for tourism that has a lot of standards
and requirements. There are other types of licenses, but we don’t have any
request before Council other than the one remaining quota license.
Councilmember Rzeznik thought there were certain elements that Mr. Dovre wanted
to bring up regarding the 20 criteria, which would help guide the Council. Mr.
Dovre said these are listed in the report from the staff.
Councilmember Rzeznik said he supported the comments made by Councilmember
Rich and Deputy Mayor Cutright in looking at the Economic Development and
impact in the surrounding area, which is criteria H. He also wondered if the
applicant had demonstrated a public need. The business plan would show us what
is unique and engaging to bring more people to the downtown area. At this point,
he could not support this either.
Councilmember Beagle asked if the Council did not support this tonight, could they
come back again with their business plan and try again. Mayor Hinkley replied yes.
Councilmembers Ziegler and Beagle withdrew their motion.
CM-03-26-13: Moved and seconded by Deputy Mayor Cutright and Councilmember
Rzeznik to postpone the application from Viktor Lajcaj d/b/a Backyard Coney
Island, Inc. (49378 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, Michigan) for a Michigan Liquor Control
Commission Tavern License to a future meeting once the applicant has submitted
the required business plan.
Vote: Motion Carried
3.) Consideration of a Recommendation to approve the Municipal
Employees Retirement System (MERS) Employer Resolution
Establishing Uniform Transfer Provision effective March 12, 2013
CM-03-27-13: Moved and seconded by Deputy Mayor Cutright and Councilmember
Rich to adopt the Resolution authorizing MERS to establish the Uniform Transfer
Provision to allow the transfer of personnel within the City’s organization.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 10
Mr. Nowicki stated that in 2006, the non-union MERS plan was closed for new
members and we went to the second tier system. As it exists currently, if we have
union members that would like to move into the non-union ranks, they could not
bring along their existing pension system. They would be forced to take a step
back and utilize the second tier pension system. When we have an individual that
has spent time and are dedicated to the community, it would cause them to step
back and lose the ability to move forward. In this particular case, if we open it up,
we would allow the people to move up and advance themselves. We do have a
policy of promoting from within to the extent possible. This would put an end to
upward mobility for our existing staff if this is not opened.
Councilmember Ziegler said he fully supports this because it is the right thing to do.
If we don’t do this, people will be discouraged from seeking promotions and we
might miss out on having someone that is well-qualified to take a leadership role.
Councilmember Rich said she fully supports this as well. It doesn’t just discourage
our current employees from seeking to advance themselves within the organization,
but it also lessens the attractiveness of anyone we want to recruit outside the
organization. Over the years numerous people have talked about the importance of
promoting from within and keeping that carrot out there. This allows the
employees to look forward to advancing within the organization. This is something
people look at when seeking a new position to relocate to an entity that gives them
the advancement to grow.
Councilmember Ziegler asked if this included people coming from other
communities. Mr. Nowicki said it was just for internal transfers. Councilmember
Rich said that once they become an employee, it will lessen the potential for
someone looking to relocate to a job in the City of Wixom. If they were to be here
for ten years, it would apply to them. Many people are looking to know they would
have the ability to advance in their career wherever they end up.
Councilmember Rzeznik clarified that if an outside employee was working for Novi
for 20 years and they had a defined benefit plan and they came to the City of
Wixom in a non-union position, they would be able to carry their MERS pension plan
with them. Mr. Brady said that the intent of this proposal is not to do that. That
would be for a new employee moving into a non-union employee. This is moving
from a union position to a non-union position within the organization. Mr. Nowicki
added that there are service time transfers. If you come from another MERS
community into this community, your previous service time is credited toward your
service time in this community. Mr. Brady said that if you are in a non-union, two-
tiered position, you would be in the DC plan. If you were in the defined benefit at
the former community and vested, you would be receiving two pension checks.
Mayor Hinkley wondered how this would be transcending down to our employees.
Mr. Nowicki said they would be aware of it. When we have vacancies, it would be
part of our process of negotiations when we fill those vacancies. Mr. Brady added
that it would be communicated during the interview process.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 11
Mayor Hinkley asked if we had an Employee Handbook. Mr. Nowicki replied that we
have Administrative Directives and certain personnel requirements that are included
in the contractual agreements that we have with our union folks. Mr. Brady added
that we also have a MERS Handbook that explains the MERS pension plan.
Mayor Hinkley asked how this would affect an individual who has been with our
organization with MERS and goes to another City after being here five years. Mr.
Brady said they would try to transfer the five years of service. They would not be
vested with the City of Wixom because it takes ten years. They would move to the
other municipality and if they were in MERS or reciprocal in MERS, they would start
to accumulate years. They could take the five years previous and add it on to their
service of the second municipality. Mr. Nowicki said that the five years would count
toward their vesting, but they could not bring along with them the funds that were
deposited on their behalf. They would only receive the money that they contributed
to the pension.
Vote: Motion Carried
4.) Consideration of a Local Governing Body Resolution for Charitable
Gaming Licenses for the Nonprofit Michigan Jaguars FC, a soccer club
located at 31060 S. Wixom Road, Wixom, Michigan
CM-03-28-13: Moved and seconded by Deputy Mayor Cutright and Councilmember
Rich to adopt the Local Governing Body Resolution for Charitable Gaming Licenses
for the Nonprofit Michigan Jaguars FC, a soccer club located at 31060 S. Wixom
Road, Wixom, Michigan.
Mr. Nowicki said that we have done a number of these in the past, similar to the
ones recently approved for the Wixom Community Foundation and the PATH
Foundation. It is a State requirement that the community in which the address is
located has to adopt this resolution to allow them to conduct gaming operations.
Councilmember Beagle asked if the applicant was notified that they would be on the
agenda this evening. City Clerk Buck replied yes. Councilmember Beagle said it is
a pet peeve of his that they are asking the Council for something and they can’t
come to the meeting to provide additional information.
Councilmember Rzeznik asked if this type of license was perpetual or annual. Mr.
Nowicki thought it was perpetual. We have not reviewed any of these from
previous applications.
Roll Call Vote: (5) AYES – Cutright, Beagle, Rich, Rzeznik, Ziegler
(2) NAYS – Giddings, Hinkley
Motion Carried
At this time, Mayor Hinkley requested that we switch New Business #5 to New
Business #6 and New Business #6 to New Business #5.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 12
5.) Continued Discussion of Fiscal Action Plan for FY 2014-2015 to FY
2017-2018, Police Department
Councilmember Ziegler said he requested that this be discussed for a couple of
different reasons. He was concerned about the idea set forth by Administration and
mentioned in the Mayor’s State of the City Address relative to appointing a civilian
committee to look into alternatives to Police service in the City of Wixom. For a
number of reasons, he opposes that. He didn’t think it was appropriate to farm out
the duties and responsibilities of Council to a group of citizens. The one experience
that we did have with that about a year or so ago dealt with the group put together
at a Goal Setting Session. The direction of Council was to set up a citizens’
committee to look at the possibility of having a millage and it was not successful.
The efforts that we put forth in doing that ended up not giving us the results that
many of us thought should come out of it. When the Council took that respons-
ibility back and acted on it, we actually came up with the right plan of action and
were successful in pushing it forward.
He thought the main problem is that we have some responsibilities as Council-
members and by putting those types of responsibilities out to the citizens is
shirking our responsibilities. We have committees set up here in the City already,
such as the Wage and Salary Committee, that could work in that capacity to look at
different options. He thought that was where that responsibility lied.
The last issue that he wanted to address was that sort of citizens’ committee to
look over Police is kind of opening the door to something that is not advisable. His
experience with those types of committees is that they are not effective in the long
run. They are not desirable from a Police prospective because they tend to morph
into something more than was originally intended. He knows it was just to look at
the options, but he thought something like that, once started, could end up to be
something other than that, and he wasn’t interested in getting into that. He hoped
we could address that this evening and have an understanding that that is not the
way we are going to go. He also hoped his fellow Councilmembers would agree with
him. He wanted to nip this in the bud and take on the responsibility that is ours
and not palm it off to somebody else in the community for political cover.
Councilmember Rzeznik agreed with Councilmember Ziegler for the most part. As
the Mayor stated, there will be two opportunities for Town Hall meetings. At these
venues, he thought we would get enough input from the public if there is a
consideration for a proposal one way or another or alternatives are discussed.
There are plenty of opportunities at regular Council meetings and at these Town
Hall meetings to gather public input on this. He didn’t think we should form a
citizens’ committee for the purposes of helping us make that decision.
Councilmember Rich said she completely disagreed. We hired a City Manager as
our job as the Executive Board of Directors. The City Manager needs to be given
the tools to figure out how to move forward and set things in place. She thought
they were overstating what the City Manager was looking to do. He wanted to
assemble a working group of residents, staff and police services to review and
make recommendations pertaining to Wixom’s policing services and expectations.
One of the things that we really haven’t discussed is what the essential levels of
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 13
services are that the community expects. She didn’t look to that tasked group to
be making the same kind of tough decisions that the Financial Committee was
tasked to make. That Committee ended up making a very yea or nay decision as to
a specific millage request and how to move forward with that. This group is looking
at something broader than that. It is to bring in some broad knowledge that the
City would then utilize to make the tough decisions. She mentioned that during the
millage campaign, numerous people came to speak to the Council. A couple of
them talked about the fact that we haven’t done things like this. Novi has done
things like this. One lady talked about the transparency that Novi brought to their
millage request process, which was viewed successfully by the community because
they had had extensive community committees and extensive community
meetings. This doesn’t necessarily work against us. It can actually work for us.
Councilmember Beagle agreed with Councilmembers Ziegler and Rzeznik. We can
get the same information through Town Hall meetings as we can with this citizens’
team. We should go that route. This is part of the plan down the road to reduce
the deficit in the future. We are not asking the citizens to help us in any other way
so he didn’t think we should do it with this.
Mayor Hinkley was curious about what our Charter said regarding forming ad hoc
committees. He wondered if that was at the discretion of the Council in trying to
accommodate a particular goal or objective. Stepping outside of the box on a
couple things, he said he wasn’t so sure that what Councilmember Ziegler was
requesting had to do with this transparency thing. To him, transparency means
that the government is saying that because they don’t want to hide something. He
didn’t think we were hiding anything. He thought the transparency thing has gone
way out of whack with the federal government and it is used as an excuse. In
particular, he was talking about the current administration at the federal level.
They talk so much about transparency. He didn’t think we were looking to hide
anything as it relates to developing a plan to stay with our existing Police force or
look at options. Mayor Hinkley said this was brought up during his State of the City
and he thought it still can be a part of taking input from the community rather than
the Town Hall meetings. If we can’t come up with a reasonable solution, then we
look at a committee. Before he would like to make a decision, he would like to
know what our Charter said. Also, the committee that was formed to decide
whether or not we had a millage request was comprised of only one person outside
of the Council. The Mayor was not part of that committee but he sat in on a couple
of meetings. To him, it wasn’t really an ad hoc committee or representation from
across the community. Councilmember Rich’s comment about engaging our
citizens and getting their input was why we have these meetings.
Deputy Mayor Cutright didn’t have a problem with a citizens’ committee getting
together. There is nothing wrong with the citizens advising either the Council or
the City Manager of what they have looked into, what they have discussed and
what they have found out. The Council still makes the decisions. To his
knowledge, he wasn’t sure if they were looking into bringing the County in or not,
but as he has stated before, as long as he is on City Council, he will not vote to
bring the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department into the Wixom Police Department.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 14
Councilmember Ziegler thought he should have indicated that the committee we
had before for the millage came up with something that was not intended from his
prospective and that was his point exactly. If we set something up with this
advisory committee, that is exactly what may happen again. We may end up with
something that we did not intend to have. He thought the Council has given some
direction to Administration on this. He didn’t know if it was a total direction, but
those that haven’t spoken should probably let someone know what they are
thinking because it would be helpful to know what direction we should go on this.
Mayor Hinkley said he would like to know what our Charter says about committees.
He wondered if this was at the direction of Council or the Mayor. Mr. Nowicki
indicated that he would provide that information at the next meeting.
Deputy Mayor Cutright thought all of this was coming from the City Manager and
not from the Council. Mayor Hinkley understood that, but as committees go that
are going to perpetuate information to the Council and authorizing people’s time
and efforts as far as committees, he wanted to know what the Charter said
regarding forming a committee to advise the Council.
Councilmember Giddings said he was somewhere in between. If we are down to a
simple discussion regarding our normal budget process, he didn’t know if there was
a need for a citizens’ committee. On the other hand, if we were going to have a
very serious consideration about outsourcing our Police functions, which he would
oppose, that is something that needs a whole lot more interaction with the
community. Whether that is a citizens’ committee or special Town Hall meetings
for that purpose, he wasn’t quite sure. For the purposes of working our way
through this budget, he didn’t believe we needed a citizens’ committee.
6.) Consideration of Holding an Executive Session after the Council
Meeting to Discuss a Written Opinion from the City Attorney
CM-03-29-13: Moved and seconded by Deputy Mayor Cutright and Councilmember
Rzeznik to hold an Executive Session after the Council Meeting to Discuss a Written
Opinion from the City Attorney.
Vote: (7) AYES – Beagle, Cutright, Giddings, Hinkley, Rich,
Rzeznik, Ziegler
(0) NAYS
Motion Carried
CALL TO THE PUBLIC:
There were no comments from the public at this time.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS:
Mr. Nowicki said that State Representative Klint Kesto is hosting a Cyber Safety
Seminar in Wixom on Monday, March 18th, at the Community Center. It is free and
it is from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
He indicated that they wanted to bring the GPUD Standards to Council this month.
He received a request earlier from Menards asking to delay any consideration or
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 15
Council discussions on the GPUD Standards until April. They would like to be in
attendance at the meeting to speak and their schedules do not permit them to
come in at this time.
Mr. Nowicki is working with Kevin Brady and they are at the point of being able to
post all of our Council e-packets on the website. We are prepared to do that any
time. Mr. Nowicki wanted to gauge the interest of Council to see if they are
interested in doing that. We now have the technical capabilities of putting our
complete packet on the website for the public and everyone else to review. He
asked the Council to give it some thought and let him know what they think.
City Clerk Buck stated that last fall, Governor Snyder signed a bill to allow the filing
deadline for nominating petitions to be moved from 12 weeks to 15 weeks prior to
the election. She found out from the Oakland County Bureau of Elections this
morning that bill does not go into effect until January 1, 2014. Therefore, the filing
deadline is May 14, 2013. Letters were mailed to all those who have already picked
up petitions notifying them of this corrected filing deadline.
COUNCIL COMMENTS:
Councilmember Rich thanked Mr. Nowicki for the ability to post packets on the
website. That ties in with something that was spurred by an MML email she
received this week regarding Redevelopment Ready. It listed the communities that
actually made the first cut for Economic Development incentives. They get noted
as Economic Development Ready Communities through Pure Michigan. She stated
that Wixom received an honorable mention. We didn’t make the cut but we did get
recognized for making some training and assistance initiatives. We can’t lose fact
to the sight that whether we agree or we don’t, we are being measured on certain
categories. One of them is transparency. Transparency is part of the EVIP,
accountability and transparency. It was also part of some of the criteria they used
to judge which communities would get the recognition as a Redevelopment Ready
community.
Councilmember Ziegler congratulated Mayor Hinkley on the State of the City
Address. He thought it was very good and very professional.
Councilmember Beagle thanked Mr. Nowicki for getting the Council packets to
them on Wednesdays. He appreciated the extra day, as well as an actual agenda
for the meeting at 6:00 p.m. The agenda had items for the Council to review
before the discussion.
Councilmember Giddings asked what the timeline was for Menards at this point.
He wondered if we would wait until April to go through the GPUD and the Master
Plan. He questioned if all of this would be worked out before we get a site plan.
Mr. Nowicki said that the Council would take a look at the Design Standards. At
that same Council meeting, they will see the Site Development Agreement, which is
currently in process right now. They will also submit their preliminary GPUD site
plan at the same meeting. Representatives of Menards will be at this meeting,
which we hope to be the first meeting in April. That depends on the final
negotiations with respect to the Development Agreement. Councilmember Giddings
thought that the agenda would probably be all Menards. He wondered how that
would tie into Barrow and if there was any unity or cooperation between Menards
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 16
and Barrow. Mr. Nowicki replied that for traffic impact, Menards is moving forward,
working with City staff as well as consultants at Oakland County. At this point in
time, Barrow has some concept for their development, but they haven’t released
them to the public. Up until this point, they have been unable to sit down with us
and discuss any traffic impacts to Wixom Road or access easements. They have
been cooperative, but their plans are not to the point where they can actually sit
down and intelligently discuss the concepts with us or partner with Menards.
Councilmember Giddings asked if they had resolved the utility extensions. Mr.
Nowicki replied no. Councilmember Giddings asked if he expected Barrow to
participate in the “All Things Menards” meeting. Mr. Nowicki said they would be
invited and encouraged to attend.
Councilmember Rzeznik commented that he attended two Homeowners’
Association meetings this week. One of the resounding themes, other than asking
about the Ford Plant redevelopment, was the local presence by Police in the
subdivisions. Sergeant Yon does a wonderful job of giving an update. He thought
we needed to keep that in mind as we go into discussions regarding the Police
Department. Local presence is something that is very much on the minds of our
citizens.
Lastly, Councilmember Rzeznik asked to be excused from the next Council meeting.
He has his annual board meeting in China and there was no way he could avoid
missing the meeting.
Mayor Hinkley thanked the staff who worked diligently on our State of the City
Address. He said “our” State of the City because it is not his State of the City. He
likes to report on what our community is doing and how our community is moving
forward addressing our millage issue and our resizing and right-sizing of our
Departments. He thanked all those that helped him prepare the information to
present to our fellow residents and businesses. He also thanked all those who
attended our State of the City Address.
He had a question regarding the revoking of Act 198 in the Industrial Development
District and where it stands. Last year, on March 6th, the office notified us that they
would not recognize the District and they were going to pursue a different matter
with the State. Mr. Nowicki said that the Council has had a policy for a number of
years of revoking the Districts after certificates have been issued. A number of
years ago, it was his understanding that the City had received approval to do that,
although we never received anything official from the State of Michigan. The State
has now told us, prompted by contact from Moeller, that we can’t revoke those
Districts. They have to be in place as long as the certificate is in effect. The Tax
Abatement Committee will be meeting on Tuesday, March 19th, to rehear a request
from Moeller Manufacturing regarding some of their tax abatement requests. They
have exceeded the dollar amount of their current certificate. If you exceed the
dollar amount by a certain percentage, they can come back and request an
extension of that certificate or an increase in the value of that certificate, which is
what Moeller is planning to do.
The Council recessed at 8:52 p.m.
The Council entered Executive Session at 9:05 p.m.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________March 12, 2013 _______Page 17
The Council rose from Executive Session at 9:25 p.m.
CM-03-30-13: Moved and seconded by Councilmembers Rzeznik and Beagle to
direct the City Attorney to draft a letter (available to the public) regarding their
recommendation as it relates to the Barich Broadcasting Rezoning in Milford
Township.
Vote: Motion Carried
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting was adjourned at 9:26 p.m.
Catherine Buck
City Clerk
Approved 03/26/13