September 13, 2021 City Council Meeting

Note: links to the video recording and the council packet can be found at the bottom of this post. Please note any errors or omissions in the comments. Anything noted between brackets was inserted by Clarkston Sunshine.

Agenda item #1, Call to Order:

The video did not show whether the meeting was formally called to order.

Agenda item #2, Pledge of Allegiance (Video time mark 0:00:00):

Pledge said.

Agenda item #3, Roll Call (Video time mark 0:00:16):

Haven, Avery, Casey, and Wylie present; Bonser and Luginski absent.

Haven said that all four of them were present so they had enough for a quorum and could make decisions as long as they all agree.

Agenda item #4, Motion: Approval of Agenda (Video time mark 0:00:42):

Haven said he wanted to suggest an amendment to the agenda and some of the council may have others. He wanted to move Item 11g regarding the ZBA (Zoning Board of Appeals) appointment of Jen Cotter up to the beginning of the New Business in case she has to leave, though Haven noted she could stay if she wanted to. Cotter thanked Haven. Haven asked Wylie to remind him of the agenda change, moving 11g up to 11a under New Business.

Haven asked if anyone else had any changes to the agenda. There were none.

Motion to approve the agenda by Avery; second Casey.

No discussion.

Motion to approve the agenda passed unanimously by voice vote.

Agenda Item #5, Public Comments (Video time mark 0:01:48):

Haven said that this was an opportunity for someone in the audience or on the council to make a comment, limiting their comments to three minutes. Haven said if anyone had a comment to please come up to the podium and address the council.

Chet Pardee:

My imperatives for Clarkston city officials are “Be Transparent, Follow the Rules, and Maintain the City’s Infrastructure.” The mayor has responded several times that council is not required to answer questions raised in public comments. The mayor has asked that I seek answers to my financial questions at city hall rather than in public meetings.

I offer observations related to all three imperatives rather than questions.

• • • Council is not following Michigan budget law. It is not approving city expenditures prior to a commitment being made or expense being paid. The city manager can make expenditures up to $500 without approval or $1,000 in case of emergencies. That an expense has been budgeted does not relieve the need for approval. City council affirmed they would follow the Michigan budget law when the current budget was approved on June 28^th.
    • The Treasurer’s BS&A software expense, the Michigan Municipal League [Michigan Municipal League Liability and Property Pool] insurance premium expenses, and the Howard & Howard legal expenses are examples of recent expenditures without prior council approval. By not following Michigan budget law, council eliminates the opportunity to gain financial understanding.
    • Council is not providing the required revenue to repair streets and sidewalks despite HRC [Hubbell, Roth & Clark] engineering recommendations and capital improvement plans. There is no plan to provide the additional revenue required.
    • Council is supporting the withholding of documents related to a Susan Bisio Freedom of Information Act request on June 14^th by paying legal expenses billed by Howard & Howard, the outside legal firm involved in the previous Bisio lawsuit damages. It is not clear if city officials’, MML’s, and Attorney Peyser’s reputations are being protected by having not responding to the FOIA request.
    • The mayor is publicly supporting November council election write-in candidates with his Clarkston News letter to the editor and his special “message” envelopes.  “Authentic” and “brand” are conflicted with destruction by neglect and/or blight with historic homes on North Main, also with crumbling streets and sidewalks.

Pardee said he’d be happy to clarify if anyone had any questions. Haven said he wanted to clarify something, since Pardee brought up asking Pardee to seek his answers at city hall. Haven said that he did that the last meeting for the first time, not because he doesn’t want Pardee to get his questions answered, but sometimes, they become elongated, extrapolating the meeting, and he kind of looks around the room and sees that they are losing their audience, so that’s why he asked Pardee. But usually, they allow Pardee at least three minutes to do that, so Haven didn’t think Pardee has ever been shorted. Pardee said he agrees on the three minutes. He can recall a letter that Haven sent to the community in which he directed citizens to city hall and that was what caused Pardee to meet with Jonathan [Smith, city manager] and Greg Coté [Treasurer] in the June timeframe. Haven agreed. Pardee said they were very helpful, but the information that they gave Pardee wasn’t one that encouraged Pardee to believe that the council had it all together. Haven said that’s fine, he just was admonishing expedience in their meetings and not to cut off conversation at all. If Pardee wants to meet with them and come back with some comments relative to that meeting, Haven thought that would be appropriate too, just so Pardee knows. Pardee said when he raises a question about a finance item, the underlying issue is still not following the rules. Haven said he understood.

Haven asked if anyone else had a public comment.

Christopher Moore:

Moore said one thing that he had a question on, or a request, is that the Historic District Commission (HDC) has a standing report on the city council’s agenda. That way, if people can’t attend the HDC meeting, they can always come here and have the chair, or the secretary, come and give a report here. Moore that would be nice. One thing that he knows about organizations is when they silo off, there’s difficulty in communication. For the last several months, Moore has had issues coordinating between the Planning Commission (PC), and now the ZBA and the HDC and just trying to get his project figured out. It would be nice if there could be a standing report.

Moore said the second thing is that he was looking over the minutes of city council over the past months and he saw that when Rob Hauxwell was nominated and he was approved at city council, that was consistent with everyone that Moore has talked to in the city, that city council appoints those commissioners. When you read Chapter 152 of the historic district ordinance, it says that the mayor alone appoints those positions, so either that should be fixed, or it should be clarified. Moore feels that it should be city council, just because they make decisions on the ZBA, the PC, all of those appointments, so Moore thinks that it should be consistent. Tom Ryan [City Attorney] said that council votes on appointments. Moore said that the ordinance under the historic district, Chapter 152 contradicts that. Ryan said it doesn’t, it says that the mayor may offer an appointment, but the appointment is by the city council. Moore said that he read it right before he came to the meeting. Smith said that they both could be right because there is a timing issue. Smith said that they changed the ordinance last year. Haven agreed. Smith said that it could be the version that Moore is referring to is the previous version. We haven’t rolled these changes into the live ordinance document. Ryan said that the mayor appoints and council votes. Smith said that there was a change that went in last year, the point is well-taken, we did make a change. Haven asked if Moore was referring to the historic district ordinance? Moore said yes. Haven said he thought he was but what they are talking about is the charter, or the ordinance, their own operational ordinance. Smith said that he was referring to the charter changes that they made maybe a year and a half ago. Moore said that Chapter 152 says – (interrupting Moore), Haven said historic district and consistency; he thought it was catch up.

Haven told Moore that in the last meeting, they took some time and Rich Little [Planning Commission Chair] was there in showing how, and Haven knows that Moore is into the systems of it all and he appreciates it, how we’re trying to clean this pathway for applicants and so that they are more easily executable. Moore agreed. Haven said that Moore’s was one that came about before that, and you can see that we are moving in that direction. Moore agreed and said he appreciated it.

No other public comments.

Public comments closed.

Agenda Item #6, FYI (video time mark 0:10:04)

Haven said that there are three items in the packet, including some nice brochures that he encourages people to investigate online.

Item 6a – Art in the Village (Video time mark 0:10:11; page 4/41 of the council packet):

Haven said that this is on September 18^th and 19^th here in Depot Park. Haven told Smith he was glad to see that back again, we missed it during COVID.

Item 6b – Bucks for Buses (Video time mark 0:10:21; page 5/41 of the council packet):

Haven said that this for the senior center. It’s a senior center fundraiser and that’s going to be in Clintonwood Park on the same day, September 18^th, the first day of Art in the Village.

Item 6c – Taste of Clarkston (Video time mark 0:10:35; page 8/41 of the council packet):

Haven said that the last one is the Taste of Clarkston, which on Main Street, and always very popular. And that’s going to be on September 26^th.

Details about all of these events are in the packet and explained in detail there.

Agenda Item #7, Sheriff Report for August 2021 (Video time mark 0:10:50; page 10/41 of the council packet):

Haven didn’t see Lieutenant Hill in the audience, but the report is there for their perusal and they can pass on any comments or questions to Lieutenant Hill, if there are any.

Avery wanted to know what happened in August. There are thirteen misdemeanors, and that kind of jumped out at him. Avery also didn’t see any acknowledgement of the property crime in the restroom – wasn’t that in August? Smith agreed. Avery thought it should be on the report, so it makes him question the accuracy. Avery said that they were on it for traffic and speed in June and July, but they apparently took a little less of a pace in August, which is disappointing.

Haven told Smith that they ought to have Lieutenant Hill come and in for the next meeting if we can get him to come. Haven thought that would be good. Smith said that he would talk to him; he just checked, and Smith didn’t see him on the call. Smith asked Jennifer Speagle [Clerk] if she’d seen him, and she said she hadn’t. Speagle said she receives the Sheriff’s report and reports back to them to let them know that the report is going to be presented at the meeting, whatever meeting it is, hoping that he will either call or come in. Haven said that usually there are a lot of comments and questions for him so it’s a good idea if he’s here more often than not. Speagle agreed.

Haven asked if there were any other questions or comments. There were none.

Agenda Item #8, City Manager Report (Video time mark 0:12:31; page 11/41 of the council packet):

Haven said that the report is in the packet and has three items, somewhat abbreviated.

Haven asked if anyone had any questions or comments for Smith.

Wylie asked if there is a video of the vandals, since Smith said that he was trying to identify and charge them. Smith said that we do have them on video and Smith has still photos of them as well. Wylie said that was good. Smith said that we do have pictures of the individuals who did the damage. Casey asked if they’d been identified, and Smith said not yet. Smith said that they are working with the Sheriff’s office as well as the liaisons at the high school and the middle school to see if they recognize them. Smith said that the Sheriff will be in on Wednesday to look at the video. They’ve been giving him the stills so far, but they’ll be in to capture the video off of the city’s equipment on Wednesday and they hope to take it to the next level. Wylie said that was good to hear. Smith said that he talks to Lieutenant Hill, and he takes this very seriously and wants to find these individuals. Haven agreed.

No other comments.

Agenda Item #9, Motion: Acceptance of the Consent Agenda as Presented (Video time mark 0:13:48):

• • 08-09-2021, Final Minutes (page 12/41 of the council packet)
  • 08-23-2021, Draft Minutes (page 14/41 of the council packet)
  • 09-13-2021, Treasurer’s Report (page 17/41 of the council packet)
  • 09-08-2021, Check Disbursement Report, 08-01-2021 – 08-31-2021(page 18/41 of the council packet)
  • Thomas J. Ryan, P.C., August 2021 invoice (page 21/41 of the council packet)
  • H2A Architects, Inc., August invoice (page 25/41 of the council packet)
  • Ioco Painting Services L.L.C. (page 26/41 of the council packet)

Motion to accept the consent agenda as presented by Wylie; second Avery.

Haven asked if anyone had any comments or wanted to extract anything.

Wylie wanted to know what the H2A Architects invoice was for. Smith said that H2A is an architectural firm that does a lot of historic consulting. They have been hired by the HDC. They have a budget of $3,000 to bring in, as needed (unintelligible crosstalk between Smith and Wylie). Smith said he thought it was a $3,000 budget for this year. Wylie said OK. Smith said that they do have budget, they do have authorization to use this consultant, but they know that there is a ceiling on the amount. Wylie said OK, she wanted to know that there is a ceiling. Smith said that when they feel there is a need for a challenging case that maybe is different than anything they’ve done before, they will typically call in this expert.

Haven asked if there was any other discussion about the consent agenda.

Pardee said that he had a couple of questions related to Wylie’s point. The invoice shows $1,200, and Coté’s list of checks shows $1,200, but Pardee can only find one $600 in the long list and it was dated the 4^th of August. So, it looks like we were paying H2A Architects $600 on the 4^th of August, and then in that list of disbursements, Pardee doesn’t see another one except that Coté’s list of checks shows $1,200 and the invoice says $1,200. Haven said there were two different line items there, could they be overlapping a month? Smith said he would check with Coté on that; he understands what Pardee is saying. Pardee said he saw $600 for the line. Avery said maybe they put the wrong invoice on. Pardee said that there is a conflict between the date of the check, 8/4, and the date of the invoice, 8/31. Haven said that we would have to get clarification on that.

Haven asked if there were any other comments.

Pardee said that he wanted to ask attorney Ryan where the slip and fall event was geographically. Ryan said that we’ve been talking about that for the last three meetings. It was near the crosswalk at Church and Main Street. Ryan said that these are the loose rocks. (Unintelligible crosstalk.) Smith said it was almost a year ago. Pardee asked if Smith was talking about the pavers. Smith said no, this is in the concrete walkway that is cut into the asphalt roadway. There are concrete walkways that go across Church, and right at the edge, the concrete broke down, leaving a pothole. Smith’s understanding is that the woman stepped in it, tripped, fell on her knee, and damaged her knee. Pardee asked if it was repaired now, and Smith said that it was repaired that same day once they learned about it. They did not know about it in advance. That piece of property is within the MDOT right of way, but when contacted, they said that they don’t maintain it, but it is in their right of way. Smith said he doesn’t know any more about the status of that. Pardee thanked Smith.

No further discussion.

Motion to accept the consent agenda as presented passed unanimously by voice vote.

Agenda Item #10, Old Business:

Item 10a – Resolution: Amended Depot Park Pathway Paving Bid (Video time mark 0:18:53)

• • Amended Resolution – Depot Park Pathway Paving (page 27/41 of the council packet)
  • Resolution – Depot Park Pathway Paving (page 28/41 of the council packet)

Haven said that this was a resolution with money to amend the Depot Park pathway paving bid relative to moving the main pathway up to the gazebo from the category of topcoat to actually replace it with a $2,000 differential. This is a resolution to do that, and we are that close to getting the whole job done.

Haven asked for a motion from someone to adopt the resolution.

Avery resolved; second Casey.

Haven said he thought this was something that was discovered by Ottman and asked Smith to confirm, that it couldn’t be considered as it was before. Smith said that was correct. Smith said that when Dave Ottman was out and walked the job and discussed exactly what would be done, upon looking at the condition of the walkway leading up to the gazebo, he realized that the condition was worse than he originally thought. It was really broken down, and he said it would not provide satisfactory results if we put new asphalt on top of a broken subbase. In a year or two, it would be breaking in the same locations. So that was point number one. Point number two that Smith has been making is as you transition to the gazebo, you have to account for the height between steps. That’s the building code, right? So, if you put a two-inch cap on top of that asphalt, now that first step is only going to be about this tall (Smith gestured with his hands), and then the next steps are seven inches again, but that first step is only going to be about four, four and a half inches. So that would be a code violation. The only way to avoid that is to cut it out and then dip down right before the step, which would be a very awkward thing – dip down and then step back up. It wasn’t conducive to an ADA accessible pathway.

Smith said that they really felt that they had no choice in this matter. They have to completely tear out that section, the red walkway, and entirely replace it. It will result in a much, much better job. Safer, and longer lasting.

Wylie asked if the additional $2,000 was coming from the professional contracted services budget? Smith said that’s correct.

Haven asked if there was any additional discussion.

No additional discussion.

Wylie, Avery, Casey, and Haven voted yes. Resolution passed.

Agenda Item #11, New Business:

Item 11a – Motion: Zoning Board of Appeals Appointment (Video time mark 0:22:03) [Moved here as a result of a change to the agenda at the beginning of the meeting; all other items renumbered accordingly]

• • Motion – Zoning Board of Appeals Appointment (page 29/41 of the council packet)
  • Resume – Jennifer Cotter (page 30/41 of the council packet)

Haven said that they’d adjusted the agenda and he wanted to introduce Jen Cotter who is in the third row. She wrote a letter that is in the packet indicating her desire to serve on the ZBA. She will be trying to fill the shoes of Peg Acosta, Margaret Acosta. Haven noted that he called her Peg for years. Margaret spent thirty-nine years on the ZBA. It’s almost like unprecedented. She’s a wonderful woman, and Haven told Smith that he’d like to have her in one of these days to give her an award as well for her service. That’s unbelievable service.

Jen is a wonderful candidate, and Haven is thrilled to have her being willing to serve in this capacity. Haven asked if Cotter wanted to say anything, though she didn’t have to make a speech, and maybe someone might want to ask her some questions.

Cotter said that she would briefly tell them about herself. She’s been in the automotive industry for a long time, for twenty years, and she’s been a Tier 1 supplier. She has been working full-time at a Tier 1 supplier in sales, so she has business experience and high pressure, etc. Cotter said that she and her family moved to Clarkston six years ago. They live on Robertson Court right down the street from Mayor Haven. They love the area. She found out about the ZBA opening through Mayor Eric Haven and she’s really interested in joining the ZBA.

Haven asked if anyone had any questions and noted that Sharron Catallo was there from the ZBA. Catallo said she sounds so good. Haven said that they haven’t had time to make all the introductions.

Haven made a motion to appoint Cotter to the ZBA; second Avery.

Ryan said that they should state the term. Haven said that was a good question and asked if there is a term for the ZBA. Ryan said it’s for three years. Catallo said that Haven might have been thinking about Acosta, but Haven said no, it was some other frame of reference, but he thought it was unlimited. If that’s not the case, then Ryan’s point is well-taken and it’s for a three-year term. Ryan said she’s filling out the unexpired term. Haven said no, Acosta’s term expired. Catallo agreed. Smith said as of July 1^st. Ryan said as of July 1, 2021, to July 1, 2024, a three-year term.

Haven asked if there was any other conversation or discussion.

No additional discussion.

Haven said that this is a simple vote.

Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Haven welcomed Cotter.

Item 11b – Discussion: Tree Committee (Video time mark 0:25:54):

Haven said that this was a discussion regarding the tree committee. This came in later this afternoon. Haven is thrilled to hear from them, and they are represented by Carol (Eberhardt) and Catallo and a young lady that Haven has not met yet. Eberhardt went to the podium.

Eberhardt said that the tree committee has started working again. There was a little bit of a lull because of COVID, but they are back because a substantial number of trees have been removed from the city and not replaced. So, it’s time to get serious. Eberhardt believes that trees are part of the infrastructure, just like the streets and the sidewalks. Clearly, they affect the appearance of our historic district.

Eberhardt said that they are delighted to welcome an enthusiastic volunteer, Amanda Wakefield, who is a Clarkston resident and happens to be working on her certification, and she’s going to tell you exactly what it is. She knows trees, is a Michigan State graduate, went away to the big city and came back to Clarkston and plans on being here for a while. They are very, very lucky to have her expertise. It’s a huge step up for them. Eberhardt said that she will let Wakefield continue with the presentation. Haven thanked Eberhardt.

Wakefield walked over to the podium and said she brought exhibits, which she passed out to the council members and Smith with extras for others who want them. Wakefield said that she is a Michigan State grad and is trying to get her certification in (unintelligible) but she is already certified, lead certified (unintelligible) certifications. She said that what she had was some renderings and a cost estimate of how much it would cost for the trees.

Wakefield said that the renderings depict where they could add trees in downtown Clarkston. As you can see with the green dots on the map, there are additional places for trees to be added along Holcomb, north of the city, and east of the city. They broke down the budget into the cost for those individual regions and the cost for the different caliper of trees. Based on talking to a nursery (unintelligible) three trees at a time, so if you get three trees, it’s cheaper for them to install them.

Wakefield said that two different options that they really explored are two caliper versus three caliper. Haven asked what that meant. Wakefield said that she explained that in the Excel sheet, but caliper is the tree caliper, or a diameter at (unintelligible) height, which is 4.5 feet off the ground. If you look at the bottom exhibit, you can kind of see how that range is in the root ball size as well as the height. So, when you go from something from a two inch, to a two-and-a-half inch, to a three inch caliper, you are really ranging in height. The bigger tree you get, the more likely it will be successful, but it’s a more expensive tree. So, of course, this is a lot of money, and she didn’t make the calculations lightly. They wanted to give the council the full scope of how much it would cost if they wanted to put in all the trees, and if they wanted to do just a few trees, how much it would cost. Wakefield said that they tried to break it down so it’s digestible, but also fair in terms of getting (unintelligible).

Eberhardt said that she wanted to tell the council what the tree committee talked about regarding priorities as far as what the budget was going to handle this year. The committee felt that the downtown business district should be the first priority for planting. There are six trees missing on the streetscape, and as far as an economic impact and just the general feeling of supporting our commercial district, they felt that the start should be on Main Street. The six spaces are empty spaces. (Unintelligible crosstalk.) Eberhardt said that there are some pretty big gaps down there. Beyond that, they aren’t asking for money tonight. They are asking the council to consider it, look at the budget, see what their priorities are, and then give them some direction. They would like to get some trees planted in the fall, which is always a great time to plant. Their plan, based on the council’s recommendations, is that they will do a long-range plan in stages, whatever council decides what they want to do and how much they want to spend. They will look at council’s recommendation and go from there.

Avery said he was looking at it and thought that the downtown might be the last place to go. The reason he says that is because there are some trees downtown already and a bunch of trees got taken down on North Holcomb not long ago. (Unintelligible crosstalk.) Avery said we’ve planted trees downtown before and they’ve died. Do we know why they’re dying? It’s a big investment to throw five or six trees down there.

Catallo said first of all, there’s been a watering situation, especially when they’re first planted. She also thought that they needed to redo the soil in that little spot. We need to take that all out and start over and give some fresh soil. We’ve never done anything like that. We have, at one time early on, pulled up a grate and dug it up a little bit so it was more porous so that if it did rain, they’re at least going to get a drink. As far as the DPW ever having time to go down and do it, we were at a standstill, so there wasn’t much we could do. We could pay the garden club ladies to pour a bucket in every once in a while, but that didn’t work well. But some of them have done very well if you notice the trees down there.

Wakefield said that the estimates include new soil. Catallo said we would see a huge difference if we did that. Just loosening it up. Traffic goes down there all the time and pounds it down, it’s almost like asphalt when you think about it. We’ve never taken the time to do that and that’s a mistake. Some of the trees we’ve lost through damage from cars, where the bark has become damaged, and Catallo thinks that the trees have done amazingly well, considering where they are and how we haven’t really done what we probably should have tried to do. Even if we drilled holes and augured in some holes and got water into it, it would have been better than what we’ve done. Avery said so that’s what Catallo thinks – (interrupting Avery), Catallo said that it’s traffic (unintelligible). Eberhardt said that they are considering changing the tree. They are looking at a ginkgo, which seems to be less easily – (interrupting Eberhart), Catallo said that (unintelligible) recommended it for downtown trees. They were back when they planted the flowering ones, although in the spring, the flowering ones look beautiful. The ones that do exist are very pretty.

Avery said that what they are saying is that there will be some sort of plan in place that will get these trees a little more TLC to get them started. Eberhardt said that she thought that the species will make a difference. Catallo said it still needs water.

Wylie asked what the plan would be to get them water. Do they need a water truck to go down? Catallo said that we have had a tank since we redid the roads. It’s just finding enough time to have it done. The time that you want it done in the summer, this year would have been great for new trees. But in the summer, there’s so much mowing to be done, it was understandable that it was always the last thing on the list when you have the park to mow and the rest of it to take care of. Maybe we could hire someone who just comes in and does this in the summer.

Wylie asked if this was considered a native tree, and Wakefield agreed.

Wylie asked if ginkgo was the selection of choice for all of these. Wakefield said no. Ginkgo tends to be more expensive because it’s such a great tree (unintelligible), so that’s what was used for the estimate, but she thought they would use a bigger diversity based on the location.

Wylie asked if they were focusing on native trees for all the – (interrupting Wylie), Wakefield said yes, and salt resistant. Wylie thought that was good. Catallo said that’s really important. Wakefield said that salt can kill the trees.

Catallo said that she thought that the reason they lose them down at that end of town (gesturing) is that trees, especially on the east side, don’t have any pavement between them and the road and there’s no parking there, so any time someone goes down that street, that salt just goes right to the sidewalk and the trees. Catallo said that she tried to figure that out forever, but that’s the only thing that she can come up with. Those have been watered and taken care of because we knew that we had a problem there. But it’s the salt. We have to go for something that’s even more salt-resistant, and supposedly what’s planted there now, which looks weak, is living, but is it a street tree and it’s supposed to be salt-tolerant. (Unintelligible.)

Eberhart said that when they plant the street trees, when they plant on the residential streets, there’s a bunch of factors. They consider color, what’s on the street now, what they’re going to add, spread, whether or not there’s wires. They don’t just willy-nilly pick trees. It’s all based very specifically on each location, and sometimes, they have a resident objection. Residents refuse, they do not want a tree, and they get pretty adamant about it. Casey asked what’s the matter with them? Eberhardt said that she’s not sure. (Unintelligible crosstalk.) Wylie said that someone on her street objected because they didn’t have a backyard, and they used the front yard for playing. (Unintelligible crosstalk.) Catallo said that is the only time that has ever come up. Wylie said that’s where her kids play. Catallo said that they have beautiful trees on Middle Lake, if anyone wants to see tall, strong, gorgeous trees, Middle Lake Road has the most beautiful trees. That place didn’t have one, and we thought isn’t this nice of us, and it didn’t work.

Casey asked if the trees are going to be planted between the sidewalk and road, and Catallo agreed. Haven said on the easement. Casey said that’s not the owner’s property anyway. Haven said that’s correct. Eberhardt said when they tell you they are going to pour salt on it and kill it if you plant it there, you just kind of go OK. (Unintelligible crosstalk.)

Pardee said that he would like to suggest two things. One, let’s use the Michigan State soil testing at each location that we intend to plant. Is the soil suitable? Pardee has used them when he had some questions about a tree that was yellow that should have been green, and they helped him. It’s just a matter of submitting the test, getting the results, and then acting. The other thing Pardee would suggest is if they want to plant trees in front of where he lives on North Main, he would adopt them. Pardee suggests that where they plant these trees that they have some discussion with the person or business that lives adjacent and invite them to adopt them. Eberhardt said they do that and give them buckets. Catallo said she’s given out those big white buckets at her own expense, not the great big one, but the one that’s easy to handle. Eberhardt said that they give notice that it’s coming, notice after it’s planted, and instructions on how to keep it watered. Pardee said that he’s over on the more positive side, which is to invite someone to adopt the tree and we provide some public notice that this business or this person has adopted the tree and they have something invested and might take care of it.

Haven said that he’s been interested for a long time, there’s charitable contribution, a tax credit, for planting a tree. If you plant a tree on the easement, it’s a gift to the city, the city is a charitable organization. Haven would love to see a campaign around town, asking people to plant trees on the easement under the direction of the tree committee to get the right kind of tree. We could do a lot more than on our limited budget. We’re looking at $500-$600 here. He thinks that a lot of people (unintelligible). You could give them tutelage as to how to do it and so on. He would love to see this promoted. Haven said that they are giving them this (unintelligible) right now, and he gets that, but he thinks they need to decide going forward. They are looking at getting some things done before the snow flies, getting trees planted. Haven asked if that was ideal timing, between now and winter, it’s OK for a tree to become established before we get into cold weather? Wakefield said absolutely.

Avery asked if we had any money in the budget. Catallo said they used to have it, and then it disappeared. (Unintelligible crosstalk.) Smith said no. He thought we had $1,800 in this year’s budget. Catallo made the point that there were some funds from previous years that should have carried over, but that was not rolled over officially. Smith said as you know, what happens at the end of the year, that defaults back into the fund balance.

Haven said that charitable funds do need to be isolated. We’ve gone through this with the Friends of Depot Park. (Unintelligible crosstalk.) Catallo said that she donated her council check to the trees, and beyond that, she donated, but she thinks that disappeared.

Pardee said he’d like to introduce Wakefield to Brandon Still who Pardee thought may be able to help with – (interrupting Pardee), Haven said fund raising. Pardee said that he’s been helpful with accounting to get funding. (Unintelligible.) Wakefield said that we could apply for grants too. Haven agreed.

Haven asked if that what’s sort of in vogue right now, grant-wise for trees, is it sort of (unintelligible) or not? He knows that there’s grant money from the state for historic preservation. Catallo and Eberhardt discussed grants, and Eberhardt said it was the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) grant. Catallo said it wasn’t that hard to get, though they tried to get a DNR grant, and they had to match. Eberhardt said it was a match. Catallo said it was something around $3,500 and we had to match in hours and the DPW had to give time and our equipment; it was sort of a match thing. Catallo said that they tried that one again, and because they’d already gotten one, they put them off, but they could try again.

Haven said that we need to make a decision within the next month, thumbs up or thumbs down, right, to figure out the money. Catallo said that they could start some of it. Avery said that they would have a hard time coming up with $11,000 to get it all done, but they could target something, you know.

Moore asked how many trees were involved? He’s currently purchasing sixteen, 3.5-inch trees. Haven said he could write some of them off if he wants to put them on the easement. Moore said that he would love to. Moore asked if the tree committee has gone to the HDC as well, because they are talking about streetscape, changing species of trees. Catallo said that they are putting them in a place that they’ve been except for maybe two locations where they may be different. Moore said that right now, they’ve declared a tree on his property as having historic relevance, so now he can’t touch this one tree that’s on his property. And now, they are making attempts to choose the shrubs and things like that, noting that at the May 11^th meeting, they said that landscaping and planting are outside the purview of the HDC. So, just for the sake of being equitable among parties, you might want to go there. The next meeting is tomorrow. Wakefield said that they could do that.

Pardee asked how the prices compared. Wakefield said that’s from Wiegand, and she got that quote today from them and it includes an install. Pardee said that he’s just thinking about the sixteen that Moore is buying. Wakefield said that she does estimates every day because she works at (unintelligible) companies. Those are fair, but it will be cheaper to buy them wholesale like a landscaper. Moore said that he’s getting his wholesale, and these are a little bit more than what he’s getting. Moore said the Miller house, he thinks its Rogers, the manicured lawn with the tree line, those are European columnars and those are the ones that Moore is getting. They are around $600 with planting.

Haven said to keep the detail for later. He appreciates the contribution. Catallo said that the thing about going to Wiegand is that we get the benefit of at least a year, and an additional three years if we use a certain fertilizer, the tree is covered. Haven asked if she was saying insured, guaranteed? Catallo said yes, a warranty. There will be a replacement. Catallo said that they had to do that unfortunately the tree that they used it on continues to have a problem so it must be something very wrong. Catallo asked Eberhardt which house it was in front of, it’s right across from Clarkston Road. Eberhardt (unintelligible) they have two little trees planted there now. They are little maples.

Haven said that he sees six locations on Main, right? So that’s a place to start at $500 apiece, so that’s $3,000, round number? $4,000? Wylie referred to the handout and said that this is the price for all the trees. Haven said that he gets it, and they know that they can’t go there yet, but they are just trying to figure out if they started by fall, what can they do before snow flies budgetarily. Smith said that the top six, the top green line six in downtown, that would be $3,453.

Haven asked Smith where it would come from, since we don’t have a tree budget. Smith said that he would have to look at the budget. Obviously, we would rob Peter to pay Paul. Haven asked Smith if he would meet with the tree committee and come up with a scenario for the next meeting and they can make a decision. Smith said that if the tree committee was OK with there being some phases to it, maybe they could do the six downtown trees this fall and see what they can do in the spring.

Casey asked if there was a different budget line for the trees. Smith said that there is a tree planting and a tree removal budget. Casey asked about soliciting donations, putting something in the paper. Wakefield said that they could put all of the renderings in the paper and say buy our trees, this is how much we need. Casey said personally, he would donate money to it to get it done. Haven said he thought Casey was right, and there are others. (Unintelligible) when you can get it published.

Pardee wanted to know if we had a credit for the three trees that died on Main Street. Haven said we could always look at that. Catallo said not anymore, unfortunately. Haven said there’s your answer. Catallo said that it’s one year and three years if you buy a certain kind of fertilizer. It’s a good fertilizer.

Haven said that their hearts are with them for sure; let’s just figure out how to take the next step. Haven wanted Smith to have a quote by next meeting.

Wylie said that if they want a newspaper article, the best thing is to write it up and give it to Matt [Clarkston News]. It’s more likely that it will get in the newspaper if you give him something written. (Unintelligible crosstalk.)

Haven thanked the tree committee for bringing this. This is huge. This is part of our infrastructure, if you will. Assets galore, and beautification, all of the above, so thank you for this.

Item 11c – Proclamation: National Recovery Month (Video time mark 0:51:08):

• • Resolution – Oakland Community Health Network, National Recovery Month – September 2021 (page 31/41 of the council packet)

Haven asked Ryan if he could take all three at once. There are two proclamations and one resolution. We are being asked to endorse these things. Item B is about National Recovery Month, and that’s about substance abuse, helping people with substance abuse. This is all county money. There’s a proclamation about suicide prevention, and a third one is about mental health services.

Haven thought that the council would be in favor of honoring these proclamations and the resolution and wanted to know if he could do it in one fell swoop. Ryan said that he could do it now, therefore, be it resolved.

Haven said they would do it for Item A and wanted to know if he could still read them all at the same time. Ryan said that was OK, but Haven should delineate which one.

Haven said relative to substance abuse, the first one on the list says therefore, be it resolved that Oakland Community Health Network (OCHN) hereby recognizes – and two of these are this way – September 2021 as National Recovery Month. OCHN calls upon citizens, government agencies, public and federal institutions, businesses, and schools to recommit our state to increasing awareness and understanding of substance abuse and the need for appropriate and accessible services to promote recovery.

Item 11d – Proclamation: National Suicide Prevention Month (Video time mark 0:52:42):

• • Resolution – Oakland Community Health Network – National Suicide Prevention Month – September 2021 (page 32/41 of the city council packet)

Haven said that the second one is relative to suicide prevention, and that resolution stated that Oakland Community Health Network hereby recognizes September 2021 as National Suicide Prevention Month. OCHN calls upon citizens, government agencies, public and federal institutions, businesses, and schools to recommit our state to increasing awareness and understanding of suicide prevention and the need for appropriate and accessible services to assist individuals in crisis.

Item 11e – Oakland Community Health Network (OCHN) Board of Directors Resolution to Protect and Promote Publicly Funded Public Mental Health Services for People (Video time mark 0:53:13):

• • OCHN Board of Directors Resolution to Protect and Promote Publicly Funded Public Mental Health Services for People (page 33/41 of the council packet)

Haven said that the last one is about prepaid, inpatient, health plan and community mental health services providers, contracted by the Michigan Department of Mental Health and Human Services, to provide acceptable, effective, and quality public behavior health and substance abuse services to more than 23,000 Oakland County residents.

Haven said that the resolution is that Oakland County Health Network’s Board of Directors hereby calls upon our citizens, elected officials, policy makers and community partners to protect and promote Michigan’s public mental health system by advocating to enhance service delivery for people while also ensuring, maintaining the integrity and that the oversight of public funds remain under the oversight of the public mental health system.

Haven said that these are lumped together but nevertheless, this is certainly helpful from our government for these people with particular needs.

Haven asked for a motion to recognize September as the month for suicide prevention and for substance abuse, and for our advocacy to enhance services for people who have mental health issues.

Wylie made the motion; Avery second.

No discussion.

Haven said that since one is a resolution, they should take a roll call.

Casey, Wylie, Avery, and Haven voted yes.

Item 11f – Resolution: 2022 Annual Permit for State Trunkline Right of Way (Video time mark 0:55:35):

• • 2022 Annual Permit for Work on State Trunkline Right of Way (page 35/41 of the council packet)
  • Performance Resolution for Municipalities (page 36/41 of the council packet)

Haven said that this is the 2022 annual permit for state trunkline right of way. Haven asked Smith if we have to allow them to work in our town. Smith agreed. Speagle said that we also have to get their OK for us to do anything. So, any time that there is any work done that has to do with M15, they have to get a permit. Any time we hang banners, we have to get a permit. Once a year, Speagle has to go and renew the application, and every so many years, we have to do the long-term. Haven asked if this was short-term. Speagle said that we have to do this one every year, it’s only every so many years. This allows us to reach out to them to get the OK to hang the banners and to do any roadwork. Haven said that we can’t say no to this in case we don’t want to be a state trunk line anymore. Smith said no. Haven said just (unintelligible). Smith said that it’s for 2022.

Haven said it’s a resolution. Speagle said that is also allowing us, stating who has the authority to contact them to get the permits, like Smith and Speagle right now. Haven said that they are in there; he read it with a fine tooth comb.

Haven asked for someone to make or recommend the resolution.

Avery resolved; Wylie second.

No further discussion.

Haven, Wylie, Casey, and Avery voted yes.

Item 11g – Resolution: Repainting of Parking Space, Crosswalk, and Stop Bar Markings (Video time mark 0:57:33):

• • Resolution – Repainting of Parking Space, Crosswalk and Stop Bar Markings (page 38/41 of the council packet)
  • Bid comparison (page 39/41 of the council packet)
  • Parking Space, Crosswalk & Stop Bar Marking Requirements (by street) (page 40/41 of the council packet)
  • Advance Pavement Marking estimate (page 41/41 of the council packet)

Haven said that the last one is, we have a chart for this, and we have three bids for repainting of parking spaces, crosswalks, and stop bar markings. Haven asked Smith if that’s where the car comes to a stop, and Smith agreed.

Haven said we need repainting of these, and we have three bids for this. One of the bids is in the packet, correct, and there is a summary of the other two. Smith said that the three bids were from the previous painting, and Advanced Pavement Marking was by far the lowest. We’ve already proven that they were the lowest among the three, so he did not go back to them. Smith just contacted Advanced, and they are doing the exact same work they did last time with a few extra things. The crosswalk markings were not in the previous one.

Haven had a question. We were taping before, and we had tape pulling up. Smith agreed. Haven said maybe it was the time of year, something was wrong, but what are the specs, what is the warranty, how do they characterize this kind of work. Buying low bidder may not be our best bet, although they all should be qualified based on the specs we gave them.

Smith said that they only asked for paint on the previous bid that they did on this. The decals just are not effective long-term. MDOT still allows the use of them, but our experience is that unless they are just laid down in ideal conditions, dry, warm weather, make sure they get a good adhering, and in fact, they’re even supposed to heat them. But rarely do they take the time to do all that, and they are also actually supposed to prep the surface before they even start. It’s a very time-consuming process if done right, and Smith is told they do have a long – (interrupting Smith), Haven said it’s a thick film that they are laying on there.

Smith said that we have not had good experience with them – (interrupting Smith), Haven said regular paint this year at least for this. Smith said that he would recommend that we just go with paint.

Haven asked Smith how long he thought this would last, when do we have to do this again. Smith said two years, and two years is what we’ve been doing. (Unintelligible crosstalk.) Catallo said they used to paint it twice a year, but the DPW painted. Smith asked if they painted all of them, and Catallo said maybe not the parking spaces, but crosswalks for sure because they did them before school started and then sometime in the spring because there were kids walking to school, but she doesn’t think kids are walking to school anywhere else.

Haven said that there was an interesting dialog with the teachers over at the school. This is one project that they had talked about relative to municipal involvement for the students. Haven thinks it had some merit, but it needs to be supervised and spec’d and all that stuff and done right, but it’s something to pursue next year. Haven said he talked about it with Smith and getting it done this year for sure. We can look at some of those options later and involve our students perhaps, who knows.

Haven said that this is a resolution about money.

Wylie resolved; Casey second.

Pardee asked if we would be painting where there is current plastic material. Smith said if you look closely at what they did last time, they painted right next to the plastic material as you call it, the decals. They didn’t remove those; that’s another endeavor altogether to try to remove those. You almost have to sandblast them off or grind them off. That’s not included in the bid. They will just paint next to them. In time, those decals will all fall off. Haven said that it will be done properly, that’s the idea, right? Smith agreed.

No additional discussion.

Casey, Avery, Wylie, and Haven voted yes.

Agenda Item #12, Adjourn (Video time mark 1:02:31):

Motion to adjourn by Avery; second Wylie.

Motion to adjourn by unanimous voice vote.

Resources:

• • Link to video recording:
    http://216.11.46.126/CablecastPublicSite/show/3552?channel=1
  • 09-13-2021 – City Council packet