HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL STUDY - 2010-06-14 CITY OF LIVONIA— CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD JUNE 14, 2010
Meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. Present: John Pastor, Brian Meakin,
Joe Laura, Laura Toy, Maureen Brosnan, Conrad Schwartz and James McCann.
Absent: None.
Elected and appointed officials present: Mayor Jack Kirksey; Don Knapp, City
Attorney; Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Mark Taormina, City Planner; Karen Kapchonick,
Superintendent of Parks and Recreation; and Maureen Cosgrove, Assistant City Clerk.
President McCann announced there was new data on Item #12.
Mayor Kirksey said the City has been in negotiations with a movie company
regarding using the old 16th District courthouse during the filming of a movie by
Wes Craven here in Livonia. He said the movie company has started their
temporary modifications on the building for the movie. It will be about a 3 month
duration that will generate some revenue and they will return the building to same
condition it was in when they are finished filming. He said the future long-term
use of the building is yet to be decided by the citizens of Livonia.
Pastor wished his daughter's dance academy, Debbie Felton's Academy of
Dance, the best of luck this week-end during their annual dance recital. One (1)
show is to be held Friday night and two (2) shows will be held on Sunday at
Clarenceville High School.
AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None.
NEW BUSINESS
1. BLOCK PARTY: Nicole Bush, re: to be held Saturday, July 10, 2010, from 1:00
p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Susanna, between Ross and Donald, with a rain date
requested of Sunday, July 11, 2010.
Nicole Bush, 14641 Susanna, was present to answer any questions.
Toy offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
2. BLOCK PARTY: Annemarie Posh, re: to be held Saturday, July 24, 2010, from
2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Woodring, between Vermont and Oregon, with a rain
date requested of Sunday, July 25, 2010.
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Brosnan said Mrs. Posh is a member of her church and phoned and
unfortunately will not be in attendance this evening.
Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
3. BLOCK PARTY: Dawn Nowicki, re: to be held Saturday, September 11, 2010,
from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Orangelawn, between Dalhay and Sunset, with
no rain date requested.
The petitioner was not present.
Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR
4. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE CITY'S NOISE ORDINANCE: Peter Wu, Senior
Pastor, Chinese Gospel Church, re: to allow a band to play music in connection
with an outdoor event to celebrate the 4t" of July on Sunday, June 27, 2010 from
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at their church located at 35301 Five Mile Road.
Dexin Wang, 9129 Stonehouse, was present on behalf of Chinese Gospel
Church to answer any questions.
Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
5. REQUEST FOR NON-PROFIT DESIGNATION: Rebecca Kritzman, Co-
President, Livonia Nursery, Inc., re: as required by the State of Michigan to
obtain a Charitable Gaming License to allow them to conduct a Millionaire Party
to raise funds for their organization.
Rebecca Kritzman 29601 Jacquelyn Drive, and Monica Hall, 32433 Hees, were
present to answer any questions regarding the request described above. Monica
said they are a coop preschool located in Old Rosedale Gardens Presbyterian
Church and said they have been serving the community for the past 6 years.
Their program is open to children ages 2 — 4. They are listed in the phone book
and have their own website.
Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
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6. REAPPOINTMENT OF SAM CARAMAGNO TO THE ZONING BOARD OF
APPEALS: John R. Pastor, Councilmember, re: for a three-year term, which
shall expire on July 12, 2013.
Sam Caramagno was present.
Pastor offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
7. REAPPOINTMENT OF CRAIG S. PASTOR TO THE ZONING BOARD OF
APPEALS: Brian Meakin, Councilmember, re: for a three-year term, which shall
expire on July 12, 2013.
Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
8. REQUEST TO APPROVE AN ADDENDUM TO THE LEASE AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE LIVONIA HOCKEY ASSOCIATION TO
REFLECT A $3.00 PER HOUR UTILITY CHARGE TO ALL USER GROUPS
EXCEPT THE LIVONIA PARKS AND RECREATION PROGRAMS: Department
of Parks & Recreation, re: to help offset utility expenses.
Karen Kapchonick, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation was present to
request Council approval for the request described above. Pastor asked her if
the issue with the water would be resolved within the next week, she replied yes
it would.
Mark Paulis, 34190 Bretton, Livonia Hockey Association was present to answer
any questions. Toy asked him if this would impact families in any way. He
replied, no, and stated this was not really an increase but a renewal rather of a
fee Council approved a couple of years ago.
Pastor offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
9. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERLOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT
MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT: Livonia Fire & Rescue, re: to improve fire services
during emergencies. (CR 370-07 and CR 620-02)
Tom Kiurski, Fire Training Coordinator, was present on behalf of Livonia Fire &
Rescue. He stated this was a request to amend the Interlocal Fire Department
Mutual Aid Agreement to add a couple more Fire Departments to the list.
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Laura asked Kiurski if this could evolve into a situation where the City could
actually save money. Laura said he realizes their labor is locked into the Charter
but asked if there was a possibility that this thought process could evolve into
some cost savings down the line. Kiurski replied that this currently is not for any
revenue type reciprocity. Laura said he understands that but said it is also a
cooperative agreement and wondered if there had ever been any discussions
about any potential cost savings. Kiurski said he would have to check with Fire
Chief Shadd Whitehead when he returns from vacation, and said he was only
briefed on this particular addendum to the Mutual Aid Agreement. Laura said to
pass it along to Fire Chief Shadd Whitehead and have him call Laura.
Toy offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
10. AWARD OF CONTRACT: Division of Police, re: for the transport and lodging of
prisoners. (CR 486-05)
Police Chief Robert Stevenson said Lt. Darius Nissenbaum would make the
presentation to Council for this request as he is the member of his staff that
oversees Patrol operations and did the research on the subject. Lt. Nissenbaum
gave some background on how the transport and lodging of prisoners evolved.
He said years ago they had to contract with other jails because of the
overcrowding of Wayne County jails and being able to hold their prisoners and
releasing them early. Roughly about 20 years ago the City entered into an
agreement with Isabella County Sheriffs Department, approximately March 1990.
During that time they provided excellent service over the years. The current
charge, prior to this proposal was $36 per day to lodge prisoners; that included
transportation to lodging and court appearances. That rate has been in place
since December 2001. Isabella County's sealed bid for this proposal increased
by $1 to a rate of $37 per day, this rate would be guaranteed for a period of 3
years. Last year in October 2009, Statewide Transport approached Livonia
Police Department by submitting a letter indicating they would be interested in
the transportation and lodging of prisoners contract. They indicated as part of
that letter, that they secured a reduction in the fees they're charged from other
county jails. They indicated due to this reduction they passed the savings along
to their customers. Historically, Statewide's fees are greater than what they have
been charged by Isabella County. While they were paying $36 per day since
2001, other cities have been paying $42 - $45 per day. He said to his
understanding, the rate varied depending on how many prisoners were sent. As
part of his research with the savings that Statewide was able to obtain from the
jails they used, the lowest current rate that cities are paying is $41.40 per day.
After this letter was received, Statewide's owners met with the Livonia Police
Department and provided them with a proposal to provide lodging and
transportation of prisioners at the rate of $35 per day. Since Statewide was
interested in bidding on the contract and in the interest of fairness it was decided
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that it should be a sealed bid process. The contract was advertised with the
specifications listed. Lt. Nissenbaum said one specification he changed when he
wrote up the list was in the past, the department required transportation
personnel to be certified officers. He said since Statewide has a contract with
numerous agencies, their transportation personnel are not certified officers. It is
his understanding; many of them are former officers. So they included this
specification to include special deputies, which is a basically a status the jails
provide to the company which allows them to transport the prisoners from the
agency to the lodging facility and back. That does not imply any training, it is just
like a special deputy status this is given to the personnel by the particular county
jail they utilize. Only 2 sealed bids were received; one from Statewide and one
from Isabella County. The lowest bidder ended up being Statewide but they
deviated from several important specifications. The contracts were provided to
the Law Department for their review. In the Law Departments' review they
concluded that Statewide failed to conform to Specification #6. Specification #6
had to do with prescription costs not to exceed $10 monthly. He said that is
something they have had in place over the past several years with Isabella. He
said it's a great program, it's actually better than some people's healthcare
prescription drug coverage. He said that's cut down on costs tremendously. As
part of his duties, he pays other medication costs for prisoners, not associated
with being lodged in the county jail, for the time that they are lodged at their
facility. Those costs when they have to fill those prescriptions can range from $20
to $600 sometimes. This is a very important specification. In Statewide's
proposal they indicated that Livonia would be responsible for all costs associated
with medication but they would notify us when costs exceeded $10. Nowhere in
their proposal did it specify what the costs are, if the other jails have such a
program. So that was a concern. Additionally, the Law Department pointed out
Specification #8 was not conformed with; it had to do with medical costs. He has
worked hard to try and reduce medical costs for the City. As part of that, he fights
for every bill received. Statewide put in their bid that all emergency medical costs
shall be the responsibility of the City of Livonia when a prisioner does not have
insurance, which most do not have insurance. This is a also a concern. He said
when he receives the bills and disputes them with the bill collection agencies, he
writes back and the explanation that if they (LPD) did not cause the injury, he
feels they should go after the individual for costs. So far, over the years that he
has been in the job they have been successful and have reduced their bills over
the years. Before they had Isabella County, their high was $58,000, for lodging
medical bills. He has reduced that down to about $2,800 or $3,500 in the past
couple years. This is accomplished by Isabella County contracting with a medical
provider that comes on site and provides doctor visits. Part of what they include
in their proposal is if someone needs to be transported off-site for medical
services they notify us immediately so there is no delay. This saves the City a lot
of money. He has had prisoners go to the hospital with chest pain and they're
there for a day or two and the bill is over $10,000. He said he is concerned that
the language in Statewide's bid would tie their hands when trying to appeal these
bills to the bill collection agencies. This potentially may cost the City a lot of
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money. Another factor is if the detainee has to be transported due to medical
conditions by ambulance with Statewide's proposal the City would be responsible
for that cost. Another specification that the Law Department pointed out is
Specification #11, the length of the contract shall be two years and the City of
Livonia will have the right to extend the contract for a third year without any
increase in costs. Statewide inserted a termination agreement, upon 60 days
written notice either party may terminate the agreement either with or without
cause. This is also a concern, Statewide is a private company as opposed to
Isabella County which is a municipality. He understands, for example if gas
prices go up, Statewide would need to maintain some type of profit margin. That
is just one example of a reason why they might have to come back and try to
renegotiate a higher rate; or if the jails end up charging Statewide a higher rate.
After the Law Department review, they do not believe that Statewide conformed
with Specification 11. So that is why, even though Isabella County's bid proposal
is $2 higher, in the long run he believes if they went with Statewide the low bidder
it would end up costing the City more money.
Fred Benson, retired Livonia Police Officer, owner of Statewide, said his
company has been transporting prisoners for the past 20 years since he retired
from Livonia. He indicated he serves many large local municipalities, Redford,
Canton, Northville, Inkster, Taylor, Allen Park, Melvindale, Riverview and all of
the Gross Pointe communities. He said the information Lt. Nissenbaum provided
in essence is correct, but said he would like to clarify a couple of things. First, the
60 day termination clause was put into his contracts at the request of all of his
new customers. He recalled when he first started the business 20 years ago, he
said nobody knew Fred Benson or Statewide Security Transport. He said so they
wanted some kind of vehicle in the contract they could use to get out of the
contract if it wasn't working out to their expectations. He said it was put in to all of
his contracts for the benefit of the cities, not for his benefit. He said when they
made the first presentation to the Livonia Police Department that clause was in
there for the benefit of the City of Livonia. He added that nothing was said to
them at that time that the 60 day termination clause was objectionable to them in
any way. He said they can take that clause out; he said it was for the City's
benefit, not for his. Next, he talked about the medication of prisoners. He said
they monitor very closely all medication for all of their prisoners. He said any
medical bills including doctors bills, medication for injuries or incidents that
happen at the jail are the responsibility of the sheriff. The City of Livonia doesn't
pay for those. The very few people that need medication does not come close to
the $2 extra per day the City will have to pay to take its prisoners to Isabella. He
said he was informed that there are about 900 to 1,000 lodging days every
month. He said at $2 extra per day that comes to about $2,000 per month. He
said they can and they do monitor medical bills. He said the only time the City
has to pay for medical transports is if it's a life threatening situation. Again, if it's
the cause of the jail then the sheriff pays for it. If somebody has a heart attack,
rather than have them die and have someone sue the City of Livonia, they have
them taken to the hospital, they call the agency and they get them released. He
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said this is a pretty serious contract; the City will be tied into the contract for two
years with a possible third year. He feels it warrants some real hard
consideration. He said he was happy to answer any questions Council may have.
Brosnan asked Benson if the clauses that pertain to medication and
hospitalization were new as well. He said they monitor all medication and there is
a LEIN machine at each jail which can be used to send a message to Livonia in a
matter of minutes and they can release whatever kind of prisoners they want to
release. Brosnan said to Benson that did not help answer her question. She
asked him again if the clauses pertaining to medication and hospitalization are
both new to his contract this year as opposed to his contracts in the past. He said
they have about 22 cities they transport for and they averaged out for the last
year the costs for medical services, he said he realizes the larger cities will pay
more than smaller cities, but the average was $62 a month for all medical
services. Brosnan said that would help her understand the cost involved perhaps.
Benson replied that nobody has to keep these people in jail. He said they monitor
the prisoners all the time and it's the City's decision to keep them or release. He
said they don't make that decision; they let the City make the decision. He said
unless it's a life threatening situation, they can't wait to call they have to take
them to the hospital. Brosnan indicated to the Chair she was done.
Toy asked Benson how long he has been transporting prisoners here in Livonia.
Benson replied, he started on Merriman Road in May 1990 and moved to his new
facility about 3 years ago. He said he has been transporting prisoners for over 20
years. Toy said to Benson she thinks what Brosnan was trying to get at was
there are 2 other clauses you have added within the contract as opposed to
contracts in the past; specifically why they were added to the contract. He
replied, as he said earlier, the sheriff is responsible for all incidents happening in
the jails. For example, if someone were to get punched or slip and fall, whatever
happens in the jail the sheriff is responsible for all medical charges including
transportation. Toy asked if that would be the Wayne County Sheriff in their
instance. He said it would be the sheriff that lodges the prisoner, which would be
the Clare County Sheriff. He said nobody can get anybody in the Wayne County
jail, it's too full. She asked Benson, then why did he change the clause to the
contract. He replied by stating the only thing they changed was the $10; he said
they aren't in a position to assume everything over $10. He said they were
already giving Livonia a bare minimum base price because he has 20 employees
he's trying to keep employed; he skimmed the price down to the point where they
are just making expenses. He said hopefully down the road when things get
better, they'll like his service and then they'll be able to make a few more bucks.
Toy asked him if he has increased business. He replied saying his business had
increased up until 2008 when the economic picture fell out of everything. He said
they have not lost any customers. He said they lost volume but not customers
and believes the Livonia Police Department can attest to that fact because they
checked his references and he said he believes they all gave good responses. A
voice from the audience responded by answering him indicating that was correct.
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Chief Stevenson added by stating the Police Department can not recommend
Statewide because of the reasons outlined which leave the liability on the City
with regard to these specifications. He added that Isabella County is willing to
assume that liability and that is why they are recommending Isabella County.
Meakin offered the approving resolution, Toy asked for it to be placed on the
Regular Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR
11. AWARD OF CONTRACT: Department of Management Information Systems, re:
for software maintenance of the City's Geographic Information System (GIS)
from budgeted funds.
Dan Putman, Information Systems Director was present to request Council
approval for the request described above.
Toy offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
12. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2010-04-02-08
submitted by The Kroger Company of Michigan requesting approval for outdoor
storage and display of merchandise in front of the Kroger Store on property
located on the south side of Eight Mile Road, between Farmington Road and Gill
Road (33523 Eight Mile Road), in the Northeast '/4 of Section 4.
President McCann indicated there was new data received on this item. He said it
was an e-mail correspondence dated June 3, 2010 requesting to withdraw their
request. He said the Chair will receive and file this data.
Toy offered the resolution of no further action for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: 1) RECEIVE AND FILE CONSENT
2) NO FURTHER ACTION
13. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ZONING ORDINANCE NO. 543, AS AMENDED:
Department of Law, re: to amend subsection (b) and (d) of Section 18.42A
(Wireless Communication Facilities) of Article XVIII to better insure that operators
and colocators do not have radio frequency (RF) energy emissions or other
detrimental field output.
Knapp said this is an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance that needs to be
referred to the Planning Commission. He said this has become incumbent upon
the Inspection Department to analyze these Wireless Communication Facilities to
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determine whether or not there is a detrimental radio frequency (RF) emission.
Due to their staffing limitations and budget constraints, they collect the fee but it
is very difficult for them to analyze these facilities, so they are requesting a
zoning change that would put that burden upon those who are operating the
wireless facilities who have people that they can retain to draft or submit those
reports to the Department to review for compliance.
Brosnan offered the resolution of referring the matter to the Planning
Commission for its report and recommendation for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: REFER TO PLANNING CONSENT
COMMISSION
AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None.
Pastor encouraged everyone to come out to the Spree which is next week June 22,
2010 through June 27, 2010.
As there were no further questions or comments, Council President McCann adjourned
the Study Session at 8:54 p.m. on Monday, June 14, 2010.
DATED: June 18, 2010 TERRY A. MARECKI
CITY CLERK