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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL STUDY - 2009-01-05 CITY OF LIVONIA— CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD JANUARY 5, 2009 Meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. Present: Terry Godfroid-Marecki, James McCann, Joe Laura, Brian Meakin, Tom Robinson, Don Knapp, and Laura Toy. Absent: None. Elected and appointed officials present: Mayor Jack Kirksey; Cathryn White, Chief Assistant City Attorney; Robert Biga, Human Resources Director; Alex Bishop, Director of Inspection; Jim Zoumbaris, City Engineer (Operations); Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; James Inglis, Housing Director; Shadd Whitehead, Chief of the Fire Department; Mark Taormina, City Planner; and Maureen Cosgrove, Assistant City Clerk. Mayor Jack Kirksey spoke on snow emergencies in the City and the problems encountered. He encourages everyone's cooperation during these snow emergencies to help clear the streets. The Mayor and his staff are starting to conduct meetings to look at the City's fiscal situation for the balance of this fiscal year and for future years to start to develop a procedure which will eventually involve the Council, and they will have a Town Hall meeting to have citizens' input. Before making any decisions on ways the City can save, there are two (2) ways to do it. One is cost avoidance and the other is trying to find new revenue to replace lost dollars, and the City is doing both at the present time. They had their first meeting today to look at the entire expenses of the City and find ways to do things without severely impacting services and save money. The quicker the City can identify those areas where money can be saved, then they can implement those as soon as possible. Within a period of four (4) to six (6) weeks, the staff will be doing its homework department by department, position by position, and activity by activity. Then they will bring in the Council for extended meetings for their input, and the all important input of the citizens later on. Council President Toy announced that there will be two (2) "X" items at the end of the Study Meeting. AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None. NEW BUSINESS: 1. REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF A PERMIT FOR WADE SHOWS TO HOLD CARNIVAL AMUSEMENT RIDES AT FORD FIELD AND VETERANS' PARK JUNE 23-287 2009, DURING REFERENCED HOURS; A PERMIT FOR A FIREWORKS DISPLAY BY AMERICAN FIREWORKS, INC. TO BE HELD AT 10:15 P.M. ON JUNE 287 2009 AT VETERANS' PARK; AND AUTHORIZATION TO USE AND LEASE THE FACILITIES AT FORD FIELD, EDDIE EDGAR 2 ARENA AND VETERANS' PARK DURING SPREE '59: Rich Skaggs, President, Livonia Anniversary Committee, Inc., re: same. Joe Taylor, 36734 Sunnydale, and Bill Fried were present representing Hearts of Livonia to answer any questions and obtain an approving resolution. McCann stated that the SPREE raises a lot of money with all the volunteers, and that money is donated back into the community for charitable organizations. Joe Taylor said that last year they did not have a Hearts of Livonia fund golf outing because of the economy, and this year they are looking forward to a better economy to hold this Heart fund. They will try using Fox Creek and Whispering Willows Golf Courses. Knapp offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 2. REQUEST TO CLOSE STARK ROAD FROM THE FAMILY Y (14255 STARK ROAD) TO LYNDON AND LYNDON FROM FARMINGTON ROAD TO STARK ROAD TO TRAFFIC FROM 8:00 A.M. JUNE 22, 2009 THROUGH 12:00 NOON ON JUNE 29, 2009 (MONDAY THROUGH MONDAY); AND TO REQUEST THAT THE CITY SEEK PERMISSION FROM THE WAYNE COUNTY ROAD COMMISSION TO ALLOW THE CLOSURE OF FARMINGTON ROAD BETWEEN THE 1-96 OVERPASS AND FIVE MILE ROAD FROM 8:30 P.M. THROUGH 11:30 P.M. ON JUNE 28, 2009 (SUNDAY) IN CONNECTION WITH SPREE '59: Rich Skaggs, President, Livonia Anniversary Committee, Inc., re: same. Joe Taylor stated they obviously want to close Stark Road to traffic because of the carnival going on. Robinson offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 3. REQUEST TO DISPLAY BANNERS ON FARMINGTON ROAD AND FIVE MILE ROAD AND 4' X 8' SIGNS AT CITY HALL AND FORD FIELD FROM MAY 25, 2009 THROUGH JUNE 28, 2009 IN CONNECTION WITH SPREE '59: Rich Skaggs, President, Livonia Anniversary Committee, Inc., re: same. Joe Taylor stated that they are requesting banners where they normally put them. They have done this for the past few years. McCann stated that they are in the process of developing some new sign restrictions that Council will be following this year. 3 One of the items that will be on discussion is the fact that they would allow signs for activities where they are co-sponsored with the City of Livonia. The SPREE board is a co-sponsor. They will qualify to allow signage on City-owned property. McCann offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 4. REQUEST FROM THE MICHIGAN LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE REQUEST FROM NICHOLAS PARTY STORE, INC. TO TRANSFER STOCK INTEREST IN 2008 SDD AND SDM LICENSED CORPORATION WHEREIN STOCKHOLDER AHLAM SHANGO TRANSFERS 300 SHARES OF STOCK TO NEW STOCKHOLDER, HISHAM A. SHANGO: Division of Police, re: for the business located at 13820 Merriman, Livonia, MI 48150. Hisham Shango, 7454 Timbers Edge Boulevard, West Bloomfield, MI 48322, stated he has 30% of the shares of the party store. They are just transferring stock amongst the owners. Meakin offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 5. PROPOSED LOT SPLIT: Department of Assessment, re: requested by Angelo Mauti for Tax Item No. 46-034-01-0009-003, located on the east side of Wayne Road, south of Seven Mile Road, 18901 Laurel. Laura stated that the property is not on Wayne Road. It is located on Laurel east of Wayne Road, one block west of Gill Road and south of Seven Mile Road. Mark Taormina, City Planner, stated that this is a request to split a parcel that is on the west side of Laurel Road just south of Seven Mile. The existing parcel is approximately 1.36 acres and does contain a residence with an attached two-car garage. The petitioner would like to split the parcel into generally three (3) equal sized parts. The center parcel, which is Parcel "B", would contain the existing residence. Parcels "A" and "C" would be used for proposed building sites which would be the same general size of 92 to 95 feet in width. The variance would total roughly .46, .44, and .46 acres so they are undersized and do not meet the RUF district requirements that they would be at least 1/2 acre in size. They are deficient by about 1,800 or 1,900 square feet. Parcel "A" is the smallest of the three and is deficient by 2,460 square feet; therefore, approval of the request will require Council to waive the lot area requirement. The building envelopes are sufficient size to allow for the construction of homes on Parcels "A" and "C" that would comply fully with the RUF district requirements, and the existing home on Parcel "B" would fully conform with RUF district regulations. 4 Angelo Mauti, 17017 Doris, stated that he and his brother and two (2) sisters would like to build two (2) ranches to live next to each other. He built the house directly to the north of the property. He has owned the current property since October, 2008. He currently lives two (2) houses down for the last five (5) years. He plans to occupy one of the homes that would be built. The existing house on Parcel "B" is being remodeled. There are four (4) smaller lots on Laurel that are 90 feet deep by 150, but they are a different building classification. Mark Taormina, City Planner, stated that the width has to be at least 1/4 of the lot depth, so this conforms to that requirement. Lot coverage would be limited to 15% of the lot area or 2,898 square feet for Parcel "A" and 2,993 square feet for Parcel "C". McCann said that Mike Fisher, Assistant City Attorney, in his letter of December 11, 2008, stated there is a potential sewer access problem. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, stated there are obstacles to overcome if the lots are split. There are sanitary sewer and storm sewer issues. The sanitary sewer is in the Laurel Avenue right-of-way, but only one (1) of the three (3) parcels would be hooked up to that sanitary sewer. The sewer is in front of Parcel "C", but the 10" sanitary sewer would have to be extended to two (2) parcels at the owner's cost in addition to the storm sewer. McCann stated he will go and look at the property. The lots on the opposite side of the street are all 165 feet except one (1) or two (2) lots to the north, and cutting these down 1/2 of the width is a concern. Knapp also has concerns about the sizes on the proposed split. He suggested that the existing home could be demolished and then create two (2) lots and not change the character of the neighborhood. Koula Joyce, 18728 Laurel Drive, stated that her property is right across the street from the petitioner's property, and she thanked McCann and Knapp for recognizing the impact that it would have on the character of the neighborhood. The lots that are smaller down at the north end are clustered together, but once you pass that, it is a more rural feel of the neighborhood. She suggests that by dividing that lot into three (3) parcels and adding two (2) more homes would change the character and affect the property values of the neighborhood. The homes are not glamorous, but much of the value does lie in the rural setting that they are in. When they bought the house, they felt it would be a great place to raise kids in a country setting. She feels that dividing the lot into three (3) would diminish and take away from the character of the neighborhood. She would have no objections to making it into two (2) lots. This would be more reasonable. It is also her understanding that the petitioner is a builder. Carol Stislicki, 18900 Laurel, stated that she lives directly across the street from the proposed site. She also thanked the Council members that have the same concerns that they have. 5 They have lived in Livonia for 45 years and are long time homeowners. They have concerns about the impact this would have on the current residents and the atmosphere of their properties. In the short term, there would be chaos with the construction and the possible damage to the road from the equipment used in the process. In the long term, there would be an increase in traffic and noise. She also enjoys the wildlife and the overall feeling of a country setting. It is like putting a small subdivision in a farm land. Most of the neighbors bought their homes because they like the feeling of an open and spacious area while living close to City amenities. Lastly, they are concerned what this will do to their property values and taxes. They do not see a benefit in any way from the proposal except for the petitioner. This is the second time they have battled this sort of proposal and respectfully ask the Council to take their issues into consideration in denying this proposal. Thaddeus Shymanski, 18551 Laurel, stated he lives three (3) houses down from the proposed lot split. He grew up in Livonia near Bell Creek which was over an acre, and has lived in the City for 35 years. For the last thirteen (13) years, he lived in Coventry Gardens. Two (2) months ago, he purchased the piece of property that Mr. Mauti previously owned. Their main reason for moving there was the lots. They enjoy the openness and the woods. He feels that just because someone owns the property, they feel they can divide the property. All the properties on the street with the exception of the first few are all an acre parcel or even more. Dividing the lots into three (3) parcels definitely changes the atmosphere of the street. The house they purchased needs all kinds of work and is an older home, but it is over two (2) acres. He grew up on Greenland, and all the lots were one (1) acre. Through the years, the lots were split, and he thinks it really took away from the street. He feels the people on the street should take part in making the decision of lot splits. He likes the slogan of the City that says "people come first". Mark Woloshuk, 18660 Laurel, stated he lives across the street and just south of the lot they are discussing. He echoes the sentiments of the other neighbors who spoke. He has lived there for thirty (30) years, and really enjoys the country atmosphere within the City. He feels it should be maintained. Splitting the lots and building houses is going to change the atmosphere of the street. He stated that the people need to protect the areas that are in Livonia and that makes it nice to live here. He appreciates the opinions of the Council members who look at the situation. Laura offered the approving resolution on the Regular Agenda. McCann offered the denying resolution on the Regular Agenda. DIRECTION: (1) APPROVING REGULAR (2) DENYING 6 6. COLLECTION OF THE WAYNE COUNTY REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY (RESA) TAXES FOR THE YEAR 2009: Office of the City Clerk, re: forwarding a communication from the Associate Superintendent, Administrative & Financial Services, requesting that the City continue to collect 100% of their intermediate school property taxes in our summer tax collection. At the direction of the Chair, this item was received and filed for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: RECEIVE & FILE CONSENT 7. REQUEST FOR ADOPTION OF PREMIUM-ONLY PLAN: Civil Service Commission, re: for pre-tax health care contributions. Robert Biga, Human Resources Director, stated this program that they are presenting to the Council is a premium-only plan which would permit employees to voluntarily elect to have their monthly premiums for their medical insurance to be paid from their income in pre-tax dollars rather than post-tax dollars. This would save the employee money because they would not have to pay federal, state income tax or social security tax on their earnings, so the cost would be reduced by 25% to 30% for the employee. It is a voluntary program, and is available now. The Civil Service Commission approved the change, and by Charter, the City Council has to approve the change before it can go into effect. Mr. Biga was not sure which cities in the area have this plan. The County of Wayne has a program. Many of the school districts have this type of program. They call this a Flexible Spending Plan. Employees would not wind up with extra dollars at the end of a year. Private employers have the potential to have this program as well. The only amount that would come out of the employee's check is the amount necessary to make the monthly premium. There is no other plan in place for medical pre-tax dollars. It costs nothing for the City to implement this plan. It is a win-win situation because the City saves on the social security contribution on the amounts that are set aside to make the premium by the employee, and the employee does not pay social security on the program. If approved and the program starts in January, it would have a short three-month first year, and then it could be renewed annually from April 1St through March 31St. Employees would have to fill out paperwork to sign up, and they do not have to participate. It is to the employee's advantage if they need certain criteria. The one possible type of individual who might not benefit would be someone who qualifies on their Federal income tax for a health deduction, which would mean they would have to have more than 7% of their income set aside for non- insurance health-care benefits. If someone has a significant health problem, and they have a great deal of medical bills that are not covered by the medical plan, participation in this program might be negative. If someone were contributing the maximum for family of $40.00 per month, it would be 7% of that or $2.80 per person in savings. If someone has a sponsored dependent, like a college student, that they are paying full premium, that would be around $200.00 a month, 7% of that would be around $14.00. 7 Total savings for the City would depend on how many people apply for the plan. Mr. Biga will let Council know the savings, if approved, after the sign up by employees. Laura offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 8. REQUEST TO EXTEND WEED CUTTING CONTRACT 99-A: Inspection Department, re: with Michigan Grounds Management for the 2009 and 2010 seasons under the same rates, terms and conditions that were approved in 1999. (CR 173-99) Alex Bishop, Director of Inspection, stated that the contractors come to the City and propose savings for the City, and they offered to extend this contract for two (2) years at no increase in cost. If it goes out two (2) years, the contractor will agree to spend some money on upgrading their equipment. The contractor has done a wonderful job. In the last two (2) years, there has been an increase in the amount of services the City provides. The budget has been increased for this service for the upcoming year, and the money does come back to the City through billing the owners of the properties. Inspection also tweaked the ordinance a bit so that there is an administrative fee that is increased, and there is some slight additional revenue to the City. Meakin stated that Mr. Scott Hesskamp, owner of Michigan Grounds Management, is a Livonia resident and very active in the community. He has been doing a good job on this program since 1999. The price has been quite remarkable considering the price of gas that the City has witnessed in the last few years. Meakin offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 9. AWARD OF BID: Public Service Division, re: for the 2009-2010 Municipal Park Mowing Program, which involves approximately 136 acres of parks and cemetery property. Jim Zoumbaris, City Engineer (Operations), stated that their department went out for bids for the City's mowing contract. In the process, they added five (5) parks to the bid. There were thirty five (35) companies that were sent bid invitations. Four (4) bids were submitted. The low bidder, Great Lakes Landscaping, has been the contractor for the last two (2) years. They have done a very good job for the City. They are recommending Great Lakes Landscaping for the contract. Also, in case the low bidder cannot mow the properties, then the contract would go to the second lowest bidder, Cal Fleming Landscaping & Tree Service, Inc. Properties are mowed up to eight (8) times in a season. 8 It is set up for twice a month. The cemeteries scheduled to be mowed are Newburgh Cemetery, Clarenceville Cemetery, and the Livonia Cemetery. Godfroid-Marecki was surprised that thirty five (35) bid invitations were sent out and only four (4) responded. Godfroid-Marecki offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 10. REQUEST TO APPROVE 2009 ROAD REPAIR PROGRAM: Public Service Division, re: as reviewed by the Citizens Advisory Committee on Roads for the seventh year of the ten-year paving millage approved by Livonia residents. Jim Zoumbaris, City Engineer (Operations), stated they have not quite finished with their sixth year of the program. They had some difficulties with one of the contracts. Last year they finished up their third pavement assessment of all the roads in the City. Before they ran the program, they checked to make sure the condition of the roads had been updated and run through the system so that the best information was available on the streets. They had two (2) contractors and engineering consultants on board. They received a list of the streets that were picked out by the program. They were reassessed and then went to the Pavement Committee with the recommendations. The first meeting was held with just them with the explanation from the engineering consultants on the issue of the roads. On the second meeting, they invited the public and twenty (20) people came in with concerns about issues on the program itself and their streets. They tweaked a couple of streets with the program. Other residents were informed that yes, it was possible, that they would be considered. The Committee made a recommendation to the Council with the changes that are attached to their letter. They are asking for approval of the program. This is a preventive maintenance program whether it is a concrete or asphalt road. They do an inch and a half top on asphalt roads. The winters have been extremely rough, so the deterioration of the roads is more than they thought it would be. Some of the roads are dropping faster than they thought they would. In most cases, the rehabilitation of roads has accelerated lately. The concrete roads are holding up much better than they thought, but the asphalt roads are being re- evaluated. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, said that the streets listed in the first column are the streets to be done, and the second column shows what street it starts at, and the third column shows where it ends at. AEW (Anderson, Eckstein, & Westrick, Inc.) is the consultant on the concrete portion, and OHM (Orchard, Hiltz, & McCliment) is handling the asphalt portion. The chart of the Proposed 2009 Road Repair Program shows the limits of proposed improvements on the roads. 9 Meakin noted that Victor Parkway is scheduled for rehabilitation or reconstruction. His concern is that there is potential for a new development going there that may involve some heavy construction traffic. Zoumbaris stated that they pulled it last year because the college was going up. He is not aware of a new potential hotel. Zilincik stated that in talking to the owner, it would depend on the timing when the construction will occur. They may do a portion north of Pembroke or a portion south of Pembroke depending on where the construction facility is. They are working with the developer on the issue. Meakin was concerned about repairing residential roads rather than commercial roads. Zoumbaris stated that the preference is based on the program and is set up mainly for major roads. Major roads get a higher priority than the local roads. They get three (3) times more money for a major road than a local road. It is based on monies received, as part of the program is distributed back into the program. Lyndon, off Levan and Fairway, was requested by residents to pull it from the program because they wanted a reconstructed concrete road. Lyndon has been reassessed and is in the category of reconstruction now but has not shown up on the program yet. They have done extra work on the road joints to try and make it last for a period of time so when it came up for reconstruction, they could get the full value out of it. It still is not bad enough that it has popped out ahead of other roads that are in worse shape as far as reconstruction. There are a number of roads that need reconstruction but only six (6) or seven (7) are scheduled because of the money available for those. The millage started out by giving the City $4.5 million per year. They are in discussion with the Mayor about the end of the millage cycle and what they need to do about that. Laura stated that he will have another Infrastructure Committee Meeting in the next ninety (90) days about the millage program and the roads. Gary Wlosinski, 36094 Lyndon, stated that he represents the residents of the area that Meakin addressed regarding Lyndon. This stretch of the road was the subject of heated debate, and it ended up in the Roads, Plats, and Streets Committee in February of 2005. The recommendation was not to replace the concrete and was not made at the request of the residents. The DPW had a second study done by an outside independent consultant. They determined that the street had no sub base. Basically, it was just concrete on sand which is not unusual for a residential street, but Lyndon is one of the 4-1/2 mile roads, and in particular the section off Levan is the end of the funnel, so all the inter- subdivisions exit there to get to Levan. It takes a lot of traffic. DPW then agreed that the street needed reconstructing maybe in 2006-2007. They had thirty four (34) residents at that meeting. Now the street has gotten worse. They would like to request reconstruction before the funds run out of the millage. 10 Zoumbaris stated that they will do a temporary fix on the joints of the street before the reconstruction of Lyndon. It is the DPW's goal to reconstruct Lyndon before the millage runs out in three (3) years. Godfroid-Marecki said that the Citizens Committee decides which roads are going to be done first, and there are other roads in worse shape and funds need to be directed to them. Laura stated he will have an Infrastructure Committee meeting and invited Mr. Wlosinski to come to the meeting and ask questions on Lyndon. Also, Laura asked Zoumbaris for a list of the citizens on the Road Committee for the Council. Robinson stated that the Council should go back in their reports to see what was approved for Lyndon specifically. Courtney Coccia, 33950 Hampshire St., stated that she was at the meeting that citizens were invited to on November 20th to speak about Stamford which is in Coventry Gardens, specifically the stretch from Rayburn to Oakdale. Myrna does run into Rayburn off Farmington Road. She was under the misunderstanding that there would be a list provided tonight of the roads that were approved by the Citizens Advisory Committee. Her concern was whether Stamford is on the approved list or not. Zoumbaris stated that her street would be reconsidered if there was extra money left in budget since this is a short street. This all depends on the bids. Courtney can get a copy of the list from Council. Laura offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 11. REQUEST FOR REFERRAL TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY, EDUCATION AND RECREATION COMMITTEE, AS WELL AS A REPORT FROM THE ADMINISTRATION: Councilmember Joe Laura, re: the utilization by the City of recreation millage funds. Laura stated that he would like to take a look at the Recreation Millage and where the millage flows and what it pays for. He would like a report from Administration to refer back to the Public Safety, Education and Recreation Committee. Laura offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 11 X-1 REQUEST TO APPROVE SUBMITTAL OF A NEIGHBORHOOD STABILIZATION GRANT APPLICATION TO THE MICHIGAN STATE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (MSHDA): Housing Commission, re: in the amount of $1,450,000.00 to provide physical improvements and/or demolition of recently-acquired Federal Housing Administration properties. James Inglis, Housing Director, stated that the State of Michigan is trying to get obligations together for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, so they have all the communities on a very short timeframe in terms of getting the application into them. Back in the Fall, the U.S. Congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act which provided about $4,000,000,000.00 in economic relief for communities to deal with the issue of foreclosure. The State of Michigan received $263,000,000.00 for a direct formula allocation to the State of Michigan. The criteria that the Federal Government used for directly allocating funds to communities was the number of foreclosed homes in each community, the number of sub-prime mortgages in each community, and the number of mortgages that may go into default in the next six (6) months. As a result, they had a $2,000,000.00 threshold for each community. Livonia did not get into the direct formula from the Federal Government, but they did provide money to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority through the State of Michigan to allocate funds directly to those communities that did not get into the formula. In the State of Michigan's grant program, in their distribution program, they have set aside specifically $1,450,000.00 for the City of Livonia. The City will get the full amount. In the packet is a list of communities that will be receiving direct allocations of funding to deal with some of the foreclosures. The City Council has adopted and approved the acquisitions of FHA foreclosed properties—some of those are to be demolished, some are to be rehabilitated and sold, and some are to be rehabilitated and re-rented. Also, there are some other activities that Housing would like to undertake with the Neighborhood Stabilization dollars. The application to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority will be due on January 23rd, so he would like this on the next Regular. The packet also outlines the program that the Federal Government has and the State of Michigan status along with some of the criteria on these programs that the City of Livonia will be looking at. Housing has identified the various sections of the City that they will be working in—Sections 1, 2, 11, 12, 24 through 30, 35 and 36. These are sections of the City that have a high number of foreclosed properties, and also HUD homes that were adopted for acquisition. Housing would like Council to authorize the grant application to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority in the amount of $1,450,000.00. He mentioned that there are administrative dollars that come with this. The City is allowed to use 10% of those funds for administration so that no other City resources would be used to administer this grant. The administration dollars are tied to this. Most of the dollars will be spent on rehabilitation of foreclosed properties, possible demolition and razing of the properties, and also the renovation and resale of the properties. Eligibility is determined by the income level of the individual who owns the home or persons acquiring and renting the properties. 12 This grant only runs for a period of eighteen (18) months, so there are some pretty stringent requirements by the Federal Government to kick this money into gear. At the earliest, if adopted by Council, the City would receive a grant agreement in February of this year and run to August, 2010. Inglis stated that all these homes are City owned. These are the homes that have gone through foreclosure or abandonment as a result of foreclosure crises where residents have lost their homes and the City acquired the properties. This will also assist the City with other properties that may come in future months. Right now, dating back to the 1970's, the City owns about twenty one (21) homes in Livonia. There are three (3) ways that foreclosures come to the City. Housing monitors the Federal Housing Administration website every Monday. Currently, there are forty (40) homes. Twenty (20) are sold through private sale, so there are not a lot that would be coming through the FHA. There will be some more. The other way foreclosures come to the City is through the property tax reversion process. City Council recently authorized the acquisition of one (1) on Hugh. Again, the County provides the City with a list of people that have lost their home as a result of not paying property taxes. The one that is problematic and they are trying to get a handle on is one where the mortgage market owns these properties. They are going through a disposition process right now with speculators and other individuals, and there may be some homes that will become available for Housing to use the Stabilization dollars. He cannot say how many homes specifically. He hopes there will be no more than another fifteen (15) to twenty five (25). These are the properties nobody wants. Housing will not be buying homes at the $60,000.00 to $80,000.00 range. Housing is going after the ones that have gone through foreclosure or abandonment that are on the bottom part of that scale. The CDBG program annual allocation is over $350,000.00, but they do not use all of that for acquisitions. The good thing about this grant program is that even though the City is receiving $1.45 million, it is an opportunity for the City to get more because the state wants to deal with communities that have the capacity. There are dollars that are being offered to other communities across the state from a competitive process, so if those dollars don't get spent, the worst thing the state does not want to do is return it to the Federal Treasury. They will be offering other communities additional dollars so there is an opportunity to do some significant work here. The City is in a narrow window and the economy will turn around; therefore, the City will get out of the foreclosure property. In the interim, properties in our community are falling by the wayside that are not getting picked up through the private mortgage market. As a result, those are the ones neighbors want Housing to get involved in. 75% of the homes will go to persons under 120% of area median income. 25% of the homes will go to persons up to 50% of area median income. Since the 1970's no home the City owns has been sold yet. A four-person household would be eligible for assistance with a maximum income of $83,900.00 to purchase one of these homes. There are approximately 380,000 households in Livonia. This particular Neighborhood Stabilization Program is not for owner occupants that want to do repairs. These are specifically tied to properties that have gone through foreclosure or abandonment. 13 A number of homes have been demolished, and then the lot has been sold. Inglis was not sure if homes were built on the lot. According to the ordinance, there is a requirement that the Housing Commission cannot purchase real property. That must be done by the City Council. To dispose of the real property would require City Council concurrence as well. Inglis would come back to Council with a framework for a program to sell these homes. Council would approve the framework and the properties would be sold. The deed and transfer would have to take place through the City Council. McCann stated that there are a lot of people that are now trying to buy these foreclosed homes. Robinson disagreed with Inglis that people do not want the homes. They are just not buying. He feels people will start buying these homes sometime in the future. Robinson asked how much of the $1.4 million is used to keep people in their existing homes. Inglis stated that the funds for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program cannot be used to provide direct foreclosure counseling or direct foreclosure education programs. There are other programs to do that like the CDBG program. A few months ago, the Mayor asked the Housing Commission to be the lead agency on that. Any citizen that comes to Housing that has foreclosure issues can get referrals to non-profits that Housing works with to do budget counseling, home ownership counseling, and credit counseling. If the $1.4 million is not used over the eighteen (18) months, it goes back to the U.S. Treasury. They just want us to deal with the properties that we think are the most distressed. Housing is not involved in the bidding process for homes. They only get the offer after a six- month window where it has been discounted multiple times to the point where the market clearly is not taking to it. If the Federal Government thought the market would take care of it, they would not put it up for the $1.00 sale. If a structure is vacant for a long time, there is a concern that it would be susceptible to vandalism and no one is watching the property. The longer you wait and let the house sit idle that is not being taken care of, the more the house will deteriorate. In six months to a year, it will be in worse shape for a private person to walk in. With this program, a home can get new electricity, furnace, or roofing, then the home can be ready to sell and put on the market for a very reasonable price which would be an asset to the neighborhood. If you take care of a blighted home on the block, other people take care of their property. If the City would just let it sit there, then it is a dis-investment. The Inspection Department does not have the resources to take down the number of homes that need to be taken down. Robinson stated that there are ways to maintain homes and neighborhoods that don't require the City to acquire them for a $1.00 and essentially turn them into Section 8 housing. He stated that the Housing's intentions are good and he understands the arguments, but he disagrees where the City will end up two (2) 14 or three (3) years from now and whether or not these are the best options for the residents today when it comes to their current home values. Robinson asked what the 10% (or $145,000.00) administrative fees would be used for. Inglis stated that this money is for the administration of this particular grant. They do not anticipate increasing their staff. The $145,000.00 will provide significant budget relief for the CDBG program and will also provide budget relief to other staff that are assigned from other divisions of the Housing Commission to administer the grant. Inglis intends to use the full 10% to relieve other City programs and other Federal programs that Housing has. All of Housing's programs are enterprise funds and are separate, individual funds and have their own revenue stream. All the expenditures are within that, so no money comes from the general fund. Inglis stated he has an existing staff, and this program is only a short term eighteen (18) month program, so they will not hire extra personnel. Robinson stated that it is unfortunate that this program does not keep people in their homes who are in danger of foreclosure. He has concerns if this program will really stabilize neighborhoods and the existing home values and is very skeptical. Meakin commented that he feels this is the one program the Federal Government got right. It's called neighborhood stabilization. This is allowing the City to go in and refurbish a house that might be boarded up and vacant. The neighbors benefits from that. This will help Livonia and stabilize the neighborhoods. If the City does not accept the $1.4 million from the Federal Government, the money will go to another community. This will eliminate vacant properties throughout the City. Inglis stated that the limitations of this grant are placed by the Federal Government. Knapp stated that the inability to keep people in homes that are in the midst of foreclosure is a limitations placed on our City. The choice is whether or not to accept the $1.4 million with the limitations and the way the City can use the funds to stabilize the neighborhoods or just let the money be refunded and do nothing. There are limited funds in the CDBG funding and general funding. No one knows when the market will take an upturn, so what the City can do is take advantage of the funds that are available and help out the people who are staying in their homes that have a significant investment in them and want to keep the neighborhood property values from declining. McCann had concerns about the vacant properties that are in neighborhoods. He felt it is better to take the Federal Government's money to rehabilitate or raze the homes and improve the neighborhood. The Government does not want the homes to sit vacant. He does not understand how the City can pass this program up. 15 Christopher Martin, 12275 Inkster Road, stated that none of these vacant homes are handyman's specials. Many of them have been vandalized by previous owners. They have taken whatever they could out of the house before they lost it to the bank. There is always someone out there that can fix these homes. The ones he bought in Livonia have a story on each one—double taxes, delinquent water bills, etc. He has bought four (4) homes that have gone through foreclosures. He spoke about some concerns regarding inspections. Knapp offered the approving resolution on the Regular Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR X-2 REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE EXPENDITURE: Fire & Rescue, re: in the amount of $29,006.78 as the department's shared match for Video Conferencing equipment at each fire station as part of the Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant Program (AFG) awarded regionally through FEMA, under the Department of Homeland Security. Shadd Whitehead, Chief of the Fire Department, stated they have been involved in collaborative efforts with sixteen (16) fire departments to go after a grant through the AFG program. This will allow sharing of real time training programs and instructors on a video conferencing mode with the fire stations. A portion of the training is lecture driven. There is also a lot of hands-on training. The majority of what can be accomplished with this system would be on the lecture- driven side. This local delivery through VC would allow each of the stations to use less fuel consumption, keep trucks off the road in inclement weather, better time management, and a lot of other pros to this system. The system would allow archiving of all the training programs from the sixteen (16) agencies. They can also share with each other and share instructors. It would reduce dollars. It is a creative way to improve the way they communicate and train. This grant is the first of its kind in the nation. The grant project award is $1.35 million. Farmington Hills Fire Department is the fiduciary for the entire project. Our shared portion for the cost of that is just over $29,000.00. They started about a year and a half ago to obtain the grant with sixteen (16) local fire departments. This program is funded with about $500 million dollars annually and is the only program that goes directly from the Federal Government to Local Body Government (the Fire Department itself in Livonia). Livonia has been granted five (5) awards in seven (7) years, the latest being the new Aerial Tower for $600,000.00. The AFG program was established in 1999. There are about 19,000 to 20,000 fire departments annually that apply for grants through the AFG. The City is fortunate to receive the competitive Federal grant along with 7,000 fire department recipients across the U.S. Thaddeus McCotter was very supportive. Godfroid-Marecki offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 16 AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None. Robinson requested the Council Parliamentarian, Knapp, to have an interpretation of Robert's Rules or Ordinance 2.04.090, which is Councilmember's rights and duties, on specifically whether or not when the question is called if the Council members have a right to speak prior to the question being called whether or not they have spoken previously to such a motion. At the last Regular meeting, he does not believe Council followed proper procedures and would like the report from the Parliamentarian prior to the approval of the minutes of the meeting at the next Regular. Knapp reviewed that recently, and it is his understanding of the ordinance that once the question is called, everyone has the chance to debate the issue once before a vote is taken. Knapp stated that Mr. Kavanagh did not have the ordinance before him at the time either, but that he did give sound advice. The Chair did ensure that everybody had the chance to debate the issue before the vote was taken. Laura did not think that happened. He agreed that this needs to be reviewed. There was confusion. He does not think procedures were followed at that meeting. He suggested that they review the tape. Knapp indicated that Mr. Kavanagh was right. When the City has an ordinance that relates to Council procedure, it takes precedence over Robert's Rules of Orders so that each person has the "little blue book" that they can go to. Laura said that he knows Robert's Rules, and he has read 02.04 (the Council procedures) which are very brief, and they didn't even bring up or address the point of the ordinance which said that he asked for a vote to be taken if more than one Council person wanted the discussion to continue, which the City Attorney denied that it was improper procedure at the time, and Robert's Rules clearly stated there was proper procedure. That was one problem. Secondly, Laura said he didn't think all the Council members had opportunities to speak after the question was called, so he didn't think the procedures were running properly. He would like a review of the tape and stated that the Council was given improper advice from the Law Department. He stated that the City Attorney belongs to the Council. Cathryn White stated that the City Attorney is appointed by the Mayor and is called upon to give sound advice to Council. The City Attorney is bound to the City of Livonia. Robinson stated that the Ordinance and Robert's Rules are consistent with each other. They basically say the same thing. The interpretation of both the Ordinance and Robert's Rules is that once the question is called, a motion is made, that motion is to be voted on, and that even at that point whether or not someone has spoken, they get to speak one last time. Knapp said that when an ordinance takes precedence over Robert's Rules of Order, you only go to Robert's Rules in the event there is no City ordinance that addresses that matter. 17 There isn't an ordinance that addresses every parliamentary issue encountered by the City Council or any other City body. When an ordinance speaks to that issue, then you look towards the ordinance and not Robert's Rules of Order. Robinson is in agreement with Knapp, and the next time a question is called that the motion needs to be voted on and at that point, regardless if a Council person has spoken once or twice, they have the right to speak one last time. Knapp stated that he believes that is how the ordinance reads. Joe Laura stated that he would like a report from the Law Department as to who the City Attorney actually belongs to—the City Council or the Mayor, and what the authority is for the appointment of the City Attorney. He asked if it is the Charter that says the Mayor appoints or is it an ordinance that says the Mayor appoints. Laura would like to know who the City Attorney belongs to. Laura would like that authority quoted to him. If there is a denying of this action, he would like a resolution to be voted on at the next meeting. If it's fine, then he would like the Law Department to comply with the request. As there were no further questions or comments, Council President Toy adjourned the Study Session at 10:20 p.m. on Monday, January 5, 2009. DATED: January 12, 2009 LINDA GRIMSBY, CITY CLERK