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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-10-05 41456 MINUTES OF THE ONE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED SIXTH REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 5, 2020 On October 5, 2020, the above meeting was called to order via remote Zoom technology by President Kathleen McIntyre at 7:00 p.m. Councilmember Jim Jolly led the meeting in the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll was called with the following result: Jim Jolly, Laura Toy, Scott Bahr, Cathy White, Brandon McCullough, Rob Donovic and President Kathleen McIntyre. Absent: None. Elected and appointed officials present: Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development; Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Paul Bernier, City Attorney; Susan M. Nash, City Clerk; Lynda Scheel, Treasurer; Mike Slater, Director of Finance; Sara Kasprowicz, Administrator of Council Office; Casey O'Neil, Director of Information Systems; Dave Varga, Director of Administrative Services; and Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan. On a motion by White, supported by Jolly, and unanimously adopted, it was- #282-20 RESOLVED, that the minutes of the 1,905th Regular Meeting of Council held September 21, 2020 are approved as presented. On a motion by Bahr, supported by Toy, and unanimously adopted, it was- #283-20 RESOLVED, that the minutes of the 254th Special Meeting of Council held September 28, 2020 are approved as presented. Councilmember Jolly congratulated Judy Priebe, former Director of Legislative Affairs, on her retirement. 41457 Regular Meeting Minutes of October 5, 2020 President McIntyre wished City Engineer Todd Zilincik a happy birthday. She then introduced the new Director of Legislative Affairs, LaShawn Thomas, and welcomed her to the City. President McIntyre stated there will be two X-items heard at the end of tonight's Regular Agenda. She then commented on the story that was aired on Channel 7 on Councilmember Donovic and his ability to serve both the city and the country via Zoom remote technology. Cathy White, as Parliamentarian of Council, went over the rules of order for Audience Communication. During Audience Communication Ryan Shiplett, a resident and small business owner, spoke about several incidences of trees throughout the City blocking visibility of stop signs and it being the responsibility of the homeowner to call and report them and that he feels it puts residents in jeopardy. On a motion by Jolly, supported by Toy, and unanimously adopted, it was- #284-20 RESOLVED, that upon the motion by Councilmember Jim Jolly, seconded by Councilmember Laura Toy, at the Regular Meeting held October 5, 2020, the Council does hereby refer the subject matter of tree trimming obstructed traffic signs without a property owner requesting same to the Administration for its report and recommendation. Vice President Bahr asked Zilincik what the protocol is regarding trimming trees in the right-of-way and he deferred that subject matter to Don Rohraff, Director of Public Works, for a later reply. During Audience Communication Alexandria H. asked what measures the City is taking to protect black residents. Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan replied by saying it is not only what we're planning to do, but what we've actually already done. There have been a number of things that the Council along with the Mayor's office have engaged in to make sure that everyone in our community is not only treated fairly but kept safe. And for those who have particular concerns about our Police Department, recently we've had the opportunity to work with our Police Department to be a lot more transparent about information and data that is shared with the community. We have a new page on our website called PACT, it's the Police and Community Together page. If you're looking for demographic data on arrests and crimes, all sorts of information, it is rather easy to find on that page. And we worked really hard to make sure that information was accessible, so the people understood the strength of the people who work here in our community. Another thing that we 41458 Regular Meeting Minutes of October 5, 2020 did was we reactivated our Human Relations Commission. The Human Relations Commission is designed to help gather information from the community to make sure that community voices are heard on a regular basis and that if there is a ground swell of activity or interest or concern about a certain area, that commission then brings those concerns to my office. The third thing that we did was in the Police Department again, was we put a new commission in place where we now have an officer who is responsible for the professional standards of the Police Department. And that helps us to make sure that there's a central point of which all complaints are filed, all accolades are filed because trust me there are many of those in our City and in our Police Department itself. So those are just three of the things that we have concretely done, at the same time we are working together with our Police Department to make sure that we have in place a department that really helps address some of the issues on mental illness and understanding that a lot of what happens in the community, a lot of what's happening in communities all across the nation right now, are issues that stem from mental illness and also from just people that are just disgruntled and need a different kind of policing. So we are in the process of working with the department to put more social workers in place through our department and we've been looking for a long time to be a pilot program in that area and we're closer to getting that done than we were a couple months ago. So there's a lot going on and a lot of these that we're looking to address, these needs, and comments such as yours in the community. We regularly talk about them if you tune into the City's web page and to the Police website as well. During Audience Communication several residents commented on race issues and police oversight. Vice President Bahr commented on the importance of accountability and made some suggestions as to additions to the website regarding the issue of complaints filed and being acknowledged as having been received. Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan stated she is happy to be at the meeting tonight and one of the things she wanted to be sure and do this evening was to introduce the new Director of Legislative Affairs, LaShawn Thomas. She said she is especially excited because this is the first appointment she's had a chance to make as Mayor. LaShawn comes to us with an exceptional background in the area of advocacy that I think is going to position her ideally as the Director of Legislative Affairs for our City as we work to build and enhance our profile in both our state and a national basis with our legislators. LaShawn comes to us from Trinity Health where she is an advocacy analyst, both as a liaison and a resource in the healthcare system which you know has just an incredible amount of legislation and public policy coming its way. So she managed to juggle all that, she started there in 2009 and we were fortunate enough to drag her our way recently so we're excited about that. You'll see LaShawn regularly at your meetings, she is the primary point of contact between my office and yours, and as the lead administrator with the City Council, she will be a regular feature at your meetings. She also comes to us with a really strong background in 41459 Regular Meeting Minutes of October 5, 2020 journalism, broadcast journalism as a matter of fact, and West Virginia University is where she hails from. She lives in Redford with her two children who went to Clarenceville, her oldest son has graduated now and off at Michigan State, so go Spartans, another plus. And her daughter is currently at the Clarenceville Middle School. In her spare time LaShawn is very active with her sorority and she volunteers on a number of community programs, breast cancer is a particular issue that she focuses her time and attention on as well as Heart Healthy and Care for Caregivers. So we are especially excited to have her joining us and I'm going to let her introduce herself. Director Taylor stated she is so excited to be able to use her background in advocacy to make sure our lawmakers are well-versed in the issues that are happening in Livonia. She truly considers it an honor to work with all of you and is very much looking forward to it as she takes on this new and exciting role. Mayor Brosnan gave an update on the COVID-19 emergency response and discussed the impact that the Michigan Supreme Court's decision to rule against the Governor's orders indicating that she had overstepped in declaring a legislative emergency. So over the course of the weekend and as late as 1:30 this afternoon, our Emergency Response Team as well as the Leadership Team within the City has been getting together and discover what does that mean for the City of Livonia, what is that going to mean for many of the guidelines and some of the rules and regulations that we've put in place and some of how we've operated under the Governor's orders. And then of course because stays the same in this world of managing the COVID emergency, around 5:00 p.m. today the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services put back in place many of the Governor's original orders. So we will be back with you on what all of this means and know that we're trying to stay on top of this and it's a moving target. But one of the things I want to assure you of right now is that in the course of putting guidelines in place for the City of Livonia, we use a lot of discussion in making sure that we were adhering to the Centers for Disease Control guidelines and recommendations. So much of what we already have in place is still what is being recommended by that agency and anything that we do, any of the orders that we work to maintain and work to reinforce are going to be orders that are coming to us from the Centers for Disease Control. Those seem to be some pretty basic things but we're going to have to tackle issues like safety guidelines for masks and social distancing and when you have to do temperature checks in public buildings. We'll be talking about specifics around programs and services that are offered at our Rec Center, at Greenmead, at our libraries and to a limited degree the limited programs that are being offered at our Senior Center as well. So, again, this is just a moving target but we're going to work really hard to make sure that we keep Livonia safe and making sure that we understand what specific needs may be central to Livonia, more critical to Livonia than perhaps other communities. You know we all recall, we were the hardest hit community outside the City of Detroit when the COVID outbreak was really at its peak and we wish very much that that's not going to happen again so it's going to take some work on our part to make sure that it doesn't happen again. And we'll be working 41460 Regular Meeting Minutes of October 5, 2020 alongside the State and the County and our Health Department to make sure that whatever guidelines we put in place are designed to make sure that we protect and keep Livonia residents as well as our employees safe. So will be back in touch with you hopefully sometime later this week as much of the dust begins to settle from the Supreme Court decision and now the Department of Health and Human Services edict that's been put out. Mayor Brosnan went on to state the second big issue that she knows the public is hearing about just as much as we're hearing about in the Mayor's office is what are we going to do about Halloween. There are a lot of traditions that are built around the Halloween holiday and a lot of that tradition is based on local traditions. So while we're not going to be cancelling Halloween in Livonia, we are again going to be working with our Health and Human Services Department as well as the CDC guidelines in putting forward some of our best recommendations for how we might be able to do Halloween safely in Livonia. And as you can well imagine there are a lot of very creative people on the Leadership Team that are giving thought to how we recommend best how people celebrate the holiday, so we'll be back in touch with you on that as well. President McIntyre thanked Mayor Brosnan for her updates. On a motion by Toy, supported by McCullough, it was- #285-20 RESOLVED, that having considered an application from Michele Johnston, dated September 4, 2020, requesting permission to close Floral Street, between Curtis Road and Lathers Street, on Saturday, October 31, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. for the purpose of conducting a Halloween block party, the Council does hereby grant permission as requested, the action taken herein being made subject to the approval of the Police Department. #286-20 WHEREAS, the City of Livonia recognizes the importance of a properly staffed fire department, for the well-being of residents and visitors to our community; and WHEREAS, it is further recognized that a Highschool Dual Enrollment Youth Fire Cadet Program will help to assure the availability of competent, well-trained individuals to consider for future fire department vacancies; and WHEREAS, it is further recognized that Schoolcraft College can train and educate these Youth Fire Cadets at minimal costs and effort to the Fire Department through its Dual Enrollment Program thus providing State Firefighter Certification, college credit hours and vocational training. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Livonia hereby authorizes the Fire Chief to establish and maintain a Highschool Dual 41461 Regular Meeting Minutes of October 5, 2020 Enrollment Youth Fire Cadet Program within the Fire Department, comprised of individuals from 16 through 17 years of age. #287-20 RESOLVED, that having considered the report and recommendation of the Director of Public Works and the Assistant Director of Public Service, dated September 9, 2020, which bears the signature of the Director of Finance and is approved for submission by the Mayor, the Council does hereby authorize the purchase of 40 cases of Fourstar 180 day briquettes from Clarke Mosquito Control, 159 N. Garden Avenue, Roselle, Illinois 60172, for the 2021 Mosquito Treatment Program, in an amount not to exceed $27,866.54; FURTHER, the Council does hereby authorize an expenditure in an amount not to exceed $27,866.54 from funds budgeted in the Municipal Refuse Fund (Account No. 205-526-805-010 - Pest Control) for this purpose; FURTHER, the Council does hereby authorize the purchase of said item without competitive bidding for the reasons indicated in the aforesaid communication, and such action is taken in accordance with Section 3.04.140.D.3 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended. #288-20 RESOLVED, that having considered the report and recommendation of the Director of Public Works and the Assistant Director of Public Service, dated September 1, 2020, which bears the signature of the Director of Finance and is approved for submission by the Mayor, the Council does hereby authorize the purchase of one (1) 2020 Bandit 9" Disk Style Brush Chipper, ModeL 90XP, in an amount not to exceed $32,429.21, from Bandit Industries, Inc., 6750 Millbrook Road, Remus, MI 49340, to be used by the Forestry and Roads Departments for storm clean-up and scheduled and regular brush pick-up; FURTHER, the Council does hereby authorize an expenditure in an amount not to exceed $32,429.21 from funds already budgeted in Account No. 205-527-987-000 (Capital Budget Refuse Fund) for this purpose; FURTHER, the Council does hereby determine to authorize the said purchase without competitive bidding inasmuch as the same is based upon the low State Contract#171- 190000000301 price; and no advantage to the City would result from competitive bidding, and such action is taken in accordance with the provisions set forth in Section 3.04.140.D.4 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended. #289-20 RESOLVED, that having considered the report and recommendation of the Chief of Police, dated September 8, 2020, which bears the signatures of the Director of Finance and the City Attorney, and is approved for submission by the Mayor, the Council does hereby authorize the purchase of seven (7) marked/semi-marked Police vehicles for the replacement of marked and semi-marked vehicles, utilizing the Macomb County and the State of Michigan Consortium Bid Pricing, in a total amount not to exceed $238,145.00, to be expended from funds 41462 Regular Meeting Minutes of October 5, 2020 already budgeted for this purpose in account no. 101-325-985-000, as follows: Two (2) 2021 Ford Utility AWD Interceptors from Signature Ford, 1960 E. Main Street, Owosso, MI 48867, in the amount of$76,082.00, through the Macomb County consortium; Two (2) 2021 Dodge Durango Police Packages AWD from LaFontaine Dodge, 6131 S. Pennsylvania Avenue, Lansing, M 148911, in the amount of$69,508.00, through the State of Michigan consortium; Two (2) 2021 Dodge Chargers Police Packages AWD from LaFontaine Dodge, 6131 S. Pennsylvania Avenue, Lansing, M 148911, in the amount of$56,430.00, through the State of Michigan consortium; One (1) 2020 Ford F-150 Pursuit Responder Pickup 44 from Gorno Ford, 22025 Allen Road, Woodhaven, MI 48183, in the amount of $36,125.00, through the State of Michigan consortium; FURTHER, the Council does hereby determine to authorize the said purchases without competitive bidding inasmuch as the same is based upon the low State of Michigan and Macomb County consortium bids and/or such action is taken in accordance with the provisions set forth in Section 3.04.140D4 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended. #290-20 RESOLVED, that having considered the report and recommendation of the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, dated September 2, 2020, which bears the signature of the Director of Finance and is approved for submission by the Mayor, the Council does hereby authorize the purchase of 15,000 pounds of calcium hypochlorite (chlorine), under the name Accu-Tab, from Aquatic Source LLC, 190 Summit Street, Brighton, Michigan 48116, at a cost of $2.10 per pound, for a total amount not to exceed of $31,500.00 per year, and the annual cleaning of feeders at a cost of$250.00/per feeder, for use at the Jack E. Kirksey Recreation Center, Botsford, Clements Circle and Sheldon Pools, for a period of three (3) years, effective January 1, 2021, with the understanding that such price per pound and per cleaning will remain in place through December 31, 2023, the same having been the lowest bid received and meets all specifications; FURTHER, the Council does hereby authorize an expenditure in an amount not to exceed $31,500.00 ($19,530.00 from Account No. 208-755-743-000 — Community Center; $4,410.00 from Account No. 208-720-743-000— Botsford; $4,410.00 from Account No. 208-721-743-000 — Clements Circle; and $3,150.00 from Account No. 208-722-743-000 — Shelden) from funds already budgeted for this purpose; FURTHER, the Council does hereby authorize an expenditure in an amount not to exceed $2,000.00 for the annual cleaning of the feeders ($1,000.00 from Account No. 208-755-776-030 — 41463 Regular Meeting Minutes of October 5, 2020 Community Center; $250.00 from Account No. 208-720-933-000 — Botsford; $500.00 from Account No. 208-721-933-000 — Clements Circle, and $250.00 from Account No. 208-720-933-000 — Shelden) from funds already budgeted for this purpose. #291-20 RESOLVED, that having considered the report and recommendation of the City Engineer, dated September 4, 2020, which is approved by the Director of Public Works, approved as to form by the City Attorney and approved for submission by the Mayor, with regard to a request from Leo Soave Bldg., Inc., a Michigan domestic profit corporation, in conjunction with the construction of a storm drainage system that provides adequate drainage from property developed on the east side of Wayne Road, south of Curtis Road, the Council does hereby determine as follows- 1. ollows:1. To accept on behalf of the City of Livonia, the jurisdiction and maintenance of the storm sewer within the property located on the east side of Wayne Road, south of Curtis Road, in the S.W. '/4 of Section 9, for the development of Mystic Creek Site Condominiums, which accommodates storm water from property developed on the east side of Wayne Road, south of Curtis Road, with the maintenance agreement from the proprietor, Leo Soave Bldg., Inc., a Michigan domestic profit corporation, 37771 Seven Mile Road, Suite C, Livonia, Michigan 48152, attached to said report and recommendation, indicating a corporate commitment to maintain the system and reimburse the City for any maintenance the City performs; and 2. To authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the Storm Water Facilities Maintenance Agreement on behalf of the City. #292-20 RESOLVED, that having considered the report and recommendation of the City Engineer, dated September 4, 2020, which is approved by the Director of Public Works, approved as to form by the City Attorney and approved for submission by the Mayor, with regard to a request from Livonia Estates Ltd., c/o Hove Street Properties Limited, in conjunction with the construction of a storm drainage system that provides adequate drainage for property developed at 31800 Enterprise Drive, Livonia, Michigan, the Council does hereby determine as follows- 1. ollows:1. To accept on behalf of the City of Livonia, the jurisdiction and maintenance of the storm sewer within the property located on the west side of Merriman Road, north of Plymouth Road, in the S.E. '/4 of Section 27, for the development of Allied Commerce Center, which accommodates storm water from property developed at 41464 Regular Meeting Minutes of October 5, 2020 31800 Enterprise Drive, with the maintenance agreement from the proprietor, Livonia Estates Ltd., a Canadian limited company, c/o Hove Street Properties Limited, 1 Yorkdale Place, Suite 602, Toronto, Ontario M6A 3A1, attached to said report and recommendation, indicating a corporate commitment to maintain the system and reimburse the City for any maintenance the City performs; and 2. To authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the Storm Water Facilities Maintenance Agreement on behalf of the City. #293-20 RESOLVED, that having considered a communication from the City Planning Commission, dated September 2, 2020, approved for submission by the Mayor, which sets forth its Council Resolution #09-44- 2020, adopted on September 1, 2020, with regard to a request submitted by Neumann/Smith Architecture, in connection with Petition 2019-06-02- 09, which previously received approval by the City Council on August 12, 2019, to expand floor area, renovate the exterior appearance of the building and modify the vehicular parking layout of the existing Salvation Army resale store on property located on the north side of Plymouth Road between Farmington and Stark Roads (33600 Plymouth Road) in the Southeast '/4 of Section 28, the Council does hereby concur in the recommendation of the Planning Commission and does hereby grant the requested extension for a one-year period subject to compliance with all of the conditions set forth in the original waiver use approval. A roll call vote was taken on the foregoing resolutions with the following result: AYES: Jolly, Toy, Bahr, White, McCullough, Donovic and McIntyre NAYS: None The President declared the resolutions adopted. On a motion by Toy, seconded by McCullough, and unanimously adopted, it was- #294-20 RESOLVED, that the Council does hereby suspend their rules for procedure as outlined in Council Resolution 574-82 so as to permit consideration of items that do not appear on the Agenda. On a motion by White, supported by Jolly, it was: 41465 Regular Meeting Minutes of October 5, 2020 #295-20 RESOLVED, that having considered a communication from the Human Resources Director, dated September 25, 2020, the Council does hereby, by a two-thirds roll call vote in accordance with Section 7(1) of the Open Meetings Act, direct that a Closed Committee of the Whole Meeting be held for the purpose of discussing negotiations and attorney/client privileged communications of collective bargaining agreements. A roll call vote was taken on the foregoing resolution with the following result: AYES: Jolly, Toy, Bahr, White, McCullough, Donovic and McIntyre NAYS: None The President declared the resolution adopted. On a motion by Toy, supported by Donovic, and unanimously adopted, it was: #296-20 RESOLVED, that having considered the report and recommendation of the City Clerk, dated October 2, 2020, proposing acceptance of grant funding from the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) and approval of an additional appropriation and expenditure, the Council does hereby, for and on behalf of the City of Livonia, accept a $142,153.96 grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life to support voter education and election administration; FURTHER, the Council does hereby appropriate and authorize an additional expenditure in an amount not to exceed the $142,153.96 grant amount to help meet the increased expenses and expenditures involved with the administration of the November 3, 2020 General Election, said funds to be allocated as follows. Absentee Ballot Assembly and $627251.96 Processing Equipment Remote/off-site satellite hours to $ 27542.00 issue and drop off absentee ballots In-person voting at polls on Election $647360.00 Da Secure drop boxes for ballots $ 87000.00 Safety Captains for all polling $ 57000.00 locations and AV counting boards 1. Any expenditures under$5,000.00 from Account No. 223-760-971- 000; and 41466 Regular Meeting Minutes of October 5, 2020 2. Any expenditures over $5,000.00 from Account No. 223-760-987- 000 and the Mayor and City Clerk are hereby authorized to do all other things necessary or incidental to the full performance of this resolution. During Audience Communication Beth Bailey discussed racism in Livonia. On a motion by Jolly, supported by Donovic, and unanimously adopted, this 1,906th Regular Meeting of the Council of the City of Livonia was adjourned at 8:07 p.m. on October 5, 2020. Susan M. Nash, City Clerk