HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL STUDY - 2013-09-09 CITY OF LIVONIA— CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 9, 2013
Meeting was called to order at 9:30 p.m. Present: Brandon Kritzman, James
McCann, Joe Laura, John Pastor, Thomas Robinson, Maureen Miller Brosnan, and
Laura Toy. Absent: None.
Elected and appointed officials present: Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Mark
Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development; Don Knapp, City Attorney;
Terry Marecki, City Clerk and Jack E. Kirksey, Mayor.
President Toy asked for a moment of silence for Judge Robert Brzezinski who passed
away August 31, 2013. He was a long time Livonia resident and served as the 16th
District Court Judge for 25 years and City Prosecutor for 12 years.
Robinson wished his wife, Julie, a Happy Anniversary; they are celebrating their 2nd
Wedding Anniversary.
AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None.
NEW BUSINESS
1. APPEAL OF BUSINESS LICENSE DENIED BY THE DIVISION OF POLICE:
Office of the City Clerk, re: submitted by Paul B. Bonkowski, to obtain a
Scavenger License.
Livonia Police Chief Curtis Caid said after reviewing the investigative background
report for Mr. Paul B. Bonkowski, he concurs with the recommendation of the
Officer who conducted the investigation and recommends that Council deny the
appeal to obtain a scavenger license.
Paul Bonkowski, 9344 Dixie, Redford, said he does not disagree with the
information contained in the background investigation, he said he hasn't been
charged or convicted of any criminal activity since his last offense in 2008. He
said because of his background he hasn't been able to find gainful employment
and has been scavenging scrap metal to make a living. He said other
communities have given him a license to scavenge. He would like permission to
scavenge lawfully here in Livonia.
Laura said he appreciated Mr. Bonkowski's desire to follow the law and using the
proper channels for his request; however, he would have to support Chief Caid's
recommendation in this matter.
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Laura offered the denying resolution for the Consent Agenda.
Kritzman said he appreciated Mr. Bonkowski's candid demeanor; however, he
too would have to support Chief Caid's recommendation.
Robinson said he would also be supporting Chief Caid's recommendation. He
said he also recognized the fact that people such as Mr. Bonkowski, do pay their
debt to society and then life goes on and hopefully they make the best of it going
forward. Robinson asked Chief Caid if there was a timeline or a process at which
time he could reapply and his request could be reconsidered.
Chief Caid responded by saying he would like some more time to ponder that
more clearly. He said the big issues for him were the felony charge, unarmed
robbery, larceny in a building, and assault — all of those things stemming from
one incident along with a prior history of misdemeanor charges. He said he also
appreciated Mr. Bonkowski's candid demeanor. He said given the responsibility
charged to him to keep the community safe; he has no other choice but to deny
this request at this time given the facts. He said looking forward, if there are no
other contacts over the next couple of years, it might be something they could
reconsider.
DIRECTION: DENYING CONSENT
2. REQUEST TO WAIVE SIDEWALK REQUIREMENT: Jonathan Boskovich,
Director of Operations, Infinity Construction Services, LLC, re. for the new home
being constructed at 20557 Gill Road (Parcel A).
Reno Soave, Infinity Construction Services, LLC, 42400 Grand River, Novi,
presented the request to Council.
McCann offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
3. REQUEST TO WAIVE SIDEWALK REQUIREMENT: Jonathan Boskovich,
Director of Operations, Infinity Construction Services, LLC, re. for the new home
being constructed at 20551 Gill Road (Parcel B).
Reno Soave, Infinity Construction Services, LLC, 42400 Grand River, Novi,
presented the request to Council.
McCann offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
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4. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE ONE VEHICLE UTILIZING
THE STATE OF MICHIGAN CONTRACT PRICING: Department of Community
Resources, re: one (1) 2014 Ford Shuttle Van for Community Transit use from
budgeted funds.
Felicia Cross, Program Supervisor, Community Resources, presented the
request to Council. She said this is a replacement vehicle for an older vehicle in
their fleet that will be sent to auction.
Pastor offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
5. REQUEST TO APPROVE PUBLIC SAFETY BUDGET TRANSFER: Department
of Finance, re: of unexpended FY 2013 Public Safety budget to be applied to
capital needs in order to purchase two (2) new fire engines ($1 Million), one (1)
new ambulance ($200,000) and eleven (11) new police vehicles ($320,000).
Mike Slater, Director of Finance, presented the request to Council. He stated, as
discussed during the August 21, 2013, Finance, Budget and Technology
Committee meeting, the Administration is proposing that unexpended FY 2013
Public Safety budget be applied to capital needs. The Police and Fire
Departments require replacement fire engines, ambulances and police cars. The
administration is recommending the purchase of two new fire engines ($1
Million), a new ambulance ($200,000) and eleven police vehicles ($320,000)
from the Public Safety budget. It is requested that City Council authorize the
following budget adjustment to transfer budget into the appropriate capital
accounts. The actual request to purchase these vehicles will be brought before
Council after solicitation of sealed bids.
Robinson offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
6. REQUEST TO APPROVE THE PROPOSED PRESCRIPTION COVERAGE FOR
ALL CITY OF LIVONIA RETIREES WITH AMWINS GROUP BENEFITS: Civil
Service Department, re: same.
Bob Biga, Director of Human Resources, presented the request to Council. He
said at its August 28, 2013 meeting, the Civil Service Commission adopted
resolution 13-119, approving the City of Livonia Retiree Prescription contract with
AmWINS, and submits same to City Council for their review and consideration.
Biga indicated this will save the City close to $500,000 annually. He said Brian
Mills with Great Lakes Employee Benefits and Gary Molnar, AmWINS Group
Benefits, are present here tonight to answer any questions Council may have.
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Brosnan asked Biga what the cost to the City to get into the program. Biga said
there is no cost to get into the program; the costs will be taken care of by the
reimbursements the City receives through the program from the federal
government. Brosnan asked Biga if there would be an increased cost to the
retirees. Biga said there would be no increased cost to the retirees and the
pharmaceutical benefits will be identical.
President Toy asked Biga if they were the only company that provides this kind of
program or if there are more companies out there, other than Blue Cross Blue
Shield, providing this kind of coverage. She asked Biga if they had looked at any
other companies. Biga replied yes they have. Biga said the consultant for the
City, Brian Mills, is present to answer questions.
Brian Mills, Great Lakes Employee Benefits, said they did look at some other
groups. He said they weren't as flexible as AmWINS to work with the City's
benefit structure, (i.e., different prescription copays) and they were used to
dealing with larger groups. He said the City's group was about 600 members
which was small by industry standards.
Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
7. REQUEST TO APPROVE 2014 ROAD REPAIR PROGRAM: Engineering
Division, re: as reviewed by the Citizens Advisory Committee on roads for the
second year of the ten-year road paving millage approved by Livonia residents.
Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. The 2014 Road
Repair Program as prepared by the Department of Public Works and reviewed by
the Citizens Advisory Committee on Roads has been provided to Council. Next
year is the second year of the ten-year road paving renewal millage approved by
Livonia residents for pavement repairs on the entire road system in 2012.
2014 Road Repair Program Development
The Department of Public Works, using the PASER system, established a rating
for each road segment throughout the City to use in the evaluation of the current
road condition. The Department then assigned the funding available for the year
in each of the road repair categories of; reconstruction, rehabilitation, and
planned preventative maintenance. Our staff has analyzed the data and
generated a list of streets and scheduled type of repair along with a cost estimate
of those repairs. The list has been reviewed by the Engineering and Road
Maintenance staffs to verify the road conditions, recommend the repair
treatments, and better arrange the work to efficient contract groupings. The list
was then reviewed by the Citizens Advisory Committee on Roads at two (2)
separate meetings along, with public comments that were heard on August 22,
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2013. The Department staff considered these recommendations for the Road
Repair Program and the list is contained herein for the Council's approval.
Recommendations
The list of repair locations including the repair method has been provided to
Council. There are a total of 36 street segments shown on the proposed list for
2014. The Citizens Advisory Committee on Road has concurred with the list, as
amended.
In addition to these programmed locations, the following major road construction
project is scheduled to begin in 2014.
Street Segment From/To Repair
I-96 Inkster to Newburgh Reconstruction
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is responsible for the
administration of the 1-96 Reconstruction Project.
All of these road projects represent our proposed list for construction in 2014. It is
subject to change based on the consulting engineer's evaluation and final design,
the bid prices received, and the project programming by the Michigan
Department of Transportation.
In order to proceed with the 2014 Road Repair Program, it is recommended that
the Council approve the 2014 Road Repair Program as proposed by the
Department of Public Works and shown on the attached Proposed 2014 Road
Repair Program list.
Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
8. REQUEST TO AMEND CONTRACT WITH ANDERSON, ECKSTEIN AND
WESTRICK, INC. FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING
SERVICES FOR THE 2014 CONCRETE ROAD PROGRAM: Engineering
Division, re: same. (CR 260-10, CR 379-10, CR 336-11 and CR 449-12)
Kritzman stepped down from the podium at 10:07 p.m. to avoid any perceived
conflict of interest.
Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. The City Council
approved Qualification Based Selection (QBS) firms pursuant to Council
Resolution No. 260-10, adopted July 19, 2010 to perform all professional
engineering services on various federal, state and locally funded projects through
fiscal year 2013. Under this procedure, they are recommending that Anderson,
Eckstein and Westrick, Inc. (AEW) continue as their consultant for the 2014
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Concrete Road Program. In order to proceed with these projects, it is respectfully
recommended that the Council authorize the Mayor and the City Clerk to execute
an amendment to the Engineering contract with Anderson, Eckstein and
Westrick, Inc., 51301 Schoenherr Road, Shelby Township, Michigan 48315 in the
amount of $287,120.00 ($93, 120.00 for Design Engineering and $194,000.00 for
Construction Engineering) for the Concrete Program. These amounts are based
on the preliminary construction cost estimates and may be adjusted based on the
actual bids. They also recommend Council authorize an expenditure in the
amount of $287,120.00 from budgeted funds in the Road, Sidewalk and Tree
Fund, and authorize the City Engineer to approve minor adjustments in the work,
as required.
Laura offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
Kritzman returned to the podium at 10:10 p.m.
AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None.
As there were no further questions or comments, President Toy adjourned the Study
Session at 10:10 p.m. on Monday, September 9, 2013.
DATED: September 19, 2013 TERRY A. MARECKI
CITY CLERK