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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSTUDY - 2016-10-03 CITY OF LIVONIA – CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD OCTOBER 3, 2016 Meeting was called to order at 8:25 p.m. by President McIntyre. Present: Scott Bahr, Brian Meakin, Brandon Kritzman, Maureen Miller Brosnan, Jim Jolly, Cathy White, and Kathleen McIntyre. Absent: None. Elected and appointed officials present: Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development; Don Knapp, City Attorney; Lynda Scheel, Treasurer; Shadd Whitehead, Fire Chief; Tom Wilson, Water & Sewer Supervisor; Dennis Wright, Mayor; and Susan Nash, City Clerk. President McIntyre announced there is new data on Item #7; also, there is an X-Item that will be discussed following tonight’s Agenda. Vice-President Kritzman spoke about his grandmother’s condition, she is in the ICU following brain surgery and asked everyone to keep her in their prayers. Fire Chief Shadd Whitehead announced the Annual Youth Connection Fundraiser, Chiefs Cooking for Kids, Thursday, October 6, 2016, from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Max Fisher Music Theater. Chief Whitehead will be on Channel 4 with the Chuck Gaidica at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow to promote the event. Police Chief Curtis Caid is also involved with this event. AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None NEW BUSINESS: 1. REQUEST TO APPROVE PAYMENT AND EXTEND CONTRACT WITH BS&A SOFTWARE: Office of the Treasurer, re: in an amount not to exceed $25,000 per year to provide yearly service and support for the Equalizer Internet Tax/Assessing System for the period November 1, 2016 through October 31, 2019. (CR 387-13) Lynda Scheel, City Treasurer, presented the request to Council. She is requesting approval of payment to BS&A Software, 14965 Abbey Lane, Bath, Ml, for yearly service and support fee for 11/1/16 thru 10/31/19 with their contract for their Equalizer Internet Tax/Assessment System in an amount not to exceed $25,000.00 per year. BS&A is the sole provider for this service and has been doing an excellent job working with staff and providing support services. The internet system provided enables them to have information available that is utilized by mortgage companies, title companies, realtors, contractors, prospective buyers and residents on their website in an efficient and timely 2 manner with daily updates reflecting changes and/or payments made by or on behalf of residents. Sufficient funds have been budgeted. Meakin asked why it was being increased. Scheel explained this is for the next three years and it is to allow for any legislative changes that may affect the rates. She said last year’s invoice was for $19,454.00 which increased from previous years. Three years ago it was approximately $18,000.00. Meakin asked why the need to go up to $25,000.00 instead of keeping it capped at $23,000,00. Scheel said just a safety net to keep from having to come back before Council in the next three years if there are increases that exceed the $23,000,00 annually. Meakin asked if there was any discount for a three-year contract. Scheel said no it is an annual invoice that is received but this request is for the next three years to keep from having to come back before Council each year. Meakin asked if this had been done previously. Scheel replied yes. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 2. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE TWO (2) 2017 FORD TRANSIT 250 VANS USING STATE OF MICHIGAN BID PROCESS: Public Service Division, re: for the Water and Sewer Section, from budgeted funds. Tom Wilson, Water & Sewer Supervisor, presented the request to Council. The 2015-2016 approved capital outlay budget includes the purchase of Two (2) 2017 Ford Transit 250 Med. Roof Cargo Vans for the Water & Sewer Section of the Department of Public Works. Arrangements were made to incorporate the new vehicles purchase through the State bid process (Contract No. 071 81300009), an extended purchasing program made available to local governments through the State of Michigan. The State bid this year was awarded to Signature Ford. The cost per van is $28,568.00. The total for both will be $57,136.00. Wilson said they previously came before Council earlier this year for a purchase of 2 vans that are utilized for work related to commercial properties in the City. This request is to purchase 2 vans for the meter section that is responsible for residential properties in the City and is utilized daily. The recommendation from the Fleet Manager as well as the backup documentation has been provided to Council for its review. Funds for this purchase have been included in the capital outlay budget for the Water & Sewer Section. The vans will not increase our fleet; they are replacement vehicles. The replaced vehicles will be disposed of thru the auction process. It is the recommendation of the Public Service Division that Council authorize the purchase from Signature Ford, for a total of $57,136.00, with up-fitting performed by Cannon Truck Equipment, for a total of $35,792.00; a grand total of $92,928.00. 3 Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT At the direction of the Chair, the order of the Agenda items was changed. Item 5 was taken up prior to Items 3 and 4 as a matter of proper parliamentary proceedings. 5. REQUEST TO APPROVE 2017 ROAD REPAIR PROGRAM: Engineering Division, re: as reviewed by the Citizens Advisory Committee on roads for the fifth year of the ten-year road paving millage approved by Livonia residents. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. Included in this report is the suggested 2017 Road Repair Program as prepared by the Department of Public Works and reviewed by the Citizens Advisory Committee on Roads. For 2017, this will be the fifth year of the ten-year road paving renewal millage approved by Livonia residents for pavement repairs on the entire road system in 2012. 2017 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 PASER Ratings were performed by City staff using ROADSOFT Software this summer by driving 371.61 miles of roads and were completed in early August. See attached pie chart depicting the breakdown by streets by type: 58.7% or 218.13 miles of concrete; 39.5% or 146.8 miles of asphalt, and 1.8% or 6.68 miles of composite. The PASER Rating information was updated on the City Website in early September for the public to review and reference. The PASER Ratings were last completed in 2014. The PASER Ratings are to be completed every 2 years and are scheduled again for 2018. By performing this task in-house, City staff gain first-hand knowledge on the condition of our streets. The average PASER Rating for our network is 6.30 or in "Good Condition" and there is pie chart depicting the breakdown of the streets by PASER Rating: RATING • 8 to10 Excellent (55.93 Miles)- Blue • 6 to 7 Good (210.576 Miles)- Yellow • 4 to 5 Fair (1 01.03 Miles) -Green • 1 to 3 Poor (4.04 Miles) -Red The Department assigns the funding available for the year in each of the road repair categories; reconstruction, rehabilitation, and planned preventative maintenance. Our staff has analyzed the data and generated a list of streets and 4 scheduled the 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, the first meeting held August 31, 2016, had Committee Members ride the proposed locations on a bus provided by Community Resources, at the second meeting held on September 14, 2016, the Committee heard public commentary on the roads. 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 is shown on Attachment 1. There are a total of 41 street segments. The estimated cost of street repairs is approximately $4.9 million shown on the proposed list for 2017. However, we will maintain a budget of $4,500,000 (anticipate $2.8 million for concrete and $1.7 million for asphalt repairs upon final approval by City Council on the 2017 Budget) to perform the street repairs. The anticipated mix of fixes for our road network will consist of the following: 45% Reconstruction, 26% Rehabilitation and 29% Maintenance. The Citizens Advisory Committee on Roads has concurred with the list and added consideration to consider selective slab replacements at 37035 I 37028 Vargo. Based on available funding, streets to be under consideration for delay until 2018 are Grennada (End to Parklane) in Section 20 and Wood (Fairlane to Whitby) in Section 16. In addition to these programmed locations, the following major road construction projects are scheduled to begin in 2017. Street Segment From/To Repair Old M-14 Plymouth Road* Farmington Road to Telegraph Mill&Fill Amrhein Eckles to 3,100 ft East of Eckles Reconstruction Farmington 8 Mile Road to 7 Mile Road Rehabilitation Inkster 7 Mile Intersection Resurfacing *Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is responsible for the administration of Old M-14 (Plymouth Road) Projects. **Wayne County is responsible for the administration of the Farmington Road (Eight Mile Road to Seven Mile Road and Inkster at Seven Mile Road Resurfacing Projects. 5 All of these road projects represent our proposed list for construction in 2017. 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 2017 Road Repair Program, it is recommended that the Council approve the 2017 Road Repair Program as proposed by the Department of Public Works and shown on the Proposed 2017 Road Repair Program list provided to Council. He noted there were some other streets the Citizens Advisory Committee recommended they look at, i.e. Bennett and Vargo, to add a section there. Also, if they run out of funding, they talked about 2 streets to reduce and delay until next year, i.e. Wood from Whitby to Fairlane and also Grennada. Bahr asked if all the poor roads are included in this program. Zilincik noted those are some big ticket items that they have been slowly chipping away at; also, there were some carry overs from last year they have to address first. Meakin commended Zilincik for all the hard work him and his staff does on the Road Repair Program. He invited residents to go on the City website and look at the map. He said this is a good use of tax payer dollars. He said 15 years ago 50% of the local roads were in poor shape. He said it is remarkable on the improvement in the roads and he appreciates this program. He said many people have asked if Seven Mile Road is going to be done soon, he asked Zilincik for an update on that. Zilincik said yes, they are meeting this week on that and it will be underway soon and hopefully the weather will stay nice for a while so they can work on those repairs. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Brosnan echoed the compliments of Meakin and commended Zilincik on this program. She said it is great that this is a tax pay driven program paid by tax payer funding. It is great that the members of the community have a say in which roads are in most need of repair. She also recommended residents look on the website for more information on the program. She said it is very user friendly. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 3. REQUEST TO AMEND THE CONTRACT WITH ANDERSON, ECKSTEIN AND WESTRICK, INC., ADVISORS FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE 2017 CONCRETE PROGRAM: Engineering Division, re: same. (CR 324-15) Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. The City Council approved Qualification Based Selection (QBS) firms pursuant to Council Resolution No. 49-10, adopted February 10, 2010 and Council Resolution No. 367-13, adopted November 6, 2013 to perform all professional engineering services on various federal, state and locally funded projects through fiscal year 6 2016. AEW has agreed to utilize the revised Attachment A dated August 18, 2016 as discussed at the Infrastructure and Community Transit Committee Meeting held on August 29, 2016. Under this procedure, we are recommending that Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick, Inc. (AEW) continue as our consultant for the 2017 Concrete Road Program. See copy of the letter dated September 20, 2016 from AEW for design engineering services provided. The estimated construction costs for the concrete program, which forms the basis for the Engineering contract, is show on the sheet provided to Council. In order to proceed with these projects, it is respectfully recommended that the Council take the following actions: • 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 $134,400 for the design engineering for the Concrete Program. These amounts are based on the preliminary construction cost estimates and may be adjusted based on the actual bids. • Authorize an expenditure in the amount of $134,400 from budgeted funds in the Road, Sidewalk and Tree Fund Account. • Authorize the City Engineer to approve minor adjustments in the work, as required. Scott Lockwood, Vice President, Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick, Inc., 51301 Schoenherr Road, Shelby Township, Michigan, addressed Council. He said they are very proud to be part of this program. It is an exemplary program and they hope to continue to be part of this program for years to come. Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT Vice-President Kritzman stepped down from the podium at 8:52 p.m. to avoid any perceived conflict of interest on the following item. 4. REQUEST TO AMEND THE CONTRACT WITH OHM ADVISORS FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE 2017 ASPHALT ROAD PROGRAM: Engineering Division, re: same. (CR 26-16) Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. The City Council approved Qualification Based Selection (QBS) firms pursuant to Council Resolution No. 49-10, adopted February 10, 2010 and Council Resolution No. 367-13, adopted November 6, 2013 to perform all professional engineering 7 services on various federal, state and locally funded projects through fiscal year 2016. OHM has agreed to utilize the revised Attachment A dated August 18, 2016 as discussed at the Infrastructure and Community Transit Committee Meeting held on August 29, 2016. Under this procedure, we are recommending that OHM Advisors (OHM) continue as our consultant for the 2017 Asphalt Road Program. See the attached letter dated September 20, 2016 from OHM Advisors for design engineering services. The estimated construction costs for the asphalt program, which forms the basis for the Engineering contract, is shown on the attached sheet. In order to proceed with these projects, it is respectfully recommended that the Council take the following actions: • Authorize the Mayor and the City Clerk to execute an amendment to the Engineering contract with OHM Advisors, 34000 Plymouth Road, Livonia, Michigan 48150 in the amount of $90,100 for Design Engineering for the Asphalt Program. These amounts are based on the preliminary construction cost estimates and may be adjusted based on the actual bids. • Authorize an expenditure in the amount of $90,100 from budgeted funds in the Road, Sidewalk and Tree Fund Account. • Authorize the City Engineer to approve minor adjustments in the work, as required. Mark Loch, Project, Manager, Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Advisors, 34000 Plymouth Road, addressed Council. He noted that he has been involved in this program since its inception. He said it is absolutely amazing what has been accomplished in the last 15 years with this program. He said he looks forward to another 15 years to really get things fixed up. He said he appreciates the City’s confidence in them and looks forward to another good season. Meakin said he hopes residents appreciate this program. He looks forward to seeing it continue for years to come. Brosnan thanked Loch and OHM for their continued work on this program. White offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR Vice-President Kritzman returned to the podium at 8:56 p.m. 6. SITE PLAN: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2016-08-08-11 submitted by G.A.V. Associates, in connection with a proposal to remodel the exterior of the commercial strip center located on the north side of Five Mile Road between 8 Golfview Drive and Levan Road (36184, 36200 and 36232 Five Mile Road), in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 17, Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented the request to Council. This is a request to remodel the exterior of a commercial building that is on the north side of Five Mile Road between Golfview and Levan. This property is a few parcels east of Levan. The building on the property is about 3,000 square feet in size. The property altogether is 0.25 acre in area with 74 feet of frontage on Five Mile Road by a depth of 150 feet. The zoning of the property is C-2, General Business. Tenants inside this strip center include a barbershop, a Little Caesars carry-out restaurant and a video game store. The building sits roughly 75 feet back from Five Mile Road, with all on-site parking located in the front yard between the building and the road right-of-way. The proposal involves a complete remodeling of the building’s storefront elevation as well as a small portion of the east elevation of the building. The west side of the building contains zero setback along the lot line and is effectively attached to the adjacent party store. Thus it is not exposed or visible. The changes would include removing the existing façade treatments and adding a new parapet wall along the upper part of the building which faces Five Mile Road. The new vertical wall elements would contain a couple of height variations. The tallest part is located in the center of the building and the design incorporates some offsets that would add relief along the elevation. The primary exterior building material on the upper part is E.I.F.S. or dryvit. There would be a decorative smooth metal cornice on the highest part of the building running along the roofline. Flanking that on either side would be the same type of cornice treatment but would be constructed out of E.I.F.S. There are currently metal columns on the building that support an overhang. Those would all be re-clad with cultured stone. It appears from the renderings that the same cultured stone material is going to be used on the walls of the storefront, which is behind the columns. Existing glazing and the glazed entry doors are going to remain as they are today. The improvements would continue and wrap slightly around the east elevation, and then the rest of the east elevation would be repainted to match the color of the remodeled storefront. There are no other site changes or improvements proposed. However, a number of site deficiencies were identified. The Planning Commission is recommending approval with conditions. Meakin asked Taormina if the poor condition of the approach was being addressed. Taormina noted that the owner and architect are here to respond to that question and explain what they are doing to correct the problem temporarily but he believes it was addressed in the conditions. Al Valentine, GAV Associates, Architect on the Project, addressed Council. He said the goal is to bring this building up to date. He said a lot of the requests from the Planning Commission were site improvements (enclosing the trash receptacle, curb cut sidewalks, things like that) he noted the owner was present to address those issues. 9 Meakin asked if they could address the approach issue. Andre Tartaglia, owner, 7045 Sparling, Shelby Township, Michigan, addressed Council. He said they are taking bids and will be taking care of it. Meakin asked if they were going to widen the approach. Tartaglia said they were just looking at repairing it. He said they weren’t sure if they were allowed to expand or not. Meakin asked Zilincik if he knew if they could expand the width of the approach. Zilincik said it is possible. He said it is apparent that trucks drive over the curb at the approach. Taormina said he would caution that widening the approach may reduce the number of parking spaces which are limited and fully utilized. Meakin said there is a noticeable difference in elevation of the sidewalk and he is concerned for the safety of pedestrians that utilize the sidewalks there. He suggested placing some cones or something to warn pedestrians. He also commented on how remarkable it was that two of the tenants, Little Caesars and the Barber Shop have occupied the same space there for 54 years. Brosnan said appreciates the owner’s investment in the property and wished them good luck with the project. Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING - ADDING CONDITION CONSENT DRIVE APPROACH MUST BE APPROVED BY PLANNING DEPT. 7. SITE PLAN: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2016-08-08-12 submitted by C & M Corporation, in connection with a proposal to remodel the exterior of one of the units at the Brickshire Square Retail Plaza located on the north side of Five Mile Road between Harrison Avenue and Middlebelt Road (29102 Five Mile Road) in the Southwest 1/4 of Section 13. At the direction of the Chair, this item was moved to the next Study Meeting so the petitioner or a representative of the petitioner may be present to address Council. 8. REQUEST TO APPROVE EXTENSION OF THE PCS SITE AGREEMENT: Department of Law, re: with Sprint Spectrum L.P. for a five (5) year period; this agreement shall be automatically extended for up to three (3) additional and separate five (5) year terms effective on February 1, 2017. Don Knapp, City Attorney, presented the request to Council. The City's lease with Sprint for space on the Livonia Police Department communications tower is set to expire in January, 2017. Sprint has advised that its current payments for this tower space exceed market rates, and the City's Finance Department advises that those rates - with the rent escalator now in place - are high enough to make 10 renewal of this lease highly desirable. For internal corporate reasons which are not entirely clear, Sprint has indicated that it will be possible for the current arrangement to remain in place as an automatic renewal of the existing lease. Sprint's proffered interpretation of the lease as automatically continuing does not reflect the City's understanding at all. But as long as Sprint is willing to pay for tower space at the rates outlined in the schedule provided to Council, this disagreement need not be a deal breaker. They are recommending Council approval and he was ready to answer any questions Council may have. White asked if they are required to pay personal property taxes. Knapp said he would have to check and report back to her. White said she would appreciate it very much if he would do that. Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT X1. REQUEST TO APPROVE THE LIVONIA FIRE FIGHTERS UNION (LFFU) CONTRACT AGREEMENT FOR THE PERIOD OF DECEMBER 1, 2015 THROUGH NOVEMBER 30, 2018: Civil Service Department, re: same. Gregg Schultz, Attorney, present tonight on behalf of the Civil Service Department at the request of Denise Maier, Human Resources Director. Schultz presented the request to Council. Schultz said he was pleased to advise Council that on August 23, 2016, City and Livonia Fire Fighter Union ("LFFU") representatives reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract that is effective from December 1, 2015 through November 30, 2018. Since the parties reached the tentative agreement, LFFU members have ratified the agreement meaning that all that is needed for formal ratification is Civil Service Commission and City Council approval. A copy of the Tentative Agreement has been provided to Council for its review. The following is a summary of the key components of the Agreement: 1. A three-year agreement from December 1, 2015 to November 30, 2018. 2. Salary increases to all employees on the payroll on the date of ratification as follows: Effective December 1, 2015: 3% increase Effective December 1, 2016: 2% increase Effective December 1, 2017: 2% increase 3. Modification of the Grievance Procedure to reduce and streamline grievance and arbitration process. 11 4. Adjustment of promotional training requirements to correspond with updated training standards and requirements. 5. Replacement of outdated Assistant Chief Promotional Process with a more updated and thorough process for promotion to position of Deputy Chief. 6. Change from double time to time and one-half for all hours actually worked by 56-hour employees above the Fair Labor Standards Act threshold within the employee's regular schedule. 7. Revised process for accumulation of vacation time consistent with other City employees. 8. Clarification that accrued sick leave paid out at termination of employment for employees who participate in the Retirement Health Savings Plan ("RHSP") shall be paid into the employee's RHSP account. 9. Increases in Retirement Health Savings Plan payment from $50 per pay period to $60 per pay period effective December 1, 2015 and $70 per pay period effective December 1, 2016. 10. Increase in the optical reimbursement from $150 to $200 every two years and an increase in the annual dental reimbursement from $800 to $850. 11. Increase in the yearly maintenance and cleaning allowance from $550 per year to $600 per year. 12. Reduction in retirement eligibility from 27 years of service to 25 years of service without automatic bump to full pension. 13. Increase in cost of living allowance for members in the defined benefit plan who retire on or after date of ratification to provide an additional $25 per month from 10 years after retirement to 15 years after retirement. 14. Increase in employee contribution to defined benefit from 3.56% to 4.5% effective upon ratification. 15. Increase in City contribution to defined contribution plan from 11% to 12% of employee's wages effective December 1, 2016 and increase in employee contribution to defined contribution plan from 3.56% to 4.5% effective December 1, 2016. As indicated, the above is a summary of the parties' Agreement. If there are any questions regarding the details of this matter, he said he would be happy to respond. 12 Brosnan asked Schultz what are the implications of item 12 of the conditions. Schultz said this was a tough issue. He said the Police Union obtained a decrease from 27 years to 25 years back in 2001. The Firefighters Union has been seeking this reduction from 27 years to 25 years for quite some time. He said it doesn’t have as many implications as one might think. He said it only applies to handful number of employees. He also said that if they leave employment after 25 years of service they will only receive 70% of their pension, they don’t have an increased multiplier to help get them to a full pension rate of 75% like the Police Union contract does. Brosnan said this does appear to be a fair contract and thanked him and the staff that worked on the negotiations and ultimately the firefighters that voted on the ratification of the contract. Brosnan offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Bahr asked Schultz to once again explain item 12 of the conditions. Schultz once again explain the reduction in years of service to be eligible for retirement and noted that the multiplier was not increased to 7.8, as was the case with the Police Union contract back in prior negotiations, to approve the incorporation of a Defined Contribution Plan vs the Defined Benefit. He noted that using the multiplier 2.8 with 25 years of service, retirees will receive 70% of their pension vs. the full pension rate of 75%. White asked Schultz if the firefighters still have the option to work beyond the 25 years. Schultz replied yes. He said they can get a full pension after 27 years of service. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None. As there were no further questions or comments, President McIntyre adjourned the Study Session at 9:22 p.m. on Monday, October 3, 2016. DATED: October 13, 2016 SUSAN M. NASH CITY CLERK