Council Minutes

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

MILFORD CIVIC CENTER

 

President Rusas called the meeting to order in the Milford Civic Center at 7:30 p.m. President Rusas led the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

PRESENT President Theresa Rusas; Councilmembers Jerry Aubry, Jennifer Frankford, Elizabeth Heer, James Kovach, Kevin Ziegler

 

ABSENT Councilmember Glagola

 

ALSO PRESENT Phyllis Motley, Water Board; John Heidt, Planning Commission; Ann Barnette, DDA Director; Nicholas Lomako, Wade Trim; Lt. Lauridsen, Police Dept.; Jennifer Elowsky, Legal Counsel; Arthur Shufflebarger, Village Manager

 

APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA

 

CM-11-184-10 Heer moved, Aubry seconded, to approve the November 15, 2010, consent agenda as presented. Motion CARRIED.

 

 

Council Approval Direct Debits

 

 

General	$ 19,794.96
Major Street Fund	10,362.16
Local Street Fund	677.90
Police Fund	6,864.65
Parking Fund	46.67
Downtown Development Authority	161.85
Forfeiture Fund	82.38
Senior Citizen Transportation	76.41
Water/Wastewater Fund	15,218.70
Escrow Fund	2,565.00
Total	$ 55,850.68

 

APPROVE AGENDA AS PRESENTED

 

CM-11-185-10 Heer moved, Aubry seconded, to approve the November 15, 2010, agenda as presented at the table. Motion CARRIED.

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

Adopt Resolution of Appreciation, Thomas J. Connelly

 

Councilmember Kovach read Resolution of Appreciation No. 10-012 into the minutes:

 

WHEREAS, in 1970 Thomas J. Connelly was admitted to the Bar and joined the law firm of Bulgarelli, Schnelz and Allen; and

 

WHEREAS, on July 12, 1976, the Village Milford Council recognized Thomas Connelly of Bulgarelli, Allen and Connelly as the Village’s Legal Counsel; and

 

WHEREAS, while in the capacity of Village Legal Counsel, Mr. Connelly has served at the pleasure of the Village Council for over 34 years, under six different Village Council Presidents; and

 

WHEREAS, Thomas Connelly’s professionalism and performance over the past four decades has exceeded the Village of Milford’s requirements and expectations; and

 

WHEREAS, during his years of practicing law Thomas Connelly was awarded the distinguished Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ rating accomplishment - a testament to the fact that his peers ranked him at the highest level of professional excellence; and

 

WHEREAS, Mr. Connelly has been very involved with his community being a Huron Valley Chamber member over 30 years, past President of the St. Mary’s Parish Council, and representative for the Huron Valley Senior Citizens Council and Milford Knights of Columbus; and

 

WHEREAS, his commitment to family is recognized through his 46 years of marriage to Barbara, and the addition of their two daughters and two grandchildren; and

 

WHEREAS, Mr. Connelly’s love of horses was evident with his involvement in the National and International levels of the Arabian Horse Association.

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that at their Regular Meeting on November 15, 2010, the Milford Village Council on behalf of our residents extends their appreciation to Thomas J. Connelly for his dedication and loyalty to the Milford community and congratulates him on his semi-retirement and appointment “Of Counsel” with the firm of Groth, Elowsky, Kelley, Pawlak and Seglund.

 

Mr. Connelly and his wife Barbara were present to receive the resolution. Past Presidents’ Norton Caswell and Ron Fowkes were present, as well as partners from Mr. Connelly’s firm Paul Groth, Jerry Pawlak, and Jennifer Elowsky. President Rusas also read a brief note from Past President Danley. President Rusas thanked Mr. Connelly for all he has done to assist her as well as what he has done for the Village.

 

Consider Request to Use Central and South Side Park

 

Linda Dagenhardt, Oak Grove Cemetery Fund Event Chairman, was present to answer questions regarding the event which would recognize the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War. This event is planned for June 25-26, 2011.

 

Mr. Shufflebarger recommended approval for use of the parks for the proposed event, with the understanding there would be reimbursement of expenses incurred for services needed from the Department of Public Services and Police Department. A liability certificate of insurance, with the Village of Milford listed as additional insured, was also requested from the sponsor.

 

CM-11-186-10 Kovach moved, Heer seconded, to approve the use of Central and South Side Park for the proposed 150th Anniversary of the Civil War event, requiring usual user fees, reimbursed expenses and certificate of liability insurance. Motion CARRIED.

 

 

Linda Foran and Nancy Branstetter, from the Green Team Coalition were present and spoke to Council regarding the status of the Energy Grant. The following update which was included in the packet.

 

• Main Street lighting has been addressed using different vendors for a total of six demo lights. Each light has required a vendor (working without a contract) to work with the DPW team to install the light. Working with the DDA Director, we finally found a light “color” which matches her expectations for aesthetics and brightness. LumaSmart has now designed a light (specifically addressing the needs outlined by the DDA Director) that is installed on Main Street by Main Street Art as a final reference demo. The Director has selected a color and requested an increase in the brightness of the light emitted to better illuminate the street and storefronts.

 

One issue that has now been addressed by the DDA is the aging of the acorn globes. As they age, the globe “yellows” which impacts the lighting color emitted. Currently, each decorative Main Street light varies in color depending upon the age of the globe. We now understand that the DDA has purchased all new globes for the lights. This is a benefit to our project. The color selected by the Director, in a demo light on Liberty Street, is referenced as a 3500 level florescent bulb. It is the option of the Village Manager and DDA to use induction lighting in the decorative lighting found on Main Street. A vender, working through our contractor LaBelle Electric, is moving forward determining pricing and length of time required for delivery. Our budget of $74,525 was accepted by the State and will determine the number of lights serviced by the grant.

 

• Interior lighting has continued to move forward for all three municipalities. If a fixture was moved from a T12 to a T8, we will still retrofit the light to improve energy savings. Therefore, all municipal buildings will be up-graded.

 

• We have met with DTE and are poised to complete our Incentive Worksheets once we have a signed contact from the municipalities regarding the lighting. We are continuing to use LaBelle, selected through the bid process. They are working with different vendors to supply us with quality materials. We are also pleased to be working with vendors using Michigan-made products; a purchase the State strongly supports. We are concerned that we have a tight timeline for completion of the project as the delivery time the induction components may be as long as ten weeks.

 

• LaBelle will work with LumaSmart and Hot Watt Solar as vendors for the lighting. LumaSmart will only be completing the Main Street decorative lighting.

 

• The energy Audit and Strategy is ready to be presented to the municipalities. The GTC Engineer on the project recommends that the information be divided into two presentations: Milford Village/Milford Township and Highland Township.

 

• The video production is staged and ready to begin filming with the start of the installation.

 

• All fourth quarter reporting will reflect our progress and the metrics will be completed at the next reporting date. We will need to track energy costs and usage to show energy savings.

 

 

CM-11-187-10 Kovach moved, Heer seconded, to accept the resignations of Chris Nicol and Randy Kibiloski from the Water Board and Jason Brown from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Motion CARRIED.

 

 

CM-11-188-10 Heer moved, Frankford seconded, to approve appointments of Nancy Weeks and Ann Collins to the Water Board, appointments to expire June 2011 and June 2012, respectively. Motion CARRIED.

 

Approve Appointment to the DDA

 

CM-11-189-10 Heer moved, Frankford seconded, to approve appointment of Aaron Goodnough to the Downtown Development Authority, term to expire June 2014. Motion CARRIED.

 

CALL TO THE PUBLIC

 

Rusas asked if there was anyone who wished to address Council on an item that was not on the agenda.

 

Anthony Raimondo inquired whether there were regulations regarding construction start and stop times in the morning and evening. Council asked Administration to provide a response to Mr. Raimondo.

 

MANAGER’S REPORT

 

Mr. Shufflebarger stated yard waste collection will end the weekend of Thanksgiving, November 26-27.

 

He also reminded everyone of the Christmas parade on Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

 

COUNCILMEMBERS REMARKS

 

No comments.

 

EXECUTIVE SESSION

 

CM-11-190-10 Kovach moved, Heer seconded, to go into Executive Session at 7:53 p.m. to discuss Attorney/Client Privileged Communication.

 

Roll Call Vote:

Ayes: Aubry, Kovach, Ziegler, Heer, Rusas, Frankford

Nays: None

Absent: Glagola

Motion CARRIED.

 

CM-11-191-10 Kovach moved, Frankford seconded, to close Executive Session at 8:15 p.m. Motion CARRIED.

 

RETURN TO NEW BUSINESS

 

Extend Medical Marihuana Moratorium

 

CM-11-192-10 Kovach moved, Heer seconded, to extend the Medical Marihuana moratorium for 6 months giving Planning Commission time to review the law and prepare regulations for the Village. Motion CARRIED.

 

 

Jennifer Elowsky recommended Council forward a letter to support the Oakland County Prosecutor toward its efforts in seeking clarification from the federal courts in regard to the validity of the MMMA as it relates to US Supremacy Clause, working toward educating the public and local/state officials in regard to the impact of the MMMA and potentially formulate more effective legislation, which would include more thoroughly defined regulations.

 

CM-11-193-10 Kovach moved, Heer seconded, to direct Administration to send letter of support to the Oakland County Prosecutor as recommended by Legal Counsel. Motion CARRIED.

 

ADJOURN

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:17 p.m.

 

Deborah S. Frazer, CMC

Milford Village Clerk