City Council Special Meeting

City Council Special Meeting Monday, April 03, 2023 – 6:00 PM 27400 Southfield Road, Lathrup Village, Michigan 48076 Meeting Minutes 1. Call to Order by Mayor Garrett at 6:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Present: Mayor Garrett, Councilmember Jennings, Councilmember Kenez, Councilmember Miller Also Present: City Administrator Susan Montenegro, City Attorney Scott Baker, City Clerk Kelda London 3. Pledge of Allegiance 4. Approval of Agenda Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Kantor. Motion seconded by Councilmember Jennings. Yes: Jennings, Kantor, Kenez, Miller Garrett No: None Motion carried 5. Public Comments for Items on the Agenda (Speakers are limited to 3 minutes) Don Eichstaedt – Suggested that there be a goal-setting survey as part of a Town Hall Meeting. 6. Action Requests - For Consideration / Approval A. Lathrup Village AMI Proposal The proposal for the AMI technology upgrades for the water meters. This upgrade would allow for the placement of gateway antennas that would collect water data from the water meters rather than the current drive-by technology that is used. 274000 Southfield Rd | Southfield, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org  Mayor Pro Tem Kantor moved to waive the bidding process because Ferguson Water Works is the sole source provider of Neptune Water Meters and approved the Lathrup Village AMI proposal in an amount to be at most $120,403.29. Motion seconded by Councilmember Jennings. Yes: Kantor, Kenez, Garrett, Jennings No: Miller Motion carried. B. Communications Plan Administrator Susan Montenegro presented Council with a proposed communication plan and asked each council member to review the plan and mark out what each member thought was important. Mayor Garrett requested a more specific plan with a matrix of what happens with a phone call and resident concerns so that everyone knows the expectations. Councilmember Jennings also requested a plan that can send text messages. Mayor Pro Tem commented that the plan presented is good, but he wants to make sure that there is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Councilmember Miller suggested that we start with the basics before entering into a complicated system by first having a resident database of all the current residents. C. 2023/2024 Goal Setting Administrator Montenegro presented Council with goals from 2021-2022 and a blank template, hoping that each council member would send suggestions on what is essential to each council member. Administrator Montenegro will contact Jill Bahm from Giffels Webster to assist with a strategic planning session to start the goal-setting process. 7. Public Comment Roger Lynn – Communication plan Ann Runyan – Disagrees with AMI upgrade 274000 Southfield Rd | Southfield, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org 8. Mayor and Council Comments Mayor Garrett inquired about the DTE progress. Attorney Baker stated that DTE is moving forward, and the generator will be installed soon. Councilmember Miller asked what the 696 project is. Administrator Montenegro stated the project would be from Lasher to Dequindre, and MDOT would replace the bridges over 696. She also asked who decides for the sidewalk project on which sidewalks get repaired and what the appeals process is. Mayor Pro Tem Kantor addressed the comment from Ms. Runyan. Yes, Ferguson Water Works is the only company that does this system for the technology that we already have. Mayor Pro Tem further stated that there was information that was factually incorrect stated at the last meeting. So, to correct the record on some of the facts; 1) Fire readiness: – statements made that there is not enough pressure to put out a fire. That is not true, water pressure is not an issue. The issue is flow. Lathrup Village water system has the pressure to fight fires. Our flow is not where we would ideally like it, but it is adequate to fight a fire. We have a tanker backup arranged with the Southfield Fire Department should there be any unlikely negative event with our water system during a fire. 2) Only 3,750 of water main has been replaced: – There have been 12,056 feet of water main replacement since 2017, which included Saratoga, Lincoln, Santa Barbara, Roseland, Bloomfield, San Rosa, Wiltshire, and Goldengate. For the upcoming year, there will be 4,227 feet to be replaced, which includes an additional water main that the council recently added to the water main that was already slated for replacement. 3) The monthly surcharge to pay off the capital improvement bond was higher than we were old and never dropped: – Initially, the capital improvement bond was 5.2 million. When the city administration reviewed the bond, it was found that it was approx. $200,000 short. So council approved an additional $200,00, putting the bond at $5.4 million. This is the reason the bond surcharge went from $9.81 to $10.70. The $10.70 never dripped, because we ended up taking all the bond funds at once (instead of the three issuances) and because the fix of the water loss issue does not generate additional revenue as expected. 4) It was stated that all the bond money did not have to be spent: – That statement is true had the city opted for a 3 fund issuance bond, but the bond agent cautioned against that strategy and to take the entire $5.4 million dollars so now the city must pay back the entire amount over the next twenty (20) years. So the money that was left overall needed to be spent because it is unlawful to collect interest on the money, the money loses value to inflation, and we still have to pay interest on the loan. 5) The water technology was not in the recommendation: -That was part of the $860,000 estimate. 274000 Southfield Rd | Southfield, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org  6) It was initially suggested that the sidewalk markings were to be done by volunteers: – It was suggested that we weren’t following what was suggested. After a reduction in size of the Year 1 program and further discussion by the City Administrator, it was decided that the residents were not independent and there could be a self-interest. 7) The capital improvement bond and road engineering fees paid to Giffels and Webster were just over 1.7 million dollars: -That is factually inaccurate. The actual amount was $1,068,573. Giffels and Webster fees were 14% under budget and approximately 10% of the total cost of the project, which is well below the industry standard, which is about 15 -25%. Councilmember Miller stated, “I took the words out of all of the recommendations that were presented from the infrastructure committee.” 9. Adjourn Mayor Pro Tem Kantor moved to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Jennings. Meeting adjourned at 7:27 pm 274000 Southfield Rd | Southfield, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org