City Council Study Session

City Council Study Session Monday, December 01, 2025 at 6:00 PM 27400 Southfield Road, Lathrup Village, Michigan 48076 1. Call to Order by Mayor Kantor at 6:00 PM Present: Kantor, Garrett, Jennings, Sousanis Excused: Hammond 2. Discussion Items A. Southfield Road Improvement Project Gary Piotrowicz (RCOC Deputy Managing Director), Same Fitzer (RCOC Director of Engineering), and Mike Smith (RCOC Manger, Project Development) gave a presentation of the Southfield Road Improvement Project covering the history, Environmental Assessment (EA), project purpose, current project status, and the community asks with the next step including a Council resolution confirming Preliminary Engineering (PE) funding commitment. Mayor Kantor and the Council directed questions to the RCOC team, asking them to expand on their presentation, including discussions related to funding already explored, past project alternatives, items that would be finalized in the future, along with the PE, such as potential ROW takes, and what would happen if the PE is completed and final project funding cannot be secured. Next steps are for the Council to continue discussions during their December 15 Study Session, with a resolution of support under consideration during the Regular Meeting. B. Council Committee/Liaison Assignments Mayor Kantor discussed the committee assignment process, the potential addition of a liaison to the Lathrup Village Chamber Board, the possibility of creating a new Communication/Accessibility Commission, and the potential combination of the Parks/Rec & Tree Committees. Jennings discussed whether the P&R Board and Tree Committees would be amenable to absorbing one another's duties. Garrett wanted to explore this from a funding perspective, as the Board’s funding will be limited in the coming years. Sousanis discussed the feelings he received from P&R that the recreation aspect seems to be the troubling portion for the board. City staff will reach out to the committees to see their appetite for combining the committees for future Study Session discussion. 27400 Southfield Rd | Lathrup Village, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org Attorney Baker would recommend creating a new committee and dissolving the two current committees if the Council wanted to proceed with this direction, utilizing a formal Council action. A liaison to the LV Chamber would be a bridge between the business community and the Council, and foster community outreach. Kantor discussed the potential of creating a new committee for communication/engagement. Garrett mentioned that it may be stretching the City thin, and communication should be the responsibility of each committee. Sousanis likes the idea of engaging more with the residents to reach them better. Jennings likes the idea in theory. Council should consider formally appointment a liaison to SEMCOG. C. Library Service Research Update City Administrator Greene provided an update on the communication with local libraries for the potential of serving the Lathrup Village residents. This will be a topic on upcoming Study Session agendas as more information is gathered. D. Administrative Wage & Benefits City Administrator Greene discussed the City’s current offerings of employee salaries/benefits, as they are a consistent talking point from the public about the City’s current financial situation. The discussion included MML surveys, which compare Lathrup Village to numerous communities throughout Michigan. This showed, in CA Greene’s view, that Lathrup Village is either in line with other communities or on the lower end of the bell curve, and if the City wants to attract/retain staffing, further reduction in benefits should be one of the last items to be considered. 3. Public Comments Rick Wisz – congratulations to the new members of Council; what happens to the work that’s been done on Southfield Road; what happens with the HAWK signals; why not all the way to 14 Mile; what is the ultimate goal of the boulevard; who is responsible for sidewalks around the park; Communication Plan, Hammond was working on that; no Council liaisons but have the Chairs present to Council; Council representatives for every quad in the City (no more Council at-large) Jonathan Terra – good timing for the discussion of Southfield Road, as it may eliminate front parking; mid-block entrances along Southfield Road are dangerous Tim Hillman – Thank you, Rick, for the question about not extending north of 13-Mile; he doesn’t think the Tory Library card process would work for the residents, and recommended additional libraries to contact 4. Mayor and Council Comments 27400 Southfield Rd | Lathrup Village, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org Kantor - Discussed reasons for the project by referencing the RCOC presentation - Friday is the DDA Winterfest from 6 – 8 PM Garrett - The Tree committee would prefer separate meetings, but would be willing to work with other committees. - Council member at large – voting “at-large” versus “wards.” - A communication plan should be finalized sooner rather than later so that a new board has direction. Sousanis - Wondering if the P&R committee could be expanded to include more members - Likes the idea of finalizing the communication plan 5. Adjourn at 7:30 PM 27400 Southfield Rd | Lathrup Village, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org