City Council Study Session

City Council Study Session Monday, January 26, 2026, at 6:00 PM 27400 Southfield Road, Lathrup Village, Michigan 48076 1. Call to Order by Mayor Pro Tem Garrett at 6:02pm Present: Garrett, Sousanis, Jennings, Hammond Absent: Kantor (excused) 2. Discussion Items A. Community Room Roof Councilmembers, City Administrator Greene, and Attorney Baker discussed:  Range of bids from $51,982 to $109,500, not including an additional $30,000 to take equipment off the roof and put it back on  Are we going with the low bid  Timing to do this – it can only be done during the few weeks when the Heating and Air Conditioning will not be used because they will be disconnected  If the scope of work is the same for all of the bids  The Scope is the same, and there was a mandatory site visit for the bids  We found out the good news, that we can use some of the underlays, and that will save us money B. Conflict to Conversation Training Councilmembers, City Administrator Greene, and Attorney Baker discussed:  Councilmember Hammond thought this training, which he and Mayor Pro Tem Garrett have attended, would be helpful/useful to share with residents, and wanted to see if the City Council is interested  Wanting to know the cost and see if SEMCOG or Lawrence Tech University would be willing to help fund this seminar that would benefit the community  City Administrator Greene is waiting to hear back about the cost  Could it scale to residents, from the format it was presented in  Would residents attend, what would the return on investment be versus the cost, and outreach to the community to see if there is an interest  Good opportunity, but want more information  Community not asking for, but related to the Communication and Engagement Committee, and they could put it together 27400 Southfield Rd | Lathrup Village, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org   Would Communication and Engagement members be required to attend C. FY 26-27 Budget Calendar CA Greene explained the Budget Calendar and said information will be on the website. D. Mid-Year Budget Amendments Councilmembers, City Administrator Greene, and Attorney Baker discussed:  New State budgeting standards and making these changes now  State wants similar account processes across the board, accounting procedures  Contingencies, anticipated use of fund balances  Not filling open shifts in the Police Department  Being able to see how the balances change through the year E. Library Millage Language Councilmembers, City Administrator Greene, and Attorney Baker discussed:  Mirroring the wording of Pleasant Ridge.  Is a way to negotiate the language, work with Library board to tell them, we have this on the ballot, if it doesn’t go through  No Communication with Southfield Library yet, they have not responded F. eNewsletter Service Provider Councilmembers, City Administrator Greene, and Attorney Baker discussed:  Apptegy's new module, packaged with text notifications, is unlimited per month  Demo showed a marketing campaign  People signing up for texts or not  Now we use Constant Contact, which is the only product we have from them  Something good for the Communication and Engagement Committee to look into  The AI chatbot preview, and CA Greene said he didn’t think it was worth the cost for a small City of $2,500  Breaking the contract with Constant Contact – it is month to month  Email contacts from current system will transfer over  Notify residents for a few months to let them know about the transition 3. Public Comments Timothy Hillman commented in part: support of the Council having a Proclamation regarding the fatal shootings in Minnesota, and mentioned that he and Dr. Elaine Epstein had sent a letter to Lathrup Village regarding local policing and ICE policies. He asked about Berkley’s Police procedures since we have a partnership with them for lock-up services. 27400 Southfield Rd | Lathrup Village, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org Jay Lee, owner of Munson Cleaners in Lathrup Village, since 1999, commented in part that the construction and blockage of 696 each way has caused his revenue to drop in half and asked if anyone on the Council knows of any kind of financial support programs that are available. Lillian Kyser-Lowery expressed in part: if we have a Parliamentarian, and referenced that at the Town Hall meetings, some people would jump up and talk, and she wanted to make sure the Communication is fair, and shared that if the City has 501C status they can get a discount with Zoom. 4. Mayor and Council Comments Councilmembers, City Administrator Greene, and Attorney Baker discussed:  If the Women’s Club is interested in partnering with us, since we received partnership agreements from the Historical and Nature Societies, but not them  Councilmembers copying Mayor Kantor for email correspondence to him and CA Greene  Mayor Kantor and other members of Council would like to do something to show solidarity and support for Minnesota, after the fatal ICE shootings, and discussed if it should be a statement from an individual, a Resolution, or a Proclamation, and decided to make it a Proclamation and read it at the Regular meeting tonight  The Communication and Engagement Committee o Making all 7 applicants members o Voting on the size of the Committee o Possibly making some alternates, but having 5 members o Which alternate would be picked first if someone was absent o Pros and Cons of having a Committee larger than 5 members o More members could bring more ideas and sub-committees to attend different functions/meetings of current Committees/Commissions o The members' backgrounds – some in Communications and some without o Expanding the geographic and age coverage with a diverse group of people o Councilmember Sousanis stated he will make a motion at the regular meeting to appoint all of the applicants 5. Adjourn at 7:03pm 27400 Southfield Rd | Lathrup Village, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org