City Council Regular Meeting

City Council Regular Meeting Madison Heights, Michigan February 26, 2024 A City Council Regular Meeting was held on Monday, February 26, 2024 at 7:30 PM at City Hall - Council Chambers, 300 W. 13 Mile Rd. PRESENT Mayor Roslyn Grafstein Mayor Pro Tem Mark Bliss Councilman Sean Fleming Councilman William Mier Councilor Emily Rohrbach Councilman David Soltis Councilor Quinn Wright Others Present City Manager Melissa Marsh City Attorney Larry Sherman Deputy City Manager/City Clerk Cheryl Rottmann The invocation was given by Councilman Soltis and the Pledge of Allegiance followed. CM-24-36. Additions to the Agenda. Motion to add to the agenda under Reports: a.) Appointment to the Zoning Board of Appeals b.) Resignation and Appointment of the Council Representative to SEMCOG. Motion made by Councilman Fleming, Seconded by Councilor Wright. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. MEETING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: Martha Covert and Jim Capizzo, residents, spoke in favor revising the City's snow plow policy. County Commissioner Ann Goff announced that she has been appointed to the Oakland County Parks Commission. She stated that Oakland County Parks are need of seasonal employees to staff the county's parks, so please apply. She invited the public to attend her at a coffee hour on 1 Thursday, March 7th at 4:30 pm at Mia's Bakery. If you want to contact her, please reach out to her via email at or by phone. Daniel Allen, resident, stated that April 19th is Education and Sharing day and asked that the City support this event by passing a proclamation for the event. He noted that education is the cornerstone of our functional society. Education and Sharing Day was established in 1978 by Congress and serves as a reminder of the importance of education in fostering unity and understanding amongst diverse communities. He requested recognition of this day to foster a culture of life-long learning, compassion and education and affirm our dedication and commitment to building a better society, one where the pursuit of knowledge is celebrated by all. CM-24-37. Resignation of Michael Mitchell and Appointment of new Business License Hearing Officer. Motion to accept the resignation of Michael Mitchell as the Business License Hearing Officer and to appoint Richard Strenger as the Business License Hearing Officer. Motion made by Councilman Fleming, Seconded by Councilor Rohrbach. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. CM-24-38. Appointments to the Downtown Development and Brownfield Redevelopment Authorities. Motion to confirm the Mayor's appointment of the following to the Downtown Development/Brownfield Redevelopment Authorities: Name Term Type Expiration Joseph Keys Regular 2/28/28 Michael Sheppard Regular 2/28/28 Marija Ujkic Regular 2/28/28 Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Seconded by Councilor Wright. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. 2 CM-24-39. Appointment to the Tax Board of Review. Motion to appoint Suzanne Patton to the Tax Board of Review to a regular term to expire February 28, 2025. Motion made by Councilor Wright, Seconded by Councilor Rohrbach. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. CM-24-40. Appointment to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Motion to appoint Martha Covert to the Zoning Board of Appeals to a regular* term to expire February 28, 2027. Motion made by Councilman Fleming, Seconded by Councilor Rohrbach. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. *This term type was a clerical error and is corrected to be an alternate term with the same expiration date. CM-24-41. Resignation and Appointment of Council Representative to SEMCOG. Motion to accept the resignation of Sean Fleming as Council Representative to SEMCOG and appoint Quinn Wright as Council Representative to SEMCOG. Motion made by Councilman Fleming, Seconded by Councilor Wright. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. CM-24-42. Appointment of Council Alternate to SEMCOG. Motion to appoint Emily Rohrbach to Council Alternate to SEMCOG. Motion made by Councilor Wright, Seconded by Councilman Fleming. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. 3  CM-24-43. Purchase of a New SCBA Fill Station and Air Compressor. Motion to award the SCBA fill station and compressor bid to the lowest qualified vendor, MacQueen Emergency, in the amount of $56,000. Motion made by Councilor Rohrbach, Seconded by Councilor Wright. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. CM-24-44. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of February 12, 2024. Motion to approve the City Council Regular meeting minutes of February 12, 2024, as printed. Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Seconded by Councilor Wright. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. COUNCIL COMMENTS: Councilman Mier noted that the election is tomorrow, so if you haven't voted, please get out and vote. Mayor Pro Tem Bliss agreed with some of the public comments on the snow plowing policy and stated that he is open to further discussion. The Historical museum reopening is April 15th; he misspoke at the last Council meeting and noted that Council meeting date was changed due to recognition of a religious holiday. He stated that he supports a proclamation for Education and Sharing Day. Councilor Wright stated that he likes omelets because they have a lot of different ingredients. He feels like food is a great uniter and commented that he likes talking to his neighbors over food. He encouraged all to participate in the HREC cookbook to celebrate our diverse culture. As we value our lives, lets value each other, and be kind. Happy Black History Month. He noted that the Madison Heights Community Coalition is looking for a parent representative from the City, so if you are interested, please reach out. He advised that dabbing is a highly concentrated form of marihuana and a concern for our children; he stated that he was unaware of this term until recently. There is a lot going on in this world and we need to pay attention. City Attorney Sherman had no comments this evening. City Manager Marsh had no comments this evening. Deputy City Manager/City Clerk Rottmann stated that the Presidential Primary is tomorrow and polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in all voting locations in the City. She thanked the City’s 4 Election Inspectors for their hard work and reminded voters to be kind, they work long hours to ensure your right to vote. Councilor Rohrbach had no comments this evening. Councilman Fleming stated that he supports a resolution for Education and Sharing Day. He noted that he is testifying in Lansing tomorrow on HB 5127, which will expand the opportunity for disabled veterans to purchase disabled veteran’s plates. He requested having a railing added to the ramp on the north side of City Hall to help those in need. The Madison Heights Memorial Day Committee will be meeting on March 7th at 6 p.m. at the soccer complex and are looking for volunteers and parade participants. More information is available at madisonheightsparade.org. Councilman Soltis had no comments this evening. Mayor Grafstein thanked everyone for coming tonight and please remember to vote. She also supports an Education and Sharing proclamation. She wished good luck to the Clerk’s office on the election tomorrow. ADJOURNMENT: Having no further business, Mayor Grafstein adjourned the meeting at 7:59 p.m. Roslyn Grafstein, Mayor Cheryl E. Rottmann, City Clerk 5