City Council Regular Meeting

City Council Regular Meeting Madison Heights, Michigan March 10, 2025 A City Council Regular Meeting was held on Monday, March 10, 2025 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 ALSO PRESENT City Manager Melissa Marsh City Attorney Larry Sherman Deputy City Manager/City Clerk Cheryl Rottmann Mayor Pro Tem Bliss gave the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance followed. CM-25-30. Addition to the Agenda. Motion to add to the Consent Agenda: Recommendation of Special MMRMA Legal Counsel in the Closed Session regarding Kevin Johnson v Stephen Workman and City of Madison Heights. 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. MEETING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: Martha Covert, resident, spoke in support of fixing Edward Avenue in a more permanent fashion and noted that attempts to fix it were unsuccessful due to the timing of the repairs. 1 03-10-25 CM-25-31. Consent Agenda. Motion to approve the Consent Agenda as read. Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Seconded by Councilman Mier. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. CM-25-32. 2025 CDBG Yard Service- Lawn Contract. Motion to award the CDBG funded yard services/lawn service program contract to the lowest responsible bidder, Capital Landscape, at a unit price of $23.00 per lot for the 2025 mowing season, and to authorize the City to proceed to the next lowest responsible bidder, Zimmerman Lawn Service at unit pricing of $28.00 per lot in the unlikely event that the contract with Capital Landscape is cancelled due to non-performance or other issues, in an amount not to exceed $40,000.00 for the CDBG mowing season. Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Seconded by Councilman Mier. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. CM-25-33. 2025 Road Commission of Oakland County (RCOC) Summer Maintenance Agreement. Motion to approve the Oakland County Summer MainenanceAgreement with the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to sign on behalf of the City. Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Seconded by Councilman Mier. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. CM-25-34. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of February 24, 2025. Motion to approve the Regular Meeting Minutes of February 24, 2025 as printed. Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Seconded by Councilman Mier. 2 03-10-25  Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. CM-25-35. Recommendation of Special MMRMA Legal Counsel in Closed Session regarding Kevin Johnson v Stephen Workman and City of Madison Heights. Motion made to adopt the recommendation of the Special MMRMA Legal Counsel in Closed Session regarding Kevin Johnson v Stephen Workman and City of Madison Heights. Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Seconded by Councilman Mier. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. CM-25-36. Road Commission of Oakland County (RCOC) John R Project Cost- Share Agreement. Motion to approve a Budget Amendment in the amount of $190,000 to account 202- 450-988-0446 for the Road Commission of Oakland County (RCOC) John R Project Cost-Share Agreement. 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-25-37. Road Commission of Oakland County (RCOC) John R Project Cost- Share Agreement. To approve John R Project Cost-Share Agreement between the City of Madison Heights and Road Commission of Oakland County (RCOC) and authorize the Mayor to sign on behalf of the City. 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. 3 03-10-25 Council Comments: Councilman Mier stated there is lots of fun stuff going on in March including International Women's Day, Women's History Month, MS Awareness Week, Reading Month, St. Patrick’s Day, as well as lots of Recreation Department and AAC activities in the City. Mayor Pro Tem Bliss stated that there was a great crowd for Historical Commission Open House, and he thanked Mayor Grafstein and Councilman Mier for attending. There were artifacts from former Mayor Bill Huffman’s personal collection and family members were present answering questions and talking about how he came into his civic involvement. The next Historical Commission Open House is in June. History is important because if you know where the city comes from, you can move forward. He requested that Code Enforcement investigate the property that was proposed as the Sheetz location because it looks very neglected and in disrepair. All of our businesses deserve well-kept buildings. Councilor Wright wished a happy belated Happy International Women’s Day to all the women in our community. Here's to the helpers in our community, you are appreciated. City Attorney Sherman noted that his daughter, Jolee Madison Sherman, started a job today at WXYZ TV as a reporter. She is coming back from jobs in both Vermont and Connecticut, and stated that they are happy to have her home. City Manager Marsh had no comments this evening. City Clerk Rottmann notified the public that on May 6th there will be a School Special Election for the Lamphere Schools only. Applications for absentee ballots have already been mailed, and absentee ballots will be going out at the end of the month. If you would like to request an absentee ballot, please apply online, call or come in person to do so. Councilor Rohrbach announced curbside collection of yard waste resumes next week. As a member of the ECC, however, she reminded residents that if you wait until two weeks after the last freeze of the season to clear out your garden, it will help pollinators and keep our environment healthy. Try to keep from doing this activity until mid-May. Councilman Fleming stated that on March 14th, the DDA will be holding their Green Crawl, and he is looking forward to participating; more information is available on Facebook. He noted that Lansing has a Women’s History Museum and encouraged a day trip for those interested. Councilman Soltis announced that he is a new grandfather and stated that he is happy to be a first- time grandfather. Mayor Grafstein reminded residents that we are in Michigan, so road season is about to begin. I- 696 will be under construction for the next 2 years, John R will have construction; and 13 Mile will be undergoing some short-term construction. Remember to give grace, no one wants to be stuck in traffic. Also, please be aware of your surroundings and look out for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcycles, especially when the weather is nice. She wished Walter Himler a Happy 100th Birthday and noted that she presented a proclamation to him at his party. She thanked the Huffman family for their donations to the Historial Rooms; Bill was a huge supporter of women, so it was nice that his family were the special guests for the Historical Commission’s Open House during Women’s History Month. She echoed Mayor Pro Tem Bliss’ comments on Code Enforcement and noted that if anyone is having other issues, please contact Code Enforcement - that is why they are here. 4 03-10-25 ADJOURNMENT: Having no further business, Mayor Grafstein adjourned the meeting at 7:52 p.m. Roslyn Grafstein, Mayor Cheryl E. Rottmann, City Clerk 5 03-10-25