City Council Regular Meeting

City Council Regular Meeting Madison Heights, Michigan August 11, 2025 A City Council Regular Meeting was held on Monday, August 11, 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 OTHERS PRESENT City Manager Melissa Marsh City Attorney Larry Sherman Deputy City Clerk Phommady A. Boucher Councilman Fleming gave the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance followed. CM-25-120. Appointment of Acting City Clerk. Motion to appoint Deputy City Clerk Boucher as the Acting City Clerk for tonight's City Council meeting. Motion made by Councilman Mier, 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: There were no members of the public wishing to speak. CM-25-121. Consent Agenda. Motion to approve the Consent Agenda as read. 1  Motion made by Councilor Rohrbach, 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-25-122. Bid Award: Playground Mulch Phase 2. Motion to award the bid for the Phase 2 Playground Mulch Installation to the lowest qualified bidder, Superior Groundcover Inc., of Grand Rapids, for a unit cost of $34.95 per cubic yard, in an amount not to exceed $20,000 to cover any quantity overages necessary in the field. Motion made by Councilor Rohrbach, 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-25-123. Scheduled Replacement of Vehicle #100. Motion to approve the purchase of one 2026 Chrysler Pacifica from LaFontaine Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, of Lansing, through the MiDeal cooperative vehicle purchasing program, in the amount of $41,000. Motion made by Councilor Rohrbach, 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-25-124. Michigan Employees' Retirement System (MERS) - Delegates and Alternates to Annual Meeting Motion to appoint Tracee Miller as the Officer Delegate and Linda Kunath as the Officer Alternate and confirm the selection of Frank Kelley as Employee Delegate to attend the 79th Annual MERS Meeting on October 16-17 at the Grand Traverse Resort, Traverse City, Michigan. Motion made by Councilor Rohrbach, Seconded by Councilman Mier. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. 2 CM-25-125. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of July 28, 2025 Motion to approve the City Council Regular Meeting minutes of July 28, 2025, as printed. Motion made by Councilor Rohrbach, 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-25-126. Michigan Municipal League Annual Meeting - Delegate and Alternate Motion to approve the Councilor Wright as Delegate and Councilman Meir as Alternate to the 2025 Michigan Municipal League Annual Convention. Motion made by Councilman Mier, 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-25-127. Festival Table Policy. Motion to remove Festival Table Policy from the table. Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Seconded by Councilman Fleming. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilman Soltis, Councilor Wright Motion carried. Motion to approve the Festival Table Policy with the following amendment to #8: Upon timely request, table requests by special dignitaries and/or official candidates for incumbents of offices that represent Madison Heights (such as the Governor, U.S. Senators, and U.S. Congress members) may be made and will be accommodated, if feasible; otherwise, any requests outside this policy will not be considered. Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, 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 COUNCIL COMMENTS: Councilman Mier reminded the residents that compost bins are available at the Department of Public Services (DPS) and please remove any plastic bags that are not compostable. Concert in the Park at Civic Center Park Bandshell from 7:00 – 8:30 PM on Wednesday, August 27th is an Oldies/Classic Rock group “Dr. Smith.” Twilight Family Karaoke at Civic Center Park Bandshell from 7 – 8:30 PM on Thursday, August 14th. Madison Heights Recreation Department and Community Coalition are hosting their Annual Golf Outing Fundraiser on Friday, August 15th at Sylvan Glen Golf Course in Troy. Check out the Library and Recreation programs in the summer on the city website and Facebook pages. Mayor Pro Tem Bliss invites everyone to the Concerts in the Park at Civic Center Park Bandshell from 7:00 – 8:30 PM on Wednesdays. August 13th is a Pop /Rock group “Weekend Comeback” and August 27th is an Oldies/Classic Rock group “Dr. Smith.” There will be a variety of bands at Trail Tunes on Saturday, September 6th from 2 – 7 PM in Civic Center Park. The Planning Commission is meeting on Tuesday, August 19th at 5:30 p.m. to discuss correcting an outdated zoning for churches and help increase their property values. Councilor Wright invites everyone to Revin’ in the Heights on Saturday, September 13th from 10 AM – 3 PM on the Civic Center Campus, City Hall. The waste management company Priority Waste is the event sponsor. He encouraged everyone to be kind and remember we all have our own perspectives. City Attorney L. Sherman spoke about his dear friend Tom Staton who is the uncle of Councilor Quinn Wright, a former basketball player at the University of Michigan, and an Ordained Minister. He sends his condolences to Tom’s wife Wanda Staton, the Staton family, and the Wright family. City Manager Marsh thanked the attendees of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan held on Thursday, August 7th and the survey is open through Friday, August 15th. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 25th at 6 PM to hear the survey results and public engagement feedback. Deputy City Clerk Boucher had no comments this evening. Councilor Rohrbach thanked Councilman Bill Mier for mentioning the compost opportunity in the city and shared that 6,654 tons of food waste have been diverted year to date in Madison Heights. She recognized City Manager Melissa Marsh for mentioning the 5-year Parks and Recreation Master Plan and the importance of community input. Councilor Rohrbach sends her condolences to the Wright family. Councilman Fleming expressed his gratitude that council was able to debate, decided, and voted on the Festival Table Policy. Councilman Soltis confirmed that City Attorney Larry Sherman played college basketball. City Attorney Larry Sherman and Tom Staton were voted as the top 100 players in Oakland County in the last 50 years. Also, City Attorney Larry Sherman is in the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Mayor Grafstein thanked the attendees of the recent Parks and Recreation Master Plan meeting, and her goal is for the parks to be accessible to everyone. She appreciates that City Council had a policy conversation, was able to compromise, and majority of City Council approved the Festival 4 Table Policy. Mayor Grafstein is excited to have compost bins at the Department of Public Services (DPS). The next Regular Council Meeting is Monday, August 25th at 7:30 PM. ADJOURNMENT Having no further business, Mayor Grafstein adjourned the meeting at 8:52 p.m. Roslyn Grafstein, Mayor Phommady A. Boucher, Deputy City Clerk 5