City Council Regular Meeting

City Council Regular Meeting Madison Heights, Michigan October 27, 2025 A City Council Regular Meeting was held on Monday, October 27, 2025 at 6:30 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 Councilor Quinn Wright ABSENT Councilman David Soltis ALSO PRESENT City Manager Melissa Marsh City Attorney Larry Sherman Deputy City Manager/City Clerk Cheryl Rottmann CM-25-164. Motion to Excuse Councilmember Motion to excuse Councilman Soltis from today’s meeting. Motion made by Councilman Fleming, Seconded by Councilor Wright. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilor Wright Absent: Councilman Soltis Motion carried. Mayor Grafstein gave the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance followed. CM-25-165. Addition - Pending Litigation - Workers' Compensation Case Carey Spangler vs. City of Madison Heights. Motion to add Pending Litigation, Workers’ Compensation Case Carey Spangler vs. City of Madison Heights to the agenda under Reports. Motion made by Councilor Rohrbach, Seconded by Councilman Mier. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilor Wright Absent: Councilman Soltis Motion carried. 1 10-27-25 Citizen's Academy Certificates of Completion On behalf of City Council, Mayor Grafstein presented Certificates of Completion to the participants of the 2025 Citizen’s Academy. Participants spent time learning the operations of the city as well as how the city functions overall. During the program, participants met weekly with staff from all departments. A key focus of their learning was understanding how Madison Heights is committed to improving our citizen’s quality of life. CM-25-166. Alley Vacation Request # PEE 25-01 - 17 ft.-wide alley between 601 W. 12 Mile Rd. and 28767 Dartmouth St. [Postponed from 10/13 Meeting] Motion to postpone the alley vacation request #PEE 25-01 for a 17-foot-wide alley between 601 W. 12 Mile Rd and 28767 Dartmouth Street to the November 10, 2025, City Council Meeting. Motion made by Councilman Fleming, Seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Bliss. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilor Wright Absent: Councilman Soltis Motion carried. MEETING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: Kathy Sapia, resident, provided a visual representation of traffic data that she collected on Dartmouth and 12 Mile on 10/22 and 10/23. She spoke in opposition to the alley vacation. Martha Covert, resident, stated she feels our City Charter and policies were broken by a candidate and is frustrated that Council has not taken any action. Timothy Ginster, resident, spoke in opposition to the alley vacation way. Chris Webster, resident, spoke in opposition to the alley vacation way.. CM-25-167. Consent Agenda. Motion to approve the Consent Agenda as read. Motion made by Councilor Rohrbach, Seconded by Councilor Wright. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilor Wright Absent: Councilman Soltis Motion carried. 2 10-27-25 CM-25-168. Environmental Citizens Committee - Recommended Removal of Member Motion to concur with the recommendation of the ECC to remove Kristin Lagos, and appoint alternate member Cathy Ellison to the newly vacated seat, with a term to expire February 28, 2028. Motion made by Councilor Rohrbach, Seconded by Councilor Wright. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilor Wright Absent: Councilman Soltis Motion carried. CM-25-169. Emergency Purchase - Fire Station 2 Plumbing Repairs Motion to receive and file the emergency purchase for Fire Station 2 plumbing repairs with the Purchasing Coordinator as a permanent and public record. Motion made by Councilor Rohrbach, Seconded by Councilor Wright. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilor Wright Absent: Councilman Soltis Motion carried. CM-25-170. Civic Center Park Bandshell Landscaping Motion to approve the proposal for the Civic Center Bandshell landscaping project from Frank Rewold and Sons, through the Oakland County cooperative purchasing agreement, in the amount of $19,111, and to authorize the Director of Public Services 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, Councilor Wright Absent: Councilman Soltis Motion carried. CM-25-171. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of October 13, 2025 Motion to approve the City Council Regular Meeting minutes of October 13, 2025, as printed. Motion made by Councilor Rohrbach, Seconded by Councilor Wright. 3 10-27-25  Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilor Wright Absent: Councilman Soltis Motion carried. CM-25-172. Resolution To Opt Out of PA 152 Motion to adopt the Resolution to Opt-out of PA 152 as allowable under that statute, as follows: RESOLUTION TO OPT OUT OF PA 152 WHEREAS, PA 152, passed by the state Legislature, was designed to lessen the burden of employee healthcare costs on public employers; WHEREAS, Communities are given three options for complying with the requirements of the Bill; WHEREAS, those three options are as follows: 1) Apply the Hard Cap (capped dollar amount each government employer may pay towards an employee's healthcare costs); 2) Adopt by majority vote the 80%/20% (employer/employee) cost- sharing model; 3) Opt out of the cost-sharing model by a super majority vote of five as set forth in the bill and revisit it prior to the next year. WHEREAS, the City of Madison Heights has determined to opt out of the cost- sharing model by a super majority vote of five as set forth in the bill as its choice of compliance under PA 152; NOW, THERFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Madison Heights City Council elects to comply with the requirements of the Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act by opting out of the cost-sharing model as set forth in PA 152. Motion by Councilor Rohrbach, Seconded by Councilman Mier. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilor Wright Absent: Councilman Soltis Motion carried. CM-25-173. Ordinance 2208 - Precinct Boundary and Polling Location Changes, First Reading Motion to adopt Ordinance No. 2208, Amending Precinct Boundary Descriptions, Polling Locations and Precinct Numbers, on First Reading and schedule the Second Reading for November 10, 2025. 4 10-27-25 Mayor Pro Tem Bliss asked that consolidation of voting locations for Precinct 7, McCann Administration Building and Precinct 5, Madison Heights Library be considered prior to the second reading. Motion made by Councilor Wright, Seconded by Councilman Mier. Voting Yea: Mayor Grafstein, Mayor Pro Tem Bliss, Councilman Fleming, Councilman Mier, Councilor Rohrbach, Councilor Wright Absent: Councilman Soltis Motion carried. COUNCIL COMMENTS: Councilman Mier stated that he is looking forward to learning about the traffic study for Dartmouth. Friday is Halloween, please be careful of the trick or treaters on the streets. Mayor Pro Tem Bliss wished a Happy Birthday to Councilman Fleming. The city’s official 70th birthday is December 6th. Prior to the December 8th Council meeting, the Historical Commission will be highlighting 12 Moments That Made Us. He expressed his gratitude to Kevin Wright for his work on the Madison Heights Historical Facebook page, noting he is doing a great job getting historical information out there. The Historical Society is having a t-shirt sale to support their preservation efforts. Councilor Wright stated that residents are being impacted by the federal government shutdown and noted that we do have some food pantries including the Madison Heights Food Pantry and Gleaners in the community. Please check them out if you are in need of some assistance. If you aren’t affected by the shutdown, please remember your neighbors that are and consider donating to food pantries. Also, maybe consider food items such as granola bars for Halloween in place of candy. Eight days to election day, lot of words out there so remember to be kind and do what is right. City Attorney Sherman had no comments this evening. City Manager Marsh had no comments this evening. Deputy City Manager/City Clerk Rottmann reminded residents that early voting is ongoing at the Royal Oak Senior Center until next Sunday, November 2nd. Hours are 8:30 to 4:30 daily, except Thursday, when the hours are noon until 8 p.m. Absentee ballots are available at the Clerk's office and the Clerk's office will be open for election business this Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. All voting locations will be open for the November 4th election. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Councilor Rohrbach expressed congratulations to the Citizen's Academy graduates, thanking them for their interest and for wanting to learn more about how their government works. She thanked Kathy Sepia for her diligence and information. To the Historical Commission and Kevin Wright, thank you for all the social media posts, they are fascinating. Be sure to vote. Councilman Fleming noted that the Historical Commission would like to get more volunteers and would appreciate any help they can get. The City had a motto, the City of Progress, and it has changed to Creating Community. Council does try to make sure this city is progressing forward and trying to make things better. He stated that he lives close to the Dartmouth area, and is 5 10-27-25 surprised that there aren’t more traffic accidents in the area. He added that he wants to know what the definition is of a commercial truck. He wants to make sure our roads are safe and we are not causing more chaos. He also noted that ITAC is creating a policy for AI and hoping that these policies will help protect the city. Mayor Grafstein stated that things change and that is part of progress, including changing our motto. People are afraid of change, but that is how we grow. She noted that Council asks everyone to be accountable and self monitoring and that we need to work together to move forward. With respect to Dartmouth, she commends Ms. Sepia for all the work and effort that she has put into the matter. She recommended Ms. Sepia join a board and commission to utilize her skills. She continued her comments by noting Council needs to look at all the issues and what is best for everyone. We are trying to work with the developer and residents to come up with something that may work for all and encourage attendance at the November 10th Council meeting. ADJOURNMENT: Having no further business, Mayor Grafstein adjourned the meeting at 7:17 p.m. Roslyn Grafstein, Mayor Cheryl E. Rottmann, City Clerk 6 10-27-25