City Council

CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013 IN CITY HALL Mayor Richard J. Notte called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Notte led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and Mark Carufel, Interim City Clerk, gave the Invocation. Council Members present at roll call: Deanna Koski, Richard J. Notte, Joseph V. Romano, Maria G. Schmidt, Paul Smith, Michael C. Taylor, Barbara A. Ziarko. Also Present: Mark Vanderpool, City Manager; Jeffrey Bahorski, City Attorney; Mark Carufel, Interim City Clerk; Madeline L. Ranella, Recording Secretary. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Moved by Koski, seconded by Romano, to approve the Agenda as presented. Yes: All. The motion carried. REPORT FROM CITY MANAGER STRATEGIC PLAN DISCUSSION ITEMS 1. Staff Presentations A. Year in Review Mr. Vanderpool explained the purpose of the Strategic Planning session is to seek feedback from Council and residents on a number of topics. He stated they have a number of presentations planned for this evening. Mr. Vanderpool reported the first two presentations would be the results of the City’s financial report card and the results from the citizen survey. There would be a special presentation to unveil a new program to address the ongoing property maintenance needs, followed by an update from the Economic Development Program Manager. He requested that comments be held until all four 15 minute presentations were completed. Mr. Vanderpool began with an update on various financial measures, which are part of the City’s performance scorecard as it relates to City costs, Cost of government to the residents, Employee cost savings, Employee costs, City financial scores, Long- term obligations, Economic strength and City services. He explained Sterling Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Page 2 Heights has the lowest government debt per resident when compared to nine other municipalities. In regard to full-time employees per 1,000 residents, Sterling Heights ranks lowest at 3.7. The City’s bond rating continues to be excellent at AA+. The average monthly residential water & sewer bill of $43.00 is the lowest of comparable cities. B. Residential Survey Update Mr. Steve Guitar, Community Relations Director, explained approximately every 5-7 years, Sterling Heights conducts a City wide statistically valid residential survey used to benchmark services and programs. He explained the City Council approved funding for the survey in the 2012-13 budget. He explained Infogroup, Inc. out of Omaha, Nebraska conducted the survey. Mr. Bernie Galing, Director of Market Research, Database Analytics Division for Infogroup, discussed the results of the residential survey. He highlighted the key results from the survey and concluded that residents believe Sterling Heights is a good place to live, people have a positive feeling about the City, they believe the departments are performing well, Police & Fire staffing and response times are important, most residents feel safe in the City, they believe they get good value for the taxes paid, they are in favor of keeping police and fire staffing at current levels, there was some support for a millage rate increase, most people believe the City should not reduce services. In summary, he stated that the key conclusions to the survey were that residents do not want to cut police and fire any further and that the City seems to be moving in the right direction because of the high positive rating for life in the City between 2006 and 2012. Mr. Steve Guitar concluded that residents are satisfied with the services and feel they get a good bang for their buck. He encouraged residents to view the complete results of the survey and provide feedback. C. New Code Enforcement Program Ms. Denice Gerstenberg, City Development Manager, highlighted the Code Enforcement Program. She explained over 20,000 total inspections were performed. They mowed grass and cut weeds on over 1,300 properties. Ms. Gerstenberg pointed Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Page 3 out there were four Pride & SHINE Clean up days and over 200 SHINE volunteers. They assisted 55 residents with clean up projects, assisted over 20 residents with small outdoor maintenance projects and inspected over 200 residential subdivision court islands. Ms. Gerstenberg pointed out last year almost 400 properties were sent to the Ordinance Board of Appeals for nuisance abatements. The program goals are to increase proactive enforcement, integrate SHINE principles of education and community partnership, have faster cleanups and develop a fee structure. To that end, the proposed program changes are to add part-time inspectors, add one additional monthly Daytime Ordinance Board of Appeals meeting, encourage seven day cleanups and start non-homestead, single-family residential exterior inspections. D. Economic Development Update Ms. Kasey Green, Economic Development Manager, reviewed the developments occurring in the City. She explained the key commercial projects – E.A. Graphics on Van Dyke, Beaumont on Dequindre, Suburban Ford, Vyletel Buick GMC, Buff Whelan Chevrolet, Sterling Heights Dodge Chrysler, McDonald’s on 15 Mile, CVS on Hayes, McDonald’s on Van Dyke, Subway on Van Dyke, Flagstar on Schoenherr, Flavor Flav’s Chicken and Ribs on 15 Mile, Christian Financial Credit Union on Lakeside Circle, Art Van Pure Sleep at Hayes, Planet Fitness on 15 Mile and LA Fitness at M-59 and Mound. The key industrial projects include $336 million in new investment. BAE is investing $58 million, Chrysler over $1 billion, Ford $86 million at the Mound Road plant and $85 million at the Van Dyke plant, General Dynamics $6.3 million and AGS $21 million. Ms. Green stated the Velocity center was launched in October of 2011 as a hub for business incubation and economic development. They have had over 5,000 attendees since the launch. She stated they would be hosting a variety of events in the near future at Velocity. Ms. Green pointed out the economic recovery occurring in the City and stated they are looking for new ways to market the City as a great place to do business. 2. Resident Comments Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Page 4 Mr. Mike Lombardi questioned whether residents would have an opportunity to change between a morning meeting with the Ordinance Board of Appeals and an evening meeting. Mr. Lombardi inquired whether the City could include some of our neighboring communities when comparing statistics. Mr. Lombardi questioned how the City of Sterling Heights compared to other communities that the company has surveyed. Mr. Jeffrey Norgrove expressed his satisfaction with the results of the survey. He agrees with the residents that there should not be any further layoffs and encouraged City Council to pursue a public safety millage. Mr. Norgrove suggested the Code Enforcement and SHINE program work with the courts to offer people community service. Mr. Norgrove suggested the City hold a business expo combined with an unemployment expo. Mr. Bruce Gill discussed the personal property tax issue. Mr. Gill discussed snow plowing on his cul-de-sac and tickets received by the residents. He suggested a warning be issued and the fee be waived on the tickets. Mayor Notte explained the more aggressive enforcement plan for snowplowing. He stated Mr. Gill needs to obtain a court case and the magistrate would probably give him some consideration based on his circumstances. Mr. Gill suggested the City use their emergency sirens to alert residents to snow emergencies. Mr. Vanderpool responded the sirens are reserved for tornadoes and cannot be used for snow emergencies. 3. Mayor and City Council Comments Mayor Notte stated the whole strategic planning presentation was very positive. As far as the survey, it was very similar to the 2006 survey and in that six to seven years, the City went through some hard times and citizens still feel as well as they did in 2006. He feels that is an accomplishment for the City administration, City Council and City employees. Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Page 5 Councilwoman Schmidt inquired whether the daytime Ordinance Board of Appeals would be a new commission. Ms. Gerstenberg indicated it would be a new commission, meeting during the day. Councilwoman Schmidt inquired whether a person could appear before an evening Ordinance Board of Appeals meeting if they were unsuccessful at a daytime meeting. Ms. Gerstenberg indicated they could not. Councilwoman Schmidt was very pleased with the presentations this evening. She stated the survey was very interesting and she believes the City is very blessed to have people investing in the City. Councilwoman Koski discussed the additional inspections that SHINE would be involved in as it relates to the non-homestead properties. She inquired whether notices would be sent to the non-homestead properties to advise them the City would be doing inspections to the exterior of their properties and charging them a $125 fee. Councilwoman Koski questioned how the City would justify doing the inspections. Ms. Gerstenberg responded they have the ability to identify all properties that are non-homestead properties and would prioritize the inspections. She stated there is a higher percentage of the non-homestead properties that go to the Ordinance Board of Appeals. Notices would be sent to those property owners that an inspection would be forthcoming and they would know the kinds of items the City is looking for. Councilwoman Koski discussed the negative comments from residents about possible services that would be cut and inquired whether the administration could discuss those with the City Council before they moved forward. Mr. Vanderpool responded they would be happy to forward any action plan that the administration develops as a result of the negative comments. The City Council would have an opportunity to review anything that would be put forth by the administration through the budget process. Councilwoman Koski discussed the negative comment about the cultural exchange program and stated that is an excellent program. Councilwoman Koski discussed communication with residents in regard snow emergencies and inquired whether the City could find other ways to notify the Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Page 6 residents. She suggested when the schools make their calls, they could mention to the residents that they should check with their local news to see if an emergency is declared. Councilwoman Koski discussed the possibility of doing more advertising for volunteers for the various programs the City provides. She suggested using Church groups or neighborhood associations to solicit volunteers to work with the SHINE program. Councilman Romano stated he was always against any additional fee for absentee owners, but with the foreclosure rate and property value declines, he would do a turn about and say the $125 fee with prior notification should put people on notice that they should be maintaining their properties. In regard to the Ordinance Board of Appeals, he believes the City would have a hard time getting volunteers. Councilman Romano discussed the use of volunteers to assist the City in enforcement of the sign ordinance and suggested the neighborhood associations could supervise their own neighborhoods. Councilman Taylor discussed the snowplowing issue and the fact that the resident stated that some streets are never plowed. Mr. Vanderpool responded every street in the City is plowed. Councilman Taylor requested Mr. Vanderpool explain the difference between townships and cities when using them for comparison purposes. Mr. Vanderpool indicated they highlight communities with populations right around 100,000 or above. They are full-service communities like Sterling Heights. Councilman Taylor discussed the resident surveys and stated he is pleased with the results. He pointed out the questions are all asked in the positive and inquired whether they feel that plays into what the response would be. Mr. Galing responded if they asked the questions in the negative, he believes it might throw people off and it would be more confusing for the residents. He tries to write the questions as simple and forthright as he can. Councilman Taylor discussed the long paragraph that he believes primes the residents for the question about taxes being raised for a millage assessment. Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Page 7 Councilman Taylor questioned the percentage of properties in Sterling Heights that are non-homestead. Ms. Gerstenberg responded there are approximately 43,000 properties in the City and 2,086 are non-homestead. Councilman Taylor inquired whether there is any way to determine how many of those properties are rentals. Ms. Gerstenberg responded right now there is no way to figure that out without personal contact with those residents. Councilman Taylor inquired whether there is any value to having an ordinance that requires non-homestead property owners to register those properties and undergo some sort of registration process or pay a fee. Ms. Gerstenberg responded they have found those types of programs to be very labor intensive. Councilman Taylor stated the number one thing this year is code enforcement and he wants to prioritize road maintenance. He believes this should be one of the City’s highest priorities. He proposed that administration present the City Council with a budget that includes road funding. He stated that the budget could be reduced in other departments to accomplish this. He asked that administration show ways to include road funding without affecting police, fire or the DPW. Councilman Smith discussed the negative feedback on the snow emergency policy and the tickets that were issued. He believes the tickets should be converted into warnings and that a better notification process is necessary. Councilman Smith stated in regard to the non-homestead properties, there is probably a lot more rental properties than the City knows about. Councilman Smith inquired when construction started on the new Ford assembly plant and when it is going to be in production. Ms. Green responded they began in 2011, carried through into 2012 and should be completed in 2013. She pointed out it is over a billion dollar investment. Councilman Smith believes if services need to be cut, he suggests they be in Economic Development, in Velocity and the INCubator. He believes if these go Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Page 8 away, it would not hurt the City at all and the money could be used in other areas. He stated Ms. Green’s talents could be used in other areas of the City. Councilman Smith discussed the chart in the lobby and questioned its presentation on how the City spends tax dollars. Councilman Smith discussed the resident survey, statistical results, and the questions dealing with the police and fire millage. He commented on the police and fire millage questions and a comparison to the 2006 survey. Councilwoman Ziarko discussed Economic Development and the importance of having an Economic Development Manager. Councilwoman Ziarko questioned what the City does for the small businesses. Ms. Green responded one of the things they do is reach out through their partnership with the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center. Councilwoman Ziarko questioned the number of companies that have come out of the INCubator and the number of jobs that have been created through the INCubator. Ms. Green responded the business INCubator is home to a unique area of startup companies, high technology companies. A handful of companies located there, but have not launched. She stated they are not quite there yet and this is the effort that is underway. Councilwoman Ziarko questioned whether any of the companies have mentioned any areas that the City does not have or that we can improve on. Ms. Gerstenberg stated she couldn’t speak to anything specific, but some companies depending on their needs, might have road issues. In that case, they would get the DPW involved. Councilwoman Ziarko inquired how Mr. Galing was chosen to conduct the residential survey. Mr. Galing responded they have a sales team that works in this particular region. They were aware that the City was looking for a survey and that is how this came about. Mr. Guitar added that they went through the Office of Purchasing and submitted an RFP and Infogroup responded. Special City Council Meeting Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Page 9 Councilwoman Ziarko questioned whether it was commonplace to ask positive questions. Mr. Galing responded they try to make it as unbiased and easy to understand as possible. Councilwoman Ziarko questioned the acceptable or normal percentage of responses to a survey after it is sent out. She also inquired whether they do repeat surveys to the same people. Mr. Galing responded the response is around 80% and they do not do repeat surveys to the same people. Councilwoman Ziarko stated she is comfortable with the results of the survey. It is a benchmark for what the community wants in the future. In regard to snow emergencies, Councilwoman Ziarko stated the City does an adequate job of informing people and she doesn’t know how many more ways the City can do it. Councilwoman Ziarko suggested using the schools to obtain SHINE volunteers and stated high school teenagers need community service hours. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS There were no communications from citizens at this time. ADJOURN Moved by Schmidt, seconded by Ziarko, to adjourn the meeting. Yes: All. The motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:26 p.m. MARK CARUFEL, Interim City Clerk