City Council

CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2020 IN CITY HALL 1. Mayor Taylor called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Mayor Taylor led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and Melanie D. Ryska, City Clerk, gave the Invocation. 3. Council Members present at roll call: Deanna Koski, Michael V. Radtke Jr., Maria G. Schmidt, Liz Sierawski, Michael C. Taylor, Henry Yanez, Barbara A. Ziarko. Also Present: Mark Vanderpool, City Manager; Marc D. Kaszubski, City Attorney; Melanie D. Ryska, City Clerk; Carol Sobosky, Recording Secretary. 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Moved by Koski, seconded by Ziarko, RESOLVED, to approve the agenda as presented. Yes: All. The motion carried. 5. REPORT FROM CITY MANAGER Mr. Vanderpool provided an update on the recent snow emergency, noting they were fortunate enough to issue the warning well in advance so they had very good compliance with on-street parking. They issued 393 citations for individuals who parked on the road; however, they were able to give warning to an additional 430 people who were outside, saw the crews coming down the road and quickly removed their cars. There were just over 800 vehicles that had to be removed off the street, and the emergency is now over. He commended the DPW for doing an outstanding job. He also recognized the Police and Code Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 2 Enforcement who were out until the early morning hours making sure cars were off the road and the streets were safely plowed. Mr. Vanderpool informed the City had their Census 2020 kickoff last Thursday and it was well attended. They have a number of Ambassadors signed up who are willing to help the City spread the word about the Census 2020 and the Count Me In! campaign they have underway in Sterling Heights. He introduced Budget and Finance Director Jennifer Varney to provide more details on their census efforts and introduce a special guest. A short informational video on the upcoming census was shown, and Budget and Finance Director Jennifer Varney explained that the census, which is a physical count of all people in the United States, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or immigration status, is required by the Constitution to take place every ten years to determine the number of Representatives and federal tax dollars to be distributed to the people of a community. She provided a history of the census, which was first conducted in 1790, noting since that time, the number of United States Representatives has grown from 65 members to the current 435 members, where it was capped in 1929. The limited number of representatives now has to be divided among the fifty states, and the census is important to make sure the state has accurate representation, noting Michigan lost one representative based on the 2010 census, and it is predicted they may lose another in this census. Ms. Varney explained that census data also determines the amount of federal funds allocated for programs such as Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 3 Medicaid, nutrition programs, education, road construction and low-income housing. She stressed it is estimated that, for every person not counted, Michigan will lose $1,800 per person per year for ten years. If the population in Sterling Heights is undercounted by just 2,000 people, that would result in a loss of $3.6 million annually to their residents, or $36 million over ten years. That is critical because that would be a lot of money in programs and services that would not be available. Census data helps determine the changing needs of the community and helps local legislators and administration to determine how many police officers and firefighters they need to keep their residents safe. Census data is used by community and business members. The City of Sterling Heights is the fourth largest city in the State of Michigan and is still growing, so an accurate census count is vital to ensure Michigan receives the appropriate amount of funding to support their residents. Ms. Varney explained in mid-March, residents will receive a postcard explaining how to complete the census, and she added this is the first year where residents will be able to complete the census online, which is the fastest and easiest way to respond. Once a response is received, the resident should not receive any further communication from the Census Bureau. For those not responding, multiple notices will be mailed throughout April, and for those not responding by the end of April, census workers will start knocking on doors in May to try to get a complete count. Census information and supporting material will be translated into 59 different languages, and the City will have Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 4 resources, including computers, available at the library, new community center and senior center to assist those needing help completing the census. There is a great opportunity for residents to become Census Ambassadors dedicated to increasing awareness, dispelling myths, identifying hard-to-count populations and motivating others to respond to the 2020 Census. More information on ways to help will be forthcoming, and they are working on ways to count those who have historically not been counted, including those with language barriers, people experiencing homelessness, children under five years of age, single-parent households, renters and college students. Ms. Varney stressed it is important that everyone understands that information collected for the census will be used purely for informational and funding purposes. Title Thirteen of the U.S. Code makes it a felony to share respondents’ information with anyone, including government and law enforcement agencies. The Census only asks basic demographic information and will not ask for citizenship status or social security number. Ms. Varney provided information on the City’s public education campaign to make sure everyone is counted, including letters in the water bills, foam boards that will be located at all city facilities, considering contracts to advertise on cable television and in movie theaters, and will be attending community gatherings and meetings throughout the City. She pointed out that one of their SMART buses, parked in front of City Hall this evening, is “wrapped” and these vehicles will be seen throughout the City. Their mascot, Sterling B. Counted, Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 5 was introduced last week and will attend all community events. She urged those interested in hosting a community event to contact Community Relations. Some of the other efforts they are taking through social media to get the word out about the census, and provided their dedicated website, www.sterling-heights.net/Census2020, where there will be more information on the census. Ms. Varney emphasized that Census Ambassadors are needed, and she explained ways they can help, noting for those interested, they can go to the website and click on “Become an Ambassador” to fill out the online form. Ms. Varney concluded her presentation by introducing a special guest, Sterling B. Counted. Council members greeted Sterling B. Counted and a photograph was taken. Mr. Vanderpool stated that concludes his report for this evening. Mayor Taylor recognized Utica Mayor Tom Dion and his wife who are in the audience this evening. He appreciated the City’s partnership with Utica and wished them success. 6. ORDINANCE INTRODUCTIONS A. Mayor Taylor stated this is to introduce an ordinance to amend Chapter 30 of the City Code to update the City’s massage establishment regulations. He invited Assistant City Attorney Donald P. DeNault, Jr. to give a presentation. Assistant City Attorney Donald P. DeNault, Jr. explained that the origin of this proposed amendment is to make some updates to their current ordinance. He provided some history on this ordinance, which originated in 1995, when the Michigan Court of Appeals struck down a Ferndale ordinance regulating Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 6 massage therapists and massage parlors because at that time, state law regulated the entire field. The State later deregulated, so in 2006, the City put together a comprehensive ordinance regulating massage therapists and massage businesses. The State later took back the licensing section for the massage therapists, so in 2014, the city ordinance was amended to reflect that change. The comprehensive ordinance was retained to regulate massage establishments. He stated in the last six months, there have been a number of high-publicity stories involving massage establishments, so with the police department’s help, they revisited the ordinance to make sure they are doing all they can in Sterling Heights to assure they are fostering good businesses while making sure nothing illegal or illicit is happening in that industry. Mr. DeNault explained they came up with a proposed amendment to the ordinance, including the addition of explanations and more comprehensive definitions, including exemption of massage from the neck up because that is part of cosmetology in beauty schools. They have added notes to the new ordinance about Reiki, which is the practice of working with a person’s energy without actually touching them to do what might be considered massage, adding that tissue is not manipulated with that practice. They have added the requirement that any business offering Reiki must have a Master Teacher license for that practice, noting there are very comprehensive certification requirements in that industry. Mr. DeNault explained the administration has looked carefully at how many massage businesses they have, and the concept Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 7 of establishing a cap on the number of these licenses is being proposed. He stated the City of Troy has placed a cap on the number of these establishments, and there are other communities across the country that are also limiting the number as well. Administration is proposing a cap of twelve massage-licensed businesses, although he clarified that does not mean they would start eliminating any in existence. If they exempt medical, he estimated the City currently has twenty or less, but they currently have twelve establishments that represent themselves as massage-only facilities. He clarified those twelve, along with anyone else currently in operation, would be covered and exempt, but as businesses close or move away, they would not want to encourage any of those that are shut down to reopen. Mr. DeNault outlined a couple of the other amendments involving due process, with a new provision that the City Clerk’s office has the ability to act when there is a problem, and an appeal process is outlined. He concluded that is the broad summary and offered to answer questions. Mayor Taylor opened the floor for comments from the audience, but no one from the public spoke. Moved by Yanez, seconded by Ziarko, RESOLVED, to introduce the ordinance to amend Chapter 30 of the City Code to update the City’s massage establishment regulations. Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 8 Councilman Yanez commented this is a good update, noting that human trafficking in this country has been a problem and a lot of them go through these massage establishments. Councilman Radtke questioned how many licenses the City of Troy allows for this type of business. Mr. DeNault replied the City of Troy recently initiated a cap of eighteen facilities. It does not appear they have maximized the use of that cap. Councilman Radtke stated he wants to stamp out human trafficking and prostitution in Sterling Heights but is concerned about harming honest business owners who want to serve the community. He noted this City is larger than Troy, both in size and population, so he would like to see the cap raised to eighteen, adding they do not have to all eighteen licenses but he would like them available. Yes: All. The motion carried. 7. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Taylor stated this item is consideration of the Consent Agenda. He invited public comments from the audience. • Mr. John Matthews – regarding items F and G, the Census expenditure for outreach is low in comparison to the large amount of money recouped in counting these individuals. Moved by Koski, seconded by Ziarko, RESOLVED, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented: A. To approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 7, 2020. Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 9 B. To approve payment of the bills as presented: General Fund - $987,072.32, Water & Sewer Fund - $1,948,027.29, Other Funds - $4,599,426.53, Total Checks - $7,534,526.14. C. RESOLVED, to award the bid for non-lethal and rifle ammunition to Vance Outdoors, Inc., 3723 Cleveland Ave., Columbus, OH 43224, at unit prices bid for a one-year period. D. RESOLVED, to: A. Split the award the bid for Mechanical Pre-Purchase, ITB SH19- 071, to the following vendors: ThermalNetics, Inc., 3955 Pinnacle Court, Auburn Hills, MI 48326, for new Air Handling Units, Air Condensing Units, Rotary Screw Water Chillers, Energy Recovery Equipment, and Air Coils, at a cumulative cost of $601,200; and R.L. Deppman, 46575 Magellan Drive, Novi, MI 48377, for Condensing Boilers at a cumulative cost of $120,896. B. Award the bid for Lighting Pre-Purchase, ITB SH19-072, to Graybar Electric Company, Inc., 8350 Haggerty Road, Belleville, MI 48111, for lighting fixtures at a cumulative cost of $610,714.65. E. RESOLVED, to purchase two (2) WatchGuard 4RE in-car video systems, software licenses, and software and hardware maintenance and warranty services, from WatchGuard Video, 415 Century Parkway, Allen, TX 7510, at a total cost of $12,308.00. F. RESOLVED, to accept the proposal by Outfront Media, 88 Custer Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48202, for vehicle wrap advertising at a total cost of $15,600.00 and authorize the City Manager to sign the Advertising Non-Space Agreement on behalf of the City. G. RESOLVED, to accept the proposal by Effectv, a Comcast company, for broadcasting of advertisements promoting a complete count of Sterling Heights residents for the 2020 Census at a total cost of $24,925.40 and authorize the City Manager to sign the proposal on behalf of the City. H. RESOLVED, to waive the competitive bidding requirement pursuant to City Code §2-217(A)(6) and approve the Commercial Lease Agreement between the City of Sterling Heights and CORT Business Services, PO Box 3536, Capitol Heights, MD 20791 for rental of office furniture at an estimated cost of $30,368.63, and authorize the City Manager to sign the Agreement on behalf of the City. I. RESOLVED, to approve the rental contract between the City of Sterling Heights and Utica Community Schools for the leasing of Rose Kidd Elementary School for the period of October 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020, at a cost of $75,000, subject to review and approval by the City Attorney, and authorize the City Manager to execute all required documents consistent with Council’s approval. Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 10 Yes: All. The motion carried. 8. CONSIDERATION A. Mayor Taylor stated this is to consider nominations to City of Sterling Heights Boards and Commissions. Mayor Taylor opened the floor for comments from the audience, but no one from the public spoke. Mayor Taylor explained this is for one opening on the Zoning Board of Appeals and is a City Council appointment. He inquired as to whether anyone has a nomination or would like to make a motion to postpone to the February 4, 2020 Council meeting. Moved by Ziarko, seconded by Schmidt, RESOLVED, to postpone the nomination to the Zoning Board of Appeals to the February 4, 2020 Regular City Council meeting. Yes: All. The motion carried. B. Mayor Taylor stated this is to consider appointments to City of Sterling Heights Boards and Commissions. Mayor Taylor opened the floor for comments from the audience, but no one from the public spoke. Mayor Taylor explained this is for two vacancies on the Planning Commission. These were nominations at the last City Council meeting and there are two suggested actions. Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 11 Moved by Sierawski, seconded by Radtke, RESOLVED, to appoint Pashko Ujkic to the Planning Commission as the Zoning Board of Appeals liaison to a term ending June 30, 2021, subject to the appointee meeting the qualifications set forth in Charter §4.03 and taking the oath of office within two weeks. Mayor Pro-Tem Sierawski commented this is a good nomination, adding Mr. Ujkic has been involved in the community for a number of years, is a business owner and has a great interest in serving the community. Yes: All. The motion carried. Moved by Radtke, seconded by Taylor, RESOLVED, to appoint Nathan Inks to the Planning Commission to a term ending June 30, 2020, subject to the appointee meeting the qualifications set forth in Charter §4.03 and taking the oath of office within two weeks. Councilman Radtke noted that Mr. Inks is a Clerk for Justice David Viviano and is confident he will be a great addition to the Planning Commission. Yes: All. The motion carried. 9. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS Mayor Taylor opened the floor for comments from citizens. There were no comments from citizens. 10. REPORTS FROM CITY ADMINISTRATION AND CITY COUNCIL Mr. Vanderpool stated he had nothing further to report this evening. Mr. Kaszubski stated he has nothing to report this evening. Mayor Pro-Tem Sierawski thanked everyone who has supported her family while her son was in Afghanistan, adding that he will be coming home next Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 12 week, and they are excited to greet him as he arrives. She urged everyone to keep the US troops in their prayers. Councilman Yanez thanked the DPW, Code Enforcement, Police Department and Fire Department for their hard work during the recent snow emergency, commending them on the outstanding job they did. He expressed concern about the number of citations issued, questioning the cost for a citation and also whether the City has ever conducted a survey of the people who have not moved their cars to find out why they did not comply. He questioned whether something like that can be done because he is curious as to whether there is a problem they can solve. Mr. Vanderpool stated no matter how much they try to get the word out through publications and electronic communications, it seems they average between 400 to 500 citations during every snow emergency. He pointed out that, in consideration of the fact that the City has over 40,000 homes, not including multi-family units and most likely double that number of vehicles in the community, he estimated that to be a very good number. He agreed that while they should continue to do better, he is not sure they will be able to get that number much lower. They could look at the possibility of some random sampling of those who received tickets and look into whether they are historically repeat offenders. The amount of a citation is $25 for the first offense, but it goes up significantly for the second offense in a given season. He appreciated the feedback. Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 13 Councilman Yanez thanked Mr. Vanderpool and would like to see the City reach out to those who received citations, especially the repeat offenders. He expressed concern that there are people with physical disabilities or the elderly who are not able to get their cars off of the street and are being issued citations. He would like to see if those numbers could be lowered. Councilman Radtke thanked the DPW for the great job they did during the snow emergency. He understands the frustration of residents in getting their streets cleared and their cars out during a snow event, but he felt that the entire 36 square miles of Sterling Heights was plowed in a period of about 18 hours and DPW should be commended because they go without sleep, and they worked nearly the entire holiday weekend. He questioned whether fines were lowered a few years ago for snow emergency citations. Mr. Vanderpool confirmed that citation fees were lowered from $75 to $25; however, they still scale up, so a second offense is $75, and that amount goes up for additional offenses. He added the City reserves the right to tow vehicles in violation, which results in additional fees for the owners of the vehicles. The fines were lowered about five or six years ago. Councilman Radtke stressed that everyone needs to be counted in the upcoming Census because for each person not counted, thousands and thousands of dollars of money due to the City is lost. He spoke with Mr. Vanderpool, who indicated they will be coming up with a plan for digital outreach on social media and other ways, and he looks forward to that report. Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 14 Councilwoman Schmidt thanked first responders and DPW for the long hours they put in through the snow event. She noted that when a street has been plowed but the snow emergency has not yet been lifted, people want to park in the street again. She questioned the rationale as to why they are unable to park in the street once their street has been plowed. Mr. Vanderpool replied that is a common question they receive, but he stressed they are not able to predict whether more snow will be on its way and DPW will have to go back out to clear the streets once again. He indicated that is the reason they prohibit on-street parking throughout the entire snow emergency. He explained the City publicizes they will try to get all of the roads done within 36 to 48 hours, although it has been closer to 36 hours, so they hope it is not too much of an inconvenience, but assured it is for good reason. Councilwoman Schmidt was encouraged to see neighbors helping neighbors, especially people allowing their driveways to be used for parking their neighbors’ cars. She thanked and commended DPW and all involved for doing an amazing job. Mayor Taylor received complaints as well about tickets that were issued after the streets were plowed. He understands their frustration, but he explained to those individuals that the City cannot be sure whether or not the snow is going to continue, and many times the plows have to go back through neighborhoods again. He suspected if they could have gotten to every car, there may have been even more citations issued, but he felt if they can Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Page 15 coordinate with the Code Enforcement to prioritize the streets that have not yet been plowed, that would be a better use of resources rather than Code Enforcement going to the areas that have already been plowed. He commented with the ability to communicate almost instantaneously, they could get the DPW map to Code Enforcement writing the tickets to they can stay ahead of the plows as much as possible. He agreed with Councilman Yanez that DPW works incredibly hard around the clock, and he was pleased to see positive comments as well on social media, showing overall appreciation for the work DPW did in very difficult circumstances. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. 12. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business. 13. CLOSED SESSION PERMITTED UNDER ACT 267 OF 1976 There was no closed session this evening. 14. ADJOURN Moved by Ziarko, seconded by Sierawski, RESOLVED, to adjourn the meeting. Yes: All. The motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m. MELANIE D. RYSKA, City Clerk