Author: Bob Yager
Fall Newsletter Covering Parks and Recreation, Cranberry Lake Farm, Oakland Township Historical Society, Paint Creek Trail – Activities and Information
The township website under News and Higlights (upper rignt of home page) had this post
PARKS AND RECREATION FALL PROGRAMS
The Oakland Township Parks and Recreation Department has a lot of fun programs slated for this fall! Click here for a sneak peek at all of them in the Parks and Rec Fall Newsletter!
Safety Paths and Trails August 4, 2021 Meeting Cancelled
This message was on the township website
MEETING CANCELLED
The Safety Path and Trails Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday, August 4, 2021 has been cancelled. The next scheduled meeting of this committee is Wednesday, September 1, 2021.
Commissioner Judy Workings Proposed Changes to July 6th Planning Commission Meeting Minutes to Clarify Birch Grove Academy Discussions are Accepted by Planning Commission
In a brief 11 minute virtual meeting last night (August 3rd), the only significant business was to approve the July 6th meeting minutes. Commissioner Judy Workings proposed several changes to clarify remarks made during the Birch Grove Academy special land use discussions. All were accepted by the Commissioners. The revision of the draft minutes will eventually show up in the final minutes with cross-outs and additions clearly indicated.
You can see the discussion on the videotape
Commissioner / Trustee Giannangeli and Commissioner / EMT-P Jim Tweedie attended from Bloomfield Township.
Township Required Public Notices are now in The Record not Rochester Post
Deputy Clerk Roxanne Thatcher confirmed to me that Oakland Township no longer places legally required public notices in the Rochester Post (free weekly paper delivered to all homes). Instead they are being placed in The Record ($40 per year for home delivery or $1.00 per issue in news boxes). Copies of The Record can be obtained at the news box in front of the Paint Creek Cider Mill. I will start buying them and looking for public notices.
July 21-27 Issue – no Oakland Township public notices
July 28-Aug 3 Issue – Meeting Summaries of July 13 Board meetings (2), page 10, bottom left. These appear to be the minutes verbatim regarding motions.
I don’t know the circulation of The Record in Oakland Township, but I venture to say it is much less than Rochester Post.
Artemis Villa Freedom of Information Request Denied
I have attempted to understand more about what is going on with the Artemis Villa housing development project at Gunn and Adams. There seems to be a hang-up on the details of the “Public Benefit Property Donation”. Developer Dominic Moceri indicated previously at Planning Commission meetings that they would donate an adjacent parcel along Adams Road across from Delta Kelly school for public benefit. The parcel might be used, for example, for a required water storage tank, fire station and or police station.
Any significant discussions on this by the Board, since it was proposed, have been in secret, some presumably in the subcommittee formed recently – why?
I attempted to obtain a document mentioned at the July 13, 2021 Board of Trustees meeting, but was denied as it is “Information or records subject to the attorney-client privilege” and therefor exempt by law, MCL15.243 Section 13 (1)(g) from disclosure to the public. I can appeal this ruling but see no point in doing so. It will just add another legal fee to our township expenses.
Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) August 2, 2021 (Special Meeting)
Summary
Parks and Recreation Meeting August 2, 2021 Summary
Approved final entrance sign concepts and proposed budget amendments for Paint Creek Junction and Marshview Parks for presentation to the Board for their consideration on August 10th. (The Board previously passed Resolution 21-07 requiring their approval of all signs on Township property.) Resident Frank Ferriolo stated among other things. “The sign is too busy”…. “The seal (referring to township seal) should be twice this size that it is.”….I would eliminate these elements altogether”.. (refers to train and cattails logos on these two signs and similar logos on other parks signs.
Tabled decision on $6,000 more for more tree/brush clearing until August 11th around the entrances to Paint Creek Junction to improve sight distance for vehicles entering and exiting this park (expected to open in October)
Agenda – August 2, 2021 Special Meeting
Video August 2 (2 hours – very tedious, don’t watch)
Board to Evaluate Options for Township Employee Medical Care Benefits at August 10 Meeting
Each year since 2011 our Board has had to choose one of three medical insurance funding options open to them under the rather strange Michigan Public Act 152 of 2011.
Option #1 – “Hardcap” option – Fund employee medical insurance at a certain maximum dollar maximun set each year by the state based on inflation, originally set at $5,500 for individuals, $10,000 for couples or $15,000 for families
Option #2 – Fund 80% of costs while employee funds 20%
Option #3 – Fund more, up to 100% of employee medical costs. Commonly known as “opting out”.
Our Board has always chosen Option #3, “opt-out”, and provides a very signficant portion of medical insurance costs. There has been, to my recollection, little to no public discussion before these annual votes.
This year is different. After a presentation on medical care policy options, that focused only on the contents of the insurance plans and no comparison of the three funding options, no one on the Board made a motion to “opt-out”. (The slides used in the presentation can be seen at pages 90-105 in the July 13 meeting packet that can be accessed in our post on that meeting below.) Instead, led by John Giannangeli, they chose to get more information on what the other two options would mean for township funding and employee cost. They intend to discuss this at the August 10th meeting and will likely vote then to choose one of the three options.
I support making this decision having full knowledge of the comparsion of the three options for impact on cost to both employees and the township. I would also ask the Township Administration, if I were a Board member, to provide comparisions to other municipalities with whom we compete for qualified employees.
Public Act 152 of 2011, 4 pages
http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-Act-152-of-2011
Frequently asked questions about PA 152, 51 pages
Construction Progress on New Access to Paint Creek Trail Between Royal Oak Archers and Clarkston Road.
The two photos below show grading work in progress for the new parking lot, picnic area, rest room snd connecting path that will be Paint Creek Junction Park (the formerly undeveloped Marshview Connector Park) . The two photos below were taken July 20, 2021 from Paint Creek Trail while a bulldozer and power shovel worked on the parking area. The parking lot is at a much higher elevation relative to the trail than I thought.
Above – Connector path under construction to and from Paint Creek Junction Park and Paint Creek Trail
Another view showing a metal drainage pipe properly set in the ditch along Paint Creek Trail. A lot of engineering goes into what on the surface seems relatively simple. An improperly set pipe could create standing water and yet another mosquito breeding ground.
Oakland Township Sentinel 