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.
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.
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 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)
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.
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.
To watch just one agenda item, scroll down when the video appears and select the item you want to watch. Click on “show description” to check if you have the desired agenda item. Times for agenda item are also shown, so you can gauge if you want to devote that much time watching a particular agenda item.
Special meetings like this one are often scheduled with the primary purpose being to hold a closed session as the main agenda item instead of just adding a closed session to the 7 PM regular meeting. Sometimes, but rarely, the meeting does include a board decison. In this meeting, three items were discussed in a 45 minute closed session but no decisions followed in open session. Residents can attend these special meetings and make comments at the beginning before any decision to go into closed session.
Item #3 on the agenda below was decided in the 7 PM regular meeting that followed. I have no clue what items #1 and #2 were about, nor why the Board felt a closed session for them was in Township’s best interest.
Unfortunately, at least in my view, the Open Meetings Act has a loophole allowing discussion of just about anything in closed session. All that is needed is a confidential legal opinion on the topic to discuss it, regardless of topic.
Closed sessions are never required, just allowed, if the Board sees it as in the best interest of the township. Unfortunately I have rarely ever seen a debate on whether or not going into a specific closed session is in the township’s best interest. The last incidence of such a debate that I am aware of occured in Parks Commission in maybe 2013 or 2014 led by Andy Zale’s comments. I find the lack of debate by the Board on the need for a specific closed session troubling.
Take a few minutes below to read the meeting minutes below.
Unrecorded Citizen Comments
I will attempt to summarize the comments for items not on the agenda not now summarized in minutes.
John Markel had three concerns – 1) Erosion along the berm of Rochester Road north of his sub threatens the pavement integirty, 2) He was not able to access the virtual Board meeting recently to raise this concern. He felt that lack of clear instructions was a violation of the Open Meetings Act and asked this be addressed for any future virtual meetings 3) His email communication on these two matters has gone unanswered.
Later in the meeting, Manager Kline said RCOC was addressing the road. Clerk Buxar asked him to follow up with RCOC. There were no comments during Board Reports and Correspondence on concerns 2) and 3).
Oakland Township Sentinel 