Monthly Report – 2-1-2019

monthly report – 1-1-2019

Monthly Report – 12-1-2018

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In a PowerPoint slide presentation titled “Year to date update” at the 9/25/18 Board of Trustees Meeting, Oakland Township Fire Department (OTFD) Chief Paul Strelchuk presented these statements :

• Currently one full-time FF/Paramedic out on injury leave
• One may have to go on leave
• All shifts are covered by the remaining staff, creating Overtime and Burnout. One paid on call paramedic can fill in when available.

and

• Fire response requirements exceed our staffing levels and rely heavily on Mutual aid agreements.

The primary response of the Board of Trustees to these concerns was to call for Chief Strelchuk to speed up hiring of part-time EMT’s. ($15/hour, max 32 hour work week as directed by Board at 3/13/18 Board Meeting)

It is not clear to me how EMT’s can legally fill roles as either paramedics or firefighters.

The Chief’s recommendation was made in this statement on one of his slides

• No available swing type person to take some of the load. Might be something to consider to reduce overtime and burnout

There was no motion nor discussion pertaining to  this possible option.

All Townships in Michigan must have an elected Treasurer. I would summarize their duties as:

• Collect the taxes

• Invest the money wisely in investments approved by state law

• Stick to a Board-approved budget

•  Use good accounting methods approved by the State

• Pay the bills.

• Don’t steal

Our current elected Treasurer is Jeanne Langlois elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. She is a former commercial loan officer.

By Michigan law, elected Treasurers must appoint a Deputy Treasurer as a back-up.

Townships boards do not get to select the Deputy, but do have the authority to set the pay / compensation for both the Treasurer and Deputy. This results in an infinite possibility of division of work duties. While the elected Treasurer is ultimately responsible, she can delegate tasks to the Deputy.

In Oakland Township, the Deputy works a normal 40 hour week, does all the day-to-day tasks and collects a higher salary ($67,000) than their boss the elected Treasurer ($9,000). To receive an equivalent hourly pay to her Deputy, Treasurer Langlois would have to restrict her hours to 5.4 per week. As a member of the Board of Trustees, the elected Treasurer Jeanne Langlois votes on all Board motions about a wide range of subjects. Based on how knowledgeable she is on issues that she must vote on, I suspect she spends far more than 5.4 hours per week.

Mr. Claeson has been Deputy Treasurer since 2014, and by all accounts did a great job. We just received a stellar audit report from outside auditors Plante-Moran; which in part reflects on him. We welcome Mr. Blessed, who comes from Sterling Heights with 30 years of experience.

More about Treasurer’s Department can be seen on the Township website

http://www.oaklandtownship.org/township_departments/treasurers_department/index.php

 

Since 2007, Oakland Township has had a millage of up to 0.25 mils ($0.25 per $1,000 of taxable value) to fund connecting safety paths within the township that are not already within parks and funded by Parks Department or bordering subdivisions and funded by builders initially and then maintained by  individual Homeowner’s Associations.

Libby Dwyer, citizen chairperson of the all volunteer, unpaid,  7 member Safety Paths and Trails Committee (SPTC) says resident surveys show the #1 resident desire is a safe path to the Paint Creek Trail. She presented two options to the Board, this one and a path down Gunn Rd. from Adams to Paint Creek Trail. While the Board made no formal motion, it was obvious they favored the Gallagher Rd. path.

The most populated and highest tax base area of the township is the southwest portion. A 2012 plan to connect them to the Paint Creek Trail via a safety path down Adams Rd. from Delta Kelly elementary school to Paint Creek Trail was favored by the 2008 Board of Trustees, but was rejected in early 2013 by the new 2012 Board which contained 5 new members of 7 total. Their primary reasons for rejection were:

• Safety path is too steep (it did not meet national path standards for maximum slope)  and would be a hazard especially to daredevil youth on bikes
• The Board was unwilling to invoke “eminent domain” to place some of path on private property frontages.
• The Board felt long-term maintenance costs of the boardwalk “trestle” sections would be much higher than estimated by the previous Board.

The new 2012 Board of Trustees then decided to replace the Trails Planner paid job (40% of a township employee’s full-time duties) with a 7 member volunteer committee consisting of:

• Representative of Board of Trustees
• Representative of Planning Commission
• Representative of Parks and Recreation
• Four citizen members

SPTC plans trails, but must get Board of Trustees approval to go ahead with a project.

The previous Trails Planner had done a lot of work with PEA, the township’s engineering firm to develop feasibility of various routes. Safety paths in Oakland Township are made difficult by hilly terrain (potential for unsafe slopes) , wetlands (requiring very expensive boardwalks) and the desire to avoid eminent domain. Recently SPTC, using that work as a foundation,  did a comprehensive 15 page master plan which is an addendum to our master plan and can be seen at this link:

Click to access 348893092.pdf

The 40 minute  presentation and Board discussion of the proposed Gallagher path can be seen at Chapter 8 of the video of 8/14/2018 Board of Trustees meeting. Videos can be found by going to the township website http://www.oaklandtownship.org/. Click on “Watch Live Streaming” at far lower right  and click  your way to this Chapter.

The SPTC website says this

“The SPTC generally meets on the first Wednesday of the month in the Township Hall at 6:00pm. Citizen comment is always welcome. Always check the township website for time and location updates. Most meetings are televised live on Comcast channel 17 or on the township website where recordings of past meetings can be viewed. If you can’t attend in person, please email your SPT comments to Dale Stuart, Township manager, at dstuart@oaklandtownship.org.”

Link to SPTC website

http://www.oaklandtownship.org/township_departments/safety_paths_and_trails.php

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since we are not a city and have the “primitive” (former Manager Jim Creech’s accurate word) township form of government, Road Commission  of Oakland County has authority and responsibility over most of our roads.  A high injury accident history at the intersection, and a targeted campaign by mothers of Delta Kelly Elementary School led to a decision to install a roundabout. Oakland County Road Commission has the authority to dictate if it will be a roundabout or a traffic light. Oakland Township has no say in that decision.

We must contribute $500,000 to the $2,000,000 project if we want it to happen. RCOC will also put a repaving “preservation” layer on Adams Rd.  from Dutton to Gunn as part of the project.

The Board credited Township Manager Dale Stuart with negotiating our portion down from an initial $700,000.

RCOC uses state gasoline taxes to fund roads.

The board debated how exactly to pay the $500,000. The complete 30 minute discussion can be seen on the video of  9/25/2018 BOT meeting at Chapter 10.

Here is a refresher in how to find the video segment of this discussion:

1. Go to township website: http://www.oaklandtownship.org/
2. Click on “Watch live streaming” at very bottom right of home page
3. Click on “Board of Trustees – 2018”
4. C lick on “Board of Trustees – September 25, 2018”
5. Click on “Chapters”
6. Click on “Chapter 10, agenda 7/5”

 

 

 

On 9/25/2018, after information was presented to the Board by Parks Director, Mindy Milos-Dale, the Oakland Township Board of Trustees passed Resolution 18-14 by a 7/0 vote approving  a grant application to be made by Oakland Township Parks Department to Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund (MNRTF) for a “trail-head” parking lot in Paint Creek Junction Park (formerly Marshview Connector Park) on the west side of Orion Road between Adams and Kern. (See map  below). The proposed lot will accommodate cars and horse trailers and allow access to the northern part of Paint Creek Trail and proposed Iron Belle Trail near the border with Lake Orion. (See map and engineering drawing below).

Projected funding is projected to be:

MNTRF Grant                                                                      $228,450

Parks Fund (from township Parks millage taxes)                  $76,150

Total                                                                                     $304,600

(Site development plan drawing from PEA Engineering Drawing No. 5, Job No. OA1808, titled TF18-0098 Iron Belle – Paint Creek Trail – Northern Trail Development)

MNRTF is funded by oil and gas leases on state land. The program is protected by being written into the Michigan State Constitution.

According to the MNRTF website, since 1976  MNRTF grants have been awarded as follows:

• Total MNTRF grants-                    $1,167,483,823  (Yes, over $1 billion !)
• Oakland County grants –                   $88,131,612
• Oakland Township grants-                  $5,428,103

Parks Director Mindy Milos Dale provided Oakland Township Sentinel the following detail of MNRTF grants that have benefited or will soon benefit Oakland Township parks

Past Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Past Grants Received by Oakland Township:

• TF99-128- $ 2,010,101 -Acquisition of Marsh View Park (1999)
• TF00-311- $ 313,302 -Development of Bear Creek Nature Park (2000)
• TF02-013- $ 1,762,800 -Acquisition of Lost Lake Nature Park (2002)
• TF05-102- $ 893,700 -Acquisition of Stony Creek Ravine Nature Park (2005)
• TF07-057- $ 293,300 -Development of Marsh View Park (2007)
• TF10-069- $ 154,900 -Development of Lost Lake Nature Park (2010)

 

 Also currently in process is this grant:

• TF16-0009 Stony Creek Ravine Nature Park Expansion    $2,216,400 (2016 application)

Read more about MNRTF at this link: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79134_81684_79209_81657—,00.html  

A detailed listing of all MNRTF grants in the state by county can be found at:

Click to access MNRTF_Grant_Projects_Awarded_564902_7.pdf

 

 

 

 

Please be aware of the Board meeting coming up Tuesday 9/25. The agenda and Board packet can be seen at this link:

 

https://www.ecode360.com/documents/OA3183/public/457619825.pdf

 

I am most interested in item VII-7 “Fire Dept. Status Report” and sent the letter below to Fire Chief Paul Strelchuk with copies to Board, Manager and Attorney with my questions.

 

Bob Yager

 

 

 

 

Paul Strelchuk

Fire Chief

Oakland Township

 

cc: Board, Manager, Attorney

 

Re: Agenda item VII-7, 9/25/18 Board of Trustees Meeting, Fire Department Report

I applaud your attempt to provide vital information at 9/25/18 Board meeting. And I appreciate that the Board continues to provide Board Meeting Packets in advance.

I would like to see this important information presented in a venue where the public can ask questions for understanding and/or to challenge statements. Since Board Meetings have a “This is not a Q&A session” rule, I will ask these questions in advance and hope you address them.

Board Members can ask questions. I hope they will ask you my questions, if not answered for the public. Or alternatively I hope they open the meeting to questions from the public and expect answers from you.

 

From Board Packet – Page 54.

Run Volumes

• Year to date 673 runs

• Year to date Priority run response time Average 7 minutes 46 seconds,  From CFIRS.

• Year to date 80th percentile fractile time 8 minutes 54 seconds from Michigan EMS Information System data for medical runs. The average time of 5 minutes 49 seconds.

 

What is the definition of a priority run. How many have there been?

Why do you cite 80% fractile time for EMS runs versus 90% fractile times? Isn’t 90% within 8 minutes the OCMCA requirement?

The data in the Michigan EMS System is entered by OTFD personnel from your records, correct?

Is the EMS response time when two qualified medical personnel arrive as required by OCMCA  or is it still the time for the “first person with a radio to arrive” that has been reported in the past?

Why include any average response times. What agency suggests standards in terms of averages. Don’t all agencies agree that averages are misleading?

 

Page 56 –

You state that “Fire response requirements exceed our staffing levels…”. However you provide no data on our actual fire responses or the requirements to illustrate this point and clarify it to the Board or public.  Can you at least describe this problem for the most recent fire on Becker Drive.

 

Bob Yager