It is my personal opinion, after discussions with the Oakland Township Fire Department since early 2014, that if residents understood how it is currently staffed and operated you would support and perhaps demand the hiring of 6 more full-time Paramedic/Firefighters so we can have a prompt, adequate, safe responses to medical emergencies, fires, auto accidents and other emergencies.

I will present my arguments in a series of articles over the coming weeks. Besides putting ourselves in danger, we are asking our Paramedic / Firefighters to do their jobs in a way that is too dangerous to them.

EMS

Let’s take a look at our Emergency Medical Service (EMS). Our Fire Department is licensed by Oakland County Medical Control Authority (OCMCA) as an ALS (Advanced Life Support) service. Think of this as bringing the emergency room to your house. The basic legal requirements to be licensed are:

1. A properly stocked ambulance (drugs, EKG, surgical equipment for inserting breathing tubes, etc.)
2. Two Paramedics or one Paramedic and one Emergency Medical Technician at all times on the ambulance
3. Arrive on scene within 6 minutes of being notified by dispatch (8 minutes if you think our population is below 500 per square mile or 18,400 people.)
4. Follow all OCMCA patient treatment protocols exactly
5. Have an EMS coordinator for training and item #6 below.
6. Review every response for compliance to patient treatment protocols

Our EMS /ALS service meets requirements 1 4, 5, 6; but fails to meet 2 and 3.

1. We have two properly equipped and stocked ALS ambulances, A-1 at Station #1 on Collins Rd. and A-2 at Station #2 on Rochester Rd.
2. We have only one person on the ambulance enroute to your medical emergency. This driver / Paramedic is unsafely multitasking. She is navigating, working the siren, looking for traffic, communicating with dispatch and possibly Crittenton Hospital and planning what to do for the patient on arrival. There should be a second person on this ambulance.
3. We get the two paramedics or one paramedic and one EMT on scene in 11.5 minutes, 5.5 minutes late, according to data collected between 10/1/15 and 5/31/16.

An ambulance leaves the fire station with one paramedic on board. He or she hopes to meet up with another paramedic or EMT at the scene – either a Paid-on-Call (who is not “on call”, but volunteers to respond if they can) or the second ALS ambulance from the other station. Except during the daytime, each station is manned by a single person. It takes 6 people to place one person in two stations 24/7. During the day the Chief and EMS Coordinator are also at Station #2.

4. I am confident, after numerous discussions that our Paramedic / Firefighters deeply care about people and spend a lot of time studying and practicing Oakland County patient treatment protocols to make sure they are prepared. Recently they cut open a neck to insert a breathing tube to save a gunshot victim. This is far beyond first aid.
5. We have an EMS Coordinator.
6. The EMS coordinator leads these reviews.

 

FIRES

 

For fires, our Paramedic / Firefighters must go into the structure to rescue people or to put out the fire and prevent a total loss of property. Two firefighters go in the burning structure as a team. Two firefighters must be outside ready to rescue them if needed. One more person needs to be outside and in command. This is the bare minimum.  Fifteen people are needed if the fire is to be extinguished.

Generally accepted standards set by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA)              are:

1. Four firefighters on scene in 4 minutes 90% of the time.
2. Fifteen firefighters on scene in 9 minutes, 90% of the time.
3. 80 additional seconds are allowed receive the call, suit up, and get on the truck.

I am unaware of any data on our degree of conformance to these standards. But with our one man per station, it is extremely unlikely that we comply.

 

AUTO ACCIDENTS

These require often multiple ambulances, at least one fire truck, and an emergency gear truck with jaws-of-life, etc. Two people can bring two of four needed vehicles, the rest depends on volunteer response and mutual aid from other communities.

 

DATA

We have suggested to Chief Strelchuk that there should be a monthly review of fire department data showing compliance or lack thereof and issues and plans. So far there has been no positive response to this suggestion.

 

FUTURE ARTICLES

We will provide future articles with more detail based on questions from readers.

Bob Yager

11-28-2017

Former Township Parks and Recreation Commissioner, Alice Tomboulian, once remarked that developers see Oakland Township as “a tough nut to crack”. By that she meant that our Zoning Ordinance #16 and associated ordinances contained the maximum legally defensible restrictions on what a developer can do; far more than surrounding communities. These tough ordinances are the results of members of the former Oakland Township Association, including Peggy Johnson, to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude.

Using these ordinances our Planning Commission and Board was able to approve no new development in fiscal 2016-2017 (March 31, 2016 to April 30, 2017).

The legally required Planning Commission annual report provides details. I have written-in details of Board of Trustees votes on Planning Commission recommendations in this Planning Commission annual report at link below. The Board was even tougher than the Planning Commission.

Planning Commission Annual Report 2016-2017

 

Residents –

Please voice your views on this matter to our 12^th District State Senator Jim Marleau via email (jimmarleau@senate.michigan.gov). Include your name and address.

Resident Anne Marie Rogers has been working on this issue and has extensive professional studies about the danger of such animal breeds. At this link is a recent letter she sent out to all State Senators.

SB-416 Letter

Planning Commission Meeting 11/7/17 – Review Eight Sections of Proposed Zoning Ordinance #16 at Request of Board of Trustees.

 

The Township has been working on a revision of Zoning Ordinance #16 since about 2009. This ordinance tells us what we can and cannot do on our properties. It applies to each of us including developers. A few people, not many, have proposed that we have no zoning ordinance. Other people have proposed changes to the proposed ordinance. Based on citizen comment at a recent Board of Trustees meeting, the Board asked the Planning Commission to review eight sections and recommend if they be changed or remain the same.

Since this process started about 8 years ago there has been a complete turnover in every elected or appointed person involved except current Township Supervisor Mike Bailey.

The Planning Commission heard input from residents on each of the 8 in order, one at a time and then deliberated and made motions on all 8, one at a time.  They followed the process set forth in their 2012 by-laws as seen at this link in section 3.10 which allows public comment before motions.

http://www.oaklandtownship.org/boards_and_commissions/planning_commission/docs/By_Laws.pdf

Public comment is not required by the Open Meetings Act after a motion, contrary to accusations by a resident during citizen comment at the end of the meeting.

An understandable 21 page handbook covering the Open Meetings Act can be seen here –

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/ag/OMA_handbook_287134_7.pdf

You can review the entire Open Meetings Act at this link –

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-act-267-of-1976.pdf

 

A brief summary of the motions and votes with approximate time on the video follows:

 

16-??? Penalties

PC recommends to Board to change zoning ordinance to allow a hybrid of civil infraction followed by misdemeanor if that fails vote – 7/0 (84 min.)

 

16-303B – location of accessory buildings

PC recommends no change – vote 7/0 (114 min.)

 

16-306 – Number of Class III animals (example chickens, rabbits, etc.)

PC recommends eliminating 150 pound limit on dogs- vote 6/1, NO- Scaccia

PC recommends change from 2 acres required to 1-3/4 acres required. This is minimum lot in VLRD – vote 7/0, (120 min.)

Commissioner Judy Workings made a motion to reduce the area to 1 acre, this was defeated 1/6.

 

16-??? Dwelling Standards

PC voted 7/0 to keep 1200 square as the minimum building size.

 

16-323 – Home based businesses

PC voted to recommend keeping this section unchanged. It is more liberal that 1976 ordinance in allowing 2 non-family employees and use of accessory buildings. Vote – 7/0 (146 min.)

 

16-331 – Outdoor storage of recreational vehicles and other materials

PC recommended no change to this section. Vote 6/1 NO – Workings (she wanted 72 vs, 48 hour parking limit) (Editorial comment – unfortunately the PC appeared not to remember the citizen comment on how the 3 day period between storage “events” makes a weekend RV trip  hard to do in compliance with this. It was late by this time) (165 min.)

 

16-343 Test Plans

PC voted 7/0 to recommend making two changes less favorable to developers suggested by Craig Blust. (183 min.)

 

16-505 – Bed and Breakfast

PC voted 7/0 to recommend retaining the 120 square foot minimum bedroom size.

 

Some information about Lombardo development proposal on Buell –

 

The Lombardo housing development proposed between Buell Rd. and Stoney Creek is being proposed as a “Site Condominium” Development. This does not mean that the dwellings are “condos”; they are 140 single family homes. “Site Condominium” is a Michigan legal description which means the lot owners own and are responsible for many things in common like the roads for example.

Developers are property owners with legal rights like you and I. This is absolutely the key fact to remember in any resistance effort. Under state law they can develop their property, just like you can develop yours, according to our existing zoning ordinance. To oppose what they are doing you will only be effective if you can show the Planning Commission or Board of Trustees that a problem exists where the developer does not meet the requirements of our zoning ordinance. This usually means you must study their proposed plans (can be examined at Township Hall, Building Department, at any time) and the applicable zoning ordinance in detail. If you succeed, you likely won’t stop the development, but will modify it to conform to our ordinance, which may be enough for you. (Or not).

In the case of this proposed development,  township consultants Carlisle Wortman (Planning Consultants), PEA (Engineering) and ASTI (Environmental) have presented Lombardo with a long list of over 50 items that do you meet our zoning ordinance. These can be seen in their three detailed reports to the Planning Commission in the meeting packet for Oct 3, 2017 Planning Commission at this link: https://www.ecode360.com/documents/OA3183/public/393537546.pdf

One item is Lombardo’s inadequate test plan.

You will not succeed in accomplishing anything by simply objecting to development. You have to object to specific features that violate our zoning ordinance. There is no legal basis for our Township government to reject a development that conforms to our zoning ordinance or to call for a moratorium on building. The builder will simply sue and win.  Now, having said that, some parts of the ordinance are subjective and open to opinion; these can be your best avenues of resistance to minimize the impact of the development.

See our zoning ordinance in two pdfs on this page of the township website. http://www.oaklandtownship.org/boards_and_commissions/planning_commission/zoning_ordinance_no_16.php#revize_document_center_rz165

See sections 22, 23, 24 for most of the requirements on housing projects.

The only recent large housing project approval that I am aware of was Moceri’s Blossom Ridge / Carillon Creek approved by a 5-2 vote on Feb. 2, 2016 with only Treasurer Jeanne Langlois and Clerk Karen Reilly voting against the project and former Supervisor Gonser and Trustees Bailey, Buxar, Ferriolo and Giannangeli voting for it.

 

Bob Yager

Editor – Oakland Township Sentinel

Proposed revised Zoning Ordinance #16 is to be discussed Tuesday at 7 PM by the Planning Commission. If you are concerned about having too few property rights or your neighbor having too many you should attend.

In short the zoning ordinance tells property owner what is allowed / not allowed on their property. Things like size of house, can I build a strip club? bar?;  pig  farm?. How many dogs, cats, roosters, and tigers can I have? What kind of home business can I have? What advertising can I do? It also defines the enforcement process, which lately has been an issue. Do you really want your fellow citizens to be convicted of a misdemeanor if they violate the zoning ordinance?

Before zoning was started in about 1920 to prohibit a smelly factory being build upwind of a ritzy residential neighborhood in Euclid Ohio, only nuisance laws applied.

Zoning is a two edged sword. It restricts what you can do. It also allows you to do things that your neighbors cannot then complain about. It restricts your property rights and it also restricts your neighbor’s right to be a nuisance to you. What if your neighbor has 260 acres at Buell and Collins and wants to build a 1000 lot low income trailer park. What legal measure can stop that?

See the parts of the zoning ordinance that are controversial and need resolution at this link – (last few pages.)

 

Show up and voice your opinion. It matters.

 

Bob Yager

Editor – Oakland Township Sentinel

Very nice photos of Cranberry Lake Park by Cam Mannino. See link below –

 

Cranberry Lake Park: Prepping for Winter, Sowing for Spring

 

Editorial Comment – I recently told someone this was an easy process. I guess it is for me, having done it hundreds of times. In reality, it is not so easy at first. But if you really care to know what is coming up for discussion or vote, you must learn this process and you must check EVERY DAY to see if a meeting has been added that  interests you.

 

Bob Yager

 Editor – Oakland Township Sentinel

See the pdf below  for detailed instructions

How to find out about meetings and agendas

 

The Board voted 6/1, without reviewing details of impact on the budget (as suggested by Treasurer Langlois) to approve Township Manager Dale Stewart’s proposal to appoint Lou Danek to this reinstated full-time combined position. Maintenance of the township buildings has suffered somewhat since this position was unfilled when Paul Strelchuk was promoted from this position to Fire Chief in early 2013 to replace Bill Benoit. Maintenance and repair was done on an ad-hoc basis by various township employees (including Lou) or contractors. Prior to this appointment Lou has been Assistant Fire Chief as a Paid-on-Call member. He has been a member of OTFD since at least 1991 with a current Medical First Responder License and firefighting qualifications.

If a Michigan gravel road has no posted speed limit the legal speed limit is 55 MPH. Rochester Hills had a traffic speed study of actual driver speeds done and recommended that Oakland Township join them in posting 40 MPH speed limit signs. Our Oakland Township Board of Trustees rejected that and voted for a counterproposal of 30 MPH. They felt that posting 40 MPH would likely cause an unsafe increase in speeds. I think this conclusion was sound and based on time spent (without pay) of the Board subcommittee’s (Buxar, Reilly, Ferriolo) and other Board members studying the issue thoroughly. See video of Board of Trustees meeting 10/24, Chapter 6 – Agenda 8/2 to see the discussion (about 20 minutes). The speeds that cars actually travelled during the study can be seen in the board packet.