by David Gordon, reporting on the 1-23-2018 Board of Trustees meeting
For the first time since Marlene Chockley became Supervisor more than a year ago, the Board of Trustees meeting ended before 9pm, no thanks to Trustees Wayne Dockett or Tawn Beliger. Typically these meetings go until 10-11pm.
With a dramatically reduced Agenda (no Department Head reports or presentations, only two Agenda Items and three Discussion Items), the Board managed to conclude at 8:30 pm to a round of applause from the audience (just me, actually).
The meeting could have ended a half-hour sooner had Dockett and Beliger gotten answers to their general information questions before the meeting. The Board has all information delivered five days prior to the meeting. Chockley has asked repeatedly for this to happen out of respect for the public and the rest of the Board, to no avail.
Typically, it seems Dockett and Beliger ask questions only to burnish their political image as “anti-tax crusaders” and “opponents of big, expensive government”. However, their actions don’t match their rhetoric.
Both voted in favor of spending $100,000/year to hire a township manager which many consider unnecessary. Only 3% of all Michigan townships employ a manager. The Supervisor, Clerk and Treasurer voted against the expense. Trustees Jacki Otto and Janet Chick also voted to hire a manager. It was the Trustees against the Administration, 4-3.
Our manager, Stephen Aynes, who is highly qualified and has 40 years of experience, has no authority over the Police or Fire Departments, nor the Clerk’s or Treasurer’s deputies nor the Supervisor or the Assessor, who reports to the Supervisor. He manages only the Waste Water Treatment Plant and the Community Center, both of which have their own director, and three office employees.
In other action, the Board directed Aynes to complete negotiations with LAWNET to rent the second floor of the Public Safety Building (aka Township Hall). Dockett spent five minutes insisting the contract include costs for air conditioning and bathroom use.
In other news, Aynes requested the Board consider using some of the LAWNET rent to help redesign office space downstairs and possibly build a conference room upstairs.
The Board directed Aynes to come back with a more detailed and priced-out proposal.
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1-23-2018, 7:00pm Northfield Township Board of Trustees meeting LiveAgenda
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Dispute Over Replanting “Landmark Trees” that absorb 1.5M/gal/yr.
by David Gordon, reporting on the January 17, 2018 Planning Commission meeting.
The Planning Commission last night tabled a request from a developer to build an 1,127’ extension to Jomar Drive because of a dispute over replanting 37 “Landmark Trees” that would be cut down during construction.
In making the motion to table, Chairman Larry Roman said more clarity was needed, especially regarding the replanting of the large trees. Several residents expressed concern about flooding if the trees are not replanted.
"The wetlands on this property were there long before the property was purchased, and wetlands serve an important purpose" said resident Polly McNichol, who lives nearby. "The Commission should not make an informed decision without knowing all the plans for this site, not just the road. And the trees should be replanted."
Township Planner Paul Lippens it was “clearly the intent of the Natural Features Ordinance” that the trees be replanted. The ordinance defines a “Landmark Tree” as having a minimum of 12” diameter at chest height (about 4 ½’) and requires replacement. (See link below)
A large oak tree will absorb about 40,000 gallons/year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The 37 trees slated for felling soak up about 1.5 Million/gal/year. Another 70 smaller, non-landmark trees would also be cut down. The developer is not required to replace them.
The new road (in the township’s Research– Technology – Manufacturing (RTM) district off N. Territorial Road east of US23), would create access to four or five new building sites, according to Robert Wagner of Mid-West Consulting who was representing the owner, James W. Kugler (Falls North Investment).
Wagner argued that only the private road ordinance applies and that tree replacement isn’t required. He claimed it would cost the applicant $100,000 to replant.
In other news, the township has approved 94% of applications made in the last three months according to the Zoning Administrator’s report.
In other action, the Commission:
- Discussed their “2018 Work Plan”,
- Adopted the 2018 Meeting Calendar,
- Re-appointed officers,
- Adopted an abbreviated “Robert’s Rules of Order”,
- Welcomed their newest member, Eamonn Dwyer, who replaced former Commissioner Amy Steffens and will serve through 2019.
The meeting adjourned at 8:31 p.m.
Northfield Township Natural Features Ordinance language re: Landmark Tree
Ordinance 36-723(c)
All replacement trees shall have a diameter at breast height (DBH) or height as follows: for deciduous trees, replacement shall be on a total caliper basis; that is, for example, for each tree with a 12 inch DBH, there shall be replacement trees with an aggregate of calipers totaling 12 inches; provided, however, no replacement trees shall have a DBH less than 2.5 inches. For conifers, replacement shall be based upon total height, with no replacement tree having a height less than six feet.
Link to Section 36-723 “Natural features preservation”:
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Meeting Documents:
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1-17-2018 Northfield Township Planning Commission meeting Agenda
1-17-2018 Northfield Township Planning Commission meeting Packet (OCR to text)
1-17-2018 Northfield Township Planning Commission meeting Packet (As distributed by Township)
by David Gordon, reporting on the January 9, 2018 Board Meeting.
The Board of Trustees last night voted to rent the majority of the Township Hall second floor to the Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics Enforcement Team (LAWNET). Public Safety Director Bill Wagner and his team were credited with finding the tenant. LAWNET will pay about $2,200/month on a five-year lease.
The Board unanimously approved a request from the Kiwanis Club to move its operation into the old township hall at 75 Barker Rd. , considered one of our few downtown historic structures.
The Board voted down, 4-3, for the second time in two months, a $24,500 proposal to “tweak” the Master Plan and change zoning along the US23 corridor. The Board spent 45 minutes discussing that proposal and two others that would have added $74,000 to the planning budget.
Although the agenda was only 10 items, the meeting still took more than 3 ½ hours. It adjourned at 10:47pm. Only one member of the public stayed until the bitter end……guess who?
2nd Floor of Township Hall is Finally Rented
The Board of Trustees last night voted to rent the majority of the Township Hall second floor to the Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics Enforcement Team (LAWNET). Public Safety Director Bill Wagner and his team were credited with finding the tenant.
LAWNET is a multi-jurisdictional drug, auto theft and major case consortium that was originally formed in 1970 as the Washtenaw Area Narcotics Team, or WANT. The unit changed its name to LAWNET in 1981.
The second floor of the $7.7M building has been unoccupied and only lightly used since it opened in 2002. The Board of Trustees and the Planning Commission hold their twice-monthly meetings there and a few other civic groups occasionally utilize the space. The previous Board spent more than $50,000 building themselves a new meeting room in the upstairs in 2016.
LAWNET will pay rent of about $2,200/month beginning April 1 after the office space is built out at a cost of $97,000. The Board agreed to pay half of the construction cost. LAWNET also will pay about 10% of the building’s utilities and is signing a five-year renewable lease. Manager Stephen Aynes said parking for the estimated 20 staff and officers is not expected to be a problem.
“This has been a goal for a very long time,” said Treasurer Lenore Zelenock. “The rent doesn’t come close to paying for the space but something is certainly better than nothing, and we have been getting nothing for a long time. Thank you, Chief Wagner.”
Blame for the costly and greatly underutilized second floor falls on former Supervisor Mike McFarland and his Board (2000-2004) which quietly voted in 2001 to double the size of the Public Safety Building, aka Township Hall. McFarland’s Board also doubled the township’s debt obligation for the project. Find out more at these links:
- Northfield Borrows to Pay Bills, by John Mulcahy, The Ann Arbor News, July 14, 2003
- Backgrounder: Public Safety Building Debt
- Public Safety Building Costs Spreadsheet
- Video: Chief Bill Wagner explains the impact on the Fire Department Budgets over 15 years
Gross mismanagement of the project caused massive cost overruns leading to the largest financial scandal in township history. By the time the building was completed, the original $3.8M cost approved by voters had ballooned to $7.7M. Another consequence was that the Board found itself broke and in October, 2003, needed to pass an emergency $500,000 borrowing resolution to fix its budget.
Paying off the building’s bonds over 20 years, not including interest, has cost the township more than $30,000 every month. The debt won’t be fully retired until 2023. Chief Wagner re-iterated at the meeting that the debt on the cost overruns has been a huge burden on both the police and fire department budgets.
Kiwanis Moving to Historic Old Township Hall, 75 Barker
In other action, the Board unanimously approved a request from the Kiwanis Club to move its operation into the old township hall at 75 Barker Rd. , which many consider one of the few downtown historic structures.
Kiwanis has been operating in a storefront next to Polly’s Market, but a Domino's Pizza is reportedly moving into the space.
All three speakers at the first Call to the Public (Mary Devlin, Lynn Slagle, and David Gordon) spoke in favor of the request and well-known Kiwanians Margaret Riddell and Mary Tummonds were in attendance to support the move and thanked Polly’s Market for being such a gracious landlord. Treasurer Zelenock and Trustee Otto are Kiwanis board members, so abstained from voting but applauded the Board approval.
Prior to the vote, a motion by Supervisor Marlene Chockley to have the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) manage 75 Barker Road failed for lack of support. Trustees questioned why the township would need the DDA to manage the property since Manager Aynes is now on the payroll.
Split Board Again Squashes “Tweak” to Master Plan
The Board voted down, 4-3, for the second time in two months, a $24,500 proposal to “tweak” the Master Plan and change zoning along the US23 corridor. The Board spent 45 minutes discussing that proposal and two others that would have added $74,000 to the planning budget.
Supervisor Marlene Chockley continued her lobbying efforts for the Master Plan “tweak” but got support from only two Trustees - Janet Chick and Jacki Otto. Chockley said the Master Plan would need to be changed in order to rezone some properties in which several companies have shown an interest.
Clerk Kathy Manley, Treasurer Lenore Zelenock and Trustees Wayne Dockett and Tawn Beliger voted against the spending for the Master Plan this year. Zelenock noted that former planner Patrick Sloane last April said no review was required until 2019.
Speaking to another of the requests for planning funds, Zelenock reminded the Board that planner Paul Lippens in October said that his retainer covered work on the waterfront park. “Now, only three months later, we’re being asked for an additional $10,000?” she questioned. This request was tabled.
The Board did agree to spend up to $14,500 (in addition to the regular $40,000 planner’s retainer) for streamlining township ordinances in an effort to attract business development.
The Board finds itself in a weak bargaining position with its planning firm, McKenna Assoc. of Northville, because during a six-month period under former Supervisor Marilyn Engstrom, two planning firms quit the township.
Long-time planners Carlisle-Wortman Assoc. quit in the summer of 2015 and then their replacement, another highly respected Ann Arbor firm, Beckett & Raeder, walked away after only four months on the job in 2016. A toxic political environment was blamed for the departures. Townships occasionally replace consultants, but rarely do consultants walk away from their clients.
Much of the contention around planning was caused by the Engstrom Board’s efforts to ignore the Master Plan and instead accommodate a big developer, Biltmore LLC, which wanted to transform 400 acres of farmland into 1,475 rooftops along Whitmore Lake Road.
The plan eventually was rejected by the Planning Commission but only after more than two years of community upheaval. There was a concerted effort to promote and facilitate Biltmore’s scheme by the township’s first manager, Howard Fink, who left in December after Engstrom and her administration lost its re-election bid in the 2016 primary.
McKenna Assoc. is the most expensive planning firm the township has ever contracted and there is some confusion about its $40,000/year retainer – what work is included and what requires extra spending. It is expected the Board will continue this dispute at upcoming meetings and will eventually clarify McKenna’s role.
Meetings Still Mind-Numbingly Long -- Nearly FOUR HOURS!
Although the agenda was pared to 10 items, the meeting still took more than 3 ½ hours. It adjourned at 10:47pm. Only one member of the public stayed until the bitter end……guess who?
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On the Indebtedness created by the 2001-2004 Board and The Public Safety Building Committee:
Our reports:
- Video: Chief Bill Wagner explains the impact on the Fire Department Budgets over 15 years
- Backgrounder: Public Safety Building Debt
- Public Safety Building Costs Spreadsheet
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