Master Plan, Fire Department upgrades on City Council's agenda this week
 
8/28/07 by Joseph Xu
 

Monday night yielded much discussion from council, which is a prelude for things to come as council readies for the long and busy winter session of City Council. 

Before Monday night’s City Council began, City Council embarked on the task of discussing and possibly altering the city’s current Master Plan of land use. 

In accordance with state law, all cities must continually update their master plans with regard to land use. These master plans dictate how all businesses and individuals can use land. As such, if Novi does not update its master plan, then it could be in danger of legal issues at a later date, due to an out of date clause. 

With that, City Council began Monday night by meeting with the planning commission to discuss various alterations that the planning commission has created in order to improve and conserve Novi in the following areas: 1) southwest quadrant residential corners, 2) Novi Road and I-96 interchange, and 3) the Southside of 12 mile west of Wixom Road. 

While council had various technical scruples with the plans, the most prominent and ubiquitous was the evident need for public input – that of past projects and current.  

After the adjournment of the special meeting, council met in a regular meeting, high lighting too on some of the changes of Novi to come – the most prominent being the crucial improvements to the fire stations and the image of Novi as a whole. 

Beginning the night was a presentation of the fire station facilities, Stations 1, 2, and 3. CDPA Architects, a multifaceted design company, inspected the facilities and issued a report, recommending for expansion, especially in the, now, extremely out of date Station 2. Of the many problems that were noted were the inadequate facilities for women, proximity to roads (traffic problems), ventilation and the cleaning of suites. 

While council was unanimous in its support of the need of change, it was not ready to jump into the arduous and long (5-10 years) task of improvements due to the lack of funds. Regardless, council heeded the suggestions and will take it into consideration in future objectives. 

Moving into special/committee reports, council member Lynne Paul was happy to note that the long-time lacking sidewalk in front of Parkview Elementary is now installed, allowing children and parents to commute easier to Parkview. 

Later in departmental reports, Novi recognized some of its own “hometown heroes.” 

During the morning of Wednesday, August 1 at approximately 11:34 a.m., the Novi Police Department received a call, requesting help for an individual who had gone into cardiac arrest at the Novi Oaks Gulf Club. From there, help was dispatched and arrived in three short minutes. Prior to the dispatch, however, citizen Greg Snider was there, performing CPR on the individual.

Shortly thereafter, Police Officer Paul Stuligross arrived, using an automatic defibrillator, until medics arrived. The individual ultimately survived, which is rare (5% chance, to be exact). From that, hospital staff later noted that the two individuals’ efforts aided in the survival of cardiac arrest. 

As such, it was only adequate for council and police Chief David Molloy to recognize the two in their efforts. 

Moving on later into the night, council hit a bit of a brick wall in redefining its image, both in terms of an actual logo and a mission statement. As Novi moves into the future, it is adequate and just for Novi to facilitate that movement, such that it is not left behind. As such, a special committee was formed that came up with a new vision statement and a few logo proposals. 

The council was enthusiastic towards the mission statement: “Novi is an energetic and creative community proudly committed to outstanding education, vibrant local and international business, and quality recreational and cultural services in a sage, hometown atmosphere.” 

The council, conversely, was not as content or laudatory towards the new logo. The proposed logo has symbolism, such that there is a streak through the word Novi. Council, however, was opposed to this, as it seemed to “cross out” Novi, as both Paul and council member Bob Gatt noted. 

Ultimately, council was very opposed to the proposed logos, but still remained optimistic that there would be better things to come. As such, council decided to “take no action” on this piece.  

Later in the night, council would again dissent as a whole on the matter of history.  

Triangle Main Street, LLC, the applicant of Main Street Novi, requested: 1) a variance to allow angled and parallel on-street parking along Paul Bunyan Drive, 2) the renaming of Paul Buyan Drive and Sixth Gate Road to Memorial Street and City Gate Street, respectively, and 3) the deferral of the dedication of 520 linear feet  to the city along the south side of Paul Bunyan Drive. 

While council approved of the first request, it was not content with the name changes of the roads, due to the history that each of the roads holds. As Gatt noted, both roads are “unique and historic.” As such, council found it necessary to keep the road names as is. 

From that, the city followed city manager Clay Pearson’s suggestion to decline the dedication of the 520 linear feet, as the applicant would possibly want to use that land for other purposes later on. 

Ultimately, the first variance was approved, with the last two being denied unanimously. 

Other Matters of Council Action

1)   Approval of appropriation of $69,800 for the contract proposal to review the Master Plan for Land Use, and award of the contract to the firm of Birchler Arroyo Associates, Inc. Planning Team, as the lowest qualified proposal for a not-to-exceed fee of $69,800. (APPROVED 7-0)

2)   Consideration of request from Bamboo-Novi, LLC (a Nevada Limited Liability Company) requesting to transfer ownership escrowed 2006 Class C licensed business, from Bamboo Club, Inc. (an Arizona Corporation), located at 44375 Twelve Mile, Space G-147, Novi, Michigan, 48377, Oakland County. (APPROVED 7-0)

3)   Consideration of a request from Whitehall Real Estate, Minasian Development Corporation, The Hooberman Company, and Walsh College to participate in a cost sharing agreement to complete design engineering for the signalization of the Meadowbrook Road/Eleven Mile Road intersection. (APPROVED 7-0)

4)   Adoption of Resolution of Acceptance for a federal Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality (CMAQ) grant covering 80% (or $203,232) of the reconstruction of the Ten Mile Road and Beck Road intersection. The grant requires a 20% local match. (APPROVED 7-0)

5)   Consideration of award of a construction contract for the Beck Road Repaving project (from Ten Mile Road to south of Grand River Avenue) to Cadillac Asphalt, the lowest responsive bidder, in the amount of $452,678. (APPROVED 7-0)

6)   Approval to purchase a Vactor from Jack Doheny Supplies, Inc., in the amount of $309,625. (APPROVED 7-0)