Happy holidays! City offices will be closed on Friday, Dec. 23, and Monday, Dec. 26, in observance of the holidays.

Meetings

Agendas and minutes are available by clicking here

No meetings scheduled

Anyone needing assistance should contact the City Manager's office at 248-449-9905. More information about online meetings and a user guide are available here.

This Just In

City Council recap of Dec. 19 meeting

Note: City Council met at 5:30 p.m. to conduct a special meeting. The regular council meeting started at 7 p.m. A closed session, to discuss a real estate matter, was conducted during the regular council meeting.

City Council special meeting  – The financial consultant firm Municipal Analytics presented a report that showed available funding sources to cover the cost of priority projects identified by City Council in 2022, many of which stem from task force recommendations. These funding sources include committed and uncommitted city monies, grants, and private-public partnerships. At present, the city cannot finance these projects without additional funds. Council and administration will continue pursuing funding options for projects such as public restrooms at Ford Field, Farmers’ Market land/building, and riverbank restoration through additional workshops with the financial consultant.

New software program for Police Dept. – Council approved the police chief’s request to change its PMAM software to PowerDMS to comply with the software standard required by the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police when submitting reports about policies and training that help the department maintain accreditation. The new software will cost $18,597 over a three-year period; 50% of the first-year implementation cost, $3,450, will be offset by a RAP grant from MMRMA.

Recruitment pay will help with retention – To boost police officer recruitment, the city has negotiated with the Northville Police Officers Association (NPOA) for an incentive that will boost new officer’s pay by counting their prior years of police service. Previously, new officers with prior experience would start at the bottom of the pay scale. To equalize pay rates, city of Northville police officers whose pay is not at the top of their pay scale will be paid more after a new officer with experience is hired and employed for 30 days. There are three current police officers (out of a full staff of 13) who would qualify for this agreement. The temporary measure lasts until the NPOA contract expires on Dec. 31, 2024.

Allen Terrace requests review of capital needs and rent – Council okayed a plan to contract with Colliers International Valuation and Advisory Services, LLC, at a cost of $13,500 to conduct a capital needs assessment and rent and expense analysis at Allen Terrace. An RFP for this service had been posted in August 2022 but yielded no response. Subsequently, the interim housing director contacted a vendor, who quoted the project at $100,000. Learning of that history, council agreed with the housing director’s request to waive the bidding process and award the contract to Colliers. The Northville Housing Commission last completed a Capital Needs Assessment in 2013.

There were no public comments.

Council communications

The mayor and council wished everyone a happy holiday. Council member John Carter added that he appreciates all the hard work and partnership with his fellow council members and city manager Pat Sullivan. He said, “I think we’ve got a lot done over the past year.”

View meeting video here.

City manager leaves a legacy of progress

City Manager Pat Sullivan is swapping late night meetings at City Council and the Planning Commission for early morning walks and other leisurely pursuits as he steps down on Jan. 6 – retiring after 16 years. In total, he served 38 years in local government including 32 years as a manager or assistant manager.

He helmed a challenging role at the city, especially in recent years. Carefully conceived master plans that he helped guide and see to fruition are bringing several new developments to town.

The former Foundry Flask industrial site will become home to a three-story building with apartments, commercial space and a grocery store. The Downs development – once details are finalized – will transform the southeast side of town into new residences, retail, and parks, including a daylighted river. In total, these projects are expected to bring approximately 800 to 1,000 new residents to town. This population increase over three to four years will bring an infusion of vitality to Downtown Northville shops and restaurants; as well as a larger tax base.

He was instrumental in developing the city’s restructured financial plan, working with Finance Director Sandi Wiktorowski and consultants. One aspect reduced legacy costs for health care and retirement by paying down that debt. Another aspect created a financial plan to fast-track reconstruction of worn city streets. Sullivan and then Mayor Ken Roth rigorously promoted the need for a street millage, which was approved by voters in 2018. This led to new city streets, larger water lines and the replacement of sanitary sewer lines.

Heading a team that puts city needs first

He is proud to have recruited and hired excellent staff and department heads. “It’s the best team that I’ve ever assembled in 38 years of being a city manager,” he said. Some of those outstanding professionals were here when he came on board.

Having the right team in place is an “enormous part of his job,” he noted. “They are competent, professional, ethical people. A city our size has to rely on consultants and we have highly skilled professionals helping our team on a regular basis and for special projects.”

His style of management is to follow the golden rule: Do onto others as you would have them do onto you. “You have to be honest,” he said. “People often get told what they want to hear. I give them the facts.”

When he hired professionals, he recognized that people had different ways of managing. “You hire the best people you can and let them do their job. I hired their skill set and respect their abilities. I allow them to make the best decision they can make, and support that – unless it’s something that I can’t live with.”

He was once told that his best trait was being decisive. “When things get to my level, someone needs to make a decision. For the organization to go forward, you’ve got to make that call. I try to keep the train moving.”

Sullivan’s role was to carry out the policies set by council, led by Mayor Brian Turnbull. City Council brings the perspective of the community, and it’s an essential and valued component of running a city. Beyond council, all of the city’s boards and commissions provide an even broader perspective and also have valued skill sets to tackle and resolve big issues.

As with his staff, Sullivan did not micro-manage the boards. “They make the policy decisions and value judgments. I provide technical assistance. I inform them what the city does in specific cases if it’s an area where operational management will be affected.”

Sullivan and his late wife, Amy, both served as city managers for small communities. “It was a huge advantage for both of us,” Sullivan said. “The biggest thing city managers have is a network. That way, they find out how managers dealt with an issue and learn from that. We could bounce issues and ideas off each other. We used to joke at job interviews that the city doing the hiring will get two for the price of one.”

Part of his network was being a 32-year member of the Michigan Municipal League and serving as president-elect and president of its counterpart, the Michigan Municipal Executives, in 2017-18.

What he liked most about being a city manager was the people that he worked with. This includes residents, business owners, community members, and other people in government, among others.

He leaves big shoes to fill, which is why City Council has retained a search firm to find the next city manager. Former St. Clair Shores City Manager Mark Wollenweber is bridging the transition as interim city manager.

“I plan to fill in with the great staff that the city has, and be an interface between them, Council City and the community,” Wollenweber said. “I’ll be involved with current projects and any new ones that come up.”

Community input helps engineers forge solutions for safer streets, better traffic flow

Dozens of people from the community attended a public forum convened by DPW Director Mike Domine and engineering consultants F&V and MKSK on Dec. 15 at City Hall to gather input on how to improve street safety for pedestrians and keep traffic moving with the permanent closure of downtown sections of Main and Center.

Some residents suggested ways to improve pedestrian crossings by adding lights, signals and signs. Many people were concerned about pedestrian safety and vehicular traffic at specific intersections, such as Hutton and E. Main, Wing and W. Main, Cady and Center and Center and Dunlap.

F&V’s scope of work focuses on pedestrian safety improvements to be made within a 1,200 foot radius of Center and Main, which is their Phase I. They will also present a neighborhood traffic management plan for the non-arterial roads between 7 Mile and 8 Mile and between Rogers and S. Main/Northville Road, known as Phase II.

City Planner Brad Strader, of MKSK, consulted and reviewed several similar street closures in Michigan and throughout the country. He’s familiar with how such closures impact a community.

Resident feedback obtained at the meeting (via post-it notes on a city map, conversation, and comment cards) will be documented and used as data to formulate solutions. The consultants and Domine showed people how to use the feedback app set up by F&V to gather resident feedback online through an interactive map. (View it here). Domine said many of the concerns have been noted on the app and if people ‘like’ a post, it shows greater support for that concern.

“The F&V team will look at all the community input and incorporate that into the plan,” Domine said. Comments will be accepted through mid-January (for the Phase I portion).

Baseline information about current traffic signs, signals, crossings, loading zones, ADA-compliant fixtures and other traffic-related items will be documented in January and entered into the city GIS system.

Phase II will include a traffic study conducted in the spring, which is representative of conditions that occur for nearly nine months out of the year – when it’s not snowing. The study will use high-tech tools at street level to count cars and trucks passing through intersections and along neighborhood streets, without obtaining any data on the vehicles or the drivers.

The F&V report will be integrated with Grissim Metz Andriese’s street design and activation recommendations for the pedestrian/business environment on the closed sections of Main and Center.

It’s time to renew annual parking permits

Parking is prohibited on city streets, municipal lots and in the Central Business District between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. If you need to park your vehicle on a city street or in a lot overnight for an extended period of time, you will need a permit. Please complete this application and submit it to the Police Department to obtain a permit. If you have any outstanding parking tickets, you must pay those tickets before a permit will be issued.

An annual parking permit costs $120 per year and is valid from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31. The accompanying parking sticker should be placed on the vehicle’s rear window in the upper left

corner. If residents have a short-term parking concern, such as having a visitor, they can call the overnight parking hotline at 248-305-2790 to avoid being issued a citation. This permission is not granted on a continuous basis.

The Police Dept. Records Bureau will be closed on Dec. 23, 26, 30 and Jan. 2 for the holidays.

Northvillians and friends,

It’s a good time to share some of the town’s past holiday traditions. My grandparents told stories about Henry Ford, who hosted Christmas square dances in the Ville. When in-town electricity hit its stride, Mr. Ford and others supported lighting up the whole town with colorful seasonal lights. There were stories of all the bells in the churches and the fire department simultaneously ringing in Christmas and the New Year.

Historically, many local support organizations (VFW, American Legion, Woman’s Club, Rotary, Masons, and others) have put together Christmas baskets for those in need in our community. These efforts continue today and represent the true spirit of Northville during this season of giving.

View the entire letter here or on the city website.

Keep that Northville Faith!

Brian Turnbull

Mayor, Northville

Things to do

Blood drive at Northville District library

This holiday season, give the gift of blood.

Every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood and or platelets. A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 units of blood. Many cancer patients will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment. Blood and platelets cannot be manufactured; they can only come from volunteer donors. One donation can help save more than one life.

To schedule an appointment at Northville District Library 's Blood Drive, visit this link.

Select an available appointment time. Walk-ins are welcome but appointments are given priority. Bring a friend!

Doing Business

Winter tax bills can be paid now through Feb. 14

Winter tax bills have been mailed. Winter 2022 taxes are due Dec. 1 and payable without penalty and/or interest through Feb. 14. On Feb. 15, 2023, a 3% penalty will be added.

Taxpayers who live in Oakland County, north of 8 Mile, will see an additional tax on their winter tax bill to cover the voter-approved .95 mill transportation millage to maintain and expand public transit services in Oakland County for the next 10 years. 

Receive texts regarding safety issues through Nixle

Notification of serious traffic accidents, severe weather conditions, downed live wires and other safety issues are being communicated by the city’s Nixle service. To receive text alerts to a mobile phone, sign up at Nixle.com. Nixle posts also appear on the city's social media platforms. 

Around Town

Parking overnight on City streets requires a permit
It is illegal to park on City streets overnight without a permit. If you are having visitors or work done on your driveway and must park in the street overnight, call the Overnight Parking hotline at 248-305-2790 before 10 p.m. the evening you are parking on the street. You will be asked for your vehicle’s license plate number and the street name so you won’t be issued a ticket. 

It’s time for cemetery blankets and wreaths
Winter grave blankets and wreaths are permitted Nov. 15 to March 1. At that time, these holiday items will need to be removed by the owner if they want to keep them. Otherwise, the maintenance staff will dispose of them. During the holidays, many people place items such as pumpkins, Christmas trees, and other holiday decorations on or near grave sites. Any of these items that are unsightly or interfere with normal cemetery maintenance will be removed.

Keep sidewalks clear of snow and ice
Property owners (residents and businesses) must clear sidewalks within 24 hours of a snow or ice event by ordinance. When clearing snow, do not blow or shovel snow into any roadway. The DPW only clears sidewalks that are on city-owned or operated properties, such as those at City Hall, the Fire Station and cemeteries. Prompt removal of snow reduces the need for salt. That means less salt travels to storm drains, which discharge into the Middle Rouge River.

Crime mapping pinpoints car thefts, home break-ins and other criminal activity

The City of Northville uses an online crime mapping system that coordinates with Oakland County’s CLEMIS system to show the location and type of crime that has occurred on a digital map within 24 hours after a police report has been filed.

CLEMIS is a report management system that compiles crime reports from police departments in Oakland County, including Northville, and makes them available to the public. Oakland County takes that information one step further by allowing police departments to directly subscribe to a service from that populates the crime data on a map.

Users have the option of looking at the online map in real time or searching back 180 days at crimemapping.com. 

At Home

Check the batteries on your smoke detectors
Smoke detectors are important safety devices to have in your home. Make sure you are testing them regularly and replacing them when needed.

Test the battery in your smoke detector monthly by pressing and holding the test button. Some people find it easier to use a pencil to push the test button. While the button is pressed, you should hear a loud alarm. If the sound is weak or nonexistent, replace the batteries. If your smoke detector is sending off false alarms with cooking smoke, burning toast or humidity, it may be a sign that it’s failing and needs to be replaced.

The general rule is to replace a smoke detector every 8-10 years. Check the back of the device for the manufacture date.

How to read your Neptune water meter  

Residents in households that have the new Neptune water meter can access instructions on the city website about how to read the water meter. Keeping track of the volume of water registered on the meter on a regular basis can help detect spikes in usage and potential water leaks. This information can help homeowners make adjustments to their water usage through actions such as repairing leaks or switching to low-flush toilets and water-saving faucets.

Carbon monoxide detectors can alert you of serious airborne poisoning
A carbon monoxide (CO) detector is an important safety device to have in your home. It can alert you to carbon monoxide poisoning, which can’t be detected by your senses but can cause severe illness with symptoms such as dizziness, headache, nausea and vomiting. Make sure CO detectors are placed in the right locations of your home and are replaced at the end of their lifespan.

For each floor of your home, place a CO detector on a wall about 5 feet above the floor and in the same room as a fireplace or flame-producing appliance. You may also want to place one in your garage since the poisonous gas can travel through drywall. If your home has only one CO detector, it should be installed in the main bedroom or in the hallway outside of the sleeping area.

If your CO detector is sounding continuously and you have signs of CO poisoning, find fresh air and call 911 immediately. Emergency responders are trained to identify and treat the symptoms of CO poisoning and firefighters use equipment to find the source of carbon monoxide leaks and stop them.

The general rule is to replace a CO detector every 5-7 years. Check the back of the device for the manufacture date.