Grosse Pointe Shores Council Discusses Consolidation

City Council met on Tuesday, March 15. 

7:01 p.m. Mayor James Cooper calls meeting to order. All council members are present. Cooper announced that council will go into closed session at 8:30, and that the closed session will last from 45 minutes to a hour.

7:10 p.m. Three residents spoke during public comment on agenda items, and all urged council to televise committee of the whole meetings.

7:26 p.m. Finance officer and treasurer Rhonda Ricketts gave the budget finance presentation, and the motion to approve the bills passed unanimously.

Mayor Cooper said there is much work to be done about the budget and asks for more detailed suggestions from the council and community.

7:30 p.m. Public safety director Steve Polini announced that there will be new badges for officers to mark the 100th anniversary of Grosse Pointe Shores.

7:33 p.m. Public works director Brett Smith said that 30 inches of snow have fallen in Grosse Pointe Shores since Feb. 1, and he thanked DPW staff for a “job well done.”

7:39 p.m. Groundbreaking for the will be held March 24, councilman Brian J. Geraghty said.

7:45 p.m. Vick presents Blue Ribbon Committee report on retirement health care to council, and asks them to talk about implementing the plan in a committee of the whole meeting.

8:08 p.m. Vick presented a proposal on a public safety dispatch and lockup collaborative, and he said that he wants to work toward formalized agreement with Grosse Pointe Farms. He said that the Farms offered the opportunity for some Shores dispatch personnel to be absorbed into the Farms, though he stressed that is a work in progress.

Vick said that the projected savings over a three-to-four-year period would approach $500,000.

8:26 p.m. Any collaborative with Grosse Pointe Farms—or any other community—is contingent upon the implementation of CLEMIS (Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System), a law enforcement database, Vick said.

Council unanimously approves motions to pursue the dispatch collaborative and to pursue CLEMIS.

Council votes to move into a closed session 6-1. Mayor Cooper says the session will last approximately 45 minutes to an hour to discuss collective bargining issues.

9:53 p.m. Council remains in closed session.

10:06 p.m. Council is back in open session and is moving on to open business.

10:18 p.m. At the beginning of new business, city manager Vick makes a recommendation for the Shores to enter into a one-year contract with Tech Resources of White Lake for computer network support service.

Vick said that the Shores contacted 13 firms to submit proposals, but only four chose to submit proposals.

Tech Resources was the low bidder on the project at $22,500 (assuming 25 hours per month).

10:23 p.m. The council gives unanimous approval of Vick's recommendation to pursue a one-year contract with Tech Resources.

10:40 p.m. Council unanimously adopts hardship exemption policies from real estate property taxation. Applications can be accepted up to June 30.

10:49 p.m. Councilman Daniel T. Schulte makes motion to support televising committee of the whole meetings.

Council members Robert Graziani, Victoira J. Boyce, and Brian J. Geraghty speak against proposal. Boyce wants a better audio system before increasing television coverage.

Thaddeus J. Kedzierski says televising offers fairness and sees value in televising the meetings.

Council member David J. Galbenski wants a quality product, and he argues a solution that provides transparency first with the right solution.

10:52 p.m. Mayor Cooper says there already is transparency—all meetings are open, and council meetings already are televised.

Council defeats motion to televise committee of the whole meetings 5-2. Schulte and Kedzierski vote in favor of the motion.

11:03 p.m. Rule regarding committee membership and employment postponed.

11:11 p.m. Mayor Cooper wants to have council members submit possible agenda items by noon Thursday prior to a Tuesday council meeting.

Council member Galbenski, while supportive of the mayor’s suggestion, would like to have the proposal in writing.

11:13 p.m. In public comment on non-agenda items, resident Harry Kurtz addresses the council and praises the work of the city’s dispatchers.

He also states that he believes televising committee of the whole meetings would add to the confusion.

11:24 p.m. Future council meeting dates are April 19 and May 17.

11:34 p.m. Committee of the whole meetings are set for March 22 at 7 p.m.; April 26 at 7 p.m.; May 3; and May 31.

Vick recommends budget hearing slated for the May 17 council meeting, and use

May 31 committee of the whole to discuss comments that were raised at the public hearing, with final adoption of the budget on June 14.

11:34 p.m. Council votes to move into closed session, and it will adjourn at the end of the session.