[0:00] Elizabeth, nothing. Just whistle.

[0:06] » It's pretty.

[0:09] » There's a new show called uh It's on Disney Bay on Apple TV. It's so

[0:13] good. >> Is it? Okay.

[0:15] » Yeah, it's the guy who played Perry Mason.

[0:17] Yeah, it's kind of like sad. It's like

[0:22] » Hey.

[0:28] » Yeah. >> Oh, yeah.

[0:29] » Yeah.

[0:33] » What's that? >> Yeah, that's right.

[0:35] » Oh, right.

[0:38] » Oh, Widows. Yes. >> Yes.

[0:42] » How many air miles for a fish?

[0:47] » It is so >> Josh Charles

[0:53] » And y'all are >> What's just like

[0:59] » Oh.

[1:03] » Yeah.

[1:07] » Yeah, but

[1:10] » Yeah. >> How did

[1:12] » Good.

[1:18] » Yeah, it's all right.

[1:20] » Yeah.

[1:25] » What's up? >> What's shaking?

[1:26] » Oh. >> Yeah.

[1:27] » Cool. It's like a week and a half or so. >> I imagine.

[1:31] » I'll be right in the universe. >> Yeah.

[1:38] » We'll do. >> Appreciate it.

[1:39] » I feel like I forgot a wave.

[1:44] » What's going on? >> How are you?

[1:46] » All right.

[1:50] » Ooh, it's almost 5:30.

[1:59] » aloha My allergies are a little bad, so if I sound like Kermit halfway through

[2:03] the meeting, that's what it is.

[2:27] » What I do? >> All right.

[2:32] You can actually come back here. >> Come back

[2:34] » Yeah. >> All right.

[2:39] » So, um are we all set? >> Yes.

[2:42] » All right. So, I'm going to call the meeting to

[2:44] order. You just slam it on the wood. >> Okay.

[2:47] » All right. >> Thank you.

[2:48] » So, I call the May 12th, uh 2026 Pleasant Ridge, uh City Commission

[2:52] meeting to order. Thank you, sir.

[2:55] » Thank you very

[2:58] » All right. We have the Pledge of Allegiance.

[3:04] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the

[3:09] Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[3:16] justice for all. >> Can we have roll call, please?

[3:21] » Mayor Scott. >> Here.

[3:22] » Commissioner Budnick. >> Here.

[3:24] » Commissioner Lenko. >> Here.

[3:25] » Commissioner Perry. >> Here.

[3:27] » Commissioner Shmier. >> Here.

[3:30] » All right. Uh public discussions, item not on the agenda.

[3:36] » Hi. >> Hi.

[3:37] » Hello. >> Hi. I'll kick us off, I guess. Um I'm

[3:40] just here to take up a few minutes of your time. My name is Alyssa Tobby. I

[3:44] have met a few of you a couple of times. I'm here as the community engagement

[3:48] representative assigned to your community from the Oakland County Water

[3:51] Resources Commissioner's office, Jim Nash. You are one of our customer

[3:55] communities, but also I'm fortunate to live just a few streets over on West

[3:59] Drayton. So, it's my honor to be your engagement representative. I just wanted

[4:04] to reach out. I did bring some folders. Would it be okay if I asked you to hand

[4:07] them down? >> Sure.

[4:11] » Inside that folder, there's a QR code. If you were to scan it, it would take

[4:15] you to our public education and outreach page. You can find all kinds of

[4:18] materials on there, water resources education.

[4:22] Um you're also going to find a business card with my contact information. On the

[4:25] back of that, I've written my personal cell phone number. If you ever need

[4:28] anything or you have questions, I've been with Commissioner Nash for about 13

[4:32] years now. So, if I don't know the answer to your question, I know who

[4:35] does. I will find it. I'd be very happy to. I'd love to be invited to any kind

[4:39] of community resource fair or an event where I could connect with the residents

[4:43] and help them better understand the infrastructure that we all rely on.

[4:46] Um the last thing I'll point out is we have something right now called an

[4:49] emergency relief fund, which is different than the water residential

[4:52] assistance program that people are familiar with or more familiar with.

[4:56] It's not as income restricted. It's more for emergencies. So, if anybody were to

[5:02] ever have a hard time paying their water bill because they lost their job or had

[5:05] a fire or a car accident, we would love to use some of that money, their ARPA

[5:09] funds, to help keep them current and keep the system system running smoothly.

[5:14] Um so, I did see the utility rates discussion on the agenda tonight. So,

[5:18] I'm going to hang out and see if I can learn anything or be helpful at all. And

[5:22] otherwise, I thank you for your time. >> Oh, thank you for coming.

[5:25] » Nice to meet you. >> Yes, please.

[5:27] » Um regarding that emergency service at like So, would a hypothetical example be

[5:32] if somebody's like, I don't know, uh pipe went out and they like a $2,000

[5:36] water bill that they weren't expecting or something?

[5:38] » Uh both the WRAP program, the one I mentioned, and this one will provide

[5:42] funding for um plumbing services. So, if you have a leak or anything like that,

[5:47] uh they do both. One is uh like 200% above the poverty level, which is kind

[5:52] of an antiquated poverty level, in my opinion. And this emergency relief fund

[5:56] is less restricted by that. So, if you perhaps could afford to repair the pipe

[6:02] or the plumbing, it might not apply to you. But, if you had some reason that

[6:06] you couldn't that year, even if your income showed that you were above, but

[6:09] you had some kind of life event, then yes.

[6:11] » Got it. Got it. Okay, good to know. >> And this income, is that accurate like

[6:15] the income numbers on here? >> Yes.

[6:17] » Okay. >> Yep. But, we do have the ability and the

[6:19] authority to work with United Way, the service provider for this program, to

[6:23] adjust that. So, if your income is above that, but you like I mentioned, maybe

[6:27] you've had a fire or a job loss, and you let us know that, then we're

[6:32] going to work with you. >> Okay, awesome.

[6:33] » Yep. >> Perfect, thank you.

[6:34] » Thank you. >> Yeah, definitely pass this around.

[6:36] » Thank you. >> And enjoy the budget discussion.

[6:38] » Thank you. >> Uh were there any other items for

[6:42] » Yes, thank you. >> Hi.

[6:45] Um Liz and Jim Flieger in regards to the email that we sent out

[6:50] the other day. >> Mhm.

[6:51] » Um >> Could you give your address, please?

[6:53] » 32 Woodside, sorry. >> No worries.

[6:57] » Um just wanted to give you the opportunity

[7:01] to ask any questions you wanted to ask. We can also stay until afterwards if

[7:05] you'd rather ask questions afterwards. Um and just you know, reiterate kind of

[7:11] what we're looking for. Um

[7:14] » So, Kirsten, I don't know if you've seen it, but I think everybody else has.

[7:18] Um we are looking for a change in the

[7:21] ordinances that the city has. Pleasant Ridge has, lots of other communities

[7:26] around us don't have that same ordinance, and it's basically the way

[7:30] it's written now, Jim has told us that for us as being certified by the DNR to

[7:38] do wildlife rehabilitation, specifically for us, we do small mammals,

[7:43] um squirrels, possums, chipmunks, rabbits, raccoons.

[7:48] Um and mostly what we what we do are orphaned

[7:51] animals. You know, their their mom has been killed or been chased away

[7:57] uh cuz people are opening their garages and saying, "Ooh, you know, there's I

[8:00] don't want that raccoon in my attic or in my house." And then they find out

[8:03] there's babies that are there also. And then they go, "What do we do?" Um we

[8:08] frequently get called. We are volunteers through Motor City

[8:12] Possum, which is based out of Ferndale. Um

[8:15] we're right now at the max for baby raccoons, which is 70.

[8:19] » Mhm. >> Um you know, so this is kind of one of

[8:23] those crunches for us. >> personally.

[8:25] » Not us personally. >> Not us.

[8:27] » Just so you know. >> Thank you for clarifying.

[8:29] » So, I think what's what we want to emphasize is

[8:34] we are not an intake. >> Mhm.

[8:36] » We are not looking to bring animals into our city and have 19 cages or anything

[8:42] like that. We are a very very small small portion of Motor City Possum.

[8:48] All intakes go through Cindy. She works for a vet. If there's any

[8:53] question about their health, it goes to the vet to be

[8:56] okayed. >> Mhm.

[8:57] » Once they are triaged, we are

[9:01] temporary housing foster care. >> Mhm.

[9:05] » And we are trying to get certified for literally five animals. That's the max

[9:11] we can have. We mostly do it's through a you know, April to like

[9:19] July. Once in a while, we might have something in August for a week or two.

[9:23] We have an indoor cage. We have an outdoor cage that's

[9:28] 4 ft by 8 ft by 8 ft. I think the important thing There's a

[9:32] couple things I'd like you to understand. One is the DNR

[9:38] something from you is the only thing that's holding up our permit.

[9:43] Um >> The DNR DNR has been out and inspected

[9:46] everything. Said you're good to go except for this ordinance.

[9:50] » Mhm. >> Um and they said that they would give it

[9:52] to us if we even just got a letter from someone in the city saying it was okay.

[9:57] And and if you could do that it would be amazing because we have four

[10:03] orphan uh raccoons right now that we have had

[10:07] since they were week and a half 2 weeks old in an incubator.

[10:11] » Mhm. >> If we don't get something for the city

[10:14] even for just this summer they will fail our inspection and we

[10:20] lose our animals. >> Mhm.

[10:22] Okay. >> Um

[10:23] So everything is health checked before we

[10:28] get it. It's a very small amount of animals.

[10:32] We have signatures from all our neighbors around us.

[10:36] Um I you know, if you could give us something for this year so I could

[10:40] continue with the four babies we've had for 6 weeks, I would appreciate it. If

[10:44] not, we're going to have to give them up.

[10:46] » Mhm. >> And that would be heartbreaking to me.

[10:48] » Mhm. >> Um

[10:50] and we would be more than happy to work with the city in whatever needs to be

[10:54] done to move forward to get something permanently on the records.

[10:58] » Mhm. >> So, do you have any questions for me?

[11:01] Us? >> Does anyone Does anyone have questions

[11:04] for them? >> I do actually have one question. It

[11:08] sounds like you've been doing this for a while. I'm curious

[11:12] what changed? Did DNR change its rules? >> Uh no. Um

[11:16] we had we were certified for bottle babies. We

[11:21] had no idea that it was a problem here. >> Mhm.

[11:25] » And um Motor City Possum has grown. >> Mhm.

[11:29] » And so we needed more volunteers. So one of the volunteers got licensed.

[11:34] » Mhm. >> And Cindy wanted to move me from her

[11:38] to the other licensed woman that works with Motor City Passim. She's right over

[11:43] on Oak Park Boulevard. >> Mhm.

[11:45] » In order to do that, Cindy had to they had to put in a new

[11:49] um thing for me and since they put a new thing a new permit in

[11:54] What's the word I'm looking for? >> Looking for a new certification was

[11:57] needed. >> And they wanted to certify me for the

[12:00] outside cage. To outs- to get the certification small mammals instead of

[12:05] bottle fed, they have to come out and inspect.

[12:10] And they have to look at the city ordinances.

[12:12] » Mhm. Okay. So that was the change from bottle

[12:14] to Okay. Thank you. >> And and it sounds as though, correct me

[12:17] if I'm wrong, it sounds as though the service has become um

[12:21] more in demand as well. So you've hit a capacity limit in other places.

[12:25] » Right. >> Yeah. There's just unfortunately way too

[12:29] many cars for the >> wildlife around here.

[12:31] » And too many dumb people that don't know how to humanely evict. Our our The four

[12:37] that we have right now are four females. Like I said, we've had them since

[12:40] they're 2-weeks-old, eyes closed, ears shut, hardly furred.

[12:45] And um they were in a garage. The gentleman didn't want them in her his

[12:51] garage. So he chased the mom out. He then took went out and bought a live

[12:56] trap. Put the four babies in the live trap

[13:00] without a blanket, without heat, without anything trying to get the mom to go in

[13:05] and get them. >> Mhm.

[13:06] » And um put them out in 30° weather.

[13:09] » Mhm. >> So when Cindy got them, they were half

[13:14] frozen. >> Mhm.

[13:15] » Uh they were She didn't think they'd live. They were in an incubator for

[13:19] about 3 hours before they showed any sign of life.

[13:22] » Mhm. >> And we've been nursing them ever since.

[13:25] So as I say, it would be really tough if we don't get something

[13:30] because they will have to find another home for

[13:33] them. >> Somewhere. Mhm.

[13:35] » So. Thank you for your time. Uh do you have

[13:38] any other questions? >> Sure.

[13:39] » Yeah. >> How long do you keep these animals?

[13:44] » So, they >> Can I do this?

[13:47] » Yeah. >> So, So, this is a DNR requirement that

[13:50] they can only be kept as long as it takes to get them to a releasable

[13:55] condition. So, that might be hey they got hit by a car or something. It's

[14:02] skin heals and in 2 days you can say they're good to go. They can go. The

[14:07] babies typically, the bigger babies, the raccoons are probably the biggest ones,

[14:12] they usually take about 3 months to go from the way we got these, which was

[14:18] feeding them with a syringe this big, um to where they're eating regular food and

[14:23] they're big enough and exposed enough to the weather and lighting and outdoor

[14:28] noises so that we can then let them go. They don't get released here.

[14:32] » Nothing's released. >> In In the city, everything goes up

[14:34] toward northern Oakland County cuz there's a lot less traffic and a lot

[14:37] bigger plots of land that are available. People who support Motor City Possum um

[14:43] let us do that and they also, fortunately, uh frequently feed during

[14:47] that first winter so that >> Help them kind of get by.

[14:51] » Yeah. >> They um

[14:53] Right now, the babies are inside. We're doing the weaning process, which is very

[14:57] much like people weaning. It's rice cereal,

[15:01] formula, banana. Yeah, it's a mess.

[15:04] Um and once they get on, so they're eating mostly solid food,

[15:09] they'll go out to the outdoor cage. And the

[15:12] the purpose of the outdoor cage is so that they can get used to night and day,

[15:18] used to um the weather changes. They have to

[15:21] hear rain. you know, they have to they in the

[15:25] backyard they'll have exposure to other animals in this cage. The cage is

[15:30] elevated, food does not get out. There's secure doors, three secure doors.

[15:36] They're litter trained, so we clean out the potty box every day and it goes into

[15:40] a garbage can that can't get get into by other animals.

[15:44] Um you know, so it's not a threat for rats.

[15:47] It's not like chickens, you know. It's an elevated cage with a ceramic floor,

[15:52] so food's not falling through. Um

[15:57] That's That's it. Anything else? >> And if anybody would like to come in and

[16:02] take a look, you're more than welcome. Thank you.

[16:05] » Um would anybody like to ask for Jim to do further work or how how would you

[16:13] like to proceed on this? >> Uh so, for everyone's benefit, um

[16:18] uh we wrote back to them in email form uh that there's a process to changing an

[16:22] ordinance. It's usually not fast. Um it could be

[16:26] two, three, four months uh because uh first we have to direct uh

[16:31] our city manager to do some homework with our city attorney.

[16:35] And then um we may or may not uh draft an ordinance

[16:39] revision based on the on the findings that we have. The

[16:43] findings may actually tell us not to do anything. We don't know.

[16:46] Um and then uh we'd uh but usually I in fact almost always have

[16:51] a public hearing so that everyone would have an opportunity to speak on the

[16:54] topic and then make a decision. But that process for ordinance changes is

[16:59] typically it it's usually three months or more.

[17:02] So, um so that's about the amount of time it would take to do this even if

[17:06] everyone raised their hand and said we were in support. Uh but the step first

[17:10] step is agreeing that we wanted to Would you like to direct?

[17:15] Anybody? >> Sure.

[17:17] I can take And then

[17:20] And I guess like before I make a recommendation, I wanted to verify

[17:24] like is changing it the correct course of action, like getting an opinion from

[17:30] the attorney. Like that that might be a faster approach, like if

[17:35] um instead of creating an an amendment to the ordinance or like

[17:40] revamping the ordinance, uh categorizing what they're doing is

[17:44] I don't know, like temporary or re- like it's like a

[17:48] 3-month period like It like like the the thing says you

[17:52] can't own, harbor, keep, maintain, sell, or transfer.

[17:56] I I I could see this kind of fitting into some of those categories, but

[17:59] » It's the wild animal part that is the problem. So,

[18:04] um I yes, we could give it to our attorney,

[18:06] but I think based on the other pieces of our ordinances and the way wild animals

[18:10] are defined, it is a these most of what they would bring in are wild animals. I

[18:15] suppose some could be not wild, but >> that have been health checked, so we're

[18:18] not bringing in something that we don't have diseases.

[18:22] » They're the types of animals we have in our backyards anyways.

[18:25] » But that's that's a part of what you would have to figure out in the in the

[18:27] ordinances how to describe a wild animal that's been health checked or meets DNR

[18:32] standards or what have you. Yeah. So, um

[18:36] how are other people feeling? >> Seems there's no other option other than

[18:41] amending the ordinance. There's no >> If we wanted to go that way. I mean, I I

[18:46] know so in our history, I think the last time this section would was updated was

[18:50] in 2017. I remember someone coming. I'm remembering

[18:54] » Pot-bellied pigs? >> No, I think it was I think it was ducks.

[18:57] Or maybe that I'm maybe that was an outcome of the ordinance.

[19:00] » Ducks are private, but there was a another issue with the Yeah.

[19:05] » Yeah. >> And the

[19:07] our police had no enforcement tools because there was there were no um

[19:12] specific languages language around it. And Jim

[19:16] worked hard with a couple >> Yeah, we had an exotic pet

[19:21] » expert >> Yeah, oh I remember that now, yeah.

[19:24] » Mark? >> Yeah, yeah, we worked with him quite a

[19:26] bit to make sure that this worked well the way we wanted it to.

[19:30] » Mhm. >> And I I guess, you know,

[19:33] splitting hairs, it does say pets. >> One of them does. 10.2 says pets.

[19:38] » We're literally >> I understand.

[19:41] » Yeah. >> I

[19:43] where I'm torn is number one, what I think you're doing is amazing and there

[19:47] is certainly a need. And so and you know, any rescue, but certainly

[19:52] what you're doing is amazing. So I don't want to take the, you know, that is

[19:57] important, but my concern in all of this is

[20:01] how are we able to amend the ordinance without kind of

[20:05] opening up the bigger issue of other people for

[20:11] other reasons >> Right.

[20:13] » bringing in wild animals. So is there a way to do this that allows

[20:18] » That's one of the things that we're saying, you know, for certified

[20:22] rehabbers. Or in order for rehabbers to get

[20:26] We would be state certified. >> Yeah. So the DNR does not allow for most

[20:31] exotic pets, wild animals to be kept to be kept already. It's against the law.

[20:36] So from a state perspective, so what we're looking at is specifically for

[20:42] Pleasant Ridge to say the ordinance that says you can't keep wild animals does

[20:49] not apply to DNR certified people doing rehabilitation.

[20:54] So it's not like I could just go out and say, "Hey, I'd like to own a possum."

[20:58] And we get that. People say, "Hey, make a great pet." No, they make a terrible

[21:01] pet. But that's what we're looking for is say, "Hey, if you are DNR certified

[21:05] or DNR certified, which means you've done the inspection, you've done the

[21:08] training, and they've signed off on you to be able to do this kind of thing,

[21:13] then you could do it here in Pleasant Ridge.

[21:16] Assuming you lived in Pleasant Ridge. >> Mhm.

[21:19] » I'm not sure how many other people are doing this in Pleasant Ridge, but there

[21:22] might be one or two. >> We have no interest in getting any

[21:25] bigger. We do this pretty much April through

[21:28] » Yeah. >> And the concern, I think, is for me

[21:31] personally at this moment, it's less about what you're doing, but more again

[21:35] about what it and what it opens up.

[21:38] » And just so you know, I was born and raised here.

[21:41] » Mhm. >> When I grew up, there was a woman on Elm

[21:43] Park named, I believe, Mrs. Babcock. I could ask my brother.

[21:47] » Mhm. >> But she did

[21:49] rescue. That's I mean, that's probably what got me turned on to it a hundred

[21:54] years ago. >> Mhm.

[21:55] » Um and you just whenever you You heard You heard of her?

[21:59] » I have. I don't I don't know why where I heard the name, but the Babcock family

[22:03] is known >> something as little kids, we would take

[22:05] it there. So, you know, I I moved back to Pleasant Ridge because I

[22:09] love Pleasant Ridge. I don't I understand the reason for ordinances and

[22:14] that type of thing. So, I I have no problem working with you

[22:18] to get something in place if you need somebody to work with.

[22:22] Um my Like I said, my concern I would like to get that in place if

[22:27] possible. Um

[22:30] my concern is also for the four babies I have right now. So.

[22:34] » I understand.

[22:40] Would anyone like to move forward with uh just doing some more homework on

[22:44] this? We're not ready for an ordinance or anything, but

[22:48] » I support further research.

[22:53] » Yeah, I mean, I think on my side I would like to learn more personally, too. I

[22:57] don't know if I have specific direction at this moment. If someone else does,

[23:01] but you know, I I'm

[23:05] I'm certainly interested in learning more.

[23:07] » Maybe to answer the question, um to do the research on understanding what other

[23:12] communities are doing and um if it's possible to carve out this DNR

[23:18] piece from everything else to answer your question.

[23:21] » Mhm. >> And and then we can bring that back

[23:24] and see if it makes sense or not. Is that a reasonable course of action, Jim,

[23:28] do you think? >> Yeah, I've got some notes and some

[23:29] questions I want to answer. >> Okay. Do you need us to vote on that or

[23:32] is that enough? >> That's enough.

[23:33] » Okay. Thank you very much. >> All right. Thank you.

[23:35] » want to again, I just want to give a realistic expectation that unfortunately

[23:39] this season, I don't know that we'll be done by July

[23:42] because we're already we're already in May. So there's only two more just so

[23:47] that you know, I want to give you that. >> You know, what latitude do you have with

[23:50] the DNR to say there you've come to us and we're entertaining

[23:54] » I mean, basically the DNR's position is we're fine doing what we're doing as

[23:58] long as the city doesn't have a problem with it. I mean, the city is a city

[24:03] ordinance. It's you go next door to Ferndale, they don't have this

[24:05] ordinance. So there's no problem doing it, you know, a mile down the road. So

[24:09] it's it's really it's just they're doing their due diligence to say, "Hey,

[24:14] you're a subdivision of the state and they're not in a position of

[24:18] violating your ordinances for their purposes. So

[24:23] they're really just saying, "Hey, if you say it's okay, they're good with what

[24:27] we're doing already." So

[24:31] this issue, I guess maybe would be is if you said, "Hey,

[24:37] Liz and Jim, you know, you've got 90 days to take care of this issue."

[24:42] » Yeah, I mean, even if we had a letter that said that, that would allow us to

[24:46] finish out these babies and then we would guarantee we wouldn't take anybody

[24:49] else. >> Until

[24:50] » until we get this set. >> Got it.

[24:53] » Um but they just needed a letter from you saying that we can continue

[24:59] with these babies till the release. We go away in July and we always have them

[25:06] gone and released before then. So.

[25:09] » All right. Thank you. >> Well, thank you very much.

[25:11] Likewise, I appreciate what you're doing. I think it's a really

[25:15] » The DNR will not hold our permit until then.

[25:18] » Right. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for coming

[25:21] tonight. >> Would you like us to hang out longer?

[25:25] » Do any want to just get back later or tonight

[25:27] or >> I don't think I'll have any personally

[25:30] more questions at this point for you. So, whatever. I think I'm okay.

[25:34] » Thank you. >> We don't have any sub properties to be

[25:36] dealing with, so. >> You're not You're not building an

[25:40] accessory dwelling unit for them. >> I appreciate it very much. Thank you

[25:44] very much for your time and your consideration. And again, if you

[25:48] I the phone number's on our thing. If you're more than welcome to come meet

[25:53] the babies, to come take a look at the cages, just shoot us a call or a phone

[25:59] call you know, or text ahead of time. Um >> If you're if they're in the middle of

[26:03] the mush eating, you're not going to want to hold them.

[26:06] » You may have to bathe them and then it's on you.

[26:10] Thank you very much. >> Thank you.

[26:14] All right. Are there any other Please. >> I'll be quick.

[26:18] » Okay. No worries. >> Uh good evening. My name is Chris

[26:21] Gilmer-Hill. I'm a candidate for our state house seat.

[26:25] If you live in Pleasant Ridge and if you vote in Democratic primaries, you

[26:28] probably gotten a flyer on your door from me already.

[26:31] So, I'm here to let folks know two things. So, number one, today is almost

[26:35] the last day to sign the Michigan Money Out Politics petition. They're hoping to

[26:40] wrap up volunteer signature collection by tomorrow. So, I I know a lot of folks

[26:44] here have already heard about it and have signed. For anyone who hasn't, this

[26:48] is a citizen initiated petition that's hoping to prohibit certain companies, so

[26:53] specifically the electric and gas utilities, so DTE and

[26:57] Consumers, or any company with more than a quarter million dollars state

[27:01] contract, which include Blue Cross Blue Shield, Comcast, etc. Uh they would be

[27:06] prohibited from spending in our state elections in a variety of ways,

[27:09] including contributions to candidates. Uh right now, the overwhelming majority

[27:13] of state legislators take money from DTE and from these other corporations, and

[27:18] it's really one of the biggest obstacles to passing legislation that would really

[27:22] help folks. You know, I I work full-time in environmental policy, and when we

[27:26] look at, you know, why don't we have more restrictions on the rate hikes? Why

[27:29] don't we have community solar in Michigan? All these good things. Uh the

[27:34] answer is just because DTE money has so much influence, and this would really

[27:38] give us a tool to, you know, say we don't want that in our state. So, if

[27:42] you're at all interested in that, uh I'll be hanging out in the back until

[27:45] about 8:30. Uh for anyone who hasn't been able to sign yet, uh I have a here.

[27:50] I'd be more than happy to talk through it, answer any questions. Uh the second

[27:54] thing, uh so former Commissioner Jason Krizan and I will be having a meet and

[27:58] greet. It'll be May 23rd at 4:30. So, it'll be that Saturday, just down at

[28:03] Gainsboro Park by the railroad. Uh it won't be as, you know,

[28:07] specifically focused as the last one. It's not going to be just a DTE town

[28:10] hall. Uh we will want to make sure to talk about some transit issues and some

[28:15] state level issues affecting the train crossing. Uh so, in particular, there's

[28:19] a state law on the books that caps how much municipalities are allowed to fine

[28:24] railroads for obstructing streets. It's not the only barrier to fixing the issue

[28:28] with companies just sort of using Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge as a

[28:32] railyard, but it is one of the barriers, and if we can fix that, along with some

[28:37] federal level tweaks, you know, we could really hold some of

[28:39] these companies accountable, prevent them from just blocking Hilton ad

[28:43] infinitum. Uh but there's, you know, a a more to talk about there, and then any

[28:46] other policies that folks want to talk about, you know, really it's uh meet and

[28:50] greet to hear what folks want to talk about, to hear folks' issues, and to

[28:54] talk about policy. So, I hope to see folks there, and we'll be making sure to

[28:57] get that info out. Thank you. >> Remind me the time?

[29:00] » Uh it's uh 4:30 on May 23rd at Gainsboro Park.

[29:04] » Excellent. >> All right. Well, thank you.

[29:06] » Thank you. >> Any other

[29:10] Wow. >> Yeah, I know.

[29:12] » Jake Covert, 18 Fairwood. >> Um speaking of um commercial districts

[29:16] and residential districts, um I've had a few Amazon drones um conducting business

[29:21] transactions over my house, in my property.

[29:24] » Mhm. >> Um they've they're actually literally

[29:27] conducting their transactions in my backyard.

[29:30] Do we allow that? Do we regulate it? What's our rules on this? And I don't

[29:34] like it. Um so, we allow their trucks on our business roads.

[29:40] Can we keep them over the roads, so they're not over the backyards?

[29:45] » Mhm. >> So.

[29:46] » So, uh the way drones work as a general rule is that because they're not landing

[29:52] in Pleasant Ridge, it is an FAA regulatory

[29:57] situation, rather than a local regulatory. And the only exception

[30:00] » to restrict them, though. As a city, we do.

[30:02] » The exception is uh Hazel Park, where they land.

[30:06] » Okay. >> So, um I've been speaking with them

[30:08] about this topic. First, to understand which homes are actually eligible to

[30:14] receive packages in Pleasant Ridge. I don't actually need to know the

[30:16] addresses, but I'm curious on the quantity.

[30:19] And uh because there's a they do an aerial view shot of of um

[30:24] the entire city, uh summer, winter, fall, spring, to see

[30:28] foliage, and determine which homes they can reliably drop a package to.

[30:34] » they're able to, not that we're allowing them to? I mean

[30:37] » Um any any aerial shot is possible. So, >> So, wherever they can land, they're

[30:41] allowed to. We don't have the ability to restrict them in any way.

[30:44] » Because they're not landing. So

[30:47] » That's not really that means we need to put laws in that that do that. That just

[30:51] means that we don't have the tools at hand, right?

[30:53] » So all that I'm suggesting to you tonight is that uh

[30:56] the local uh local authorities cannot uh restrict airspace.

[31:01] So a drone is flying in airspace and uh Amazon uses that to their advantage to

[31:07] make the service available. So Um on the other hand, if a drone happened to land

[31:13] here, I think I told uh Commissioner Schmear, I'm putting it on eBay. I'm not

[31:17] giving it back. I'm going to >> I mean, how much of the space above my

[31:20] backyard do I own? >> it I think uh 12 ft and higher I think

[31:23] is the rule, uh but I could be wrong. I have to I'll verify that just I don't

[31:27] want to give the wrong number. But I'm in conversation with them because I want

[31:30] to understand this better. >> It's a quality of life issue, you know,

[31:33] it really is. >> If I If I may, I think they want to be a

[31:35] good uh community partner, but uh they also

[31:40] want $9.99 for 1-hour shipping. So um part of it is that there is a

[31:45] demand for the service. I did not think people would actually pay $9.99 to get

[31:50] something in an hour, but >> Yeah.

[31:52] » they seem to. And there are certain um uh types of products where it actually

[31:58] does make sense. Let's say you're sick and you want to receive NyQuil, it's

[32:01] better for that to arrive at your house from the air than for you to go to CVS

[32:05] or to have someone >> certain neighborhoods as residential for

[32:08] a reason. Like I'd like to keep the commerce in the commercial section.

[32:11] That's all. >> I totally understand. So I'm following

[32:14] up on it um and I'll report back on it as we go further.

[32:18] » Okay. >> Thank you, though.

[32:19] » Thank you. >> And I may I just add one thing? I've

[32:21] obviously as people are outside more, I'm hearing this from other people cuz

[32:25] we are now seeing the drones. And uh there is an email address that we had

[32:28] when they were doing their initial presentations. There were two email

[32:31] addresses, one for the FA FAA and another one that I've actually been

[32:35] passing out to people and I can share that. Um because I think having people

[32:41] write the emails to Amazon specifically, you know, whatever your concerns are,

[32:44] whether it be noise or Whatever it is. >> I didn't realize we don't have the

[32:48] ability to regulate certain things though.

[32:50] » They are dropping They are dropping them from the air, so they are not landing.

[32:54] Um but I think >> Which is a hazard onto itself, but yeah.

[32:58] » But yeah, so I can pass that information along because I do think for anyone

[33:01] listening to that has concerns, has questions, to reach out directly to

[33:05] them. Um >> And I I will say thank you for

[33:07] mentioning that. They want this feedback because while

[33:11] this service is available, it is a brand new service for them. They're really in

[33:15] a sort of a pilot mode, no pun intended. Pilotless pilot mode. Um

[33:20] but they want that feedback because they want to tune in their service. Maybe

[33:24] they're doing something weird. Uh they adjust their service by because of

[33:28] weather and other issues, so this could be something that they have to consider.

[33:33] Like they don't always Maybe they don't always want the drone to fly down the

[33:37] center of a road because it becomes more obvious. I don't know. Uh give them that

[33:40] feedback. Thank you. >> Thank you.

[33:43] » Yeah. Any Any others? Wow.

[33:49] Lots of items that were not on the agenda. I have to remember where we are.

[33:53] Uh liaison reports, Commissioner Buz Nick.

[33:56] » Budnick. >> I didn't have I had drones on my I had

[33:59] drones on my mind, so it became Buz Nick.

[34:04] » That was a reference. Something else?

[34:08] » Yeah, exactly.

[34:13] » All right. Well, thank you, Mayor. Let's get into

[34:17] our May and June rec happenings.

[34:21] And for all the mothers out there, happy Mother's Day.

[34:25] Uh in the absence of Mr. Zachary, we'll

[34:28] start off with learning American Sign Language, the ASL meets every Wednesday,

[34:32] and this is still going strong. So, that's 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. at

[34:35] the PR Community Center. So, go ahead and practice and learn some American

[34:39] Sign Language, and it's for really anybody. So, children, adults, whoever

[34:43] is interested. It's a free event, and there's no formal instructor instructor.

[34:46] I think we've all heard Ted talk about the experience. So, come and have some

[34:50] fun. Pool tag renewal is this week, and I

[34:54] know it doesn't feel that way walking in.

[34:56] But, it should be. >> to Saturday. It'll feel better.

[34:59] » There we go. >> Hopefully.

[35:00] » So, bring your old tags and picture ID, and they'll get you renewed. And they're

[35:03] preferring to do this all now, so it's all out of the way. And of course,

[35:06] uh Shawnee, Kai, and the team will get you going. During season, it's just a

[35:10] little easier not to get some of it out of the way. So, if you're going to the

[35:12] Rec Center, work out, or what have you, go ahead and get those renewed.

[35:16] And the pool actually opens a week from this Friday.

[35:19] » Isn't that crazy? >> Yeah.

[35:21] » What? >> Yeah.

[35:22] » Yeah, that's crazy. >> It's really early this year, May the

[35:24] 22nd. And as a reminder, no guest

[35:28] guests are allowed on the first first weekend, our opening weekend.

[35:33] And then, Memorial Day ceremony is Monday the 25th at 9:00 a.m., and that

[35:37] is at Memorial Park. Couple more events here. We have a 50

[35:41] and up club day trip to the DAC. So, a phenomenal place to tour. That's

[35:46] tour and lunch, and that's on Thursday, May the 28th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30

[35:50] p.m. And then, the Pride Swim is Wednesday,

[35:54] June the 10th, and that's from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. at night. Always a popular

[35:58] event. And last but not least, the Sakura paper

[36:01] truck will be coming. That's on the 21st of June, and that's from 10:00 a.m. to

[36:06] 2:00 p.m., and that's of course at the Community Center. And this is for PR

[36:09] residents only. >> That's the shredder truck?

[36:12] » Yeah.

[36:16] » And that's a Sunday, did you say, or Saturday?

[36:19] » Saturday. >> Okay, great.

[36:21] » Saturday, the 21st from 10:00 to 2:00.

[36:26] » That's all I have here. >> Thank you. Any questions for

[36:29] Commissioner Bozeman?

[36:33] That might stick. >> It might stick.

[36:35] » Yeah. >> All right. Uh Commissioner Perry for the

[36:38] Arts Council. >> Thank you. Um the Arts Council didn't

[36:41] meet last month. Um but this month they um will meet on Wednesday. Oops, shoot.

[36:48] I just had the I just wrote the date down and lost it. Um

[36:52] Hold on. It is It'll be Wednesday, May 20th,

[36:57] 4:30 p.m. right here. Um also the at some point soon um the uh the mural will

[37:05] be starting down in Gainsborough Park. You know, don't feed the the muralist.

[37:08] Like leave the They'll be focusing and and working on

[37:14] the the mural and they're very shy, so

[37:19] um we'll see it Yeah. So, but they'll be

[37:23] there in in full display. So, it'll be good.

[37:25] » Cool. >> But um the the

[37:29] Arts Council will be meeting on Wednesday the 20th of May. Thank you.

[37:34] Thank you. >> Any questions?

[37:38] All right. Uh Ferndale Public Schools, Mr. DeLaVergne.

[37:44] » Hey, good evening everyone. Uh Mark DeLaVergne, president school Ferndale

[37:48] School Board of Trustees. Uh

[37:51] few things to note. Uh May 29th is the June Fair. Uh reminder

[37:56] to everybody, uh it is being held at Ferndale Administration Building,

[38:00] formerly Roosevelt, formerly Lower. Again, we don't usually have activity

[38:06] there. Uh we will have a lot of activity that day.

[38:09] Um so, just a reminder that uh it's a great day. Uh we expect, you know, a

[38:12] little more traffic, >> a little bit noise.

[38:14] Uh a lot of little kids running around and getting lost from their parents and

[38:17] screaming a little bit, so uh all of that and just an amazing day.

[38:21] So, looking forward to that. Um

[38:24] May 31st is graduation. Uh this year we're doing something different. Uh

[38:27] we're hosting all three graduations at Wayne State University. So, it will be a

[38:32] long day for myself and the other board members, but it will be fantastic that

[38:35] we can just do all three in the same day and you know, Wayne State has a great

[38:39] facility down downtown. So, goes well. Hopefully, this will be a

[38:42] tradition that we will continue to do uh so that we can celebrate everybody uh

[38:47] in the same way and the same really really nice place.

[38:50] Um

[38:54] not excited about um our budget. Uh we are probably

[38:59] looking at another year where we do not have a school budget uh until after

[39:04] school starts. You know, things came out from Senate

[39:08] and House and Governor's office last few weeks.

[39:11] Um but it doesn't look great again. So, uh we'll probably hopefully when I come

[39:15] back in September after a few months off, uh I will be smiling, but I'm

[39:18] guessing I will be ranting a little bit about sort of the the challenges that we

[39:22] continue to have. Uh Dawn, who's a who's our finance director, also a Pleasant

[39:26] Ridge uh resident, does an amazing job coming

[39:29] out with the amount of alternatives that we have to do with different uh options

[39:33] on both the the foundation allowance, but then also different programs and

[39:37] grants that we we rely on. So, um if you've run into somebody, uh

[39:41] please let them know, you know, how important it is to get a school budget

[39:43] done before the school year. Uh you know, the rest of the budget

[39:47] unfortunately probably will take just as long, but it's it's really hard for all

[39:51] of our teams across um

[39:54] Last year was uh Teacher's Appreciation Week. Uh I think all schools we had PTOs

[39:59] all came together and did a lot of really great stuff for for the teachers.

[40:02] Wish we could celebrate them a lot more, um but it's a thing that uh we we really

[40:06] take that week to to celebrate all the the great staff that we have here at

[40:09] Ferndale. Um

[40:12] You'll be seeing a lot of construction going on um Um, the high school. Uh

[40:17] we're looking at the renovation of the softball and baseball fields,

[40:21] new scene shop building addition, dressing room.

[40:25] I did a quick walk-through last week. It's pretty good.

[40:29] It's going to look really nice, particularly the performing arts stuff.

[40:32] I'm just like the dressing room, the makeup room, the set area.

[40:37] It's pretty great. And the the softball is looking good. I was telling

[40:40] Commissioner last night that you know, we're trying to get this

[40:43] foundation up and running for new things because cuz the softball and baseball

[40:46] coaches are seeing how nice the turf and the field are. It's all going to be on

[40:49] the infield and they're like, "Well, why can't we do the outfield now?" So,

[40:53] trying to figure out how we can do that. But it's you know, continuing to upgrade

[40:56] facilities. We really appreciate everybody trusting us and sort of making

[41:00] this investment in our kids. And we're really going to start to see it with a

[41:03] lot of these facilities that mean so many to so many kids.

[41:06] Um, we'll talk about the millage. Superintendent Hitler will be here next

[41:09] month and sort of walk through the the

[41:12] millage. Um, one thing I will say that's on the

[41:15] the notes is we're seeing a lot more biking to

[41:18] school, which is fantastic. >> That's awesome.

[41:21] » We despite Clawson getting out in the press saying

[41:25] that they have we have the first bike bus with our elementary. We have parents

[41:28] that dedicate and get kids and bike to lower and upper. Uh, we have you know,

[41:34] so much activity going in the middle school and the high school.

[41:37] Unfortunately though, we've been having some safety challenges. There was a

[41:42] bad crash at 9-Mile and Pinecrest where a student got

[41:47] really injured by a driver not paying attention.

[41:50] Lots of different close calls at Curry Park. So,

[41:53] it's great that we have all these kids out there and biking.

[41:56] Particularly with a lot of our pick up drop off being challenging at the at the

[41:59] high school and the middle school. But please, you know, when you're out there,

[42:02] particularly in the morning and in the afternoon, you know,

[42:05] we've got kids biking everywhere now. And please watch out for them. And you

[42:10] know, there's no reason to speed through the light or be on your phone

[42:13] particularly in these areas. So, please please please be uh

[42:17] You should be careful driving all the time, but particularly uh around our

[42:20] schools uh where we've got our kids on their bikes. So, thanks. Uh any

[42:24] questions? >> Google pickles?

[42:27] How did they do? >> Uh they did amazing.

[42:32] Uh they got to the like next to next There's like basically they got to the

[42:37] final day and then there's like 10 rounds before the finals and they got to

[42:42] the next to last round before the last finals. So, just just amazing. Uh we

[42:48] celebrated all the robotics teams this week, but again, just just seeing, you

[42:52] know, how this group has just like gotten better better and now they're at

[42:55] the edge of the the finals is really really exciting. So, again, appreciate

[42:59] everybody's support uh for those kids. I think it's going to continue to build a

[43:03] culture of robotics here and the fact that, you know, we've got kids in the

[43:06] national finals every single year is amazing.

[43:10] Yep. >> Yes. And quick one on uh the foundation.

[43:13] Uh I don't know if you've shared the survey link.

[43:15] » Yes, we shared the survey. So, thank you. Yes, so uh we had a great meeting

[43:19] Commissioner Lenko. I appreciate you coming last night. Shared shared the

[43:21] survey link with with all of you. We'll have a post up this week if you all can

[43:25] share that as well. We're just going to get the word out. We had a great

[43:28] uh great participation last night. Really interested and can really see the

[43:32] community going to come together and be able to rebuild this this foundation

[43:35] that was a such a strong part of this community for so long.

[43:39] » With budget woes and everything like that. Like the

[43:41] » Yes. >> getting the attention and

[43:42] » Yep. >> the generosity of the neighborhood.

[43:44] » Yep. A lot of a lot of really great ideas and a lot of people uh with great

[43:47] experience that are going to so, but room for everybody.

[43:50] » Great. Awesome. >> Excellent.

[43:52] » All right, thank you all. Appreciate it. >> doing.

[43:56] » Commissioner Lenko. >> Mr. Mayor, uh Planning Commission and

[43:59] DDA met uh was it April 27th? Our next meeting will be July 27th in these

[44:06] chambers at 7:00. Uh there's a lot on the plate last time and I mean evidence

[44:12] by the rest of our agenda. We're >> Yeah, most of it's here.

[44:14] » Right. >> Uh

[44:15] so as far as the write-up and the summary and the yada yada, uh Jim's done

[44:19] a great job. Thank you, Jim and Kirsten, like putting together the summaries on

[44:23] each ordinance and uh yeah, so short-term rental regulations,

[44:28] the omnibus regulations, ADU regs, and then Cambridge Woodward is

[44:34] uh it's kind of moving, so at least the

[44:36] site plan was was approved, so >> stuff.

[44:41] And for the folks here, thanks for joining.

[44:43] The AP government that yeah,

[44:47] super cool to see you guys here and taking an interest in local government.

[44:51] Um yeah, it's a lot of a lot of collaboration and you know,

[44:56] working with what's on the rules and what needs to take place, but uh

[44:59] yeah, uh normally planning commission DDA

[45:02] meetings are not sleepers, but there's not usually like six things going on.

[45:07] And our city commission packet isn't usually full of planning commission

[45:10] items, so I'm especially proud. So the group did an awesome job. Do you have

[45:14] any questions on any of the particular regs or ordinances?

[45:19] » No, I think we'll get to them. >> Beautiful. Well,

[45:22] yeah, I guess in the interest of time, let's tackle them as they're presented

[45:25] on the agenda. But I'd encourage people to come July 27th

[45:30] if you're interested and yeah, we'll get to the uh

[45:34] all of our stuff in a minute. Thanks. >> Awesome, thank you.

[45:38] And last but not least, historical commission, Commissioner Shumer.

[45:42] » Thank you, Mayor. Uh the historical museum will be open this

[45:45] Saturday, the 16th. It's the 16th this Saturday, right? Yes, the 16th from

[45:50] 10:00 until 12:00. So come to you know, stop by the historical museum. As

[45:55] always, check out your folder, bring pictures for the folder. They are also

[45:59] now trying to get um you come in or at home writing a letter to future

[46:03] homeowners that can be put into your file so that future people can read it.

[46:07] » That's cool. >> Yeah, it is. It's very cool idea. I

[46:10] mean, it's cool a cool idea too if you go to your folder and in the future find

[46:14] this letter. So, um

[46:17] also 100-year tiles, if your house is 100, whether it turned 100 this year or

[46:22] in the past, come by a tile. You can buy one here,

[46:25] you can buy it at the historical museum, and I just picked up a box of like 100

[46:29] new tiles. So, we have plenty. So,

[46:33] that's all I got. >> Thank you.

[46:35] » Thank you. >> Um we'll move on to governmental

[46:39] reports.

[46:44] » Good evening, everyone. >> Good evening, Chief.

[46:46] » Uh before I get started here, I just want

[46:49] to say that uh the fair coming up uh the June fair in May.

[46:54] Um I love it. I miss it. I miss the kids. Um a lot of the officers miss the

[46:58] kids being at Roosevelt. So, I have two officers scheduled for that night that

[47:02] we do our walk around. Um

[47:05] right before or right after I was appointed Chief, someone came in the

[47:10] parking lot and they were talking to me and they said, you know, "Oh, we're so

[47:13] happy that you became Chief." I said, "Oh, thank you very much." And she said,

[47:16] "Do you remember when you lost when you found my lost child?"

[47:19] I said, "I don't."

[47:22] And she said it was the it would have been the June fair of

[47:26] 2001. So, I was a cop that had been a cop for about a week.

[47:31] » Jeez. >> Apparently, I found her child and uh I

[47:35] although I don't remember it, um it just makes me feel old because that child is

[47:39] now married. Um but our officers will be there. Uh we

[47:44] love love being there and seeing the kids and hanging out. So,

[47:47] » Thank you. Appreciate it. >> Thanks for doing that there again rather

[47:49] than switching it over to the other school.

[47:51] » Yeah, no one's ever moving, so. >> Yeah, we appreciate it.

[47:54] Uh on to Pleasant Ridge stuff. Um so, usually I say we're winning the war

[48:00] on crime. If anyone saw Facebook this month, we

[48:04] did have some people that did not lock their car doors.

[48:08] And they got some stuff taken out of their cars.

[48:10] It was not an isolated incident just to Pleasant Ridge. We checked with all of

[48:14] our law enforcement partners and it's been happening in a lot of places. We

[48:18] usually tell you as soon as the the weather starts to break a little bit, we

[48:22] have this happen. We did have one vehicle that was stolen.

[48:26] Keys were with it. Don't leave your keys in the car.

[48:31] Lieutenant Tyler talked to some more of our law enforcement partners and went

[48:36] and scoured a certain area of the city of Detroit and found her

[48:40] vehicle. So, we recovered that vehicle, brought

[48:43] it back to her. She was very very happy about that.

[48:47] Lock the vehicles. Um

[48:49] » It's worth mentioning that if quite often an insurance company will

[48:53] not consider the car stolen if you left your keys in the car.

[48:56] So, it's not only a lost car, but there's no no claim. So, something to

[49:02] think about. >> Um

[49:05] Couple other things. Lieutenant Tyler and I went to the Great Lakes Homeland

[49:08] Security Conference. Participated in a bunch of different

[49:12] classes there. One of the ones that I was especially interested in was the

[49:16] elder fraud. They had FBI agents going through a bunch of different things,

[49:20] explaining a bunch of things. I don't know if you remember when I talked about

[49:23] pig butchering a couple years ago. Not the literal sense.

[49:28] The average lost on average loss on pig butchering incident is $150,000 from the

[49:34] person. They just keep taking and taking and taking until there's nothing left.

[49:38] Um Couple key takeaways

[49:42] that I mean it shouldn't have to be said, but I just want to tell you. If

[49:46] anyone asks you to go get anything from a Bitcoin machine, call us. It's a scam.

[49:51] Something's going on. Uh if anyone tells you you need gold

[49:54] bars because the government is moving your money from one place to another,

[49:58] come talk to us. Um let us help you with that. Uh the FBI agent said one thing

[50:03] that kind of made me laugh. She said uh the she's been trying to fight against

[50:06] the bit uh Bitcoin ATMs. And I don't know that this is an accurate statistic,

[50:12] but she said 98% of it is elder fraud and the other 2% are drug dealers. So.

[50:18] Um stay away from those. If anyone calls

[50:22] you wanting to have you transfer money, do just call us. Call us before you do

[50:26] anything. Last thing uh with the break in the

[50:29] weather, we've got scooter problems. The uh electric scooters

[50:34] you can ride them on the streets. They have the same as

[50:39] uh responsibilities as a car, a bike. You have to abide by the traffic laws.

[50:44] You need to stay to the side of the road. Um you can do that. However, if

[50:48] you are on the sidewalk because there are some places

[50:52] the police department preferably would like to see you on the sidewalk on Ridge

[50:55] because Ridge is a little bit crazier now with the construction. But you have

[50:59] to yield to pedestrians at all times on sidewalks. So, just a a note for

[51:02] everyone. If your kids are out on the sidewalks,

[51:05] make sure that they know they have to move over to the side. Let the

[51:07] pedestrians through. Um but we are seeing some more of those. In fact, um

[51:12] Officer Brokey impounded, I believe it was a moped that was going through

[51:16] Gainesville the other day. Uh driving recklessly. So.

[51:20] If you have the kids with the mopeds, the electric bikes, the

[51:25] electric scooters let them know

[51:28] drive responsibly and uh won't have any problems. So.

[51:32] Um and oh, last thing uh just because you post something on

[51:37] Facebook does not mean that you have reported it to the police department.

[51:41] So, please, if you have anything that you need the police department to know,

[51:46] if you see someone suspicious, if you had uh if you were a victim of a crime,

[51:49] if you whatever it may be, call us directly.

[51:53] Don't post it on Facebook and think that we're going to see it because we do not

[51:56] patrol Facebook. So. Other than that, I'm here for any

[51:59] questions you may have. >> Any questions?

[52:03] » No questions. >> Thank you very much.

[52:05] » Thank you for your time. Appreciate it.

[52:10] » All right. Uh

[52:13] Oh, I'll wait for the

[52:17] Are we good? Okay. Um

[52:21] Uh consent agenda. Uh just to

[52:24] bring some attention to a couple of the things in our consent agenda this month.

[52:29] Uh we have one for gun violence awareness day.

[52:33] Um and then also there's one to celebrate Jewish American heritage

[52:38] month. Uh so I would encourage people to just read the packets on those. Uh but I

[52:42] think we'll go ahead and take a vote. >> A motion?

[52:45] » Or a motion. Motion before a vote. >> Mayor, I move the consent agenda to be

[52:49] approved. >> Second.

[52:52] » All right. Uh may we have a vote?

[52:57] » Commissioner Schmier? >> Yes.

[52:59] » Commissioner Perry? >> Yes.

[53:00] » Commissioner Budner? >> Yes.

[53:03] » Mayor Scott? >> Yes.

[53:06] 5 to 0. Who? Okay.

[53:10] Uh the motion carries.

[53:14] Uh we'll move on to utility rates. >> Okay.

[53:18] » Thank you.

[53:22] » Fiscal year '27. Uh these are the proposed utility rates

[53:25] for adoption by resolution tonight. Uh this is the first step in our budget

[53:29] process. Um all of these things are adopted by

[53:32] resolution of the city commission. So the proposed uh rate structure this year

[53:36] is a $53.36 ready to serve charge per bill,

[53:41] combined water and sewer usage rate of $95.90,

[53:45] infrastructure charge of $0.93 per front foot,

[53:48] and a garbage pickup fee of $31.23 per bill, and then the

[53:53] stormwater runoff fee of $63.37 per equivalent residential unit.

[53:59] ERUs are a way of apportioning costs based off runoff factors, and

[54:03] 10 years ago we did a study of the city and it created districts. Uh

[54:07] They're very similar. They're assessors districts.

[54:10] So, that's how ERUs are assigned to properties.

[54:17] Uh inputs. The largest inputs in the

[54:22] water rate structure are capital improvements

[54:26] for the water main projects and lead service line replacement.

[54:30] The items in yellow are our major external inputs. Those are

[54:35] outside entities that we pay for stormwater treatment.

[54:39] That's GWK, sewage treatment, which is GLEEWA, water wholesale cost is

[54:43] SAQUA, and WRC is our maintenance partner for water and sewer maintenance

[54:48] activities. So, the percent increases you see

[54:53] overall, the rate structure will result in about

[54:56] a 3.7% increase for for the average water customer in

[55:02] Pleasant Ridge. We are seeing very large percentage

[55:05] increases from our outside entities. So, GLEEWA had a cap on 4% for 10 years

[55:12] after their creation. That ended. Um and so now

[55:16] GLEEWA is passing along large cost increases.

[55:20] Um GWK has been in the 5 to 7% cost increase for the past few years. See,

[55:25] water wholesale cost is 10.6%, and that's because SAQUA, like the rest of

[55:29] us, has um 50-70 year-old infrastructure at this

[55:34] point. And their capital improvement program needs more money to maintain the

[55:39] SAWCUA system. We benefit from SAWCUA quite a bit just

[55:43] from combined purchasing power. They have a lot of storage and they can

[55:47] smooth out demand. They fill their tanks at night and then empty them during the

[55:51] day. So, it's an overall benefit, but one of the things that we're contending

[55:56] with right now is a $150,000 tank inspection and painting bill. So,

[56:02] they're undergoing a capital improvement program

[56:05] right now. So, that's part of the increase we're

[56:08] seeing there. And then WRC maintenance, a lot of this is related directly to the

[56:12] water main projects because we're using WRC more than we normally would when we

[56:18] have them out working to do shut-offs and exercising valves and just

[56:23] supporting our water main projects. So, those those um

[56:28] items in yellow normally account for about 60% of our total water fund cost.

[56:35] So, then you add on the capital improvements as well. The items that are

[56:38] not in yellow are locally controlled and you'll see that we've worked to minimize

[56:43] the cost percentage increases in those items

[56:46] to try to get to that 3.7% overall cost increase.

[56:53] And here, this is how the breakdown. So, when you take out the cost of our water

[56:57] main projects, wholesale water and sewer charges are 55% for supplying the water

[57:03] and then treating treating it when it goes away. Operations and maintenance is

[57:07] another 20%, services, engineering, utilities, insurance, that's about 12%.

[57:13] GWK debt, that's our share for constructing the GWK facility. Those

[57:18] bonds is about 7% of our cost and then the staff and uh

[57:22] it's about 6%.

[57:26] So, again, there's that 3.7% increase. This may surprise you, but we're

[57:32] actually below average for our water costs for uh Saqua communities. This is

[57:38] the Saqua rate survey. Um, you'll see Pleasant Ridge, um,

[57:42] they they translate everything into quarterly bills. There are a number of

[57:47] us that bill monthly or bi-monthly. Um, so they translate everything into a

[57:52] quarterly bill cuz that is still the most common billing frequency for

[57:55] communities. Um, the average cost for a commu- uh resident is $706 for

[58:02] a quarter and we're below that at $691 and that also includes our water

[58:07] infrastructure millage cost, which is above the utility rates.

[58:12] So, you know, believe it or not, we are below average in terms of our cost

[58:16] structure.

[58:20] Uh, water infrastructure funding, um, largely funded by uh thirds. The millage

[58:26] funds a third, the ready to serve charge uh funds another third, and then the

[58:31] front foot infrastructure charge um, funds the final third. Each component

[58:36] raises about $370,000.

[58:40] Uh, the water infrastructure project, Oakdale, uh is so done mostly, but there

[58:46] are some cleanup and punch list items that remain. Devonshire's in permitting

[58:50] right now, uh looking to get that going late summer of this year, and Wellesley

[58:56] design has started. Um, if you live on Wellesley, you may have seen all the

[58:59] flags, the blue flags are out. We're locating the infrastructure where it is

[59:03] right now, so the engineers can take that into account as they start the

[59:06] design work for Wellesley. That will uh be next year. We're planning on that

[59:10] project in 2027. Uh, so that is the um

[59:15] utility rates overview. I'd be happy to answer any questions you

[59:18] have, and there is the suggested resolution in your packet. Thank you.

[59:23] » Thank you. Were there any questions from anyone?

[59:28] All right. Uh Uh may we have a motion?

[59:33] » Mayor. I move that the resolution regarding the

[59:36] 2026 to 2027 utility rates be adopted. >> Second.

[59:42] » Uh could we have a vote? >> Commissioner Schmier?

[59:46] » Yes. >> Commissioner Budnick?

[59:47] » Yes. >> Commissioner Lenko?

[59:48] » Yes. >> Commissioner Perry?

[59:50] » Yes. >> Mayor Scott?

[59:51] » Yes, the motion carries. And we'll move on to budget.

[59:55] » Yes, thank you. >> I will I will say just a little shout

[59:58] out to our uh fellow neighboring mayor uh Mary Lynn

[1:00:02] Lixey is having her state of the city address this evening. Um

[1:00:06] we tend to at least I tend to look at the budget as a state of the city. Um

[1:00:10] you can tell a lot about a city by how it manages its money and how it spends

[1:00:15] money and things and I I'm uh exceedingly happy with where the city

[1:00:21] is at, uh where where what our standings are and everything and of course happy

[1:00:25] to answer any questions at any time on how we manage the city. It's uh we're in

[1:00:30] a pretty good spot. >> As Jim

[1:00:32] » will elaborate. >> Yes.

[1:00:35] Happy to do so. >> Thank you.

[1:00:39] » The fiscal year '27 annual budget is being introduced tonight. The request is

[1:00:44] to schedule the public hearing for June 9th.

[1:00:47] We will get that notice in the paper once you uh move to schedule it.

[1:00:51] The budget is available for review right now on the website. Uh action will be

[1:00:55] taken on the budget in June and it becomes effective uh July 1 of this

[1:01:00] year. The uh budget is available at this link.

[1:01:04] cityofpleasantridge.org /budget

[1:01:10] Millage rates. The 2025 millage rate was uh for the city uh

[1:01:15] part of your the homeowners overall millage uh was 21.3235.

[1:01:21] This uh this year it's proposed at 21.0324

[1:01:26] mils. So, there will be a small uh 1.4% reduction in our local millage rate.

[1:01:31] Um you can see how that's evolved over time. Uh this year our rollback factor

[1:01:35] is 0.9883 from properties becoming uncapped.

[1:01:40] Our property tax uh revenue growth is 3.2%.

[1:01:45] Uh our taxable value growth was 4.65%. So, as that millage rolled back,

[1:01:50] homeowners who have lived here uh see their

[1:01:53] their uh property tax payments increase at a rate

[1:01:56] lower than inflation because of the pop-ups under Prop A.

[1:02:01] Uh our overall reduction this year is 0.2911 mils. And um you can see now that

[1:02:06] we're actually on an absolute term below uh where the millage rate was in

[1:02:11] 2021 when uh before the water infrastructure millage was passed. So,

[1:02:16] that 1.7 mil uh water infrastructure millage came online in 2022. And uh just

[1:02:22] through the dropping off and reduction of the parks improvement millage and

[1:02:26] then rolling back and reducing other millages, um you can see the pool debt

[1:02:29] millage continues to go down um faster than uh inflation. Um so, our

[1:02:35] millage rate is now lower than it was when we approved the water

[1:02:38] infrastructure millage.

[1:02:41] Quick overview of revenues. You can see how that millage rate has evolved over

[1:02:45] time. Uh going back to the mid-80s. Um stays

[1:02:48] fairly consistent um kind of hovering around that 20 level.

[1:02:54] I noted that uh our local millage rate is about 21 mils and uh less than half

[1:02:59] of every tax property tax dollar paid uh comes to us. The remainder goes to other

[1:03:04] taxing entities. Uh Ferndale School District is the um second largest. And

[1:03:09] then you have the county operating and intermediate school districts, community

[1:03:13] college, transportation, and then other is the zoo, the Art Institute, um

[1:03:19] county parks, some of those other

[1:03:22] smaller levies. When you look at us in context, our

[1:03:26] local millage rate is kind of middle of the pack in terms of

[1:03:30] absolute terms. Um

[1:03:33] when you look at median household income, we're at the higher level. So,

[1:03:37] there's kind of a cluster of communities that are

[1:03:40] different than the rest. Um property tax revenue per capita, as you would expect,

[1:03:43] uh is consistent with that. Total revenue per capita, again,

[1:03:48] consistent with that. This has increased as we've brought the water

[1:03:51] infrastructure project online. Um

[1:03:55] It's a necessary project, but it's required us to um increase some of our

[1:03:59] revenues. Um property tax revenue per capita by

[1:04:02] millage rate, uh what this shows is that uh

[1:04:08] Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, Orchard Lake, Pleasant Ridge, Huntington Woods,

[1:04:10] who kind of uh we occupy that same um demographic profile,

[1:04:15] and we tend to generate roughly the same amount of property tax revenue per

[1:04:20] capita with very different millage rates that

[1:04:23] get you to that bottom line dollar. And what that points to is just that there's

[1:04:26] a cost to run a city that is pretty consistent. You just have to generate

[1:04:30] the revenues to to run a city, and everything adjusts to get you to that

[1:04:35] level. Um these are

[1:04:37] generally higher service providing communities. Um

[1:04:43] Household uh revenue per household as a percentage of

[1:04:46] median household income, this is just a question of is it affordable?

[1:04:49] And you see that most communities cluster, we're right in the middle of

[1:04:52] the pack in terms of affordability, about 6% of uh median household income

[1:04:57] is revenue to the city, um what we take in in revenue.

[1:05:02] Um So, again, we're consistent there.

[1:05:06] When you look at general fund revenue by source, adjusted for inflation over

[1:05:09] time, um the thing that really stands out is over time we've had to rely more

[1:05:14] on property tax revenue to support ourselves. And you see the orange line,

[1:05:18] the orange kind of blob was state shared revenue, which continues to decline um

[1:05:24] quite a bit. And so, um, the other the other lines

[1:05:28] are are fairly consistent and charges for services have, uh, increased greatly

[1:05:32] in the middle and then reduced over time as well.

[1:05:36] Um, you can see that that's kind of a consistent total, um

[1:05:41] total revenue that we've operated on right around that $4 million a year for

[1:05:44] general fund um, over the course of the last 40 years.

[1:05:48] This is just normalized to, uh, one, uh, as a percentage basis and again it shows

[1:05:54] the decline of shared revenue, the decline of charges for services and the

[1:05:58] increase in, uh, taxes and assessments to fund the city as those other

[1:06:03] things decline, um you know, to

[1:06:07] School Board member Deal Averns' point, the state never increases funding. Um,

[1:06:11] so, in the '80s we were taking in $800,000 a year of inflation adjusted

[1:06:17] shared revenue and now we're, uh, a little bit over $300,000 a year. So, you

[1:06:21] know, that's a notable difference.

[1:06:27] Uh, property tax value trend, you can see the compression that occurred in the

[1:06:31] wake of the, um, Great Recession. As assessed values dropped, taxable

[1:06:37] values also dropped and then we've continued to um, get a pretty consistent

[1:06:41] pathway, um, since then with both taxable and assessed property values.

[1:06:46] The taxable property value trend, however,

[1:06:50] this points out something that during times when property values decrease,

[1:06:54] state, uh, the state taxing regime uh, limits revenue growth for local

[1:07:00] communities when things are growing, but when there's an instance where property

[1:07:04] values decline, there's no catch-up method. There's no way of regaining or

[1:07:09] clawing back that revenue. Um so that I call the Headlee gap because after the

[1:07:14] Great Recession, communities everywhere had to do Headlee overrides. Um

[1:07:19] 2012 to 14 really is when that all happened. It happened here.

[1:07:23] To make up for that permanent step down in taxable value on a inflation-adjusted

[1:07:28] basis over time. So it's a it's inevitable. It's a

[1:07:33] staircase down in terms of taxable values. It's going to happen again at

[1:07:37] some point.

[1:07:42] Uh and again, after that after the Great Recession, it took 10 years to even get

[1:07:48] back to inflation-adjusted taxable values.

[1:07:51] So that was just the the scope of that uh

[1:07:55] that event. Expenses, what are we spending our money

[1:07:57] on? Total expenditures per capita, um again,

[1:08:01] just like revenues, we're up there. Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Huntington

[1:08:03] Woods, uh us, Royal Oak are at the higher end for expenditures per capita.

[1:08:09] Uh but again, expenses per household as a percentage of median household income,

[1:08:12] we're again at that lower end of So is the question of is the community

[1:08:17] affordable? Yes, we are for the people who live here.

[1:08:20] Uh police expenditures per capita is higher. We spend more, uh but you see

[1:08:25] that this is really driven by a small community.

[1:08:28] Lathrup Village is right up there as well. Um it's like flying an airplane.

[1:08:31] You have to have wings and a pilot and a co-pilot. Um and it just costs money to

[1:08:36] have that basic structure to have a city and a police force in a small town. And

[1:08:41] when you look at number of officers per capita, we have a higher number here

[1:08:45] because there's a you have to have six to seven full-time guys to run a 24/7

[1:08:49] police department. So we just have more officers per capita um as a necessity.

[1:08:55] When you look at total public safety expenditures per capita, this accounts

[1:08:58] for fire and police. Uh

[1:09:01] on a total basis, we're very um normal in terms of expenditures per

[1:09:06] capita. Where do we spend our money? Well, we

[1:09:10] have a pool, and it's a hole in the ground we throw money into. Um

[1:09:14] Uh Huntington Woods as well. So, that's that's the big uh story in terms of

[1:09:20] why are our expenditures higher than some other communities? We have a pool.

[1:09:25] And it's great, but we have a pool. >> And we want it.

[1:09:28] » Yes. Uh water and sewer expenses per capita,

[1:09:33] our water infrastructure project is starting to really come in line uh on

[1:09:36] the line, and those those expenditures are flowing through into the budget now.

[1:09:39] So, we are on the higher end of water and sewer expenses per capita um at this

[1:09:44] point. This does account for those infrastructure projects um inflating our

[1:09:49] our water and sewer budget. But, still we're not outrageous uh by any means

[1:09:54] when we have to rebuild our entire water system on the fly, um that's that's a

[1:09:59] big undertaking. This is a good news story here about our

[1:10:02] pension funded level uh continues to increase. We're over 70% now.

[1:10:07] You can see the trajectory that we were on, and in 2017, the voters did approve

[1:10:11] a police pension stabilization millage. All of that money has gone into excess

[1:10:15] contributions into the pension fund. Um and you can see where it took a couple

[1:10:19] years for it to really turn around. Um part of that was some of the returns um

[1:10:24] before COVID, but as that that uh millage phased in over time. So, it was

[1:10:29] a 1.4 mil uh approved, but it phased in at 0.35 mils per year over 4 years. So,

[1:10:36] when that funding really started to fully come in online in 2021, you can

[1:10:39] see our uh police pension funding level is um

[1:10:44] dramatically increasing. So, um I am hopeful we're on track to solve this uh

[1:10:50] unfunded uh pension problem by the time that that uh police pension millage ends

[1:10:55] around 2031 or two, which isn't that far away now.

[1:10:59] » So, that's the overview, the high-level overview

[1:11:02] of the budget. Largely, it's status quo. We continue to fund water infrastructure

[1:11:06] projects and do all the things we're doing around town.

[1:11:10] Um nothing new or major planned in terms of changes or um

[1:11:16] patterns in spending. Consistent from year to year.

[1:11:20] Um the one thing I didn't hit on in the presentation was city commission policy

[1:11:24] is to maintain a 75 70 to 80% um general fund fund balance, which we did achieve

[1:11:29] a couple years ago, and now we're we're hovering in that um in that area. Higher

[1:11:35] than most communities, but again, that's a small community number. The a smaller

[1:11:39] community, one thing can have a major impact on a budget, whereas a larger

[1:11:42] community, you can spread things out a little bit

[1:11:45] more. Um so, we uh maintain probably a higher fund

[1:11:48] balance than most do, but it's a reflection of who we are.

[1:11:53] » And it's for the size of our community, it's

[1:11:57] actually commendable to be able to get to this, you know, level of um

[1:12:02] of savings and um fund balances and things, cuz other

[1:12:07] small communities are just can't or don't.

[1:12:12] » Yeah. >> Um

[1:12:15] uh so, uh we uh we'll also have um a public hearing on

[1:12:21] this in June. Assuming that this uh

[1:12:24] motion carries. >> You're looking at me cuz I make cuz I

[1:12:27] make all of the motions. No, no, no, I was thinking I'm going to make

[1:12:29] » No, I would say have a comment there. >> Sure. Yes, please.

[1:12:32] » Cuz there is um one of the really nice things with this budget is the narrative

[1:12:36] that uh the city manager writes up front. So, it makes it very it's a very

[1:12:41] digestible document, and it helps sort of understand the history of where we've

[1:12:45] been as well as where we're going, and talks about the three-year funding and

[1:12:50] all of um or budgeting that, you know, it

[1:12:54] it helps it all really make sense um in a way that sometimes just looking at the

[1:12:58] numbers doesn't. So, um

[1:13:02] it's a Have fun reading it. You know,

[1:13:05] uh it it's not that long even and it's but it it

[1:13:10] I don't know. I it's really good. >> If uh as someone that has read other

[1:13:14] cities' budgets, which sounds very boring, but it sometimes you have to.

[1:13:18] » Yeah. >> I can say that our budget is actually

[1:13:20] digestible. So, I have no problem at all sitting down

[1:13:24] with somebody and going through line items in our budget if there's ever a

[1:13:28] question about where where everyone's money's going.

[1:13:31] » Well, and there are awards for these things, so.

[1:13:34] » Right. >> For budget writing, but anyway.

[1:13:36] » All right. >> Yeah. Mayor, I would

[1:13:38] I'd like to add a second to checking my retirement

[1:13:43] balances, the next thing I check is our parks and rec endowment balance. I like

[1:13:48] to check in with Jim to see what it's and it's such a phenomenal thing that

[1:13:51] the city with former Mayor Castelli, Mayor Scott and in our city manager have

[1:13:56] done is we've taken money that we we received from 696 essentially

[1:14:01] in the late '80s and then we have now invested it over the last, let's say, 10

[1:14:05] years ish. And that money has grown from 1.

[1:14:08] 7 million to almost 400 or almost $4 million now and that also includes the

[1:14:13] roughly $300,000 worth of improvements we've pumped into the community

[1:14:18] being the both the uh

[1:14:22] Well, the Foreridge the room, the big room. Then we had Was the

[1:14:27] city chambers part of that? >> Uh

[1:14:29] » Or just the pavilion? The two pavilions. >> So, pretty phenomenal to have those

[1:14:35] those come out and we're still double.

[1:14:38] » So many parks projects. >> They're really just

[1:14:41] » been great. >> Yeah.

[1:14:42] » We've also used it to leverage paying down Gainsborough. It's it's been a

[1:14:45] great tool and asset to the city. >> Mhm.

[1:14:49] » Mhm. >> Cool. Yes.

[1:14:51] » Just one observation. Great job. Awesome framing it too in terms of how

[1:14:56] we compare to the other communities. Especially for these young guys, I want

[1:15:00] to point out how policy kind of shifts and changes

[1:15:04] from its original I guess inspiration or like why it goes

[1:15:09] into effect. But that state revenue sharing to put in perspective 800,000 in

[1:15:14] the '80s is like 2.4 million dollars in today's

[1:15:18] dollars. So that's and what are we getting like 300k now? So

[1:15:22] » Roughly. >> So we're not So we're getting 300k when

[1:15:26] you use the time machine to like when these rules were set up, we should we

[1:15:29] should actually be getting like two extra million dollars, which is

[1:15:32] half the budget. So we ask our state reps for this,

[1:15:37] but

[1:15:40] to no avail. But anyways, just just to kind of pin that as as one of those I

[1:15:45] don't know, thorns in our side. Um and I don't know, as you're looking at

[1:15:49] things like gas taxes or all these other like

[1:15:51] just make sure that the money is going to the thing that's supposed to do

[1:15:55] rather than it to the general fund, which gets siphoned into like every

[1:15:59] direction. >> Literally the buck stops with every

[1:16:02] city. >> Uh-huh. So you'll see laws that occur on

[1:16:06] the federal level and the state level. Ultimately it's a city manager and a

[1:16:09] city clerk that has to make something happen.

[1:16:12] And or not happen.

[1:16:16] The right you know, just to make it happen the right way.

[1:16:19] And so I'm excited that we've been able to sort of manage those

[1:16:24] the those moments good and bad from the federal and the state level.

[1:16:30] » Be cool to have an extra two million bucks.

[1:16:31] » Yeah.

[1:16:34] All right. >> Mayor.

[1:16:37] » Oh.

[1:16:40] » Mayor, I move the public hearing be established for Tuesday, June 9th, 2026

[1:16:45] at 7:30 p.m. to solicit public comments on the

[1:16:50] proposed fiscal year 2026 to 2027 millage rates and combined city budgets.

[1:16:57] » Second. May we have a vote?

[1:17:00] » Commissioner Perry. >> Yes.

[1:17:01] » Commissioner Lenko. >> Yes.

[1:17:03] » Commissioner Budnick. >> Yes.

[1:17:04] » Commissioner Schmier. >> Yes.

[1:17:06] » Mayor Scott. >> Yes, the motion carries.

[1:17:10] All right. Uh onto the fun topics. Although I find budgets fun. Um

[1:17:16] Uh short-term rentals zoning. >> Yes.

[1:17:19] Let me get there in my

[1:17:28] » Okay, thank you. Um short-term rentals and I can

[1:17:32] pull up the ordinances on the screen if we need to look through them there, but

[1:17:36] um I don't

[1:17:37] know if we'll need to. Um short-term rental, uh this is uh not

[1:17:41] a new topic. We've been discussing it for almost a year now at the city

[1:17:44] commission, uh but we're getting to the pointy end

[1:17:48] of the stick at this point. Um the planning commission held public

[1:17:52] hearing on the zoning portion of this two ordinance amendment at their April

[1:17:57] 27th meeting. Um

[1:18:00] recommended approval to the city commission.

[1:18:03] Uh these ordinances are being introduced to you tonight to schedule a public

[1:18:06] hearing for the June 9th, 2026 meeting. Uh the two ordinances would regulate the

[1:18:11] operation of short-term rentals within the city. The zoning amendment uh would

[1:18:15] allow short-term rentals in the multiple family and commercial districts while

[1:18:19] allowing the existing um short-term rental units which are operating to

[1:18:24] continue as existing non-conforming uses um subject to them being currently

[1:18:29] licensed as uh rental properties with a landlord license.

[1:18:34] The uh licensing ordinance establishes short-term rental operation and

[1:18:37] management requirements. The, um, zoning, uh, ordinance, um,

[1:18:43] again, allows these only in multi-family and commercial districts, which are

[1:18:46] largely along largely along Woodward. The, uh, licensing and operational

[1:18:51] standards, just a brief overview, annual licensing, uh, is required.

[1:18:56] They have to be renewed each year. Um, there's an application process spelled

[1:18:59] out in the ordinance. Uh, operational requirements include a

[1:19:03] maximum, uh, occupancy of two adults per bedroom with a total overnight occupancy

[1:19:07] cap of eight people per unit. Quiet hours, uh, 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

[1:19:13] Prohibitions, uh, explicitly bans fireworks, open burning, recreational

[1:19:17] fire pits, subletting, commercial events, yard sales, uh, at short-term

[1:19:21] properties. The owner or designated agent, uh, of

[1:19:25] the property must be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as the responsible

[1:19:29] party. Must respond to any issue or complaint within an hour.

[1:19:33] Uh, there are some parking standards, uh, RVs, tents, similar vehicles are

[1:19:36] prohibited, parking must not block emergency vehicle access, uh, ingress

[1:19:40] points on the street, sidewalks, neighboring properties, etc.

[1:19:44] Uh, required posting, that there has to be a

[1:19:48] posting in the, um, in the unit and online in the listing,

[1:19:53] um, addressing all of these standards, and then some enforcement standards as

[1:19:57] well. Transition transition for existing

[1:20:00] operators, uh, the zoning ordinance includes a provision for, um,

[1:20:06] currently operating short-term rentals, which will no longer be a, uh, which

[1:20:10] would no longer be allowed to, uh, maintain and qualify for non-conforming

[1:20:15] status. The operator must currently hold a valid

[1:20:18] landlord license under Chapter 18 and also be able to demonstrate that the

[1:20:21] property was in use as a short-term rental prior to the enactment date of

[1:20:25] the zoning ordinance. Um, if they are a qualifying

[1:20:29] non-conforming operator, they have a 90-day window following the effective

[1:20:33] date to apply for the short-term rental license. And if they do and obtain the

[1:20:37] license within that window, they'll be treated as a legal non-conforming use

[1:20:41] allowing them to continue operating in their current zoning district provided

[1:20:44] that they remain continuously licensed and in compliance with the operational

[1:20:48] standards of the new chapter 18 licensing

[1:20:51] ordinance. Uh short-term rentals that are currently

[1:20:54] operating without a valid landlord license do not qualify for

[1:20:57] non-conforming status as they were not legal uses prior to a short-term

[1:21:01] uh rental ordinance adoption. So, that's the overview of the two

[1:21:06] ordinances. I'd be happy to answer any questions you

[1:21:09] have. Um One thing I would point out is at the

[1:21:12] planning commission uh planning commission chairman Galloway uh

[1:21:18] pointed out that Dearborn Heights is being sued over their short-term rental

[1:21:21] ordinance. They enacted a total ban and did and had

[1:21:25] no provision for non-conforming uses. They're being sued

[1:21:29] by a somebody who's uh was operating a

[1:21:33] short-term rental prior to the ordinance.

[1:21:36] Um that's a significant distinction between their ordinance and ours with

[1:21:40] our provisions for um existing non-conforming uses.

[1:21:43] Um and uh city attorney Neid has reviewed that

[1:21:47] lawsuit and he's confident that our approach is

[1:21:52] um is valid and defensible and we should be

[1:21:56] fine with this approach. They got I I couldn't believe they actually

[1:22:01] tried to do that cuz it's just a lawsuit waiting to happen

[1:22:04] for their approach. So. >> Mhm.

[1:22:06] » Great.

[1:22:08] » Okay. Any questions? I'd be happy to answer them. Uh requested action is

[1:22:11] scheduling the public hearing. >> Mr. Mayor?

[1:22:14] » Yes. >> I was it was interesting cuz at the

[1:22:16] planning commission the legal non-conforming was one of the big

[1:22:20] questions that they were asking too and trying to push back on and like how it's

[1:22:25] it it yeah, it's an interesting

[1:22:29] um pain point on that thing. Now, you had

[1:22:34] mentioned you said um and I'm being nitpicky, so forgive me. Like you said

[1:22:38] something about it's largely along Woodward. Is there something outside of

[1:22:42] that when uh you were saying that our zoning that's allowing it right now?

[1:22:46] » I believe it's all along Woodward. >> Okay.

[1:22:49] » But I don't want to say that >> Okay.

[1:22:51] » without the zoning map in front of me to confirm.

[1:22:52] » Right. >> Okay.

[1:22:55] » I did look at the zoning map, too, and it does appear, as Jim said, both

[1:23:00] multi-family and commercial appears to only be on Woodward from

[1:23:06] my interpretation of the colors on the zoning map.

[1:23:12] » Is there anything that could be built

[1:23:17] in the future that would fit that like you know

[1:23:23] what is in

[1:23:26] uh what's the Woodward area that the um

[1:23:31] like how the condos are fitting that? >> So, any

[1:23:34] structure any property that is not already

[1:23:38] uh a rental property could not become a short-term rental property

[1:23:43] as I understand it. And it would have to be built within the next whatever number

[1:23:46] of days following the >> Well, if it's in the commercial

[1:23:49] district, it could become a short-term rental.

[1:23:51] » Right. >> Oh, in the commercial district?

[1:23:53] » Yes. >> Mhm.

[1:23:55] » Mhm. >> Mhm.

[1:23:56] » But again, that's And that's important because uh exclusionary zoning claims

[1:24:00] are another >> Yes.

[1:24:02] » vector by which our ordinance could be challenged.

[1:24:05] » So. >> So, Iron Ridge?

[1:24:07] » Uh well, that's that's not commercial or multiple family.

[1:24:13] » Oh, you're right. Mhm. But the the uh the

[1:24:18] » It's not commercial. >> No, I think it's workplace.

[1:24:21] » Okay. >> It's It's a hybrid industrial

[1:24:23] » Yeah. >> commercial district that allows for a

[1:24:26] wider range than a normal commercial district.

[1:24:28] » Interesting. There are two restaurants going in back there, by the way.

[1:24:30] » Yeah. >> Which is really great. And we kind of

[1:24:33] blew the doors wide open cuz

[1:24:36] It's over there on the other side of the train tracks.

[1:24:38] » It's tough. >> It's pretty tough.

[1:24:39] » Um but the exclusionary zoning thing is important as well. So the the theory is

[1:24:43] that a a short-term rental use is more like a commercial land use than a

[1:24:46] residential land use because of its nature. So it's appropriate in a

[1:24:49] commercial district. So that's the legal theory upon which the zoning

[1:24:53] um decision is predicated. >> Mhm.

[1:24:56] Thank you.

[1:24:59] » No, I have no question. I mean, I have no additional questions. I feel

[1:25:04] really comfortable and I think we did a really good job of

[1:25:07] um of setting guidelines for the existing

[1:25:11] non-conforming, also limiting the future ones to more appropriate areas.

[1:25:17] Um and I'm glad we did it, honestly. I mean, we're seeing in the news more and

[1:25:20] more cities facing this issue and and dealing with it. So I'm glad we

[1:25:26] got ahead of it and are hopefully almost done with it.

[1:25:29] » Mhm. Yes, thanks to everyone that's come to

[1:25:31] meetings and discuss the topic. Thanks to the

[1:25:34] pleasant uh excuse me, to the uh to the planning commission for giving us

[1:25:39] a good start. >> Mhm.

[1:25:43] » I won't look at anyone. I'll just look ahead. What Could we have a motion?

[1:25:47] » Mayor. I move that a public hearing be established for Tuesday, June 9th at

[1:25:50] 7:30 to solicit public comments on the proposed short-term rental zoning

[1:25:54] licensing ordinance amendment. >> Second.

[1:25:58] » Okay, we have a vote. >> Commissioner Alenko?

[1:26:01] » Yes. >> Commissioner Schmier?

[1:26:03] » Yes. >> Commissioner Budnick?

[1:26:05] » Yes. >> Commissioner Perry?

[1:26:06] » Yes. >> Mayor Scott?

[1:26:07] » Yes. The motion carries. All right, on to accessory dwellings.

[1:26:14] » Yes. >> Uh one of the things that we heard from

[1:26:17] the last uh community master plan uh effort was that there is was uh quite a

[1:26:23] bit of support for allowing accessory dwelling units um

[1:26:28] from the community during that process. So, the planning commission set to work

[1:26:33] and uh is recommend had a public hearing on the proposed ordinance and uh that's

[1:26:36] being presented to you tonight uh with a request to schedule a public

[1:26:41] hearing at the June 9, 2026 meeting. The uh proposed accessory dwelling unit

[1:26:46] ordinance, it's in their packet, available for review, but a summary of

[1:26:49] the proposed regulations uh is that the planning commission will

[1:26:53] be the approving body for the first 10 applications. Um after 10 applications

[1:26:58] the planning commission will review the ordinance and approval process, see if

[1:27:01] there's any necessary changes based on the working experience they gain um as

[1:27:05] the approving body. Um and then at that time, these could be

[1:27:08] administratively approved or approved continued at the planning commission or

[1:27:11] some other process, but what we will determine. Um oftentimes ADUs are an

[1:27:15] administrative approval process, but this is a way of making sure that our um

[1:27:21] our standards are working as intended and that the planning commission has the

[1:27:23] ability and process to to see these come through.

[1:27:28] Property owners within 300 ft uh of the proposed site on the same street, and

[1:27:33] then property owners within 100 ft of the property not on the same street, so

[1:27:36] think of neighbors behind, uh will be mailed notice of the

[1:27:40] application prior to the planning commission meeting where the application

[1:27:43] will be reviewed so that they are aware of the proposal.

[1:27:46] Design standards are included in the ordinance um including a 5-ft setback

[1:27:50] requirement from any property line. Um the typical is a 3-ft minimum setback

[1:27:55] for an uh detached accessory uh dwelling, but or um

[1:27:59] structure. But if it's an accessory dwelling unit,

[1:28:03] there has to be a 5-ft setback. Um 18-ft maximum height measured to the

[1:28:07] midpoint, requiring that one of the dwelling units, either the main uh

[1:28:12] dwelling unit or the accessory dwelling unit, be owner-occupied,

[1:28:16] that no part of any property containing an ADU may be used as a short-term

[1:28:20] rental, that ADUs have their own dedicated water service and meter,

[1:28:24] that one dedicated off-street parking space be provided for the accessory

[1:28:28] dwelling unit, and then there are some design standards for the design of the

[1:28:30] structure itself that are largely in keeping with our exterior design

[1:28:33] standards applicable broadly in the community.

[1:28:38] A restrictive covenant must be filed with the county register of deeds

[1:28:41] describing these requirements for the purpose of making any prospective buyer

[1:28:45] of the property in the future aware of the restrictions that come along with

[1:28:48] the accessory dwelling unit on the property.

[1:28:52] And then there are some enforcement enforcement and if necessary revocation

[1:28:56] of ADU approval procedures. So, I'd be happy to answer any specific

[1:29:01] questions you have about the ordinance. And again, the request is to schedule

[1:29:05] public hearing for the June 9th, 2026 City Commission meeting.

[1:29:11] » Mayor, I do have one question. Just a clarification actually. Under

[1:29:17] enforcement section two

[1:29:20] A. So, that would be page four of five.

[1:29:24] Where it says revoke or modify the ADU ADU approval, if revoked, the

[1:29:28] improvements added to convert the accessory structure into an accessory

[1:29:32] dwelling unit shall be removed within 45 days of the City Commission decision.

[1:29:37] And I'm just curious what that means. I mean, we're not tearing down the

[1:29:40] building, are we? I mean, is it capping? Can you just explain that section, what

[1:29:44] that looks like? >> Sure. So, right now our ordinance states

[1:29:48] that you can't you can't have a combination of utilities to an accessory

[1:29:51] building that would allow it to be converted to a habitable dwelling space.

[1:29:55] » Mhm. >> So, a combination of utilities is

[1:29:58] functionally electric, water, and sewer. >> Mhm.

[1:30:00] » So, you can only have two of those right now.

[1:30:02] » Mhm. >> So,

[1:30:05] removing the um

[1:30:08] the improvements that would allow it to be used as

[1:30:11] accessory dwelling unit. Well, that would be cooking facilities and sanitary

[1:30:15] facilities. So, bathrooms, showers, water, sewer.

[1:30:19] That would be determined by what the property owner wanted to do to take that

[1:30:24] out. So, it would just be removing toilets or capping water service or

[1:30:28] » removing if they had the three, removing one, two. Okay.

[1:30:31] » Right. >> Okay.

[1:30:32] » And part of that part of that is the why we require a separate dedicated water

[1:30:37] line and meter. The

[1:30:40] The sanitary can tie into the main house sanitary line that runs out because

[1:30:44] that, you know, that's less of a concern, but

[1:30:48] the water service with a shutoff and a meter

[1:30:51] uh becomes our enforcement mechanism um for for some of these things.

[1:30:56] » Okay. >> Thank you. I just I assumed it was

[1:30:58] something along those lines, but as I was reading it, I was like, are we

[1:31:01] taking down the building? Like, what are we doing here?

[1:31:03] » Right. >> Which seemed, of course, insane, but

[1:31:05] thank you for clarifying.

[1:31:09] Um yes. Thank you. >> The um so, the maximum height of

[1:31:15] a garage or whatever the secondary unit is is 18 ft and that's at the peak?

[1:31:21] » No, that's at the midpoint. >> Oh, that's at the mid

[1:31:24] » So, our ordinance measures the maximum building height to the midpoint between

[1:31:28] the eaves and the peak of the roof. Typically, that's how uh

[1:31:33] building height for pitched roofs is measured in in just about every zoning

[1:31:36] ordinance everywhere for principal structures.

[1:31:38] » Okay. >> Most ordinances regulate accessory

[1:31:42] building height to the peak, but we don't and never have. So, our accessory

[1:31:46] building uh maximum height is 15 ft measured to the midpoint, which allows

[1:31:52] for taller garages. Um the 18 ft gives you some extra height

[1:31:56] because likely, you know, if you still have garage space on the first floor and

[1:31:59] this is a second floor accessory dwelling unit, you need that extra

[1:32:02] height to make the habitable space >> above. So, 18 ft is a

[1:32:08] a middle ground. It's it's doable for a dwelling unit,

[1:32:11] but it's it's not it's also not as high as we allow for a principal structure,

[1:32:15] which is 30 ft to the midpoint. >> Okay.

[1:32:20] » Also, that correct including a sightline and all of the other things required in

[1:32:24] our design guidelines. >> Yes.

[1:32:29] » And it's in relation also to the primary um structure on the property. Is it uh

[1:32:37] say if it's 18 ft, it can also Is it rel-

[1:32:42] » Can it be taller than the home? >> Can it be taller? Thanks.

[1:32:44] » Is that your question? >> Thanks, Brett.

[1:32:50] » Uh there is nothing in here that uh

[1:32:54] says that the accessory dwelling unit can't be taller than the principal

[1:32:58] structure currently.

[1:33:01] » Is that something we should consider? Or

[1:33:06] um

[1:33:08] uh just for you keeping with the character

[1:33:12] of the community and things like that, like building something. I know there

[1:33:17] are size limitations and things like that, right? It's like a percentage of

[1:33:21] the square footage of the >> Yes.

[1:33:23] » principal property. >> I you know, I don't

[1:33:26] My opinion is I don't know that we need to worry about the accessory dwelling

[1:33:30] unit being taller than the principal structure because 18 ft is still much

[1:33:33] shorter than you can build for a principal

[1:33:35] » Okay. >> structure.

[1:33:36] » I probably own one of the five homes in Wilson Ridge where the garage would be

[1:33:40] taller than the home. >> Yes, there's a very small number.

[1:33:44] » Yeah. >> And I think since I've been here, we've

[1:33:45] lost half of our of our ranches. So.

[1:33:49] » Yeah.

[1:33:54] » And just to clarify I I was at the DDA meeting watching. Um

[1:34:00] there could be a two-level ADU also. >> Mhm.

[1:34:05] » In that situation though, they wouldn't be allowed to have a garage. Is that

[1:34:08] correct? That you you can only have one additional

[1:34:11] » You can have one a detached uh accessory building right now. So, if you

[1:34:16] choose to make that a two-story accessory dwelling unit, then yes, you

[1:34:21] cannot have another >> So, you cannot have a garage and

[1:34:25] » a third structure. >> and a third structure.

[1:34:26] » You can have an attached garage. >> Mhm.

[1:34:29] » If the garage is attached to your house, then fine. And then you get one detached

[1:34:33] structure. >> Mhm.

[1:34:34] » And that detached structure could have garage space and dwelling space.

[1:34:39] » Mhm. >> However, you configure it.

[1:34:40] » Yes. >> Yeah.

[1:34:43] » Fitting the square footage of >> This the 700

[1:34:46] 700 square feet. >> Whatever it is for your property.

[1:34:49] » But you were saying to I mean, you could stack it, so it could be 1,500. It's a

[1:34:52] 750 footprint. >> Yep.

[1:34:55] Or 35% of the size of >> Mhm.

[1:34:59] » your house. >> Okay.

[1:35:02] » And it can be a long-term rental. It can't be a

[1:35:06] short-term rental. >> Correct.

[1:35:08] » And the >> Oh.

[1:35:10] » owner of the property has to be permanently in one of the spaces.

[1:35:16] And um

[1:35:21] There >> And these are the And these are all the

[1:35:23] items that we would require to be in that notice filed at the register of

[1:35:27] deeds. So, we don't get somebody buying the

[1:35:29] property and then finding out that, you know, expecting to rent both of them

[1:35:33] out. >> Mhm.

[1:35:34] » Mhm. >> And

[1:35:36] having to fight that battle after they've

[1:35:39] bought the property. So, that's why we're trying to provide advance

[1:35:43] notice. >> Mhm.

[1:35:52] » It's interesting. Jim and I have been in conversations with Lansing about

[1:35:55] affordable and available housing over the last weeks.

[1:35:59] » Mhm. >> And this is an example of how Pleasant

[1:36:02] Ridge might solve that problem where

[1:36:05] I'm a person that has that would probably build an ADU for my mother

[1:36:11] at much less cost than assisted living. So,

[1:36:15] uh the cost to build a accessory dwelling unit is probably a year of of

[1:36:19] assisted living cost. So, um

[1:36:24] uh it's a it's a great example of uh getting the feedback from the community

[1:36:28] and it turns out that it's going to solve a problem that the state is

[1:36:31] seeing, too. >> Which I noticed they they're having

[1:36:35] public hearings on those bills completely unchanged.

[1:36:37] » I know.

[1:36:41] » It's nice of them to meet with us, huh? >> Yes.

[1:36:43] » And I know the concern with parking that a lot of people talk about, the fact

[1:36:47] that it is requiring a dedicated spot, I think is also

[1:36:50] important and obviously a really good add.

[1:36:52] » It's an interesting another follow-up. So, I'd asked Jim earlier today, "So,

[1:36:56] what if I build a three-bedroom, three-bath

[1:36:59] accessory dwelling?" And it each it had to change my thinking about what

[1:37:05] a dwelling unit is, but I had to might be actually creating three dwelling

[1:37:09] units, which you can't do. You can only create one dwelling unit in the

[1:37:12] structure. So, it isn't um it isn't very likely, in fact, not

[1:37:17] possible >> Yeah, but it's not possible that you can

[1:37:20] create three dwelling units inside the accessory dwelling. It's that the law is

[1:37:25] not written that way because of the way dwelling units are defined.

[1:37:28] So, so the one parking spot is for the one

[1:37:32] » The one dwelling. >> Exactly.

[1:37:33] » Mhm. >> So, is there a requirement for

[1:37:37] homeowners that that the owners also have to have one parking spot or

[1:37:43] anything? >> Practically by ordinance, the yes, but

[1:37:47] driveway spaces count. >> Mhm.

[1:37:49] » So, you can accommodate that. >> Mhm.

[1:37:52] » It's it's doable.

[1:37:55] » So, it but it's not specifically saying there

[1:37:58] have to be at least two spaces off the street for a property.

[1:38:06] » Well, yes, actually the ordinance is saying that.

[1:38:08] » It is. Okay. >> Because the parking standards right now

[1:38:09] require at least one off-street space for

[1:38:12] » homeowners? >> Yeah. And then this adds the other one

[1:38:15] that it can. >> Okay. And then you need for the

[1:38:17] » accessory dwelling unit. >> Okay.

[1:38:18] » Yeah. And that can be in the garage.

[1:38:21] » If it's a >> Yeah, if it's a small garage and then

[1:38:23] above or in the driveway or next to the garage or however

[1:38:28] however makes sense that meets the standards of our ordinance. You can't

[1:38:31] park in the front yard. So, you can't, you know, create a

[1:38:34] parking space in front of the house and be That's not allowed by ordinance. So,

[1:38:38] they still have to meet those standards. >> Are there any houses without driveways?

[1:38:42] I know there are on Kensington, right? Specifically?

[1:38:45] » Yes. Just Kensington. >> So, they ultimately would not, unless

[1:38:48] they can figure out a way to

[1:38:53] make a driveway or make a garage. >> Mhm.

[1:38:55] » Then it wouldn't work. >> Mhm.

[1:38:57] » Parking-wise.

[1:39:00] Correct?

[1:39:04] » It's going to be hard for a 40-ft wide lot to

[1:39:07] » Yeah. >> meet these standards.

[1:39:08] » Yeah. >> Yeah, it's just it's going to be easier

[1:39:09] to do on some lots than others, but that's

[1:39:12] » I mean, of course it is. >> Yeah.

[1:39:16] » Okay.

[1:39:19] » Any other questions?

[1:39:22] All right, I guess we're So, this motion is to have a public hearing?

[1:39:28] » Mayor, I move that a public hearing be

[1:39:31] established for Tuesday, June 9th, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. to solicit

[1:39:39] Uh wait.

[1:39:42] To solicit public comment on the proposed a a accessory dwelling unit

[1:39:46] zoning ordinance amendments. >> Second.

[1:39:50] May we have a vote? >> Commissioner Schmier?

[1:39:53] » Yes. >> Commissioner Linko?

[1:39:54] » Yes. >> Commissioner Budnick?

[1:39:56] » Yes. >> Commissioner Perry?

[1:39:57] » Yes. >> Mayor Scott?

[1:39:59] » Yes, the motion carries. All right, one more zoning thing.

[1:40:03] » All right. >> Um occasionally we go through and just

[1:40:05] do a cleanup of the zoning ordinance and general ordinances to

[1:40:09] address things that come up. So, just as we live our lives at City

[1:40:14] Hall, um dealing with things and find parts of the ordinance that we wish

[1:40:18] existed or that aren't working for us, uh we change them.

[1:40:23] So, uh there's a zoning ordinance amendment and

[1:40:26] also some uh some of these are in the general code of ordinances, but we just

[1:40:30] lumped it together in one omnibus. Um

[1:40:33] clarifying clarifying existing standards for driveway approaches and driveway

[1:40:37] locations, setbacks for vertical structures from sidewalks, uh stairways

[1:40:42] for front porches, monument sign height reductions, and

[1:40:46] storm water runoff standards. Quickly, uh the specifics of these are

[1:40:51] driveway approach and location standards.

[1:40:53] Um we've had some increasing requests for circle driveways and driveways that

[1:40:56] meander through the front yard, uh inconsistent with our interpretation of

[1:41:00] existing ordinance standards, so uh we have some clearer language that um

[1:41:06] I think more straightforwardly states that the driveway has to be on the same

[1:41:12] half of the property where the garage exists.

[1:41:15] Setbacks for vertical structures from sidewalks, um we have standards that

[1:41:19] require fences to be at least a foot off of sidewalks, but there's other things.

[1:41:23] We have a lot of peop- not a lot, we have some retaining walls that are built

[1:41:27] right up to the sidewalk. And you know, when you have kids on bikes or strollers

[1:41:31] or walking a dog and you have that vertical structure right on the

[1:41:33] sidewalk, it makes it difficult. There's no shy area

[1:41:36] to pass, and also the typical standard is that the property line that the

[1:41:41] sidewalk is 1 ft inside of the right-of-way. So, technically the

[1:41:45] right-of-way usually is a foot in from the sidewalk towards the house.

[1:41:52] In a place like Pleasant Ridge that's 100 years old, that's not always the

[1:41:55] case, but that is the standard. So, by requiring everything any vertical

[1:42:00] structure, retaining walls, anything to be at least a foot off the sidewalk

[1:42:05] will ensure that that's on private property not in the public right-of-way

[1:42:07] and also provide for that shy area to um help make our sidewalks as comfortable

[1:42:13] as possible. Um that would apply to vegetation. We go

[1:42:17] through and um uh

[1:42:20] at least once a year try to do a uh uh

[1:42:22] sidewalk overhang inventory and then tell people to cut your cut your shrubs

[1:42:27] or your bushes or whatever else is overhanging the sidewalk and then if

[1:42:30] they don't, we do it. Um so, we do do that currently. This ordinance would um

[1:42:34] also clarify that requirement. Stairways for front porches. Uh we do

[1:42:38] permit unenclosed front porches to encroach up to 8 ft into the required

[1:42:42] front yard setback, which is consistent with the historic character of the

[1:42:45] community and it's something we want to encourage.

[1:42:48] The ordinance does lack specific standards for staircases and

[1:42:51] uh and landings associated with the encroaching porches.

[1:42:54] Um sometimes we've had uh porches on

[1:42:59] historic, mostly craftsman-style bungalows that have been enclosed over

[1:43:02] time. We don't allow that now, but if they were enclosed, then there's no

[1:43:07] uh location for a landing, so the landing has to be outside of the

[1:43:10] structure and then the stairs begin. So, um we've had some requests where the

[1:43:14] stairs essentially start at the sidewalk and uh that provides a, you know, a

[1:43:19] vertical element in the front yard, starts to encroach on those um setbacks.

[1:43:24] So, the proposed standards would uh limit that and uh limit tread depth to

[1:43:30] uh 11 in to help um

[1:43:33] allow for reasonable stairs that provide access

[1:43:38] uh in the sort of minimum amount of space

[1:43:41] necessary for that.

[1:43:45] Uh monument sign height reduction. Currently, monument signs may have a

[1:43:48] maximum height of 25 ft along Woodward. Uh very tall. We have some

[1:43:53] » Yeah, it's tall. >> I mean, taller than an accessory

[1:43:55] dwelling unit. >> Yeah.

[1:43:58] » Um the proposed amendment would reduce the maximum height of monument signs to

[1:44:02] 6 ft uh and a maximum area of 32 sq ft. That's uh maintaining a scale more

[1:44:07] consistent with the uh residential pedestrian oriented

[1:44:10] character of the community. Also, it lines up directly with

[1:44:13] Ferndale's standards for signs along Woodward. So, we'll have a consistent

[1:44:17] set of standards uh with our neighbor to the south.

[1:44:21] Stormwater runoff standards. Uh we need some clear standards requiring

[1:44:25] that all stormwater runoff generated by a property be contained within the

[1:44:28] property. Um this may surprise you, but sometimes

[1:44:31] neighbors don't get along. >> What?

[1:44:33] » I know. And sometimes neighbors point downspouts so that all the water shoots

[1:44:37] onto their neighbor's property.

[1:44:40] It happens. Frequently, actually. So, uh the the

[1:44:45] ordinance standard would clearly identify that you have to maintain the

[1:44:48] stormwater runoff within your property, that you can't do anything that would

[1:44:52] cause it to run off onto a neighboring property.

[1:44:54] Uh and then it that I can run to the street where the drains are.

[1:45:00] So, I can uh clarify or expand on any of these

[1:45:03] ordinances. All of the specific language is in your packet, um which is available

[1:45:07] online for anyone to review. Uh the requested

[1:45:09] action is again to schedule a public hearing for the June 9th, 2026 meeting.

[1:45:18] » Any questions?

[1:45:23] » Um Mayor and

[1:45:27] I am, full disclosure, my stairs, I think, and my porch. I'm not making it

[1:45:31] bigger, but because I'm redoing my >> No monument sign.

[1:45:34] » No 25-foot monument sign. But, I'm redoing my stairs and I'm redoing my

[1:45:38] front walkway, and because of that, I have spent a lot of time walking the dog

[1:45:42] looking at other people's stairs. Um

[1:45:46] So, this 12-in tread depth,

[1:45:50] I think I'm looking for a little bit more clarification on that, because as I

[1:45:54] walk around, you see a lot of houses also that have

[1:45:58] incremental stairs almost leading up to the main staircase.

[1:46:01] So, where does that fall, number one, into

[1:46:05] all of this? I mean, I think some, you know,

[1:46:08] we see them like the incremental stairs, especially when houses are built a

[1:46:11] little bit higher up. So, I guess number one, what is what's How do we deal with

[1:46:15] that? >> Right now, if the I know what you're

[1:46:18] talking about. So, basically, where the pitch of the front yard rises up to the

[1:46:21] house, and then the stairs kind of, you know, there's a walkway that right

[1:46:26] » Yep. >> If it's if it's not raising more than 8

[1:46:29] in above the surrounding grade, >> Mhm.

[1:46:31] » which is a standard we have elsewhere in the ordinance, it's not considered a

[1:46:34] staircase at that point. >> So,

[1:46:37] » a walkway that is rising to, you know, be equal to the grade surrounding it.

[1:46:43] » Okay, so under 8 in doesn't >> Yeah. And by a typical rise for a

[1:46:48] staircase is 7 in. >> Mhm.

[1:46:50] » So, And where did the 12-in

[1:46:53] tread depth come from? The standard for staircases is

[1:46:58] uh two times the rise plus the run should equal 24 or 25.

[1:47:04] Uh because that's it's based on a human gait, and what's comfortable and

[1:47:09] safe for a person to climb stairs. If you start to increase the tread depth in

[1:47:14] there, you have to lower the rise, because it's farther in between the

[1:47:18] stairs. So, that's part of the issues when

[1:47:20] people want to do 16-in treads, well, now what's happening is you have to

[1:47:24] lower the rise and that lengthens the staircase. So, now that's what pushes it

[1:47:29] out towards the sidewalk. And again, you know, if you have that

[1:47:33] rise that gets too much you start to turn it into a ladder. So, usually your

[1:47:37] rise is 7 in cuz that's what falls comfortably with a

[1:47:44] 10 and 1/2 to 12-in run run on the stair.

[1:47:48] So, that's where those That's what the standard is based around.

[1:47:53] » My current stairs are 12 and my foot or my the my walking shoe, I wear

[1:48:00] like an 8 and 1/2 basically fills the whole space of that 12-in. I don't know

[1:48:04] where that math comes from, but there we go. So, it fills in and in redoing my

[1:48:09] stairs, you know, I've been talking to these people and asking about what about

[1:48:12] a little bit more breathing room on those stairs.

[1:48:16] And and maybe not to the 16-in, but 13-in or 14-in.

[1:48:20] And is there any conversation about taking that 12-in a little bit? I've

[1:48:24] also been walking around and I I apologize to anyone who's caught me on

[1:48:27] their ring camera. Seriously, like putting my foot on their stairs to see

[1:48:31] like where my foot shoe falls in relation to their stairs.

[1:48:35] And I have noticed that some of them, although not huge, are a little bit

[1:48:38] bigger than 12-in, especially ones that have um

[1:48:42] you know, brick and then kind of a a cap on top of that brick. I don't know what

[1:48:46] we're calling that, but so, I'm wondering if there's any and what other

[1:48:49] people feel about giving a little bit more flexibility to that.

[1:48:54] And and maybe limiting how far something can

[1:48:57] come away from the house versus, you know, isn't the more concern about

[1:49:01] getting it too close to the street? So, what about

[1:49:05] is there any conversation about limiting how far away it can be from your house

[1:49:09] versus the actual tread of the stairs, especially if

[1:49:14] and for me again, personally, the reason I

[1:49:17] wanted to maybe give some more breathing room to the stairs is because my porch

[1:49:21] isn't huge. And I priced out expanding the size of my porch a little bit

[1:49:26] width-wise to give myself like a little bit more movement. And that just

[1:49:30] price-wise made zero sense. So, again, just thoughts because I am in the

[1:49:34] process of thinking about all these things.

[1:49:36] » Mhm. >> But

[1:49:38] again, limiting how close something goes to the street versus limiting the size

[1:49:42] of the stairs is a conversation I'd be I'd like to have

[1:49:47] understand a little bit more. Or hear other people's thoughts on.

[1:49:53] Now we're in the future, you know. >> Well, uh the good news is that we've got

[1:49:59] a month. >> We have a month.

[1:50:01] » And ahead of the public hearing we could all

[1:50:04] be seen on ring cameras. >> Yeah, I mean, seriously, I I do put my

[1:50:08] foot >> Send us photos.

[1:50:11] » I I have photos.

[1:50:13] » Yeah, they're from 14 Pleasant Ridge. >> I do have photos. And some people do

[1:50:16] have I mean, again, people's stairs are different throughout the city.

[1:50:20] And >> I think it was helpful for me to hear um

[1:50:24] Jim's logic on the 24-in total ergonomics. And

[1:50:29] what is you know, considered to be a standard.

[1:50:34] Although we could deviate from that. >> Mhm.

[1:50:36] » So that that's helpful. But I'll have to think about it some more to be honest.

[1:50:39] » Of course. And as you're walking around, I mean, take a look because

[1:50:43] again, it's top of mind for me, which is I think why

[1:50:47] » Mhm. >> I

[1:50:49] me my stairs hopefully will be done in sooner rather than later, knock on wood.

[1:50:53] » I think they can come out and start. Okay.

[1:50:59] I see a thought. >> Yeah, I'm just thinking.

[1:51:01] » Okay. I'll well Do you So

[1:51:04] so I'm clear. Do you want alternate language that

[1:51:09] would >> Um

[1:51:10] » maybe you'll for a larger tread depth?

[1:51:14] » I I don't know because I I have not thought about it that deeply.

[1:51:19] » Yeah. >> Meaning the it feels what you have

[1:51:22] specified feels normal to me. So, I don't know that an alternate would

[1:51:28] help at this moment. And I don't know that they would change

[1:51:31] what would go into the public hearing. I guess that's kind of the question. Or is

[1:51:35] that your question or no? >> Yeah, I mean I guess as I think about

[1:51:38] it, if you have a a large enough setback,

[1:51:42] I guess the key thing is as long as the stair as long as the stairs aren't

[1:51:45] getting ridiculously close to the defined to ridiculously close, I don't

[1:51:49] know, but >> Uh-huh.

[1:51:50] » to the sidewalk, there's probably room on some properties to allow for a deeper

[1:51:55] tread. For 14 for a 14-in tread, say.

[1:51:59] » Mhm. >> As long as you're not, you know, getting

[1:52:02] too close to the sidewalk. >> Mhm. Cuz the goal is to not get too

[1:52:07] close to the sidewalk. >> Yeah, that's really the goal.

[1:52:09] » Mhm. >> Cuz some of these staircases people you

[1:52:11] know, with the side and the caps and then they

[1:52:14] get massive. >> Yeah. Um

[1:52:17] » I'm going to need to measure your shoe.

[1:52:21] » My Montour walking shoe. >> If we kept it at like there could be a

[1:52:25] variance, right? I mean if somebody had a giant foot

[1:52:28] » What I'm thinking is if the stair as long as all parts of the staircase are,

[1:52:32] for instance, uh if all parts of the staircase are set

[1:52:36] back at least 20 ft from the sidewalk. I don't know if 20 ft is a number. I have

[1:52:40] to figure that out. >> Mhm.

[1:52:42] » Uh then we don't care. Build it how you want it.

[1:52:47] If if the staircase is going to be or has

[1:52:52] to be less than 20 ft from the sidewalk, then it can have a maximum tread depth

[1:52:58] of 12 in to just basically minimize >> Mhm.

[1:53:01] » so that staircase so the stairs become the minimum reasonable

[1:53:04] » Mhm. >> um you know, size because you have less

[1:53:08] space to work with and you just have to work with that.

[1:53:10] » focusing on that one problem and not the whole

[1:53:13] » Right. So, as long as there's enough space then, okay. Then you can have a

[1:53:16] 16-in tread depth if you want to. >> Would that bleed into like the bigfoot

[1:53:20] rules? Like I guess would you know, on a smaller property having a

[1:53:25] large uh, staircase with that potentially

[1:53:28] trigger bigfoot where I I mean, you have to have like what is it? 85%? I think.

[1:53:33] » No. >> Like so

[1:53:35] » No, it wouldn't it wouldn't trigger that way. It's really just

[1:53:40] minimizing how close that

[1:53:43] uh, smaller property staircase gets to the sidewalk.

[1:53:46] » Mhm. Mhm.

[1:53:47] » When yeah, when you we run into that issue.

[1:53:50] And again, you know, another variable another variable in the equation is how

[1:53:55] tall is the front porch. Cuz sometimes the front porch is, you know, 3-ft tall.

[1:53:58] Well, sometimes it's 5-ft tall. So, that changes the run.

[1:54:03] » Yeah, the run. >> as well.

[1:54:04] » Mhm. >> So, if you have a tall porch and a small

[1:54:06] setback then you're going to have to do 12-in, you know, just do 12-in treads

[1:54:10] and make it the minimum as compact as possible.

[1:54:14] But if it's a 3-ft tall porch and you have 40-ft then

[1:54:19] you know, knock yourself out. >> know how far it is from the sidewalk to

[1:54:22] your stairs right now? So, like

[1:54:26] » I haven't measured it, but I do know that I mean, you've all seen. I mean, it

[1:54:30] it's not tight. I don't think going 14 For me personally, I don't think it

[1:54:35] pushes it too close. Whatever that close is.

[1:54:38] » of sweeps, doesn't it? To the driveway? >> Mhm. It's just it's just

[1:54:43] up and down. >> Would you like to give this some

[1:54:45] thought? >> Well, I think that's the approach I'd

[1:54:48] take would be the minimum setback and then if you can't meet that then you

[1:54:52] will allow you to do 12-in tread staircase.

[1:54:56] Minimum necessary. >> Yeah, that does.

[1:54:59] » And the only thing I need to do is just

[1:55:02] » Pick the number. >> go get a measuring wheel and walk around

[1:55:05] town and base it off of what exists right now.

[1:55:09] » Mhm. >> So that we're not create you know, not

[1:55:11] allowing kind of expansion beyond the character

[1:55:14] that we have that exists. >> Mhm.

[1:55:16] » So I'll I'll figure out what that number is

[1:55:21] and put something in there. If you're comfortable with that approach.

[1:55:24] » I'm comfortable. Do you Do we need to say that here or no, just for the public

[1:55:27] hearing? >> Mhm.

[1:55:29] Yeah, I'll just amend it. >> Okay.

[1:55:30] » Does it need to go back to planning commission?

[1:55:33] » No. >> Okay.

[1:55:35] » The intent and the concept is still the same.

[1:55:38] » Okay. Okay.

[1:55:41] » Thank you. >> Thank you.

[1:55:45] » Okay, Mayor. >> I'm staring at you.

[1:55:49] » Mayor, I move to a No. Mayor, I move that a public hearing be

[1:55:53] established for Tuesday, June 9th, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. to solicit public comment

[1:55:59] on the proposed general zoning ordinance amendments.

[1:56:03] » Second. May we have a vote?

[1:56:06] » Commissioner Schmier? >> Yes.

[1:56:07] » Commissioner Budnick? >> Yes.

[1:56:09] » Commissioner Lenko? >> Yes.

[1:56:10] » Commissioner Perry? >> Yes.

[1:56:11] » Mayor Scott? >> Yes, the motion carries.

[1:56:15] On to item 13.

[1:56:19] Which is a Granicus. >> Yeah, I forgot about that. Okay.

[1:56:23] » Yeah. >> Granicus.

[1:56:24] » It's still within zoning sort of. >> Kind of, yeah. We didn't quite escape

[1:56:28] it. >> Nope.

[1:56:30] » Uh Granicus, uh we're uh I guess fighting fire with fire on short-term

[1:56:34] rentals here. Um short-term rentals are advertised on

[1:56:39] online platforms. Very I don't know what percentage of

[1:56:43] short-term rentals are rented through an online platform, but it's probably over

[1:56:46] 99%. One of the challenges with regulating

[1:56:50] short-term rentals is the fact that they are short-term rentals and that their

[1:56:54] advertisement can come and go. It's not always there. And for a staff of three

[1:56:59] people at City Hall, it's difficult for us to as we adopt short-term rental

[1:57:04] standards, difficult for us to stay ahead of and actually monitor short-term

[1:57:08] rental advertisements and who's doing that. Particularly when we're

[1:57:11] prohibiting the use in single-family residential districts.

[1:57:15] Granicus offers a short-term rental monitoring and compliance service. I've

[1:57:19] had a number of meetings with them, seen the service.

[1:57:22] They continuously crawl all of 60-plus short-term rental listing sites.

[1:57:28] But you know, Airbnb, Vrbo, HomeAway are the main ones, of course, and then all

[1:57:31] the other ones you've never heard of. Their address identification pings and

[1:57:36] locates all of the places that are being listed, that have been listed since 2010

[1:57:41] as short-term rentals. So this is will be essential to us as we

[1:57:46] enforce and monitor this. They also have a 24/7 complaint hotline

[1:57:51] and compliance outreach services as well, which I'm recommending we

[1:57:56] we implement. The 24/7 hotline, they create an online platform where

[1:58:02] residents in the city can call or send a a note through the online portal

[1:58:08] to Granicus, and then as part of the licensing ordinance where you have the

[1:58:11] responsible party, we will have that information. Granicus will have that

[1:58:15] information. They'll reach out to that responsible

[1:58:18] party. So if this happens at, you know, 10:30, that a complaint comes through,

[1:58:23] we don't have to, you know, have somebody present to act on that.

[1:58:26] Granicus has, you know, their back end that's handling this for all their

[1:58:30] clients. They'll reach out to the to the responsible party to get that

[1:58:34] complaint addressed. The um

[1:58:38] Excuse me, compliance outreach service is related to that, where they will um

[1:58:45] respond to those complaints. If we identify a non-permitted or illegal

[1:58:49] short-term rental, um

[1:58:53] Excuse me. Uh we click on the button and they send the letter that we've adopted.

[1:58:57] So, it just takes a lot of the administrative back end um off of our

[1:59:00] plate. So, that'll ease and uh improve our ability to enforce

[1:59:05] the ordinance. The uh annual cost for these services

[1:59:10] will be about $6,000. Uh we'll make up through uh we'll um

[1:59:14] make up for that cost through short-term rental licensing fees. So, that'll be

[1:59:18] part of the cost equation for having a short-term rental license in the city.

[1:59:24] Um So, I'd be happy to answer any questions on this. I'm asking you to

[1:59:27] approve this now before the ordinances are approved because there is lead time

[1:59:31] and spool up time involved with getting ourselves set up with Granicus and I

[1:59:35] want to make sure that we have this um operational

[1:59:38] as close to um our ordinances coming online

[1:59:42] as possible.

[1:59:45] Happy to answer any questions if I'm able.

[1:59:48] » Um I had the pleasure of walking through the Granicus tool set maybe 2 months ago

[1:59:53] and it's very capable and um it's sort of like Jim's analogy

[1:59:58] of what it takes to have a police department. Uh it's probably more than

[2:00:02] the average city will need, but this is the minimum that you can buy.

[2:00:07] So, um we don't we're not like a uh lake community with 80 or 90 short-term

[2:00:13] rentals and tracking lots of things, but we need this to know when they pop up

[2:00:17] and and that they pop up. >> Yes.

[2:00:19] » So, >> The good news is their fee schedule's

[2:00:21] also related to how many >> Yeah.

[2:00:23] » you have. >> Yeah.

[2:00:24] » So, we're actually at the low end of the fee structure.

[2:00:26] » Right. And I imagine other communities will pick up on this and start using it

[2:00:30] because of the of the its capability and its ease of

[2:00:33] use.

[2:00:36] » And I thought the compliance outreach, I spent some time on the Summit Colorado

[2:00:39] link and I thought it was a good look, you know, I kind of went through all of

[2:00:43] it and it also provided the data, too, of what they were collecting, which I

[2:00:47] thought was also really interesting so you can see where the problems if there

[2:00:50] are problems but I thought yeah that page and that

[2:00:54] system looked good. Simple. >> Yeah.

[2:00:57] » Easy to use. >> And I couldn't figure out like it felt

[2:00:59] like you didn't realize it was a third party

[2:01:02] either when you were on the site which I thought was also good. I mean it was

[2:01:05] well integrated into their city website or city look so.

[2:01:12] » All right do we have a motion?

[2:01:15] » I move to approve the agreement for Granicus address identification 24/7

[2:01:19] hotline and compliance outreach services at an annual cost not to exceed $6,000.

[2:01:26] » Second. >> Do we have a vote?

[2:01:29] » Commissioner Lenko. >> Yep.

[2:01:30] » Commissioner Budnick. >> Yes.

[2:01:32] » Commissioner Perry. >> Yes.

[2:01:33] » Commissioner Schmier. >> Yes.

[2:01:35] » Mayor Scott. >> Yes. The motion carries.

[2:01:37] Wow we made it to the city manager report.

[2:01:42] Street sweeping one of the things that was in the consent agenda is a agreement

[2:01:46] with the city of Ferndale to take up our street sweeping.

[2:01:49] So this will

[2:01:52] be good. They are they should be coming out this

[2:01:55] week or next for their their first run through the city city to sweep

[2:02:01] and then that should put them on target for one in early June and then we are

[2:02:06] looking to maintain our fourth Wednesday and Thursday schedule that's on the

[2:02:10] signs that we have around town right now that have been there for a few years

[2:02:14] that nobody knows are there but yes so this will

[2:02:19] take our aging and increasingly unreliable boat anchor of a street

[2:02:23] sweeper out of service. We'll still keep it. I think we can get it

[2:02:29] useful for spot duty but it's getting to the point where we can't make it through

[2:02:34] the entire city on a sweeping cycle for two straight days without something

[2:02:37] going wrong with it so Um, you know it doesn't really have much

[2:02:41] value so again, we'll keep it, we'll maintain it to

[2:02:44] do here and there, but I'm looking forward to not having that

[2:02:49] will it make it every month? What kind of fluid is that?

[2:02:55] » I don't know. >> Yeah.

[2:02:57] » So, they'll just be going out as sort of a test run in the next

[2:03:02] » No, they're they're going to sweep the whole city. I mean, I guess it's a test

[2:03:05] run as their first one, but they're doing a full double check.

[2:03:08] » can give us a heads-up and we'll try and get the word out on days to so people

[2:03:11] can move cars. >> And again, you know, we are now

[2:03:14] contracting with Ferndale, so they are going to be fitting us into their

[2:03:16] schedule, so I can't promise that we're going to have tons of notice.

[2:03:20] Uh, but that's again why we're trying to they're trying to get back to our, you

[2:03:23] know, fourth Wednesday, Thursday schedule for some regularity. But as we

[2:03:27] kind of catch up on our spring sweeping >> Okay.

[2:03:31] » I'll try to let you know if I can. >> Great.

[2:03:35] » Uh, Wellesley, we've begun the water main design work. Uh, you may notice if

[2:03:39] you live on Wellesley. Um, which some do.

[2:03:43] That, uh, there have been some blue flags marking stop

[2:03:46] stop box locations. The engineers are picking that data up for the design

[2:03:49] plans. Please leave the flags out for a couple weeks. Um, and we'll let you know

[2:03:53] I'll let you know if we finish beforehand, but

[2:03:58] that's all part of the design work. And any questions on anything else

[2:04:02] happening? >> I have a question on the flags. With

[2:04:06] everybody mowing and everything, I think a lot of flags are getting displaced. Is

[2:04:10] there is there anything we want to do like

[2:04:14] like do you have spray paint we could put on like so people could go spray

[2:04:19] paint their little flag dots and then mow or

[2:04:23] » I don't know. Let me I'll I'll check with the engineers to see if they got

[2:04:27] what they need. >> Okay.

[2:04:28] » And cuz if we have to go back and remark or I don't know. I don't know. Don't

[2:04:33] know the answer to that. >> Cuz I see flags.

[2:04:35] » Yeah. >> On Wellesley I know that they posted the

[2:04:40] flag in the place which I now believe is the stop box of everyone's house, but

[2:04:44] they also actually spray painted the um I don't know if it was the same on

[2:04:47] Devonshire, but they spray painted the curb, too. So, I'm assuming it's double

[2:04:52] double confirmation. >> Mhm. Mhm.

[2:04:54] » So, >> We have different lots of colors of

[2:04:56] flags. >> You do have a lot of colors.

[2:04:59] You're far you're farther along. >> paint, which would be awesome to have.

[2:05:02] » gas, red is electrical, blue is water. >> I don't know what green is. What is

[2:05:07] green? >> Gas? Did you already say gas?

[2:05:11] » said gas. >> It's grass.

[2:05:16] » I don't know. >> Okay.

[2:05:17] » Good question. >> Yeah.

[2:05:19] » Yeah, let us know if you want us to spray if you want to give me some spray

[2:05:23] paint and we'll be fun.

[2:05:25] » I think for liability reasons, >> let them do their own

[2:05:28] » We'll let the officially sanctioned uh marking do that.

[2:05:33] » Fine. That's actually that's a good >> idea cuz it really means something.

[2:05:36] » Right. I appreciate the enthusiasm. >> the way, Anne would be doing it at like

[2:05:39] 2:00 in the morning and your ring definitely would be going off and you

[2:05:42] would see Anne out there with a can. >> And you measuring their steps and you

[2:05:46] would >> And I would be there with you. Yes,

[2:05:47] measuring their steps, but basically it would be really creepy.

[2:05:51] » You had a couple of black leotards projects and this is one of them.

[2:05:54] » Yeah, exactly. >> Green means sewer according to the

[2:05:57] mistake website. >> Ah, thank you.

[2:06:00] » Okay. >> See, very important.

[2:06:04] » That's a >> Yeah, okay.

[2:06:06] » I want to say thanks to uh Jake and >> Yes.

[2:06:09] » the uh the crew. This This is a long one. Way to hang in.

[2:06:12] » Yeah. >> Yeah, I got it.

[2:06:14] » Any words before we leave, we're on to uh other business. Is there any words

[2:06:17] that you have for your anything you'd like to

[2:06:20] Okay. Okay.

[2:06:23] » Yeah. >> I get it.

[2:06:24] » Yeah. All right. Any other other business?

[2:06:29] » I want to mention Ferndale Pride is actually it's also like the June Fair.

[2:06:34] It's also in June. It's going to be uh May 30th, Saturday, May 30th. I think

[2:06:40] it starts at 1:00 p.m. officially in Ferndale.

[2:06:44] Um which is always a very joyful event with lots of um different activities and

[2:06:49] awareness and everything, which is really great.

[2:06:52] It's nice that it's right in our backyard.

[2:06:56] » Um I'll mention that we've got uh I may have mentioned this last week, but I'm

[2:07:00] not sure. Two uh more EV chargers have gone in. They're

[2:07:04] level two. They look weird because they're hanging on a pole and then they

[2:07:09] come down to meet your car. So, I've been testing it out over the last month

[2:07:13] uh um

[2:07:15] and it works pretty well. You won't even know that they're there, which is a

[2:07:18] problem because during the day the spots are often occupied by

[2:07:22] internal combustion engine cars, which I can't penalize anymore.

[2:07:26] » Right.

[2:07:28] » Um uh but if you have an EV and um I probably more convenient for the folks

[2:07:35] on the east side of town than the west side of town, but if you have an EV,

[2:07:38] you're just looking for another place to charge your car, even for the folks on

[2:07:41] the west side of town, just park it there. Let it charge up for a few hours

[2:07:44] and come back. Um I'm working with them on

[2:07:47] um idle time rates because that's a bit of a challenge if you're not in the

[2:07:51] building. I've been dinged a couple of times because it can take 10 minutes to

[2:07:55] walk back to the car and then they hit you for extra cents per minute when it's

[2:07:59] just sitting there. But it does work. It's pretty cool. And

[2:08:01] the company's name is Voltpost. They're getting more chargers installed in

[2:08:04] Michigan. I'm introducing them to some other cities cuz it seems to work. So.

[2:08:10] » To that point, I've actually been walking by it and noticing a lot of the

[2:08:15] bad cars, whatever you call them, parked in those spots. Um I actually have not

[2:08:19] looked at the signage, but is there are we working on

[2:08:22] » Yes, they are intending to have uh their contractor uh paint the typical EV signs

[2:08:28] on the spot so that that should reduce the amount of people using them

[2:08:32] incorrectly. But, those are prime spots, so occasionally they might be taken.

[2:08:36] » Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I did notice that a couple days ago. Or

[2:08:40] » And they were supposed to do sign signs as in addition to the painting as well.

[2:08:44] Um >> That's their plan. At least that was my

[2:08:46] conversation with them last week. Yeah. It's just taking them time.

[2:08:50] » Okay. >> Yeah.

[2:08:52] » Anything else?

[2:08:55] » All right, we're ready to adjourn. >> Move we adjourn.

[2:09:01] » Second. >> All in favor?

[2:09:03] » Aye. >> Aye.

[2:09:04] » We're done. >> Thanks for coming.

[2:09:07] » Thank you.

Pleasant Ridge City Commission - May 12, 2026

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