Introduction:
Links to the video recording and the council packet are at the bottom of this post. Please note any errors or omissions in the comments. Anything noted in brackets was inserted by Clarkston Sunshine.
Agenda Item #1, Call to Order (Video time mark 0:00:01):
Sue Wylie said oh, it’s 7 o’clock. OK, wait until Ted (Quisenberry) gets up here.
Agenda Item #2, Pledge of Allegiance (Video time mark 0:00:08):
Wylie said let’s all rise and say the Pledge of Allegiance.
(Pledge said.)
Wylie said thank you.
Agenda Item #3, Roll Call (Video time mark 0:00:28):
Wylie said on our agenda, Item #2, I’m sorry#3 is the roll call.
Sue Wylie, Laura Rodgers, Al Avery, Amanda Jones, and Ted Quisenberry were present.
Gary Casey and Amanda Forte were absent.
Wylie said okay, so we’ve got our four.
Agenda Item #4, Approval of Agenda – Motion (Video time mark 0:00:48):
Wylie said Item #4, approval of the agenda. I need a motion to approve the agenda as it’s presented.
Motion by Avery; second by Jones.
Wylie said any discussion from council.
No discussion.
Wylie said any discussion from the public.
No discussion.
Lisa Patercsak raised her hand and said public comments.
Wylie said I’m sorry and recognized Patercsak. Avery said not yet. Patercsak said oh.
Motion to approve the agenda passed by unanimous voice vote.
Wylie said the agenda is approved.
Agenda Item #5, Public Comments (Video time mark 0:01:17):
[Though public comments can sometimes irritate the city council, there is value to both the council and the public in hearing them. While they can’t eliminate public comments entirely without violating the Open Meetings Act, your city council has occasionally decided not to acknowledge public comments during a city council meeting unless the person submitting the comments also appears at the meeting (in-person or electronically) to personally read them. In the past, members of the public have been cut off for exceeding the city council’s arbitrary three-minute time limit (it’s arbitrary because no time limits are required by the Open Meetings Act).
If your public comments were submitted to the council but not read, or if you tried to make public comments but your comments were cut short, please email them to clarkstonsunshine@gmail.com and I will include them in my informal meeting summaries either under public comments or under the specific agenda item that you want to speak to.]
Wylie said Item #5, public comments.
(Wylie read the rules for public comments.)
Wylie said would anybody like to make a public comment?
Lisa Paterczak said yes. Wylie said do you mind coming to the podium? Thank you.
Lisa Patercsak:
(Patercsak made an unintelligible comment.)
Okay, as a member of the HDC, the Historic District Commission, I must speak about some comments that were made at last week’s council meeting, discussion regarding the Historic District Study Committee results.
And before I start, let me clarify the distinction between our different historic groups. The city government should know these, but just to be clear, the Historic District Study Committee is the volunteer group that was appointed by city council to review all the district properties to provide updated information to the state which will allow property owners to apply for tax credits after doing the work. The Historic District Commission, known as the HDC, is the body of five volunteers appointed by city council to ensure due process is fairly and equitably applied to all property owners living in the district, following the historic district ordinance, Chapter 152. Three completely unrelated organizations. Oh, the third one, sorry, was the Clarkston Historical Society is a nonprofit organization interested in preserving local history, and they also run the Clarkston Heritage Museum. These are all three completely separate unrelated organizations.
At the last meeting, the results from the Historic District Study Committee, which was not part of or associated with the HDC, were voted on and approved by city council after some discussion. That discussion was led by Mayor Sue Wylie, who started by reading a letter which contains some very pointed and negative comments regarding the HDC from a historic district resident and newly appointed HDC commissioner. So, as an HDC commissioner, I was very disappointed that mayor Wylie didn’t make any preface before reading that letter, or even a statement directly after, that the HDC was not responsible for the study or its results. But you decided to read the letter basically out of context, which addressed the resident’s extreme outrage at the HDC. You did add the word study committee at the end of that, but clearly that, that whole letter was pointed at the HDC throughout the rest of it.
Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinions and to make public comments as I’m doing now. However, I feel it was irresponsible for a city leader to knowingly present such scathing comments out of context, misrepresenting the actual issue. I’d like to let the public know that the current HDC Chair Robert Hauxwell is committed to running the commission fairly, equitably and transparently, and to follow the law of the open meetings act and Clarkston’s historic district ordinance. I can assure the public and our newest commission member that not a single sitting commissioner has special interest or power-hungry motives, which were among some of the accusations in the letter. Additionally, I think it’s safe to say the same thing about the local residents who undertook the tedious, time-consuming work of the study committee for free, for our community, and who did not deserve such disrespect and name calling.
The public is always welcome to attend any of the HDC meetings held the second Tuesday of each month. The mayor and our city manager are often in attendance, at least since I’ve been on the commission for the last year and a half. And quarterly a commissioner presents a summary of the applications to the city council with the most recent presentation done, including the 24 applications submitted in all of 2024, which were all worked through to approval. And I am not aware of, and I’m going to ask the council, did any property owners appear here to city council or to any city government to complain about their treatment or about any secrecy or about any power grabbing antics? Has there been any complaints?
Wylie said as I said at the beginning, we don’t have to answer your questions. It’s not a question-and-answer session. But yes, we have had complaints. You’re talking about HDC? Patercsak said in the last year. Wylie said last year. Wylie said yes. Patercsak said in the last year about the HDC. Wylie said yes.
Patercsak said it’s unfortunate that this negative narrative continues about our HDC, perpetuated by city leadership without any context, any current context. I was hoping we could do better and work together. And finally, I’d like to sincerely thank Nancy Moon, who’s not here, and the entire Historic District Study Committee, who, again, were all volunteers for their careful work of successfully documenting our historic district into a 1,500-page report for the benefit of this community, for its residents, and for the next generations.
Wylie thanked Patercsak.
Wylie said I would like to make one correction. You said I didn’t say anything. In the very beginning of reading Lisa’s [Zemon-Parker’s] letter, I did change her line. She said, Historic District Commission. I did, I think I gave you a copy. Patercsak said you said study committee, but the rest of the letter referenced the HDC throughout.
Wylie said and as I let you say your statement, I let her read her statement. We do allow people to make their comments. Patercsak said but we should be clear and not misrepresent, is my point here. Wylie said thank you.
Wylie said anybody else have public comments.
No comments.
Wylie said okay.
Agenda Item #6 – FYI: (Video time mark 0:07:14):
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- Notice of Public Hearing on the Community Development Block Grant Funds (page 3/26)
Wylie said we’ll move on to Item #6, FYI. FYI, we’ve got a public hearing for the 2024 Community Development Block Grants. This is the notice of the public hearing.
(Wylie read the public hearing notice.)
Wylie said and that’s from Jonathan Smith, the city manager. Does anybody else have any FYIs?
Quisenberry said well, I have one. Wylie said sure.
Quisenberry said I’ll bring it up now as opposed to the next item. But I was looking, and I believe it was on our website today, there was a notice of a State of the Township, City, School meeting coming up. Wylie said I think it’s March 6. Quisenberry said March 6, okay. And I’m wondering who is going to be presenting on behalf of the city, and what is our message going to be? Wylie said I am. Quisenberry said it’d be nice to know, okay. And what is the message about the state of the city? It’d be nice to know that before it’s put out there to the public. Wylie said I have (unintelligible) with Smith and Greg Coté to put something together. Quisenberry said before it goes, before it’s presented to the public, then. Okay. Wylie said it’s not gonna be anything, it’s all gonna be public information, things off the budget, things, nothing secretive, nothing, if you’d like to contribute or work with me, I’d be happy to have you do that. Quisenberry said maybe. Wylie said okay. I’d appreciate the help, actually.
Wylie said anybody else have a FYI.
No comments.
Agenda Item #7 – City Manager’s Report (Video time mark 0:09:36):
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- City Manager Report, February 10, 2025 (page 4/26 of the council packet)
Wylie said I’ve got a city manager’s report, which is Item #7 on the agenda. And on here, I’m gonna go over it since Smith’s not here.
Sue Wylie:
Smith mentions there’s a finance committee meeting which had its first meeting to evaluate the financial implications of the recently completed study guide, I’m sorry, salary study. The committee will reconvene on Thursday, February 27, after Treasurer Greg Coté has rolled the proposed salaries into the draft ‘25-‘26 fiscal year budget proposal. Also to be rolled in are estimated cost increases for one, a new city attorney, two, a new police contract, and three, an updated building services contract.
The next item is about a Main Street America annual conference. And the leadership did recommend that Smith attend it, and they’re paying a big part of his costs. They’re paying for both his travel expenses and his hotel expenses. And he’s actually, I take it back. They may not be, I think he’s paying, the city’s paying for the travel expenses. I think that’s where the $240 comes in. The Main Street Oakland County is paying for the fees to attend the conference and for his hotel expenses.
Sidewalk shoveling, here’s a reminder about if there’s an accumulation of two inches or more within 24 hours of snowfall that residents and commercial property owners need to shovel their sidewalk. He mentioned there’s been some complaints from walkers and a mail carrier. And the ordinance enforcement officer sent notices to over a dozen homeowners who had not yet shoveled their walkway. If necessary, unshoveled sidewalks will be cleared by the city DPW [Department of Public Works] staff with the cost billed to the homeowner.
Then it gets into the building services contract renewal. Carlisle/Wortman notified the city they will not be offering contractual code enforcement services after the end of February. And in addition, they notified us that the fees for their contractual building services will be increasing. And Smith’s looking into the impact of both these changes.
Clarkston Community Awards, we talked about it last week, residents are reminded that nominations are being sought for the Clarkston Community Awards program. The deadline for submitting nomination is March 20th via the Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce website. You can also get to it from the Clarkston Independence District Library website.
And this is submitted from Jonathan Smith, respectfully, February 6, 2025.
Wylie said item number – any comments or questions on the city manager’s report.
No comments.
Agenda Item #8 – Sheriff’s Activity Report for January (Video time mark 0:12:09):
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- Report from Lieutenant Richard Cumins, January 2025 (page 5/26 of the council packet)
Wylie said Item #8 is the Sheriff’s activity report, which we have included. Sergeant Ashley, do you want to add anything to it?
Sergeant Ashley said I think right now we don’t, there’s nothing to add. We just have seven tickets, I think, for the first month. So, thankfully, no felonies or misdemeanors.
Wylie said questions or, oh, I’m sorry. Sergeant Ashley said no, go ahead.
Wylie said questions or comments from council.
No comments.
Wylie said from the public.
No comments.
Wylie said thank you.
Agenda Item #9 – Consent Agenda (Video time mark 0:12:33):
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- 01-27-2025 – Draft city council meeting minutes (page 6/26 of the council packet)
- 01-13-2025 – Final city council meeting minutes (page 8/26 of the council packet)
- 02-10-2025 – Treasurer’s report (page 10/26 of the council packet)
- 02-04-2025 – Check disbursement report from 01-01-2025 – 01-31-2025 (page 11/26 of the council packet)
- Thomas J. Ryan, P.C., January 2025 invoice (page 19/26 of the council packet)
Wylie said moving on to Item #9, we have the consent agenda, which includes the final minutes of the January 13, 2025, regular meeting, draft minutes of the January 27 regular meeting, and the Treasurer’s Report from February 10, 2025. I believe that’s it. Yes, that’s it. I need a motion to accept the consent agenda as it’s presented.
Motion by Jones; second Quisenberry.
Wylie said any comments or questions from council.
No comments.
Wylie said any comments or questions from the public.
Motion to accept the consent agenda passed by unanimous voice vote.
Wylie said we accept the consent agenda.
Agenda Item #10, Unfinished Business (Video time mark 0:13:21):
Wylie said Item #10 is unfinished business, and there is no unfinished business.
Agenda Item #11, New Business:
Item 11a – Motion: City Attorney Retirement and Search Committee (Video time mark 0:13:29):
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- Motion – City Attorney Retirement and Search Committee (Video time mark; page 22/26 of the council packet)
- 01-27-2025 – Thomas J. Ryan, P.C. resignation letter (page 23/26 of the council packet)
Wylie said Item #11 is a motion, #11a, a motion, City Attorney Retirement and Search Committee. Okay.
(Wylie read the motion.)
Wylie said and so we need to put together a search committee. So rather than making a motion, would anybody in city council like to bring up anybody or be a part of the search committee?
Avery said I can be part of the search committee. Wylie said you want to do it.
Jones said I can also be a part of the search committee. Wylie said oh, okay.
Quisenberry said so can I.
Wylie said all right. I did reach out to a few people. One person said no. The other person last, I had not yet responded. Yeah, they hadn’t responded yet.
Wylie said so, we have Jones, Avery, and Quisenberry.
Wylie said so, I’ll make a motion to appoint Jones, Avery, and Quisenberry to the committee for the purposes of evaluating potential replacements and make a recommendation to city council no later than June 30, 2025. Second Rodgers.
Wylie said and is there any discussion by anybody on council.
Quisenberry said during these meetings, in addition to naming a name, does the council, would they like us to bring back additional information, as opposed to what salaries might be, what the wages, what the cost would be? Or do you want to wait after the person is appointed by council, and then work on a contract? Wylie said I think we would need to know – Jones said that would be a part of the search – (continuing), Wylie said certainly need to know what their, what their fees are. Quisenberry said certainly not that we would offer them a fee, but we’re going to want to maybe find out what, someone might say, yeah, I’m interested, but I want $500 an hour. Wylie said then that would be part of the consideration, because there might be somebody who we think is equally qualified. Quisenberry said yeah, I just wanted to make sure that that would be included in the search results.
(To Avery), Wylie said have you ever done a search committee for an attorney. Avery said no, but I suspect that it’s pretty straightforward. I mean, we’re going to be looking for people that have experience doing municipal work, like Tom [Ryan], and are willing to do it at a reasonable rate. That’s where the fun will begin, I suppose, trying to find someone that will do it. I mean, Ryan’s done a great job over the years, and he is more than reasonable. I don’t know that we’re going to get that this time. It most likely will be expensive, but maybe not. I don’t know. We’ll see. You know, Ryan’s got some names, I think, and then anybody else. Wylie said somebody’s already submitted a name to me, too. Avery said yeah, perfect. Yeah. We’ll take a look at it. Wylie said okay.
Wylie said okay, so we have a motion by Wylie, seconded by Rodgers, to accept city attorney Ryan’s letter of resignation, that was A, and to B, formally thank him for his many years of dedicated service to the city, and C, establish a city attorney search committee and appoint Jones, Avery, and Quisenberry to the committee for purposes of evaluating potential replacements and make recommendations to city council no later than June 30, 2025.
Wylie said anybody in the public have any comments or questions on this
No comments.
Wylie said okay, well, let’s do a roll call.
Avery, Jones, Quisenberry, Rodgers, and Wylie voted yes.
Wylie said and the motion is adopted. Thank you, and thank you for you all volunteering to be part of this committee.
Item 11b – Resolution: City Treasurer Certification Program (Video time mark 0:18:03):
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- Resolution – City Treasurer Certification Program (page 24/26 of the council packet)
- Basic Institute Training Opportunity (page 25/26 of the council packet)
Wylie said and we have one more item. I see Coté is here. Also under new business, we have Item #11b, resolution, City Treasurer Certification Program.
(Wylie read the resolution.)
Wylie said and this is a resolution, so I need somebody to resolve on this.
Resolution by Avery; second Rodgers.
Wylie said and any discussion from council.
Wylie said I did look it up. This organization looks at the first, is it the first step that you have to be a treasurer at least three years? Coté said yep. Wylie said okay.
(To Coté), Wylie said did you have any comments that you wanted to make about this? Coté said no, I appreciate it. Wylie said okay. Coté said I’d like to go. Thank you, guys.
(Wylie continued to read from the resolution.)
Wylie said any comments or questions from the public.
No comments.
Wylie said and since it’s a resolution, I need a roll call.
Jones, Quisenberry, Rodgers, Avery, and Wylie voted yes.
Wylie said and the resolution is adopted. (To Coté), Wylie said thank you for looking out for our interests.
Agenda Item #12, Adjourn Meeting (Video time mark 0:20:09):
Wylie said and Item #12 is adjourn the meeting, and I need a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Motion by Jones; second Rodgers.
Wylie said any discussion.
No discussion.
Motion to adjourn the meeting passed by unanimous voice vote.
Wylie said we are adjourned at 7:21.
Resources:
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- Link to video recording here
- 02-10-2025 – city council packet