Hi All,
The Joint Development Council (JDC) met 11/29/17 @ 2 pm @ Township Hall. On the agenda was a site plan review for the Hampton Inn and Suites located in the City of Pontiac portion of the Villages at Bloomfield. The project was approved. It will be a 4 story building with 101 rooms. Some of the special amenities include 30 % of the rooms as suites, a hot breakfast included, swimming pool, exercise room, business room and a conference area for up to 75 people. The building location is in the NE section of the Villages at Bloomfield adjacent to the wetland area. Perhaps there will be many suites with a great view. Parking for 104 spaces, all conveniently surrounding the hotel. No need to use the large parking structure that is remaining nearby.
JDC chairman, Dennis Cowen, recused himself from the discussion and the vote for a conflict of interest reason. Supervisor Savoie of Bloomfield Township assumed the temporary role of chairperson. Mayor Waterman of the City of Pontiac asked the owners and representatives for the Hampton Inn and Suites many questions and basically welcomed them to Pontiac. Public Comment was permitted.
Mr. Chris Abbo, VP of Construction and Operations for Namou Hotel Group met with me after the meeting. He was very gracious and excited to get the project started. The Hotel Group shared some large scale "boards"/ designs and plans of the project to a group of people after the meeting. This will be an upscale project to make both the City of Pontiac and Bloomfield Township proud.
REDICO was asked to give an update on the project in general. Demolition is nearing completion. Infrastructure underground is proceeding. Most of the current work is concentrated in the areas where Mendards and the Hampton Inn will be locating to allow a timely construction start. Menards has been slow to present site plans however, REDICO expects the previous statements for a spring start. Hampton Inn and Suites may be a summer start. Edward Rose, the company doing the apartments may be submitting plans soon to the JDC. REDICO also mentioned that they may be presenting plans for other projects that they are developing.
Here is the BOARD PACKET that adds more information to the project. It is 30 pages long.
bloomfieldtwpmi.documents-on-demand.com Choose: Joint Development Council/ Packet/ 2017/ Nov. 29
Marcia
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Sunday, November 26, 2017
$25M + W & S Department EXCLUDED from Twp Prelim. Budget. WHY?
Hi All,
Monday, November 27, 2017 @ 7 pm is a Board of Trustees meeting. One agenda item is :
You can review the 2018-2019 Prelim. Budget document:
BOARD PACKET for Board of Trustees/ 11/27/17
You can read the Annual Report 2015 (last one reported on twp. website) for Water & Sewer
Last year, Supervisor Savoie deliberately EXCLUDED the water and sewer department budget from the approval process. The rest of the Board of Trustees went along with that move. This year, the water and sewer budget is again EXCLUDED. Why? Does the Class Action Lawsuit against the township concerning water and sewer have anything to do with this decision? Keep the information out of the public review? I heard that the lawsuit has a court date in early January 2018.
From an earlier (and typical report) in the annual 2015-2016 budget is the following about water and sewer revenues and expenses:
Millions of that water and sewer REVENUE pay for both current and former employee wages/ health/pension/life insurance and other benefits. Those "millions" were collected as "fees" on all water and sewer bills. Where and how our Water and Sewer FEES.... this is NOT TAXES... are spent should be made public. There are about 17,000 households in the township plus an unknown number of commercial/business/etc. buildings in the township.
The Board of Trustees have approved all EMPLOYEE wage increases by 2% each year... for six years in a row now. For the township water and sewer department our FEES/ bill payments are paying those employee costs. That is not right! We pay property taxes to run our local government. We expect the township to pay the employees hired with that money. For some departments, the taxpayers have approved at the ballot box special millages to pay for wages and programs such as police, fire, roads and senior services. That is taxpayer approved money.
Think about this: why can the township spend money such as buying expensive vehicles for so many employees to drive around in and gas up on the township tax money, but can't (or just don't) choose to pay the water and sewer employees wages and benefits? The W & S employee wages are coming from the fees charged on YOUR water and sewer bill. (Same "fee" payment is happening with Cable and other departments and wages/benefits- but that's another blog).
Note also from the above chart that there is a FUND BALANCE at $50.7 million per budget 3/31/16. What is that figure today? Where is that money deposited? Is it invested? This W & S FUND is NOT part of the AUDIT of township funds.
This W & S department of the township isn't included in this preliminary BUDGET report. What is the township hiding? Please attend the meeting Monday night. Public comment is agenda # 1 ONLY @ 7 pm sharp.
There is soooo much I could write about this issue. However, it gets very complicated and makes for a long blog.
some previous blogs:
http://bloomfieldtwphappenings.blogspot.com/2017/02/township-budget-review-vote-coming-soon.html
http://bloomfieldtwphappenings.blogspot.com/2016/09/class-action-lawsuit-certified-11m.html
Marcia
PS:
some information about the water and sewer lawsuit can be found at this person's link ( he ran for Supervisor in the August 2016 Primary and lost to Savoie by less than 500 votes):
https://www.electdavidthomassupervisor.com/home.html
Monday, November 27, 2017 @ 7 pm is a Board of Trustees meeting. One agenda item is :
You can review the 2018-2019 Prelim. Budget document:
BOARD PACKET for Board of Trustees/ 11/27/17
You can read the Annual Report 2015 (last one reported on twp. website) for Water & Sewer
Last year, Supervisor Savoie deliberately EXCLUDED the water and sewer department budget from the approval process. The rest of the Board of Trustees went along with that move. This year, the water and sewer budget is again EXCLUDED. Why? Does the Class Action Lawsuit against the township concerning water and sewer have anything to do with this decision? Keep the information out of the public review? I heard that the lawsuit has a court date in early January 2018.
From an earlier (and typical report) in the annual 2015-2016 budget is the following about water and sewer revenues and expenses:
Millions of that water and sewer REVENUE pay for both current and former employee wages/ health/pension/life insurance and other benefits. Those "millions" were collected as "fees" on all water and sewer bills. Where and how our Water and Sewer FEES.... this is NOT TAXES... are spent should be made public. There are about 17,000 households in the township plus an unknown number of commercial/business/etc. buildings in the township.
The Board of Trustees have approved all EMPLOYEE wage increases by 2% each year... for six years in a row now. For the township water and sewer department our FEES/ bill payments are paying those employee costs. That is not right! We pay property taxes to run our local government. We expect the township to pay the employees hired with that money. For some departments, the taxpayers have approved at the ballot box special millages to pay for wages and programs such as police, fire, roads and senior services. That is taxpayer approved money.
Think about this: why can the township spend money such as buying expensive vehicles for so many employees to drive around in and gas up on the township tax money, but can't (or just don't) choose to pay the water and sewer employees wages and benefits? The W & S employee wages are coming from the fees charged on YOUR water and sewer bill. (Same "fee" payment is happening with Cable and other departments and wages/benefits- but that's another blog).
Note also from the above chart that there is a FUND BALANCE at $50.7 million per budget 3/31/16. What is that figure today? Where is that money deposited? Is it invested? This W & S FUND is NOT part of the AUDIT of township funds.
This W & S department of the township isn't included in this preliminary BUDGET report. What is the township hiding? Please attend the meeting Monday night. Public comment is agenda # 1 ONLY @ 7 pm sharp.
There is soooo much I could write about this issue. However, it gets very complicated and makes for a long blog.
some previous blogs:
http://bloomfieldtwphappenings.blogspot.com/2017/02/township-budget-review-vote-coming-soon.html
http://bloomfieldtwphappenings.blogspot.com/2016/09/class-action-lawsuit-certified-11m.html
Marcia
PS:
some information about the water and sewer lawsuit can be found at this person's link ( he ran for Supervisor in the August 2016 Primary and lost to Savoie by less than 500 votes):
https://www.electdavidthomassupervisor.com/home.html
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Township, BHSD, Nosan Companies SEEK Consent Judgment
Hi All,
On Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 @ 7 pm Board of Trustees meeting, the township attorney, Bill Hampton, is requesting the Trustees to approve a Consent Judgment. The Bloomfield Hills school board will be voting on November 16, 2017. The school board urges the township to accept this CJ.
It concerns one parcel of land (4.603 acres) on Franklin Rd. owned by Nosan Companies. A proposal was presented to build 5 separate homes at the March 8, 2016 Board of Trustees meeting. The Township eventually denied that proposed site plan on Jan. 23, 2017 Board of Trustees meeting. Those meetings have been audio video recorded and archived here. Lawsuit ensued.
That Franklin Rd. property is adjacent to the E.L. Johnson Nature Center owned by the Bloomfield Hills School District. They also objected to the Nosan Companies redevelopment of that 4.6 acre parcel. The surrounding neighbors also objected for the most part.
Thus, through discussions while this case was in the legal system, apparently the BHSD will give the developer 8.04 acres of school owned property on WING LAKE ROAD and in exchange receive the 4. 6 acres on FRANKLIN RD. adjacent to their nature park. But that is not all...
The Township, however, must accept a SITE PLAN for 10 UNIT site condo residential housing development from Nosan... as Nosan proposes ... subject to Twp. revisions that the developer would agree with on the WING LAKE RD. property. Otherwise, no deal.
If the exchange of land by the developer (Nosan) and the school district (BHSD) and/or the 10 condo plan does not happen within so many days, then the Consent Judgment defaults to the decision that the Township MUST approve the previously denied site plan on the Franklin Road property. Thereby allowing the 5 home development.
This agenda item is NOT a PUBLIC HEARING, therefore no one may comment.... unless they come to this meeting and present their opinion during AGENDA #1 Public Comment.
Below is from the BOARD PACKET for the Nov. 13, 2017 Board of Trustees meeting.
PLEASE READ THE REST OF THE DOCUMENT IN THE BOARD PACKET FOR THE BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING NOVEMBER 13, 2017.
https://bloomfieldtwpmi.documents-on-demand.com/
On Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 @ 7 pm Board of Trustees meeting, the township attorney, Bill Hampton, is requesting the Trustees to approve a Consent Judgment. The Bloomfield Hills school board will be voting on November 16, 2017. The school board urges the township to accept this CJ.
It concerns one parcel of land (4.603 acres) on Franklin Rd. owned by Nosan Companies. A proposal was presented to build 5 separate homes at the March 8, 2016 Board of Trustees meeting. The Township eventually denied that proposed site plan on Jan. 23, 2017 Board of Trustees meeting. Those meetings have been audio video recorded and archived here. Lawsuit ensued.
That Franklin Rd. property is adjacent to the E.L. Johnson Nature Center owned by the Bloomfield Hills School District. They also objected to the Nosan Companies redevelopment of that 4.6 acre parcel. The surrounding neighbors also objected for the most part.
Thus, through discussions while this case was in the legal system, apparently the BHSD will give the developer 8.04 acres of school owned property on WING LAKE ROAD and in exchange receive the 4. 6 acres on FRANKLIN RD. adjacent to their nature park. But that is not all...
The Township, however, must accept a SITE PLAN for 10 UNIT site condo residential housing development from Nosan... as Nosan proposes ... subject to Twp. revisions that the developer would agree with on the WING LAKE RD. property. Otherwise, no deal.
If the exchange of land by the developer (Nosan) and the school district (BHSD) and/or the 10 condo plan does not happen within so many days, then the Consent Judgment defaults to the decision that the Township MUST approve the previously denied site plan on the Franklin Road property. Thereby allowing the 5 home development.
This agenda item is NOT a PUBLIC HEARING, therefore no one may comment.... unless they come to this meeting and present their opinion during AGENDA #1 Public Comment.
Below is from the BOARD PACKET for the Nov. 13, 2017 Board of Trustees meeting.
PLEASE READ THE REST OF THE DOCUMENT IN THE BOARD PACKET FOR THE BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING NOVEMBER 13, 2017.
https://bloomfieldtwpmi.documents-on-demand.com/