Mayor Clark called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.

ROLL CALL: Mayor Clark, Mayor ProTem Lorenzo, Council Members Bononi, Cassis Csordas, DeRoche, and Kramer

Denise Sinkovich, candidate for the Library Board and Thomas Swope, candidate for ZBA alternate, were added to the agenda.

Kramer

Ms. Gray commented she has been very involved in the ZBA for a number of years on numerous issues and would have the time to devote to the position of alternate.

• Strengths – length of time as a resident, familiar with the strengths and detriments of Novi, and a team player. She has worked for the betterment of the entire community, i.e. by getting a bike registration program enacted and a garbage pick-up ordinance passed.
• She would be able to differentiate, regarding hardship, between personal feelings and the reality of the situation.
• She wanted to see planning issues stay in the planning department and with the Planning Commission as it is not up to the ZBA to grant variances on new construction.
• Her ability to access and analyze ZBA variances successfully was because of her common sense approach based on the criteria.
• She thought the customer was always right and there is a duty to extend courtesy and to listen to the other person.

• She would approach a use variance by looking at the area it was being proposed for and what the dominant use of the area was, how it was master planned and zoned and would it be good for the area. Also, listen to the residents who have to live with the changes being proposed and would the change serve the area.

• If green space requirements were not met then you would have to be willing to negotiate to get the best possible for the site. The applicant should explore other alternatives when feasible. The ZBA should be the last resort.

• The strength of the ZBA is its members but to improve they need more information from the City.
• The ZBA would be served well by having legal counsel at every meeting.
• She was capable of sifting out her personal beliefs and advocacy and would be a neutral observer of the issues that would come before ZBA.
• She knew the purpose and Charter of the ZBA.
• She wanted to work with the senior members of the ZBA because they had knowledge to pass on.

Mr. Ruyle has been a resident for 21 years and felt he was well informed of what was going on in the City and would be an asset to the ZBA.

• He felt every citizen owed something to the City they live in.
• He wanted to be a good listener, act for the best of the City and the applicant in a safe and relative manner to the Charter.
• He would have an open mind and ear to listen before making a final judgement.
• He had no advocacy.
• He wanted to do what was best for the whole not the one.
• A hardship could be lot size or height.
• He would vote against an applicant requesting outside storage of chemicals, drums or unsightly material.
• Green space meant a lot but there should be compromise. If there is no good green space then there has to be an alternative to what the green space would be such as a berm or a retaining wall.
• He felt it was important to have legal counsel at the meetings.
• He is a self-made person and it gave him inside knowledge and common sense.
• To prepare to become a ZBA member he would surround himself with senior members and seek their wisdom and knowledge. He would see each site prior to the meeting to determine whether the ZBA could help them or not.

Ms. Shah has been a resident for eight years and works at General Motors as an IT manager.

• She preferred being on the Library Board because she and her family were very focused on education. By serving on the Library Board she would be able to influence the way they impart knowledge to the residents and children and to do her part in helping with education in the City.
• She considered herself a change agent and felt a responsibility toward doing something good for the world and wanted her children to see that no matter how busy they were there was always time to do more.

• Regarding the EDC she wanted to see and contribute to how the City grew and to do her part in helping to shape her children’s future.
• She would be available for either board.
• She felt she had a good balance in her life today because she was able to figure out where her priorities laid and how to realign them as the need arises.
• She felt the Library fell short of meeting the needs of Novi in terms of making sure that the City was able to get the full benefit of all things that a library should be able to provide. She would compare the library with others to see what they did better.
• She felt the library could use expansion in size and materials available.
• She did not feel technology could replace the pleasure of reading or the good that reading brought to children.
• She would find a way to return books until midnight instead of five p.m. or possibly extend the feature of requesting books on line. Perhaps drop boxes and drive through to check books out. She felt she should be able to request a book from any library in the County.
• Ms. Shah is a good team player and has experience working with committees and deploying solutions using a variety of technical expertise.
• She has a passion for education and is impressed by educational credentials and is focused on making sure the same education is imparted to anybody who wanted it or deserved it. She has strong leadership skills and is truly a leader and not a manager. She can visualize what should be in the future versus what is the immediate and now. She is able to lead, to execute and bring a team to consensus.

Ms. Greenberg has been on the Beautification Commission for six years and was one of the original members and has enjoyed it very much.

• She felt her highest contribution to the commission had been the beautiful half-mile which was the planting of red maples along Ten Mile Road. She is an advanced Master Gardener and instigated the perennial exchange in Novi.
• She would like to see some of the businesses along Grand River plant flower gardens in front of their businesses.
• As part of her Master Gardeners Program she and other Master Gardeners mailed 500 association newsletters to members. She also did landscape work for St. James.
• She would like the City to look into native trees and shrubs, the Champion Tree Program and native landscaping standards whenever those standards could be encouraged. She is an advocate for butterflies and said native plants are more adaptable to Michigan, require less irrigation and maintenance and are very beautiful, and could be worked into a landscape very successfully.
• She would like to see more organizations volunteer to plant flowerbeds. In some cities adopt-a-flowerbed programs are very popular and she would like to see them here.

Mr. Czekaj has been with the Novi Building Authority since 1994.

• Mr. Czekaj said the most challenging projects were the Ice Arena and Senior Housing. The most challenging aspect was the concept of a development from a municipality standpoint. The government looked at things differently than the private sector.
• The toughest technical problem on the Ice Arena project was the shifting of the wall issue, which is not uncommon but very frustrating when on a timetable. It was the same with the Senior Housing Project and the landfill issues and extra time needed there also.
• He felt the ice arena project didn’t go the way it should have. When an individual makes a presentation, provides a feasibility study, builds, designs and manages it there are no checks and balances.
• It had been mandated that they would only to talk with architects who had experience doing senior housing.
• He felt that staff support had been prompt and responsive and that Dan Davis and Craig Klaver had done a wonderful job.
• Mr. Czekaj thought ultimately the ice arena would make money and if it didn’t, as a taxpayer, he would still support it. It is a service to the residents, had been accepted and was a welcome addition to the recreational facilities and opportunities in the City.
• He had enjoyed his past tenure and had gotten satisfaction out of working with the City.

Mr. Swope said he has a certificate from California in dispute resolution and the ZBA was a body that resolved disputes. He felt the resolution of a dispute should get back to the applicant in a timely fashion.

• Mr. Swope had been affiliated with the schools and had done a study on the high school.
• He had participated in civic groups, committee and team organizations.
• Mr. Swope is currently active in his homeowners association.
• In a land use situation he would talk with both parties to see what they were hard and fast on and what could be compromised. Then the points in contention would have to be resolved. Any resolution would have to meet City criteria.
• He did not think it was important to have City counsel attend ZBA meetings.
• While serving as homeowner’s association president he was required to see that declarations of covenants and restrictions were enforced in his subdivision.

Ms. Sinkovich has been a resident since 1992. She is a registered Nurse and has a Masters Degree in adult health nursing with a specialty in adult education. She is a patron of the library and literature is her love and passion. She is aware of the lack of books and space at the library and would like to help make a difference to keep up with the growth of the community. The condition of the library brought her before Council tonight.

• She would study to learn all that was needed to function on this board.

• Ms. Sinkovich is a committee member at St. James Church, a member of the Novi Woods PTO and a chairperson for their box tops for education program and active as a volunteer in the children’s classrooms.
• She said the facility was too small to meet the needs of the community and the conference rooms were too small and too few. The programs are wonderful but there is not enough

room to house everyone who wants to attend. She wanted to see more space and was not expecting the biggest or best but was expecting that the library could accommodate the public.

• There also needed to be an increase in technology. The library did not have a good system for getting books on loan. She wanted to do it on line from home.
• Ms. Sinkovich would like the library to stay where it is but the question was could the residents be accommodated with the current structure.
• Books are and would always be important to the library and to residents.
• She thrived on organization, neatness and order. She was not a procrastinator and needed to get things done now but was willing to work with people long term to get this done. It had to be done right and she would not be in favor of a "Band-Aid" solution. She was willing to be patient but also pro-active not reactive.
• What the library does now is wonderful. It even has programs for one-year old children and this is a great stepping stone for a child’s education. She wanted to see many more programs for all age children.
• She was on the board of directors of her homeowner’s association for a number of years.

Mayor Clark advised Council that two applicants, Art Cervi-Cable Commission and Patricia Barney-Beautification Commission could not be present this evening. He asked if Council wanted to request their applications to review and then make the decisions? There was consensus of Council to have the City Clerk get the applications to Council before the February 26^th Council Meeting.

Member Kramer noted on February 13^th there was a Providence Meeting and a Joint Meeting with the Planning Commission on Thursday the 15^th

There being no further business before Council, the meeting was adjourned at 10:02 PM.

_________________________________ ______________________________

Richard J. Clark, Mayor Maryanne Cornelius, City Clerk

Transcribed by: ____________________

Charlene McLean

Date approved: February 26, 2001