Mayor Landry called the meeting to order at 8:10 P.M.

ROLL CALL: Mayor Landry, Mayor Pro Tem Capello, Council Members Gatt, Margolis, Mutch, Nagy, Paul

ALSO PRESENT: Clay Pearson, City Manager

Pamela Antil, Assistant City Manager

Tom Schultz, City Attorney

Sheryl Walsh, Community Relations Manager

Rob Hayes, City Engineer

Mr. Pearson said one of the Council’s adopted strategic goals was "to insure public safety services, meet the needs of the community for Police, Fire and Public Works". He said that was the very first goal and one of the strategies identified by Council was to address the facility and resource needs of public safety services.

He said tonight’s presentation was the result of studying one of those exact strategies. He said they retained a firm to provide an independent assessment and plan for three of the fire stations; Fire Station #4 was not included since it was recently built. The Fire Department staff along with CDPA Architects went through pretty much top to bottom and looked at Stations #1, #2, and #3, and what it would take to bring them up to their current expectations. They also looked at options and what it would take to bring those for the City’s future.

Stacy Peterson, President of CDPA Architects, introduced architect Steve Flickema who worked with him and put together most of the study. Mr. Peterson said they would make a brief presentation on the results of their investigation into Fire Stations #1, #2 and #3. He said they had been selected primarily due to their experience in the design of over 50 fire stations, mostly in the south east Michigan area. He noted Council had received the detailed reports on each fire station and a copy of the summary.

Mr. Peterson said Fire Stations #1, #2 and #3 were all 25 to 30 years old. They had been adequately maintained and were in reasonably good condition, and had served the community very well. However, functionally they were outdated. The fire service had changed

considerably in the last 25 years. In 1981 there were very few female firefighters, fire trucks were smaller, shorter, and narrower and there were few life support rescue vehicles. He said AIDS and other blood borne pathogens were on the horizon and not something handled by fire department personnel or its equipment. Vehicle exhaust was handled by opening up the apparatus bay doors and now it was captured by sophisticated exhaust systems and monitored by carbon monoxide detectors. Mr. Peterson said in the past the dirt, smoky turnout gear was a sign of experience and now the protective gear, costing almost $1,400 a piece, must be cleaned regularly to remove the sooty residue that was a potential carcinogen. The fire service had changed but the buildings had not been able to keep up with all the changes. He said their investigation and study of Novi’s three station had led to some recommended options and improvements to help catch up to the developments in the fire service. He noted they had not examined geographical locations or response times but focused primarily on physical plan issues.

Mr. Peterson stated their findings and recommendations as follows.

Station #2 located on 13 Mile west of Novi Road, and Station #3 located on Nine Mile east of Novi Road were twin sister stations. He said Station #3 was constructed in 1978 and Station #2 in 1981; both were two bay, drive through apparatus rooms. He noted Station #3 had a narrower apparatus room than Station #2 with only 12 foot doors and Station #2 had 14 foot doors. He said one of the pieces of apparatus in Station #3 made it so they could barely get the door open in the apparatus bay itself. Station #3 was located on a smaller site and essentially in a bowl with some drainage issues off of Nine Mile Road and off the entry road into the Industrial Park, and to the south the Station was only 2.5 feet off the property line.

Mr. Peterson said Station #2 had room to expand and could be worked with. There were personnel on duty at Station #2 from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. in addition to the normal 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. shift. He said there were two bunks located in the locker room, and the day room was so small, and in the main traffic pattern to the apparatus room, that it was not usable. He said there were no shower or toilet facilities for female firefighters. They felt Station #2 had the potential for expansion and they had proposed reconfiguring and adding space for a female locker and shower room, expanding the bunk room, which would allow a larger day room area, and adding a separate space for exercise equipment and storage.

Mr. Peterson said Station #3 had been remodeled previously to add a small female locker room but the turnout gear was located on the wall of the apparatus room further restricting movement to the pieces of apparatus. The exercise equipment, which was a weight bench, was located in the mechanical room along with the breathing air apparatus. He said they looked at alternatives, expansion possibilities, and even looked at adding a second floor above the living quarters but it was cost prohibitive. He said their recommendation was to look for an alternative location for a new satellite station.

Mr. Peterson said Fire Station #1 was located in the middle of an expanding commercial development, and was the flag ship of the department. As the commercial area had developed around the station, the site had a serious defect in the exiting of vehicles onto busy Grand River Avenue. He commented the intersection immediately adjacent was the traffic going into the Novi Town Center and the Novi Main Street Development. He said responders to a call

park along the entry drive or in the rear parking lot and then exit in a 20 ton vehicle into the intersection. Mr. Peterson said the traffic light was controllable by the Station but at best it was an adventure using urgency and care. The site had room for expansion and they had factored that into their recommendations. He said as the headquarter station; Station 1 received the most public traffic both for administrative functions and for contractors, developers and architects who had business with the Fire Marshall. The public entry had no barrier free accessible toilet rooms for the public, and no restriction on public entry. He commented a person arriving to see the Fire Marshall could enter into the middle of the living quarters or the locker room with little or no control points. Six firefighters live, work and sleep at this Station in 12 to 24 hour shifts and there were no shower facilities for female firefighters. The exercise machine was located next to the two beds adjacent to the locker room.

Mr. Peterson said their recommendation for Station #1 was to reconfigure the interior spaces, add additional space for public entry and toilets, and increase day room and training room space. He said having looked at that they understood there had been plans once to relocate Station #1, and he thought there should be serious consideration given to that in support of the fire service. He said it had to be recognized that their recommendations for these maintenance items and improvements were short term improvements, and didn’t solve all of the functional shortfalls for the operations that went on in these Stations. They didn’t provide all the elements of a modern day Station such as at Station #4 with decontamination work spaces, laundry rooms, turnout gear in the route of travel to the apparatus bay, and increased ventilation. He said these were improvements but Council had to remember that all the flexibility of the original designs of the stations had been used up and exceeded.

Member Paul thought there plan was very thorough. She said she had toured all the Fire Stations with the previous Chief two years ago before budget and was very surprised at how little money had been expended in the Fire Stations. She agreed there was some real decline in the older Fire Stations. She thought Fire Station #4 was wonderful but unfortunately all the Fire Stations don’t match up. She asked what his thoughts were of keeping Fire Station #1 in its current location and how many years would this plan suffice with the growth of this community and the approximate build out of 75,000 to 80,000 people.

Mr. Peterson said notwithstanding the traffic defect, during the course of their investigation they understood there were plan for improvements and widening of Grand River Avenue, which would increase the traffic flow. He said that was a major defect in the survivability for Station #1. Mr. Peterson said there was room for expansion and with the reconfiguration it would give another 8 to 10 years but at that point in time with advancements in the fire service Council would be faced with the same thing they were faced with today. Member Paul asked what they thought it would take to bring it up to the standards they had recommended. Mr. Peterson replied their estimate, figuring in both construction and soft costs, was just over $2 million. Member Paul said to spend $2 million on a building that would not outstand the growth of this community was not smart spending. She noted she would rather see some money spent to possibly sell that site and said she didn’t know how much that would be worth. She asked if anyone had looked into that.

Mr. Peterson thought, in their research material, there had been an assessment done but that had been almost 10 years ago. She said perhaps that was something they could look at as there was some money set aside for this budget year for doing some actual changes to these Fire Stations.

Member Paul said their thoughts, regarding Station #2, were that they could make the improvements and it would suffice. She asked how long that would suffice. Mr. Peterson replied another 5 to 10 years. Member Paul asked what the cost of the renovations would be. Mr. Peterson responded the cost of renovations to Fire Station #2 was about $760,000. Member Paul said Fire Station #3 seemed to be problematic as far as its location and ability for it to withstand. He agreed. She asked if that Station would be better suited to move elsewhere more than any of the others or what was their number one priority of the three Stations.

Mr. Pearson thought the number one priority would be the improvements to Fire Station #2, then #1 and last #3, because it was virtually not expandable because of site restrictions and issues. He said even in their improvements, they recommended some additional storm drainage improvements and that wasn’t even touching the building but was all outside of the building. The apparatus bays were narrow for the large pieces of equipment today and there was no way to expand those bays.

Member Paul said if they wanted to sell Fire Station #3, there was a lot of property across the street that was for lease and she thought they could sell that property very easily. She thought the property on Grand River would be more visible and more people would have interest. She thought it made sense to make changes in Fire Station #2.

Member Paul said they had to have the firemen be able to get in their apparatus quickly, be able to be suited up and be safe when they were on the site to provide safety for every resident. She thought this was a high priority for Council and it could not be a quick fix. She hoped they could make sensible changes to keep everybody safe, especially the firefighters and residents. She said there were so many important things such as the contamination/decontamination site was just as important. She said these firefighters needed to wash off and take good care of their lungs when they were going to help other people.

Member Nagy appreciated that Council had invested in doing these studies. She said she had been a big supporter of the Fire Department, and found this difficult in some regards. She said after reading the analysis and having toured everything, she agreed with Mr. Peterson. Fire Station #3 was in a bad location and she didn’t see how it could be expanded. One of the things she was concerned about was that Fire Station #1 was one of the Stations that could cross I-96. Therefore, for her it would be a priority even if though it had shortfalls, and even if they invested the money and it lasted 8 to 10 years, it was an important location because of the ability to cross I-96. Member Nagy commented that the study was done but unfortunately right now land values were not what they used to be; she thought it would be difficult to sell that site at this point. However, she really wanted to see Fire Station #1 and #2 have the full renovation. She said it worried her to think about not having anything on the other side of I-96. She also realized that because the Fire Stations and firefighters were not out there in the public eye, it was amazing how much equipment had changed, and she assumed there would be more changes with new technology. She thought the study gave Council a clear picture of the deficiencies of the Fire Stations and the need to improve them. She said even though Fire

Station #1 would only be effective for 8 to 10 years they needed to make that investment because of its location. She asked Chief Smith if it was a part of his industry that there would be a lot of changes.

Chief Smith said things were changing in the apparatus and technology fields drastically and very quickly. He said they were finding that the best place to invest in fire safety was when the building was being built. He said that was when they had a lot of control and they were no under the gun there as far as an emergency that was in progress. He said if the fire inspection, their plan review and the pre-fire planning was carried to the nth degree, they found that it was a much safer building. No matter what and regardless of what was developed or designed in the future, they were not going to be able to put a ladder up to every single story in a mid high rise building. It was just not possible. He said what was better was to build in fire safe exits, pressurized stairwells, stairwells that were two and three hour construction such that if inhabitants of the building got to those exit ways they would be protected until they got down under their own power. Chief Smith say if they could build in those kinds of things before something happened were much safer and easier for the Fire Department to plan on than suddenly trying to put up a ladder to a 7^th or 8^th floor by a fire truck that might be 30-40 feet away from the building. He said the firefighter could use those same safe exit ways to bring people down if needed and they would be sprinkled and protected.

Member Nagy said they had increased for OST the height of buildings and she didn’t even know if the fire ladders reached the new height they recommended. Chief Smith said the height of those buildings, depending where the ladder was put, might not reach those upper floors. He said the highest ladder vehicle was 135 feet and currently housed at the Royal Oak Fire Department. He said there were buildings in Southfield and Troy above and beyond 135 ft. even if they parked their truck next to the building, and in most case that was not possible. He said what the City of Troy had done was to have very, very high level planning, inspection, engineering and plan review before buildings go in. He said there should be detection of fire, announcement of fire for inhabitants, and safe paths of egress. Member Nagy asked if Council needed to improve the process. He said no, it was just that there was a large volume of work coming in for new buildings. She asked if he felt the Ordinances had provided enough fire protection for the buildings. Chief Smith said yes. Member Nagy said after looking at these studies it was a little disheartening and asked him if he thought they should make that kind of investment for Stations #1 and #2, which would be approximately $2.76 million. Chief Smith thought in the case of Station #2 a solid proposal had been put forth and could be completed with what had been proposed. However, regarding Station #1, the Council would have to decide about the location of a City building in their landmark complex for the City. If they want the Fire Station to remain there that’s fine but there were other options available, and in that case they would want a bigger station. He said there was just over $2 million to modernize Station 1, and leave it where it was. However, with the coming of improving Grand River he wasn’t sure the intersection would be any better than it was now. He said getting out of the Fire Station was difficult under normal circumstances. She asked if the Fire Department had discussed with the Administration any possible sites or relocation of Station #1. Chief Smith said since he had been Chief he had heard a mention of the DPW site, and they had had some informal discussions about the potential that was out there. He said they were hoping to solve that with a study and consultants who could tell them what they need to solve their 30 year problem and not saddle a Council in 10 years with the same problem all over again.

Member Margolis said her understanding was what staff was looking for was really policy direction in terms of their reaction to the study, and which direction to move. Mr. Pearson agreed, and said they had outlined a sequence of alternatives that made sense from the information that was provided. She said it was a really excellent study and she felt every time

this was done they were setting up future Council’s with the ability to continue down roads in a very planned way. She thought there was great background here. Clearly, Fire Station #2 from every piece needed to be renovated and it was her understanding that the funds had already been budgeted for 2007-2008, correct. Mr. Pearson said just over $1.3 million had been allocated for Stations #2 and #3, and they were recommending that they proceed with Station #2 and do more work on the other stations. She said clearly the architects were saying that Station #3 was not a doable plan; so they had to look for somewhere else to locate that Fire Station. She said she didn’t see putting that kind of money into a location that she thought was very attractive in terms of sale, as it was a prime area. Also, if they were telling Council that the Fire Chief didn’t like to take his personal car out onto Grand River from Station #1 and make a left turn, to put that kind of money into a place long term would not work and would only get busier didn’t make since. She suggested they move forward and thought the DPW location was a great idea and she would be interested in where they could do that.

Member Mutch said regarding the proposed improvements to Fire Station #1 and #2, it wasn’t clear to him how these improvements were incorporating bunk and locker room facilities for female firefighters. Mr. Peterson said in Station #2 there would be a separate area in the middle adjacent to the dining and day room area for the female locker/shower area. The bunk room was a little different space in a fire station. He said it was very common for male and female firefighters to share the general sleeping area. He said private cubicles were typically provided but most firefighters slept in their clothes so they would be ready to respond. He said there were elements of privacy built into a bunk room as the days of the open bunk room with one room holding 6 to 8 beds was no longer used. He said some were even private individual rooms.

Member Mutch said in terms of Station #2 and the improvements that were proposed and the projected 5 to 10 years of useful life, were they expecting that in that time frame the facility itself would require additional renovations, or would they run into a situation where apparatus needs or other needs of the facility would require another round of renovation or expansion. Mr. Peterson thought that within 10 years they would have to do additional modifications to Station #2, but what Station #2 had going for it was a larger apparatus bay, had the room to expand the facility in the east and west direction. If necessary, it could be expanded to the south also, but the real key was the apparatus bay was larger and that was the "heart" area of a station. Member Mutch asked what kind of elements a future fire station would have that they weren’t providing in the current station layouts. Mr. Peterson replied that almost every fire station they had done in the last 10 to 15 years had some type of training facility, as firefighters and paid on call staff train constantly. He said every department whether an unmanned satellite station or not these days provided a separate training area. There would be decontamination spaces adjacent to the apparatus bay, which was a stainless steel wash down type area that they could clean equipment and not contaminate the rest of the station. He said EMS supplies almost every station now and has a lock to capacity for retaining of medical supplies. Also, ventilation requirements had greatly increased in the last 5 to 10 years and most older stations couldn’t handle that.

Member Mutch said in looking at the improvements they talked about in Station #2 would they get any of those. Mr. Peterson said they would get some of them, such as emergency eye wash stations, space for female firefighters, expanded exercise and training space, and those types of items. This would be in addition to some cosmetic and maintenance items such as replacing the HVAC system to get fresh air and modern heating and cooling.

Member Mutch said in the background information under the Fire Station #3 section it talked about looking at the response districts of the City and determine the need and alternatives for Fire Station #3 in light of the City’s fire service, contracted EMS and distribution of other stations. He asked if he was envisioning the possibility that they wouldn’t need to replace that station in that end of the City, or was that a given and this was talking more about where that would go. Chief Smith said that was always a possibility but as a Fire Chief, he couldn’t stand there and say he wanted to get rid of a station and that they could easily cover it from somewhere else. He said he believed the density of the population and the older homes in the southern area demanded that a station be located down there for a good response time. He felt that any consultant would look at that as their standard to review, was it necessary or could the work load of Station #3 be absorbed by a relocated Station #1. He thought, without the study or hard and fast numbers, it could not happen but he would look at numbers beyond what was available now when they make that final decision.

Member Mutch said in the last budget they had accomplished making this a priority and finding the money to do it, so he was looking to move forward. He thought replacing Station #3 was a given and the study made that clear. He said the issue he had with Station #2 was it was a significant amount of money for a fairly short term. He commented he would be interested in an alternative that looked at replacing that station as well. He said the numbers provided for Station #3 was around $2.5 million for replacement, and obviously they didn’t have that much money today. Member Mutch said he was looking at whether they should spend three quarters of a million dollars for improvements that would just get them basics and some enhancements, or should they look at finding a way to put together the funding so they could build a station along the lines of what they would really want from a station today. In terms of Fire Station #1, he would be in support of moving it out of the Town Center area and thought what had been discussed in the past made sense. It made sense in terms of location, potential to redevelop that site, and a use that made sense for the site. He said there were better locations and they should be looking at that. He asked what the projected life span would be of a new Station. Chief Smith thought they could easily talk about the same amount of life that they received out of the existing stations, 28 to 30 years. He thought they could extend the life time projected for Station #2 with the relocation of Station #1. He said none of the stations were independent and they relied on other stations for apparatus and personnel. An incident at Fox Run would not be solely responded to by Station #2, it would have a cavalry arriving from the headquarter station. So with a relocated Station #1, he thought they could use the space that was at Station #2 for a few more years before needing any major improvements.

Member Mutch said if they were going to talk about long term investment in the community, to spend $2 million on a Fire Station facility that would be top of the line and last 30 years versus spending $700,000 on a facility that wouldn’t be top of the line when completed and would last 10 years needed to be looked into further. He said if they decide to move forward, he thought the recommendations provided for improvement at Station #2 and using the remaining funds to look at a future site for Station #3, which he agreed was needed in that part of town based on the density, and the issues they had with the railroad; he would be in support of that.

Mayor Landry said he would be in favor of moving forward with Fire Station #2. He thought something needed to be done with Station #2 and he would be in favor of proceeding with the architectural and construction remodeling services. He would also be in favor of the staff analyzing real estate analysis for another location for Fire Station #1. Mayor Landry thought

the danger with a study like this was that they could get any seven people to listen to it, but couldn’t get an agreement on what to do so nothing got done. He said it was an excellent analysis and if they had $10 million they could do it all, but they don’t and he felt they had to do something. He said he would be in favor or doing Station #2.

Mr. Pearson said this wasn’t an action item but they were looking forward to moving forward. As Council stated the money had been budgeted and what had been outlined was the Mr. Pearson’s and Chief Smith’s recommendation to move forward as just outlined.

Member Paul said she wanted to point out was that the School District finally completed their segment in front of Parkview and their bus depot so from the middle school to all the elementary schools on Taft all the way down to Ten Mile were now connected to each other.

DEPARTMENTAL

Chief Molloy said he was truly proud to be joined with two home town heroes that were instrumental in saving a gentleman’s life. On Wednesday, August 1^st at approximately 11:34 A.M. the Novi Police Department received an emergency call of a cardiac arrest at the Novi Golf and Sports Center located on Twelve Mile Road. Upon responding, Officer Stuligross arrived at the area within 3 minutes of being dispatched to the call. Upon his arrival he observed Mr. Freitag, who was proned out, and one of the fine Novi residents, Mr. Snider was performing CPR on the gentleman. As a result of his training, Officer Stuligross applied the Automatic External Defibrillator and a shock was advised, and he administered the shock.

Shortly thereafter the men and women of the Novi Fire Department as well as the Community EMS arrived to conduct further medical treatment. He was transferred to Novi Providence Hospital, then to Southfield Providence and ultimately ended up at Botsford Hospital in Farmington Hills. He underwent surgery for the installation of a defibrillator and a pace maker.

According to the medical professionals at all three hospital the actions of not only Mr. Snider but also Officer Stuligross were truly instrumental in saving his life. Mr. Freitag returned with his wife, Marie, to their home in Connecticut, however their son, Steven, was present to read a brief e-mail.

Steve Freitag read the following. "Everyone has a guardian angel and Mr. Greg Snider and Officer Stuligross were without a doubt my husband’s and mine on August 1^st. We would like to publicly extend our heartfelt thanks and everlasting gratitude to those two individuals for saving my husband’s life. If it were not for the immediate CPR given by Mr. Snider and Officer

Stuligross’ quick action in administering the Automatic External Defibrillator, my husband would not be here today. Only about 5% of people who have gone into cardiac arrest survive.

Due to the quick response of these two individuals my husband has a second chance in life. My family and I will be forever grateful and will never forget these two heroes who live in Novi Michigan. We are also thankful to the Novi City Council who had the foresight to approve the purchase of the portable AED’s for all police cruisers back in 2002. Without this life saving device the administered CPR would have been futile. Finally, we would like to thank the Novi Fire Department EMT’s for there quick response and compassion. It was very reassuring to be surrounded by such kind and knowledgeable people.

Sincerely,

Marie Freitag

Mayor Landry said the word "hero" was used a lot these days but never more appropriately than with this incidence. He presented certificates to Greg Snider and Officer Stuligross.

Victor Cassis, 22186 Daleview Dr., said he was a neighbor of Mr. Nona and was present for Item 4, and he had no idea what all the variances were about. He said he had not seen what Mr. Nona had requested. He said if it in any way diverted from the last time that he presented to the Council and to the Planning Commission, he would like to know what they were. Mr. Cassis said if it was in anyway impinging on his rights across the street from him, he wanted Council to know he was present to object. He said he had called the City Attorney a couple of week ago and said he had seen plans from Mr. Nona and they seemed to deviate from the last time he appeared before the Planning Commission and the City Council. Mr. Schultz said he had no idea what they were and that he would ask Ms. McBeth to show them to him, but he had not seen them. He wanted Council to know that he was present to protect his rights and if there was anyway that Triangle was going to impinge on his rights he would be objecting to it.

A. Approve Minutes of:

1. August 13, 2007 – Regular meeting

B. Enter Executive Session immediately following the regular meeting of August 27, 2007 in the Council Annex for the purpose of discussing pending litigation, possible property acquisition, personnel evaluation and privileged correspondence from legal counsel.

C. Approval of the Parks and Recreation facilities donation acknowledgement and acceptance of the agreement with Tom Holzer Ford.

D. Approval of payment to Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc., in the amount of $12,366 for completion of CMOM Phase II Activities.

E. Approval to apply for the Community Forestry Grant, for a maximum grant award of $20,000 (City’s grant share is $30,000 to be funded from the tree fund).

F. Approval of the second year renewal option of the tree removal contract with Owen Tree Service, the low bidder, based on their original bid of February 1, 2005 with the same terms, conditions and pricing.

G. Approval to accept proposal by DualTemp Mechanical & Refrigeration for iron filtration of the irrigation system at Meadowbrook Commons, as recommended by Keystone Management Group in the amount of $26,260.

H. Approval to accept proposal by Luigi Ferdinandi & Son Cement Co. for concrete replacement at Meadowbrook Commons, as recommended by Keystone Management Group in the amount of $18,547.25.

I. Approval of Collective Bargaining Agreement (pursuant to Arbitrator’s Award and Opinion) between the City of Novi and the City of Novi Paid-on-Call and Auxiliary Fire Fighters Association.

J. Approval of contract extension to URS Corporation to provide additional design engineering services for the Beck Road and Ten Mile Road Intersection Reconstruction project in the amount of $7,000 for work associated with Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality (CMAQ) grant requirements.

K. Approval of a contract extension to URS Corporation to provide design engineering services for the Beck Road Repaving project (Ten Mile Road to just south of Grand River Avenue) for an additional not-to-exceed design fee of $10,980 for the addition of the Eleven Mile to Grand River Avenue segment to the project.

L. Approval of MERS Resolutions to Exclude Temporary Employees from Membership, to Define a Day of Work for Administrative (General Non-Union) and Teamster employees.

M. Approval to award a construction contract for the Twelve Mile Road Irrigation project (from just west of Meadowbrook Road to just west of Novi Road) to American Sprinkler & Landscape, the lowest responsive bidder, in the amount of $80,731.

N. Approval of the Sanitary Sewer System Easement from N’Tandem Properties, L.P. for an existing sanitary sewer pump station within Hometown Novi Mobile Home Park.

O. Approval of Agreement with Arrowon Pines Condo association for the installation of a decorative streetlight at the subdivision entrance located at Algonquin Drive and Novi Road.

P. Approval of Claims and Accounts – Warrant No. 751

Mayor Pro Tem Capello asked if they were transferring to a new entity or was this just another entity owned by the Bamboo Club.

Chief Molloy said this was a procedural matter and there was not a new owner. They were transferring it to a new division and this was a technical transfer that the LCC realized that the Bamboo Club should have done several months ago, and they were making up for that now.

Ms. Walsh said they were before Council in June and were returning with designs and options for Council to look at and chose from. Ms. Walsh said Council had two packets of information and one was a background memo with a variety of different designs which was previously shared with Council. The second was a packet that mimicked the boards that were in Council Chambers.

Ms. Walsh said they had held a visioning session on June 13^th at Walsh Collage with a variety of community stakeholders, Council members, Planning Commission, EDC, business community members from ITC, Amson Dembs, Novi Community Schools, Twelve Oaks, Providence, etc. She said out of that visioning session there were three common themes that kept coming to the top of all the items discussed. They were education, business development and cultural and recreation activities. She said one thing she took away from that was the excitement the participants had for the process. In fact some of the member thought they needed to come up with a new identity that would help propel the City into the future and where it needed to go as an organization, and to market the City as far as economic development, etc. She said out of that session came the proposed Vision Statement that Council saw before them. The Vision Statement was "Novi is an energetic and creative community proudly committed to outstanding education, vibrant local and international business and quality recreational and cultural services in a safe home town atmosphere". She said this incorporated all of those three common themes that kept coming to the forefront during the visioning session.

Ms. Walsh said once the proposed Vision Statement was developed, Ford and Earl came back to a group of stakeholders with a variety of different logo options. It was from those design options that a proposed logo had been developed, and there were a variety of different options, and they were looking for Council’s feedback. She said they were open for discussion with Council to see where they would like to go with this.

Howard English, Ford and Earl Associates, said as they all got together to create this proposed Vision Statement, there was great energy from all aspects of the Novi Community to look at a vision of the City of Novi moving forward. Also, how they wanted to brand the City from the potential of a new City logo, a new City brand statement, and then from the materials that would come off of those particular elements that would help Mr. Topouzian and anyone within the business development team move forward and build some of those things.

Mr. English said after the proposed Vision Statement was done they moved forward with some potential logo examples. They came up with close to 30 different images that could represent a new logo for the City. Then all of those choices would be taken to the stakeholders and they would go through to see what was working, what wasn’t and what intrigued them as being that image that would help project the City in the future. Mr. English wanted to go through a few of the 30 images that the stakeholders put together and show Council how they went to a brand new proposed logo. He said as the group got together there were some interesting observations they had on certain places and also some of the other samples that were presented that day.

Mr. English said there was a specific sample that used just the Novi with the line going through it and then there was another that utilized a particular icon. So, it was the opinion of the group that these two probably should be joined, and after the session they put the two icons together to form the sample they were presenting of what the future Novi logo could look like.

He said from that they looked at how that logo could be used on stationary letterhead, vehicle identification and all of the general applications that the City could use with a new City logo.

Mr. English said all things come together and that was one thing they found as part of the visioning session was they had so much to offer from education to business, great community, great recreational activities, and they really had everything that was coming together in Novi. As they looked at this proposed logo and the treatment of it that was what they were trying to say that Novi was really the center of it all. He said if they looked at the current logo. he said they were also trying to visualize that Novi was the center. However, if Council looked at how this was represented versus a cleaner version he thought Council would see where they needed to be in the twenty first century as they try to say that whatever someone was looking for within a City, the City of Novi had that to offer. Mr. English said that was where they were now and wanted to get Council’s reactions to it, and then they had other samples of what they could do with the communication of that particular logo on some of the other applications. He said because there were some specific applications where the current logo could be used as a seal, they didn’t want to throw that away. They wanted to be able to have that evolve into a City seal so they would still have the heritage of that particular piece of art in addition to what they were proposing as a new logo.

Member Paul said she and Member Margolis were a part of the team and many other City business people, schools, etc., and one of the things she looked at for this current logo was the visual crossing out the City of Novi. She said that was hard for her because she didn’t want to cross out the City at all. She wanted to share that Novi was all encompassing and wanted everyone to come instead of crossing out the City. She said she didn’t care for that logo, and several of them have the line going through it. Member Paul said there was one that was kind of cursive, and she felt that was hard to read. She said pointed out the ones she felt were the easiest to read, but she would want to take out all the ones with the lines going through them, so they didn’t appear to be scratching Novi out. She said in her nursing career every time a mistake was made one line was made through it and they signed their name and the date and that was an error, and that was what this looked like to her. She didn’t feel it was an inviting symbol and seal.

Mr. English said the rationale behind that creative treatment was that in addition to putting together a new logo, they looked at a new brand statement. He said there were three in front of Council that they were proposing. If this was used with a brand statement that would be positioned underneath it, or if used with a department with the brand statement underneath it, the reason for the line coming through was to show the flow of information through the logo. Plus, it was showing that the City of Novi had it all. He said it was a movement through as opposed to the impression that it was being scratched out. It was an artistic treatment and they understood and had seen that type of reaction before, but thought that the flow of the information through the City of Novi name was the reason they chose it. He said they also created a clean version of that logo, which this could be another option for consideration. He pointed out that version for Member Paul, and she said it was very easy to read and was not crossing Novi out. Member Paul noted she like the idea of the City seal and still using the current artwork, as she thought a high school student created it years ago and she thought it was nice to still use it.

Member Gatt concurred with what Member Paul said, as he didn’t like the line going through Novi either. He thought it looked like someone was crossing Novi off the list. He loved the vision statement because it encompassed and embraced all that was good with Novi and he wouldn’t make any changes to that. Member Gatt said if their only choice was what they had seen offered he liked the "V" and the cursive design of those letters much better. He thought people would look at it and wonder what the thing on the left was and it would be tough to explain.

Mr. English said bringing it all together and bringing all of the great features and benefits of Novi, this was a way to symbolize that they were bringing things together. Member Gatt said a lot of people would look at that design and not see what Mr. English had just said. Mr. English said those were the things that, as they started to present the communications, could be answered as the branding approach was put together. Member Gatt said the logo with Twelve Oaks, the water tower and Oak trees would be easier explained and much more visual. Mr. English said they looked at a couple different ways to show that Novi had it all, and many different attributes that people could grow and prosper with. Mr. English said that was a good point. Member Gatt asked if the blue and black colors were what they had chosen. Ms. Walsh said they were proposed not chosen. Mr. English said sticking close to the current blue was very close to what was being used now so there would be some brand consistency with what had been used in the past.

Mayor Pro Tem Capello said he wasn’t pleased with the process. He said when this was in front of Council the first time with Ms. Walsh he specifically requested that Council be kept in tune all the way through the process so they could offer input. He commented they received very little in their packets, and what had been passed out tonight they received in July, and still it was kind of difficult for them to come to Council at this late date with the Novi logo. He said he agreed with Member Gatt about the thing on the left as he still didn’t see it. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said he was looking for something that was bold, strong and clear and not something that had to be interpreted or they had to call someone to find out what the message was they were trying to send with the Novi logo. He thought the light blue looked wimpy and weak. He said he didn’t think a decision would be made tonight, and he looked forward to them coming back before Council and moving forward.

Member Margolis said she had given feedback after receiving the first group of logos and she definitely did not like the neighborly words and felt it was way too busy. She said if she had to pick one of them he would probably go with the clean one. She said she had a real problem with all the swoops even though they were popular now, she felt they would look dated in a few years. She said nothing really came out to her. Member Margolis said she was in the visioning session and if she had to pick a tag line, it would be "Novi where it all comes together", which Mr. Dion of the schools suggested. She liked that tag line and that it was a great concept but she didn’t think they were capturing it with this. She said that drawing on the left, what came out of their group where they were trying to come up with statements, she thought it was Mr. Pearson who drew on the board two lines and it was the expressways all coming together, but she didn’t think it said that to people. She said she had gone through branding for her division and nobody ever saw what the graphic artist saw in the logos, and it was hard to encapsulate it and not have it look too busy. She said she understood the seal but one of the problems that a lot of people say about the seal was that they couldn’t read Novi in it. She commented it looked like the number six but, if seeing it on a sign they don’t read the word Novi as there was no way to discern that.

Member Nagy thought the concept was very good and she knew they put a lot of hard work and effort into this but, with all due respect, she thought they were horrible. She said the square with the zigzag lines through it reminded her of the Visions Spa Hair Salon. She said while driving and looking at City signs in other communities no one had signs with any big saying underneath it. As far as sayings under the logo, the one she liked best was on the Novi web site, which said "Where quality is the way of life". Member Nagy didn’t think it should be real busy, and the only thing that looked like what they were trying to achieve, which was that they were growing, vibrant, etc. was the logo with the buildings but she felt that looked too New York. It looked like stars were coming out of the back of their head. She commented that she wondered when they had to make the logo change on the trucks, etc. how much that would cost. She knew that N O V I were letters that there wasn’t much they could do with it but these were just not making it. She said she had never had a problem with the City seal, she said not everyone liked history but she always thought it was nice. She said she didn’t want it to look too busy.

Member Mutch said he liked the City seal concept and the retention of the historical City of Novi of logo. He admitted it had some challenges such as what was mentioned tonight, but liked it because it was a historical symbol that was fairly recognizable in the City. He felt it was perfect on the podium and he liked that. Member Mutch said the problem he had with the "swoop" was that it was running completely over the word. He felt the basic legibility was compromised. Member Mutch said he had seen some concepts in Chicago, which he thought was a tourism bureau logo that sort of incorporated this kind of idea. They had the river sort of meandering through the logo in a similar style. He said he had seen ways that were more legible and felt they should keep that based on the feedback tonight. He said if he had to choose a logo tonight he would like something clean. He said he got the icon and saw the freeways but he didn’t hear a lot of support for that tonight. Member Mutch thought the vision statement was fine and the only issue he had with it was that it didn’t incorporate the green community concept, which he thought was reflected in resident surveys. He said they talked a lot about a green community, and so had Council. However, that was not a make or break issue for him and thought the vision statement was fine. Member Mutch said regarding the branding statements, "All the important things in life" and "Where it all comes together" were too generic for him. He said they didn’t really say anything. He realized that they were purposefully made generic so that people could bring their own vision into what they wanted it to say, but then it was not really a brand statement when it was watered down like that. Member Mutch commented a brand statement should reflect what they valued as a community, and said something about the community beyond something generic. He agreed with Member Nagy in that he liked the tag line on the web site, "Where the quality of life was a way of life". He felt that said something and gave someone reading that brand statement an idea of what was important to Novi residents and community, quality of life. He said compare that to where it all comes together, what was all. He said all was everything but that couldn’t be true factually or as a concept.

Member Mutch said he liked a couple things but didn’t really have a suggestion of what they needed to do to make changes to the logo that would satisfy everyone. He disagreed with Member Nagy’s remark that they were horrible. He said at Waterford they joked about the dead fish in their logo, so these were definitely several steps above some cities and township logos. He suggested keeping it clean, and if they were going to incorporate something that was an interpretative imagery or symbol it had to be a little less interpretation and a little bit stronger in its presentation.

Mayor Landry said he didn’t think these were horrible. He said somebody obviously put some time into this, and he didn’t know whether they would ever get unanimity. This had to be one of the most difficult things in the world to try to accomplish. He applauded the Administration for looking at the seal, and, for trying to update Novi’s look, and he thought it was something that should be done. He said he didn’t know if he had enough expertise to be making this decision and didn’t claim to know a lot about art. He said with respect to these logos, he thought they had picked the best one. He said the "swoosh" through the Novi didn’t bother him and he thought it made sense of the icon and the icon without the "swoosh" didn’t make a lot of sense. He said he understood the freeways and thought it sort of put the two together when the "swoosh" went through there. However, he understood the criticism that someone might think it was crossing the City out. Mayor Landry said he was not a fan of a lot of words in logos, so he thought "Where the quality of life is a way of life" was wonderful and whoever came up with that was brilliant, but he didn’t see how they would fit that in a logo. He said the colors didn’t bother him.

Mayor Landry commented that he didn’t think the Council was ready to make a decision and asked them not to get discouraged, and please look on this as a challenge. He thought the process was virtuous and they needed to do it but Council wasn’t anywhere near deciding this tonight. He asked if Mr. English had anything he would like to suggest to Council, or how could Council assist him.

Ms. Walsh thanked Mayor Landry and said this was very subjective. She said this was not her logo or something she created, and it wasn’t something Ford and Earl just created. It came out of a lot of hard work and brainstorming by community members and staff. She said her thoughts were very similar to Mayor Landry’s, and from a marketing standpoint the current logo was very hard to use, and difficult to read. Ford and Earl had taken the current City logo and cleaned it up, the typeset was different and they had cleaned a lot of the lines to make it a little easier to read and transfer when using it in print type settings. She said they were looking for something that would propel Novi into the future. She said it was the community’s logo, and they were going to do their best to come up with something that met Council’s desires. Ms. Walsh said they had heard all that Council had said, and if there were any more suggestions she would welcome them.

Mayor Landry suggested having another session prior to a Council meeting again at 6:00 P.M. Then all who wanted to participate could show up an hour early and participate in their session.

Member Nagy apologized for using the word horrible. She suggested getting creative ideas from students, since a high school student designed the first logo and young people were so creative. She didn’t think of this as anyone’s project in particular and knew this wasn’t easy. She said she didn’t dislike the color blue and agreed with what they had said about the printing. Member Nagy said she did like the logo with Novi with scenery in the back but also realized that would be hard to print

4. Consideration of requests from Triangle Main Street, LLC, applicant for Main Street Novi, for the following:

Mr. Pearson said this was a series of items that had come from the developer for the Main Street development. He said this was 17 acres of vacant land surrounding the Main Street project, and Triangle Development was the applicant. He said there were the three requests and staff had found that they could support and recommend approval of Items a and b as they had found that they were consistent with previous discussions, overall direction, and site plan approvals for the Main Street development. Mr. Pearson said regarding Item c, the dedication of the right-of-way, they felt that Council had already decided this and they believe Council had suggested and asked that they accept additional right-of-way dedication and move forward on that basis. He said if the applicant chooses or something comes up later that they want to reverse that and ask for some other kind of direction, they could deal with that at that time.

Sarah Traxler, McKenna and Associates, was present in support of Triangle/Main Street’s petition, advised Council that they understood and deferred to the staff’s recommendation in regards to the approximately 20 feet. She said they measured that more specifically and it was about 15 to 16 feet of width along that area on Paul Bunyan Road. However, they were willing to work with the City Attorneys to figure out any sort of licensing or maintenance agreements at their discretion.

Member Nagy said they were talking about renaming the streets and if she recalled correctly, there was a young soldier who died in Iraq who was from Novi, Wayne Dreasky, and she thought one of the streets should be dedicated to him. She said they could check the name of the young man for correctness, and thought it would be a nice gesture.

Mayor Pro Tem Capello said he was not in favor of renaming the streets. He said Sixth Gate and Paul Bunyan Drive had history and had been named that for a long period of time. He didn’t think they would hurt the theme of downtown and, if anything, they would help their theme from people that knew Novi.

Member Gatt said as anxious as he was to see the project get underway, he could never support renaming those two streets. He said he had been a part of this community for over 30 years and those two streets were historic and unique. He didn’t understand why anyone would want to do away with either of them. He said it was a source of conversation if nothing else, and he thought they would attract people.

Member Mutch said he would support the motion. He commented on angle and parallel parking and while he recognized it was very limited in application within the City, they should provide for it in the appropriate locations, and shouldn’t have to force an applicant to submit a variance request. He said the Design and Construction Standards should be flexible enough to permit it in the appropriate locations, and he would like to see Administration bring something back to Council in that regard. As far as the street names, he appreciated the history but also appreciated the applicant. He said Paul Bunyan Drive probably sounded better in St. Ignace than it did in Novi, so he was not stuck on it. He thought with Memorial Street there was just nothing there, and City Gate Street they took something with historical significance with the Sixth Gate and made it generic. He said he would be open to something that reflected Novi’s history, and Member Gatt pointed out that both of those streets had historical significance. He also liked Member Nagy’s suggestion as something to look at in the future but it didn’t need to be decided tonight.

Mr. Pearson said several developers had approached the City to advance design a traffic signal at Eleven Mile and Meadowbrook Roads, which the City had in a future year for capital improvements. These combination developers had offered the City $20,000 to complete that design, which would give Council a better cost estimate and scope for the project. He said a rough estimate would be that the City would need to participate with an additional $5,000. He said the suggestion presented would be for the City to commit to reimbursing the developers for the initial expenditure. Mr. Pearson said if they were going to do this in this kind of an arrangement to be consistent and fair to a lot of the other projects that were potentials, they suggested countering to the developers that this would be their investment and good will gesture to move this forward. It would not be reimbursed, however that would be completely up to Council.

Gary Jonna was present on behalf of the applicants and said they were more than agreeable to not being reimbursed for those funds, and would contribute that towards the project.

Member Paul appreciated the developer’s contribution because it would be helpful to everyone. She asked if they were considering the green mast arms or a regular traffic light.

Mr. Hayes said it would be a box wire span, which was the current standard that Oakland County required. Member Paul suggested that it was a really pretty area of town. There was new development of the doctor’s office as well as a lot of nice industrial buildings and Walsh College. She suggested it might be something to consider. She didn’t know what the cost differential, knew they were always more expensive but they were so much more attractive, and it was in a nice new location that had been updated quite a bit.

Member Margolis appreciated their coming forward and doing this and giving up the opportunity to be reimbursed. She said not that it was a lot of money, but it would be a dangerous precedent to have people front money and then get reimbursed. She said they appreciated being in partnership, and coming up with the City’s $5,000.

Mayor Pro Tem Capello asked what the difference in cost was to have the green mast arms as opposed to the wire and box. Mr. Hayes said, as a ballpark, it would be roughly a $50,000 difference plus the $25,000. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said $50,000 plus the $25,000. Mr. Hayes said to upgrade to the decorative mast arms and bases would be about $50,000. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said so the total cost would be $75,000. Mr. Hayes said that was correct.

Mr. Pearson asked how much the wire span would be once they construct. Mr. Hayes said for this intersection the estimate was $125,000 for the signal, and Mr. Pearson said then the mast arms would be $175,000 and Mr. Hayes said yes, roughly. Mayor Pro Tem Capello asked if they needed to make that decision tonight whether or not the box wire or the mast arms was needed. He asked if that was a part of engineering, or could they determine that when they get into the 2008-2009 budget sessions. Mr. Hayes said they could wait to determine that in 2008-2009. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said they could still engineer it now and still be safe and not wasting any money. Mr. Hayes said correct. Mayor Pro Tem Capello said so they could still allocate tonight, and maybe allocate money for the mast arms in 2008-2009. Mr.

Hayes said he was correct, that the estimate they prepared didn’t differentiate between the style of mast arms versus the regular box span wire.

Member Mutch said the total project cost that Mr. Hayes had provided Council for the center section was $493,000. Mr. Hayes said that was their initial scoping estimate. Member Mutch asked why it was so high. Mr. Hayes said because right-of-way acquisition might be needed but they wouldn’t know that until they could survey to determine whether or not they could improve the east leg of the intersection to add a dedicated center left turn lane. Member Mutch asked if this was the Fed Ex property again. Mr. Hayes said it would have to come from the Fed Ex property based on the lay of the land. Member Mutch thought they had discussions that Mr. Jonna’ s group had not had the best of luck in getting them to assist. Member Mutch said although they were engineering, if they got into budget next year and something came up, Council was not committing to this. Mr. Pearson thought it was a good plan to get a better idea about whether it was $493,000, which was very conservative, or if it was something much less than that so it would give them a running start. He thought it would be ideal to do it in 2007 through 2008-2009, but they would have to see when they crossed it. Member Mutch agreed with Mayor Pro Tem Capello and would like to see the numbers for the mast arm. He thought with a mast arm intersection at Twelve Mile and Meadowbrook Roads, it made sense to bring it down, and eventually at Grand River and Meadowbrook Road they would put something in similar. He thought it would be a good look.

Member Mutch said a construction schedule was shown for both segments beginning in September and done by the end of November, and asked if that was correct. Mr. Hayes said it was.

Member Mutch asked if there would be a public meeting for residents in that area so they were aware of what was going on. Mr. Hayes said they had an aggressive notice program where they would send residents affected by the construction a series of notices as they got closer and closer to actual mobilization of the contractor, but no formal public meeting was anticipated.

Member Mutch said in light of the lateness of the hour and the fact that there were a number of items for Executive Session, with Council’s approval he would ask to defer these items to the next meeting. Council agreed.

Council entered into Executive Session at 10:05 P.M.

Council reconvened at 11:04 P.M.

Mayor Landry said he wanted to state, for the record, that with respect to the retiree health care, it was necessary that something different be done for the City Manager than was done for other employees because our standard procedure was that the contribution to retiree health care would not vest until 20 years of service. He said virtually no City Manager stayed anywhere for 20 years. So, basically under the current system, the Novi City Manager would get no such benefit because no one stayed for 20 years.

There being no further business to come before Council, the meeting was adjourned at 11:06 P.M.

_________________________________ ______________________________

David Landry, Mayor                                        Maryanne Cornelius, City Clerk

_________________________________ Date approved: September 10, 2007

Transcribed by Charlene Mc Lean