City Council - Regular Meeting

torium for data centers to article 5 schedule of regulations to establish a temporary moratorum suspending the city's processing and acceptance of applications and plans for development and improvement of data centers to chapter 138 zoning of the code of ordinances of the city of Rochester Hills, Oakland County, Michigan to prescribe a penalty for violations and to repeal inconsistent or conflicting ordinances. Miss Roiger,

good evening, President Carlock, Vice President Monulie, Council, Mayor Barnett. Um, yes, thank you. Uh, this evening we're here, we started a discussion at our joint meeting we had with the planning commission just a couple weeks ago um about some of the zoning priorities we have. Um little did we know that this these housing bills were going to kind of jump to the top of our priority list, but not far behind, we do have um the topic of data centers to tackle. Um and so we did propose establishing a 180day, six-month moratorum to allow staff time to evaluate, you know, what the um best practices are in other communities. Um and we actually have a meeting set up with a company um that deals with data centers, talk about noise and their impact. So really want to do our due diligence on our side to come up with language that works for Rochester Hills. So I'm happy to answer any questions, but this just gives us time to safely uh develop regulations that work for us.

Thank you very much, Miss Roiger. We do have some questions. Vice President Mjuli, thank you, President Carlock. So thank you very much, Miss Roiger, for bringing this to us so quickly. We did have that conversation what about not even a month ago. Um, so to have this come in and to put the moratorium, it's not saying this is going to stop data centers. It doesn't mean we're going to allow data centers. It means we're going to investigate data centers and understand what is the best use if they come to Rochester Hills going forward. So, thank you very much for bringing this forward to us. And with that, I move the resolution in our packet.

Thank you, Vice President Monul. Have a second by Mr. Blair. Uh, seeing no further council comments on the item, I'll read the resolution resolved that the city of the the Rochester Hill City Council hereby accepts for first reading an ordinance to amend section 138-13.101 101 to add a definition of data centers to article 13 definitions to chapter 138 zoning and to add chapter 3 temporary moratorum section 138-5-301 temporary moratorium for data centers to article 5 schedule of regulations to establish a temporary moratorium suspending the city's processing and acceptance of applications and plans for development and improvement of data centers to chapter 138 zone owning of the code of ordinances of the city of Rochester Hills, Oakland County, Michigan, to prescribe a penalty for violations and to repeal inconsistent or conflicting ordinances. All those in favor?

I. Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you. Next up, planning and economic development item 2026-000040, request for acceptance of the 2025 planning and economic development department annual report. Mrs. Roodiger,

good evening once again. Um, going again back to our joint meeting, we spent a good deal of time talking about the annual report that the planning and economic development department completes every year. um we can spend quite a bit of time going through that, but I think I'll spare you all that since we did it um before, but just for those who haven't seen it in the past, it is an interactive um website that our planning manager Chris McCloud developed. Very interactive, very uh graphically oriented. We did create a PDF uh kind of cliffnotee summary version of it that I passed out just at the beginning of the evening. Um but this really our our our department has consistently gone above and beyond what's required by us through state law to document kind of the development activities um of the community. So um we're just want to present it to you and um happy to answer any questions that you may have, but just know that this is always up on our website. Um I said there's a bunch of interactivity built in. So feel free to direct residents or people have questions about what goes on here. It should all be up there and true transparency.

Perfect. Thank you very much, Miss Roger. It it's excellent. And I this is a step beyond what we've had in the past. It is it is really user friendly. Um Mrs. Newower. Thank you, President Carlock. I just wanted to say that you and Mr. Mloud and the entire department are just out of this world, always going above and beyond hopefully submitting this for awards um pretty soon, which I'm sure you will be the recipient of. And so with that, I'd like to move the motion to accept the annual report.

Uh motion by Mrs. Noair, seconded by Mrs. Manino. I don't see any other council comments. Uh so uh resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby accepts the 2025 annual report and associated executive summary for the Planning and Economic Development Department. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? That motion passes.

Thank you very much. Uh, next up, public comment for items not on the agenda. U, public comment is limited to three minutes. Um, we do have a couple uh, gentlemen here, Mr. Dennis Roses. So, if you'll approach the podium here and you can speak and we'll we'll start the timer for you. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, council members. Thanks for inviting me to to be able to speak on a subject which is of importance, I think, not only for um the group in which I'm with, which is AERP of Michigan, but also for the city of Rochester Hills. This will be regarding crypto machines which are presently in some businesses in the area. There are there's one machine in Rochester Hills or two in the city of Rochester at present. The machines themselves are not an issue as far as the problem is concerned. It's the fact that there's no regulation which governs them by any means. Um basically any business in which wants to have one installed gets reimbursement for the space in which these places um come in. The machines themselves are not the problem. It's the fact that a lot of times they can be used to commit crimes, especially cyber crimes. And a lot of times it's a great tool for somebody in my in our case as far as ARP is concerned where senior citizens are the target. And a lot of times well then when this would happen it would be cases where money is requested from a senior citizen to be transferred via these machines to um a certain account. And once that money gets there, well then it goes into a vast space in the world. Unlike other financial institutions,

there's no regulation on any of the levels of government, federal, state or local on this. And um these transactions again don't have any sort of um monitoring or safeguarding. Nothing like stocks or currency transactions which are regulated by a government entity. From a senior's perspective, most don't know what what these machines are, what the ramifications are. One of the big scams which comes about is one where maybe a voice of like a relative which somebody can just grab by getting three words out of a voice um sample and then being able to use that via AI in order to actually come up with a um w with a whole um presentation. Person gets it. They're under duress. They follow the directive of the scammer and then what happens is the money is unreoverable. This can be addressed on a local level by coming up with a legal document which we have samples of which a couple of the cities in Michigan have already implemented. Also, Mr. Mayor, I'd like to thank Erin for her assistance as far as providing me with some information as far as what's going on locally. and it appears to be something in which I heard a presentation at the OPC just recently where it is a concern of Rochester Hills. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Roses. Uh, next up we have Mr. Marti. Good evening, Mayor Barnett and council members. I just want to piggyback on some of the comments that Dennis just

made. And my name is Joe Martusi. I'm a volunteer like Dennis is with AAP and also a resident of Rochester Hills. Um here tonight to talk about a problem that's growing fast in the state and one that's putting people especially older adults at serious risk. Today there are more than 30,000 crypto kiosks or crypto ATMs across the country. You can find them at gas stations, convenience stores, supermarkets, other locations where you'd expect to find a traditional ATM. Unfortunately, cryptocurrency kiosk fraud is also skyrocketing. According to the FBI, and this is just in 2024 alone, Michiganders lost more than $125 million through crypto fraud. That's a lot of money, $125 million. While this, you know, this issue impacts people of all ages, 85% of losses throughout the country were experienced by adults who are aged 60 or older. Uh, here's how the scam works. A criminal convinces someone that they need to act immediately. There's always an urgency about it. Maybe they have to pay an unpaid tax, settle a bill, resolve some legal issue, maybe involving a family member. The victim's told to withdraw cash from their own bank and deposited into one of these crypto kios kiosks. Then the money is converted into cryptocurrency and the victim receives a code. The scammer convinces the person to give them the code which enables the scammer to immediately transfer the money to another account. In mere seconds, basically the money is gone. It disappears so quickly. It often can't be traced. And even when it can be, the victims rarely get it back. Here's just one example. A retired teacher in Traverse City who unfortunately deposited more than $48,000

of her retirement savings into a crypto kiosk after being contacted by someone who falsely claimed to be from the PayPal fraud department. And her money was never recovered. So that's $48,000 in retirement savings gone, vanished. Uh crypto kiosk fraud is a fast growing fraud industry and the impact impacts are profound especially when the victims are older adults at a time in their lives when they're least able to recover financially. While the scope of this problem is broad, specific and meaning meaningful policy can help fraud victims avoid complete financial devastation. I think the key word there is avoid with the ordinances that we're uh proposing. Communities across the country and here in Michigan like Sterling Heights and also Gross Point Farms have already taken action to protect their residents. Uh we at AARP are so grateful to be working with the mayor and the administration on this issue and we wanted to share this important information with the council. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mr. Martusi. Um and I I recommend you do continue to work with the mayor and and you know have these discussions. fraud is uh a huge problem and you know we are committed to um ensuring that you know we can do what we can. Next up legislative and administrative comments I have nobody Mr. Hey,

Mike.

Oh, sorry about that. Um, we'll start with those two comments. Thank you both for being here. Um, and I tried to text Mr. Tisle to wait so that uh Cassie from ARP could chat with him because certainly this is probably something that's going to require uh statewide response at some point. Uh, Captain Workman is also here uh tonight and uh uh we know that we have there's two things that we know that put us on the map with bad actors in the cyber world. One, we have a an older and aging community. And two, uh on on paper, we have a community of of resources of of of uh of wealth. And so uh we end up unfortunately at the wrong end of a lot of scams. Sometimes it's people coming doortodoor, sometimes it's cyber activity. Uh so we spend a lot of time trying to educate usually through the OPC as best we can about these things. Uh the the concept that the gentlemen have mentioned about these uh particular crypto machines uh is a newer one. Uh we've seen Sterling Heights uh take some initial action with some resolutions. We're looking at those. We've presented those to uh law enforcement to see. We don't think we have as many of those machines at the moment. Doesn't mean they couldn't pop up quickly, but the long and short of it is um it's it's complicated. It's not something that uh is something we can completely regulate. We certainly can educate and advocate. Um and we're doing that with partners like the AAP and uh and the Oakland County Sheriff's Department. So, just wanted to mention that. Don't have a a solution as of yet, but I'm also communicating with uh uh our friends in Sterling Heights, Mayor Taylor and Mr. Vanderpool and others who have kind of led on this locally um to find out what the what some of the issues are and how effective they're being. So, thank you both for uh for being here. Appreciate it. uh if you could throw up uh my uh screen real quickly. I'll try and move quickly because I know um we uh are a little bit delayed tonight. Uh just a couple things that I would point out uh that I think are hopefully of interest, especially near the end of this report. I always try to talk about the the podcast. Um we had the the most recent

podcast came out last week. Uh it was with the love doctor. She's trademarked that, by the way, so don't try to use that yourself, even though some of you probably have. Um I won't make eye contact. Uh but it was a great she's a professor at Oakland University. Uh, and we talked about all sorts of things love related in this month of love. Really interesting. I know all of the counsel are experts, but if you aren't and want to get some great tips, uh, it was a great list. We certainly appreciate hearing from the love doctor on all things relationships. Speaking of relationships, uh, last week we uh, signed the contract with one of our union groups, 1917. We are grateful for their leadership and another three-year contract. Thank Brooke and her team and, uh, Jeff uh, Fox and, uh, and his leadership. We appreciate the the great work that 1917 does. uh and the partnership with the city and we've uh locked him in for another three years and appreciate that. Uh want to thank uh council member Newower for attending uh one of our ribbon cutings recently. This was at Cascara um a coffee shop that uh obviously in partnership Oh, Mr. Scousey's there as well. Um I just noticed that. Um yeah, kind of there be behind Ron. Um but obviously appreciate our new businesses be um later on this week we have the uh community outlook breakfast uh sponsored by the chamber. Uh we had two new businesses a week move into the city of Rochester Hills in 2025. Um sometimes people don't realize that they only see maybe the the the businesses the big ones, but uh uh the chamber works really hard, does a great job. We try to always recognize them. We appreciate them choosing Rochester Hills to as a place to do business and appreciate the council members uh who go and show their support. Uh grateful for this group. This is a re meeting last week of the Rochester Hills leadership group. Um this is a program that Nathan runs um that takes uh self- selected folks in our different uh different or parts of silos of the organization and puts them together in a uh one uh day a month uh program where they learn from different people both in healthcare and uh law enforcement uh different departments in the city but really get a good these are kind of like the next

generation of leaders that are kind of coming up. And so, uh, it's we're one of the only organizations that does several levels of this kind of training, but great folks that kind of go above and beyond in the their normal job responsibilities to find out um how they can learn more about our community. And I always like to recognize them because uh they're really doing some great things. as if he hasn't gotten enough uh uh screen time yet uh today. Uh did want to recognize Representative Tisle and Senator Weber and of course our incredible youth council uh who got a really great chance as you can see here on the floor of the uh floor of the house. Um this was last week. Um and so appreciate them getting a chance to showcase uh the uh the best hopefully the best sometimes not the best but the best of local of of statewide government. We have two of the best there. Uh and appreciate the youth council for making the trip up there. Always like to point out uh important things that are happening. Um one last week kind of the end of an era. This is the first time in 52 years that there won't be a pleasant coaching at Rochester College or Rochester Christian University or Rochester University or Michigan Christian College, any of the variations over the last 50 years. Uh Clint Pleasant took a job as president of another university in the state of Michigan. He coached his last game at home uh and we had a nice celebration for him last week. Uh he and his family quite the legacy here uh and we wish him well uh in his next endeavors. Uh as we are in sort of hopefully uh the latter stages of uh the cold winter, um there are a few things that I draw your attention to. Most of these things sell out pretty quick. Um our community, if they're tuned into these, these are really popular. Um this is one that uh we're doing here at the Bloomer Park making maple syrup Saturday, March the 7th. uh this will sell out. So I would suggest you get involved in early uh if you're interested um we would love to have you involved in that. These are always really popular. And then uh in March we have the cabin fever lection lecture series in um uh February. We've

had a Friday night at the movies every night at the museum and we get like 75 to 100 people every Friday night. It's really pretty cool. U people are kind of making it date night and enjoying uh uh the time and so um we'll have have the lecture series in March. More information on the city's website. But again, if you're just looking for something to do, get off those smartphones. Looking at you, Teresa, Councilwoman Mile, and uh and get to the cabin fever lecture series uh and learn a little bit more about our history and our past. So, really cool stuff going on. Uh thank you for the time. Thank you very much, Mayor Barnett. Uh next up, attorney's report. Miss Christ, I have nothing this evening.

Thank you. New business item 2026-000077 request for purchase authorization facilities blanket purchase order for natural gas in the amount not to exceed $672,430 for a three-year contract or consumer energy lancing Michigan Mr. Visenko.

Good evening President Carlock, Vice President Mongoli, City Council, and Mayor Bernett. Um, tonight we're looking to seek your approval to enter into a three-year contract uh to um um purchase our natural gas for all the city buildings. Um and I'm here to answer if you have answer any questions you may have. Thank you very much. Uh oh, we do have some comments. Uh Mr. Blair, you know, you came a few weeks ago and you wanted to buy the electricity for all the city buildings and you expected this to just fly right through, right? Well, that was the hopes. Yeah. Yeah. Not so fast. I move that uh move that motion.

Motion by Mr. Blair, seconded by uh Mrs. Newower. Let's heat the places. Thank you, Mark. Right. Uh resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes a blanket purchase order to Consumers Energy Lancing, Michigan for Natural Gas in the amount not to exceed 672,430 for a three-year contract term and further authorizes the procurement manager to execute a contract on behalf of the city. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you.

Thank you. Also, you look good without any crutches. Uh, item 2026-000069, request for acceptance of the mutual aid agreement between the city of Rochester Hills and the Southeastern Oakland County Public Works Association, SOC PWA. Miss Balant,

good evening. City Council President Carlock, Vice President Mulli, City Council, and Mayor Barnett. The Department of Public Services is proposing a 5-year mutual aid agreement with the Southeastern Oakland County Public Works Association to facilitate the sharing of personnel and equipment during emergencies. This agreement ensures that Rochester Hills can efficiently exchange resources with neighboring communities while maintaining direct control over its own staff and assets. As a long-standing me member of SAWA, this five-year term continues our commitment to a proactive regional approach to public safety. So, at this time, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. Thank you, Miss Bot. I refuse to say that.

I I know it's a um I don't see any council comments. I have a motion by Miss Newau, seconded by Vice President Mioli. uh resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby accepts the mutual aid agreement between the city of Rochester Hills and the Southeastern Oakland County Public Works Association, SOCPWA, and authorizes the mayor to execute the agreement on behalf of the city. All those in favor?

I. Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you. Next up, item 2026-000071, request for purchase authorization DPS engineering blanket purchase order for as needed construction survey and inspection services in the amount not to exceed $477,500 through October 31st, 2028. Hubble and Hubble Roth and Clark HRC Inc. Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Anderson Xine and Wester AEW Shelby Township, Michigan. Miss Balent.

Thank you. This request is for the authorization of a blanket purchase order with HRC and AEW to provide as needed construction survey and inspection services through October uh 2028. This contract is primarily intended to manage private development projects with costs largely offset by developer escrow funds. By securing these on call professional services, the city ensures it has immediate capacity and technical expertise to supplement internal staff for both private and public construction projects that require part-time assistance. So, if you have any questions, please let me know.

Seeing no questions, I have a motion by Mr. Blair, seconded by Miss Newbower. Uh read the resolution resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes a blanket purchase order for as needed construction survey and inspection services to Hubble Roth and Clark Inc. Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Anderson Xine and Wester Shelby Township, Michigan in the amount not to exceed $477,500 through October 31st, 2028. All those in favor? Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you.

Next up, item 2026-000072, request for purchase authorization DPS engineering blanket purchase order contract for as needed professional engineering plan review services in the amount not to exceed $180,000 through October 31st, 2028. Hubble Roth and Clark HRC, Inc., Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Miss Valent,

this request is for the authorization of a blanket purchase order with Hubble Roth and Clark HRC to provide engineering plan reviews. This contract allows a city to use HRC for technical reviews of complex private development projects like retaining wall design and water system modeling. It provides us with specialized expertise on an asneeded basis with many of the fees being reimbursed by the developers through the escrow accounts like the previous. Um this is mostly related to private development plan reviews. So if you have any questions, please let me know.

Seeing no council comments or questions, I have a motion by Miss Newower, seconded by Vice President Mongioli. I'll read the resolution. resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes a blanket purchase order for as needed professional engineering services to Hubble Roth and Clark, Inc., Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in the amount not to exceed $180,000 through October 31st, 2028. All those in favor. Any opposed? That motion passes.

Thank you. Next up, item 2026-000073, request for purchase authorization DPS engineering blanket purchase order contract for as needed traffic engineering services in the amount not to exceed $187,500 through October 31st, 2028. Hubble Roth and Clark HRC, Inc., Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and OM Advisors, Auburn Hills, Michigan. Miss Balent,

thank you. This request is for authorization of blanket purchase order for on call traffic engineering services with HRC and OM advisors through October 2028. These experts will supplement city staff to investigate neighborhood traffic concerns and complete specialized traffic studies in a timely manner. So this the difference in this one is this is mostly related uh more to work that the city performs and it supplements our staff. So please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you very much, Miss Balant. I don't see any discussion on this topic. I have a motion by Miss Newower, seconded by Mr. Skelece. I'll read the uh resolution. Resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes a blanket purchase order for as needed traffic engineering services to Hubble, Roth, and Clark, Inc., Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and OM Adviserss Auburn Hills, Michigan in the amount not to exceed $187,500 through October 31st, 2028. All those in favor?

I. Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you. Next up, 2026-0074 request for purchase authorization DPS engineering blanket purchase order contract for preliminary engineering services for SIMCOG Safe Streets Now grant for the John R. Hawk signal installation in the amount not to exceed $92,700. Hubble Roth and Clark HRC Inc. Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Miss Mland,

this request is to authorize a contract with HRC for preliminary design of three new highintensity activated crosswalk. That's a hawk signal pedestrian signals on DNA. So, this is directly related to the check that we received earlier this evening and this is the design of the installation of the three hawk signals. This project is uh largely funded by federal safe streets now grant previously presented by Simcog and aims to improve safety for residents crossing Bordon Park at Holy Family School and Thelma Spencer Park. While the design phase will begin this year, construction is scheduled for 2027 to align with the grants timeline. Please let me know if you have any questions. Got some questions for you this time.

No way. Mr. Lindberg. No questions. But first off, thank you very much. Uh, President Carlac. Actually, no questions. Um, just want to comment. Uh, this is within the district that I represent, district 4, and I travel along John R multiple times every single day. And, uh, I love the idea of these crosswalks being put in at key locations where people will want to cross to reach the parks and and whatnot. So, fantastic. Thank you very much. And that being said, um, I motion to approve.

Thank you. Got a motion by Mr. Lindberg, seconded by Mr. Blair. Seeing no further comments or questions, I'll read the resolution. Uh resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes a blanket purchase order contract for preliminary engineering services for SIMCOG's Safe Streets Now grant for the John Rhawk signals installation to Hubble Roth and Clark, Inc., Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in the amount not to exceed $92,700 and further authorizes the procurement manager to execute an agreement on behalf of the city. Further resolved that the city's acceptance of the proposal and approval of the award of a contract shall be contingent and conditioned upon the party's entry into an execution of a written agreement acceptable to the city. All those in favor? I. Any opposed?

That motion passes. Thank you very much. Um, next up, item 2026-0080, request for purchase authorization, accounting, blanket purchase order for the printing and distribution services for the city's water and sewer utility bills in the amount not to exceed $17,000 for a one-year term, Docum, Inc., Troy, Michigan. Mr. Snder.

All right. Well, thank you, President Carlock. Vice President Mongioli. Good evening, city council. Mayor Barnett. Uh, presented before you tonight's a request for the city to enter in a contract for printing and distribution of city water and sewer bills to Docum Incorporated. This will be for a one-year contract not to exceed $17,000. The city has worked with Docum for the past 12 years, and we are satisfied with the level of services that they provide. and it is requested for city council to approve the first of three potential one-year contract extensions with DOCUM. As for this year, Docum has agreed to hold their contract pricing uh still still for this upcoming year. And with that, I'm available to answer any questions you may have on water and sewer bill distribution and printing services. All righty. Seeing no comments, I have a motion by Vice President Muli, seconded by Mr. Blair. I'll read the resolution. uh resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes a blanket purchase order for the printing and distribution services for the city's water and sewer utility bills to Doxom, Inc. uh Troy, Michigan in the amount not to exceed $17,000 for a one-year term and further authorizes the procurement manager to execute the agreement on behalf of the city. All those in favor? I.

Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you. Next up, 2026-0038 request for request for purchase authorization citywide blanket purchase order for citywide screen printing, embroidery, clothing, apparel in the amount of $14,580 for a three-year contract term impressive promotional products cloth, Michigan. Mr. Snider.

Okay. Uh presented before you tonight, this is a request for the city to enter into a contract for citywide screen printing, embroidery, and clothing apparel to impressive promotional products incorporated for a three-year contract not to exceed the $104,580 total. This blanket is intented intended to cover employee work uniforms including t-shirts and sweatshirts per our union contracts for city staff which conduct their operations out in the public primarily for the parks and natural resources cemetery DPS staff and fire staff so they can be easily identified as city employees. Uh this is especially important for those staff members where wearing a city issued lanyard with a photo badge may hinder or may even pose a hazard to the employee. Uh you can imagine throwing things into a chipper with a lanyard. It's not a good idea. Uh t-shirts are also provided for certain city sponsored events such as Oak in the Hills, Festival of the Hills, the Rise Cup, and Youth Council uh cultural event. And in total, this blanket purchase order is anticipated to cover around 900 city t-shirts and sweatshirts each year. So with that, I'm available to answer any questions that you may have on the uh three-year citywide screen printing and clothing blanket.

Thank you, Mr. Snder. We do have uh some comments. Vice President Luli. Thank you, President Carl. I wanted to thank you, Mr. Snyder, for answering my questions on this. I want to let council know this is probably the longest I've gone without a comment on a motion that we've been making for this evening. So, thank you uh again for answering the questions, making sure I understood that this was contractual obligations that we have for most of these purchases and that for three years, that's still only $30,000 a year over the amount of product that we have to get. So, thank you very much. With that, I move the resolution in our packet.

Thank you, Vice President Mioli. I have a motion by Vice President Mji, seconded by Mrs. Newbower. I don't see any further council comments or questions on this. So, I'll read the resolution. uh resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes a blanket purchase order for citywide screen printing, embroidery, clothing, apparel in the amount of $14,580 to impressive promotional products in Michigan for a three-year contract term and further author authorizes the procurement manager to execute a contract on behalf of the city. further resolved that the city's acceptance of the proposal and approval of the award of a contract shall be contingent and conditioned upon the party's entry into an execution of a written agreement acceptable to the city. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? That motion passes.

Thank you. Thank you. Next up, item 2026-000062, request for adoption of the strategic allocation for variance in economic resilience saver reserve policy. Mr. Snyder.

Okay. Well, thank you and good evening again. Uh presented before you tonight for city council consideration is a new city policy entitled the strategic allocation for variance and economic resilience which we'll now um name the saver reserve policy. So in the current economy, the cost of concrete, steel, labor can fluctuate wildly between the time we plan for and budget a project, which typically um happens in well for this year, the prior year, summer, and by the time we break ground, which will be this spring. Historically, these variances have forced us to scramble for budget amendments andor to delay other projects to cover the gap if additional funds are needed. the saver policy. Uh it changes that dynamic by implementing a financial shock absorber. First, I'll explain where the money's come from. This reserve is funding it funded exclusively by the city's prior year general fund operating surplus. Due to the fact that we budget both our revenues and expenditures conservatively each year, we annually recognize a favorable budget variance at year end where revenues are higher and expenditures are lower than originally anticipated. If you call back uh in the 2025 fourth quarter budget amendment in December, this the general fund had a $3 million favorable budget variance which was in turn transferred over to the capital improvement fund per our city's fund balance policy. We are proposing to use a portion of last year's favorable budget variance uh which is currently sitting within the capital improvement fund to establish a committed saver reserve within the capital improvement fund this fiscal year with a $2.5 million cap. This ensures we are using our past efficiencies to protect our current projects rather than asking for new dollars or deferring current or future projects. Second, we'll walk through exactly how this works. If a project were to come in

over budget, let's say a playground project suddenly faces a $50,000 price spike due to material inflation. The policy's process follows a strict triple gate uh process. First is validation by the finance department. First, the finance department will validate that the cost is a true market uh an abnormal or an anomaly and not a result of administrative errors, delays or scope creep. Then we will confirm that the saver reserve has the funds available. And finally and crucially, we apply a means test. So what this means is if a specific fund like the major road funds or the fleet fund which are already well funded and have their own reserves they must use their own funding first. The saver reserve is strictly a payor or last resort for funds that truly need the financial help. The second step is this moves on to the executive review. The mayor will then review the request and if deemed necessary will authorize it to proceed to the city council level for final and ultimate approval. And third and finally, this comes to before the city council and this policy requires that city council approval is actually to appropriate and uncommit the committed saver reserve funds and this is consistent with our current operating processes. However, what is different is that you will see an authorization in the form of a budget amendment to move the money from the committed saver reserve within the capital improvement fund to the actual project. As part of each quarterly budget amendment, the fiscal division will prepare a status report regarding the level of funding currently committed in the saver reserve and you still remain retain the full legislative authority. This policy simply ensures that funds are identified and available when and if that decision needs to be made.

When the next fiscal year starts in January of 2027, the annual general fund transfer for fiscal year 26 will first replenish the saver reserve back to its $2.5 million cap and then any remaining surplus above that cap will flow to the general capital improvement fund balance for future projects just as it does today. So in summary, first we will fill the safety bucket first, then the growth bucket. We call this the the waterfall effect. To ensure the reserve maintains its purchasing power against inflation, the policy calls for a trienal review. And so the city council and administration shall review the target cap every 3 years. This approach further modernizes modernizes our financial toolkit. It aligns seamlessly with our existing fund balance policy and it further enhances the city of Rochester's financially with best um best practices used by high performing municipalities across the country. I do have one request for President Carlock on the resolution language in the second therefore it shall be resolved section of the resolution. If uh if the council moves to approve this, if you could pre please read in the word committed instead of the word assigned. Uh I I ran this policy by our auditor and that was their only recommended suggestion. Unfortunately, I had already provided the resolution language to clerks and and by the time I heard back from our auditors, but I did get a comment back from our auditors and uh quote unquote uh we think this is a great tool from a management perspective to replenish the fund and to ensure projects proceed on time even with volatility and pricing and cost overruns becoming the norm in today's economy. So, with that, I will turn it over to Mayor Barnett for any further comments uh before bringing the item back to city council for further questions or discussion.

No comments now. Let the council speak and if there's anything to clarify, I'll comment then. Thank you, Joe. Thank you for your leadership on this. Sure. Thank you very much, Mr. Snyder. We do have some council comments. Uh Vice President Muli,

thank you, President Carl. Um Mr. Snder, thank you very much for answering my questions. Um, it took me a while this weekend to process through all the different aspects of this new account or new process that you're setting up. Um, and so I wanted to ask President Carlock if we could have clerk Scott add the questions and answers to the minutes for this meeting. Thank you very much. Um, because it it I'm trying to understand why did we need this? Um, where would it be used? what are the impacts, the unintended impacts of having this policy? And and you gave me some very thorough answers. I'm still just not understanding why we need to have another account to waterfall down in case there's another one because the example you gave me of Spencer Park is not the one that I was thinking you were going to come up with.

Sure.

Um so I very challenged by this process. So instead of voting no on it, I am going to come up with a solution for this. And on your resolution, um I would offer a new number four. And my um number four would be the Saver Act will be evaluated with the 2026 fourth quarter budget amendment and determine if it met its objectives and come back to council for renewal. I know you have the three-year cycle in there, but I won't be here in three years, and I want to see that it's actually working. And if it's if I can't understand how this process would go, I'd like to see you come back with examples of how it actually would work in this coming fiscal year so that we can see that yes, indeed, it is needed or maybe next year we'll say you never used it, so we don't need it. Um, but that would be a decision for council at that point. So um so President Carlick I move the resolution with the addition of a now therefore be it resolved number four which reads the Saver Act will be evaluated with the 2026 fourth quarter budget amendment because that aligns with your process and determine if it met its objectives and come back to council for renewal.

Okay. So we have a a motion with the amendment to the now now therefore be it resolved and the update to number two from assigned to committed. Uh do we have a sec? We have a second by Mr. Blair. Um and Mr. Blair has some comments and questions. Thank you. Um and uh I do appreciate uh that suggestion. Um Vice President Mongoli. I think um some oversight or so some reports reporting rather would be would be helpful. Um, I like the idea of this fund because typically, you know, we try to

prevent overages with a contingency, right? And we'll see, you know, there's a what 10 15%, it could be tens of thousands, could be hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it's right there. Like, it's right here's the project amount. Here's the contingency. And you know what happens when um vendors and contractors, they see that contingency? Oh, I've got access to that money if I need it. But if we have an honest to god emergency and something is way beyond our control, there are many safeguards that you've outlined to make sure that access to those funds is prudent. And the fact that there's that armor, so to speak, I think is a brilliant way to do it. Um, so I'm proud to support this with Vice President Mongioli's um addition of that number four. Thank you, Joe. Appreciate it.

Absolutely.

Thank you, Mr. Blair. I don't see any further council comments or questions. So, I'll read the resolution. Whereas, the city of Rochester Hills recognizes that construction market volatility and supply chain inflation pose significant risks to the timely completion of approved capital projects. And whereas the administration desires to establish a dedicated financial mechanism to mitigate these risks and ensure the continuity of the city's capital improvement plan without compromising the city city's general fund operating reserves. And whereas the proposed saver reserve policy capitalizes a financial shock absorber using only prior year general fund operating surpluses ensuring no new tax dollars are required to fund this initiative. And whereas the policy establishes strict governance including a payor of last resort protocol and the requirement for city council appropriation prior to the expenditure of any funds. Now therefore be it resolved one, the strategic allocation for variance and economic resilience saver reserve policy attached hereto as exhibit A is hereby adopted. Two, the chief financial officer is authorized to establish the saver reserve as a

committed

committed fund balance classification within the capital improvement fund with an initial target cap of $2.5 million. Three, administration is authorized to implement the funding and usage procedures as defined within the policy subject to the continued legislative oversight of of the city council for for all future appropriations. And four, the Saver Act will be evaluated with the 2026 fourth quarter budget amendment and determine if it's met its objectives and come back to council for renewal. All those in favor?

I. Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you very much. We do have some further comments from Miss Manino. Yes. Thank you, President Carlock. And just just to clarify, Mr. Snider, if we didn't do this, the saver act, the money would be what the surplus sits in the general fund and to be allocated to different funds as required. I'm trying to understand if we didn't do this, what is the ramification?

Not a ton other than the monies would still sit in the capital improvement fund. Yes. But they would be co-mingled all together basically all earmarked for future projects. What this does is it puts someone in a lockbox monies are that we've saved from the prior year that will be able to or will be the first line of defense against an inflationary impact for current year projects. One of the nice parts about that is if a project comes in over budget this year, there has been thought, well, what are you going to cut in the future to come up with this overage for this project today? This way, we can say, well, the first place we're going to look is our savings from our prior fiscal year that we'll be using first to not jeopardize the future projects as much.

Okay. Yes. Thank you. I think it it's a complex discussion. Um, and you did a good job explaining to us and Miss Monolie and myself, I had some questions as well. But, uh, again, this is something that I think we definitely need to have and if we have an take the opportunity with the $3 million surplus that we had from 25, moving it in, capturing it in 26 is a good thing. So, thank you. And just to probably further elaborate on that, if if like let's say we use $100,000 of the 2.5 million and we get to the end of the year and there's 2.4 million still sitting in the reserve, the way it works is when the the waterfall happens at the beginning of the next year, we just top it up at 2.5 million. It it won't go above that. That's the cap. Then the rest can waterfall out to help to support future capital projects. So it's not just some number that's going to keep growing. It's basically in a lock box to from prior year savings to help current year projects stay on on track.

Okay. Very good. Thank you. Uh Mr. Mayor, that is complex. I appreciate council's support. I think the highle takeaways here are no new dollars. Council retains all the authority for expenditures. The independent auditors have said this is a smart move and a best practice. We're in a a great position. One of the few communities that can actually do this. and you have a team looking at Mr. Snyder that has led us in an area where we are the only debt-free community in Michigan. So this continues uh putting more structure uh in a very conservative portfolio to manage the residents money. So we appreciate the the tool in the toolbox and look forward to bringing you good results of how we've hopefully you never have to use it but

the intent isn't to tariffs are anywhere between zero and a thousand depending on the day. So, uh, you know, these are the kinds of things in this sort of market environment that you don't want to go, oh, you know, now the piece of road guard rail is 60% higher because of something we couldn't have never anticipated. Do we hold off on this project? Do we have to hold off contractors while we get to a council meeting to get, you know, so this is a really smart tool to be able to use that doesn't impact anything. Doesn't take an ounce of power away from council. Doesn't add a dollar to the budget of new dollars. This is a a pretty conservative way to manage money. So, thanks Mr. Snder. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Mr. Snyder.

Next up, item 2026-000081, proposed resolution to establish the city council policy and procedure technical review committee. Miss Newower.

Thank you, President Carlock. At the February 9th, 2026 regular council meeting, I requested that council establish a technical review committee to evaluate, review, and make recommendations for any amendments, additions, or deletions to the city council rules of procedure and council policies. To maintain a high standard of governance, it's governance. It's essential that council establishes a formal process to periodically conduct a review of these in important documents that govern this body. I've included a proposed resolution for council's consideration that defines the committee's purpose, membership, and reporting structure. And just for further clarity, um other commissions, even including planning commission regularly looks, I think almost once a year and reviews their policies to see what's appropriate, not appropriate, and what needs to be changed.

Thank you, Miss Newower. Uh I I think that this is a a good idea, something that you know doesn't take place as regularly as it should. So reviewing these documents to ensure that they're staying up to date with um current activities that are taking place. So um I have a motion by Miss Newower. Yeah. Yeah. By Miss Newbau, seconded by Mr. Lindberg. Uh, I'll read the resolution. In accordance with article 7, section two of the Rochester Hills Council City Council rules of procedure, the Rochester Hills City Council hereby resolves to establish the council policy and procedure technical review committee as follows. One, purpose in charge. A to conduct a comprehensive biionial review of the city council rules of procedure and city council policies. B to identify and propose amendments, additions or deletions that align with current state law and best practices. C to enhance the transparency, efficiency, and overall effectiveness of council proceedings and governance. Two, membership. Three city council members are appointed to this committee. Jason Carlock, Terresa Mongioli, and Marvy Newower. B. One administrative member, Leanne Scott, city clerk. C. Appointments shall be for a period of two years. Three. Recommendations. The committee shall meet at least once every two years or as directed by council president by by council. B. All proposed revisions must be presented to the full city council for formal consideration and adoption. C. Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the Michigan Open Meetings Act.

All those in favor? I. Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you, Miss New Bowerer. Any other business? I have a a motion to adjourn by Miss Newower, seconded by Vice President Mongioli. All those in favor? I. All those opposed. That that does it. Next meeting will be uh regular meeting of the Rochester Hill City Council, March 9th, 2026, 7 p.m. right here in City Hall Auditorium. Thank you.