NORTHVILLE CITY COUNCIL CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 215 WEST MAIN STREET 248-349-1300 January 12, 2015 - 7:00 PM SPECIAL MEETING 1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL 2. CITIZEN COMMENTS - Limited to 5 minutes per citizen/subject. If more time is needed, the item may be placed on the agenda. AGENDA: Approval of Agenda Action: Motion to Approve - Motion to Approve as Amended 3. FY 2015-2016 Goals, Objectives and Priorities 4. Mayor and Council Communications 5. ADJOURNMENT Respectfully submitted, Patrick Sullivan Patrick Sullivan City Manager ~ City of Northville ~ TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Patrick Sullivan, City Manager DATE: January 12, 2015 RE: Status of FY 2014-15 Goals, Objectives and Priorities At Council’s regular meeting on February 3, 2014 the Northville City Council established its goals, objectives and priorities for FY 2014-15. Each priority, goal or objective and its current status is summarized as follows: High Priority Projects: 1) Long-Term Financial Stability The City continued the implementation of significant measures in 2014 to stabilize its budget. Reduction of expenditures, stabilization of revenues and improved residential property values show some continued hope for our financial future. Following retirements in previous fiscal years, the City’s full time workforce has been reduced to 41 full-time employees, down from 58 in 2006, a reduction of 29%. The Fire Department partnership with the City of Plymouth continues to save the City in excess of $100,000 per year. Health Insurance Cost Containment, for both active employees and retirees, continues to be a key component of our fiscal stability. In 2014, the City implemented a new insurance plan for all active employees. The new, high deductible health plan, with a Health Savings Plan (HSP) will help control costs and create a new account which employees can use, or carry over, from year to year. This plan design will result in more flexibility and make us better health care consumers. Employee contributions toward health care costs will increase to 20% by 2016. This change will bring us into compliance with the State of Michigan Economic Vitality Incentive (EVIP) Program and assure continued full funding through the State revenue sharing program. OPEB The City also made significant gains in the area of retiree healthcare funding. We moved our Medicare eligible retirees to a new carrier with a better plan design. Annual savings for this one group of employees is in the range of $300,000 per year. By changing the plan and thoroughly scrutinizing the assumptions in our actuarial report, we were able to reduce our post employment health insurance (OPEB) liability from $32.6 million to $23.3 million, a reduction of 28% last year. This year, by implementing a new, high deductible, plan design, the OPEB liability was further reduced to $19.3 million, a reduction of $13.3 million or 41% of the previous liability over the last two years. From our budget savings, we were able to contribute an additional $436,423 to the OPEB fund. This was over and above our annual required contribution. Pension The City was able to contribute an additional $282,309 above our annual required contribution for the defined benefit pension plan. The additional contribution enabled the funded ratio to remain at 58%, unchanged from the previous year. Over the last decade or so, the funded ratio has been dropping 2-3% per year. So, keeping this rate the same was a positive step. On the revenue side, we saw a 2.3% increase this year. Through the continued hard work and creativity of our Department Heads we were able to finish the 2014 fiscal year with a $2.58 million General Fund Balance. We transferred funds to the Public Improvement Fund for future building improvements. We were again recognized with the GFOA Distinguished Budget Award. Medium Priority Projects: 1) Water and Sewer System Improvements Water loss was less than 15% last year. A leak detection survey is conducted each year to identify any possible leaks in the system. Any leaks found are repaired. The increase in water loss over the previous year can be attributed to an increase in water main breaks last winter. However, 15% is still considered low for a water system the age of Northville’s. As the City plans its street improvement program for the 20 years, water main replacement will become a significant part of the city’s infrastructure enhancements. Under Abatement Order No. 2096 with The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality the City of Northville is required to clean 20 percent of the City’s sanitary sewer system each year. However, to minimize the possibility of sanitary sewer backups in the City, the DPW cleaned 50 percent of City’s sanitary sewers. Fifty percent of the City’s storm water inlets were also inspected this past year. A sanitary sewer repair project is being proposed for a portion of Allen Drive in 2015, where overflow pipe will be enlarged and replaced, along with spot repairs to the Allen Drive sewer line. In 2015 the City, partnering with Wayne County and several other neighboring communities, will begin the design of a Long Term Corrective Action Plan (LTCAP) for sanitary sewer excess flow. This is required under a Final Order of Abatement 2096 with MDEQ. The planning and design work undertaken in FY 2015 is expected to lead to construction in FY2017/2018. 2) Implementation of Downtown Strategic Plan/Preservation of Downtown Funding Progress continued over the past year in implementing the objectives which were outlined in the 2006 Downtown Strategic Plan. The Plan was prepared by Beckett & Raeder (BRI), and adopted by the City Council in June 2006. Major construction projects completed to date include: • development of the new Town Square; • construction of the $2 million streetscape enhancement project; • redevelopment of a vacant building into the Comerica Community Connection; • creation of a pedestrian plaza to the north of the Comerica Community Connection, linking Main Street with the Marquis Parking Lot; • installation of a sound system for Town Square; and • expansion of the WiFi system to cover the public areas throughout downtown. The DDA is currently completing the design phase of a comprehensive Wayfinding project for Northville. The local directional signs and parking lot signs will be competitively bid in the next few weeks, followed later this spring with the bidding of entranceway signage, regulatory signage and specific building signage. In addition, the design work on the Comerica Community Connection has been completed and will be fabricated and installed in the spring of 2015. The City worked closely with our representatives in Lansing, the Michigan Municipal League and the Michigan Downtown Association to weigh in on changes to DDA legislation which could have potentially reduced and restricted future tax increment financing revenue. Through a coordinated effort, the proposed legislation died in committee. We will continue to monitor legislative developments and work with our legislators. The DDA is currently in the process of amending and restating Downtown Development and Tax Increment Financing Plan for the City of Northville. Following the establishment of the DDA in 1978, the Plan has had numerous changes. The benefits of amending and restating the plan included: • organize and consolidate the original Plan and the six subsequent amendments to the Plan into one clear and concise document; • extend the plan until the year 2040; • include a list of future DDA projects and provide estimates and prioritization to these projects; • adjust the Development Area boundaries so that they would be the same as the Downtown District boundaries. The DDA will continue to work to encourage high quality, compatible private (re)development with an emphasis on developing additional residential units in and adjacent to the Downtown. 3) Street, Sidewalk and Bike Path Improvements In 2014, N. Center Street between 8 Mile and S. Ely Street was resurfaced. In addition N. Wing Street and Silchester and Summerside Courts Street were resurfaced as part of the City’s Local Street improvement program. Wayne County improved 7-Mile Road between Northville Road and the West City Limit and added cross walks for the Sheldon Road bike path. Oakland County improved 8-Mile Road from Beck Road to Taft Road. As part of this project, the City’s sidewalk system was extended to Beck Road on the north side of 8-Mile Road, and a bike path was extended on the south side of the road to Beck Road for Northville Township. City Staff is preparing a long term street improvement program for Northville funding options for presentation to City Council. In 2014 City staff presented a non-motorized pedestrian plan through the City. Carlisle Wortman and Associates worked with Staff to come up with the plan. This was done with input from Northville Township, Wayne County Parks, and Northville Schools, and is expected to be used when improving City streets in the years ahead. Lower Priority Projects: Retention of the Presence of the Retail Operation of the Northville Post Office within the Central Business District The Post Office Building is under lease through 2016. Future land use of the City owned property, south of the Post Office, has been addressed in the Community Master Plan update. Development / Redevelopment Issues Major planning initiatives were substantially completed in 2014 including an update to the Community Master Plan The Plan which emphasizes new areas for mixed-use and residential development was adopted by the City Council in December. Work is nearly complete on the Cady Street Overlay Ordinance which will permit mixed use and residential land uses along the Cady Street Corridor. Major development projects completed last year include a new commercial/office building at 7 Mile and S. Main. A new residential building has been proposed for the northeast corner of Cady and Griswold. Seventeen new houses were constructed in 2014. The City is undertaking a feasibility study with the Northville Public School District to determine the feasibility of collocating an administrative building in the Old Village School Building. The study will look at the cost of renovation of the OVS building, and also the cost of each organization staying in their present location given the required maintenance and renovation required over the next 20 years. Cemetery Build-Out The City will continue working to develop the remaining portion of Rural Hill Cemetery in a timely fashion within available resources. Projects on Hold: Mill Pond The Mill Pond Dam repair project was successfully completed in 2014, although no significant or material progress was made toward addressing the actual Mill. However, City Staff will continue to monitor funding opportunities. Some funds have been allocated in the Public Improvement Fund for future grant matches should an opportunity present itself. I wish to acknowledge the hard work of Council, the Department Heads and Staff, in the accomplishment of much work in 2014 and look forward to continued progress in 2015.