Saving Public Safety Dispatch, Mayor Sarah McClure, and the Story of the year 2013. Part IV.

Prologue: "Dispatch" in the context of the Department of Public Safety, is what happens when you dial 911 and who you talk to.

The importance of local Public Safety Dispatch may be obvious to reader who has benefited from such emergency help dispatched quickly. However to a municipal governments faced with the rising costs and enticed  by the panacea of shared services, the perspective is different. Cheaper is better when all you are taking about is answering a phone call and making another. Right ?

Past: In  May 2010, The City it seemed, was well on it's way to outsourcing Public Safety Dispatch.

 Mayor Kellet,  City Manager Jay Cravens, Public Safety in Director Matott and select commissioners were then negotiations with the then supervisor of  Bloomfield Township, David Payne.

Details of those meetings were being leaked to the press.    According to one City observer  the source of the leaks was rather obvious

The weekend prior to the 2010  May  City election the Public Safety Department distributed hand bills stating that the City had not been honest with the public and was very close to
outsourcing Public Safety Dispatch.

The city denied that and said the matter was simply exploratory. To that end  City Manager Jay Cravens  invited  the Township's David Payne to speak on the benefits of sharing Dispatch services at  the next  City Commission meeting. That meeting  was the first of a new administration  headed by a new Mayor, Michael McCready.

Eventually Public participation at a series of Public hearings saved Public Safety Dispatch in the City of Bloomfield Hills. At least until May of  2013. 

Time Bomb: Issues in the City of Bloomfield Hills resolved once, are not dead and buried. Instead they lie dormant  awaiting the possibility of an eventual  resurrection from those who for a variety of reasons,  seek a different City. That is why it pays to pay attention. The alternative may be a City you bought into decades ago may not the City of your future. 

City Matters: To help you enhance your powers of perception, on May 3rd, Downtown Birmingham Bloomfield Magazine published an article  titled "Who is minding our municipalities." The article was based on interviews  with  Our City Manager Jay Cravens, Birmingham City Manager Bob Bruner, and Bloomfield Township Supervisor Leo Savioe. The article  also references to a  35 page study,  Michigan Local Government Structure, Services and Practices which is available on line. Published in 2002 it is of interest to those fascinated  by  the minutia  of Municipal  governments in its many forms and functions.  We disagree with the City model Downtown Magazine selected for the City of Bloomfield Hills. We also disagree with the premise  that in our City the Mayor's main function is to chair meetings. Based on of many years  observation we believe our  Mayor determines the role to be played by the City Manager. Power is as power does in the City of Bloomfield Hills. That power is determined by three commission votes.  The Mayor by virtue of being elected Mayor  starts with those three votes.   In our  quirky city the City Manager in the has over the years played  a number of roles. As recently as 2004 the City Manager and City Clerk were one and the same which is not the text book definition. At other times our  City Manager is has been a City Commissioner. To get the text book definitions and compare our City's reality to the Civic models presented please read 

"City Managers, City Matters post which follows.

 Road to May 14th  

Timing is everything, or so they say. The three City managers got together for a photo for the Downtown Magazine article. Maybe they had  lunch together. Maybe that prompted a thought. The Township was looking to hire two dispatchers. The City of Bloomfield had three with one being mainly administrative. Suppose the Township and City combined both units to serve both communities. Suppose  the Township gave the City an special introductory rate. One the City  couldn't say no to. That would be a win win for all concerned wouldn't it ?. Cravens concurred. Besides part of his job as gate keeper was to take offers to City Commission.

There was just one problem which would arise later after the initial euphoria wore off. What Leo Savoie said was absolute.  He ruled and is perhaps the most important and influential person in the B communities. The Township he supervises has 40,000 residents. Twice the size of Birmingham. More ten times the size of  our city. The City of Troy is bigger with 70,000 and West Bloomfield Township has sixty thousand but in both the larger communities, at City Hall, in the heat of debate, chairs have been known to fly. Not so in Bloomfield Township.

Townships have three full time elected positions meaning they pay  enough to be a full time job. The position of Supervisor which is one of them combines the our office of mayor and City Manager. The other elected full time positions are that of City Clerk and City Treasurer. In addition there are 4 other positions roughly akin to our Commissioners and called Trustees.  That makes a seven person Township Board. In 2012 In Bloomfield Township  all seven positions came up for re-election and all  incumbents ran unopposed. In the Bloomfield Hills School Board Election of that year,  almost  every candidate sought Leo Savoie's endorsement and Leo provided it to almost all. When the Lieutenant Governor was in the area for a "develop new local business" initiative, Leo Savoie was at the table. After a grueling and expensive campaign newly elected state representative Michael McCready invited Leo Savoie to be his guest at the The Governor's State of the State address  in Lansing. Monthes later Savoie proposed a Township debt reduction plan involving close to 100 million dollars, Township  residents if desired, could have held a referendum to affirm or scuttle the plan. The residents with all due respect to the democratic process and their Supervisor, declined a referendum

The only organization that could approach the Supervisor in stature is the Township's United Home Owners Association who's countless home owner organizations and domiciles make it powerful. In the past the UHOA and  Supervisor Savoie have met to clarify points with former walking away satisfied.

In it's 82 year  history the City of Bloomfield Hills no person has approached the power of Leo Savoie.  Even if they had the innate ability win friends and influence people they found that the power of 3500 no matter how well healed, residents  is not the power of 40,000.

It isn't personal. It's votes. 

The Overture

At the very  moment  when  City Manager  Cravens was preparing to put Leo Savoie's proposal forward unbeknownst to anyone only one thing stood in way of the two communities settling on a single Dispatch Unit. That was City of Bloomfield Hills Mayor Sarah McClure.

If protocol was observed City Manager Cravens was the first to discover this. Having some knowledge of the of the participants and the events, we can not imagine,that City Manager Cravens would move without consulting the Mayor. Most likely, when informed our Mayor said what she would say  at the City commission meeting on May 14th.  That it was the wrong issue at the wrong time for the  City. In a week or so the City might very well be hiring a new Police Chief who should be part of the decision. Mr. Cravens might have said  that he felt strongly that issue should be brought before the commission soon as possible. He would  memo the commissioner . Dul and  Sheer had expressed an interest and an exploratory fact finding committee might be in order

If Mayor McClure had a comment or a reply, History has yet to 
say and memoirs have yet to record it. 

Something pithy would do the trick. Like asking the City Manager if he knew what the tallest building  in Moscow was. The Manager perhaps caught off guard, might  have said no, he had no idea.  The answer is Lubyanka  Prison because they say that even from the basement of Lubyanka you can see Siberia. That rendering of a  sardonic Russian joke (possibly real) comes from the script of  the ABC  spy versus spy mini-series Assets.  Consult your local listings for time and channel.

It is however doubtful that the Mayor said anything of the sort. In fact when dust began to clear she told  this  publication that she was glad  that City Manager Cravens was showing some initiative. In October  when City Manager Cravens had his  annual or semi annual  evaluation he opened the doors  to the public and the press. This publication attended. The were few if any criticisms. A couple of commissioners however  said they felt funny marking everything top notch. So for the sake of validity, they thought they should say Jay should  show more initiative.

That prompts one to wonder why the City's commissioners, the elected representatives  of the people, don't show more initiative.

May 14th

The day would begin and end with the Mayor, the City manager, and the City commissioners totally in the dark about the sentiments  of City residents  on the subject of out sourcing Public Safety .

For whatever reason it didn't seem to matter. In the end it was that lack of knowledge that would doom Leo Savoie's overture.

The residents  this writer talked to many of whom lives in Commissioner Pat Hardy's neighborhood  were opposed and said so. In other neighborhoods more than a few were resigned to "shared services" if that's what it took to keep the City solvent. When asked, The Mayor said  that was not what it took and paying for dispatch was the a tiny portion of the City' budget.

At the City Commission  meeting Commissioner Hardy was  in favor the outsourcing initiative because she liked and respected  Supervisor Savoie.  He promised to return  our dispatch unit exactly as it was before if we didn't like like what happened during the special offer trial period.  While many superlatives have been applied to the township supervisor  this was first that put him on par with the Easter Bunny.

Commissioners Dul and Scherr were eager to start exploring. It would be an adventure. Much was promised. All services would be maintained but at a lower cost. All public Safety Dispatch options  far and wide including the Oakland County Sheriffs  which serves many cities would be explored.

Commissioner Zambricki did  not participate. There were two Public Safety matters to be decided on Agenda of  May 14th meeting. One concerned outsourcing of dispatch and the other concerned the hiring of a police dog.   Of note is that outsourcing of Dispatch was  first item  on the Agenda. The dog hire was last. The Mayor sets the agenda The meeting lasted 80 minutes. Zambricki  did not arrive in time for the outsourcing discussion or vote  but did arrive in time to persuade fellow commissioners  to wait on the K9 the new Chief was hired. The Vote was 3 to 2 with McClure, Sheer, and Zambricki, voting to wait. Hardy and Dull dissenting.
Zambricki a six time mayor knows that Agenda items can be moved to allow for circumstances. He received his Agenda Packet (which as the name applies includes an Agenda for the upcoming meeting indicating the order of items for the May 14th meeting) the weekend  before.  The Packet also  containing Supervisor  Savoie's offer and City Manager Cravens memo to the commission. It is also believed that Commissioner Zambricki was well acquainted with  with  Mayor McClure.

The published minutes of the meeting indicate that the vote on exploring outsourcing was Hardy, Dul, and Scherr in favor, Mayor McClure opposed and Zambricki absent.  Actually Zambricki just late.

The Tour

A week later City Commission wasting no time, picked David Hendrickson  the third Highest officer in the state's third largest city as it's new Chief. Before he was able to complete his first week on the job he was dispatched, no pun intended, with  City Manager Cravens, Commissioners Dull and Sherr to explore outsourcing options.

The first stop,Birmingham was most gracious and cleared a half day for their presentation. City Manager  Bruner  quite candidly said would a real coup to nail down a shared services agreement on dispatch. He said that when he took the Birmingham job in 2010, the City was thinking of outsourcing dispatch to the Township.  In the end they decided against it however and instead took on a smaller "B" community as a dispatch partner.

The Township meeting was tougher. Supervisor Savoie believed he put a very good offer on the table and was not in the habit of having to repeat himself.  Commissioner Sherr  was stressing max cost savings. Savoie was understanding but only to a point. If the City believed they got a better offer from Birmingham they should take it, Savoie advised because a better offer from the Township would not be forthcoming. The last item was implied but not stated. Sherr  was not quick to pick up on that and pursued the topic. It was sort of a "show me the money" versus  
"Money ? I'll show you the door." stand off. Again all implied but not stated as befitting adults practicing the civility of  governments where Protocol  is paramount. 

In May of last year Commissioner Dul had one year's experience as a City Commissioner. Sherr had about 6 months. Leo Savoir probably knew that. It was his job to know things. Time in grade did not make them the  City's A team which while not intended as a slight, might might be seen as such. Protocol is funny that way. 

Our Chief, true his position of newness said very little. The few questions he asked were usually about numbers. Presumably they involved mental calculations in terms of staff and hours in a day. The other Police officers in attendance took note. They knew Hendrickson  by reputation .A crime fighter who climbed the department ladder  in the state's third largest city. Cops know Cops. The TV tells us so.

The end. 
For now.

In the end, it ended as it quickly as it began. City Manager Cravens  was working on a letter to be sent to all residents.  The point of the letter was to establish what the City had yet to determine. Namely what did residents feel about the out sourcing dispatch.

Determining the public point of view was not a major consideration  of The McClure administration unless of course the public happened share the Mayor's. In this case that  would be maintaining the values of the old City of Bloomfield Hills. The ones that  led to the City's founding in the first place  in 1932. Namely self determination.

Whether that was what that the public wanted or whether they would be willing to let Leo do it was unknown but it was time to find out.  There were no other options. The rest of City  Commission fueled by what seemed to be personal ambition, misplaced loyalty, and indifference had deserted  the Mayor.

 In a editorial  titled Consolidation an important consideration, that seemed seemed to be written more for the rogue City Commissioners than  readers in the community, Downtown  Magazine wrote, "It is up to leaders to lead. Whether hired into the position, or elected into one, It is important to be more than a parrot of a communities opinions. Sometimes it means being the person to lead your fellow citizens along a the the superior path. In Bloomfield Hills that time is now." 

In George Orwell's 1984 Big Brother always knew best even  if the people didn't. History was continually being re-written to meet current needs.  Today one European country  having eliminated branches of its government  intended to maintain checks and balances, rewrites its constitution frequently to suit its  current ambitions. 

In this discussion  there are two key words. Leaders and the people. Sarah McClure, although she would deny it  was leading a rear guard action that would not win a war but might have very well  saved City dispatch

At the  May 14th meeting  when pressed by members of the public  (which was unheard of in the normally autocratic meetings of Mayor McClure) City Manager Cravens promised full openness and public involvement before any final decisions  were made.  That was how this reporter was able to attend the sub committee meetings meetings.  In the end City Manager Jay Cravens remained true to his word  through out the process.

Before any decision was made The City would send all residents a letter. The letter  would explain that City had been thinking of out sourcing Public Safety Dispatch and was now seeking the opinion of residents either in writing or at a public hearing or both.

As fast as our City chose to acknowledge it a true leader was emerging . That would the new  Chief  of Police David Henderson.  He would lead  the outsourcing committee and eventually the whole commission through all the scenarios of outsourcing and  balancing, money savings, resident services  and  control. What did the City want to control ? Its own destiny. 

Henderson was eminently qualified to do so having among other things, run a thirty person dispatch unit for one the State's largest cities.


The letter to residents would not be finished

At the last meeting  with the Township,still without two dispatchers, Savoie  had extended the City's deadline of  acceptance through the fourth of July. That date had passed.

Supervisor Savoie  then decided to hire two dispatchers on their own choosing.

Cravens a family man , said he pursued the outsourcing option only because the Township  would have  hired two of the City's employees who  he regarded as part of his "at work family". The issue was officially dead. For now.

Opening of The City Archives, Amy Burton and the accomplishment of the year 2013. Part 3

City Clerk Amy Burton

Four years ago City Clerk Amy Burton took it upon herself to post all minutes of all City Boards and Commissions from 2002 to then then present day on  the City's web site. In addition to the minutes she posted the meeting agenda for each meeting and where ever possible an agenda package, a file that includes all documents, and  information  pertinent to the agenda items being discussed  at the meeting.

The purposes of the task was to provide residents with a virtual, at home, 24-7 archive of matters that came before City  Government in what has now become  the last eleven years. City Clerk.Burton chose 1992 as the starting year  because that was the first year City records were computerized and transferring them to to an online  server was for one person was a relatively easy and straightforward. 

What is curious is that almost a decade went by before another neighboring community government decided to follow her lead.

In the fall of 2012, Bloomfield Township  perhaps aware of what Burton had done decided, completed a two year intensive effort to (putting it mildly) do Amy one better. Instead of stopping at the beginning era of computerized documents, the Township went all the way back to the Township's founding in 1827. How far back is 1827 ?  Columbus discovered America in 1492. The  Jamestown settlement was 1607. Twelve years after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, the Township of Bloomfield Hills began writing what happened in their neck of the world down 

Like rings on a tree stump the way records were kept speaks volumes  for the technology of the time. 

 All minutes 1827 to 1927 were hand written in script. Typewritten documents began when Herbert Hoover was president and lasted until the late 80's or early 90's when Computers took over. Computers do more than process words. Those with  good memories  or who happen to be students of the late seventies/early eighties may recall that initially "word processing"  machines were expected to compete with computers. In reality there was no competition  Computer would do it all. Process words. Search decades for relevant words or topics and reduce hundreds of pages of information into one easy to duplicate files so everyone would have a copy.

Last November the Bloomfield Township  announced that it had published all it's minutes on line going back to the founding  of the Township in 1827.  The Township triumph, the result of a two year effort that had professional assistance, a strong supporting cast, and funding from a tax base of 40,000 residents.

In  comparison to the Township and the City of Bloomfield Hills has but 3800 residents. There is no comparison  in spirit. The Township had the resources but the City had City Clerk Amy Burton who had the idea in the first place. 


Residents familiar with Burton's first efforts encouraged her to continue. Maybe not at all at once but maybe do the 1990's next or something. After  all the City had only to go back to 1932. Some even volunteered to help. 

A decade has ten years and each year has twelve months of meetings. If each meeting has a three pages of typed minutes that is 360 pages per year. 2013 (the current year) minus 1932 the year the City was founded is 81. That is 360 times 81 which is just shy of 30,000 sheets of paper. Figure in the other boards and commissions and your at close to 100,000 sheets of paer.

Numbers like that are probably why Burton never received any  official encouragement  from the City Commission or the Mayor.

 In mid March, Amy quietly let on that she was making progress on the "big one." When asked how far she back said 1950. In early April she  told this publication had she finished it. All City Commissioner Meetings going back to January 1950.Planning Commission meeting minutes  back to and including the inaugural meeting of 1944 and all Zoning  Board meeting back to the January 1946. By a quiet letter in the Agenda Pack (Amy) is not one to blow her own horn she explained what she did and added that it was accomplished at no cost to the City.

The actual mechanics of how she did it are remarkably simple but may seen baffling to the outsider. There are so many computers in the City offices with work divided among them. By shifting some from her computer to that of colleague Jennifer West Amy was able to get the ball rolling. One should also mention Mary who was there before Jenifer.

 Archiving on line is no longer new.If your Alma Mater is Ohio  State all copies of the Makio,"funny name great yearbook" are available for viewing online  If your Alma Mater is the University of Alabama, the Yearbook the Corrolla is coming on line soon. Crimson Tide fans should be looking for this work in progress.

Currently the Township Library and the Eccentric Newspaper are working to make back the paper's old issues available on line.

 As everything  goes on line it is important to realize that  Four years ago City Clerk Amy Burton was at the head of the wave. Today her almost single handed efforts has kept the city on pace with the most forward thinking communities. The residents of the City past, present, and yet to come owe her a tremendous sum of gratitude,

The City Commission Meetings Minutes of 1932 (the year of the Cities founding) t  are in bound volumes which if you wish to inspect may be through 1949 are bound and kept at City Hall. To read them, You won't need a badge or have  to mess with micro fiche to read them.  To put bound copies on computer would require expertise and equipment beyond the scope of  Amy's no budget  project.

The meeting labeled 1932 is not a meeting but a curious listing of all officers of the city, Mayors, and City Commissioners 1932 to 1984.
This publication is working on arranging them and updating the years 1985 to present day for publication.

City Government records did not really begin in earnest till the late thirties so the gap between computerized  records and bound is only 12 years or so.
Below are City Commission meeting minutes of January 10th 1950 where the minutes of the December 13, 1949 meeting were approved. It is the first of non bound minutes available on your computer. City  expenses and agenda items appear on the same page .The 100 plus agenda package came later and computerized Agenda package would not appear for archiving purposes until 2009. That too is an Amy Burton first. At least locally.

Same as now the Meeting began at 8pm and ended at 10:30.
Note the abbreviated style. Typing through carbon paper and copies was tough. A mistake had to manually corrected on each copy. Note also the gummed reinforcements. These pages were stored in a binder.

Minutes of the City's Zoning Board are available on computer from 1946  a year in which only two meetings occured.

The first meeting of the Planning Commission occurred on July 11th 1944, the date of the commission's inaugural meeting as mandated by the State of Michigan.  A five page of ordinances relating to the purpose of the commission follows. It is the oldest computerized document in the City's archives. The hand written notations above concerning famous names and their term of office are fascinating  footnotes in history.

Thank you Amy Burton !

Celebrate Bloomfield Hills. The Event of the Year 2013, currently consigned to a uncertain future. Stories of 2013 Part II

On  February 12th of 2013  City resident,  Mary Juras  came before City Commission with idea. That was an expansion of the Public Safety Department's Open House into a  Celebrate Bloomfield Hills Day.  Many of the City's cultural, religious,social, and educational  attractions could join in by also hosting  Open Houses on the same day.
Before she presented  her idea to City Commissions she had many of the rudimentary details and a list of possible exhibitors with promising first contacts already completed. Mayor McClure  and City Manager Jay Cravens seemed  supportive, and said so. The rest of the commissioners 0ffered no opinion. The minutes from the February 12th meeting are below.


 Exactly 222 days later on Sunday September 22nd  Celebration Bloomfield Hills Day was flawlessly executed and quickly became known as one of the most splendid days  in City history. The comparison was made to City's 75th anniversary celebration at Cranbrook in 2007 was inevitable but not apt. The Anniversary gathering was picnic made spectacular by the hard work of maybe hundred of residents who contributed time and ideas. 

Celebration Bloomfield Hills  was more of a mini world's fair which benefited residents who never had a chance to go behind the scenes of what they drive by every day. It was a day in which the best of our City would be  showcased. Like the Public Safety open house of the year previous, and unlike the 75th city residents could attend the event  but would have no hand in it's making.  That exclusion with have consequences, when 16 days later on October 8th  Celebrate Bloomfield Hills went from talk of the town to an event with an uncertain future. 

No immediate explanation was given by by City Government. Tuesday October the 8th also the date of the monthly  City Commission meeting. No verbal mention of the Celebration was made at that meeting. or  at the November meeting or the even December meeting of 2013.

The only explanation of  Celebration Bloomfield's post mortem is a written entry in the Goals and Objectives section of Agenda package prepared for the November meeting and distributed to the City Commissioners. A copy is also made available for residents on the City Website.  The explanations is printed below.

Or in bolder clearer type.....
  The celebration Subcommittee determined the event was successful and feels a similar event should be held again  in a few years to avoid  attendance fatigue. The public Safety department will continue to hold their open house annually.

If you don't quite follow what is said in yellow it is because you are not supposed to. It is double talk.  Double Talk  is the official language  of softening  rejection whether it be s sales pitch declined, or  a marriage proposal turn down. Radio commercials tell us the classic relationship  DT is "It's not you. It's me".  In business, DT it is is what they say when they walk you the door which means you won't get their business, the job offer, or whatever you hoped for.

 Never try to use logic or  common sense to defeat double talk . It never works, It just indicates  that you are not getting the message which makes  everything worse. 

Often to soften the blow a time element for future action by 
the one rejected may be suggested. "call us in six months" is one business example. "In a few years" is however is grim enough to rate the kiss of death.

Bottom Line  in regards to The Celebration  is that those who decide told us to kiss off. 

Mr. Cravens' delayed time element and reference to attendance fatigue (which seems to be an ail of his own invention) are intended to mask the pain. Unfortunately neither explain why a promising event, perfectly executed. could turn into the proverbial lead balloon in a little over a fortnight.

To understand the dynamics of that one need understand what the City calls "Goals and Objectives."

In past two years Goals and Objective has become the Black Hole of City decision making. Residents who have no input or access to goals pay little attention. In theory, on an annual basis, the City Commissioners suggest goals and objectives and email them to the City Manager Cravens. He   then compiles a list which in an ideal world is discussed and and  voted on at a public meeting. In reality at an unintended consequence of Goals and Objectives  is that they become become ( least in part) a way to circumvent the traditional democratic process.

Celebration Bloomfield Hills is the perfect example.

In February shortly after Mary Juras made her presentation, Downtown Birmingham  Bloomfield Hills Magazine reported that City Commission had "approved" the Celebration.  It did not. 
A month earlier according to the minutes of the January  City Commision meeting, the Commissioners declined to make  a decision on a participating in a cycling event.

CITY OF BLOOMFIELD HILLS OAKLAND COUNTY MICHIGAN

City Commission 3 January 8, 2013

Minutes Adopted: February 12, 2013 

 009-2013 Resolution – Woodward Avenue Gran Fondo Cycling Event 

The city commission discussed the proposed Gran Fondo Cycling Event on Woodward Avenue in conjunction with the Woodward Avenue Action Association and the Woodward Avenue communities. 

The commission agreed to hold off on making a decision on the cycling event until all the affected communities are involved in the discussion in addition to the various public safety departments. 

No such Yea or Nay was ever by the made by the City Commission, the elected representatives of the City's citizens for the Celebration. Nor were those representatives given tan  opportunity to vote. Nor did any commissioner ask for it. Instead Mayor McClure and City Manager Cravens just joined what came to be called the Celebration Subcommittee.  The Mayor and City Manager are the logical representatives for the event but again the representatives of the people did not  approved their elevation or grant authority in such matters.
Why is this important ? 
 Skipped steps and an elimination of the residents (who would be the Celebration's  biggest supporters) would in the end drastically alter how Celebration would be judged in terms of success, failure, or even a future .

For reasons unknown City Manager seemed  particularly  interested in evaluating  Celebrate at the earliest possible opportunity. 45 days before Celebration he included the following in a updated Goals and Objectives memo to City Commission.

Mr. Cravens does say not who assigned him to the task. 
While saying the event planning subcommittee would be part  the evaluation, He does not say who or what besides the committee  would be the other part of the evaluation.
The Celebration sub committee referred to  consisted of the Mayor, Our Public Safety Director,  Mary Juras, and a representative from each of the exhibitors, Christ Church Cranbrook,  St. Hugo,  the Village Club, and Cranbrook Art, and Science Museum  .  

SurelyMr. Cravens  not expect all the exhibitors to have the same evaluations. While all the Exhibitors were long time City landmarks, the results they could expect to achieve were different. Public Safety is for kids and kid in all us adults. It generates PR and good will. It is the greatest show in town. Cranbrook, the number one tourist destination in town, could monitor results by admissions counts.
The Village Club relies on membership and contributions from it's friends and supporters. The Club's numbers (notwithstanding a rather spectacular, absolutely free ice cream social) world by the nature of requiring money would be initially smaller, and take longer to register than  the other exhibitors. The Churches were not looking for converts, but  showcasing their place in the community via history, architecture, and public awareness and appreciation. Their's would be the hardest return on investment to pin point. Particularly  in terms of how such goals could be  achieved a  September Sunday  between the hours of 1pm and 5pm. As it so happened however both Sy Hugo and Christ Church  stayed open to 6pm to accommodate all the visitors wanting tours.

How Mr. Craven evaluates is another matter. Earlier in the year he citing 175 to 200 visitors, he approved the continuation of the Public Safety open house which was 
re-instated in 2012.  

The Baldwin Library which exhibited at the 2012 Public Safety event said many visitors  were not City of Bloomfield Hills residents but people attracted  by the fire engines and signage on Long Lake Rd. Such visitors were not eligible for Baldwin Library privileges.However representatives from Baldwin deemed the public relations for the Birmingham Library and Libraries in general  made their participation worthwhile, and they returned in to exhibit in 2013.

The initial evaluation of Celebrate Bloomfield Hill and written by Mr. Cravens and published Goals and Objectives for the October 8th City Commission meeting was rather positive as indicated below.

It  was based on preliminary  discussions with two the events largest exhibitors Cranbrook and Public Safety. 

The Public Safety Open House on which the Celebration event was built upon added it's own cherry to  the sundae with the now famous( and copied) Helicopter landing. 

Cravens says attendance was "manageable".  In reality  in more than a few cases cases attendance was border line overwhelming.   The Helicopter landing was one example. So was other extra hour  to  accommodate the  volume of visitors at Christ Church Cranbrook and  St. Hugo. Brunch at the Village Club started in  two hours before the posted  Celebration hours of 1pm to 5pm. The 11 am  seemed to attract. everybody in the see or be seen City Crowd.

In his September goals and objectives Celebration evaluation update  Cravens mention an event subcommittee meeting of October 8th. Apparently that was when the anvil was dropped.  I was not at the meeting.  I wasn't invited. I don't think any reporters were. 
However having spent a professional lifetime in sales,  I would venture that the smaller exhibitors could not promise after only 16 days of determining results, a renewed participation in 2014.

Early on the City made it clear through it's own meeting minutes, City staff  and the news media, that they would not be spending any money on the event. 

Some exhibitors who made extraordinary efforts at obvious expense, may have thought the  the  City did not have enough skin in the game.

Others  may justifiably decided that is not something that is worthwhile for meeting their goals in 2013, a few years or ever again.
 It is not their job to  feel otherwise or build Celebration Bloomfield Hills. It is the City's.The City's first  priority  is make sure the realistic  goals of exhibitor and visiting resident are achieved The hardest part of sales is matching the expectation of the participant  with will actually happen. Buyers remorse is a potential in every sales transaction. It seldom fatal  but hand holding and commiserating  is required.

If  Celebration Bloomfield is to die it will die not of poor execution but neglect. The complete silence aside from arcane notations in the equally clandestine Goals and Objectives could indicate that.  As could an attitude of waiting a "few years" and seeing if any one is interested in a revival.

If Celebration Bloomfield Hills is to continue. It should be as  an annual basis. In that case the City would be well advised to thank, and provide visible appreciation of participation, in the form of plaques or proclamation to it's inaugural participants. For the 2014 Celebration it can count on exhibitors like  Public Safety and always loyal Baldwin Library.  It has tried with little success to get city businesses involved in the Beautify Woodward program. Celebrate Bloomfield Hills 2014 might be a way of doing just that. As the event grows year after year some who dropped out may return. or rotate with others on a semi annual basis. That might even happen sooner rather than later. If continued good reports continue funnel in maybe even in 2014
All the ingredients for a successful Celebrate Bloomfield Hills 2014, like Mary Juras and the few City residents who volunteered via exhibitor organizations they participate in  are still in place. 

Four women and the year that was 2013 in the City of Bloomfield Hills. Part one..

Welcome  to the annual  "year in review" articles that newspapers and magazines run to fill the void between Christmas and the new year. Quite often this involves a top ten list, a biggest disappointment list  (usually in sports),  or notations with arrows indicating whether celebrities, politicians, or athletes are moving up or down.

Our city is a small city. Ten top stories would be pushing it so we settled on four. Curiously each of the four stories center on  four different women  who played starring roles in the accomplishments, high drama, intrigue, revelation and sound and fury that was The City of Bloomfield Hills  in 2013. The stories occurred in a chronological order that more or less coincided with the seasons of the year. We have no "up" or "down" arrows to place but three of the stories, current ending, is bitter sweet. The other is promising  at least for now.

The four stories we have chosen are in chronological order....

• Celebrate Bloomfield Hills. Mary Juras. January 2013
•  Opening the City Archives. Amy Burton. April.
• Saving the City's Public Safety Dispatch. Sarah McClure. July.
• Addressing  slanted Questions on the 2012 Citizen Satisfaction Survey. Pat Hardy. October.