Train Wrecks or Triumphs! Out With the Old! In With the New as City and Planning Commission Discuss Intertwined Issues!

Agenda Packet for Today's 4pm Planning Commission Meeting 


Agenda Packet for Tonight's 7:30pm City Commission Meeting

Copy of June 11th Latest Tree Ordinance Revision

Every administration, be it presidential or otherwise, begins  by  inheriting  a number of crises from it's predecessor and  how it handles them will often determine it's success or failure. Sometimes, as in the war in Vietnam the mistakes of the old regime are simply compounded and carried on. Sometimes in the case of  Watergate, they are ignored, denied, or attributed to mean spirited critics until they explode. Sometimes in the case of  Nixon's pardon they are the result of misplaced loyalty which adds fuel  to the fire.

For the Chief It is not a matter of intelligence or even political savvy. Johnson and Nixon had plenty of the latter.  Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Herbert Hoover were brilliant men whose administration started promisingly   but were doomed   by a gross misreads. Wilson believed of that American people would embrace the League of Nations. Hoover believed the nation could and would  automatically right itself from the great depression.

Tonight in the City of Bloomfield Hills we begin the Administration of Mayor Sarah McClure. She inherits depending on your view point the train wreck or triumph of the tree ordinance which is now entering it's second year.She also inherits the ongoing  American Tower saga   presumably a  proposal for a "much needed communications tower"  which plagued by a series of seemingly random reappearances and disappearances is also approaching a one year in anniversary.

How these issues are resolved will be first test of the new administration.  While one  may argue that it is not  fair test that is just the way it is. On May 11th 2010 an overflow crowd of angry residents attended Mayor McCready's  very first meeting. They were upset by handouts  distributed by the Public Safety Department which told of discussions of possible outsourcing of the dispatch department at the  upcoming Commission Meeting. The minutes of that meeting contain no hint of the fury present. You can gain insight into that by the number of citizens listed as speakers. McCready completely defused the situation by listening to every one who wished to speak and asking intelligent questions. He would then go on to lead  a very successful administration which in many ways united a divided city. Shortly prior to his term's conclusion one area publication wrote , "As mayor, McCready has shown great respect for resident opinions, allowing them to express themselves at public hearings, listening to theirs  point of view and then responding in kind".


Some come to office with an agenda.Things promised or things one want to accomplish.. It often starts with good intentions (drain the swam) and ends with a crimony  (fighting off alligators). Some come to office with nothing more than a great smile and an attitude that says we'll figure it out when we get there.

What does Mayor Sarah McClure plan or want ? You can read her book which is the City Survey. The questions were per City Commission minutes were developed  by  her and City Manager Jay Cravens (expected to be a trusted  adviser in the new administration. They worked together on numerous projects last year). The survey questions were verbalized to the survey people who wrote the actual words that appear on the survey. A careful reading will divine motive in some of the questions.
 The results  of the survey and possibly implementing them is the first new order of new business for the new administration. The buzzword  used is "goals and objectives."

To learn more about the new Mayor and the new administration you may also observe them at Tonight's City and Planning Commission Meeting. All three pivotal topics will  factor, oddly enough in both meetings. For that reason we will  discuss both meetings by together by topic. The Agenda Package for both meetings is at the top of this page. The American Tower information is presented in great detail in the Planning Commission packet. The latest  June 11th revision of the Tree Ordinance is also provided.

City Commission Meeting Minutes for May 15th 2012

These minutes are presented to fill in the gap of what appeared on our mini videos and what did not. They can be enlarged by clicking  on them.

Mini Videos of City Commission Meeting Prove Popular.

The City Commission Meeting of of May 15th 2012 was three hours, thirty five minutes, and 12 seconds long.
That is 3 minutes and 12 seconds longer than the movie Ben Hur. The latter had a sea battle, a chariot race, Charleston Heston,  three appearances by actors portraying the life of Jesus Christ, and an intermission. Ben Hur won the  Academy Award for Best Picture

Naturally our City Commission meeting can't compete with the  movie Ben Hur but one wonders if the acclaimed film could  compete  in today's hurry up world where everyone is just too busy. The same could even be said of Michael Jackson  when he was on top of the hit parade and on every magazine cover in America. Out  of curiosity, one day at the supermarket,  I asked my aging mother if she had ever heard of him. "yes" she said indicating with a wave the hand a stack of magazines with his picture "but I haven't had the time to pay attention."

We have had conversations with residents, are quite knowledgeable about the  workings of City Commission, but who are unable to attend meetings. They go to extraordinary length to get  information.
We see our job as assisting them in that effort. Last year public attendance at City Commission meetings  was usually two and never more more than five. Opening night for this year's commission hit the five mark again.

 The mini videos of this years inaugural  received 36 visits from blog readers.Theoretically that could be 36 separate people visiting once or one person visiting 36 times or anything in between. The mini videos for the sake of size were split over a number of days. The distribution of visits indicates more of  a likelihood  for  former possibility rather than the latter. Listed in order of popularity they are

1. 5/29/12 Baldwin Library and Cobalt Communications (City Survey)  Presentations to City Commission. 10 Visits
2. 5/28/12 City Commission Meeting  introduces a New Commissioner, Elects a new Mayor, and a new Mayor Pro tem. 9 Visits.
3. 5/31/1. Woodlands  Ordinance Public Hearing Part 3.Conclusion. This section  dealt with comments made by non-elected residents from the general public. 6 Visits.
4. 5/29/12 Woodlands Ordinance Public Hearing  before City Commission. Part 1. This section dealt with a presentation made by McKenna the City's consultant on the ordinance, 4 Visits. 
5. 5/29/12 Woodland Ordinance Public Hearing Part 2 This section consists of  comments by City Commissioners after the McKenna presentation but before the public was allowed to comment . 3 Visits.
6. 5/28/12 City Commission Appointments to Planning Commission,  Zoning Board of Appeal, and Board of Review. 2 Visits
7. 6/1/12 Commission considers possible Pat Hardy/Mike McCready vacancies and Survey Goals/Objectives to conclude meeting. 6/1/12 Commission Ponders Next Move in Woodlands Drama. 1 Visit Each

We  did not present the meeting in  it's entirety due to length. A copy of the minutes of that meeting follows so you may what was omitted.  We stuck to what we believed were the most crucial topics . They were presented in their entirety with no editing except a cut at the topic's conclusion..

Those numbers of visitors will change. Blogs as logs or diaries asks a new  reader to start at the last chapter and work backwards .For whatever the reason what goes unnoticed  today may be of interest tomorrow. For the sake of comparison two stories we wrote about the first two commission meetings of last year, which did not get large numbers at the time, have in the course of a year drawn 128 visits. That's why we are impressed by an initial 34 visits for the mini videos.

Baldwin New Titles 6/5/2012

 Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn:   On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior.  As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet? Check Availability

Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville: In the final book of a trilogy that began with her bestselling novel, "The Secret River," Grenville returns to the youngest daughter of the Thornhills and her quest to uncover, at her peril, the family's hidden legacy. Check Availability

       Act of Valor (DVD): When a covert mission to rescue a kidnapped CIA operative uncovers a chilling plot, elite, highly trained U.S. SEAL teams speed to hotspots around the globe, racing against the clock to stop a deadly terrorist attack. Check Availability

Safe House (DVD):  Tobin Frost, one of the CIA's most dangerous traitors, resurfaces in South Africa after eluding capture for almost a decade. During his interrogation, the safe house he's being held in is attacked by brutal mercenaries, forcing rookie agent Matt Weston to take the infamous Frost on the run. As the masterful manipulator toys with his reluctant protege, shaking the young operative's morality and idealism, the unlikely allies must fight to stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them dead. Check Availability