Westend: August 2013

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Gangs of Oakland County Thug Life. Goon Squad. Men of Blood. New World Order. 1st Enfantry. These are some of the gangs in Oakland County.

Picking a non-profit

Changing library role

Before you donate to a non-profit, you may want to know something about how your dollars are being spent.

Libraries are evolving with the times, including the format in which they offer information and as community centers.

11 CRIME LOCATOR A recap of select categories of crime occurring in the past month in Commerce, Walled Lake, Wolverine Lake and the Union Lake area, presented in map format.

37 MUNICIPAL Walled Lake budget and layoffs; Commerce water reservoir decided; parks and rec master plan; land purchase rejected; ordinance enforcement officer added; new home project approved; DDA approves 60-acre sales; and more.

49 BUSINESS MATTERS Dickey's Barbecue Pit; C.A.Y.A. Smokehouse Grill; Huerto Restaurant & Tequila Bar.

50 ENDNOTE Walled Lake still needs to consider sheriff option; Commerce water reservoir decision.

FACES

THE COVER Ivory Farm horse farm, Cooley Lake Road, Commerce Township. Westend photo: Laurie Tennent.

DISTRIBUTION: Mailed monthly at no charge to homes in the Commerce, Walled Lake and Union Lake area.. Additional free copies are distributed at high foot-traffic locations.

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News Staff/Contributors: Allison Batdorff, Rachel Bechard, Hillary Brody, Kevin Elliott, Sally Gerak, Eleanor & Ray Heald, Austen Hohendorf, Garrett Hohendorf, Kathleen Meisner, Laurie Tennent

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INCOMING: We welcome feedback on both our publication and general issues of concern in the Commerce/Union Lake community. The traditional Letters to the Editor in Westend are published in our Incoming section, and can include traditional letters or electronic communication. Your opinions can be sent to westend@downtownpublications.com; or mailed to Downtown Publications, 124 West Maple Road, Birmingham MI, 48009. Letters must include your full name, address and daytime phone number for verification.

08.13

FROM THE PUBLISHER

G

overnment transparency.

Participatory democracy. Personal privacy. All are concepts we champion here at our publishing group. These concepts are at the heart of the current national debate over protection of personal privacy, highlighted with the leak by Edward J. Snowden of top-secret documents outlining the mass surveillance programs at home and abroad of the U.S. Government, as well as a number of smaller government surveillance programs once thought to be innocuous.

Surveillance Court (FISC), which routinely approves government surveillance efforts, has said that public debate on the issue is long overdue and has called for a privacy advocate to be present at the closed court hearings to serve as an adversarial voice to make the process more balanced in the future.

Congressional committees have also started to review the current surveillance programs and some members of congress are calling for the government to scale back the collection of phone and e-mail data.

Most everyone knows basic details of the Snowden story. A former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Central Intelligence Agency, Snowden was employed by a private contractor working on the NSA surveillance program when he leaked to a reporter at The Guardian in London a trove of documents showing mass stockpiling of phone call and e-mail information on residents in the U.S., as well as similar information on residents in foreign countries. Snowden fled the country to Hong Kong and then Russia where he awaits the outcome of his push for asylum in some country where he will not be turned over to American authorities for prosecution.

Further, at least one author of the Patriot Act has said that congress never intended for mass collection of data like we are now seeing by the federal government. While the Patriot Act allows for “investigations” of suspected terrorists, because of the secret nature of the FISC, no one will discuss how the law has been interpreted to allow for blanket collection of data and the public is not allowed access to dozens of rulings (numbering 1,800 in just 2012) by members of the court.

The current conversation playing out nationally is whether Snowden is a hero or a traitor, an issue that may never be resolved. More importantly, Snowden has prompted a growing national debate over the post-9/11 role of the government in its attempt to prevent future terrorist attacks and how to strike a balance between national security and personal privacy.

Add to the NSA debate the use of cell phone tracking data by law enforcement agencies and the vehicle license plate reading programs currently in use in all states. On the latter, the Washington Post recently noted that Maryland alone in 2012 captured the locations of vehicles over 85 million times, and in the case of that state, records are kept by the government indefinitely. While some states do not retain vehicle location data on a long-term basis, there are no laws regulating the compilation and storage of this personal information.

The current Snowden saga is reminiscent of what took place nationally in the late 1960's and 1970's, including in Michigan, where local and state police logged information in the famed Red Squad Files on those opposed to the Vietnam War. That surveillance effort was ruled unconstitutional by the courts, the files were eventually destroyed and the surveillance effort halted.

Today, the public seems conflicted about the government's national monitoring program of phone calls and e-mail data. A Quinnipiac University poll in the past month shows that while 54 percent of respondents saw collection of data as necessary for the country's safety, 53 percent said there was “too much intrusion” into personal privacy with the current program.

Likewise, a former judge of the 11-member Foreign Intelligence

Yet the federal surveillance effort is just the most dramatic example of the potential loss of personal privacy nowadays.

Taken as a whole, one gets the sense that Orwellian predictions of government control could very well be coming true.

But that's where the concept of participatory democracy comes into play – the basic concept that citizen involvement and feedback to elected leaders helps preserve government transparency, and our personal privacy and freedoms before we wake up some day and realize that the government has clearly crossed the line.

David Hohendorf Publisher DavidHohendorf@downtownpublications.com

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08.13

INCOMING Darkness overcomes light I am the mom of one of the Walled Lake police officers that got laid off. I am still reeling from some of the lies that are being spoken about these dedicated men and somehow trying to take my anger and put it to good use.

My church this morning (suggested that we) take injury and replace it with pardon, despair and replace it with hope, and doubt and replace it with faith. While I am trying to do that, I spoke with some members who have been in Walled Lake for over 70 years. They too feel this pain of a failing city. Their hope is leaving.

I thought of the picture that hangs in the hallway of the small and truly crowded and awful police department and there are pictures of past Walled Lake police officers from a department founded in, I believe, 1945. How sad that Walled Lake has allowed people to come in from "outside" and trusted them to help their city and now they are destroying part of history. Some of the things that Mr. Whitt and Ms. Coogan are saying are not true, yet they continue to blame the firemen and the policemen and women of their city for all their woes. I am trying to find hope and faith, but somehow the darkness seems to be overcoming the light. Walled Lake is a gem waiting to be developed. However, the people in power right now have no plans to develop it and support it.

This whole change in attitude and respect has taken its toll on the morale of all the city first responders.

They never even got a "Thank you for your service." They got layoff notices while city council celebrated their budget decisions.

It is with great sadness that I look at a city being destroyed and the morale of their employees being decimated by one or two people who continue to tell non-truths.

Peggy Hawke, West Bloomfield

Offensive, divisive remarks Your article last month (Interview/July/Westend) about Brooks Patterson was brought to my attention – largely because people were offended by the insults Brooks hurled at me.

As both a judge and prosecutor, I have suffered many barbs and misstatements of fact by Brooks over the years. This usually occurs around election time. Most people consider the source and don’t pay much attention. But lately, he westendmonthly.com

SPEAK OUT We welcome your opinion on issues facing the Commerce, Walled Lake and Union Lake communities.

Opinions can be sent via e-mail to westend@downtownpublications.com or mailed to Downtown Publications, 124 West Maple Road, Birmingham MI 48009.

While we don’t have a specific word limitation, we reserve the right to edit for length.

sounds like a bully on a rant. I teach students, when I speak in schools across our county, that you have to stand up to bullies.

Quite frankly, my credentials and the success rate of my office speak for themselves. I am essentially the managing partner of the second largest law firm in Oakland County.

I am not a political figurehead. My office is extraordinarily effective because we understand and work with the latest techniques and technologies in partnership with law enforcement.

Brooks boasts of his time as prosecutor. But he fails to mention that his time as Prosecutor was well before the turn of the century, 1973 – 1988. Things have changed in four decades.

Recently, Brooks has touted his advocacy on behalf of victims during his time as prosecutor. But this isn’t accurate. Brooks, as a matter of policy, required many women who were raped to take and pass polygraph tests before he would even consider charging a man with sexual assault. Women’s groups were so outraged, they sought and obtained changes in the law prohibiting a prosecutor from ever polygraphing a rape victim again.

So, I guess, in a sense, he was responsible for improving victim’s rights.

During his time as prosecutor, D, N and A were three unrelated letters in the alphabet. My prosecutors must now address complicated DNA cases and the various protocols attached to each testing method.

There are multitudes of new issues and technologies in which today’s prosecutors must be trained. Court

decisions like Daubert and Crawford have changed the manner in which cases must now be prosecuted. It’s not the same technology, it’s not the same law, and thankfully, it’s not the same office as it was back in Brooks’ day.

While having no first-hand knowledge about the murder of Robert Cipriano, a case described as one of the most heinous in Oakland County’s history, Brooks took to the airwaves to publicly advocate for a plea bargain that would have reduced first-degree murder charges against one of the killers, Tucker Cipriano. He made his pitch on the very eve of jury selection in that case. The judge, concerned about the difficulty of picking a fair and impartial jury in light of this publicity, issued a gag order for the witnesses and attorneys. But since it didn’t apply to Brooks, why should he worry about interfering with and endangering the orderly and fair administration of justice.

Last year, Brooks was involved in a near-fatal car crash. He suffered extremely serious head injuries in that collision. And we learned - months after the accident - that Brooks had actually been in a coma for weeks - a fact that came as a surprise, since his staff claimed to be consulting with him on a daily basis during that same time. One is left to wonder if other medical or mental consequences of this accident were hidden from public view.

At the time that we tried to prosecute the person who was responsible for causing the collision and the injuries to both Brooks and his driver, Brooks took great pains to conceal his medical records. In fact, the court had to dismiss the criminal charges because Brooks refused to release his records.

When Brooks became county executive, he wisely selected and put into place some very fine administrators who, in his absence, have demonstrated that the county functions perfectly well without him.

So, in the twilight of his political career, it is time to say to Brooks, either step back and pipe down, or let someone else take up the reins.

Oakland County is not well served with a county executive who makes divisive and offensive public statements in a futile and sad attempt to stay relevant.

Jessica R. Cooper, Oakland County Prosecutor

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08.13

HERE IN THE HOOD

THE GANGS OF OAKLAND COUNTY

BY LISA BRODY

T

hug Life. Goon Squad. Almighty Latin King Nation. Men of Blood.

Money Over Everything. New World Order. 1st Enfantry.

You may have heard some, or all, of these names. They're the name of gangs, some of which operate all over the United States.

They all are entrenched in areas of Detroit.

And they, along with other gangs, all have a presence, to varying degrees, in Oakland County.

Yes, gangs exist in Oakland County, notably in Pontiac and in the southern Oakland County communities of Southfield and Oak Park, where the gang lifestyle, which revolves around money, violence, guns, illicit narcotic sales, retail fraud, and demanding respect, proliferate.

Communities abutting Pontiac, such as Bloomfield Township, Waterford, West Bloomfield, Auburn Hills, Sylvan Lake and Keego Harbor, encounter gang activity as spillover. Community borders do not exist for gangs. There may be a home invasion in a nearby city or township as gang members, needing goods and cash, pay no attention to municipal boundaries. Ditto with retail fraud.

There are substantially more stores with large goods in Bloomfield Township or West Bloomfield than in Pontiac, providing them the incentive to venture into our towns.

These are not the Jets and the Sharks taunting Officer Krupke from West Side Story.

Although most members of gangs are usually in their early teens to late 20s, they're not playing “gang”. They mean very serious business. Oakland County law enforcement recognizes and understands this better than regular civilians, many of us who are unaware of the gang activities happening in our midst.

In 2009, following a significant rise in gang-related crime in Oakland County, the FBI, in conjunction with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, Michigan State Police, Bloomfield Township Police Department, Auburn Hills Police Department, Waterford Police Department, (now defunct) Pontiac Police Department, Homeland Security, Michigan Department of Corrections, and Drug Enforcement Agency formed the Oakland County Violent Gang Task Force to identify and target for prosecution violent criminal enterprises that operate in and around the Oakland County area. The FBI emphasizes it is a “joint venture to enhance the effectiveness of federal, state, and local law enforcement resources through well coordinated initiatives seeking the most effective investigative and prosecutorial avenues by which to convict and incarcerate dangerous offenders.”

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Jeff Downey, FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent for Oakland County, noted, “We've been successful to date, but there's more work to do.

Gangs haven't gone away. We see gangs coming from Detroit, coming to Pontiac. There are a lot of gang crimes which are crimes of opportunity. Some are traditional violent crimes – involving guns, drugs, money, assaults. They're all about making money for the gangs and the individual.”

Google “Thug Life”, as an officer in the task force recommended, and you will be inundated with information on information on the late rapper Tupac Shakur, rap and hip-hop artists who quote the lyrics, gang members who have adopted his credo, and the prevalence of “thug life” in Oakland County. ccording to writer Bruce Poinsette, “THUG LIFE” was a movement created by Tupac, his stepfather Mutulu Shakur and godfather Geronimo Pratt, who all had ties to the Black Panther Party, in an effort to politicize gangs.

The men had come to believe the Black Panther Party was being misdirected towards oppressing the black community rather than defending it.

Tupac wrote in 1992, “I didn't create T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E., I diagnosed it,” when he helped get rival California gang members from the Crips and Bloods to sign the Code of THUG LIFE. The first principle of the code is that “All new Jacks must know: a) He's going to get rich. b) He's going to jail. c) He's going to die.”

THUG LIFE stands for “The Hate U Gave Lil” Infants Fucks Everyone”. The phrase is used to express pride in living the thug lifestyle, and while the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a thug as a “brutal ruffian or assassin”, Tupac defined a thug as “someone going through struggles, has gone through struggles, and continues to live day by day with nothing for them. That person is a thug, and the life they are living is the thug life. A thug is not a gangster. Look up gangster and gangsta. Not even close, my friend.”

However, members of gangs and law enforcement who track them likely disagree. In their efforts to be gangsta, members are often full on gangster – violent, disrespectful of authority other than the individual in charge of their gang, focused on money, drugs, and guns.

According to the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment released by the national Gang Intelligence Center, there are approximately 1.4 million gang members belonging to more than 33,000 gangs that were criminally active throughout the United States as of April 2011. The assessment was developed through analysis of available federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and corrections agency information, data from the 2010 NDIC National Threat Survey and open source information.

“The concept of a gang isn't inherently negative.

A group of people coming together under the common interests of protection and economic gain doesn't elicit crime and violence on its own.

However, when you factor in poverty, joblessness and a dependence on the black market drug trade, which has no regulations preventing the use of violence to solve disputes, then you have a recipe for disaster,” Poinsette wrote. “In fact, most gangs were not started to terrorize communities but to protect them.”

Detective/Sergeant Greg Moore of the Oakland County Sheriff's Office Violent Gangs Task Force would disagree. “You Tube postings for Pontiac and Detroit feature the glorification of the gangster life style, with its glorification of dope, money, guns and cars. Women come last, because they are objectified

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and disrespected. If you watch these You Tube videos on Pontiac, the gang members talk openly about videoing their thuggery. It's mind blowing.”

In 2008, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard authorized the formation of the Jail Gang Intelligence Unit because law enforcement had recognized that gang members being sent to jail did not stop their activities. “We started noticing which gangs were affiliating with each other, and with different gangs,” Moore said. “We began assembling statistics, which communities they were from, who they were connecting with.”

“Depending on which prison they go to, especially the much larger prisons, they can get affiliated with larger gangs and gang activity,” Downey said. “You get them off the streets, but there is gang activity in prisons. We try to use every tool we can to get them put away for a long time. The focus is to work long term criminal investigations to get them long term sentences.” Implicit in that statement is that those who receive shorter sentences can make other gang contacts in prison which can continue once they are released back onto the streets.

Moore said the reality is that gangs are everywhere, and different police departments have different problems with different kinds of criminal activities. “Southfield has different kinds of activities than Pontiac,” he said, declining to elaborate. “Each community is familiar with their own gangs.”

Southfield and other southern Oakland County communities have been infiltrated by gangs from Detroit who have established networks in those cities, not interested nor respectful of the change of boundaries. Pontiac gangs currently are mostly separate from Detroit's. But road access from one end of Oakland County is simple, with only a car needed to get from one municipality to another.

“We see gangs from Detroit coming into Pontiac,” said the FBI's Downey. “A lot of gang crimes are crimes of opportunity. Some are traditional gang crimes – guns, drugs, money. The violence is about respect, control, territory and influence. Then there are the killings. Sometimes they happen for mere robberies, for money. Money is extremely important.

Gangs are all about making money for the gangs and the individual. For most gangs, money and territory are the driving forces.”

Moore said that currently the Oakland County Violent Gangs Task Force has positively identified about 750 gang members, spread out between different gangs. “Some are gang members in name only. Some get to their late 20s and move on. There's a smaller proportion of the ones who are causing real problems.

“In Pontiac, to a large degree, there is a close arrangement of people attracted to the thug life, with its emphasis on guns, money and drugs,” Moore said. “Most Americans earn respect through their good name. They (gang members) believe respect is if no can look you in the eye. Most often the leader of the gang is the one who can instill the most fear (in others) through violence and intimidation.”

Moore said that unlike in some cities, Pontiac's gangs are disorganized in terms of organizational structure. “Typically in gangs, there is a strict structure where they have a definitive leader, a second-in-charge, and various shot callers who will tell individual guys what to do. There are usually five or six guys in their crew who do drug deals and car thefts,” he explained. “In Pontiac, there really is no organization.”

“Not all gangs are as hierarchical as national gangs. Some are loosely affiliated with national

gangs, and may take the name of a national gang without being really affiliated,” Downey said.

From intelligence briefs, many gangs in Detroit do have the typical gang leadership organization. It's unknown at this time if, as gangs move northward and infiltrate Pontiac, that organizational structure will change.

While the FBI and members of the Oakland County Violent Gangs Task Force do not want to specify exactly which gangs are in Oakland County, other sources confirm that the Goon Squad, Sur-13, NWO (New World Order), MOB (Men of Blood, their old acronym, but now Money Over Bitches), MOE (Money Over Everything), Latin Kings, a division of the Almighty Latin King Nation, Devil's Diciples, 8Balls, M-13, Pinewood Posse and 1st Enfantry.

In December 2011, members of the Goon Squad sprayed gunfire inside the Waterford Township Rolladium roller rink, striking five patrons. Waterford Township police learned that the shooting was the result of issues involving a rivalry between two Pontiac gangs, the Good Squad and 1st Enfantry.

“Some of the people shot were innocent bystanders, innocent skaters,” said Waterford Township Police Chief Dan McCaw. “The shooters had a mission at hand, to shoot an individual who they had shot before and were after again. Home invasions, larcenies, carjackings, and other small crimes are more popular among gang members.

Shootings come from disagreements over rivalries.”

McCaw said it doesn't matter what neighborhood or community people live in, “I see certain gangs in Waterford, and in Oakland County, in Birmingham, in Bloomfield, all over. I see evidence throughout the state.”

Bloomfield Township Police Chief Geof Gaudard concurred. Bloomfield Township has an officer assigned full time to the Oakland County Violent Gangs Task Force.

“Just as crime knows no boundary, neither do criminals. We see drugs, larcenies, home invasions, and violent crimes, so it makes sense for us to commit to the task force. Many times, this is how they fund their lifestyle,” Gaudard said.

“We see crime everywhere. In our northern end (of Bloomfield Township), we'll see more of these types of crimes committed by gangs that are in the southern and eastern ends of Pontiac. They do cross the boundaries and come here,” he explained. “The amount of crime these guys commit is shocking.”

“They will move into an area if an opportunity exists,” Moore said. “It's not due to an economic downturn – there's always gang activity. At times, it becomes more prolific. In 2008, there were 28 homicides, most due to gangs, in Pontiac. It was directly attributed to younger people carrying guns.

The problem is they didn't hit their target – they hit everyone around them.” audard said that there are usually less violent crimes, which he defined as crimes against a person, “because they don't live here,” but Bloomfield Township does see its share of larcenies, drug sales, and other crimes.

“They sell drugs here. It runs the gamut, marijuana, prescription drugs, heroin – whatever we see in this community and throughout Oakland County.”

This past May, teens affiliated with gangs posted threats on Twitter and Instagram against the Orchard Lake St. Mary's Festival right before it was held. A press release from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office stated that calls were made to the sheriff's office and to Orchard Lake Police after parents and others reportedly noticed someone posting threats on the social media sites.

“The threats consisted of several photos showing

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a handgun, an assault rifle and a photo of several fully loaded high-capacity magazines for a handgun,” the press release said. “Each of the photos made a reference to the Orchard Lake St. Mary's Festival.”

There was a photo of someone holding a gun with a message below stating, “We can't wait till st. marys fair.”

On May 24, the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office authorized and granted an arrest warrant against a 16-year-old Detroit teen for domestic terrorism, a 20-year felony. He was arrested in Detroit, and his case was assigned to an investigator in the FBI's Oakland County Violent Gangs Task Force. He allegedly admitted he had ties with Detroit gang members, and admitted to making one of the Twitter threats with the gun. Investigators would not identify which gang he may be a part of.

“We're part of the task force to aid and assist with legal issues, such as the writing of search warrants and helping (investigators) with what they need, with legal boundaries,” noted Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper. “The other reason we're active members of the task force is that the federal government does not have juvenile jurisdiction, so all those cases come to us. If a gang member is a juvenile, a local prosecutor will be involved. We work in conjunction with the feds.”

According to statute, all juvenile jurisdiction rests with the state, not with the federal government.

Cooper said there are occasional exceptions, such as with computer crimes, like child pornography.

“It's best to go federal then because the penalties may be more severe.”

The teen who bragged on Twitter and Instagram before the Orchard Lake St. Mary's Festival is hardly unique in today's era of social media. Gang members, after all, are primarily male, in their teens and early to mid 20s. They are proud of their gang affiliation, and they want others to know. Tagging, or marking with graffiti on old homes, road signs and railroad tracks, definitely is ongoing. “They mark their territories with colors using spray paint,” said West Bloomfield Police Lt. Curt Lawson of the Investigations Bureau, who said that West Bloomfield currently sees little gang activity, unlike a period from 1997-2000, when the township saw a three-year period of tagging of roads signs and other signs of the the gang Folk Nations in the northern part of the community. “They were white kids, usually 16 to 19 years old, and lot of them were in school, going to Walled Lake Schools. They were having gang wars. We didn't see the major violence, but definitely mischievous behavior. Our then chief sent four officers to Detroit to work with the Detroit Gang Squad – I was part of that – and we learned how to put it down.” loomfield Township's Gaudard said that while they don't get a lot of tagging on road signs, they do see it on abandoned and vacant buildings, and on train overpasses. “Where we see it is closer to our northern borders,” he said.

Some gangs still have color affiliations. They flash finger symbols to one another, which Lawson said is their way of saying which gang they're in.

“They're all little boys with AK 47s,” he said. Like other young adults, they also use Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Instagram, Whisper, and other social media.

“They're hugely active on social media,” Moore said. “MySpace used to be big. Now it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube. There's Whisper, where it's only up for a few minutes and then it disappears.

They take pictures and post them. They're proud.”

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“On an individual basis, they're on Facebook bragging about what they do. A lot of crime you know they're doing, and usually we can find them and their friends on Facebook and Twitter,” Cooper said. She said they are often identifiable on Facebook by using their gang signs. “They also use other names on their social media pages. And they brag.”

In addition, tattooing is a way for them to identify with their gangs. It has also become a powerful identification tool for law enforcement.

The FBI has begun collecting tattoos gathered from police agencies around the U.S., private industry, and even academia in order to create a national database for law enforcement officers, which is part of the Generation of Identification program, a $1 billion program for the next step in biometrics and identification. It's designed to be used for investigative purposes, helping law enforcement explain what certain tattoo symbols mean and whether there are gang or other affiliations. While a tattoo is not as definitive an identifying mark as DNA or fingerprints, tattoos, or their photos and descriptions, can help investigators identify suspects as well as help prosecutors gain convictions.

Moore noted that identifying and matching tattoos is part of Bouchard's proactive approach to law enforcement. “Anyone arrested in Oakland County goes directly to the Oakland County Jail, regardless of where (which municipality) you are arrested in. That being the case, the best source of intelligence is our jail deputies, who have been trained to recognize, interpret and ask about tattoos,” Moore explained. They have compiled a computer database of anyone with a tattoo which can be accessed by description as well as body location. Law enforcement can find it useful when seeking a suspect whose name they don't know.

“Many guys (gang members) have been trained to not deny they are a gang member when they're arrested and questioned, to tell us what their tattoos say and stand for. It's a sign of respect for them, that they're a gang member. They want it seen,” Moore said. While they will proudly acknowledge they are a member of a gang, and tell law enforcement which gang they are a member of, that's usually all they'll give up.

“Typically they have a culture of not wanting to rat the others out,” Moore said, explaining it's a mixture of both fear and pride in being part of the gang which drives that. “They have a lot of pride in their gang – and fear of what could happen to them.”

Law enforcement in Oakland County, by working together, is making serious inroads in combatting gang activity. Downey emphasizes the collaborative approach among the member agencies in the task force is the key to battling this kind of crime.

“This is a relatively new task force. It only started in 2009; it's only four years old. It takes a while to develop your intelligence to combat it,” Downey said.

He said that an ongoing investigation into the New World Order gang, which began in 2010, has led to a total of 70 people being arrested. “This year, so far, we've arrested seven,” he said. Most of the charges have been federal charges, anywhere from narcotics trafficking to gun charges. Nine were local arrests, possibly juveniles. He won't say.

“Ten years ago, all of us police departments operated on our own,” Waterford's McCaw said. “But criminals have no boundaries, so we have to work together in the 21st century. Our success in the 21st century is to forget about boundaries and work collectively to get these kids off the streets and

either rehabilitate them, if we can, or take them off the streets where they can't prey on innocent civilians. Some of them can be rehabilitated. Some are just lost and looking for something to belong to.”

What drives certain teens to gangs is usually their personal history. “If a child does not feel loved, or does not feel part of a family network, they are looking to be part of something. In a gang, even though it is criminal activity, they are part of something,” McCaw said. isa Kirsch Satawa, a juvenile defense attorney at Clark Hill PLC in Birmingham, agreed. “The most important thing is young people who get involved in a gang is it's a programming issue. It's in their brain, they have a need to belong,” she said. “You have to look at their family and ask, why do they need to belong to a gang. Is it stability? A connection to drugs? Is it money? Or is it simply low self-esteem and needing others to pick you up? It depends on the individual, but it all comes back to the family.”

She emphasized that a child who is going to join a gang is not getting the love, affection, stability, permanence or safety, “which is what every kid needs,” from their family.

“The parents could be checked out, there could be a single parent, absent parent, lots of parents of different kids of the same mom, financial struggles, too many children in the home, mom working a lot of jobs. Sometimes mom is trying really hard, but she may not have the tools to succeed,” Kirsch Satawa said.

She added peer pressure is powerful as well.

“Older siblings parenting younger siblings drives a lot of kids out of the house, too. Many kids don't feel they are getting anything out of watching other kids in the house, feeding babies, so they turn to gangs.”

“When you have 14 or 15 year olds with older siblings with $700 in cash in their pockets without a job, it impresses them,” said Moore.

Moore said a big objective of the gangs task force is in prevention. He urges parents to watch for warning signs their child may be involved in a gang, from admitting to “hanging out” with gang members, showing an unusual interest in one or two particular colors or a specific logo, using unusual hand signals to communicate with friends, or having specific drawings or gang symbols on their school books, clothes, walls, or tattoos. Other warning signs to recognize are unexplained cash or goods, such as clothing or jewelry, if they come home with unexplained injuries, such as fight-related bruises, or injuries to their hands or knuckles, if they carry a weapon, and if they have been in trouble with the police.

Moore said to look for negative behavioral changes such as withdrawing from the family, declining school attendance, performance, and behavior, staying out late at night without a reason, displaying an unusual desire for secrecy, breaking rules consistently, showing signs of drug use, and speaking in gang-style slang.

“A lot of times people would say, oh, they're just wanna-be gang members. I said, there's no such thing. You then are a gang member,” West Bloomfield's Lawson said. “They're no less dangerous because they're trying to be part of that culture, and they're going to try to prove and impress the gangs, and that can make them more dangerous.”

“Oakland County is an affluent community. Know there are gangs here. Pay attention to your kids, and where your kids are going, and where they're going to party. If you see these signs, talk to them. Take some parental responsibility,” Moore advised.

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FACES Aaron Siegler

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s a Walled Lake Western alumnus, Aaron Siegler’s early aspirations were to work with computers. Instead, the enterprising self-starter has spent the better part of five years working in the midst of such talents as Kid Rock and Paul McCartney.

“I went to MSU for a year and I loved computers, but realized I couldn’t sit behind a desk and wear a suit every day.”

Siegler began marketing and promoting large dance club gatherings featuring electronic music known as raves.

“Everyone in the industry started to know who I was,” he said. “I kept myself busy and kept myself networking.”

His hard work was soon acknowledged by Dan Sordyl, owner of the former Motor nightclub in Detroit, an electronic music mecca. “(Sordyl) gave me a job in the music industry. He hired me for my first marketing promotional gig.” A publicist for several Detroit techno artists, Barbara Deyo, also recognized his resourcefulness and got Siegler involved with bigger music festivals in Michigan, he said.

“It didn’t matter what the mission or the job was. I would find a way to get it done. I didn’t always know how I was going to do it, but I was going to do it.”

Through networking and an unrelenting devotion to his career, Siegler began working as a production assistant for concerts at larger venues like Ford Field, DTE Energy Music Theater and Joe Louis Arena. There, he met many big names in the music industry.

“In the beginning, I thought it would be great meeting famous people,” he said. “I had a conversation with Paul McCartney and I realized he’s just a normal person who has more money than I do. You stop caring about stuff like that.

You just worry about your job and get it done.”

An opportunity arose for Siegler to work for Kid Rock. He had finally gotten his foot in the door and had the opportunity to go on tour with a rock star.

“My first big gig with (Kid Rock) was with Bon Jovi in London.” Siegler worked directly with Kid Rock and took charge of catering, travel arrangements and some logistics of the shows.

“It was exhausting and exhilarating. The long days were worth it,” he said. “When you’re on the tour bus with some friends drinking some beers, it’s worth everything. The next morning you wake up and you are in a new city.”

Siegler recently accepted a position with the Michael Jackson Cirque Du Soleil show and that tour has taken him throughout the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Europe and Asia. He coordinates the catering, traveling logistics for the entertainers, and ships set items from country to country.

Siegler has spent only 10 days at home since 2002 and although he said he misses family and the serenity of playing disc golf at Kensington Metropark, his life is on the road.

“This is what I want to do until I’m told to stop. If I get a call, I’m back on the road.”

Story: Katey Meisner

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t just 18-years-old, twin brothers Adam and Daniel Cooper have directed, produced, edited or written nearly 20 films and received over a dozen forms of recognition at film festivals.

“That’s all we do is make movies,” Adam said. “Growing up, there were always exciting things happening in our house. We were never bored.” As children, the boys and their younger brother would entertain their parents with skits.

“I guess when I was a little kid I liked imagining things and situations. I saw movies as a way to let out that imagination,” Daniel said.

The duo recently graduated from West Bloomfield High School (WBHS) and credit instructor Kevin Walsh for much of their success. “(Walsh) helped us in so many ways and gave us a lot of connections in the industry,” Daniel said.

In addition to their film work, they were active in theater at WBHS and even had an acting role in the 2009 thriller “Dark Fields”, starring the late David Carradine.

“We had a small role in the beginning,” Daniel said.

“The door opens in the scene and our faces are right there,” Adam said.

“Our whole family went crazy when they saw it.”

Despite their age, the Coopers said the film industry has welcomed their talent and knack for filmmaking.

“People can be discouraging and cutthroat in LA, but we didn’t get that at all,” Daniel said.

“I think breaking into the industry is just making a film that people like. If

your film is in a big film festival, so many people see your movie and approach us after watching the film at the festival,” Adam said.

Early success for the Coopers has been evident and they are intensely focused on creating films that will attract large audiences.

“If people like what we’ve made, we just want to make more things that people would like,” Adam said. “It makes me want to try harder the next time.”

“It’s really rewarding,” Daniel said. “A few months ago it was just an idea in your head and then to see it on the screen is cool.”

Both brothers point to the last short film they made entitled, “The Case of Amber Gram,” as their most meaningful work to date.

The period piece takes place in an alternate society in the 1920’s and offers a message of open-mindedness. The film was recently shown at the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Coopers are writing a feature film script from it.

For the first time, the young men will be parting ways this fall as Adam departs for Columbia College in Chicago and Daniel for New York University.

They will continue to work on projects together and both hope to eventually direct and write feature films in Hollywood.

Through their company, Cooper Brothers Films, they have continually supported one another throughout their blossoming careers.

“In a way, we are each other’s inspiration,” Adam said. “We have a friendly competitive relationship, but it makes us the best we can be.”

Story: Katey Meisner

Photo: Laurie Tennent

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DOING THE MOST GOOD WHERE DOES YOUR MONEY GO WHEN YOU GIVE?

BY ALLISON BATDORFF

T

he “ask” takes many forms. The outdoor advocacy group touts a tote bag and a lifetime supply of personalized mailing labels. Giant, welling eyes of the plastic basset hound beg for change at the restaurant cash register.

Whether it’s late-night television pleas “for the children” or keeping the centerpiece at that glittery charity event, “the ask” is for your contribution, a requirement needed by many non-profit organizations to do the work needed in the communities they serve and that we live in. They ask; you give; they work (though, not necessarily in that order).

But how do you get the most “good” for your buck? What makes a “good” non-profit? Traditional definitions no longer fit (or foot) the bill, as non-profits change with the times, getting leaner, meaner and reflective of our current cultural approach to “the greater good.” ake the United Way of Southeastern Michigan. The ask these days might showcase a personal story from the graduating Class of 2013 of Detroit’s Cody High School. Formerly a high school “dropout factory” peopled with pick-an-issue students, the school is becoming a launch pad for higher education. The individual human stories of these students – inspirational, raw tales of turning blight into might – are gripping in their own right. The other part of the story is the numbers. Projected graduation rates, ACT scores, grant funding by pupil, teacher union contracts, corporate donations, and the numerous other factors that measure and account for the work. Everyone, from the students (graduating at 72-85 percent up from 57-78 percent in years prior) to the donors, loves data these days, said Doug Ferrick, United Way’s Vice President of Donor Relations.

“Show me the metrics,” Ferrick said. “We hear that a lot and say it a lot, too.”

The non-profit sector – an umbrella term that covers public charities, private foundations and non-charitable organizations – is evolving and growing, making up six to 10 percent of the economy.

The National Center for Charitable Statistics lists more than 2,000 nonprofit organizations in Oakland County alone. The amount of money involved is staggering; ranked by gross receipts, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan tops our county's list at $4.8 billion. The Kresge Foundation, one of 734 private foundations in the county, has $3 million in assets and grants more than $150,000 every year.

Statewide, the IRS lists more than 47,000 non-profit organizations. The vast majority - 31,000 - are public charities and private foundations, or 501(c)(3) non-profits. Private foundations (primarily grant makers) use investment earnings or are supported by a small group of large donors (often a family or a corporation). Public charities draw on a number of funding sources, like fees for program services, grants from foundations or the government and individual donors. Having 501(c)(3) status allows people to make taxdeductible donations to both types of organizations, as long as the mission is religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary or cultural.

These non-profits generate more than $108 billion each year in overall economic activity and directly employ more than 440,000 people, or ten percent of the Michigan workforce, according to the Michigan Association of Nonprofits.

That said, this sector is not often clearly understood, as many of the terms we use and expectations we have run counter to the realities non-profits face.

For one thing, “non-profit” is a misnomer. Non-profits can, and often do, make profits. Profits, if made in the service of the mission, cover expenses, pay salaries and operate the agency. But profits alone can’t be the main focus of the agency, nor can profits be divided up among shareholders like a business.

John Van Camp, a seasoned Detroit non-profit leader, offers this distinction, “Businesses manage to margin. A non-profit manages to mission and margin.

The business of a non-profit is the mission, but without a margin, a non-profit is out of business.”

People don’t always understand that non-profits can be as ”entrepreneurial as they can be” and are often even better at creating strategic partnerships than the business sector, Van Camp said.

“Whenever possible, we want to assist people,” Van Camp said of Southwest Solutions, a non-profit that tackles housing and provides counseling in Southwest Detroit. Van Camp, a Romeo native and social worker, has been with the agency 40 years, including many at the helm as president and CEO. “But we are able to help people because we have multiple revenue streams and a strategic plan.”

Another misnomer often attached to non-profits is “tax-exempt” organizations. Non-profits do pay taxes, but differently, depending on the type of organization and the regional rules where they are located.

According to Idealist.org, the original meaning of “exempt” is limited to federal corporate income taxes. 501(c)3 organizations – and other “501” groups - don’t pay taxes on their net income. Additionally, donations to such organizations are deductible from income taxes. Non-charitable organizations— like social clubs—are also tax exempt, but contributions to them are not deductible.

Non-profits still pay payroll taxes. Whether they are charged property taxes or sales tax depends on their locality. Also, private foundations pay an excise tax on their investment earnings and are subject to stricter rules about their operations than public charities. All non-profit groups must pay taxes on their

T

“related business” that falls outside their mission, after the first $1,000. The IRS tracks these activities through the Form 990, which all non-profits must file annually. The tax forms are open to the public and, in many cases, can be found online.

Nationally, the 501(c)3 side of the non-profit sector is growing rapidly, with numbers of registered organizations increasing 30 percent in the last 15 years, according to the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

And while the idea of the folksy, grassroots organization that depends on your donation still exists, the national trend is towards bigger, wealthier organizations that bring in more dollars in fees for services than through donations. This trend is concentrated in larger nonprofit organizations, particularly in health care and education. A recent survey by Charity Navigator compared the largest non-profits in the 30 biggest cities, and found those markets generate 67 percent of the total revenue and 67 percent of the total spending nationwide.

The survey ranked Detroit charities 11th in terms of measuring finances, accountability and transparency, and gave the area a special mention due to its high percentage of funding devoted to programs. Above all, the study says, regional factors – like the cost of living and doing business – shape a charity’s ability to raise money, manage costs and adhere to good governance.

Many non-profit leaders agree, adding that “good” non-profits manage to pull all of the pieces together of running a financially viable organization while remaining true to its purpose.

Dierk Hall, president and CEO of Detroit City Connect, has worked with “hundreds” of nonprofits, from big, multi-million dollar organizations to tiny grassroots volunteer groups. Their current youth employment initiative brings together 60 non-profits, 10 businesses and $2.7 million. While actively working on problem solving, City Connect also helps non-profits become better organizations. This means adapting to the changing world and a more restrictive approach to funding left in the wake of the recession, Hall says.

“The shrinking of dollars means there’s more demand for services, and also more demand on the non-profits,” Hall said. “The money is out there, but it’s more tightly held.”

In Hall’s opinion, good non-profits start with a visionary leader who has a passion for the cause. This is true of any manager, any organization, and profit or non-profit alike, Hall added. Hall’s other top qualities include: an entrepreneurial approach and the ability to take calculated risks, the desire to collaborate with others, be client-driven and have the ability to engage in a broader community conversation. ood organizations are also outcomes-focused, he said. “If you’re not using data to make decisions, you’re not going to be around much longer,” Hall said. “You operate from show-me attitude. Show me what you’re doing with my dollars. Show me what my dollars mean to the community. Show me how you’re improving our communities.”

To get there, organizations are becoming more strategic in their approach to finding grants and building relationships, Hall noted.

“It’s not just trying to get money for the program anymore,” Halls said. “Or, no longer is it ‘there’s a problem and we’re going to fix it now’ and worry about the money later.”

Because smaller, more traditional organizations – picture the volunteer-only food pantry at the local parish – often suffer from a lack of staff or training to keep up with these expectations, organizations like City Connect convene groups together to share resources or provide the services outright.

About eight years ago, much of the Waterford Senior Center’s funding “fell away” with the recession, recalled Maureen Margraf, the center’s coordinator and program/nutrition supervisor. The agency was filling a gap in the community for older adults who needed assistance to stay independent as well as a fun, healthy way to connect with other people in the same situation.

Besides activities and referral services, the group serves 65,000 Meals on Wheels annually, and gas prices make a huge impact on the budget.

“Suddenly we found ourselves faced with the dreaded fund-raising,” Margraf quipped. “It was a lot of work but we had to do it.”

By mustering forces, the center’s fund-raising for Meals on Wheels went from $8,000 to $30,000 and their Specialized Senior Services went from $9,000 to $25,000. They rely heavily on a cadre of committed volunteers, Margraf said.

“For an organization like ours, the commitment of the volunteers will make or break you,” Margraf said.

Finding special staff members is also key as a lot of the payoff isn’t monetary, Margraf said. “We run with a very lean staff who depend on each other, so we try and find people who are deeply committed to this work.”

This often means hiring interns who experience working at the center and

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don’t leave. Margraf herself was one, as she went back to school at 48 years old to work in human services.

The center cultivates relationships with businesses, agencies and the community, and is even housed in a vacated elementary school. Location notwithstanding, the agency does not get millage funds, pays all of the bills and insurance, and writes their share of copy paper boxed-sized grant applications.

In general, there are more expectations placed on the non-profits these days in terms of reporting and access, which is understandable, Margraf said.

“The people who give you money want to see what you’re doing with it; they want to be able to come in, see how you’re doing and how it’s progressing,” Margraf said.

“Transparency is a word that gets tossed around a lot, but you have to mean it. On any given day, someone should be able to come in, see your operation and open your books. Only when you say that, can you really breathe easy.”

The alternative carries dire consequences. When there’s a lack of transparency or financial irresponsibility, people notice, and scandals in the non-profit world have long-felt ripple effects.

There have been executive spending scandals involving highly paid university presidents using organization money to hire a private chef and take jet-set getaways at lavish resorts. The “domestic funds” used for the author to fund his book tour instead of going to schools in Central Asia and Pakistan…all of this leaves people howling for more non-profit oversight.

Howls are usually directed at the IRS, as the agency reviews non-profit finances through Form 990s and other tax documents. Then again, the IRS recently suffered it’s own non-profit black eye after several non-profit groups (like the Tea Party) complained that they were unfairly singled out for audit.

The aftermath may bring a change in the wind for non-profit oversight.

Currently, the state’s attorney general has general oversight, but the sector is largely reliant on the vigilance of board members, donors and state agencies. The National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO) keeps watch over charitable organizations and charitable solicitation in the United States. The Council of Better Business Bureaus has a governance and operations review branch through the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance. The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) offers a similar service for evangelical groups.

There are also organizations like the Association of Fundraising Professionals that require its members to adhere to a code of ethical standards and affirm to the Donor Bill of Rights.

Fund-raising can be a particularly sticky issue as there is no specific law governing how much money organizations should spend on fund-raising. A series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions barred setting statutory limits on the practice, though misleading people about fund-raising amounts can mean penalties for the organization.

Glittering fundraisers do serve a valuable purpose, said Ferrick of United Way. Often people don’t realize that those upfront costs can create an ongoing relationship that brings lifelong value to the organization.

“It’s hard to see that on a spreadsheet,” Ferrick said.

Also many organizations fall short without getting the full value out of the fund-raiser, said Ferrick.

“The most important part of the fund-raiser is when it ends. Too often that person’s name is on a list, they get a generic thank you letter, and every year, we’ll send them an invitation. It becomes a recurring cycle that doesn’t capitalize on that fact you captured someone’s interest. These events need to be an ‘on ramp’ to involvement.” nother misunderstood line item is a non-profit’s administration costs and compensation, often called overhead. Because these costs have long been considered an indicator of an agency’s efficiency, non-profits may shy away from investing in their own capacity, Hall explained. Most non-profits keep their expenses at or below 10 percent, which isn’t always good for the organization’s other goals.

“You’ve just got to have administrative spending,” Hall said. “In this kind of work, your capacity dollars may achieve greater outcomes. This is mission and passion work, so you’re going to want to be able to hire the best professional people for the job.”

Three large non-profit clearinghouses - GuideStar, Charity Navigator, and BBB Wise Giving Alliance - took up this cause this spring with an “open letter to donors.”

The organizations, which provide objective ranking information for thousands of non-profits, denounced the practice of overhead efficiency, saying this creates a “non-profit starvation cycle.”

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“This has starved some nonprofits from investing in themselves as enterprises," the letter said, along with an acknowledgement that all three sites provide this metric due to donor and funder requests.

For example, CharityNavigator will give its highest rating only to organizations that spend below 10 percent on fund-raising.

And while folks may have different expectations of non-profits, they still give to them in large amounts. The media is full of stories of generous Detroitarea donors. Recent headlines highlighted Jack White of the White Stripes swooping in with a $142,000 loan to keep Detroit’s Masonic Temple from going into foreclosure. Madonna, originally from Rochester, donates time, money and has adopted several children from Malawi, Africa’s poorest country. ichiganders contribute an average of 4.5 percent of discretionary income to charitable causes, placing us 13th in the nation. Oakland County is exceptionally generous and ranks number 23 out of the 3,115 counties nationwide in the Chronicle of Philanthropy survey, How America Gives. In 2008, the most recent year for which complete data was available, Oakland County residents donated a total of $833.3 million to non-profit causes.

Linda Wasserman is leader of trust and estates at the law firm of Honingman Miller Schwartz and Cohn.

“I work with people who donate anywhere from hundreds of millions of dollars a year to $10,000 or $5,000 a year,” Wasserman said. Her work includes navigating individual philanthropy, creating foundations and planned giving.

In general, people are becoming more strategic about giving, and thinking more in-depth about what specifically matters to them and investing in that, she said.

“Philanthropy ranges from answering the phone and writing a check to specifically investing in a community problem. These days, instead of writing 100 checks to 100 charities, people try and have greater impact with larger checks to fewer charities,” Wasserman said. “Other people look at how much they have, budget out what they’ll need for themselves and their children, and what’s left is for philanthropic spending for the year.”

That said, the old saying of “people give to people, not causes,” still holds true, Wasserman said.

“The connection to the organization is important,” Wasserman emphasized.

Ferrick, who works with large numbers of individual donors at United Way, agreed, saying that most people want an authentic relationship with the organizations they support.

In this day of social media networking, that should be easy, but non-profits struggle with new media along with everyone else, Ferrick said.

“Sending out a sporadic newsletter isn’t cutting it any longer,” he said.

“With all of the technology in our lives, we expect to connect in a meaningful way.”

It’s a challenge, as many homespun organizations don’t have the staffing or tend to communicate impulsively, but everyone is learning together, Ferrick said. United Way recently launched a Donor Recognition Taskforce to gather input from UW supporters to improve the agency’s practices.

“Our donors are critical partners, and we want to make sure we’re thanking them and communicating with them in a meaningful way. In the non-profit world, this is non-negotiable.”

Other industry trends like crowd funding, impact investment, mobile applications, inclusive demographic shifts and using data to drive decisions should all be on the non-profit radar for 2013, according to a recent article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

But for Dennis Bernard, a dedicated donor and volunteer from Birmingham, the dollars come secondary to the experience of working with organizations that make a community difference, he noted.

Bernard currently volunteers with Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, JVS, JARC, Eton Academy, Yad Ezra, and Oakland County Community Mental Health, among others, and received the Governor’s Award for Volunteerism under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

“We choose these organizations because they are well run, well-managed and a high percentage of each contribution goes right into programs,” Bernard said. “We like where our money is going and want to get the most bang for our buck.”

But personal attachment also figures into the equations, as “the more you feel attached to something, the more you’re willing to give of yourself,” Bernard said.

“As a donor, it’s always a good idea to sit down and look at the organization closely. See what they’re doing and who you’re getting involved with,” Margraf advised.

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08.13

FACES

Stacy Keywell

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tacy Keywell once regaled her little brother with stories from her vivid imagination; today she is a published author sharing her knack for storytelling with the world.

“When I was in high school, I knew I wanted to pursue writing. I would write short stories. (Writing a book) was one of my goals in life.”

Author of “Forbidden Sky,” a book geared toward adolescents and adults, Keywell combines science fiction, the supernatural and fantasy. It is, in part, inspired by a trip she took to Israel years ago where she spent time on a kibbutz.

“The kibbutz is like a microcosm within the countries. It’s a really unique place. It’s like a communal society and a melting pot of people.”

Forbidden Sky, initially written entirely by hand, delves into an alternate society where characters bid on marital partners and are forbidden from questioning the rules set for them.

“The main character’s name is Sky,” Keywell said. “It takes some pretty good twists and turns that people won’t see coming.”

Keywell, also a teacher at Lake Orion High School, is able to gain the perspective of young adults through her students.

She is as passionate about teaching as her writing, but maintains the integrity of her two careers.

“The students might know about (Forbidden Sky), but I keep my writing and teaching separate,” she said. “I’m there for them. Not to promote myself.”

Forbidden Sky, available in Barnes & Noble, Crazy Wisdom bookstore in Ann Arbor, on Amazon and iBooks, is the first of a three-part series entitled “The Dark Wing Series.” She is currently writing the next installment due to be published by 2015.

“For the next six months I’ll have ‘Forbidden Sky’ at Art is in Market in 12 Oaks Mall,” she said. “It’s a store where local artists have a lot of their work. I will be there three times a month and will post on Facebook when I’ll be there.”

The Waterford resident has been raising two daughters with her husband, David, while simultaneously cultivating her careers.

“I write in between neighbors coming over, doing homework with the kids, making dinner and putting out lunches.”

Despite a hectic schedule, Keywell and her family manage to find time to enjoy their surroundings.

“I love the fact that there are so many lakes in the area and it’s so green and beautiful. We back up to the woods and we have birds, wild turkey and deer,” she said. “We love HessHathaway (Park in Waterford). We go there once a week and have a picnic.”

Along with her parents and husband, who have supported her dream to write, her two girls are most impressed by Keywell’s accomplishments.

“My children are so proud of me. They say, ‘you are famous now mommy,’ which is, of course, far from the truth,” she said. “Part of what I do is for me and part of it is to show my kids that if you do have a dream, you can do it.”

Story: Katey Meisner

Photo: Jean Lannen

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BEYOND THE SHELVES HOW LOCAL LIBRARIES ARE REINVENTING THEMSELVES

BY HAYLEY BEITMAN

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nce upon a time, before the latest DVD was more popular than classic books, the public library was a place to check out your favorite Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys paperback and get lost for hours. It was a quiet and somewhat magical place for reading. It was the place where you learned to love books and maybe even earned a few degrees just by exploring the stacks.

It continues to be a place with free access to unlimited resources, but today public libraries have expanded to lend more than just books.

They have become places to peruse spools of microfiche or learn a new language. Unemployed patrons are utilizing free library computers and

consult with librarians to hone their resume and search for a job. Most importantly, libraries have become vibrant hubs of activity and often are the heart of the community.

Libraries have continuously evolved with the times and extended their services to meet the needs of the public, leaving students, parents, teachers, and even some librarians wondering what the library of the future will look like. Will they even have books?

Founder and president of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation Rich Harwood believes that although libraries are often associated with books, the purpose of libraries is not to provide books. It's to provide knowledge.

Harwood recently addressed the ability of libraries to transform communities as the keynote speaker at the Michigan Library Association's Directors' Summit and at the annual American Library Association conference in Chicago.

“I think when people think of libraries they often think of books and stacks of books. Those continue to be important, but I think increasingly important is the fact that libraries are becoming community hubs,” he said.

As the center of a community, libraries serve a unique purpose: to inspire learning, advance knowledge and strengthen communities.

“Unlike many organizations, they don't have an ax to grind. They're neutral.

We're living in a time where people don't feel there's a safe place to come back into community life and engage with each other and I think libraries offer that kind of space,” Harwood said. “In a sense, libraries are becoming this hub for how we live our lives and how we engage in community life and there aren't a lot of groups who do that.”

Harwood doesn't see print as dying, rather, he sees the future of libraries as robust, vibrant and expanded.

“Libraries will always be a space where people can come and create knowledge together but we can't simply equate that with books,” he said. “If people think of libraries simply in terms of books, they're actually missing the essence of a library. Libraries are about knowledge and it can come in lots of forms.”

One thing that stood out to him at the Michigan Library Association's Directors' Summit was the degree to which Michigan librarians wanted to engage their communities and residents more.

“There's a lot of great innovation occurring in many libraries. There's a growing sense within the library community that libraries need to think about their role in communities moving forward and their role in building stronger communities,” he said. “If you think of libraries as centers of the community then they're relevant to every individual in that community in one way or another.”

The Commerce Township Community Library opened eight years ago in the former banquet center of the Eldorado Golf Course. As a member of The Library Network (TLN), a consortium of 65 libraries in southeast Michigan, the Commerce Township Community Library provides services developed through collaboration among its member libraries. It primarily provides services to residents of Commerce Township and Wolverine Lake, although anyone with a TLN card may use the public computers for at least an hour.

“Interestingly enough, this library was founded back in 2005. This is not an old library so this library was computerized, was part of The Library Network and had Internet access on day one,” library director Connie Jo Ozinga said.

“Our online system is shared by 59 libraries. You can request any book right in the catalog and it will get sent to be picked up. We send out far more books to other libraries than we borrow. Certain things are limited to Commerce Township residents, but we're pretty open. If you have a library card, we can figure something out.” he Commerce Township library's mission statement is to provide equal access to information, ideas and knowledge, and to promote reading and discovery within an innovative and inviting environment. “If I would have written that mission statement, it would have had the word inspire in it,” Ozinga added.

Commerce Township's library has a large computer training room with nine stations where many classes are held. The library has 18 adult computers, seven teen computers and six youth computers, four of which have Internet filters.

“Those things are in use all the time. We do classes and get all of these people in our classes. We have walk-in technology night and we show you how to download e-books. We spend quite a bit of money on e-books. From 2011 to 2012, our e-book use more than doubled because 2011 was the Christmas that everybody got an e-book reader,” she said. “This place is so busy. We average 450 people a day all year coming through our door. Last summer, we had 600 people a day in the month of July alone and that is due to our summer programming, kids coming to the library to see a magician or for Sunshine Story Time. People of every age use this library.”

Ozinga, who has worked at the Commerce library for three years, said that although the library is busy, she has seen a decrease in print circulation in recent years.

“I would say that books and media circulation has been down about 45 percent every year and those numbers are more than made up for by the growth of downloadable e-books, music and audio. We are also looking at new products that give streaming movies that residents can watch on their own computers or on any computer,” she said.

In addition to e-books and downloadable audio books that the library offers,

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a new downloadable magazine service called Zinio was recently added that offers over 5,000 digital magazines for iPads, iPhones, Androids, Macs and PCs. “It is so cool,” Ozinga said, and free of charge.

“We put a great deal of money into databases, as does the state. Databases are absolutely wonderful. Our most popular is Consumer Reports. You have to log in to be able to use these. We have Morningstar, which is a very popular financial newspaper about mutual funds. We have a lot of references in business research and we have a learn a foreign language database called Mango.”

Three to four youth librarians and three adult services librarians are assigned to collection development in specific areas, Ozinga said.

“We have an adult service desk and youth service desk that help you resolve whatever you're trying to resolve. In circulation, I have one librarian who is the supervisor and he has five part-time employees and that's how we keep that check out desk running,” she said. “They are all very important because if you can't find it in the right place, it's like it doesn't exist.”

She said Commerce Township library's budget is $1.3 million, with $90,000 allocated to databases and e-books and $195,000 allocated to books and other materials, which includes DVDs. “A good 50 to 55 percent (of the budget) is personnel, that's typical and normal. The rest are office supplies, postage, printing, dues and utilities,” she said. zinga expects the library to receive $1.6 million, of which $1.5 million is from property taxes. “Libraries in Michigan get penal fines collected by the court. We make about $22,000 in fine fees and lost book replacements and we make about $2,000 in photocopy fees,” she said. “We have about $275,000 of income that is not included in our approved expenditures. A lot of that money gets set aside at the end of the year for a future new library building, but that's down the road,” she said.

In an effort to continually upgrade their services, the Commerce Township Library Board of Trustees in June of this year voted to award a contract to Library Strategies of St. Paul, Minnesota to lead the library in a long range planning process. The firm will work with the library to collect, analyze, and interpret input from the community that will then be presented to the steering committee. The firm will also design and conduct customer surveys and focus groups.

The goal of hiring the firm is to examine the library's growth patterns, demographics, needs for funding and service with respect to future trends and technologies.

The Walled Lake City Library provides library services to residents of Walled Lake and to non-residents with valid library cards from TLN public libraries.

Walled Lake’s library participates in MelCat, a statewide library resourcesharing network, and in addition to its regular collection of books, audiobooks, DVDS and e-resources, they offer computer and Internet classes, summer reading programs, book discussion groups and music programs. The theme of this year's Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) is “Dig Into Reading”, which visitors can find vibrantly displayed throughout the library in Walled Lake.

“The Walled Lake City Library's mission is to serve our community by providing individuals and families with a safe and inviting space for reading, learning, imagining and exploring. The library also aspires to be a focal point for educational and cultural activity in the Walled Lake area,” library director Alyson Lobert said.

Lobert is relatively new to the Walled Lake library, having taken over as director in July, but is already very familiar with the library and community. She is the only librarian on staff, with a master of library and information science (MLIS) degree from an American Library Association-accredited school.

“Librarians offer a wide range of services to their patrons, from helping a patron find a new favorite author, to assisting a patron with downloading an ebook, to supporting a patron who is in the midst of a job search or helping a student find the materials they need for project or a paper. No day is ever the same and that is one of the things that makes the profession so great,” she said.

Lobert is assisted by eight full-time and part-time staff members, including two who specialize in technical and youth services.

The Walled Lake City Library, which has had computers available for public use since the mid-1990s, currently has nine computer workstations available for public use and free Wi-Fi for any patrons with laptops and mobile devices. As a member of Download Destination, a consortium of over 40 libraries coordinated

by TLN, the Walled Lake library also offers free downloadable e-books and eaudiobooks.

“Databases contain quality, premium content such as articles from scholarly and professional journals that are not freely available on the Internet. All

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databases are available from within the library and most can be accessed by cardholders from outside the library, too,” she said.

The library provides patrons with access to a wide variety of databases, including full text magazines, newspaper databases and resources about specific subject areas such as business, health, genealogy and education.

Lobert said circulation has remained fairly steady over the last couple of years, averaging approximately 100 residents per day, not including those using remote services such as e-books, e-audiobooks or databases.

“Representing well over 90 percent of overall circulation, physical media remains the bulk of Walled Lake City Library's circulation. I expect that e-book and e-audiobook circulation will continue to grow and will eventually represent a larger portion of our circulation,” she said.

Approximately 10 percent of the library's $303,000 budget is allocated for the purchase of materials. The rest of the library's budget information is more difficult to scrape together, she said.

As a passionate librarian, Lobert said she believes that no matter how smart and helpful search engines get, they will never replace libraries or librarians.

“Libraries offer the expertise of librarians in helping teach people how to use technology to find the information they need and librarians can teach people how to use that technology more effectively to find better answers. An Internet search engine can give a patron thousands of potential answers to a question but a librarian can help the patron find the one answer he or she needs,” she said.

“There is still a great need for libraries. Libraries are places of education and self-help and lifelong learning. What people who are fortunate enough to have a computer may forget is that for many children and adults, libraries are the only place they go to use a computer.”

While libraries have evolved and continue to evolve to keep up with changing times, Lobert said the core purpose and primary function of libraries has remained constant.

“Libraries exist to enrich lives, foster literacy, advance knowledge and strengthen our communities through lifelong learning,” she said.

Without a central downtown area, the White Lake Township Library has naturally become the heart of the community.

“By default, the place that brings the community together here in White Lake is the library. My focus in the five years that I’ve been here is trying to expand the walls of the library. The library has gotten quietly involved in the community over the past five years,” library director Larry Ostrowski said. “The thing I’ve been hearing in the time I’ve been here is to focus on getting the library involved in various activities in the community. That was a concern when I came here and something we focused a lot of time and energy on so that now when something occurs, organizations naturally tend to think about the library as being part of that.”

Located on Highland Road, the White Lake Township Library primarily offers services to White Lake residents. Ostrowski said roughly 80 percent of the patrons are White Lake residents, with 20 percent coming from neighboring communities.

“We’re doing about 2,000 people a week in the library here. It hasn’t totally switched yet (from print to digital); people are primarily still coming for materials. We might be higher than other communities in terms of our juvenile collection. We’re one of those libraries where the day we advertise for story time, it fills up. Most of our juvenile programs do very well. People expect to take your children to the library. This is kind of a throw back to where I was 30 years ago in seeing those kind of activities,” Ostrowski said.

“There’s not a whole lot that we do that anyone else doesn’t do. Some people can offer more. In terms of Internet, we were one of the folks that went big on the stimulus grant. We more than doubled the number of computers we were able to offer back in 2010 or 2011.”

The White Lake Library started with eight computers and now has 19 with public Internet access. “You can download materials straight to your e-reader and we have programs for people to learn how to use their e-readers,” he said.

The library employs twenty-one full-time and part-time staff members between the youth and reference departments. Ostrowski said another way the library is able to meet the needs of the community is by working with nearby libraries to share collections.

“All of the libraries in this area work together in a consortium to try and buy access (to materials) collectively which helps cost figures. Everybody around here works together. In terms of the libraries around us, we’re all connected together and share content,” he said.

He said White Lake library's budget is approximately $1 million. “All of our revenue is property tax and maybe 1 or 2 percent is state aid and we collect penal fines and that kind of thing. About 98 percent of our money is local property tax,” he said.

In terms of expenses, Ostrowski said White Lake is pretty close to a standard model, spending 60 percent on personnel, 20 percent on its collection and 20 percent on everything else. “To keep the lights on and mow the lawn. Those kinds of things,” he said. “Those kinds of parameters seem to work for us.”

Looking toward the future, Ostrowski hopes to continue expanding the library to meet the needs of the community. “In our case, the hope for the future is we would have a library building comparable to the libraries around us. We serve over 30,000 people but our building is just 10,000 square feet, so we’re struggling,” he said. earby, the 27,000 square foot Waterford Township Public Library primarily offers services to Waterford and Lake Angelus residents. “We serve a large population of 72,000 people so we find we’re stretched pretty thin for what we serve,” library director Joan Rogers said. “Our actual door count this past month was 21,000 people and our average door count per day is about 850. Some days are busier than others, but the average count per hour is 93, so that’s quite busy.”

Rogers has worked at the Waterford library for over 25 years and has seen the building grow from 6,000 square feet to its current size of over 20,000 square feet.

“Our course there is going to be changes in the number of people we can accommodate but we’ve always been a busy library. Our numbers went way up between 2009 and 2011 because people were scrambling to find resources they could use. A lot of families were looking for little or no cost entertainment,” she said.

The Waterford library began providing Internet services in the mid-1990s as part of a major expansion project, and extended its services to provide econtent about three years ago. It offers a total of 56 workstations for public use between the children’s room and adult area.

“Last year, the June circulation of e-materials was 1,971, which is a remarkable increase for that format alone. Total circulation for June was 27,881, so it’s maybe 9 or 10 percent of the total. Right now print is still about 75 percent of the materials we have available,” she said.

The Waterford library also offers summer reading programs, children’s services, story time, family programs and concerts, all organized by library staff members.

“We have the great good fortune to have several librarians on full-time staff which is not always the case. We have 37 employees and of that, we have nine librarians. We have a great support staff, many who are part-time but are very dedicated to what they do and they provide a great service here,” she said. “They have become very knowledgeable in how to help anybody with any kind of reader to download what is available to us. We do a lot of hands-on.”

Rogers said their operating millage this year generated $1.7 million. An additional $30,000 is from state aid and $85,000 comes from motor vehicle penal fines. Like all service industries including libraries, the largest portion of the budget goes to personnel costs. She said approximately 74 percent of the budget is spent on staff, 23 percent is spent on the building and 3 percent is spent on the collection or, “what we can infuse into the collection new every year. We have a pretty good collection but it’s because we've built it over time.”

Rogers said during her time at the Waterford library, she has heard people question the need for libraries when they have the Internet. “We need libraries because of the Internet. With the downturn in the economy, we have been a place where people can access things online when they’ve had to make bread and butter choices at home. We always have a line at the door of regulars who come in first thing in the morning and who will spend as much time as they can on the computers,” Rogers said.

“The shift in use we’re seeing is people need to access the electronic environment and they don’t always have the capacity at home or where they’re working or going to school. We’re offering more services online. We’re finding there’s a great interest in using electronic formats such as e-books and e-audiobooks. We’re struggling to meet that demand right now.”

In terms of the future of libraries, Rogers said she sees print and digital as coexisting because humans favor diversity in all aspects of life.

“There will just be things that live best in print,” she said. “Many of our references tools that need to be updated periodically, electronic format is best for them. It means fewer resources that need to be reprinted. The electronic format is a good one for people who have some kind of disability.

If you can manage to manipulate e-readers, you can change the font size.

Also, people who have some vision issues can change the contrast or lighting on an e-reader and that’s very helpful. Audio books are a good option for people who have difficulty with print. We don’t have to make everything fit in the same box.”

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Walled Lake institutes police layoffs

By Kevin Elliott

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Seven layoffs part of budget approval

By Hayley Beitman

After deferring its adoption twice, the Walled Lake City Council unanimously approved on Tuesday, July 16, the city's 2013-2014 fiscal year budget, which began July 1 and includes seven layoffs.

The approved 2013-2014 budget has projected revenues of $8.9 million with a balanced and equal amount of estimated expenditures. The city's millage rate was maintained at the current rate, 17.73 mills.

The city's expenditures have decreased $2.1 million from the 20122013 fiscal year due to employee downsizing and a reduction in road construction projects, as the Decker and Pontiac Trail Road project was budgeted in the previous fiscal year.

Property tax related revenue, the city’s largest source of revenue, is estimated to decrease an additional 2.3 percent, or $55,000, from the 2012-2013 fiscal year. In 2004, the city received $2.9 million in property taxes; in fiscal year 2014, they anticipate receiving only $2.2 million in property taxes, 58 percent of the city's general fund revenues.

In the approved 2013-2014 budget, $3.8 million is dedicated to the city's general fund and $2.7 million is in the water and sewer fund. The Walled Lake Downtown Development Authority projects expenses of $490,250.

“The single largest expense is personnel costs,” finance director Colleen Coogan said. “The largest and most expensive department in the city is police.” At the city council meeting July 16, Coogan gave a presentation that showed the average police or fire employee currently receives well over $5,000 every month for the rest of their life when they retire. Personnel comprises 71 percent of the general fund expenditures at current staffing levels, or $3.2 million.

Out of the general fund, $2.4 million is for public safety, $961,649 is for general government services including the city manager and clerk, and $367,488 is for public works.

Additionally, they approved an $80,000 capital outlay which includes the purchase of a one-ton plow truck, and $12,135 for legislative expenses which includes the city council.

Separate from the general fund is the refuse fund, which was created in 1989 to provide solid waste

management and recycling services with Farmington, Farmington Hills, Novi, South Lyon, Southfield, Walled Lake and Wixom, which projects expenses of $314,300. The major streets fund has proposed expenditures of $276,885, with the local streets fund projecting expenditures of $221,085.

To balance the budget, the Walled Lake council approved tentative staffing changes which includes seven layoffs between police, general government and the department of public works. The city is currently still in talks with all three unions to reach labor agreements.

The fire department will retain its current four full-time employees. The budget plans for the police department to retain five full-time patrol officers, with the highest seniority at the patrol rank to staff a single 24-hour shift.

“Police run two 24-hour shifts.

They have two people on the road at all times so they are going to take that to a 24-hour shift,” Coogan said.

Originally, five patrol officers received layoff notices but four including a task force member, will be laid off, according to the staffing levels approved by council. The public works department will have a reduction of two full-time crew members, retaining four full-time.

The fire department, despite receiving layoff notices, will not have any layoffs, provided agreements with the unions are reached.

“In the DPW department, of the two, one has retired and one may be retiring so that department might actually hit the staffing levels directed by council through attrition,” Coogan said.

In the administrative office, which includes the clerk, treasurer and other general administration, two fulltime employees will be retained and two will be laid off.

“At this point, council has said this is where we stand right now, but depending on how these contracts come back, they made it clear to the city manager that we may revisit this.

For right now, this is what we're doing and where we're headed,” Coogan said.

Walled Lake Mayor William (Bill) Roberts said if negotiations move forward in a positive way with the police department, a special meeting could be held to make budget amendments.

“A budget is not written in stone; it's a fluid document,” he said.

he Walled Lake Police Department may need to rely on assistance from law enforcement officers in neighboring communities following personnel cuts in the form of layoffs made as part of a structural reorganization in city services, effective Friday, July 26.

Walled Lake Finance Director Colleen Coogan said layoffs at the department include three full-time patrol officers and a junior officer with the drug enforcement task force. The cuts will bring the total level of fulltime, sworn officers from 14 to 10, including the police chief. Coogan said the layoffs, which were outlined in the budget approved by city council on July 16, will allow the department to continue to operate 24 hours each day, but the number of patrol officers on duty will vary at times.

In addition, there were layoffs in other departments including two clerical positions from the administrative office due to budgetary constraints. Another layoff, in the public works department, will likely be achieved through attrition, Coogan said.

The police will continue providing continuous coverage for residents, but where there had been two officers on duty at all times, on some shifts the city will now only have one police officer on duty to cover the entire city.

Under the approved budget, staffing levels for the department's patrol requires five full-time patrol officers to staff a single 24-hour shift. Further, any reductions in staff caused by retirement, resignations or other forms of attrition will not be filled and shifts will be supplemented with part-time officers as needed.

Officials said coverage by mutual aid from law enforcement in Wolverine Lake and Wixom may be utilized at times when an additional officer is needed to respond to specific calls.

Walled Lake Police Chief Paul Shakinas said the layoffs won't require any procedural changes, and that officers will continue to respond to every call. Still, he said the cuts bring the department to a minimum staffing level, and that responding to non-emergency calls could take slightly longer at times.

“I can't get into staffing, too much. It's like an invitation to rob Walled Lake,” Shakinas said regarding how many officers will be on duty at specific times.

Shakinas said the department has always worked well with neighboring law enforcement agencies to provide coverage for one another, and that the recent layoffs won't create any disruptions in the city's services to residents. However, future cuts in staffing, he said, could be problematic.

“I think anything less than what we have would make it difficult to cover the busy hours; the afternoon, for instance, is busy,” he said. “Any lower than now and it may be difficult to get through those busy periods.

This will definitely be minimum staffing as to responding to calls and being able to investigate those calls.”

Each of the officers who received layoff notices has more than eight years of experience with the department, Shakinas said. While he said there were discussions on other measures that could be taken to cut costs and avoid the layoffs of full-time officers, Shakinas said some could create public safety issues.

“Taking away part-time (officers), in my opinion would hurt the city,” he said. “It would hurt the support and could be a public safety issue.”

Shakinas also said he believes the department can provide services to the city for less money than it would cost to have the Oakland County Sheriff's Office provide law enforcement service. “I respect the sheriff's office, but council felt they wanted to maintain local policing,” he said.

Mayor Bill Roberts and Coogan said some of the positions could be recalled if further concessions are made to union contracts that are still in negotiations. However, Coogan said any changes likely wouldn't be made until after October, if at all. She said tentative contract agreements with unions representing public works employees, as well as full- and part-time firefighters, are expected to go before city council on August 20 for approval.

Negotiations with the police and clerical unions have yet to be completed.

She said while the firefighters' union and clerical union have “come to the table” to offer concessions in order to retain jobs, it's unlikely that all of the layoffs could be recalled, despite pending negotiations.

“The layoffs are part of a structural reorganization in the city. The city needed to reorganize its service delivery in line with the structural deficit,” she said. “There is no way that they could save every job, even with the concessions.”

Sale for Commerce property approved

By Hayley Beitman

Commerce Township's Downtown Development Authority (DDA) unanimously approved the sale of approximately 60 acres of DDA-owned land to M. Shapiro Development Company in Farmington Hills on Tuesday, June 25.

The approximately 60-acre piece of land is part of 330 acres of DDA-owned land being marketed and sold as Commerce Towne Place. Clerk Vanessa Magner said the DDA also owns additional land outside of the Commerce Towne Place property.

“We combined two golf courses and we purchased those golf courses,” DDA Director Kathleen Jackson said. El Dorado Country Club was purchased for $10 million in 2004, the Links of Pinewood was purchased for $14 million between 2006 and 2007, along with fifty acres of Huron Clinton Metropolitan land and contiguous parcels.

The goal is to create a vibrant atmosphere for the project area, to maximize the amount of tax capture to pay off debt and to ensure the development fits in with the township goals, DDA Marketing Committee Chairperson David Smith explained at a joint township, DDA and planning commission meeting in April.

The property north of M-5 between Welch and Haggerty roads was originally purchased to provide relief from traffic congestion, enhance the economic stability of the township and allow the preservation of open space.

Jackson said the property includes 350 total acres but it is not all developable because of factors like wetlands, pathways and the preservation of open space.

“There's 220 total developable acres so (project consultant Randy Thomas of Insite Commercial) is marketing this whole area. It's an ongoing process on the rest of it,” Jackson said. The acreage purchased by M. Shapiro Development Company, north of Pontiac Trail and east of Martin Parkway, is the first of five units that has been sold.

The unit purchased by M. Shapiro Development Company, Unit 5, has three developable parcels, Parcel A-1, Parcel A-2 and Parcel A-3, which were purchased for a total of $5.15 million.

“It's located on the southwest quadrant and it was purchased by 38

Location found for water reservoir

A

fter debating for nearly five years, a tentative location for the Commerce Township water reservoir has been chosen and at their quarterly meeting on Tuesday, July 23, the Commerce Township Board of Trustees discussed the design and appearance of the tower.

The Commerce Township water reservoir will likely be located partially on DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital property on a 90 by 300 foot piece of land south of Proposed water reservoir the Fire Station No. 1 site.

“We are still in negotiations with the hospital and there is not a deal in place at this time. We hope to send a purchase agreement over to the hospital in the next week or two after the exhibits that go along with it have been prepared,” Giffels-Webster Senior Project Manager Jason Mayer said. “The hospital is willing to review the purchase agreement that we're preparing right now. We sent them a preliminary plan and they indicated they'd be willing to negotiate with us.”

Township attorney Phillip Adkison of Adkison, Need, & Allen PLLC is currently preparing the proposal for the hospital. “The hospital is willing to sell us a site,” he told the board. “We're expecting the hospital is likely going to want something more than a standard cement tank and I'm sure the township wants to be in a position to give neighboring property owners some indiction of what the appearance will be like.”

The proposed two million gallon ground storage facility, to be located behind the fire station, would be a prestressed concrete tank with an internal water membrane. No more than 50 percent of the water wall height could be buried underground and Mayer said he is not sure how much of the tank would go underground. The facility is estimated to be 35 feet tall and 110 feet in diameter, taking approximately 18 months to design and build.

Mayer estimates to cost to be between $4 and $5 million, depending on various options. An all brick structure would add an additional $50,000 to the cost, and columns would add an additional $10,000 each.

“Basically the more brick, the more it costs,” he said. “It really just depends how much brick you want to put on it.” A flat roof would add between 20 and 30 percent to the cost.

Giffels Webster provided the board with photos of eight existing tanks to serve as a point of reference.

“This is an item with a probably 50-plus year lifetime and I'm expecting the appearance will be a major topic of discussion with the hospital,” Adkison said.

DDA Director Kathleen Jackson added that the hospital brick is flat and monolithic as opposed to the fire station which is a darker brick with a beige or taupe trim. “It depends which building you're trying to tie that into. The fire station makes more sense to me,” she said.

Trustee Robert Long agreed that Option B, with a darker brick, would fit in well. “Clearly B looks the best to me. I like the darker shades. I think that B is very classy,” he said.

Mayer said the purchase agreement will be sent out within the next week. “We really have no final plans yet. I know the township would like it to go there (on the hospital property),” he said. “As soon as we work something out with the hospital, we'll start working on renderings.”

M.Shapiro Development Company based out of Farmington Hills. They are proposing stacked ranch and/or townhouses totaling approximately 400 units in the A-1 parcel. In the A-2 parcel, that will be a mixed use development, which is restaurant, senior living, banking, rental

apartments and hospitality. The third parcel, A-3, is retail uses but no retailers are established yet,” Jackson said.

Parcel A-1, a 51-acre piece of land, was purchased for $3.4 million; Parcel A-2, a 4.5-acre piece of land, was purchased for $1.25 million; and

WESTEND

Parcel A-3, a 4.4-acre piece of land, was purchased for $500,000.

“The transaction took about 18 months to put together. There were some lags in the time line because the DDA needed to draft some important documents that would be important to any developer,” Randy Thomas said.

“It's going to be primarily residential and there will be a commercial component fronting the Martin Parkway.” Thomas said he is not at liberty to discuss offers on the other units at this time.

Jackson said there was another developer interested in the unit. “It (M. Shapiro Development Company) was a better deal for the DDA,” she said.

The stacked ranch and/or townhome communities proposed for Parcel A-1 will total approximately 400 units. It is presently contemplated that each unit shall have no fewer than two bedrooms and two baths with an attached garage. However, the final product and mix will be dictated by the market conditions, the purchase agreement stated, which could also include one bedroom, two bedroom, three bedroom units, or a mix of different bedroom units.

Parcel A-2 is planned to be a mixed use development, which could include restaurants, hospitality, senior living, banking with a drive-through and rental apartments. The agreement prohibits gas stations, fast food and drive-through restaurants, but permits drive-through businesses that primarily sell coffee, such as a Tim Hortons, Starbucks, or Biggby Coffee.

Retail uses for the A-3 Parcel include restaurants, hospitality, banking with drive-through and also excludes gas stations and fast food restaurants.

Magner said rezoning for the approximately 60 acres was not needed because M. Shapiro Development Company received a Planned Unit Development (PUD) agreement. “When they did the PUD agreement, they zoned it to be multifamily (which Jackson confirmed is permitted in the township) and the land up towards Martin Parkway is zoned to be commercial.”

PUDs are a regulatory tool which promotes large scale, unified land development projects under a mixture of land uses while promoting common open spaces and encouraging mixed uses, densities and lot sizes.

Magner said the purchase will now go to the township board of trustees for final approval at an upcoming board meeting.

08.13

New development receives approval

By Hayley Beitman

Developer Randy Wertheimer of Hunter Pasteur Homes in Farmington Hills received unanimous approval Monday, July 8, from the Commerce Township Planning Commission on a final site plan and special land use to build Orchards of Commerce, a new home development located north off of Commerce Road between Carey and Bogie Lake Roads in Commerce Township.

“It is a 26-unit subdivision on approximately 15 acres of land across from the fire station and Huron ValleySinai Hospital,” Downtown Development Authority Director Kathleen Jackson said. The public hearing was held at the planning commission meeting on Monday, July 8, to review and discuss the cluster option in the R-1A, single family residential district.

“The last cluster option was about seven or eight years ago,” Jackson told the planning commission. “It is to preserve open space in an area and to allow the petitioner to reduce lot sizes. It's not a relatively new tool – it's probably 15 to 20 years old. It's an option that the township board felt provided for higher quality developments and more open space.”

The residential open space, or cluster option, is designed to preserve significant natural features by allowing the developer to create

smaller lots and put more homes on the site, said Paula Lankford, assistant to the township planner.

Engineer Mike Powell, representing Hunter Pasteur Homes, explained Wertheimer's plans. “The concept is that the cluster option be approved to allow for park lands to be available on the western half of the project. All of that area is proposed to be park land. He is asking for the cluster option to be able to maintain trees on the site and to preserve large sections of trees instead of just an occasional tree on the lot,” Powell said. “It is a very, very beautiful wooded area that's meant to be left as natural as possible.”

Jackson concurred, “The petitioner has stated he does want to keep those two areas they've listed as open space and he is going to keep those in their natural state.”

The project proposes four walk outs, 16 garden window sites and six standard basements.

“I was able to meet with the homeowners association of Huron Hills to the west and that is a cluster option project. The developer has authorized me to provide for about a 20 to 25 foot buffer all along the west property line, all the way to the bend in the west property line,” Powell said.

Conditions of the approval included the possibility of the 20 foot buffer and a three-foot berm on the Commerce Road entrance, Lankford said.

“They still have to go to the township board and get approved by

Glengary Inn has changed ownership

By Hayley Beitman

G

lengary Inn, a neighborhood bar and grill at 1211 Glengary Road in Wolverine Lake, will be under new ownership and plans are being made for a grand re-opening this fall.

John (J.R.) and Linda Blankenship, who have lived in the area for over 20 years, decided to purchase the Wolverine Lake location from former owner Sandra Marsh after supporting the Glengary Inn as customers for years.

“We've gone to the Glengary Inn for a long time. We didn't go for a long time and we went once and it was really kind of a scary place so we never went back again,” Linda Blankenship said.

“One day while I was driving home, I stopped for one drink and Sandy (Marsh) introduced herself and was telling us the story of how she owned it

the township board. The planning commission is just a recommending body for subdivisions. They're going to the township board on August 13 and once they go there, they still have to get engineering on site approved, and then they can start pulling building permits,” Lankford said.

Orchards of Commerce received unanimous site plan and special land use approval from the planning commission to build 26 single family homes by a 4-2 vote, with Thomas Jones and David Law dissenting, and will go before the township board in August.

“Our best interest is to keep as many trees as possible. Our goal is to work with the community and create a beautiful subdivision next to Huron Hills,” said Wertheimer, who also owns Augusta Woods Subdivision located on the southwest inside corner of Wise and Carroll Lake Roads.

Commerce turns down offer for land The Commerce Township board of trustees on Tuesday, July 9, rejected a purchase offer for a vacant parcel of township land on Sleeth and Benstein roads.

David Eberhard came before the board on behalf of Benjamin W. Lockhart and presented a purchase offer to buy 3.9 acres of vacant township land for $150,000, which had been foreclosed upon but was

and sold it to somebody and that person owned it for two or three years. They really wrecked the place and she was sad.”

To support their local neighborhood bar and restaurant, the Blankenship's sent out e-mails to the neighborhood inviting them to various social gatherings at the Glengary Inn. “We went the Friday night before to remind her we were having a get together. Over 100 people came, and it was a really fun local evening out. We started doing that about once a quarter for special occasions. Her business slowly and steadily started to increase and I was looking for a change,” around the same time Marsh was looking to retire.

The Blankenships purchased the Glengary Inn earlier this year and notification of the liquor license transfer went before the Wolverine Lake council at their meeting on Wednesday, June 12.

The transfer did not require council approval, as it will either be approved or denied by the

not up for sale by the township.

“The property is 3.9 acres and currently zoned R-2 which allows for single family dwellings,” Eberhard said. He told the board it would be developed concurrent with its zoned use, with 19 duplexes for a total of 38 units on the property.

“We offered $38,000 (per acre).

We think that is a good price and I think the market is coming back to justify construction and development. I think it's ripe on both ends at this point,” Eberhard said.

Trustee Rick Sovel stated he didn't see any reason for the township to sell it. “I think we should hold onto it until we max out on values. This could help us recoup some money. I don't see that there's any benefit to the residents,” he said.

With lack of support for the sale, supervisor Tom Zoner made a motion to negotiate the potential sale in the future.

“I, as the township supervisor, accepted you to bring in a proposal and you did. If we took a poll here, I think there's probably a mixed idea of which way we'd like to go,” Zoner said. With no support on his motion, “You have to look at it as the township is not interested in selling the property.”

Trustees said that when they are ready to sell the property, they will put it out to bid.

Michigan Liquor Control Commission in the upcoming months, but was an opportunity for the council to raise any concerns.

“It's a pretty open and shut thing here,” police captain John Ellsworth said.

Blankenship plans to work for a few weeks with Marsh before she opens on her own.

“Probably at the end of August or beginning of September, we will do all of the outside things and have a grand opening in the fall,” she said.

“Our plan is to keep a nice neighborhood feel, wherever you live in the neighborhood. A lot of people live here and have never been there. We're hoping to create a kind of really comfortable environment and a little bit better food.”

Blankenship said she has been very active in the community with her husband J.R. and expects a large turnout in the fall. “Once we take over, people will want to come and support me and I want to make sure I can handle it first,” she said.

Entrance approved for Maple Glen Park

By Hayley Beitman

The Commerce Parks and Recreation Committee received unanimous approval from the Commerce Township Board of Trustees to begin the first phase of a design plan to add a second entrance and additional parking at Maple Glen Park.

Emily England, director of the Parks and Recreation Committee, presented the first phase of the design plan to trustees at their board meeting on Tuesday, July 9.

“The parks and recreation committee has had several discussions over the last years regarding beginning the construction at Maple Glen Park.

There is a safety and security concern in the park due to there only being one entrance that gets very congested, especially in the event of an emergency. The committee has decided they would like to begin work on the project and address the issue,” she said.

When the concept and phasing plan for Maple Glen Park was completed in March 2011, the original proposal included adding two entries and two new parking lots, which would require shifting the softball field and trails.

Since the original proposal was too large for the available resources, the scaled back proposal that was approved includes only one new entry and a connected road, or access drive, to the existing entry.

With unanimous township board approval, the parks and recreation committee will move forward with the scaled down phase presented by livingLAB and Giffels-Webster. livingLAB will manage the entire project and charge the township a fee

of $87,500. “It was budgeted for,” England told the board.

The first phase of the project includes data collection, preliminary design, site plan review and permits, and a construction package.

Additional improvements will include an ingress and egress boulevard, drop off and pick up areas, a parking area, an internal access drive connecting the new and existing drive, a pedestrian circulation system and landscaping and site furnishings. “livingLAB is available to begin work immediately upon your authorization to proceed. We would like to get our team out to flag the wetlands and conduct the topographic survey as soon as possible,” landscape architect and partner of livingLAB Jamison Brown wrote in a letter to the board.

Costco reviewing adding more pumps The Costco store in Commerce Township received unanimous approval from the Commerce Township Planning Commission for four additional pumping stations at 3000 Commerce Crossing Road, but Costco may withdrawal the request because of conditions on lighting, assistant to the township planner Paula Lankford said.

“They were approved at the meeting but they didn't have any representation there. They asked to be tabled because the gentleman had cracked four ribs.

The planning commission felt it was simple enough, they could review it anyways,” Lankford said.

At the Monday, July 8, planning commission meeting, Downtown Development Authority Director Kathleen Jackson said all of the lighting on the canopy needs to be fully recessed under the canopy, four exterior lights

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Commerce to hire extra inspector Commerce Township's board of trustees on Tuesday, July 9, unanimously accepted a proposal to hire additional personnel to assist with ordinance enforcement.

The new field ordinance inspector will assist Jay James, Commerce Township's consulting engineer and building inspector and president of KER Engineering, in investigating complaints which come into the township, obtaining field evidence and photographs, and attending court hearings.

“Over the last year-and-a-half I have been doing ordinance work along with building inspections, but building inspections have picked up substantially over the past four to six months. Unfortunately, ordinance has suffered because of it. In the proposal, I tried to give you other options: hire a field person to go out and do field work, or get additional help internally to handle all the paperwork,” James said.

The township agreed to hire a field ordinance inspector who will be paid the proposed $35 an hour.

“During the summer it could easily be a full-time job, between grass complaints and signs alone. Especially with all the rain lately, grass is growing like crazy. Come fall, we get a lot of boat issues. During winter, they are very minimal. I would like to think during the summer it could be close to fulltime,” he said.

The field ordinance inspector will assist James in inspecting complaints, scouting the township for existing ordinance violations and attempting to clean up ordinance issues.

Supervisor Tom Zoner noted since the need is urgent, it's important that someone is hired as soon as possible.

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need to be eliminated and the number of foot candles exceeds what is permitted.

The township allows 20 foot candles and Costco has 25 or 26, Lankford said.

“He said he has to get back with Costco. He may not choose to do it.

We're in a holding pattern right now with Costco. They may just back out and withdrawal the whole request.”

Costco's Commerce Township Warehouse, which opened in Commerce Crossing Shopping Center in September 2003, has 12 existing pumps and serves as a gas station, tire service center and pharmacy, as well as a shopping warehouse.

According to Costco's manager Mark, the four additional pumps will decrease wait time at the pump. “It's to accommodate our growing business,” he said.

Planning commission member Brian Winkler mentioned traffic as an additional area of concern. “I use this fueling station and on more than one occasion when I entered that corner to turn right into the fueling station, there has been traffic moving northbound in that driveway going to the fueling station as well,” he said.

Chairperson Lawrence Haber agreed.

“When the prices go up, it gets crazy there and I think that's what they're trying to do here,” he said. “I see nothing here that I would be concerned with.”

“The purpose of this is to reduce the queuing time at the existing pumps by adding four additional pumps,” Jackson said. “They will also be decreasing some of the landscaping, although they will be picking that up in another area in an island just east of where the pumps are going.”

The planning commission liked the plans, and unanimously approved the special land use and site plan despite Costco's lack of representation.

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t a time when peer pressure can determine the actions of impressionable teenagers, Chelsea Gheesling created Good Girl Come Back (GGCB) to ignite integrity and confidence in young women.

“The more I saw the heartbreak (girls) would go through and the fleeting attention dressing immodestly will get you, the more I realized I was avoiding a lot of that drama and heartbreak,” she said.

Gheesling began speaking to groups of young women about self-respect, modesty, dating, purity and friendships.

“I traveled around and a lot of organizations asked me to come to their youth groups and Girl Scout meetings to speak.

After doing that for a year, I decided to build an organization around it.” In 2011, Gheesling founded GGCB. “What I was seeing was girls not knowing this way of living as an option. They aren’t going to turn on the TV and figure out how to respect themselves. It’s not encouraged by the mainstream media.”

Gheesling holds all-day conferences at Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church in Orchard Lake once a month and travels to high schools and middle schools throughout Michigan, sharing her message with teenage girls.

“I was lucky enough to attend a conference when I was 13 that prevented me from going down a path that a lot of kids go down.”

Gheesling is honest about informing her audiences that staying on a pure path as a teenager is not the easy route, but it is a road that can lead to self-fulfillment.

“It’s difficult,” she said. “I’m very clear in telling them that.

I tell them that they are going to be in the minority in making these good decisions.”

Gheesling, a Walled Lake Central High School graduate, is a Madonna University alumnus who double majored in marketing and journalism. She worked as a marketing director, but is now able to concentrate entirely on her organization.

“The GGCB was growing quickly, so I am able to focus on it full-time now.”

Gheesling also encourages young women to give back to others. She will be traveling to Haiti this month with 18 girls and their mothers whom she met through GGCB. “We are volunteering at an orphanage,” she said.

Additionally, Gheesling offers volunteer opportunities to girls who are unable to go to Haiti, but may be interested in helping local charities.

The West Bloomfield resident and her husband, Dan, live on Union Lake. She spends a lot of quality time with her large, tight-knit family and points to her elder female relatives for keeping her strong throughout her adolescent years.

“Every Monday I go to our family girls’ night,” she said. “I love it for many reasons but specifically because I get to spend time with the women I call my role models.”

The popularity of GGCB is spreading quickly and Gheesling is looking forward to a busy year ahead.

“In the upcoming year, I have places being booked all over the US. It is expanding and growing and I’m so excited about that.”

Story: Katey Meisner

Photo: Laurie Tennent

Expires 8-31-2013

PLACES TO EAT The Places To Eat for Westend is a quick reference source to establishments offering a place for dining, either breakfast, lunch or dinner. The complete Places To Eat is available at westendmonthly.com and in an optimized format for your smart phone (westendmonthly.com/mobile), where you can actually map out locations and automatically dial a restaurant from our Places To Eat.

Amazing House Chinese Restaurant: Chinese.

Lunch & Dinner, Monday–Friday, 3-10 p.m. No reservations. 1130 E. West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.669.8896.

Anaam’s Palate: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2534 Union Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.242.6326.

Applebees Neighborhood Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 9100 Highland Road, White Lake, 48386.

248.698.0901.

Bayside Sports Grille: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

142 E. Walled Lake Drive, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.669.3322.

Biffs Coney Island: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

3050 Union Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.366.7400.

Big Boy Restaurant: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 5834 Highland Road, Waterford, 48328.

248.674.4631.

Big Boy Restaurant: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 800 N. Pontiac Trail, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.624.2323.

Big Boy Restaurant: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 7726 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.363.1573.

Billy’s Tip N Inn: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

6707 Highland Road, White Lake Township, 48383. 248.889.7885.

Boon Kai Restaurant: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1257 S Commerce Road, Commerce, 48390.

248.624.5353.

Buffalo Wild Wings: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

5223 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.674.9464 Carino’s Italian Restaurant: Italian.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 500 Loop Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.926.5300.

Casey’s Sports Pub & Grill: Deli. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

1003 E West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.669.5200.

China House: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 901 Nordic Drive, White Lake Township, 48386.

248.889.2880.

China King: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 4785 Carroll Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.363.9966.

China Queen: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1130 E Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.669.8896.

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CJ’s Brewing Company: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

8115 Richardson Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.366.7979.

Coffee Time Café: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

1001 Welch Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.624.0097.

Coyote Grille: American. Lunch, MondayFriday; Dinner, Monday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 1990 Hiller Road, West Bloomfield, 48324.

248.681.6195.

Dairy Queen: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. 10531 Highland Road, White Lake, 48386. 248.698.2899.

Daniel’s Pizza Bistro: Pizza. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2510 Union Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.363.7000.

Dave and Amy’s: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

9595 Highland Road, White Lake, 48386. 248.698.2010.

Dave’s Coney Island: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No Reservations. 901 Nordick Drive, White Lake, 48383. 248.889.3600.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit: Barbecue. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 4825 Carroll Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.360.4055.

Dobski’s: American, Polish. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

6565 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.363.6565.

Eddie’s Coney Island: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1749 Haggerty Road, Commerce Township, 48390.

248.960.1430.

El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 602 N Pontiac Trail, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.926.6180.

El Nibble Nook: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations for 6 or more. Liquor. 2750 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48323.

248.669.3344.

El Patio Mexican Restaurant: Mexican.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

7622 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.666.5231.

Gest Omelets: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily until 4 p.m. No reservations. 39560 W 14 Mile Road, Commerce Township, 48390.

248.926.0717.

Golden Chop Sticks: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 47516 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393.

248.960.3888.

Grand Aztecha: Mexican: Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

6041 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.669.7555.

Greek Jalapeno: Greek, Mexican.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 6636 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.363.3322.

Green Apple Restaurant: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 7156 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.366.9100.

Haang's Bistro: Chinese/Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 225 E Walled Lake Drive, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.926.1100.

Highland House: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

2630 E. Highland Road, Highland, 48356. 248.887.4161.

Highland House Café: American, Pizza.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

10719 Highland Road, White Lake, 48386. 248.698.4100.

It’s a Matter of Taste: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

2323 Union Lake Road, Commerce, 48390. 248.360.4150.

Jennifer’s Café: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 4052 Haggerty Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.360.0190.

Jenny’s Restaurant: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1186 E West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.669.8240.

Kennedy’s Irish Pub: Irish/American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 1055 W Huron Street, Waterford, 48328. 248.681.1050.

L George’s: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1203 S Commerce Road, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.960.5700.

Leo’s Coney Island: American/Greek.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 4895 Carroll Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382.

248.366.8360.

Lion’s Den: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 4444 Highland Road, Waterford, 48328.

248.674.2251 Lulu’s Coney Island: Greek. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

1001 Welch Road, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.669.1937.

Maria’s Restaurant: Italian. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2080 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield, 48323.

248.851.2500.

Mexico Lindo: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6225 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.666.3460.

Mezza Mediterranean Grille: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. 1001 Welch Road, Commerce Township, 48390.

248.926.2190.

Moonlight Mediterranean Cuisine: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. 1123 E West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.859.5352.

Nick & Toney’s: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday; Sunday until 3 p.m. No reservations.

9260 Cooley Lake Road, White Lake, 48386. 248.363.1162.

North Szechuan Empire: Chinese.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

39450 W. 14 Mile Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.960.7666.

On The Waterfront: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

8635 Cooley Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.363.9469.

Panera Bread: Bakery, Deli. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

5175 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.618.0617.

Pepino’s Restaurant & Lounge: Italian.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reserva-

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tions. Liquor. 118 W Walled Lake Drive, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.624.1033.

Red Robin: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 3003 Commerce Crossing, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.926.2990.

Root Restaurant & Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 340 Town Center Blvd, White Lake, 48386. 248.698.2400.

Rudy’s Waffle House: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 674 N. Pontiac Trail, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.669.7550.

Samuri Steakhouse: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

7390 Haggerty Road, Wet Bloomfield, 48322. 248.661.8898.

Siegel’s Deli: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 3426 E West Maple Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.926.9555.

Swasdee Thai Restaurant: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 6175 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.926.1012.

Sweet Water Bar & Grille: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 7760 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.363.0400.

The Lake’s Bar & Grill: American. Lunch, Tuesday- Sunday; Dinner daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2528 Union Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382.

248.366.3311.

The Library Pub: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

6363 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.896.0333.

TJ’s Sushi & Chinese Restaurant: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 8143 Commerce Road, Commerce Township, 48382.

2484.363.3388.

Town Lake Family Restaurant: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner daily. No reservations. 1186 E. West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.669.7550.

Uptown Grill: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 3100 West Maple Road, Commerce Township, 48382.

248.960.3344.

Village Grill: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

1243 N Commerce Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248. 366.3290.

Volare Risorante: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

49115 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393.

248.960.7771.

Walled Lake Coney Island & Pizza: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations.

1203 Commerce Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.624.8531.

Wilson’s Pub n Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

2256 Union Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.363.1849.

Wonton Palace: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 5562 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.683.5073.

Woody’s Café: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

235 N. Pontiac Trail, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.624.4379.

47

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BUSINESS MATTERS New BBQ spot Dickey’s Barbecue Pit opened at 4825 Carroll Lake Road in Commerce Township. General manager Kim Smart said business has been steady for the Texasbased chain since it opened. “We were very well accepted by the community. We’re doing a lot of catering orders, graduation parties, birthday parties and weddings. We have gotten a lot of excellent feedback from the community and business is doing well,” she said. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit serves eight slow smoked meats, 11 homestyle sides and Texasstyle barbecue, Smart said. The restaurant also offers ongoing specials and introduced a new sandwich in July due to demand. “We do have online ordering and catering. We specialize in catering,” Smart said.

“We’re all local people. The owners live in White Lake and opened nearby because they wanted to stay in their own home community.”

Fresh, casual grill C.A.Y.A. Smokehouse Grill will open in the former Nifty Norman’s location at 1403 South Commerce Road in Wolverine Lake this fall. The former executive chef at Toast in Birmingham, Jeff Rose, and his partner, Rachel Mandel, will serve fresh seafood, chops, steaks and smoked meats. C.A.Y.A., which stands for “come as you are”, will offer a casual atmosphere and seat approximately 100 people with up to 60 spaces on the patio. “We came up with the name pretty quickly after going around a few times.

westendmonthly.com

We wanted it to be a small, casual place and that’s just how we came up with it. It doesn’t mean you can come shirtless but you can come casual,” Rose said.

“We’re a smokehouse grill and American bistro. I’m putting in a big smoker so with that we will have pork butts and brisket.” C.A.Y.A. will also offer a full bar.

“We’re definitely looking forward to getting open and being part of the community. The food will be amazing and it will be a fun place to be. It’s not going to be a typical barbecue place. We will have things like pastrami pork belly,” he said

Restaurant & tequila bar Huerto Restaurant & Tequila Bar is opening at 6199 Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield early this fall.

The contemporary Mexican restaurant will hold a soft opening in late August and a grand opening in September. Huerto boasts a casual atmosphere and moderately priced food. The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner, serving margaritas, beer, wine and over 75 different types of tequila. Designed by Ron Rea, the approximately 10,000 square foot restaurant will seat 350 people between a main dining room, patio, high top tables and banquet room.

“It’s going to be very bright and very contemporary with a lot of energy, music and stuff going on. We’re going to have background music at all times. It’s not going to be a sports bar, but we will have some TV’s,” co-owner Eduardo Mayin said. “Huerto will be a place where everyone will feel comfortable and truly enjoy themselves. We want to be the restaurant of

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choice for patrons young and old, families, couples and singles.”

County honors Root The owner and executive chef of The Root in White Lake were recognized by Oakland County Commissioner Jim Runestad for outstanding achievement on Wednesday, July 17 in the Oakland County Board of Commissioner’s Auditorium in Pontiac. Owner Ed Mamou and Executive Chef James Rigato were honored for running an outstanding restaurant and for earning many recognitions, including Detroit Free Press Restaurant of the Year in 2012 and a nomination for Food & Wine’s People Best New Chef in the Great Lakes Region in 2013. “They’re giving one to the restaurant and one to me as a chef, so we’re getting two which is awesome. We’re honored. We’re just trying to run a good restaurant and be successful businessmen. It’s nice to get any accolades,” Rigato said. “We brought a lot of attention to White Lake as a community and to Oakland County as far as what can be done here.

We’ve noticed some changes in our local food economy. We are definitely seeing a shift in the local area in a demand for local products, so that’s part of why we’re getting recognition. I think that we’re getting some nice regional and national attention.” .

Business Matters for the west Oakland area are reported

by Kevin Elliott. Send items for consideration to KevinElliott@downtownpublications.com. Items should be received three weeks prior to publication.

49

ENDNOTE

Work not done for Walled Lake council

E

lected and appointed leaders in every community have certain obligations to its citizens, and primary amongst them is to protect and serve them via a police force. If they cannot afford to provide for that police coverage, it is incumbent upon the municipality to seek that coverage from either a neighboring community or, in the case of Oakland municipalities, from the county sheriff.

The city of Walled Lake may be at that crossroads. On July 16, its city council finally approved its 2013-2014 budget, which began July 1 and includes layoffs, including four from the police department. The layoffs took effect Friday, July 26, leaving the department with only nine full time officers plus the chief for a municipality of 7,000 residents. While police chief Paul Shakinas did not want to telegraph “to the bad guys” that their staffing levels have fallen, the reality is that police coverage is now at a minimal level, with Walled Lake Finance Director Colleen Coogan stating that most police shifts will only have one police officer available to cover the entire city, rather than two in two separate police vehicles.

Mutual aid, from the neighboring law enforcement communities of Wolverine Lake and Wixom, will

be available for back up as the need arises.

Coogan and Shakinas said that the Oakland County Sheriff's Office has not been contacted for discussion about outsourcing of services or coverage because the city council doesn't want to approach them at this point.

We hope mutual aid won't be needed often. But that is an unknown variable which the city council is betting the house on.

As we noted last month, Walled Lake, like many municipalities, is currently faced with less revenues due to a decline in property values and property taxes, which is expected to be 55 percent less than last year, and less state shared revenues against increasing personnel benefit costs, forcing a structural imbalance which has to be rectified.

The inability to do so jeopardizes not only the fiscal health of the city, but the safety and welfare of every resident of Walled Lake.

The city's expenditures have decreased $2.1 million from the 2012-2013 fiscal year due to employee downsizing and a reduction in road construction projects, as the Decker and Pontiac Trail Road project was budgeted in the previous fiscal year. Property tax related revenue, the city’s largest source of revenue, is estimated to decrease

an additional 2.3 percent, or $55,000, from the 2012-2013 fiscal year. In 2004, the city received $2.9 million in property taxes; in fiscal year 2014, they anticipate receiving only $2.2 million in property taxes, 58 percent of the city's general fund revenues.

The approved public safety budget is $2.4 million out of a budget of $8.9 million.

We believe it is the responsibility of the city staff and city council to at least investigate what other public safety options are available for the city's residents, and what it would cost. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office provides excellent public safety services for the 40,186 residents of Commerce Township, and it would behoove the city to explore costs and opportunities for sheriff's services for Walled Lake. Similarly, perhaps Wixom or another city could offer better police coverage at a more advantageous price for residents. Maybe not. Maybe Walled Lake is currently maximizing their limited dollars, and receiving the best police services they can. But without looking into it, city council members are doing a disservice to those who elected them, and are acting like ostriches with their heads in the sand.

Residents deserve better.

Water reservoir vital community service

C

ommerce Township finally found a site for a long desired water storage facility after debating the need, and then where to put it, at the township's board of trustees quarterly meeting on July 23. And while the ink has yet to dry on any contract, we want to congratulate trustees for finally making the hard decision to move forward and make the necessary compromises on a needed vital service for the community.

Instead of an originally proposed water tower soaring overhead, the facility will be built partially underground as a water reservoir with a two million gallon capacity. It is proposed to be located partially on DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital property on a 90 by 300 foot piece of land south of the Fire Station No. 1 site. The proposed storage facility, to be located behind the fire station, would be a prestressed concrete tank with an internal water membrane. No more than 50 percent of the water wall height can be buried underground. The facility is estimated to be 35 feet tall and 110 feet in diameter, taking approximately 18 months to design and build.

Estimated costs to build the water reservoir are between $4 and $5 million, depending on

design options. An all brick structure would add an additional $50,000 to the cost, and columns would add an additional $10,000 each.

Commerce Township officials have sought to build a water tower, or some form of water storage facility, in order to minimize peak usage period charges, which typically occur in the morning and evening when most people shower, do dishes, laundry, and otherwise use water, by drawing down water from the facility instead of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's supply line, as they do now. Water would then be drawn from the supply line during non-peak hours to replenish the reservoir. It will also provide a reserve of water in case of an emergency.

Township officials have long said that Commerce residents pay one of the highest rates of any Detroit Water and Sewerage Department customers, and a water reservoir would help to lower resident's bills, up to $1.3 million a year on the wholesale rate of water to the township.

Everyone wants that. But residents have long fought the township on where to place such a facility. It's typical NIMBY – not in my back yard.

Over the last five years, township officials have sought to build a 150-foot tall water tower

by the hospital, near a residential subdivision, and at the current site behind the fire station, as well as near public parks. Each time, residents have complained that it would interrupt their sight lines, reduce their property values, destroy their pastoral views. This time, it appears that the township and their engineers, GiffelsWebster, designed a compromise in the form of a water reservoir which will be partially built underground and rise only 35 feet high – shorter than many two-story homes.

If the fine print details have been finalized between Huron Valley hospital and the township as this publication goes to print, the water reservoir would be able to be built behind the fire station on hospital property, which is the highest land in the township. The higher the land, the most cost-efficient and optimal for water distribution.

It's a win-win for township residents, who will realize lower water bills, township officials, who will have achieved long-range utility planning for a vital service, and the DMC, who will have sold off an unused piece of property. We urge neighbors to recognize the importance of the water facility for the community as a whole.

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