Downtown Newsmagazine | Birmingham/Bloomfield

DOWNTOWN07.23

PROTECTING GREAT LAKES BASIN

Lake Michigan alone holds 1.3 quadrillion gallons of water, and the Great Lakes Basin, an international region that also includes the St. Lawrence River, holds the largest source of fresh water in the world. But when we live in a time when in the Southwest, the Colorado River there is not enough water to flow as a contiguous river to help bring hydropower or to quench the thirst for some 40 million people who depend on it as a prime water resource, could the Great Lakes reach a similar fate from overuse in a warming planet?

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Readers are being asked to weigh in with the officials in Lansing and Oakland County to address legislation that has been introduced for a two-county tax to underwrite three museums in the city of Detroit which could be levied for 20 years and is being pushed for the ballot in May of 2024.

CRIME LOCATOR

A recap of select categories of crime occurring in the past month in Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Bloomfield Hills, presented in map format.

OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL

Perry Johnson's flight of fancy; Tom McMillin stays true to form; skipping the island confab; takeover of GOP now complete; Duggan gubernatorial run rumors; more national press for Big Gretch; plus more.

MUNICIPAL

Next has a new home; more losses from 48th District Court; Markus is out, Ecker sworn in; outdoor dining rules finally approved; taming the noise on Woodward; food truck Wednesdays; stop work order at Mare; 2040 Master Plan approved; plus more.

Photo by Dmytro Tolokonov | Dreamstime

DOWNTOWN07.23

67 FROM THE BSD

Birmingham Shopping District Executive Director Crisina Sheppard-Decius takes readers behind the scenes on what goes into growing and keeping healthy a downtown, considered to be the heart and soul of a community.

69 THE NEXT NOTEBOOK

Birmingham Next Executive Director Cris Braun shares the major news about a new home for the organization dedicated to serving those over 50 years of age and what lies ahead to make this happen.

71 COMMUNITY HOUSE

William Seklar, CEO/President of The Community House, writes about supporting nonprofits that are an important part of the community.

74 METRO INTELLIGENCER

Gigi Nichols provides readers with quick takes on what is happening in the world of food and drink in the metro area.

We bid farewell to outgoing Birmingham City Manager Tom Markus and we celebrate the city's acquiring of a new permanent home for the Next organization.

Design by Chris Grammer from original

photo by Totophotos | Dreamstime

Photo by Mei Stone

23 Hidden Ridge, Bloomfield Hills $3,500,000

This month I am using this space to ask readers to get involved to help shape legislation now making its way through the state legislature that could result in a special election next May to ask taxpayers to ante up millage to underwrite three museums in the city of Detroit.

So at the end of this piece, I am listing a number of officials who hold office representing local residents in Lansing and in Oakland County, along with their contact information, so you can reach out now to prevent what I view as a “stealth” election next spring when a minority of registered voters will likely cast ballots to determine what the majority of taxpayers could be forced to pay for up to 20 years.

The proposal itself is nothing new. We have seen this once before – 2022 to be exact, although museum backers decided against going to the ballot last year. In the bill sponsored by state Representative Tyrone Carter (D-Detroit), voters in Oakland County and Wayne County could be asked to approve up to .4 mill of annual taxes that will go directly to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African History and the Detroit Historical Society which manages the 72-yearold Detroit Historical Museum on Woodward Avenue in the city, along with the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.

The tax would generate an approximate $40 million each year, with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African History receiving 60 percent ($24 million) of the funds collected in the two counties, while the other two museums would get the remaining $16 million on an annual basis.

In simple terms, a homeowner with a house having a taxable value of $300,000 would cough up $120 each year to underwrite the museums.

Backers of this proposal, like those in the earlier version of the museum legislation, point to regional support provided by taxpayers in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties for the the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA) and the Detroit Zoo. The DIA .2-mill tax generates around $28 million each year, while the Royal Oak-based zoo's .1-mill tax provides $14 million annually. Both of those tax issues run for 10 years and then voters get to decide if they should continue. Museum officials have let it be known that they want the tax on the ballot next May.

As an interesting side note, Macomb County will not be asked for the tax because those visiting the museums are mostly from Oakland and Wayne counties, according to museum officials. Not having seen attendance figures for the three museums leaves me a bit skeptical of that pitch when it is more likely that a regional tax request for the museums which includes Macomb taxpayers would have a tougher time of passing, but that's an issue for another discussion.

At this point in time, Downtown Newsmagazine does not have an editorial position on the worthiness of the tax proposal itself for these museums. But we do have a major concern about when this ballot issue would appear before voters and the possibility of a 20-year term of taxation which is where we are asking readers to focus their concern when communicating with officials. County commissioners will determine when this would go on the ballot, so their names are on the list below. State lawmakers have the power to cap the number of years the tax could be levied before county authorities have their say.

Next year voters are going to be asked to cast ballots three times during 2024. There is a presidential party primary in late February, a

slew of offices that will be on the August primary ballot and a November general election in which state, county, congressional offices and the U.S. President will be chosen. This latter election will likely have the largest turnout of registered voters, if history repeats itself, so that is where any tax proposal should be placed before the electorate. A May tax vote on Detroit-based museums? Our publication will not support a May vote which has all appearances of politically orchestrated timing by supporters because a lower turnout will likely help their cause more. Let's also remember that in the last decade there has been a concerted effort in Michigan to consolidate ballots rather than holding multiple and special elections that do not generate as much turnout. Experienced political hands know full well that voter fatigue sets in if you ask the electorate to show up too often to decide tax and political issues, so I have to question the May timing on the museum issue.

If passed in Lansing, the board of commissioners in Wayne and Oakland counties would each establish a museum authority to place the issue on the respective ballots in each county and determine the length of the tax as allowed under the law, which is why pressure must be brought to bear now, given that museum officials will no doubt be lobbying at the county level well in advance of next year.

There are other concerns or questions that will need to be aired in detail if this tax gets on the ballot, among them whether there are hidden retirement benefit deficits that the museums now carry, and whether county taxing authorities in each county should have some say in how this tax money gets spent. As it stands now, they will have no control over the museums, according to a legislative analysis of House Bill 4177, which states that the authorities cannot participate in governance of a history museum. There is also a legitimate question of whether other community assets, like the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, at some point should be given similar tax support.

But those and other issues can be hammered out before any 2024 vote. For now, take the time to reach out to the following officials who represent this area to assure that any such tax is capped at 10 years and that the request appears on the November ballot next year when a larger percentage of registered voters will participate in determining the fate of the museums, which is how it should be.

Michigan House of Reprsentatives:

Noah Arbit – NoahArbit@house.mi.gov

Sharon MacDonnell – SharonMacDonell@house.mi.gov

Natalie Price – NataliePrice@house.mi.gov

Samantha Steckoff – SamanthaSteckloff@house.mi.gov

Michigan Senate:

Mallory McMorrow – SenMMcMorrow@senate.michigan.gov

Jeremy Moss – SenJMoss@senate.michigan.gov

Oakland County Commission:

Charlie Cavell – cavellc@oakgov.com

Marcia Gershenson – gershensonm@oakgov.com

Angela Powell – powellan@oakgov.com

David Woodward – woodwardd@oakgov.com

David Hohendorf Publisher

DavidHohendorf@DowntownPublications.com

Publisher

David Hohendorf

News editor

Lisa Brody

News staff/CoNtributors

Hillary Brody Anchill | Cris Braun | Dana Casadei

Tracy Donohue | Stacy Gittleman | Austen Hohendorf

Grace Lovins | Jeanine Matlow | Gigi Nichols

Carla Schwartz | William Seklar

PhotograPhy/CoNtributors

Laurie Tennent | Mackenzie O'Brien | Chris Ward

Laurie Tennent Studio

advertisiNg direCtor

David Hohendorf

advertisiNg sales

Mark Grablowski

graPhiCs/it MaNager

Chris Grammer

offiCe

970 E Maple Road / Ste. 3, Birmingham MI 48009 248.792.6464

MailiNg

PO Box 1630 Birmingham MI 48012-1630

DOWNTOWN NEWSMAGAZINE GOALS/MISSION

The personnel at Downtown Newsmagazine bring a special commitment to the publishing effort, reinvesting in the local communities and working to make sure the Birmingham/Bloomfield area reaches its highest potential. Our mission dictates that we strive each month to provide a solid news and advertising product that local residents look forward to reading. Our goal is to build a community of informed citizens through the efforts of our passionate team. We are innovators producing products that go well beyond what others offer.

DISTRIBUTION/SUBSCRIPTIONS

Mailed monthly at no charge to most homes in Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Bloomfield Hills. Additional free copies distributed at high foot-traffic locations in Birmingham/Bloomfield.

For those not receiving a free mail copy, paid subscriptions are available. To secure a paid subscription, go to our website (downtownpublications.com) and click on “subscriptions” in the top index and place your order or scan the QR Code here.

INCOMING/READER FEEDBACK

We welcome feedback on both our publication and general issues of concern in the Birmingham/Bloomfield community. Opinions can be sent via e-mail to news@downtownpublications.com or mailed to Downtown Publications, PO Box 1630 Birmingham MI 48012-1630. If you are using the mail option, you must include a phone number for verification purposes.

BIRMINGHAM | BLOOMFIELD

Wing Lake in Bloomfield Township

UPGRADE YOUR

with condos ranging from $749,000 - $1.2M (limited availability) Special pricing available on three loft homes left in Phase 1 AMENITIES

2-3 bedrooms, fitness center, secured package center, pet friendly, safe and heated underground parking garage, new dog park coming soon

Richard Ross Designs

Winner of 2023 Detroit Design Award

up for our weekly update

safety email newsletter at downtownpublications.com .

approximate. Want stories? Sign

June 22, 2023. Placement of codes is public

Bloomfield Hills through weekly updates on

officials in Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and

categories by police

Vandalism Drug offenses Arson Map key NORTH

Sexual assault Assault Murder/Homicide Robbery Breaking/entering Larceny Vehicle theft Larceny from vehicle

SIGN UP TODAY

Publisher off the mark

I am writing to you regarding David Hohendorf’s column From The Publisher in May about the GOP and elections.

I think he is off the mark in a couple of his statements regarding the stats and the "comment losing the battle over youth votes.”

I have been an election worker for 12 years in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills. I believe the reason young voters are coming to the polls is because they are voting on items that directly effect them (abortion and marijuana).

I speak with the voters and most "youth votes" are influenced by their parents or friends when it comes to political issues. Personal issues, however, like abortion and marijuana are their personal choices.

My opinion is the poll results are different depending on which one you believe. Polling companies can report the results to fit their beliefs and the narrative they want to project.

My advice is for everyone, including the "youth,” to become more knowledgeable and educate themselves, then vote accordingly. Ask yourself who is the best candidate that meets my needs and deserves my vote, then go to the polls and express that.

Paula Butler Bloomfield Hills

Dems lack of fairness

I come from a long line of Democrats but I just have to share my shame about what the Michigan party has done to state voters by moving the presidential primary vote to an earlier date of next February 27.

The Democratic party has disenfranchised Republicans who would run the risk of losing their convention delegates in 2024 because the GOP at the national level penalizes any state party that holds a primary vote before March 1. I don't think what it has done on the presidential primary vote shows a spirit of fairness.

Name withheld upon request Birmingham

Oakland Confidential is a periodic column of political gossip/news, gathered both on and off-the-record by staff members at Downtown Newsmagazine. We welcome possible items for this column which can be emailed to: OaklandConfidential@DowntownPublications.com. All sources are kept strictly confidential. The gossip column can be viewed at OaklandConfidential.com where you can sign up to receive updates via email.

FLIGHT OF FANCY: No one in the Republican party quite knows the motivation of Perry Johnson of Bloomfield with his announced candidacy in the 2024 presidential primary election. The multimillionaire failed gubernatorial candidate (invalid petition signatures) has already loaned his campaign committee around $3.7 million, according to FEC filings as of this June. And his campaign committee has spent about $1.8 millions on ads in New Hampshire and Iowa, plus Super Bowl ads. But all of this could be for naught. Yes, everyone knows he has the bucks, as evidenced by his original announcement party at his home (replete with three-hole golf course), according to one of the crowd who attended the catered dinner where “Johnson spared no expense,” with the cheapest wine pegged at $40-50 per bottle. However, personal wealth doesn’t mean squat thanks to new threshold requirements imposed by the party. Any primary candidate who wants to make the stage at the first primary debate in August must prove that they have 40,000 unique individual donors to their campaign, and further, must have 200 unique donors from each of at least 20 states. Johnson falls way short of that requirement with only 330 donors, and a few of those donated more than once, according to our reading of the entire list on file with the FEC. We saw many $1, $2, $3 and $5 donations, which one party insider said likely came when his campaign workers collared people in the hallways of the Maryland CPAC meeting earlier this year. And then there is the polling threshold that must be made before you can be part of the August GOP debate – one percent in three national polls or two national and one poll of the first four states to conduct voting and the polls must be conducted in the July-August period. Maybe his greenbacks can purchase such a ranking in the next couple of months but it’s doubtful. Said one traditional (non-MAGA) Republican, he must be hoping for either a cabinet position if the GOP wins in November or an ambassadorship, although this observer said he is “too eccentric” and possibly too old (75) for the latter.

NESSEL VACATION UPDATE: All is fair, as the saying goes. Last month we noted the muckraking report by The Detroit News columnist Charlie LeDuff that Michigan Dana Nessel was part of a group on a five-day Caribbean jaunt, the tab for which was then reported to be picked up by a Traverse City law firm. Now we learn hat Nessel paid her own way and that the attorney who got reimbursed by the AG was a personal friend. Sniff test passed. For now.

DEFEATED WARRIORS: Michigan State Board of Education member Tom McMillin, who hails from Oakland Township, stayed true to form at a recent May board meeting when a resolution in support of protecting all students, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, was up for a vote. One of two Republicans on the eightmember board, along with Nikki Snyder from Dexter, McMillin long ago established his bona fides as a far-far right conservative, especially when it comes to opposing policies or laws that address issues affecting the gay community. He was first elected to an eight-year term in 2016 just after the state board of ed months earlier adopted guidelines assuring that the needs of

JOHNSON

NESSEL

MCMILLIN

SNYDER

August 6: Corn Festival

September 10: Harvest Festival

October 29: End of Season Celebration

all students, i.e. LGBTQ+ pupils, which he opposed then. As background, McMillin was considered one of the most ultra-conservative members of the state House where he served earlier. He made his bones years before with anti-tax groups, shifting his attention then to culture war issues. So the board’s two Republicans teamed up for a series of attempts (at least five) to amend the resolution before it was adopted in May. McMillin framed his opposition as pushing back against the “cultural agenda that the left is pushing hard.” The attempts at amending the resolution by the pearl-clutching GOP pair all failed. The terms of both McMillin and Snyder expire January 1 of 2025. When they first ran, many say they rode in on the coattails of Donald Trump so we will see if the same holds true if they decide to run again next year and the former prez is on the ticket in November.

WHO’S THAT? As we’ve noted in previous columns, Michigan State Board of Education member Nikki Snyder from Dexter is one of the Republicans who have tossed their hats into the ring for the upcoming open seat for Senator in 2024 following the announcement by Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow that she will retire, along with Michael Hoover of Laingsburg. Despite rumors of pending candidacies, the Republican bench continues to consist of lesser known individuals who may have trouble both raising money and taking on potential Democratic frontrunner Rep. Elissa Slotkin (DLansing). Two more Republicans have announced their runs –Alexandria Taylor of Romulus, whose claim to fame is as the attorney who helped bring a lawsuit challenging the validity of thousands of Detroit absentee ballots ahead of the 2022 election, and volunteered for then-candidate Kristina Karamo. Also announcing is former Berrien County Commissioner Ezra Scott of New Buffalo. Scott ran for Congress in 2022 on the U.S. Taxpayers Party Ticket, against Congressman Tim Walberg (R-Monroe). He garnered only one percent of the vote.

SHUNNING THE ISLAND: We polled a number of GOP stalwarts –you know, those WHO built the party powerhouse through donations and hard work prior to the MAGA takeover in the last couple of years –and found a surprising number of them skipped the late May gathering at the Mackinac Policy Conference, considered the revered annual event for thought leaders in both parties. Said one of those who skipped the island get-together, with the divisive nature of the party –including among the warring MAGA factions – the traditional conservative Republicans are now generally ignored at party confabs so a number of them skipped the event, withholding their participation much like they are doing with their donations to the party in this election cycle.

TAKEOVER COMPLETE: The announcement by GOP chairperson Kristina Karamo that a hybrid system of primary votes and caucus elections will determine the state party’s decision on who the 55 Michigan delegates to the national convention will support for president has widened the chasm in the state party. With Democrats deciding to hold their primary elections earlier this year (February 27), the GOP was facing the loss of delegates if they bucked the party and went with a February primary vote. So one insider said that Michigan party chieftains cut a deal with Republican National Committee chair and Michigan native Ronna (don’t call me Romney) McDaniel to protect Michigan’s Republican delegate count. Sixteen of the delegates will be chosen in the February popular primary vote, then the balance will be chosen in March caucuses. One party observer labeled the new hybrid system as “rigged for (Donald) Trump.” According to this

KARAMO MCDANIEL

248.797.0784

#3 Agent in OAklAnd COunty ytd

Bloomfield township - $1,495,000 2.7 acres across the road from Square lake with lake access.  Price includes three buildable lots.

Bloomfield township - $1,199,900

Custom 4 bedroom, 3.1 bath lakefront home on Hammond Lake with water views from nearly every room. First floor primary suite, large bright kitchen and dramatic Great Room with two way fireplace. Walkout lower level.

Bloomfield township - $1,199,900

Wonderful Bloomfield Village colonial with 4 bedrooms, 2.2 baths and beautifully renovated white kitchen with large center island. Gorgeous saltwater pool and hot tub. Amazing entertaining home.

Bloomfield township - $799,900

Gorgeous extensively renovated 3 bedroom, 3 bath end-unit ranch condo with walkout lower level access and beautiful view of pond. Stunning white kitchen and beautiful hardwoods. Walkout lower level.

Bloomfield Hills - $749,900

Gorgeous custom kitchen in this 3 bedroom, 4.1 bath Bloomfield Hills home. Spacious open living spaces and mudroom. Three ensuite bedrooms on second floor. Newly finished basement with full bath.

Bloomfield township - $675,000 or $3300/mo

Spacious 4 bedroom, 3.1 bath colonial on a 1/2 acre lot. Great kitchen open to family room with deck access overlooking wooded backyard. Walkout lower level. Bloomfield Schools.

Bloomfield township - $625,000

Beautifully maintained updated 4 bedroom, 2.1 bath colonial on .67 acres. Renovated white kitchen opens to family room. Mudroom and laundry as you enter from garage. Spacious primary suite. Birmingham Schools.

troy - $325,000

Complete remodel on this 3 bedroom, 2 bath Troy ranch with Troy schools. Gorgeous new kitchen, brand new baths, new roof, siding, windows, HVAC and insulation. A truly move-in ready home.

Birmingham - $3950/month

Two bedroom bungalow across from Barnum Park in town Birmingham. Available for rent starting 7/15/23. Move in ready condition. 2 car detached garage and finished basement.

275 S. Old Woodward Downtown Birmingham

2171 klingensmith

487 Cambridge Way

4480 tarry

2220 e Hammond

5 Manorwood

726 Colebrook

2555 indian Mound

4268 Covered Bridge

328 george

*WARNING*

trees and see if they have anything that resembles the pictures below.

Check your

If so, you may have Pitch Mass Borer!

scenario, the MAGA dominated delegates will basically back the twice-indicted former president (hand-picked by party insiders) which will discourage other Republican hopefuls from coming to Michigan to campaign for 2024 votes. One prognosticator labeled the new system as the “absolute height of hypocrisy” and further questioned what has happened to “free and fair elections.” One more divisive element that adds to the party’s downward spiral in Michigan.

READY TO RUN: Ever since Mike Duggan won his first race to become Detroit’s mayor in 2013, there have been rumors that he was using it as a stepping stone to the governor’s mansion. Now in his third term, having won re-election in 2021 by a landslide, the Democratic dynamo clearly has put his nose to the grindstone in helping to transform Michigan’s largest city – and it now appears certain that he will launch a campaign for governor in 2026. Confirmation is quietly coming from political honchos on both sides of the aisle, a testament to his bipartisan appeal, dating back to his work as president and CEO of the Detroit Medical Center. Duggan will likely have a lot of company in the Democratic primary to replace Gretchen Whitmer at the top of Michigan’s ticket – having cleared the field to allow Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Lansing) a fairly clear field for the Democratic nod for retiring Senator Debbie Stabenow’s seat. Word among Dems is that AG Dana Nessel, Secretary of State JocelynBenson, Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrest, among others, will all be hungering for their turn at the top.

WETTING HER WHISTLE: Speaking of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the glare of the national spotlight continues to shine brighter as a potential future Democratic presidential contender. Her profile has continued to rise as she has fought off misogynism by Republican legislative leaders during her first term, which coincided with the COVID pandemic and attempts to strip her of her emergency powers – as well as a plot to kidnap and assassinate her and Trump renaming her that “nasty woman.” She and her colleagues prefer her nickname, “Big Gretch,” from a popular 2020 rap song, which gave her street cred. A new Vanity Fair profile points out that Whitmer’s core ideology is “Find the partners, build the coalition, get the thing done,” or as the author stated, “getting shit done.” Both Democrats and Republicans note she is a team player. She has joined President Joe Biden’s re-election team as one of his national co-chairs, part of the team’s “backbone,” according to a campaign statement, focused on building and expanding support for the Biden/Harris ticket and House and Senate Dems across the country. She has just launched her own political action committee in its support – The Fight Like Hell PAC – which was her rallying cry during efforts to preserve abortion rights in 2022. “We will fight like hell for Democrats to hold the White House in 2024,” Whitmer says in the video. “We will fight like hell for Democrats to hold Michigan’s seat in the U.S. Senate in 2024. And we will fight like hell for every candidate who shares our values.” Just a note – money raised by this PAC cannot be spent on a federal race if Whitmer is a candidate. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be another one that will – likely shortly after the 2024 election.

TURN OF THE WHEEL: Now we know what retiring “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak will do with his time when he stops spinning that wheel. Turns out Sajak has a long-time relationship with uber-conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan – the one Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is using as his educational model. Sajak is serving as Hillsdale’s chairman of its board of trustees. He has been a vice president of the board since 2004.

DUGGAN

WHITMER

HARTMAN

FACES

Brian Dickerson

Brian Dickerson is best known in the Detroit area for his nearly 35 years at the Detroit Free Press. He retired as the Editorial Page editor earlier this year after an esteemed career in journalism spanning almost five decades.

The Birmingham resident grew up in Rochester, N.Y., and attended Princeton University. He originally planned to go to law school but “fell into working on the daily newspaper on campus,” which led to a Wall Street Journal internship. Journalism hooked him in and changed the trajectory of his life by offering him a remarkable front row seat to court cases, civil disturbances, social change, elections and more.

“I continue to have an abiding curiosity for the judicial process,” he said. “But as an undergrad I figured if I were an attorney, I’d be assigned to one case and as a journalist I could cover many interesting cases during that same amount of time.”

While at Princeton, Dickerson had the privilege of knowing two future U.S. Supreme Court justices – Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Sotomayor was a resident advisor who lived across the hall, and Kagan worked with him at The Daily Princetonian.

After graduation, Dickinson worked at the Miami Herald for nearly a decade prior to accepting an offer in 1988 to serve as editor of the now-defunct Sunday magazine at the Detroit Free Press

“This part of Michigan is a lot like Rochester [N.Y.] so it felt like home right away,” he said.

Dickerson is married to Laura Berman, who worked at The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press. The respected journalists worked for rival newspapers during much of their relationship. He has two adult children who live in Michigan – a daughter whom he shares with Berman, and a son.

Since retirement, Dickerson has traveled quite a bit with a preference for visiting people over places. As a skier, hiker and kayaker, he enjoys Michigan’s seasons and outdoor offerings. And, although he’s following the 2024 presidential race, he said since retiring he has “let go of partisan politics” due to the gridlock.

Through the decades, Dickerson witnessed many changes in journalism. “The most fundamental inversion relationship is between media and audience. When I started in journalism, it was a small group of wealthy individuals who owned all the printing presses and decided what was news, and then that would be provided to a captive audience. Now the internet audience defines the news and what they want to hear about. When I entered the profession, columnists at major newspapers enjoyed privilege reserved for the very best in journalism. Now anyone with a smartphone is a columnist.”

Dickerson covered many major events including the controversial right-to-die stories of Karen Ann Quinlan in the 1970s, and Dr. Jack Kevorkian in the 1990s. Ironically, Dickerson and Berman met while in court covering Kevorkian’s last murder trial.

Dickerson hints that his next chapter will involve advocating for end-of-life care. “I’m interested in the ethics of helping people better navigate the mortality we all share by helping doctors and their patients be more thoughtful. What makes life worth living is intensely personal,” he explains.

Dickerson offers this advice for aspiring journalists: “Be prepared to do a lot of different things for a lot of different employers. The days of working for one company your whole career are over – media companies don’t last that long. Journalism career opportunities are shrinking fast as AI is becoming more and more sophisticated...However, if you are as curious about as many things as I was and am, I certainly wouldn’t discourage you from pursuing a career in journalism.”

Story: Tracy Donohue

Photo: Laurie Tennent

CONTACT US: debygannes@atproperties.com

248.379.3003 atproperties.com

1780 DUTTON RD. Rochester Hills - $3,700,000

1661 SILVERBELL RD. Oakland Township - $999,990

615 W. HANCOCK ST. Detroit - $425,000

30276 SPRING RIVER DR. Southfield - $320,000

2834 SHANNON DR. Oakland - $1,499,900

Gannes Baker Collective is Deby Gannes, Lynn Baker, Hilary Petco , Jenifer McManus, Donna Rousseau, and Jean Sanders

SAFEGUARDING STATE WATERS

STOPPING DIVERSION FROM GREAT LAKES BASIN

BY STACY GITTLEMAN

Standing on the shores of Lake Michigan, where water flows into the horizon and the shores of Canada are far out of sight, one can get the impression that the waters of the Great Lakes can never be tapped dry.

Indeed, Lake Michigan alone holds 1.3 quadrillion gallons of water, and the Great Lakes Basin, an international region that also includes the St. Lawrence River, holds the largest source of fresh water in the world.

But when we live in a time when in the Southwest, the Colorado River is racing to the everdire state of "Deadpool," meaning that there is not enough water to flow as a contiguous river to help bring hydropower or to quench the thirst for some 40 million people who depend on it as a prime water resource, could the Great Lakes reach a similar fate from overuse in a warming planet?

As plentiful as the waters of the Great Lakes appear, we know it is not an infinite source. And although going back as far as the 1950s, there have been binding and non-binding pacts between Great Lakes states and the Canadian provinces that encircle the Great Lakes to protect and steward the waters in a public trust for generations to come, environmentalists fear that this public trust is getting slowly chipped away.

This past April, Chicago made a $1 billion deal to divert treated drinking water from Lake Michigan through a pipeline to the city of Joliet, Illinois. Beginning in 2030, this city and the surrounding region, located 35 miles southwest of Chicago and just outside of the Great Lakes Basin parameters, can receive up to 2.1 billion gallons of water per day for the next century. Critics of the deal, which was signed by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, said this is a breach of the historic 2008 Great Lakes Compact.

Proposals to divert water from the Great Lakes go back to the 1980s, when a coal company tried to remove the waters for coal mining operations in Wyoming.

Will the Chicago-Joliet deal open the door to divert more water away from the Great Lakes Basin? Do we need to step up the urgency of protecting our freshwater source with more stringent laws before it is too late?

According to the Institute of Water Research (IWR) at Michigan State University, in 2021, 2,965,066,005,332 gallons – that's nearly three trillion gallons – were withdrawn from all sources of Great Lakes Basin water, including groundwater, inland surface water, and the Great Lakes.

Groundwater withdrawals accounted for 202,242,002,932 gallons, which were a little less than seven percent of the total withdrawals. According to state of Michigan data, groundwater withdrawals in 2021 from bottling corporations such as Nestlé Waters of North America, which in 2021 sold its bottling rights to the newly named company Blue Triton Waters, totaled 457,878,820 gallons. Though that number is just .2 percent of total annual consumptive use for the state, the bottling industry continues to stir the ire of environmentalists because they believe bottling and profiting from water drawn from public sources forges a dangerous precedent.

“Michigan has an abundance of water resources but in some areas, due to aquifer characteristics and increased demand for water, the local communities are experiencing some challenges in managing the long-term sustainable use of their water resources,” said Jeremiah Asher, IWR assistant director. “There is always a risk of depletion if more water is removed faster than the system can replenish it through groundwater recharge. This is particularly true if recharge zones are farther away and take more time to recharge the aquifer.”

Environmentalists, environmental lawyers and policymakers agree that because Michigan is surrounded by so much water, this vital resource continues to be taken for granted – just as the air we breathe. And while compacts made in recent decades protect surface waters, as detailed below, the entire region lacks the mapping data to fully understand the quantity and characteristics of our groundwater and aquifer supplies and how they connect to our lakes, rivers, and streams. Urgency, they maintain, is what is needed to tighten laws and restrict the potential to ship Great Lakes waters elsewhere.

Stewardship policies and governing bodies of the Great Lakes have their roots in the public trust doctrine. Dating back to Roman civil law, the public trust doctrine recognizes the public right to many natural resources, including the air, running water, the sea and its shore.

The earliest governing body to protect Great Lakes waters and monitor water usage was the Great Lakes Commission, established in 1955 by the Great Lakes Basin Compact. It was

signed by Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and granted consent by the U.S. Congress in 1968.

Also inspired by the public trust doctrine, the 1985 Great Lakes Charter was created as a non-binding agreement signed by the Great Lakes governors to strengthen water management activities in the basin. The 1985 agreement also called for the establishment of the Great Lakes Water Commission and the maintenance of a regional system for the collection of data on major water uses, known as the Water Use Database. Activated in 1988, it tallies Great Lakes water withdrawals, diversions, and consumptive uses and catalogs withdrawals by water-use category, sub-basin, and jurisdiction.

Every five years, it releases a report that documents levels of water flowing into and out of the water basin that is both natural and man-made and compares it to data points set as far back as 1948.

In its last report, which examined the cumulative impact of water consumption and use from 2011-2015, the Great Lakes Water Commission reported water intake from water runoff, precipitation, and water moving between the Great Lakes system at 451,212 cubic feet per second (cfs) reassuringly dwarfs outtake numbers at 174,970 cfs from evaporation, consumptive uses and water diverted to the St. Lawrence River. However, this cumulative report concluded that due to the increasing rate of climate change and the lack of enough data point collection throughout the basin, there is much uncertainty as to how quickly the entire system is losing water.

The report states: “All components of the Basin water budget have significant uncertainty. Runoff, evaporation from the Lake surfaces, and precipitation on the Lake surfaces are all calculated using models that compute watershed values from point data. No data exists, however, for many areas within the Basin and each Watershed. For instance, 34 percent of the Lake Huron watershed has no streamflow gauges, and runoff from this area is estimated from nearby gauges. Additionally, precipitation on the surfaces of the Lakes is calculated almost entirely from precipitation gauges that are near, but not on, the Lakes.”

The Great Lakes Water Commission also releases annual reports on its water use database and defines the following categories of water use:

Public Water Supply Water: Water distributed to the public through a system of treatment, storage and distribution facilities serving a group of largely residential customers that may also serve industrial, commercial and other institutional operators. Water withdrawn directly from the basin and not through such a system shall not be used for public water supply purposes.

Self-Supply Commercial and Institutional Commercial: Water users include water used by motels, hotels, restaurants, office buildings, mobile homes, hospitals, schools, air conditioning and other similar uses not covered under a public water supply.

Self-Supply Irrigation: Includes water that helps in the growing of crops and/or recreational lands like golf courses and parks.

Self-Supply Livestock: Water consumed for domesticated farm animals and in fish hatcheries.

Self-Supply Industrial: Includes water used in the manufacture of metals, chemicals, paper, food and beverage industries. This category also includes water used in mining and quarrying.

Self-Supply Thermoelectric Power Production: The largest portion of water use recorded falls into this category. This is water that is diverted and used to create electric energy, or water used in a cooling capacity such as boiler make-up water and contact cooling water at electrical power generating facilities that use once-through cooling systems.

According to the Great Lakes Commission’s most recent 2021 water usage database report, which includes all the water in the Great Lakes Water Basin, the total reported withdrawal amount for

the entire waterway system totaled 35.7 billion gallons per day.

According to 2021 data, 71 percent was associated with generating electrical power – to generate steam or in cooling systems for thermoelectric power production and in off-stream hydroelectric power production; 14 percent of water use was for public water supply by cities and villages, and this included commercial, institutional and industrial users that are connected to a municipality’s public system; 10 percent of water use was for industrial facilities that have their own water supply system from water purchased from the public water system; three percent of water use was for other self-supply purposes which include withdrawals to maintain riverway water levels for navigation, creation/enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, and water quality purposes; less than two percent of water use was for agriculture, including irrigation, livestock, and fish hatcheries. While this is small overall, these withdrawals are often groundwater withdrawals and may have high consumptive use, which can be significant at a local watershed scale. Less than one percent of water use was associated with dedicated systems at commercial and institutional facilities.

The state of Michigan, which draws waters from four of the Great Lakes and has more freshwater coastline than any other state, drew 8,164,000 million gallons per day (mgd), which was a one percent decrease from the 2020 total water withdrawal amount of 8,248,000 million gallons per day.

The largest water use was self-supply thermoelectric power production at 6.191 mgd, making up over 75 percent of Michigan’s total withdrawal. About 47 percent of the total withdrawal came from the Lake Erie watershed, mainly used for thermoelectric power production. Another 46 percent of Michigan’s total withdrawal amount came from the Lake Michigan watershed at 3.767 mgd, followed by the Lake Huron watershed at 544 mgd and the Lake Superior watershed at 41 mgd.

Signed into law in 2008 by President George W. Bush, the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact details how the Great Lakes states – Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – as well as the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, manage the water of the Great Lakes Basin and protect the Great Lakes from diversions outside of the Great Lakes Basin. It requires each member state and province to manage their internal water resources.

Michigan has continually amended its own water withdrawal laws as it relates to the compact under the Michigan State Natural Resources Protection (NREP) Act of 1994.

In 2006, Michigan water withdrawal legislation was written under the assumption that wells deeper than 150 feet or farther than one-quarter of a mile from streams or rivers did not cause an adverse impact on the aquatic ecosystem.

When it was determined that withdrawing water from wells at this depth and distance from surface waters did have an impact, the state legislature in 2008 addressed these concerns and codified broader groundwater protections into state law. This marked the creation of Michigan’s Water Withdrawal Assessment Program, which was designed to prevent severe damage to lakes and streams as a result of siphoning off large amounts of water from surface and groundwater sources.

According to the Michigan Department of Energy, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), the Water Withdrawal Assessment Program is intended for use prior to installing a new or increased large quantity withdrawal for the purpose of determining the potential impact to nearby water resources. Use of the Water Withdrawal Assessment Tool is required prior to installation of any new or increased large quantity withdrawal.

In its most recent Water Withdrawal Report from 2021, which accounts for water withdrawal permits from July 9, 2020, to July 8,

2021, EGLE reported that 661 applicants accessed the water withdrawal tool for either new or larger increase quantity withdrawals during this time period. These requests are in accordance with Part 327 of NREP Act.

The section states that a new or increased large quantity withdrawal over 100,000 gallons per day (gpd) up to two million gpd must be authorized by the state with an annual $200 permit. Very large withdrawals of two million gpd, if permitted, are subject to a permit application fee of $2,000.

“For Michigan, this has served as the primary piece of legislation which regulates large water withdrawals and was built on earlier laws requiring greater disclosure of water use,” explained Hugh McDiarmid, EGLE spokesperson. “The legislation was connected to the adoption of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact which strictly restricted diversion of Great Lakes water and gave the Great Lakes states the ability to veto diversions to straddling counties. In exchange, all the Great Lakes states were required to regulate large water withdrawals within their states.”

Because of the copious water that exists in our region, for now, environmental law experts and policy watchers admit that if an entity applies for a permit to withdraw water, they are going to get it.

Within all these compacts and trusts at the federal and international level, however, is a fatal flaw known as the water bottling loophole. Even within the compact's parameters, it only protects the surface waters of rivers, lakes, and streams but leaves water stored in aquifers and groundwater sources up for grabs. Environmentalists and environmental law experts contend that the law has not caught up with science which proves the hydrologic connectivity between ground and surface waters.

And although the quantity of water detracted may be small, environmentalists and environmental lawyers argue that bottling water from the Great Lakes and shipping it elsewhere by the liter or gallon is the only consumptive use of the water that does not return it back to the water cycle.

“Access and stewardship of the waters in the Great Lakes as part of the public trust is an important yet often overlooked piece of our bundle of rights in a democratic society,” said Sean McBrearty, legislative and policy director of Michigan Clean Water Action. “The water bottling loophole made its way into the Great Lakes Compact right before the Michigan state legislature passed the enabling legislation for the compact in 2008. This loophole allows companies like Nestlé (Blue Triton) to export and sell our water in containers that are 5.7 gallons or less. It’s this flaw in the compact that opens the door for corporations to commodify our water resources. Clean Water Action is worried. As we look to the future of a drier, hotter planet, the impacts this type of water extraction will mean versus traditional water extractions (such as municipal use and agriculture, for example.)”

Liz Kirkwood, executive director for Traverse City-based environmental watchdog organization For the Love of Water (FLOW) said when consumptive water use comes to mind, she points to the 2021 book Great Lakes for Sale, written by FLOW Senior Policy Director Dave Dempsey. The book chronicles the history of this country continually looking to the Great Lakes and its abundant fresh water supply to help out the parched states of the Southwest and other drier regions and local efforts trying to stave off this demand.

"The emergence of the Great Lakes Compact was an extraordinary victory for this region because it took place at a time when there were initial threats to our freshwater supply, but those threats were not at the level that we are seeing now," Kirkwood noted. "The Great Lakes Compact bans water diversions outside the Great Lakes Basin. We know that Arizona cannot come here, build a pipeline and pull water out of Lake Michigan for use in

Arizona. But we know there are glaring exceptions that are a glaring eyesore.”

Kirkwood said that not all water diversion applications can be equalized as apple-to-apple comparisons. For example, though a bulk of Great Lakes water usage goes towards generating electric power, supplying municipalities with public drinking water, or watering crops or livestock, these waters eventually return to the Great Lakes water cycle.

That’s not the case for bottling water and selling it. That water, she says, is removed from the Great Lakes ecosystem, one bottle at a time, forever. The most notorious example of this bottling is the long saga of Nestle Waters of North America, renamed in 2021 as Blue Triton. Since the company began its operations in 2005 with an initial state application fee of $2,000, it has extracted and sold

Back in Michigan, environmentalists have long been fighting the water bottling operations, which ramped up when it was discovered in 2017 that the state was about to permit Nestle to nearly double its per-minute pumping output. The case which went back and forth in court in numerous wins, and appeals, by environmentalists.

In September 2021, Blue Triton relinquished a newly attained and contentious permit that would have allowed it to double its water consumption from 250 to 400 gallons per minute.

"The bottled water industry likes to say that compared to the thermal power plants and agriculture, they use a fraction of the amount of water," Kirkwood explained. "But what is very significant is that the very public waters that these private corporations are withdrawing, bottling, and selling back to the public are waters that are forever removed from the water cycle. And over time, this

over four billion gallons of water from public and groundwater sources for profit – all to the tune of just $200 per year.

The water is extracted from the White Springs Pumping station, which sits at the headwaters of the Chippewa and Twin creeks in Osceola County, and then trucked to the Ice Mountain production facility in Mecosta County. The company pulls water from other wells in the area.

In other parts of the country, Blue Triton has a water pipeline running through the National San Bernardino Forest in parched California. Environmentalists there have been pressuring government officials to strictly curtail, and even stop, bottling when in 2015, it was discovered that the U.S. Forest Service had allowed the company to work off a permit that had expired in 1988.

can have direct impacts in a watershed, particularly if they are pulled in headwater areas."

Over the time period since bottling water began, there have been conflicting anecdotes on the impact operations have had on the amount of water flowing. While the Natural Resources Defense Council in 2018 reported that the waters in the Chippewa and Twin Creeks were not plentiful enough to support trout populations, farmers in the area say they have not noticed a difference in the quantity of water they use to irrigate their crops.

Kirkwood said that what is needed is more education and more data to study the conditions of our groundwater and aquifers. She added that for the first time, the state legislature has approved recommendations from Michigan’s Water Use Advisory Council to

INDEX

This special advertorial section is designed to provide readers of Downtown Newsmagazine with added insight into the people behind the businesses serving residents of this area. The majority of the photography is the work of Laurie Tennent of the Laurie Tennent Studio in Birmingham. Stories are the work of Lisa Brody, Dana Casadei and Hillary Anchill.

Page 3: Kathy Broock & Co. | Max Broock Realtors | Kathy Broock

Page 4: Kastler Construction Inc | Rick Kastler, Paul Kozicki

Page 5: Meredith Colburn Real Estate | The Agency Hall & Hunter | Meredith Colburn

Page 6: Private Wealth Mortgage Banker, US Bank | Mark V. Webberly

Page 7: Dean Sellers Ford | Liz and Dean Sellers

Page 8: College Choice Counseling | Barbara Connolly, J.D. CEP

Page 9: Hagopian World of Rugs | Suzanne Hagopian

Page 11: @properties Christie's International Real Estate | The Lynn Baker and Deby Gannes Team

Page 12: PARTNR HAUS | Kelli DeLaRosa, Mike Naert and Becky Peters

Page 13: Optik Birmingham | Dr. Joseph Ales, OD

Page 14: Hazel's | Beth Hussey and Emmele Herrold

Page 15: Roma Sposa Bridal Atelier | Anna Castaldi

Page 16: The Birmingham Tailor | Ali Cheaib

KATHY BROOCK & CO.

Kathy Broock

Max Broock Realtors

275 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009 | 248.318.4504

kathy@maxbroockhomes.com | www.kathybroock.com | Facebook: @kathybroockrealtor | Instagram: @kathybroock

athy Broock is a highly accomplished Michigan real estate professional, known for her exceptional track record and passion for the industry. With a family background spanning generations, real estate is deeply ingrained in her DNA. Kathy's unique ability to connect with clients on a personal level sets her apart from her peers.

K

Kathy understands that every client's needs and goals are different, and she approaches every transaction with a level of intuition and insight that only comes from a lifetime of experience. Her forte lies in the art of negotiating, where she shines brightest. Her ability to navigate difficult obstacles with grace and positivity has earned her the title of “Michigan's Number One Realtor" for 13 consecutive years. She has consistently adapted to changes in the market, making her a trusted advisor to her clients.

Success, for Kathy, is not just about the end result – it is also about the journey. Years of hard work, dedication, and commitment to her clients has

contributed to her vast network and range of opportunities. Kathy's impressive achievements have earned her numerous awards and accolades throughout her career. She was named one of the top real estate agents in the country by Real Estate Executive Magazine, a testament to her hard work.

Despite these remarkable achievements, Kathy remains humble and focused on providing the best possible service to her clients. “Every day starts at zero,” is a mantra that has served her well for decades.

Kathy's success is a direct result of her unwavering commitment to the work that she absolutely loves. Her ancestors, including her great-grandfather, would undoubtedly be proud to see her thriving in a profession that is so deeply-rooted in her family's history. As the legacy builds, Kathy continues to apply her traditional work ethic with modern, innovative ways to serve her community, reminding us that grit and devotion moves mountains: “I’m just getting started.”

Almost 30 years in business is quite an achievement and a reason for any business to celebrate. Rick Kastler, president, and Paul Kozicki, vice president, are marking 27 years as Kastler Construction, Inc.

They are celebrating this special achievement of enhancing and building metro Detroiters' luxurious living spaces. They don't just design and build houses; Kastler and Kozicki create homes.

Kastler Construction, Inc. is beloved by their clients in metro Detroit, with many, some on their second, third and even fourth Kastler project, looking to Kastler and Kozicki to enhance their current living environment, or build a new home instead of moving from their cherished neighborhood.

Kastler’s primary focus is building custom homes, cohesive home additions, whole house renovations, gourmet kitchens, and bathroom remodeling. Kastler and Kozicki said they find that homeowners are customizing their living spaces to make it work for them. Some homeowners prefer open floor plans; others choose designated rooms.

The team is also staying busy with new builds for clients who are looking for custom

homes, not cookie-cutter planned communities. They work to provide better floor plan layouts, many with dedicated spaces such as gourmet kitchens, home office space, mudrooms, wine cellars, custom closets and expanded garages.

Their use of technology has been a huge asset for their busy clients. Kastler and Kozicki are able to easily meet over Zoom, allowing the team and clients to stay up-todate on selections, quotes, and decisions. “Previously those meetings were in person, but by using technology that everyone is now more comfortable using we can move things along quicker,” Kastler noted.

A new development, Gaslight Estates-The Reserve, featuring four beautiful custom homes in Saugatuck, MI, is an exciting adventure for the company, as they branch out to an area they love.

“For us, it's all about helping clients create a space they’ll enjoy for many years and working through the details to give them the finished product that they are expecting,” Kozicki said.

Above: Paul Kozicki, Rick Kastler

A

MEREDITH COLBURN REAL ESTATE

Meredith Colburn

The Agency Hall & Hunter 442 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009 | 248.762.5319 www.meredithcolburn.com | Facebook: MeredithColburnRealEstate | Instagram: MeredithColburnRealEstate

ssociate Broker Meredith Colburn treasures teamwork, collaboration and legacy.

When Hall & Hunter Realtors, the firm she has been associated with for several years, became part of The Agency just over a year ago – it was the perfect match.

“The Agency takes a collaborative approach to real estate,” Colburn said. “We associated with a global network while maintaining the feel of a family.”

The Agency is a boutique brokerage that takes a “white glove” approach to the practice of real estate sales, just as Colburn has always done. “The addition of outstanding marketing and cutting edge technology,” she said, “was just icing on the cake.” Colburn’s highest priority is to provide a remarkable service experience to her clients. She continues to impart this ideal to her team members, all of whom know that prioritizing the needs of the client is paramount.

Teamwork, with both her clients and colleagues, is a key aspect to Colburn's longterm success in the competitive real estate marketplace. Colburn began her career 30 years ago, joining her mother and mentor, Nanci J. Rands, in the industry.

Colburn’s current team – which includes Nanci – has grown into a collaboration of “incredibly capable and effective, professional women who I trust completely to do an impeccable job.”

Colburn prides herself on having assembled a group of likeminded, talented women who each have the utmost respect for one another as well as an unfaltering commitment to their clients’ best outcome. Colburn maintains a leadership role for team members Jessica Weisman, Adriane Dundon and Caroline Johnson – all of whom work tirelessly to provide clients with outstanding representation. The team is further enhanced by Brooke Goodstein, who seamlessly handles their daily operations.

“At this point in my career, nearly everything is relationship-driven,” Colburn said. “Our reputation for being effective, extremely responsive, and easy to work with gets transactions to the closing table. It's tremendously rewarding. Our clients benefit from the strength of my relationships throughout the industry – it's what elevates our business and truly sets us apart.”

Mark Webberly, a private wealth mortgage banker who has been with U.S. Bank for the last 10 years and in the mortgage business for 30, says there's no secret sauce to his success. It comes down to caring about his clients and believing in the wide range of products he represents.

“I want to deliver a product to my clients that I would use myself,” he said. “My team and I are client-focused, always listening, educating, and providing custom solutions tailored to the best interest of our clients. I am comfortable with a full range of customers. I can handle everything from a first-time homebuyer to a client going through life changes. I understand how to work with busy executives, lawyers and doctors.”

Webberly began his career on Wall Street, providing him a deep understanding of market movement, before moving on to the mortgage business. And while he writes mortgage loans for homes all over the country, his

local roots extend back to high school, graduating from Seaholm High School. His father was a General Motors executive, with family moving around the world, and his mother a Realtor. He said that led him to have real estate in his blood. He continues to live in Birmingham with his wife.

His long history in the finance industry explains why he enjoys working with U.S. Bank, the fifth largest bank in the country with over $600 billion in assets. “We're a big bank that is very nimble and client-focused. I can offer my clients jumbo, construction, lot, conventional and government mortgage loans, all from a federally licensed national bank.”

He is licensed to write loans all across the country, for those moving, purchasing second homes, or helping their children buy their first home.

“If their parents trust me, so do their children – I'm here to help,” Webberly noted.

DEAN SELLERS FORD

Liz and Dean Sellers

2600 W. Maple Road, Troy, 48084 | 248.643.7500 sellersford.com | Facebook: Dean Sellers Ford

People not only feel comfortable purchasing and servicing their vehicles at Dean Sellers Ford, but coming in with their pets as well, who receive a dog treat.

“Every day you come in, there'll be somebody who will bring their dog,” said Liz Sellers, who currently runs the dealership with her siblings, Blair and Dean, who has been with the dealership for 36 years, and her son and nephews, beginning the business' fourth generation.

That family-friendly environment is part of what’s made Dean Sellers Ford so successful since its founding by Liz’s grandfather, Dean L. Sellers in 1948, and what’s kept people coming back for the last 75 years.

“Being in a family-run business, among competitors that have gotten to be corporate-run or private equity run is a huge differentiating factor for employees and customers,” Liz said. “Our employees feel a sense of value, a sense of accountability, a sense of tradition, in addition to our commitment to reputation, being able to be proud of what we represent and do for our customers.”

That factor goes back out into the community too. The Sellers have had

connections to Birmingham and Troy for decades, with generations of graduates from schools like Seaholm High School, where they sponsor tailgates and other community events.

While their goals remain similar to their grandfather’s in making sure their customers are treated the way they want to be treated, the third generation of Sellers are looking towards the future, too.

Dean Sellers Ford now offers a texting feature to keep clients up-to-date on their services. They are also preparing for Ford’s push for more electric vehicles by adding fast chargers at their dealership, which is not only a Model E Elite Dealer –a top electric vehicle designation by Ford – but a top 100 dealer nationwide in sales volume as well.

“The Ford product is tried and true, and has been all these years,” Liz said. “And I think the future is good, with high quality, high technology vehicles.”

Above: Liz Sellers, Dean Sellers, Scott Casperson, Christopher Sellers, Adam Sellers

COLLEGE CHOICE COUNSELING

Barbara Connolly’s clients come to her at one of the most stressful times of their lives: when they’re applying to college.

As a parent of four children she helped through high school and college, Connolly knows what an intense process it is for both students and parents. That’s partly why she started College Choice Counseling more than 20 years ago.

“I really didn’t understand what the school’s counselors were telling us...I thought there was a need for self-help,” Connolly said. “Once I started doing self-help...I became very expert at it.”

What began as a kitchen table-based referral business has grown into a fullscale company, with a team of 25 professional college counselors and tutors. Her students have been accepted to schools like Michigan, Michigan Ross, UCLA, Harvard, MIT, and many others.

CollegeCC offers tutors for numerous academic subjects for high school and

college-level courses, SAT/ACT prep, essay writing, resume preparation, in addition to college application assistance.

She said her holistic approach to educational consulting makes her unique in the field.

Her qualifications do, too. Connolly is a lawyer, professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, and former admissions reader at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, and the only Certified Educational Planner in Michigan.

She’s an advocate for her students who finds watching them succeed and grow to be very rewarding.

“When they genuinely, independently, come to me with excitement to tell me, ‘Look what I’ve done, look what I’ve achieved,’ that’s very, very gratifying,” Connolly said.

The Hagopian family name is synonymous throughout Metro Detroit for rugs.

Large, antique, and Oriental, anyone decorating a home knows this is the place to go. But what Suzanne Hagopian, of Hagopian World of Rugs, wants people to know of the family business that’s been serving the community since 1939, is the depth and breadth of their offerings.

“We have quite a bit of modern, textural, contemporary things. We have tribal rugs, Tibetan, Deco and '50s mid-century – we have such a wide variety. I’m always looking for cool, interesting, and unique rugs,” she said. They also offer a lot of versatile high-performance and indoor/outdoor rugs, including those made by well-known outdoor fabric company Sunbrella at a variety of price points. “It’s rare to see so much variety in one showroom.”

Suzanne has been in this business for nearly 45 years. She travels the world to source rugs from suppliers who have similar values around quality and

craftsmanship. “I like to offer rugs that are unique and fresh.

“My staff is very experienced, and they love rugs as much as I do. We all love the opportunity to help our customers and designers with important decisions around selecting rugs for their home or projects.”

Another thing that sets Hagopian apart is their Free In-home Trial program (FIT). “Customers love trying rugs in their home before they buy.”

“Some of the projects I love to support is our Student Design Competition with College of Creative Studies. We began this project over 30 years ago. Our Concert Series with Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings is another special project that we have supported for over 30 years, where we transform our showroom into an intimate venue for music lovers.”

Hagopian is not only the place for rugs but has been woven into the community for 84 years.

THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING DOWNTOWN

We like to say we are innovators producing products that go well beyond what others offer so it's nice when others recognize our work.

Our team, this year alone, garnered 10 awards in Society of Professional Journalists competition for our work in the categories of Health Reporting, Local Reporting, Explanatory Reporting, Environmental Reporting, Personal Columns, Magazine Page Design, Cover Design, and Portrait Photography.

But our greatest rewards each month come from those who follow us in our print product and the thousands who follow us online and through our email newsletter offerings.

DowntownPublications.com

OaklandConfidential.com

MetroIntelligencer.com

ThreatendPlanet.com

Facebook.com/downtownpublications

Twitter.com/DowntownPubs Instagram.com/DowntownNewsmagazine

Thanks for making Downtown Newsmagazine the dominant news source for the Birmingham/Bloomfield area.

@PROPERTIES

INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE

The Lynn Baker and Deby Gannes Team

F or nearly 25 years, Realtors Lynn Baker and Deby Gannes have provided tricounty residents with a personal, client-centric focus. Deby and Lynn are two of the top Luxury Real Estate Agents in southeastern Michigan. By developing lasting relationships with both buyers and sellers, the two women have been among the top listing agents throughout Metro Detroit.

Over the past few years, their team has grown. Long time assistants and Realtors Donna Rousseau and Jean Sander remain. New to the team are Hilary Petcoff and Jenifer McManus. Hilary is a real estate attorney, Realtor and MBA. She is skilled in the art of negotiation, which is a crucial trait in today’s tight real estate market. Jenifer is a Realtor, interior designer and a former mayor who assists with staging properties and knows what it means to be part of a local community.

“We have a team approach that will give you anything you need. We represent a diverse age group, and we’re building for the future,” reflects Deby.

This holistic approach towards client relations and a community focus led Deby and Lynn to their recent move to @properties Christie's International Real Estate. This partnership extends the team’s reach by utilizing additional marketing streams, including an increased social media presence and CRM that will enhance how they keep in touch with people. While staying up-to-date professionally, the women also rely on timeless style and skills to help their clients, which includes an in-person interview and home visit. The continued goal is to provide their clients with guidance throughout the home purchasing and selling process.

As Lynn said, “The view we have is to take our years of success, add the new technology and latest social media, giving our buyers and sellers the most updated, hands-on professional experience.”

PARTNR HAUS

Kelli DeLaRosa, Mike Naert and Becky Peters

2139 Cole Street, Birmingham, 48009 | 248.792.9717 partnrhaus.com

Becky Peters and Kelli DeLaRosa opened the doors of PARTNR HAUS nearly five years ago in response to the market’s need for a high quality, serviceoriented office furniture dealership. PARTNR HAUS now has nine employees, including Mike Naert, who became a partner in September 2022. The company designs and furnishes workplace environments and is the premier dealer for Kimball International in Michigan. Additionally, they offer their clients a hundred other furniture manufacturers to choose from to create an innovative, creative workspace.

PARTNR HAUS aims to elevate the client experience while providing solutions that influence culture and organizational growth. “We understand that effective collaboration and seamless communication are essential for organizations to

thrive. Our clients are looking for comfortable and healthy work environments for their employees, along with flexibility. Employees perform best when given the freedom to choose how and where they work.” Peters said.

Service is their watch word. Every client is important, whether they need one chair or an entire office redesigned and furnished. While furniture is a majority of their sales, they also have a commercial flooring division which Naert manages. In addition, PARTNR HAUS recently opened a design studio with a retail contract furniture storefront and an interior finishes library for the design community.

PARTNR HAUS is driving the future of workspaces, ensuring that organizations can thrive in an ever-evolving business landscape.

Above: Mike Naert, Becky Peters, Kelli DeLaRosa

When you enter OPTIK, you quickly realize you have entered a pretty cool optical boutique. With an extraordinary mix of exclusive fashion eyewear scarcely found in the US, the store boasts the largest selection of original, unused vintage frames. Owner and optometrist Dr. Joseph Ales, OD, says that “very few people in the country offer a selection like we have,” which includes frames made of vinyl, wood, buffalo horn, leather, 3D printed, and a variety of metals. He typically finds these frames through his travels across Europe; recently, he did a collaboration with a line from Budapest that uses vinyl records as the final frame layer on exclusive styles for the Motown Museum in honor of its 60th anniversary.

Of course, before picking out a pair of glasses comes the eye exam.

“This is a retail environment, but we offer testing that goes beyond the minimal standard of care. I have invested in some of the latest imaging instrumentation for diagnosing which can save the patient a trip to a specialist sometimes. The technology has advanced and unfortunately the minimal requirements in a primary exam has not increased so much. Patients really appreciate our offering these tests,” noted Ales.

Something else customers are thankful for? “As a boutique optical, we take vision insurance. Most do not. People get a luxury frame using their insurance and that is quite a savings for them.”

It is Dr. Ales’ artistic sensibility and attention to patient care that has made OPTIK a Birmingham staple for over two decades.

Above: Dr. Joseph Ales with Penny

F or more than a decade, Beth Hussey and Emmele Herrold dreamt of owning their own restaurant. The two first joined forces in 2012, with Hussey as operating partner and Herrold as executive chef of the successful Ferndale establishment OneEyed Betty's. They quickly discovered they a shared vision in the culinary industry –and a love of fresh-caught seafood.

As all great things do, the concept for Hazel's came in a flash of inspiration. Hussey found herself exploring the dining scene around the United States and in early 2018, she reached out to Herrold, to say, “It’s time to get the band back together.”

Downtown Birmingham was the place to be. A stroke of luck brought them to the enviable corner of Woodward and Maple, where they recognized the need for an approachable everyday restaurant. They created Hazel's, designed for a modern appetite with inspired-yet-accessible regional seafood dishes. The dining experience at Hazel’s is ideal for a date night – or a family dinner.

Herrold debuted the menu at Hazel’s with classic, familiar comfort foods. Flown-in fresh saltwater seafood has always been key to her menu. She now rotates the menus seasonally – consistently bringing authentic regional seafood dishes right home to the Mitten State.

Hazel’s begins each year with Hazel’s Crab Trap, an ode to Florida and New Orleans favorites. In spring, the Eastern Shore reels in the rich flavors of the Low Country and Atlantic Coast. By summer, Hazel’s Lobster Pound brings diners freshcaught lobster and a full menu of Maine favorites. And every fall, the dishes take on a hearty Pacific Northwest flair with Alaskan King Crab.

Hazel’s casual and approachable atmosphere comes courtesy of its caring, qualified staff. The restaurant offers open dining for 215 people, a welcoming horseshoe-shaped bar, a quaint outdoor grotto with 20 seats and a flexible event space. It’s the perfect place to gather with friends and dig into a pile of fresh seafood.

Above: Emmele Herrold, Beth Hussey

ROMA SPOSA BRIDAL ATELIER Anna Castaldi

708 N. Old Woodard Avenue, Birmingham, 48009 | 248.723.4300

romasposa.com

Anna Castaldi, founder and owner of Roma Sposa, Birmingham's premier bridal and evening wear boutique since 1996, said dressing a bride and her family is about trust, integrity and quality.

“What makes us special is we are here to take the pressure off the bride and her family. We are educated about every community and every tradition, and we respect that. We have experience and knowledge about the functions and what happens at the weddings. We personalize it to your needs and reflect who you are and how to wear a dress,” Castaldi explained.

Castaldi, born in Rome, travels all corners of the world, procuring the finest designer bridal, cocktail and evening dresses for all special occasions, including the Detroit Auto Show. Among the designers at Roma Sposa are Tony Ward, Zuhair Murad, Naheen Khan, Peter Langner, Yolan Cris and other exclusive designers.

Castaldi's approach to bridal design is rooted in the belief that every bride

should feel beautiful, confident, and comfortable on her wedding day. She works closely with each bride to help them choose their perfect style that reflects their style and personality, selecting only the highest-quality materials and meticulous attention to detail. Dresses can be custom-made by designers, and can be made by measurements to respect the woman’s silhouette and special needs, adding sleeves and covering shoulders to create the right and unique style for everyone.

“We're here to dress everyone in the family. Mothers are going to wear a gorgeous evening dress because she is the hostess of the night.”

Castaldi’s dedication to her craft, her clients, and her community has earned her a reputation as a respected and beloved figure in the bridal industry. Roma Sposa is a testament to her talent, her passion and her unwavering commitment to excellence.

THE BIRMINGHAM TAILOR

Ali Cheaib

139 W. Maple Road STE H, Birmingham, 48009 | 248.433.3703 Instagram: @bhamtailor

Ali Cheaib first picked up a needle and thread at the age of 13 in Beirut, Lebanon, where his family owned a small manufacturing business.

After emigrating to the United States, he worked at various tailor shops, eventually opening The Birmingham Tailor in 2002, where he quickly become a household name for his honesty in fitting and skilled craft tailoring.

Cheaib expanded his business to offer custom made-to-measure clothing for men and women, focusing on suits, sport coats, dress coats and shirts, many with unique linings. Clients are able to choose fabric from fine Italian, French and English mills, including Loro Piana, Scabal, Zegna, Gladson, Holland & Sherry, among others.

“Always, always, we focus on the quality,” Cheaib said. “We're tailors and clothiers. We make a big impact because we understand tailoring and how suits are supposed to fit, and focus on the current fashions of Europe.”

A wide variety of spectacular linings are available to choose from to

completely personalize the suits and jackets. Many custom suits are clients' wedding suits or designed – and monogrammed – for special events.

While those special events were on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, Cheaib said business is busy once again as weddings and other special occasions are planned for this year. During the pandemic, he stayed busy by focusing on giving back to the community which has given so much to him and his family. He made masks for essential workers from leftover and available fabric – and soon, for his many clients, who clamored for them.

Quality and fit are watchwords for Cheaib and his staff, who want everyone to walk out looking and feeling their best, because he views every client as a friend or neighbor since Cheaib and his wife Lisa, who often works alongside him, have lived, shopped and dined in Birmingham for over 20 years, along with daughter Jenna, 17, and son Hadi, 13.

allocate up to $10 million to improve data collection and groundwater and aquifer mapping. This includes recommendations to fund more comprehensive monitoring of wells and hydrologic transfers between ground and surface waters as well as making improvements to the state’s Water Withdrawal Assessment Tool.

"This allocation of funds for better mapping and data of our hydrologic systems is the first time this has happened in state government, where in the past it's been an afterthought," Kirkwood proclaimed. "The lack of groundwater data in the Great Lakes Basin is an impediment to conducting long-term sustainable use of this most precious resource. We have a patchwork of regulatory systems and incomplete data. That does not allow regulators to work effectively with the private and public entities to ensure safe, responsible, and sustainable uses of this resource."

McBrearty of Clean Water Action said to strengthen stewardship of our public waters, Lansing needs to revisit a set of bills introduced to the House in 2022. House Bills 2022 5953-5955 call for amending NREPA to close the water bottling loophole. This includes specifically naming groundwater as a public resource in the statute and charging appropriate state authorities with specific oversight of public trust water resources. The drafted house bills would create a more restrictive licensing system for water bottlers than the current water withdrawal assessment tool and require that royalties paid by water bottlers go into a segregated fund that must be spent only on water infrastructure, contamination and affordability programs.

A native of California’s Fresno Valley, where water wars have become more dire due to ongoing drought, McBrearty said that as he scans editorials in newspapers from back home, he sees increasing calls to bring waters from the Great Lakes to the parched West. Things are getting so bad there, he said, that farmers have pumped aquifers to the point where the land above is beginning to sink up to a foot per year.

“The West is truly the 'Wild West' of water laws,” said McBrearty. “And as the west continues to run out of water, I think it becomes more and more likely that they will try to export it from the Great Lakes Basin. The Great Lakes Compact has a fatal flaw that allows for commodification and privatization. And if a good lawyer were to challenge that in court, that our surface water is ours but the groundwater is not our groundwater and is not a protected public source, this can be left up to interpretation for a judge to one day decide.”

Traverse City-based attorney Ross Hammersley, whose firm represented Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation in a lawsuit to fight Nestle’s contested permit application to increase it's pumping output, said it is now common knowledge that bodies of water, whether they be surface water or groundwater, are hydrologically connected, but the laws do not reflect this.

“The law as it stands right now differentiates between surface and groundwater,” explained Hammersley. “And with some water use cases, the law does not regard water in an underground source the same way as surface water. A potential way to improve Michigan’s water usage laws is that water is water no matter where it lies. We need to adopt a set of regulations that acknowledges the connectivity of water and that acknowledges that if an aquifer does not have the ability to withstand a high level of pumping, it will adversely affect other people's ponds, streams, and wetlands.”

Tim Ladd, Osceola County administrator and controller, said the case with Nestlé raised several concerns not only within Michigan but within the entire country about how water can be taken out of a public supply and sold for a profit.

“Our township received hundreds of thousands of dollars in support for our environmental conservation efforts to pay for our attorney fees for the zoning issue,” said Ladd. “Since the court of appeals made their decision, things have been quiet with the new company, Blue Triton. And the company has come in and made some improvements in the town.”

He continued: “Within the township, Nestlé implemented a well

assurance program which guarantees that if any resident has a problem with their well, and it can be established that water quantities in their well have directly been adversely affected by Nestlé’s operations in the aquifer, then Nestlé will drill the property owner a new well. That was accepted by the township and Nestlé has that in place."

Ladd also said that Nestlé maintains a hydraulic monitoring system within the Chippewa and Twin Creeks which measures temperature and water levels in these waterways. Even so, the taking and profiting off public waters does not sit right with him.

“That’s all the good stuff,” Ladd said. “But as the township supervisor, I have argued this with our state legislators as well as our state senators. I disagree that whether you are a private or a government entity, nobody should be able to take a natural resource out of the ground that belongs to the people for a $200-a-year permit and then make billions of dollars on it. To me, that's just not good stewardship of our natural resources. At some point in time, we could face the situations that we face out West, such as what's happening to the Colorado River."

While Nick Schroeck, who teaches environmental law at the University of Detroit Mercy, sees the Great Lakes Compact and the state’s Water Withdrawal Assessment permitting program as “good steps” to protect waters within the public trust, there is much room for improvement.

“Agriculture, energy, and industry, they all use millions of gallons per day, and all the permitting does is track water usage,” Schroeck said. "It is not intended to force water conservation, to protect our long-term interests. It's not a super rigorous permitting process, and when a business or other entity applies for a permit, unless that permit is wanted in a part of the state that is super stressed for water, in all likelihood they will get it.”

Schroeck said an impediment to fostering a sense of urgency to draft proactive legislation is the abundance of the Great Lakes themselves.

“Michigan is surrounded by 20 percent of the world’s fresh water and for now we do have an abundant supply of groundwater," Schroeck admitted. “And I think because of that, our attitude has leaned towards how much of the water we can use without much focus on conservation. But what we are seeing with these ground and surface water withdrawals are impacts on wetlands and amounts of water that flow in our streams and rivers. Couple that with a warming climate and increasing water evaporation rates, and I think our mapping and data sets are insufficient to keep up with how rapidly all this is changing.”

On top of bottling companies siphoning thousands of gallons of water daily, the Whitmer administration is seeking for the state to be a national hub of Electric Vehicle (EV) battery and battery component manufacturing as it strives to reach an economy-wide goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. But the manufacturing of EV batteries requires a great deal of water. And some of these plants have proposals to build in areas now zoned for agricultural uses.

According to the 2021 Water Use Report from the Great Lakes Regional Water Database, 38 percent of Michigan’s consumptive water use goes to agriculture, one percent goes to livestock irrigation, and 10 percent is used by industry.

It remains in question how much water such industries will need until they apply for EGLE permits, but this has raised some concerns within the state’s agriculture industry.

“I have heard from farmers who have been double checking on kind of what regulations these plants will need to be in compliance,” said Laura Campbell, agricultural ecology department manager for the Michigan Farm Bureau. Campbell also sits on the state’s Water Use Advisory Council, an advising body established in 2018 under Part 328, Aquifer Protection, of NREPA. The council is charged to report biennially to the Michigan state Legislature, EGLE, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD).

Campbell said the state’s Withdrawal Assessment program is a positive development in protecting water sources.

"One of the benefits and positives that we have in Michigan is a very robust, scientifically based water regulation system,” Campbell said. “It does not matter for what purpose you are withdrawing water, but there is a registration process depending on the amounts of water you pull on a daily basis. It is a great equalizing force because we are not trying to pick who gets to use the water and who doesn't. We're trying to say, anyone who wants to use it must comply with the responsible management of it, and you have to demonstrate that your use isn't likely to cause what the state defines as an adverse resource impact, whether you propose taking water from either groundwater or surface waters.”

Even so, there is a battle brewing in Michigan's Mecosta County, not too far from where Triton bottles its Ice Mountain water. Right up the road in Green Township, EV battery component manufacturer Gotion has proposed building a three million-square-foot facility that will produce two components of the lithium-ion battery – the cathode and the anode. Gotion intends to move forward with the $2.36 billion facility near Big Rapids on land currently zoned for agricultural use. It has received taxfree-zone approval from the county and is expected to create 2,350 jobs.

Residents of Green Township in Mecosta County have pushed back on the proposal in protests and at town meetings, expressing fears on degradation to the area’s water quality. Conservatives in the town note that Gotion is a Chinese subsidiary and fear the plant may be used as an inroad for communism in their backyard.

Green Township Supervisor Jim Chapman contends that these fears may be overblown.

In a document written to Chapman, Gotion Vice President and Mecosta County resident Chuck Thelen offered detailed answers to public questions.

As far as water usage, Thelen wrote: “The estimated (Phase One) water usage for the site … is 715,000 gallons per day. This is the startup amount and will be reduced when the water pre-treatment facility is in operation.”

As far as wastewater production, Thelen said the facility would produce 65,000 gallons per day during the Phase One of production, increasing to 130,000 gallons per day that will be pretreated before the water heads to the municipal wastewater treatment plant.

In the memo, Thelen added that for every acre of wetlands in the county impacted as a result of the construction, Gotion will create 1.5two acres of new wetlands along the Muskegon River Watershed.

Chapman said the amount of water Gotion will use is minimal compared to the water usage of Big Rapids, which consumes 1.1 million gallons per day.

"There has been a lot of fear-mongering in town about the potential opening of this plant, just as there was 20 years ago when Ice Mountain started pumping water in Mecosta," Chapman said. "People feared their wells would dry up and the levels of the lakes and rivers would drop, and we have seen that this is not the case. I am doing due diligence for my residents. With the rates our aquifers replenish themselves, Gotion could pull twice that proposed amount and we’d still be okay.”

While EGLE officials said that Gotion had not yet applied for a water use permit, Clean Water Action’s McBrearty said in his own talks with EGLE, none of the several EV battery and component companies planning to set up shop in the state had applied for permits.

McBrearty added that the EV battery and component manufacturing process uses water mainly as a coolant. Water does not encounter any of the minerals associated with the components.

“I have had recent conversations with EGLE officials about EV battery plants and as of (late May), none of these companies had yet to file any permits with the state, so we don’t know the specifics of the scope of water they will need and discharge,” explained McBrearty. “EV battery and component production methods do use a lot of water – but only as a coolant. This means that the water cannot and will not come into contact with the minerals like lithium or other raw materials. In fact, any contact with water would damage the manufactured product. Once water is pulled for an initial startup process, most of it will be used in a closed loop. Any wastewater will be cooled and then treated

at a plant’s own treatment facility and then a municipal facility before getting released back into the ecosystem.”

Wayne State University Professor Noah Hall, who has written two books on water laws, said the public trust of our water supply is being chipped away and there are things that as a legislative body Lansing can do, but currently there is no willingness or urgency to act.

“The political system doesn't seem to be interested in (protecting our public water resources) and instead is interested in doing other things,” Hall said. “To some extent, the law has some absolute limitations on what the political system can do with the water that is in the public trust. The Great Lakes do not belong as property to the state of Michigan or to other political subdivisions, nor to the federal government. Under the public trust doctrine, there is a limitation on what a state can do with public trust waters such as the Great Lakes.”

In regards to understanding the public trust doctrine law in the state, Hall pointed to the 1892 Supreme Court case decision in Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois, which reaffirmed that each state in its sovereign capacity holds title to all submerged lands within its borders and holds these lands in public trust.

“This case was the foundation for the modern day public trust doctrine,” said Hall. “In this case, Illinois gave a chunk of the Chicago waterfront to the Illinois Railroad.” Hall added that just as the railroads were the politically powerful, popular manufacturing economic enterprise of the day, now it is the automotive industry like Ford and General Motors and EV battery manufacturers.

“There has always been an industrial, economic, social and political goal in terms of interpreting the use of resources within the public trust.,” he said. “For a state to use public trust waters (like Illinois did for the railroad) for the economic trend of the year is not new. That is what states do with public trust waters."

Hall laments that Michigan is caught up in focusing on infrastructure and a maybe “too-little-too-late” effort on cleaning up from legacy polluters and slow legislative reform. The places the state should be focusing on are protecting the land, wetlands, forests, and shoreline that align our water supplies, protect them, and keep them clean in the first place, he noted.

“New York is a state that is doing it right,” said Hall. “It may have an aging, ancient aqueduct system that takes the water from the Catskills down to New York City. But it protects the forested land that sits on top of that aquifer that acts as a natural filter to clean and purify that water.

“What the political systems of Michigan and (Illinois) are doing with public trust water is typical,” lamented Hall. “It's frustrating because it is not good for the water. But it's within their power and as sovereigns of the states to do these things.”

Concerning the long-standing legal battle between Nestlé and the Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation, Hall said the outcome was a Solomonic case of “splitting the baby” and typical in water rights disputes.

“The case was a classic 50-50 split between (then Nestlé) and Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation,” explained Hall. “Nestlé was not allowed to take as much water as it wanted, and the (Citizens) did not get the win of an absolute prohibition on Nestlé’s bottling operations. Nestlé ended up getting a legal agreement with the plaintiffs to pump about half of what they wanted. Ultimately, it was too much for the little dead stream they were pulling from.”

Hall added that he views the courts as more capable and fairer with water decisions than political systems and leaders from either side of the aisle. He maintained it is because of the court systems that we can still get a drink of clean water and go for a swim in a body of water today.

“There are areas of the public trust that I would like to see strengthened. But at the core of the public trust is that the waters of the Great Lakes do not belong to the government. But as (Lightfoot) just demonstrated, if the water belongs to the government, if Gretchen Whitmer could do with the water as you could do with any other state asset or budget resource. I don't think we would have it tomorrow.”

FACES

Jherrard Hardeman

Jherrard

Hardeman's enthusiasm and passion for music started early in life. The Birmingham Groves High School class of 2015 graduate was recently named assistant conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and music director of the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra in Rochester, N.Y.

Growing up in Detroit, Birmingham and Beverly Hills, Hardeman began playing guitar at age seven and composing music about five years later. “I started composing in seventh grade and got a lot of ideas out quickly – tons of pieces the public will never hear,” he said laughingly.

According to Hardeman, he composed his first symphony in eighth grade with the intention of having it performed at Michigan’s Blue Lakes Fine Arts Camp that summer. He arrived at camp very prepared, and his instructor agreed that they could perform the score – but said he had to conduct it.

“There were about 80 people in the string section, and I wrote enough parts for everyone. It was a lot – but afterward I received positive comments about style.

“Somehow at age 13 I knew that was important.”

While Hardeman’s primary instruments are violin and viola, he said he realized he wanted to be a conductor in high school and expresses appreciation that Groves’ Director of Orchestras, Paul Shawver, provided him with many opportunities during that time. “The arts program at Groves is alive and well and really should be a model for the state.”

He adds, “I’ve had tons of encouraging music mentors over the years. Whatever I wanted to learn, there was someone to teach it and my mom found them. Even if there was no way, she made a way.”

After high school, Hardeman continued his musical education in Music Theory and Composition at Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition to his new position in Rochester, N.Y., he is also working on a certificate program at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston to “help see things from other perspectives and understand what I do on a deeper level.”

Hardeman has conducted numerous orchestras across the country and continues to compose music. Prior to his current position, Hardeman was with the Chicago Sinfonietta.

“It’s been an extraordinary year of auditions for me – two amazing jobs in one year. Really an embarrassment of riches. But just like it says in the Bible in Luke [12:48] ‘to whom much is given, much is required’,” he explained.

“I enjoy conducting because I gravitate to feeling responsible for things we do as a group. If I’m doing my job well, I can make 80 people in the orchestra have a great time. If I do my job really well, the whole audience will open up to seeing the world as another person, another perspective. This is important as our collective empathy as a society has diminished,” he noted. “I believe a beautiful, enjoyable, thought-provoking symphony at its best can be a microcosm of what society can look like, heartened by the majority of the people who want to do good together with ego left out.”

For those aspiring to a career in music, Hardeman offered, “You need to ask yourself ‘Why do I want to do this?’ ‘What is it I want people to come away from a performance thinking?’ and ‘What can I give to the world?’ As a musician, you put lots of love and work into what you do, but at times you feel the craft doesn’t love you back. You really need the heart of a servant and be able to connect music to a deeper sense of being alive.”

Story: Tracy Donohue

Photo: Elliot Mandel

City to buy building for NEXT, ask for tax levy

By Grace Lovins

After eight years of searching for a home for NEXT, Birmingham's organization for older residents, the group has found a new location with the city's purchase of the Birmingham YMCA building, to be supported by a millage proposal on the November ballot, both of which the city commission unanimously approved at a meeting on Monday, June 5.

After a three-year transition period, NEXT will split the building with the YMCA in the building located at 400 East Lincoln Street.

NEXT, a non-profit offering support for older citizens, has used space at Midvale School in Birmingham provided by Birmingham Public Schools. The school district hasn’t provided a comprehensive lease or future assurance for NEXT, which led the city on a search to help NEXT find a permanent location.

The organization provides comprehensive services for seniors, such as information, referrals, classes and activities, transportation and access to social, legal, health, housing, educational, emotional, nutritional and recreational help.

According to outgoing city manager Tom Markus, the Birmingham School District would not provide a lease for the Midvale School to NEXT and is reportedly interested in using Midvale as an early childhood facility. The district will still allow NEXT to use the school for the next three years.

Markus and NEXT director Chris Braun were able to find a solution through the purchase of the Birmingham YMCA building for $2 million. NEXT will contribute $500,000 towards the purchase price, which will be given to the city on the closing date. Birmingham will pay the remaining $1.5 million for the property. The city then plans to enter a long-term lease agreement with NEXT for one dollar per year.

The purchase agreement calls for a three-year transition period during which the lease agreements will be entered into between the city and the YMCA. The YMCA will continue to offer services and have a responsibility for maintenance of the building and land during that timeframe. Renovations and other processes will also take place during the three-year period.

When NEXT moves into the building, the organization will occupy about 75 percent of the square footage while the YMCA will occupy the other 25 percent.

To support the new NEXT facility,

Commission okays 2040 master plan

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham’s 2040 Master Plan, known as The Birmingham Plan, was approved by the city commission after a public hearing during the meeting on Monday, May 22, concluding the planning process that began in 2017.

A city's master plan serves as a guide that helps communities envision what they want to be and look like in the future. Some of the major considerations included in Birmingham’s master plan, according to planning director Nick Dupuis, include zoning and future land use, housing, sustainability, parks, multi-modal infrastructure, Woodward Avenue and commercial destinations.

During the public hearing, several residents who commented took issue with the plan’s recommendation for accessory dwelling units and neighborhood seams. Some said the accessory dwelling units are not a good advancement for quality of life, while others were concerned that the units would plummet the value of their homes when they look to sell.

An accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, is an independent dwelling unit on the same lot as a single-family residential unit, which Dupuis said is a major consideration for aging-in-place and affordability. According to Dupuis, the plan recommends that staff study it in the future and enable ADUs in currently compatible zones where multiple units are allowed on the same lot already.

There are three neighborhood seams proposed in the plan including access, activity and buffer seams. Access seams focus on multi-modal and street improvements, and activity and buffer seams propose housing changes to promote smaller multi-family type units, said Dupuis.

Commissioners Brad Host and Andrew Haig agreed they felt the plan wasn’t ready for approval. Host stated he wanted three items changed in the plan: eliminate the neighborhood seams, strengthen the language to make is clear the city doesn’t want commercial destinations in parks and prohibit accessory dwelling units.

Haig said the commission hasn’t had the chance to ask questions about the draft to the planning board like they had with the outdoor dining ordinance, and he didn't think they should rubber stamp it.

The rest of the commission disagreed, noting they have been working on the plan since 2017, have had multiple opportunities for the public to engage in the drafting and planning process and, if any rezoning or other implementations were to occur, there would still be a lengthy process that involves the opportunity for public input.

“Every [public] comment that has been made has been taken very seriously. That’s why we got where we are today. … It’s not a perfect plan – there’s no such perfect thing. Any change or any implementation of this will still involve a public hearing, will still involve us as residents,” said commissioner Pierre Boutros.

The commission voted 5-2 to approve and adopt the Birmingham Plan 2040. Commissioners Haig and Host voted against the motion.

city staff proposed putting a senior tax levy on the ballot for the upcoming November election. Incoming city manager Jana Ecker stated that a proposition can be submitted to levy up to one mill for services provided to older citizens. Staff is proposing a .33 mill tax for three years to provide funding for the senior and community center for improvements and to provide a sinking fund for future improvements.

According to Ecker, the tax levy would equate to an extra $95.87 in tax per year for the average homeowner, essentially an extra $33 per year for

every $100,000 of a home's taxable value. Finance director Mark Gerber said the timing of the proposal is fortunate given that in the city's coming fiscal year, Birmingham will be paying off a portion of a bond levy, reducing the current levy by .28 of a mill.

“With this opportunity, there’s a way we can maintain a presence here plus meet a community need, work with a great organization and the city to continue to serve,” said Helene Weir, president and CEO of YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit.

According to Weir, the goal is to

maintain as much of a presence as possible for the YMCA and provide support to people in terms of quality of life. The partnership between NEXT and YMCA would also allow for the potential for intergenerational programming between seniors and younger residents.

“I think that this is a momentous occasion, and the reason is we have a lot of assets for why we should be living in Birmingham,” said commissioner Brad Host.

“This is not just a real estate transaction, this is a community partnership with the YMCA for, I hope, 300 years. This will become one of our biggest community assets not only for our seniors but if we can include the over 100 years of programming that the YMCA has, this is going to be a senior slash community center that will become one of our biggest assets for living here,” he continued.

Several members of the public, including NEXT members, shared their excitement for the partnership and the solution to the long-standing issue surrounding NEXT. Commissioners voted 7-0 to approve the purchase and the agreement between the city and YMCA, as well as voting 7-0 to place the tax levy on the ballot for the upcoming November election.

Ecker sworn in as new city manager

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham’s assistant city manager Jana Ecker, poised to become city manager next month, was sworn into the new position at the commission meeting on Monday, June 5.

Ecker’s term begins July 1, 2023, after current city manager Tom Markus’ term expires.

City commissioners selected Ecker after a lengthy and thorough interview process. Ecker has worked for the city for the last 21 years beginning as a city planner and working her way up to assistant city manager and interim executive director of the Birmingham Shopping District (BSD).

Ecker’s contract was finalized on March 27, after commissioners voted 61 to approve the agreement. She will receive a $175,000 salary and will serve a five-year term set to expire in 2028.

The commission congratulated Ecker on her appointment and welcomed the “new period in Birmingham history,” per mayor Therese Longe.

235 CHESTERFIELD AVENUE Birmingham - $3,300,000

31145 WOODSIDE DRIVE Franklin - $3,295,000

2627 S. BRADWAY BLVD. Bloomfield Village - $1,424,000

746 SUFFIELD AVENUE Birmingham - $1,249,900

376 BALDWIN ROAD Birmingham - $2,599,900

1201 BROOKWOOD STREET Birmingham - $2,285,000

N. GLENGARRY ROAD Bloomfield Village - $2,150,000

3880 OAKHILLS DRIVE Bloomfield Hills - $2,950,000

5587 PINE BROOKE COURT Bloomfield Hills - $849,000

503 ARLINGTON STREET Birmingham - $999,900

WINTHROP LANE Birmingham - $2,100,000

1740 S. BATES STREET Birmingham - $675,000

1408 LENOX ROAD Bloomfield Hills - $885,000

600 W. BROWN STREET UNIT 410 Birmingham - $1,150,000 420 E. FRANK STREET UNIT 101 Birmingham - $2,325,000

JOHN, BRIDGET, JACK & MARY CLARE APAP

City targets taming Woodward noise

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham city commissioners proclaimed car noise from Woodward Avenue an intolerable situation at their meeting on Monday, June 5, calling for the formation of an emergency board to build a coalition and call for action from state officials.

Commissioner Clinton Baller approached mayor Therese Longe and suggested the noise issue be declared a state of emergency, Longe said. The issue doesn’t meet the legal requirements to declare a state of emergency, but the commission decided to take action to potentially reduce the issue with the help of the state and other communities.

“The proclamation is a tool for us to state unequivocally that we believe an intolerable situation exists and that we are asking communities up and down Woodward and Oakland County to join with us to take our concerns to state government,” said Longe.

The proclamation declares Woodward as seriously and negatively impacting the health, safety and welfare of Birmingham residents. It also appoints the city manager, police chief and fire chief, who also serves as the chief health officer for the city, to an emergency board tasked with building a coalition of communities along Woodward Avenue and Oakland County to seek action from state officials.

Woodward being known as a ‘cruising destination,’ as well as car modifications have increased significantly during the last few years, per police chief Scott Grewe, increasing the sound coming from a car’s exhaust. Grewe stated that this noise is difficult to enforce for the community based on the state statute.

According to Grewe, state statute contains several redundancies and language that makes it difficult to enforce violations. Violating the regulations leads to a civil infraction, but the driver would only need to pay the fine and the car could be on the street the next day. The penalties for violations are not effective in forcing people to remove any modifications to their exhaust, Grewe said.

Exhaust noise is covered under state statute, but the city also has an ordinance regulating sound from vehicle radios, CD players and speakers. The ordinance says that a vehicle can’t have sound audible, either by ear or by feeling vibrations, more than 50 feet from the vehicle.

Birmingham police have placed a strong emphasis on Woodward when it comes to enforcement, said Grewe, utilizing traffic improvement association grants to target what they can. The $23,000 grant covers enforcement for speed, seatbelts, distracted driving and operating while intoxicated. Grewe said the department also has two overtime officers working patrol on Fridays and Saturdays in addition to the officer typically on duty.

The city has also received complaints about the noise coming from crowds that gather along Woodward, which Grewe said the department has been addressing through restricted time frames for public parking on the weekends and power of attorney for private parking lots. Power of attorney gives the department the ability to remove people from private parking lots if the owner of the property signs off. Sixteen addresses have already signed, according to Grewe.

“One of the reasons I suggested that we do this is so that [there’s] sort of a top-down thing where we say very strongly that this is an emergency, to the extent that it can be considered one, and that would hopefully redouble [Grewe’s] efforts and the efforts of everybody up and down Woodward,” said Baller.

Grewe said a proposal has already been sent to state representative Natalie Price (D-Berkley, Birmingham, Oak Park, northern Detroit) and state Senator Mallory McMorrow (DBirmingham, Royal Oak, Clawson, Detroit, Berkley, Ferndale) to remove the DBA language – decibels on the a-weighted network –from the state statute which makes it difficult for officers to enforce noise regulations.

“If a reasonable officer can articulate that the noise was excessive, that would allow us to enforce vehicle noise without doing what the DBA issues,” Grewe said.

Commissioners unanimously concurred with the proclamation calling for Grewe, Fire Chief Paul Wells and the city manager to meet as an emergency board and begin working on the formation of a coalition.

New office building with rooftop amenity

By Lisa Brody

A new office building under construction at 4060 Maple Road, just east of Telegraph Road, was approved for a third story rooftop addition by the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees at their meeting on Monday, June 12.

The property owners, Maplewood Office Park LLC, submitted a site plan application to add an enclosed third floor addition of 935 square feet and an elevator penthouse proposed near the westerly edge of the rooftop, Andrea Bibby, township deputy director of planning, building and ordinance, reported. She said the purpose of the rooftop space is for the use of the building's tenants.

“The intent is for tenants and workers of the building to use, get fresh air, and meet with others in the building,” Bibby said. She said the center of the rooftop would have enclosed mechanicals, and there would be a stairwell as well as the elevator.

While the applicant, represented at the meeting by owner Brian Najor, requested to use the rooftop area from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, the township's planning commission recommended hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday as it is adjacent to a residential area.

In order to provide screening from the adjacent residential area, Najor said they have proposed putting a hedge of evergreens and irrigation along the railing edges.

Bibby said they requested and received all variances from the township's zoning board of appeals on May 9. In response to the township's planning commission, they specified they would have no additional lighting, no loud music or speakers.

Najor informed trustees they had reached out to the president of the homeowner's association of the adjacent neighborhood and “they provided some good input. They did have some suggestions for landscaping, and we incorporated that into the rooftop. Most of the impact is facing Telegraph Road.”

To questions of tenants, he responded, “It's general office space. We're permitted up to 50 percent medical. There's a certain interest out there. What we see is an interest in

shared work space, and that's what's driving this.”

Trustee Neal Barnett, who also sits on the planning commission, said he was initially opposed to the proposal, “but you really listened and made changes, and the fact that there are no residents in attendance says a lot. I think you've done a good job.”

“If this was in downtown Birmingham, I would think this was cool. But because this is in a residential area, it's kinda creepy,” said trustee Val Murray.

Trustees voted 6-1, with Murray in opposition, to approve the rooftop space.

Cultural Arts Awards nominations sought

The Cultural Council of Birmingham/Bloomfield is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Birmingham Bloomfield Cultural Arts Awards.

The Cultural Arts Awards, now in its 28th year, recognizes an individual who has strongly impacted the arts in the area of Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms and Franklin, or someone who has had an impact beyond the local communities at a state or national level.

The annual awards are sponsored by the cultural Council of Birmingham/Bloomfield which is a non-profit 501c-3 that promotes and supports the cultural life in the local communities, honors citizens and businesses that have had an impact on the arts, raises funds to support and insure the sculpture program “Birmingham Art in Public Spaces,” and works to illuminate the many cultural activities and resources available across the BirminghamBloomfield area. Co-sponsoring the awards are the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, The Community House and Downtown Newsmagazine.

To make a nomination, criteria and a downloadable form are available at the Cultural Council's website – culturalcouncilbirminghambloomfield.org. The nomination form is also printed in the July issue of Downtown Newsmagazine.

Nominations are due by Monday, July 24. A jury of arts enthusiasts from the community will select the 2023 honoree(s) in August. The public is invited to an awards ceremony at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center on Friday, October 13, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

More city losses from district court

By Lisa Brody

Audited financial statements for fiscal year 2022 for the 48th District Court by UHY LLP Certified Accountants indicated the expenses were higher than anticipated and revenues returned to Birmingham, one of the three major funding units, were less than projected, leaving the city $395,739 in the hole.

Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and West Bloomfield are the major funding units for the 48th District Court. Bloomfield Hills, Keego Harbor, Orchard Lake Village and Sylvan Lake are minor funders, or political subdivisions, which submit their tickets and court cases, and in return, receive a portion back as revenue.

The audit noted, “The Court’s primary source of revenue is from the cities and townships in its jurisdiction. Revenue is distributed back to the funding units and political subdivisions based on their portion of total caseload from the distribution fund (custodial fund). All

expenditures are funded by the three funding units of the Court. Any overage is refunded to the funding units based on their individual percentage of annual caseload pursuant to the annual audit.”

According to the audit, revenues for fiscal year 2022 were budgeted at $4.8 million, but came in at $4.2 million, slightly up from fiscal year 2021 at $4 million. Total expenditures for fiscal year 2022 were budgeted at $4.8 million, but were $7.3 million, a $3 million excess expenditure due to new accounting standards adopted, explained Birmingham Finance Director Mark Gerber.

“The court is in a long-term lease with Bloomfield Township and have to record a liability with the lease,” Gerber said.

The three funding communities provide revenue to the court on a quarterly basis to allow it to function, with local expenditures based on what each community expect their annual portion to be.

“We gave the court $1.26 million to fund the court (in 2022), and the actual expenditures of the court allocated to the city of Birmingham

were $1.63 million,” Gerber said, which leaves the city with a loss of $259,000 to equal out the city's funding to the court. “That is the amount we’ll have to give the court.”

Incoming city manager Jana Ecker said the way the 48th District Court does its accounting has nothing to do with court revenues or revenues that may be returned to the cities.

“$1.13 million is what we received from the court for revenues. In our mind we received $1.13 million in court revenues – but we allocated $1.63 million. That's our loss of $395,739,” Gerber said.

Township to host Food Truck Wednesdays

Looking for something new and different for lunch? Bloomfield Township has the answer beginning Wednesday, June 21, as they begin to host Food Truck Wednesdays on the Township Campus.

A different food truck will be featured every week, other than July 5, beginning June 21 through August 23. It is open to both Bloomfield

Township employees and the community at large. The food trucks will be stationed at 4190 Dublin Road, right behind the Bloomfield Community Television building.

“We don’t have a gathering area for employees or residents to relax and share a lunch,” said Bloomfield Township Supervisor Dani Walsh. “I saw how food truck events brought people together and hope these events bring the greater community together from my fellow residents, to friends in neighboring towns, as well as township employees and others who work in the area.”

The food trucks will change each week, providing diners with a variety of menu and price options.

On Wednesday, June 21, Hearth, Wood & Fire pizza will be offered, followed by D-Loft hibachi on June 28. On July 12, Twisted Street BBQ will be available, followed by Whoa Tacos on July 19, The Terry Melt on July 26, D-Loft Potatoes and Phyllies on August 2, Tacos Te Amo on August 9, Polish Mania on August 16, and a TBD surprise on August 23. A dining area will be provided.

Cranbrook on the Green

This summer, play miniature golf inspired by the art and design of Cranbrook's historic campus! City of Detroit residents receive $5 off general admission!

HOURS OF OPERATION

10am–5pm Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 10am–8pm Thurs

Happy Hour Beer and Wine 4:30-7:30pm No advanced registration is required.

ADMISSION

$15 Adults

$10 ArtMembers & City of Detroit Residents

$8 Children 3-12

Includes gallery admission. Processing fees apply.

Cranbrook Art Museum 39221 Woodward Ave Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 248.645.3323

cranbrookartmuseum.org

ARTIST-DESIGNED MINI-GOLF

Construction halted at Mare Mediterranean

By Lisa Brody

Announced changes at Birmingham restaurant Mare Mediterranean, 115 Willits Avenue, have been halted by the city as the owners of the restaurant had not applied or acquired the necessary permits, city officials reported.

According to outgoing Birmingham City Manager Tom Markus, the city was first made aware of proposed changes to Mare Mediterranean on May 18 “when an email was forwarded from the city attorney (Mary Kucharek) requesting some information about a request she received for a dance permit from Mare Mediterranean's counsel, Kelly Allen. The email stated that Mare had applied (and was approved for) a dance permit by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC), and that they did not want to move forward without approval from the city.”

He noted that Kucharek followed up with planning director Nicholas DuPuis to discuss what procedures Mare would have take in order to add a dancing area to their approved special land use permit (SLUP) for the restaurant, should they decide to do so. Mare's proposed changes include the removal of approximately 21 seats to create a dance area adjacent to the bar, the addition of a DJ in the new dance area, as well as the removal of some booth seating to add moveable tables.

According to the city's SLUP amendment ordinance in the zoning code, "once a permit for a special land use has been granted as to any parcel of land, no change in that use may be made nor may any addition to or change in the building or improvements on the parcel of land take place until a new request for approval has been filed with the City Commission and the City Commission has approved the request for change."

Further language in the zoning code includes standards which direct the city's planning board and city commission to review any SLUP changes and make sure that those changes “will not be injurious to the surrounding neighborhood" and that "the use is consistent with the public health, safety and welfare of the city."

On Friday, May 19, Markus reported, Mare owner Nino Cutraro met with assistant building official Mike Morad on site regarding his

Outdoor dining standards finally approved

By Grace Lovins

After roughly three years, Birmingham city commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a new outdoor dining ordinance at their meeting on Monday, May 22, creating a new set of standards from the previous ordinance that was initially adopted in 2007.

The city began working on the ordinance draft in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the planning board holding three public hearings throughout 2022. Board members voted on December 14, 2022, to recommend approval and send the draft to the city commission.

At their public hearing in February, commissioners directed staff to scratch a sunset provision requiring nonconforming facilities to come into compliance by a fixed date. Instead, staff was tasked with adding language to phase out nonconforming facilities without the provision. Staff was also directed to add language ensuring facilities are set up to be used and add utilities to the list of items considered during reviews.

Other major changes written into the draft since the commission’s last review, according to planning director Nick Dupuis, included adding clarity and consistency to the language, incorporating several new design standards and adding a clause for the protection of public property.

The clause states that the city commission has the discretion to order removal of facilities and equipment, or objects associated with the facilities if deemed necessary for public interest, health, safety or welfare. Dupuis said the clause will be included in the city’s code of ordinances, outdoor dining license agreements and in special land use permits.

With the new ordinance, rules concerning outdoor platform height, windbreaks, materials, service stations and location in the furnishing zone were put into place. Platforms will need to be flush with the curb and are not allowed to be in the furnishing zone except for special circumstances.

Bringing up the ordinance’s new requirements that renovations would mean a nonconforming facility would have to be brought into compliance, commissioner Andrew Haig said the ordinance needs to be very specific about what is considered routine maintenance versus renovation. Haig suggested taking photographs of facilities for a baseline so if a business changes parts of the facility without approval, staff has objective proof.

Commissioner Pierre Boutros, who served as mayor during the start of the pandemic when temporary outdoor dining rules took effect, says he feels everyone will be happy with the new ordinance.

“Outdoor dining is very crucial to our downtown. It creates vibrancy. It creates interaction. It creates life. I think by us coming up with such a fair ordinance that satisfies the residents’ requests but also, most importantly, we want to keep our investors and business owners happy as we want them to survive and succeed. I really believe this is almost perfect,” Boutros said.

The commission voted 7-0 to adopt the new outdoor dining ordinance.

desire to add a pizza oven to the existing kitchen; there reportedly was no discussion about adding a dance floor. Then on Sunday, May 21, the Detroit Free Press published a story indicating that Mare Mediterranean would be closing for two weeks starting the next day to undergo remodeling and prepare for a new menu. The article went on to state that a new pizza oven would be added, along with a dancing area with DJ entertainment after 10:30 p.m.

On Monday, May 22, the city did a site inspection of the restaurant and discovered demolition was taking place without a permit and new walls

were being framed in. Cutraro was informed no more work could take place and a cease work order was implemented. The cease work order still remains in effect.

Incoming city manager Jana Ecker said Cutraro has submitted revised site plans to the city and the county health department and has applied for permits, and they will be permitted to have a pizza oven installed – but not a dance floor. She said it is understood they will also remain a fish and seafood restaurant.

“We will not allow them to put in a dance floor or a DJ or a disco ball, unless they get a special land use permit amendment, which they

would have to go through the process of going before the planning board and then the city commission,” Ecker said.

Code of conduct source of debate

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham city commissioners continued working on a commission code of conduct during a workshop session on Monday, June 5, again disagreeing on what the code should include.

Commissioners first reviewed a drafted code of conduct in July of last year after discussing the potential need for a code of conduct in January and February of 2022. In July, commissioners took no action to approve the draft and sent it back to city staff for revisions.

After staff presented revisions, commissioners decided to submit written comments at the March 13 city commission meeting to discuss later. On April 24, commissioners agreed to hold a workshop session to review the draft and discuss what they each wanted to see, considering the varying opinions.

At the workshop on June 5, outgoing city manager Tom Markus explained that city staff had compiled a lot of information for the commission to review based on codes from other communities across the country. The goal for the workshop was to have the commission engage with each other and come to a consensus about what the code should say.

Mayor pro tem Elaine McLain submitted the code of conduct from the city of Yakima, Washington. Yakima’s code included one page of bulleted items that supplemented the guidelines and responsibilities laid out for their city council through their code of ethics and other documents.

Commissioners Andrew Haig and Brad Host preferred the simplicity of Yakima’s code, with Haig suggesting the commission look at taking an incremental approach: creating a short document and seeing down the line if anything needed to be revisited or added.

Birmingham’s drafted code of conduct includes items that aren’t written elsewhere, according to mayor Therese Longe, including the role of the commission, and items including codifying that commissioners are advised against attending other board and committee meetings.

“I know everybody likes [Yakima’s code] as a simple page, but it doesn’t exist by itself as a simple page because without all the rest of it there’s no consequences, accountability, no teeth. That is the consideration: do we want one of these at all? If we want something simple, we can do it and say it’s simple, but down the road if one of us or someone in the public thinks something has been violated, we have nothing to back it up,” Longe said.

Other commissioners disagreed about the need of a code.

Commissioner Pierre Boutros argued that conduct is common sense and if a commissioner can’t act appropriately, they shouldn’t be a commissioner.

“If I read page by page the code of ethics and the rules that we already have, I can’t think of anything to add to it. If I had to think of anything extra not covered in that book, I swear I could not come up with anything,” Boutros said.

Haig suggested using Yakima’s code as an example of how things can be summarized so the commission can distill the current document to a few key points.

Commissioner Clinton Baller proposed that, given the commission is disagreeing on what should be included and others disagree on the need for a code, Longe, McLain and incoming city manager Jana Ecker get together to write a code and put in on an upcoming agenda for a vote.

Longe said they can address that consideration in another meeting. No formal action is taken during workshop sessions, but the commission does plan to continue working on the code at a later session.

B1 zoning amendment gets the green light

By Grace Lovins

A zoning ordinance amendment request to permit additional uses for properties in the B1 zone, for small business usage, was recommended for approval by the Birmingham Planning Board on Wednesday, June 14.

Back in February, the owner of the former Grapevine Market, located at 100 W. 14 Mile at Pierce Street, proposed the ordinance amendment to add new uses to properties in the B1 zone. Trying to expand available tenant options for the vacant space, the owner petitioned the amendment to add health club or

studio, bank, food and beverage, specialty food store, boutique and fast-causal café.

Planning board members agreed that they didn’t feel comfortable including a food and beverage use early on, saying it could potentially lead to popular chain establishments and could become a destination for the rest of the city rather than a business that fits the B1 zone, and lead to parking issues. Instead, city staff suggested creating a ‘café’ category for lighter intensity.

A ‘café’ use would include a mix of carry-out and dine-in, specifically excluding full table service. The use requires one parking space for every 75 square feet of indoor dining area. Staff also added indoor dining as an accessory permitted use for the zone limited to either 500 square foot assembly area or 50 percent of the tenant space.

At past meetings, the board was hesitant to keep the health club or studio use, primarily due to parking. The current parking requirement in the ordinance for health club is one parking space per 500 square feet, mostly catered to larger, “big box” gyms like LA Fitness or Lifetime.

After the second study session, city staff added a special land use permit requirement to help regulate the different uses. Some of the board members still didn’t approve of the health club or studio use.

“I’m still uncomfortable with the health club being included even though it is a [special land use permit.] I don’t think we have the proper definitions on that yet. I don’t think we’re prepared for the varied types of uses…I would ask that we eliminate that and then move forward with anything else,” said chairperson Scott Clein.

Agreeing, board member Janelle Boyce said she’s more at ease with having the special land use permit but still uncomfortable and worried about potential parking issues. Board members Daniel Share and Bryan Williams both said they were inclined to leave it in since the special land use permit will give them the ability to regulate the use.

“I think that there is a place in these neighborhood center for small fitness, health club type uses, and I think that the special land use permit gives us the ability to regulate that and distinguish between them. It may be that there is an occasional difficult case that comes up, but I would err on the side of having a use that fits rather than having to say ‘no’ to somebody who we all agree as ‘Oh yeah, that

Fire department 2022 challenges, calls

By Lisa Brody

In presenting the 2022 Bloomfield Township Fire Department Annual Report to the board of trustees at their meeting on Monday, June 12, fire chief John LeRoy noted they had seen an increase not only in fires, but in building fires the previous year, including on February 17, 2022, when they were met “with one of the biggest challenges in the history of the department” – the devastating fire at Oakland Hills Country Club.

LeRoy explained the department has four fire stations set throughout the township. Each station is served by three shifts of 18 firefighters. Last year, the department received 6,385 calls for service, about the same as in 2021, during which there were 6,381 calls for service. He said the department had been going on a lot of police assists, but he and police chief James Gallagher reassessed that protocol, “and now we're not going on as many calls unless they're calling for EMS.”

There are certain disturbing trends being seen not only by Bloomfield Township, but throughout all fire departments. Recruitment of new personnel has become very difficult, LeRoy said, and it takes a great deal of time and effort to replace any open positions. “The fire service, state and federal governments are trying to implement programs to attract candidates to the fire service but any success with these programs will likely take years to see any positive effects,” he wrote in his chief's report. “It may take a decade to resolve,” he told trustees.

Another issue is the increase in building fires, of which Bloomfield Township had 39 in 2022, compared to 23 in 2021.

“It can be attributed to car battery fires, more people working from home, people putting something on the stove and leaving it, all sorts of things,” he said. As for the increase of lithium batteries and ensuing fires, he noted, “In recent years these batteries have gone from being located only in cell phones to being in all of our everyday use items. Items such as cars, power tools, hover boards, scooters, bicycles are used on a daily basis, but a new growing area is the use of home power systems and solar panels for supplemental energy or backup energy when the power goes out. Lithium batteries in their normal operating state are safe; however, sometimes due to a process of poor manufacturing, the quality control has shown to be an issue. When one of these batteries enters into what is called a thermal runaway there are limited means of stopping it. Massive amounts of water are needed to stop the fire and the batteries need to be removed to a safe area because reignition is likely.”

He said fire departments locally and around the country, including Bloomfield Township, are emphasizing training, safety and tactics in fighting lithium battery fires, as their use will only continue to increase.

Treasurer Brian Kepes asked if there is equipment to deal with lithium batteries. LeRoy said that along with community relations director Carrie LeZotte, they are going to begin an education program for township residents to prepare them for what to do when batteries die. “You cannot throw them out.

“When it comes to equipment, there's a difference of opinion. Really, the only way to put out a lithium car fire is with copious amounts of water. And once it's out, there's always the chance it can reignite. The standards and codes are changing so much, we can't keep up.”

EMS incidents were up significantly, LeRoy reported for 2022, with 3,617 calls for service, versus 3,495 calls for service in 2021. He said the number of long care and assisted care facilities in the township account for many of the calls for service, with more than 70 ambulance transports to hospitals. In addition, he said there have been an increase in motor vehicle accidents. “The increases are due to speed, distraction and a loss of patience. We are seeing an increase in the severity of injuries.”

The most significant event the fire department faced in 2022 was the catastrophic fire at Oakland Hills Country Club, where they were assisted by their OAKWAY mutual aid partners from around the county. “In this day and age, we cannot function properly without our mutual aid partners of OAKWAY,” LeRoy said. “Without the communities of Birmingham, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Independence Township, Madison Heights, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Southfield, Waterford Regional and West Bloomfield the outcome of this day would have been very different and on this date OAKWAY stood strong.”

use makes sense for here,’” Share said.

The board voted 6-1 to recommend approval of the B1 zoning amendment to the city commission. Clein voted against the recommendation noting his discomfort with the health club or studio use.

The amendment, proposing four additional uses and one accessory use, will now head to the city commission for approval.

Polestar auto plans missing some info

By Grace Lovins

The final site plan and design for a new LaFontaine Polestar sales agency was postponed by the Birmingham Planning Board on Wednesday, June 14, after the application was missing some important details.

Polestar, a high-end electric car brand, is proposing to completely renovate an existing building at 33866 Woodward Avenue – the former location of Blossom’s florists. A representative with LAG Development said Polestar will operate more like Tesla than Ford or Chrysler. Customers will be able to order and build their car online and the company will mostly deliver it to the customer’s house.

The representative explained there won’t be any outdoor sales, but the agency will keep about five cars for display or test driving. The agency also will not be offering any service, according to the representative, since all service is being handles by Volvo in Farmington. A public electric vehicle charger will also be moved from the company’s temporary location in Royal Oak to the outside of the building in Birmingham.

Planning director Nick Dupuis explained the plans met most requirements but lacked details for screening, lighting, loading and the glazing for the outside of the building.

The new auto agency also has a shortage of parking. Of 13 total required spaces, the existing parking lot only has 11, but the business intends to request three on-street parking spaces off Woodward from the city commission to count towards their total. Those three spaces will also need to be fixed up,

which Polestar said they have no opposition to.

Dupuis said some of the missing details were submitted earlier in the day for lighting, screening and the loading area. A three-foot masonry screen wall will be installed on top of a parapet wall on the front and side of the building. The loading area will be 12-feet by 40-feet in the middle of the parking lot.

Lighting plans also show parking lot light levels, but Dupuis said the city still needs to see light levels at the property lines to make sure they don’t interfere with the residential area around the building.

On the outside of the building, Polestar is proposing all white aluminum composite material with four overhead doors and new front glazing. Two small Polestar logos will be placed on both sides of the building to face Woodward and Adams. Dupuis said the plans are missing details for the percentage of glazing which will need to be shown to make sure the design meets the ordinance.

Multiple board members said they liked the plan for the building but couldn’t look past the missing or late submission of details. Stuart Jeffares said he was bothered by not having finishing samples to look at since the board has had issues in the past with the proposed aluminum material on other buildings.

“The fact the plans were submitted today, to me, they don’t exist. We’re all full-time working people but we’ve reviewed this when we can, we reviewed it for several hours over the weekend, but getting something at 2:30 p.m. on a Wednesday to try and figure it out, to me they just don’t exist,” said chairperson Scott Clein.

Board members voted unanimously to postpone a decision on the site plan and design review and change the rules of procedure to add the item to the Wednesday, July 12, meeting. Polestar will have to come back with all the necessary details and samples of the materials going to be used for the building.

Potential health club zoning to be studied

By Grace Lovins

Health clubs or studios may be coming to Birmingham’s downtown zone following the planning board’s review and study session of the use at their meeting on Wednesday, June 14.

City staff has recommended health clubs to be added to uses to the downtown B4 zone in hopes of having a multiplier effect on surrounding businesses.

Senior planner Brooks Cowan said city staff has received several phone calls about the potential for allowing smaller health studios in the city’s downtown B4 zoning district. Currently, the city’s ordinance does not allow uses like yoga, barre, pilates, spinning and personal training facilities.

Cowan said the city’s planning division recommends including the use in the B4 zone since it’s within the former parking assessment district and nearest to the city’s parking structures. Staff asked the board to consider allowing the use, limiting the size of the space and allowing retail along the frontage line if the business is on the first floor.

The board had mixed opinions on allowing retail if the business was on the first floor. According to Cowan, the retail component would only be allowed in the first 20 feet of the space in the frontage line. Daniel Share and Stuart Jeffares both felt having a retail aspect just to comply with requirements doesn’t seem like a great way to activate the area.

Both chairperson Scott Clein and Janelle Boyce thought it could be a great use of second floor space but were not as supportive of the use on the first floor.

Share offered that sometimes first floor studios can have black-out curtains or shades that prevent people from looking in during classes, which could conflict with the goal of adding activity to the zone. Boyce agreed with Share and added that a first floor use might not bring the activity the city is aiming for compared to typical retail use.

“I don’t think that this is going to cause people to go shopping and eating before and after because you’re not having lunch with the girls before you go to yoga and you’re not shopping after you just did a hot yoga class and you sweat through your clothes. I don’t know that that’s going to accomplish this activity that we’re hoping for that is achieved by regular

City approves water, sewer rate increase

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham city commissioners unanimously approved an additional water and sewer rate change for the 2023-2024 fiscal year on Monday, May 22, with water rates increasing 8.1 percent and sewer rates, 5.3 percent.

The city had reviewed rate changes at a budget hearing on Saturday, April 29, but had been waiting on final numbers from the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner.

The commission held a public hearing on the proposed budget for the next fiscal year on Monday, May 8, approving a sewage disposal increase of over $116,000 and a storm water increase of about $61,600.

Finance director Mark Gerber stated that the city met with the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner and is proposing to increase the rates based on that discussion. Storm water rates will increase $34 per ESWU, or equivalent storm water unit, for the Evergreen-Farmington sewage disposal district and $20 per ESWU for Southeast Oakland sewage disposal district.

As discussed during the budget hearing, water rates will increase 8.1 percent, amounting to just over $6 per 1,000 gallons of water used. Sewer rates are set to increase 5.3 percent, raising the cost to $9.79 per 1,000 gallons of water used. The rate increase for sewer, according to the city stems from increased costs of sewage disposal and funds needed for sewer capital improvement projects.

Commissioners voted 7-0 to approve the water and sewer rate changes. The new rates will take effect in July 2023 with the start of the new city fiscal year.

old traditional retail,” Boyce said.

A suggestion was made by Bryan Williams to consider adding a special land use permit to the use if they want to allow retail on the frontage line. Williams said this could allow the board to add regulations about blackout curtains or shaded windows.

Board members suggested staff talk to the Birmingham Shopping District to get their opinions on allowing the use and how they envision it functioning with retail and restaurants. They also recommended staff contact brokers to see what’s happening in the market and how many interested parties are looking for a spot in the city.

Clein asked planning staff to bring more information about the typical size of smaller health club or studio uses in the area. He also urged that staff and the board create clear definitions for what they’re referring to when it comes to health club or studio, yoga studios, pilates, barre and others.

The board didn’t take any formal action but will be revisiting the idea at a later meeting.

District begins search for superintendent

Following the recent resignation of current Bloomfield Hills Schools'

(BHS) Superintendent Patrick Watson, the board of education has begun the process of searching for his replacement.

On July 31, Watson will retire from his position as superintendent of BHS, and the board of education anticipates naming a new superintendent following their search at their meeting on August 22.

At the April 27 board meeting, the board heard presentations from Michigan Leadership Institute and Michigan Association of School Boards, and at their May 2 special meeting, they heard a presentation from Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates. The board subsequently hired the national search firm Michigan Leadership Institute to guide the board in the process of finding the next superintendent.

The board then worked with them to create a timeline for the search process, and to create a survey process for student, staff and community input.

Now through May 30, Michigan Leadership Institute is requesting students, staff and community input to assist in the development of the ideal candidate by participating in their online survey. Meetings with stakeholder groups have been occurring from May 24 through 31.

Next, candidates will be able to apply from June 2 through July 7, with top candidate interviews taking place on Monday, July 17; Tuesday, July 18; and Wednesday, July 19.

Finalists will be interviewed by the board on Tuesday, July 25, and Thursday, July 26, with the final selection of a new superintendent on Tuesday, August 22.

Non-union employees get salary increases

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham city commissioners unanimously approved a salary range adjustment for some employees at their meeting on Monday, June 5, adjusting for market inflation for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

The city’s human resource department proposed a 3.5 percent market adjustment for the coming fiscal year for non-union, full-time employees. Increases would apply to roughly 35 employees tied in with a performance increase based on a tiered system, said assistant city manager and acting HR department head Melissa Fairbairn.

Based upon performance, employees at the maximum end of their pay range can earn a 2.5 percent lump sum based on a great performance review; employees in the 75th percentile or above can earn up to a three percent increase; and those below the 75th percentile can earn as high as a six percent increase.

Fairbairn also pointed out that the market adjustment is in line with the union bargaining units. Last year, the Police Patrol Association and Police Command Association bargained increases for the next three years, with 2023 and 2024 each seeing a 3.5 percent increase. Fairbairn says this set a path for the city as they want to keep the rates as close together as possible. The city is currently under negotiations with AFSCME and BFFA.

“Certainly, this is in keeping with everybody that we gave raises to last year and will hopefully continue the trend next year,” said commissioner Brad Host.

The commission voted 7-0 to approve the adjustments.

WITHOUT LOCAL JOURNALISM

The pandemic that gripped the area and the nation in 2020 took its toll in many ways, including on the local business community, along with the field of journalism. One local newspaper temporarily suspended its publication schedule and another ultimately stopped publishing.

Thanks to the generosity of those listed on this page and the support from our partners in the local business community, Downtown Newsmagazine was able to withstand the challenge.

Aside from our monthly newsmagazine, we post regularly to our website (downtownpublications.com) and we send out a Weekly News Update newsletter every Friday along with special email alerts when there is breaking news of interest. During the month we also send out our political gossip newsletter (Oakland Confidential) and each month we also send out our restaurant news column (Metro Intelligencer). During the pandemic, we launched The COVID-19 Diary, a daily/weekly curation of articles from over several dozen news and government sources, to keep local residents up-to-date on the crisis we were all facing. In June will be launching an environmental newsletter/website – ThreatenedPlanet.com.

We started strong and have remained strong. But to continue offering our product at no charge, and continue to grow in terms of what we offer to readers, we continue to this day to ask local residents for community support in the form of donations.

Our thanks to those listed below who donated to support local journalism, and to donors who asked to remain anonymous.

Alan T. Ackerman

Michael Alberts

Linda Aviv

Eugenie Beall

Corey Beaubien

Michael Beauregard

Christine Beck

Ann Bieneman

Roselyn Blanck

Richard Blumenstein

Patricia Bordman

Carolyn Borman

David Bridge

Gerald Brody

Jacob Brody

Joshua Brody

Frank Brzenk

James Callaghan

Robert Citrin

Janice Cohen

Susan Cooper

Peggy Daitch

John DeAngelis

Terrence Desmond

George Dilgard

Christopher Dolan

John Dorsey

Alan Ducatman

Mark Elliott

Ilene Emmer

Allison Friedman

Reida Gardiner

Cheryl Germeroth

Maureen/Lawrence Grady

Ned Greenberg

Marc Greenlee

Pat Hardy

Jill Harris

Arnold Hirsch

Garrett Hohendorf

Steven Howell

Judith Keefer

Patricia Klimek

David Lanciault

Cynthia Link

Karen Linnell

Joseph/Linda LoDuca

Maria Marcotte

Melissa Mark

Joseph Mazeika

Michael McGillivray

Lynn Medow

Artis/Justine Noel

Michael Pettibone

Susan Post

Annis Pratt

Gail Rapson

Barb Ritsema

Cynthia Rose

Peter Ruseckas

Dan Schechter

William Seklar

Larry Sherman

Andrew Siudara

Emily Tobias

Annie VanGelderen

Stef VanHellemont

Wendy Wagenheim

Gail Whitty

Randi Yaffa

Stephani Yates

Publicity City PR

The Health Nut

Walker Professional Writing Services

Open Doors Open Minds

FACES

David DeMuth

While David DeMuth's day job is CEO of Doner advertising agency and Doner Partners Network, he has a special passion for the sport of tennis.

“I really love tennis. I love the elegance and the grittiness. I still play about four times a week. I find it really cathartic. I think tennis players are the greatest athletes in the world,” he said.

His relationship with the sport extends to helping coach and advise professional tennis player Emina Bektas, who is currently ranked 150 in the world. “I'm her advisor and sometime coach, and I do train with her as time allows, and travel with her, both here and at our home in Miami,” DeMuth said.

That passion and love of tennis have combined into the creation of the inaugural Cranbrook Tennis Classic, a new stop on the ATP Challenger Tour on July 2-9, marking the first-time professional tennis will be played in the Detroit area in over 25 years.

The Cranbrook Tennis Class was DeMuth's brainchild after a brand new tennis complex was built at Cranbrook Schools. A member of the schools' Board of Governors and a parent of graduates, he said he brought Cranbrook both the idea and “some seed capital in the form of a donation” to help get the new tennis complex off the ground. Other families followed with donations. “It got built very quickly for Cranbrook, and it turned out very well. It's one of the best tennis facilities in the country.”

DeMuth said southeast Michigan has a very diverse tennis community, with the pandemic bringing people back to the popular sport.

Now the tennis complex, with a viewing platform above eight courts set amongst trees in a bucolic setting will host the newest professional tennis tournament in the country.

“I'm a builder of things – I'm fascinated with creating things,” DeMuth, a Bloomfield Hills resident, said. “Once the facility was built, I said this would be a fantastic place for a tennis tournament.”

Emboldened, he wrote both the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and USTA (US Tennis Association) and sent photos of the new tennis complex.

“My first note was summarily dismissed – but I don't give up easily,” DeMuth humbly noted.

Then, incredibly, about three and a half months ago, a spot opened up on the ATP calendar for a week in July of this year.

Players at the Cranbrook Players Classic are rated between 100 and 300 in the world; some on their way up, and some having already been on top. The tournament will be livestreamed across the world, and all profit generated from the tournament will be returned to Cranbrook as well as to the Palmer Park Tennis Academy, which helps at-risk youth develop educational and life skills as well as their tennis game. “My wife and I have supported Palmer Park Tennis Academy for a long time,” he said. Their personal foundation, Tennis Forward, was created to participate and support the endeavor.

In addition to being able to see tennis players coming in from around the world, there will be a variety of other activities during tournament week, including a kids' clinic.

“This is world-class tennis in an intimate and beautiful setting,” DeMuth said, noting that Cranbrook has been “unbelievably supportive.”

“My philosophy is two-fold: it's to bring tennis to the community, and to show off Cranbrook to the world.”

Story: Lisa Brody

Photo: Mackenzie O'Brien

Behind the scenes of the Birmingham Shopping District

Downtowns are the heart and soul of a community. The strength of a community is primarily defined by this core area of commerce and life, and when it is strong, the rest of the city thrives. That is why comprehensive downtown management is essential to every community throughout Michigan.

It takes a village to raise and sustain a community, including businesses, residents, property owners, volunteers, key stakeholders, community leaders, and city government and its various departments. Have you ever wondered how it all works? Over the course of this next year, I will take you behind the scenes of managing and growing a downtown, and the important role that the Birmingham Shopping District plays in shaping the future of Downtown Birmingham.

First, let me start off by introducing myself. I am the new(er) Executive Director for the Birmingham Shopping District (BSD), officially starting last fall part-time as I transitioned positions, but now full-time since December. With over 20 years of downtown management experience in Ferndale and Dearborn, as well as consulting for numerous downtowns across Michigan and serving as the chairperson of the Michigan Downtown Association, I bring a wealth of knowledge and best practices to Downtown Birmingham. I have always admired the quality of Downtown Birmingham, and I feel honored to be able to serve this community.

My role is to help guide the BSD Board of Directors in setting and implementing goals and objectives needed to economically grow and sustain the high-quality environment downtown. The BSD plans, promotes and supports a vibrant Downtown Birmingham experience for the community and visitors by engaging and leading a convergence of thriving businesses, property owners and residents. Our focus is to grow the economy by broadening the appeal of Downtown Birmingham that attracts and retains businesses and residents. It does this through business recruitment and retention, marketing and promotion of the district, and maintaining and enhancing the downtown environment. The BSD Board, appointed by the Birmingham City Commission, is made up of businesses, property owners and residents both within the district and adjacent to the downtown to provide a diverse representation and perspectives necessary to shape policies and initiatives for the downtown. They have been doing this for over 30 years, remaining nimble as the market has shifted over those decades.

Ultimately, we aspire to have a downtown that is vibrant both day and night with a variety of businesses in a well-maintained environment with signature events and activities that grow the regional draw and local frequency. This past winter, the BSD board, committees (of which there are five) and stakeholders embarked on establishing the next five-year strategy, which was adopted in April by the BSD. Key areas of need include the downtown business mix, accessibility, business and resident engagement, and sustaining the board and committees. This resulted in the following key goals:

•Increasing local frequency

•Expanding regional attraction and extending stays

•Increasing the BSD value and return on investment

•Sustaining services and appeal

Balancing and diversifying the business and product mix downtown, as well as improving the ease of access and connectivity are pivotal in achieving these goals. Now that our path is defined, we are ready to hit the ground running. Local residents and businesses are needed to be a part of this marathon. Again, as the saying goes, it takes a village and many hands make light work. This is your downtown, make it what you want.

To learn more about the strategic plan and how to get involved with the BSD at www.allinbirmingham.com or call 248-530-1200 and email bsdinfo@bhamgov.org.

Cristina Sheppard-Decius, CMSM, is the BSD Executive Director.

Whether you’re looking for a construction mortgage or a vacant lot loan, you can count on us for competitive products and experienced, trusted support. Choose from fixed- or adjustable-rate construction loans. Plus, get financing that includes your construction and permanent loans all in one closing — with one set of fees.

Loan approval is subject to credit approval and program guidelines. Not all loan programs are available in all states for all loan amounts. Interest rates and program terms are subject to change without notice. Visit usbank.com to learn more about U.S. Bank products and services. Mortgage, home equityand credit products are offered by U.S. Bank National Association. Deposit products are offered by U.S. Bank National Association. Member FDIC. ©2022 U.S. Bank

Cristina Sheppard-Decius

I hope by now you have heard the good news – after quite a bit of time dedicated to locating and securing a location better suited to serving the growing 50 plus population, we have an exciting plan in place.

Tom Markus, the recently retired Birmingham city manager, at the charge of the Birmingham Commission, diligently worked with Next to find our “Next” home. To that end, the city of Birmingham purchased the YMCA building on East Lincoln Street in Birmingham as a combined future site for Next and the Y.

This is great news for both organizations as our missions are well-aligned and our view of service to the community are very compatible. The Birmingham City Commission unanimously approved this plan, fulfilling one of the city’s important strategic goals – a new home where our 50 plus community can stay active and connected.

By sharing a building, the YMCA is able to preserve their longtime presence in Birmingham, making it possible to continue to provide many of their popular programs as it looks to expand operations in neighboring communities. The Y will reduce its footprint allowing Next to utilize 30,000 square feet of the current 40,000 square foot building – tripling our current space. Some of that square footage will also include shared spaces. As the city of Birmingham has worked to secure a bright future for Next, we have also made a significant financial contribution of $500,000 that solidifies our commitment to this new exciting phase in our combined efforts to elevate the programs and services to area residents.

Details about programs, membership, neighboring community involvement, available resources, and timelines, etc., will be carefully and thoughtfully discussed in conjunction with the city and the YMCA as we begin to plan for renovations in the coming months and years.

The next most critical step will be securing the funding needed to start the project. There will be final inspections on the building, and the need for many professional services to turn this plan into a reality.

None of this will happen easily without the proper funding in place. Our planned fundraising events that we do each year, the Golf Classic to Benefit Next and two annual fund appeals, will become even more important. We intend to make this fall’s event, Birmingham’s Big Night Out at the Daxton, even more widespread, and we will launch a capital campaign in the coming months. All of this will be a vital part of our strategic financial plan – as well as

asking voters to approve a small senior millage on the 2023 November Birmingham ballot.

It is said that a society can be measured by the way they care for the most vulnerable, the young and old.

Birmingham’s youth enjoy many amenities around the community, from the numerous parks and playgrounds, tennis courts, the ice rink and skate park, ball fields and soccer fields, etc., all paid for by the Birmingham taxpayer. We are so fortunate that we live in a community that values public spaces and public amenities.

We also have a comprehensive public school system that not only provides a wonderful education, but also state of the art facilities for athletics, music, drama and extracurricular activities. Again, consistently paid for by taxpayers through millages and bonds, where more than 70 percent of homeowners don’t even have students in the public schools – a measure of a compassionate community.

Now it is time to extend that same compassion to our oldest residents.

By Michigan state law, municipalities can ask voters for up to a mill to support senior services. Almost every other municipality already takes advantage of this funding mechanism. Birmingham has not done so due to our previous arrangement with the Birmingham Public Schools. Now that we are moving away from the schools, for the first time, the city of Birmingham will be asking for support from the community in order to continue to provide the uninterrupted programs and services our older residents deserve, programs that promote life-long learning and social opportunities, along with supportive services such as Meals on Wheels and reliable transportation. On this November’s ballot, Birmingham will only be asking voters to approved a .33 mill, or $33 per $100,000 of taxable value per homeowner.

This November’s ballot initiative will include Birmingham residents only. It is our intent, as plans evolve, that the other communities we serve, Beverly Hills, Franklin and Bingham Farms, will also make a financial commitment to our combined 50 plus population. Those are conversations that will happen with each individual municipality moving forward.

With support from the Birmingham residents, along with our continued and expanded fund development efforts, we will be able to provide the programs, resources and services older adults rely on to stay active and connected, making Birmingham not only a great place to grow up, but grow old.

Cris Braun

NOONE WALKS ALONE

I recently read that “nonprofit organizations play a vital role in building healthy communities by providing critical services that contribute to economic stability and mobility. They also strengthen communities in other important ways. Frequently, nonprofit leaders are the voice of the people they serve. Thanks to the combination of strong community relationships and intimate local knowledge, these organizations often understand better than anyone else their communities’ needs and the best ways to meet them. Strong, well-resourced nonprofits that are connected to the decision-making infrastructure in their communities can catalyze growth and opportunity.”

In that spirit, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced it is increasing its commitment to building the capacity of community-based nonprofits and strengthening networks with peer institutions, civic leaders, elected officials, and other stakeholders who help shape the policies that directly impact the communities they serve. Bravo! In our community, in addition to our 100-year-old nonprofit organization, two other (amongst many) essential organizations continue their excellent work and service in Birmingham, and beyond as well – the Birmingham Shopping District and the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber. It is critical that building the capacity of nonprofit organizations in Birmingham, in coordination with its residents, peer institutions, civic leaders and elected officials is paramount. None of us can do it alone.

As proud members and supporters of the Birmingham Shopping District and the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber, we strongly and enthusiastically support the many important events, services and impact these two extraordinary organizations have on the residents, businesses, and civic organizations - in Birmingham and its surrounding communities.

THE BIRMINGHAM SHOPPING DISTRICT

As many of you may know, the mission of the Birmingham Shopping District is to “strive to provide leadership in marketing, advertising, and promotion of the Birmingham Shopping District. We actively work to promote a district that is exciting, clean, safe, and pedestrian-friendly and ensure that the district continues to serve as a center for business, service, social and community activities. The Birmingham Shopping District Board oversees the expenditure of funds for the principal shopping district programs.”

Under the effective leadership of Cristina Sheppard-Decius, BSD Executive Director, many community and business-friendly events and programs are planned and led by the tireless Birmingham Shopping District (BSD) team year-round.

Recently the Birmingham Farmers Market (sponsored by the BSD) opened on May 7th for its 21st season. According to the BSD, “Visitors of all ages are invited to experience the outdoor market and shop for local produce, meat and dairy, artisan goods, fresh foods and more. The market proudly offers Michigan-grown produce subject to local growing patterns.” In addition to foods, shoppers can browse unique and stunning floral bouquets, hanging baskets, garden flats and other plants. A produce guide is available online at the BSD.

On one recent visit, my wife and I came across the family-owned and operated Ptashka’s booth. Ptashka’s, founded by local a mother-daughter team, Galyna Semenkova and Jenya (nee Semenkova) Schwartz, has been locally producing nalysnyky (NAH-liss-nee-kee), the word and spelling in Ukrainian for “crepes” since mid-February. After one taste, we were hooked.

We learned that six vegetarian varieties of nalysnyky are carried at Birmingham’s Market Square, Long Lake Market in Bloomfield Hills, Market Fresh in Beverly Hills, in addition to the Birmingham Farmer’s Market. Saturday is their day for producing sweet nalysnyky: cherries and vanilla sauce, apples, and vanilla sauce and one that’s especially popular in Ukraine, farmer’s cheese, and raisins. To die for.

Their nalysnyky are made with locally sourced and natural ingredients. Best of all, 10 percent of Ptashka’s proceeds quarterly is donated to United Help Ukraine

(www.unitedhelpukraine.org). The nonprofit charity provides medical and humanitarian relief in the Semenkovas’ war-torn native land. Check them out as well as the many other food and products at Birmingham’s very own farmer’s market.

Hours of the Birmingham Farmer’s Market - every Sunday May 7 – October 29 from 9 a.m.- 2 p.m.. The market is held on Public Parking Lot #6 located at 660 N. Old Woodward, Birmingham, Michigan 48009. Stop by and support your local community.

Another “must attend” BSD event happening now in Birmingham is the annual In The Park Summer Concert Series* sponsored by the Birmingham Shopping District. Visitors to downtown Birmingham can enjoy live music in downtown’s centrally located Shain Park during the free In the Park Summer Concert Series, taking place on Wednesday evenings all summer long. Go online to the Birmingham Shopping District's website to also view their dining directory to see a list of restaurants perfect for dinner before the show, For the latest concert information and line-up, visit bhamgov.org/summerconcerts.

THE BIRMINGHAM BLOOMFIELD CHAMBER

As proud members of the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber (BCC) we likewise applaud and support Joe Bauman, chamber president, and the chamber’s strong partnerships and advocacy for our schools, government, community organizations (like The Community House) and the community at large. The Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber’s mission is to serve six surrounding communities as their leading resource for advancing business interests and building relationships. Our chamber serves the community with distinction and excellence.

As many of you know, the BCC is a member-driven organization that builds strong relationships with government, education, and community to create a prosperous business climate in Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, and Franklin. They strive daily to:

• Promote programs and services that meet the needs of chamber members and potential members.

• Maintain a positive business and community image.

• Utilize and strengthen partnerships with schools, government, community organizations and the community at large.

• Achieve and maintain the organizational and fiscal stability of the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber.

• Be the lead voice for the larger business community.

We at The Community House humbly urge both residents and businesses alike to support the BBC.

CHAMBER REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

On deck for the BBC is their Annual Golf Outing (and fund/friend raiser). It will be held on Tuesday, July 18, starting at 10 a.m. at the esteemed Indianwood Golf & Country Club, 1081 Indianwood Road in Lake Orion.

Register now and join local community and business leaders for this fun day on the course. Golf packages and sponsorships available. Golfer package includes Grab & Go Breakfast, BBQ lunch, 18 holes of golf, after-golf reception with an open bar. For those who want to join the BBC for the after-golf reception only, it runs from 3-5 p.m. All are welcome. Tickets are $50/person (includes food and an open bar).

Registration at 9 a.m.; Shotgun Start at 10 a.m.; After-golf reception from 3-5 p.m..

CHAMBER SAVE THE DATE

The 19th Annual Vine & Dine, a benefit for the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber and Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan will take place on Tuesday, September 12, at the Kingsley Hotel in Bloomfield Hills. Join the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber for this “not to miss” food and wine tasting event showcasing the best of Birmingham food and wine. Featuring live entertainment, silent and chance auctions, and live entertainment. Wear Gleaner’s Green and be entered to win.

Remember it’s important to live, shop and dine locally! All money raised or spent in Birmingham should stay in Birmingham. We’re in it together.

William D. Seklar is Officer, President & CEO of The Community House Association, and Board Chair, President & CEO of The Community House Foundation.

Bill Seklar

Owed $207,000.00 –Settled for $7,352.00

Owed $374,416.00 –Settled for $19,181.00

Owed $1,039,938.00 –Settled for $85,824.00

DOLLARS– LET US HELP YOU SLEEP BETTER AT NIGHT.

PLACES TO EAT

The Places To Eat for Downtown is a quick reference source to establishments offering a place for dining, either breakfast, lunch or dinner. The listings include nearly all dining establishments with seating in the Birmingham/Bloomfield area, and then some select restaurants outside the immediate area served by Downtown.

Birmingham/Bloomfield

220: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 220 E. Merrill Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.646.2220. 220restaurant.com

5th Tavern: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2262 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48302. 248.481.9607. 5thtavern.com

Adachi: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner daily. Liquor. Reservations. 325 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham 48009. 248.540.5900. adachirestaurant.com

Andiamo: Italian. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6676 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301. 248.865.9300. andiamoitalia.com

Beau’s: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 4108 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.626.2630. beausbloomfield.com

Bella Piatti: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 167 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.494.7110. bellapiattirestaurant.com

Beverly Hills Grill: American. Lunch, WednesdaySunday, Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Liquor. No reservations. 31471 Southfield Road, Beverly Hills, 48025. 248.642.2355. beverlyhillsgrill.com

Beyond Juicery + Eatery: Contemporary. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 270 W. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009; 221 Cole Street, Birmingham, 48009; 3645 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301; 4065 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301; 1987 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. beyondjuiceryeatery.com

Bill’s: American. Breakfast, weekends, Lunch, Thursday & Friday, Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 39556 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.646.9000. billsbloomfieldhills.com

Birmingham Pub: American. Brunch, Sunday, Lunch, Tuesday-Friday, Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 555 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham. thebirminghampub.com

Birmingham Sushi Cafe: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 377 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.8880. birminghamsushi.com

Bistro Joe’s Kitchen: Global. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Liquor. Reservations. 34244 Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.0984. bistrojoeskitchen.com

Bloomfield Deli: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, Monday-Friday. No reservations. 71 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.645.6879. bloomfielddeli.com

Brooklyn Pizza: Pizza. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Liquor. No reservations. 111 Henrietta Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.258.6690. thebrooklynpizza.com

Café ML: New American. Dinner, daily. Liquor. Reservations. 3607 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Township. 248.642.4000. cafeml.com

Casa Pernoi: Italian. Lunch, Wednesday-Friday, Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 310 E. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.940.0000. casapernoi.com

Churchill’s Bistro & Cigar Bar: Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 116 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.4555. churchillscigarbar.com

Cityscape Deli: Deli. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. No reservations. Beer. 877 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302.

248.540.7220. cityscapedeli.com

Commonwealth: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 300 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.9766. gocommonwealth.com

Dick O’Dow’s: Irish. Lunch & Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 160 West Maple Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.642.1135. dickodowspub.com

Eddie Merlot’s: Steak & seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 37000 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.712.4095. eddiemerlots.com

Einstein Bros. Bagels: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 4089 West Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.258.9939. einsteinbros.com

Elie’s Mediterranean Grill/Bar: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 263 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.2420. eliesgrill.com

EM: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No Reservations. Liquor. 470 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 947.234.0819. embirmingham.com

Embers Deli & Restaurant: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, Tuesday-Sunday. Dinner, TuesdayFriday. No reservations. 3598 West Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.645.1033. embersdeli1.com

Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar: American. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 323 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.723.0134. flemingssteakhouse.com

Forest: European. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 735 Forest Avenue, Birmingham 48009. 248.258.9400. forestbirmingham.com

Greek Islands Coney Restaurant: Greek. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 221 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.646.1222. greekislandsconey.com

Griffin Claw Brewing Company: American. Lunch, Friday-Sunday, Dinner, TuesdaySunday. No Reservations. Liquor. 575 S. Eton Street, Birmingham. 248.712.4050. griffinclawbrewingcompany.com

Hazel’s: Seafood. Brunch, weekends, Lunch, Tuesday- Sunday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 1 Peabody Street, Birmingham. 248.671.1714. eatathazels.com

Honey Tree Grille: Greek/American. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, daily. No reservations. 3633 W. Maple Rd, Bloomfield, MI 48301. 248.203.9111. honeytreegrille.com

Hunter House Hamburgers: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 35075 Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.646.7121. hunterhousehamburgers.com

Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse: American. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 201 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.4369. hydeparkrestaurants.com

IHOP: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2187 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301. 248.333.7522. Ihop.com

Joe Muer Seafood: Seafood. Dinner daily. Reservations. Liquor. 39475 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.792.9609. joemuer.com

Kaku Sushi and Poke’: Asian. Lunch, MondayFriday & Dinner daily. No reservations. 869 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Township, 48302. 248.480.4785, and 126 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009. 248.885.8631. kakusushipoke.com

Kerby’s Koney Island: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2160 N. Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.333.1166.

kerbyskoneyisland.com

La Marsa: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner daily. Reservations. 43259 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.858.5800. lamarsacuisine.com

La Strada Italian Kitchen & Bar: Italian. Dinner,

The Birmingham/Bloomfield area is filled with discriminating diners and an array of dining establishments. Make sure the message for your restaurant reaches the right market in the right publication—Downtown.

METRO INTELLIGENCER

Metro Intelligencer is a monthly column devoted to news stories, tidbits and gossip items about what's happening on the restaurant scene in the metro Detroit area. Metro Intelligencer is reported/created each month by Gigi Nichols who can be reached at GigiNichols@DowntownPublications.com with news items or tips, on or off the record.

The wait is over – Phoenicia reopens

Two popular restaurants have reopened their doors after extensive renovations. Samy Eid, co-owner and operator of Phoenicia in Birmingham, said that he is “thrilled” to reopen after a seven-month closure. He said that the renovations took longer than expected due to labor shortages and continued supply chain issues. As guests enter the restaurant, Eid notes that customers will not notice any changes to the interior dining room as the renovations took place in the kitchen as well as with the addition of a private dining room. Approximately 1,000 square feet has been added to the building to accommodate these newly designed spaces. The new intimate dining room, complete with A/V and an atrium roof, will be perfect for hosting business meetings, showers and other small gatherings. The exterior of the building has been repainted and the parking lot, which accommodates 38 cars, also has been redone. Loyal patrons will be happy to learn that, despite all the changes, the classic Phoenicia menu has stayed the same. Eid points out that, “The menu remains exactly how people know and remember it and after 50 years of existence, why we would change it?” 588 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham phoeniciabirmingham.com

MEX revamps

And in Bloomfield Township, MEX has reopened with a new look and a reinvented menu. “We’re fortunate that MEX has always been a beloved restaurant in the area. The old concept was doing very well, but the remodel will offer a much bigger ‘wow’ factor”, said Zack Sklar, corporate executive chef and owner of Peas and CarrotsHospitality. “We were a young company when MEX launched, and as with all restaurants, we grow – and grow up – over time. Our hospitality group has evolved, and we are heavily focused on elevating our concepts to evolve and meet the expectations and needs of our guests.” Sklar also spearheads MEX’s new culinary program. While some favorites, such as MEX’s steak, chicken, and shrimp fajitas will remain on the menu, guests can look forward to reimagined dishes including house-made tortillas, whole branzino, chorizo empanadas, duck-carnitas tacos and vegan corn-coconut tamales. Inside, the newly designed atmosphere features warm earth tones, natural wood floors, sleek tile, and contemporary lighting fixtures throughout, and an expanded bar area which includes a floor-to-ceiling glass enclosure. The new layout accommodates up to 220 seats, including 100 in the main dining room, up to 40 at the bar and up to 30 on the patio. The upstairs features a multi-use interchangeable space for regular dining service or private events with capacity for between 35-45 guests.

6675 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills mexbloomfield.com

Big Rock coming back

Birmingham lost an iconic restaurant in 2021 when Big Rock Chophouse was sold and closed by longtime owners Norm and Bonnie LePage. Now there’s reason to celebrate as Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, LLC announced that they would be adding Big Rock Italian Chophouse as a new concept to its family of restaurants. Located in Birmingham’s former Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot, Big Rock Italian Chophouse is scheduled to open in the summer of 2024. The project is a joint venture with Cameron Mitchell Restaurants and a number of local investor partners including Tom Celani and Dario Bergamo. The 11,000-square foot fine-dining Italian chophouse will feature a curated menu of best-in-class prime steaks and chops, an indulgent selection of handmade pastas, rich sauces, and a robust, world-class wine list. Big Rock Italian Chophouse will also offer an extensive bourbon collection and a signature handcrafted cocktail menu composed with the highest quality ingredients. “We’re thrilled to introduce Big Rock Italian Chophouse to Birmingham. Over the next year, our team will work to update and reintroduce this spectacular property,” said Cameron Mitchell, founder and CEO, CMR. “We consider Southeast Michigan a second home market and are eagerly looking forward to the opening and success of another new concept in Birmingham.” The restaurant will seat approximately 375 guests, including more than 100 outdoor seats and will have three unique bars and multiple private dining rooms. It will feature a private cigar club and terrace with an intimate setting for members to enjoy exclusive, specialty cigar offerings. 245 S. Eton Street, Birmingham

Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 243 E. Merrill Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.480.0492. lastradaitaliankitchen.com

Leo’s Coney Island: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 154 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.9707. Also 6527 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.646.8568. leosconeyisland.com

Little Daddy’s: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 39500 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.647.3400. littledaddys.com

Luxe Bar & Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 525 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.6051. luxebarandgrill.com

Madam: American. Breakfast, Monday-Friday, Brunch, weekends. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner daily. Reservations. Liquor. 298 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.283.4200. daxtonhotel.com

Mare Mediterranean: Seafood. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 115 Willits Street, Birmingham 48009. 248.940.5525. maremediterranean.com

Market North End: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 474 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.712.4953. marketnorthend.com

Nippon Sushi Bar: Japanese. Lunch, MondayFriday, Dinner daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2079 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48302. 248.481.9581. nipponsushibar.com

Olga’s Kitchen: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2075 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.451.0500. olgas.com

Original Pancake House: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 33703 South Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.642.5775. oph-mi.com

Planthropie: Vegan. Dessert and Cheese. Tuesday-Sunday. 135 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.839.5640. planthropie.com

Roadside B & G: American. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 1727 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.858.7270. roadsidebandg.com

Salvatore Scallopini: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 505 North Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.644.8977. salsbirmingham.com

Shift Kitchen & Cocktails: Small plates. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 117 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.2380. shiftbirmingham.com

Sidecar: American. Lunch and Dinner, daily. Liquor. 117 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.2380. sidecarsliderbar.com

Slice Pizza Kitchen: Pizza. Lunch and Dinner, daily. Liquor. 117 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.3475. slicepizzakitchen.com

Social Kitchen & Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Brunch, Saturday & Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 225 E. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.4200. socialkitchenandbar.com

Stateside Deli & Restaurant Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 653 S. Adams Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.550.0455. statesidedeli.com

Steve’s Deli: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Breakfast and Lunch, Sunday. No reservations. 6646 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield, 48301. 248.932.0800. stevesdeli.com

Streetside Seafood: Seafood. Lunch, Thursday & Friday, Dinner, daily. Liquor. 273 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.645.9123. streetsideseafood.com

Sushi Hana: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 42656 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.333.3887. sushihanabloomfield.com

Sy Thai Cafe: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, Monday and Wednesday-Sunday. No reservations. 315

Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.258.9830. sythaibirmingham.com

Sylvan Table: American. Brunch, weekends, Dinner daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1819 Inverness Street, Sylvan Lake, 48320. 248.369.3360. sylvantable.com

Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro: American. Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 55 S. Bates Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.731.7066. tallulahwine.com

Thai Street Kitchen: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. 42805 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Township, 48304. 248.499.6867 thaistreetkitchen.com

The Franklin Grill: American. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 32760 Franklin Road, Franklin, 48025. 248.865.6600. thefranklingrill.com

The French Lady: French. Lunch, TuesdaySunday. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. 768 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.480. 0571. zefrenchlady.com

The Gallery Restaurant: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & wine. 6683 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.851.0313. galleryrestaurant2.com

The Moose Preserve Bar & Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2395 S. Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.858.7688. moosepreserve.com

The Morrie: American. Dinner, ThursdaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 260 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham 48009. 248.940.3260. themorrie.com

The Rugby Grille: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 100 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.642.5999. rugbygrille.com

Toast: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily; Reservations. Liquor. 203 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.258.6278. eatattoast.com

Tomatoes Apizza: Pizza. Lunch & Dinner daily. Carryout. 34200 Woodward Avenue, Birmingham 48009. 248.258.0500. tomatoesapizza.com

Touch of India: Indian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 297 E. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.7881. thetouchofindia.com

Townhouse: American. Brunch, weekends. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 180 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.5241. eatattownhouse.com

Whistle Stop Diner: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily; Liquor. No reservations. 501 S. Eton Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.566.3566. whistlestopdiners.com

ZANA: Modern American. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 210 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.800.6568. zanabham.com

Zao Jun: Asian. Dinner and Lunch, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 6608 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301. 248.949.9999. zaojunnewasian.com

Royal Oak/Ferndale

Ale Mary’s: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 316 South Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.268.1917. alemarysbeer.com

Anita’s Kitchen: Middle Eastern. Lunch, Monday-Saturday, Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 22651 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, 48220. 248.548.0680. anitaskitchen.com

Beppé: New American. Saturday & Sunday. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 703 N. Main Street in Royal Oak, 48067. 248.607.7030. eatbeppe.com

Bigalora: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 711 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.2442 bigalora.com

Bohemia: Mediterranean. Dinner, Tuesday-

Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 100 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.268.2883. eatatbohemia.com

Cafe Muse: French. Breakfast & Lunch, Wednesday-Monday. Reservations. Liquor. 418 S. Washington Avenue, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.4749. cafemuseroyaloak.com

Como’s: Pizza. Brunch, weekends. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 22812 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, 48220. 248.677.4439. comosrestaurant.com

Crispelli’s Bakery and Pizzeria: Italian. Lunch and Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 28939 Woodward Avenue, Berkley, 48072. 248.591.3300. crispellis.com

The Fly Trap: Diner. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. No reservations. 22950 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale 48220. 248.399.5150. theflytrapferndale.com

HopCat: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 430 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.744.2544. HopCat.com

Howe’s Bayou: Cajun. Lunch & Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 22949 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, 48220. 248.691.7145. howesbayouferndale.net

Imperial: Mexican. Lunch and Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 22848 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, 48220. 248.691.7145. imperialferndale.com

Inyo Restaurant Lounge: Asian Fusion. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 22871 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, 48220. 248.543.9500. inyorestaurant.com

KouZina: Greek. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 121 N. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.629.6500. gokouzina.com

Kruse & Muer on Woodward: American. Lunch, Monday-Saturday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 28028 Woodward Avenue, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.965.2101. kruseandmuerrestaurants.com

Lily’s Seafood: Seafood. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 410 S. Washington Avenue, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.591.5459. lilysseafood.com

Lockhart’s BBQ: Barbeque. Brunch, Sunday, Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 202 E. Third Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.584.4227. lockhartsbbq.com

Masala: Indian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 106 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.850.8284. food.orders.co/royaloakmasala

Mezcal: Brunch, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 201 East 9 Mile Road Ferndale, 48220. 248.268.3915. mezcalferndale.com

Pastaio: Italian. Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 208 W. 5th Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.565.8722. eatpastaio.com

Pearl’s Deep Dive: Seafood. Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 100 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067, 248.268.2875.pearlsdeepdive.com

Oak City Grille: American. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 212 W. 6th Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.556.0947. oakcitygrille.com

One-Eyed Betty’s: American. Breakfast, weekends, Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 175 W. Troy Street, Ferndale, 48220. 248.808.6633. oneeyedbettys.com

Pop’s for Italian: Italian. Brunch and Lunch, weekends, Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. 280 W. 9 Mile Road, Ferndale,48220. 248.268.4806. popsforitalian.com

Public House: American. Lunch & Brunch, weekends, Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 241 W. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale, 48220. 248.850.7420. publichouseferndale.com

Redcoat Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 31542 Woodward Avenue, Royal Oak, 48073. 248.549.0300. redcoat-tavern.com

Ronin: Japanese. Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 326 W. 4th Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.546.0888. roninsushi.com

Royal Oak Brewery: American. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 215 E. 4th Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.1141. royaloakbrewery.com

Sozai: Japanese.Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. 449 West 14 Mile Road, Clawson,48017. 248.677-3232. sozairestaurant.com

The Morrie: American. Brunch, weekends, Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 511 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.216.1112. themorrie.com

Three Cats Cafe: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch, Tuesday-Sunday. Dinner, Wednesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 116 W 14 Mile Road, Clawson, 48017. 248.900.2287. threecatscafe.com

Tigerlily: Japanese. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 231 W. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale, 48220. 248.733.4905. tigerlilyferndale.com

Toast, A Breakfast and Lunch Joint: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 23144 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, 48220. 248.398.0444. eatattoast.com

Tom’s Oyster Bar: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 318 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.541.1186. tomsoysterbar.com

Trattoria Da Luigi: Italian. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 415 S, Washington Avenue, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.542.4444. trattoriadaluigi.business.site.com

Vinsetta Garage: American. Lunch, TuesdaySaturday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 27799 Woodward Avenue, Berkley, 48072. 248.548.7711. vinsettagarage.com

Voyager: Seafood. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 600 Vester Street, Ferndale, 48220. 248.658.4999. voyagerferndale.com

Troy/Rochester

Cafe Sushi: Pan-Asian. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 1933 W. Maple Road, Troy, 48084. 248.280.1831. cafesushimi.com

CK Diggs: American & Italian. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 2010 W. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.853.6600. ckdiggs.com

Grand Castor: Latin American. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2950 Rochester Road, Troy, 48083. 248.278.7777. grancastor.com

Kona Grille: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 30 E. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 48083. 248.619.9060. konagrill.com

Kruse & Muer on Main: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 327 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.652.9400. kruseandmuerrestaurants.com

Loccino Italian Grill and Bar: Italian. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily. Liquor. Reservations. 5600 Crooks Road, Troy, 48098. 248.813.0700. loccino.com

The Meeting House: American. Brunch, weekends, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 301 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.759.4825. themeetinghouserochester.com

Mon Jin Lau: Nu Asian. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1515 E. Maple Road, Troy, 48083. 248.689.2332. monjinlau.com

Morton’s, The Steakhouse: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 888 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 48084. 248.404.9845. mortons.com

Naked Burger: American. Lunch, Saturday & Sunday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 6870 N Rochester

Two new concepts from restaurant group

Elia Group has announced two new Iconic Collection restaurant concepts, Experience Zuzu and Upstairs Bar, both slated to open summer 2023 in Elia Group’s 511 Woodward building in downtown Detroit. Experience Zuzu will occupy the first floor, with Upstairs Bar on the second floor. The Experience Zuzu space will open to a lush patio on Woodward Avenue, providing an expansive outdoor dining oasis. “An incredible amount of thought went into creating Experience Zuzu and Upstairs Bar,” said Zaid Elia, founder and CEO of Elia Group and its portfolio of hospitality businesses, the Iconic Collection. “Along with iCrave, a world-renowned design firm, we curated a space to create a totally immersive and unforgettable iconic experience for our guests, unlike any other in downtown Detroit or even the Midwest.” Featuring eclectic new Asian cuisine drawing influences from centuriesold cooking traditions, the Experience Zuzu menu will feature hand-rolled sushi, playful appetizers, wok-fired specialties and exclusive dishes from their charcoal oven and wood-fired grill. In addition to a full bar, Zuzu will showcase bespoke cocktails, premium bottle service and a specially-sourced selection of sake, champagne and wine. For an over-the-top party vibe, guests can head to the second floor for Upstairs Bar, an ultra-luxurious lounge and club serving craft cocktails, inspired small plates and sushi in a show-stopping atmosphere. Elia Group calls Upstairs Bar “a techno fantasy brought to life, melding Detroit’s distinctive sound with Japan’s colorful anime aesthetic.” Live DJs and a top-of-the-line sound system will contribute to the edgy and exclusive party energy. 511 Woodward Avenue, Detroitexperiencezuzu.com, experienceupstairs.com

Hamilton’s coming to Corktown

Chicago-based international real estate and hospitality investment company, Oxford Capital Group, LLC and local partner Detroit-based Hunter Pasteur, in collaboration with Detroit-based Chickpea Hospitality, have announced plans for Hamilton’s, a ground floor restaurant for The Godfrey Hotel Detroit. The restaurant will open shortly after the hotel’s projected opening in summer 2023. Hamilton’s will be a vibrant neighborhood tavern focused on providing the community with an approachable, yet refined dining experience. Hamilton’s will accommodate 93 guests in its dining room and bar, and 38 on its outdoor terrace on Michigan Avenue, allowing guests to enjoy the modern, urban aesthetic. Hamilton’s food and beverage offerings highlight local and seasonal ingredients along with a thoughtful beverage program while staying focused on classic American fare. The restaurant plans to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner daily in a bustling, inviting environment. “Corktown is already a popular destination for food and drink in Downtown Detroit. We are excited to add to its offerings by introducing Hamilton’s to the neighborhood for guests and locals alike,” said Matthew Kalt, senior vice president and principal of Oxford Capital Group, LLC and Oxford Hotels & Resorts, LLC. The Godfrey Hotel will also feature a rooftop lounged named I|O (standing for Indoor/Outdoor) with expansive views of downtown Detroit and Corktown; a 5,500 square foot ballroom that will accommodate events of more than 350 guests; and a welcoming hotel lobby bar for guests and locals.

There’s a new chef in town

Detroit Foundation Hotel has appointed Rece Hogerheide as executive chef of Detroit Foundation Hotel and The Apparatus Room, taking over Thomas Lents, who had held the role since 2017, when the Detroit Foundation Hotel opened. A native Michigander, Chef Rece Hogerheide brings over a decade of culinary experience from across the state to his new role. Chef Hogerheide held positions at local Michigan restaurants including Gather and Union Joints, and is also one of the founding chefs of Felony Provisions. Most recently, Chef Hogerheide served as the executive chef of Birmingham’s Daxton Hotel. Specializing in agriculture’s role in the food business, building skills in niche areas, including butchery and fermentation and forging partnerships with community-focused organizations, Chef Hogerheide brings his specialized knowledge to The Apparatus Room, further enhancing the restaurant’s mission to showcase the best of Detroit. “I’m looking forward to maintaining the level of excellence that diners have come to know from The Apparatus Room, while also bringing new culinary experiences that spotlight the best of Michigan in our offerings,” said Chef Hogerheide. The menu will feature locally-sourced protein and produce, including a lamb sugo garganelli with organic lamb from Ham Sweet Farms; Calabrian chili, fava beans and ricotta salata; artichoke and greens using spicy greens from Fisheye Farms; artichoke barigoule, fried artichoke and honey Cava vinaigrette made from the property’s own bees and peas and carrots; and a carrot cavatelli with spring peas, green garlic, cacio e pepe butter and parmigiana reggiano. 250 West Larned Street, Detroitdetroitfoundationhotel.com

Road, Rochester, 48306. 248.759.4858. nakedburgerdetroit.com

NM Café: American. Lunch, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 2705 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 48084. 248.816.3424. neimanmarcus.com/restaurants

Oceania Inn: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. The Village of Rochester Hills, 3176 Walton Boulevard, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.375.9200. oceaniainnrochesterhills.com

Ocean Prime: Steak & Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2915 Coolidge Highway, Troy, 48084. 248.458.0500. ocean-prime.com

O’Connor’s Irish Public House: Irish. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 324 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.608.2537. oconnorsrochester.com

Orchid Café: Thai. Lunch, MondayFriday, Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. 3303 Rochester Road., Troy, 48085. 248.524.1944. orchid-cafe.com

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. Somerset Collection, 2801 W. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48084. 248.816.8000. pfchangs.com

Recipes: American/Brunch. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 134 W. University Drive, Rochester, 48037. 248.659.8267. Also 2919 Crooks Road, Troy, 48084. 248.614.5390. recipesinc.com

RH House: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch and Dinner, daily. 2630 Crooks Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. No reservations. Liquor. 2630 Crooks Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.586.1000. rh.house.com

Rochester Chop House: Steak & Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 306 S. Main St., Rochester, 48307. 248.651.2266. kruseandmuerrestaurants.com

Ruth’s Chris Steak House: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 755 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 48084. 248.269.8424. ruthschris.com

Sedona Taphouse: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 198 Big Beaver Road, Troy, 48083. 248.422.6167. sedonataphouse.co

Silver Spoon: Italian. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 6830 N. Rochester Road, Rochester, 48306. 248.652.4500. silverspoonristorante.com

Too Ra Loo: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 139 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.453.5291. tooraloorochester.com

West Bloomfield/Southfield

Bacco: Italian. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday, Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 29410 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.356.6600. baccoristorante.com

Cornbread Restaurant & Bar: Southern. Lunch & Dinner, Thursday-Tuesday. Reservations. Liquor. 29508 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.208.1680. cornbreadsoulfood.com

Bigalora: Italian. Lunch, Monday-Saturday, Dinner, daily. No Reservations. Liquor. 29110 Franklin Road, Southfield, 48034. 248.544.2442. bigalora.com

The Fiddler: Russian. Brunch, Sunday, Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 6676 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.851.8782. fiddlerrestaurant.com

Mene Sushi: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 6239 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.538.7081. menesususi.com

Nonna Maria’s: Italian. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 2080 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield,

48323. 248.851.2500. nonamariasbistro.com

Pickles & Rye: Deli. Lunch, & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. 6724 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.737.3890. picklesandryedeli.com

Prime29 Steakhouse: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 6545 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.737.7463. prime29steakhouse.com

Redcoat Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 6745 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.865.0500. redcoat-tavern.com

Shangri-La: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, Wednesday-Monday. Reservations. Liquor. Orchard Mall Shopping Center, 6407 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.626.8585. dineshangrila.com

Sposita’s Ristorante: Italian. Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 33210 W. Fourteen Mile Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.538.8954. spositas-restorante.com

Stage Deli: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 6873 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.855.6622. stagedeli.com

Yotsuba: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 7365 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.737.8282. yotsuba-restaurant.com

West Oakland

Gravity Bar & Grill: Mediterranean. Lunch, Monday – Friday, Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 340 N. Main Street, Milford, 48381. 248.684.4223. gravityrestaurant.com

Volare Ristorante: Italian. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 48992 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393. 248.960.7771. ristorantevolare.com

North Oakland

Clarkston Union: American. Lunch, WednesdaySunday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 54 S. Main Street, Clarkston, 48346. 248.620.6100. clarkstonunion.com

Kruse's Deer Lake Inn: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 7504 Dixie Highway, Clarkston, 48346. 248.795.2077. kruseandmuerrestaurants.com

The Fed: American. Brunch, Sunday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 15 S. Main Street, Clarkston, 48346. 248.297.5833. thefedcommunity.com

Via Bologna: Italian. Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 7071 Dixie Highway, Clarkston, 48346. 248.620.8500. joebologna.com

Union Woodshop: BBQ. Lunch, Saturday & Sunday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 18 S. Main Street, Clarkston, 48346. 248.625.5660. unionwoodshop.com

Detroit

Bar Pigalle: French. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2915 John R Street, Detroit, 48201 313.497.9200. barpigalle.com

Barda: Argentinian. Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 4842 Grand River Avenue, Detroit, 48208. 313.952.5182. bardadetroit.com

Basan: Asian. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2703 Park Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.481.2703. basandetroit.com

Bucharest Grill: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2684 E. Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, 48207.

313.965.3111. bucharestgrill.com

Cash Only Supper Club: American. Dinner, Friday & Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 1145 Griswold Street, Detroit, 48226. 248.636.2300. cashonlydetroit.com

Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails: Seasonal American. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 15 E Kirby Street, Detroit, 48202. 313. 818-3915. chartreusekc.com

Cliff Bell’s: American. Dinner, WednesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 2030 Park Avenue, Detroit, 48226. 313.961.2543. cliffbells.com

Coriander Kitchen and Farm: Farm to table. Lunch, grab and go, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday with hot menu on Saturday and Sunday, Dinner, WednesdayMonday. Reservations. Liquor.14601 Riverside Boulevard, Detroit, 48215. 313.338.9466. corianderkitchenandfarm.com

Cuisine: French. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 670 Lothrop Road, Detroit, 48202. 313.872.5110. cuisinerestaurantdetroit.com

El Barzon: Mexican. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 3710 Junction Street, Detroit, 48210. 313.894.2070. elbarzonrestaurant.com

Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Café: Cajun. Lunch and Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 400 Monroe Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.965.4600. fishbonesusa.com

Freya: Price fixed. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations, Liquor. 2929 E. Grand Boulevard, Detroit, 48202. 313.351.5544. freyadetroit.com

Giovanni’s Ristorante: Italian. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 330 S. Oakwood Boulevard, Detroit, 48217. 313.841.0122. giovannisrestaurante.com

Green Dot Stables: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2200 W. Lafayette, Detroit, 48216. 313.962.5588. greendotstables.com

Joe Muer Seafood: Seafood. Lunch, MondayFriday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 400 Renaissance Center, Detroit, 48243. 313.567.6837. joemuer.com

Johnny Noodle King: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2601 W. Fort Street, Detroit, 48216. 313.309.7946. johnnynoodleking.com

Mad Nice: Coastal Italian/American. Lunch, Wednesday-Sunday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 4120 2nd Avenue, Detroit, 48201.313.558.8000. madnicedetroit.com

Mario’s: Italian. Lunch, Saturday & Sunday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 4222 2nd Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.1616. mariosdetroit.com

Midtown Shangri-la: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 4710 Cass Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.974.7669. midtownshangril-la.com

Motor City Brewing Works: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 470 W. Canfield Street, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.2700. motorcitybeer.com

Oak & Reel: Italian Seafood. Dinner, ThursdayMonday. Reservations. Liquor. 2921 E. Grand Boulevard, Detroit, 48202. 313.270.9600. oakandreel.com

PAO Detroit: Asian Fusion/Pan Asian. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 114 W. Adams, Detroit, 48226. 313.816.0000. paodetroit.com

Parc: New American. Brunch, Saturday & Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 800 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48226. 313.922.7272. parcdetroit.com

Prime + Proper: Steak House. Brunch, Weekends. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1145 Griswold St, Detroit, 48226. 313.636.3100. primeandproperdetroit.com

Prism: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, Tuesday-

Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 555 E. Lafayette Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.309.2499. greektowncasino.com

Red Smoke Barbeque: Barbeque. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. Trappers Alley Shopping Center, 573 Monroe Ave., Detroit, 48226. 313.962.2100.

Selden Standard: American. Dinner, Wednesday-Monday. Reservations. Liquor. 3921 2nd Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.438.5055. seldenstandard.com

SheWolf Pastifico & Bar: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 438 Selden Street, Detroit 48201. 313.315.3992. shewolfdetroit.com

Sinbad’s: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 100 St. Clair Street, Detroit, 48214. 313.822.8000. sindbads.com

Slows Bar BQ: Barbeque. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2138 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, 48216. 313.962.9828. slowsbarbq.com/locations/corktown

Supergeil: Berlin Doner. Lunch, Friday-Sunday. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 2442 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, 48216. 313.462.4133. supergeildetroit.com

Tap at MGM Grand: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 1777 Third Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.465.1234. mgmgranddetroit.com

The Block: American. Brunch, Weekends, Lunch & Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 3919 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.0892. theblockdet.com

The Dime Store: American. Breakfast & Lunch, Thursday-Tuesday. No reservations. Liquor. 719 Griswold Street #180, Detroit, 48226.313. 962.9106. eatdimestore.com

The Peterboro: Chinese American. Dinner, Friday-Sunday. Take-out, Wednesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 420 Peterboro Street, Detroit, 48201. 313.462.8106. thepeterboro.com

The Statler: French. Brunch, Sunday. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 313 Park Avenue, Detroit, 48226. 313.463.7111. statlerdetroit.com

Townhouse Detroit: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 500 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 48226. 313.723.1000. townhousedetroit.com

Smith & Co: American. Dinner, WednesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 644 Selden Street, Detroit, 313.638.1695. smithandcodetroit.com

Supergeil: Berlin Doner. Lunch, Friday-Sunday. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 2442 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, 48216. 313.462.4133. supergeildetroit.com

Symposia: Mediterranean. Dinner, WednesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor.1000 Brush Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.962.9366. atheneumsuites.com/symposia

Vertical Detroit: Small Plates & Wine Bar. Dinner, Wednesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 1538 Centre Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.732.WINE. verticaldetroit.com

Vivio’s Food & Spirits: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2460 Market Street, Detroit, 48207. 313.393.1711. viviosdetroit.net

The Whitney: American. Tea Service, Saturday & Sunday, Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor.4421 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.5700. thewhitney.com

Wright & Co.: American. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 1500 Woodward Avenue, Second Floor, Detroit, 48226. 313.962.7711. wrightdetroit.com

A home for Birmingham's over 50 population

Cris Braun, executive director of Birmingham Next, reminds us in her monthly column in this issue of the following: “It is said that a society can be measured by the way they care for the most vulnerable, the young and old. “

In Birmingham, our youngest residents have long been cherished through some of the finest public educational institutions in the state, with an emphasis on athletics, science, arts, music, drama, and a wide range of extracurricular activities in the most state of the art facilities. Similarly, our youth enjoy community parks and playgrounds, an excellent library, an improving ice arena, tennis courts, soccer fields and baseball diamonds, all of which, like Birmingham Public Schools, are supported through local tax dollars. It's part of what makes Birmingham the enviable place to reside. Yet, conversely, the city has not been as successful in providing for its seniors and older inhabitants.

Recent census data reveal that about half of Birmingham's population – just as in neighboring Bloomfield Township – is over 50, and will continue to grow older as residents age in place. In reality, there are many more in this demographic than in our school age population. A key difference is that Bloomfield Township

opened their modern senior center for all residents over 50 in 2009, while Birmingham Next, a non-profit whose goal is enriching the lives of the 50-plus population of Birmingham, Bingham Farms, Beverly Hills and Franklin since it was created in 1978, has been sharing or renting limited space from Birmingham Public Schools.

Until now.

After eight years of searching for a home, with the support, direction and approval of the Birmingham City Commission, recently retired Birmingham City Manager Tom Markus got the job done by coordinating the purchase of the Birmingham YMCA building on E. Lincoln Street in Birmingham as a combined future site for Next and the Y.

This is a win-win for both Next and the Y. The Y has been looking to expand its operations into neighboring communities, and this will allow it to reduce its footprint while allowing Next to utilize 30,000 square feet of the current 40,000 square foot building – tripling its current space. Some of that square footage will also include shared spaces.

But just as supporting the community's youth can be expensive, maintaining the quality of life through programming and services – along with

improvements to the Y's declining infrastructure –is costly.

According to Cris Braun, of Birmingham Next, they have already made a significant financial contribution of $500,000 towards the combined operation of Next and the YMCA; Birmingham will pay the remaining $1.5 million for the property, and lease it back to the non-profit for $1 a year. Next has fundraising efforts planned to assist them in renovations and services to turn their dream into a reality.

However, the community must also bear a small cost. This November, Birmingham residents will be asked to support a 0.33-mill levy for three years to provide funding for the senior and community center for improvements and to provide a sinking fund for future improvements.

This is the same millage request Bloomfield Township residents were asked for their senior services – and overwhelmingly approved – in 2022. The tax levy would equate to an extra $33 per year for every $100,000 of a home's taxable value. It shouldn't be too much to ask to allow our older residents to stay active and vital.

This new phase of Next completes the picture of a community that cares for the needs of all of its residents.

Happy retirement, city manager Tom Markus

In November 2010, we said au revoir to Birmingham City Manager Tom Markus after 22 years at the helm of the city. This time, we bid him adieu

To those who didn't study high school French, au revoir means 'until we meet again.' Adieu means 'goodbye forever.'

While we hope to see Markus around town time and again, we understand as we say goodbye to Birmingham City Manager Tom Markus on June 30, after two-and-a-half years in his former job, that he is heading into a welldeserved retirement.

Markus thought he was a retired gent when the city commission turned to him in October 2020 to put his finger in the dyke of a city in serious trouble. The city manager, assistant city manager, human resource officer and numerous other department heads and employees at city hall had left, businesses were hemorrhaging in a world-wide pandemic, and with a polarized commission, Birmingham was at a standstill.

Markus proposed returning to the city for a five-year stint, which ended up as two-and-ahalf years after commissioner Brad Host stalled the appointment, insisting on one year and the commission compromised in the middle.

In his short term, Markus not only righted

the ship but brought it to keel and pushed it forward. He not only filled critical staff vacancies, but taught and mentored them on the proper role of government employees and their relationships with the city commission and residents. He worked extremely hard to educate the city commissioners, all of whom are relatively new to their position, as to what their proper role is in the hierarchy of city government and the pyramid of city staff. When necessary, he utilized the tools at hand, notably requesting and receiving advisory opinions from the city's ethics board on the appropriate role of a city commissioner, and the line between an elected individual and their personal self. He raised the issue of a commissioner code of conduct, a document seen in many municipalities across the country, and one continuing to be discussed by Birmingham's commissioners. He, along with his successor, Jana Ecker, and the city's planning staff, massaged the long-gestating 2040 Master Plan through completion. And as a standing member of the Birmingham Shopping District (BSD), he not only helped hire the current executive director Christina SheppardDecius, but interceded when he recognized certain lines of authority with subcontractors

not being followed. He has initiated conversations with the city commission and the community about critical facility and security needs at city hall and the Birmingham Police Department.

Regionally, he created a new funding structure for the 48th District Court, which is being implemented with the six other local communities. His last great act was finding and helping the city purchase the Birmingham YMCA for Birmingham Next – a swan song which will glow long after Markus is gone.

And most significantly, he oversaw a national search for his own replacement –without putting his finger on the scale. When the city commission agreed that Markus' choice – Ecker, who he had made assistant city manager after years as planning director – he has made sure she began walking in his shoes so she would be perfectly prepared.

So Tom, whether you're planning on throwing a fishing pole into the water, heading to the back nine or just playing with the grandkids, know everyone here not only wishes you well, but sends you out a huge “Thank you.”