Rochester/Rochester Hills

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OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL POLITICAL NEWS AND GOSSIP

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Weeding out the bad cops Like in any profession, there are “bad apples” among the law enforcement community and here’s a look at how local police departments and the county sheriff work to prevent problem cops from even entering the workplace.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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Publisher David Hohendorf reviews the mission statement for the newsmagazine, set up when the publication was first launched, to make sure the publishing group is following its mandate.

CRIME LOCATOR

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

OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL

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Former local school board president Martin Brook looks to Washington D.C.; the Lena Epstein-Klint Kesto contest on who is most conservative; Kowall ready to announce; plus more.

MUNICIPAL

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Budget issues at recreation authority prompts more oversight; parks/open space added to Rochester zoning; Auburn Road Corridor contract awarded; liquor license transferred to Italian restaurant opening in 2018; plus more.

THE COVER Catching Fireflies, which bills itself as a whimsical gift gallery, at 203 E. University in Rochester, the site of the original train depot for the city in 1881 which allowed for shipping freight and passengers by rail.

Downtown photo: Jean Lannen.

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SOCIAL LIGHTS

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Society reporter Sally Gerak provides the latest news from the society and non-profit circuit as she covers recent major events.

ENDNOTE

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Federal and state officials should be moving to ban any products that contain asbestos regardless of where they were produced, and our thoughts on the proposed added oversight for the budget of the Rochester Avon Recreational Authority (RARA).

FACES

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Eric Qualman Michele Smith Laura Lee

PUBLISHER David Hohendorf NEWS EDITOR Lisa Brody NEWS STAFF/CONTRIBUTORS Hillary Brody | Dana Casadei | Kevin Elliott | Sally Gerak Austen Hohendorf | Lisa Rose Hook | Bill Seklar Judith Harris Solomon | Joyce Wiswell | Julie Yolles PHOTOGRAPHY/CONTRIBUTORS Jean Lannen | Laurie Tennent Laurie Tennent Studio VIDEO PRODUCTION/CONTRIBUTOR Garrett Hohendorf Giant Slayer ADVERTISING DIRECTOR David Hohendorf ADVERTISING SALES Mark Grablowski GRAPHICS/IT MANAGER Chris Grammer OFFICE 124 W. Maple Birmingham MI 48009 248.792.6464 DISTRIBUTION/SUBSCRIPTIONS Mailed monthly at no charge to homes in Rochester, Rochester Hills and parts of Oakland Township. Additional free copies distributed at high foot-traffic locations in Rochester and Rochester Hills.

For those not receiving a free mail copy, paid subscriptions are available for a $12 annual charge. To secure a paid subscription, go to our website (downtownpublications.com) and click on “subscriptions” in the top index and place your order online or scan the QR Code here.

INCOMING/READER FEEDBACK We welcome feedback on both our publication and general issues of concern in the Rochester/Rochester Hills communities. The traditional “letters to the editor” in Downtown are published in our Incoming section and can include written letters or electronic communication.

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

If you are using the mail option, you must include a phone number for verification purposes.

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FACEBOOK facebook.com/downtownpublications TWITTER twitter.com/downtownpubs OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL oaklandconfidential.com Member of Downtown Publications DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM/BLOOMFIELD DOWNTOWN ROCHESTER/ROCHESTER HILLS

FROM THE PUBLISHER his January issue of Downtown marks the start of the ninth year of publication of the news magazine – quite a milestone in an industry that has, at best, been challenged for the last two decades.

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I would like to think that our success to date has a great deal to do with the effort we invest in trying to bring readers of Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Rochester and Rochester Hills a quality editorial product each month.

Creating such a product was one of our major goals when we first launched in 2010 – to fill a void I felt existed at the time, in terms of a print product that could capture the interest of local residents by providing solid editorial content. Several hundred businesses from the local communities recognized our efforts and rewarded us with their support by periodically using our newsmagazine to get their message out to the local communities, which has allowed us to become the dominant advertising outlet and news source for this area.

I recognize that there were a few publications in the market, both then and now, but I submit none offered the commitment to editorial quality that we have made to these special communities, nor the strong local focus of our content.

Certainly the fact that some of us have lived here and have extensive knowledge of the communities helps with the high standard we have set for the content of Downtown, which is what matters most in our book.

When Downtown first arrived in residents’ homes, we outlined a simple editorial mission for the newsmagazine: provide a solid editorial product each month that both captures life in the communities while at the same time offer up insight about developing trends or important issues through longform journalism features, an art form of sorts that most other publications here and across the nation have abandoned because of the time and expense involved in exploring in more detail critical issues facing local residents.

For those of us at Downtown newsmagazine, the longform approach to important issues has taken us – and our readers – on quite a journey, allowing us to explore topics off the beaten path, many times critical concerns that have not been addressed by other media outlets.

In terms of capturing life in the local area, for those new to the newsmagazine or not a regular reader of this column, we accomplish this through our coverage each month of important decisions by the government bodies you elect to conduct your public business, be they municipalities or school districts. We

also provide capsulized notes each month on what is happening in the local business community. Along with that, we offer personality profile features of those either living in this area or who have hailed from the local area and have accomplished something of note or made a special contribution to the community at-large. We also offer the most detailed chronicle of what is happening in the non-profit social scene in the region because of the heavy involvement of local residents either through their donations of time and/or money.

We also believe that any legitimate publication has an obligation to use its editorial muscle, if you will, to help lobby and set the public agenda through editorial opinion and commentary. So we attempt each month to reflect on key local issues and offer our opinions in the Endnote page at the back of each issue.

We think that we are particularly qualified to offer our commentary because we are dealing with these issues on a daily basis and, in come cases, have been for decades, which gives us a basis from which to make recommendations.

This column, most months, offers up my personal editorial viewpoint on a wide range of issues, based on over four decades of study and observation of government and politics in Oakland County and the state of Michigan.

Not everyone agrees with us, of course, be it the opinions we put forth in the Endnote section or in this opinion column space. But we think that also fits with the mission we established years ago – fostering public debate on issues. We encourage residents to write us and disagree, if that is the case, and we willingly publish those viewpoints in our Incoming section, which is the traditional “letters to the editor” section.

Aside from the monthly print product, we reach out to the community through Facebook (facebook.com/downtownpublications) and Twitter (twitter.com/downtownpubs), and through our website – downtownpublications.com – which is updated a couple of times – and sometimes more often – each week. We generally average 80,000 monthly visitors to our site.

So looking back on the past years, we think we have held true to our mission and look forward to bringing our readers future issues of Downtown newsmagazine.

As always, feel free to email with any suggestions as we go through the new year.

David Hohendorf Publisher DavidHohendorf@DowntownPublications.com

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I can speak only to my situation as a retired firefighter and I was indeed a "moonlighter" (November/Downtown).

When I hired on as a firefighter in the mid 1960s after my three years in the army, the salary was adequate for a single man, which I was. I was married two years later and started down that path, a home, children, etc. My wife was a "stay at home mom" raising our children. It was pretty imperative that I bring in extra income to provide for my family.

At the fire department I worked 56 hours a week (state law), 24 hours on duty, 48 hours off duty. I worked at anything I could get – construction, gas station, you name it. I put in 28 years of service to my city.

I should mention that Social Security was not deducted from my fire department wages. I did, however, contribute part of my salary to a city pension plan. All of my moonlighting jobs and my army pay were, however, subject to Social Security deduction.

As you can see, If I had relied strictly on my fire department wages, my only income at retirement would be my city pension. Here is the rub – after many years of working those odd jobs, I began to receive notices from Social Security that I had reached enough deductions to qualify for a small amount from them. Great, as my city pension was a fixed amount, no COLA, and after several years of retirement was being eaten at.

At age 62 I went to my local Social Security office to apply for my small benefit, only to be told "You were a firefighter, therefore your benefits will be reduced by 55 percent!” Why? Because there is a little known law, The Windfall Elimination Act, that the federal government passed many years ago to prevent any government employee that doesn't participate in Social Security in their primary job from receiving their fully earned Social Security benefits from any other employment. Gotta love those guys.

DOWNTOWN

SPEAK OUT We welcome your opinion on issues facing the Rochester/Rochester Hills communities.

Although we do not have a fixed maximum length for letters sent to us, we recommend a maximum length of 175-200 words. We also reserve the right to edit letters for length if necessary.

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

I'm writing this because I think “moonlighters” get a bad rap sometimes. I can't really tell you how many hours and days I and the men I worked with at the fire department worked on our own time volunteering at city functions, teaching CPR classes, etc. We were fortunate to be able to do both, work for ourselves and make our city a better place to live in.

Michael Corless Rochester Hills FROM OUR WEBSITE/FACEBOOK:

December Downtown Kudos to Lisa Brody for a wellresearched article on issues involving the millions of gallons of water pumped from wells in Michigan by Nestle and Absopure (December/Downtown) and to David Hohendorf for his excellent discussion of parental, student and Cranbrook responses to the alleged sexual assault of two Cranbrook student at a party at a private residence in Oakland Township (December/ Downtown).

Ralph Deeds Bloomfield Hills

Cranbrook house party It continues to amaze that a parent could rationalize "if I host the party where my kids drink, I can keep them safe and prevent them from driving." Delusional.

And legally incredibly stupid.

Charlie Smith 01.18

CRIME LOCATOR

Map key

NORTH

Sexual assault

Robbery

Larceny from vehicle

Drug offenses

Assault

Breaking/entering

Vehicle theft

Arson

Murder

Larceny

Vandalism

These are the crimes reported under select categories by police officials in Rochester and Rochester Hills through December 21, 2017.

Placement of codes is approximate.

We want to thank all our clients for a very successful 2017, and are looking forward to having an outstanding 2018 with you!

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OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL 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: OaklndConfidential@DowntownPublications.com. All sources are kept strictly confidential. The gossip column can be viewed at OaklandConfidential.com.

CHANGING PLACES: With the announcement by Sen. Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak, Bloomfield Township, Warren) that he is retiring in 2018 after 35 years in Congress, there is an all-out scrum to replace him. The open 9th Congressional seat – which encompasses Bloomfield Township, Royal Oak, Huntington Woods, Warren, Sterling Heights, Mt. Clemens, Roseville, and Clinton Township in Oakland and Macomb counties, has Democrats lining up, as well as at least one Republican so far. First in line is Levin’s son Andy Levin of Bloomfield Township, who earlier this fall debated throwing his hat in for governor. Now we know why he didn’t. Andy announced his candidacy hours after his dad said he was retiring. Currently running a private sector energy marketplace, Andy worked as a deputy in the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth and was a director of worker training for the state under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm. “I feel mixed about Andy,” said one Democratic bigwig.

“He’s incredibly well pedigreed, but he’s not a slam dunk. He lost a winnable state Senate seat in a Democratic year (2006) with a lot of money and a lot of push from longtime Democrats.” But a few pundits believe some voters will just see the name Levin, and not even realize that Sander retired and Andy’s name is the replacement on the ballot.

BIG BUFFET: Democratic primary voters will have a large buffet of choices besides Andy Levin to choose from in August. Former Bloomfield Hills School Board President Martin Brook of Bloomfield Township, a labor and employment attorney, announced his run for the 9th congressional seat, as has state Sen. Steve Bieda (D-Warren).

Bieda, who also spent time as a state representative, said, “I’m a pro-choice Democrat, with pro-LGBT roots in Macomb County.

I’ve always been the guy who fights for the underdog, who looks for issues that impact real people.” A recent legislative win that BROOK has taken all 12 years in the state legislature, he said, has been to get compensation for those wrongly-accused and imprisoned. “As a minority leader, I’m proud it was signed by the governor a year ago,” Bieda said. Noting the current caustic nature of Washington, he said he stands for a very positive agenda, “for politicians putting themselves out there. You have to have good people.” While some other Dems note he’s a “creature of Lansing,” and has been politicking a long time, with women representing an important part of the district, he could be a very viable candidate. Kevin Howley of Huntington Woods, who unsuccessfully ran against Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson in 2012 (when Brooks was in a coma following a car crash), said he is exploring a run. “I’m a problem solver. I’m looking to see if Washington can use a problem solver, and if I can have an impact,” Howley said.

“Washington is a mess, and I’m seeing if someone with my skill set can get things done.” He said he wants to get a lay of the HOWLEY land of who else is running. Oakland Country Treasurer Andy Meisner, of Huntington Woods, who began his career as a policy aide in Levin’s DC office, once dreamed of having his mentor’s seat. “It’s really happening,” he said of Levin’s retirement. “I’m exploring whether it’s a place I can make a difference in peoples’ lives and the best possible results for my constituents.” But with two toddlers at home, some see Meisner as a more likely candidate for the expected open seat for Oakland County Executive – a powerful position closer to home. On the Republican side, Candius Stearns of Sterling Heights, who works in the health insurance industry, has announced her candidacy.

CONSERVATIVE ONE-UPMANSHIP: It appears that a pair of Republican candidates running for Michigan’s 11th Congressional seat being vacated by David Trott (R-Birmingham, Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, Rochester Hills) are competing to appeal to President Donald Trump’s base and whatever far-right conservatives are in the district. Oil heiress Lena Epstein of Bloomfield Hills, former co-chair of Trump’s Michigan campaign, branded her image in the minds of voters this summer with a campaign photo of herself looking very pregnant (she’s since given birth, we understand), standing in the back of a pickup while holding a billowing American flag, flanked by a prominent NRA window sticker, with a Trump campaign pin affixed to her denim jacket. In a donor appeal letter of late, an “unapologetic conservative” Epstein promises to “shake things up in downtownpublications.com

Washington.” Not to be outdone, state Rep. Klint Kesto (Commerce Township, West Bloomfield), has launched his own “Conservative Change” campaign.

“That means repealing Obamacare, defunding Planned Parenthood, securing the border while ending sanctuary cities, protecting the Second Amendment and all other constitutional rights from unelected bureaucrats,” Kesto said in a campaign email solicitation. While Kesto has a conservative track record at the state level, the image makeover seems a bit out of character. “It’s a different race and a different set of politics. It’s national interests versus state interests, and the issues are a little different,” Kesto said. Still, he says he remains his own person. “I’m not framing myself for any other candidate. I’m not a sheep by any means at all. I have my own principles and philosophy. Some align with the president’s, like putting Michigan and the United States first.”

IN THE CARDS: For fortune tellers and others who like to read tea leaves, it looks solid that state Senator Mike Kowall (R-White Lake) will announce that he is running for the open 11th district congressional seat in January. He’s spent the fall putting all of his ducks in a row in order to announce for the seat he’s wanted since 2012, when he fell on his sword for the Republican Party, which asked him not to challenge then-Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Livonia) in the primary. Lo and behold, a week after Kowall withdrew, McCotter was forced to resign when petition signatures were discovered to KOWALL be fraudulent, leaving only part-time Santa Clause impersonator and reindeer farmer Kerry Bentivolio (R-Milford) in place, and he was elected, only to be plowed under two years later by current Congressman David Trott (R-Birmingham). Other Republicans who have announced for the congressional seat are Klint Kesto of Commerce Township, Lena Epstein of Bloomfield Hills, Kurt Heise of Plymouth, and Rocky Raczkowski (Troy).

IT’S A WOMAN’S WORLD: Candidates love to tout political endorsements, and Holly Democrat Elissa Slotkin is no different. “Folks – this is a big deal,” Slotkin’s campaign for Michigan’s 8th congressional seat, held

by Mike Bishop (R-Rochester, Rochester Hills), said in announcing an endorsement from EMILY’s List. “EMILY’s List is throwing their support behind Elissa because they know she has what it takes to unseat an entrenched career politician like Mike Bishop.” EMILY’s List is a national political action committee that aims to elect pro-choice, Democratic, female candidates to SLOTKIN office. Whether the Year of the Woman will extend into the 2018 election remains to be seen, but the endorsement will surely be a boost amongst pro-choice voters.

TIETZ UP: Republican Oakland County Commissioner Doug Tietz of Troy has announced his candidacy for the 41st District Michigan House of Representatives seat currently held by term-limited Martin Howrylak (RTroy). Tietz, who previously served on Troy City Council and as district director for Congressman Dave Trott, is running for the house seat after witnessing what he calls a total inability to support usual performance in government. “I’ve seen bureaucracy first hand both in Lansing and Washington D.C., and it’s scary,” Tietz said in his announcement. “The solution to our country’s problem is to empower individuals...” The state house seat appears as the next step in a natural progression up the political ladder from local to state politics.

A WOMAN’S PLACE: As the #metoo hashtag has taken over social media, and in the wake of Alabama Republican Roy Moore’s loss, word is Republican leadership in Michigan wants a woman as the Secretary of State candidate, regardless of qualifications. That’s apparently why Mary Treder Lang of Grosse Pointe Farms – “a complete neophyte who leadership wants for the seat,” according to a top Michigan Republican.

LANG Treder Lang is a CPA and an Eastern Michigan University regent – obviously enough for Republicans to feel confident she can take on former Wayne State Law School Dean Jocelyn Benson, who announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination. But don’t count out Stan Grot, Shelby Township Clerk, on the Republican side. “There’s nothing good to say about him,” says one observer, “but he has a lot of precinct votes, and that’s what it takes to win. Leadership doesn’t want him, but he’s stubborn.

But Jocelyn Benson will mop the floor with him. She is very BENSON smart and polished.” Stayed tuned.

DOWNTOWN

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FACES Erik Qualman veryone has a superpower, and Erik Qualman's is helping people find new meaning in their own lives by unleashing their inner gift and making the world a better place to live.

"In my mind, everyone is a superhero. Some have learned to unlock that power, and some haven't. My goal is to unleash it," said the motivational speaker and best-selling author. "Once you entertain that, then your mind is open for education. Once that comes in, you realize what your superpower is, and you can use that to make the world a better place."

Dubbed the "digital Dale Carnegie" and the "Tony Robbins of tech," Qualman has spoken in more than 40 countries for organizations such as Coach, Chase, Facebook, PlayStation, Google, NASA and others. He's also the best-selling author of "Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business," and other books on the digital marketplace, such as "Digital Leader" and "What Happens in Vegas Stays on YouTube." His work has been featured on 60 Minutes, The Wall Street Journal and many other platforms. He also is a former sitting professor at Harvard and MIT's edX lab.

Often wearing green-framed glasses and his green "Equalman" shirt on stage as his superhero outfit, Qualman is a native of the Rochester area who graduated from Rochester High School in 1990. It was perhaps while playing basketball for Michigan State University that he learned the importance of perseverance.

"I played at Rochester, but was cut as a junior. I didn't make varsity as a junior. At Michigan State, I basically became the water boy," he said. "I did that for three years, and eventually I walked on and got a scholarship to play at Michigan State. One reason I made the team was that when someone was hurt, I would get in there and play against the team. I got hit in the mouth and lost some teeth. I just put the teeth on the side of the court and kept playing – Izzo loves that stuff."

After earning business degrees from Michigan State and the University of Texas, Qualman worked a series of marketing manager jobs and lost his life savings in a real estate scam.

"The main lesson I learned then was to go with your gut. If it's too good to be true, it probably is," he said. "I lost all this savings I had, and I realized, 'if you're going to lose it all, make sure you're doing what you love.' Then I decided to start my own company."

In 2007, Qualman founded Socialnomics, starting a business built on the same premise and name as his best-selling book. In addition to speaking and writing, Qualman operates Equalman Studios, producing art and video stories. That name, of course, is a play on Qualman's first initial and last name.

"You need to invest in yourself," he said. "Why not invest in your own company. Why are you investing over here, why not just bet on yourself," Qualman said about the decision to start his own business after losing his savings. "I didn't get too upset about it. Money is not the end-all thing. That's how we gauge success, which is a misnomer. It's really about how you feel. If you're fulfilled."

E

Story: Kevin Elliott

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OUT WITH THE TRASH ENDING THE CYCLE OF HIRING BAD PERFORMERS

BY LISA BRODY

T

hey’re the people at the front lines of safety, the ones we in the public put our trust and faith in to both protect and serve.

Police officers – presumed to be above reproach as paragons of society’s expectations. Yet, like communities at large, there can be bad apples in a police force. The key is, how do local police agencies weed them out or, better yet, how do they prevent them from ever getting on the force. It’s an effort that has involved the state legislature helping to indemnify employers against liability while simultaneously forcing prospective hires to have to do more thorough background checks to stop the dangerous spread.

While most police officers show up every day, work hard, safeguarding their communities, there are tales of those who lie, cheat, misuse their authority, sexually harass, or abuse the public.

By now, it’s a well-known, if tragic tale of an out-of-control, rogue cop with a history of poor behavior who jumped from agency to agency until both his, and an unfortunate victim’s, luck ran out. On the evening of January 28, 2015, Floyd Dent of Detroit had been to visit a friend in Inkster and was pulled over by an Inkster police cruiser. According to a police report of the incident, Dent had failed to use a traffic signal and hadn’t stopped at a stop sign – hardly major crimes.

Inkster police could see that Dent, 57 at the time, was driving with a suspended license, allegedly from an unpaid driving ticket from several years previously. According to Dent – and police dashcam video – Dent opened his car door and put his hands out the window, to let officers know he was unarmed. However, officer William Melendez, who said he believed Dent was reaching for a gun, approached Dent’s car with his gun drawn.

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Dent opened his door and was dragged out

by Melendez, who put him in a chokehold on the ground, and then delivered 16 blows to Dent’s head. Another officer arrived, and for some reason used a Taser to stun Dent three times. At no time, in the video at least, did Dent appear to resist either Melendez or the other officer.

Melendez wrote in his police report that as he approached Dent’s open car door, Dent, who had no previous criminal history and had been a Ford employee for 37 years, looked at him “with a blank stare as if on a form of narcotic,” and stated, “I’ll kill you.” He also claimed that Dent had drugs in the car, which it turned out Melendez had planted.

Dent ended up in the hospital with a fractured left orbital, blood on the brain and four broken ribs.

E

ventually, Dent was exonerated. Melendez’s records showed that he had faced allegations of police brutality before – at one point, he had more citizen complaints than any other officer in Detroit, where he had served on the force from 1993 until his resignation in 2009.

Melendez had even earned the moniker “RoboCop” as a Detroit cop, and was named a defendant in at least a dozen federal lawsuits, where he was accused of planting evidence, wrongfully killing unarmed civilians, falsifying police reports and conducting illegal arrests.

Some of the suits were settled while others were dismissed.

In the Dent case, Melendez went to jail for 14 months after being found guilty of assault and misconduct. The city of Inkster, whose police department hired him in 2010, agreed to pay Dent $1.4 million.

A significant question is – how did Melendez even get hired by Inkster police after his record in Detroit as a “rogue” cop?

Inkster Police Chief William T. Riley, III, was not in charge of the department at the time Melendez was hired, when Chief Vicki Yost was at the top. At the time he was the chief of police for Selma, Alabama, where he had been called in to rehabilitate their department after rising through the ranks of the Newport Beach, Virginia department.

He was subsequently hired in Inkster to revamp the department.

“I vet very heavily. I look at their history – how they live, invest, even interview in the military if they’ve been in,” Riley said. “I’ll get waivers and see all of their records from Germany, Interpol, because you can have issues in the military. In the south, we did polygraphs

– here we can’t use polygraphs. But it’s a tool we use, because if someone waivers on something, you can ask why, or look at the inconsistencies. If you can explain it, and we can reasonably understand, fine. If you’re not telling the truth – sorry, we cannot hire you.

“If for someone who’s already in law enforcement, we’re going to have you sign the waiver, and we’re going to dig. And if it’s something that’s not in our policy – sorry, you do not belong here. You’re hiring this person to represent your city, and if there’s something behind that would jeopardize your city, why don’t we have access to that information?”

Riley, who arrived in Inkster in late 2015, is proud to report that in his first full year, 2016, he reduced crime 12 percent, and in 2017, another 3 percent. The department is operating on better cylinders, as well. “I brought in a guy who did diversity training, and bought body mics,” Riley said.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard believes he knows how officers like Melendez get hired at small agencies after leaving larger forces, often after agreeing to resign instead of being fired. He said the key to preventing the jumping from agency to agency of “dirty” cops is simple – good hiring practices. “It’s absolutely incumbent (upon every agency) to do a full and complete background check on hiring, and it’s critical to require an agency to do that check,” Bouchard said. “If, after that, then they’re responsible.”

He said in the Inkster case, it really wasn’t a surprise, when he looked at the case after the fact. “It’s not uncommon. If you have a problem in one agency – no surprise he’d have a problem with another one,” Bouchard noted.

He said for years there has been a toxic problem of agencies sweeping things under the rug to avoid having to confront firing officers that are really a problem. “Some of the smaller agencies would say, ‘If you would just resign, we will just say nothing happened,’” he said.

But he said that just created a ripple effect of more and more problems.

“I know for a fact we’ve terminated deputies that have been hired by other agencies without checks on references,” Bouchard alleged.

Not all small agencies fail to do reference checks, Walled Lake Police Chief Paul Shakinas said. With only six full-time officers and a dozen part timers, he said he has hired about 40 officers in the eight years he has been chief. But he is careful in his background checks.

“William Melendez – he applied here and I never even interviewed him,” Shakinas noted.

He said instead, as an agency struggling with a small budget, he has had success with younger officers who are sometimes cut from larger departments “that have training programs designed to wash them out. It’s constant training. Most of the 40 I’ve hired who have left went to full-time positions with other departments, from Taylor to Rochester.”

Bouchard said agencies that fail to check references are not only creating danger for the public, but also possible added expense for residents. “Royal Oak Township, they have hired bad apples from other agencies, and they’ve had to pass two 10-year millages to pay for settlements prior to disbanding (Michigan

State Police currently provides their police services). It’s terrible for residents,” Bouchard said, noting that leaves residents on the hook with larger tax bills, paying off the settlements long after the “bad apple” has left the force.

The city of Inkster was left on the hook, with residents paying Dent for Melendez’s misdeeds.

It’s not just small agencies that can encounter a rogue cop. West Bloomfield Police Chief Michael Patton, with 80 sworn officers on his force, noted that in 2010, shortly after he became chief after coming up through the ranks, he had to kick off a criminal investigation of one of his own officers, former officer Jeffrey Pinzia, who had been accused of fixing tickets.

“We began the investigation internally, but when we determined there was enough we turned it over to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department, and they investigated it, and there was enough for him to be charged and eventually, he plead guilty,” Patton said of the incident, where Pinzia worked with an individual named Rudi Gammo, who had a history of drug charge convictions.

Gammo would offer people who got traffic tickets a $2,000 fee to have Pinzia, a veteran of 15 years on the force at the time, get them out of the tickets.

Other West Bloomfield officers got wind of the scam, leading to the investigation. Pinzia was charged with misconduct and conspiracy to misconduct, and was sentenced to 60 days in jail and two years probation; Gammo was sentenced to one year in jail and five years of probation.

“He resigned,” Patton said. “Ultimately, we just want the truth if there’s issues.”

O

ften officers who get in trouble resign before they are charged with a crime, and then go and get hired by another agency. “They can get fired by another agency prior to it becoming public,” said Hermina Kramp, acting executive director of Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), because their misdeeds haven’t become known, and if the hiring agency doesn’t do a thorough investigation, the cop could get picked up by another agency, either in Michigan or another state.

Officers who are charged with a crime lose their law enforcement license, Kramp said, because MCOLES has the authority to revoke their license.

“No one can operate as a law enforcement officer (in Michigan) without a license from MCOLES. We get involved by way of our

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statute,” she said. “There are some things that are revocable incidents, such as when they are acquitted or there are no charges. We have to wait until there is a conviction. Then we revoke it and it’s permanent. That prevents the jumping because we can prevent the hiring.”

But not every substandard officer is in actuality a criminal or in danger of losing their law enforcement license. Some people just shouldn’t be police officers, and wash out of training, and jump around and around.

In October 2017, state Senator Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge) introduced Senate Bill 223, the Law Enforcement Officer Separation of Service Record Act, “to require the creation and maintenance of certain law enforcement officer personnel records; to prescribe the information that may be contained in the personnel records; to permit law enforcement officers to review the personnel records; and to provide for immunity from civil liability to law enforcement agencies in certain circumstances.”

B

oth Bouchard and Kramp said they asked Jones, a former Eaton County sheriff, for the legislation, which has had wide support among local police agencies.

“The national media has labeled it the ‘gypsy cop problem,’” Jones said. “A cop gets in trouble in one department, and in some departments – not all – the chief calls in the cop, and says, instead of firing you, how about you just resign. It saves on the cost of firing.

Then the cop goes and gets hired by another agency. When the new agency calls about hiring the cop, the old agency just gives the dates of employment. It makes it very difficult to do a proper background check.”

“A lot of agencies would not disclose information even when we called them because they could have gotten sued if they disclosed the truth,” Bouchard said. “We needed something that let agencies disclose and get them off the hook.”

“We’re working to get the officers that jump from agency to agency,” Kramp said. “In the past, the standard response was HR (human resources) would get a request from another agency, and they would send it to their HR department. They could only respond – either the officer left in good standing or the officer worked for X date to X date, with no other information provided. Senator Jones was concerned about other information in an officer’s file that couldn’t be revealed that filled in the background.”

Kramp explained a key point of SB 223 – which was signed into law by Governor Rick

Snyder, becoming Public Act 128 of 2017, effective January 15, 2018, is “requiring former employers to provide a personnel background to a prospective employer so they can make a more thorough hiring decision. And there are safeguards provided on both sides. There is an immunity clause built on it, so the former agency is immune from liability from disclosure.

The officer is allowed to review his own file, and if he disagrees with the agency, and if he doesn’t get to a formal resolution with his former employer, they both can write letters that can go forward to the new employer.”

The act does not require or permit MCOLES to do the sharing of the information between law enforcement agencies, as Kramp said they are not a law enforcement agency.

An analysis of the act stated, “It is possible for an officer with a poor employment record to resign from one agency and be hired by another that has no knowledge of the officer’s history.

In some cases, an officer might repeatedly engage in misconduct, resign, and find employment with a different police department.

While this pattern is not common, it is known to occur in Michigan, as well as across the country. In order to address this phenomenon, it was suggested that law enforcement agencies should be required to maintain and share officers’ employment records, and be prohibited from hiring an officer without that information.”

“They always had the requirement to disclose, but sometimes an officer didn’t or an agency wouldn’t discover (the issues) until an incident took place,” Kramp said. “On the other side, not everything that is disclosed or in a file is negative. It could be something as minor as a violation of policy, uniforms, coat and tie, or it could be something major, some kind of accusation of fraud, or something that isn’t proven, like excessive force, but there’s no criminal charges. There could be substance abuse issues, alcohol problems, where there aren’t charges, and the person could have gotten help, but a prospective agency should be made aware. But when it’s not disclosed, because it can’t be asked about, it’s a problem.”

“The law makes it a requirement for an agency to retain all records,” said Jones. “The former department must provide them, and they have immunity. The former officer can’t sue the former department for releasing the information.

“I tried to be fair,” Jones said. “I’m a former union officer (when he was a sheriff’s deputy) and as a sheriff, in management. Most officers are just trying to do their best. Ninety-nine percent of officers are good. But you get the bad apple who bounces around, and you certainly don’t want to ship the bad off. If they’re assaulting citizens or other criminal behavior like theft, they don’t belong in the police department.”

“It will help agencies when an officer separates. This lets agencies better vet their future candidates because it requires an agency to document why an officer was separating,” said Michigan State Police legislative liaison Sgt. Tim Fitzgerald. “It pushes the handshake agreements out the door.”

“It (the legislation) is a start. It spells out that if they apply to your agency, the applicant

has to sign a waiver and an agency has to ask for employee records,” Bouchard explained.

“There won’t be any more excuses. There won’t be any reason that an agency doesn’t get somebody’s records. It’s absurd – and that’s a problem. If you don’t do a full a complete background check, you don’t know what you’re hiring, and that’s your problem and you’re liable. We need to keep updating and upgrading based on today’s world.”

The Police Officers Association of Michigan, the union representing officers, did not support the legislation, and president Jim Tignanelli did not return several calls for comment.

“Most departments are unionized. We had very little pushback from unions, and I did put in if an officer feels terminated unfairly, they can write up their side and put it in their file with all their records,” Jones added.

“As much as police unions object to SB 223, because there’s still not enough transparency about separation, ultimately we just want the truth, and if there’s issues, we have questions,” pointed out West Bloomfield’s Chief Patton. “It’s beneficial to get the scoop on why someone’s separating. Sometimes they’re just a bad fit, or got off to a bad start, and maybe with maturity or more time, they can be be a good officer.”

P

atton said the best time to separate from an officer is during their probationary period, which is a minimum of one year. “After that time, they become full members of unions,” he said, noting that there is plenty of time for officers to be observed on ride alongs as well on solo patrol.

“Usually there are enough tea leaves,” Patton said, “of off-duty behavior, car crashes, drinking and driving, substance abuse situations – that there are early signs” if there are going to be significant later problems.

“When we have men and women of character, you will have better outcomes in police agencies,” Bouchard stated.

“You’re always going to find out if there’s someone who was let go from another department for poor performance or discipline reasons. Or some people were just not cut out to be police officers and don’t have what it takes,” said Bloomfield Hills Public Safety Chief Noel Clason. “All police chiefs and police agencies in metro Detroit have great relationships and share information.”

He said he and other chiefs in the area have shared their concern about information, or lack thereof, with MCOLES. “We want some kind of flag in the system. If Bloomfield Hills were to fire an officer for some reason, that information should be accessible through MCOLES. Because someone could be fired by us, and then go apply up in the Upper Peninsula, and they might not

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be as thorough, and they’d get hired.”

He said Bloomfield Hills does “very, very indepth background investigations on all applicants. Before I was chief, I did many of them.”

Clason and many other chiefs say a good background investigation may take a month to do a thorough job.

Social media, and an applicant’s use, is a tool that departments use to the extent they are permitted. “If they (an applicant) has privacy settings, we can’t access them without a search warrant,” Clason explained. “But we always ask for consent. If they don’t give it, it sends up a red flag. It’s a way to reach people.”

“We ask, and they can refuse that, but we’ve not had anyone refuse,” said Bloomfield Township Police Chief Scott McCanham. “If you’ve got nothing to hide, why refuse to show them?”

“When you decide you want to be a cop, it didn’t start at 18. You have to live and act like it going back. There’s nothing against drinking, it just has to be in good taste. We’re very critical of police officers because it’s a 25- to 30-year commitment,” Clason said. “We’ve already passed on multiple candidates because of any kinds of social media posts that were not in ethical taste for a Bloomfield Hills public safety officer.”

Y

et, Clason has a soft spot for officers already on his force, noting, “Cops are human, too – they make mistakes, and if we can help them through a rehab or another situation, we do.”

He was referring to Officer Richard Matott Jr., son of a former chief in Bloomfield Hills, who was suspended for 144 hours (3.5 weeks) without pay for conduct unbecoming an officer and excessive use of alcohol following an off-duty arrest in October 2012 in Shelby Township, where he was found passed out in an intersection with a loaded gun in his lap. Matott remains on the force.

“Cops are held to a higher standard and they’re never off-duty,” Clason acknowledged.

“We’re definitely one of the departments that invests in doing thorough background checks,” said Troy Public Information Officer Megan Lehman. She said the packet that has to be filled out is at least 25 pages long, with all previous employers, social contacts and credit history.

“We’re out talking to your neighbors, not just at your current resident, but at all your former residences, including in the towns you went to college,” she said. “We go to towns out of state.

For people who apply from departments out of state, we use multiple sources and talk to numerous people, and even fly to the cities to check them out.”

“The key to prevent this is on the hiring department. We ask not just the command structure, but we try to talk to the rank and file

to get a full picture (of the applicant’s previous job experience),” said Rochester Police Chief Steve Schettenhelm. “If I get a two-word response – if I get, ‘so and so worked from July to June, and that’s all I can say,’ then I need to look forward. Canned answers are a red flag to look further.

“Applicants who can’t explain, can usually explain why they are no longer working at department XYZ,” Schettenhelm said. “It takes us a while to go through the hiring process. It’s an important decision to put someone on the streets of Rochester, so we need to fully vet them.”

In his department, which currently has 22 sworn officers, they have hired both directly from the police academy and experienced officers, looking for the best qualified individuals and mix for the positions. “We recently hired one newbie from the academy, and another from Chicago, who had left law enforcement and wanted to get back in,” Schettenhelm said. “Our background investigator drove to Chicago and talked to people from his last job, other people he knew.

We feel it’s that important to make the effort to drive there and speak to people there, and find out about the person, why the person left, and not just pick up the phone.”

On the other end, he said he has had to let people go, although not for excessive force nor for sexual harassment.

“It can be work performance issues, off-duty activities that reflect poorly on them,” he explained. “We’re looking for behavioral issues that discredit the agencies, with friends and family, perhaps with alcohol and substances that reflect poorly on the agency.”

Schettenhelm said they typically find out, and depending on the situation, attempt to handle it internally.

“We investigate it like any other situation, and try to rectify it like any other. If it doesn’t, and we need to terminate (the individual), or if someone feels they need to resign, that being a police officer isn’t the right place for them,” then that takes place.

“The guys who go from place to place to place – we don’t even look at them further,” said Birmingham Police Chief Mark Clemence. He said Birmingham police use EMPCO, a Troybased company that specializes in testing services for public safety and municipal government services, to do preliminary background checks, and “then we hire their list.

We do a thorough investigation of anyone who we’re considering hiring. If there’s any history that would make us question them, we do an even more thorough investigation.

“If we hire someone and they go through the field training officer program, we would not keep someone who doesn’t meet our standards of what a Birmingham officer is, and we let them go,” Clemence continued. He said he has not had to let someone go for excessive force issues or disciplinary actions, although he has had people leave the department.

“As long as they bring a legal, written brief, I let them see their entire employee file, which may include disciplinary actions,” he said.

“We’re a transparent, government agency.”

Bloomfield Township’s Chief McCanham said, “If we get somebody in our hiring process and there’s any indication of a red flag, they’ll go through the ringer even more closely. If they lie on our applications, it’s immediate grounds for dismissal. It’s best to be more straight up and tell us, ‘I was dismissed for X,’ – ‘I didn’t

understand this procedure and was dismissed,’ – ‘I couldn’t get along with XXX,’ or ‘My philosophy didn’t vibe with their philosophy.’ In this administration, we’re very knowledgeable, and we’ve seen everything.”

M

cCanham said they hire applicants with both prior law enforcement experience and people with no prior experience.

“We’re very confident in our training program.

We’re confident we can train them,” he said.

“We have let some people go, because our training process is very rigorous, with a very demanding orientation. And we’ve let some people go that haven’t been able to make it and they’ve gone on to have successful careers at other agencies. Sometimes it’s a maturation process, a learning curve. We tell others, ‘they’re a good kid, but the pace here was too much.’ It can be a multitude of things.

“Conversely, if we get an applicant who says, ‘I didn’t make it through their training program,’ we’ll ask, where do you see yourself now? What have you learned from your termination?’ And they may be ready for it now, and they may work out. But the headliner officers are not even going to get a seat at the table with us.”

When Bloomfield Township has had to dismiss officers, “it’s been for attitude, violation of policies, use of force, and emergency vehicle operations,” McCanham revealed. “We’ve had those situations. We’re forthright when they go on to another job.”

Bouchard is a little less sanguine.

“There have been a couple of situations where we felt deputies used excessive force, and we terminated them,” he said. “An arbitrator said, ‘Well, they’ve had such stellar careers, they didn’t really use that much excessive force,’ and we’ve had to take them back. But I won’t redeputize them – put them back on the streets.

I put them on desk jobs. It’s a no-brainer to me.

If they’ve used excessive force, why would you ever want to hire that person?

“I know for a fact we’ve terminated deputies that have been hired by other agencies without checking on references,” Bouchard continued, including one was for sexual harassment. “We terminated one deputy for sexual harassment, and he was hired by a smaller agency, and I know for a fact that they didn’t contact us for a reference.

“Drugs, alcohol abuse, excessive force – whatever the reason someone has been terminated – their work history should be checked, or the new agency is the one responsible,” Bouchard emphasized.

“I think it’s getting better,” he said cautiously.

“People are a little more aware of things going on in the world. But the ways to improve your agency is through hiring and doing the right thing.”

ASBESTOS

RESTRICTIONS, REGULATIONS FAIL AS EXPOSURE ABOUNDS

BY KEVIN ELLIOTT

Dr. Raja Flores, head of thoracic surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, is recognized for pioneering efforts in the treatment of mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused primarily by asbestos exposure. But it's what he didn't know about the cause of the disease that recently astonished him.

"I've been doing asbestos-related cancer surgery for most of my career," Flores said, who established the VATS lobectomy procedure, considered the gold standard in the surgical treatment of lung cancer. "It wasn't until recently that I realized that asbestos isn't banned. I was shocked – this is my area of expertise.�

In addition to advancements in surgical procedure, Flores' research into mesothelioma has led him to investigate the consequences of asbestos exposure, including work on a $4.8 million study funded by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Yet for years, Flores was unaware that hundreds of tons of asbestos continue to be imported annually into the United States. The toxic substance can be found in items ranging from automotive parts to some children's crayons.

"Many people think there is a ban," he said. "Almost everyone in the United States know asbestos is bad and causes cancer, and they know to avoid it. They assume it's banned, but it's not."

Asbestos has been banned in 55 countries, including the UK, Australia, German, France, Israel, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but not China, Russia or the United States. While the first federal restrictions placed on asbestos were approved in the 1970s, many asbestos-containing products are still manufactured and sold today.

Found in various floor and ceiling tiles, roofing materials, older fiberboard and insulations, and dozens of other home products, asbestos is commonly found in buildings and homes constructed prior to 1990. However, there is little risk of exposure to asbestos fibers if it’s left alone. It's when those products are disturbed or broken that tiny asbestos fibers are released into the air.

Efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1989 to ban most asbestos products were thwarted by a federal court of appeals ruling stemming from a lawsuit filed by manufacturers. The agency is now preparing to conduct a risk evaluation to determine whether asbestos presents an unreasonable risk of injury to public health or the environment, an undertaking called for under the Obama administration that some say is being watered down by the current EPA director, Scott Pruitt.

"It's outrageous that in the year 2017, asbestos is still allowed in the United States," said Sen. Jeff Merkley (DOregon), who introduced the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2017 in November. "It's time for us to catch up to the rest of the developed world, and ban this dangerous public health threat once and for all."

The bill aims to require the EPA to identify and assess known uses of and exposure to all forms of asbestos, and to impose restrictions on the use of asbestos within 18 months of enactment. The bill also bans manufacturing, processing or distribution of asbestos other than prescribed by the EPA's rule.

In Michigan, monitoring and enforcement of federal asbestos regulations are conducted by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), which handles outdoor air issues, and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA), which handles indoor air and workers' health issues. Under the regulations, property owners and contractors conducting renovations or demolitions of asbestos-containing materials must file notices with the agencies.

Discovered in ancient times as a magical mineral capable of being woven into fireproof fabrics, asbestos applications developed during the Industrial Revolution transformed the material from a novelty item into a valuable commodity responsible for spawning a multibillion dollar industry.

Asbestos refers to a group of six naturally occurring silicate minerals that grow as thin, microscopic crystals, which combine to form bundles. When handled or crushed, asbestos bundles separate into individual mineral fibers. While soft and flexible to the touch, asbestos fibers are resistant to heat, electricity and chemical corrosion, making it an effective insulator and strengthener when mixed with cloth, paper, cement or other materials.

The most common form of asbestos is chrysotile, or white asbestos, found in roofs, ceilings, walls and floors, as well as automotive brake linings, gaskets, boiler seals, insulation for pipes, ducts and appliances. Chrysotile has accounted for more than 90 percent of the world's asbestos production, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Amosite, or brown asbestos, was used most frequently in cement sheets and pipe insulation. It can also be found in insulating board, ceiling tiles and thermal insulation products.

Crocidolite, or blue asbestos, was used to insulate steam engines, as well as some spray-on coatings, pipe insulation, plastics and cement products.

The first restrictions on asbestos came in 1973, when the EPA banned spray-applied asbestos-containing material for fireproofing and insulation purposes. Two years later, the EPA banned asbestos pipe and block insulation, with some minor exceptions. The Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1977 banned the use of asbestos in artificial fireplace embers and wall patching compounds. In 1978, the EPA banned all other sprayapplied materials for purposes not already banned in 1973.

In 1989, the EPA set out to ban the majority of remaining asbestoscontaining products through the Toxic Substance Control Act's final rule. However, a lawsuit filed by manufacturers upended the rule in 1991.

The EPA had proposed phasing out products over seven years, eliminating about 84 percent of asbestos-containing materials in domestic products. A federal appeals court struck down the ban, ruling that the agency didn't consider alternative regulations other than banning. The ruling upheld some restrictions that went into place in 1989, but struck down those that would have been phased in 1993 and 1996.

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oday, the manufacture, importation, processing and distribution of certain asbestos-containing products is banned. Those products include items such as corrugated paper, rollboard, commercial paper, specialty paper and flooring felt. "New uses" of asbestos, or its use in products that haven't historically contained asbestos, are also banned.

The federal Clean Air Act also bans the manufacture or sale of asbestos pipe insulation that is either pre-formed or friable. Spray-applied asbestos-containing materials with content of more than one percent of asbestos for buildings, structures, pipes, and conduits are also banned, unless certain conditions are met. Still, there are hundreds of asbestoscontaining products that aren't banned, including cement corrugated sheet, some clothing, pipeline wrap, roofing felt, vinyl floor tile, cement shingles, millboard, automatic transmission components, clutch facings, disk brake pads, gaskets and some coatings.

The vast majority of raw asbestos imported to the United States today is used by the chlor-alkali industry to make semipermeable asbestos diaphragms.

Overall, asbestos use in the United States has decreased since 1973, when the domestic manufacturers used 803,000 tons of asbestos. The last U.S. producer of asbestos ceased operations in 2002, making the country wholly dependent on imported asbestos to meet manufacturing needs.

Today, global production of asbestos is about two million metric tons per year, with Brazil currently supplying more than 90 percent of asbestos imported to the United States. Russia produces about 1.1 million metric tons of asbestos annually, while China produces about 400,000; followed by Kazakhstan (200,000 metric tons), and India (200 metric tons).

In 2016, U.S. consumption of asbestos was estimated to be about 340 tons, down about three tons from the previous year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. However, some environmental groups claim the amount of imported asbestos in 2016 was more than double that amount.

A study by the Environmental Working Group and the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization that analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission estimates about 705 metric tons of raw asbestos were imported in 2016.

Most of the surge, the groups said, came in the fourth quarter of the year following the passage of the revamped Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which was amended the same year to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broader authority to ban toxic chemicals. Asbestos is one of 10 such substances being evaluated for regulation.

However, the DEQ's Air Quality Division is struggling with financial restrictions limiting its effectiveness, according to a recent Michigan Auditor General's report.

The program is responsible for reviewing notifications of intent to demolish or renovate a building containing asbestos or asbestoscontaining materials, as well as inspecting demolitions and asbestos removals. With more than 17,000 such notices filed in 2016, the program was unable to inspect even 15 percent of notices and complaints it received, according to a recent audit.

"The DEQ should work with the legislature to establish a fee structure to assist in funding the asbestos program," the Michigan Auditor General's office said in the audit, which found the DEQ spent $635,000 on the program in 2016, employing four full-time and one part-time employee dedicated to performing inspections across the state. "Increased funding could be used to hire additional staff to assist the DEQ in meeting its scorecard goal of inspecting 15 percent of notifications received."

Meanwhile, the number of asbestos-related diseases being diagnosed each year isn’t expected to drop off anytime soon.

"I think a big spike is coming down the line," said Dr. Flores, who was a principal investigator of asbestos exposure following the 9/11 terrorist attacks that brought down untold amounts of asbestos on the city. "I think we will see a general spike in New York City as time goes by."

While exposure can be deadly, it usually takes years for symptoms to appear.

"Asbestos-related diseases, which include mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis are rare, they are deadly. When you have it, it's hard to take care of, and it's hard for doctors to diagnose, even when it's staring them in the face. It takes someone with a high degree of suspicion of asbestos-related diseases, and persistence," Flores said.

"There are things that can set off a red flag, like if someone has a history of asbestos exposure in a job, like construction, or now a lot of firefighters."

Three major diseases are caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers: mesothelioma, which is a rare and always fatal cancer that attacks the thin membrane lining of the lungs, heart, chest cavity, gastrointestinal system and reproductive organs that is primarily caused by exposure to asbestos; asbestosis, which is caused by inhaled asbestos fibers that lodge deep in the lungs, scarring the organs or triggering a growth of excess tissue, a condition known as fibrosis; and lung cancer, which can be caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. Researchers also believe some cancers of the larynx, ovaries, stomach and colorectal area are triggered by asbestos exposure.

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ationally, asbestos-related diseases kill between 12,000 and 15,000 people each year, according to a study conducted by the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Action Fund, which estimates there have been between 189,000 and 221,000 deaths between 1999 and 2013 caused by asbestos exposure. The study based those estimates on a review of federal records kept by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The study found annual deaths from mesothelioma remained between 2,481 and 2,832 between 1999 and 2013, while deaths from asbestosis remained between 1,208 and 1,486 – evidence that death rates from asbestos-related diseases aren't dropping, despite existing federal restrictions on some products.

Overall, the study found the death rate from asbestos-related diseases in Michigan to be 5.2 per 100,000 people. The national average was calculated at 4.9 deaths per 100,000 people.

The EWG said about 7,878 Michigan residents died from asbestosrelated diseases between 1999 and 2013. That includes 517 deaths from asbestosis; 1,479 from mesothelioma; and 5,916 to non-mesothelioma lung cancer. Locally, Oakland County saw the third highest number of asbestos-related deaths in the state, with approximately 688 deaths between 1999 and 2013; while Wayne County had about 1,061 deaths and Macomb County had approximately 688 deaths.

Because asbestos-related deaths aren't precisely recorded or reported by public health authorities, EWG researchers said an exact number of deaths can't be pinned down.

"Our estimates are still conservative because some unknown number of deaths may have been attributed to pneumonia, other

respiratory disease or lung fibrosis of unknown origin," the researchers said in the study. "If doctors failed to ask patients about asbestos exposure, or if patients were unaware they had been exposed to asbestos, the death certificate would not mention asbestos as a cause."

Dr. Michael Harbut, founder of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Providence/St. John's Hospital and former director of the Environmental Cancer Program at the Karmanos Cancer Institute, said asbestos-related diseases are often misdiagnosed because the illnesses may not show themselves for decades.

"Asbestos causes scarring of the lungs, which can be fatal, and thickening of the covering of the lungs, which can become mesothelioma, which is quite horrible and deadly in months," he said.

"It causes lung cancer and the same kind of tumors you see in smokers, but most people don't think of (asbestos) right away. People with asbestos-related diseases die of pneumonia more often, and often they aren't diagnosed because of the latency period, which can be 15 to 45 years. It doesn't have to be continuous exposure.�

He said even low-level exposure to asbestos can cause problems and take years to develop. Some patients may be told initially that they have bronchitis or COPD, while mesothelioma may first present itself as back pain.

Harbut, who co-authored the American Thoracic Society's criteria for diagnosis and treatment of asbestos-related diseases, said Providence/St. John's medical program is the only one in the metro area that requires a specific number of hours for medical residents to learn about asbestos. He said projections in the 1990s showed asbestosrelated diseases would spike about 2017 or 2018.

"What we are seeing now is a lot of homeowner exposure who did remodeling and tore out walls or insulation," he said. "In the early 1990s and late 1980s, we used to say asbestos would take care of itself and go away, but it looks like there is a second spike or wave of asbestos diseases.

"There's still a lot of asbestos out there, and it doesn't stop killing."

Even if all current uses of asbestos were banned in the United States, there are still enough asbestos-related products in use to continue to pose significant harm to the public.

A review of the Michigan DEQ's asbestos program revealed the department received 17,188 notifications of intent to demolish or remove asbestos-containing materials, and conducted 1,404 inspections, with the majority of notices (10,565) coming from Wayne County and the city of Detroit's blight removal project. Genessee County had the second highest number of notices, with 1,531, while Oakland County had the third most notifications, with 554, in 2016.

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nder the federal Clean Air Act's National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), the DEQ is required to review notifications from property owners and contractors who will be demolishing or renovating a location with asbestos-containing materials. Those notifications are intended to minimize the release of asbestos fibers into the air. Such projects ensure that asbestos is wet and contained to reduce the release of fibers, and that waste is transported correctly to an authorized landfill. The DEQ is also responsible for inspecting Type II landfills that are permitted to receive asbestos.

A state audit of the DEQ's asbestos program released in August 2017 found the department's Air Quality Division didn't ensure timely and complete input of all required inspections, complaints and violations into the state's database, or Michigan Air Compliance Enforcement System.

In total, the program received 17,188 notifications in 2016 and completed 1,404 inspections. The audit found the Air Quality Division acted upon 98 percent of complaints within seven days of receiving them. The majority of issues listed related to the timeliness and

completeness of input into the state's database, and timely responses to violation notices by liable parties.

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he audit also found the DEQ couldn't demonstrate it inspected 87 percent of Type II landfills to ensure proper disposal of asbestoscontaining materials. The audit listed two landfills in Oakland County qualified to receive asbestos – Oakland Heights Development in Auburn Hills and Eagle Valley Recycle and Disposal Facility in Lake Orion.

Oakland Heights Development was last inspected in February 2017, according to DEQ records. The inspection report stated the landfill doesn't currently accept asbestos waste, and hasn’t since 1998.

Eagle Valley Recycle and Disposal Facility is licensed to accept asbestos materials, but doesn't currently do so; however, it may have in the past, according to a June 2016 inspection report by the DEQ. In total, Michigan landfills received 10,655 notifications in 2016 of intent to demolish or renovate from contractors or property owners.

Contractors and property owners may also be required to file notifications with MIOSHA, which is responsible for enforcing federal labor laws regarding asbestos.

"If they are doing the work themselves, they don't have to notify us," DEQ Asbestos Program Supervisor Karen Kajija-Mills said. "On a singlefamily home, if they have a contractor, they are required to notify MIOSHA. They handle a smaller amount than we do. It's a complex program."

While Kajija-Mills said the two programs worked together in the past, they are now separate. Overall, the DEQ's program has four fulltime and one part-time staff, while MIOSHA has six full-time employees for its asbestos program.

The DEQ places complaints at the top of the list.

"Complaints range from a neighbor that might tell on someone to a contractor tattling on another contractor. We get lot of good cases that way," Kajija-Mills said. "A demolition may not be listed on our website.

Non-notifiers are typical because they don't know about the program.

We do a lot of outreach. Most demolitions usually get a permit from a local entity, and they aren't the greatest at dispensing information."

Oakland County Environmental Health Director Anthony Drautz said the department doesn't have an asbestos program, instead referring to the state programs, with MIOSHA handling workplace and indoor air issues, and the DEQ, outdoor air issues.

In terms of staffing, Kajija-Mills said the state's audit of the DEQ's program confirmed what the department already knows.

"It's a well-known fact that we aren't staffed properly to do the program justice," she said.

Among the most common places for asbestos to be found are schools, universities and hospitals. To protect students, staff and visitors, all school districts are required to conduct a full asbestos survey and maintain an updated log of where asbestos-containing materials are located.

Locally, there have been 1,188 project since 2014 involving asbestos removal that have filed notices with MIOSHA. That includes 61 projects in Birmingham; five in Bloomfield Township; 61 in Bloomfield Hills; 14 in Rochester Hills; and 47 in Rochester.

The database provides the location, amount of asbestos material being removed, who is conducting the work and when it is to be done and completed. Locations include residential, commercial and public buildings. For instance, of the 14 projects listed in Rochester Hills, multiple notices were listed for Munson Elementary School, Hamlin Elementary School, Baldwin Elementary School and Meadow Brook Amphitheater. In Rochester, multiple notices were listed for Oakland University facilities. Likewise, multiple projects in Bloomfield Hills were undertaken at schools, including Cranbrook Education Community, Fox Hills, Hickory Grove, Andover, Lahser, Marian and other schools.

Bloomfield Hills School District’s Bruce Coltman said all buildings in the district have their own asbestos inventory.

"When work is done at each site, we will hire a company to remove any and all substances that are asbestos containing before any renovation is done," he said. "Another contractor will also monitor air and clear the area for renovation to be completed.

"The district's updated manuals are now on three discs and are updated every six months. I am working on getting these on our web page for easy access by all."

Lori Grein, director of community relations for Rochester Community Schools, said while districts are required to maintain an asbestos inventory, they aren't required to be posted online. This, she said, is likely because the law was promulgated in 1987, prior to widespread internet use.

Rochester Community Schools first conducted extensive asbestos inspections in 1988, leading to a comprehensive asbestos management plan. That plan is evaluated and updated regularly and is available at request to the public.

Birmingham Public Schools spokeswoman Marcia Wilkinson said the district is required by law to maintain an asbestos inventory, and does so. The documents are available to the public upon request.

Despite the risk of asbestos exposure in schools, the majority of states do not conduct regular inspections of school buildings, with the total hazard in schools widespread but difficult to ascertain, according to a 2015 report, Asbestos in America's Schools, written by the staff of Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) using responses to an investigation launched by him and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

The two senators sent letters to governors of all 50 states to inquire about the implementation and enforcement of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), which was passed in 1986 and requires schools to keep an inventory of asbestos in their buildings. Of the 50 requests, just 20 responded. Michigan did not respond to the request.

Markey's report included mention of student and staff exposures to asbestos at the Dearborn Heights Schools District. That case resulted in a federal suit filed against the district by Theresa Ely, a custodian working at the district, involved the sanding of asbestos-containing floor tiles.

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ccording to court records, Ely filed suit against the district after they disciplined her for speaking out about the possibility of asbestos contamination at the school. An investigation by MIOSHA later revealed that the tiles did contain some asbestos, despite claims from the district that dust had been tested and came back negative for asbestos contamination.

Attorney Robert Fetter, who represented Ely in a whistleblower case and a First Amendment case from the incidents, said the cases are troublesome not only because of the exposure to asbestos, but because it appears the district tried to cover up its mistakes. Specifically, he said the district appeared to have filed a fraudulent report regarding the testing of the asbestos dust generated by the sanding of floor tiles.

"We thought there were suspicious things," he said. "There was asbestos found on the sanding pads, but they issued a statement to the parents and school community that the report didn't find any asbestos, so we thought in regard to those concerns, the district was lying."

He said the First Amendment case has been settled, while the whistleblower case is being conducted through the MIOSHA administrative process. Still, he said such problems aren't uncommon.

"I have handled some of these cases across the country, and it's a big problem that a lot of school districts aren't training staff on how to handle asbestos," he said. "There should be reports that are regularly updated, so anyone working in a school knows where it is. Those are routinely ignored, if they have them at all. It's a big problem. The

agencies that are tasked to enforce the law to handle asbestos in schools are way understaffed. The chance of you having an inspection is nil to none.�

A review of violation notices and inspection reports found no violations regarding asbestos at any of the public school districts in the Birmingham/Bloomfield or Rochester/Rochester Hills area. Oakland University did enter a consent order with the DEQ in 1991 involving a $19,000 settlement for violating work-practice and notification standards of federal air quality laws. Cranbrook Academy of Art had three consent orders relating to asbestos removal in the late 1990s.

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iolations regarding asbestos removal typically involve residential properties, including one in Rochester Hills. That violation, issued to MJC Woodland Crossings on October 6, 2017, involved the removal of asbestos at a property at 1171 E. Auburn Road, without notifying the DEQ within 10 days of the work.

"According to our investigation, MJC Woodland Crossing, LLC owns the facility and Quality Environment Demolition LLC performed the renovation activities at the facility," the DEQ said in an inspection report.

"During the inspection, staff observed ongoing asbestos abatement activities at 1171 E. Auburn. 1171 and 1183 E. Auburn will be demolished as part of a project to build a subdivision in the area; as such, renovation and demolition activities at these properties are subject to the Asbestos NESHAP." An EPA spokesman told Downtown that risk evaluation for asbestos "must include hazards, exposures, conditions of use, and potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations the administrator expects to consider."

As the EPA considers further asbestos bans, some environmental and health organizations believe any evaluations will be watered down by excluding major points of exposure risk. That includes excluding exposure from legacy uses, or uses no longer permitted but still posing a risk of exposure to asbestos, said Linda Reinstein, co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.

Rather than relying on the EPA to restrict asbestos, Reinstein and some other groups are pushing for a full-out ban on asbestos, as outlined in the federal legislation named for her late husband, Alan Reinstein, who died in 2006 from mesothelioma.

"Like most Americans, my husband and I thought our air, soil and water were free from contaminants. Alan was diagnosed in 2003, and I had never heard of mesothelioma before that," Reinstein said. "One day it appears your life is fine, and the next you're thrown into a sea of chaos."

Alan had worked in naval shipyards in the past – now considered a high-risk occupation for asbestos exposure.

She said the EPA's evaluation could exclude past uses of asbestos, while legislation would not. "The bill takes the evaluation out of the equation," she said.

Such a ban is opposed by the American Chemistry Council, which represents chlorine manufacturers in the chlor-alkali industry, which uses asbestos to construct filters used in the production of chlorine. The council is also pushing for an exemption to the EPA's upcoming risk evaluation. The industry produces about $129 billion in economic output in the United States each year.

Pressure from the industry, as well as other manufacturers of asbestos-containing products, could make further restrictions on asbestos difficult for those seeking to ban it or restrict its use further.

"I think the biggest hinderance to banning asbestos in the United States is that there are a lot of people that have other financial interests," said Dr. Flores. "When you have millions of dollars that are going to be lost, some people aren't going to want to see asbestos completely banned.

"It's like Upton Sinclair said, 'It's difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it."

FACES

Michele Smither ife at Dutton Farm is a little different in Rochester for the 100 farmers each month who spend part of their days working at the non-profit organization that offers work and life-skill training to individuals with developmental problems.

Open to people in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties with physical, mental or emotional impairments, the farm provides vocational training, independent living training, recreational activities and advocacy for individuals with disabilities. Founded decades ago by Jim and Michele Smither, the farm was formalized by the couple and their daughter, Jeanette Brown, in honor of the couple's third daughter, Rebecca.

As a child with Down Syndrome, Michele said there weren't many places for young Rebecca to be involved after graduating from high school.

"We wanted her to be productive and for her life to have meaning," Smither said. "Trying to find things for our daughter to do when she graduated was really challenging."

The family quickly learned there were various jobs and opportunities for Rebecca at the farm. The work expanded into respite sessions for other special needs individuals in the tri-county area, eventually developing into a formal program in 2010. Today, about 100 farmers are in programs at the farm, which produces a variety of products, from specialty crops and honey to boutique-style hand soaps and lip balm, all of which are produced, packaged and sold by farmers at the farm.

"We just embraced the life that was before us. We are very strong in our faith, and in our family. We asked how this can be a blessing to us and to other people. We began to let school groups come in and children

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would come in during the day and have picnics... we saw how beneficial it was, and we decided to formalize it and make it a formal program," Smither said. "The farm had been up and running for a long time, but not formally. We had a respite where we had people with disabilities come in, where they could stay for a weekend or a week or whatever was needed."

Today, the farm has a waiting list for the first time for farmers who want to work at the farm in 2018.

"It's so busy because it's necessary," she said. "People with special needs need jobs and a place to go during the day."

Not only is the program busy, but life on the farm is busy. Products produced at Dutton Farm can be bought directly from the farm, or at one of several stores and shops in the greater Rochester area that carry products produced at the farm, including Busch's Fresh Food Market, mi State of Mind and other locations.

"Right now is a very busy time of year. The farm provides a place for employment and to be productive, which they can be," she said. "Everyone is welcome. It's up to us to find a place to fit. It's not up to you to fit into our program. Everyone can do something.

"We tend to get caught up in the production and efficiency of things to do with business in corporate America. Here, we focus on different things.

We focus on quality, but we also focus on patience and being helpful to someone who maybe is having a hard time, and caring about people and their struggles. Efficiency and all of that is good, but it's not the most important thing."

Story: Kevin Elliott

Photo: Laurie Tennent

MUNICIPAL More RARA oversight after budget decline

By Kevin Elliott

A drop of more than $600,000 in its fund balance revealed in Rochester Avon Recreational Authority's (RARA) proposed fourth quarter amendments to its 2017 budget has sparked concern and additional oversight of the authority from Rochester Hills and Rochester.

Rochester Hills Chief Financial Officer Joe Snyder told Rochester Hills City Council on Monday, December 11, that RARA's budget amendment proposes a decrease in total revenues of $48,474 and an increase in total expenses of $614,769. The decreases in revenues and increases will have a proposed net impact of $663,243 on RARA's fund balance, bringing it to about one percent of its total budget.

The authority has traditionally maintained a fund balance of about 20 percent.

RARA generates about 75 percent of its overall budget through membership fees, programs and facility rentals.

About 25 percent of the overall budget comes from tax millages levied in Rochester and Rochester Hills. The amended 2017 FY budget includes about $628,000 in funds from Rochester Hills and about $88,000 from Rochester.

"To say I wasn't particularly pleased with RARA's reduction in fund balance is really an understatement," said Snyder, who added that Rochester Hills is responsible for administering the financial aspects of RARA, and the city's treasurer is responsible for controlling the funds of the authority.

"What we must do now is move forward to ensure that matters like this do not occur again."

Ronald Jewell, executive director for RARA, said the authority's original budget was submitted when RARA was still in the process of negotiating terms to acquire a 22,000-square-foot building at 480 E. Second Street, which wasn't opened until April 2017. The building and build-out of the facility includes about 10,000 square-feet of multi-court, multi-sport gymnasiums, and about 8,000 square feet of fitness and cardio equipment. The mid-year occupation meant memberships and building rentals failed to meet projections included in the original budget.

"From April to November of 2017, RARA was averaging $176 per day from memberships. In the past 14 days, RARA is capturing about $740 per day from memberships, or RARA has seen about 21 percent of its membership revenue collected for the budget," he said in memo dated December 4.

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Antiques Roadshow to visit Rochester he Public Broadcasting Service's (PBS) highest rated show, Antiques Roadshow, will be visiting Rochester in June of 2018, with limited tickets to the event to be made available in early March.

The visit, scheduled for June 14, is part of the show's production tour of five cities billed as "new-look episodes" that go to distinctive, historic locations across the country. Three episodes will be aired from each city, which will be shown in 2019.

Antiques Roadshow airs locally Mondays at 8 p.m. on Detroit Public Television. The show is PBS's most-watched ongoing series and has been nominated for 15 Emmy Awards. The new episodes will be part of the show's 23rd season.

Other cities included in the tour are Sarasota, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Louisville, Kentucky; and San Diego, California.

"Holding events at these locations allows our cameras to film appraisals in and around places that are treasures in their own right, adding a new depth to our show," said Roadshow executive producer Marsha Bremko. "I can't wait to see what treasures we uncover in Rochester. And stay tuned, we'll be revealing the historic location we've selected very soon."

Admission to Antiques Roadshow is free, but tickets are required and must be obtained in advance. Fans can apply for a chance to receive one pair of free tickets per household. The 2018 Tour ticket application process opened on Monday, December 4. To enter the drawing for free tickets, visit pbs.org/roadshowtickets.

The deadline to apply for tickets is Tuesday, February 27, 2018.

About 3,000 ticketed guests will receive free valuations on their antiques and collectibles from experts at the country's leading auction houses and independent dealers. Each guest is invited to bring two items for appraisal.

Antiques Roadshow is produced by WGBH Boston for PBS under license from the BBC.

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Rochester Hills City Council in July 2016 approved a request from RARA to use a maximum of $333,000 of its unrestricted fund balance toward the purchase and renovation of the new building. Council members at the time specifically said they wanted RARA to maintain $100,000 in fund balance in the budget. That motion was passed 61 with councilwoman Stephanie Morita voting against the measure due to concerns about the fund balance dropping below 20 percent.

"Mr. Jewell, I don't think you understand the amount of aggravation that you have caused us this week. Not just staff, but also council, in finally being appraised of the financial status of RARA," Morita said on Monday, December 11. "This is an organization that we all care very much about and want to see succeed. When we have a $14,000 fund balance at the end of the year, it’s very, very concerning.

"It hasn't been an easy year for RARA in terms of you coming in midyear and a salary study that was done in which you were asking for increases for staff, but at the same time you were blowing through a fund balance to the tune of $533,000 for the year,” Morita continued.

The drop in fund balance was met

with concern from city council members, and calls for additional financial oversight of RARA to restore the fund balance. The move for more oversight came on the heels of a salary study and request for raises at RARA earlier this year that was met with opposition from city council members in both Rochester Hills and Rochester.

"If you would have done that, you would have had a negative fund balance," councilwoman Susan Bowyer said. "I hate to see RARA go away, but it wouldn't be beyond me to say 'dissolve the inter-local agreement’ if we are losing too much money and being bled out."

"After conferring with Rochester Hills fiscal, RARA agrees with taking additional measures in the budget," Jewell said.

Those measures include the development of a three-year budget process, rather than the one-year budget currently used by RARA. Snyder, who will oversee the process, said the RARA board also will establish a target fund balance amount to be achieved by a certain date, with a fund balance target of no less than 20 percent of budget, which would be about $400,000 compared to its current amount of about $13,000.

DOWNTOWN

Rochester City Council on Monday, December 18, approved the same measures, with exception to the fund balance restoration, which the council set at 10 percent, rather than 20 percent, and council showed similar concerns.

Rochester councilman Stuart Bikson said while it appears RARA remains on solid financial ground, he said the lack of communication by RARA to council liaisons contributed to problems.

"The troubling thing with me, Ron, is that if you knew how tight (the budget) was, then you never should have let it go that way. By doing that, you allowed that (Downtown newsmagazine) article to be written," Bikson said. "Don't put yourself in that situation, and don't put us in that situation. That makes it look like there are problems there, when of course, there probably isn't. It sounds like you're on good footing, but don't go to one percent... I think you need to be more judicious in your counseling of resources."

"Rochester Hills fiscal also requests to be present at future RARA board meetings and will provide monthly financial reports to the board to ensure budgets are being adhered to," Snyder stated at the Rochester Hills meeting.

"If amendments are required, they must be presented on a quarterly basis, the same as the Rochester Hills budget cycle. If build-outs and floor projections were included early on in the first and second quarter updates, this matter that is here before us would have been addressed much earlier."

Rochester Hills will also work with RARA to develop a capital improvement plan to identify and schedule improvements over multiple years in order to ensure the fund balance won't be decreased again in the future.

Crestwyk Estates concept set as PUD Rochester Hills City Council on Monday, December 11, unanimously approved a planned unit development (PUD) concept plan for a 16-unit residential development on John R, between Hamlin and School roads.

The developers, Mark Gersuale and Jim Polyzois with M2J1 LLC of Shelby Township, are proposing eight detached single-family units and four two-unit, ranch-style condominiums on a 4.4-acre parcel. The development, known as Crestwyk Estates, will include residences ranging from 1,845 to 1,997 square feet with a preliminary price point of about $370,000, under the proposed plan.

The concept plan is intended to 01.18

show the location and site improvements, buildings, utilities and landscaping to convey the overall layout and impact of the development, acting as the first step in the development process.

Planned unit developments (PUD) are intended to permit flexibility in development that are substantially in accordance with the goals and objectives of the city's master land use plan at the discretion of city council.

The PUD option is intended to encourage a variety of design layouts and uses, and allows for different uses not permitted in a zoning district and permits densities or lots that are different from the applicable district.

The concept plan was recommended for approval by the Rochester Planning Commission. Specific site plans and an official PUD agreement are the second step in the process, following the conceptual plan.

Under the conceptual plan, the buildings would have front entry garages and emphasize pedestrian entrance to enhance the facade. The plan also proposes filling in one area of low-quality wetlands while a highquality wetland on the property would be maintained and protected with a boulder wall.

Council unanimously approved the conceptual plan.

Auburn Road Corridor project moves ahead

By Kevin Elliott

A $443,000 engineering contract for preliminary design services for the city's Auburn Road Corridor Improvement Project that is anticipated to be underway in the 2019 construction season was approved by Rochester Hills City Council on Monday, December 4.

Council also signaled the city's intent to take over ownership of about two miles of Auburn Road, between

Rochester and Auburn roads, which includes the half-mile project area, which is between Culbertson Avenue and Dequindre Road.

While final plans for the estimated $7 million project aren't expected until next year, council's approval of the $443,124 preliminary engineering indicated the city is "all in" on the project, which is intended to improve safety and encourage economic investment by creating a walkable corridor area in an underdeveloped neighborhood.

"We are going to be asked to spend a half-million dollars on this project, and I'm not comfortable on that if we aren't going all the way," councilwoman Stephanie Morita said while questioning city staff about cost of the project and how it will impact the city's fund balance. "I want this project to happen. I think it will improve the quality of life."

Plans to redevelop Auburn Road between Culbertson Avenue and Dequindre Road have been discussed by previous city councils for several years, but no formal plan had been developed until recently. An early corridor plan study, which included a market analysis and design recommendations, was presented to the city in January 2017.

The city also approved an early preliminary engineering study by OHM Advisors, of Livonia, which was presented to council on Monday, December 4. That study set out to identify key issues, predict costs and schedules, recommend a design option and other plans. The overall goals of the project include strengthening the overall district brand as a unique destination; calm traffic and improve safety; create a walkable environment; encourage development opportunities; and improve accessibility along the corridor.

As identified in the early preliminary engineering study, the improvement plan calls for replacing

D'Marcos liquor license coming from Rojo bistro ochester City Council on Monday, December 18, approved a request to transfer a Class C and special designated merchant liquor license from the former Rojo Mexican Bistro to D'Marcos Italian restaurant, 401 N. Main Street, which is expected to open by early 2018.

The new restaurant, operated by MDM Hospitality and owned by Mark Mendola, has secured a five-year lease at the location, and is purchasing the existing liquor license, furniture, fixtures and equipment for $100,001, according to documents filed with the city. A $500,000

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the existing two-lane roadway with a narrower two-lane road separated by a continuous median and left-hand turn lanes. Traffic calming measures would include three "compact urban roundabouts" between Culbertson and Dequindre. The plan also calls for lowering the speed limit in the area from 40 mph to 25 mph; creating onstreet parallel parking on Auburn Road; closing some side streets; improving alleys; installing crosswalks and lighting; and the addition of 13-foot wide sidewalks; improved stormwater drainage; and other improvements.

Councilwoman Jenny McCardell said she was pleased that the plan focused on safety, particularly that of pedestrians and cyclists in the area, noting an early-morning accident at Auburn and Culbertson involving an 11-year-old child who was struck by a vehicle turning left onto Culbertson.

The study presented on December 4 also included information on an afternoon accident involving a 15-yearold bicyclist who had been struck by a vehicle at a crosswalk on Auburn Road.

In 2014, a 79-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed in the evening by a westbound vehicle on Auburn Road between Longview and Emmons.

Overall, the half-mile project area handles nearly 12,000 vehicles per day, with a crash rate of 484 crashes per 100 million vehicle miles, and 48 serious or fatal accidents – significantly above average regional rates compiled

by Oakland County and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), according to the OHM report.

The proposed plan is about $2 million over the city's initial $5 million budget for the project. However, Rochester Chief Financial Officer Joe Snyder said the city's fourth-quarter budget amendments includes a $2 million surplus, which could be used for the project. If approved, the $7 million cost would include about $3 million from the city's general fund,

renovation, which includes interior work by Birmingham-based Ron & Roman designers, is well underway, council was informed. The restaurant plans to have seating for 201 patrons for dining, including a private dining area and 22 seats at the bar.

Michael Thomas, Mendola's partner, told Downtown newsmagazine in October that the new restaurant will feature at least two dozen wines available by the glass, as well as another 40 to 50 available by the bottle. The menu will feature "Italian classics with a modern twist," using fresh made, high quality ingredients.

The restaurant proposes operating hours from 4 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Friday; from noon until midnight on Saturday; and from noon

which would pay for improvements such as new lighting, landscape improvements, sidewalks, stormwater work and other items. Approximately $2.95 million would come from the city's major road fund. About $850,000 would need to come from the local road fund for alleyway improvements. The budget also includes about $80,000 in tree planting and $60,000 for additional water and sewer work.

"Essentially, that $2 million can roll into general fund balance, and if council chose, we could kind of earmark those dollars for the Auburn Road Corridor program," Snyder said. "Essentially, we would be at the same general fund balance in 2020 that we set out and adopted with the 2018 budget."

Snyder said using the fund would keep the city's general fund balance at a level that covers more than 100 percent of expenditures through 2020.

Currently, he said the city's general fund covers about 130 percent of annual expenditures, with that falling to about 106 percent of annual expenditures by 2020.

Councilwoman Stephanie Morita questioned whether the city should maintain a fund balance that represents a figure closer to 130 percent of expenses. She recommended council consider using about $1.5 million from the city's local street fund for items not covered by the major road fund, and reducing the amount spent on other local road projects for three years. Doing so, she said, would help keep the general fund balance closer to 130 percent of expenditures.

"I look at that money for emergencies," she said. "This isn't an emergency situation."

Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan K. Barnett said the city is in a good fiscal position to move forward with the project.

"We are really in a strong position here, and that's really why we collect taxes – to invest them back in the community," he said. "If we are

to 9 p.m. on Sunday. However, D'Marcos may extend hours based on customer demand.

Mendola plans to hire about 50 full-time and part-time employees.

The special designated merchant liquor license will allow for beer and wine to-go or carryout sales. The request from the restaurateur also included Sunday alcohol sales, a dance/entertainment permit and one additional bar permit, along with the cancelation of an outdoor service area permit.

Rojo Mexican Bistro closed in early October, following the company's Chapter 11 reorganization in 2016. Rojo closed temporarily in June 2017 following a salmonella outbreak in which some patrons became ill.

knocking off two things that are priorities to council, which are improving public safety and investing in public infrastructure, we think we are spending money in an appropriate fashion that is aligned with council's number one and number two priorities."

Council voted 6-1 in favor of accepting the study and approving the contract with OHM Advisors, with councilwoman Morita dissenting.

In addition to approving the contract, council directed city staff to counter an offer by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to grant ownership of a two-mile stretch of Auburn Road to the city. Under the agreement proposed by MDOT, the city would receive $300,000 toward the corridor improvement project.

Rochester Hills Deputy Director of Engineering Paul Davis said the offer appeared to be too low considering the city would be responsible for improving more than a mile of road outside of the project area. Council instructed Davis to make a counter offer to the state after a discussion in closed session regarding those negotiations.

By taking ownership of the road, the city would avoid much of the state's permitting process, which could limit redevelopment options in the corridor area, such as traffic calming improvements, crosswalks and roundabouts. As the former M-59 Highway, the city's consultants said MDOT would be more interested in moving vehicles quickly through the area, rather than fostering investment and slower speed limits.

Snyder said by taking over the road, the city would receive about $80,000 to $100,000 per year in state road dollars to maintain the road, with annual maintenance running about $40,000.

"It's a net gain until year 20 when you have to replace the road," he said.

"For the first 19 years, you do well."

Rochester receives clean 2017 audit The city of Rochester on Monday, December 18, received an unmodified audit, or clean audit opinion, from accountants at PSLZ who presented the city's audit report of the 2017 fiscal year to city council members.

Rena Evans, a partner with PSLZ, told council members that property taxes fell flat during the fiscal year, which runs from July 1 through June 30. The largest increases in property taxes, she said, were commercial developments which were inside the city's downtown development district, where property taxes are captured by 36

Fire & Ice Festival held January 19-21 he annual Fire & Ice Festival in Rochester will be held on the weekend of January 19 through 21, following the approval of a special event permit by the Rochester City Council.

The event, which serves as the city's main winter festival, offers visitors a chance to partake in winter activities, such as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snow tubing, fireworks and other activities throughout the weekend. A taste fest will be coordinated by the Rochester Mills Beer Company, with offerings from Bologna Via Cucina, Buffalo Wild Wings, O'Connor's Public House and others. Food truck participants will include El Charro, Crepe Day-Twah, Nosh Pit Detroit, Sweet Water Tavern and others.

Additional activities will include the 5K Brooksie Way Chill race; a collegiate ice carving competition, dog sled rides and other offerings.

Admission and activities are free, with food and other items available for purchase.

The event will run from 5-9 p.m. on Friday, January 19; from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, January 20; and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, January 21.

The majority of events will be held on the south side of 2nd Street due to construction occurring in the prior area of the Rewold Lot. The tubing hill will be constructed on East Third Street.

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the Downtown Development Authority (DDA).

Overall, property taxes increased by about .58 percent from the 2016 fiscal year. The overall value in the city increased in large part due to new construction and renovation of existing properties. In total, the city issued more than 1,200 building permits, totaling $30 million worth of renovations in the past year. The city saw a modest increase in industrial property values, with a lowering of personal property values. As real property values continue to increase, property taxes will be restricted by Proposal A which limits the rate to increases in municipal revenues to the rate of inflation.

"While Proposal A significantly suppresses the taxable value the city will see in the near future, the spread between assessed value and taxable value will serve the city well if in the longer term future there is a significant drop in assessed value and make operational adjustments before assessed values are low enough to reduce taxable value," Rochester Finance Director Anthony Moggio said in his report to council. "This provides the city with a great planning opportunity, as the city continues to appropriately monitor the spread between assessed value and taxable value."

Rochester maintains an annual fund balance of 82 percent of the total general fund expenditures, or about $12.8 million, of which about $8.1 million is available for spending at the government's discretion.

Revenues in the 2016 FY totaled about $11.088 million, including about

$7.457 in property taxes; $1.62 million in state, local and federal shared funds; $820,000 in charges for services; $556,356 in license and permit fees; $280,000 in franchise fees;and $95,000 in fines and forfeitures.

General fund expenditures for FY 2017 totaled about $9.855 million, about $62,000 higher than originally budgeted, while revenues were about $11,000 below the budgeted amount.

Council members presented with the report of the city's solid financial standing asked auditors for additional information on any potential trouble spots in the future, as well as an appropriate level of fund balance for the city to maintain.

Council in 2018 is expected to discuss using a portion of the city's fund balance for potential capital outlay projects for providing additional funding for the city's pension liabilities, which could provide savings to the city.

Rochester City Manager Blaine Wing said he will be proposing council reduce the fund balance to a figure closer to 60 percent of general fund expenditures to free up funds for other projects.

Overall, Evans said the city is doing a good job with the budget, but will need to talk about future needs of the city when determining the appropriate amount of fund balance.

"You have excellent department heads. They like to be proactive. They are never satisfied with the status quo.

With all the development, this isn't a place you can sit on our laurels. That doesn't happen here," Evans said. "If your population and development is increasing, then you have to provide more services and you need to be ready

DOWNTOWN

for that. This council has been great and responsive, but capital dollars are the largest ticket you need to consider."

City adds sheriff's deputies to contract Two additional deputies will be joining the ranks in Rochester Hills in 2018 as Rochester Hills City Council on Monday, December 11, approved an amended contract for services with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.

The city currently has a two-year contract with the sheriff's office, which requested the city amend the current contract to add one deputy and one patrol investigator, Rochester Hills Chief Financial Officer Joe Snyder said.

The additional positions will be included with no extra cost.

The amended contract will take effect on January 1, 2018.

The additional staff will bring the total number of contracted sheriff's deputies assigned to the city to 62.

Staffing will include one sheriff's captain; two lieutenants; six patrol sergeants; one detective sergeant; 37 deputy II positions; two deputy II positions with no vehicle; 11 patrol investigators; one tech assistant; and one account clerk.

Rob Ray elected mayor of Rochester Rochester city councilman Rob Ray on Monday, November 27, was elected mayor of the city of Rochester through November of 2018 by a unanimous vote from his fellow city council members.

Ray, who is serving his second term on council since being elected in 2013, was nominated for mayor by councilman Ben Giovanelli.

Ray, who works as a financial advisor, thanked council members for their vote of confidence, as well as council members' families for their patience for the time that council members put into their positions.

Council also elected current councilwoman and mayor pro tem Kim Russell to another term in that position, which will expire in November of 2018. Council approved the motion 6-1, with councilman Stuart Bikson dissenting.

Ray, whose father spoke and congratulated his son at the meeting, said his father raised him on the Cub Scout motto to "always do your best."

"You will get that from me, and for the city, you will get that from the council," he said.

01.18

PLACES TO EAT

Not to b bee explained. exp explained . To be be exp experienced.

B 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 Rochester area, and then some select restaurants outside the immediate area served by Downtown.

Rochester/Rochester Hills 112 Pizzeria Bistro: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 2528 S. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.289.6164.

2941 Street Food: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 87 W. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.606.4583.

Alex’s of Rochester: Italian, Greek, & American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.852.2288.

Antoniou’s Pizza: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 918 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, MI 48307. 248.650.2200.

Avery’s Tavern: American. Weekend Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2086 Crooks Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.270.4030.

B Spot Burgers: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

176 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.218.6001.

Bangkok Cuisine: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 727 N. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.652.8841.

Bar Louie: American. Weekend Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, 10 or more. Liquor. 1488 N. Rochester Road, Rochester, 48307.

248.218.5114.

Bean and Leaf Café: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

439 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.601.1411.

Bigalora Wood Fire Cucina: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 8 or more. Liquor. 6810 N. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48306.

248.218.6230.

Big Boy: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No Reservations. 3756 S. Rochester Road., Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.852.5540. Also 90 E. Tienken Road, Rochester Hills, 48306.

248.601.7777.

Bologna Via Cucina: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

334 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.651.3300.

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

1234 Walton Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.651.3999.

Chadd’s Bistro: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No Reservations. 1838 E. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.293.0665.

Chapman House: French-American.

Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations recommended. Liquor. 311 Walnut Blvd., Rochester. 48307.

248.759.4406.

Cheng’s Restaurant: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 2666 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.299.9450.

Chicken Shack: BBQ. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 213 W. University Drive, Rochester, 48307.

248.656.1100.

Chili’s: Tex-Mex. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2735 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.299.5281.

Chipotle Mexican Grille: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2611 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills,

downtownpublications.com

48307. 248.402.0047. Also The Village of Rochester Hills, 84 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.402.0047.

Chomp Deli & Grille: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

200 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

888.342.2497.

CJ Mahoney’s Sports Grille: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 3260 S. Rochester Road, Rochester, 48307. 248.293.2800.

CK Diggs: American & Italian. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 2010 W. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.853.6600.

Clubhouse BFD (Beer-Food-Drink): American. Lunch, Saturday & Sunday.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations, 10 or more. Liquor. 2265 Crooks Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.289.6093.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit: Barbecue. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 1418 N. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.266.6226.

Downtown Café: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 606 N. Main, Rochester, 48307.

248.652.6680.

Einstein Bros. Bagels: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 2972 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, MI 48307. 248.606.4519.

Five Guys Burgers & Fries: American, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

2544 S. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.299.3483.

Georgio’s Pizza & Pasta: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Italian.

117 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.601.2882.

Gold Star Family Restaurant: American & Greek. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 650 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.652.2478.

Golden Eagle: American. Lunch, Sunday.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1447 N. Rochester Road, Rochester, 48307.

248.651.6606.

Grand Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 12 Marketplace Circle, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.289.1350.

Half Day Café: American. Breakfast & Lunch, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

3134 Walton Boulevard, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.375.1330.

Hamlin Pub: American. Breakfast, Sundays. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 1988 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.656.7700.

Hibachi House Bar & Grill: Japanese Steakhouse. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 335 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.266.6055.

Honey Tree Grille: Mediterranean.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2949 Crooks Road, Rochester, 48309. 248.237.0200.

Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1186 W. University Drive, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.651.3527.

Johnny Black Public House: American.

Weekend Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 1711 E. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.606.4479.

Kabin Kruser’s Oyster Bar: Seafood. No reservations. Lunch, Monday-Saturday.

Dinner, daily. 306 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.651.2266.

Kerby’s Koney Island: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. 2552 S. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.844.8900.

King Garden: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1433 N. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.656.3333.

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Krazy Greek Restaurant: Greek. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 111 E. University Drive, Rochester, 48307.

248.652.0089.

Kruse & Muer In the Village: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 134 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.375.2503.

Kruse & Muer on Main: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

327 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.652.9400.

Lebanese Grill: Lebanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2783 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.606.4651.

Lino’s Restaurant: Italian. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 50 W. Tienken Road, Rochester Hills, 48306.

248.656.9002.

Lipuma’s Coney Island: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 621 N. Main Steet, Rochester, 48307.

248.652.9862.

Lucky’s Prime Time: American. Weekend Breakfast. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations, weekdays. Liquor. 1330 Walton Boulevard, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.656.8707.

Main Street Billiards: American. Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 215 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.652.8441.

Main Street Deli: Deli. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Dinner, Thursday, Friday. No reservations. 709 N. Main Street, Rochester, MI 48307. 248.656.5066.

Mamma Mia Tuscan Grille: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 543 N. Main Street, Suite 311, Rochester, 48307. 248.402.0234.

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

Reservations. Liquor at The Village location only. 1413 N. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.609.2121.

Also The Village of Rochester Hills, 188 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills.

248.375.5999.

Miguel’s Cantina: Mexican. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 870 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.453.5371.

Mitchell’s Fish Market: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 370 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.340.5900.

Mr. B’s Food and Spirits: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

423 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.651.6534.

Noodles & Company: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 184 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.375.5000.

North Shack: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 990 E. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.853.3366.

O’Connor’s Public House: Irish Pub. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 324 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.608.2537.

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

Olive Garden: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2615 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.853.6960.

Outback Steakhouse: Steakhouse. Lunch, Friday-Sunday. Dinner, daily.

Reservations, eight or more. Liquor.

1880 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.650.2521.

Paint Creek Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 613 N. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.759.4205.

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Panda Express: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 3105 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.853.9880.

Panera Bread: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 37 S. Livernois Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.601.2050. Also 2921 Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.853.5722. Also 2508 S. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.853.7430.

Park 600 Bar & Kitchen: American.

Weekend Brunch. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

Royal Park Hotel, 600 E. University Drive, Rochester, 48307.

248.652.2600.

Paul’s on Main: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 630 N. Main Sreet., Rochester, 48307. 248.656.0066.

Pei Wei: Asian Fusion. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1206 E. Walton Boulevard, Rochester, 48307.

248.601.1380.

Penn Station East Coast Subs: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

146. S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.601.4663.

Penny Black Grill & Tap: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

124 W. 4th Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.841.1522.

P.F. Chang's China Bistro: Asian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. The Village of Rochester Hills, 122 N. Adams Rd., Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.923.7030.

Pudthai & Sushi: Thai & Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 2964 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.299.6890.

Qdoba Mexican Grill: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1198 Walton Boulevard, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.608.2603. Also 3014 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.844.3668.

Ram’s Horn: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1990 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.651.7900.

Red Knapp’s Dairy Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 304 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.651.4545.

Red Lobster: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2825 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.299.8090.

Red Olive: Mediterranean & American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1194 Walton Boulevard, Rochester, 48307. 248.656.0300.

Rochester Bistro: American-Continental.

Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 227 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.923.2724.

Rochester Brunch House: American.

Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 301 Walnut Boulevard, Rochester, 48307. 248.656.1600.

Rochester Chop House: Steakhouse & Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 306 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.651.2266.

Rochester Diner & Grill: American, Greek & Italian. Breakfast & Lunch, daily.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday. 1416 E. Walton Blvd., Rochester Hill, 48309.

248.652.6737.

Rochester Mills Beer Co.: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 400 Water Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.650.5080.

Rochester Tap Room: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6870 N. Rochester Road, Rochester, 48306.

248.650.2500.

Sakura Sushi: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

6866 N. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48306. 248.608.3867.

Shish Palace: Mediterranean. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. 165 S. Livernois Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.453.5464.

Shogun: Japanese. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 173 S. Livernois Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.453.5386.

Silver Spoon Ristorante: Italian. Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

6830 N. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48306. 248.652.4500.

Soho: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2943 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.289.1179.

Sumo Sushi & Seafood: Japanese & Korean. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations, 24 hours in advance.

Liquor. 418 N. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.601.0104.

Tapper’s Pub: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 877 E. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.852.1983.

Tim Hortons: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 940 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.656.8292.

The Jagged Fork: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 188 N. Adams, Rochester Hills, 48306.

The Meeting House: American. Weekend Brunch. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 301 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.759.4825.

Too Ra Loo: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 139 S. Main St., Rochester, 48307.

248.453.5291.

Tropical Smoothie Café: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2913 Crooks Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.852.4800.

Val's Polish Kitchen: Polish. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, Sunday. Reservations. 224 E. Auburn Rd., Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.293.2660.

Wayback Burgers: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1256 Walton Boulevard, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.453.5746. Also 2595 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.844.2717.

Willoughby’s Beyond Juice: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 120 E. 4th Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.841.1670.

Troy Capital Grille: Steak & Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Saturday. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2800 West Big Beaver Rd., Somerset Collection, Troy, 48084. 248.649.5300.

Cafe Sushi: Pan-Asian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1933 W. Maple Rd, Troy, 48084. 248.280.1831.

Kona Grille: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 30 E. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48083.

248.619.9060.

Lakes: Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 5500 Crooks Rd., Troy, 48098.

248.646.7900.

McCormick & Schmick’s: Steak & Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. Somerset Collection, 2850 Coolidge Hwy, Troy, 48084. 248.637.6400.

Mon Jin Lau: Asian. Lunch, MondayFriday. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 1515 E. Maple Rd, Troy, 48083.

248.689.2332.

DOWNTOWN

Morton’s, The Steakhouse: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 888 W. Big Beaver Rd, Troy, 48084. 248.404.9845.

NM Café: American. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 2705 W. Big Beaver Rd, Troy, 48084.

248.816.3424.

Ocean Prime: Steak & Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2915 Coolidge Hwy., Troy, 48084. 248.458.0500.

Orchid Café: Thai. Lunch, Monday-Friday.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. 3303 Rochester Rd., Troy, 48085.

248.524.1944.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

Somerset Collection, 2801 W. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48084.

248.816.8000.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 755 W. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48084. 248.269.8424.

Steelhouse Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1129 E. Long Lake Rd., Troy, 48085.

248.817.2980.

Birmingham/Bloomfield 220: American. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 220 E. Merrill Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.646.2220.

Andiamo: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 6676 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301.

248.865.9300.

Bagger Dave's Legendary Burger Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 6608 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301.

248.792.3579.

Beau's: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 4108 W. Maple, Bloomfield Hills, 48301.

248.626.2630.

Bella Piatti: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

167 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.494.7110.

Beverly Hills Grill: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Liquor. No reservations. 31471 Southfield Road, Beverly Hills, 48025. 248.642.2355.

Big Rock Chophouse: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 245 South Eton Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.7774.

Bill's: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Daily. Reservations, lunch only.

Liquor. 39556 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304.

248.646.9000.

Bistro Joe’s Kitchen: Global. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Sunday brunch. Liquor.

Reservations. 34244 Woodward Ave., Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.0984.

Café ML: New American. Dinner, daily.

Liquor. Call ahead. 3607 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Township.

248.642.4000.

Cafe Via: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 310 East Maple Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.644.8800.

Cameron’s Steakhouse: American.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 115 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.723.1700.

Churchill's Bistro & Cigar Bar: Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

116 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.4555.

Eddie Merlot's: Steak & seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 37000

01.18

Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.712.4095.

Elie’s Mediterranean Cuisine: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations.

Liquor. 263 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.2420.

Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar: American. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 323 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.723.0134.

Forest: European. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 735 Forest Avenue, Birmingham 48009.

248.258.9400.

Griffin Claw Brewing Company: American.

Dinner, Tuesday-Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday and Sunday. No Reservations.

Liquor. 575 S. Eton Street, Birmingham.

248.712.4050.

Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse: American.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 201 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009.

248.594.4369.

Joe Muer Seafood: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner daily; Sunday brunch.

Reservations. Liquor. 39475 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304.

248.792.9609.

Luxe Bar & Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily; Late Night, 9 p.m.-closing.

No reservations. Liquor. 525 N. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham, 48009.

248.792.6051.

Mandaloun Bistro: Lebanese. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, Daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 30100 Telegraph Rd., Suite 130, Bingham Farms, 48025.

248.723.7960.

MEX Mexican Bistro & Tequila Bar: Mexican. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily. Liquor. 6675 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301.

248.723.0800.

Mitchell’s Fish Market: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 117 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.646.3663.

Phoenicia: Middle Eastern. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 588 South Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.644.3122.

Roadside B & G: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

1727 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.858.7270.

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

Social Kitchen & Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 5 or more. Liquor. 225 E. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.4200.

Streetside Seafood: Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily.

Reservations, Lunch only. Liquor. 273 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.645.9123.

Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro: American.

Dinner. Monday-Saturday. Sunday brunch. Reservations. Liquor. 55 S. Bates Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.731.7066.

The Bird & The Bread: Brasserie. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 210 S. Old Woodard, Birmingham, 48009.

248.203.6600.

The Franklin Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 32760 Franklin Rd, Franklin, 48025. 248.865.6600.

The Rugby Grille: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 100 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.642.5999.

downtownpublications.com

The Stand: Euro-American. Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

34977 Woodward, Birmingham, 48009. 248.220.4237.

Toast: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily; Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 203 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.258.6278.

Townhouse: American. Brunch, Saturday, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 180 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.5241.

Triple Nickel Restaurant and Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Liquor.

Reservations. 555 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham 48009. 248.480.4951.

North Oakland Clarkston Union: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 54 S. Main St., Clarkston, 48346.

248.620.6100.

Holly Hotel: American. Afternoon Tea, Monday – Saturday, Brunch, Sunday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 110 Battle Alley, Holly, 48442.

248.634.5208.

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

248.795.2077.

Via Bologna: Italian. Dinner daily. No reservations. Liquor. 7071 Dixie Highway, Clarkston. 48346. 248.620.8500.

Union Woodshop: BBQ. Dinner, Monday – Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday – Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 18 S. Main St., Clarkston, 48346.

248.625.5660.

Royal Oak/Ferndale Ale Mary's: American. Weekend Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 316 South Main St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.268.1917.

Anita’s Kitchen: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 22651 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 48220. 248.548.0680.

Andiamo Restaurants: Italian. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 129 S. Main St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.582.0999.

Assaggi Bistro: Italian. Lunch, TuesdayFriday. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 330 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220. 248.584.3499.

Bigalora: Italian. Weekend Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily. No Reservations. Liquor. 711 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067.

Bistro 82: French. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 401 S. Lafayette Ave., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.542.0082.

The Blue Nile: Ethiopian. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 545 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220.

248.547.6699.

Bspot Burgers: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 310 S. Main St., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.268.1621.

Cafe Muse: French. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 418 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.544.4749.

Cork Wine Pub: American. Sunday Brunch. Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 23810 Woodward Ave., Pleasant Ridge, 48069.

248.544.2675.

D’Amato’s: Italian. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 222 Sherman Dr., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.584.7400.v

Due Venti: Italian. Sunday Brunch. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

220 S. Main St., Clawson, 48017.

248.288.0220.

The Fly Trap: Diner. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. Dinner, Monday-Friday. No reservations. 22950 Woodward Ave., 48220. 248.399.5150.

Howe’s Bayou: Cajun. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 22949 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 48220. 248.691.7145.

Inn Season Cafe: Vegetarian. Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. No reservations. 500 E. Fourth St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.547.7916.

Inyo Restaurant Lounge: Asian Fusion.

Weekend Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. Liquor. 22871 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 48220.

248.543.9500.

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

Lily’s Seafood: Seafood. Weekend Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 410 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.591.5459.

Local Kitchen and Bar: American.

Weekend Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Friday.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 344 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220.

248.291.5650.

Lockhart’s BBQ: Barbeque. Sunday Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 202 E. Third St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.584.4227.

Oak City Grille: American. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 212 W. 6th St, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.556.0947.

One-Eyed Betty: American. Weekend Breakfast. Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 175 W. Troy St., Ferndale, 48220. 248.808.6633.

Pronto!: American. Weekend Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 608 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.7900.

Public House: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 241 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220.

248.850.7420.

Redcoat Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

31542 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak, 48073. 248.549.0300.

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

Royal Oak Brewery: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

215 E. 4th St., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.544.1141.

Strada: Italian. Dinner, Wednesday Sunday. Liquor. No reservations. 376 N. Main Street. Royal Oak, 48067.

248.607.3127.

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

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

248.541.1186.

Town Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. Liquor. 116 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.7300.

The Morrie: American. Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 511 S. Main St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.216.1112.

Trattoria Da Luigi: Italian. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 415 S, Washington Ave., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.542.4444.

Vinsetta Garage: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

27799 Woodward Ave., Berkley, 48072.

248.548.7711.

DOWNTOWN

West Bloomfield/Southfield Bacco: Italian. Lunch, Monday-Friday.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 29410 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.356.6600.

Beans and Cornbread: Southern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

29508 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.208.1680.

Bigalora: Italian. Weekend Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily. No Reservations. Liquor. 29110 Franklin Road, Southfield, 48034.

Maria’s Restaurant: Italian. Dinner, daily.

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

248.851.2500.

The Bombay Grille: Indian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 29200 Orchard Lake Rd, Farmington Hills, 48334. 248.626.2982.

The Fiddler: Russian. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 6676 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.851.8782.

Mene Sushi: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine.

6239 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.538.7081.

Meriwether’s: Seafood. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 25485 Telegraph Rd, Southfield, 48034. 248.358.1310.

Pickles & Rye: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 6724 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.737.3890.

Prime29 Steakhouse: Steak & Seafood.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6545 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.737.7463.

Redcoat Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 6745 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.865.0500.

Shangri-La: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. Orchard Mall Shopping Center, 6407 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.626.8585.

Sposita’s Ristorante: Italian. Friday Lunch. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 33210 W. Fourteen Mile Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.

538.8954.

Stage Deli: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

6873 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.855.6622.

Yotsuba: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 7365 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, 48322.

248.737.8282.

West Oakland Gravity Bar & Grill: Mediterranean.

Monday – Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday, Dinner. Reservations. Liquor.

340 N. Main Street, Milford, 48381.

248.684.4223.

It's A Matter of Taste: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2323 Union Lake Road, Commerce, 48390.

248.360.4150.

The Root Restaurant & Bar: American.

Lunch & Dinner, Monday - Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 340 Town Center Blvd., White Lake, 48390.

248.698.2400.

Volare Ristorante: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 48992 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393.

248.960.7771.

39

FACES

Laura Lee uriosity might have killed the cat but it’s lead to Laura Lee’s success as an author.

“They (my books) are all in one way or another about satisfying some sort of curiosity about a subject,” said Lee, a Rochester resident.

That curiosity has helped Lee write 20 books over the years, ranging across genres and topics, including her most recent book, Oscar’s Ghost, which took her six years to complete. She was inspired to write it after reading Oscar Wilde’s De Profundis, his prison manuscript, and finding out there was a lot more to uncover than what was on the pages she had read.

Six years is a long time to dedicate to one project but being that attached to an idea also leads to having the momentum to finish it.

“It’s kind of like a dog with a bone. You can’t let go,” Lee said. “You just gotta do it whether it will make you any money or not.”

Lee didn’t always envision herself as a writer, though. Growing up with an author father – who said she was a born writer – she did what most kids do, rebel. Plus, she wanted to act, like her grandmother had, which is how she found herself getting a theater degree at Oakland University.

While at Oakland she realized she wasn’t a very good actor and wasn’t getting cast in anything. So her senior year she wrote a one-act play about just that. After the positive feedback she received she decided she didn’t want to be a starving artist and enrolled at Specs Howard School of Broadcasting.

She began a career in radio, where she got more feedback about how great her writing was. She kept working in radio, moving to Cadillac, and then to the east coast. She also worked as a professional mime and

C

improv comic before finally giving in to her natural calling, writing.

“I think you sometimes spend a lot of time rebelling against your nature and wanting to do something more interesting and glamorous, like being a professional mime,” she laughed. “But then, at some point, your nature kind of knocks you on the head and says, ‘This is really what you’re supposed to be doing.’”

Now she’s writing all the time, both in her Rochester home – a city she lived in as a teenager and came back to in 2004 after her dad died – and on the road. None of her books have been set in Michigan but there have been things inspired by her home state, like the church she wrote about in her novel Angel, which is based off her childhood church.

Like most authors, Lee knows it isn’t easy paying the bills with her profession, which is how she ended up with her other job, producing ballet master class tours.

“I think that taking that break and focusing on something else is really helpful because you could get very insular just sitting at your computer writing things,” she said.

“There have been times when there wasn’t money coming in and I felt like it doesn’t make sense, it’s not rational to keep doing this, and I would think, ‘Ok, well what am I going to do?’” Lee said.

“I just get so depressed at the idea of not doing it that I decided well, obviously that’s off the table,” she continued.

Looks like Lee will be writing for years to come.

Story: Dana Casadei

Photo: Laurie Tennent

SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK Here is the update on the recent social scene. Many more photos from each event appear online each week at downtownpublications.com where readers can sign up for an e-mail notice when the latest social scene column is posted. Past columns and photos are also archived at the website for Downtown.

Sally Gerak Rose Hill Center 25th Anniversay “I’m blown away by Rose Hill...I’ve never seen any other place that puts it all together like Rose Hill does,” opined Mariel Hemingway. The granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway was speaking at the dinner celebrating the comprehensive mental illness treatment center in Holly. It was the vision of Dan and Rosemary Kelly, whose son John was ill. Since no facility to treat him existed 25 years ago in the midwest, the couple determined to make one a reality. It has subsequently changed the lives of more than 1,600 individuals and their families. Many of the 300 celebration guests are long-time Kelly family friends.

They know firsthand the tenacity and faith Rose Hill’s establishment required. So does the honorary event chair, Wally Prechter, who called the couple “kindred spirits.’ (She has been toiling in the research arena of mental illness since her muchcelebrated husband Heinz succumbed to it in 2001.)

Hemingway’s story blew me away, filled as it is with eight family suicides, addictions, depression and domestic mayhem. Her determination for a different life led her to an obsession with health, a profound meeting with the Dalai Lama and determination to eradicate the stigma of mental illness. “We’re all okay....and your support of Rose Hills is profound,” Hemingway concluded. Thanks to many generous sponsors, the celebration of hope and healing raised $227,000 for the outstanding facility.

OUR TOWN Art Show & Sale Over 350 people ($75 - $1,000 tickets) attended the Opening Night Party of the 32nd annual Community House-sponsored art show for Michigan artists. On exhibit were 356 works by 142 artists selected by jurors Barbara Heller and Weatherly Stroh.

The jurors both said they thought the show was especially strong. They seemed as excited as the artists were about the choices to receive the $10,000 prize money during the evening’s program. Unlike the early years of the event, when guests had an after work cocktail, bought some art and took home a box supper, The Community House’ culinary team prepared savories like mini potato pancakes, beef tenderloin crostinis, mini crab cakes and coconut shrimp for supping on the stroll. Before the show ended on Sunday, 1,000 people had viewed it, 50 pieces of art had new homes and artists had 65 percent of the $20,000 sales total.

Detroit International Wine Auction The amazing transformation of the Downtown Boxing Gym into a glamorous lounge and nightclub (a la Las Vegas in the heyday of prizefighting) was the vision of “...my creative wife and better half (Danialle),” said Peter Karmanos, Jr. The event co-chair was speaking to 480 College for Creative Studies supporters ($2,500, $1,500 tickets). They were at the former bookbinding factory in which, 10 years ago, Khali Sweeney opened a non-profit, after-school, academic and athletic refuge for boys and girls from Detroit’s toughest neighborhoods. Before guests adjourned for dinner and the live auction they had bid $68,500 in the silent auction of CCS alums’ art and wine during the Vintner’s Private Reception. Maestro Fritz Hatton masterfully conducted an extraordinary live auction. The top bid was $100,000 for a dinner for six with GM CEO Mary and Tony Barra at Fleming’s in Livonia. This brought the live auction total to $750,000. Combined with pledges ($88,500) and generous sponsors, the 36th annual Art of Wine DIWA raised $2.4 million downtownpublications.com

Rose Hill Center 25th Anniversay

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1. Mariel Hemingway (center) of Los Angeles & Idaho with Rosemary Kelly (left) of Bloomfield and Wally Prechter of Grosse Isle. 2. Jack Reinhard (left), Dan Kelly and Sandy Duncan of Bloomfield. 3. Judith Darin of Bloomfield.

4. Dick Brodie (left) of Bloomfield and Bill Whelan of Grosse Pointe. 5. Patrick Jakeway of Bloomfield, Ben Robinson of Rochester Hills.

OUR TOWN Art Show & Sale

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1. Robert Dempster and Carolyn Rooney-Dempster of Bloomfield.

2. Barbara Heller and Weatherly Stroh of Birmingham. 3. Carla Grava (left) and Pam Rossiter and Sara Rossiter of Birmingham. 4. John & Carol Aubrey of Birmingham. 5. Anita Damiani (left) of Bloomfield with Deborah Hecht of Huntington Woods. 6. Armina Kasprowicz of Rochester Hills.

7. Paul & Laurie Mueller of Rochester Hills.

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK for CCS scholarships and community art programs plus $1 million from Danialle and Pete to support CCS’s Fashion Accessories Design program.

Next year’s featured vintner will be former Bloomfielders Craig and Kathryn Hall, now Napa Valley winemakers.

Detroit International Wine Auction

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1. Danialle & Peter Karmanos. Jr. of Orchard Lake. 2. Wally Prechter (left) of Grosse Isle, Al Lucarelli of Grosse Pointe and Elizabeth & Syd Ross of Bloomfield. 3. Patti and Kevin Klobucar of Rochester. 4. Vivian Pickard (left) of Bloomfield and Don Manvel with Jim & Kim Palmer of Birmingham. 5. Joy & Michael Sneyd of Bloomfield.

John W. Hunter Questers Horse Race

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1. Tim Travis (center) of Keego Harbor, Julie Matthews and Gennie Hunter of Bloomfield. 2. Lavon Cook (left) and Rita Kerr of Bloomfield, Shari Garber of White Lake. 3. Barbara Hailey (center) of Franklin, Judy (left) and Rita Lindstrom of Bloomfield. 4. Pat & Doug Hamburg of Bloomfield.

5. Peggy Kerr (left) of Bloomfield, Glen Ronopaskie and Robert Karazim of Pontiac, Amy Parker of Waterford. 6. Vic Moigis (left), Chris Muir and Brian Wood of Bloomfield.

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John W. Hunter Questers Horse Race Questers, a non-profit organization dedicated to the study, conservation and preservation of historical objects for the benefit of today and tomorrow, has 65 chapters in Michigan. One of several local chapters has committed to restore a vandalized mausoleum in Pontiac’s historic Oak Hill Cemetery.

To that end, 80 people ($45-ticket) – that would be most of the 25 John W. Hunter chapter members, some friends and Pontiac boosters – gathered in the party room at Tim Travis’ Goldner Walsh Garden & Home in Pontiac for a fundraiser chaired by Rita Kerr and Gennie Hunter. It featured fellowship, a buffet dinner and gaming via a horse race in which the riders advanced by a throw of the dice. The evening’s proceeds and a grant from Quester International are expected to jumpstart the restoration of the Resurgam mausoleum.

Sweet Dreamzzz A Night to R.E.M.ember Sweet Dreamzzz is a non-profit organization that provides at-risk school children sleep education and bedtime essentials because they “...can get A’s and B’s by getting more ZZZ’s.” It attracted 200 supporters ($125-tickets) to a nighttime fundraiser on the Detroit Historical Museum’s Streets of Old Detroit. They toured the museum, cocktailed, supped on the stroll, bid in silent and live auctions, played Heads & Tails and made pledges to the cause, raising $65,000. They also applauded volunteer honoree Mary Pat O’Malley, a Divine Child High School teacher. Under her leadership more than 1,000 Divine Child students have volunteered for Sweet Dreamzzz and made fleece blankets for kindergarten students. Executive Director Nancy Maxwell noted a special side benefit of the program. “...Families are bonding (by)...making reading part of their evening routine.”

Camp Mak-a-Dream Cookies N’ Dreams The annual cookie contest that raises money to send, cost free, children and young adults affected by cancer to a camp in Montana brought a crowd of nearly 500 supporters of all ages to the Grand Court at Somerset 01.18

Collection North. (Tickets were $60 for adults and kids paid their age.) How guests, regardless of age, could sample all the creations from 20 generous bakeries eludes this reporter, but those who did and voted named the 2017 Camp Mak-A-Dream Cookie from Crispelli’s. Guests also filled boxes with cookies to take home, snacked on other savory fare, danced to Star Trax music, played with Legos and paused to hear “testimonies” from campers like Kali and Zach Orlandoni of Bloomfield Hills. Thanks to generous sponsors, the fun-filled event raised more than $140,000 for the camp founded by the late Sylvia and Harry Granader.

Showhouse for Variety You’ve heard of showhouses that feature the work of different designers in rooms throughout a single home.

Well, Michigan Design Center’s newest showroom – Theodore Alexander – is a showhouse of vignettes within a showroom.

Featured designers include Jimmy Angell, Donna Connelly, Dayna Flory, Charles Dunlap, Joe Keenan, Michelle Mio, Jill Schumacher, Rita O’Brien, Richard Ross, Amanda Sinistaj, Jane Spencer, Anne Strickland, Lauren Tolles and owner operator Michael Coyne, whose own showroom is across the hall from the 4,200 sq. ft.

Theodore Alexander space. WDIV fashion editor Jon Jordan hosted the Grand Opening event with honorary chairs Tim and Judy Hildebrand.

Some 300 design enthusiasts and supporters of Variety, the Children’s Charity gathered there to sip, sup and examine the finely-crafted TA furniture, lighting, upholstery and accessories displayed in unique settings. The event netted $22,000 for Variety’s programs for special needs kids.

Chocolate Jubilee According to AA President/CEO Jennifer Lepard, the 33rd annual fundraiser was bittersweet for the organization...”(because it’s) our last Chocolate Jubilee with Gayle Burstein at the helm.” The petite, soft-spoken dynamo, who is passionate about the AA mission, is retiring after 25 years as fundraiser par excellente and the crowd of 550 ($200 & up tickets) in the MGM Grand ballroom gave her a standing ovation.

They also applauded “Aliceheimer’s” author Dana Walrath following her description of Alzheimer’s whimsical nature. She said the guidance she downtownpublications.com

Camp Mak-a-Dream Cookies N’ Dreams

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3 1. Cathy & Nate Forbes of Franklin. 2. Connie Jacob (left), David Jacob and Cathy Jacob Forbes of Franklin, Jennifer Hermelin of Bingham Farms.

3. Nadia (left) and Monet Simon of Bloomfield.

4. Kasey Chinonis (left) and Lindsey Bakken of Bloomfield, Dylan and Jordan Schoenberg of Birmingham. 5. Paws with Garrison (left), Colton and Brooklyn Ruks of Birmingham.

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Showhouse for Variety

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3 1. Deb Thomas (left) of Troy, Michael Coyne of Bloomfield, Kate Cahill of Birmingham. 2. Tim (left) & Judy Hildebrand and Elise & Steve Guidos of Bloomfield. 3. Mazy Hommel Gillis (left) of Bloomfield, Linda Hommel of Birmingham, Sally Stevens of Troy, Charles Dunlap and Jimmy Angell of Pleasant Ridge. 4. Pamela Stephanoff (left) of Beverly Hills, Jane Synnestvedt of Birmingham, Chris Decker and Susan Parroly of Bloomfield.

5. Mark Decker (left), Jane Baer and Matt Paroly of Bloomfield.

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Chocolate Jubilee

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1. Mary Wilson (left) of Grosse Pointe, Gayle Burstein and Mari Barnett of Bloomfield. 2. Mary Owen of Birmingham, Bit Berg of Bloomfield. 3. Bill, Sean, Nicole, & Marlene Emerson of Bloomfield. 4. Michele & Nathan Mersereau of Birmingham. 5. Arnold & Nancy Shapero of Bloomfield. Photos: Christine Hathaway

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK received through the AA 24/7 Helpline when her mother Alice and dementia moved into her home was invaluable. Images of Parisian icons decorated the Evening in Paristhemed party where guests also bought 200 Sweet Chance bags for $50 each. After dinner and speeches, they danced and filled take home bags with yummy creations from talented confectioners. Thanks to generous sponsors, the event raised nearly $1.2 million.

Detroit Institute of Arts Gala

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4 1. Frances Eisenberg (left) and Nicole Eisenberg of Bloomfield, Barbara Fisher of Grosse Pointe, Juliette Okotie-Eboh of Detroit, Brooke Fisher of Birmingham. 2. Mort Harris and Sandy Morrison of Bloomfield. 3. Danialle Karmanos (left) of Orchard Lake, Jennifer Fischer of Bloomfield. 4. Raj (left) & Padma Vattikuti of Bloomfield, Salvador Salort-Pons & Alex May of Detroit. 5. Anna & Chris Rea of Birmingham. 6. Dr. Gail Parker (left) of Detroit, Maureen & Roy Roberts of Bloomfield. 7. Ed Levy (left), Elyse Foltyn, Gretchen Davidson and David Foltyn of Birmingham.

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Habitat for Humanity Extravaganza

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1. Kari & Grahame Burrow of Rochester. 2. Cheryl & Bruce Trevarrow of Oakland.

3. Tim Ruggles (left) of Highland, Mike Baldridge of Bloomfield. 4. Mike McKenna (left) of W. Bloomfield, Mary Marble of Birmingham, Mashell Carissimi of St. Clair Shores.

5. Rita Brown (left) of Birmingham, John Samborski of Leonard, Frank Piro of Rochester Hills.

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Detroit Institute of Arts Gala More than 600 DIA supporters wined and dined at the museum’s annual gala benefit. It was chaired by Frances Eisenberg, Nicole Eisenberg, Juliette Okotie-Eboh, Brooke Fisher and Barbara Fisher with design inspiration from NYCbased event planner/artist/author David Monn. Guests savored Forte Belanger prepared charcuterie, cheeses and seafood in handsome, lounge-style settings before dining in the galleries on fare such as smoked scallops and grits, beef (filet or braised) and truffle risotto. In keeping with the event theme of the museum as a town square for community gatherings, dessert was served in the Great Hall and Woodward lobby.

Event tickets - $5,000, $2,500, $750 – sold out. Thanks also to many sponsors, the elegant soiree raised $2 million.

Habitat for Humanity Extravaganza “This mission is all about love,” CEO/Executive Director Tim Ruggles told the 275 Habitat for Humanity supporters ($185, $265 tickets) gathered in the Townsend Hotel ballroom. “And each of you is changing our world,” he concluded before presenting honors to Volunteer of the Year Mike Baldridge and Community Builder Awardee Bruce Trevarrow. All earned standing ovations, as did Mercedes Shamburger following the video that chronicled her quest for education and a Habitat home. Ruggles was preceded at the podium by Cheryl Henderson, who joined the Habitat staff after embracing the organization’s mission as the volunteer event chair for two years.

Dan Stall then conducted a live auction and pledging that brought the event total to $160,239 for building and renovation projects to improve lives and communities.

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House of Providence Wishes Gala The Wishes Gala benefiting J and Maggie Dunn’s home for foster system girls attracted 600 people ($125 ticket) to the Royal Park Hotel for a joyful night. The dinner program emceed by Chuck Gaidica began with a Mt. Zion School of Performing Arts dance group and concluded with a beautiful vocal by Quela Harris. In between it contained many highlights: the earnest dedication to kids that was evident in their remarks when Warrior Honorees Michigan Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Barash and judge Karen Braxton accepted their awards; the joy when Survivor Honoree Tiffany Sinawi learned she, her mom and two sisters were going on a Disney cruise; country singer, writer Jimmy Wayne’s music and his moving saga of growing up homeless; the news that House of Providence has acquired 118 acres in Oxford for a homes to serve boys and children with disabilities as well as girls. The fourth annual gala raised $175,000 for House of Providence.

St. Hugo Razzle Dazzle Club The fifth annual Razzle Dazzle fundraiser attracted 160 ($70 & $170 tickets) to Oakland Hills Country Club for ladies night out supping, socializing, shopping (16 vendors offered giftables) and raffles. Lorraine Carlin won the grand raffle prize – a $1,000 Somerset Collection gift card.

Karen Seitz chaired the evening event which replaced the Altar Guild’s traditional fundraising luncheon.

Proceeds support scholarships and local charities through outreach programs.

Homes for Autism Benefit State Senator Jim Marleau, a supporter of services for people with autism, was honored at the 21st annual Ring of Hope dinner. It attracted 100 ($150 & up tickets) to the Village Club for cocktails, silent auction, dinner, entertainment and dancing. Prominently displayed was the quote: “A house is made of walls and beams, A home is built with love and dreams.” The event raised about $35,000 to help HfA maintain and pay mortgage debt on its seven homes for adults with autism.

Send ideas for this column to Sally Gerak, 28 Barbour Lane, Bloomfield Hills, 48304; email samgerak@aol.com or call 248.646.6390. downtownpublications.com

House of Providence Wishes Gala

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1. J & Maggie Dunn of Oxford. 2. Patrick (left) & Bud Liebler and Rick Rassel of Bloomfield. 3. Patty Boyle Rassel (left) and Ann Boyle Liebler of Bloomfield. 4. Melissa Parks of Bloomfield. 5. Brian Jennings (left) of Bloomfield, David Barash of W. Bloomfield. 6. Walter (left) & Rayneld Johnson of Rochester, Bill Vogel of Grosse Pointe.

St. Hugo Razzle Dazzle Club

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1. Joanne Gordon (left) and Diane Roelant, Karen Seitz and Kim McInerney of Bloomfield. 2. Betty Desmond (left) and Laura Kerby of Bloomfield.

3. Mary DeBasio (left), Judy Juneau, Sandie Knollenberg and Gladys Kowalski of Bloomfield. 4. Martha Torre (left), Carolyn DeMattia and Marianne McBrearty of Bloomfield. 5. Germaine Mack (left), Ann Pohl, Sheila Konwalsky, Bonnie Gentilla of Rochester, Evelyn Bartoloni of Bloomfield. Photos: Joan Page

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ENDNOTE

Address ongoing asbestos danger now he fact that asbestos is still used to manufacture hundreds of consumer products in the United States today will likely come as a shocking revelation to readers who have known about the dangers of the cancer-causing mineral for decades. However, the lack of funding to adequately staff state programs responsible for enforcing asbestos restrictions is alarming, and should be seen as a call to action at the local, state and federal levels.

The health risks associated with asbestos have been known since at least the early 1970s, when the first restrictions in the United States were put into place. More than 40 years later, more than 50 countries have banned asbestos use. Efforts to phase out the mineral in this country were put in motion in 1989, but halted two years later as part of a federal court ruling that partially struck down the rules due to a lawsuit filed by asbestos manufacturers. More than 25 years later, tons of deadly asbestos continue to be imported into the United States, killing as many as 15,000 people each year.

While the 1991 court ruling extended the use of asbestos, we believe the industry has had ample time to develop safer alternatives to asbestos. The time to implement a new phase out or an all-out ban on asbestos use at the federal level is now.

Ending the use of asbestos, however, will do nothing to address the tons of asbestos-containing materials already in existence. From home products to automotive parts and construction materials, the widespread use of asbestos has made it ubiquitous

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in our everyday life. As such, federal laws regarding indoor and outdoor air quality were designed to protect citizens from asbestos exposure. An additional law was created in the 1980s to require schools to keep an inventory of where asbestos is located in their facilities.

However, enforcement of those laws is woefully inadequate.

With more than 17,000 notices regarding the removal of asbestos from homes, private and public buildings filed with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in 2016, the department faces a monumental task in trying to investigate and monitor all such activities. As such, the department has a self-imposed goal of inspecting just 15 percent of those notices. With just four full-time inspectors and one part-time inspector, the department is unable to meet even that goal.

The lack of staff, as one DEQ official stated, "is a well-known fact."

Providing adequate funding to the DEQ and the Michigan Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which conducts workplace and indoor air issues, should be a priority for all lawmakers, regardless of party affiliation, in Lansing.

Lastly, we believe the public, particularly parents of school-aged children, should be provided with easy-to-access data on where exactly asbestos is located in each school district building. While such records are already required under federal law to be maintained, available access to those records is relatively unknown.

One local school district has already said it will be undertaking efforts to provide asbestos information and abatement plans on the district's website. Such actions aren't currently required under the federal law, as it was enacted prior to widespread use of the internet. But that seems a lame excuse in today’s day and age. We believe school districts should take it upon themselves to provide that information online as a public service.

Providing access to asbestos abatement plans not only provides valuable information to parents, it would also give staff and visitors an official record of potential risks. Doing that not only helps to ensure the health and safety of children and adults in school buildings, but would ensure a more accurate record of those risks, reducing the chance for exposure and future litigation, saving districts money and embarrassment.

No doubt, part of the lax regulations and lack of urgency regarding asbestos goes back to the latency period for symptoms from exposure to present themselves. As the leading cause of mesothelioma, asbestos exposure may take decades to become apparent. Even then, symptoms from asbestos-related diseases may go undiagnosed unless doctors are trained to specifically look for them. Sadly, the results of exposure are often fatal and always devastating.

We can't help but think that if impacts of asbestos were more immediate – as with other contaminants such as lead – the threat from asbestos would have been dealt with long ago.

There’s no excuse to delay action any further.

Better oversight a necessity for RARA n Monday, December 11, the Rochester Hills City Council approved additional financial oversight measures of the Rochester Avon Recreation Authority (RARA), after learning of a sharp plunge in their reserves – a decrease in fund balance at the recreation authority from about 20 percent to just one percent. New financial controls by the city include moving to a three-year budget process; having monthly financial reports provided to the RARA board and city councils; requiring RARA to make quarterly budget amendments instead of annual amendments; and developing a fiscal plan to restore the fund balance to 20 percent of total operating expenses.

Rochester City Council also approved the oversight measures, but instead called for restoration of fund balance to 10 percent.

The measures and diminished fund balance were revealed in a fourth-quarter budget amendment submitted to the two city councils for approval, both of which were stunned to learn of the financial situation, which had not previously been revealed to them or city staffs, prior to their council meetings. Additional financial oversight of the Rochester Avon Recreation Authority (RARA) by the city of Rochester Hills is not only appropriate and proper, but necessary.

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Formed in 1949, RARA is the number one provider of recreational services in the greater Rochester area, serving thousands of families in and out of the community. As an official taxing authority, RARA receives about 30 percent of its annual revenues from property taxes paid by residents in Rochester, Rochester Hills and Oakland Township. The remainder of its income comes from membership fees, program fees and facility rentals. Per RARA's intergovernmental agreement, Rochester Hills is responsible for administering the financial aspects of the authority.

At the root of the fund balance issue is a 22,000 square foot building purchased by RARA to expand recreational offerings while lowering expenditures.

That purchase and renovation was to be paid for with a portion of more than a half-million in fund balance contributions over the past three years. However, plans to purchase the building at 480 E. Second Street were accelerated when it became available earlier than expected. While RARA was authorized to use about $333,000 for the building project, its fund balance for the year, which included other capital outlay projects, was reduced to about one percent of overall operating expenses.

While RARA executive director Ron Jewell said

the authority is financially whole, with net assets at the authority still well beyond liabilities, the drop in fund balance was met with concern from the majority of council members in both communities.

That concern was compounded by the fact that some council members were blindsided by the reduction in fund balance, with several Rochester council members learning about the issue from a Downtown newsmagazine article published on December 15 about the Rochester Hills meeting.

While we believe RARA plays an important role in the greater Rochester community, and we are encouraged by the new offerings provided by the new building, we can't help but share the concern expressed by several council members and that of Rochester Hills' fiscal division. As such, we feel the added oversight is fiscally appropriate and will ensure RARA's financial soundness into the future.

As a footnote, comments at the most recent public meeting by Rochester councilman Ben Giovanelli – who referred to the Downtown December 15 article as "fake news" – are histrionics that do nothing to advance the RARA oversight issue. Rather than being dismissive and attacking the messenger, the councilman would do best by focusing on the facts and being proactive in the future on such issues.

ONLY 7 LOTS RE M AIN!

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9 1.25 Acres $995,000

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7 1.07 Acres $895,000

CHASE LANE

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23 1.09 Acres $995,000

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5 1.09 Acres $995,000 4 1.09 Acres $795,000

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FEATURES AND AMENITIES Only 7 lots remain Gated community Bloomfield Hills schools Customize a plan and start today

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