Westend: December 2014

PLACES TO EAT: OUR GUIDE TO NEARLY 100 LAKES AREA RESTAURANTS DECEMBER 2014

LOBBYISTS SHAPING THE DEBATE ON NEW LEGISLATION

CHALDEANS MIGRATION HISTORY IN METRO DETROIT

OVERFLOW ILLEGAL DISCHARGES INTO LOCAL WATERS

ENDNOTE: GOP PRESERVATION ATTEMPT IN OAKLAND COUNTY ECRWSS Postal Customer PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ROYAL OAK, MI 48068 PERMIT #792

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The fourth branch of government Lobbyists spent over $20.5 million in the first seven months of 2014 trying to make their case on behalf of their clients with lawmakers in Lansing.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

10 Municipalities continue to fight the battle of preventing or minimizing storm water overflow, especially in a heavy rain year like 2014.

There is once again a move underway to bring some longoverdue change to how terms limits for representatives and senators are handled at the state level in Michigan.

INCOMING

13

Our readers' opinions on issues facing Commerce and other lakes area communities or their reaction to content in past issues of Westend.

Driven by violence from their native lands in northern Iraq, Chaldeans have made metro Detroit, and in particular Oakland County, their new home.

CHALDEANS

CRIME LOCATOR

15

38 The Chaldean migration

SHAPING THE DEBATE ON NEW LEGISLATION

MIGRATION HISTORY IN METRO DETROIT

OVERFLOW ILLEGAL DISCHARGES INTO LOCAL WATERS

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

MUNICIPAL

33

LOBBYISTS

ENDNOTE: GOP PRESERVATION ATTEMPT IN OAKLAND COUNTY

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ROYAL OAK, MI 48068 PERMIT #792

Storm water overflow

DECEMBER 2014

ECRWSS Postal Customer

24

PLACES TO EAT: OUR GUIDE TO NEARLY 100 LAKES AREA RESTAURANTS

Questions raised on planner/DDA joint positions; White Lake wastewater injection well; architectural plans for new township library; deputy police chief retires; plus more.

THE COVER Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church, on S. Commerce Road in Walled Lake. Westend photo: G. Lynn Barnett.

BUSINESS MATTERS

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PUBLISHER David Hohendorf NEWS EDITOR Lisa Brody NEWS Allison Batdorff Kevin Elliott | Camille Jayne

STAFF/CONTRIBUTORS | Rachel Bechard | Hillary Brody Sally Gerak | Austen Hohendorf | J. Marsh | Kathleen Meisner

PHOTOGRAPHY/CONTRIBUTORS Jean Lannen | Laurie Tennent Laurie Tennent Studio VIDEO PRODUCTION/CONTRIBUTOR Garrett Hohendorf Giant Slayer ADVERTISTING MANAGER Jill Cesarz ADVERTISING SALES Heather Marquis GRAPHICS/DESIGN G. Lynn Barnett WEBSITE/CONTRIBUTOR Chris Grammer OFFICE 124 W. Maple Birmingham MI 48009 248.792.6464 DISTRIBUTION/SUBSCRIPTIONS Mailed monthly at no charge to most homes in the Commerce, Wolverine Lake, Walled Lake and Union Lake area. Additional free copies distributed at high foot-traffic locations in west Oakland.

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 (westendmonthly.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 Commerce/Union Lake community. The traditional “letters to the editor” in Westend are published in our Incoming section and can include written letters or electronic communication.

Opinions can be sent via email to news@downtownpublications.com or mailed to Downtown Publications, 124 W. Maple Road, Birmingham MI 48009 WEBSITE westendmonthly.com

FACEBOOK facebook.com/westendmonthly TWITTER twitter.com/downtownpubs

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RealEstateOne.com

MLS 214109831 - $399,900 Location! Location! Bloomfield Twp. 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath brick ranch with open floor plan situated back off the road on 1.16 acres, deep gorgeous sloping wooded lot with plenty of privacy, lake privileges and boat docking on Walnut Lake plus Birmingham Schools, extensive hardwood and ceramic throughout, crown molding, 2 fireplaces, new windows www.realestateone.com

MLS 214116289 - $110,000 Wonderful location! This clean, neutral town home is just waiting for you! Bright spacious great room with large windows, master bedroom is very large with nice windows and extra deep closet, full bath with ceramic around bath, full finished basement has lots of natural light and offers office area, laundry room, and family room, move in condition! www.realestateone.com

MLS 214115559 - $230,000 Detached former builder’s model ranch condo with first floor romantic master suite, 2 full baths, den or third bedroom, great room with vaulted ceilings and marble surround fireplace, perfect for entertaining, very bright and sunny unit sits on prime site and private cul-de-sac, loaded with many quality upgrades, make it yours before someone else does! www.realestateone.com

MLS 214115435 - $210,000 Your beautiful new home is located in Flat Rock’s Woodcreek subdivision.

Colonial home features 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and sits on a corner lot in a culde-sac for added privacy. Open floor plan with large living room with fireplace, eat-in kitchen, hardwood floors on first floor, library and laundry on main level, master bedroom with master bath-relaxing Jacuzzi www.realestateone.com

MLS 214114779 - $699,900 Beautiful custom builder’s home completely renovated in 2014, 3400 square feet of perfection! Extraordinary wood working and finishes, great room boasts beam work of historic significance, three beautiful fireplaces, lower level is the ultimate retreat, walk out access to the beautiful back yard on over an acre in Bloomfield! This home is a must see! www.realestateone.com

MLS 214114078 – $310,000 Quiet, family friendly neighborhood with Walled Lake Schools. Premium lot, deep poured basement with 10’ ceiling and daylight windows, open floor plan features two story foyer, great room with gas fireplace, granite and stainless gourmet kitchen, perfect home for someone who wants new constructions without having to pay extra for touches completed! www.realestateone.com

MLS 214113997 - $450,000 Lake living on All Sports Wolverine Lake! Gorgeous ranch home with panoramic views from most rooms along with updated custom kitchen, open floor plan with Brazilian Cherry wood floors, family room with custom fireplace, sky lights, finished lower level walkout with full Kitchen, 2.5 plus car side entry garage, Walled Lake Schools. Immediate possession www.realestateone.com

MLS 214111538 - $299,900 Spacious ranch style home in Commerce Pines sub, all new windows, great room with 16’ ceilings overlooks wooded private backyard, split bedroom floor plan includes master with two walk in closets, deluxe full bath and door wall to terrace, beautifully landscaped, finished walkout basement with all new carpet. www.realestateone.com

MLS 214111023 - $399,900 Multi generational home! Room for returning college student, parent, aunt, etc. with the in law quarters attached! Separate apartment offers a kitchen, living room, full bath with jetted tub, bedroom and private entry. Spacious custom ranch with expansive windows offers views of the private 2.5 acre setting. www.realestateone.com

MLS 214118329 - $379,900 Beautiful and well maintained 4 bedroom custom built home on 1.5 acre wooded lot on private road, minutes away from downtown Milford. Open floor plan, first floor master with vaulted ceiling, great room, 2 story ceiling and natural fireplace, kitchen with granite counters, high quality cabinets, 3 spacious bedrooms upstairs with large Jack-and-Jill bath. www.realestateone.com

MLS 214116186 - $229,000 Beautiful and elegant 4 bedroom, 1.5 bath Birmingham ranch situated on a private wooded and fenced yard with beautiful walk out deck, updated home with high finished wood flooring, gourmet kitchen with stainless finish appliances, spacious basement with built in bar, lavatory and laundry room. This is the 48009 home your client has been waiting for! www.realestateone.com

MLS 214115431- $244,900 This remarkable home on Secord Lake gives you the best of lakefront living, is in fantastic shape and provides amazing views from your choice of two decks or the balcony to watch the sun rise or set. It comes with all appliances, all furniture, and docks (excluding twin beds). You could make this home your weekend getaway or live in it year round. Agent related to seller. www.realestateone.com

© Real Estate One, Inc., 2014

Lakes Area (248) 363-8300

EQUAL HOUSING

OPPORTUNITY

FROM THE PUBLISHER

tarting this January, close to 50 new lawmakers will be entering the Michigan House and Senate, following the November 4 general election in which four dozen lawmakers, term-limited from their current Lansing positions, were replaced.

That’s a considerable number of new legislators when one considers that combined, the state House (110) and the Senate (38) have only 148 members. But it’s a ritual that may well be repeated in some 15 other states that still maintain term limits on lawmakers since the movement first arose in the early 1990’s. I note “still maintain” because term limits existed in another six states but were repealed in two, while courts overturned term limits for legislatures in four other jurisdictions.

The concept of limiting the time spent in government by an official dates back to the 5th Century B.C. in Athens, where leaders first expressed concern about limiting the democratic government. And, as die-hard supporters of term limits today will tell you, the Continental Congress here in 1777 originally approved Articles of Confederation which provided limitations on the number of years someone could spend in congress, although the framers of the U.S. Constitution, supposedly out of concern about the length of the document, failed to codify the maximum number of years a person could serve in congress. Of course, those same supporters fail to note that American government in those days was much simpler than what anyone is dealing with at a national or state level today in terms of issues and services provided.

The move for term limits was a natural outgrowth of the tax limitation movements we witnessed in the 1970’s and early 1980’s as citizens attempted to reign in the growth of government. Then, in 1989, Oklahoma was generally credited with the birth of the term limitation movement, followed by other states, including Michigan where 59 percent of state voters in 1992 opted to limit members of congress and the state legislature through a state constitutional change.

Ironically, the drive for limiting the tenure of government officials was really directed first at members of congress; to supporters, state legislative restrictions seemed a logical extension of the citizen initiatives. However, in 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned term limits for congress, ruling that a change to the U.S. Constitution would be necessary to accomplish this task.

As it stands now, Michigan House members are limited to three two-year terms and Senate members to two four-year terms, for a total of 14 years of legislative service, although once again there is

a move afoot in Lansing to at least alter how the limitations are structured.

Senate majority leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe), who is term-limited out at the end of this year, is attempting to talk up a change in how limits are now handled in Michigan. This is not a move to eliminate term limits, which are still supported by a majority of state residents, according to recent polls. It is an effort to allow a representative or senator the option to spend a longer time in one chamber.

The most popular plan for change would allow lawmakers to spend a total of 12 years in either the house or senate, or a total of 12 years in service spread over both chambers, two years less than allowed under the Michigan Constitution now for overall legislative service.

The logic is as follows: a turnover in the house every six years or eight years in the senate prevents less long-term experience and historical perspective to develop on the part of lawmakers. In simple terms, historical perspective, a currency of considerable value in Lansing, is only accumulated under the current system by capitol bureaucrats/staff and lobbyists who outlast term-limited legislative members.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I did not personally back term limits when first on the ballot and still don’t today. Yes, there were some lawmakers in Michigan’s history that, frankly, were little qualified to be setting public policy, although we certainly have that today with term limits. Then there has always been a minority that abused the office for their own personal benefit, something term limits won’t prevent as long as voters continue to send to Lansing and Washington the lowest common denominator among us.

But I have been a student of government – or as some would have it, a policy wonk — for over 40 years, and the lack of historical perspective does not serve us best when it comes to the state or nation.

Unfortunately, making a needed change to Michigan’s term limits will prove an uphill battle. Richardville is already under attack from interests inside and outside of Michigan, among them the U.S. Term Limits group from Florida; it takes a two-thirds majority vote among lawmakers to place it on the ballot; and then the electorate will have to put its stamp of approval on a constitutional change.

Yet there is no better time than the remaining days in this lameduck legislative session to tackle this long overdue issue.

David Hohendorf Publisher DavidHohendorf@downtownpublications.com

Chris Edwards Associate Broker

248.924.1375 cedwards@hallandhunter.com

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INCOMING School millage renewal On Tuesday, November 4, the Walled Lake Schools community overwhelmingly approved the 10year renewal for the non-homestead and hold harmless millages for the Walled Lake Consolidated School District. We are humbled by the support of our community for our students, staff and schools.

On behalf of the board of education, I want to thank each and every resident who participated in the election. I also want to thank the Citizens Committee for Walled Lake Schools who worked tirelessly on this effort.

The millage renewal campaign effort was led by Mrs. Susan Ebeling and a dedicated WLCSD Citizens Committee. Mrs. Ebeling and the citizens committee deserve the utmost gratitude and admiration, as they led a campaign that reached out to the whole community.

Thank you to the Walled Lake Schools community for supporting the educational opportunities Walled Lake Schools provides for our 15,000 children and the more than 70,000 residents we serve.

Every child, every day is our philosophy. With this millage renewal, our community has supported our children and made a difference for many years to come.

Kenneth Gutman, Superintendent of Schools

Doubts and hope As they gloat (about the general election), Republicans could/should realize the reasons for the results.

They are: low turnout showing anger, apathy and disgust about congress and many state legislators; resurgence of Ayn Rand’s philosophy as shown by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan that government should not serve people — people should improve their lives by their own efforts regardless of circumstance, otherwise socialism results; fear about the economy even though gas is now about $3 a gallon; unemployment is under 6 percent; the stock market is breaking records every day; money from individuals and extreme Right groups thanks to the Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court; rapid changes in all aspects of life including technology and climate which are difficult to explain or understand; voter suppression as well as difficulty for some citizens to vote in nearby areas; fear plus uncertainty about westendmonthly.com

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terrorism and disease; and nonacceptance or agreement with any policies of a president who was unlike any previous president in race or ethnicity.

The burden after November is on Republicans to benefit and improve the lives of all U.S. citizens and to keep our country safe and respected throughout the world. I have doubts but have hope.

Hannah Provence Donigan, Commerce

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9610 HIGHLAND ROAD • WHITE LAKE Conveniently Located in White Lake - East of Teggerdine

S e r v i n g t h e L a k e s A r e a f o r o v e r 3 0 Ye a r s

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Sexual assault

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Murder

Robbery

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Larceny

Larceny from vehicle

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Arson

These are the crimes reported under select categories by police officials in Commerce Township, Walled Lake and Wolverine Lake Village through November 20, 2014.

Placement of codes is approximate.

ichigan high school students must earn at least one halfcredit in civics education as a requirement for graduation, ensuring all those earning diplomas in the state are able to name the three branches of government or describe how a bill becomes a law. While our secondary schools provide a basic understanding of the legislative process, in theory, the majority of our electorate is often clueless to the realities of the political process.

M

The reality is there are more than three branches of government. Beyond the governor (or president), Senate and House of Representatives, there are the influencers, the people behind the legislators, who provide awareness, information, direction, and at times, pressure. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re called lobbyists.

BY KEVIN ELLIOTT

LOBBYISTS HOW THEY INFLUENCE LAWMAKERS

Case in point: For more than 40 years, a growing number of motorcycle riders in Michigan had complained about the state’s motorcycle helmet laws, which had required all bikers and passengers to wear a helmet when riding. The state law had once been tied to a 1967 federal requirement that attached some transportation funding to state helmet laws. For years, motorcyclists who wanted to change the law protested at the state Capitol in Lansing, with little to no results.

Advice came from Lansing lobbyist and fellow biker Noel LaPorte with Capitol Advocacy Services Group, who Rhoades said volunteered to help the group participate in the political process in a more meaningful way.

“We hired a lobbyist who happened to be a motorcycle rider, which was to our advantage,” Rhoades said. “We hired him more as an advisor because he told us what we should be doing.

In that regard, it was great advice.”

The group was able to rally members to volunteer as precinct delegates at more than 150 polling stations around the state. The group also started working with key legislators, attending and testifying in committee hearings and providing meaningful information lawmakers and their staff.

Two different bills to change the helmet law were passed by the state legislature, but vetoed by former Governor Jennifer Granholm.

A third bill was eventually passed by Governor Rick Snyder and went into effect in 2012. Today, motorcyclists who have had a motorcycle endorsement for at least two years and are over 21 may decide for themselves if they wear a helmet when riding.

“I’ve testified at probably 100 public hearings,” Rhoades said.

“We have been extremely active. When we first started out, we said, ‘what the hell, we’ll go to Lansing and burn a couple of helmets.’

We had to find out how to participate. That’s one of the things that our lobbyist has done to help us in that regard. That’s been a real good experience. Now I’m on a first name basis with probably 80 percent of the legislature.”

While the lobbying of politicians is typically done through registered lobbyist agents that have to report how they influence the state’s key lawmakers, the story behind the state’s helmet law is just one example of the inter-workings of the legislative process that isn’t taught in traditional textbooks.

“The ABATE group, they don’t have a lot of lobbyists. What they have is 10,000 guys on motorcycles,” said state Sen. Mike Kowall (R-White Lake, Commerce, Walled Lake, West Bloomfield). “That shows you that an interest group on their own can get a hell of a lot done if they do it in an organized fashion, without spending millions.”

At the basic level, lobbying means spending money in an attempt to influence the legislative or administrative actions of public officials. Influence may mean promoting, supporting, modifying, opposing or delaying by any means, including providing or using information, statistics, studies or analysis. It may also include discussions over high-end meals and/or drinks; travel expenses; or loans to a public official and their family.

Under state law, lobbying is defined as any direct communication with a state level public official to influence the official’s legislative or administrative action. That communication may be face-to-face, by telephone, letter, electronic media or other means. And, while any person may communicate directly with a public official at any time, a person must register as a lobbyist or a lobbyist agent once specific monetary thresholds are met.

“Influencing means promoting, supporting, modifying, opposing, delaying by any means, including the providing or use of information, statistics, studies or analysis,” under state law.

Exclusions from the definition of lobbying under state law include: communications between employees and public officials for whom they work; ministerial actions, or those actions that are taken by a public official in obedience to law without their personal discretion as to whether or not to take action; and taking an

editorial stance in a newspaper or similar publication intended for general circulation. Communication with a county, township, city or village level officials isn’t governed by state law, nor is communication with federal level officials.

Additionally, grass roots lobbying, such as contacting members of an organization or the general public and urging them to contact a public official on their own time and at their own expense, isn’t considered lobbying.

Lobbyable public officials are essentially those that may use personal discretion in deciding whether or not to take legislative or administrative action. State law specifically states the positions of lobbyable public officials under the executive and legislative branches of government, as well as public officials at each of the state’s public universities.

Lobbyable public officials under the executive branch in state government include the governor; lieutenant governor; secretary of state; attorney general; an individual who is in the executive branch of government and not under civil service; a classified director; chief deputy director and others. The legislative branch of lobbyable public officials includes all state representatives and senators, as well as the the auditor general.

Under the Michigan Lobby Registration Act, a “lobbyist agent” is the individual, firm or organization that is paid to lobby public officials on behalf of an employer or client. A “lobbyist,” under the act, is the corporation, association or other type of organization that pays the lobbyist agent to conduct lobbying activities. Under the law, lobbyist agents who are paid more than $600 during any 12month period for lobbying must register with the Michigan Secretary of State; a person who spends more than $600 during a 12-month period must register as a lobbyist.

While the definition of a lobbyist may include a wide variety of people and activities, state law provides several exceptions to those who must register as a lobbyist. Those exceptions include: any lobbyable state-level public official who is acting in the scope of the office for no compensation; elected or appointed public officials acting in the scope of the office for no compensation who serve in an autonomous policy making capacity; a publisher, owner or working member of the press, radio or television while disseminating news or editorial comment to the general public in the ordinary course of business; a member of a group if the group is a lobbyist organization; churches and religious institutions; vendors communicating with a public official concerning the purchase of goods and services isn’t considered lobbying if no policy decision is required on the part of the public official; nor is a person considered a lobbyist who voluntarily appears before a legislative committee at the committee’s request.

Spending reported to the Michigan Secretary of State by lobbyists and lobbyists agents for the first seven months of 2014 totaled over $20.5 million, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, which compiled hundreds of thousands of the reports. That amount is up by 2.5 percent compared to the same Rich Robinson, executive director of the nonperiod in 2013.

Rich Robinson, executive director of the non-profit, non-partisan network, said state level spending by lobbyists continues to increase while the economy recovers.

“It dipped during the recession, as did campaign finance spending, but we seem to be out of that now. I suspect that until there is some serious economic disruption, it will continue to increase,” Robinson said. “It seems that I read there has been some leveling off of lobbying spending in (Washington) D.C., but there you are talking about an industry that spends about $300 million a month.”

Of the nearly 1,500 registered lobbyist agents in the state, the most influential, in terms of money spent, tend to be large, multi-client firms.

Such firms often employ more than a handful lobbyist agents with varying backgrounds in governmental work, politics and law. Such multi-client firms are also able to influence both Republican and Democratic lawmakers by utilizing employees from both sides of the aisle.

“Two that I think are most highly regarded, and usually win awards, are Nell Kuhnmuench and Steve Young,” Kowall said. “Both of them, I’ve known for years.”

Both Kuhnmuench and Young are directors for Governmental Consultant Services, a multi-client lobbying firm that is consistently listed as one of the most influential lobbyists in the state.

Kuhnmuench served for eight years as chief of staff to two different Democratic speakers of the Michigan House of Representatives.

Young worked for seven years as a tax lobbyist for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and was an administrative assistant to a former Republican state senator.

The firm has worked with clients such as AT&T, Michigan International Speedway, the Detroit Medical Center, city of Grand Rapids, the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association, and many others. The firm was founded in 1983 by former Democratic Speaker of the House Bobby Crim and former Republican Senate Majority Speaker Robert VanderLaan.

“Nell leans a little to the Democratic side, and Steve to the Republican side, but that doesn’t mean anything to anyone, they are both quality people,” Kowall said.

State Rep. Klint Kesto (R-Commerce Township, West Bloomfield) said lobbyists play a vital role in the political process by representing specific clients or causes, with lobbyists working on both sides of nearly every issue.

“People always think lobbyists are representing big business, but that is further away from the truth because they represent both sides,” Kesto said, indicating that both liberal and conservative groups, as well as all those in between, have lobbyists working for them to influence lawmakers. “They are also giving you information to allow legislators to make an informed decision. At a minimum, you’re getting a document.” Kesto said the most influential lobbyists seem to work with larger, multi-client firms.

“They have more of an influence only because they have more clients, so they are always able to advocate for more issues, so they get more face time,” he said. “They are all really good people. I don’t know what their perception is like in Washington, but here you have people that are just doing their job.”

Kesto said there are some fair lobbyists, such as Scott Breslin with Public Affairs Associates, which are able to “give both sides of the picture.” While he has only been in Lansing for about two years, Kesto said the perception that special interests dominate the political process isn’t accurate.

“Almost every issue has interests on both sides,” he said. “The public’s perception, and one that I had when I started, was that special interests are coming in and controlling this thing.”

State Rep. Mike McCready (R-Birmingham) said while he has only been in the legislature for two years, the most influential lobbyists tend to be large firms. As far as individual influence, he said those with experience and a solid understanding of the issues tend to sway more minds.

“You can kind of tell who the predominant lobbyists are, but they

don’t really reveal their true size or volume. They usually keep that close to the vest,” McCready said. “Of course, the large multi-client firms are influential. Then you have companies that employ their own lobbyists, like AT&T and a handful of others.”

McCready said lobbyists are particularly influential with politicians who are seeking fundraising for re-election campaigns, an area where lobbyists may be particularly influential.

“My financial support comes from constituents in my district,” McCready said. “I’m fortunate to come from a wealthy district, but many don’t, and those lobbyists can raise a lot of money.”

The number of lobbyists and lobbyist agents registered in Michigan has continued to grow since 1998. While the number of lobbyists and agents fluctuate on any given day due to new registrations or terminations, the total number of lobbyists and lobbyist agents registered with the state in 2013 was 2,923. That number is up from 2,202 in 1998, and second highest to only 2012, when 2,959 were registered.

Of the some 1,500 lobbyist agents registered in the state, the most influential, in terms of money spent, are multi-client firms such as Governmental Consultant Services, which topped the list.

According to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, the 20 most influential lobbyists in the state and the amount they spent in the first seven months of 2014 are: • Governmental Consultant Services, $1,003,005; • Kelly Cawthorne, $771,238; • James H. Karoub Associates, $570,208; • RWC Advocacy, $371,735; • Michigan Health and Hospital Association, $327,244; • Public Affair Associates, $285,460; • Muchmore Harrington Smalley and Associates, $253,323; • Midwest Strategy Group of Michigan, $246,435; • Michigan Education Association, $217,165; • Michigan Credit Union League, $212,570; • National Federation of Independent Business, $202,800; • Kheder Davis and Associates, $200,689; • Michigan Legislative Consultants, $199,327; • Dodak Johnson and Associates, $192,606; • Blue Cross and Blue Shield, $185,930; • Capitol Affairs Inc., $178,941; • Scofes and Associates Consulting, $176,194; • DTE Energy Company, $158,201; • Kandler Reed Khoury and Muchmore, $153,663; • Acuitas, $151,650.

The majority of the money spent by lobbyists, Robinson said, is to pay for the expense of lobbying personnel, and the expenses of the lobbyists themselves. For instance, while more than $20 million was spent by lobbyists in the first seven months of 2014, about $52,000 was spent on food and beverages to individuals, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance for Politicians (SNAP), which includes alcoholic beverages. Nearly $85,000 was spent by lobbyists to groups during the same time period.

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The top individual recipients of SNAP benefits and the amount they received in food and beverages were: Sen. Randy Richardville, $3,586; Rep. Aric Nesbitt, $2,334; Rep. Scott Dianda, $2,007; Rep. Frank Foster, $1,992; Rep. Harold Haugh, $1,696; Sen. Arlan Meekhof, $1,696; Sen. Tory Rocca, $1,632; Rep. Klint Kesto, $1,423; Rep. Rebekah Warren, $1,408; and Rep. Gail Haines, $1,213.

“I’ve dealt with them a lot because I’ve been in some very, very controversial committees over the years,” Kowall said. “The good guys will come in and say, ‘I’m working for company X’, and they are looking to get legislation or a grant or something, and ‘here is the upside.’ Then they will say, ‘now let me tell you the downside, and what the detractors will say.’

They will want to know what you think and where you are after you read over the materials.

“The good ones don’t twist arms, and don’t offer the sun, the moon and the stars,” Kowall continued. “Then there are the other guys that come in and allude to all kinds of things they are going to do for you. After a while, you can tell who those people are. I’ve never had anyone try to bribe me or offer me cash because that’s illegal and you can’t do that. I have had people in the past who have alluded to that, and you just stop them and let them know they are treading on very thin ice. On the other hand, when I wasn’t in the legislature, I did some consulting work,, and I have had legislators ask me flat out, ‘what’s in it for me?’ I think that used to be the rule of the day.”

Michigan Campaign Finance Network’s Robinson said the function of lobbyists in the political process is extremely important because it is the main way that interest groups make their wants and needs known to lawmakers and those in the executive branch. Still, he said, despite Michigan’s financial reporting requirements, there are areas where disclosure of lobbying spending can be improved.

“There are certainly shortcomings in lobbying disclosure. First, there are thresholds beneath which activity doesn’t need to be reported,” he said. “If an individual lobbyist spends less than $58 (on food and beverages) a month on a lobbyable public official, that doesn’t have to be reported. You can accumulate until you reach $350 in a calendar year. More serious than that is travel accommodations under $750, and financial transactions that don’t have to be reported.”

Financial transactions of $1,175 or more between a registered lobbyist or a lobbyist agent and a public official, a member of the public official’s immediate family or a business with which the individual is associate must be reported. Travel and lodging paid for or reimbursed to a public official in connection with public business in excess of $775 must be reported. Food and beverage expenses for public officials in excess of $58 in any month, or $350 for the year must be reported to the state Bureau of Elections. Gifts, such as a payment, advance, or anything of value which exceeds $58 during any one-month period are prohibited from being given to public officials from lobbyists or lobbyist officials.

“So, if a lobbyist makes a loan to a public official’s wife or son (for less than $1,175), and never asks for it to be repaid, that would never have to be reported,” Robinson said.

Financial report summaries must be filed twice each year by all lobbyist and lobbyist agents, even if they haven’t had any activities or expenditures to disclose for the reporting period. Reporting periods run from Jan. 1 to July 31, and from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31 each year. However, Robinson said timing of the information is lacking because the filing deadline for the reports are Aug. 31 and Jan. 31, which means most recent information isn’t available to the public until after the primary and general elections.

Additionally, Robinson said the level of detail of financial reporting by lobbyists is lacking when compared to some other states, as well as federal regulations. While reports require lobbyists to list how much was spent on categorical items for each legislator during a specific time frame, financial statements don’t link spending to specific clients.

“They have to list gross spending for a period, and they have to name clients, but they don’t have to report how much they spent representing those clients,” Robinson said. “That contrasts with federal reporting, or a place like Wisconsin.”

Connecting spending to specific clients, Robinson said, essentially provides how much money was spent on a particular bill, by tracking which clients pursued what issues. “You don’t pick up any of that detail, here,” he pointed out. westendmonthly.com

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Kate Peterson he sweet folksy sound of Kate Peterson and her acoustic guitar have traveled the U.S. with the musical duo Nervous but Excited and she continues to serenade fans in the state where it all began.

“Me and my brother started playing guitar at the same time,” Peterson said. “I was 16 and I was influenced by my brother’s friends. There was a love for music in my family. We definitely did a lot of singing.”

The self-taught crooner from White Lake moved to Lansing after high school where she quickly infiltrated the music scene. Serendipity struck when Peterson met her harmonic match and the other half of Nervous but Excited, Sarah Cleaver.

“I met (Cleaver) through mutual friends in the Lansing area. We were both performing solo and our schedules and our life paths aligned.”

Peterson and Cleaver formed a band and embarked on a tour of the U.S. “It’s kind of unorthodox to go on tour as an unknown artist, but it worked out because we were connected. We were able to sustain a tour by knowing enough people. We would treat ourselves to a hotel sometimes, but we’d stay with fans and friends. People were very generous,” she said. “We had a lot of fun and we were lucky to be able to do it. It didn’t feel like a job, it seemed like a blessing. I will always be grateful for being able to do that.”

Peterson has played everywhere from coffee shops to performance centers.

The musician, who was influenced by singer Ani DiFranco, was suddenly opening for her at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor.

T

“It was a huge deal,” she said. “(DiFranco) is very kind.”

Peterson’s stroll off the beaten path was met with support by her parents, who still reside in her White Lake childhood home. “They’ve always cared that we’re happy no matter what it is. That was their mantra as parents.”

Somewhere in between finding her voice and traveling as far as Spain to spread her musical gift, she managed to earn a degree in telecommunications from Michigan State University.

“I’ve worked for myself since college doing web design and graphic design,” said the owner of Pleasantly Progressive Design.

Peterson and Cleaver recently played the Ann Arbor Summer Festival.

“We had a great crowd,” she said. “It was on the Fourth of July and it was a great celebration with a lot of crowd interaction.”

Their latest CD “You Are Here” is available on iTunes.

Moving forward, Peterson is writing songs for a solo project, but her tour with Nervous but Excited is branded in her memory and her arm forever. The dedicated musician had the sound waves from their song “Ohio to Michigan” tattooed on her forearm.

“The chorus of the song was written about Sarah and me traveling and held a feeling about how amazing it is,” she said. “It encompasses the feeling of putting yourself out there and, in the end, what we’ve creative can be shared and taken in by audiences.”

Story: Katey Meisner

Photo: Laurie Tennent

Water and other liquid refuse flowing through the miles of sewers in Oakland County flow downhill. So, when more than five inches of rain fell during a three-hour period in August across southeast Michigan, more than two billion gallons of partially treated sewage also traveled downhill, journeying from southeast Oakland County into the Red Run Drain in Macomb County. It was much more than the system could handle, with all local systems overflowing, flooding sewer systems designed to capture the overflows, as well as roads, highways, and thousands of homes and basements.

The overflow was just one of more than 35 that originated in Oakland County that was recorded by the the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) during 2014. In total, more than 2.4 billion gallons of storm water, sewage or partially treated sewage that originated in communities in Oakland County and later entered area surface land or waters rather than their targeted treatment plants. However, state and county water resource managers say efforts to control the number of sewage overflows, as well as the water quality of them, has vastly improved from years past.

Sewer overflows are a situation where mostly untreated sewage is discharged into the environment before it has been able to reach its appropriate treatment facilities. Wet weather overflow is the reason when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s caused by unusually heavy rainfall, either from the infiltration or inflow of excessive storm water into sewer lines during a heavy rainfall; because of a rupture in a sewer line; or the breakdown in a pumping station due to a power failure.

Of the more than 2.4 billion gallons discharged from area sewers, all but about 14 million gallons had been partially treated before being released into the environment during 2014.

While still a tremendous amount of water, compared to the amount of water processed by sewage systems, it was a drop in the proverbial bucket. Of the about 14 million gallons, more than 10 million gallons of the overflows during this year contained diluted sewage from combined sewerage overflows, or a mixture of raw sewage and storm water.

Sewer systems throughout Oakland County primarily funnel both storm water and sewage to their required locations without any hitches. Yet the sewer overflows which do occur throughout Oakland County happen because the designs in the systems, which developed during its earliest years in the southeastern portion of the county, prior to the 1940s, actually

ILLEGAL UNTREATED SEWAGE

BY KEVIN

lend themselves to more overflows during heavy rain events. That’s because the majority of the sewer system in the area are part of a combined sewer system, meaning they carry both storm water from local catch basins, as well as sewage from people’s homes and local industry. After the 1940s, newer communities were developed with separate storm water and sanitary sewer systems.

“Southeast Oakland County was some of the first land developed, and because of that, a lot of that is a combined system,” said Gary Nigro, assistant chief engineer at the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office. “A lot of the northeast portion of the county, and other areas, they have separated sewers for storm and sanitary. Things are being looked at in southeast Oakland County, like Birmingham, Troy, Madison Heights, Royal Oak and those areas.”

Raw and inadequately treated sewage that is discharged from municipal systems has been a problem in Michigan for decades. But according to the MDEQ, the state took a more aggressive approach to address discharges in the late 1980s and subsequent years. However, to better understand the issues that lead to overflows, it’s first necessary to understand how sanitary and storm water sewer systems work.

Sanitary sewers are designed to carry only sanitary sewage to a wastewater treatment plant, while storm water is designed to be directed to nearby rivers, lakes or streams through a system of storm sewers.

Sanitary wastewater is treated in several stages, involving primary and secondary treatment states, and a final disinfecting stage. During the primary stage, nearly half of the solids in the wastewater is removed. This removal is often done through screens and grit chambers that utilize sand, grit and other materials.

The secondary stage removes about 85 to 90 percent of the remaining pollutants. One method used includes the use of an aeration tank, followed by a secondary sedimentation tank. In the aeration process, air is mixed in the tank and microorganism concentrations are kept high to speed the consumption of the organic matter. The microorganisms and other solids settle to the bottom of the tank during the sedimentation process and are removed.

After that, a disinfectant such as chlorine is often used to kill disease-causing organisms before the wastewater leaves the treatment plant.

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When sanitary sewers become clogged or malfunction, a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) may occur, resulting in the discharge of raw, untreated sewage “Sanitary sewer overflows are illegal. That’s a discharge of raw sewage,” said Laura Verona, southeast Michigan district supervisor with the MDEQ Water Resources Division. “If you look at communities that have issues with that, they are under an administrative order with us. Typically, they have a problem and they go in and fix it. A corrective action doesn’t necessarily mean enforcement.”

When an SSO occurs, raw sewage may be released into basements, city streets, properties, rivers and streams. Such overflows are illegal, but they may occur during wet weather conditions when sanitary systems receive storm water in-flow or infiltrating ground water. When they do occur, it’s obvious that the system has malfunctioned.

In addition to sanitary sewer systems, many older communities, like Birmingham, operate on a combined sewer system, meaning that the sewers carry both raw sewage and storm water in one pipe. Such combined systems are designed with overflow points because the sewer system can’t handle all the volume of water that is associated with some larger storm water events.

Combined sewer systems are designed to collect snowmelt, rainwater runoff, domestic sewage and industrial wastewater in the same pipe. Most of the time, combined systems transport all the wastewater to a sewage treatment plant where it is treated and then discharged into a body of water. During heavy rainfall or massive snowmelt, however, the wastewater flow rate in a combined sewer system can exceed the capacity of the sewer system or treatment plant. Because the combined systems were designed to overflow into local water bodies during significant wet weather events, combined sewer systems have historically been among the major sources for beach closings and other water quality issues.

“A sanitary sewer overflow is raw sewage,” Verona said. “A combined sewage overflow is a combined system, so you have both. It’s diluted sewage, but (it’s) an untreated discharge.”

Both Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) and Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) can result in the release of untreated human and industrial waste, toxic materials, debris, and disease-causing organisms onto the ground or into area rivers, lakes and streams.

About 13.74 million gallons of combined wastewater was released into surface water in Oakland County due to rainfall in 2014, according to records available from the MDEQ. “An untreated CSO is when the system capacity is exceeded and you have a discharge, or it will back up into people’s basements,” Verona said. “With the retention treatment facilities, the water is treated. It goes to these retention basins and it is treated before it is discharged.”

Prior to 2004, only releases from municipalities were required to be reported to the MDEQ. However, the National Resources Protection Act was amended to include the reporting of treated and partially-treated sewage releases from private systems that serve more than a duplex. When raw or partially-treated sewage is released, the responsible party is required to notify the local health department and other entities specified under the law.

To reduce the amount of sewage entering an area’s waterways, engineers design and install retention facilities to hold water during rain events. Retention treatment basins are designed to capture the combined sewage and rain water that would otherwise flow to surface waters untreated. The basins hold the combined sewage long enough to provide treatment and disinfection before the combined sewage is discharged into waters during heavy rainfall. The basins also capture sewer system releases during smaller rainfall events and return all of the captured sewage and rainwater back to the system to be routed to the wastewater treatment plant for treatment.

Retention basin discharges are treated discharges from the retention facilities, which are designed to meet permit requirements and be protective of water quality and public health, according to the MDEQ. The largest overflows originating in Oakland County come from retention treatment basins that become overwhelmed by

Sanitary sewer overflows are illegal.

That’s a discharge of raw sewage.

heavy rain events. The largest contributor to overflows is the George W. Kuhn Retention Treatment Basin, formerly known as the 12 Towns Drain. It serves all or part of 12 communities, encompassing a drainage area of 24,500 acres upstream of the Red Run Drain, which is a tributary of the Clinton River. It is one of the largest screening facilities in America, according to Headworks, a Texas wastewater screening company. During normal, dry weather, all flow is routed to the Detroit Wastewater Treatment Plant. But, during unusually heavy rainfall, heavy volumes of combined sewage (typically made up of more than 93 percent storm water) exceed the capacity to the Detroit plant, causing the overflow to be diverted to the Kuhn retention basin, where it is stored, screened, and disinfected prior to discharge into the Red Run Drain.

“The intensity of the rain makes a huge difference in how the system reacts,” Verona said. “In August, that was about 5.5 inches of rain, so the George W. Kuhn Retention Treatment Basin ended up discharging about 2 billion gallons of combined sewer overflow. But, a few years ago, we had a rainstorm that was about 5.5 inches, but it came over the course of three days. We discharged about 1.6 billion gallons, but there was no basement flooding because it came over three days. The one we got in August was over three hours. If it’s a slow, steady rain, we will never have an issue.”

In 2014, a total of about 2.419 billion gallons of partially treated wastewater from the Kuhn retention basin was released into the Red Run Drain.

The Beverly Hills/Birmingham retention plant, which receives its flow from a combined wastewater, like the George Kuhn retention basin, discharged millions gallons of water in 2014 due to rain or snowmelt. Each of the discharges fell within the facility’s permit, according to the MDEQ. The largest discharges, outside of those connected to the George Kuhn retention basin, occurred in August in Birmingham and Beverly Hills. On August 11, about 5.46 million gallons of partially treated sewage was released from the Birmingham retention treatment basin to the area of Lincoln and Southfield roads. About 11.43 million gallons of partially treated sewage from a combined treatment facility was released the same day from a retention basin to drains near Cranbrook and 14 Mile roads that lead to the Rouge River. That release came on the heels of a similar discharge of 14.06 million gallons of partially treated sewage at Evergreen and Beverly that also went to the Rouge River.

Separate from the one day catastrophic event on August 11, the majority of sanitary sewerage overflows, or SSOs, that occurred in 2014 in Oakland County happened due to malfunctions or failures in the system. For instance, 22,640 gallons of raw sewage was released on September 1 when a syphon, a tube used to convey liquids upwards from a reservoir, under the Clinton River plugged, causing an upstream manhole cover to overflow, spilling raw sewage onto the banks of the river.

While the Kuhn retention basin is the largest contributor of overflows in the Oakland County system, Nigro said work done to the drain over the years has greatly reduced the number of overflows, as well as improved the quality of water being released. The retention basin consists of a two-mile long drainage system that is 60 feet wide, which runs mainly through Madison Heights. The underground basin holds about 124 million gallons.

Nigro said prior to improvements to the George Kuhn retention basin, which receives its flow through a combined sewer system, there would have been roughly 50 discharges into the Red Run drain each year, or basically each time it would rain in southeast Oakland County. Mandates by the state required the county to take action to reduce the number of discharges, and weir structures were installed to allow water to be stored in the system.

“That took discharges down to about 25 a year,” Nigro said. “A few years later, the state said, ‘you can do better,’ and they built this enormous retention basin in the Red Run Drain,” he said The retention basin runs underground from the area near 12 Mile Road and Stephenson Highway to Dequindre Road, just north of 13 Mile Road.

FACES Brian Lacey he Detroit art scene boasts a number of up-andcoming artists and Waterford’s own Brian Lacey is doing his hometown proud as one such fine artist and illustrator.

“I’ve been commissioned to do anything from a logo design or packaging for a project,” Lacey said. “I did the logo for the Hub of Detroit Bike Shop. I (create) fine art paintings and custom paintings for individual buyers or collectors.”

Recently, the Waterford Mott alumnus was chosen to participate in creating a mural for the Sierra Mist Exquisite Corpse Billboard Project. “It was a collaboration team between five artists total. We each had a hand in developing the design.”

The billboards, created by the carefully selected artists, can be seen scattered along the highways of Detroit.

“It was definitely exciting (to be chosen),” he said.

Before his work was a sight for southeast Michigan travelers, Lacey was a Waterford resident with an expressive imagination. His interest in the arts was first piqued in elementary school.

“I went to Donelson Hills Elementary,” he said. “I had a teacher who invited me and another student to a Picasso exhibit that was traveling around. It definitely sparked my interested a bit more. It was my first experience with abstract art.”

After graduating from high school, he began studying at the College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit with his parents’ blessing.

“That is something I’m really thankful for. It is not the most conventional pathway or lifestyle choice, but (my parents) were supportive of me going into it.”

During his time at CCS, Lacey worked as an intern at Library Street Collective in Detroit where he assisted in creating murals in parking garages for city employees. He was also accepted into the residency program at Fortress Studios in Detroit.

“It was a live-in residency for about a year,” he said.

“This June, I’ll be entering a residency program in Fordistas in the Wynwood District of Miami. I have been to Miami before briefly on vacation. I’m excited to go down there and live for a month and create a body of work.”

Afterwards, Lacey will return to his downtown Detroit loft and live-in workspace.

“The artist population in Detroit is growing quite a bit,” he said. “(Detroit) doesn’t necessarily offer city services, but there are a lot of untapped resources. I think it’s a really creative atmosphere. You have to go out and make things happen, but there is definitely more of an influx of people.”

Juggling work and school, Lacey is rarely able to carve out much time for leisure, but when he can, he enjoys cycling. “At the moment, I don’t have a whole lot of free time. I keep my nose to the grindstone,” he said. “Art is my hobby.”

Lacey’s relentless resolution is paying off and he is living on the means he has made as an artist. Asked where he sees himself in 10 years, his response is simple: “Alive, still making art and making a living off of art.”

T

Story: Katey Meisner

Photo: Laurie Tennent

“That took us down to about 12 or 15 discharges a year, and it stayed that way for about 30 years,” Nigro said. “The idea is continual growth. In 2003 or 2004, we added another 30 million gallons of storage, and a big screening facility. We improved the chlorination system to make it more efficient. We are down to about eight or nine discharges a year, so the quality keeps getting better. The MDEQ recently came to us and wants us to cut that number in half, again. I’m not sure what improvements we can make to the facility without a $100-million price tag.”

“The GWK is one of the most impressive facilities of its kind in North America,” Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash said.

“I’m extremely proud of the extraordinary progress GWK has made over the years in reducing combined sewage overflows and maintaining the highest water quality standards possible.”

Nigro said further reducing overflows may be done by implementing “green infrastructure,” rather than building a larger basin. The approach means using more porous pavements that can capture water and allow it to flow through the pavement, rather than allowing it to run off, and other improvements that reduce the amount of water entering the system.

The state of Michigan took a large step forward in 1988 when it initiated a CSO control program, while in 1994, the federal government developed a nationwide CSO control policy. The policy suggests that states use an enforceable mechanism, preferably a permit program that was initiated by the federal Clean Water Act, called the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, which required communities to implement new measures to control CSOs. The program included developing long-term control plans using nine minimum controls, according to the MDEQ. Those controls basically included interim measures that could be taken to begin addressing the CSOs before major sewer system construction activities would be undertaken. In Michigan, all municipalities with CSOs have completed the required measures and developed long term control plans.

The long term control plans must assess a range of control options, including costs and benefits, and lead to selection of an alternative that would meet federal and state clean water laws. Since the cause of CSOs is an excess of rain or snowmelt, some municipalities have decided to separate their combined sewers, thereby redirecting the clean water runoff to lakes, rivers and streams via storm sewers. However, storm sewer separation projects are expensive, and often involve extensive utility and road reconstructions.

In Oakland County, a more common way of addressing CSOs has been to build additional treatment or storage basins to contain a portion of the volume and provide treatment of any resulting discharge. Specifically, as part of the final corrective program, many owners of combined sewer systems have installed or are installing Retention Basin Treatment facilities.

Currently, the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office is working on a $46 million project that would add 3.7 million gallons of retention capacity to the Evergreen-Farmington sewer system. The project will consist of a 7,600 foot tunnel, 9-feet in diameter, to provide additional sewage capacity for the existing Farmington gravity sewer interceptor, located on Middlebelt Road between 13 Mile Road and I-696. The tunnel will vary in depth from 40 to 80-feet below the surface of Middlebelt Road.

One of the actions the DEQ has taken to address overflow problems is through the the state’s Stormwater Asset Management and Wastewater (SAW) program, which helps municipalities plan for sewer system maintenance. The program provides grant assistance for developing storm water and wastewater project planning and design, asset management plans for wastewater and storm water systems, storm water management planning and testing, and demonstration of technology.

In October, the MDEQ awarded about $91 million to municipalities throughout the state through the program. The grant awards are the second round of SAW grants, with a total of 207 municipalities across the state receiving grants, totaling about $170 million, including a $1 million grant to Commerce Township.

Commerce will receive funds through January 2017 from the program, with the township matching $109,944 of the total amount. The funds will go to develop an asset management plan for the wastewater collection and treatment system, design and engineering costs related to the abandonment of the Welch Road, Haggerty Road and Commerce Towne Center Pump Stations. The grant will also help to fund the development of a sanitary sewer asset management plan.

Nigro said asset management and plans created through the SAW program will help to identify issues before they become problems.

“I like to think that, as far as asset management, we are already ahead of the curve,” he said. westendmonthly.com

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FACES James Rigato xecutive chef of The Root in White Lake, James Rigato, gathered a solid culinary foundation from his grandparents, and now, at the age of 30, he is an awardwinning local celebrity chef.

“Food was always very important to me. My grandpa was Italian and (my grandparents) took us a lot. Food was going to be a part of my life no matter what,” he said. “When I started working in restaurants, I realized food was going to be my life completely.”

At 14, Rigato took a job as a dishwasher in a small diner in Howell. Before finishing high school, the aspiring chef enrolled in the coveted culinary program at Schoolcraft College. “I started college about a week after my last day of high school. I hadn’t even walked (for graduation).”

Industry experts quickly took notice of Rigato’s ambition and undeniable chops in the kitchen.

“I was a sous chef at Morels and Shiraz,” he said.

“Chef and mentor Frank Turner brought me in and I was so eager. I kind of stalked him down and made him hire me. I worked like a dog. I killed it.”

After working at the Rugby Grille in the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham and Bacco Ristorante in Southfield, Rigato took a job as a personal chef for Ed Mamou, owner of Royal Oak Recycling in White Lake.

“I started being his personal chef, part-time,” he said.

Eventually, Rigato was retained by Mamou to cook for colleagues and business associates. He was also asked to cater personal family events.

“Ed (Mamou) spent a few years in France. He’s rather aware of food as an important part of society. You can’t live healthy eating fast lunches every day.”

Mamou and Rigato’s working relationship soon led to the concept for The Root, an upscale eatery with an interest in using food products made and grown in Michigan.

“My focus was to make a splash and represent Michigan,” he said. “Michigan’s food was kind of an untapped resource.”

With an idea for the highest quality food in the least pretentious environment, the two took a chance on opening a posh restaurant in the rather rural township of White Lake. “I saw the potential. I had faith in the people of White Lake. It made sense to me.”

The results have been overwhelming. Rigato not only found himself satisfying the discerning palates of the lakes area, but he nabbed a handful of awards.

The Root was also featured on The Cooking Channel’s newest series America’s Best Bites and he recently competed (but didn’t win) on Bravo’s hit show, Top Chef.

The show, which is still in progress, airs at 10 p.m. on Wednesday evenings.

Rigato maintains a residence in White Lake and has ambitions of opening another eatery in the future. His life is his work.

“I’m a workaholic. I’m making giant sacrifices to this day,” he said. “I don’t care about money. Our diners, clients and supporters are amazing and that’s why I get out of bed every morning.”

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CHALDEAN MIGRATION: IMMIGRANT JOURNEY ON PATH TO SUCCESS

BY LISA BRODY

hey are often confused, in the metro Detroit area, as being part of the over 400,000 Arab or Palestinian American community members located here. Yet Chaldeans, part of a tight-knit community who are neither Arab, nor Muslim, actually have little in common with those who come from a similar part of the world as themselves.

Chaldeans are Iraqi Christians, descendants of a people who once lived in the northern Tigris-Euphrates Valley, which is today in northern Iraq. For centuries, they have lived in peaceful coexistence with their Arab neighbors. That is, until recently. Until the violent Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) erupted and overran the north of Iraq, forcing Chaldeans to label themselves by wearing an Arabic letter â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nâ&#x20AC;?, for Christian, and placing it on their property as well.

Then, ISIS seized their property as belonging to the Islamic State.

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“Christians have been given 24 hours and three choices,” said Mike Manna, president of the Chaldean Chamber of Commerce in Bingham Farms. “They could convert (to Islam), leave Mosul, or be killed. All of our community fled, and as they fled, all of their belongings, including cars, wedding rings and other valuables, were taken. We currently have about one million Chaldean people outside of Iraq, and about 250,000 are displaced within Iraq.”

If it’s reminiscent of what happened to the Jews in Europe during the 1930s and ‘40s during the Holocaust, the harrowing similarities resonate with Manna, as well. And while the faiths are different, he recognizes other similarities between the Jewish community in metro Detroit and the family-focused Chaldean community. Often, new immigrants from Iraq have settled in similar areas to Jewish immigrants, and as members of the community have become established, their migration pattern throughout Oakland County have paralleled that of the Jews.

“When immigrants come here, we teach them English and get them a job through our Refugee Acculturation program,” Manna said.

“We modeled it after how the Jewish community has done it. With all of our programs, the goal is to get them independent and off government subsidies.”

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hristians, as we know, have been in the Middle East for 2,014 years. Here in the Detroit area, Chaldeans first arrived in numbers in the early years of the 20th century, following the slaughter of the Armenian, Chaldean and Assyrian people (all Christians) by the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire in 1915-1920.

Like other immigrant groups, they fled to the shores of North and South America, seeking new opportunities following political and social unrest.

“Similar to today, 100 years ago, (Iraqi) Christians were given three choices: they were forced to convert to Islam; to pay a tax for protection; or be killed,” Manna explained.

“Historically, our community has been under a great deal of pressure.”

Today, the largest concentration of Chaldean Americans live in the Detroit metropolitan area, and estimates put their population at between 150,000 and 200,000 and growing, as they continue to absorb displaced immigrants from continued wars and conflicts.

“Some of the people who left Iraq in the early days ended up in New York, Canada, Mexico, and in South America,” said Nabby Yono, vice president of community relations for the Arab American and Chaldean Council.

“People were drawn to Detroit by Henry Ford and the $5 a day job opportunity.”

Early Middle Eastern settlers in the Detroit area, in the 1870s, were primarily Christian Lebanese, who worked as peddlers and shopkeepers. It is known that there were a few Chaldeans scattered in the there as well.

During the first major wave of immigration, in the 1910s, Chaldeans, along with Assyrian, Syriac and some from the Syrian Arabic

community, came for lucrative jobs in the automotive industry. There were approximately 3,000 Chaldeans in metro Detroit working in the auto industry, primarily living in what is now the downtown and midtown areas of Detroit, along with about 6,000 Syrians, who chose Dearborn to reside in, along with a sizable Lebanese population.

In 1943, community sources listed 908 Chaldeans living in the Detroit area. By 1963, the number had tripled to about 3,000 persons.

In the mid-1960s, there was a great influx of Iraqi citizens to the United States due to changes in immigration laws, and the growth in Detroit’s Chaldean American community skyrocketed, to about 45,000 in 1986, and approximately 75,000 by 1992. Other areas of the country also saw an increase of Chaldeans, particularly Chicago, San Diego, El Cajon, San Jose, and Turlock, California, and Oaxaca, Mexico. There are also strong communities in Windsor and Quebec.

Waves of Chaldean immigration have always been caused by economic and religious strife in Iraq. Chaldean historians note that over 95 percent of Chaldeans in the Detroit community can trace themselves back to one single town, Telkaif, which is one of several Christian towns in the northern Iraqi province of Mosul. In the early 1900s, Telkaif was a poor, nonindustrialized village that could have been mistaken for Biblical times. Those who originally left Telkaif went first to nearby Middle Eastern cities like Mosul, Baghdad, Beirut or Basra. Later, primarily as economic need forced their hand, some chose to migrate to the United States, Mexico or Canada. Immigration in those days was primarily something only the men in the family undertook, with the women and children of the family staying behind in the “old country” until the men became established.

When those early immigrants first settled in the U.S., there weren’t restrictions on immigration, which made entry into the country easy. With the $5 a day incentive from Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company, “word spread quickly, and it coincided with a new opportunity during a time of political and social unrest” in Iraq, Yono noted.

Like other ethnic communities which settled in metro Detroit, once Chaldeans settled here and began to prosper, they encouraged and brought over other members of their families and community. According to everyculture.com, “this began the ‘chain migration’ between Telkaif and Detroit that continues to the present. In this process, members of a community who have already established themselves in a new location assist relatives and friends left behind to migrate as well. The assistance can take many forms, including the provision of jobs, a place to stay, information and advisement. Close relatives may even provide money for passage. In a typical chain, a man migrates first; later he sends home for his wife and children, or if he is not married, he may return to find a bride. As he and his wife become citizens, they arrange for the migration of their parents and siblings as well. And these, in turn, arrange to assist their spouses, in-laws and other relatives.”

In the 1920s, as immigration quotas were passed in the U.S., this type of assistance was critical.The National Origins Formula was a system of immigration quotas inaugurated in 1921, which restricted immigration based on existing proportions of the population. The goal of the formula was to maintain the existing ethnic composition of the country, and had the effect of giving low quotas to Eastern and Southern Europe. Under quota restrictions, only 100 immigrants from Iraq were permitted into the country each year. Because of the chain migration, Chaldeans gained preference under the assumption by the U.S. that family members would be less likely to become indigent and need public assistance.

As with other immigrants groups, all migration was halted during World War II. The introduction of the student visa became the means for renewed immigration after the war, as it allowed immigrants to enter the country for educational purposes. The assumption with a student visa is that after finishing their studies, students would return to their home country. Many Chaldeans entered the United States as students; they later married members of the Chaldean American community, which permitted them to remain in the country.

The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, which took effect in 1968, abolished the national origins quota system in place since the 1920s and replaced it with a preference system which focuses on an immigrant’s skills and family relationships already in the U.S. Numerical restrictions were changed to 170,000 per year, with a specific allotment per country, not counting immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens.

The Chaldean community in metro Detroit began to grow, and then rapidly burgeon as the tight-knit, family-oriented community brought over member after member of their extended families.

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ccording to a 2008 Household Survey of the Chaldeans in Metropolitan Detroit done by the Chaldean Chamber of Commerce, in 2008, they estimated the community in the tri-county area as about 113,000 individuals living in about 27,500 households. Manna and Yono estimate that following the American surge in Iraq in 2007 and now ISIS, there are between 150,000 and 200,000 Chaldeans in the metropolitan area, with the majority living in Oakland County.

“The average Chaldean household was comprised of four persons, with four to fivepersons comprising the most frequent responses. While southeast Michigan has been suffering a loss of young, educated professionals (the so-called brain drain), it is apparent that the Chaldean community has not followed this trend. Educational attainment has been rising, as Chaldean families emphasize the importance of education for their children.

However it is apparent that once they have completed college, the vast majority of young Chaldean professionals are remaining in the area, often continuing to reside in the home of their parents.”

According to the survey, the Detroit metro area contains the largest single concentration of Chaldeans, Assyrians and Syriacs (which are similar in religion and culture to Chaldeans) in the western hemisphere, and most are immigrants or direct descendants of immigrants from Iraq. Chaldeans are a form of Catholics who uphold Eastern Rite rituals and hold mass in Aramaic, and the church is an essential part of family life. The primary language Chaldeans speak is Aramaic, an ancient language which is believed to be the language that Jesus Christ spoke, and Chaldean Americans take great pride in that fact. According to the household survey, most Detroit-area Chaldeans currently live in the areas nearest to Chaldean churches.

At the time of the survey, there were six in the metro area. Today, six years later, with the population growth, there are now 12.

“The church is absolutely a big part of our life, and the biggest growth is in our churches.

They’re a huge factor in our lives. There is not a church on a Sunday mass where you can find a seat,” Yono said. The St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Diocese is in Southfield.

Chaldean churches are located in Detroit, Southfield, Oak Park, West Bloomfield, Warren, Troy, Shelby Township and Farmington Hills.

The first Chaldean church in the country was founded in Detroit in 1947 at Euclid Street and Second Avenue in midtown Detroit. In 1954, the Mother of God Parish moved a mile north to Hamilton Avenue in the Boston-Edison neighborhood; later it moved to Berg Road in Southfield as the population moved to Southfield. Chaldeans lived near their churches, as they do now, and followed a northern migration as families prospered, following the path of Jewish migration, and often living alongside Jews, as they often still do. St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Church on Maple Road, in West Bloomfield, which offers several masses, bible study, youth groups and a 24/7 grotto for Adoration and prayer, sits just up the road from the large Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield.

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rom Detroit, Chaldeans moved to Oak Park and Southfield, and then north to West Bloomfield and Farmington Hills. Traffic stops along Middlebelt Road in Farmington Hills on Saturdays and Sundays when mass lets out and hundreds of cars spill out from Holy Cross Chaldean Church. University of Michigan Dearborn historian Sidney Bolkosky noted, “The move by each community reflected a desire for more status, some economic success and an attraction to more space.”

Today, Chaldeans also live in Birmingham and Bloomfield Township, as well as in Macomb County, Sterling Heights, Warren, and Shelby Township. A new Chaldean church, St. George Chaldean Catholic Parish in Shelby Township, opened in 2005 to meet the needs of the growing east side community, and is now considered the largest Chaldean church in the world.

Focused on family and church, the stereotype of many Chaldeans is one of

shopkeepers and owners of gas stations. Many of their younger descendants are now branching out into the fields of medicine, law, engineering, real estate and politics. “Like any other ethnic group, we just want a better life for our children,” Manna said.

He said that historically, Chaldeans have been businessmen, merchants and entrepreneurs, because they lived in Islamic countries. “Because Islam forbids the sale and consumption of alcohol, Christians owned the liquor stores,” he explained. “So it evolved here, too. In Detroit, Chaldeans owned 80-85 percent of the grocery stores. Previously they bought it from the Jewish community, who bought it from the Italians. Then, as they become more established and assimilated, the next generation becomes educated. Today, the educated generation now owns more than 50 percent of the hotels in southeast Michigan.

They also dominate in franchised pizza ownerships, the wireless industry and dominate in local real estate development.”

Gas stations and party stores remain in the ownership of many Chaldean families, and often new immigrants are given jobs in those establishments. As Manna notes, “We take care of our own.”

State Rep. Klint Kesto (R-Commerce Township, West Bloomfield), is proud to note that although he is only 33, he was just reelected to his second term as the first Chaldean state legislator in Michigan.

In California, Anna Eshoo, a Chaldean Democrat representing the San Jose/Palo Alto region, has served in the U.S. Congress since 1993.

“As we’re now involved as doctors, lawyers, in the judicial system, we were lacking in the political sphere,” he said. “Now, as I’ve been elected, we’ve accomplished that as a community.”

Note, he did not say that he did it. For Chaldeans, every achievement is a communal achievement rather than a singular one. It is their mindset, stemming from their strong belief in family and church.

“We’re a large, growing community. We’re family-oriented, church-oriented, we’re about community and business,” Kesto said. “We’re constantly in touch with each other, and we are constantly looking at other communities like the Jewish community – from the point of view as merchants, working in the community and with certain individuals, as immigrants, and then to become large property real estate owners. That’s the next step. Their children become doctors, lawyers, engineers, business owners and to become involved with the government.”

As for his election as representative for the 39th District in the state House, and his success in a tough battle for re-election, both in the August primary and in the general election, “As a community, they all felt we were elected and the doors are now open to power,” Kesto said. “It was encouraging to the community.

The sense that ‘we can do it.’ It’s a sense of pride. Just as before, for the Jewish community, the African American community, and the

Hispanic communities in the past. It resonated with the community as a whole. It’s one of our own.”

The Arab American and Chaldean Council’s Yono said, “Kesto is a promising guy. But we need more Klints to represent all of the communities where our taxpayers are and are good corporate citizens. We need them in Lansing and in Washington.”

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esto said his initial motivation was in seeing so many of his peers leaving the state “not for the glitz and glamour of the big cities like New York or Chicago, but for places like North Carolina or Indiana – for jobs. And they were taking their families with them. And when they’re established there, they’re going to stay.”

The economic impact Chaldeans have upon the communities they live in is significant.

They own businesses, homes, shop, go to restaurants, support their churches, educate their children and are very involved in the overall community.

“Being here, owning businesses and professionals ties, we’re taxpayers,” Yono emphasized. “The economic impact is huge.

They pay taxes on their homes and have very strong spending power. That’s a very strong economic impact on the communities they live in. Because we surround ourselves with our families and our church and our social clubs, we stay within our communities.”

“Chaldeans are now one out of every 20 people in metro Detroit,” Kesto pointed out.

“Seventy percent are business owners. It’s a small business community. And that means it’s an engine for the metro Detroit area. To work with other legislators from around the state, and with the governor’s office, and to help make the Detroit area revitalize helps the Chaldean community as well as the entire state, because they know someone is looking out for their interest. I’m there for the everyday person, the hardworking family person who works 50 to 60 hours a week, who is grinding it out, and knows someone is looking out for his interests.”

Kesto understands and respects that his district is a diverse community, with not only Chaldeans and Jews, Gentiles and African Americans, “higher incomes in the lakes and lower incomes, seniors, and with newer developments, lots of younger people. There are people far to the right and far to the left.” It invigorates him, knowing he represents the melting pot of the American Dream.

But his community is always foremost in his mind, as well as those in his homeland. He recently introduced a bill, called the Genocide Bill, to have Michigan schools teach students about all of the different genocides inflicted upon societies over time, from the Chaldeans, the Holocaust, the Rwandans, and so many others.

“When we say ‘never forget,’ we need to mean it,” he said.

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WEIR MANUEL

FACES Gail Goestenkors ail Goestenkors, color analyst for ESPN and one of the most notable women’s basketball coaches in the nation, honed her skills at her childhood home in Waterford.

“Basketball was my dad’s passion,” Goestenkors said.

“Our family would play in the driveway. The neighbor kids would come and we would play HORSE.” Goestenkors was a stand out at Waterford Kettering High School and her leadership skills earned her the role of captain of her high school basketball team. She was determined to play college ball.

At Saginaw Valley State University, Goestenkors studied physical education and played under Marsha Reall, who recognized her talent.

“My sophomore year, Marsha Reall asked if I wanted to coach a 7th grade girls basketball team. From that time on, I knew I wanted to become a coach,” she said.

“I became more of a student of the game.”

The basketball star took a graduate assistant coach position at Iowa State for a year before acting as assistant coach at Purdue University. In 1992, she became the head coach at Duke University. “(Reall) helped me get that job. I knew I was ready to become a head coach,” she said. “I knew it was time to spread my wings and fly. I spent 15 years at Duke.

(Reall) really supported me and really guided me.”

During her tenure at Duke, Goestenkors led the Blue Devils to an NCAA-record seven consecutive 30-win seasons, four final fours, including two national championship games.

“I was very hard on my team,” she said. “I expect excellence, but my players always knew that I cared and that I loved them.”

In 2007, the highly successful coach went to the University of Texas. There she coached until 2012. “By that time, I was a coach for over 20 years. It is a 24/7 job and I was exhausted,” she said. “I retired and I was retired for about a year.”

Goestenkors came on as a consultant for the Los Angeles Sparks in 2013 and was recently offered a position at ESPN as an analyst for women’s college basketball in the southeastern conference.

She maintains a residence in Texas and travels for her job.

“As long as I can get to the airport, I’m good to go,” she said. “I’ll be a commentator so you won’t see me too much, but you will hear me. I’ll give a coach’s perspective as the game is going on.”

Although she has put roots down in Texas, Goestenkors’ family remains in the area.

“My parents moved to White Lake,” she said. “Besides missing my family, I miss the changing of the seasons.

There’s nothing quite like a white Christmas.”

With an exemplary reputation and record, Goestenkors will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in June 2015.

“The story of my life isn’t about awards or accolades.

It’s about the people in my life,” she said. “I really feel most blessed with the family and friends I have. They’re greater than any award or achievement.”

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Story: Katey Meisner

Photo: University of Texas Athletics

MUNICIPAL Wastewater well request withdrawn

By Kevin Elliott

A spokesman with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Chicago the week before Thanksgiving confirmed that officials with Jordan Development have withdrawn their permit application seeking approval to dispose of contaminated water through an injection well in White Lake Township.

Steve Jann, regional director of the EPA’s Underground Injection Control Branch in Chicago, said Jordan withdrew its permit application on Friday, November 14, to operate an underground injection well located just north of White Lake and Teggerdine roads.

“The EPA will take no further action regarding this draft permit and will not hold a public hearing or respond further to comments collected during the comment period,” Jann said. “Should the company propose the well again, it must submit a new application to the EPA, which would undergo review and public notice.”

Jordan had been seeking approval to operate an underground injection well to dispose of brine and water containing other potential contaminants, essentially disposing of oil and gas exploration wastewater by injecting it about 4,472 feet below the surface. Brine and other fluids associated with the production of oil and gas drilling come to the surface and are captured and separated from oil or gas pulled from the ground. To dispose of the wastewater, it is often injected into wells deep below the ground surface. The brine, which is often saltier than sea water, also may contain toxic metals and radioactive substances, according to the EPA. Jordan Vice President Ben Brower said in mid-November that the company had applied for the permit more than a year ago, but no longer wished to seek approval from the EPA, as it hasn’t had success searching for oil and gas resources in the area, and that the well was no longer needed.

When the news of the permit application began to circulate in late October, local officials said that resident reaction against the injection well was quite strong.

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Walled Lake deputy police chief retires

By Kevin Elliott

alled Lake Deputy Police Chief Bruce Kirby has retired from the police department after nearly a decade with the department and more than 40 years in law enforcement.

Kirby, who served as both deputy chief and clerk, served his last day on the force on Friday, October 31, said Walled Lake Police Chief Paul Shakinas. Kirby had served on the department for nine years, including nearly four years as deputy chief. Kirby also served for 33 years with the Wixom Police Department, where he left as a sergeant.

Kirby’s retirement brings the total number of full-time police officers in the city to five, which includes the police chief. The department also employs 13 part-time officers. Shakinas said the department will likely hire additional officers after the first of the year, when a recentlyapproved public safety millage will go into effect.

“The millage kicks in on the first of the year,” Shakinas said. “We are deciding on how to hire and whether to fill the deputy chief’s spot.”

Walled Lake voters in August approved a 3.95-mill tax for public safety, which is expected to generate about $692,000 each year for five years, beginning in 2015. Currently, police and fire services are paid for from the city’s general fund budget. City council in March approved combining police and fire services under the umbrella of a public safety department. However, both police and fire departments continue to operate independently.

Shakinas said he and city manager Dennis Whitt will be meeting to discuss how and when to hire additional officers. While the city didn’t express an exact number of officers that would be added with the millage approval, Shakinas said that he believes at least one or two officers could be added to the current staff.

“I’m confident we will add an officer or two,” he said. “We are being very careful about how we spend the money because that hasn’t always been the case.”

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“The township offices have been inundated with phone calls regarding the story of the United States Environmental Protection Agency planning to allow Jordan Development Co. to inject waste fluid underground into a Class II well site, just north of White Lake and Teggerdine roads,” White Lake Township Supervisor Greg Baroni said in a letter to residents posted Wednesday, November 12, to the township’s website.

If the permit had been approved, the White Lake well would have been only the second such disposal well in Oakland County. The other disposal well is located in Addison Township.

Maureen Thomas, president of the Cedar Island Homeowners Association, said she learned of the permit application from other homeowners in her neighborhood.

“My concerns at this stage are three-fold,” she said. “I have concerns about the health and environmental impact due to the location of the well at the base of the Huron River Watershed and proximity to residents’

wells. I have concerns that this process has reached this stage with hardly anyone seeming to know about it, including our elected officials in Lansing.”

Thomas said she was also concerned about an apparent lack of leadership by township officials about getting word out about the issue so that residents may request a public hearing with the EPA on the possibility of placing a disposal well in their township.

“We are already halfway through the public comment period, and people are just learning about this,” Thomas said. “How does it get to this point when all of this happens and nobody knows about it?”

Jordan Development, which is based in Traverse City, has been focusing on oil and gas exploration efforts in White Lake, Waterford and Springfield townships over the past few years. The company owns the majority of the mineral rights leases in Oakland County, which allow for the exploration and removal of oil and gas.

WESTEND

New village council members, officers Two new council members and two incumbents were sworn into office on Monday, November 10, during the Wolverine Lake Village Council meeting.

Incumbent Ed Sienkiewicz, who received 18.33 percent – the fourth highest of all council candidates – on November 4 was sworn into a twoyear term on council. Incumbent John Magee, who received the highest number of votes during the general election, as well as residents Michael Stack and Mark Duff, were sworn in for four-year terms on the village council.

Duff was the only member on Monday who was sworn into office for the first time, as all of the others were either already on the council when they were elected on Nov. 4, or had previously served on past councils.

In addition to swearing in of council members, the board reelected current council officers.

Magee, who served as council president for the past two years, will serve another two years as president.

Sienkiewicz was also re-elected as president pro-tem, which carries a two-year term.

Assisted living plan receives approval The first part of a multi-phase assisted living facility to be built in Commerce Township’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) project area was approved on Monday, October 20, by the township’s planning commission.

In August, the Granger Group, of Wyoming, Michigan, signed a $3 million purchase agreement with the DDA for about 15 acres of land inside the Commerce Towne Place development area, located north of M-5 and Pontiac Trail, between Welch and Haggerty Roads. Jason Granger, of the Granger Group, said the first phase of the project will consist of an assisted living facility on the first two floors of a three-story building, as well as a memory care facility on the third floor of the building. The development will comprise more than 100 units.

Granger’s site plan for the first phase of the development went 12.14

Dual roles of contractor questioned

By Kevin Elliott

before the township’s planning commission on October 20. The site plan was approved by the board, although several conditions were placed on the plan, including a road that will be shared with a commercial retail center.

Township planning consultant and DDA director Kathleen C. Jackson said the planning commission accepted the site plan, which calls for a three-story building. The second phase of the project, which will include a 60-unit facility, as well as about 11 duplex-style homes dedicated for independent senior living, will go before the planning commission at a later date.

She said the developer is also waiting on additional information from the Road Commission for Oakland County and the township’s traffic engineering consultant, in order to proceed with conditions on the site plan mandated by the planning commission.

The site plan, with conditions met, will come before the township board of trustees at an upcoming meeting for final approval.

Granger is working under a 180day deadline to close the deal in order to meet the requirements of a 10-31 Tax Exchange, which allows the business to defer income tax consequences from the sale of another property. Jackson said the group is hoping to finalize and close the sale by the end of November.

GOP elects Kowall to leadership role State Senator Mike Kowall (RWhite Lake) on Thursday, November 6, was elected by the Michigan Senate Republicans to serve as the new majority floor leader under the senate majority leader-elect, Arlan Meekhof (R-Olive Branch).

Kowall on Tuesday, November 4, won his re-election bid for the state’s 15th Senate District, which includes Commerce Township, Walled Lake, Wolverine Lake, West Bloomfield and White Lake. On November 6, Kowall and 26 other Republicans that won office in this year’s general election met in Lansing to elect new leaders for the upcoming legislative session, which will begin in January.

“I am honored to have been elected by my peers to serve as majority floor leader,” he said.

“Michigan has made great progress over the past four years, but we have

much work to do to continue our recovery. I am energized to get to work and make our state an even better place to live, work and raise a family.”

As senate majority floor leader, Kowall will be responsible for representing the Republican majority on the senate floor — expediting legislative proceedings through parliamentary procedures, such as motions, communications and points of order. Kowall will replace current senate majority floor leader Arlan Meekhof (R-Olive Branch), who was elected as senate majority leader.

Commerce library designs unveiled

By Kevin Elliott

Architects heading up the design of the future Commerce Township library presented the township board on Tuesday, November 18, with four preliminary design concepts for the building that will be built at Dodge Park No. 5, at the southeast corner of S. Commerce and Commerce roads.

Architects Seth Penchansky and Dan Whisler of Penchansky Whisler Architects in Ann Arbor presented four different options for the board to choose from, each including different building shapes, views and locations within the park.

“We hope you’ll find four very different alternatives all within Dodge 5,” Whisler said. “You may not like all of them.”

The township’s current library, at 2869 N. Pontiac Trail, is a 20,000square foot golf clubhouse that was converted into a library building in 2005. That library was established with the understanding that it would one day be relocated. Earlier this year, trustees agreed to begin moving forward with planning for a new library, as improvement and maintenance costs for the existing library continue to rise. In October, the board of trustees approved a motion to build the library within the Dodge 5 park location.

While the township already owns the park property, a deed restriction on a portion of the land purchased from the state of Michigan mandates that a triangular portion on the east side of the park be used only for recreational opportunities. The township is working to have that restriction lifted through proposed legislation introduced by state Rep. Klint Kesto (R-Commerce).

Several Commerce Township trustees, who learned of a major commercial development agreement between the township’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Birmingham-based developer Robert B. Aikens & Associates from a Westend news article in late October, voiced concern about the DDA administration at the board of trustees quarterly meeting on Tuesday, October 28.

“It’s embarrassing and frustrating,” said trustee Rick Sovel of the lack of knowledge of DDA developments.

Sovel and fellow trustee Bob Berkheiser said that they had only learned of a $10.5 million purchase agreement between the DDA and Aikens from a weekly website update on westendmonthly.com on Friday, October 24. Sovel said he was approached by a resident who asked about the issue, but he had yet to learn of the deal, which was approved at the DDA’s October 21 meeting, several days before the website was updated and an email was sent out to website subscribers.

Representatives from Aikens said the intent is to build an open-air, walkable lifestyle center, which would serve as a destination area and community meeting place for the township, as well as western Oakland County. While Aikens and the DDA had been negotiating the deal for at least 18 months, specifics of the agreement, as well as the name of the developer, were subject to a confidentiality agreement that barred information being released to the general public.

“The day after the announcement, I received a press release from (DDA Director) Kathleen (Jackson),” said township supervisor Tom Zoner, who sits on the board of the DDA, as do township treasurer Susan Gross and clerk Vanessa Magner, who are non-voting appointees to the DDA. “I thought she sent it to all the trustees, but they said they didn’t get it. I don’t think it was intentional. We are trying to get that corrected.”

Jackson, who said trustees were told of a retail development in the works and were invited to go on a bus tour of a similar development, said the DDA was prohibited from sharing specifics of the deal until after it went public at the October 21 meeting. She acknowledged that she had not sent the press release to the full township board.

However, concerns voiced by trustees at the quarterly meeting, as well as previous meetings, went beyond the flow or lack of information from the DDA. “I have some concerns that we have a person who is serving two masters,” Sovel said, referencing Jackson’s dual roles as both the DDA director and the township’s planning consultant. “There are times when that can’t happen, and we have that now with the planning director and DDA director.”

Trustee David Law had raised the same issue in August, when a pathways plan for the DDA area was approved by the township planning commission, only to have the plan amended by the DDA board the following day after meeting with a developer who had purchased land in the project area.

“What causes concern is that it seems to water down what we did in planning, and that it seems like developers can tell planning whatever they want to get it through, then change it at the board level,” Law said at an August 12 board of trustees meeting.

Law, an assistant prosecuting attorney for the Michigan Attorney’s General Office, who also serves as a liaison to the township planning commission, likened the process to judge shopping by attorneys.

“Maybe there is a conflict of having the DDA director the same as the planning director,” trustee Robert Long said at the August meeting.

“Maybe we should look into that.”

Magner, who agreed in August that there was a problem with the way the pathways plan was presented, said on Thursday, October 30, that she didn’t feel there was a problem with Jackson serving as both the planning consultant and DDA Director.

“I haven’t witnessed a conflict. She has pulled herself back (as planning consultant) when dealing with the DDA property,” Magner said, adding that other planning consultants have filled in for Jackson when a specific project would conflict with DDA property. “I think it has been handled professionally.”

Jackson, who said she wasn’t aware of the trustees comments, said she has made it a point to excuse herself from being involved with site reviews or other actions that may conflict with DDA actions.

“I accepted the position of the DDA director with full knowledge that it required me to wear two hats, and it was approved by the township board and the DDA board,” she said. “If there is any perception of a conflict, I’m open to hearing anyone’s concerns.”

Whisler said each of the four proposals took into account different aspects, including two designs that wouldn’t be impacted by deed restriction should they fail to be lifted.

The first of the four designs would place the library to the northeast side of the park, crossing the line of deed on the restricted portion of the park.

The design includes about 35,400 square feet of space, with about 125 parking spaces to the southwest of the building. All four of the designs also included a drive-up book return.

The first design option would provide the greatest visual presence from the corner of Commerce and S. Commerce roads, a desire the board had stated as a preference in its motion when approving the park location.

The second design option would bring the edge of the building up to the edge of the restricted parcel property line, which runs at a diagonal across the property. Whisler said the design takes a different approach from the first, as it makes a strong visual statement to the northwest. The building would appear to be turned so that none of the walls would run parallel with either of the crossroads.

“In any design, we are going to strive to have four visually beautiful sides of the building, not just the entry side,” Whisler said. “The end of the building on the second option is somewhat dramatic, so it makes a statement to the street. The angle is intended to create more interest from the intersection.”

A third design option would place the building on the western portion of the property, away from the currently restricted area. Whisler said the concept behind the third option is to nestle the building more into the woods on the site, fitting the natural character of the property. The building itself would include more of a prairie style design with large sloping roofs that appear to step and tumble down.

“It’s a romantic approach to design, and it builds back into the dense trees, keeping the trees within 15 or 20 feet to the building, and it sort of juts into the trees and gives the impression that you are back in the woods,” Whisler said.

The fourth design option would place the building more towards the middle of the park, incorporating it into the park and allowing the southern portion of the site to be 40

Treasurer candidate field narrowed

By Kevin Elliott

n initial pool of 12 candidates applying for the Commerce Township treasurer’s position has been pared down to two finalists who will be re-interviewed by the township’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday, December 16.

The board met on Tuesday, November 25, to interview five of the 12 candidates who had applied for the position. The board initially planned on interviewing six candidates, however one of the candidates dropped out before the meeting.

“We had six candidates on the list,” said Commerce Township supervisor Tom Zoner said. “One dropped out because we didn’t pay enough. Out of the five, three were dropped, and two are going to be reinterviewed.”

Zoner said both the treasurer and clerk’s positions include benefits and a salary of $78,000 per year. Whoever the board decides to appoint would serve for two years in the appointed position, completing current treasurer Susan Gross’ term.

The interviews were conducted by the entire township board, but township attorney Phil Adkison presented candidates with a series of questions, including their party affiliation; whether they would have any conflicts of interest; if they would be willing to put in an 80-hour work week if necessary; where the budget could be trimmed; and other relevant questions.

“I think they were all good candidates, but you are stuck with choosing only one,” Zoner said. “There is a lot to the interview process.

How they interview tells us how they think.”

In the end, Zoner said the board had “almost unanimously differing opinions” on each of the candidates. “I was ready to make a motion, but I was convinced by the other board members that it was a very close decision,” he said.

While the township didn’t release the names of the candidates, Zoner said one of the two works for Commerce Township in a department other than the Treasurer’s Office. The other candidate, he said, works for another municipality. Both have backgrounds in finance and government, as well as budgeting and management.

Commerce Township treasurer Susan Gross announced her resignation earlier this year, after spending more than 40 years with the township. Gross, who said it had been an honor to serve the residents of the township for nearly 42 years, including 22 as the township’s treasurer, will retire effective December 31. Should the township board fail to appoint a replacement to the position within 45 days of Gross’s effective resignation, the township must hold a special election to fill the position.

A

more passive than other design options.

“It’s away from the road, back in the south of the site, but not in the corner,” Whisler said.

Each of the four different designs included very different configurations and roofs, and each were received with different responses from board members.

“Of the four choices and the limited information available, I like option 2.5,” trustee Rob Long said.

“That is, I like the building layout of option two, but I would rotate it. So that’s the first layout, with the second building. I would pivot it clockwise 60 degrees.”

Trustee Rick Sovel said he was uneasy about voting to approve any design until a decision is made about whether the deed restrictions could be lifted, which would permit the township to build anywhere on the site.

The board agreed to table the issue until a decision on the deed restrictions and all board members were present to review the designs, with a vote of 5-1, with trustee David Law absent. Township Supervisor Tom Zoner, who voted against tabling the issue, had suggested rescheduling the issue for the next board meeting, rather than tabling the issue.

WESTEND

Legislation would assist new library A bill introduced on Wednesday, November 12, by state Rep. Klint Kesto (R-Commerce, West Bloomfield) would help Commerce Township move forward with building a new library for the community within the township’s Dodge Park 5 location.

The legislation (HB 5952) would allow the Department of Natural Resources to sell a parcel of land in the park to the township for $1, and would also eliminate a property condition that the land be used exclusively for public park purposes.

The Commerce Township Board of Trustees on October 14 approved construction of a new library at the park location. However, the exact location within the park may be limited in some areas due to deed restrictions on the land that was purchased from the state in the past.

The bill would provide a means to lift the restrictions and permit architects to design the building at a more visible location within the park.

The township’s current library, at 2869 N. Pontiac Trail, is a 20,000square foot golf clubhouse that was converted into a library building. That library was established with the understanding that it would one day be relocated. Earlier this year, trustees agreed to begin moving forward with planning for the new library, as improvement and maintenance costs for the existing library continue to rise.

“It’s exciting that we are one step closer to making the new library a reality for the entire community,” Kesto said. “The residents of Commerce deserve a more accommodating space that can serve as a community meeting place, as well as a learning center for families and children.”

The current library has been at the Pontiac Trail location since 2005.

Kesto said that under his bill, the land from the DNR will be able to be used for building a library.

“Libraries are a great resource for our local communities, and it’s important we are continuing to make them accessible to our residents, young and old,” Kesto said. “Our communities are in a better place when they can utilize local libraries, and we must continue to advocate for the use, expansion and maintenance of these incredible educational resources.”

12.14

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41

FACES

Mike Andersen unner Mike Andersen, 27, of Walled Lake outran 5,545 fellow participants in the 2014 Detroit Free Press Marathon to claim first place in the annual downtown race.

“It felt amazing. The stress gets on with five miles to go. I’ve won a lot of smaller races, but winning a marathon?” he mused. “It’s really, really rare and unique. It was an overwhelming sense of joy.”

Andersen started running in the sixth grade and has been running competitively for 15 years.

“My first coach ever was my history teacher, Chris Brewer, at Muir (Middle School),” he said. “He got me excited about a sport I had never heard of. He retired years ago, but he was one of the first people who sent me an e-mail (after the marathon).”

Andersen ran cross country for Milford High School and his team won the state championship his junior and senior year.

“With running, you get out of it what you put into it,” he said. “It’s such a unique sport. Anyone can be involved.”

Following high school, Andersen studied physical education at the University of Dayton. He was a three-year captain of the cross country team and the first four year all-conference runner from the University of Dayton.

After graduation, Andersen returned home to his parents’ house in Michigan while he looked for work in his field of interest. The one-time Milford High School cross country star landed right where he began, but as a coach at Milford High School rather than an athlete.

“Being a former member of the team, there is a certain level of respect

R

from the kids, knowing you put the time in before them. I love the day-today interaction with young people. There is a freshness and a wideeyedness about the world.”

Competitive running gave Andersen a passion, a career and, most importantly, a family. While working at The Running Lab shoe store in Brighton, he met his wife, Katie.

“She came into the store with a friend. She was just new at running,” he said. “I ended up training her for her first half marathon.”

Following the grueling 26.2 mile trek, Katie was there to greet Andersen at the finish line when he won the marathon. “That’s where the real emotion came from,” he said.

Andersen and his wife recently had a daughter, Alexandra, and his life was changed in unimaginable ways.

“It gives a whole new meaning to ‘coming home.’ (Alexandra) literally shakes and lights up,” he said. “She has such a narrow view of the world and you are the center of it.”

Andersen has his sights set on the next Olympic Games and he intends to try out in January 2016.

No matter how far his running takes him, the Detroit Free Press Marathon will always be a proud memory for him. He insists that there were 5,546 winners in that race.

“There are really no losers in a marathon race. You may not be the first across the line but you have something to be proud of.”

Story: Katey Meisner

Photo: Laurie Tennent

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

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

Applebees Neighborhood Grill: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 9100 Highland Road, White Lake, 48386. 248.698.0901.

Backyard Coney Island: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 49378 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393. 248.926.9508.

Bayside Sports Grille: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 142 E. Walled Lake Drive, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.669.3322.

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

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

Big Boy Restaurant: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Beer & Wine. 5834 Highland Road, Waterford, 48328. 248.674.4631.

Big Boy Restaurant: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

800 N. Pontiac Trail, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.624.2323.

Big Boy Restaurant: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Beer & Wine. 7726 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.363.1573.

Billy’s Tip N Inn: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 6707 Highland Road, White Lake Township, 48383. 248.889.7885.

Blu Nectar: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday - Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

1050 Benstein Road, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.859.5506.

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

248.624.5353.

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

5223 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.674.9464.

Carino’s Italian Restaurant: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 500 Loop Road, Commerce Township, 48390.

248.926.5300.

Carrie Lee’s of Waterford: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

7890 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.666.9045.

Casey’s Sports Pub & Grill: Deli. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1003 E West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.669.5200.

CAYA Smokehouse Grille: Barbeque. Dinner, Tuesday - Sunday. No reservations. Liquor.

1403 S. Commerce Road, Wolverine Lake, 48390. 248.438.6741.

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China Garden: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner daily. No reservations. 49414 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393. 248.960.8877.

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

248.889.2880.

China King: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. 4785 Carroll Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48390.

248.363.9966.

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

8115 Richardson Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.366.7979.

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

1001 Welch Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.624.0097.

Coyote Grille: American. Lunch, MondayFriday; Dinner, Monday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 1990 Hiller Road, West Bloomfield, 48324. 248.681.6195.

Dairy Queen: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 10531 Highland Road, White Lake, 48386.

248.698.2899.

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

248.363.7000.

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

9595 Highland Road, White Lake, 48386.

248.698.2010.

Dave’s Coney Island: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No Reservations.

901 Nordick Drive, White Lake, 48383.

248.889.3600.

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

Dobski’s: American, Polish. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6565 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.363.6565.

Eddie’s Coney Island: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

1749 Haggerty Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.960.1430.

El Nibble Nook: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations for 6 or more. Liquor.

2750 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48323. 248.669.3344.

El Patio Mexican Restaurant: Mexican.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

7622 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.666.5231.

Five Guys Burgers & Fries: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 5134 Highland Road, 48327. 248.673.5557.

Gest Omelets: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily until 4 p.m. No reservations.

39560 W. 14 Mile Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.926.0717.

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

248.960.3888.

Grand Aztecha: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6041 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48322.

248.669.7555.

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Greek Jalapeno: Greek, Mexican. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

6636 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.363.3322.

Green Apple Restaurant: American.

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

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

248.926.1100.

Highland Grille: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 7265 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.666.8830.

Highland House: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2630 E. Highland Road, Highland, 48356.

248.887.4161.

Highland House Café: American, Pizza.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

10719 Highland Road, White Lake, 48386. 248.698.4100.

Hong Kong Express: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 5158 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.673.7200.

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

248.360.4150.

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

Jenni1’s Restaurant: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

1186 E. West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.669.8240.

Jeff's Kitchen: Asian. Lunch & Dinner daily.

Reservations. 1130 E. West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.669.8896.

Kennedy’s Irish Pub: Irish/American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

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

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

248.960.5700.

Leo’s Coney Island: American/Greek.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 6845 Highland Road, White Lake, 484386. 248.889.5361.

Leo’s Coney Island: American/Greek.

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

248.366.8360.

Leo’s Coney Island: American/Greek.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2210 Teggerdine, White Lake, 48386. 248.779.7085.

Leon’s Food & Spirits: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 29710 S. Wixom Road, Wixom, 48393. 248.926.5880.

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

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

248.674.2251.

Lulu’s Coney Island: Greek. Breakfast,

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

1001 Welch Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.669.1937.

Maria’s Restaurant: Italian. Dinner, daily.

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

248.851.2500.

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

248.666.3460.

Mezza Mediterranean Grille: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1001 Welch Road, Commerce Township, 48390.

248.926.2190.

Moonlight Mediterranean Cuisine: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1123 E. West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.859.5352.

Nick & Toney’s: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday; Sunday until 3 p.m. No reservations. 9260 Cooley Lake Road, White Lake, 48386.

248.363.1162.

North Szechuan Empire: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 39450 W. 14 Mile Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.960.7666.

On The Waterfront: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 8635 Cooley Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.363.9469.

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

5175 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.618.0617.

Pepino’s Restaurant & Lounge: Italian.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 118 W. Walled Lake Drive, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.624.1033.

Red Lobster: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 479 N. Telegraph Road, Waterford, 48328.

248.682.5146.

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

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

Rudy’s Waffle House: American.

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

Samuri Steakhouse: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 7390 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.661.8898.

Shark Club: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 6665 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.666.4161.

SIAM Fushion: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. Liquor. 6845 Highland Road, White Lake Township, 48386.

248.887.1300.

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

WESTEND

Sizzl in Subs & Salads: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2051 N. Wixom Road, Wixom, 48393.

248.960.0009.

Socialight Cigar Bar & Bistro: American.

Lunch & Dinner daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 6139 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.669.0777.

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

Sweet Water Bar & Grille: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

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

Taqueria La Casita: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 49070 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393.

248.926.1980.

Thai Kitchen: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. 7108 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.886.0397.

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

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

248.366.3311.

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

6363 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.896.0333.

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

248.363.3388.

Ultimate Sports Bar Grille: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 47528 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393. 248.859.2851.

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

3100 West Maple Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.960.3344.

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

1243 N. Commerce Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.366.3290.

Volare Risorante: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 49115 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393.

248.960.7771.

VR Famous Fried Chicken: American, Cajun. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 47520 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393. 248.926.6620.

White Palace: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6123 Haggerty Restaurant, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.313.9656.

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

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

Wonton Palace: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 5562 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.683.5073.

Woody’s Café: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 235 N. Pontiac Trail, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.624.4379.

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WESTEND

248-624-Your (9687) 12.14

BUSINESS MATTERS Ten years of yoga Yoga Shelter, inside the Orchard Mall Shopping Center, 6363 Orchard Lake Road, in West Bloomfield, with locations in Birmingham, Southfield, Royal Oak, Grosse Pointe, Midtown Detroit, Rochester Hills and Los Angeles, is celebrating 10 years of downward dogs. Yoga Shelter is a metro Detroit-based yoga studio offering yoga classes, teacher training, mind-body events, affiliate programs, and a slew of other yoga activities. Yoga Shelter’s philosophy is to practice yoga and have fun with it. Yoga is for anybody and “everybody” creating a welcoming place where yoga is accessible and affordable for everyone. Begun by Eric Paskel in 2004, it has served more than one million students and counting. Paskel continues with Yoga Shelter as guru and founder, but sold the studios to local businessman Hannan Lis of Lis Ventures. “Yoga Shelter was created to help create a coming together of like-minded people, to create a real community for people, so as we grow with our studio locations we continue to fulfill that intention,” commented Lis.

Therapeutic spa opens The doctors at Lakes Foot and Ankle Associates, 9649 Commerce Road, in Commerce Township, have expanded their services with the recently opened Sole Serenity Spa in the second floor of their building at 9640 Commerce Road, Suite 204. The spa provides safe, sanitary spa services in a tranquil environment. All spa services are provided by licensed aestheticians and cosmetologists and are guided by physician oversight and training. Sole Serenity Spa offers therapeutic massage, pedicures, manicures, spa facials and treatments, as well as laser treatment and chemical peels.

Hair salon opens Folks in the Union Lake area who aren’t already familiar with Lisa Nawrot’s work with hairdressing can now stop into Salon 22 at 1582 Union Lake Road in Commerce Township, which opened for business in late November. As of the first week open, Nawrot said she and her sister-in-law are offering hair services, but will be expanding their range of services as westendmonthly.com

they bring in additional staff. Nawrot said, “I had been doing hair out of my home since my first daughter was born, but this is the first salon I’ve opened,” she said. “Right now, everything is fresh. We will be filling the rest of the stations and offering more services.”

New workout facility

Celebrate an evening to remember!

December 3rd @ 6:30-9pm Shop & Champagne happens only once a year, and it's a fabulous evening to enjoy an artistic night out with friends and colleagues. This special party provides a preview of the BBAC's annual Holiday Shop with 10% off all purchases that night on gift items made by more than 100 artists. Plus a gourmet strolling supper by some of the region’s finest restaurants, and delicious champagne and wine.

Tickets start at $75

SIGNATURE SPONSOR

Visit BBArtCenter.org or phone 248.644.0866 Event proceeds benefit the BBAC's ArtAccess & education programs.

Mother and daughter team Karen and Samantha Kelman are busy preparing for the grand opening of their unique fitness center Cycle and Row, inside the Orchard Mall, at 6381 Orchard Lake Road, in West Bloomfield, projected for early January. “It’s been a goal of ours since I graduated college, but I got a taste of the corporate world,” said the 26-year-old Samantha, who moved to New York City after college. “My mom stayed here and started her own personal trainer business while I was in New York. But we came up with our own concept that we think is special and unique. We have finetuned it and took our own spin on it, then I moved it home.” Samantha and Karen have incorporated some new twists in their training regimens by incorporating weight and resistance training into some of the traditional cycle and rowing workouts. For instance, the cycling room will utilize about 20 bikes, as well as an instructor bicycle, where light weights will be brought into the circuit training. Machines will offer users a means of tracking their progress from each workout by using performance metrics. The rowing room will include some TRX resistance training.

Business Matters for the west Oakland area are reported by Kevin Elliott. Send items for consideration to KevinElliott@downtownpublications.com. Items should be received three weeks prior to publication.

WESTEND

The BBAC’s Holiday Shop Your one-stop shopping destination for one-of-a-kind items that will please everyone on every list.

Jewelry Gloves & Hats Scarves Ceramics Glass Soaps & Lotions Garden Sculptures

Wood Candles Paintings Prints Cards Ornaments & More!

December 4-20, open daily Dec. 4, Noon-6pm; after that Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm Sundays, Noon-4pm 1516 S. Cranbrook Rd., Birmingham 48009 celebrating art for all since 1957

BBArtCenter.org 49

ENDNOTE

Lingering questions on injection wells The withdrawal of a federal permit application by a Michigan-based oil and gas company that would have allowed for up to 20,000 gallons of contaminated water to be pumped nearly a mile beneath the earth’s surface in White Lake Township is good news for residents in the lakes area and those in west Oakland County.

Ben Brower, vice president of Traverse City-based Jordan Development Company, said the company withdrew its permit application with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) due to the fact that the company hasn’t had much success searching for precious resources in western Oakland County. However, we don’t feel we are being overly cynical to note that the announcement happened to come at the same time as a bout of public outcry to the EPA from White Lake Township residents.

Concerns from residents came in the last few weeks of the EPA’s public comment period, after a handful of residents learned of Jordan’s plans through an EPA web posting and subsequent announcement on the township’s website. While we commend the township for posting the announcement and encouraging residents to contact the EPA with their concerns, we do feel compelled to note that plans for the well were in the works for many months prior to the township’s last minute efforts.

However, we take issue not as much with the township or Jordan, but with what we consider a

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flawed procedure on the part of the EPA, which regulates the permitting process of Class II injection wells like the one that had been proposed near Teggerdine and White Lake roads.

The well, which is essentially an encased hole that runs more than 4,000 feet below the surface, would have been used to store the wastewater that comes to the surface during an oil drilling process, known as fracking. In other words, when oil is pulled from the ground, it brings with it massive amounts of salt water, or brine, as well as a mixture of other materials, which could include toxic or radioactive substances. To dispose of the contaminated water, it’s separated from the oil and pumped back into wells inside of the same or similar rock formations where the oil was extracted.

Hypothetically, there it stays. Or does it?

Nationally, the majority of such disposal injection wells are in Kansas, Oklahoma, California and Texas. Some scientists are now wondering if a rise in seismic activity in places like Kansas and Oklahoma, which have traditionally had very few earthquakes, can be attributed to the abundance of injection wells and high-pressure fracturing, or fracking. In Kansas, which recorded 56 earthquakes between October 2013 and April 2014, Governor Sam Brownback appointed a task force to address the issue.

Further, while injection wells are permitted by the EPA, the nature of the chemicals that are in the

water to be disposed aren’t completely known prior to the well’s operation, which can pump up to 20,000 gallons of water each day. Monitoring of certain chemicals are required after the well is in operation. Additionally, while Jordan’s proposed permit stated that wastewater must come from Jordan’s own production activities, a draft permit provided by the EPA indicates the contaminated water may come from other locations – which could be from Livingston County, or from Ohio – other than those in the immediate area of the well.

Lastly, we are concerned that such wells, which had previously been considered safe to store contaminated water for eons, have failed in some locations in the United States, as has been documented in several national stories in recent years.

While efforts to address our concerns and those of others in the community will likely take federal action, we feel local officials in the lakes area must begin to work together to address these concerns, especially given the delicate environment of the west Oakland area which serves as the headwaters for a number of river basins and lake chains.

Forming a lakes area working group would not only serve to voice residents’ concerns, but to keep all of the stakeholders in the area better informed and reduce the likelihood of permits being approved without knowledge of the citizenry.

More election games by county GOP A group of four Oakland County Republican House members have signed onto a bill recently introduced by state Rep. Klint Kesto (R-Commerce Township) intended to keep the county's executive office in the hands of the GOP. While that isn't the stated purpose of the proposed legislation, we've watched too many political games by the GOP in Lansing (most recently the attempt to alter how presidential electoral votes are counted) to buy the pitch that Kesto introduced his bill purely as a way to "create uniformity for county government elections."

If approved, HB 5953 would allow for Oakland County to change the timing of the Oakland County Executive elections to make them occur the same time as the state's gubernatorial elections. Currently, all of the county's elected offices – which includes the executive, prosecutor, sheriff, clerk, treasurer and water resources commissioner – are elected during presidential elections. The change, Kesto points out in the announcement of his bill, would mean that Oakland County is electing its executive at the same time that the electorate in Macomb and Wayne counties are determining their executives.

The logic behind the bill, according to Kesto, is that it would put all elected county executives on equal footing, allowing voters to be better able to focus on issues of local and regional significance.

Sounds nice but we are not even sure what this means – so we have to discard the logic as pure bunk.

The most obvious reason for this bill has to do with

voter trends – a gradual erosion of the Republican party's grip on Oakland County. While candidates in the most recent governor's race spent more than $40 million to get voters to come out to the polls, presidential elections have traditionally had higher turnout compared to gubernatorial elections. And voters that tend to sway those numbers have in the past been overwhelmingly Democrats.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson isn't about to be unseated by a Democrat challenger anytime soon; remember, he won his last re-election bid from a hospital bed without any real campaign.

Yet there's no doubt a Democrat would have a better chance of winning during a presidential election if, and when, Patterson decides to call it quits.

Democrats, as part of a growing trend here in Oakland, have already taken over several key full-time positions (clerk, prosecutor, water resources commissioner) in the county, which has traditionally been a stronghold for the GOP. Kesto and his fellow Oakland County Republicans must be aware, as are we, that moving the county executive election to the midterm would benefit any Republican candidate whom Brooks and company decide to groom for the position.

When Oakland County's governmental structure was formed, it was done so under a 1973 state law that mandates the county executive be elected during the same election period as the prosecuting attorney, clerk, register of deeds, treasurer, sheriff and drain

commissioner (since renamed water resources commissioner). Oakland is only one of two county governments in the state established as an "optional unified government" under the law, the other being Bay County. Wayne and Macomb counties, however, were established as charter counties, meaning they are granted home rule. Wayne County, in 1982, and Macomb, in 2009, opted to adopt the state's constitution regarding elections that require charter counties to hold their executive elections at the same time as the gubernatorial election, while elections for other county offices are held in the midterms.

We think it is more of a smoke screen to say the bill would allow for county executives in the region to be on equal footing. Despite Patterson's strong personality, his real power has come from those with whom he surrounds himself. Despite claims of equal footing, Oakland County's structure of government, unlike Wayne and Macomb counties, wasn't created by a charter, and therefore falls under the guidelines of state law. That means executives in Wayne and Macomb, by nature of their charters, are granted far more executive powers than their Oakland counterpart.

Kesto's bill is a wolf in sheep's clothing and we advise legislators to reject it for what it is: a political play by Oakland County Republicans to hold onto power in a waning GOP stronghold.

Wishing You

Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year

Jennifer Wrobleski Oakland County's Lakefront Specialist

Jennifer Wrobleski 248-854-3100 Office: 248-360-2900 jwrobleski@kw.com www.MichiganHomeMarketPlace.com

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