with neighborhood associations
and is asking residents to take
this opportunity to also try to
improve the exterior of their
properties. For seniors or indi-
viduals with special needs, the
city will partner with communi-
ty organizations and local
church groups to assist where
needed.
An additional portion of this
program is an ambitious tree
planting program, in line with
the city Mission: Green
Initiative,Wild said.
The tree planting program is
aimed at replacing the many
residential trees that were
killed by the invasive Emerald
AshBorer insect. For a nominal
fee, the citywill plant a new tree
resistant to the insect. Each
new tree is warrantied for one
year, with proper care and
maintenance. Homeowners
who lost a tree to the Emerald
Ash Borer Disease will receive
priority first-round planting
while others will be placed on a
wait list for future rounds of
beautification planting. Trees
ordered through this program
will be planted in the city right
of way space between the side-
walk and the curb. The final
planting location in this space
will be determined by the pro-
fessional installer to ensure
healthy clearances from any
objects or obstructions. For
more information or to order a
tree, residential property own-
ers
can
visit
-
landtree
“As the City of Westland pass-
es the 50 year marker, we
thought it was time to give each
of the city's neighborhoods a
makeover,” commented Wild.
“The 50 point check list address-
es major area concerns but will
not be the only issues we will
tackle. We realize each neigh-
borhood will have unique char-
acteristics and special circum-
stances and we will be tackling
those as well. This program is a
comprehensive citywide neigh-
borhood revitalization.”
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
May 4, 2017
W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
16 hopefuls file for 4 council terms
Westland voters will be asked
to go to the polls twice this year
to choose members of their city
council.
Voters will reduce a field of 16
candidates for four seats on the
city council to eight in a primary
election set for Tuesday, Aug. 8.
The winners in that election will
move on to the general election
set for Nov. 7. The three candi-
dates with the top vote totals in
November will serve four-year
terms while the fourth-place fin-
isher will be elected to a two-
year term.
Voters will also choose
between incumbent Mayor
William H. Wild, now in his 11th
year as the top city official, and
current city Councilman Kevin
Coleman. The mayoral candi-
dates' names will not appear on
the primary ballot as only Wild
and Coleman filed required elec-
tion petitions with the city clerk.
All candidates were required to
submit the required petitions
and other forms byApril 25.
Voters will, however, see two
incumbents and some familiar
names on the primary ballot.
Councilman Peter Herzberg and
Michael Kehrer will seek re-elec-
tion along with former
CouncilwomanMeriamKadi and
Debra Fowlkes, a former mem-
ber of the Wayne-Westland
Community Schools Board of
Education. Also on the ballot will
be Steven Boron, who unsuccess-
fully sought election two years
ago and Jody White who was
defeated in a bid for city clerk.
Boron is currently spearheading
a recall effort aimed at council
President James Godbout and
circulating petitions seeking to
have term limitation for elected
officials put on the November
ballot. If the recall effort is suc-
cessful in gathering the required
signatures, Godbout's name
could also appear for reelection
on the November ballot, along
with the term limitation ques-
tion.
First-time candidates for the
city council terms include Jesse
Davey, Timothy Gilbert, Tasha
Green, Jim Hart, Jason Jackson,
Michael Londeau, Terry Martin,
Felicia Miles-Clegg, Joseph
Schaefer andDonna Stottlemyer-
Beaupre.
Current
Councilwoman
Christine Bryant did not file for
re-election as she is reportedly
planning on seeking election to
another political office.
Beaumont Health has pro-
moted Jose Kottoor, of
Northville, to vice president of
operations at Beaumont
Hospital,Wayne.
Kottoor, 62, has more than 25
years of experience in health
care, including as a physical
therapy and rehabilitation clini-
cian as well as a variety of man-
agement and administrative
roles. For the past five years, he's
served as the director of
Physical and Occupational
Therapy forBeaumontHealth.
The vice president of opera-
tions position is a new one at
Beaumont, Wayne that aligns it
with the administrative struc-
ture at the seven other
Beaumont hospitals. Kottoor will
report to hospital president Eric
Widner.
“Jose comes to us with a long
list of successes at Beaumont
Health as well as other health
systems in Michigan,” said
Widner. “He's shown a talent for
finding efficiencies and reduc-
ing costs and has always had a
passion for improving patient
care. I think he'll make a great
addition to the team.”
A native of India, Kottoor
graduated from the Christian
Medical College in Vellore, India
with a degree in Physical
Therapy. He earned his master's
degree from University of
Michigan in 1994. He hasworked
as a clinician in variety of set-
tings, including: acute care, IP
Rehab, ambulatory settings, and
home care. He's served as direc-
tor of rehabilitation at RIM-
Detroit Medical Center, Botsford
Hospital and the University of
Michigan Health System. He has
lived in theU.S. for 33 years.
Kottoor's administrative expe-
rience in healthcare includes
implementing several process
improvement initiatives to
improve efficiencies at health
systems, developing and imple-
menting long-term workforce
plan, utilization management,
involving clinicians in transla-
tional research, developing com-
munity wellness programs, and
improving quality metrics in
acute care, post-acute and ambu-
latory care settings.
He said he's looking forward
to applying that experience and
implementing those improve-
ments throughout the service
lines at Beaumont,Wayne.
“This is a great team and I
look forward to working collabo-
ratively with them,” he said. “I'm
very excited to be here.”
Jose Kottoor
New vice-president named at Beaumont-Wayne
Trees
FROM PAGE 1
