Abraham Lincoln would go out shop-
ping on Christmas Eve each year to buy
toy soldiers for his son. Calvin Coolidge
hosted the first National Tree Lighting
Ceremony in 1923.
Those bits of White House holiday triv-
ia and much more fill the Yuletide at the
White House exhibit that will continue at
the Plymouth Historical Museum through
Dec. 31.
The holiday exhibit was inspired by the
traditions of the past presidents, first
ladies and their families, noted museum
Executive Director Elizabeth Kerstens in
awebsite statement.
“After the success of the First Ladies-
Fashion Setters exhibit, it seemed only
natural to turn the focus toward theWhite
Householiday traditions,” saidKerstens.
She added that the First Families have
a lot of fascinating stories to share.
Vignettes throughout the museum high-
light the different personalities of the
presidents and visitors can discover the
early celebrations of George Washington's
time when it wasn't all about children and
presents-Christmas was for adults-with
merry-making, hunting and games. Classic
scenes like Franklin Delano Roosevelt
reading Charles Dickens to his family by
the fire are presented.
Kerstens said the featured antique toys,
doll house furniture and banks on loan
from a local collector are of special inter-
est and that visitors can also enjoy dis-
plays of antique wintry gear for sledding,
skating, skiing and snowshoeing.
Old holiday recipes and Christmas
cards are also ondisplay, Kerstens said.
The museum is located at 155 South
MainSt. just north of downtownPlymouth.
Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for chil-
dren 6-17. The display is open from 1-4
p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and
Sunday. The building will be closed
Christmas andNewYearsDay.
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
3
December 22, 2016
N
ORTHVILLE
- P
LYMOUTH
Northville board appoints new trustee
MINUTES OF REGULAR ROMULUS CITY COUNCIL MEETING
December 5, 2016
Romulus City Hall Council Chambers, 11111 Wayne Rd. Romulus, MI 48174
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Pro Tem John Barden.
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call
Present:
Kathleen Abdo, John Barden, Linda Choate, Harry Crout, Sylvia Makowski, Celeste Roscoe.
Excused:
William Wadsworth.
Administrative Officials in Attendance:
LeRoy D. Burcroff
Stacy Paige, Treasurer
Barb Fitzgerald, Deputy Clerk
Excused:
Ellen L. Craig-Bragg, Clerk
1.
Moved by
Crout,
seconded by
Abdo
to accept the agenda as presented.
Motion Carried Unanimously
.
16-489 2A.
Moved by
Makowski,
seconded by
Crout
to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the
Romulus City Council held on November 28, 2016.
Roll Call Vote: Ayes
– Abdo, Barden, Choate, Crout,
Makowski.
Nays
– None.
Abstain
– Roscoe (absent).
Motion Carried
.
16-490 2B.
Moved by
Makowski
, seconded by
Choate
to approve the minutes of the special meeting of the
Romulus City Council joint session with the Planning Commission held on November 28, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. to
discuss the proposed Master Plan Amendment for Vining Road Development District.
Vote: Ayes
– Abdo,
Barden, Choate, Crout, Makowski.
Nays
– None.
Abstain
– Roscoe (absent)
Motion Carried
.
3. Petitioner:
Reverend Arthur Willis.
16-491 3A.
Moved by
Makowski,
seconded by
Crout
to approve the closure of Wayne Road north and south-
bound from Wick to Michelle and Wick Road from the Middle School to Wayne Road on Monday, January 16,
2017 from 8 a.m. until 9 a.m. for the annual Martin Luther King Day Walk.
Motion Carried Unanimously
4. Chairperson’s Report:
16-492 4A.
Moved by
Makowski,
seconded by
Roscoe
to concur with the City Attorney recommendation
regarding the Turner matter.
Motion Carried Unanimously
.
4.
Moved by
Roscoe,
seconded by
Makowski
to accept the Chairperson’s Report.
Motion Carried
Unanimously
.
5. Mayor’s Report:
Dennis Davidson spoke about the Wreaths Across America Project. There will be a Veteran’s Ceremony on
Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. in the Romulus Memorial Cemetery – volunteers are needed to help place
wreaths on the veterans’ graves.
16-493 5A1.
Moved by
Crout,
seconded by
Makowski
to recognize the 50 th wedding anniversary of Mike and
Sharon Wojtylko.
Motion Carried Unanimously
.
16-494 5A.
Moved by
Makowksi,
seconded by
Roscoe
to concur with the administration and authorize the
mayor and clerk to enter into the Water Residential Assistance Program (WRAP) Memorandum of Agreement
with Wayne Metro Community Action Agency effective January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017.
Discussion: Finance Director, Suzanne Moreno, explained the program and said the City will try it (with
Council’s approval) for one year.
Motion Carried Unanimously
.
16-495 5B.
Moved by
Makowski,
seconded by
Crout
to concur with the administration and award Bid ITB
16/17-06 to the lowest bidder, On Duty Gear, for ballistic duty vests for the Romulus Police Department in the
amount of $20,020.00
Motion Carried Unanimously
.
6A. Clerk’s Report:
16-496 6A1.
Moved by
Roscoe,
seconded by
Makowski
to approve second reading, final adoption of Budget
Amendment 16/17-16, General Fund, which was introduced at the Council meeting of November 28, 2016.
Roll
Call Vote: Ayes
– Abdo, Barden, Choate, Crout, Makowski, Roscoe.
Nays
– None.
Motion Carried
Unanimously
.
16-497 6A2.
Moved by
Crout,
seconded by
Makowski
to approve second reading, final adoption of Budget
Amendment 16/17-17, 34 th District Court - Building Fund, which was introduced at the Council meeting of
November 28, 2016.
Motion Carried Unanimously
.
16-498 6A3.
Moved by
Makowski,
seconded by
Roscoe
to approve second reading, final adoption of Budget
Amendment 16/17-18, General Fund, which was introduced at the Council meeting of November 28, 2016.
Motion Carried Unanimously
.
6B. Treasurer’s Report:
City Treasurer, Stacy Paige, announced that the tax bills were mailed out last week.
7. Public Comment:
Jan Lemmon, Chairperson, Cemetery Board of Trustees, spoke about the success of the spaghetti fundraiser din-
ner for a veteran and his family.
8. Unfinished Business
9. New Business:
Councilwoman Makowski announced upcoming events at the Romulus Public Library.
10. Communication
11.
Moved by
Makowski,
seconded by
Roscoe
to adjourn the regular meeting of the Romulus City Council.
Motion Carried Unanimously
.
I, Ellen L. Craig-Bragg, Clerk for the City of Romulus, Michigan do hereby certify the foregoing to be a true
copy of the minutes of the regular meeting of the Romulus City Council held on December 5, 2016.
RM122216-0122 2.5 x 8.841
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
ACCESS TO PUBLIC MEETINGS
The Charter Township of Canton will provide necessary, reasonable auxiliary aids and services to individuals with disabilities at
the meeting/hearing upon notice to the Charter Township of Canton.
In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), the Charter Township
of Canton will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs,
or activities.
Employment:
The Charter Township of Canton does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment prac-
tices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title II of
the ADA.
Effective Communication:
The Charter Township of Canton will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services
leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the Charter Township
of Canton's programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other
ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.
Modifications to Policies and Procedures:
The Charter Township of Canton will make all reasonable modifications to policies
and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activi-
ties. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in the Charter Township of Canton's offices, even where pets
are generally prohibited.
Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to par-
ticipate in a program, service, or activity of the Charter Township of Canton should contact the office of Kerreen Conley, Human
Resources Manager, Charter Township of Canton, 1150 S. Canton Center Road, Canton, MI 48188, (734) 394-5260 as soon as
possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.
The ADA does not require the Charter Township of Canton to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its
programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.
Complaints that a program, service, or activity of the Charter Township of Canton is not accessible to persons with disabilities
should be directed to Kerreen Conley, Human Resources Manager, Charter Township of Canton, 1150 S. Canton Center Road,
Canton, MI 48188, (734) 394-5260.
The Charter Township of Canton will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individu-
als with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable modifications of policy, such as retriev-
ing items from locations that are open to the public but are not accessible to persons who use wheelchairs.
Publish: 12/22/2016
EC122216-1411 2.5 x 4.72
The Northville Township
Board of Trustees unanimously
approved the appointment of
Richard Allen to fill the vacancy
on the board left by the sudden
deathofMarvinGans.
Board members approved
the nomination made by
Township Supervisor Robert
Nix at theDec. 15meeting.
Nix noted Allen's previous
service on the board of trustees
and his more than 30 years on
the township planning commis-
sion.
“Several people approached
the township about assuming
the empty board seat. It was
important to me to nominate
someone who represents the
same constituency as Mr. Gans
did so ably and for so long. I also
wanted someone who would hit
the ground running, who was
knowledgeable about how the
township runs and was familiar
with the big issues facing the
township. Mr. Allen is of the
same generation and has cham-
pioned many of the same proj-
ects; in short, he matches all
these needs,”Nix said.
Allen accepted the nomina-
tion and Township Clerk Sue
Hillebrand administered the
oath of office during the meet-
ing.
This was the last regular
meeting of the board members
at which the seat could be filled
by vote of the board of trustees.
Michigan law gives appointment
authority to the trustees for 45
days after a seat is vacated. After
45 days, authority is passed to
the
County
Board
of
Commissioners, and then to the
Governor's office. Appointees
serve until the next general
election, which will be in
November, 2018.
Allen is a longtime resident of
Northville Township. He served
two terms on the Northville
Township Board of Trustees,
more than 30 years on the plan-
ning commission, and has been
on the economic development
and Brownfield commissions,
the historic district commission,
parks and recreation commis-
sion, Friends of Thayer's Park
committee, and Friends of
Northville Township Historic
District Commission. He and his
wife, Pat, live in the Northville
Hills subdivision. Their son, Jim,
currently serves on the
NorthvilleCityCouncil.
Richard Allen takes the oath of office from Township Clerk Sue
Hillebrand following his unanimous appointment to the Northville
Township Board of Trustees.
Christmas at the White House exhibit continues
Plymouth officials to sell snow machine
It took the new officials in
Plymouth Township only 3 min-
utes to approve the sale of the
controversial snow machine pur-
chased by the previous adminis-
tration.
Members of the township
board of trustees unanimously
approved a motion to sell the
snow-making device which was
purchased in February and
delivered inMarchof last year.
The machine, a SMI Pole Cat
SnowGun, was purchaseddirect-
ly from a Midlandmanufacturing
company in response to an avid
proposal from former Treasurer
Ron Edwards who insisted on
the immediate purchase of the
$21,820 unit he had personally
selected for the Plymouth
Township Park sledding hill. He
claimed he needed as much time
as possible for testing the
machine, making immediate
action on the purchase neces-
sary. His motion for the expense
was approved by a 4-3 vote with
Trustees Bob Doroshewitz,
Chuck Curmi and Mike Kelly
casting the opposing votes while
former Supervisor Richard
Reaume, Edwards, defeated
Clerk Nancy Conzelman and the
late Trustee Kay Arnold acqui-
esced to his urgings. All four of
the officials were facing a recall
petitiondrive at the time.
Those opposed to the pur-
chase noted the national statis-
tics which show that there are
more than 20,000 sledding acci-
dents resulting in injuries annu-
ally, a statistic Edwards dis-
missed peremptorily. In March
2015, Edwards personally accept-
ed delivery of the machine at the
township DPW building from a
special flat bed truck required to
transport thehuge device.
Subsequently, township offi-
cials were notified that extensive
funding would be required for
newwater lines, plumbing instal-
lations, hydraulic pumps and 3-
phase electrical wiring to make
the snow machine operable. At
the time of purchase, officials did
not know if sufficient water pres-
sure was available at the site to
power themachine.
When the machine was finally
operational, neighbors in the
adjoining subdivision com-
plained of the continuous drone
of the blowers and pumps keep-
ing them awake as the machine
operated throughout the night to
provide adequate snow for the
hill.
Township Supervisor Kurt
Heise told board members at the
Tuesday meeting he wanted the
machine gone and already had
potential leads for buyers.
Without fanfare, Doroshewitz
read themotion to sell the device
and Trustee Gary Heitman
quickly seconded it.
The motion was presented
and unanimously approved in
less than 3minutes.
Don Howard
Staff Writer
similar programfromNewJersey.
Not bad, considering he almost went
into hotel and restaurantmanagement.
“I wasn't interested in going into law
enforcement when I went to college,” he
said. He did earn a criminal justiceminor,
though, and after graduating from the
police academy at Jackson College, took a
chance and applied in Northville
Township.
“Look what happened,” he said. “It's
been a good choice.”
Werth said he gives credit to the board
of trustees, which has always supported
the police and fire departments through
the years, for their assistance in growing
the departments into well-respected
agencies. He counts among his best
accomplishments the fact that Northville
has a highly-educated public safety
department that will soon be an accredit-
ed agency.
“You always want to leave something
better than when you started,” he said.
“This is one of the finest public safety
agencies you'll ever see and I am very
proud of it.”
The meeting last Thursday also served
to hand the torch to Werth's successor,
Todd Mutchler. Mutchler joined the
department earlier this year as deputy
director of police services, after a long
and distinguished career with Canton
Township.
“I guarantee he will guide this depart-
ment well into the future,” said Werth of
the former director of public safety in
Canton. “We got the right person at the
right time.”
Werth
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