rescheduled meetings and slowed progress
of any contract settlement.
Blackburn said the union was working
with a statemediator since last January and
that even he cannot understand the lack of
progress.
Reportedly, the issues of pay rate and
insurance costs are the sticking points in
finalizing an agreement.
Blackburn indicated that he suspected
members of the city council may be
unaware of the failure of the negotiations
and the filing for binding arbitration.
"All wewantedwas to have an agreement
on wages, go from $5 to $10 in training,"
Blackburn said.
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
3
December 24, 2015
B
ELLEVILLE
- N
ORTHVILLE
- P
LYMOUTH
Teachers reject union contract offer
District evaluates scores on new state tests
Festival winners announced
PLANNING COMMISSION
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON, WAYNE
COUNTY, AND MICHIGAN.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to Michigan Public Act 110 of 2006, of the State of Michigan, as amended, and pur-
suant to the Zoning Ordinance of the Charter Township of Canton that the Planning Commission of the Charter Township of
Canton will hold a Public Hearing on Monday, January 11, 2016, in the
First Floor Meeting Room of the Canton Township
Administration Building, 1150 S. Canton Center Road at 7:00 p.m.
on the following proposed amendment to the Zoning
Ordinance:
VERIZON WIRELESS (ABUNDANT LIFE CHURCH) MINOR PLANNED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT (PDD)
-
CONSIDER REQUEST TO ESTABLISH A PDD AS PERMITTED IN SECTION 27.04 OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE
INCLUSIVE OF PARCEL NO(S). 097 99 0001 707. The request is to site a cellular communications tower. Property is locat-
ed south of Palmer Road and west of Hannan Road.
Written comments addressed to the Planning Commission should be received at the Canton Township Administration Building,
1150 Canton Center S. prior to Thursday, January 7, 2016 in order to be included in the materials submitted for review.
SEE ATTACHED MAP
Greg Greene, Chairman
Publish: Newspaper-December 24, 2015
EC122415-1234 2.5 x 8.303
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS AGENDA
JANUARY 14, 2016
Notice is hereby given that there will be a meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals
THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2016 at 7:00
PM
. The meeting will be held in the Board Room at the Township Administration Building located at 1150 S. Canton Center
Road, Canton, MI 48188.
7:00 P.M.
Call to Order
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call:
Jim Cisek, Vicki Welty, Craig Engel, Alan Okon and Cathryn Colthurst.
Alternate:
Gregory Demopoulos
Approval of Agenda
Approval of Minutes: December 10th, 2015 Minutes
General Calendar:
1.
TABLED ITEM from November 12, 2015: Faras Haisha, Jonna Properties
, Applicant for vacant property
located on Parcel 71-037-99-0001-005 near the corner of Warren and Sheldon Roads, appealing Article 26,
Section 26.03 (E) Relative to
Setbacks Adjacent to Residential Districts and Section 6.02 E.2
relative to Setbacks for Outdoor Play Areas for Child Care Centers. (Planning)
2.
Applicant and Project Representative, Kim Harraf, Community Association Manager Herriman & Assoc.,
Inc. Management Agent for The Arbor Village Condominium Association
for the property at located 43418
Arbor West on
the South Side of Palmer Road east of Sheldon, appealing Section 5.03 ( c ) 4
Requirements for multiple-family districts and Section 5.08 Obscuring Walls and Fences to allow the original
concrete buffer wall to be replaced with a vinyl fence in Multiple – Family District, Parcel 105-05-0181-000
(Planning)
3.
Applicant, Rakesakomar R. Patel, and Project Representative William Jarratt, Jarrat Architecture,
for
Parcel 71-142-01-0076-000, vacant property on the west side of Lotz Road South of Michigan Avenue, appealing
Section 5.03A.2 Variance
from Protective Screening Requirements, C-4 District. (Planning)
Written comments need to be submitted prior to 4:00 PM on the date of the hearing. All written comments must be sent to the
Charter Township of Canton, Clerk’s Office, 1150 S. Canton Center Rd., Canton, MI 48188, Phone 734-394-5120.
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 two a week notice to the Charter Township of Canton. These services include signers for the hear-
ing impaired and audio tapes of printed materials being considered at the meeting. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxil-
iary aids or services should contact the Charter Township of Canton by writing or calling the following:
Gwyn Belcher, ADA Coordinator
Charter Township of Canton, 1150 S. Canton Center Road
Canton, MI 48188 (734) 394-5260
EC122415-1235 2.5 x 5.89
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF PLYMOUTH
PUBLIC NOTICE
To all residents and other interested parties: Agendas and Minutes for the Charter Township of Plymouth Board of Trustees
Meetings are available for review online at
under Agendas/Minutes and in the Clerk's Office at
Plymouth Township Hall, 9955 N. Haggerty Rd., Plymouth, MI.
Regular Meeting dates in 2016: January 12, February 9, March 1, March 15, April 12, April 26, May 17, June 14, July 19,
August 9, September 13, September 27, October 11, October 25, November 15 and December 13.
Special meetings, if any, will occur on Tuesdays, unless otherwise posted. The public is invited and encouraged to attend the
Board of Trustees Meetings.
Nancy Conzelman
Township Clerk
PT122415-0019 2.5 x 1.718
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 a two week notice to the Charter Township of Canton. These services include signers for the hearing
impaired and audio tapes of printed materials being considered at the meeting. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary
aids or services should contact the Charter Township of Canton by writing or calling the following:
Gwyn Belcher, ADA Coordinator
Charter Township of Canton, 1150 S. Canton Center Road
Canton, MI 48188
(734) 394-5260
Published: December 24, 2015
EC122415-1231 2.5 x 1.557
Teachers in the Plymouth
Canton Community Schools
rejected a proposed two-year
contract with the district during
a recent ratification vote.
A 73 percent majority of the
950 teachers who voted on the
agreement were not in agree-
ment with ratifying the contract
which continued a pay freeze
this year and a half-step pay
increase next year for teachers
in the first through 13th wage
level. Those above that level
were offered a half-percent
increase next year.
Fifteen teachers, former
teachers and parents spoke to
members of the Plymouth
Canton Board of Education
recently explaining that wages
for teachers have not kept pace
with the economy and that dis-
trict educators are finding it dif-
ficult to support their families
andmeet their obligations on the
salaries they are currently paid.
Teachers said that they could no
longer afford the pay freezes and
lower wages offered although
they expressed understanding of
the difficulties the board faced
with the problems and uncer-
tainties of state school funding.
Board President John Barrett
told the crowded meeting room
that the board members did
understand the teachers' posi-
tion but that the board is under a
“severe economic hammer from
Lansing,” referring toProposal A
which has limited state funding
to school districts.
Former Superintendent of
School Michael Meissen said in
a statement, “We understand the
frustration expressed by our
teachers and we will continue to
work with them within the
finances as dictated by the state.
We believe in the process andwe
believe strongly in our teachers
and deeply appreciate all they
do for our students and fami-
lies.”
District officials reported
that students in the Northville
Schools "performed compara-
tively well overall" on the first-
ever Michigan Student Test of
Educational Progress (M-STEP),
according to results released by
the Michigan Department of
Education.
This spring - after 44 years of
the Michigan Educational
Assessment Program (MEAP)
test - third through eighth
graders fromacross the state sat
down in front of computers to
take the M-STEP in math and
English language arts (ELA). In
addition, fourth and seventh
grade students were assessed in
science and fifth and eighth
graders took the M-STEP social
studies test. Michigan 11th
graders in the Class of 2016 also
took the Michigan Merit Exam
(MME) during the spring test
period, including the M-STEP
math, ELA, science and social
studies assessments, along with
the ACT college-entrance exam
andWorkKeys.
Northville High School stu-
dents in the Class of 2016 per-
formed well on the ACT, offi-
cials said, recording an average
composite score of 24.6, with 49
percent meeting the "college-
ready" benchmark - a target set
by Gov. Rick Snyder. In compari-
son, the statewide average ACT
composite score for the test was
19.9, with 20.2 percent deemed
college-ready as defined byACT.
According to state officials, the
college-readiness score is the
percentage of students meeting
the ACT college benchmark in
all ACT-tested subjects (English,
reading, math and science).
According to the state educa-
tion officials, the new assess-
ment test reflects the more rig-
orous proficiency standards set
in 2010, aimed at giving students
a deeper understanding of what
they are learning - taking stu-
dents from just knowing the
facts to learning how to use
those facts to understand con-
text, solve problems, and make
their learning relevant. As a
result, the new baseline scores
under M-STEP may be lower in
some subject areas and grade
levels than with past MEAP
scores, school officials said.
Adding to this caution are
changes in the assessment test
planned for the spring 2016 test-
ing period in response the feed-
back from school districts, stu-
dents and parents. Changes
include reducing testing time
for grades three, four, six and
seven, as well as for 11th
graders. The changes will also
allow for tests to be adminis-
tered in smaller portions over
multiple days. In addition,
beginning this spring, the SAT
will serve as the Michigan col-
lege entrance exam and the M-
STEP ELA and math assess-
ments. Also new for this spring,
ninth and 10th graders from
across the state will take the
PSAT.
"As with school districts
across the state, the M-STEP
results for our district and our
students set a new baseline for
performance on the state
assessment and therefore
should be viewed with some
reserve when evaluating stu-
dent proficiency in the content
areas," said Northville
Superintendent of Schools
Mary Kay Gallagher. "Teachers
and administrators across the
school district will use this data
as one source of information,
together with other assessments
of student learning, to improve
our curriculum and instruction-
al practices, enhance student
intervention and support pro-
grams, and refine school
improvement goals."
Specific information about
scores by individual schools in
Northville and results from sur-
rounding districts is available at
and
clicking on the "MI School Data"
link on the home page.
Individual M-STEP reports
for those Northville Public
School students tested in spring
2015 will be sent to parents in
January. Parents with questions
about the M-STEP scores or
how to seek assistance for their
child should contact their child's
school, according to a district
spokesperson.
The Belleville Area Chamber of
Commerce recently named the winners
in theWinterFest competitions.
Barber Bob's won first place,
Belleville Bariatric won second place and
Photography by Shannon third place in
theMainStreet Decoration contest.
The Soup Crawl winners included
first-place winner Egan's Pub, Butternut
Squash Soup, Cheddar Soup from JT's
Pub won second place and Chicken
Tortilla Soup from JT's Pub took third
place honors.
Parade winners included the Radio
Flyer Wagon, Bryan Suliman, PLIC as the
Best Business entry; Belleville High
School Productions Willy Wonka as the
Best School entry; Van Buren Soccer
Association as the Best Community
Organization entry.
The Grand Marshal Award went to
Wayne County Fair and the Best
Municipal winner was the Belleville Area
District Library.
BYC was awarded the Best Non-Profit
award at the event.
Contract
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