Quick Hits: Bloomfield Township Board Makes Reappointments, Alters Police Grant

Reappointments to Key Commissions, Boards

The Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees on Monday reappointed several current members to extended terms on the planning commission, zoning board of appeals and board of review.

Those unanimously reappointed to their respective boards are:

Planning Commission, three-year terms

• Richard Mintz
• Lisa Seneker

Zoning Board of Appeals, three-year terms

• James Aldrich
• Brian Henry
• Robert Taylor

Board of Review, one-year term

• Tracy Leone
• Robert Taylor
• Furhad Waquad

Township resident Gregory Siegel was also reappointed to a two-year term as an alternate on the Bloomfield Township Construction Code Board of Appeals.

Township resident and Patch blogger Marcia Robovitsky requested that future appointments be publicized by the township and that the board be open to accepting applications from the public in the future.

"To get the community involved you have to get the community to participate," she said. "If you keep appointing the same people you miss out on some opportunities."

Township Clerk Jan Roncelli said there has been turnover on the various boards that allowed for diversity, but that there is value to retaining committed members that continue to gain and build upon their experience.

"I've had no problem with the way we've been doing this," she said.

Police Grant Updated

The Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees also altered the language of a federal grant it received as part of multi-jurisdictional coalition of law enforcement agencies in Oakland County.

The slight change in wording was necessary since the Oakland County Sheriff's Department took over patrol and operational duties for the cash-strapped City of Pontiac earlier this year, officials explained. The sheriff's department and roughly 20 other law enforcement agencies in the county received the justice assistance grant (JAG) last year. The money, which is doled out based on a formula that takes population and need into account, has been used for inter-local agreements and implementation of other efficiencies in regional police service, Deputy Police Chief Geof Gaudard said.

Pontiac received the largest portion of the grant at $533,000. The Bloomfield Township Police Department has not claimed its portion of the grant ($12,500) but earmarked that money for a potential merger of dispatch services with Birmingham. The Birmingham Police Department received $16,000 through the grant that could also be applied to a new combined dispatch center and equipment, Guadard said.

No timeline for a potential merger or discussions between the two cities was discussed, but the grant funds will be forfeited if unused by 2013.

ATM Kiosk on the Agenda

In addition to the special zoning variance to accommodate a liquor license at the China Village site, the owners of the Bloomfield Hills Shopping Center also plan to install a free-standing ATM in the large parking lot.

The drive-up or walk-up kiosk will be located south of the Mobil Gas station closest to Opdyke Road. Bloomfield Township Planning Director Patti Voelker said the owners would have to remove some parking spaces, but with the zoning variance granted unanimously by the township board on Monday the site will still have enough parking to remain in compliance with township ordinances.

Voelker said that the township's traffic consultants reviewed the proposal and found no potential disruption to traffic flow. The Bloomfield Township Planning Commission scheduled a public hearing on the matter for 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19 at township hall.