On the Agenda: CDBG Program Funding

Township expects CDBG funds to fall

The board will hold a public hearing to approve the proposed allocation of anticipated funds for the 2012 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, which in the past has helped fund social service programs as well architecture projects to remove barriers at Town Hall and various Parks and Recreation locations.

The proposed allocation is being made on the assumption that funds will continue exactly at 2011 levels as directed by Oakland County. However, it is worth noting that funds fell from more than $125,000 in 2010 to $103,000 in 2011, and township senior planner Sara Roediger wrote that if funds fell further, "it would not be surprising."

As proposed, funding for public services will be cut in half compared to 2011, as mandated, with those funds now placed toward other activities such as minor home repair and the removal of architectural barriers.

To read the attachment concerning this agenda item, click here.

Email server crash revisited

The West Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees will reconsider a in October, which was the cause of much tension at the board's meeting last month.

Mark Osinski, the township's information technology director, answered questions from the board for about an hour Oct. 10 regarding the server crash Sept. 29, which apparently had resulted in data loss and email communication errors. Supervisor Michele Economou Ureste is expected to present a report of a written evaluation from an outside professional source that will include source recommendations, a fully functioning technology plan and a written emergency failure plan to implement in the wake of the crash.

"We were originally told that email servers suffered from a hardware issues ... which became software issues," Clerk Catherine Shaughnessy said at the October meeting.

Planning Commission appointment concern

Another source of tension at the Oct. 10 meeting resulted from an attempted game of "musical chairs" regarding Planning Commission appointments from the Township Board. A motion to replace current Trustee Don Jackson (for the term expiring in 2014) with Woodland and Wetland Review Board Trustee Lance Stokes failed, as did a motion to appoint Commission Chairperson Karmen Santourian to the Zoning Board of Appeals in replacement of Jackson.

Shaughnessy explained she was “not compelled to remove” Jackson from the commission.

Ureste said that Jackson "votes lockstep with (Nancy) Reed and (Steven) Budaj,” fellow commissioners.

On Oct. 10, the board voted to leave Jackson on both boards for the time being. The topic will be reconsidered at Monday's meeting.

Other highlights on Monday's agenda

• Departmental quarterly reports, including the Fire Department's, which was .
• Presentation of 2012 budgets for the 48th District Court, Parks and Recreation and the Cable Communications Commission. (Links are for those individual agenda items.)

The meeting will begin at 6:45 p.m. Monday at . Patch local editor Tim Rath will be at the meeting and will provide live updates on pertinent issues on Twitter, @WBloomfldPatch. View the proceedings by tuning in to Civic Center TV or watch the live stream online.