City Council Update, October 7, 2024

Council selected our next City Manager, found funding to improve a baseball field, created an HR position, and more. Also info on yard waste collection and new parking rules.

City Manager Selection

Council held a special meeting on Monday, October 7 and by unanimous vote selected Berkley Resident Crystal VanVleck as the next City Manager.

VanVleck holds a Master of Urban Planning Degree from Wayne State University. She brings over 10 years of municipal experience to the City of Berkley, including over nine years with the City of Oak Park where she currently serves as Deputy City Manager of Community Services.

Her appointment is contingent upon a background check and successful contract negotiations.

More information about our new manager and the selection process is on the city's website.

Funding for Community Baseball Field #1

The Dads' Club, Berkley School District (BSD), and the City are finalizing a deal for long term funding of Community Field #1, the main baseball field in the city.

The City will create a new fund dedicated to field maintenance and improvements.
The City will loan the fund $215,000 with a 5-year term at 4.5% interest.
Most of that money will be used to refurbish the field, fix drainage, and get the concessions and bathrooms working again.
The Dads' Club and Schools will pay an annual permit fee for exclusive use of the field. The fee for each of them is $35,000 with a 3% annual escalator (so $70,000 total).
The Dads' Club will have the field from June 1 to July 31 and September 1 through October 31.
The School District will have the field March 1 through May 31, with an option to extend into June if there are playoffs.
The City may use it at other times, however, during their times, the Dads' Club or BSD take precedence if there is a scheduling conflict.

Although we do not have a signed contract with BSD and Dads' Club yet, we are close on the details and all parties are excited to make this happen.

Meanwhile, we needed to get the field improvements scheduled immediately to have time for them to be complete before next season starts. Thus the haste in which this is coming together.

I want to thank the Dads' Club for bringing this idea to the City and their work in making this happen.

Creating an HR Staff Position

Council authorized the creation of a new HR position. Currently there is no dedicated person to fulfill that role.

Currently, department heads, the finance department, and expensive consultants are partially covering those duties.
An organization the City of Berkley's size definitely needs an in-house HR professional to navigate all of the labor laws, regulations, and best practices for keeping a healthy and happy workforce.
Despite reports that the financial department was able to handle this work, we shouldn’t expect our finance department to also be experts in human resources.
The position will be filled by the new City Manager at her discretion.
The budget will be amended to provide enough to offer market rate plus benefits. It is unlikely we will need to spend the full budgeted amount.
Outsourcing was considered and explicitly rejected as an option. This is a central position and we want someone who is part of the City of Berkley's team and culture, not a revolving door of short-term staffing.

Other Items

Other decisions that were made include:

Entering into an agreement for software to make parking estimates and projections. (I'm skeptical the technology will work, but I'm willing to give it a try.)
Approving a liquor license for a new restaurant going into the old auto parts store at the corner of Coolidge and Beverly.
Receiving the Community Development Annual Report (hint: they've been doing a lot of good work.)
Passing tougher short-term rental legislation to make it easier to enforce against problem rentals.
Voting against selling a small parcel of property on Griffith north of 12. I argued that while we don't have an immediate need for the property, and the short-term infusion of cash would be nice, in the long run it is exceedingly rare for the city to acquire new property. Further, we don't know what we might need in the future, so we should carefully protect what we do have.

Leaf and Yard Waste

Yard tags are a thing of the past!

With updates to our commercial trash charges and an unexpected amount of revenue from the yard tags we were able to stabilize the fund and keep it self-sufficient going forward.

You no longer need yard tags this year or in the foreseeable future.

Leaves, and only leaves, can now be raked into the street.

You can still bag your leaves if you prefer, with no tag requirements.

The chipper route returns in April, 2025!

It will run every two weeks and you will not need to call in to schedule.

Read more about the rules for all of these programs on the city website.

New Parking Rules

The City's new parking rules and annual permitting process is now in effect.

Some of the changes include:

Improvements in technology now allows you to get your temporary passes online.
There is a limit of 15 temporary overnight passes per license plate. Before there was no limit.
The parking fine has been increased from $10 to $50. We expect fewer people to try to get away with leaving their car on the street overnight.
We can enforce non-parking during leaf pickup to make sure no one is missed.
Cars left in the same spot for 48 hours can be considered abandoned and can be towed. This includes vehicles with permits.
The overnight ban has been changed from 2 AM to 5 AM instead of 2 AM to 6 AM. This will make a big difference for people with early shifts.

But with the higher fine and stricter enforcement, we needed to find a solution for the few people without a place to park. Thus, the annual pass was introduced.

To get a permit, you must have a qualifying hardship, which includes:

Residences located on a corner lot.
Residences without a driveway.
Residences with more vehicles than can fit in the driveway and garage.
Residences with driveways narrower than 8 ft.
Residences whose driveways do not permit needed handicap accessibility.
Residences with long-term construction work and a dumpster in the driveway.
Residences with more drivers than available parking spaces for an extended period.

More details about annual permits.

Permits cost $400 annually. The relatively high cost is to ensure only people who truly need it apply. There is also a $25 non-refundable application fee.
The revenue raised from permit sales will be used to cover the cost of the program and to enhance, maintain, and expand public parking, which in turn helps get business customers off of residential streets.
People in apartments are not eligible.

Remember, you can also get up to 15 temporary permits per license plate per year for free, even for your visitors.

There are already an average of 150 cars on the street every night. If we made no change we're still going to have have cars on the road. Even if all officers did every night all night was write tickets, they wouldn’t have time to write 150 a night.

I believe with all of these changes working together we should see a decrease in overnight street parking. And if we don't get it right the first time, we set up the law so we can quickly adapt and improve upon what we learn.

You can read more about the background on these changes in my July 22, 2024 Update.

You can read more about the program and apply on the city's website.

Talk with Dennis

My next Talk with Dennis office hours are Tuesday, October 15. Stop by the library anytime between 6 and 8pm to ask any questions or share concerns you may have.

Halloween Decoration and Treat Map

My annual Halloween Decoration and Treat Map is now live.

Use the "Add New" link in the top right to add your home or business.

New this year is the ability to upload photos of your decorations!

Berkley Cares Pancake Fundraiser

City Council held a pancake breakfast fundraiser for the Berkley Cares Food Pantry.

We were able to raise $945!

It was a pleasure to be able to help. I want to thank Mayor Dean and Councilmember Patterson for organizing this and donating food, as well as Councilmember Black for his donations and masterful skill at the stove.

Thanks also go to community member Allison Dillon who assisted, as well as eight nursing students from Patterson's class.

And of course, gratitude to the pantry for the service they provide to our community and our neighbors.

If you weren't able to make it, money or food donations are always welcome.