Efforts to keep a long-time Rochester Hills grocery appear to be failing.

Wes Malear, Hollywood Markets’ operations director, said company officials want to stay at the current Rochester Hills location. But the company’s lease at the North Hill Plaza Shopping Center, 1495 N Rochester Road, ends Dec. 31.

“This is our home and we are part of the Rochester Hills community and neighborhood families,” he said, adding “so just maybe there is still hope if enough neighbors show support. We have looked in other areas of Rochester and will continue our search, but we have not found another location.”

Meijer has submitted a site plan to add a drive-through pharmacy. Rochester Hills planning commission will host a public hearing on Tuesday evening before voting on the conditional use request. The change would include adding the drive-through on the north side of the building and changing the Tienken Road driveway access for traffic safety.

“The only thing (the commissioners) will weigh in on is the drive-through portion for the pharmacy,” said Nathan Mueller, city spokesman. “The store itself is a permitted use.”

Without the addition of the drive-through, he said, Meijer would not need to get any other approvals from the city, because the site is already approved as a grocery location.

“It’s considered a permitted use,” Mueller said. “Obviously people are welcome to come to the planning commission meeting. I don’t want people to be misled that the planning commission is weighing in on a whole site plan.”

A 20-year Hollywood customer, Sue Evans, told WXYZ-TV she’d heard the store would likely close.

“They’re loyal to the community, they have excellent products, their meat is surpassed by none. When they are loyal to the community, we should be loyal back,” she said, adding that she hopes to see a groundswell of support for Hollywood Markets.

The Rochester Hills location is one place where shoppers can buy fresh British bangers sausages.

The city cannot compel the shopping center’s owner to extend a lease to a client, nor can it deny a permitted use of a property, he said. Each property must meet state and local building safety codes, which is why Meijer’s plan to add the pharmacy drive-through must be approved by the planning commission.

“Cities and townships have master plans to guide permitted and non-permitted uses,” Mueller said. “That’s basically to prevent something like a big-box store from appearing in a neighborhood.”

The site, which anchors the shopping center, is already approved as a grocery, so the city can’t stop Meijer from inhabiting the space, but can make adjustments to drive-through plans as a special use.

Mueller said Rochester Hills isn’t actively recruiting grocery companies to open in the city, but has at least 15 serving the city’s nearly 76,000 residents and people from nearby communities.

Those 15 include:

•  Papa Joe’s, 6900 N. Rochester Road

•  Hollywood Markets, 1495 N. Rochester Road

•  Kroger, 65 S. Livernois Road

•  Fresh Thyme Market, 2025 S. Rochester Road

•  Meijer, 3175 S. Rochester Road

•  Aditya Groceries, 2947 S. Rochester Road

•  Punjab Groceries, 2650 S. Rochester Road

•  Target 2887 S. Rochester Road

•  Aldi, 1106 S. Rochester Road

•  Gordon’s Food Service, 1370 Walton Blvd.

•  Meijer, 3610 Marketplace Circle

•  Walmart, 2500 S Adams Road

•  Whole Foods Market, 2918 Walton Blvd

•  Busch’s Fresh Food Market, 3188 Walton Blvd.

•  Trader Joe’s, 3044 Walton Blvd.

Another grocery, Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace, is just south of the Rochester Hills city limits at 6835 Rochester Road in Troy and is one of several groceries adjacent to the city.

“We do have a lot of good groceries and people patronize the ones they like,” he said. “Both Papa Joe’s and Hollywood have sustained success over the years at that location.”

He said he appreciates that people are so passionate about where they shop and the relationships they build.

Rochester Hills is far from the only community facing questions about the number of groceries. The Detroit News recently reported that Livonia’s city council is grappling with a second Meijer opening in the city of 92,000.

The Schostak & Brothers’ $60 million plan included a 75,000-square-foot Meijer and 102 apartments on a 16.5-acre site at the corner of Seven Mile and Farmington. The city also has a Kroger, Walmart and Target, with a Whole Foods proposed as part of the redevelopment of the former Comerica campus on Six Mile Road.

Plymouth Township was sued by Southfield-based Redico for opposing the development of a Meijer at the site of the former Detroit House of Corrections.

In Farmington Hills, a decision to create a Meijer at an aging strip mall led to a public outcry that the development would shutter Marvelous Marvin’s Mechanical Museum, a popular arcade. The museum’s owner announced last month that a new location has been identified, with details to be announced in the near future.

The planning commission meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17 at city hall, 1000 Rochester Hills Drive in Rochester Hills.

Rochester Hills grocery may be replaced

The Pontiac city council approved a design and engineering contract for the youth recreation center. The plan doesn’t include a pool but it does include an expectation that adults will use the building while children are at school.

Pontiac’s youth recreation millage expires in two years; voters will likely be asked to renew it.

The city may have to pursue a bond initiative to pay for the youth recreation center.

In 2016, voters approved a 10-year, 1.5 mil request to build a youth recreation center. The millage was meant to raise an estimated $9 million over a decade.

The city issued a request for proposals in March that included a six-lane pool and a waterslide, along with a gym that functions as a multipurpose room with an elevated track.

The initial estimate of $20 to $25 million for the facility has been updated and will now cost closer to $50 million.

The city council approved a pared-down, $37 million version late last month: A two-story 58,000 square-foot youth recreation facility with two gyms, a full kitchen with a cafe, a second-floor running track, meeting rooms, event and office space with an option to add either indoor or outdoor pools at a future date.

Assuming construction starts in August 2025, a facility without a pool would be done in December 2026.

Councilwoman Kathalee James voted against the plan, preferring a plan that included a pool.

District 2 Councilwoman Milanna Jones, appointed last month to complete former councilman Brett Nicholson’s term, also supported an indoor pool.

She said 11 people have drowned this year in Oakland County and she supported swim lessons especially for minority children.

Other council members said their desire for an indoor pool had to be balanced against other costs the city is facing. Councilwoman Melanie Rutherford said she supported the $37 million plan for the sake of the children but questioned the administration’s ability to manage the project.

“Three years ago if the administration said it needed $44 million to build a youth recreation center, I would have voted for it, no questions asked. That was before the high turnover rate, the failed business ventures, the (former city employees’ retirement-fund issues) and the veto of Alex Borngesser’s (raise) who put the structure and how we were going to spend these ARPA dollars in place and before we went without a finance director for six months … which means we don’t even know what we actually have,” Rutherford said, adding, “Can this administration, who has not done any of these things I mentioned, fully do this in the capacity they say that they can? This administration has not shown itself able to handle any large projects.”

Others expressed concern about ballooning costs.

One example: Demolition of McCarroll, expected to be covered by a $500,000 state grant to the Oakland County Land Bank Authority, is now closer to $800,000. Deputy Mayor Khalfani Stephens told the council the county is asking the state land bank for additional funds but they are not certain of getting it.

Stephens estimated that the city has about $20 million on hand but would need grants, philanthropic donations and municipal bonds as options to fund the remaining need.

Council President Mike McGuinness said looming deadlines led to the decision to authorize Racer Design Studios and Hobbs and Black Design Team to proceed with the full architecture, design, and engineering work.

The city plans to use at least $10 million from its $37 million in American Rescue Plan Act money. But that money must be allocated by Dec. 31 or the city risks losing it.

McGuinness said the city also faces other important facility costs that must be addressed in the next few years, including updating or replacing city hall, five fire stations, the sheriff’s office building next to city hall, the two senior centers, the 50th District Court, the city’s two cemeteries, the Collier Road landfill and purchasing or building a public works facility.

The city currently rents space for public works equipment and supplies.

An estimated $2 million from youth recreation millage will be used for the new facility. Based on estimates, the millage will raise close to $9 million. But resources created by youth rec money can only be used to benefit Pontiac residents 21 years old or younger. The millage money is not enough to pay for a new facility or the ongoing operating costs.

Mayor Tim Greimel said a youth-only facility would be mostly empty while school is in session, so it makes sense to use the space for other residents. He said the previous administration had saved $3.2 million for the project.

All members of the council advocated for a plan that would include a pool even if other building amenities were removed or reduced.

McGuinness said the city needs to make smart decisions with tax dollars by making proactive repairs to avoid having to replace whole buildings.

The school district has plans to complete an Olympic-size pool by the end of this year, he said and the city still needs to fix sidewalks and repair potholes, McGuinness said.

Councilman William Carrington said he voted against the district’s pool plans when he was on the school board, based on insurance and liability concerns.

Tarrance Price, the city’s parks and recreation director, briefly reviewed first-year operational costs, which would be an estimated $2.2 million with a pool, creating a $760,000 gap between what the The list totalled $2.2 million. The youth recreation millage generates an estimated $1.4 million a year. McGuinness said grants or renting out the facility could help make up the $760,000 gap.

Price said questions to be answered are whether to include metal detectors and a sheriff’s deputy; whether cash would be handled in the facility which would require specialized training and rules for getting the money to the city’s treasurer’s office on a daily basis and how the building closes each night. Weekend hours would require having an on-site safe until the money could be delivered to City Hall. Some estimated costs: $52,000 for building insurance and $500,000 for liability insurance, $468,000 for part-time employees and $465,000 for full-time employees, $30,000 for pool chemicals.

He said costs without a pool are closer to an estimated nearly $1.7 million, with a funding gap close to $300,000.

Children will be able to participate in most youth recreation programming at no cost, either at the new facility or various sites around the city. The city will create a fee schedule for facility use and rentals to offset operating costs, according to city officials.

Price said it takes three to five years to amass enough data to confidently project annual operating costs.

Meredith and Charles Stanley love Halloween and invested thousands of dollars in an annual front-yard display that has, over time, extended to neighbors’ yards on Waterford Township’s Louella Street.

Not this year.

“As we look back, it’s tearing at our heartstrings, but we want to enjoy life,” Charles said Tuesday evening.

Since they created their first faux tombstones out of plywood in 2017 and a 10-foot pumpkin-headed monster made of pvc pipes, the couple has spent much of their free time every September and October tending to a themed display that Meredith designed each year.

But the youngest in their blended family, Ryan Pacifico, 17, is in his senior year at Waterford Kettering High School as both a student and football player. The Stanleys don’t want to miss any part of that.

Their first Halloween display attracted maybe 25 people, Charles said. Last year, neighbors said they ran out of candy on Halloween because so many trick-or-treaters showed up on the dead-end street.

“Then every year as we started adding more and more, we had more and more people coming to see it,” he said. “Our neighbors would start asking us in August when we’d be putting up the decorations.”

Over the years they’ve created a haunted pumpkin patch that included more than 100 corn stalks, a good-versus-evil display and a twisted fairy tale interpretations – one based on the Three Little Pigs in which the wolf wins and another featuring the witch from Hansel and Gretal hovering over a cauldron. Every year, they dress up as different characters to match the display’s theme. Most October nights were spent in the front yard, greeting visitors.

“My wife works it out with paper and a pencil. She draws stick figures and I interpret them,” Charles said. “Then we execute it together.”

Even the construction phase attracted small audiences, including some children walking home from the nearby middle school who linger to watch the work, ask questions and sometimes make suggestions. One year a handful of girls from the middle school suggested they add a group of skeletons climbing the Stanley’s two-story home, “so we incorporated that for these particular girls,” Charles said.

As much fun as they’ve had creating the annual displays, it’s the sense of community they’ll miss most: Neighbors stopping by to chat and a boy and girl who routinely stopped to watch the action and chat with the Stanleys.

“We watched them grow up,” Charles said. “That’s what motivated us.”

A man who lived nine blocks away created a hayride from his house to the Stanleys, with a “Louella Haunted House” sign. He’d bring more than a dozen visitors, Charles said.

Pacifico once helped out by recruiting fellow football players to dress up in costumes to chase visitors. Now, he’s in his second year working at the Rotten Manor haunted house in Holly.

Meredith grew up in a family that loved Halloween. As an adult, she helped her sister decorate her Clarkston home and garage as a haunted house.

Three years ago, someone suggested they put out a donation box for a favorite charity. They chose a pitbull education and rescue and collected close to $1,000 over time. Two years ago, Meredith created a Facebook page to share photos and display information. She wishes she’d started that page earlier – and she may keep it going by adding photos from years past.

“We had such an amazing turnout with just our small subdivision and we had people donate lanterns and other halloween items. One guy dropped off a dozen tiki torches. Sometimes we’d come home and there’d be Halloween stuff on our porch,” she said, laughing.

More than anything, the Stanleys are grateful to all the people who came out and enjoyed their Halloween hobby. Their announcement on Facebook drew dozens of comments from fans, including Leah Karagosian, who wrote, “Thank you for your five years of wonderful Halloween fun!”

Her son Lou, 3, has a collection of toy skeletons, some of which are taller than he is.

“As a mom of a skeleton-obsessed toddler, we’re pretty bummed that they’re closing!” she told The Oakland Press Thursday, adding that she supports the Stanleys’ decision despite her disappointment.

“We love Halloween but we don’t get to enjoy other people’s stuff, like the haunted house on TIllson Street,” Meredith said. The Stanleys are also excited about visiting Rotten Manor while Ryan is working.

“We think it’s cool he’s taking on the tradition,” she said.

Once Ryan’s last year of high school is over, the Stanleys hope to see Salem, Massachusetts.

“We’ve had a very good run and we’ll keep some stuff and will still make a display but it will be smaller,” Meredith said. A lot smaller: The Stanleys will host a sale at their home on Friday, Sept. 13, with a goal of reclaiming their basement and garage, currently full of Halloween decor.  It’s a rain-or-shine sale, they said.

Grange Hall Road, between Fish Lake Road and Leroy Street in Holly Township and the Village of Fenton, will close on Thursday, Sept. 12, according to the Road Commission for Oakland County.

A culvert under the road will be replaced. This section of Grange Hall Road carries an estimated 12,630 vehicles daily.

The work will happen just east of Eddy Lake Road and is expected to be completed in one day so the road can reopen.

Residents and business owners will have access to their properties via roads east and west of the closure.

Through traffic will detour by taking Fish Lake Road to South Fenton Road to South Holly Road to Leroy Street, back to Grange Hall Road and vice versa.

Learn more at https://www.rcocweb.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1290.

Lou and Draga Nesin couldn’t find the right type of bracket to save space in their house, so Lou used his welding skills to invent what they needed.

“Then we thought it would be a good idea to share with consumers having the same problem, Draga said. “It’s not your ordinary bracket, it’s more high end.”

Now, their EZ Folding Bracket is one of 10 Oakland County entries, including seven from Southfield, in the Michigan Manufacturers Association’s annual Coolest Thing Made in Michigan contest. The contest showcases Michigan’s manufacturing diversity and strength. People may vote for their favorites. The winner will be announced on Nov. 6 in Lansing.

“From the tip of the Upper Peninsula to the bottom of the mitten, these nominees exemplify the broad and diverse manufacturing industry here in Michigan,” said Delaney McKinley, MMA’s executive vice president of operations.

The Nesin’s two-pound bracket can hold up to 75 pounds and keep golf bags, bikes, kayaks, folding chairs and other items off the floor, Lou said. The Nesins’ Southfield-based company produces brackets for commercial and residential uses.

Patented in 2018, the Nesins contracted with a Warren-based company to make the brackets. Their business got a slow start, thanks to the COVID-19 epidemic.

The Nesins said joining Lawrence Technological University’s Centrepolis Accelerator helped them learn how to run a company.

Another item among the contest’s 44 entries is a chopping board that uses artificial intelligence and produced by Versaware of Southfield.

You can vote for the coolest things made in Michigan

Jacob Lindberg, Versaware’s co-founder and CEO described the cutting board as “a purposeful ‘Alexa for Nutrition’-style AI cooking assistant.”

The voice-controlled device is interactive and can walk users through any recipe while tracking all nutrition information.

Lindberg said the challenges people have for tracking nutrients in their food created an opportunity for innovation in the large cooking and nutrition market.

Other Southfield companies in the contest include Wareologie, which makes a portable parallel bar unit for physical therapy to patients; self-driving snow-removal robots by Snowbotix; a drone capable of delivering urgently needed medical supplies, among other items, by Blueflite; caffeine-infused sports drinks by Celsius; and, a large solar-powered outdoor canopy with enough juice to charge an electric vehicle.

Two Farmington Hills companies are also in the contest: ThinkDigits, for artificial intelligence software designed to manage supply chains, and manufacturing, and Blitz Proto’s therapeutic vibrators to improve user mobility and reduce the risk of falls.

Other entrants from Oakland County include the Wixom-based and family owned Trijicon, for a rifle scope. The company produces optical gun sights and other items for military and police use, hunting and competitive shooting.

Votes are being tallied at micoolestthing.org.

Pine Trace Golf Course officials want to relocate its driving range closer to South Boulevard West.

The Rochester Hills’ planning commission will consider the request at a Tuesday meeting, along with a request from the Property Owners Association of Hampton at 254 Hampton Circle to replace the community building and pool and add a recreation area in the same location.

The city owns the golf course land, which is leased by Pine Trace owner-operator Mike Bylen. He did not respond to a call for comment from The Oakland Press.

The existing driving range will be demolished, according to plans submitted to the city, and a new range will be built on land on the north side of South Boulevard, east of South Adams Street, which the city acquired last year.

The work requires removing more than 350 trees, 237 of which are regulated by the city. The remaining are display trees. Pine Trace says it will plant 886 new trees.

Mayor Bryan K. Barnett said the golf course “hasn’t had a lot of work and upgrading done since it was first built” starting in 1987.

“There will be a new entrance to the golf course. The whole thing should look and perform dramatically differently,” he said. “Moving the driving range is one aspect.”

Next year, the course will be closed while the clubhouse is replaced, he said. “The current clubhouse only has a 50 or 60-person capacity. It’s tired and dated … You have to update if you want to compete in the wedding and corporate events game.”

He said more changes will come before the city council in the months ahead with the goal of seeing the course become more competitive in the  market. Bylen leased the land from the city in 1987 and opened the course in 1989. Under the current lease, his company pays the city 10% of its annual gross proceeds, an estimated $155,000 each year through 2024 and an estimated $165,000 in 2027. Past payments have at times exceeded estimates, according to city documents.

The planning commission will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3 in the Rochester Hills  Municipal auditorium, 1000 Rochester Hills Drive.

The clock is ticking for Priority Waste to fix ongoing garbage collection problems in multiple communities. Priority took on 700,000 new customers and a host of problems starting July 1, after purchasing more than 70 municipal GFL Environmental contracts.

Rochester Hills Mayor Brian K. Barnett had an emergency meeting Thursday morning with Priority’s founder and CEO, Todd Stamper.

“Everyone in the room was clear this has not been a simple transition and it was not up to the standards we expect or will allow,” Barnett said. “They have to make changes.”

Besides picking up garbage, compost, recycling and bulk items as scheduled and responding to residents’ calls promptly, the company needs to get the bills right. Some of the city’s 25,000-plus customers paid for a full year of service, but received bills from Priority. Other customers received inaccurate bills.

Rochester Hills residents pay $57.90 for service on a quarterly basis, but some have discounts.

Rotting compost that had not been picked up on time caused a stench in the recent hot weather. Unlike Waterford Township, Rochester Hills has not hired outside contractors to clear backlogs.

“This is on (Priority) to fix. It’s on them to provide the service we paid for,” Barnett said. The city set timelines for various corrections, with deadlines over the next seven to 14 days, Barnett said.

Clinton Township’s board of trustees voted unanimously to institute $50-a-day fines starting on Sept. 16 for every day the issues remain unresolved. Priority is headquartered in Clinton Township.

Barnett said Stamper apologized to city officials dealing with residents’ complaints.

“We agreed to try not to look backward but move forward with clear expectations,” Barnett said. “We will hold them accountable.”

Like Clinton and Waterford townships, Rochester Hills officials are talking to their city attorney about all options to pursue if problems continue beyond the agreed-upon deadlines.

Barnett did not disclose what he called the city’s “leverage points we can utilize.” He said he was more interested in seeing Priority comply with the contract.

Matt Allen, Priority Waste’s director of public relations and government affairs, said the city and company are “on the same page … The installation of the technology on the trucks will take place very soon and will increase operational performance greatly … Priority thanks everyone for working through this transition as service improves daily.”

Residents with questions about their bills should email billing@prioritywaste.com or call (586) 228-1200.

Oakland County’s road commission is considering a $177.7 million budget for the next fiscal year.

Details will be presented at a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 26, at the road commission’s main office, 31001 Lahser Road at the corner of 13 Mile Road in Beverly Hills.

The commissioner must finalize the budget before the next fiscal year starts on Oct. 1. The budget will be on the board’s Sept. 19 agenda.

Anyone who can’t attend in person can listen in by calling (810) 337-8118 and adding the conference ID code: 350 141 867#.

The proposed budget is $16.2 million less than the current $193.9 million budget. The reduction is being attributed to fewer federal road funds, a figure dropping from $42.3 million to $28.2 million for next year; a 60% drop in revenue interest returns; and a slight reduction in contributions from local governments. All three figures fluctuate from one year to the next.

Interest dropped to $800,000, compared to $1.9 million this year, and local governments’ cost-sharing contributions will drop to $10.1 million from $10.8 million.

The proposed budget shows the commission expects an estimated $122.3 million from the state’s road funds. That’s the same as the last two years, but less than in 2022.

Michigan also pays Oakland County to maintain state highways within the county. In 2025, the estimated payment is $14 million, up slightly from this year; MDOT also pays $2.7 million to the county for fees and other revenues.

Next year, the road commission plans to use $56 million for safety-related road-improvement projects planned to be under construction in 2025 and future years (this is not the total cost for these projects as some costs were included in the current year’s budget or will be included in the 2026 budget where projects are expected to be carried over into 2026); $30.2 million for road maintenance efforts such as pothole patching, gravel road grading and salting and plowing in the winter; and $16.5 million for maintaining traffic signs, signals, pavement markings and guardrails among other activities.

The remainder of the budget is dedicated to operating expenses including customer services, vehicle maintenance, staff wages, buildings and grounds and administration.

Managing Director Dennis Kolar said the budget reflects the commission’s safety-first approach to roads.

On Monday, County Highway Engineer Gary Piotrowicz, who is also the RCOC’s deputy managing director, will provide an overview of the proposed 2025 road-construction projects.

The proposed budget is posted on the road commission’s website: https://www.rcocweb.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/122.

Eastways Road will be closed on Monday, Aug. 19, to replace a culvert, according to the county road commission.

This road is just north of Long Lake Road and runs from Bloomfield Hills into Bloomfield Township. An estimated 4,500 vehicles use Eastways Road daily.

Residents and business owners just north of Long Lake Road will continue to have access to their properties, but the road will be completely closed at the culvert.

The detour for through traffic will be Long Lake Road to Squirrel Road to East Square Lake Road, back to Eastways Road and vice versa.

The $903,000 project, which includes a culvert replacement on Long Lake Road, involves:

•  Installing a pre-cast concrete culvert to replace the existing 70-year-old culvert under the road that carries a tributary to the Rouge River. New wing walls will be added.

•  Installing new signs, a guardrail and applying asphalt paving in the vicinity.

The work on Long Lake Road, just east of Eastways Road, is expected to be completed before the Woodward Dream Cruise begins later this week.

Shelby Township-based DiPonio Contracting Inc. is expected to complete the Eastways Road project by Sept. 7, weather permitting.

For project details, visit https://www.rcocweb.org/687/Long-Lake-Road-and-Eastways-Road-Culvert.

When Pontiac High School students return to class on Sept. 3, they’ll be greeted by interim principal Teni Clark-Franklin. Until June, she was one of the high school’s two assistant principals.

She was named interim to fill a vacancy after Lee Montgomery was fired on April 22 after he filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the district on April 17. He had been the high school’s principal since 2022.

Among those named in Montgomery’s lawsuit: the Pontiac School District, school board trustees Gill Garrett and Kevin Gross, and the Pontiac Association of School Administrators (PASA), which represents most administrators in the district.

Montgomery’s attorney, Robert Lusk, said the lawsuit alleges that cronyism, nepotism and infighting in the district led to Montgomery’s demotion and dismissal. The lawsuit also alleges sex discrimination by the district prohibited by the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and that the school board violated the Open Meetings Act on April 22 by ignoring his request to discuss his job status in a public meeting.

In response to questions from The Oakland Press, the district issued a statement saying that in December 2023, Montgomery “received a complaint from a student. Mr. Montgomery’s handling of the complaint violated district policy and was contrary to the standards for administrators at the school district of the city of Pontiac. On April 22, 2024, the Board of Education non-renewed Mr. Montgomery’s Administrative Services Contract. The district is vigorously defending the lawsuit filed by Mr. Montgomery.”

Garrett said he could not comment on pending litigation and Gross said he had no comment.

The district hired Montgomery in 2012 to be Pontiac Middle School’s assistant principal. He held several positions with the district and was promoted to high school principal in 2022. Graduation rates increased from 57% during Montgomery’s first year to 63% in 2023, but remained under the state’s lowest threshold of 67%. The 2024 figures have not yet been released.

Montgomery’s salary for the 2023-24 school year was $127,933.13.

The lawsuit alleges several conflicts between Montgomery and the school district’s security chief Val Gross – Trustee Gross’ brother – culminated when Montgomery reprimanded a school security officer for mistreating a student. The security officer is Val Gross’ son Greg. Montgomery had also moved Val Gross’ office out of the high school.

On Dec. 19, 2023, Montgomery talked to a cognitively challenged female student who accused a male classmate of sexually harassing her.

Montgomery followed district protocol, according to the lawsuit, but was later accused of not doing so by Val Gross and Y’londa Kellum, the district’s assistant superintendent of human resources. Montgomery asked for a PASA official to attend his meeting with Gross and Kellum but the union declined because Montgomery was not current with his PASA dues, according to the lawsuit.

Lee Montgomery lawsuit

Kellum later documented her verbal warning to Montgomery following the meeting. On Jan. 8, she gave Montgomery a 5-day paid suspension.

On the night of Jan. 8 the school board met in closed session and allegedly agreed to tell Montgomery to resign or be demoted to elementary school principal, according to the lawsuit. The meeting minutes do not document this decision.

On Jan. 10, the school district’s attorney Darryl Segars called Montgomery and said trustees would fire him unless he agreed to be demoted, according to the lawsuit.

Attorney Lusk said either the board made an illegal closed-session decision on Jan. 8 or “Mr. Segars was not straightforward with my client on Jan. 10.”

Montgomery asked to address the board and a special meeting was set for Jan. 11. Montgomery was forced to agree to a demotion as a condition of speaking to the board of education, another violation of the law, Lusk said.

During the Jan. 11 meeting, the board voted to demote Montgomery.

On Jan. 12, Kellum told Montgomery he was being transferred to Rogers Elementary School.

On Jan. 17, she informed him he could clear out his high school office.

While Montgomery was clearing his office on Jan. 17, Val Gross and two sheriff’s deputies arrived and escorted him out of the building. The lawsuit noted that Val Gross resumed working in the high school and hired Kellum’s son, Aaron Pitts.

On Jan. 18, Montgomery asked for a leave of absence, granted under Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rules. Later that month, he hired Lusk.

In February, Lusk began communicating with interim superintendent Kimberly Leverette. The district wanted Montgomery to undergo an independent medical evaluation. The lawsuit states the doctor, Southfield-based psychiatrist Harvey Ager, M.D. “was cross-examining (Montgomery) about his legal issues with the School District and asking him irrelevant questions about his ex-wife and children.”

Montgomery declined to answer some of the questions but answered others, according to the lawsuit. The doctor’s report to the district said Montgomery was not cooperative and the medical report “inconclusive,” according to the lawsuit.

On April 16, Montgomery received a letter from Garrett telling him the board would meet in closed session on April 22 to discuss firing the principal, according to the lawsuit. Garrett’s letter listed Montgomery’s handling of the sex-harassment incident and multiple unspecified instances of insubordination and alleged non-cooperation.

Garrett’s April 16 letter to Montgomery was a violation of FMLA rules, according to the lawsuit.

Montgomery and Lusk insisted the April 22 meeting be open to the public. The district’s recording of the April 22 school board meeting does not include Lusk’s public presentation or the votes taken after the board discussed Montgomery’s job in a closed session. The board’s closed-meeting decision to terminate Montgomery, Lusk said, is a violation of the Open Meeting Act.

The lawsuit’s sex discrimination claim cites another district principal, Suzanne Kavanaugh. She was disciplined but not fired for mishandling a sex-harassment complaint. In Kavanaugh’s case, according to the lawsuit, she was shown an inappropriate picture taken of a student in a school bathroom but erased the photo and did not report the incident as is required by law. Another staff member reported the incident to district administrators, according to the lawsuit.

Lusk said the lawsuit is asking for a base amount of $25,000 and other damages to be determined by the court. Montgomery is asking for a jury trial to decide the matter.

The trial is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. April 29, 2025, before Sixth Circuit Court Judge Daniel P. O’Brien.

Tuesday’s primary ballot is full of candidates and ballot measures. In Pontiac, voters will decide whether to adopt a new city charter. Several communities will be voting on millages for police, fire, public safety, libraries, parks and recreation. The list of candidates will be winnowed down for the Nov. 5 general election.

For details on candidates or ballot issues, visit the Oakland County clerk’s elections page.

WHAT  YOU NEED TO KNOW

WEATHER: The National Weather Service’s White Lake Township office predicts showers and possibly a thunderstorm.

TURNOUT: County Clerk Lisa Brown said turnout is impossible to predict, but but on the last four presidential primaries, will likely be between 19% and close to 35% – with a number of factors affecting voter behavior, from the weather to what candidates and millages or questions each community has on its ballot.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson released some figures late Monday showing that more than 1.6 million absentee-ballot applications had been received so far, compared to 1.8 million the day before 2020’s August primary when more than 1.8 applications had been received. The number of completed and returned absentee ballots was also down by comparison: 970,041 as of Monday, compared to nearly 1.3 million in 2020.

VOTING HOURS: Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in every jurisdiction. If you don’t know your polling place, you can find it online at: https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/Voter/Index/#yourclerk.

WHO CAN VOTE: You can vote at your polling place until 8 p.m. Tuesday – anyone already in line by 8 p.m. Tuesday will be allowed to cast a ballot. You have the right to register to vote and vote up to 8 p.m. on Election Day. If you’re not registered to vote or need to change the address for your voter registration, visit your city or township clerk’s office as soon as possible Tuesday to avoid lines. You’ll get a ballot at that time and can vote at your clerk’s office. You cannot register to vote after 8 p.m. Tuesday.

HOW TO VOTE: County Clerk Lisa Brown said voters can only pick one political party in a primary election. Voting for Democratic and Republican candidates will spoil your ballot and your vote will not count. If you’re at a polling place and make that mistake, election workers can spoil that ballot and issue a new one.

WHAT YOU NEED TO VOTE: You need to be at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen. People currently in jail or prison cannot cast a ballot. You’ll need to bring your proof of eligibility and residency. You must show you’re a Michigan resident and you’ve lived in your city or township for at least 30 days before Election Day. The proof you need must be either: a Michigan driver’s license or state ID or a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government check that shows your name and address or another document issued by a federal, state or local government agency.

Michigan residents attending college can register to vote based on their school or home address. Out-of-state residents attending Michigan schools can register to vote based on their school address. Michigan residents attending out-of-state schools can register to vote at their Michigan address. It is illegal to cast ballots in two different states for the same election.

WHERE TO VOTE: The state has a webpage where voters can find their polling places and confirm their voter registration status: https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/Voter/Index/#yourclerk.

POLL RESTRICTIONS: People campaigning for a candidate or ballot measure must stand at least 100 feet away from a polling place. Voters cannot carry election, campaign or other partisan items (literature, stickers, fliers, etc.) into the polling place or wear election-related hats, shirts or other clothing or accessories and they cannot display or wear candidate- or election-related signs. No one is allowed to request signatures or sign petitions without 100 feet of a polling place.

ABSENTEE BALLOTS: Must be returned by 8 p.m. Tuesday to your municipal clerk’s office. You can find your polling place or clerk’s office online at https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/Voter/Index/#yourclerk. If you filled out an absentee ballot but haven’t returned it yet and want to make changes, go to your municipal clerk’s office to have the ballot spoiled and get a new ballot.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER TUESDAY: Results will start being posted shortly after 8 p.m. on the county clerk’s website. https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/MI/Oakland/122075/web.317647/.

At 9 a.m. Wednesday, the County Election Certification Board meets to validate the voting results. Wednesday is also 90 days from the Nov. 5 presidential election.

The campaign to reduce invasive plants such as phragmites and knotweed along Oakland County roads has resumed.

The county road commission and the Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA) are partners in the effort, which continues through October.

Commercial herbicides are the only effective way to treat these types of invasive plants, according to the road commission.

Phragmites are tall reedy grasses that can reach heights of 15 feet in wet areas. They create safety and environmental problems by blocking drivers’ views at intersections, impeding water access, impairing drainage, damaging infrastructure, and crowding out habitat. Because they grow in dense clusters phragmites’ dry reeds can fuel damaging fires with temperatures that can reach up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

A phragmities fire In March 2011 burned 160 acres at Great Lakes Crossing Mall in Auburn Hills. The fire was so intense that area homes and businesses were evacuated and I-75 was closed. A similar fire happened a year later. In 2013, a phragmites fire torched 150 acres on Harsens Island according to the Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative.

Knotweed is another noxious perennial with broad green leaves that quickly spreads and can damage buildings and roads.

Over the next three months state-licensed contractors will apply herbicides from backpack-style sprayers or from a vehicle equipped with a sprayer.

People will see yellow signs posted in each area on treatment days that will say what and where herbicides were used and what restrictions apply. People should avoid the treated areas until after the herbicide has dried.

Contractors will treat knotweed using Stantec. People with questions can call (616) 847-1680, visit www.stantec.com or write to the company at 8060 Kensington Ct., Brighton MI 48116.

For questions about chemical products used and application methods to treat phragmites, contact Stantec or PLM Lake and Land Management Corp., 10785 Bennett Drive, Morrice, MI 48857, (800) 382-4434, www.plmcorp.net.

Learn more about CISMA members and partners online at https://oaklandinvasivespecies.org/current-members/.

People can also contact the road commission at (877) 858-4804 or by email at dcsmail@rcoc.org.

Oakland County continues phragmites fight

When Nativity Episcopal Church in Bloomfield Township hosts a gun buyback on Saturday, Nancy and Ted Verner will be there.

They’ll help collect, destroy and transform long guns, pistols, and assault rifles to honor the memory of their daughter, Alexandra “Alex” Verner. She was killed along with Arielle Anderson and Brian Fraser during the Feb. 13, 2023, mass shooting at Michigan State University that also critically injured five more students.

Alex would have been 22 on Aug. 17. The Clawson couple and their two other children, TJ and Charlotte, are finding ways to make sure Alex is not forgotten. They started the Alex Verner 24 Foundation, which awards a scholarship to a Clawson High School graduate and has a host of other initiatives underway.

Nativity’s gun buyback is from 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, at the church, 21220 W. 14 Mile Road in Bloomfield Township.

On Saturday, gun parts will be reused for art pieces. Alex loved art. Trained volunteers, including Ted Verner, will operate six high-performance chop saws to ensure the firearms are properly destroyed.

People who bring firearms for disposal can exchange them for artwork, T-shirts or gift cards from Kroger or Meijer. University of Michigan researchers will be on hand as part of their study of unwanted weapons in the U.S. Some of the firearm parts will be used in a two-story art project, according to the Verners.

The Verners got involved with buybacks after attending a Moms Demand Action meeting at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Southfield.

“They talked about why it’s so difficult to get rid of a gun,” said Ted Verner. “I’m not an anti-gun person. Guns don’t kill people, it’s people who make a conscious decision to use a gun to kill people.”

Their foundation is not doing any fundraising during the buyback event.

The family is still “getting healthy” and learning to cope with long-term grief, said Ted. Sometimes it’s as simple as cutting the grass or greeting neighbors.

“There are some days we have a hard time getting out of bed. But we want to make sure Alex’s life was not taken in vain,” he said.

The Verners said they’re grateful to Clawson’s 11,000-plus residents for their love and support. They continue looking for ways, as Nancy said, to turn Alex’s death into “something useful and good and beautiful.”

The Rev. Bob Alltop, Nativity’s rector, said turning gun parts into jewelry, key fobs, crosses, and many other works of art “reminds us of God’s transforming power to turn what was meant for threat or harm into things of beauty and tranquility.”

Oakland County commissioners unanimously voted for an additional $10,000 to support St. David’s efforts. The board allocated $5,000 from the Safer Communities Fund and $5,000 from the general fund special projects account to support buybacks.

County Commissioner Marcia Gershenson said the buybacks create safer communities and that transforming firearms into something beautiful “testifies to our ability to change and transform our societies.”

Saturday’s gun buyback is the second of six events. The first, at St. David’s in Southfield, collected and destroyed 90 guns on July 13.

The next gun buybacks are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the following Saturdays:

•  Aug. 24, Church of the Messiah, 231 E Grand Blvd. in Detroit

•  Sept. 28, All Saints Episcopal Church, 71 W Pike St. in Pontiac

•  Oct. 5,  St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 5301 Hatchery Road in Waterford Township

•  Nov. 9: St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 1679 Broadway St. in Ann Arbor

To learn more about St. David’s Gun Disposal Ministry, visit stdavidssf.org. For the latest on the Alex Verner 24 Foundation, visit https://alexverner24.com.

People celebrated the release on Thursday of Americans wrongfully detained in Russia, including Paul Whelan, a former Novi resident.

Whelan, 54, was accused of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison. He returned to the U.S. Thursday as part of a seven-nation, 24-prisoner exchange – the largest exchange between the U.S. and Russia since the Cold War. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, 32, also convicted of espionage and sentenced to prison, was included in the exchange. Both Wheland and Gershovich, their families and U.S. officials have denied they were spies.

David Whelan, Paul’s twin brother, has served as the family spokesman since shortly after Paul was arrested in Moscow where he had traveled to attend a friend’s wedding in December 2018.

“I’m still sort of squaring it away,” David Whelan said Thursday. “More than anything else it’s a feeling of relief. I can put this aside and reclaim my life.”

What has changed for the family since December 2018?

“I think all those people – me, Paul, Elizabeth, (brother) Andrew and even our parents – those people we were don’t exist anymore,” he said. In regrouping, he added they each have to figure out their relationships and lives now that the ordeal is over.

For more than five years, David Whelan sifted through early-morning print, TV, radio and online-only news reports from around the world, partly to create a daily Whelan family email and partly to anticipate what questions he might have to answer that day and whether he needed to craft a message to the supporters who signed up for a newsletter service.

There were times he spent days fielding media requests – on top of his day job as director of the San Diego Law Library. He sent a final email to supporters and journalists on Thursday asking to give the family privacy, saying he was done with interviews. He later messaged five reporters he described as “dogged” with a message of appreciation and an offer for a final interview to bring closure to a marathon of watching and waiting, and putting parts of his life on hold.

Now?

“The nice thing is, we have opportunities,” he said. “It was blissful this morning. I thought, ‘I’m only going to talk to five people today’ … We’ve achieved the goal. We’ve gotten to the end and Paul is home.”

He’s careful to say that Paul, after 2,043 days in Russian detention, is now in charge of his own story as he rebuilds a life after losing his job as head of security for Borg Warner, his apartment, his car and his dog – what David called, “the worst country song, ever.”

The family has kept Paul’s possessions in storage, put any loans on hold and kept his financial house in order – a small silver lining, David said.

After landing at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, D.C. and being greeted on the tarmac by sister Elizabeth, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Paul traveled to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, for a medical check up. He will stay there for a while and participate in a program designed to help former hostages and detainees re-acclimate to their new life before returning home.

Some family members will visit Paul there.

But David is changing jobs, selling his family’s San Diego home and shopping for one in Illinois.  He and his wife will be traveling to East Lansing to help their son get settled before starting classes at Michigan State University in the next few weeks.

David said he plans to see Paul when both their lives settle down.

He produced a free booklet for families of other detainees on what to expect and how to handle what was, at times, relentless media attention. It’s a resource he wished he’d had in 2018 when Paul was arrested. He plans to add one more update and keep the booklet online to help others. The book includes tips on how to deal with the media and even how to choose photos of the family member who is detained so it will show up well online, in print  or on TV. He said he hopes no one ever has to use it, but he knows someone will.

“We didn’t anticipate how much the media coverage would focus on Paul’s history and why he was the victim rather than looking at the Kremlin and why they would arrest an American, regardless of their background,” David said. “People would go around our parents’ house and take pictures … it was quasi-doxxing to get details that were totally irrelevant. Pretty much everything in Paul’s life, prior to his arrest, had nothing to do with why he was arrested.”

While David handled information gathering and media calls about Paul, their sister Elizabeth became the family lobbyist, trekking from her Massachusetts home to Washington, D.C. for Congressional hearings and meetings with state department and White House officials.

“Her visit this week was the 27th time she’s been to D.C. She’s spent nearly $20,000 of her own money to do that and it sorely damaged her business. She’s self-employed,” David said.

For more than five years, David has used a prepaid phone for media calls and has kept the notifications turned off so he could sleep at night. Soon, the phone will be gone, he said.

David credits Paul’s freedom to “the persistency of the U.S. government – not one administration. This has a lot to do with the people in the State Department and National Security Council. Their tenacity was critical but fundamentally and notable is the Kremlin had to be willing to do the deal. I don’t know exactly who …  maybe circumstances changed in the Kremlin? It’s alchemy until it clicks.”

He’s not shy about saying he would have accepted “any trade to get Paul home” and wonders which prisoner was exchanged for his brother. In any case, he also praised the cooperation of the five other countries involved to get the others to the U.S. He suspects some politicians in other countries may feel pushback for their delicate prisoner exchange decisions that could have easily fallen apart in the 11th hour.

“Until I saw the White House statement, I was still 50-50 on whether Paul would be exchanged,” he said.

On Friday, David and Elizabeth shut down the GoFundMe they’d established to help pay for Paul’s Russian lawyers, medical bills, for his phone card, his prison fund, personal care items such as toilet paper, toothpaste and fresh food and to get him back to the United States. The effort raised $95,828. It’s unclear how much was expended on his needs in Russia.

“We are no longer taking donations and thank you for your crucial support for Paul, which was so necessary and vital to keeping him going,” Elizabeth wrote in her final GoFundMe note. “Thank you all — WE DID THIS!!! Now, let’s celebrate Paul Whelan’s freedom!”

As for Paul, “We’ve been running some parts of his life for the last five years. He wasn’t always thrilled with some of our decisions, so we’ll be doing some relationship work,” David said. “What’s important now is for Paul to have more agency over his own life.”

He’s overjoyed their parents will be able to see Paul again.

“Our mom had to have knee-replacement surgery and when the nurse asked what she hoped to do after, mom said, ‘I want to be able to walk up to my son when he is freed from the Russian prison,’’’ he said. “I think she’ll be ready.”

On the heels of the Rite Aid store in Milford closing and four more identified in Oakland County last month, the drugstore chain announced all Michigan and Ohio stores will close in mid-August. That includes seven more in Oakland County:

•  Bloomfield Square, 3251 South Blvd., Auburn Hills

•  33330 W. 12 Mile, Farmington Hills

•  15242 N. Holly Road, Holly

•  10 S. Ortonville Road, Ortonville

•  1026 N. Main St., Royal Oak

•  Rochester Hills Plaza, 1378 Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills

•  5520 Drake Road, West Bloomfield

Last month, Rite Aid announced it would close four Oakland County stores:

•  5789 Ortonville Road, Clarkston

•  3273 W. Huron St., Waterford

•  25610 Pontiac Trail, South Lyon

•  360 N. ML King Jr. Blvd., Pontiac

Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy in October 2023 and said it plans to close 400 to 500 of its 2,200 stores. In June, the chain said it was closing 12 of its 186 stores in Michigan, followed by reports that it would shut all of its locations in the state in August. The chain is also closing its distribution center in Waterford Township on Aug. 16 and laying off 191 workers.

Brown Road is closed between the north and southbound sides of Giddings Road until at least Aug. 20, according to road commission officials.

The road, which borders Auburn Hills and Orion Township, is being rebuilt. An estimated 9,920 vehicles travel this section of Brown Road daily.

The work is part of a 2.8-mile project to reconstruct Brown, Giddings, and Silver Bell roads from Jamm Road to Lapeer Road (M-24), which started on April 16.

The detour during the closure is Brown Road to the north leg of Giddings Road to Silver Bell Road to Lapeer Road (M-24), back to Brown Road and vice versa.

The entire project will be finished by mid-November.

For details, visit https://www.rcocweb.org/678/Brown-Giddings-and-Silver-Bell-roads.

Anyone with questions can call the road commission at (877) 858-4804 between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Monday through Friday or email dcsmail@rcoc.org

Oakland County residents saddled with student-loan debt will have a new avenue for relief starting in September.

County officials joined Oakland University President Ora Pescovitz to announce the partnership with Washington D.C.-based startup Savi.

The company helps students assess best repayment options and can identify relief programs that could reduce interest rates or eliminate debt altogether, according to the company. Savi is not available to individuals. The company typically provides services as a benefit for members of AARP, one of the fastest-growing groups with student debt, employers, unions and membership organizations.

David Woodward, commission chair and a Royal Oak Democrat, said the idea started during a Washington D.C. meeting with the National Association of Counties and company officials. The county has more graduates than any other in the state, he said, and an estimated 172,000 people carrying $6 billion in student debt. The agreement makes Oakland County the first in the U.S to contract with Savi to serve residents.

Reducing the debt is especially important in light of Oakland 80, the county’s program to encourage  80% of residents to earn a college degree or certificate by 2030, Woodard said.

Asking people to pursue higher education to get jobs that pay better has resulted in thousands burdened by monthly loan payments that are equal to or larger than a mortgage, Woodward  said. The paperwork to get loan forgiveness or reduced interest rates are an obstacle, he said.

“You check the wrong box, you put the wrong number that doesn’t match something the IRS has … you get completely rejected and sometimes you don’t find out for six months,” Woodward said.

Commissioner Brendan Johnson, a Rochester Hills Democrat who also represents Auburn Hills, said he has $150,000 in student loans after he graduated with a master’s degree from Michigan State University.

“I don’t love that. I‘m not proud of it. It does give me a lot of anxiety,” he said. “But it does give me those magical pieces of paper that unlock opportunity in America and I don’t regret them … that is a proud decision I made. I know I’m doing the right thing by going to school and getting my degree.”

Johnson belongs to Generation Y, people born between 1981 and 1996, Millennials. The weight of student loans prevents many of his peers from buying homes or starting families, he said, praising new state programs to lower tuition for current and future students.

“As a borrower, it can be really confusing to navigate this system – my loan servicer has changed five times and I’ve only been out of school a few years,” he said. “I’m a pretty savvy person when it comes to dealing with the federal government so I can only imagine how difficult it is for a person who doesn’t have government experience.”

Savi will be a one-stop shop for loan holders to navigate options, said Lindsay Clark, Savi’s chief borrower advocate and director of external affairs. She has $200,000 in student debt.

Savi educates loan holders, shows them their best options and helps them find potential loan forgiveness and reduced loan payments, she said.

The company completes, digitizes and submits paperwork on behalf of the loan holders, who have access to one-on-one support because “no two borrowers are the same,” Clark said.

Pescovitz couldn’t help teasing Johnson and Clark, telling them if they had attended OU, “we could have saved you a lot of money.”

On a more serious note, Pescovitz said 57 percent of OU’s students graduate without debt “and those that do graduate hold an average $23,000 loan. Families that earn less than $70,000 a year often do not have to pay tuition, she said.

County Executive David Coulter said the burden for today’s students is far greater than in years past, in part because “frankly tuition isn’t what it is now.”

That debt is the reason young people aren’t buying homes and cars, he said, adding that Savi will eliminate an estimated $3 billion in debt – making it an economic tool for growth, because money not spent on student loans will be spent in the community. He and Woodward said Savi could also be a way to get more college-educated people to move to Oakland County.

A dedicated page on the county’s website will be live by the end of this month so people can sign up for updates. The program will be deployed by Labor Day, Woodward said.

Coulter said this is another example of the importance of collaboration with businesses.

“The days of the government being able to solve everyone’s problems are over,” he said.

Savi’s Clark said the group that stands to benefit are those in public service – their applications for student-loan forgiveness are often rejected at a rate of 90% to 95% rejection rate. She said Savi has a 99% acceptance rate.

She said the average student loan payment now is between $300 and $400 a month and Savi saves borrowers up to $150, sometimes more.

Most people are either unaware of the variety of programs that could reduce or eliminate student debt, she said, or the programs “are too complicated to navigate on their own.”

Not all commissioners support the $500,000 initiative. Some money will go toward promoting the program. About $400,000 will be used to give residents who sign up a one-year subscription to the service, giving all 172,000 loan holders access.

Commissioner Michael Spisz, chairman of the board’s Republican caucus said he repaid his student loan and it didn’t make sense for the county to spend $500,000 for the service.

“Why are we paying for those individuals to have access?” Spisz said. “If we want to promote the tool, I’m all for it.”

Spisz, Hoffman, the four remaining Republican commissioners and two Democratic Commissioners Kristen Nelson and Ajay Raman voted against the program.

Republican Commissioner Bob Hoffman objected to the plan in part because it helps people avoid repaying loans. Johnson said he agreed that it’s not the role of government to alleviate responsibility but that many types of loans – including to farms and small businesses – are forgiven by the federal government.

Hoffman asked why the county didn’t look at other potential contractors. Woodward said the proposal complies with the county’s purchasing policy and was recommended by the National Association of Counties and there are no similar companies.

He compared the online service to TurboTax, which allows people to file taxes electronically.

The difference, he said, is that an estimated 150 programs exist to help people with student loans and finding the correct programs is difficult, as is navigating the application process.

Once the partnership launches, he said, the county will also have transparency pages online so people can see how many county employees benefit from Savi and how many county residents have been helped, as well as what the savings totals are for each group.

Woodwoard said he believes Savi is nimble enough to keep up with any loan rule changes.

Woodward said he brought Savi before county officials after learning about it at a National Association of Counties (NACO) conference. He knew county employees could benefit but he wanted to see if the program could be offered to residents as well, especially after seeing that Hennepin, Minnesota, which runs county offices and all the school districts has seen $3 billion in savings for their 10,000 employees.

“We pay NACO $175,000 a year to be part of an alliance of county governments across the country – it helps us with purchasing, we get program ideas and ways to reduce costs,” he said. “If I’m going to pay that kind of money, I need benefits for residents.”

He estimated Savi could save close to $50 million for Oakland County’s student loan holders, if not more.

While every commissioner was not on board with the partnership, Woodward said, he believes they’ll feel differently in a year.

“The alternative is to keep our status quo, which is failure,” he said.