Nearly two dozen people wearing red shirts carried informational signs outside a downtown Pontiac building on Tuesday.

The demonstrators, members of UAW Local 6000, were representing more than 250 state workers at 51111 Woodward Ave., and concerns related to the Phoenix Center demolition.

The work is part of a two-year renovation process for Oakland County, which plans to move between 600 and 700 employees to Pontiac in 2027. Work on the Phoenix Center started in April.

Rachael Dickinson, UAW Local 6000 vice president, said state employees in the building have had some troubling experiences since demolition started.

“One of our top priorities as a union is keeping our members safe and a workplace free of recognizable hazards,” she said, adding that the demolition of the Phoenix Center next door, “We don’t know if this building is structurally sound. There are chemical smells coming into the building causing headaches for our workers right now.”

With the Phoenix Center coming down, state workers were directed to use a large parking lot known as Lot Nine, on the north side of the building. State-owned cars were also parked there, until one was stolen. Now, the state-owned cars are parked next to the Sheriff’s substation a half mile away, at 110 E. Pike St., and workers either walk or get a ride back to their offices.

Personal vehicles are parked in Lot 9, but workers are concerned about future thefts because the lot has no apparent security. The door to the north side of the building is locked for security reasons, so they have to walk to the south-side entrance.

Dickinson said she’d like to see immediate corrections by state managers or demonstrations will continue. Employees walked the picket line during their lunch hour, joined by retirees, including Wanda Withers, a former caseworker.

“If they’re not safe, they can’t provide the services the people in our state need,” she said.

The Farbman Group, which represents Oakland County during construction, issued two statements Tuesday about the demonstration.

“(Safety) has been the number one priority of our client, Oakland County, since they became owners of the building in 2023. We work closely to keep our respective tenants informed and to be responsive to all concerns brought to our attention,” the company said.

The company’s statement added that people working at the Woodward offices “will experience some inconveniences” during construction.

“We will strive to address these inconveniences as quickly as possible. Some of the work required to make this redevelopment vision a reality include the demolition of the Phoenix Center and we’re doing so while upholding the highest air quality standards,” the company’s statement said.

The company is also working with state officials to minimize parking concerns and monitoring the demolition contractor, Adamo Group. Farbman Group’s statement said the goal is for a seamless experience.

Some state employees have been allowed to work remotely, said Carnetta Elder, a UAW Local 6000 representative, but most continue to report to the Woodward offices.

She added that there are other sites where state workers can do their jobs – which is the goal, because construction will continue for at least two years.

Ray Hesser, a child-protective services worker, has worked at the Pontiac building for three years. He said it appears to have an air purification machine, but he’s not sure if it’s helping.

“We’re talking about dust, chemicals, the air we breathe – a health and safety issue. It’s not just employees and supervisors coming here, it’s clients, citizens. Little kids. Adults. Elderly people,” he said.

His department is on a hybrid schedule, so employees don’t have to be in the building five days a week, he said, adding that there are other state sites that would be accessible to clients.

Retiree Laura Wade demonstrated in support of her former colleagues.

“All the state buildings I visited during my career were old buildings, some with black mold. The state workers never get good buildings,” she said.

The Farbman Group, asked how contractors were mitigating any air quality concerns, issued a second statement to say there are none associated with the demolition work because it is ”being carried out in accordance with a comprehensive dust mitigation strategy. This includes the use of controlled watering methods to suppress dust generated from concrete, masonry and other non-hazardous building materials.”

As a result, people will see mist in the air, which the company explained as a standard and safe part of the dust-control process – adding that no foul or unusual odors are anticipated.

The seven candidates for Pontiac mayor will meet on Thursday for a moderated two-hour forum.

Ten different community organizations have sponsored the event, said Christine Allen, a member of the League of Women Voters Oakland Area, adding that she’s thrilled so many are cohosting the forum.

She said all seven candidates have agreed to attend. It’s their first appearance as a group, she said.

“It’s not a debate – it’s a forum and follows all the League of Women Voters’ rules,” she said. Rules include no endorsements by the league or any event co-sponsors. If the event is recorded, it must be broadcast or posted online without edits. The format includes equal time for candidates’ answers and the use of a moderator.

Among the topics to be discussed: public safety, housing, water affordability, jobs, education, and community investment. The audience can submit written questions, Allen said.

“We’ll screen the questions,” she said. “That means we’ll read them for clarity and legibility, because the moderator has to read them. We’ll also look for duplication, so if we get three or four similar questions on housing, we’ll combine them and ask one housing question.”

The seven candidates on the Aug. 5 primary ballot are:

•  Gill Garrett, Oakland County sheriff’s deputy and former Pontiac school board president.

•  Mark E. Holland, Sr., former city councilman and former deputy mayor.

•  Mike McGuinness, current city councilman and council president.

•  Alexandria T. Riley, sales director at the Genesee County Land Bank Authority and Pontiac’s former chief development officer and former mayoral candidate. Riley lost to Tim Greimel in 2021.

•  Deirdre Waterman, former two-term Pontiac mayor.

•  Kermit Williams, former city council president and current executive director for the nonprofit Oakland Forward.

•  Wendell Woods, former Detroit public school teacher.

The nine sponsors besides LWV include The Change Up, NAACP, Mothering Justice, Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, Voters Not Politicians, Jews for a Secular Democracy, When You Vote I Win, Michigan League of Conservation Voters and Voting Access for All Coalition.

Doors open at 5:30 and the forum starts at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 22, at the Bowens Senior Center, 52 Bagley St. in Pontiac. The forum is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

Sheriff’s Deputy Bradley Reckling, killed June 22 while pursuing a stolen vehicle, was among those honored Wednesday during Oakland County’s National Peace Officers Day ceremony.

“We thank you for stepping forward when it is much easier to stand still,” Undersheriff Timothy Willis told the standing-room only crowd in the county commissioners auditorium.
.
Three suspects were ultimately arrested and charged in the homicide.

Reckling is remembered as a dedicated public servant, respected colleague, and a loving husband and father of four.

The valor award cited his courage, professionalism, and selfless devotion to duty represent the highest ideals of law enforcement.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard was in Washington D.C. for another ceremony honoring Deputy Reckling. Bouchard sent a message that he’s proud of the men and women of the sheriff’s office who are willing to risk their lives daily to serve and protect our community.

The Pontiac ceremony included a 21-gun salute from the Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard, the playing of Taps, and Amazing Grace by a bagpiper to honor the many of the fallen law enforcement heroes from the past year. The list of honorees was more than two dozen pages long.

2025 awards ceremony final

Highlights:

Command Officer of the Year
• Sergeant Joseph Ashley, for responding to the splash pad shooting by taking charge of the scene, administered lifesaving tourniquets to victims, and seamlessly switching to SWAT commander once the suspect was located.

Investigator of the Year
• Detective Kyle Standifer, a narcotics enforcement team, member, led NET in both search warrants and arrests in 2024 and participated in major cases where firearms and significant quantities of drugs were seized.

Corrections Deputy of the Year
• Deputy Ryan Lotan, a trainer and member of the cell extraction Team and SWAT, for being a role model for new deputies and highly respected by his peers.

Patrol Deputy of the Year
• Deputy Jeremy Berquist from the Pontiac substation, wrote 450 reports in 2024, the most out of any patrol deputy, personifying all the virtues required of law enforcement.

Communications Employee of the Year
• Dispatch Specialist Shauna Bentley, for the August 2024 call she handled, saving the life of a deputy’s family member. The citation called her “an exemplary asset to the organization.”

Employee of the Year

• Sheriff Administrative Specialist Adam Blankenship, Freedom of Information Act coordinator, for expertly handling thousands of requests annually, including videos, subpoenas, and digital media.

Part-Time Deputy of the Year
• Deputy Thom Seling, a retired lieutenant who works with the training unit, for being organized and hardworking keep the new-hire training programs the best in the state.

Reserve of the Year
• Reserve Sergeant Jason Kajy, who volunteers for ride-alongs, Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, SWAT support and many community events, including Sheriff PAL and Dream Cruise, for being a reserve-unit role model.

Support Services Deputy of the Year
• Deputy Stephanie Alston, a forensic lab investigator with her own caseload and top-notch trainer for individuals. She was called caring, empathic and willing to stay late or be available during off-duty hours for priority cases.

Other awards were presented sheriff’s office employees for: Bravery, distinguished service, lifesaving, meritorious service, special commendations and several individual unit awards.

Several outside agencies that responded to the splash pad shooting were also honored: Rochester Hills Fire, Shelby Police dispatchers, the ATF, Rochester police, Troy police, the FBI and Auburn Hills police.

Civilians honored included:

Citizen Citation for their extraordinary actions in responding to the June 15 Brooklands Splash Pad shooting: Raymond Shaw II, Garland Whitney Jr., Stefanie Slate, Derek Slate, Nicole Boyd, Roseanna Martin, Eugene Bass, Antonio Bass, Haylee Koss, Kristopher Lockard, Thomas Schmidt, Melissa Natzke and Ashley Smith.

Each stepped in while police were en route to provide lifesaving first aid, including applying tourniquets and dressings. Some even drove victims in their personal vehicles to safety and called loved ones on their personal phones.

• Orion Township resident Naveyah Lemmon, 17, was honored for finding a missing K-9 and sharing an alert on social media. Lemmon took the dog to a vet and kept it safe until a sheriff’s detective saw the alert and was able to get the K-9 back to its handler, an Orion Township resident who works for Novi Police.

• Jamison Maynard, who worked with his cousin, Sgt. Melissa Nations to save a family member’s life after the relative collapsed during a family Christmas party. Maynard and Nations performed chest
compressions and rescue breathing until emergency services arrived.

• Brandon Shaya, owner of C.J. Mahoney’s in Rochester, provided food and beverages to sheriff’s deputies as they grieved the loss of Deputy Reckling; during the aftermath of the splash pad shooting; and to motorcade officers traveling with the various candidates during the presidential campaigns.

• Sean Stockman, who provides free lawn care for people in
Need to make a positive difference in their lives.

• Larry McKenzie: McKenzie, of McKenzie Moving & Storage, for supporting the sheriff’s annual Coats for the Cold drive, bottle and can drives for PAL during the pandemic and transporting bikes for the sheriff’s Re-Cycle program. He’s volunteered to help since 2015.

• Brooke Blomberg, an off-duty registered nurse, who stopped her car to assist a man who collapsed while jogging. She called 911 and performed CPR until help arrived.

• Allyson Dale, who raised over $20,000 since August to help the Thomas Richards Foundation buy six K9 ballistic vests for sheriff’s K9s.

• Berkley American Legion Post #374, for the Sept. 14, barbecue fundraiser to support Deputy Reckling’s family, which raised close to $45,000.

• Natalie Nellett and Kara Obrecht, for cataloging the vast evidence in the Oxford High School shooting case. Their efforts were called meticulous, precise and crucial in convicting the shooter and his parents, according to the sheriff’s office.

Pontiac’s former building official, Bruce Eck, has sued the city for wrongful discharge. He was fired in March after a dispute with his supervisor. The lawsuit asks for a jury trial and seeks a minimum award of $25,000.

“Due to our policy, we don’t comment on pending litigation,” said Pontiac spokeswoman Paula Bridges.

Eck’s attorneys, Deborah Gordon and Morry Hutton, said Eck was scapegoated by the city in the wake of three abandoned children’s rescue from an unregistered rental home on Lydia Lane in Pontiac’s Stonegate Pointe neighborhood.

“It’s unfortunate that the city of Pontiac has now lost an invaluable public servant and extremely experienced building officials with excellent credentials,” Gordon said. “He was fired because he refused to go along with what he believed to be an illegal directive.”

City records show an April 2020 blight ticket for Lydia Lane and an unregistered rental complaint. Inspectors visited the home four times in 2020 without resolving the rental complaint. Inspectors returned in February 2022 and April 2022. The owner had not registered the rental. No progress check was scheduled or made, which could have saved the children earlier, Eck told The Oakland Press in March.

The children were rescued in February after a maintenance worker went to see if the occupants had moved after not paying rent for several months. The children’s mother is in Oakland County Jail, facing multiple charges.

Eck was hired in November 2023 and had been archiving old and expired records in the city database that tracks taxes, assessments, code enforcement visits and tickets as well as construction permits. He and his deputy, Dennis Szymanski, deleted 7,000 long-expired permits from the city’s database.

Eck wanted to create reports on active issues so they could be tracked and addressed.

But his boss, Community Development Director Rachel Loughrin, told him to reactivate the old permits and require inspections. Eck asked a city attorney for a legal opinion on the order.

On March 3, Loughrin claimed in a disciplinary action form that Eck pursued personal legal advice from the city attorney. Eck said he made the request in his official capacity. He refused to sign the document and was fired.

Eck, a certified building official, building plan reviewer, and building inspector, worked as West Bloomfield Township’s building director for 19 years and Dearborn’s safety official for a decade. He is a board member for the Southeast Michigan Building Officials and Inspectors Association, which sets professional standards for and trains building officials and code inspectors. He told The Oakland Press he has never been fired or disciplined in his career.

Gordon and Hutton said they don’t believe Loughrin knew the proper way to address the invalid permits.

Defendants in the lawsuit include the city and Loughrin, in her personal and official capacities. They have 28 days to respond to the lawsuit, which was assigned to Sixth Circuit Court Judge Nanci Grant.

Ferndale voters delivered two victories on Tuesday. Proposals before Clawson and Lamphere Schools’ voters failed.

Ferndale voters’ ballot included a city millage and school bond proposal. The city asked for a 10-year, 5.4 millage to restore money lost through the Headlee Act rollbacks. Of the 4,230 voters who cast ballots, 2,455 voted yes and 1,775 voted no. The city will receive an estimated $5.4 million starting in 2026.

Voters approved Ferndale Public Schools’ request for a 30-year, $114.8 million bond with 3,665 voting yes and 1,563 voting no.
The district will move ahead with renovations and additions to the middle/high school buildings, upgrading fine art spaces and athletic fields and purchasing new equipment, furniture, and technology.

Clawson residents affirmed a commitment to the city charter approved in 2023 by a nearly 70% majority. Proposal 1 would have kept the city council at four members, while the new charter allows six members. cast 888 yes to limit the board and 1,573 voting no on Proposal 1. as stated in the city charter approved in 2023.Proposal 2, would have set council terms to four years with elections every  two years. Only 907 voted yes while 1,549 voted no. Now, the three candidates with the most votes win 4-year terms and the candidate with the fourth-highest vote wins a 2-year term of office.

Lamphere Schools’ 30-year, $85 million bond request didn’t fare well. While 1,066 voted yes, 1,449 voted no.

The district had planned a new gym for the high school, new equipment for the middle-school robotics program, along with remodeling facilities, upgrading playgrounds and athletic fields. Some of the money would have been used to buy new technology, equipment, furniture and for new secure entrances at the school buildings.

The next election, the Aug. 5 primary, includes mayoral, council and library races in Pontiac and Southfield‘s mayoral race. Voters in Novi will decide a $120 million public-safety bond question.

Oakland Township voters will be asked to renew the 4-year, 0.1134 millage that expires this year and add a 5-year, 0.14 millage. The township’s library millage supports the Rochester Hills Public Library. If the existing millage is renewed, it would provide an estimated $235,000 and the new millage would add an estimated $289,000.

Northville Public Schools will ask voters to renew a 10-year, 0.9357 millage for its building and site sinking fund. The district serves communities in Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties. If approved the district would receive an estimated $4.1 million starting in 2026. The money is meant for building construction or repair, security improvements, buying or upgrading technology and other items as allowed by law.

Learn more at https://www.oakgov.com/government/clerk-register-of-deeds/elections-voting.

In July, 32 communities will begin paying more for county assessments, which are used to calculate property taxes.

The rates will rise each year on July 1 over three years. By 2028, those cities and townships could be paying more than double the current rate for county assessment services.

The county commission approved the increase during an unusually contentious meeting last week.

The county has provided assessment services for more than 50 years at varying rates. The commission vote standardizes rates for contracts.

Nearly half of the county’s 62 cities, villages and townships have their own assessing departments. The 19 cities and 13 townships with county contracts pay a per-parcel rate, which ranges from $15.88 in Royal Oak Township to $28.64 in the City of Orchard Lake Village. By 2028 all 32 communities with assessment contracts will pay $41.55 per parcel.

For Royal Oak Township, that’s a 260% increase. Orchard Lake’s costs will rise by nearly 150%. And Pontiac, which paid $474,171 this year, and will see a 230% increase to more than $1.1 million.

Pleasant Ridge Mayor Bret Scott said cities like his are almost done with their annual budget planning and said the county didn’t follow a responsible process. Pleasant Ridge’s costs will rise by more than 250%, from $22,243 this year to 32,586 starting July 1 and$ $56,963 by July 1, 2028.

“This is like you’re lobbing a grenade at us and asking us not to throw it back at you,” he said, asking the board to slow the annual increases. He praised county assessors and said concerns about the contract costs are no reflection on their work.

Pleasant Ridge City Manager James Breuckman called the timing and the manner in which Oakland County made the change disappointing. He said the city is looking at other assessment options.

A bipartisan group of county commissioners voted to delay a decision until June 11 to give communities more time to negotiate rates. But Commission Chairman Dave Woodward recessed the meeting to lobby for more support.

Commissioner Mike Spisz, an Oxford Republican and the minority caucus chair, said reviving the measure for a second vote during the meeting was an egregious violation of board policies. He and other Republicans said the county risks losing assessment contracts.

Woodward, a Royal Oak Democrat, said the county subsidizes the contracts. The 2025 subsidy was $2.5 million, he said.

Communities are allowed by state law to collect 1% of property taxes to pay for assessment costs, but not all do.

Oxford Township’s treasurer, Joseph Ferrari, was among local officials who asked the commission for a slower transition to higher rates. The township paid $17.97 to assess each of its 8,903 parcels this year, more than $160,000. By 2028, the cost rises by 230% to $369,905.

“Five months of our (fiscal year has) already been burned,” Ferrari said. “It’s gonna be hard for us to come up with that money.”

He later told The Oakland Press the township board hasn’t met to discuss the issue. He said the board will likely use from the general fund or from savings, to cover the cost of the first year.

Ferrari wants to negotiate the next two years’ costs. He objects to the way the county compiled the full cost of the contract, because in addition to a county assessor’s salary and benefits, the contract price includes depreciation for the assessors’ county building.

“Their building will depreciate whether we have a contract or not,” he said. “You don’t eat at a restaurant and get a bill that charges you for using your fork.”

Oxford Township doesn’t charge residents the 1% allowed by the state for assessment costs.

“I’ve never recommended that because it’s a tax to collect a tax,” Ferrari said. But that may be an option for the township, he said, because it could raise an estimated $494,000.

Meanwhile, the township is checking to see what private companies charge for the same services. Ferrari said the county’s assessment work is specialized and the service is excellent.

No one disputed the need for communities to pay the full assessing cost. But many commissioners supported helping the communities adapt to the full prices.

Commissioner Michael Gingell, a Lake Orion Republican, said the unintended consequences of a triple-digit increase would force communities to look for alternative services. County contracts would have to be increased significantly after that for fewer communities or county assessing employees would lose their jobs, he said.

He represents Orion Township, which paid $298,626 for this year’s assessment services and will see increases totaling more than $387,000 over the next three years, from $160,016 this year to $690,325 in 2028.

Gingell’s amendment to slow the increases failed. He said last year’s controversy over sheriff’s contract increases led to an understanding that the county would provide advance notice of rate increases for the sake of timing, communication and fairness.

Democrats Charlie Cavell of Ferndale and Kristen Nelson of Waterford added their support for a slower timeline.

Contracts for law enforcement services from the sheriff’s office are paid by local millages, Cavell said. Assessment costs are paid from a community’s general fund, which is money from property taxes, state revenue sharing and a community’s service fees.

“Your budget is how you state values in a community. It’s spent on potholes and schools, maintaining parks … clean water and making sure sewage doesn’t back up into your basement,” Cavell said.

He said communities may be faced with cutting essential services or jobs to meet the new assessment costs.

“For Huntington Woods to go from paying $40,000 to $82,000 in 60 days is not a small increase. That $40,000 is someone’s annual salary,” he said.

Communities were notified on March 3 about impending increases, Woodward said.

“The county has made the costs as manageable as possible to maintain the highest-quality staff and deliver the highest-quality product and most-accurate rate for communities,” Woodward said, adding that he’s confident communities will not look for services that cost less.

The commission agreed to create an assessment study group, to include representatives from the commission, administration, assessment office and cities, villages and townships with county contracts. The proposal initially failed with three Democrats voting no with Republicans. Woodward asked for the board to reconsider the vote. Smith Charles said she would, adding that the group should have been formed last year to give communities a greater say in the contract rates.

Nelson asked that the group be formed as an ad hoc committee so members would be required to meet open meetings standards. Woodward rejected her suggestion.

The commission’s next scheduled meeting is 6 p.m. Thursday, May 22, in the commission auditorium at 1200 N. Telegraph Road in Pontiac.

Early voting ends Sunday in Oakland County for three communities — Clawson, Ferndale and Madison Heights — with special elections on Tuesday.

Early voting hours on Saturday and Sunday are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There will be no county-run central voting site for this election at Waterford Oaks County Park.

Voters can cast ballots early at municipal sites, by absentee ballot at their city clerk’s office or in person on Election Day, Tuesday, May 6, when polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All absentee ballots must be returned to the municipal clerk’s office by 8 p.m. on election day.

Clawson

Voters will decide two city charter amendments.

Proposal 1, if approved, would maintain the city council at four members plus the mayor. If the proposal is defeated, the council will expand to six seats plus the mayor, as stated in the city charter approved in 2023.

Proposal 2, if approved, would set terms of office for the city council members to four years, with elections every two years. If defeated, the three candidates with the most votes win 4-year terms and the candidate with the fourth highest vote wins a 2-year term of office.

Early voters can cast their ballots at the Troy Community Center, (use the east entrance), 3179 Livernois Road in Troy.

On Tuesday, voters will find an information booth outside City Hall, 425 N. Main St. hosted by a group called Clawson Votes Matter. Sam Paulus of the Paulus Group said the main effort of Clawson Votes Matter is to get the city council to pass a cannabis ordinance and create a process for retailers to set up shop.

Voters approved legalizing marijuana sales with 3,826 yes votes and 3,270 no votes. The yes votes represent just under 54% of those who cast ballots.

Paulus said the council’s delay is a form of ignoring the voters’ wishes. He said the same was true for Tuesday’s ballot proposals aimed at reversing a charter amendment approved by voters in 2023.

City officials did not respond to questions from The Oakland Press.

Ferndale

City voters will be asked to approve a 10-year, 5.4 millage to replace money lost through the Headlee Act rollbacks. If approved, the city would receive nearly $5.4 million starting in 2026.

Taxes on a property with a state-equalized value of $150,000 would increase by $174 a year, or $14.52 each month.

Voters in the Ferndale public school district will decide a 30-year, $114.8 million bond question. The money would be used to pay for additions and renovations to Ferndale’s middle/high school buildings as well as for new equipment, furniture and upgrading fine art spaces and athletic fields and improved technology.

The district serves Ferndale, Oak Park Precinct 9 and Precinct 10, Pleasant Ridge, and Royal Oak Township Precinct 1.

Early voters can cast their ballots at the Hazel Park Community Center, 620 W. Woodward Heights Blvd. in Hazel Park or Oak Park Community Center, 14300 Oak Park Blvd. in Oak Park.

Madison Heights

Voters in Madison Heights’ Lamphere school district – those living in Precincts 5 through 9 – will decide a 30-year, $85 million bond proposal.

If approved, the bond will increase property taxes on a home with a state-equalized value of $200,000 by $415 a year or $34.58 each month.

The district will use the money for remodeling facilities, buying new equipment and furniture, upgrading playgrounds, athletic fields and adding secure entrances at school buildings. A gym will be added to the high school and district technology will be upgraded, including equipment for the middle-school robotics program.

Early voters can cast their ballots at the Leo Mahany/Harold Meininger Senior Community Center, 3500 Marais Ave. in Royal Oak.

Learn more at https://www.oakgov.com/government/clerk-register-of-deeds/elections-voting/voter-information or contact your municipal clerk’s office.

The Aug. 5 primary ballot in some communities reflects an increase in interest in running for local office.

In Pontiac, for example, six candidates have filed to run for mayor, up from five in 2021. In Southfield, three candidates are running for mayor.

Pontiac

Six filed for the Pontiac mayor’s seat being vacated by Mayor Tim Greimel, who is running for the District 10 Congressional House seat.

Pontiac’s mayoral candidates:

•  Gill Garrett, Oakland County Sheriff’s deputy and former school board president.

•  Mark E. Holland, Sr., a former city councilman and former deputy mayor who ran for the District 9 commission seat in 2017 and for Pontiac’s school board in 2012.

•  Mike McGuinness. Current city councilman and board president.

•  Deirdre Waterman, former two-term Pontiac mayor.

•  Kermit Williams, Oakland Forward’s executive director and former city councilman and board president.

•  Wendell Woods, former teacher

Three are running for Pontiac’s new at-large council seat: Adrian Austin, Marcus Bowman; Rev. William Parker, Jr., an incumbent councilman; and Sennel K. Threlkeld, an Oakland County Sheriff’s deputy who works in Pontiac.

Sixth District candidates are Cassandra Bradford, Regina K. Campbell and Troy F. Craft. Craft is currently a Pontiac school board trustee.

Southfield

Long-time Mayor Ken Siver has two opponents for the next 4-year term: Sylvia Jordan who has served 17 years on the council and has previously run for the mayor’s seat, Ryan Foster, who has run for council twice, state senator once and last year campaigned for Congress.

Early voting starts Saturday for a handful of Oakland County communities with measures on the Tuesday, May 6, ballot.

Voters can cast ballots in person on Election Day, early at municipal sites or by absentee ballot.

There will be no county-run central voting site for this election at Waterford Oaks County Park.

Early voting hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday through May 4. Thursday’s early voting hours are noon to 8 p.m.

Election day hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. All absentee ballots must be returned to the municipal clerk’s office by 8 p.m. on election day.

Clawson

Voters will decide two city charter amendments.

Proposal 1, if approved, would maintain the city council at four members plus the mayor. If the proposal is defeated, the council will expand to six seats plus the mayor, as stated in the city charter approved in 2023.

Proposal 2, if approved, would set terms of office for the city council members to four years, with elections every two years. If defeated, the three candidates with the most votes win 4-year terms and the candidate with the fourth highest vote wins a 2-year term of office.

Early voters can cast their ballots at the Troy Community Center, (use the east entrance), 3179 Livernois Road in Troy.

Ferndale

City voters will be asked to approve a 10-year, 5.4 millage to replace money lost through the Headlee Act rollbacks. If approved, the city would receive nearly $5.4 million starting in 2026.

Taxes on a property with a state-equalized value of $150,000 would increase by $174 a year, or $14.52 each month.

Voters in the Ferndale public school district will decide a 30-year, $114.8 million bond question. The money would be used to pay for additions and renovations to Ferndale’s middle/high school buildings as well as for new equipment, furniture and upgrading fine art spaces and athletic fields and improved technology.

The district serves Ferndale, Oak Park Precinct 9 and Precinct 10, Pleasant Ridge, and Royal Oak Township Precinct 1.

Early voters can cast their ballots at the Hazel Park Community Center, 620 W. Woodward Heights Blvd. in Hazel Park or Oak Park Community Center, 14300 Oak Park Blvd. in Oak Park.

Madison Heights

Voters in Madison Heights’ Lamphere school district – those living in Precincts 5 through 9 – will decide a 30-year, $85 million bond proposal.

If approved, the bond will increase property taxes on a home with a state-equalized value of $200,000 by $415.00 a year or $34.58 each month.

The district will use the money for remodeling facilities, buying new equipment and furniture, upgrading playgrounds, athletic fields and adding secure entrances at school buildings. A gym will be added to the high school and district technology will be upgraded, including equipment for the middle-school robotics program.

Early voters can cast their ballots at the Leo Mahany/Harold Meininger Senior Community Center, 3500 Marais Ave. in Royal Oak.

Learn more at https://www.oakgov.com/government/clerk-register-of-deeds/elections-voting/voter-information or contact your municipal clerk’s office.

Waterford Township hired two companies to complete its $33 million community center.

In back-to-back votes Monday evening, township trustees voted unanimously for the architecture-engineering firm Neumann/Smith of Southfield and construction manager Frank Rewold & Sons of Rochester.

The two other finalists, IDS of Troy and Clark Construction of Auburn Hills, could be reconsidered should contract negotiations with Rewold and Neumann/Smith fall through.

Voters approved a $36.4 million bond for the project in November.

The township purchased 51 acres of land on OCC’s Highland Lakes campus at 7350 Cooley Lake Road. The community center outdoor space will include accessible restrooms, a playground, softball field, shuffleboard and bocce ball courts, a dog park and trails connecting to Hess-Hathaway Park.

Most classes continue at OCC’s Highland campus through the end of the fall semester. Health science classes continue through the end of 2027. Work starts in 2026 to convert the existing building to a community center.

Waterford Twp. trustees to sign community center contracts

The Trump administration abruptly cut just over $3 million in healthcare funding for Oakland County Tuesday.

The money was COVID-related public health grants to Oakland County through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

County Executive Dave Coulter said five nurses were told Tuesday night not to report to work Wednesday. They had been hired last year to assist the county’s 146 long-term care facilities with coordinated outbreak response efforts. Since the program started on Sept. 25, 2024, the nurses responded to 123 COVID, 25 norovirus and 126 influenza outbreaks. This program was funded by a $2.5 million federal grant, with $2.1 million unspent.

At least $1 million from the county’s $1.24 million federally funded wastewater disease surveillance program must be returned. Wastewater was initially tested to track outbreaks of COVID-19 but expanded to include norovirus, influenza, and RSV in nursing homes and other facilities for seniors and people with disabilities. This year, county officials planned to expand testing to include mpox, polio and measles.

Coulter said the orders by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are reckless and not based in science.

“He’s not explaining why he’s picking infectious diseases and wastewater detection,” Coulter said. “Viruses don’t stop when these kinds of sweeping decisions get made.”

Statewide, the cuts amount to $379.3 million that pay for mental health and substance abuse services, infectious disease control and vaccinations for children and vulnerable adults.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined 23 states and the District of Columbia Tuesday to sue the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for the cuts, which total nearly $11 billion nationally.

Coulter said he supports the state’s lawsuit. It’s unclear what other cuts will be made because the Trump administration’s decisions have been so unpredictable, he said.

The two county programs canceled this week had been funded through Sept. 30, 2025.

“It’s beyond reckless and shortsighted move by the Trump administration that puts Oakland County residents at risk, especially our seniors,” Coulter said. “Wastewater surveillance and infection prevention efforts are not relics of the pandemic, but critical tools to continue protecting public health today and in the future.”

Oakland County Health and Human Services Director Leigh-Anne Stafford said the cuts undermine the county’s ability to prevent outbreaks, care for vulnerable people and respond to emerging health threats.

“These programs have been instrumental in preventing outbreaks and protecting our community,” she said.

The five nurses who signed contracts last year to help with outbreaks also helped investigate 382 cases of reportable infectious diseases. They made hundreds of phone calls to residents exposed to such diseases as ebola, bird flu, measles and rabies.

The first COVID-19 death in Michigan happened in Oakland County in 2020. In 2022, the state’s first mpox illness was diagnosed in Oakland County. This year, Oakland County identified the first measles case in the state in March. Michigan health officials have reported two cases of humans infected with the bird flu, but the county wasn’t identified.

Coulter said eliminating the wastewater surveillance program and the five nurses dedicated to infectious disease prevention does nothing more than increase the risk of illnesses in county residents.

Part of the reason the money was unspent, he said, is that the programs had to be put in place before people could be hired to support them. The money was initially granted as part of the COVID response but as the virus abated, Congress and the Biden administration agreed that the money could be used for other health programs.

“People can disagree about the need for these federal funds, but it’s the chaos – it’s hard to think ahead,” he said. “We don’t have a Plan B for grant-funded programs. When the money ends, the program ends. That’s our policy.”

The Pontiac that goes below the Phoenix Center is closed. It’s a beginning step in a long-term plan that will reconfigure downtown Pontiac and reinvent the Ottawa Towers. It’s just one issue on Tuesday’s city council agenda.

Already, drivers headed west on Auburn Road and east on Orchard Lake Road are being detoured to the north- and southbound lanes of Woodward Avenue. The two roads meet under the Phoenix Center, which is about to be demolished.

The road will remain closed for an estimated 12 to 18 months, which include rebuilding the road.

Pontiac’s city council will hear a presentation on demolition and construction plans at Tuesday’s meeting. The council will also consider adding 74 parking spaces, including three accessible spaces for people with disabilities, on Judson Street.

The temporary parking spaces will be used by tenants at 51111 Woodward Ave. and their visitors. The building is used by the state and Oakland County officials plan to occupy some of the offices once the renovation is complete.

Adding parking spaces will reduce Judson Street to two lanes of traffic. The city will post a “No Through Traffic” sign for westbound drivers to prevent them from using the street as a shortcut from southbound to northbound Woodward during the next two years. During that time, the traffic light at Judson and Saginaw streets will be off and traffic will use a four-way stop.

Once demotion is done, construction will start on a parking deck. It’s part of a long-term plan to move an estimated 700 county employees to downtown Pontiac after the county purchased the former General Motors building at 31 E. Judson St. and 51111 Woodward Ave.

The overall project will cost an estimated cost of $120 to $130 million. The county has committed $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act money to the project; the state granted $50 million for the work.

The Phoenix Center demolition will open eventually up Saginaw Street to the downtown’s south end. The city will get a park and entertainment space as part of the deal.

Tuesday’s council meeting will also include a presentation on creating a bonding authority for the city, in part to pursue a $15 million capital improvement bond to finance part of the construction for a youth recreation center. The council will also discuss using the bonding authority for other capital projects, according to the board’s president, Mike McGuinness.

The council meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, for a closed session about a real estate matter, followed by a public meeting at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall, 47450 Woodward Ave. in Pontiac. The complete agenda and packet are online at https://www.pontiac.mi.us/government/city_council/agendas___minutes.php.

Contractors hired by the Oakland County road commission to construct a $43 million administration building are worried. Road commissioners put the project on hold in February.

“There is a huge effect on our business, both in terms of manpower and income. And it is not just our business but those of many other contractors that were counting on this project to be a place for their manpower and to produce income,” said Mike Gagnon, who is overseeing construction as vice president at Frank Rewold & Sons in Rochester.

The road commission approved the delay at the request of Oakland County Commission Chairman Dave Woodward on Feb. 20. The road commission and county commission operate independently and are funded separately.

Woodward wanted road commissioners to consider alternatives to bring together employees who have worked for decades at locations in Beverly Hills and Waterford. The new administration building planned at 2420 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford Township would have brought them under the same roof in 2026.

Road Commissioner Nancy Quarles voted against the delay on Feb. 20.

“I didn’t have enough information. The motion was put in front of us just minutes before the vote,” she said. “The project is too large for me to agree to a delay until I have more information.”

Her concerns include additional costs the road commission might incur whether the project goes forward or is canceled – and what a cancellation would do to the companies that signed construction contracts.

But she’s heard nothing from McPherson or Woodward about the decision-making process since Feb. 20.

“The project has been in the works since last August and we, along with all the other contractors, were counting on it,” Gagnon said.

“We and all those contractors must find new work to keep employees busy and to produce the income needed to keep the doors open and the company profitable,” he said. “That is not easy to do when projects take such a long time to develop.”

He said the suspension of work throws the project schedule into question. If completed on time, the building would have been ready by August 2026.

“We are in a very challenging economic climate and prices are changing daily, what does that mean to our contracts and our ability to fulfill the contract?” Gagnon said.

He wants to get the project back on schedule as soon as possible.

Others who signed contracts for the project did not respond to The Oakland Press calls and email or, like engineer Stan Richard, assistant vice president at the transportation-tech company Integral Blue, declined to comment.

Charles Hart, a Hubbell, Roth & Clark vice president and engineer, responded to The Oakland Press email to explain that his company’s work on the new administration building started in December and is expected to continue for several years, through the design and construction phases. He declined to elaborate on the effect of the delay.

Woodward said he is mapping out a plan and talking to the sheriff’s office, administration officials in homeland security and county commission staff.

He said he expects a decision before the end of May, if not sooner.

“It’s better to make a decision before we drop $40 million,” he said.

Road Commission Chairman Eric McPherson said he hasn’t talked to Woodward about the project. He’s been talking with the road commission’s managing director, Dennis Kolar, adding that he and fellow commissioners will make a final decision once they have more information.

He said he has not talked to Quarles or the third road commissioner, James Esshaki, because he doesn’t want to violate the state’s open meeting rules.

“Once we’re together, we’ll have a discussion,” he said.

Oakland County road commission delays $43 million new building

He said the issue has made it clear that road commission meetings should be documented with audio or video recordings and possibly livestreamed, but that decision won’t be final until later this year.

Craig Bryson, the road commission’s spokesman, said the board didn’t discuss the new building at their March 6 meeting and there have been no internal staff discussions on the project’s future.

County Commissioner Bob Hoffman tried to add a discussion on Woodward’s road commission request to Tuesday’s county commission meeting agenda, but the motion failed on a voice vote.

“I want to know by what authority Dave Woodward made his request,” he said.

The next road commission meeting is 9 a.m. Thursday, March 20, at the Beverly Hills administration office. The meeting agenda includes nearly two dozen items. The new administration building is not specifically listed but may be discussed under the agenda’s new business. The agenda is online at https://www.rcocweb.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03202025-332.