They are going to be earning extra money for the city by ticketing for riding a bicycle on the sidewalk. Its obvious we have been duped with a capital "D" as this ridiculous, and in my opinion stupid ordinance was passed as soon as they were hired. There has never been an incident with a bicycle on a RO sidewalk. We need more police in the neighborhood, and less tolerance for littering if they want to write tickets. I agree with Frank about 309 where probably the real decisions no doubt are made in advance. If the public meeting began earlier, and public comment was taken into consideration while any closed discussion was held afterward (as it is in most townships) there would less suspicion of an open meetings act violation. This is why our ethics ordinance is a standing joke.

Thanks for killing Gran Fondo. That was some great leadership.

First Frank, thankyou for opening the worm cans so to speak. We all know that finding out what is behind each commissioner's motives for even taking this job is almost impossible. All we can do is judge the outcomes that are not always predictable based on their backgrounds and former community service. To RO biker it is obvious to me that Kyle's apparently close relationship to our non resident city manager Don Johnson who was single handedly behind the kabash of Gran Fondo is one reason. Note Kyle's suggestion to give him even more power as far as appointing a clerk is another mystery, though it will not likely make a difference. As for Raven whose politics no doubt in my mind swings to the right I can only say Kyle's background is impressive. In fact an excellent background for one with political aspirations. That he thus may possibly be using his position as a stepping stone to something greater is distinctly possible. A good explanation as to why he supports Jim Rasor's idea for an expanded downtown park, but obviously does not have anything to say about my request to just improve the existing downtown park that is outdated, and showing its age in the interim. No Kyle does not want to rock the boat. His ideas are sound but he will not push too hard lest he lose approval , especially with the two Jims and our city manager. . As for heather, don't count your chickens before they hatch. Prove me totally wrong Kyle. Please! Not your style? Why am I not surprised?

Bicycles were illegal on all Royal Oak sidewalks for over a century. It is my understanding that this Commission opened up miles and miles of sidewalk to bicycles. They made the wise decision to keep them off the sidewalks downtown. Sometimes, elected officials are capable of commonsense.

Bob, bicycles may have been illegal on sidewalks for decades (not a century, since the city incorporated in 1921) but was never enforced.

Do you know anyone who ever received a ticket for riding a bike on the sidewalk?

Hmmm, so I was off by ten years. At any rate, they fixed the ordinance and got it right.

You were off by more than 10 years. Without researching it, it's highly unlikely the "no biking on sidewalks" ordinance was put into effect when the city incorporated. More than likely it was added in the 40's or 50's when many of the city ordinance amendments occurred.

Really Chris? You want to quibble about the age of the ordinance? You didn't take the time to look it up, but are willing to throw out your own assumptions? Well, I guess you forced me to waste my time in looking it up. I summoned my acquaintance Mr. Googlesearch and found this article discussing the change in the 1927 ordinance.
http://www.dailytribune.com/article/20121206/NEWS01/121209660/royal-oak-seeks-safer-mix-of-bicyclists-pedestrians-downtown

It was 85 years. So shoot me, but you will have to shoot yourself since you did the same thing. I hope we can agree to end this silly little nit-picking.

Laura, worse than the skateboarders, much worse are those that throw their butts all over the city, they find homes between the sidewalk cracks, are tossed with impunity into the butterfly garden. Only the war memorial and our cemetaries seem to avoid this disrespect, but that may be the result of conscientious grounds keeping. I would rather see a fit kid on a skateboard than a sickly, obese kid zombified with an I Pad.
We can always put up no skateboarding signs and enforce them if the police see the kids jumping from the marble, or the walls. Stop being an old fogey. Ditto for the few speeders on the sidewalks, but they are less dangerous than the rocket bikes, and tire peelers, and distracted drivers with a buzz on who chronically speed unimpeded by police downtown. During the summer months the gum mines that pepper the sidwalks are another issue. How much of your tax dollars go to cleaning these sidewalks? In NYC that responsibility belongs to the owner of the storefront and sweeping it into the gutter is a big no no. I do notice the E-Magine does a good job shoveling the snow and picking up the garbage on Troy. Would like to see them police the spillage of cups and butts that spill into the adjacent park however.

Ron, you claim you patronize the Library frequently. Look on the poles in the plaza. There are several NO SKATEBOARDING signs posted. It does not stop the skateboarders from using the plaza as a stunt ramp.

RO stands for Right On in this case Chris. This city reminds me of the old folk tale of a man walking with a loaf of bread under each arm crying he's hungry. Like the insatiable plant in "Little Shop of Horrors" our city hall crys "FEED ME" every year.
It takes the money in any form it can, campaign contributions, pension parachutes, medical insurance, parking perks, jobs for annoying relatives, comps and most of all recognition and the power and influence that comes with it all. What is exasperating to me is the wasted time and effort that goes into playing the part of public servant, now a fictional description for politicians. Mark, Royal Oak is the booming exception, have you priced new homes lately? Once homes are sold taxes go up, do they go up! I also think a small flat city income tax would go a long way reducing the need for additional millages as scads of income would be generated from non resident business owners that enjoy RO's central location, and entertainment district. And if the parking costs have not driven businesses away that small tax certainly will not.

Ronald,

You need to study up on how the 2 laws I mentioned actually work together. Really.

It's a pattern Mark. We all throw stuff out there based on what we believe to be true once in awhile. Some do it over and over again without any knowledge of the law. Such as the Headlee Amendment and Prop A.

Another barrage of erroneous shotgun blasts. This time at someone who could actually be on your side on many local issues. I feel indifferently about Mr. Johnson. He is more of a nuts and bolts guy as opposed to a CEO or COO type. I think Mr. Johnson is adequate at best in his current position. He was very good in his previous position.
If you think Kyle is my guy, you are way off base. That has nothing to do with him personally, but I just get the feeling that he is a political animal.
I am totally against turning over our town to Jon Witz in the manner that we have witnessed.
I once made the mistake of riding my bike down Main, on the sidewalk, from Gardenia to 696. I did not get a ticket. It was not a busy afternoon, yet there were enough pedestrians on the sidewalk that I felt like a complete idiot riding my bike there. Never again. It was a constant course correction trying to avoid hitting people. Bicycles have no business on the sidewalk downtown.

There is ZERO investigative reporting in town. The local "reporters" only regurgitate
the spinnings of the politicians from the commission meetings.

Here's an example....how ABE is reported. The city reports that the city makes money, or at least breaks even. But the numbers don't include the cost of staff time to produce the event. Even Don Johnson will admit that he doesn't account for the cost of staff time to produce events like ABR or the Dream Cruise.

So the headlines read ABE made money, and that is just not accurate.

I have another example. The city commission released the Rasor special investigation opinion in December, and acted if it exonerated Mr. Rasor. They didn't let on that the city was withholding the investigative report. No news reporter asked about the investigative report.

Not until Mrs. Capello forced the release of the investigative report in January did the newspapers even acknowledge the existance of the investigative report.

I agree that the press offers little to no scrutiny of our local officials.

"If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed." - Mark Twain

Ray, Dubuc has served for nearly 15 months now. In your opinion, what has been his top two accomplishments as a commissioner?

Why so defensive, Ray. I was polite and respectful to you.

I am not challenging your opinion. I asked a question to see what you opinion was based on. Please re-read my question. What is harassing about it?

What do you think are Dubuc's top two accomplishments that he has taken a lead on? That's a very simple and straightforward question.

I have a problem with Dubuc, or anyone else "leading" a human rights ordinance and ignoring the will of the Royal Oak residents.

I am not necessarily opposed to a human rights ordinance, but I strongly object to the city commission just ignoring the mandate that voters sent on this issue in 2001. Thousands of Royal Oak'ers (by over a 2 to one margin) voted that they didn't want a human rights ordinance in this city. Why do these seven elected officials think they can just ignore the will of the citizens?

If they think the sentiment of the public has changed, then prove it by putting it before the voters again.

RO you are so correct. Could have easily said many of the same about Jim Rasor until he hoisted his true colors. Don't mail your ballot in advance. We all have feet of clay. When its too good to be true it usually is. I wish Kyle well, again, he is very personable and will talk to you as if you count, however lets wait before casting judgement. My gut feeling is he will not rock the boat he's in.
Evidence, he did not show any support for Pat Capello, or Peggy Goodwin on our ethics ordinance and the Fresard/Rasor incident. He mostly chose to remain silent from my observation. I believe he takes his qeues from Jim Rasor and our mayor.

The millage hasn't "fixed" the city's budgetary structural deficit. The city has spent more than it takes in for over a decade now. The structural deficit probably can't be fixed until there are much more reforms in the city's pension system.

This doesn't even take into account the $100 million dollar plus unfunded retiree health obligation the city still has.

I'm not sure a city commissioner can take credit for solving the city's budget problem. I wrote a $544 check for my newest Royal Oak millage increase.

The city employees didn't give up more than any other city workers in the county. Can you substantiate this claim, keeping in mind the wage increases the police and fire employees continued to take when the other bargaining units conceeded wage increases?

The police and firemen continued to take 1.5 and 2% wage increases for a couple of years when the other bargaining units bit the bullett and took major cuts. When the police and fire settled, a substantial portion of what they conceeded was the increases they took over the past couple of years.

Also, when the city settled with the police and fire bargaining units, it was for less than what all the other city's bargaining units conceeded. Because the other bargining units that already settled had a "mirroring clause", the city reconceeded
some of the concessions already made by all the bargaining units.

Let's not rewrite history.