The Royal Oak City Commission took three hours to work through a long agenda at Monday night’s regular meeting.
Royal Oak passes human rights ordinance
Royal Oak became the 22nd Michigan community to pass a human rights law, joining Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Detroit, East Lansing, Ferndale, Traverse City and others.
After listening to nearly two dozen speakers during public comment, the commission voted 6-1 to approve a human rights ordinance. It will take affect on March 14.
It was just "happenstance" that Ryan Plecha, whose house was damaged by Wednesday's explosion on Cooper Avenue, participated in public comment. He came solely for an update on the explosion, he said.
"I moved to Royal Oak because it seemed to be the right place, but I am now convinced it is the right place to be. The neighbors that helped, the police that helped, the fire that helped (after the explosion)—I can’t imagine living in any other city right now," Plecha said.
The Cooper Avenue resident said he could not fathom a scenario where last week's heroes would have questioned a person's sexual identity before offering assistance.
"Would they have not helped that person? It’s essentially the same thing before you. Someone can’t lose their job and their home for that same reason," Plecha said, adding, "I want to live in Royal Oak, but if this doesn’t pass, how can I want to live in a city that I know is going to discriminate? That’s not Royal Oak. That’s not 2013."
While the majority of people who stepped up to the podium were in favor of a human rights ordinance, there were a few people who were skeptical, calling the ordinance's language "too broad."
Commissioner David Poulton was Monday's lone dissenter. He indicated that the city has proven it is "tolerant" and preferred the matter be put before voters.
Suicide Prevention Task Force
Commissioners voted to create a sub-committee, led by Commissioners Peggy Goodwin, Dave Pouton and Patricia Capello, to research a suicide prevention task force as recommended by Royal Oak Police Chief Corrigan O’Donohue.
Commissioners asked O'Donohue to look into a comprehensive suicide prevention initiative in February after a string of tragedies at a Woodward Avenue shooting range.
In the past six months, two people have committed suicide, and a third person attempted suicide, at Target Sports, a Royal Oak shooting range and gun shop.
Ethics Ordinance
Commissioners voted unanimously to direct City Attorney Dave Gillam to craft a new ethics ordinance based on recommendations offered by the Rules Committee, which consists of Mayor Jim Ellison and Commissioners Dave Poulton and Jim Rasor.
Ellison called the Rules Committee's review of ethics "emotional."
"There I was sitting with two lawyers on either side," Ellison said. "My challenge to (Rasor and Poulton) was to write some verbiage that a non-lawyer like me could understand."
Though the discussions were heated, Ellison said when he asked Rasor and Poulton if they could "live with" the final document, they both said "yes."
See the attached PDF for the Rules Committee recommendations.
Let me ask a question. When is it O.K. for the city commission to ignore a vote of the people, and when is it not O.K.? See the slippery slope? In my humble opinion, the city commission shouldn't have that discretion.
Citizens are not showing up to commission meetings in the numbers that make a difference so don't blame the commissioners for making their own jobs as easy as possitlble.
Are you also good when they pick and choose what portions of the city charter to follow? And master plan?
I say the hand in the cookie jar as this ordinance seems more ceremonial.
Why don't we just stuff everything on the ballot? Maybe we should put the Thirteenth Amendment up for a vote. T
Do you not respect the will of your neighbors?
So, we're supposed to act like the vote in 2001 never happened? Scarey!
Now to extend that right to sex offenders, that is another story. They are predators not consulting adults. To compare homosexuals to sexual predators that might be either straight or gay is an insult and analogous to religious discrimination, Ethics are another can of worms, unlike what our mayor said it cannot involve give and take, one must draw the line. I am greatly disappointed in Pat Capello whom I believe is going out of her way to retrieve her standing in our mayor's eyes at our expense. If attorneys are going to get an indulgence regarding this ordinance I strongly recommend that voters if they do not want to minimize interest conflicts should not vote any more attorneys onto the commission. We need only one attorney, the city attorney, anymore leads to headaches.
By the way Bill, if you are Bill Shaw, thankyou for doing the scutwork on the problem of the police and fire concessions not being implemented as yet. Frankly its the potential abuse of overtime that benefits downtown bars, AB&E much more than residents that is the larger issue.
Its ironic but "Sharia" law which violates the rights of women and children with impunity based on the lifestyle of their prophet IS considered the moral majority in the fundamentalist Moslem world that outnumbers us. Add that us Christians and Jews have a checkered history in that department (stoning-stake burning) which has since been tempered and corrected with mercy, and is still in that process.