Council passed pet store regulations, City Hall will be getting a new piece of community art, and a minor construction ordinance was passed. Plus, there are updates on downtown events in December, leaf collection and holiday tree disposal.

Council Updates

The final reading of pet store regulations passed. Puppygram will soon be required to file information with the city such as the source of their animals and provide that information to consumers upon request. The goal is to increase transparency in the process which I believe has been lacking to date.

Council received a presentation from the Berkley Area Chamber and artist Daniel Cascardo about the collaborative artwork he created during the Street Art Festival. At the festival, he provided a line drawing that members of the public then filled in with color to make a beautiful piece of art that will hang in the entrance to City Hall. 

Photo Credit: Greg Patterson

The Community Development Department is reviewing all of our building ordinances and cleaning them up to help increase efficiency both for staff and anyone taking on a construction project. As a part of that effort, the first reading of an ordinance on utility connections was passed. 

The meeting packet.

Other Updates

Holiday Decoration Map

I'm running a Holiday Decoration Map. You can see where other people have put up decorations in the city or add your own home or business to the map.  

MerriMonth in Downtown Berkley

• The Jolly Trolley, a family-friendly, holiday-decorated trolley will be running along 12 Mile & Coolidge this Saturday, December 9 from 10am-5pm. Hop on, hop off, and check some holiday shopping items off of your list!
• Merry & Bright shopping nights begin this week. They are Thursdays, December 7, 14, and 21 from 5-8pm.
• Santa at the Library, Sunday, December 10 from 10am to 12pm. Families can come for photo opportunities and to share their wish lists. Letters to Santa can be delivered at the North Pole receptacle outside the library throughout the season, too.

Leaf Collection

Leaf collection is behind, but everyone in the city will get at least one pickup. Check the city website for updates on where they are now and which sections they have completed. 

Because the Headlee Override failed, it became necessary for the City to increase revenues and cut costs in other ways. To help accomplish that, this year for leaf pickup our DPW workers did not work overtime nor did we hire seasonal help like we normally do. This is on top of the reduced staffing after we did not replace a DPW worker who left.

However, it clearly didn't work out. The City Manager wrote about this in the December City Newsletter. The leaves have been on the ground much longer than we would like, and DPW has had to start working overtime anyway to catch up. 

The leaf program will be different next year, though I have no idea what it will look like yet.

Holiday Tree Disposal

You cannot leave your tree at the curb for pickup this year. You must either take it to SOCRRA or arrange to have someone else take care of it. There are more details on the City Website.