Looking ahead
City to focus on new master plan, projects, roads, naming city manager in 2024
Policy and voter decisions made this year in Royal Oak will guide the city’s path in the New Year.
Some of the biggest spending projects in the city will be made from the $28 million Royal Oak got in federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Also, the city will spend a total of about $10 million a year to continue to improve roads and sidewalks over the decade starting in 2025 after voters in November renewed the 2.5-mills road tax. The millage will generate about $8 million a year and be augmented with state and other funds.
The federal relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) have to be spent by 2026.
City officials have already begun making allocations of millions of dollars to a wide range of programs and projects.
Some of the largest amounts of the money allocated thus far include green infrastructure funding of $918,000; water main and green infrastructure to reduce road ponding on Arden place for $913,000, and over $1 million to reduce stormwater flowing into city sewers at VFW Park starting in 2025.
About $3.6 million will be spent on lead water pipe replacements, and the same amount on water mains in the city. Nearly $1 million will be spent on converting all streetlights to LED lighting.
The City Commission this week moved to create the city’s first public restrooms on Troy Street near the Farmers Market with about $800,000 in ARPA funds.
There are many other spending allocations for the senior center, grants to nonprofits, animal shelter construction and $1.5 million to be spent in a city partnership with the YMCA to create a new community center.
Mayor Michael Fournier said Royal Oak has already started getting opinions from residents as work begins to draft a new master plan for the city. The mayor said he sees that new plan as a top priority in 2024.
“We’ll continue to look at public input and decide what changes need to be made to the master plan,” he said. “And that is tied to how we make sure we are prepared for an aging population, and making sure we have the housing stock that can accommodate all people, regardless of their socio-economic status.”
That effort dovetails with having what officials call an aging-in-place program so there are assets for residents who want to live in the city as they get older.
The new year will also require city commissioners to select a new city manager, following the resignation of former City Manager Paul Brake late last month after three years and six months on the job. Deputy City Manager Todd Fenton is now the interim city manager.
Naming a new city manager will take time.
“For me it’s important to let the dust settle and come to a determination in a few months” on what city commissioners will decide in naming a new manager, Fournier said. “Fortunately, we’re not in a situation where we have to make this decision overnight.”
It is unclear if Fenton wants the manager’s job. He has a law degree and came to Royal Oak nearly 10 years ago as a city economic development manager.
Fournier said the coming months will give Fenton and city officials time to see if he wants the job and whether he “is viable for the role if he still wants it,” Fournier said.
If not, Royal Oak commissioners will decide whether to do a local, national or internal search for a manager, Fournier added.
The partnership with the YMCA for a new community center is exciting, Fournier said.
“Folks are hyped up about it and it’s still in the exploratory phase,” he said. “We’re doing that right now, but it warrants serious consideration to bring a world-class YMCA and a community center here.”
The mayor said it is unclear how the national economy and recent spike in inflation may affect future city spending decisions. Nonetheless, Fournier said maintaining a high level of police and fire services will remain the top spending priorities.
“We always put public safety at the forefront because it is important we continue to have a high quality of life” in Royal Oak, he said. “We want to make sure we have the best police officers and firefighters working for the community.”
Communities nationwide have seen a decline in the number of people who apply for police openings.
Voters decide what services they are willing to pay for, Fournier said.
Last year, 71 percent of voters who cast ballots approved a 0.7-mill parks proposal, which includes about $133,000 in annual funding for the city’s animal shelter.
The parks tax generates about $2 million a year in funding. Voters in the same election also OK’d a new 0.2 mill-tax proposal for senior services that raises about $621,000 annually for city senior services, which include activities, a senior center, transportation, and community outreach.
“People love the quality of life our 52 parks bring here,” Fournier said.
He said he expects that developers will continue to be interested in proposing projects downtown and elsewhere in the city in 2024.
“Royal Oak is one of the hottest communities in the area for development,” he added.