There has been talk that someday the City of Bloomfield Hills would lose the services of its “A-team”, a group of three former Mayors, who have been serving on City Commission for a combined total of almost 40 years. Age, fatigue,  burn out, and that old bugaboo of “getting on with one’s life, “were   the anticipated culprits.  Therefore it was a shock when the first to announce an if “elected State Representative” departure was the youngster Michael  McCready.  How young is Michalel  McCread y ? Assuming he didn’t skip any grades, the 1978 graduate of Seaholm High School is either 51 or 52 depending on birthday. Of the current crop of commissioners and commission candidates only Sarah McClure is close in age and she is 56 which mean that back in the day she was a senior when he was freshman. All the others are over 60 with an estimated 30% over 69.

Old age is only part of the story. All the candidates running for City Commission this spring are longtime residents of the City, with residencies that range from a low of 15 years to a high of 38. All were relatively youthful when they came to town arriving with ages of 27, 39 (2), 43, and 55 years.  All have been involved in City of Bloomfield government for an average of less than three years.  The pattern seems to be residents get involved in civic affairs later in life when career and family are firmly established.

That is not however an absolute. McCready was involved in City Government in his early 40’s. So was Mayor Zambricki. According to Southeast Michigan Government figures there are 101 City residents between the ages of 30 and 39. 436 are in their forties, and 700 in their fifties. That is close to 33% of our population. One out of three.  How many potential Mayor McCready and Mayor Zambricki’s are out there? How can we identify them? We are not talking about Nobel Prize winners or United States Presidents. We are talking about exceptional people who have an interest and some time to devote to City hall for  the good of the community.

The City of Birmingham has 32 boards and commissions to serve a community of 20,000. Assuming the average board has seven members or alternates that means that more than one on ten is involved in City Government.

We don’t need that.  We don’t need more government. What we need is more public interest, involvement, and participation from those who may wish to contribute.  We need a system that will allow any and all to participate on level that suits their lifestyle.

We need to say to our residents. “Many opportunities are in place for you to share your skills and input for the betterment of the city. Please consider attending one or more of the City’s Community Participation Meetings. You are not obligated to attend each one. Come to as many or as few as you like…just come.”

The Bloomfield Hills School System has exactly this system in place, and the “Many opportunities..” quote is from their literature.  The School Board’s Partnership Committees  are not government but advisory bodies. The program in its second year is currently being evaluated.  Attendance seems good. Some moneys savings features implemented by the district have been attributed to the partnership committees. The three finalists to fill a vacancy on the School Board came from the committees.

The program is not a School District original. They hired Project Innovations, a consultancy firm in Farmington .

Project Innovations according to its web site “solves complex problems through facilitation and collaboration. Our proprietary methods provide leaders with the necessary tools to resolve conflict, collaborate with customers, develop and coach leaders, facilitate large meetings, integrate the public for successful projects, and to plan strategically for the future. “

Interesting. Our City has just spent $9500 on a citizen survey, and hired a special consultancy firm for the tree ordinance. To the best of my knowledge the City has never spent money to enhance public involvement or leadership identification. It is certainly something to look into. I have volunteered for one of the partnerships. As a School district resident all that is required in the words of my committee chairman is “Just show up.”

My name is Mark Kapel and I am a candidate for City of Bloomfield Hills City  Commission.  I look at my fellow candidates and add up their years of service and wonder how better our community would be if we benefited from their skills and expertise five or ten years earlier. How about future candidates who state their qualifications as “19 year city resident. 10 years in community participation committees. 3 years Zoning Board.  3 years Planning Commission.” Wouldn’t our City be a better place for it?