Novi Plans to Ask for Help Naming The Landings Parkland; Two Voting Locations Moved

The City Council hopes Novi will hold a citywide contest to give an official name to parkland.

The property, located in the north part of Novi near Walled Lake, was acquired by the city in the 1980s and was designated as parkland in March 2010.

The city plans to begin developing the 11-acre property with walking trails, a playground and access to the water next year.

The name "The Landings" comes from a proposed development that was once planned to go on the site.

Council member Wayne Wrobel brought the matter up for discussion at the City Council meeting Monday, saying it is time that the park gets a real name and that he would like the community to be involved in choosing it.

"I think the name should be a name that gets public input and not a name that's just established by two or three people sitting over lunch," Wrobel said.

Council member Terry Margolis said a contest might be a great way to educate the public about the park because many people don't know that the city owns the property and plans to develop there soon.

Council members said they would like to see the park name reflect its geographical features, historical significance or an important figure in Novi.

City Manager Clay Pearson said the staff will work on a timeline and process for gathering community members' suggestions for names and come back to the council with an update at a future meeting.

Two precincts assigned new voting locations

The City Council voted to add two voting locations in Novi. Precinct 2 will move from to , and Precinct 16 will move from the to the .

The two locations are being added to reduce the high traffic for voters during presidential elections. Meadowbrook Congregational Church currently hosts Precincts 1 and 2, and the Civic Center hosts Precincts 16, 17 and 18.

The change will go into effect for the August 2012 primary, and voters within those precincts will receive new voter ID cards in the spring.

Other items discussed

The City Council voted to create an interview committee, which will interview candidates for the Novi Youth Council and possibly candidates for city commissions in the future. Council members Laura Casey, Justin Fischer and Margolis volunteered to serve on the committee.

The council also agreed to purchase a new combination sewer/cleaning truck for $345,915. The truck will replace an 11-year-old truck and will aid with sanitary sewer maintenance for the city's Water and Sewer Division.