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City promotes grants, rain barrels to make homes greener/3A A beekeeper handles hives from the Bees in the D organization. File photo by Jonathan Shead
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Council discusses social workers, comfort dog at budget meeting BY ERIC CZARNIK eczarnik@candgnews.com
City explores beekeeping regulations Sterling Heights officials are quietly being busy bees, crafting new proposed rules that could regulate beekeeping in the community to make it more harmonious to neighbors. During a March 21 meeting, the Sterling Heights City Council unanimously voted to ask the city administration to write up a proposal to regulate beekeeping. Any new regulations would amend the city’s zoning ordinance. City officials have been exploring how to address private beekeeping, which some hobbyists do to get
their own honey, beeswax or related products. According to Giffels Webster planning consultant Andy Aamodt, beekeeping offers sustainability benefits, adding that pollinators “are essential for a vibrant ecosystem.” He said artificial beehives are typically kept in a cabinet ranging between 6 and 20 cubic feet in size. Aamodt said some other communities that allow beekeeping demand a permit, hive size restrictions, setback requirements, a water supply and a foliage- or fence-based flyway barrier. Such practices are basically in line with the state’s agricultural management practices, he said. See BEEKEEPING on page 17A
See COUNCIL on page 16A
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BY ERIC CZARNIK eczarnik@candgnews.com
The importance and role of social work in the Sterling Heights Police Department and beyond was a topic of discussion and debate during the April 11 Sterling Heights City Council meeting on a proposed 2023-2024 budget. During the meeting, police Chief Dale Dwojakowski discussed the things that the city’s social worker, Amy Compton, has done recently. Compton is the city’s first social worker. That position was first budgeted in the 2021-2022 budget. Officials said Compton has handled 274 cases so far, including 76 for elder protection, 50 for mental health, 31 for family issues, 30 for homeless services, 25 for domestic violence and 24 for hoarding. “We didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know what was going to happen,” Dwojakowski said. “And here we are over a year later, and it’s been a success.” Currently, Compton’s position is a civilian one within the Police Department’s Community Service Unit, though Dwojakowski said she also has worked alongside the Fire Department, City Hall and more. During the meeting, some council members such as Councilman Henry Yanez discussed the idea of promoting the social worker position to a director level position. “She’s done a director’s work, and she’s getting paid a social worker rate,” Yanez said. “When we first talked about this a couple years ago, I brought up that I felt that the social worker should report directly to the city manager.” In the 2023-2024 proposed budget, the social worker