Ferndale City Council Briefs: License Approval, Proclamations and More

Ferndale City Council met for about an hour at on Tuesday evening. Here are some highlights from the meeting:

• Council approved a Small Wine Makers License for B. Nektar Meadery, a Ferndale-based business that makes mead (honey wine). The business is expanding and in addition to its current facility at 1505 Jarvis, will open a second facility at 1481 Wordsworth, Suite B.
  Co-founder Brad Dahlhofer spoke at the meeting and said other communities had previously turned away the business and they are glad to be in Ferndale, where B. Nektar is growing rapidly. "I wanted to say thanks to the city for making it such a great place to actually start and run a business," he said.
  "This is a success story, we're glad that you're doing well," Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter said at the meeting. "In four years you've really expanded and grown."
  
  
• Council members approved the adoption of a proclamation declaring June 2012 as Gay Pride Month in the city of Ferndale, as well as a proclamation declaring June 23, 2012 as Vincent Chin Remembrance Day.
  
  
• Council also voted to approve filling the position of Assistant Building Inspector. The position will combine two previous part-time positions - Code Enforcement Officer and Housing and Rental Inspector - which have been vacant. Ferndale City Manager April McGrath said it would be a "cost neutral" change.
  
  
• Oakland County Commissioner Craig Covey provided an update on the . He said the final fundraising numbers were in and the event raised 15 to 20 percent more than the year before, with a total of $20,000 to be distributed between the Michigan AIDS Coalition and Ferndale Youth Assistance.