Rental Ordinance Hearing Postponed and Other Rochester City Council Quick Hits

Public hearing postponed: A hearing on a proposed rental property ordinance has been postponed from April 11 to May 9. The ordinance would regulate inspections of rental property and would establish a fee schedule for registering rental properties within the city. * members changed the hearing date because one council member will not be able to attend the April 11 meeting, and council members agreed that all should be present.

New signs in the works: City Council members approved a contract between the Downtown Development Authority and Sign Concepts of Troy for new signs downtown and around the city. The $297,386.34 contract includes new "Welcome to Rochester" signs as well as signs pointing to various destinations in the city.

Animal Control agreement extended: The City Council extended a three-year interlocal agreement with Oakland County Animal Control by one year. Under the agreement, the city pays Animal Control to board stray pets found in the city for up to seven days. After that seven-day stay, pets are evaluated and are either held for adoption (but not paid for by the city), turned over to an animal rescue league or euthanized (if the animal is not suitable for adoption). Rochester Police Chief Steve Schettenhelm said his department does everything possible to reunite stray pets with their owners before turning them over to the county.

State of the City address: Mayor Jeff Cuthbertson said there are only 20 seats remaining for his State of the City address at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the . Cuthbertson said he looks forward to summarizing the past year and previewing the year ahead. To register for a spot, call 248-651-9061.

Shall he dance? Cuthbertson said he had the privilege of cutting the ribbon last week at the grand opening of . While he politely declined the opportunity to dance at the event, "I will probably go back for some lessons," he said.

Tennis, anyone? The tennis courts at will open "as soon as possible," City Manager Jaymes Vettraino told City Council members. He said city workers constantly evaluate the courts to see when the nets can be put up, and it could happen as early as this week.

* This story was corrected from an earlier version that referred to the Rochester City Council as the Rochester Hills City Council. Rochester Patch apologizes for the error.