What's the latest in Sterling Heights? 👀

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 22, 2021

LATEST CITY NEWS & UPDATES

City offices will be closed on Thursday, Dec. 23 and Friday, Dec. 24 for the Christmas holiday. City offices will also be closed Thursday, Dec. 30 and Friday, Dec. 31 for the New Year.

City offices include City Hall, DPW, Recycling Center, 41A District Court, Library, Community Center, Senior Center, and Nature Center.

Thursday, Dec. 23 through Sunday, Dec. 26

All City buildings are closed including Library, Nature Center, Community Center, and Senior Center.

Thursday. Dec. 30 through Sunday, Jan. 2

All City buildings are closed including Library, Nature Center, Community Center, and Senior Center.

Park Restrooms

Park restrooms will be closed on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), Christmas Day (Dec. 25), New Year's Eve (Dec. 30), and New Years Day (Dec. 31).

Dodge Park Ice Rink

Ice Rink will be open on Friday, Dec. 24 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed Saturday, Dec. 25.
Ice Rink will be open on Friday, Dec. 31 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed Saturday, Jan. 1.

The Clinton River Recycling Center will open back up on Saturday, Jan. 1.

Please note, refuse collection will not be delayed.

Clearing the Way: The DPW During Snow Emergencies

We want to make sure you stay informed on the latest news and info in Sterling Heights -- including when the City declares a "Snow Emergency." With the winter season upon us, we will communicate snow emergencies to notify residents to clear the streets and allow plows to navigate subdivision streets unobstructed.

We will communicate via:

Press release to local media
SHTV crawl (5, 10, 99)
Website - home page emergency alert bar, press release, snow plowing procedures and maps (sterling-heights.net/snow)
Email and text alerts for those subscribed
Social media - Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
SeeClickFix notification

New this year:

We have subscribed anyone who received a violation last year and paid online to email notifications so they’ll now receive the emergency snow alerts.

We are doing more public outreach to increase those subscribed to email and/or text alerts:

Residents can sing up for alerts here: sterling-heights.net/notifyme
Sign-up link added to winter magazine on page 4
Sign-up link added to City News email
Sign-up link added to Social media posts
Website home page banner added with directed link

More Info

As you begin to wrap up your holiday festivities, we ask that you please keep in mind a few simple dos and don’ts while disposing of your tree and other decorations!

For the 29th year, the City is recycling Christmas trees left at the curb by 7 a.m. on residents’ normal trash day! This program, which runs January 2 through February 2, allows the trees to be turned into wood chips and returned to the earth in an environmentally friendly manner.

All ornaments, tinsel, hooks and decorations, as well as any plastic bags used to carry the tree outside, must be removed in order for the trees to be picked up.

Trees placed at the curb after February 2 will be picked up with the regular trash and placed into a landfill.

GFL asks that you do NOT place the following items into your recycling bin:

Christmas/holiday string lights – This item will tangle and create problems in the machinery.
Holiday yard decorations – such as candy canes, blow up displays – think snowman or Santa, reindeer, extension cords, bows, etc.
Tissue paper
Artificial Christmas Trees
Ornaments and hooks of any kind
Anything with glitter – if a card or wrapping paper has glitter on it, it has to go in refuse collection.
Bows, ribbons, gift bags with glitter or fabric

Most wrapping paper can be recycled, but if paper has glitter, woven strings or foil, than it must be placed in regular refuse collection. Most wrapping paper can be recycled, but be aware that some specialty papers are not.

Additional information can be obtained by contacting the Department of Public Works at (586) 446-2440.

The city of Sterling Heights Nice Neighbor Program honors residents and businesses that improve the quality of life for their Sterling Heights neighbors!

The Sterling Heights Public Library and Friends of the Sterling Heights Public Library recently nominated Kelley Skillin for a Nice Neighbor award. As a recent candidate in the August 2021 primary for the Sterling Heights City Council, Skillin had remaining campaign funds in the amount of $1,481.43 that she generously donated to the Friends of the Sterling Heights Public Library.

This donation allows the Friends of the Library to continue as a funding catalyst for library programming for patrons of all ages and interests, including kids story times, music programs, craft programs, scavenger hunts, trivia nights, and more.

A Promotional Badge Pinning Ceremony was held at the Sterling Heights Fire Department on December 21 to recognize and celebrate the following individuals for their recent promotions:

Mark Wellhausen to Battalion Chief
Rich Feeney to Captain
Ryan Sears to Lieutenant
Jon Feil to Sergeant
Stephen Stover to Sergeant

Congratulations to all being promoted!

The 24th annual Cops and Kids event was held on Sunday, Dec. 12 at the 16 Mile and Dequindre Target. This annual event is supported by the Sterling Heights Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 118, the Sterling Heights Police Department, and Target.

This program assists area children and their families during the holidays. This year, officers volunteered their time to help 37 children spend $120 on toys, clothing, and gifts for their families. This is the 24th year of doing this program and we are grateful to be able to help so many children and their families over the years.

From January 1 to January 31, 2022, the Sterling Heights Public Library will participate in Beanstack’s Fifth Annual Winter Reading Challenge, “Read for a Better World,” sponsored by Lerner Publishing Group.

SHPL challenges our patrons to read 600 minutes during the month of January and keep track of their reading! The theme will focus on exploring diversity and empathy through reading.

Visit the library's website or come into the library to get started!

Those who complete all 600 minutes will get a prize, either a tote bag or water bottle, as well as the satisfaction that they started 2022 off right!

All ages are welcome to participate.

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Sterling Heights Historical Commission Presents Victorian Christmas

Come along as the Sterling Heights Historical Commission transports us to a Victorian Christmas! Learn how these cherished Victorian era customs were developed and how they influence our Christmas traditions today.

The pandemic has had an impact on many businesses, including the construction industry. Limited accessibility to buildings and COVID exposure concerns has created a backlog of inspections.

The city of Sterling Heights Building Department is starting a resident outreach program to finalize permits that were pulled but did not receive a final inspection. This program is intended to ensure that the work was done safely and correctly. The department will be focusing on Building, Electrical, Mechanical, and Plumbing permits. There are no additional fees for this inspection.

Starting in 2022, the Building Department inspectors will be putting tags on doors indicating a permit still requires a final inspection. The tag will direct the homeowner to call a hotline number strictly for expired permits and leave a message. A clerk will reach out to the homeowner within 1-2 business days to schedule an inspection. After the inspection is completed and approved, the permit will be closed.

If you do not contact the Building Department within 14 days, your permit will be closed without inspection.

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Interested in joining our team? The city of Sterling Heights is always looking for top talent to join our exceptional workforce. You can start by searching our current openings within our job portal.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer offering full-time, part-time and seasonal employment and contractual services, offering competitive salary and benefit packages including Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, Life Insurance, Employee Assistance Provider, Defined Contribution Pension, Deferred Compensation, Flexible Spending Accounts, paid time off, Compensatory Time, Paid Holidays and much more!