Mayor Joseph LaRussa highlights infrastructure costs, new parks and combined master planning in State of the City address

Mayor Joseph LaRussa used his second State of the City address on April 1 to portray Farmington as a city with momentum while sounding an urgent note about aging infrastructure and rising repair costs.

"The state of our community, the state of our city is strong," LaRussa said, citing Farmington’s sense of place, bicentennial programming and rising property values as evidence of local vitality. He framed the address around preserving that momentum by renewing public infrastructure, improving public spaces and streamlining city services.

LaRussa said some water and sewer pipes in Farmington are more than 75 years old and that emergency sewer repairs in the past year totalled $614,000. "That equates to $5,430 per foot of sewer when we have to perform an emergency repair," he said, contrasting that with the city’s estimated $148 per foot cost for planned replacement and saying emergency work is "37 times less" cost-efficient. He warned emergency repairs are becoming more frequent and said the city is in discussions with Oakland County to seek collaborative, cost-efficient approaches to renew infrastructure across older communities.

On public safety, LaRussa credited Public Safety Director Bob Hohannesen for negotiating a collaborative ambulance arrangement with Farmington Hills; he said committed response times are down 58% and in some cases actual response times have fallen as much as 83% since the change.

The mayor described several investments intended to enhance quality of life and attract development. He highlighted two new or recently funded park projects — Dinan Park, a universally accessible pocket park, and Diamond Park, which used crowdfunding for activation — and announced Farmington received $300,000 from the National Fitness Campaign, Priority Health and Oakland County Parks to install two outdoor fitness courts at Shiawassee and Flanders Parks, expected to be complete in late summer.

LaRussa also said the city secured an $80,000 Oakland County grant to add sidewalks, benches and other safety and comfort upgrades to bus stops along the Grand River corridor and thanked Commissioners William Miller and Gwen Markham for supporting that funding.

On planning and city operations, he announced a combined process to update the city master plan, downtown master plan and parks and recreation master plan in 2025, consolidating bidding, project management and public engagement into a single coordinated effort supported by engineering firm OHM Advisors. The aim, he said, is to reduce "planning fatigue" and gain efficiencies. He also said the city is taking initial steps to implement digital permitting to improve workflow, compliance and scheduling in the permitting process.

LaRussa noted downtown redevelopment activity, including the sale of the historic Detroit Interurban Railway building ("the winery") to a developer with experience renovating historic properties, and invited developers to use tools like the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and the Corridor Improvement Authority. He highlighted housing progress, saying median sale prices rose 2.2% in 2024 and that two developments, Hillside Towns and Legion Square, will add housing and a promenade park, with an ADA-compliant connection planned between Riley Park and Shiawassee Park.

He closed by thanking city staff — including City Manager David Murphy, Treasurer Wittenberg, public works superintendent Chuck Yudi and others — and announcing local events and services, from Ladies Night Out on April 24 to the Farmington Farmers and Artisans Market opening May 3 and the city's TextMyGov notification system launched last May.

LaRussa said the city will continue to pursue regional collaboration and internal efficiencies to fund long-term infrastructure renewal; he asked residents to engage in the combined master-planning process when public feedback opportunities are announced.