Farmington Hills

Farmington Hills is the most populous city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit and is known for excellent schools, great housing stock, and a center of business in Oakland County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 82,111.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 86.2 km² (33.3 mi²), all land.

Demographics

Farmington Hills is one of the largest communities of the Metro Detroit area. As of the census² of 2000, there were 82,111 people, 33,559 households, and 21,813 families residing in the city. The population density was 952.3/km² (2,466.4/mi²). There were 34,858 housing units at an average density of 404.3/km² (1,047.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.95% White, 6.94% African American, 0.17% Native American, 7.54% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.47% of the population. 12.6% were of German, 9.1% Polish, 8.3% Irish, 7.1% English and 5.5% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 33,559 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $67,493, and the median income for a family was $88,138. Males had a median income of $61,757 versus $39,540 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,134. About 2.4% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Farmington Hills utilizes the Council-Manager form of government, and thus is governed by a City Council consisting of a Mayor and six council members. The city council appoints a City Manager, who manages the day-to-day operations of the city.

Farmington Hills is neighbor to Farmington, Michigan. Together, the two cities form a district represented in Michigan's State Government by Democrat Aldo Vagnozzi, who is a former mayor of Farmington Hills. Farmington Hills is part of state senate District 14, and is represented by Democrat Gilda Z. Jacobs.

The Mayor of Farmington Hills is Vicki Barnett, who took office in 2003.

The Mayor's Youth Council is an active teen committee/council who work under the city to help address teen problems and issues. This council is run by the youth, for the youth, and is helping to build the Riley Skate Park (the largest skate park in the midwest), sends delegates the National League of Cities (NLC) conferences, has articles published in the local newspaper, helps run city wide events, organizes battle of the bands, and hosts their own talk show.

On Monday, December 18, 2006, a public meeting was held in Farmington Hills to discuss the possible merger of the two cities. This has been an ongoing discussion for years but there had not been any recent formal meetings on the subject. Officials are touting it mainly as a money saving venture, and also as a way to keep the two communities vibrant. Farmington and Farmington Hills already share several services, such as a school district, a police department, a fire department, a library system and a district court.[1]

Education

The city and Farmington, Michigan also share a school system. Farmington Hills also encompasses parts of the West Bloomfield School District; the Clarenceville School District; and the Walled Lake Consolidated School District. The city also includes several private schools, including two parochial Catholic schools run by the Archdiocese of Detroit, an all-girls Catholic high school and a day school affiliated with Conservative Judaism, Hillel Day School. The city also contains a branch of the Oakland Community College system, as well as a suburban center for Wayne State University, which is based in Detroit, Michigan. It is also home to Harrison High School, from which Al Jean graduated, famous for his work on the animated comedy The Simpsons. They are also known for excelling at football led by Coach John Harrington who has been the coach since the opening of the school in 1972.

Media

In addition to the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, regional newspapers serving all of southeast Michigan, the city is served by two community newspapers. The Farmington Observer is published twice a week, on Sunday and Thursday. The Farmington Gazette is published weekly.

The City of Farmington Hills has its own cable station, channel 8.

Transportation

Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) operates local and regional bus transit.

The major thoroughfares in the city are: Grand River (M-5), Orchard Lake Road, I-696 and I-275. The city contains several freeway interchanges connecting local roads to the two interstates.

Clarenceville

Clarenceville, Michigan was a former town that is now absorbed by Farmington Hills. However, Clarenceville School District is still around, but in turn is on the verge of being defunct too. Even though the school buildings for Clarenceville are in Wayne County in Livonia, the school district is officially an Oakland County district. However, there is a common convention of having the school buildings outside of the official town. Clarenceville (the town) was defunct since the mid 20th century.

Famous people from Farmington Hills

• Pam Dawber, known for her role as Mindy on Mork and Mindy.
• Al Jean, known for his work on The Simpsons
• Elizabeth Berkley, known for her roles on Saved By The Bell (Jessie) and Showgirls.
• Jaime Ray Newman, known for her work on Related and Stargate Atlantis.

Holocaust Memorial Center

The Holocaust Memorial Center that was originally part of the Jewish Community Center in neighboring West Bloomfield Township has since been moved to Farmington Hills.

References

• Template:Cite news

External links

• City of Farmington Hills official website
• Farmington/Farmington Hills Public Library website
• Farmington/Farmington Hills Public Schools
• Mayor's Youth Council