Northville welcomes new city council member

Judge James Plakas, center, officiated at the swearing in of new Northville
City Councilman Andrew Krenz, second from left, as he joins Mayor
 Pro tem Marilyn Price, far left, Councilmember Barbara Moroski-Browne
and Mayor Brian Turnbull, far right. 

Andrew Krenz has officially joined the Northville City Council.

Krenz was sworn into office April 27 in council chambers at city hall by 35th District Judge James Plakas in front of his family and city officials.

Officials said that five highly-qualified city residents volunteered to fill the council seat of former member Sam Ekong who resigned last month. The five, James C. Allen, Joseph Corriveau, Philip Goodman, Krenz and Ryan McKindles,  were interviewed by council members at a special meeting April 22. 

Each of the candidates was given five minutes to explain their interest in the open position and why they were qualified to fill the role. Previously, each had submitted a letter of interest for the open position. All qualified individuals who met the deadline were interviewed for the position. 

Krenz lives on Linden Court with his wife and three children. An engineer by profession, he works at GM as a team leader in the development of battery-powered vehicles. He has master's degrees in business administration and international business, and in engineering, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in material science engineering. 

He leads the Farmers' Market Task Force, a group of 15 people. As a member of the Northville Planning Commission, he supported the ordinance and was instrumental in getting front porch incentive approved. He also served on the subcommittee for public input into the master plan subarea update, and said there was ample outreach, which led to 300 pages of citizen and community input. He said that he has listened to the community, stating, “I know the pulse of this city.” 

 He cited the commitment to sustainability, history and walkability in the city and said he wants to help advance efforts on those fronts. He noted that Northville is aging rapidly and he would like to see more families with children move into the city.