Joe has more than 34 years’ experience in municipal and public sector law. He is well-versed in federal and state statutes governing the financing of public infrastructure, environmental due diligence and compliance, water resources, land use regulations, and municipal water, sewer, storm drainage, lake level, and fiber optic infrastructure projects. Where these laws and practice areas intersect, Joe excels at producing results for clients leading to successful solutions to complex public and private infrastructure undertakings. Joe works with both public, non-profits and private sector clients in the areas of real estate, planning and zoning, Act 425 annexations, ballot proposals (i.e. police and fire millages), environmental regulation, construction, contracts, and litigation. He has significant experience in state administrative tribunals, state and federal trial, and appellate courts.
Joe has wide array of public and private clients, including municipalities and public authorities, such as counties, cities, townships, and villages; drain and water resources commissioners, and drainage districts, as well as engineering and environmental consultants, financial institutions, and real estate developers. He works closely with numerous municipalities, public authorities and drainage districts with implementation and financing of public infrastructure projects. He is bond counsel to several municipalities and drainage districts, providing legal advice in connection with financing options. Since joining the Clark Hill team in 2015, Joe has assisted with the financing of almost half billion dollars in public infrastructure projects. In the area of municipal law, Joe regularly counsels municipal clients on compliance with the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act, legislation, intermunicipal cooperation, and general municipal governance.
Joe was directly involved with the successful transfer of Wayne County’s Northeast Sewer System to the Southeast Macomb Sanitary District in 2019, which involved a complex set of transactions involving multiple municipalities, governance, interlocal cooperation, finance and real property transfers. Joe was also the lead attorney involved in the negotiation and transfer of the Oakland-Macomb Interceptor from the City of Detroit to the Oakland-Macomb Interceptor Drain Drainage District (OMIDD). This transfer was the first step in the $160 Million rehabilitation of a 37-year old 21-mile sewer serving 830,000 residents in 24 separate communities in Oakland and Macomb Counties. In 2019, on behalf of the OMIDD, Joe successfully negotiated revisions to the wastewater services agreement with the service provider, that would save the OMIDD more than $10 million per year, and provided the ability for the OMIDD to finance, design and construct additional critical infrastructure upgrades estimated to cost more than $100 million. Subsequently, in 2019-2020, Joe served as bond counsel to finance the OMIDD’s project.
Currently, Joe is assisting property owners in Midland and Gladwin Counties in connection with the recovery, restoration, financing four lakes and dams that were drained or damaged due to catastrophic dam failure in May 2020. Joe is the general counsel for the Four Lakes Task Force which is a Michigan non-profit organization that was appointed by the Counties of Midland and Gladwin to serve as the counties’ Delegated Authority in connection with the recovery and restoration of the lakes.
Prior to joining Clark Hill, Joe was involved in the monetization and transfer of the City of Pontiac wastewater treatment facility, George W. Kuhn Drainage District rehabilitation project, and various other public work projects throughout Oakland County. In addition, Joe previously served as a deputy drain commissioner, legal counsel, and insurance administrator for the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner (2001–2012). Joe was an assistant Cook County (Illinois) States Attorney (1990–1993), Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor (1993–1996), and Senior Assistant Oakland County Corporation Counsel (1996–2001). Joe served as a Hartland Township Trustee (2004–2020) and has served on Hartland’s Planning Commission. He is co-founder of the non-profit Hartland Enrichment and Recreation Organization (HERO). The organization operates the Hartland Teen Center which provides an afterschool haven for teens.
Joe is a regular presenter and Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioner conferences and district meetings. Topics include: “Financing Chapter 20 Drains,” “Ethics and Conflicts of Interest for Drain Commissioners,” “Drain Easement Encroachments,” and “Lake Improvement Boards.”
