Woods to welcome new top cop,
while moving to evict coyotes

Grosse Pointe Woods is about to close the deal on a new Director of Public Safety, replacing Michael Makowski, who retired at the end of 2009. 

Alfred John "Skip" Fincham III, currently serving as assistant city manager in the city of Grosse Pointe, was the unanimous recommendation of the hiring committee, and was announced to the Woods City Council at its committee-of-the-whole meeting Monday evening (Jan. 11). 

City manager Mark Wollenweber touted Fincham as an energetic veteran of both law enforcement and municipal administration. In addition to his assistant manager work in the City, he served as acting city manager before the hiring of Peter Dame, and is retired from the City police department, where he served as chief. Wollenweber said the committee asked for at least a five-year commitment to the job, and that Fincham agreed, although there will be no contract. 

FIncham said he was "very excited" to be nominated as the new director of the department. His hiring will be on next week's Woods council agenda, and is expected to be approved.

In other business, the committee heard from its acting public-safety director, Lt. John Ross, on the hiring of a trapper to attempt to capture one or more nuisance coyotes living in the area. Ross said the Woods will share the cost of the services of Varmint Police Inc., a Westland firm hired on a week-to-week basis. The coyote(s) are believed to be living in or around the Lochmoor Club grounds. Two dogs in the area have been attacked, presumably by the coyotes, and one dog died. Coyotes are also suspected in several other pet attacks in the Farms and Shores.

Wollenweber said six traps have been set, but he doesn't expect a progress report before the weekend.

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