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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRDA MINUTES 2001-07-19 . -r MINUTES OF THE 127th REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLYMOUTH ROAD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA The 127th Regular Meeting of the Plymouth Road Development Authority of the City of Livonia, Michigan was called to order at 3:10 PM, Thursday, July 19, 2001 in the 31d Floor Conference Room at City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Kirksey Mr. Jerry Wordhouse Mr. Duane Wolfgang Mr. Bill Pike Mr. Adelard Raby Mr. Lowell Peterson Mr. Scott Grace Mr. Stan Anderson Mr. Dennis Kujawa Mr. Rod Crider Members Absent: Mr. Mike Polsinelli(Excused) Mrs. Toni Mette (Excused) Mr. Marvin Walkon(Excused) Others Present: Mr. John Nagy, Director Mr. Scott Reinholt& Rich O'Brien, Beckett& Raeder Mr. Bill Farris Mr. H. H. Kluver Dr. Robert Auth, Rosedale Gardens Homeowners Association Mr. Ralph Williams Mrs. Robby Williams, Secretary 1. Roll was called. 2. Adoption of 125th Regular Meeting Minutes: On a motion duly made by Bill Pike, seconded by Adelard Raby and unanimously adopted, it was #2001-18 RESOLVED,that the Minutes of the 125th Regular Meeting held by the Plymouth Road Development Authority on May 17, 2001 are approved. Mr. Gerry Wordhouse,Chairman,declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. 3. Adoption of 126th Regular Meeting Minutes:On a motion duly made by Bill Pike, seconded by Adelard Raby and unanimously adopted, it was #2001-19 RESOLVED,that the Minutes of the 126th Regular Meeting held by the Plymouth Road Development Authority on June 21, 2001 are approved. 4. Comments from Chairman: We have received a copy of a letter from the Schoolcraft College,dated June 27,2001, in which Adelard Raby advises that he will be retiring from Schoolcraft College on September 30, 2001 and also tendering his resignation from the 1 Plymouth Road Development Authority Board of Directors, also effective September 30, (..., 2001. The Board members expressed how much he will be missed. 5. Budget Report-Mike Slater: In Mr. Slater's absence, Mr. Nagy gave a report on the figures that Mr. Slater had previously submitted for May and June. For the month of May the Total Assets balance was $2,684.872.90 and Total Liabilities totaled$131,132.57. The Fund Balance was $2,684.872.90. For the month of June the Total Assets balance was $1,906,115.86 and Total Liabilities totaled$148,949.94. The Fund Balance was $1,906,115.86. A question was raised concerning the cost of replacing the banners that were damaged due to wind damage. An eyelet at the bottom of the banners is felt to be an area that should be looked at for extreme stress during a high wind. Is this poor design and something that we should anticipate in the future? Since our budget is very tight,this is an area we should look into. Scott Reinholt gave dimensions and the space measurements where the banners were to be displayed to the banner company. He felt that the company needed to be made aware of the problem and he said he certainly would notify them. Scott Grace raised the issue of a sign that notifies that there is a lane narrowing at Middlebelt and Plymouth but, in fact,there is none. He suggests that this sign be taken down. It is located in front of the Ford property. 6. H. Kluver, (representing the citizens of Livonia, served for 21 years on the Planning Commission and involved with the Spree), brought the idea to the Plymouth Road Development Authority of having a "cruise" along the Plymouth Road corridor. The cruise would possibly start at Kellogg Park and go to Wonderland Mall. Stan Anderson also has connections with a group of classic car owners. Mr. Anderson believes that this will create a lot of interest. The issue of cost to the PRDA came up including promotion, cleanup and traffic concerns. Mayor Kirksey suggested a subcommittee be formed to work with Mr. Kluver to discuss the cost and responsibilities and report back to the Board. The Mayor, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Nagy volunteered to be members of this sub-committee 7. William Faris, 31602 Plymouth Road, Livonia, purchased the old tire store a few years ago. His business has grown and is asking for approval to expand his building. He would like to expand it by 3,285 s. f. at the back of his building. He will make changes to the front of his building and will eliminate some building floor space and some landscape areas to provide for front yard parking. It is felt that with the improvement to the building, it will compensate for the lack of landscaping. He will be taking out his private sidewalk and replacing it with landscaping. Mr. Nagy addressed the landscaping requirement of 15%, which the parcel is currently nonconforming to that requirement. There will be more convenient parking in the front for the customers. It is a noncompliant building. A 60 foot setback is required. It was a valid setback when it was constructed years ago. Any addition or enlargement of that building would require ZBA approval due to it being a noncompliant building. The parking would also have to go before the ZBA. The question was raised if a parking spot could be eliminated in order to provide for more landscaping. Mr. Faris felt that it would cost a lot of money and he would like all four parking spots. He doesn't have any in the front currently. His new addition will be for storage only. He is going to go to MDOT to expand the 12-foot driveway to 22 feet. It will be a two-way driveway onto Plymouth Road. C 2 On a motion by Stan Anderson, seconded by Lowell Peterson and unanimously approved, it was #2001-20 RESOLVED that,the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby approve in concept the proposed expansion of the nonconforming building as proposed by William Faris for the sale and warehousing of marble and granite subject to City compliance with all City codes and ordinances, as such may be modified by action of the Planning Commission,ZBA and/or City Council. Mr. Wordhouse, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. 9. Beckett&Raeder/Construction Report: Scott Reinholt discussed his negotiations with MDOT regarding the ISTEA program. Bill Pike suggested that PRDA was interested in postponing the request for the grant. Scott advised that there is a need to look at the scope in terms of ISTEA eligibility requirements and other budget considerations. It will be reviewed again. MDOT suggested that the request be resubmitted. There has to be a certain amount of participation and this program does not involve the brick walls, irrigation and traffic lights, as these items are not participations for the ISTEA program. He will go back for a ratio change and in order to be able to capture the$350,000 they gave us but lowering our amount. Phase V has a lot of non-participation items which we need such as the brick walls, irrigation and traffic lights. We will do the best we can to stay within the state guidelines and our budget projections. Rich O'Brien(Beckett& Raeder)reported on Phase IV. He reported that the brick suppliers had been on strike but it was settled and deliveries should be arriving by Monday. The affected intersection was the Middlebelt intersection. He reported that the masonry work has to be done before the landscaping. Also of a concern, was the work Detroit Edison was doing. There are two poles to be installed and one to be removed. It was reported that due to delays by Detroit Edison. A lot of the work to be completed at Middlebelt is being held up. Halophane has been on the site today to repair the rust that is showing up on some of the poles. Irish is going to replace some of the trees and spray some of the others and try to save them. There are problems with irrigation lines being cut by the cable company installer, Corby. The maintenance company, CMS has been on the job trying to correct continuing problems with dying grass, broken and missing sprinkler heads and misdirected watering flows. A hotline number is needed for CMS so that the address and problem can be reported immediately. Board members suggested that claims be filed against their bonding company and against their insurance company. On a motion by Jerry Wordhouse, seconded by Bill Pike and unanimously approved, it was #2001-21 RESOLVED that,the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby approve and authorize a notification letter be sent to the bonding company and insurance company of the cable installer for damages to the cutting of irrigation lines along the Plymouth Road corridor. John Nagy has been requested by Kevin Roney to coordinate the watering schedule with the even/odd system that has been put in place by Wayne County. Duane Wolfgang arrived-4:15 p.m. Rod Crider left-4:15 p.m. 3 Dr. Auth reported that in some areas the watering has been a major problem, grass and flowers are L drying. They are not getting the needed water. He is hearing complaints from residents and it has become a frustrating issue to deal with. The Board has expressed to Mr. Reinholt that the problem has become a crisis situation. The Board does not feel that an adequate job is being done. They feel that this is a job that needs to be attended to at least 40 hours a week. A telephone hotline number needs to be provided for easy access for anyone along the corridor to make the call that there is a problem. Currently, a mailer will be sent out with that information and possibly the newsletter will carry that number on all of its publications. Suggestions were made to have the sprinkler heads moved away from the edge of the driveways to prevent damage from vehicles driving over them and the Mayor also suggested a control clock to water more than one time a day. There were many issues raised about the irrigation problems. There is also the problem of many missing sprinkler heads. Committee Reports: Public Relations- Stan Anderson-Nothing to report at this time. Vacant Buildings- Scott Grace-Reported that a sign went up on the property west of the DePalma's restaurant, announcing a new coney island restaurant. Inspection - Butch Raby-nothing to report at this time. Construction Committee- Mr.Nagy advised that due to the planned demolition of the Terrace Theater sign,there was a gathering outside of Bill Brown Ford offices on the Terrace property with Mr. Bob Gunnigle, Lowell Peterson whereby a check was presented to Mr. Gunnigle with an authorization by the PRDA for hazardous waste removal and the removal of the Terrace Theater sign. Many pictures were taken to be used for publicity purposes and for our newsletter. Development Assistance Committee Scott Grace reviewed to the Board the case presented by Steve Schafer of Phoenix Land Corporation for development assistance pursuant to our program. The committee discussed the matter at length and agreed to recommend to the Board that this request be approved. On a motion by Lowell Peterson, seconded by Adelard Raby and approved it was #2001-22 RESOLVED that,the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby approve a grant in the amount of $10,000 for hazardous waste removal; and $40,000 for demolition of the building for a total amount of$50,000, subject to the removal of the free standing sign located at the intersection of Farmington and Plymouth Roads. Grant to be awarded only after the sign has been removed. A roll call was taken with the following result: AYES: Bill Pike, Adelard Raby, Mayor Kirksey, Lowell Peterson, Scott Grace, Stan Anderson, Dennis Kujawa NAYS: Jerry Wordhouse, Duane Wolfgang ABSENT: Mike Polsinelli, Toni Mette, Marvin Walkon, Rod Crider 4 Mr. Wordhouse, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. There were discussions regarding the guidelines for the amounts of the grants given to businesses, whether the businesses are large or small and should there be some kind of a sliding scale.. It was decided to make a decision on the merits of each case. Director's Report: John Nagy- We have been gathering information for the PRDA web page. We are currently updating the bios of the current Board members. The web page is a work in progress. We need to add Duane Wolfgang and Rod Crider's names to the bios. Bill Brown Ford is now going to expand the structure to the east for auto service. The expansion will be to the east approximately 40 feet. There will also be some offices in there. The upper level will be a paint shop. Mr.Nagy displayed the drawings showing the planned expansion to the Bill Brown facility at the former Terrace Theater site. Discussion was about the orientation of the garage doors,the material used on the buildings and the proposed use of the expanded space and the general architectural features of the building. Bill Pike commented on the fine appearance of the building. The fact that the doors were oriented to the east and the building's set back being quite a distance from Plymouth Road. The doors would not be a problematic feature and the Board was very positive toward the project. There is a new management group handling the Wonderland Mall. It is the Farbman Group. Mr. Phil Heilman is the new manager. He is enthused about the strategies he wants to use for the mall and they want to sponsor the holiday parade. He wants bigger and better things for the mall. He has the same position held by Reinhardt Lempke. I had the opportunity to meet with him earlier today. 9. Polling of the Board Members: Lowell Peterson-There are two businesses leaving the Wonderland Mall, Famous Footwear and American Eagle and the companies are moving to Millennium Park. This is exactly what was discussed that might happen once the Millennium Park opened. Stan Anderson- An invitation should be made to the new management to attend one of the PRDA meetings. Dennis Kujawa-nothing to report. Scott Grace-There was a sign that went up last night for Old Town Coney or very early this morning across the street from Allen Electric and west of DePalma's Restaurant. The Comerica building at Plymouth and Middlebelt is working on a deal with someone and they would not disclose who the purchaser may be. Salem Lumber is down. Bill Pike-nothing to report. 10. Adjournment: On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted,the 127t Regular Meeting held by the Plymouth Road Development Authority of Livonia on July 19, 2001 was adjourned at 5:10 PM. 5 The next meeting of the Plymouth Road Development Authority will be held on August 16, „ k 2001, in the 4h Floor Conference Room at City Hall. .,,s, ".'LI t 1 (me q (/.--e-11-6,0-XX------- \ Robby iams, Secretary r ° , C C 6