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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRDA MINUTES 2003-02-20 MINUTES OF THE 143rd REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLYMOUTH ROAD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA The 143rd Regular Meeting of the Plymouth Road Development Authority of the City of Livonia,Michigan was called to order at 3:05 PM, Thursday, February 20, 2003 in the 4th floor conference room of City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Jack Kirksey Mr. Scott Grace, Acting Chairman Mr. Lowell Peterson Mrs. Toni Mette Mr. Bill Pike Mr. John Walsh Mr. Stan Anderson Mr. Duane Wolfgang Mr. Marvin Walkon Members Absent: Mr. Jerry Wordhouse (excused) Mr. Dennis Kujawa(excused) Others Present: Mr. John Nagy, Director Mr. Rich O'Brien,Beckett &Raeder Mr. Steve Levesque, Commercial Mowing Services Mr. Mark Taormina, Planning Director Mr. John Palmer, Regional Director, The Hertz Corporation Mr. Ralph Williams, Citizen Dr. Robert Auth,Rosedale Gardens Homeowners Association Mr. Christopher Martin, Citizen Mrs. Robby Williams, Secretary 1. Roll was called. 2. Adoption of 141st Regular Meeting Minutes and 142nd revised Regular Meeting Minutes: On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, it was #2003-01 RESOLVED that,the Minutes of the 141st Regular Meeting, held on December 20, 2002, and revised Minutes of 142nd Regular Meeting held on January 16, 2003, by the Plymouth Road Development Authority are hereby approved. Mr. Grace, Acting Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. 3. Comments from Acting Chairman: No comments at this time. 4. The Hertz Corporation —John Palmer, Regional Director—The Hertz Corporation has instituted a new expansion program that is being developed in the Detroit Metro area and has chosen the City of Livonia as a location for their 1 program. The plans are to have 35 offices in the area. The owner of the Olson Oldsmobile building has leased the property to The Hertz Corporation. We are here to request approval for our monument sign and wall sign. We plan to incorporate our plans along with the beautification program for the Plymouth Road corridor. Mr. Olson was in agreement with the landscaping plans. We are in agreement with the 15-foot easement back from the sidewalk. The Hertz Corporation would like to have the landscaping done by the PRDA and we are waiting for an answer from Mr. Olson. On a motion by Mr. Pike, seconded by Mrs. Mette and unanimously approved, it was #2003-02 RESOLVED that, the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby approve and support the signage plans submitted by The Hertz Corporation for their location at 33910 Plymouth Road, with the condition that the brick proposed to be used for the sign base shall match the brick P.RD.A. has selected for streetscape improvements and that it complies with all other applicable rules,regulations and ordinances of the City of Livonia. Mr. Scott Grace, Acting Chairman,declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Mr. O'Brien questioned the intent of Hertz regarding the buffer to put in landscaping or put up piers and wrought iron fencing? Mr. Palmer suggested that Hertz would go with the fencing and wrought iron. Mr. Nagy explained the structure and layout of the brick piers and fencing and landscaping that would be installed. The PRDA will work with The Hertz Corporation so that their sign will be visible. 5. Construction Report—Beckett&Raeder: Rich O'Brien reported that they were waiting on a bid regarding the Peter Basile bid for Phase VB. They are expecting to hear from Peter Basile within the next couple of weeks. A proposal by CMS for landscape maintenance for the coming year is presented to the PRDA Board for review and adoption. The contract has been reviewed by the Construction Committee and found to be satisfactory and addressed some of the issues that we had discussed earlier, especially for the plaza areas. Mr. Pike commented that the snow removal this winter has been very good. On a motion by Mr. Peterson, seconded by Mr. Pike, and unanimously adopted, it was #2003-03 RESOLVED that, the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby agree to extend the contract submitted by CMS Landscaping in the amount of$189,840.00 for the Plymouth Road Streetscape Grounds Maintenance Contract for the period of April 3, 2003 to April 4, 2004. Mr. Grace, Acting Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution is adopted. L Mrs. Mette also commented about the nice job that CMS was doing, especially by the bus plazas and areas being kept clean where trash tends to collect. 2 There was general discussion about how to clean the bricks when a white stain occurs when moisture is present. Mr. Grace mentioned that the fencing at Plymouth and Merriman seems to be angled toward the center. It is not level on the east side. Mr. Anderson mentioned that the trash accumulating between the bushes needs to be cleaned up before the weather breaks. Steve Levesque from CMS Landscaping advised that he had a crew currently out there cleaning it up. 6. Committee Reports- Inspection—Mrs. Mette had four concerns she wanted to address. (1)A cable exposed in front of the Daly Restaurant in the shape of a"V". Mr. Grace responded that the work had not been completed last fall and would be finished in the spring. Mr. O'Brien also added that there are plantings to be installed and that the cable would eventually be buried. (2) The area in front of Tennyson Chevrolet and that the road was torn up. Mr. Nagy explained that a cable provider is going to install cable in the Plymouth Road area, T.D.S. Metro Communications is doing the work. The job started at Eight Mile and T.D.S. is using Ameritech lines where available and where none are available,they are installing their own. (3) The large electrical box at Middlebelt and Plymouth is bent up badly and the whole top on the big one was half off and the one right behind the wall attached to the wall at Mama Mia's is also damaged. CMS advised that they would check on it and put a (iv lock on the top of the box. (4) Banners—possibly purchase a few more of the seasonal banners. The suggestion would be discussed at the next Banner Committee meeting. Public Relations: Mr. Anderson—Met with Sue Lang of FCS to discuss the Spring issue of the PRDA newsletter and the theme to be used,probably new buildings on Plymouth Road. Looking for information from Mr. O'Brien regarding spring plans so the business owners can be informed. There will be an article about the"Great Race"road rally, which is to start in Livonia at the Recreation Center on June 20. There will be an article addressing what's going on on Plymouth Road concerning improvements and problems. We will be using photographs and pictures from last year. Mr. Nagy—At our last meeting we had a representative from SMART and asked them to give us some feedback on the ridership. They have a good program to get a job and get a free ride for the first month of employment. The SMART people wanted to do a survey concerning locations and ridership. It was suggested that the survey form be printed in the newsletter for people to fill out and send in and also to post the survey form on the PRDA website. Mr. Pike suggested that Plymouth Road corridor needs to be marketed and advertised to let people know of the activities that are available for their enjoyment and entertainment. Mr. Pike believes that PRDA needs to market the restaurants,theater and areas to vacation. We should get a full page ad in the Observer about the "Great Race"road rally. It is time to start promoting the Plymouth Road corridor. Mr. Anderson suggested that now 3 would be an appropriate time to meet and have a joint meeting with the business owners and have them be a part of the team. Mr. Pike and Mrs. Mette have volunteered to join Public Relations to help with a campaign to promote Plymouth Road. It was suggested that it would be helpful to shoppers along Plymouth Road for businesses to have readable addresses on their buildings. Vacant Buildings- Mr. Grace—there is some activity regarding the building next to the Legacy Restaurant. I only know that a company is trying to move in. Construction Committee—Mr. Pike- Nothing to report. Development Assistance—Mr. Grace—A committee meeting was held to discuss the two requests received for development assistance. (1)the George Burns Theater property and the empty bank building at Middlebelt and Plymouth. The Committee is recommending a denial for the George Burns Theater. Twice an approval was given and twice they failed to take advantage of it. The only requirement was to take down the George Burns sign and they chose not to do it. (2)For the Comerica bank site, we did recommend a reimbursement of up to V2 of the demolition cost up to a maximum of $25,000 provided that all paid invoices are supplied to the PRDA before August 2003. Their letter did not state that they had any hazardous materials that had to be removed. Mr. Nagy offered the insight that Mr. Schafer felt that he might have to incur additional costs regarding the George Burns Theater due to under ground contamination that was caused by oil leakage from the Mobil Gas station across the street. Mr. Walsh advised the board that he has followed the activity on this property for years and is troubled that no one from Mr. Schafer's office was at the committee meeting today. They have proven to me this has been an enormous endeavor to Phoenix and they will have more costs than they ever expected. I was prepared to vote against the denial for those reasons but if they did not come to the meeting and have no reason,then I am not sure how I will vote. It appears there is no activity before us and there is nothing for us to vote on today. Mr. Grace advised that under the new rules that Mr. Schafer will only receive $30,000 instead of$50,000. He needs to come to a PRDA Board meeting and present his case. Mayor Kirksey advised that negotiations are going on to find a location for the inventory of cars and trucks currently being housed on the property. Phoenix is concentrating on the development of the Ardmore property but did indicate that the George Burns sign would come down within the next couple of months. Walgreens will be started on the corner and the residential will be started as well. On a motion by Mr. Walsh, seconded by Mr. Peterson,and unanimously approved, it was #2003-04 RESOLVED that,the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby recommend reimbursement to Phoenix Land Development in the amount of up to one-half of the demolition cost for the Walgreens to be located at the 4 corner of Plymouth and Farmington Roads up to a maximum of$25,000 provided that all paid invoices are supplied to the PRDA before August 2003. Mr. Grace, Acting Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Banner Committee- Mr. Nagy—There was no meeting this past month. 7. Great Race—John Walsh—The City of Livonia is officially the beginning point for the road rally which will be held on June 20, 2003. The committee has been going over a variety of fund raising suggestions so that we may collect $50,000. This will be an enormous boost for the City to participate in this race. Activities will start at the Recreation Center. It is anticipated that this event will bring approximately three quarters of a million dollars into the City. Mayor Kirksey added that there will be about 110 antique cars participating in the road rally. The cars are 1959 models or older. All of the activity will start on Tuesday, June 17, 2003,when there will be an antique auto show. The race will be 4,000 miles long, beginning in Livonia, with a route including other cities in the mid-west, such as St. Louis, Missouri, and ending in Daytona, Florida. It is a timed race which has its own set of requirements. S. Election of Officers: Scott Grace was elected as Chairman of the P.R.D.A. with John Walsh being elected as the new Vice Chairman for the new term from (low January to December 2003. Congratulations for a job well done were given to Mr. Wordhouse during his tenure of the past two years. 9. Director's Report-John Nagy—we talked about the cable provider coming down Plymouth Road to Merriman Road and the SMART bus line with their promotion of"Get a job/get a free ride for a month" on SMART. New Car Alternative will be expanding their business. They will be taking possession of the closed party store and a site south of the donut store in order to enlarge their parking lot. They will be presenting their proposal to the P.R.D.A. board next month. The expansion will be about 5,000 to 6,000 s.f. It is that time of year for the Livonia Chamber of Commerce EXPO. In this connection the Board has been asked to fund 2/3` of the booth rental cost and the EDC will pay the other 1/3'd of the cost. The fees are the same as last year. Our cost will be$933.00. The Expo will be held on April 2, 2003, at the Burton Manor. On a motion by Mr. Peterson, seconded by Mr. Pike, and unanimously approved, it was #2003-05 RESOLVED that, the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby determine to provide funds in the amount of$725.00 to the City of Livonia to cover one-half of the cost of renting two booths at the Expo to be conducted by the Livonia Chamber of Commerce on April 2, 2003, at Burton Manor with the condition that space be allotted for PRDA matters thereby giving some exposure to the PRDA in exchange for its financial support, and does hereby authorize the Accounting Department of the City of Livonia to issue a check in 5 the amount of$725.00 made payable to Livonia Chamber of Commerce for two-thirds the rental of two 10' x 10' booths at Expo. Mr. Grace, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. 11. Polling of Board Members Mayor Kirksey—Announced that the Mayor's State of the City address would be held at the new Recreation Center on March 20, 2003. The Recreation Center will open about Mid-May and the aquatics will open in June. Finance Report—Mr. Slater was not present. On a motion by Mr. Pike, seconded by Mr. Wolfgang,and approved, it was #2003-06 RESOLVED that,the Plymouth Road Development Authority accept the Finance Reports, as submitted, for the months of November, 2002 and January, 2003. A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following: AYES: Pike, Wolfgang, Mayor Kirksey, Anderson, Peterson, Mette, Walsh, Walkon NAYS: Grace ABSENT: Wordhouse, Kujawa Mr. Grace, Chairman,declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Chris Martin was asking if there was any update on the curb concern at Hubbard and Plymouth on the southwest corner. Mr. Nagy advised Mr. Martin that Mr. Schron has been out of the office for medical reasons and he is reviewing it and giving it very serious consideration. 12. Adjournment: On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 143''Regular Meeting held by the Plymouth Road Development Authority was adjourned at 4:57 pm. The next meeting of the Plymouth Road Development Authority will be held on Thursday, March 20, 2003. R by 'ams, Secretary /rw C 6