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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSTUDY - 2018-04-09 CITY OF LIVONIA – CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD APRIL 9, 2018 Meeting was called to order at 8:15 p.m. by President Toy. Present: Kathleen McIntyre, Brian Meakin, Brandon Kritzman, Scott Bahr, and Laura Toy. Absent: Jim Jolly, and Cathy White. Elected and appointed officials present: Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development; Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Don Knapp, City Attorney; Susan M. Nash, City Clerk; Doug Moore, Superintendent of Public Services; Linda McCann, Director of Community Resources; Jim Ingles, Executive Director of Housing; and Mayor Dennis Wright. President Toy announced there will be a new channel lineup on Spectrum Cable TV, effective April 10, 2018; after this change takes effect, Livonia City Council meetings can be viewed on Channel 203. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, announced the consultants hired by the City will host a series of public meetings regarding the City’s Master Plan “Livonia Vision 21”. There will be a Design Charette Workshop held at One th Under Banquet Room, 35780 Five Mile Road on April 17 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am and an Open House later that afternoon from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm at the Bennett Civic Center Library, 32777 Five Mile Road. There will be another Design Charette Workshop held at th One Under Banquet Room, 35780 Five Mile Road on April 18 from 8:00 am to 10:00 am and later that day a Final Presentation will be held at the Bennett Civic Center Library from 6:00 pm to 8:00 p.m. The public was encouraged to attend and provide input, he also said for those who are unable to attend they can visit the website at www.livoniavision21.com and provide input there. Meakin announced the Livonia Community Foundation annual grant ceremony will be held this Thursday at the Bennett Civic Center Library.at 7:00 p.m. He said the public is welcome to attend. McIntyre thanked Police Chief Curtis Caid and commended him on their presentation last week on what looks like the possibility of legalization of marijuana in the state of Michigan. She said it was an excellent and very comprehensive presentation. President Toy announced the appointment by Governor Rick Snyder of City Attorney Don Knapp as judge to the Third Circuit Court. She said everyone is very proud of him and very happy for him and said he will be missed dearly. AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None. 2 NEW BUSINESS: 1. BLOCK PARTY: Kathleen A. Fitzgerald, re: to be held Monday, May 28, 2018, from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Cranston Avenue between Elmira and Orangelawn, with no rain date requested. Meakin said this is one of the oldest recurring block party requests. He said all of the paperwork appears to be in order. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 2. REQUEST FOR DESIGNATION AS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION: Jennifer Learning, President, DFAD Dance Team Booster Club, Debbie Felton Academy of Dance, re: as required by the State of Michigan to obtain a Charitable Gaming License to allow a raffle fundraiser in the future. Jennifer Learning, President, DFAD Dance Team Booster Club, 17429 Brookview, presented the request to Council. Their objective is to raise funds to financially support these dancers in their pursuit of their sport They are planning to have a raffle relating to the Michigan Lottery Daily 3 drawing. They will sell tickets for $10 each starting hopefully in May with two winners of$500 each to be randomly selected on June 15 based on the two Daily 3 picks on that same day. With the proceeds, they are hopeful to help offset competition and travel costs for the dancers to attend a national competition in the Summer of 2019. Danielle Anderson, Treasurer of the DFAD Dance Team Booster Club was also present. McIntyre said it provides young people with opportunities and she thanked them for all they do. Kritzman said his daughter Bella danced for years at Debbie Felton Academy of Dance is and said it is a great organization. He said it is great to see the booster program going and wished them the best of luck. McIntyre offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 3. REAPPOINTMENT OF JEREMY CURTIS TO THE PLYMOUTH ROAD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY: Office of the Mayor, re: for a four-year term, which will expire on May 16, 2022. Mayor Dennis Wright said Mr. Curtis has done an excellent job serving for the City and said he would like to come back and do it some more. 3 Kritzman offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 4. REAPPOINTMENT OF JOHN HILTZ TO THE PLYMOUTH ROAD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY: Office of the Mayor, re: for a four-year term, which will expire on May 16, 2022. Mayor Dennis Wright said Mr. Hiltz has done an excellent job serving for the City and said he enjoys what he does and would like to continue being a part of it. Kritzman offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR 5. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF THE 2018-19 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM (CDBG); ANNUAL ACTION PLAN DRAFT AND BUDGET; AND REQUEST TO APPROVE HOLD HARMLESS CONTRACTS BETWEEN THE CITY OF LIVONIA AND FIRST STEP; FAIR HOUSING CENTER OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT, WAYNE METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY; CRUZ CLINIC; HEGIRA PROGRAMS, INC.; ST. JOHN HEALTH SYSTEM/EASTWOOD CLINICS, STONEBROOK COUNSELING ASSOCIATES, PLLC; AND CITY OF LIVONIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY RESOURCES: Livonia Housing Commission, re: in connection with the operation of a domestic violence victim assistance program; for the purpose of providing fair housing; and for the mental health counseling program provided for through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs for the 2018-2019 program year. (CR 53-18) Jim Inglis, Executive Director of Housing, addressed Council. He said what Council before them this evening is the 2018-2019 CDBG program budget and Annual Action Plan. He noted that at the regular meeting on February 12, 2018, the Council authorized informal approval to this plan. They did conduct a couple of public hearings. There were no adverse comments at those hearings. The CDBG allocation amount for the current budget year is $319,348.00. He said as Council is aware, they now have a federal budget, at least through September 30, 2018. The CDBG program received additional funding. They anticipate that their grant will go up. They have not been notified by HUD, but they believe that grant will go up approximately $20,000.00 to $30,000.00. Those additional funds will go into a Housing Rehabilitation program. He also mentioned to Council that at the Study Meeting that they had on the preliminary program there was some discussion regarding the mental health program. They decided to keep that as an activity and let HUD know that it is something that they want to continue, and they did fund it as well. It was a modest amount, but they did put some dollars to it. They will continue that activity under the public service category. They ask that Council 4 adopt a resolution, so they can submit their paperwork to the federal government by May 15, 2018. McIntyre offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Meakin commended Inglis on the great work he does with the program. President Toy asked Mr. Inglis how many years he has been with the City. Inglis replied, this May will be 43 years. President Toy commended Inglis on the fantastic job he does. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 6. REQUEST TO UTILIZE THE GREENMEAD PROPERTY FOR THE 2019-2021 ANNUAL MOTOR CITY IRISH FEST: Department of Community Resources and the Motor City Irish Fest, re: for the festival dates of June 7-9, 2019, June 12-14, 2020, and June 11-13, 2021. Kevin Murphy, Chair of the Motor City Irish Fest, presented the request to Council. th He said this will be their 9 year. He said it’s a venue to promote their Irish heritage, rd music and dance. He said they are very excited this will be the 3 year at Greenmead here in Livonia on June 15-17, 2018. He said beginning next year they will be moving it up a week in June to spread out a little more time between this event and the Spree. Meakin encouraged Mr. Murphy to recognize their newest sponsor. Murphy said they picked up Jameson as their newest sponsor, Jameson Distillers. He said they will be bringing in a big bar, it will be quite impressive. He said they are excited to have them as a sponsor along with Guinness and the Claddagh Irish Pub. Meakin asked Murphy how much tickets will cost. Murphy said they will still be $12 at the gate or $10 in advance at Greenmead or Claddagh Irish Pub. He said they had about 5,000 people attend last year, and they expect between 6,000 to 7,000 people this year. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. McIntyre said they are delighted to have the event here in Livonia. She understands the excitement with the new sponsorship from Jameson and the need to advertise their sponsorship in the event. She said she would just like to remind them that this is a family-oriented event and to also advertise that aspect of the event. Murphy noted they expanded the children’s area and did acknowledge it is a family friendly event. 5 DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 7. AWARD OF BID: Department of Community Resources, re: to typeset, print, sort and deliver to the Post Office the City’s newsletter, for a three-year period beginning with the 2018 Fall/Winter issue. Linda McCann, Director of Community Resources, presented the request to Council. She said the contact with Dearborn Printing was up. They went out for bid. Printwell was the lowest bidder. They have done the “L” Magazine so they are familiar with their work. They have discussed their expectations with Printwell and are comfortable with their understanding of what will be required of them. They are asking Council to approve the bid from Printwell for a period of three years beginning with the 2018 Fall/Winter issue. Bahr offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. McIntyre asked McCann if they are giving people the opportunity to opt out and get the newsletter online. McCann said they do that currently with the Cable TV Guide. She said she could look into that with the IT Department. McIntyre said that many people prefer to just get things online these days and this may be an opportunity to save some money. She did say that it is a very nice brochure and knows it is very useful for residents but said she would just like to see it available online for those residents who prefer to get their information online. McCann said she would be glad to look into that. Bahr said he understands McIntyre’s point on saving money and making the information available online to those residents who prefer to receive their information in that format. He said that he suspects that it would end up lost and buried in people’s email inboxes. McIntyre said Bahr’s comments all well taken and said it would perhaps be useful to include this topic at the committee meeting related to social media. President Toy said she enjoys getting the hardcopy of the newsletter and said she thinks the seniors look forward to getting them as well. She commented on how there are always nice pictures on the cover of them and what a nice job Mrs. McCann and her staff do on them. She added that it is certainly good to also explore new options with social media and online methods of communicating information to our residents. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 8. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE ONE (1) 2018 FORD TRANSIT E350 15-PASSENGER WAGON UNDER STATE OF MICHIGAN CONTRACT: Department of Community Resources, re: as a replacement vehicle for Livonia Community Transit, from budgeted funds. 6 Linda McCann, Director of Community Resources, presented the request to Council. The 2018 approved capital outlay budget includes the purchase of one (1) vehicle for Livonia Community Transit. This new vehicle will replace bus #849 which will be sold at auction. Arrangements were made to incorporate the new vehicle purchase through the State bid process. The State bid this year was awarded to Signature Ford. This request is for (1) 2018 Ford Transit 350 15- Passenger Wagon. This vehicle will be assigned to the Community Resources Department. Funds have been budgeted for this item. McIntyre asked McCann if they always request a 15-passenger van. She said she rarely sees 15 passengers on them at one time. McCann replied indicating that with 2 wheelchairs folded down it brings it down to more like 4 passengers. She said no they do not always request a 15-passenger van but that is what they are replacing. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT: Public Service Division, re: for the 2018 and 2019 Tree and Stump Removal Program, from budgeted funds. Doug Moore, Superintendent, Public Service, presented the request to Council. He said the program was advertised in the Livonia Observer and the MITN website. They held a mandatory pre-bid meeting, there were 8 contractors in attendance. They received 2 bids. Arbor Master Tree Service out of Pinckney was the low bidder. He said he checked their references and said they all spoke highly of them. They sent staff out to inspect their yards, both individuals felt that the contractor had sufficient equipment to handle the contract requirements. This is a two-year program with 400 trees each year on the removal list. McIntyre offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Meakin asked Moore how a contractor so far away from Livonia was able to be the low bidder when there are so many tree service companies in the nearby area. Moore said there were 2 Livonia based contractors that attended the pre-bid meeting, they chose not to bid, one is our Tree Cutting contractor and said that they didn’t want to over extend themselves. Meakin thanked Moore for his response. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 10. AWARD OF CONTRACT: Public Service Division, re: for the 2018 Street Tree Planting Program, from budgeted funds. 7 Doug Moore, Superintendent, Public Service, presented the request to Council. He said the program was also advertised in the Livonia Observer and the MITN website. They held a mandatory pre-bid meeting, there were 5 contractors in attendance. They received 3 bids. Greg Davis Landscape Service out of Grosse Pointe was the low bid contractor. A meeting was held with Public Service staff and the contractor to discuss the program. This program is for 2018. They are planting approximately 400 trees made up of 30 different species from the City’s approved species list. Bahr offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT Doug Moore, Superintendent, Public Service, announced the Tree City Committee’s annual Arbor Day celebration will be held at Niji-Iro Japanese Immersion Elementary School, 36611 Curtis, on Friday, April 27, 2018 at 2:30 p.m. AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None. As there were no further questions or comments, President Toy adjourned the Study Session at 8:48 p.m. on Monday, April 9, 2018. DATED: April 17, 2018 SUSAN M. NASH CITY CLERK