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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL STUDY - 2011-03-14 CITY OF LIVONIA— CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD MARCH 14, 2011 Meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. Present: John Pastor, Brian Meakin, Laura Toy, and Joe Laura. Absent: Conrad Schwartz, Maureen Miller Brosnan and James McCann. Elected and appointed officials present: Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development; Don Knapp, City Attorney; Terry Marecki, City Clerk; Kevin Maillard, Director of Public Works; Dave Varga, Director of Administrative Services; Joan Gephardt, Wayne County Commissioner; and Michael Slater, Director of Finance. Meakin presented the Livonia Middle School Porn Team with a proclamation signed by the Mayor and members of the City Council congratulating and commending them on their achievement as 2011 Middle School State Pom Champions. AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: Christopher Martin, 12275 Inkster, expressed concern with the manner in which his Zoning Board of Appeals case is being handled. Meakin informed Mr. Martin that the Council has no authority over the Zoning Board of Appeals and advised him that if he has a grievance with a decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals he may file an appeal with the Wayne County Circuit Court. NEW BUSINESS 1. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE CITY'S NOISE ORDINANCE: Michael & Carol Stepleton, re: between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. at their home located at 36139 Roycroft for a backyard wedding reception to be held on Friday, June 24, 2011. Carol Stepleton, 36139 Roycroft, was present to answer any questions Council may have. Toy offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 2. APPLICATION FOR MASSAGE APPRENTICE PERMIT: Office of the City Clerk, re: submitted by Corrine Maus in accordance with Chapter 5.49 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended. 2 Corrine Maus, 257 Church, Bellville, was present to answer any questions Council may have. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 3. REAPPOINTMENT OF JOHN MURPHY TO THE LOCAL OFFICERS COMPENSATION COMMISSION: Office of the Mayor, re: for a seven-year term, which shall expire on April 2, 2018. John Murphy was present in the audience to answer any questions Council may have. Pastor offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 4. REQUEST TO APPROVE FINAL BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING NOVEMBER 30, 2010- Department of Finance, re: same. Mike Slater, Director of Finance, said this adjustment was necessitated by overruns in the area of Utilities and employee termination payouts. He said they are proposing to take unspent funds from other Departments to cover those costs. Toy offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 5. CITY INVESTMENT POLICY: Department of Finance, re: the Annual Report for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2010, on the investment activity of City Funds. (CR 820-98) Mike Slater, Director of Finance, said this is the Annual Report for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2010, relating to the investment activity of City Funds. He said this does not include any pension funds. He said the law limits their investing options and they are required to invest very conservatively. At the direction of the Chair, this item was received and filed. DIRECTION: RECEIVE & FILE CONSENT 6. REQUEST TO REVIEW DEPARTMENTAL USER FEES: Department of Finance, re: submitted by the departments of Assessing, City Clerk, Engineering, Planning, Police and Treasurer for possible adjustments. 3 Mike Slater, Director of Finance, said they asked all Departments to review their user fees and submit any recommendations for adjustments to these fees. He said the last time this was done was in 1993. He said at this time six departments responded with proposals to change those fees. Pastor offered the resolution referring to the Committee of the Whole for its report and recommendation. DIRECTION: COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE REGULAR 7. AWARD OF CONTRACT: Engineering Division, re: for the 2011 Asphalt Pavement Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program - Contract 11-A. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, said they went out for bid and received seven responses. They are recommending the lowest qualified bidder, Hayball Transport, in the amount of $1,543,239.06. He said part of this year's program will include a portion of Lyndon Road. He said Hayball Transport has been a successful contractor for 2008, 2009, and 2010. Toy offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Pastor said the subcontractor for Hayball Transport is Cadillac Asphalt and added that a different contractor did the job on Middlebelt Road. He asked Zilincik why the concrete portion of this program was not broken off into a separate contract; he felt that would have given more local contractors an opportunity to bid. Zilincik replied they felt it was important to keep it under one contract, as one unit. He said it was kind of a unique circumstance and he appreciated Pastor's concerns. He said they try to get the best unit price available when bidding a contract. Meakin pointed out Hayball Transport is a Livonia based company. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 8. REQUEST TO APPROVE FINAL COST INFORMATION FOR THE 2010 SIDEWALK REPLACEMENT PROGRAM — CONTRACT 10-G: Engineering Division, re: which includes additional appropriations and expenditures for additional work completed and final payment to the contractor, Joe Rotondo Construction. (CR 113-10 and CR 278-10) Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, said this is the details on the final cost of the 2010 Sidewalk Replacement Program. They did a lot of work down in Section 34 in the state streets. They did a lot of road paving and ADA compliant ramps. The final cost of the Program was $804,953.07. They are asking for an additional appropriation in the amount of $12,477.94, mostly for additional requests from 4 homeowners, from the Unexpended Fund Balance. They are also asking for an additional appropriation in the amount of $31,162.21 from the Road, Sidewalk, and Tree Fund to cover the cost of the slabs for sidewalks due to tree roots and sidewalk done at Mies Park. Also, an additional appropriation in the amount of $13,658.84, for the reconstruction of handicap ramps at major roads, from the Unexpended Fund Balance. In addition, they want to invoice the Livonia Housing Commission in the amount of $498.60 for work done at their location. Last, they request that the Council authorize a final payment of $5,000.00 to Joe Rotondo Construction Corporation, 38807 Ann Arbor Road, Suite 2, Livonia, MI 48150 upon the final release by the Engineering Division for work related to Contract 10-G. Pastor asked Zilincik when the work was completed. Zilincik replied October 2010. Pastor asked him why it has taken so long to bring this to Council. Zilincik said it was partly due to seeking reimbursement from Consumers Energy to pay the contractor. He said he sat down with them in late January to make sure that everything was in agreement. Pastor suggested he consider as an incentive to save money on the project by agreeing to pay the contractor in a timely fashion. Pastor offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 9. REQUEST TO VACATE RIGHT-OF-WAY FOR EXISTING LIBRARY DRIVE: Engineering Division, re: starting from Five Mile Road, heading south and then west, connecting into Civic Center Drive, in connection with the construction of a new ring road behind City Hall. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, said this request is to move forward with the vacation of the existing Library Drive connecting into Civic Center Drive. This request is due to the new ring road behind City Hall. If this request is approved, the road that was utilized behind the Library would now be considered part of the parking lot and be removed from the ACT 51 map submitted to the Michigan Department of Transportation. Library Drive has been reconfigured and will be added back to the ACT 51 map starting from 5 Mile, heading south and west terminating just south of Livonia Civic Center Library. The remaining portion of the new ring road would be designated as part of Civic Center Drive (new) to its connection with Civic Center Drive (old). This is a formality process; Council Resolution is needed to give it to the Planning Commission for their recommendation. Pastor offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Toy asked Zilincik if it was necessary to change the name of Civic Center Drive to New Civic Center Drive. She had concerns about having to reprint stationery for City Hall offices. He said it would not affect the addresses of any existing buildings on Civic Center Drive. He said it was just a formality for them. 5 DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 10. REQUEST FOR ADDITION TO THE LOCAL STREET SYSTEM FOR ACT 51 COMPUTATIONS: Engineering Division, re: for streets, or portions thereof, newly opened during 2010. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, said this is also just a formality that is done each year that is required by the State of Michigan. He said the only street they added this year is the new portion of Civic Center Drive. A Council Resolution is required in the documentation they must submit to the State of Michigan. Toy offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 11. ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSE TO COUNCIL RESOLUTION 32-11- Engineering Division, re: requested information in connection with the creation of a possible Special Assessment District for the operation of an irrigation system along portions of Plymouth Road formerly paid for utilizing PRDA funds. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, said this is based on Council's request from February 9, 2011. Council has before them; the Special Assessment District (SAD) the fees along there and a breakdown of the spreadsheet. They anticipate the estimated cost at $2.60 a lineal foot; that amount is based on the entire lineal footage of 47,264. They broke it down by water usage, maintenance, contingency and administration fees; the total final cost is $122,892.00. In addition to that they provided details on how this SAD would be charged annually, beginning December 1, 2011 and continue until December 2018, at which time the need for the SAD would be reevaluated. He said DPW and Engineering would coordinate to do specifications for maintenance of the irrigation system in-house at no cost. He said if Council concurs, it is recommended that a public hearing be set to determine the necessity of the project. Pastor asked Zilincik what he included in the maintenance. He replied five categories which include start up and winterization, inspection, staking, replacement of broken parts, and testing. Meakin offered the approving resolution to set date for Public Hearing for the Regular Agenda. Toy stated she would not be voting on this item due to her fiduciary interest in her business that would be included in the SAD. DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR 6 12. SITE PLAN PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2011-02-08-01 submitted by Subu Enterprise requesting approval for an outdoor dining patio (seasonal seating) at the existing full service restaurant (G. Subu's Leather Bottle), on property located on the east side of Farmington Road, between Eight Mile Road and Norfolk Road (20300 Farmington Road), in the Northwest '/4 of Section 3. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, described the proposed outdoor dining patio that would be enclosed by a three feet high stone wall in the front of the building which is currently greenscaped. The sidewalk will be relocated around the perimeter. The Planning Commission requested the sidewalk be widened to five feet. There is to be no advertising on the umbrellas. Toy asked Taormina to clarify some details on the plan regarding the location of the patio, fencing and sidewalk. He described the location, fencing and sidewalk in further detail. Taormina noted the contractor was present in the audience. Pastor asked Taormina about noise levels and asked why that was not addressed. Taormina responded by saying due to the location of the business and its proximity to neighboring businesses and residences it did not appear to be an issue. Pastor said he feels noise levels should be addressed and limited the same as similar businesses with outdoor seating areas. Meakin thanked the petitioner for a number of interior improvements to the business; he thinks this will be another addition that will be welcomed by the community. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Vice-President Laura asked Taormina if this would have any affect on parking at the business. He said there is ample parking, they have approximately 44 parking spaces more than what is required. Vice-President Laura said he agreed with Pastor with regard to having limits on the noise levels in the outdoor seating patio. He asked the petitioners to introduce themselves. Michael Subu, 20300 Farmington Road was present with Jack Kelly, 422 E. Main, designer of the project; ready to answer any questions Council may have. Toy asked them what hours they were planning to have this patio area open. Subu replied, during the week from 11 A.M. until 10:00 P.M. and on Friday and Saturday from 11 A.M. until 12:00 A.M. He said they were not planning on putting speakers outside because they thought it might cause some complaints or problems with the City. She wished them much success. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 7 13. PROPOSED NON-DEVELOPMENTAL OIL AND GAS LEASE BETWEEN THE CITY OF LIVONIA AND WEST BAY EXPLORATION COMPANY: Department of Law, re: which grants oil and gas rights underneath Bluegrass Park and Nature Preserve, as well as areas underneath South Laurel Park Drive, Newburgh Road, and two (2) small parcels near Six Mile and Newburgh Roads, and specifies that no operations shall be conducted upon the surface of such land for a term of three (3) years, with an option to extend for an additional term of three (3) years. Don Knapp, City Attorney, said this is a lease that is identical to the lease the City currently has with West Bay Exploration Company. Since there is not going to be any development it doesn't need to go to the Planning Commission. They are simply asking Council to authorize additional ability to drill and explore under the same terms as the City currently has with this vendor. Vice-President Laura asked the representatives for the Petitioner to come down and state their names and addresses. Pat Gibson, Vice-President in charge of land and legal issues, and Tim Baker, Operations and Engineering Manager, 13685 SW Bay Shore, Traverse City, Michigan, were present to answer any questions Council may have. Toy said she appreciates the clean operation they run there and the good relationship they have established with the City. Toy offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 14. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE LIVONIA CODE OF ORDINANCES, AS AMENDED: Department of Law, re: to Sections 030 and 050 of Title 3, Chapter 06 (Cost Recovery), regarding costs associated with an emergency response. Don Knapp, City Attorney, said they are asking Council to authorize changes that would allow costs associated with the restoration enforcement and any attorney's fees associated with enforcement. Also clarifying that every day there is a violation it would constitute a separate violation. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 15. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE LIVONIA CODE OF ORDINANCES, AS AMENDED: Department of Law, re: the proposed repeal of Chapters 5.18 (Coke and Coal Business), 5.21 (Drive-in Theatres) and 5.93 (Weights and Measures), which are obsolete or no longer viable enterprises. 8 Don Knapp, City Attorney, said in the process of reviewing all the City's Ordinances these sections have been determined to be obsolete; weights and measures is handled through state law. Pastor offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT X-1. REQUEST FOR NON-PROFIT DESIGNATION: Brian Duggan, Director, Livonia Anniversary Committee, re: as required by the State of Michigan in order to obtain a charitable gaming license to hold a raffle and millionaire party in connection with this year's SPREE events. Vice-President Laura said Mr. Duggan called him this afternoon and said he had a conflicting appointment and asked to be excused Pastor offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: Christopher Martin, 12275 Inkster, spoke again regarding the denying recommendation from the Law Department pertaining to his Zoning Board of Appeals case. He spoke in disagreement with the underlying reason for the proposed resolution. Vice-President Laura wished Councilmembers Schwartz and Brosnan a speedy recovery. Meakin wished everyone a safe and happy St. Patrick's Day. As there were no further questions or comments, Council Vice President Laura adjourned the Study Session at 8:56 p.m. on Monday, March 14, 2011. DATED: March 22, 2011 TERRY A. MARECKI CITY CLERK