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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL STUDY - 2008-07-23 CITY OF LIVONIA— CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD JULY 23, 2008 Meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. Present: Joe Laura, Brian Meakin, Thomas Robinson, James McCann, and Terry Godfroid-Marecki. Absent: Don Knapp and Laura Toy. Elected and appointed officials present: Mayor Jack Kirksey; Sean Kavanagh, City Attorney; Kevin Roney, City Engineer (Utilities & Engineering); Sgt. Paul Wood, Police Department; Mark Taormina, City Planner; Jim Zoumbaris, City Engineer (Operations); and Maureen Cosgrove, Assistant City Clerk. Vice President Godfroid-Marecki wished a Happy 28th Birthday to her daughter Jordyn on July 24, 2008, and a Happy 16th Birthday to son Aaren who celebrated several days ago, and also wanted to say hello to her dad who is recovering from a stroke last week. Vice President Godfroid-Marecki spoke about the rules for audience communication. The City Council can receive emails and calls at their homes, and they return all requests. Mayor Jack Kirksey stated that he feels badly that tensions have been raised because of the potential for annexation. It is nothing that has been engineered or encouraged by the City of Livonia and nothing that they hoped would happen. Privately, they did their best to bring the developers and the Northville Township decision makers together so that there could be some settlement, compromise or reason in terms of developing that, but the issue appeared on the ballot as a surprise. The Mayor feels it is a missed opportunity for Northville, but it is an opportunity for Livonia, and the voters will decide. He stated that they are attempting to do their best to make sure it is an even playing field. This was done by allowing a little better than an hour to people opposing annexation at the last regular meeting. The Mayor feels he is doing what is best for the City. He had some vicious attacks by email from a Northville Township Trustee. If the vote passes for Livonia, there would not be any increase in taxes for the City. All the tax dollars would not be received immediately. The developer of the Northville property has completed quality projects for the last thirty years in the area. There have been a lot of attempts to confuse the voters. He spoke on the erroneous mailing and stated that the agency that was involved in the mailing did not register with the Elections Commission. Even the printing company and the citizens thought the mailing came from the City. He encourages the voters to disregard the untruths of the fliers being mailed out, and to check every means possible for the factual base. There are factual questions and answers on what is currently known regarding the annexation on the website. The resolution prepared by the Council explaining reasons why the annexation is beneficial for the City will be put on the website. AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: The following individuals spoke in favor of the annexation: 2 Scott Bahr, 14416 Summerside, Livonia Fernon Feenstra, 16803 Shrewsbury, Livonia Sergeant Rick McQueen, Livonia Police and President of the Livonia Lieutenant & Sergeants Association Toni Kovalcheck, 15614 Nola Circle, Livonia John Grzebik, 11301 Hubbell, Livonia McCann spoke on the positive aspects of the potential annexation and stated he is in favor of the annexation and feels it would be beneficial to the City. As a point of clarification, Robinson stated that he was not involved with all the discussions with the developer, but feels it would be beneficial to the City for citizens to vote for the annexation. The following individuals spoke in opposition to the annexation: Bob Bennett, former Mayor of Livonia Phil Sattler, Jr., 8928 Louisiana, Livonia Ralph Williams, 18630 Foch, Livonia Diane Marietti, 15044 Fairway, Livonia Eileen McDonnell, 36099 Brookview, Livonia Harry Asher, 19777 Meadowbrook, Northville McCann commented on the Chair's duty to run the meetings in an orderly fashion. Ordinance states that during audience communication, each person should provide their name and address. Ordinance also provides for 30 minutes of audience communication. The Chair also follows Robert's Rules of Order. Representative John Pastor spoke on his concerns of the disrespect of the Council and the Mayor. He complimented the Council and the Mayor. He stated that he felt the developer and Northville Township should come to an agreement before the voting. Item #9 regarding a request to adopt an ordinance to ban pit bull dogs in the City was removed from the Agenda and will be rescheduled. NEW BUSINESS: 1. BLOCK PARTY: Lori Miller, re: to be held Saturday, September 13, 2008, from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Blue Skies, between Lyndon and Mason, with a rain date requested of Sunday, September 14, 2008. Lori Miller, 14415 Blue Skies, was present to request permission to host a block party on Saturday, September 13, 2008 from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Meakin offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 3 2. BLOCK PARTY: Diane Coccia, re: to be held Saturday, August 23, 2008, from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Ingram, between Perth and Berwick, with a rain date requested of Saturday, September 6, 2008. New residents, Diane and Mike Coccia, 14120 Ingram, were present to request a block party to meet their neighbors. Robinson offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 3. BLOCK PARTY: Karen Werden, re: to be held Sunday, August 24, 2008, from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Flamingo, between St. Martins and Bretton, with a rain date requested of Saturday, September 6, 2008. Karen Werden, 19651 Flamingo, was present to request their 5t" annual block party. They were honored to have Council President Toy last year. McCann offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 4. BLOCK PARTY: Charity Gould, re: to be held Saturday, September 20, 2008, from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Gary Lane, between Ellen, Edgewood and Riverside, with a rain date requested of Sunday, September 21, 2008. Greg Gould, 15980 Gary Lane, was present to request a block party. Meakin offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 5. BLOCK PARTY: John Walker, re: to be held Friday, August 22, 2008, from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Fairfax, between Norwich and Fonville, with a rain date requested of Saturday, August 23, 2008. John Walker, 33960 Fairfax, was present to request a block party. McCann offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 6. BLOCK PARTY: Andy Magar, re: to be held Saturday, September 13, 2008, from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Sunset, between Bobrich and Jeanine, with no rain date requested. Greg Sproull, 17487 Doris, was present to request a block party for his neighbor. 4 Meakin offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 7. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE CITY'S NOISE ORDINANCE: Joseph and Heather Swingle, re: to allow a live band to play outdoors in connection with a gathering for family and friends they are planning for Saturday, August 23, 2008, at their home located at 12332 Camden. Heather Swingle, 12332 Camden, stated they had a party last year with no problems. The police did show up, but they showed their permit and were in the process of wrapping up the party. This year, they are celebrating their ten-year wedding anniversary. They are asking permission to waive the noise ordinance. Last year the band started at 7:00 p.m. and ended at 11:30 p.m. Laura asked the Law Department to check the background that the Police Department has on calls from this party. Usually 10:00 p.m. is the time for closing a party. McCann stated that last year the waiver was only until 11:00 p.m. The party had gone on until 11:30 p.m. Robinson offered the approving resolution on the Regular Agenda for the band to end at 11:00 p.m. DIRECTION: APPROVING - REGULAR BAND TO END AT 11:00 P.M. 8. REQUEST TO PLACE SIGNS AT REFERENCED LOCATIONS: Brenda Uren, Clarenceville Athletic Booster Club, re: to advertise their Fall Craft Show scheduled for Saturday, September 27, 2008. Brenda Uren, 19174 Antago, representing the Clarenceville Athletic Booster Club, was present to request signs for their 2nd Annual Fall Craft Show. The craft show will take place on September 27, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., and the admission is free. In May, they did a car and craft show. This is strictly an all-craft show. Meakin offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 9. REQUEST TO ADOPT CITY ORDINANCE BANNING PIT BULL DOGS IN THE CITY OF LIVONIA- Diana Judge, re: same. This item was removed from the agenda and will be rescheduled. 5 10. APPLICATION FOR MASSAGE THERAPIST PERMIT: Office of the City Clerk, re: submitted by Lee Shaw in accordance with Chapter 5.49 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended. Chiropractor Kevin Venerus stated he was representing vacationing Lee Shaw. Robinson offered the approving resolution on the Regular Agenda as Lee Shaw must be present in order to get approval. DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR 11. APPLICATION FOR MASSAGE APPRENTICE PERMIT: Office of the City Clerk, re: submitted by Amanda Hill in accordance with Chapter 5.49 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended. Amanda Hill, 9144 Idaho St., Livonia, MI, stated she is applying for a massage apprentice permit to work at Prime Massage at Five Mile and Levan and plans to apply again for a massage therapist permit after completing her schooling. McCann stated that Amanda has graduated and completed 605 hours of training at Irene's Myomassology Institute. McCann offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 12. APPEAL OF BUSINESS LICENSE DENIED BY THE DIVISION OF POLICE: Office of the City Clerk, re: submitted by Daniel E. Howard, to obtain a Scavenger License. Sgt. Paul Wood, Livonia Police, stated that he received an application for a scavenger's license from Daniel E. Howard. He conducted an investigation and denied the license because of a lengthy criminal background. The license would be for scavenging for materials in the City, not for storage. Sgt. Wood stated that he had not heard about Mr. Howard's business of storing scrapped material. Daniel Howard stated he is well aware of his past and that was some years ago, but he has had a big change in his lifestyle. He is not scrapping in Livonia, but he is running a business out of John's Storage on Inkster Road, and stated he has a scrapping license out of Southfield where he does his scrapping. He stated that an officer who pulled him over told him that he would need to have a license in Livonia even if he hauls scrap through the City. He has been scrapping for a year successfully. McCann offered the denying resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: DENYING CONSENT 6 13. PROPOSED LOT SPLIT: Department of Assessment, re: requested by Nick and Maria Albace for Tax Item No. 46-144-99-0094-000, located west of Inkster and north of Joy, 8908 Cardwell. Mark Taormina, City Planner, stated this property is located on the east side of Cardwell Avenue between Joy Road and West Chicago. The property is zoned RUF (Rural Urban Farm) which requires each lot to be at least 1/2 acre (21,780 square feet). The parcel as it exists today is 100 feet wide by 232 feet in depth. The petitioner wants to split the parcel into two (2) equal halves. Each lot would be about fifty (50) feet in width by 232 feet in depth. Total area of each parcel would be 11,600 square feet. This would make each parcel deficient in lot area by a total of 10,180 square feet; therefore, this would be subject to the City Council waiving the lot area requirement of 21,780 square feet. The building envelopes for each parcel would measure approximately thirty (30) feet in width by 132 feet in area for a total of 3,960 square feet. The only constraints would be in the width of the building envelopes. The R-1 zoning directly to the south are sixty (60) foot widths. Several lots are split and similar to the size of the lots in the neighborhood to the north and to the west across the street. Mark believes some of the lots across the street are fifty (50) foot width lots. There is no existing home on either lot, and they are currently vacant. Petitioner Nick Albace, 8908 Cardwell, was present and stated that he might possibly build a small ranch-style house on each lot. Sean Kavanagh stated that there have been minimum brick requirements for homes before. McCann offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda with the condition that when a home is built on either lot, it would be 65% brick. DIRECTION: APPROVING —WITH MIN. CONSENT 65% BRICK ON HOME BUILT ON EACH LOT 14. REQUEST TO APPROVE RESOLUTION OF AUTHORIZATION FOR THE PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF A BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AND INCLUSION IN THE WAYNE COUNTY TURBO PROGRAM: Bryan L. Amann, Bryan L. Amann, PLLC, re: of approximately 40 acres located on the northwest corner of Middlebelt and Seven Mile Roads in the City of Livonia. Bryan Amann, Attorney, stated that Brownfield is a common economic tool used throughout the state of Michigan for a lot of projects. They are going before Council because of the expense of the undertaking of the Livonia Mall project as opposed to finding barren green land. The project involves the demolishing, taking down, and doing the infrastructure. This is way more expensive than what ordinance requires because of larger setbacks, higher berms, and more green space and landscaping substantially beyond the percentage that ordinance 7 permits. They would be taking down in excess of 500,000 square feet of gross area and replacing with 320,000 square feet in area. They are in the process of trying to attract tenants. They have one tenant, Kirby Coney Island, who was in Livonia Mall before, and they have verbally agreed to be the first tenant, but there are no signed deals at this point. Mr. Amann met with the Planning Commission last night There are open conversations going on with Meijer, Dick's Sporting Goods, Wal-Mart, Kohl's, J. C. Penney, and Best Buy. If they do not receive the Brownfield approval, it would change the project, and they would have to re- evaluate the development. A project would go forward, but it might not have all the bells and whistles. The Wayne County Brownfield Authority would take two (2) months to take their action after City Council approval of the submission. They have already fenced in the area. The demolition will not take place until after the Brownfield issue is resolved. They are using the Wayne County Brownfield Authority because the City does not have a Brownfield Authority. Mr. Amann realizes that this is a complex issue, and it is important to fully digest and understand before the Council takes action. McCann would like to see the site plan before making a decision. Parts of the proposal have not been looked at yet, and two (2) members of the Council were not present at this study meeting. Robinson asked what process or obstacles were involved in creating our own Authority within the City. Sean Kavanagh stated that the City could set up an Authority, but it would be a duplication of effort. Mark Jacobs, Dykema Gossett, 400 Renaissance Center, Detroit, MI 48243, discussed timelines of the County. If the resolution passes, it would give the County authorization to act on the City's behalf. The Brownfield Authority Plan states that the County cannot act without authorization of local government. The County can only approve what is consistent with the City's approved plan. Diane Marietti asked what venue is used to notify the date of the Legislative Committee Meeting. Council stated that it would be published in the newspaper and also on the City Council website. Council said that she can call the office and ask them to notify her. Laura offered the denying resolution on the Regular Agenda because of the concerns of probable tenants. Meakin offered the resolution referring to the Legislative Committee for its review and recommendation on the Regular Agenda. DIRECTION: (1) DENYING — LACK OF REGULAR PROBABLE TENANTS (2) REFERRING TO THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE 8 15. AWARD OF BID: Public Service Division, re: one (1) trailer-mounted wet/dry vacuum unit with high pressure water nozzle. Jim Zoumbaris, City Engineer (Operations), stated they went out for bid for this piece of equipment which is used for asphalt and concrete roads, for the process of grinding and clean-up of gutter pans, and dislodging debris. They sent out five (5) bids, and three (3) bids were submitted. The low bidder, Vermeer of Michigan, Inc., submitted a bid that did not meet specifications. It had the wrong engine size and the trailer was less than what was required. The second low bidder, Jack Doheny, had the wrong size engine as Vermeer and did not have features for clean-up of the machine after they are done. Because they work with asphalt and concrete, it is very important to keep it clean. The third low bidder, another Vermeer of Michigan, met all the specifications for a total bid amount of $53,560.00, and they would like to have this bid approved. This bid is almost $4,000 less than the low bidder. They chose the specifications of this machine like a previous machine they had rented. Sean Kavanagh stated that a company can supply multiple bids as long as they have alternative attachments or an added feature. McCann offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 16. PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF TAX FORECLOSED PROPERTY: Department of Law, re: property located at 9001 Hugh. Sean Kavanagh, City Attorney, stated that annually they receive notice from the County Treasurer that there are properties in the City that have been foreclosed because they had not paid their property taxes. From that list, the City has the option of exercising the "Right Of First Refusal" to obtain the property by paying the back taxes. The Housing Department, using Community Development Block Grant monies, is asking the City Council to obtain this piece of property at 9001 Hugh in the amount of $9,736.81. The deadline is the middle of August otherwise the City forfeits their right to exercise the "Right Of First Refusal". This approval would allow the Finance Department to send a check downtown and purchase the property. Meakin offered the approving resolution on the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: Alex Bishop, Director of Inspection, 17115 Cross Winds, spoke in favor of the annexation proposal. 9 Christopher Martin, 12275 Inkster Road, spoke in opposition of annexation. Representative John Pastor spoke about the annexation proposal, updates on what is going on in Lansing, and school budgets. He stated that he appreciates all the Council does for the City. Council complimented Vice President Godfroid-Marecki on the great job she did at this difficult meeting. As there were no further questions or comments, Council Vice President Godfroid- Marecki adjourned the Study Session at 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23, 2008. DATED: August 11, 2008 LINDA GRIMSBY, CITY CLERK