HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL STUDY - 2014-11-17 CITY OF LIVONIA— CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD NOVEMBER 17, 2014
Meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. by President Brosnan. Present: Susan
Nash, Brandon Kritzman, Brian Meakin, John Pastor, Laura Toy, Lynda Scheel, and
Maureen Miller Brosnan. Absent: None.
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; and Mayor Jack Kirksey.
Toy announced Sister Mary Giovanni has been inducted into the national Home Care
and Hospice Hall of Fame at
President Brosnan gave an update of the Christmas events taking place at Greenmead
during the month of December.
Brian Wilson, Superintendent, Public Service gave an update on Leaf Pick up.
AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. APPLICATION FOR MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENT LICENSE: Office of the City
Clerk, re: submitted by Edward Davis, Elite Foot Spa, LLC, in accordance with
Chapter 49 of Title 5 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended, for
property located at 34389 Plymouth Road, Livonia, MI 48150.
Kritzman offered the No Further Action Resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: NO FURTHER ACTION CONSENT
2. REQUEST TO EXTEND BID WITH ALLIE BROTHERS, INC. FOR A PERIOD
OF ONE (1) YEAR: Division of Police, re: to provide police uniforms at the same
rate as the 2012 contract. (CR 355-12)
Police Chief Curtis Caid presented the request to Council. The Livonia Division of
Police is requesting a waiver of the competitive bid process for the purchase of
police uniforms. For the past 40 years, Allie Brothers, Inc., located at 20295
Middlebelt Road, Livonia, MI 48152, has been our uniform vendor and has
provided excellent service to the Police Department. Allie Brothers is
exceptionally convenient for our employees to be fitted, drop off uniform
requests, and to pick up items. Their on-site tailoring and while-you-wait
alterations, when necessary, are very important to us. This contract was put out
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for bid in 2012 with Allie Brothers being awarded the contract under Council
Resolution #355-12. Allie Brothers has indicated that they would hold their pricing
at the same rate as the 2012 contract for an additional year. For these reasons,
the department is requesting that Allie Brothers Uniforms be awarded a one-year
contract extension to provide police uniforms at an estimated cost of $64,000.00.
Funds are budgeted for this purpose.
Vice-President Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
3. REQUEST TO APPROVE AN ANIMAL SHELTERING AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE CITY OF LIVONIA AND THE MICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY AND WAIVE
THE CITY'S FORMAL BIDDING PROCESS: Public Service Division, re: for the
period December 1, 2014 to November 30, 2016, extending all terms and
conditions of the current agreement, which includes boarding fees of $3,250.00
per month. (CR 05-14)
Brian Wilson, Superintendent, Public Services, presented the request to Council.
The Michigan Humane Society (MHS) has provided the animal sheltering service
for the City's Animal Control Program since August 1984. Previously City Council
approved a one year agreement with MHS (CR #05-14) which expires on
November 30, 2014. MHS has provided excellent service to the Department, they
have always provided excellent support with situations such as animal hoarding
and they are convenient to our residents with their Westland location. MHS has
agreed to extend all terms and conditions of the current agreement for two years
for the period December 1, 2014 to November 30, 2016.
It is the recommendation of the Public Service Division that Council proceed as
follows-
1.
ollows:1. Approve the Animal Sheltering Agreement between the City of Livonia and
The Michigan Humane Society, 30300 Telegraph Road, Suite 220, Bingham
Farms, Michigan 48025, to provide a service facility for the humane sheltering
of animals for the period December 1, 2014 to November 30, 2016.
2. Waive the formal bidding process in accordance with Section 3.04.140. D.2.
of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended, since competitive bidding is
not available for this specialized type of service.
Kritzman offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
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4. REQUEST TO ACCEPT PROPOSALS FOR CONTRACTED SNOW REMOVAL
SERVICE FOR MAJOR STORMS: Public Service Division, re: to assist in
plowing City streets for the 2014-2015 season.
Brian Wilson, Superintendent, Public Services, presented the request to Council.
For over thirty years, the Public Service Division has relied on contracted
assistance to provide a high level of snow removal service for City streets
following major storms in excess of four inches. During these storms, the
contractor(s) provide approximately 35% of the total effort in cleaning all City
streets.
The Public Service Division has taken quotes for equipment and operators to
assist in plowing city streets. The City's main priority is for six to eight graders,
and operators to plow streets along with City forces. If graders are not available,
tandem dump trucks and 4-wheel pickups will be considered. Proposals were
received from only two (2) companies.
The Department has solicited proposals from contractors for decades for snow
plowing assistance. Without this assistance, the Department would not be able to
plow the 370 miles of City streets in a timely basis following heavy snow storms.
While many snow contractors exist to do driveways and parking lots, we require
road grader equipment to move large quantities of snow quickly. The challenge
each year is to have the few contractors in the area who are willing to provide
this service remain interested in doing so. We always need to cajole them into
returning the pricing proposals and commit to providing this service for our public.
The reasons for reluctance on the part of contractors include:
• Availability of equipment operators and unemployment compensation
issues.
• Wear and tear on their equipment.
• Insurance issues and potential liability for problems, such as damage to
parked vehicles.
• Uncertainty of significant revenue, such as the winter of 2011-12 where no
storms occurred requiring city-wide plowing.
With this service need, the sealed bid process doesn't present a competitive
pricing advantage, because the contractors are not competing against each other
to obtain this work. Sealed bids will not change the outcome of what we will
ultimately pay. The greatest challenge is to have enough companies available
and willing to do this service.
• Having multiple contractors authorized to provide this service allows the
Department to:
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• Have backup in the event that a contractor might not be available to
respond or the magnitude of the storm is such that much greater
equipment is required.
• Determine the type and size of equipment based on the road conditions
and weather factors.
• Utilize a contractor as a primary provider based on the years of
experience their equipment operators may have servicing Livonia
neighborhoods. Beyond the hourly rate for a piece of equipment, the DPW
factors into the overall cost the number of hours it historically takes each
service provider to clear a neighborhood. A contractor whose operators
are familiar with our service needs takes less time to service their
assigned areas.
The Department of Public Works regularly goes through the sealed bid process
where a potential competitive advantage exists for a multitude of projects,
services, equipment and supplies. This includes projects such as the sidewalk
replacement program and the lane line marking program; services such as
municipal park mowing, household hazardous waste day, street sweeping, tree
planting, tree & stump removals, elevator maintenance; equipment needs such
as mowers, trucks, tractors, backhoes, boilers and supplies such as aggregates
& bituminous materials, custodial supplies, fuel, etc.
It is the recommendation of the Public Service Division that Council proceed as
follows-
1.
ollows:1. Authorize the use of Fiore Enterprises, LLC, 3411 West Fort Street,
Detroit, MI 482167 bid proposal dated October 16, 2014.
2. Authorize the use of Stante Excavating, 46912 Liberty Drive, Wixom, MI
483937 bid proposal dated October 17, 2014.
3. Waive the formal bidding process in accordance with Section 3.04.140.D.4
of the Livonia Code of Ordinances, as amended, since no advantage to
the City would result from competitive bidding.
No additional appropriation is required since sufficient funds are available in the
Road Maintenance Contractual Services Account budgeted for this purpose.
Toy offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
5. AWARD OF CONTRACT: Engineering Division, re: for the installation of a
public 10" sanitary sewer for the Levan Road Sanitary Sewer Project Special
Assessment District, Contract 14-M. (CR 448-12, CR 107-13, CR 178-13, CR
342-137 CR 190-14, CR 236-14 and CR 285-14)
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Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. Council
Resolution No. #285-14 authorized the City Engineer to prepare specifications
and obtain competitive bids for the installation of a public 10" sanitary sewer for
the Levan Road Sanitary Sewer Project Special Assessment District. The
Engineering Division finalized plans and specifications and bids were taken on
September 30, 2014.
In response to the advertisement four (4) bids were submitted. These bids may
be summarized as follows:
Bidder Amount of Bid Amount of Bid
Public 10"Sanitary Sewer Alternate II
Public Manhole Only
Sinacola Construction Co. *$444,220.00 $251,850.00
New Hudson, MI
Bricco Excavating Co., LLC *$454,155.00 $128,430.00
Oak Park, MI
Lawrence M. Clark, Inc. *$458,420.00 $113,730.00
Belleville, MI
Bidigare Conractors, Inc. *$491,448.00 $155,210.00
Livonia, MI
*Revised with Wayne County Permit Fees
In order to proceed with this project, we recommend that the Council take the
following action. The award of this contract should be contingent on the approval
of the Special Assessment Roll for the Public 10" Sanitary Sewer and should
occur after the approval of the roll.
• Authorize a total project cost of$475,945.00 as follows:
Construction $422,990.00
Inspection/Survey/Permit Fees $21,230.00
5% Contingency on Construction Costs $21,150.00
2.5% Administration $10.575.00
TOTAL $475,945.00
• Award a contract in the amount of $444,220.00 to Sinacola Construction Co.,
30380 S. Hill Ct., New Hudson, MI 48165. The award should be on the basis
of the bid unit prices, said amount to be adjusted based upon quantities of
work actually completed.
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• Authorize an advance in the amount of $454,715.00 for the Levan Road
Sanitary Sewer from the Water and Sewer Construction-In-Progress Account
with the provision that this account be reimbursed from that portion of the
project which is to be financed by special assessment at such time as funds
are available from future payments.
• Authorize an appropriation and expenditure in the amount of $18,230.00 from
Contractual Service Account, to pay for the City's portion of the work.
• Authorize an appropriation and expenditure in the amount not-to exceed
$3,000.00 from Contractual Service, to be paid to Northwest Consultants,
Inc., 44978 Ford Road, Canton, MI 48187 for the survey work necessary
under the City's portion of the work.
Scheel offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT
6. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ON EXISTING GRAVEL ROADS,
PARTICULARLY HUBBELL AVENUE (PLYMOUTH ROAD TO JUST NORTH
OF DALHAY STREET). Engineering Division, re: same.
Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. The City of
Livonia has approximately +1- 1.5 miles of existing gravel roads. A breakdown of
these locations by section, street and limits was provided in January 2010 to City
Council at their request The estimated cost to pave these locations with asphalt
pavement was approximately $1.4 million dollars (including a 10% contingency,
survey and design costs of 8%, and construction engineering costs of 15%) at
that time. A more detailed report on the segments has been provided from the
Roadsofl Version 7. 7.4, printed on November 10, 2014 for reference. The
asphalt prices have increased since the January 2010 estimate was provided
and prices are anticipated to increase further in 2015. These segments will
remain gravel roads unless a petition is submitted to the City Council for their
consideration by the property owners that front that particular street requesting a
paving special assessment district (SAD) to benefit from such improvements.
The Special Assessment District Procedure (SAD) procedure that requires
several steps to reach the ultimate goal if the petitioners desire the paving of
Hubbell Road. A request has been received from Robert Goodbred located at
30914 Dalhay Street, Livonia, MI 48150, phone (313) 553-7052 that is in favor of
Hubbell Avenue being paved. However, the property owner on record at this
particular location is Neil G. Goodbred and from our understanding, the
requestor, Robert Goodbred is his son. The house is located at the northeast
corner of Dalhay and Hubbell. Both the front and side yards have been
previously paved with concrete along both Dalhay and Hubbell. The portion on
Hubbell Avenue would not be included if and when a special assessment district
is created for Hubbell. Various service requests from September 2008 thru
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October 2014 have been provided for Council's review for reference regarding
concerns from both Neil and Robert Goodbred. There has been concern with the
grading of the gravel onto the existing paved street of Hubbell. This issue should
be directed to Mr. Paul St. Henry, Superintendent of Operations at {734) 466-
2616 to address any concerns on grading or future maintenance. They hope this
information provided herein will assist Council in determining the appropriate
action if residents along Hubbell or other gravel roads are interested at any point
in time to seek paving.
Vice-President Meakin offered the approving resolution to receive and file this
item for the Consent Agenda.
DIRECTION: RECEIVE & FILE CONSENT
7. SITE PLAN PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2014-10-08-14
submitted by Wright's Hardware, in connection with a proposal to construct a
new storage building adjacent to the existing hardware store located on the north
side of Five Mile Road between Middlebelt Road and Harrison Avenue (29150
Five Mile Road) in the Southwest 1/4 of Section 13.
Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented the
request to Council. This is a site plan petition involving a request by Wright's
Hardware to expand its business located on the north side of Five Mile Road just
east of Middlebelt Road. The request this evening is to construct a new building
on the property. The property is half an acre in area. The zoning map shows the
location of the site in relationship to the surrounding parcels, land uses as well as
zoning. It is situated on the northeast corner of Cavour Avenue and Five Mile
Road. It also has frontage along the back portion of the lot which is Lancaster
Drive. The site has about 100 feet of frontage on Five Mile and 220 feet of
frontage along Cavour. The existing hardware store is situated near the
southeast corner of the property adjacent to Five Mile Road. The building is
roughly 4,000 square feet in total size. It is one story in height. The rear part of
the property is more or less unimproved. A propane refill station is located on the
west side of the property just north of the building. It was in 2013 when the
northerly portion of the property was rezoned from RUF, Rural Urban Farm, to C-
2, General Business. The entire site is now zoned C-2. Following the rezoning,
the petitioner sought and obtained waiver use approval to conduct open air sales
of merchandise, including the sale of utility trailers. As a condition of that
approval, the outdoor storage of merchandise, including the trailers, was limited
to an existing 1,360 square feet fenced in area which is along the north side of
the hardware store. The fenced in area is adjacent to the existing building. The
plan today is to construct a new building situated just north of the existing
hardware store. This would be a prefabricated metal structure about one story in
height and 2,700 square feet in size. The floor plan shows the interior layout
which would be used primarily for storage and display of merchandise as well as
for small engine repair operations which are currently being conducted inside the
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existing building. Because of that, it has created some space limitations within
the existing building and it's one of the main reasons, as I understand it, that the
petitioner would like to construct this building in order to move those operations
outside of the existing store. Once completed, it would be about 6,700 square
feet of total floor area. The area between the two buildings, again it's about 36
feet that separate the existing building from the proposed building, would be hard
surfaced. It would be hard surfaced with concrete and used as a patio to display
various merchandise including plant materials, garden and landscape supplies,
as well as outdoor furniture. The plans show an open metal frame canopy over
the new patio. I'll let the petitioner describe that in further detail because we really
don't have much information regarding what that portion of the structure involves.
Also proposed is a six foot chain link fence that the petitioner would like to use to
enclose the rear and side yards. The fence would extend to the edge of the
rights-of-way line of Cavour as well as Lancaster. The areas would remain open
but the fencing, because it extends all the way to the property lines, would
require approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals. It is not something that is
permitted by the ordinance. We do require the area where the outdoor storage
and display of merchandise is located be fenced in, but the extent of fencing
proposed here goes beyond just simply enclosing the merchandise. It is our
opinion that would require Zoning Board of Appeals approval. In terms of the
exterior of the building, the rendering shows the existing hardware store. The
west elevation is masonry block. The front of the building facing Five Mile is brick
but there is a gray block along the west side. The new building would consist of
pre-finished metal panels and it is the intent to match the colors of both of these
buildings. I'm not sure if that means the color on the block building would be
painted to match the metal color on the new building or vice versa, but we will let
the petitioner describe what his intent is there. There are some door openings
along the west side of the building as well as the south side. Those include man
doors, some windows as well as some roll up doors to be able to move the
equipment in and out of the building. In terms of parking, they are complying with
the ordinance. They are required to have one space for every 500 square feet of
useable floor area within the structure. That requires a total of 14 parking spaces
and they are showing 15 parking spaces on the site.
Jeri Dorr, 29495 Gilchrest, Farmington Hills, Petitioner, was present to answer
any questions Council may have.
Kritzman asked the Petitioner if she had considered any other materials, like a
simple block structure. She said that would cost around $100,OOOthey can't
afford that type of material. They have exhausted their resources with all their
recent improvements to the building. Kritzman said he would like to see some
change made.to the proposed plan. He added that he is surprised that the
Planning Commission approved the proposed plan.
Toy offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda.
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Christopher Martin, 12275 Inkster, noted similarities with this case and his case
and noted his struggle with his attempt to fence in his property to secure his
assets.
DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR
8. SITE PLAN PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2014-10-08-15
submitted by Joseph Bernardini, in connection with a proposal to remodel the
exterior of the commercial strip center located on the southeast corner of Seven
Mile and Middlebelt Roads (29217-29235 Seven Mile Road) in the Northwest 1/4
of Section 12.
Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented the
request to Council. The review of this petition falls under Section 18.47, Special
Area Development Control. This "control zone," as they're called, encompasses
the quarter sections surrounding the Seven Mile and Middlebelt intersections.
This property is located right at the southeast corner of Seven Mile and
Middlebelt Roads. The request this evening is to remodel the exterior of what is
currently a three-tenant commercial building. This building is a total of about
4,675 square feet. It currently has two tenants, Livonia Travel as well as a Cricket
wireless store. The zoning of the property is C-2, General Business, as is most of
the surrounding properties. In 1979, this site received approval to renovate and
use what was an abandoned service station as a retail sales building. The
approved elevation plans at that time showed the exterior of the building being
finished with rough sawn cedar panels. I'm going to go to some photographs that
I took today. You will recognize the building because it is highly visible right there
at the corner of Seven Mile and Middlebelt Roads. These are the wood panels
that have been on the building since, according to our records, 1979. The
changes proposed would affect all four elevations of the building. These wood
panels would be removed and the building would be refinished with a
combination of E.I.F.S., which is Exterior Insulated Finish System, also known as
dryvit, and then also a cultured stone veneer that would be installed along the
bottom three feet of the building. This shows you the side of the building. On the
bottom as it faces Middlebelt Road the tower structure or the tallest part of the
building visible in this rendering is actually that part of the building that is right at
the corner. It's where the Cricket sign is located. Then looking at the north
elevation or the side of the building facing Seven Mile Road, you'll see the bright
colored awnings. The one on the right or the gold one is what was formally a
Cash for Gold store, and then the green and white and red is the existing Livonia
Travel business. You'll see on the plan the stone veneer being placed along the
bottom three feet of the structure and then the lighter color is the E.I.F.S. material
that we're used to seeing on a lot of these commercial structures. This shows
what the building would look like from the other two elevations, the south as well
as the east. There are no other site changes or improvements proposed as part
of this petition.
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Joseph Bernardini, 36915 Clarita, Livonia 48154. This is the concept for the
proposed elevations. They would have the stone veneer belt to three feet in
height. We'd have a limestone sill on top of that and then the E.I.F.S. material on
top. That would continue all the way up to the parapet at the top of the building
where we would have a medium brown color top of copping, basically just
upgrading the existing elevations, trying to maintain the canopies at the travel
and the old Cash for Gold store. There are two other canopies that are on the
building at the Cricket location. That will come down and signage will be put back
in those locations without any canopy there
Toy asked Bernardini if he had considered changing the awnings on the building.
Bernardini said they were only two years old. Toy suggested perhaps even
painting the awnings. Bernardini replied that they were hoping after the initial
improvements a new tenant would rent the space and put in a new sign.
Toy offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda.
President Brosnan asked the petitioner to provide any updated information to
Council prior to the next voting meeting.
DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR
AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None.
As there were no further questions or comments, President Brosnan adjourned the
Study Session at 8:54 p.m. on Monday, November 17, 2014.
DATED: November 26, 2014 TERRY A. MARECKI
CITY CLERK