Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRDA MINUTES 1997-03-20 MINUTES OF THE 51st REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLYMOUTH ROAD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA The 51st Regular Meeting of the Plymouth Road Development Authority of the City of Livonia, Michigan was called to order at 3:07 p.m., Thursday, March 20, 1997 in the 4th Floor Conference Room of City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Jack E. Kirksey Mr. Mike Polsinelli Mr. Stan Anderson Mr. Ray Borden Mr. Donald Gelinas Mr. Scott Grace Mr. Dennis Kujawa Mrs. Toni Mette Mr. Lowell Peterson Mr. Bill Pike Mr. Adelard Raby Mr. Marvin Walkon Mr. Jerry Wordhouse Members Absent: None Others Present: Mrs. Jean Garvey, Secretary Mr. John Nagy, Director Mr. Michael McGee, City Council Mr. Dave Woodcox, Inspection Dept. Ms. Kim Danowski, Inspection Department Mr. Don Worthington, Olson Oldsmobile Mr. Mike Flanigan Ms. Julia Stanley, Purple Rose Florist Mr. Dan DiComo Mr. Joe Durso Mr. Bob Bennett 1. Roll was called. 2. Adoption of March 6, 1997 Minutes: On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously approved, it was #97-20 RESOLVED that, the minutes of the 50th Regular Meeting held by the Plymouth Road Development Authority on March 6, 1997 are approved with two changes. Mr. Polsinelli, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. 3. Olson Oldsmobile: Mr. Worthington was in attendance representing Olson Oldsmobile. He informed the board that they had appeared before the Planning Commission for approval of plans to construct a new used car facility on their site. The Planning Commission had made a recommendation of approval to the City Council. Mr. Worthington now felt he was being held up by the City Council and was looking for some support from the PRDA. Mr. Nagy explained that the City Council was having problems with aesthetics. The Council wants additional landscaping and Olson Oldsmobile wants to use planter boxes until the building is in, and Council cannot accept that. Mr. Nagy stated the Olson Oldsmobile people are getting frustrated and have come to the PRDA to get some support so they could move this along more expeditiously. It was felt since Olson Oldsmobile did satisfy the percentage of landscaping and the Planning Department would volunteer to prepare an illustration of what the PRDA is willing to support and a resolution would incorporate the Planning recommendations, they could send a resolution to the City Council to that effect. On a motion duly made by Mr. Wordhouse, seconded by Mr. Grace and unanimously approved, it was #97-21 RESOLVED that, the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby support the request by Olson Oldsmobile to construct a commercial building on property located at 33850 Plymouth Road with the condition that there be five feet of landscaping on the south and east sides of the building, which landscaping shall be irrigated. Mr. Polsinelli, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. 4. Julia Stanley- Purple Rose Flower Shop: Ms. Stanley was in attendance along with Joe Durso and Dan DiComo to discuss her plans for her flower shop. Ms. Stanley presently is leasing a building at 31151 Plymouth Road and is desirous of owning her own building. She is interested in the old Livonia Tire property that the PRDA now owns. She stated she had purchased the doctors' office for $190,000. The reason she was before the PRDA was to ask them to fund $50,000 to aid her in what she was doing. Her plans were to take the two doctors' offices, build two offices in the back and remodel the front for her florist shop. She felt this would also increase the parking for East Side Mario's. Her plan was to purchase and demolish the doctors' offices and then swap properties with the PRDA. Mr. Nagy felt they should sit down with East Side Mario's to see if they would participate so as to make the whole project work. The Chairman suggested Scott Grace and the vacant building committee sit down with East Side Mario's to see if they could come to some agreement. Mr. Durso ended by saying they would come up with a proposal that would work and also work with Mr. Nagy and would keep the board informed of their progress. -2- 5. Comments from Chairman: The Chairman reported that the following letters had been sent out on behalf of the PRDA: (1)Letter requesting Beckett&Raeder work with the Treasurer of the PRDA to formulate an application to submit for the Michigan Transportation Enhancement Grant. (2) Letter sent to the City Council by the PRDA recommending that the City-owned property located at 34601 Plymouth Road (formerly known as Livonia Auto Parts)be re-offered for sale with no minimum bid amount. The Chairman informed the board he had written a letter to Auto Zone in response to their letter of objection and subsequent telephone comments. Mr. Polsinelli stated he had received a partial apology from Auto Zone. The Chairman further reported that each member of the board had received a survey from Linda McCann, Director of the Department of Community Resources. This survey was to help identify ways to improve our community and she was asking the board's help in completing and returning the surveys. Lastly, the Chairman read a letter he had received from Marian Richards, President of the Kingston Terrace Condominiums, which are located on the west side of Middlebelt between Orangelawn on the north and Robert Drive on the south. They were tw- requesting $71,000 from the PRDA to pave the area in front of their building in the right- of-way to be used for parking. Ms. Richards stated they had received verbal support from the City Council. Mr. Nagy responded that technically they are not in the district. It was determined that a letter should be sent to Ms. Richards stating the property is not in the district but they would take a look at it and discuss it and make a determination at the next meeting. Mr. Walkon was of the opinion that having private parties coming to the board and requesting sums of money could be a problem in the long term. He felt they should proceed with a great deal of caution because they could be getting in a dangerous area.. The Mayor brought up the fact they had contributed money for demolition of buildings but had set a limit of 50%. The consensus was that maybe they should be looking at the low interest loans, for instance in connection with Julia Stanley and the Purple Rose Flower Shop. A general discussion of this subject followed. 6. Reports from Committees: George Burns Theater Committee: Mr. Walkon reported on the meeting of this committee. He stated the committee went over the proposals and picked two, AMS Planning&Research and Kessler Associates, Inc. Mr. Walkon reported the members had two views. One was that they had spent a lot of time on this and it was time to put it to bed. The other view was they had picked two firms and possibly should go back to them to narrow the scope of services and hopefully get a reduction in fees. The two firms discussed had quoted prices of$70,000 and $45,000. The committee also discussed spending money on a piece of property they did not have control over. After spending this • money,they could find Mr. George, the owner, may have different plans for the property. -3- The consensus was to go to Kessler Associates, Inc. and AMS Planning& Research to begin interviews with the possibility of reducing the fees and scope of services. This would be done by the sub-committee. It was asked of Bob Bennett how much money the Livonia Foundation had and if the George Burns Theater could be on that list. Mr. Bennett replied conceivably it could be on the list but Greenmead is high on the list, followed by the Livonia Symphony, First Step, etc. Mr. Bennett stated there were three questions they felt the firms have to answer: (1) Is there an opportunity in the entertainment market for a theater in Metropolitan Detroit? (2) Can that niche be here in Livonia? (3) How do you do it? The committee felt they should take a further look as they felt it could still be a focal point for Plymouth Road.. It was further felt if the Authority spent $55,000 and got an answer that it would be foolish to go forward, it would be money well spent because then you would have a basis to stop. It was determined the sub-committee would bring two to three firms in to interview and it was not necessary to get full board approval. Public Relations Committee: Mr. Anderson reported that the demolition of the old Livonia Nursing home took place March 11th and the picture was on the first page of the Observer, giving the PRDA some publicity. Mr. Polsinelli reported that RFPs had been sent out for the purpose of hiring a firm to handle marketing and promotional services for the PRDA but they had only received one reply. This proposal was from In- Focus Productions, with a cost of approximately $800,000 over a five year period. Since (Iro there was only one response, calls would be made to find out why the other firms had not responded. Vacant Buildings Committee: Mr. Grace reported that it appeared that the bank at Plymouth and Wayne Roads had found a tenant. Mr. Nagy reported that he had received quotes for the demolition of the building formerly known as the Livonia Tire property located at 31600 Plymouth Road and it looked like the cost will range in the $11,000 - $12,000 amount. It was determined nothing would be done until the next meeting with Ms. Stanley of the Purple Rose Flower Shop. Mr. Nagy showed the members the sign that would be displayed on the property of the old Livonia Tire Company stating the property was now owned by the Plymouth Road Development Authority. Construction Committee: Mr. Nagy informed the board that the construction committee meeting scheduled for March 19th had been canceled at the request of Beckett &Raeder. The next meeting of the construction committee will be held Thursday, March 27 at 3:00 p.m. in the 3rd floor conference room of City Hall. *As Mr. Anderson had to leave the meeting, Mrs. Mette presented him with a laminated copy of the Observer article naming him the Citizens of the Year. 7. Update on current Plymouth Road projects: Mr. Nagy reported on the following: -4- Ce (1) Mike Slater had informed the board that they had not received any proposals on the property at Laurel and Plymouth and the board had passed a resolution recommending to the City Council that they re-advertise the property with no minimum bid. Mr. Nagy reported that the Council had asked Mr. Nagy to see if the PRDA wanted to clean up the site and remove the two buildings before putting it back up for sale. The Council had stated when the property was sold the money would be returned to the PRDA. It was felt the property should be offered"as is"first to save the PRDA from demolishing the buildings. On a motion duly made by Mr. Raby, seconded by Mr. Grace and unanimously approved, it was #97-22 RESOLVED that, the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby recommend to the City Council that the City-owned property located at 34601 Plymouth Road (formerly known as Livonia Auto Parts)be put back on the market in its present condition with no minimum bid amount for a definitive period of time. Mr. Polsinelli, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Lie - When asked by Mr. McGee if in the event the decision of the Council is not to put it out at this time, would the PRDA pay to demolish the buildings if the City would reimburse the PRDA after the property is sold. It was felt after listing the property again for sale for a limited period of time and bids were not submitted to the satisfaction of Council, the PRDA would welcome an opportunity to again review this matter. It was also determined to get estimates of the cost for demolition of the two buildings. (2) The Law Department was going to file suit to prevent Ameritech from implementing their plan to have three area codes in Livonia and would like support in the form of a letter to the Public Service Commission as to how it would adversely affect the business community . On a motion duly made by Mr. Peterson, seconded by Mrs. Melte and unanimously approved, it was #97-23 RESOLVED that, the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby determine to write a letter to the Public Service Commission stating that they feel Ameritech's proposal to divide the City of Livonia's telecommunications services into three separate area codes would adversely affect the business community. Mr. Polsinelli, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. -5- t I 8. Polling of Board Members: Mr. Polsinelli reported that Schostak Brothers had held a couple of meetings with homeowners in the area on the changes to be made to Wonderland Mall. He further stated they were tentatively scheduled to appear before the Zoning Board of Appeals on April 29 as well as Council Committee of the Whole earlier that day. He stated he would like the PRDA to possibly write a letter of support if they were so inclined. He stated they were very close to signing leases with two of the companies but were getting no cooperation from AMC. Mrs. Mette stated she was real glad to see Party Giant go in the shopping center at the northeast corner of Plymouth and Middlebelt Roads. She also reported that the sign was gone from Wendy's. Mayor Kirksey followed up on Mike Polsinelli's report on Wonderland Mall. He felt they were approaching it in a very amicable manner by talking with each civic association. He further stated there seems to be a lot of support and he anticipates the project will go well. He applauded Schostak for their willingness to invest ten million dollars to keep this property viable. Scott Grace felt they should start the business loan program in order to have something in place when they start construction between Inkster and Middlebelt Roads where they will be asking property owners to contribute towards curb cuts, etc., but he was not sure how to set it up. Mr. McGee responded that he would look up the articles on the loan program and bring them back to the board. Bill Pike felt they should send a letter to the county and state to repair the pot holes along Plymouth Road. Mr. Nagy was to write a letter on behalf of the PRDA. 9. Public Comment: No public comment. 10. Adjournment: On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 51st Regular Meeting held by the Plymouth Road Development Authority on March 20, 1997 was adjourned at 5:20 p.m. The next meeting of the Plymouth Road Development Authority will be held on April 3, 1997 in the 4th Floor Conference Room of City Hall. Jean Garvey, Secretary ti..., , -6-