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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRDA MINUTES 1997-05-01 MINUTES OF THE 54th REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLYMOUTH ROAD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA The 54th Regular Meeting of the Plymouth Road Development Authority of the City of Livonia, Michigan was called to order at 3:10 p.m., Thursday, May 1, 1997 in the 4th Floor Conference Room of City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Jack E. Kirksey Mr. Mike Polsinelli Mr. Stan Anderson Mr. Scott Grace Mr. Dennis Kujawa Mrs. Toni Mette Mr. Lowell Peterson Mr. Bill Pike Mr. Marvin Walkon Members Absent: Mr. Donald Gelinas Mr. Adelard Raby Mr. Jerry Wordhouse Others Present: Mrs. Jean Garvey, Secretary v Mr. John Nagy, Director Mr. Dan Piercecchi, Planning Commission Mr. Dave Woodcox, Inspection Department Mr. Michael Slater, Finance Director Mr. Bob Bennett Mr. John Iacoangeli, Beckett&Raeder Ms. Julia Stanley Mr. Joe Durso 1. Roll was called. Adoption of April 17, 1997 Minutes: On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously approved, it was #97-29 RESOLVED that, the minutes of the 53rd Regular Meeting held by the Plymouth Road Development Authority on April 17, 1997 are approved. Mr. Polsinelli, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. 2. Comments from Chairman: The Chairman reported on the following: (1) A letter was sent to Mike Slater requesting payment in the amount of$40,000 • be made covering the PRDA's portion of demolition of the former Livonia Nursing Home building. (2) The PRDA had received copies of letters from the Mayor reappointing Toni Mette, Bill Pike and Adelard Raby for four year terms expiring May 16, 2001. (3) A letter had been received from the Lutheran Homes of Michigan inviting the board to their Ground Breaking Service on May 17, 1997 at 1:00 p.m. 3. Julia Stanley-Purple Rose Flower Shop: Ms. Stanley was in attendance along with Joe Durso to bring the board up to date on her plans to locate her flower shop in the area of the old Livonia Tire property. After discussions with East Side Mario's Ms. Stanley decided her best interest was to purchase the old Livonia Tire property as well as the doctors' offices. She would put her flower shop in the front part of the tire store and leave the doctor and dentist where they are. She distributed a proposal to purchase the property to the board members. Her plans would be to renovate the front and use the back part as a warehouse. She would provide landscaping in front and would retain ownership of the doctors' offices. Within five years she felt she would have the tire store totally renovated. The board advised her to talk to Henderson Glass and have something put in writing to the effect that they would be willing to share a drive with her. They would also like a timetable in writing. The board did have concerns with parking and access, and felt they were only compounding the problem that is already there. The members stated they were more interested in making the building look presentable than getting their money back. Mr. Pike suggested she (1) Come back with a timetable of what she expects to do there. (2) Possible drawing of what she intends to do. (3) Talk to Henderson Glass Headquarters and owner of property and (4) Then come back and look at demolishing the doctors' offices. The board offered to help her with Henderson Glass. 4. Budget Report-Mike Slater: Mr. Slater went over the PRDA budget as of March 31, 1997. The total fund balance as of this date is $1,363,213.67. Mr. Slater informed the board they should do very well in the next year because the value of property has increased to approximately$1,100,000 versus $800,000 this year. 5. Beckett & Raeder: Mr. Iacoangeli informed the board they were in the process of doing the construction drawings for Phase I. They further are in the process of putting the ISTEA application together. Mr. Iacoangeli asked the board where do they want to proceed next? Does the board want to finish the remaining area between Middlebelt and Inkster Roads or 1,000 feet west of Middlebelt? Mr. Iacoangeli recommended they finish the Middlebelt to Inkster Road section. When questioned about the intersection at Inkster and Middlebelt,Mr. Iacoangeli replied they would have to work with Redford Township to do that intersection. On a motion duly made by Mr. Peterson, seconded by Mr. Anderson and unanimously approved, it was #97-30 RESOLVED that,the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby authorize Beckett&Raeder to proceed with the construction plans for the area -2- of Plymouth Road located between Middlebelt and Inkster Roads not included in tiePhase I. Mr. Polsinelli, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Mr. Iacoangeli further informed the board that Harley Ellington was doing the design for the Peregrine building and Beckett& Raeder had talked to them about incorporating the PRDA design into their plans. When asked if the PRDA would finance the improvements, they were told they would rather bring it back to the board and see if the Authority would do it as part of Phase I rather than start a precedent. On a motion duly made by Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mr. Walkon and unanimously approved, it was #97-31 RESOLVED that,the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby incorporate the improvements to the right-of-way in front of the Peregrine property as part of Phase I. Mr. Polsinelli, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. 6. Reports from Committees: George Burns Theater Committee: Mr. Walkon reported the sub-committee was leaning towards one of the two firms interviewed for doing a viability study on the George Burns Theater. The proposal was about $20,000 to do the first phase. Mr. Nagy reported he had held a meeting with Louis George, the owner of the George Burns Theater. Mr. George had informed Mr. Nagy they were considering developing the property with the back portion industrial and the front portion commercial. Mr. Nagy felt it was important for the sub-committee to meet with Mr. George and then come back to the Authority to see if they want to go further with a consultant. Mr. Anderson reported the sub-committee would really like to not dismiss the thought of a community theater. They felt there were few things that would draw people into the area, and more commercial would probably be a duplicate of what is already on Plymouth Road. Mr. Anderson hoped the board would not walk away from the possibility of this being a unique thing for Livonia. Mr. Anderson finished by saying the committee was making every effort because they felt it could be a drawing card that would not compete with any other business along Plymouth Road. Mr. Walkon felt the Mayor, John Nagy and a representative from both the City Council and Planning Commission should also be at the meeting with Mr. George. Mr. Bennett added they wanted to find out if there was a possibility of cooperation by the owners of the property. Are they willing to enter into an agreement with the City in terms of going through the process of a consultant? Why (how should the PRDA proceed if Mr. George says he will not sell it or lease it to the City -3- under any circumstances? Mayor Kirksey felt having a representative group at the tie meeting with Mr. George was a good idea. Public Relations Committee: Mr. Anderson stated at their last meeting they held a discussion whether they should publish a Downtown Development Newsletter, sending it to 5,000 people on their mailing list. The questions were how does it get published and who is going to write for it? Mr. Anderson felt this was something the PRDA should be doing. The other alternative was to incorporate something in the quarterly newsletter the City already mails out. Vacant Buildings Committee: Mr. Grace distributed to the board members a new list of vacant properties along Plymouth Road. He further reported that Knoppow's informed him they would not leave until they find a tenant or buyer. Mr. Grace suggested bringing the vacant Wedding Chapel building to the attention of the Chamber of Commerce. Construction Committee: Mr. Pike informed the board that John Iacoangeli was working on costs. When asked how they were doing with the time schedule, Mr. Pike replied Beckett& Raeder were on schedule. 7. Update on current Plymouth Road projects - John Nagy: Mr. Nagy reported on the following: (1) Zerbo's Health Food was before the Planning Commission the previous Tuesday and was approved as presented. They will now have to appear before the City Council. (2) Beckett&Raeder provided Livonia Buick with landscape plans for the front of the building and plans have now been submitted to the Planning Department. Mr. Nagy presented the plans to the board. (3) Auto Zone was tearing down the Goodyear Tire building and constructing their own building. Mr. Nagy presented the plans to the board. Mr. Iacoangeli is to look over their plans. 8. Polling of Board Members: Mr. Pike reported on an article he had read in the Oakland Press about DDAs getting in trouble about collecting taxes and having to pay them back. He further questioned who and when do we want to talk to Henderson Glass? Mr. Nagy responded he would make contact and the sooner the better. Mayor Kirksey stated Schostak Bros. had been working since last summer to set the stage to make significant improvements to Wonderland and at the ZBA meeting the -4- other evening they voted 7 to 0 to approve their variance. The Mayor felt it was a (10, product of meeting very diligently with a number of groups and answering questions and making modifications to their plan. The Mayor stated he wished them well. Mr. Polsinelli wished to thank the Mayor, City department heads and City Council for their help. He reported they were under construction with one signed lease, the other due in the next day. Mr. Anderson reported Beckett& Raeder could downsize some of their boards and they could display some at the NBD Bank close to Inkster and the library on Plymouth Road. They could also have displays at the Civic Center Library. Mrs. Mette questioned Mr. Polsinelli about the theaters at Wonderland. Mr. Polsinelli replied they were still working on them. He stated they were having a problem getting their attention but they are still moving forward. At the present time AMC is not cooperating with them. Mrs. Mette commended Stan Anderson on the really nice letter he passed out to all the businesses along Plymouth. Mr. Pike stated the inspectors had been doing a great job along Plymouth Road. Mr. Grace asked if it was necessary for Dave Woodcox and Kim Danowski of the Inspection Department to be present at all the PRDA meetings since it was taking time out of their day. Mr. Nagy suggested maybe they should set up a Code Enforcement Sub- Committee and report back to Mr. Woodcox with any problems they find. Mr. Anderson reported that he could see that the new construction had started at Wonderland. He further reported that the security at the mall is much more evident. 9. Public Comment: There was no public comment. 10. Adjournment: On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 54th Regular Meeting held by the Plymouth Road Development Authority on May 1, 1997 was adjourned at 5:20 p.m. The next meeting of the Plymouth Road Development Authority will be held on May 15, 1997 in the 4th Floor Conference Room of City Hall. Jean Garvey, Secretary f -5-