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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRDA MINUTES 2002-04-18 MINUTES OF THE 134`h REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLYMOUTH ROAD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA The 134th Regular Meeting of the Plymouth Road Development Authority of the City of Livonia,Michigan was called to order at 3:00 PM, Thursday, April 18, 2002 in the 4th floor conference room of City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Jack E. Kirksey Mr. Jerry Wordhouse, Chairman Mr. Scott Grace, Vice Chairman Mr. Bill Pike Mr. Lowell Peterson Mr. Stan Anderson Mr. Dennis Kujawa Members Absent: Mr. Marvin Walkon(excused) Mr. Duane Wolfgang(excused) Mrs. Toni Mette (excused) Mr. Mike Polsinelli(excused) Mr. Rod Crider(excused) Mr. John Walsh(excused) (be Others Present: Mr. John Nagy, Director Mr. Michael Slater, Finance Director Mr. Tim Knutsen, Beckett&Raeder Mr. Bill Hall, Mr. Joe Barts &Ms. Gloria Hollingsworth on behalf of White Castle(Wonderland) Mr. Steve Schafer,Phoenix Land Development&Mr. Mark Drain, Rogvoy Architects on behalf of Walgreens Mr. Mark Taormina, Livonia Planning Director Mr. Jeff Bryant, Livonia Economic Director Dr. Robert Auth, Rosedale Gardens Homeowners Association Mr. Ralph Williams, Citizen Mr. Larry O'Connor, Livonia Observer Mrs. Robby Williams, Secretary 1. Roll was called. Mr. Wordhouse determined that a quorum was present. 2. Adoption of 133rd Regular Meeting minutes: On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, it was #2002-08 RESOLVED,that the Minutes of the 133rd Regular Meeting held on March 21, 2002 by the Plymouth Road Development Authority are hereby approved. 1 Mr. Wordhouse, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution kr, adopted. 3. Comments from Chairman: Mr. Wordhouse will make comments latter. 4. Finance Report: Mr. Slater reported the financial status for the PRDA for the month of March 2002. Total assets were$2,165,781.40, total liabilities were $39,732.27,total fund balance was $2,126,049.13. There was discussion regarding the banner company. Their presence is still being requested at the next meeting. 5. Walgreen Drug Store proposed to be located at the northeast corner of Plymouth and Middlebelt. The presentation was made by Mark Drain of Rogvoy Architects. The building will be the same as the Walgreens at Six Mile and Farmington Roads. The vacant bank building will be torn down and a new Livonia standard prototype Walgreens will be constructed on that corner. The curb cuts will be moved further to the east and a new property line will be established as shown on the site plan. Mr. Drain has had discussions with the Planning Department regarding lighting and signage and will comply with their suggestions. Mr. Schafer advised the Board that this was not a 24-hour store and the Board was also advised that the trees would be saved. The question was asked if Walgreens was going to be going in at the corner of Farmington and Plymouth and Mr. Schafer stated, "yes". Mayor Kirksey questioned when the demolition was going to begin at the George Burns theater and was advised by Mr. Schafer that within the next couple of weeks the asbestos was going to be removed and as soon as that is done, the building will be coming down. The cars and trucks will be moved eventually. Bill Brown Ford is on a week-to-week lease basis. Mr. Anderson reported that there is a"no turn on red" sign at the Plymouth and Middlebelt corner now and that it should be removed. Mr. Schafer reported that MDOT would have to be involved with that. There was discussion concerning the number of pharmacies in Livonia. Some feel that there are too many. There is much concern that eventually there will be closures of these pharmacies and many large vacant buildings at prominent locations. Mr. Taormina stated that this design is unique to Livonia and that the ordinance has been changed since this plan was originally submitted. Drive-up facilities are approved only as waiver uses and that was not the case back when this petition was submitted in 1999. There will be a Planning Commission public hearing concerning this proposal on May 7, 2002 followed up by a final decision to be made by the City Council considering also the landscaping and lighting and continuing that theme up Middlebelt Road and the Plymouth Road frontage. Mr. Grace didn't know if he could support the proposal and was concerned about the strip mall behind the Walgreens. Mayor Kirksey stated that he had a problem with the proposal and that he may veto it if and when it gets Council approval. The Mayor said he doesn't wish Walgreens or Mr. Schafer any ill but does think it is only a matter of time before the market becomes saturated with 2 drug stores. Mr. Anderson advised the Board that the owner did some facelifts to that property including parking lot improvements, repair and striping. There is a party store and office facilities there now and they keep the property clean and well maintained. It is tidy looking and not an embarrassment. The retailers are interested in the traffic the Walgreens will bring into their stores. Mr. Pike suggested that considering the alternatives that this building makes the most sense. Mr. Bryant asked if Walgreens couldn't bring in somebody else to the corner. Something that would make it more palatable to the Mayor. Mr. Kujawa is not a big supporter for a drug store but when we look at Plymouth Road and look at the vacant buildings and what we are trying to accomplish here, he thinks this would be a better alternative than an empty building. He suggested that City Council and the Planning Commission be relied upon to pass an ordinance not to have a drug store on every other corner. On a motion by Mr. Peterson, seconded by Mr. Anderson and approved, it was #2002-09 RESOLVED, that the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby approve the proposed development plans as submitted by Walgreens to be located at the northeast corner of Plymouth and Middlebelt as a satellite building in front of the Office Depot Playa Shopping Center with the conditions that all trees be saved in place or transplanted on site as installed by the Plymouth Road Development Authority and that the landscaping as (vir shown on the landscape plan for the Plymouth Road and Middlebelt Road frontage be installed at the petitioner's expense. A roll call vote was taken with the following result: AYES: Peterson, Anderson, Pike, Kujawa NAYS: Mayor Kirksey, Grace, Wordhouse ABSENT: Mette, Wolfgang, Walkon, Polsinelli, Crider, Walsh Mr. Wordhouse, Chairman, declared the motion carried and the above resolution adopted. White Castle proposal presented by Joe Barts, with Bill Hall and Gloria Hollingsworth in attendance on behalf of White Castle. This petition was brought before the P.R.D.A. earlier at the Sheldon Shopping Center location but was asked to be put on hold due to discussions with the landlord and Schostak. While that was under review we were able to work out a new lease and renegotiated a building design which included drive through capability. We did submit 13 revised plans today and we were advised that the petition would require waiver use approval. The current White Castle will be demolished and a smaller White Castle will be constructed. The restaurant will be a 24-hour operation with part of the operation handling Church's Chicken with a limited menu. The seating has been reduced from 72 to 25 seats. We expect about 55%to 60% of our business to be through the drive-through window. 3 On a motion by Mr. Pike, seconded by Mr. Grace and unanimously approved it was #2002-10 RESOLVED, that the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby support the reconstruction of a new 1,780 square foot White Castle which would include two drive-up windows and seating for 25, with the condition that all development plans related to this proposal shall fully comply with all applicable rules, regulations and ordinances of the City of Livonia. Mr. Wordhouse, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. 5. Construction Report—Beckett &Raeder: Tim Knutsen reported that he drove the corridor before coming to the meeting. Last week Ameritech fiber optic lines were hit by the installer of mast arms. The location was the southwest corner of Plymouth and Merriman Roads. To avoid similar problems at the other corners a proposal has been submitted for an additional$1,150 to vacuum pump those holes. Mr. Knutsen had a discussion with Steve of Peter Basile regarding some items that need to be corrected in connection with our Phase IV project. Rust is starting to appear at the base of the light bases and fences. They will be touched up and repainted. Mowing was discussed and Mr. Pike reiterated that mowing should be at a height of 3" due to the cost of water and the survival of the grass. A reminder was also stated that mowing is not to be done next to the bases of the light poles. That area should be trimmed. Spring clean up is almost done. Still working on the first mowing. Irrigation is 50%done and should be fully operating by next week. The sod repair will be taken care of and determination of who is responsible will be determined at a later date. The people from the banner company could not make this meeting due to a conflict in their schedule. The Board members were disappointed to hear this because there is concern regarding the quality of the product. There was mention also of disappointment that payments had been made to Banner Sign Company in light of concerns with their product. On a motion by Mr. Pike, seconded by Mr. Grace and unanimously approved it was #2002-11 RESOLVED,that the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby determine to withhold any further payments to Banner Sign Company until we have had an opportunity to meet and formulate a new program for the banner replacement. Mr. Wordhouse, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. Board members voiced concern that the pavers showing the effervescence staining of the brick needs to be cleaned up. Mr. Anderson feels the bus stop sign needs to be moved at the corner of Middlebelt and Plymouth. It is still 50 feet east of our plaza(at the southeast corner). A question was raised if there are street 4 • designation signs on Farmington and Middlebelt on the west bound one. Mr, Knutsen didn't have any information on this. Mr. Nagy reported that there would be a meeting on the bid received for Phase V. Only two bids were submitted for Phase V landscaping proposal for the plazas and the walls. Twenty sets of bids were picked up. The two bids received were from Peter Basile Sons and Huron Landscaping. Basile was the low bidder. The project was estimated to come to be bid at around$1,000,000. Basile's bid was$955,000. Our problem now is to work out an agreement with ISTEA people in Lansing. We are still up in the air because of that technically. Mr. Knutsen advised that the issue is that if you have less than three bids,we have to justify why that bid was accepted. Our justifications will be that we have worked with Basile before and that we know this company. The company has been consistently the low bidder and they are located in the City of Livonia. 7. Reports from Committees: Public Relations Committee: Mr. Anderson reported that the 2002 Spring newsletter was in the mail and copies were distributed to the board members. There are about 1900 addresses that receive the newsletter. Mr. Anderson pointed out that Leone Enterprises was on the front page and what a nice improvement it is to the area. There was also a picture of the Olympic torch carrier on the front page. Emphasis was placed on the inside where the businesses will be able to obtain and submit information relative to their web page. They will fill out the card that is enclosed and send it to the PRDA for input into the system. Other issues covered in the newsletter were summer construction,upcoming events, Wilson Barn and welcoming John Walsh to the PRDA board. Vacant Buildings Committee: Mr. Grace—The Pastor building is not on the list. They demolished part of their building in the back. Comerica has a deal pending. The building at 38950 Plymouth Road, I called that company a couple of times but I haven't been able to get any information. They have a large sign in front. Mayor Kirksey advised that he has talked to somebody who is interested in the building once occupied by Allstate Insurance and later by the Social Security Administration. The building is located east of the Legacy Restaurant. He thought it was used by Human Services and asked if it was still occupied. Mr. Grace advised that it was. Mr. Grace feels that there is something going on at the Lasky store but nobody knows anything about it. Mr.Nagy stated that the Building Inspection Department has been asked to look into that matter. Construction Committee: Mr. Pike—We have had a couple of meetings. When the contract is finally awarded there will be a pre-construction meeting to go over some guidelines so we don't have so many problems as we have had in the past and take a closer look at who their subcontractors are. Inspection Committee: No report. 5 Development Assistance: Mr. Grace - No report at this time. Web Site: Currently Mike is inputting the business information into the web page. 7. Chairman's Comments: Regarding the web site and the fact that we need to have John hooked up to the Internet. Mike sent me a proposal to present to you to purchase for John a laptop computer. I am presenting this information to the Board for their consideration. A description of compac computer and related components was circulated. On a motion by Mr. Pike, seconded by Mr. Grace and unanimously approved, it was #2002-12 RESOLVED, that the Plymouth Road Development Authority approved the purchase of computer equipment in the amount of$2,098.00 consisting of: Compaq Evo N180 1Ghz 470024-824 256MG RAM 20GB DVD Floppy 10/100 Modem 15"Display Windows XP Mr. Wordhouse, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the g fore oin resolution foregoing adopted. 8. Director's Report: Another one of the light poles located at Wayne and Plymouth on the southeast corner has been hit. I have asked for an accident report. The cost is probably going to be about $4,000 to replace. Phase V landscape—we are under the estimate. The bad news is that we only had two bids. It involves federal money it due to the City of Livonia and the ISTEA grant money. The City Council will have to authorize a resolution so that the Mayor can sign the contract. Mr. Anderson asked about the status of his 21 items that needed attention. Have they been addressed at all? Mr. Nagy advised that items are absolutely being addressed. The poles have been taken care of except the Ameritech in front of Roush Industries. We contacted Ameritech as well as Roush. The sidewalks are being addressed as well. The sod replacement is underway and will be completed by May 3rd. Mr. Pike suggested that Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Knutsen both did not have to be on the job site. We have been asking them for a breakdown on what their cost would be on the site. We need a breakdown and what they expect to do. 6 9. Polling of Board Members: Mr. Nagy informed and reminded everybody about the Mayor's Ball to be held on April 26t. We will be represented. Mr. Bryant talked to Gary Ward, Manager for Quality Inn. He gave me three lead sources for residents. John is going to put me on the agenda for the next meeting to transmit resources for some of these vacancies. Mr. Grace—Regarding the right turn at Middlebelt and the right turn lane at Merriman, Middlebelt has the lane but there is no arrow. We should provide a right turn arrow at that intersection. We might want to make the effort to go up and down and make a list of all the things that are lacking or that need to be reinstalled. We need consistency. 10. Adjournment: On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted,the 134`h Regular Meeting held by the Plymouth Road Development Authority was adjourned at 5:00 pm. The next meeting of the Plymouth Road Development Authority will be held on Thursday, May 16, 2002. obby illiams, Secretary C 7