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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSTUDY - 2018-03-12 CITY OF LIVONIA – CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD MARCH 12, 2018 Meeting was called to order at 8:17 p.m. by President Toy. Present: Cathy White, Kathleen McIntyre, Brian Meakin, Jim Jolly, Brandon Kritzman, Scott Bahr, and Laura Toy. Absent: None. Elected and appointed officials present: Don Knapp, City Attorney; Lori L. Miller, Deputy City Clerk; Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development; Todd Zilincik, City Engineer; Ted Davis, Superintendent, Parks and Recreation; Linda McCann, Director of Community Resources; Mike Slater, Director of Finance; and Dennis Wright, Mayor. White offered the resolution referring the subject of police and fire retention of employees incarnate to the Public Safety, Health and Environment Committee for its report and recommendation for the Regular Agenda. DIRECTION: REFER SUBJECT OF RETENTION OF REGULAR POLICE & FIRE EMPLOYEES TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY, HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE FOR ITS REPORT & RECOMMENDATION th President Toy congratulated John and Lina DelSignore on their 60 Wedding Anniversary. She also sent good wishes to former City Clerk Joan McCotter well, she is currently at Marywood Nursing Center recovering and asked for prayers. Also, a moment of silence was observed for Dan Kaznowski who recently passed away; he and his wife, Rose, were very active with the Livonia Symphony Orchestra for many years and he was also very active with Livonia Public Schools and will be dearly missed. President Toy announced that Rosedale Cleaners is closing after 57 years. President Toy also recognized her partner, Colleen Simbor, and the success of their business Cardwell Florist on Plymouth Road for 40 years. She said they will be celebrating at the store toward the end of the month or right after Easter, and she invited everyone to help them celebrate. AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: Mr. Ordakowski, 14641 Flamingo, addressed Council regarding a problem he has been having for the past 3 or 4 years with deer in his back yard. President Toy thanked him for coming tonight and said his concern would be referred to the Inspection Department for them to investigate. NEW BUSINESS: 2 1. BLOCK PARTY: Steve Corden, re: to be held Saturday, June 16, 2018, from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Whitby Drive between Pollyanna and Navin, with a rain date of Saturday, June 23, 2018. Steve Corden, presented the request to Council. They are seeking Council approval to conduct a block party and close Pollyanna Street, between Navin and Southampton. Bahr noted that the agenda had the street listed incorrectly as Whitby Drive between Pollyanna and Navin. He just wanted to clarify that information, and have it reflected in the minutes. Bahr offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. White said she was going to offer the approving resolution. She DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 2. REQUEST FOR DESIGNATION AS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION: Eric Jenks, President, Detroit Tradesmen Rugby Football Club, re: as required by the State of Michigan to obtain a Charitable Gaming License to allow fundraisers in the future. Eric Jenks, President, Detroit Tradesmen Rugby Football Club, presented the request to Council. They are seeking Council approval for designation as a non- profit organization, so they can host fundraisers at Docs Sports Retreat for their rugby club. There was discussion between Council and the Law Department as to why Mr. Jenks must obtain designation in Livonia if his organization is not based in Livonia. The Law Department said the state requires the designation and his club meets the criteria and since the fundraising event is located in Livonia, it is required. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 3. APPOINTMENT OF STEVEN VANDETTE TO THE LIVONIA BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY: Office of the Mayor, re: for a term which will expire on November 24, 2020. Mayor Dennis Wright presented the request to Council. He said Mr. Vandette has experience serving in Troy on their Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. He has much to offer to Livonia and Mayor Wright is recommending Mr. Vandette’s appointment to the Livonia Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. 3 Vice-President Jolly said Mr. Vandette’s has a lot of municipal experience and said he has much to offer to the Livonia Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. Vice-President Jolly offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Kritzman thanked the Mayor’s office for the recommendation of Mr. Vandette’s appointment. He added that Mr. Vandette’s experience is impressive and said he has much to offer to the Livonia Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. Mr. Steven Vandette, thanked Mayor Wright for the recommendation and said he looks forward to this opportunity serving the community in this capacity. He highlighted some of his experience gained while serving in Southfield and Troy and is looking forward to serving Livonia. He added that he has been a resident of Livonia for 37 years. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 4. REQUEST TO APPROVE PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT WITH THE MICHIGAN MUNICIPAL SERVICES AUTHORITY (MMSA): Department of Finance, re: to provide Medicare Coordination Services to the City of Livonia. Mike Slater, Director of Finance, presented the request to Council. He said he comes before Council this evening seeking approval to enter into a participation agreement with the Michigan Municipal Services Authority (MMSA) to provide Medicare Coordination Services to the City of Livonia. The objective of these services is to save healthcare dollars by maximizing the utilization of Social Security Disability and Medicare benefits within the pre-65, inactive, health care segment. Fees for this service are paid contingent upon savings identified. The potential savings is dependent upon the Social Security Disability or Medicare eligible individuals identified, so it is difficult to estimate. However, based upon industry averages, everyone identified is projected to result in $7,000 annual savings, net of fees. The MMSA has entered into an agreement to provide these services with SSDC Services Corp., 28125 Cabot Drive, Novi, Ml 48237. A copy of the agreement has been provided to Council for its review. He said Bob Bruner, CEO of MMSA is here this evening. He said they would be happy to answer any questions Council may have. Bahr asked Slater to help him understand, this is a situation where we’re looking for opportunities to get federal money to cover costs that we would otherwise be covering ourselves. He asked if that is the idea. Slater said that is correct. It’s to identify individuals that are eligible to be covered by Social Security Disability or Medicare and have those costs paid by that entity instead of out of own pocket. White offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. 4 DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 5. AWARD OF BID: Department of Community Resources, re: for stack chairs at the Livonia Senior Center, from budgeted funds. Linda McCann, Director of Community Resources, presented the request to Council. Community Resources is requesting Council approval to accept the bid of LB Office Products, 899 E. Mandoline Avenue, Madison Heights, Ml 48073 for 520 stack chairs for the Senior Center. Finance Department advertised for bid for the chairs and 5 bids were received. LB Office Products was the lowest bidder at $19,186.25. Sufficient funds have been budgeted. Therefore, they are asking Council to approve the bid from LB Office Products, 899 E. Mandoline Avenue, Madison Heights, Ml 48071 in the amount of $19,186.25. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 6. AWARD OF BID: Department of Parks & Recreation, re: for tennis court reconstruction at Devon-Aire Park, from budgeted funds. Ted Davis, Superintendent, Parks and Recreation, presented the request to Council. The Department of Parks and Recreation has taken bids for tennis court reconstruction at Devon-Aire Park. Specifications were prepared by the Engineering Department and an advertisement for bids was placed in the Sunday, January 28, 2018, issue of the Livonia Observer and on the MITN website. Six (6) bids were received. They are recommending S & J Asphalt Paving Company receive the contract, as the low bidder and having received favorable references on similar projects they completed. They request that City Council authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a contract in the amount of $138,401.50 with S & J Asphalt Paving Company, 39571 Michigan Ave, Canton, Ml 48188. He said they hope to have this finished by fall. White offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. Bahr asked Davis if this included the hockey area next to the tennis court. Davis replied yes it does. Bahr asked a general question to Davis, if the usage of these facilities is monitored. Davis said staff does go out and visit and they try to guess the amount of usage they get but to answer the question, no. He said they are actually looking at ways to more accurately measure the usage of the facilities. Bahr remarked how much he loves the parks in Livonia and said he would love nothing more than to see kids at all the baseball diamonds at the parks using them, but the reality is you just don’t see that anymore. He just thinks it would be interesting to see the usage data. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 5 Kritzman stepped down from the podium at 8:45 p.m. to avoid any perceived conflict of interest on the following item. 7. REQUEST TO AMEND CONTRACT WITH OHM ADVISORS AND REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION AND EXPENDITURE: Engineering Division, re: for the Construction Engineering Services related to Amrhein Road and Newburgh Road intersection improvements and traffic signal upgrade in an amount not to exceed $28,000 and the new total not-to-exceed amount of $128,000.00. (CR 280-17) Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. As Council is aware, they had the intersection of Amrhein and Newburgh Roads under construction. The project was scheduled to be completed last fall. However, the completion of the project was delayed due to utility conflicts with DTE Energy on removal of their existing utility poles. Additional time and coordination was required to resolve issues with Consumer Energy's existing high-pressure gas mains along with DTE Energy's existing utility poles that are scheduled to be removed. OHM Advisors requires additional time as a result of these delays to complete the final construction and is requesting an additional amount of $28,000. This additional cost will be reimbursed by Livonia West Commerce Center, LLC at no cost to the City of Livonia. He added that Mark Lock with OHM Advisors is here this evening and said they would be happy to answer any questions. Vice-President Jolly offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULART Kritzman returned to the podium at 8:46 p.m. 8. REQUEST TO APPROVE PROPOSED 2018 SIDEWALK REPAIR PROGRAM: Engineering Division, re: to include a number of small target areas in Sections 4, 11, 33 and 36 along with scattered locations throughout the City. (CR 784-82) Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. The proposed 2018 Sidewalk Repair Program included consists of a number of small target areas in Sections 4, 11, 33 and 36 along with scattered locations throughout the City that were generated through resident complaints and requests. The lists indicating where sidewalks require installation, repair and or replacement adjacent to private property are included. This years' program consists of approximately 479 locations. This is just a formality to allow for the notifications and resolutions to have special assessments to these locations, per City ordinance, looking for City Council approval to allow for the sidewalk repairs. As they move forward, they will let the residents be notified to arrange for the installation, repair, or the removal and replacement of certain unsafe sections of 6 sidewalk themselves prior to the deadline or the City contractor will do the work at a later date. He said he would be happy to answer any questions. McIntyre offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 9. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE FORMAL BIDDING PROCESS AND APPROVE PROPOSED 2018 SIDEWALK REPAIR PROGRAM BY EXTENDING CONTRACT 17-G UNIT PRICES WITH JOE ROTONDO CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION AND REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE APPROPRIATION AND EXPENDITURE TO PRECISION CONCRETE, INC.: Engineering Division, re: for Contract 18-G which includes small target areas in Sections 4, 11, 33 and 36 and scattered locations throughout the City. (CR 112-17) Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. He said the previous item allowed them to proceed forward with this item. Again, they are just trying to get the best price for the residents. Joe Rotondo has done this program numerous times. He has agreed to extend his unit prices with a slight increase on just the material cost, all other prices will remain the same. The project will be in the amount of $557,269. An additional $5,000 will go to Precision Cutting to do some cutting for high traffic allocations where the trees may have heaved up the sidewalk but doesn’t warrant removals, we can save money by doing those at $35 per square instead of replacing them at $150. They are seeking Council concurrence and approval to extend contract to Joe Rotondo, Rotondo Construction Corporation, based on the unit prices from 2016 with minor adjustments to specific items. Bahr asked Zilincik if the residents reimburse the cost of this or does the City cover this completely. Zilincik said it varies, some are tree related, some are homeowner related. He said it’s a combination of both at various locations. Bahr also noted the option for residents to take care of this themselves. If they exercise that option are they not assessed, then. Zilincik said that is correct, they do not receive a bill. Bahr offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 10. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE FORMAL BIDDING PROCESS AND APPROVE 2018 SIDEWALK AND PAVEMENT REPLACEMENT PROGRAM BY EXTENDING CONTRACT 16-F UNIT PRICES WITH D’ANGELO BROTHERS, INC.: Engineering Division, re: for the 2018 Sidewalk and Pavement Replacement Program – Water Main Breaks Contract 18-F in the amount not to exceed $186,087.67 for a one-year contract. (CR 204-16) 7 Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. The Engineering Department is asking for a one-year contract with D’Angelo Brothers. At the request of the Department of Public Works a program was established to replace sidewalks and pavements removed due to water main breaks. Phase I locations are compiled from late October 2017 thru early March 2018. The remaining water main breaks from April until late September are then completed in Phase II by mid to late October. D'Angelo Brothers, Inc. has offered to honor their unit prices from 2016 as they were the low bidder and awarded the contract to complete sidewalk and pavement replacements as a result of water main breaks. Therefore, we are recommending to extend the unit prices from Contract 16-F for one (1) year, Contract 18-F. They have done similar work previously and are familiar with the requirements from Wayne County and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The Engineering Division will be providing inspection and performing pay estimates for the project. The total cost for water main repairs during the 2014/2015 Contract was $342,530.49 and $372,175.35 for 2016/2017. Thus, the extension for a one (1) year contract will be in the amount of $186,087.67 which is half of the amount of the previous contract. In order to proceed with this project, it is respectfully recommended that the Council waive the formal bidding process, as amended, since no advantage to the City would result from competitive bidding; extend Contract 16-F unit prices for Contract 18- F in the total amount of not to exceed $186,087.67 to D'Angelo Brothers, Inc., P.O. Box 531330, Livonia, Ml 48153. The contract shall be ·on the basis of the bid unit prices from Contract 16-F said amount to be adjusted based upon the quantities of work actually completed. The contract shall be from December 1, 2017 through November 30, 2018.; authorize an expenditure in the amount not- to-exceed $186,087.67 for the 2018 Sidewalk and Pavement Replacement Program - Water Main Breaks from budgeted funds in the Water and Sewer Construction in Progress Account for a (1) year contract; and authorize the City Engineer to approve minor adjustments in the work as required. Zilincik said Mr. D’Angelo is here in the audience this evening. He was ready to answer any questions Council may have. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 11. REQUEST TO WAIVE THE FORMAL BIDDING PROCESS AND APPROVE PROPOSED 2018 CONCRETE ROAD SELECTIVE SLAB REPLACEMENT PROGRAM BY EXTENDING CONTRACT 16-J/17-J UNIT PRICES WITH JOE ROTONDO CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION: Engineering Division, re: for Contract 18-J, with the exception of concrete unit prices for various thickness of concrete roadway, sidewalk and concrete curb and gutter which includes approximately 35 locations scattered throughout the City. (CR 113-17) Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. This will be the third year for the Selective Slab Replacement Program in conjunction with the 8 Department of Public Works. This year the program consists of approximately 35 locations scattered throughout the City. The Engineering Division was approached by our contractor from the 2016/2017 Concrete Road Selective Slab Replacement Program, Rotondo Construction Corporation for consideration to extend the Contract 16-J/17-J unit prices for Contract 18-J in an effort to control costs and to continue to offer our residents quality workmanship. For reference a total amount spent was slightly over $100,000 in 2016 for 34 locations and $130,000 in 2017 for 28 locations. There is a $150,000 budgeted for fiscal year 2018 to replace isolated sections of concrete pavement under local City jurisdiction that have heaved as a result of tree roots, deteriorated sections, or areas that have significant ponding water issues in an effort to address warranted residential concerns / complaints. These areas do not fall under our annual road program. However, there is a coordinated effort with DPW Forestry to have several trees removed as part of their annual program prior to the concrete repair and working closely with DPW Roads to resolve warranted residential concerns received by both Engineering and Roads. Rotondo Construction Corporation are willing to honor their unit prices from the 2016/2017 Concrete Road Selective Slab Replacement Program (Contract 16-J/17-J) with the exception of concrete unit prices for various thickness of concrete roadway, sidewalk and concrete curb and gutter. It should be noted that there has been a 5% increase in material costs for concrete per cubic yard this year depending on if the project is a municipality or a Michigan Department of Transportation project. Please note that Rotondo Construction Corporation is a local contractor and has completed concrete repairs for the City of Livonia over the past several years. They are recommending awarding Contract 18-J to Rotondo Construction Corporation. He said Joe Rotondo is here in the audience this evening. He was ready to answer any questions Council may have. Vice-President Jolly asked Zilincik if he selected the 34 locations to be completed. Zilincik said yes, they have been selected from a master list. He said he would be happy to provide the list to Council. Meakin asked Zilincik if this was a separate program from the road replacement program. Zilincik said that is correct, totally separate. He asked why the road program isn’t on this Agenda. He replied that the asphalt program is one of the next few items. He added that the concrete program will be on the Study Agenda of March 26, 2018. Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT Kritzman stepped down from the podium at 8:53 p.m. to avoid any perceived conflict of interest on the following item. 9 12. AWARD OF CONTRACT: Engineering Division, re: for the 2018 Asphalt Road Paving Program - Contract 18-A. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. He said before he begins he would like to preface that there are two components to this program. One is awarding the bid to Nagle Paving and the other is awarding the construction engineering services portion to OHM Advisors. He said he would start with the first component. The annual Asphalt Road Paving Program was bid th out. This is the 6 year of the 10-year Millage that was approved back in 2012. There was a mandatory pre-bid meeting. There was a total of four bids received. The lowest bid was from Nagle Paving at $2,447,341.55. They are asking Council to award a contract to Nagle Paving for the 2018 Asphalt Road Paving Program, Contract 18-A, in the amount of $2,447,341.55. In addition, they are asking Council to approve an additional expenditure in the amount of $293,680.00 for the Construction Engineering to OHM Advisors as part of the 2018 Asphalt Road Paving Program. He said Mark McLaughlin with OHM Advisors is here this evening. He said they will start this project in May and it is typically done by August, obviously there are couple of school streets that they will get done. It is a very successful program. He said they look forward to getting these areas done in a timely fashion. President Toy asked Zilincik, to share for the viewing audience’s benefit, which streets the City does not cover with regard to pothole repairs. She said she knows that Plymouth Road in under the State of Michigan’s jurisdiction. Zilincik said Middlebelt, Merriman, Farmington, Five Mile, Six Mile, Seven Mile, Eight Mile are Wayne County Roads. The City-owned streets are Levan and Newburgh Roads. He said any east/west streets are typically Wayne County roads. He added that the north/south streets Inkster, Middlebelt, Merriman, Farmington, Haggerty Roads are also Wayne County roads. He said it has been a really bad season this year. He said the city crews were out there trying to get the city roads patched. It’s a never-ending battle. President Toy said she believes the side streets are all city streets. Zilincik said that there are about 60 miles of major roads and the remaining 310 are local roads. He said they try to do about 6 to 10 miles of roads per year are done. They try to keep up the city’s PACE rating of a 6 of about 10. Meakin said he wanted follow-up on it since we’re talking about it. Farmington Road going onto Schoolcraft Road, where does the city’s responsibility begin. Zilincik said Schoolcraft going east and west is the city’s responsibility except at the major intersections. Meakin said Schoolcraft going onto the freeway is horrible. Zilincik said there are some areas they are looking at getting some federal funding for the road repairs. He said if they are unsuccessful at obtaining those federal funds then they must look at other options before utilizing millage funds. Meakin said this is why he’d like to thank OHM Advisors for helping us gain national dollars coming back for roads like Newburgh and other things that they have been very influential with. 10 Meakin offered the approving resolution for the Regular Agenda. President Toy asked Zilincik if the State has shared with him how much money they will be giving the City out of that legislature that passed in the senate and house of representatives the other day, did the governor say how much. Zilincik said approximately $650,000.00 of funding on Amrhein from Newburgh heading east towards Levan. President Toy thanked State Representative Laura Cox for helping attain those funds. Meakin asked Zilincik if the city gets money from Wayne County as well. Zilincik said typically Wayne County spends $15,000,00 which $5,000.00 goes toward local cities, which they try to split it up between three to five different communities. He added that we are getting a portion for the project on Stark Road this year. A couple of projects we will be doing next year, Ann Arbor Trail, from Eckles to Newburgh. He said we are getting some portion of the funding every year. He said we have been very instrumental in attaining those funds. Meakin asked if we have to do our own engineering on those roads. Zilincik said there will be some engineering on Ann Arbor Trail. Meakin said he is looking forward to it. DIRECTION: APPROVING REGULAR Kritzman returned to the podium at 8:59 p.m. 13. REQUEST TO ADVISE THE WAYNE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICES (PERMIT SECTION) THAT THE CITY HAS APPROVED THE STORM SEWER PLANS AND WILL ACCEPT JURISDICTION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE STORM SEWER WITHIN THE PROPERTY LOCATED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF SCHOOLCRAFT ROAD, BETWEEN MIDDLEBELT ROAD AND INKSTER ROAD, AND REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY ENGINEER TO EXECUTE A WAYNE COUNTY PERMIT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY: Engineering Division, re: for the development of a Holiday Inn Express at 27541 Schoolcraft Road located in the Northeast ¼ of Section 25 and for Livonia Lodge, Inc. to reimburse the City for any such maintenance that may become necessary. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. He said they brought something similar to this before City Council about a month ago. He said he did mention he would be bringing more of these before Council. He said there will be a couple of more. This is a formality for us to enter them with Wayne County to maintain storm water facilities at that location. He said Holiday Inn Express opened there about a year ago. This is a housekeeping item with Wayne County, so they can maintain the storm sewer that may become necessary. White offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. 11 DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 14. REQUEST TO ADVISE THE WAYNE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICES (PERMIT SECTION) THAT THE CITY HAS APPROVED THE STORM SEWER PLANS AND WILL ACCEPT JURISDICTION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE STORM SEWER WITHIN THE PROPERTY LOCATED ON THE EAST SIDE OF HAGGERTY ROAD, BETWEEN SIX MILE ROAD AND SEVEN MILE ROAD, AND REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY ENGINEER TO EXECUTE A WAYNE COUNTY PERMIT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY: Engineering Division, re: for the development of the properly located at 18600 Haggerty Road located in the Northwest ¼ of Section 7 and for Schoolcraft College, a public corporation and political subdivision of the State of Michigan, to reimburse the City for any such maintenance that may become necessary. Todd Zilincik, City Engineer, presented the request to Council. He said, again, this is just a formality housekeeping item for Schoolcraft College. We’re just trying to close out the project and clean the files out. White offered the approving resolution for the Consent Agenda. DIRECTION: APPROVING CONSENT 15. REQUEST TO FORMALLY RECOGNIZE THE BIKE-WALK LIVONIA ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND VOLUNTARILY NOMINATE A COUNCILMEMBER TO SERVE ON THE COMMITTEE: Planning Commission, re: to form a task force to help promote, facilitate and monitor aspects of the Bike-Walk Plan for the community. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented the request to Council. He said this item is a request that comes from the Bike Walk Livonia Plan and it’s to establish an advisory committee that would meet on an as needed basis to begin to formulate some actionable strategies for mid-term short-term and long-term projects involving improvements to the City’s pedestrian/bicycle network. So, what the committee would do is help identify and prioritize projects, evaluate those projects, capital programming would certainly be another important aspect of the committee’s role, annual budgeting as well as identifying funding sources including grant opportunities. They are asking the Council to formally recognize the committee, to nominate one of its members to serve on that committee along with other department heads, they’ve identified those in the letter to Council this evening. Additional members on that committee would include residents of the community that were involved on the original steering committee for the development of the Bike Walk Livonia Plan. 12 Meakin offered the approving resolution recognizing the Bike-Walk Livonia Advisory Committee and nomination of Council President Laura Toy to serve as the Council delegate on the Bike-Walk Livonia Advisory Committee for the Consent Agenda. Kritzman said he thinks that they jumped the gun a relatively quickly. He said that he was also interested in serving on that Committee as well. He said he thinks, all and all, this is a great opportunity for Council to be an active participant in something we’ve supported along the way. It is certainly in line with many of the other objectives we are trying to accomplish throughout the City. He said he wasn’t anticipating Council making a decision this evening as far as an actual delegate to the Committee but said he will defer to others if that is the intention. He said definitely wants to express his support for the Committee and look forward to Council and whoever its representative may be being an active participant in that committee. Meakin said since they make the rules for the Committee, he thinks two delegates from Council makes sense and said he would be happy to nominate Councilmember Kritzman as the other delegate. He said he feels the more the merrier, if any other Councilmembers are interested in serving on the committee. Meakin offered the approving resolution recognizing the Bike-Walk Livonia Advisory Committee and nominating Council President Laura Toy and Councilmember Brandon Kritzman as Council delegates for the Bike-Walk Livonia Advisory Committee for the Consent Agenda. Bahr said he did have an interest but feels two delegates from Council is sufficient and said they have a good working relationship and said he supports the nominations presented to serve as delegates on this committee. DIRECTION: APPROVING - RECOGNIZING THE CONSENT BIKE-WALK LIVONIA ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND NOMINATE COUNCIL PRESIDENT LAURA TOY & COUNCIL MEMBER BRANDON KRITZMAN AS COUNCIL DELEGATES TO SERVE ON THE COMMITTEE 16. WAIVER PETITION: Planning Commission, re: Petition 2018-01-02-01 submitted by Darrlisha Newby, to operate a day care nursery (Tiny Bliss Child Care) located on the north side of Joy Road between Middlebelt and Henry Ruff Roads (29794 Joy Road) in the Southeast ¼ of Section 35. Mark Taormina, Director of Planning and Economic Development, presented the request to Council. This is a request for a child day care operation to be located within an existing vacant commercial building that is located the corner of Joy 13 Road and Louise Street. This building was originally constructed as a medical office building and has been empty for several years, it’s about 3,000 square feet in size. It sits on three or four lots within the E.G. Settle Realty Co. Bonaparte Gardens Subdivision No. 1, there is residential property immediately to the north as well as to the east and there is commercial zoning further to the east and to the west. The City of Westland is located across Joy Road to the south. This building does face Louise, as indicated it is a little over 3,000 square-feet in size, there are two driveways off of Louise that serve the property in question. There are no curb cuts onto Joy Road from this site. The petitioner would intend to operate a child day care center. The Planning Commission is recommending approval of this item, limiting the number of students to whatever the State of Michigan establishes, provided that it does not exceed 45 students. A floor plan was presented as part of the application as well as a site plan. The site plan does provide for a play area of 3,500 square feet. There is an ordinance that requires a play area of a minimum of 5,000 square feet. The petitioner is asking the Council’s permission to reduce the size of the play area.by about 1,500 square- feet, it would still be in compliance with the State of Michigan requirement. All together there are about 15 parking spaces provided for the convenient loading and unloading of students, that is what is required by code. There is no specific standard or ratio relative to parking. There is an existing wall that separates this property from the residential parcels to the north and to the east, so that would enclose that playground area and would needs some additional fencing required in order to comply with the ordinance., which will be done as well as placing a synthetic turf type material on the playground area for the children using that area. There are no planned exterior modifications to the building. There were a number of items identified by the Inspection Department that will have to be taken care of prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. The owner of the building has been notified of the deficiencies and is expected to make those corrections. Bahr asked Taormina if those recommendations by the Inspection Department included improvements to the parking lot. Taormina said he would have to go back and look at that letter from the Inspection Department; he noted there were a number of items identified. He said the letter is identified in the conditions of the approving resolution, noting that the deficiencies are to be corrected. Taormina said there was one other item he failed to mention, that being there is another special requirement that stipulates that at least 55% of the residential property owners within a 400-foot radius of the property would have to sign a petition giving authorization and consent, the petitioner would have to obtain that signed petitioner. He said the petitioner is seeking a waiver from Council of that requirement. He added that there is no signed petition for that special requirement. He said that Council may waive that special requirement. Meakin asked Taormina, how many houses would be required for the special requirement signed petition. Taormina said he didn’t have an exact number but guessed it to be approximately 20 houses. 14 Meakin asked through the Chair to the petitioner if she had an issue with that special requirement. The petitioner replied yes. Meakin asked why. The petitioner said she feels it is a little unsafe for her to be going door to door questioning people that aren’t expecting her. Meakin asked the petitioner, did she not want those resident’s children to be coming to her facility. She replied that she currently runs a facility now and said that wasn’t a requirement at that facility. She added that if parents are interested in child care they will seek her out. She said if they have any questions they can always come for an interview. They can always go on the State of Michigan website and lookup all of their information. She said she doesn’t think it is safe to be going to random peoples’ houses asking for their approval of child care. Meakin said he disagreed with the petitioner. He said that he thinks that it is important that she gets to know her neighbors. The petitioner said this will be the third meeting she has attended regarding this matter and said that they have had opportunity to come meet with her if they were interested in getting to know her. Meakin said to the petitioner that she is intending to move into their neighborhood that they have been in for a number of years. Meakin said he thinks it is a good ordinance but would defer to his colleagues for their comments. White asked Taormina if there is a history of granting a similar waiver in the City. Taormina replied that they are few and far between. He said the last time he recalled was an effort undertaken on a piece of property located on Seven Mile Road that lies near Joe’s Produce. He said he recalled them having difficulty obtaining signatures. Taormina added that the same requirement exists for gas stations and maybe one or two other uses. There’s only a couple of waiver uses. This is a standard in addition to all of the criteria and standards that are outlines in the ordinance as they apply to waiver uses. This is just one additional requirement that applies to just a few uses. Vice-President Jolly said he would be willing to consider the petitioner’s request. He asked the petitioner how much she was willing to invest in this property. He added that the picture of the playground looked very nice and asked if her playground would look like that. Also, how much work did she plan to do on the inside of the building. He said answers to those questions will help make his decision easier. The petitioner replied that the interior of the building is in good shape. She said painting and carpeting have been done. She said doesn’t really have to do too much. She said as far as the playground goes, she said of course they will decorate the place it will cost money to buy the equipment and furniture for the children but said she did not plan on having any swings on the outside. She said they may have slides, playhouses, toy cars they can ride inside, but said for the children’s safety she chooses not put swings in. Vice-President Jolly said the picture shown represents approximately $20,000 worth of equipment. She said she provided the picture to show the synthetic turf type material, not the equipment. 15 President Toy asked the petitioner if she would like to add any additional comments at this time. She said no, not at this time. Kritzman said this is an appropriate use of this site. He said this is not a section of the City that is inundated with commercial uses, looking up and down Joy Road. He said you’re talking about the big imposition to the neighbor’s around them, presumably the sound of children playing, which he added is probably an invited element quite a few places throughout the community. It’s a nice little building that he thinks is appropriate for that sort of use. This is something that has been identified by the City that will be inspected prior to it being granted occupancy. He said that’s evident in the notes and he is not sure to what extent that has been completed. He said he has every confidence that the Inspection Department will make it a safe place for children to be inhabiting. He said with Ms. Newby running the operation, it’s great that she’s here this evening. He said he doesn’t have any particular concerns with the neighborhood. He asked if the neighbors have been notified. Taormina said property owners within a 300-foot radius were notified as part of the Public Hearing process of the Planning Commission. Kritzman said maybe he got a little caught up and confused with the earlier conversation where we were potentially asking Ms. Newby to go out and knock on doors, was that simply out of a courtesy. Meakin said it is in the ordinance. Kritzman asked, that she, herself, would be required to knock on doors. Meakin said her or her representative. Kritzman said he thought the responsibility was placed on the City to notify those property owners within the required radius. Councilmembers replied it is an additional special requirement. Taormina confirmed that is correct. Kritzman said he missed that and apologized. He said he was a little split on that with that one because he thinks the operation of the day care should be something that is centered around the kids in that area. He added that the folks have been there longer, as was pointed out earlier, but at the same time their expectation is that it is some sort of day care. He said he’ll have to sit on that one a little bit further. McIntyre said she would support the waiver use and would also support waiving the additional special requirement of the signed petition be presented. She added that notification was given and there is one letter of support in the file. She said a child care facility is very different than a gas station, in terms of congestion and hours of operation, noise, traffic, idling and everything else. McIntyre offered the approving resolution for the waiver use and waiving the special requirement of a signed petition from neighbors within a 400-foot radius consenting to request to operate a day care facility for the Regular Agenda. Bahr asked the Chair for clarification on the process if he disagrees with waiving the special requirement. He said he believes that it was put in the Ordinance for a reason and said he didn’t feel that it imposed any hardship on the petitioner and feels that it is a good opportunity for the petitioner to get to meet the 16 neighbors of the day care facility. He said he doesn’t see any kind of special circumstance that would warrant a waiver of the special requirement. He asked through the Chair to the Law Department if it was necessary for him to offer a denying resolution if he is not in support. Don Knapp, City Attorney, said by having to separate resolutions, if Council approves the waiver use, the special requirement would need to be adhered to unless the separate resolution waiving the special requirement is adopted. Bahr said then it is not necessary to offer a denying resolution. Vice-President Jolly said the petitioner mentioned she has worked in the industry, he asked her if she has other facilities. The petitioner replied, yes, indicating she has one facility. Vice-President Jolly asked her to provide Council with the address of her other facility. He added that it is a bit of a struggle for Council, he said he thinks it is probably one of the best possible uses for the building. He said it would provide a service to the community. He said, like Councilmember Bahr and Meakin commented, the rule is that it is required. He said it is a little troublesome that petitioner doesn’t even want to attempt to obtain the required petition as a special requirement per the ordinance. He said he understands her concerns about safety. He said she could always do it with another person or colleague. He said that is something he will be considering in making his decision. Ms. Newby, the petitioner, said she had some objections. She said some of these rules were adopted when it was different times, a very different world. She said back in the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s children rode bicycles on the sidewalks and streets; now it just isn’t safe for them. There’s a lot more children getting hit by vehicles these days and parents and child care givers just don’t want to risk the safety of the children. She said going to door to door just isn’t safe anymore. She said you hear the news report shootings and she doesn’t feel that it is worth risking a life. She added bringing another person with her would just be more intimidating for the resident. She said she thinks Council should consider the times and how thinks have changed. She thinks a decision needs to be made, one that everyone can be comfortable with, she said she is not comfortable with that special requirement, and if anything were to happen who would be responsible for it. President Toy said she appreciated Ms. Newby’s comments but pointed out, with all due respect, that she is speaking to a group of politicians that go and door to door and knock on doors and speak to residents. She added that she personally doesn’t practice that but many people on Council do. President Toy said she was going to direct a quick comment to Mr. Taormina. She said she is not speaking specifically about the petitioner, she asked if a check is done to see if there are any registered sex offenders within the 400-foot radius of the property. She said as crazy as that may sound, she knows that those kinds of lists are available. 17 She thinks it would be wise to conduct this type of background check She added that as the petitioner suggested times have changed. Taormina replied that he wasn’t aware of any such requirement. He said the State of Michigan may have a separate requirement. Vice-President Jolly said the petitioner has brought up some valid points and said these are things Council will be taking into consideration when making a decision. Vice-President Jolly asked through the Chair to the Law Department if his aware of any other communities in the area that have gone away from the current system seeking consent from property owners within the 400-foot radius to any kind of informed consent process where they are mailed some kind of certified letter where it gives the property owner a specific date to reply by with any objections, to take away these concerns. He said he thinks that would be reasonable in this day and age. Knapp replied that as pointed out by Mr. Taormina, the requirement is limited within the City’s ordinance to a handful of different types of businesses seeking waiver use approval. For the most part, people within a 300-foot radius receive notice via mail, such as with a rezoning and they have an opportunity to file a protest petition expressing an objection. If a valid protest is received, then a super-majority vote is required for approval. He said he doesn’t know definitively how other communities handle these issues. There hasn’t been a discussion among municipal attorneys on this topic. He said it may be worthwhile looking at. He said he can’t comment on why the 400-foot requirement is in place, it was adopted long before he came aboard. Vice-President Jolly seems like it is a very different issue from having a gas station or a child care facility. Vice-President Jolly offered the resolution referring the subject of an amendment to the Ordinance removing the special requirement for a signed petition from property owners within a 400-foot radius consenting to the operation of a day care facility, for the Regular Agenda. Kritzman said he is glad the conversation went in the direction that it did. He said that was precisely the trouble he had with it from the onset without saying it. He said he was glad Ms. Newby, in his estimation, did her job and protected the children. He said this is a different time, this is a different day and age. Also, there is a very big difference, as Vice-President Jolly pointed out, notifying residents that a gas station is proposed from notifying them that vulnerable children at a day care facility is proposed. He said he finds fault in the ordinance as it is written to say 55% of people within a 400-foot radius as opposed to 55% of people within a 400-foot radius who are not registered sex offenders. He said it is incumbent on Council to protect people who will be users of that commercial space and that day care facility. He said he also understands that we are trying 18 to present a situation that is fair and equitable to the residents and we have to protect them as well. He said the inconvenience of gas station and those characteristics that come with are vastly different than a day care facility. The role of Council from a protection stand point has shifted from the time that this ordinance was created from protecting the resident to now protecting the children and the operation that is contained there. Kritzman said he applauds Vice- President Jolly on his efforts to remove that type of business from the special requirement. McIntyre said she thinks that is where she started her discussion. She spoke through the Chair to the petitioner and said she was supporting the petitioner’s request to waive the special requirement and added that she was a little taken back that the petitioner was lecturing Council about what they should be doing. She said she didn’t know if perhaps the petitioner didn’t understand that she was supporting her. Ms. Newby said she wasn’t necessarily talking to those that were not supporting her Bahr asked, through the Chair, to Knapp if there are records that may help Council understand where this requirement came from and if it would be possible to get that information prior to the voting meeting. Knapp said theoretically it is possible. He said he is not certain how much will be in the minutes dating back to when this was adopted into the ordinance. He said it is more likely that we will find dates that this occurred and maybe have a sense of the era, but he could not say how good the records are with regard to how detailed the minutes are. It could very well be that there may have not been much discussion and you might just see who voted yes and who voted no. He said we could certainly do an investigation and report to City Council the findings. Bahr said he would appreciate if that could be done. He said he hopes it doesn’t send someone on a wild goose chase, he just hopes that some reasonable effort can be made to help understand why this requirement was originally put into place. He added that while gas stations and child care facilities are different, they both have an impact on noise levels to neighboring property owners. He said he believes that may have had something to do with. He said he thinks this day care facility will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood. He said before we go amending the ordinance he would like to take a closer look why it was put there to begin with. DIRECTION: 1) APPROVING – WAIVER USE REGULAR 2) APPROVING – WAIVING THE SPECIAL REQUIREMENT OF A SIGNED PETITION FROM PROPERTY OWNERS WITHIN 400 FT. RADIUS WITH 55% CONSENT 3) REFERRING SUBJECT OF AMENDING THE ORDINANCE REMOVING CHILD CARE FACILITY FROM THE SPECIAL REQUIREMENT OF A 19 SIGNED PETITION FROM PROPERTY OWNERS WITHIN A 400-FOOT RADIUS AUDIENCE COMMUNICATION: None. As there were no further questions or comments, President Toy adjourned the Study Session at 9:37 p.m. on Monday, March 12, 2018. DATED: March 23, 2018 SUSAN M. NASH CITY CLERK