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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRDA MINUTES 2019-07-18MINUTES OF THE 253'd REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLYMOUTH ROAD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA The 253'd Regular Meeting of the Plymouth Road Development Authority of the City of Livonia, Michigan, was called to order at 3:02 p.m., Thursday, July 18, 2019, in the 4th floor conference room of City Hall. Members Present: Omar Faris, Chair Jeremy Curtis, Vice Chair John Hiltz Dennis Wright, Mayor Stephanie Roehl Blatt Members Absent: Ruth Ann Brown Betsy McCue Others Present: Mark Taormina, Economic Development &Planning Director Murat Ulasir, OHM Advisors Jessica Katers, OHM Advisors Robert Auth, Resident George Ostrausky, Nowak & Fraus Jacqulynn Idzior, Salvation Army Jim Cummings, Hannah-Neumann/Smit Michael Molnar, TechSeven 1. Roll was called. A quorum was present. 2. Audience Communication. None 3. Adoption of the Minutes. On a motion made by Hiltz, seconded by Mayor Wright, and unanimously adopted, it was #2019-04 RESOLVED, that the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby approve the Minutes of the 252"d Regular Meeting held on April 18, 2019. Mr. Farris, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. 4. Financial Reports. Mr. Slater went through all months of financials. He specifically explained the disbursements for all months. Mr. Hiltz asked when did DTE take full control. Mr. Slater stated they have control already. He stated that the total assets for the year are approximately $756,000 and the liabilities approximately $683,000. We started the year with a $120,000 fund balance. We had expenses over our revenues of about $47,000. Our July 18, 2019 2 ending fund balance was approximately $73,000. Mr. Slater stated the water bill for the year was approximately $78,000. The fee varies depending on weather, leaks, rates, etc. The bill was for the whole corridor. It is only one bill a year. The meter is read sometime in November and billed sometime in December or January. The irrigation started up in May for the 2019 year with many repairs. The debt has been paid in full. Final payment was made in May 2019. There is approximately $67,000 in cash. In July the taxes will be levied for 2019. There will then be the $6000,000 that comes into our account. Ms. Blatt asked how many years we had been paying on the debt. Mr. Slater stated 20 years. 1998- 2018. On a motion made by Hiltz, seconded by Curtis, and unanimously adopted, it was #2019-06 RESOLVED, that the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby accept and approve the Financial Statements of the Authority's Special Revenue Fund for the months ending August, 2018 through May, 2019. Mr. Faris, Chairperson, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. 5. Update on the PRDA Irrigation System from Michael Molnar of TechSeven.. Mr. Toarmina introduced Mike Molnar, TechSeven, and Trisha Gabriel, DPW City of Livonia. Mr. Molnar stated that TechSeven turns the system on in the Spring. They do a once over and get the bulk repairs taken care of. They will check the system on a monthly basis to see what other issues there may be. Mr. Molnar stated that the majority of issues are the broken valves, heads that don't rotate, leaks at the seal, controllers that don't function correctly, and valves that are stuck or won't turn on. They also do checks throughout the month. Mr. Farris asked if there was anything that they would like to see on the city end of things. Mr. Molnar stated that they have a new style of sprinklers that are used for large commercial sites. It is a two -wire line instead of a multi -wire line. When accidents happen currently there are many wires to fix. It is more time consuming than it would be with the two -wire system. There are sensors on them which will indicate if there is a problem and where the problem is with an email or text message. With our current system in place it would be more burdensome to install at this point. Mr. Taormina inquired if it was a retrofit or replacement. Mr. Molnar stated it would be a replacement. He said it would be a great fit, but it would be a huge overhaul at this point. Mr. Molnar stated that the water efficiency is huge. He stated he could put together a system estimate to see what the cost would be to overhaul the system. Mr. Farris asked Mr. Molnar to put a number together for budgeting. 6. Waiver Use/Site Plan - 2019-06-02-09 submitted by Neumann/Smith Architecture on behalf of The Salvation Army. Mr. Taormina stated that July 18, 2019 3 this case just went to the Planning Commission last week and that the approving resolution has been provided to them. He stated that The Salvation Army is looking to expand and renovate the building and its frontage. They are improving the parking situation. They are showing some streetscape improvements in the form of fencing and landscaping. They will have more space for processing in the rear of the building. It will be easier to bring materials in and out including public donations. Mr. Taormina presented renderings of the proposed building. A canopy will be added to the public donation drop-off to provide protection from people who use that drop-off location. George Oskrausky, Nowak & Fraus, stated that the sidewalk along Plymouth Road would remain. Because of the parking situation, there was no room for screening, so they opted for a hedge on the outside of the sidewalk in the right-of-way. Mr. Hiltz asked about the parking in the front being both ways. Mr. Cummings stated that they are proposing making it one direction. Mr. Taormina asked if the hedge, as presented, would present any issues with the current irrigation system. Mr. Molnar stated that the irrigation is running along the edge of the sidewalk where the sidewalk is going. Mr. Taormina stated that what he heard was that the hedge could interfere with the existing irrigation system. Mr. Molnar said that it would have to be moved to the front side of the hedge and something would have to be added as an additional zone to water the hedge. Mr. Taormina stated that he wasn't sure that the hedge was absolutely necessary. Everyone would like to see the hedge but the irrigation may be interfered with. Mr. Hiltz was wondering if there was anything else that can be done to get the look and feel that everyone likes, but not interfere with the irrigation. Mr. Molnar stated that whatever you put there, you would have to make a slight adjustment to it. The current irrigation system would have to be adjusted if the plans were to be adhered to. Mr. Molnar stated that they can definitely do something, but it is up to The Salvation Army to make that call. Mr. Hiltz stated if there has to be an adjustment to the irrigation system that it needs to be addressed. Mr. Farris asked if the landscaping can be used as some kind of parking block system what would give the effect but closer to the vehicles on the opposite side of the sidewalk. Mr. Taormina stated he believes that the asphalt comes right up to the edge of the walk. There is not much room to play with. Mr. Taormina said he would suggest eliminating the hedge. Mr. Taormina asked Mr. Molnar if he thought it could be fixed to work and he stated that it would not be a difficult solution. Mr. Taormina suggested that The Salvation Army connect directly with TechSeven on the feasibility of making the hedge possible. If that is the case, and they are willing to pay for the relocation of the line then we would be fine. If not, then the hedge could be eliminated. On a motion made by Curtis, seconded by Blatt, and unanimously adopted, it was #2019-05 RESOLVED, that the Plymouth Road Development Authority does hereby support the proposed plans as presented by Neumann/Smith Architecture on behalf of the Salvation Army July 18, 2019 4 requesting approval to expand the floor area, renovate the exterior appearance of the building and upgrade the site parking and landscaping at 33600 Plymouth Road, located on the north side of Plymouth Road between Farmington and Stark Roads in the Southeast '% of Section 28, subject to compliance with all City codes and ordinances and the Plymouth Road Development streetscape goals and objectives, as such may be modified by the action of the City Council, with further consideration given to either: 1) relocating the existing irrigation lines to accommodate the proposed hedgerow adjacent to the sidewalk along Plymouth Road, or 2) eliminating or modifying the hedgerow to avoid impacting the existing irrigation lines, per the advice and recommendation of the PRDA's irrigation contractor, TechSeven. Mr. Farris, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution adopted. 7. Consideration of Capital Improvement Budget —PRDA Streetscape - OHM Advisors — Murat Ulasir, OHM Asset Manager, stated that he would like to go over the proposal of the streetscape evaluation. He introduced Jessica Katers, OHM, stating that she will put things into context for the Board to understand what is presented. He provided a digital presentation based on the resolution that was passed at the last Board meeting in April 2019. The improvements include the brick plazas, stonewalls, fencing, street signs, benches, garbage cans, etc. Through the GIS system, he showed issues along the corridor through pictures and descriptions. He stated that the presentation is available on a flash drive, which was presented to Mr. Taormina. The presentation showed assets in poor condition, fair condition, and good condition. An area of concern is the Farmington and Plymouth intersection. Mr. Curtis questioned whether OHM had given definition to what good, fair, and poor is, such as in terms of years. For example, does good mean replace in 10 years, fair needs replacing in 5 years, and poor meaning replace immediately. Mr. Ulasir says they did not evaluate in terms of remaining life. He stated that the poor assets should be addressed sooner rather than later. Good condition assets are self-explanatory and the fair condition assets is just that, fair. They did not want the condition to be the only driver. They did a criticality evaluation also in terms of high, medium, low. The corner at Farmington and Plymouth is considered an ADA and public health issue. The criticality of this area is considered high. The plaza is considered a poor condition state. Mr. Ulasir continued discussing the defects along the corridor that are specifically owned by PRDA. He stated the inventory that was done was based on the inventory listing as given to OHM. He then went on to discuss the poor condition and high criticality assets, such as a rusted fence or trash container. These are assets that would be considered health and safety. People could possibly be injured. They provided a file that included the costs of the assets along with contingency fees and the professional service July 182 2019 5 fee. The total cost for all repairs in all criticalities and conditions is approximately $268,000. The contingency fee is approximately $94,000. The professional service fee is approximately $90,000, To repair all assets immediately would cost approximately $453.000. They discussed replacing the intersection plaza's with poured concrete instead of pavers. Mr. Hiltz stated that the priority for the Board should be the walkability of the plazas. Mr. Zilincik spoke of fixing the Farmington plaza with concrete and pavers on top but it would be stronger for the trucks to go over. He said until the radius is corrected this problem will remain. If the PRDA Board wants to see the plaza fixed, then they would have to bear the cost of it. The cost of the concrete underlayment in that location is not part of the costs that the OHM report has given us. Mr. Hiltz felt that the Board needs to narrow down its focus on what projects it wants to deal with. Ms. Katers stated that with the bidding process and design process would put the project into early October so it would not probably be able to start this year. Because of the time frame, the Board is not rushed to come to a decision. Mr. Hiltz stated he thought that if the radius remains as it is, then it would have to be concrete and a heavy duty brick that can support the truck traffic or install a band of just exposed aggregate, something that would compliment the brick pavers but will be able to sustain the load. Ms. Blatt would like to see something that maintains that area for a longer period of time because it will keep getting run over. She is willing to spend more on the heavier construction so it wouldn't have to be replaced sooner rather than later. Mr. Farris stated he doesn't know if the exposed aggregate should be used because it is hard to replace and blend in if they have to cut it out again. Ms. Katers stated that you can do a stamped concrete instead of the exposed aggregate. Mr. Farris mentioned a product called Nawkaw which stains concrete to match what you have or want. The stain is permanent according to Mr. Farris. He referred to an example of two different dye lots on brick and the Nawkaw can match it. Mr. Hiltz stated that he would like to see a suitable brick paver on suitable concrete, and can afford to do so, that is what he would like to see. He doesn't want to see mix and match of materials. He wants to keep the aesthetics that the Board has invested in. Or. Farris stated that there is a lot of information for the Board to consider over the next couple meetings. Mr. Hiltz feels that the work to be done should be done in bid packs. The plazas and the concrete would be one and the fences would be a separate bid pack and then amenities would be a third. Ms. Katers stated that the contractor for the fences may also sell the benches and garbage cans. Mr. Hiltz stated that there are no urgent issues that the Board can deal with the year. Ms. Blatt suggested that the Board consider the smaller items that need to be attended to and then a conversation regarding the larger projects. Mr. Slater asked what information would be required to make decisions. Mr. Farris said a list of all the critically important things that may be damaging to health and safety of pedestrians. Mr. Slater suggested segmenting the list into pockets, from high to low. Mr. Hiltz asked Mr. Zilincik if his department would be able to look at the data that has been given and put a list together as to how they would like to see it grouped. Mr. Zilincik said that DPW would have to July 18, 2019 6 review it to determine what needs to be done and what resources there are to do them. The data will be chopped up into smaller pieces. The discussion is going to be tabled until next meeting to make any decisions. Or, Curtis said that he would like to know where it used to be a bus stop so the Board can determine whether they want to keep the assets there or not. 8. Comments from Board Members. Stephanie Roehl asked that we change her name to her married name to Stephanie Roehl Blatt, John Hiltz mentioned that he is glad that TechSeven is on top of the corridor and taking care of it. He also thought that benches along the corridor should be discussed. If we will keep them all because they are a good asset and are being utilized or if they should be reduced because they are not being utilized and are a pull on resources to upkeep them. 9. Adjournment: On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 253rd Regular Meeting held by the Plymouth Road Development Authority on July 18, 2019, was adjourned at 5-16 p.m. u Stepha ie Reece, Secretary