Belleville DDA offers more input on what to do with 4th Street

At its regular meeting Aug. 21, members of the Belleville Downtown Development Authority gave their ideas on a proposed plan for changing Fourth Street into a one-way, 22’-wide drive leading up to the new library building with a left turn at the alley.
Phil Westmoreland of Spicer Group has been working on proposals since last spring and at the DDA’s last meeting on May 15, members gave their input on pavement treatments, traffic control, parking, and keeping the area flexible for special events. They wanted to be sure there was space for the stage at Main Street and room for a tent.
The treatment Westmoreland presented includes green space, low to no curbs with swales for drainage, bike parking, removable bollards and seating. The estimated cost was from $200,000 to $350,000. At the May meeting, DDA Coordinator Carol Thompson said they only had $120,000 in the budget for this, but they had $1 million in fund balance to make sure they have enough to pay their bonds.
The library plans to repair the trenches its construction work made into the street before the DDA does work on the surface.
On Aug. 21, Westmoreland presented a plan that featured stamped, colored concrete for four parking spaces, near the library area of the street and after discussion, he was told to put those spaces in the middle of the block because the library had a 90-space parking lot in the works and they didn’t need to give the library more parking.
Westmoreland said he recommended the stamped, colored concrete because he had a problem with the way brick settles unevenly.
He recommended eight Skyline honeylocust trees, which, he said, have no pods and no thorns. He said it’s better to have trees different from the Main Street trees because if a disease takes a certain type of tree, it wouldn’t take them all.
He said if there was more green space than he planned, they would have to have sprinklers.
He said they are working with Van Buren Township, which is the owner of the museum, and the library in their plans.
DDA vice-chairperson Alicia McGovern said the DDA should be looking out for the businesses and she said she was in favor of putting the parking spaces near Main Street, so customers for the businesses in that area would have easy access to them.
The owner of the businesses at the corner of Main and Fourth was present again to advocate for parking spaces next to his businesses, since customers like to pull up, run into the cleaners, and then hurry back to pull away. He said often the spaces in front of the shop on Main Street are taken up with patrons of the restaurant across the street.
But, Westmoreland was directed to try to flip the parking spaces into the middle of the block to see what he could do and to make new drawings.
The library board has been anxious to know what the DDA is planning to do at its front door and so the DDA will hold a special meeting after Labor Day if Westmoreland comes up with revised drawings for approval.
Mayor Kerreen Conley suggested having a special DDA meeting on Sept. 3 at 6 p.m., just before the city council meeting at 7:30 p.m.
DDA chairperson Rosemary Loria told Westmoreland what they want the street to look like is “green, parking, green.”
Thompson said they are looking at taking out the portable pedestrian-crossing sign in the middle of Main Street and having a lighted sign on the side of the street. People will be able to push a button or there would be a motion sensor.
Westmoreland said they will look at a solar option, but it will also have to be wired “because this is Michigan.”
Although lights for a pedestrian crossway underneath their feet on Main Street was discussed it was not considered feasible because Main Street would have to be cut into.
In other business at the one-hour-and-20-minute meeting, the DDA:
• Heard DDA member Jason Mida discuss a food truck rally event that had been discussed by a subcommittee made up of him, Thompson, and DDA Treasurer Sabrina Richardson Williams. He said the DDA didn’t have the turnout it expected when the coffee trucks came in last year and so they thought maybe three food trucks could come during Winter Fest. He said they don’t want to compete with businesses in the downtown, but maybe they could have a barbecue truck and something else they don’t have downtown to give festival-goers options to eat at the event. McGovern said it is the DDA’s job to bring new things to the community and it would be better to put on a business fair to focus on business growth than bringing in food trucks. Thompson said the Chamber of Commerce used to have business fairs and she will pass the idea on to them. Kelly Bates said she sets up food trucks for University of Michigan Athletic Department events and she can help with a list of vendors. She said they demand a guarantee of $750 minimum per truck, which means 140 at $5 each would have to visit each truck;
• Heard Loria report that she, Thompson and City Manager Diana Kollmeyer sat in lawn chairs across the street and watched them tear down the buildings in the 500 block of Main. She said they are planning to get pictures from the 1950s and ‘60s to hang on the construction fence to show what had been in that block in the past. The museum is finding pictures that could be hung and developer Scott Jones and construction company Davenport are cooperating with the project;
• Heard Thompson report that Booville during October is presently a work in progress. She also announced that the Lunch Box is planning a 9/11 event at 5 p.m. Sept. 11 and has invited those at city hall and the police and fire departments, as well as the public, for a memorial and free hot dogs and refreshments;
• Heard members of the DDA comment on the passing of former DDA member Gary Snarsky and how much they will miss him; and
• Heard Loria say the 2020 visioning session that was held in the year 2000 talked about many of the things the community wanted that are now coming to pass. She said they were told in 2000 that it would take 20 years to happen, and they were right. Loria also said she and her husband agree that they probably shouldn’t allow pets at the Taste of Belleville next year because volunteers had to clean up dog waste during the event while people were eating.