Belleville DDA to lay empty conduits on 4th St. until it gets electric lines

The Belleville Downtown Development Authority is using the redesign of Fourth Street in front of the new library as its Placemaking Project.
At the 28-minute Zoom meeting of the Belleville DDA on Sept. 16, the attempts to get electrical service adjacent to the planned tree grates at the Placemaking Project was reported.
DDA Coordinator Carol Thompson said she asked for a 220 line to the project and met with DTE and adjacent property owners. DTE said it would run conduits which will allow the DDA to run lines in the future.
“The library said no to using their line,” Thompson said.
“We will lay the conduit now so we can lay lines in the future,” Thompson said.
She said she and Spicer Group have been working with library contractors and that they will be ready for Fourth Street in a few weeks.
Gonczy contract
The DDA approved low-bidder Gonzy’s Property Maintenance of Sumpter Township to again get the park grass mowing contract, this time for two years at the 2019 quoted prices. There were six bidders.
Estimated cost for 2020, if Gonczy’s mowed 22 weeks, was $8,910.
Thompson said that at the May meeting there were negative comments [by Councilwoman Kelly Bates] on Gonczy’s work in Village Park, next to Victoria Commons where Bates lives. The DDA in May did make the decision to renew Gonczy for the current year and pass on Bates’ complaints to Gonczy.
At the Sept. 16 meeting, Councilwoman Bates said Gonczy has been taking care of weed-whipping and has vastly improved. She said she would like to have Gonczy edge the sidewalks, as well, because overgrowth is four inches into the sidewalks. She asked the DDA to add that into his contract.
DDA vice chairman Jason Mida, who was chairing the meeting in the absence of chairwoman Alicia McGovern, said that would be a cost difference and they’d have to come back with prices.
DDA member Denise Baker asked if edging is done once a year and Mida said he edges twice a month.
Thompson said this was not in the bid specs. If the DDA wants to have them do it, they would have to have a contract, she said.
DDA member Valerie Kelley-Bonner pointed out it was approaching the winter months.
Mida said Gonczy had worked without a contract for the DDA. The DDA could revisit this with Gonczy in the future. Thompson said she would talk with Gonzcy about edging.
At the end of the meeting Councilwoman Bates said that with COVID people are getting out and walking and if the sidewalks are edged and not obstructed by overgrowth people won’t have to go out into the streets.
DPW water truck
Thompson noted that she will add to the follow-up list a plan to buy a used truck by next spring for the DPW to use for watering the annuals and perennials in the DDA district during the summertime.
She said on the current truck you can see through the floorboards and it’s probably not road worthy.
Tree grates, etc.
As part of the accounts payable expenditures, the council approved paying $48,744 to Iron Age Designs for the special tree grates to be created for the Fourth Street Placemaking Project.
The total accounts payable was $177,053.13, which included paying $100,159.82 to the City of Belleville for maintenance and service in the DDA district, $15,000 to Spicer Group for Fourth Street improvements, $6,995 for the Belleville Police Department lockers, $3,624.85 to Carol Thompson for salary/cell phone for a month, $92.49 for community events sign, $1,035 to Gonczy’s Property Maintenance for park grass cutting for July, $990 to Pioneer Landscaping for flower weeding and replanting, $257.97 to Cable Ties & More for liftgate charge, and $159 to Water Landscapes for maintenance of fountain services.
Upcoming Events
Mida announced the Sept. 24-26 Restaurant Rally 48111 which will help residents “show our loyalty to them for being loyal to us … And make sure our restaurants realize we’re there for them.”
Treasurer Sabrina Richardson-Williams asked if there would be a “price fix” for the event and Thompson said they could have worked it out if it was just for Belleville restaurants. This is widespread, Thompson said, covering the 48111 zip code.
DDA member Valerie Kelley-Bonner said she goes to restaurant week in Detroit where they have “price fixes.”
Thompson said she would get input from restaurants and, “a lot of our restaurants do it in the winter … Let’s keep it moving … It’s a great way to build.”
Thompson said there will be a virtual Booville this October with a live scarecrow contest. Mayor Kerreen Conley said she expects to see creative scarecrows and scarecrows with masks.
The annual downtown Trick or Treat has been turned into a virtual costume contest, with people sending in pictures of those in costumes on Oct. 31 to be judged for prizes.
Also, the Monster Mutt Walk is virtual.
The Harvest Market will be held in person from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 10 on the Fourth Street Square, put on by the Central Business Community.
Bonner said she went to the COVID memorial on Belle Isle where there were large pictures along the roadway of local people who died of the virus. She said it would be “pretty cool to honor folks who lost their lives to COVID in our community.” She said after the event, families were given the large pictures and there is one on her block in Belleville. Once the high school graduate banners are down, Bonner suggested putting small pictures on the city’s lamp posts of local people who died. She said that would be a nice gesture.