Belleville to go out for bids for repair work to Harbour Pointe streets

Since residents of Harbour Pointe subdivision were not interested in paying for years on a $1.7 million special assessment to get their streets repaired, the city of Belleville is going out for bids to fix those city streets temporarily.
The Harbour Pointe streets were determined to be in the worst repair in the city.
At Monday’s city council meeting, Mayor Kerreen Conley said at the two public meetings on the proposed special assessment district to fix Harbour Pointe streets, the council was asked to look into temporary care of the streets. They had Hennessey Engineers give recommendations.
It will be done in two parts: spray and patch and then go back and do joint seals, she said.
“The streets will be in better condition than they are currently,” Mayor Conley said. “It’s not a long-term fix, but it will be better than it is now.”
DPW Director Rick Rutherford said he went out and talked to the owner of a Romulus firm to get information so he was able to seek bids from contractors. The owner also shared successful techniques his company had used.
Rutherford said the spray and patch will be done first and then they will do crack sealing on the rest.
“If you seal the joints it will slow down the deterioration,” Rutherford said.
Councilman Tom Fielder said the city can spend what it had for maintenance on the sealings.
The council voted unanimously to go out for bids on the procedures.
In other business at the half-hour meeting, the council:
• Set special meetings at 6 p.m. May 22 and May 30 to review the 2017-18 budget with department heads. The police budget is included in the first meeting and the fire department in the second meeting;
• Set June 5 for the public hearing on the budget during the 7:30 p.m. council meeting. In the past that public hearing was recessed to another day when the budget needed more work and the public was alerted that might be the case this year, too;
• Approved the Potter Drive Block Party from noon to 11 p.m. on June 10, closing the street between Wexford and Edgemont, to honor the girls’ soccer team that has been coached by one father for several years;
• Approved the intergovernmental agreement with Van Buren Township for emergency dispatch and lockup services. It runs for three years and there is a 2.5% increase each year. In 2017 the cost is $171,101; in 2018, $175,377; and in 2019, $179,760;
• Approved the request of the fire department to hold a training session between 8 a.m. and noon on July 8 on High Street between Edison and West Huron River Drive. Fire Chief Brian Loranger said his department has been called to that area where vehicles go over the edge at the cable railings and they will do some training. He said they will try to leave one lane open for traffic;
• Introduced an ordinance to update the special assessments ordinance to allow the maximum number of installments for special assessment districts. The new wording says the installments shall not exceed 25 years. A public hearing will be held during the 7:30 p.m., June 5, regular council meeting;
• Approved accounts payable of $112,176.98 and the following expenditures in excess of $500: to Morton Salt, $3,099.46 for road salt for winter maintenance; to Snider Electric, $1,980 for Main Street light bulb replacements, paid by general fund/DDA; and to Printing Systems, $742.64, for utility billing forms; and
• Heard Rutherford explain that the salt payment had been billed by Morton Salt but not paid by the city in a timely manner. Also, the city saved $1,300 on the street light bulbs because they cut out the middle man and brought directly from the manufacturer.