City Council sets 6 p.m. session Oct. 3 to hear options for street paving

A special 6 p.m. work/study session will be held before the regular 7:30 p.m. city council meeting on Monday, Oct. 3, to hear financial options for a citywide street/road upgrade project.
Mayor Kerreen Conley said this will be an informational meeting where the council and public will learn the details of bonding or special assessment (or both) to finance a wholesale upgrade of city streets, many of which are in dire need of repair.
The council will discuss the various options during that meeting, but Mayor Conley said a formal meeting will be set up with the public in the future to present the information and to get public opinion.
The work/study session was set during the council’s meeting on Sept. 6. Also during the Sept. 6 meeting, the council:
• Accepted the only bid received for installing police equipment on the city’s new police car, now waiting at Atchinson Ford. Bids were requested from five local companies, but Priority One Emergency, 5755 Belleville Road in Canton, was the only one to submit a sealed bid. The bid was opened at the meeting and it was $11,456. The estimated time frame for installation is one and a half weeks;
• Approved use of the Fourth Street Square by Egan’s Pub for the Witches Ball on Friday, Oct. 21 from 7 p.m. until midnight. “Jen Winters said they are hoping for 160 witches; there were 120 last year. They plan to put up the big tent on Thursday and take it down Sunday. Other Booville events may use the tent. Winters said only women will be admitted until 10 p.m., “no matter who you identify with.” Councilwoman Kim Tindall voted against the event because she is against serving alcohol on city property;
• Approved use of the Fourth Street Square by Egan’s Pub for a St. Patrick’s Day party on March 17, 2017 from noon until midnight, with Councilwoman Tindall voting no. The big tent will go up on Thursday and come down Saturday;
• Approved accounts payable for $276,461.78 with the following purchases in excess of $500: to MIOSHA $1,250 for inspection from the general fund / fire department; and to Backyard Bldgs., $785 for a storage shed from the general fund / fire department;
• Heard Jeff Vernon of the Sugar Plum Candy Shop said his blade signs were pulled down by the city because the ordinance said they’re prohibited, but then he went to the Music Lakeside event and saw that it had blade signs. He said he believes it’s because the chairman of the planning commission is on the board of the arts council. He held up an Independent with a picture of the concert with blade flags. Vernon presented a petition with 53 signatures asking for the blade signs to be allowed for businesses. Velon Willis said she just opened her AAA insurance office in Belleville Square shopping center and isn’t listed on the main sign yet, so she put up blade sign to show people where she was and it, too, was pulled down by the city;
• Heard Councilman Tom Fielder say the city has uneven enforcement of the signage ordinance because Building Official / Ordinance Officer Rick Rutherford is not here after 4 p.m. “Our enforcement does its job,” Councilman Fielder said, adding Willis should meet with Rutherford to find a way for a temporary sign. Rutherford said he had already passed her a note on that;
• Heard Councilwoman Tindall say that she was the one who reported the Candy Shop’s blade sign. She said Music Lakeside does things on special events grounds, like the Strawberry Festival does. The rules aren’t the same. Tindall clarified that she is a member of the Belleville Area Council for the Arts and a former member of its board. She said the blade sign goes up when the music starts and comes down when it stops. She said comparing that to business signs is apples and oranges. Vernon said, “The city chooses to be a party town rather than a revenue town. Rules aren’t rules … That’s what I feel you’re saying”;
• Heard Planning Commission chairman Steve Jones explain that the commission believes sign clutter is almost a blight issue when you have too many signs allowed in a downtown. He said there has been much conversation on sign issues at the commission at three different times. Some businesses had two and three A-frame signs. “It’s how to allow it, but mediate the clutter and allow businesses to advertise their business. He said, “Why that is different from special events, the council touched on that. They are two different animals … part of the event themselves.” Fielder said the proposed new permit for special events implies the city manager will decide whether an event meets the spirit of the sign ordinance. Miller read a copy of the sign ordinance furnished to him and asked if the arts council got a permit from Rutherford for the sign and the answer was no. “We weren’t asked,” Jones said. “You wrote the sign ordinance,” someone in the audience reminded Jones;
• Fire Chief Brian Loranger announced that the fire department has received a grant for 14 air packs, got approval for a grant for fire hose, and will hear about a grant for turnout gear – a good year for grants. He said the selling of the old air packs will cover the 10% required by the air pack grant; and
• Heard the summer program that hired youth workers through the Detroit Mental Health Authority was a great success. At the end of the session, there was a training program for the youth on drugs, alcohol, and bullying and the kids enthusiastically participated. Chief Berriman and Rutherford bought pizza and pop for the young people after the training. City Manager Kollmeyer said they had to let two or three youth go when they didn’t show up for work. “That’s how you learn,” Kollmeyer said. Rutherford said those that were let go were invited to the training session.