VBT DDA approves $1,450 contract with Drone Brothers

At its Sept. 25 meeting, the Van Buren Township Downtown Development Authority approved a contract of not to exceed $1,450 for a drone company to take pictures of the construction of the pedestrian bridge over I-94.
The contract is with Drone Brothers for one flight in September, two flights in October, and one flight in November.
The project includes aerial progression/site flyover and includes initial consultation, drone and pilot time, up to one hour of editing time, up to one-minute-long professional finished video, 10 high-resolution edited photos and a music license for each of four flights.
The video footage will be added to the DDA website and uploaded to Facebook, Linkedin and You Tube.
“This would be our first venture into video for the DDA and opens up new marketing opportunities,” said Lisa Lothringer, Assistant Executive DDA Director.
Lothringer told the DDA that Drone Brothers has a pilot’s license and FAA clearance.
Ron Blank, who was attending his last meeting as a member of the DDA, said he had used the Drone Brothers for his business and they do very good work.
In other business at the 25-minute meeting, the DDA:
• Heard DDA Executive Director Susan Ireland give details on the work on the pedestrian bridge. She said details for the ornamental fencing have been requested to ensure it will be secure enough to hold the large logo that is being attached. The senior construction inspector will speak with the owner of Mike’s Restaurant with regard to the driveway access. She said the DDA is providing a photo with the relevant information for the stone that is being used on the Place Making initiative so that when the stamped concrete is poured for the side wall of the bridge it will be similar to the Belleville Road property;
• Heard Ireland report that the DDA received final site plan approval from the planning commission on Sept. 12. She said once the signed easements with the owners of Westlake Apartments are obtained they will be able to begin construction. She said Wayne County won’t give the DDA Permit C until they get the easement;
• Approved two easements between the DDA and Van Buren Township, one for the water main and one for the sanitary sewer. Should it be necessary for the township to conduct any routine maintenance and/or repair to the water or sewer system, the DDA needs to provide a means for this to occur. This is easily accomplished by providing an easement to VBT for this purpose, Ireland said;
• Approved the easement between the DDA and ReMerica Main Street to provide for cross access and parking at 10145 and 10151 Belleville Road, with DDA member Carol Bird, owner of ReMerica Main Street, abstaining from the vote. Bird said this is a continuation of an easement that was there with the Harris family, former owner of the property where the DDA is constructing a Place Making project. The new agreement makes way for additional parking both ways, by sharing the parking, Bird said;
• Approved DDA meeting dates for 2019. Meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at township hall, with no meeting in December;
• Approved paying $130 to sponsor a full page in the 2019 Belleville Area Museum calendar;
• Heard DDA member Helen Foster say
she wants people to know that it was the DDA that put on the Public Safety/Family Fun Day at Menards recently, not the VBT Public Safety Department. The DDA spent $8,900 on the event, which was the largest ever. Lothringer reported 116 new children were fingerprinted and photographed; and
• Heard Lothringer report that a preliminary meeting has been held with McKenna and Russell Design, a landscape architect, on the splash pad project at Quirk Park. They will walk around to look at possible placement of equipment and Russell Design will then develop a concept and prepare a scope of work for bidding.