Belleville DDA agrees it’s time to follow through on plans

“We spent a lot of money to develop a master plan and then don’t go forward,” Belleville Mayor Kerreen Conley told the city’s Downtown Development Authority at its regular meeting June 15.
That was following chairman Alicia McGovern’s comments on how there are a lot of ideas, but they need a marketing plan. She said DDA Director Tim McLean looked at the old marketing plan put together by the Anderson Economic Group in 2004 that cost $30,000.”
Director McLean said the city council had a strategy session and talked of branding and marketing and the DDA should work with the city.
“I thought we had a brand of ‘Belleville Downtown on the Lake,’” said treasurer Sabrina Richardson-Williams.
“That’s a tagline,” said chairperson McGovern. “We have the opportunity to refresh it. “It’s time to discuss and put something in place to move forward.”
Mayor Conley said the DDA has to put an electronic plan in place to promote the city and hire somebody to do it. “Belleville Downtown on the Lake” is the logo because Belleville has a lake, Mayor Conley said. “There’s no need to reinvent the wheel,” she said.
She said they need an active plan, not just a study and, “Yep, now we’ve got to do something,” Conley said.
McLean said the study done year’s ago was pie in the sky and now it’s time to do something.
McGovern asked the DDA if it wanted the economic committee to develop an idea and go out for quotes for a marketing firm? The firms could come in and give presentations, she said.
McLean said Belleville doesn’t engage in the state’s Redevelopment Ready Communities through the MEDC for a streamlined and consistent plan. He said there is a lengthy development process to get certified and the city has to do it.
He said there is no cost to engage, but it could lead to changes that would cost money. He said they moved forward five years ago for certification at a community where he previously served and they still are not certified.
“Can we find out more about it?” McGovern asked.
McLean said there are more than 300 municipalities engaged but the MEDC has just a handful of planners and there is a backlog.
“We already voted to do this before COVID two years ago,” said Mayor Pro Tem Ken Voigt, referring to the city council. “It was with a different city manager and it went by the wayside.”
McGovern asked if they could look into a partnership between the city and the DDA.
“I would,” Voigt said. “I don’t know about the rest of the council, but I would… We received an information packet from the state in our email.”
“It’s a good place to start,” McLean said, adding he could update the DDA by Friday.
McGovern said the economic development committee will send out a call for proposals and put a plan together. The economic development committee is made up of McGovern, McLean, and Kelly McWilliams.
In other business at the regular meeting on June 15, the DDA:
• Heard McLean report he was putting in dog stations at Victory, Horizon, and Village parks, as requested;
• Heard McWilliams say the bushes have grown up in Horizon Park by the gazebo and need to be trimmed. She said they are overgrown and she wants it to look nice. And, she added, there is no bush yet in front of “Kerreen’s eyesore.” She referred to the electrical box installed that Conley said was ugly just setting in the grass. McLean said they were having a contractual problem with Randy Brown Landscaping, which would cover that, but they could have a conversation with Pioneer Landscaping which takes care of the parks. Conley said Pioneer is doing a great job and she’s seen workers down on their hands and knees doing the job;
• Heard Richardson-Williams, who lives in Victoria Commons, say the asphalt at Village Park has three feet of weeds growing through the cracks and it at least should be cut down. McGovern said a committee is being set up between the DDA and the neighborhood to see what should be done there. Richardson-Williams said they can’t just let the weeds grow while the committee deliberates. City Manager/Police Chief Dave Robinson said Pioneer had a little glitch by the playscape and ponds between the fence and roads, but a simple phone call solved that. They are very, very responsive, Robinson said;
• Heard Victoria Commons resident Brian Kosakowski say he is frustrated with what’s being done in his neighborhood with his board and the DDA. He said he had spinal rehab and have to walk, walk, walk and he sees the roads in disrepair and a pothole in front of his home. He said he bought patch and filled some. “I heard this board reached out to our homeowners’ association board to help pay for the park,” he said. Conley said the Victoria Commons roads are city roads and the city did pavement assessments and got results from horrible to not too bad for city streets. She said they’ve reached out for grants and tried to get a special assessment and that didn’t work out well, either. She said short of a citywide assessment, they don’t have the money for road improvement. She said she lives in Harbour Pointe and the roads there are the worst in the city. Kosakowski said the city is using a wait and hope approach while the roads are getting worse. “My homeowner association board doesn’t have the funding and until we see improvements” they won’t be paying anything. He said the fountain behind Oxford isn’t working and McLean said the repair is being addressed; and
• Heard McGovern suggest scheduling a visit from legislators and have them walk the DDA district with DDA members. Conley suggested reinstating the Saturday coffee hours with legislators at city hall for legislative updates and hearing residents’ concerns. This was put on the agenda for the next meeting.