Belleville DDA matches $3,000 grant to BACA by VBT DDA

Although its written policy calls for a $2,000 cap on marketing grants to community organizations, the Belleville Downtown Development Authority voted unanimously to give a $3,000 grant to the Music Lakeside concert series sponsored by the Belleville Area Council for the Arts.
This was at the April 19 regular meeting of the Belleville DDA that was 20 minutes late in starting because it didn’t have a quorum. After DDA member Jennifer Winter got out of her sick bed and drove to the meeting, the DDA was able to begin the meeting.
Vice-chairperson Kelly McWilliams led the meeting in the absence of chairperson Alicia McGovern. Valterie Kelley-Bonner was also absent and Mayor Kerreen Conley was present by zoom.
Mayor Pro-Tem Ken Voigt said Music Lakeside is asking for $3,000 this year. He said the Van Buren Township DDA recently voted to match what the Belleville DDA gives them, up to $3,000.
Mayor Pro-Tem Voigt said the Belleville DDA used to give Music Lakeside $3,000 in the past and then reduced it to $2,000.
Voigt said for the past 14 years they have been working to get money to put on this beloved community event and it is nice that Van Buren Township now is cooperating with the city on this.
He said they have an average of 400 to 700 in the audience at its concerts including as many as 40 boats in the waters of Belleville Lake.
Voigt said this year they are having 10 concerts starting June 15 so concert-goers can see the goats at work trimming the shoreline. The concerts are on Thursdays, June 15 until Aug. 17 at Horizon Park and High Street.
Steve Jones, the city’s project administrator who also works on DDA projects, was on the DDA application for the grant for Music Lakeside. He said additional sponsorship funds allows them to bring out quality acts, including the extra one added for the goats.
Voigt said they never return an act one year to the next. He said that was one of the problems with the original Music in the Park in Victory Park. They had the same groups for 20 years and attendance was down to 60.
“After Lakeside started we didn’t have the same group for seven years,” Voigt said. “We keep a nice variety with different genres,” he said, adding they have put on 130 shows altogether.
“With live music, you never know what you’re going to have,” said Jones. He said one time they hired a band and just one musician showed up to play, explaining he fired the rest of the band.
Voigt said last year they had a dud and at intermission half of the crowd left.
“It took us five years to build up a good audience,” Voigt said, noting they added food trucks and about 30% of the crowd was in the water on boats.
When asked what the Music Lakeside budget is, Voigt said it was $13,600, meaning they had other sponsors totalling $10,600 besides the Belleville DDA.
“Our application says $2,000 and we’re going to match Van Buren Township?” asked DDA treasurer Sabrina Richardson-Williams.
City Manager/Police Chief Dave Robinson, who also is DDA Director, said the application form currently is under review. He said it all depends on what the event is and whether it runs once or many times.
Robinson said the mayor is working on the application to bring it in front of the DDA board. He said while the current form says $2,000, we upped the amount to the Central Business Community.
He said the offer from the neighboring jurisdiction should be accepted and the Belleville DDA shouldn’t limit its amount.
“I agree we should support them,” Richardson-Williams said, “but we have an application form. We should note we gave more because we’re changing the policy.”
In other business at the 55-minute meeting on April 19 the DDA:
• Unanimously approved without discussion the new 2023-24 budget of $935,470 as prepared by the DDA Budget Committee and the accountant from Plante Moran. This is up from the 2022-23 amended budget of $520,877. The budget now goes to the city council to be included in the city financial budgets;
• Received updates on the Detroit Institute of Arts Inside Out project that will be installing reproductions of artworks in May at various locations in the DDA district, including a free-standing artwork on vacant property at Third and Main Streets and those affixed to buildings at city hall, Brown Funeral Home, the Professional Building, hardware store, Butcher Shop, and library. The DIA has offered assistance for tours including docents who would come out and discuss the art. Richardson-Williams suggested a DIA bus tour stopping at the library for an ice cream social. Jones said the tour could include the leased sculptures which will be put up in May, as well;
• Heard DDA member Ivan Ankwatsa give a report from the Marketing Committee. He suggested using Constant Comment and QR codes with information on businesses to make a data base of people who shop locally. He was asked to bring information on this to the May meeting;
• Discussed how to distribute the free Tiger baseball game tickets they have to give away – four for May 12 and six for May 13. Ankwatsa suggested having people sign up with their phones at businesses, but since the time is short, they may just do a regular, old-fashioned drawing;
• Heard Robinson say that committee members need to make an effort, when there were no reports on two topics. He said maybe they need to election committee chairpersons to make sure they have meetings. He said he would get with DDA chairperson Alicia McGovern, who was not at the meeting;
• Heard Richardson-Williams say she would like the follow-up list to be on the agenda each month so they can discuss it. She said there are a lot of broken branches in Village Park and a spindle on the bridge needs repairs. Robinson said she didn’t need to wait for a meeting to inform him of work that needed to be done. He said if people just call him, he will send out the DPW. Jones said it could be sent in on 311 on the updated website; and
• Heard Richardson-Williams, who is DDA treasurer, say she doesn’t like paying the $15 late fee to AT&T. She was told the billing doesn’t coincide with the meetings where approval is made for payments. Clerk Briana Hootman said she will call and ask AT&T if they can adjust the due date to the end of the month.