Belleville planners meet police officer who does ordinance enforcement

Belleville Police Officer Jeff Gueli met with the Belleville Planning Commission at its regular meeting March 13 to explain what work he is doing in ordinance enforcement.
Officer Gueli said during his shifts he drives around the city on patrol, makes sure no one is doing anything wrong around the high school, and spends about 25% of his time on ordinance enforcement.
He said he is logging his ordinance work and they hope they may get a grant to help.
Officer Gueli said once the police department gets back up to full staff, they may be able to have an officer assigned full time to ordinance enforcement.
The planning commission spent most of the March 13 meeting working on a draft for the new city master plan. The state requires an update of the master plan every five years. Belleville’s current master plan was written in 2006 and updated since then.
It is being completely rewritten this year under the direction of Andy Aamodt and Ava Miller of Giffels Webster planning consultants.
Aamodt said that 282 responded to the second online survey on Transportation and Infrastructure for the master plan draft. He said people told where they live, where they work, and where they go, along with whether they walk, bike, or drive.
He said 65% said they drive alone to work, 7% carpooled, and 24% work at home.
Commissioner Alvis Brigis said he has talked to people who would like to go to Sandy’s Marina to use a boat. He said there could be a shuttle from the Iron Belle Trail. He also told of those who want transportation to Wayne County Community College on Haggerty Road. He said they moved to other areas of the county so they could walk to school.
Aamodt said 64% of those on the survey said no to more EV stations.
City manager Jason Smith said there are orange tarps up in the library parking lot and Village Park where the planned EV chargers are planned. He said it took a long time for the EV stations to finally come and plans started in the summer of 2023.
Commissioner Brigis said there will be a need for EV chargers for electrical boats.
“EV chargers bring people and businesses we want,” Brigis said. He said they could be put in the Belleville High School parking lot and raise money for school groups.
Brigis said the Iron Belle Trail will need EV charging stations for one-wheel ehicles.
Aamodt said the item rated most unpopular on the survey was road maintenance, with lake access weak, along with boat access. They want paths along the lake so people can enjoy the lake.
City manager Smith said the city got a $750,000 grant from the state to improve the Horizon Park dock and passive recreation, with a different design.
“There’s a longer goal of connecting to the new bridge,” Brigis said.
Smith said the city has applied for a grant to get a boardwalk the length of the park.
Aamodt led discussion on the goals of the present master plan and whether they should be included in the new master plan.
He said 11% of Belleville households are “transit-dependent” and 5% are no-car households. He said particular consideration should be given to the youth and older population, as well as the 22% of the population with disabilities.
SEMCOG estimates that 25% of the population of Southeastern Michigan will be over the age of 65 by 2050.
Aamodt asked commissioners to get their phones out and use the QR code he projected on a screen so they could give their answers to a series of questions. He said the responses would be kept and used in preparing the draft of the master plan.
Smith said the city is working to slow traffic down on Main Street and is seeking a grant for safe paths to school as a multi-jurisdictional project.
When gateways to the city were discussed, Brigis said the gateway at the north end works with the new shopping center, but the south end needs work. He said one sign says “Welcome to Belleville, Home of the Strawberry Festival.”
He said when leaving Belleville at the north end it says “Welcome to Van Buren Township, Lake Community.” He said Van Buren calls itself the lake community on many signs. He said heading east on Huron River Drive there are no visible signs.
When discussing zero traffic deaths, commissioners thanked Officer Gueli and his department for the traffic stops that keep streets safe.
Smith said the city is looking at an elongated speed bump crossing Main Street in front of Egans and a grant is being sought.
“In five years, half of our cars will be self-driving – drop you off and go park,” Brigis said.
Aamodt said at the next meeting in April, they will discuss storm water management, infrastructure, and whether to put green requirements on site plans.
He said the planning for 100-year-storms needs a change. He said the 100-year storm today has more water and drains built for the 1970s can’t handle it.
Commissioner John Juriga asked if the city has reached out to Belleville High School to get input from students. Smith said he would look into it.
Aamodt said with the newest survey going online, they will find out if the city residents are interested in slowing down the speed and building infrastructure.
In other business at the March 13 meeting, the commission:
• Was informed that commissioner Mike Renaud has resigned;
• Heard Smith report that they are estimating costs for renovations to 330 Charles St., the proposed new city hall;
• Heard Brigis say he is interested in the city getting hitched to a mobility corridor. He said he went to Los Angeles and saw the Tesla vehicles driving alone. He suggested EV connections be included in the repaving of Liberty Street being planned;
• Heard Juriga say 18 years ago, four guys got together, discussed it, and wrote something – the city master plan now being rewritten. He said he is glad they are doing all this background work on the new plan;
• Heard chairman Jim Courage say by zoom that he will be back for the May meeting. Vice chairman Julie Kissel, who also serves on the city council, has been filling in for him since he was elected; and
• Heard vice-chairman Kissel say she went to the Michigan Municipal League legislative meeting to learn the latest and will attend the next meeting in May. She said a story about Officer Gueli will be in the next city newsletter.