After going out for bids, Belleville decides to stay with present planners

The Belleville City Council accepted a recommendation from City Manager Diana Kollmeyer to keep its present planning consultants, although the city had gone out for bids and its planners didn’t bid.
At the March 16 council meeting, Kollmeyer said her recommendation was to reject all three bids and remain with ClearZoning until the end of 2015.
She said this is in keeping with the recommendation of the committee set up to look into the issue, made up of Planning Commission Chairman Steve Jones, Vice-Chair Mike Hawkins, and Mike Renaud.
At its meeting Monday, the council also:
• Opened 15 bids for four cars up for sale by the police department, with two more cars for sale getting no bids. The council voted to turn the matter over to Police Chief Hal Berriman to look at the best way to dispose of the vehicles, since some of the bids were so low, keeping in mind J&T has storage charges for the cars;
• Approved the request of Brown Funeral Home for closing High Street from noon to 4 p.m. on May 25 for Thunder Rolls in Belleville;
• Approved the Central Business Community’s request to hold the Flop E Bunny event at Victory Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., which includes set up and take down times;
• Approved the CBC’s request to hold Taste of Belleville from 3-9 p.m. on Aug. 20 at Horizon Park and closing part of High Street during that time;
• Approved the CBC’s request for Downtown Trick or Treat 5-7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, closing Main Street and authorizing activities on the Fourth Street Square;
• Returned four CBC requests for a series of events for Booville in October as being “too nebulous,” asking the CBC to bring them back when there were more details;
• Approved the Strawberry Festival Responsibility Police and City Administrative Policy after a lengthy discussion. The wording in the Administrative Policy limited the festival area as “within in the city” and removed Trinity Episcopal and the Belleville Presbyterian churches from the area since the city has no jurisdiction over the township locations. Also, the Victory Park car show on Sunday was separated as to hours and St. Anthony hours will be added. Whether the car show is part of the festival or a separate entity was discussed at length, since the festival carries insurance for it;
• Approved the timetable for work on the 2015-16 budget. The proposed budget will be presented to the council May 4 and is set for a public hearing and adoption on June 1;
• After a 1-minute public hearing at which no public spoke, approved a transfer of $2,775 in funds from the 2012 Community Development Block Grant allocation to the playscape at Village Park;
• After a 1-minute public hearing, approved transfer of funds from the 2013 CDBG allocation of $5,228 to the playscape at Village Park;
• Postponed the presentation by Aimee Page of The Senior Alliance until the April 6 meeting;
• Approved without comment $652,078.38 in accounts payable and the following departmental expenditures over $500: to All Seasons Landscaping $1,399 for a replacement pump; to Blue Ribbon, $837 for valve repair/Potter, $1,359 for water main break/Robbe, $1,011 for water main break/Angola, $3,744 for water main break/Clarence, $1,359 for water main break/High; to Schoolcraft, $5,444.94 for officer’s tuition; to SLC, $55,937.01 for performance guarantee; and to Superior, $709.41, for repairs; and
• Heard Mayor Conley say County Commissioner Al Haidous told her $10,000 of county park money is being earmarked for use by the City of Belleville and it has to be used by August. Kollmeyer said that can be helpful with the playscape project, which needed more funds.