Belleville council OKs Bayou’s car show, Music Lakeside events for 2017

At its regular meeting on Feb. 21, the Belleville City Council approved the Bayou Grill’s request for car show street closings this summer.
Main Street from Third to Fifth streets and the side streets to the alleyways will be closed from 5 to 9 p.m. for every Monday from June through September.
City Manager Diana Kollmeyer said Police Chief Hal Berriman, Fire Chief Brian Loranger, and DPW Director Rick Rutherford are all OK with this.
The Bayou is not asking for use of the Fourth Street Square this year, saying other entities can use it to raise money for their projects.
In another approval for summer events, the council approved outdoor concerts at Horizon Park for every Thursday from the Thursday after Strawberry Festival, June 22 through Aug. 24, with the exception of Aug. 17 which is the Taste of Belleville event at the park.
High Street from the war memorial to Church Street will be closed from 5:30 to 9 p.m. to provide time to set up and take down for the 7 p.m. event.
In other business at the Feb. 21 meeting, the council:
• Approved the updated special events ordinance, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2018. A schedule of fees will be presented to the council for approval after the city budget is in place in June. “It’s important for those who plan events to know about this,” said Mayor Kerreen Conley;
• Approved the appointment of Randy Priest to fill an unexpired term until Dec. 31, 2017 on the Board of Review. Jim Graham had asked to be replaced because of his wife’s health issues. Priest had previous served on the board;
• Approved the second quarter budget amendments for the 2016-17 general fund and capital purchase budgets. The largest amendment was $37,425 more needed for the clerk’s pension and $19,445 more needed for the treasurer pension. The clerk/treasurer is one person and the only person in this General Supervisor position and the MERS rate went from 44.91% to 175.91%. Another amendment was $15,400 more needed for phones lines. Also, $2,000 more was needed for Elections since the former city clerk assisted in elections. Due to these and other amendments, the fund balance went from $1,124,723 to $1,051,743;
• Set a March 6 public hearing for the use of 2017 of federal Community Development Block Grant funds. A total of $57,000 is expected with $9,830 set for senior/disabled services; $40,470 for ADA public facilities projects; $1,000 for senior chore services, and $5,700 for program administration / strategic planning. City Manager Kollmeyer said they hope to be able to use the strategic planning funds to hire help for the Planning Commission for work on the Master Plan;
• Discussed the proposed street upgrades and decided to start work on the Harbour Pointe streets which are the worst in the city, except for Greylock Street next to Edgemont Elementary School. A special assessment district is planned for the Harbour Pointe project and a meeting is planned soon to discuss this plan with residents. The total cost of construction is estimated at $1,749,924, with a total of $1,825,000 once bond costs are included;
• Heard Senior Alliance representative Dan Hampton give a report on the program. He said former director Bob Brown left for a similar job in Bay City and Tamera Kiger is the new director. The new headquarters is at 5454 Venoy in Wayne;
• Approved accounts payable of $171,907.03 and the following purchases in excess of $500: to Morton Salt, $6,151.16 for road maintenance; to BS&A Software, $3,699 for annual service fee; to Oakland County, $2,495 for CLEMIS membership/software maintenance for police department; to Ann Arbor Township (fiduciary) $1,334 for the 10% local match for the hose grant for the fire department; to Wise Technologies, $810 and $606.10 for computer support for general/police; and $570 to Lonnie’s Auto Repair for police vehicle repair;
• Heard Planning Commissioner Kelly Bates say she suggested to DPW Director Rutherford that they set up a community garden next to the playscape at Victoria Commons. Bates, president of the Victoria Commons Homeowners Association, said she has a very shady lot and would like to be able to grow some plants; and
• Heard Bates say she heard the mayor was going to climb to the top of RenCen in Detroit the next weekend as part of an annual event and Mayor Conley confirmed the report. Fire Chief Loranger said he was going to do that, too.