Belleville DDA offers businesses $1,000 each to put up holiday lights

The Belleville Downtown Development Authority is offering up to 15 city businesses $1,000 each to put up holiday lights.
The DDA voted unanimously to set aside $15,000 for the program at its regular meeting on Oct. 15. Valerie Kelley-Bonner was the only DDA member absent from the meeting.
DDA member Mike Gatteri proposed the holiday light grant program, which he had mentioned at the Aug. 20 meeting. He was encouraged to work out the details.
He suggested that Carson Abney put up the lights for the businesses because he has done that for a lot of businesses.
He pointed out the annual cost to the business would go down after the first year because the lights and decorations would already have been purchased.
DDA vice-chairman Chris Donley said he would like to see lights flowing, a corridor of lights.
Gatteri said he has drape lights at his Health Markets business at the corner of Main and Second streets. He said it cost him $2,500 the first year and then $600 a year thereafter. When asked about storage, he said the boxes for his lights are small and easily store at his office.
Donley noted that Van Buren Township doesn’t have a Main Street.
Mayor Ken Voigt suggested they contact the city of Rochester for its lighting guidelines and give that to the city manager to review. He said the grants would be coming out of the fund balance since it is not budgeted.
Mayor Voigt made the motion to go ahead with the plan with a set of guidelines in place. He said they could work with a committee of two: Gatteri and Donley.
Donley said communication is the key and he said it would be in the Independent and on social media.
Interim city manager Steve Jones, who is the DDA coordinator, said he has a list of city businesses, but not all have email addresses. New DDA member Whitney Beaubien said she could go door to door to let businesses know about the grant.
Chamber of Commerce president Dinara Strikis said the chamber could send emails. Donley asked her to share her list of businesses with the DDA.
In other business at the one-hour-and-four-minute meeting, the DDA:
• Took no action on the $20,000 façade grant request by Hayward’s until more information could be gathered. Jennifer Kouza, owner of Hayward’s Liquor Store at 573 Main St., was not present, but Jones said she wanted to do exterior façade improvements, including the roof, shingles, corner repair, and sign replacement. He said someone damaged the corner of her building and also the sign had been knocked down. He said the DDA’s grant program allows up to a $10,000 grant and up to $10,000, three-year no-interest loan. Gatteri said when he got the grant for his business he was not allowed to include the sign. Jones said he would talk to Kouza to get more understanding of what she wants to do. DDA member Phil Miller, at his first meeting, said the mansard roof on the building is part of the façade. They could put on a roof instead of shakes, he said. The DDA put the issue off until the next meeting. Mayor Voigt said the sign ordinance also needs to be checked;
• Put off until the next meeting a proposal to put up a Christmas tree at Five Points. Jones said since Van Buren Township is putting up a live tree in Harris Park, that the city might like to do so too. Jones said it could be in front of Victory Station at Five Points. It would cost $1,000 for the live, 15-foot tree from the tree farm in Ida, plus extra for lighting. Gatteri said $1,000 for a cut tree is a lot. Kathleen Springer said you could get a 12-foot tree from a local tree lot for $120. Mayor Voigt said they could see what they could do with $500, but Donley said it would be more than $500 with lighting. He said a flagpole tree could be put up at the Five Points flagpole. Donley said they should table the tree for this year and look into the flagpole idea and other prices. Miller said on line the flagpole tree is priced at $400 and Donley said it depends on how elaborate it is. They directed Jones to call the flagpole company that maintains the flagpole for the city to see if they have a proposal;
• Took no action on a proposed DDA newsletter that would go out either monthly or quarterly to announce events, explain the façade and holiday lighting programs and give out other information, such as the status of the hardware store. It would be by email with some printed out for those businesses who don’t check their emails. When asked who would do it, Jones said he would get his social media vendor to help because, “My plate is full.” Donley asked Strikis to give a quote from her business. Strikis asked about VBT Today, since the copy for the next issue was due that Friday and no one has alerted them as to what is needed. Jones was directed by the DDA to call VBT Today in the morning to see what is needed for the DDA part of the publication;
• Heard social media vendor Kathleen Springer give a report on her projects for the DDA. She said 70% of those reached are in Van Buren Township, New Boston, Ypsilanti, and Romulus. Donley said he wants to get other communities, such as Canton, Plymouth, Monroe, and Carleton. She said they have started to monetize the DDA page to earn money and they’ve made $8 so far. The DDA voted unanimously to pay them $200 more a month for their expenditures in a targeted marketing campaign;
• Heard treasurer Sabrina Richardson-Williams report on her attempts to get a program set up for Belleville High School students after spring break next April, maybe in the hardware parking lot. She has contacted BHS but has no reply yet. She will need volunteers to help and will be seeking parents;
• Approved accounts payable of $90,030 for September and $24,582.31 for October. The October checks include $4,060 to Friends Fine Floor Covering for tile rip up and disposal of old hardware at the old hardware store, $5,225 to Snider Electric for LED lights replacement at the old hardware store, and $1,600 social media package for August; and
• Heard Dave Anderson, president of Victoria Commons Homeowners’ Association, thank the DDA for trimming the overgrowth at the bridge and sending the police car to calm speeders. He said the nets are all missing at the new pickleball court following the vandalism. He said it is black out there, with no lights, so he suggested putting in solar lights. He said the neighbors’ cameras can’t pick up anything. He suggested trimming along the asphalt paths. He said the two dog bag places are too close to each other and one should be moved to the other side of the bridge. Also, the work to kill the phragmites is looking good. He also said the geese are migrating and there were 200, easy, that day along the ponds of Victoria Commons.