Belleville Planning Commission reelects Steve Jones as chairman

Steve Jones was reelected chairman of the Belleville Planning Commission during its regular meeting on Jan. 11. Mike Hawkins was reelected vice chairman.
The commission spent 90 minutes discussing changes proposed by library representatives for its library construction.
In other business the commission:
• Approved clarification of the sign ordinance, noting price signs should be considered included in Item C, along with date, time, and temperature signs. These would be non flashing or blinking. This gives the owner of the Marathon station at Five Points approval to change his prices electronically. Now he makes gas price changes by hand. The Citgo sign already has an electronic sign, which City Manager Diana Kollmeyer said was grandfathered in. The active DDA sign at Main and High is allowed by ordinance. The city had no control over the Belleville High School sign;
• Discussed Rutherford’s concern with a zoning ordinance entry for accessory building roofs, with a need for moving a drawing. Or, possibly, it is a typo. Jones said they will look into it and not make a decision that night;
• Discussed the Master Plan update and Jones said when Kollmeyer gets back from Florida they will be looking for a finished project to review. They possibly would get it next month. Commissioner Ronald Priest said enforcement of the ordinances is a problem and when they get some more tax money they should hire somebody. “Thank you,” Rutherford said; and
• Heard Cal Kemppainen of Cal Sign Co. in Wayne ask about whether he was on the agenda to present the Edward Jones wall sign for the new building. He wasn’t. He had waited about two hours while the commission discussed other things. He said he brought in the drawings for the proposed sign in December and a lady told him he was a day late for the December meeting and to just come to the meeting on Jan. 11. He said he provided 14 copies of the application, as required. Rutherford said he hadn’t seen it and said he would review it first thing in the morning. Jones apologized for the oversight, “especially since you’ve been into this for two months.”