City Council to consider demolition of vacant store it owns next door

Belleville City Manager Tracey Schultz Kobylarz followed the city council’s direction in taking steps to clean up the vacant store it owns next door to city hall and got a quote for a professional clean-up.
Then, the city council changed its mind about what it wanted to do. The council voted to go out for bids on demolition of the site, instead.
At Monday’s regular meeting of the city council, held via Zoom teleconferencing, City Manager Kobylarz said she was really impressed when she got the quote for cleanup, since she expected it to be higher.
She presented the $8,136.14 quote from Restoration 1 of Western Wayne County for the cleanup that included five technicians working three, eight-hour days. The quote included a microbial burst spray first.
Kobylarz pointed out Restoration 1 was the company that has been sanitizing city hall without charge. She said that was the only company she could find to do the work.
She said they will take everything out of the building. An auction company is coming June 16 to assess what is inside that could be sold, she said.
Kobylarz said she has talked to Carol Thompson of the Downtown Development Authority and Thompson said the DDA could provide giant posters to cover the windows with old pictures and art, instead of the beer signs that had been there.
She said the building will be clean, empty, and disinfected and no one would be able to see in any more.
When it was suggested this should have gone out for bids, Kobylarz said the city could price this as emergency action, since there’s mold in the building. She said she didn’t know what kind of mold, but the building has been closed for seven or eight years and you can smell mold when you walk in.
Councilwoman Kelly Bates said they had talked about having volunteers do the work and she had volunteered to help.
“I can’t bring volunteers into that building,” Kobylarz said. “It’s unsafe for volunteers.” She said there are moveable walls, no lights, and boxes everywhere. They don’t know what is in all the boxes.
She said the auctioneers would look at the coolers, equipment, refrigeration items and the giant Pepsi machines to see if anything can be sold.
Planning Commissioner Mike Renaud asked about the roof structure, noting there’s no point in cleaning it unless you’re going to keep it dry.
“Does it make sense if it should be torn down?” he asked.
Kobylarz said it is far more expensive to take it down. She said the council wanted to clean it up and she can’t clean it up without professional help.
DPW Director Rick Rutherford said there are issues on the roof – it leaks — but it is not structurally unsound.
“The first step in that building is that it has to be cleaned up, one way or another,” Rutherford said. “We’re looking for direction from council.”
Renaud said he wouldn’t hope for too much from an auction. He said the flat roof is vulnerable to the next storm.
“Whoever purchases it is responsible for the roof,” Kobylarz said, referring to the plan to sell the property on that corner and move city offices to another location.
“I don’t ever see anybody renting or occupying it,” Mayor Conley said. “It tends to be an eyesore and we should look at demolition cost, to get removed and out of the way.”
She said the vacant building is no value to the totality of the four or five parcels the city owns on that corner. She said they are looking for a proposal for the best use of that corner along with an idea of where to move city hall. She said that is not a good site for city hall and would be better for something commercial.
“Demolition probably is the end game for the city,” Rutherford agreed, noting there would have to be an environmental study before that could be done. He said he doesn’t think it will need asbestos remediation, but that’s not his area of expertise.
“We’ll be glad to solicit bids on demolition,” Rutherford said. It was determined the environmental study would be a part of the bid.
In other business at Monday’s one-hour-and-nine-minute meeting, the council:
• Approved the budget amendments for the year ending June 30, which included the $250,000 grant for the seawall project that cut appropriations from the fund balance to $65,000 instead of the original $295,000. Also, the $180,000 of the unbudgeted public safety millage covers the reduced constitutional sales tax revenue and reduced district court fines, among other items;
• Opened the one bid for fence work at Doane’s Landing Park and accepted the $26,500 bid from Eric Partridge of Outdoor Amenities. Rutherford recommended approval. Partridge will reinstall the fence along the seawall;
• Approved going out for bids for concrete restoration at Doane’s Landing for a handicapped-accessible walk path along the fence and reinstallation of the benches. Rutherford said a split-rail fence needs to be replaced along the condos and this can be done in-house for about $200. He said once the fence and walk are done the city will be ready to open the park back up. These are the last phases of the seawall project, he said;
• Heard Councilwoman Bates explain her suggestion to make Belleville parks smoke-free and after discussion Kobylarz was asked by the mayor to get the council some examples of such an ordinance for them to consider. Bates said Canton did this and she has heard of no issues there. She said the non-smoking would include vaping. She said the number-one item for littering is cigarette butts and vape pumps often contain marijuana. Mayor Conley said in Canton, where she works, the ban is not something the police are enforcing because they have other priorities. It was pointed out the Fourth Street Square is not a park, so it wouldn’t apply there. “I’d like to see it,” said Councilman Ken Voigt. “Whether it gets enforced or not, it’s a good example to set for public health.” Belleville Area Chamber of Commerce interim director Mike Kole said the council could research an ordinance to accomplish this goal and that would include public hearings so people could comment. Renaud said, “It’s a noble cause, but we haven’t been able to keep dogs out of the Strawberry Festival … It’s worth a discussion”;
• Learned an insurance claim was not filed on the broken tombstone in the cemetery, which was asked about at the last meeting. Kobylarz said she thought the claim had been filed, but the clerk elected not to file a claim. Kobylarz said she already been in touch with the city’s insurance carrier, Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority (MMRMA) on that. The fence and gate have been repaired;
• Approved accounts payable of $138,271.31 and the following purchases in excess of $500 to: TownWeb, $2,010 for annual website hosting/maintenance fee; and to Mueller Systems, $1,109.10 for replacement of water meters;
• Heard Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Marcotte suggest the council invite State Rep. Kristy Pagan to a meeting to thank her in person for getting the $250,000 Michigan Strategic Fund grant; and
• Heard Mayor Conley say the rally in Van Buren Township last Friday was “exceptional, so well-done.” She said it was peaceful and passionate and people from this community and outside this community spoke. She said there were a lot of young people. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell was there and people were encouraged to vote. Conley also told about the Council of Western Wayne efforts with the NAACP and police chiefs to listen and learn and work for a better future. A press conference was set for June 16 and the first meeting is June 24 in Livonia. The local stop on the tour will be a unified Belleville/Van Buren/Sumpter meeting, she said.