Lakeview Plaza erects flagpole for city’s Christmas tree, flag

When it was determined that the flagpole at Five Points in the city of Belleville wasn’t a suitable place for Christmas tree lights, the Belleville Downtown Development Authority asked Scott Jones to put up a flagpole they could use.
At the 35-minute Dec. 17, DDA meeting, Scott and Alex Jones were present to talk about the flagpole that would be in the turf at the west end of their shopping center next to the bridge.
It not only would be a flagpole at the entry to the city, but would be used as a Christmas tree during the holiday season, Alex Jones wrote in the grant request.
The flagpole came to the DDA as a façade grant request, but mayor Ken Voigt said that wasn’t suitable, since the DDA had asked them to put up the flagpole.
Alex Jones had asked for the DDA grant to split the total cost of the pole, which was $5,939.50, with the DDA paying $2,969.75.
Mayor Voigt made a motion for the DDA to pay the $2,969.75, and when it was noted the Christmas lights would be extra, the total the DDA approved was $3,074.
Scott Jones said he has a beautiful, 8’x12’ American flag and he’ll wait to put the flag up until he can install a spotlight on the building to light the flag at night. He said he’ll get the electricity for the spotlight from the last streetlight before the bridge.
DDA chairman John Winter told the Joneses that the DDA appreciates their cooperation.
DDA vice-chairman Chris Donley was the one who came up with strings of light on a flagpole that would be the city’s Christmas tree, since the other two trees that had served in this way had been cut down and the city had no Christmas tree. Donley said he would ask Scott Jones to put up a flagpole.
The only two items of general business on the Dec. 17 agenda were two façade grant applications.
Mayor Voigt said neither one of them was a proper façade application, so the agenda was amended to eliminate the request from Divine Grace & Lace Bridal Boutique for a sign and to change the flagpole grant request to a discussion.
Divine Grace & Lace Bridal Boutique is at 518 Main St. and is a tenant in the shopping center. The requestor marked the “signage” square on the grant application and noted the sign would be $10,000 and it was asking for a $5,000 grant $5,000 loan.
Mayor Voigt said it shouldn’t have been on the agenda for a grant request because, “We don’t give façade grants for signs. We can’t be in the business of paying for everybody’s signs.”
DDA member Whitney Beaubien said the façade grant application has a box for signage, so the DDA should look into changing the form.
The DDA approved issuing checks totaling $30,037.41, much of which was to pay for costs associated with the purchase of the hardware store, including $5,311.05 in land contract payment, $1,550 to KBE Hoist & Fabrication, $221.88 to electrical and gas for 51 Fifth St., $98.97 for DDA property pest control, and $950 to Gerina Rohman for painting new designs on the hardware store window.
During the comments by board members at the end of the meeting, vice-chairman Donley had a long line of questions on DDA projects that were not being completed. He asked about the hotel program and if the cards had been completed and distributed and DDA director/interim city manager Steve Jones said they are still working on that. Donley said that was started a long time ago — early in the year. He asked about the Victory Park basketball hoops and director Jones said they have to get with the county on that.
Donley asked if anybody wanted to purchase the hardware store, which is using a lot of DDA funds, and director Jones said no one had offered to buy it.
Beaubien said six-to-eight-months ago someone said she wanted to buy it and said she was told that wasn’t the direction the city was going.
Mayor Voigt said somebody wanted to lease a portion for an office, but the original vision was to be a retail incubator. He said director Jones is still working on putting a proposal together. Wayne County plans to have Tech Town work county-wide and that could help the project, Voigt said.
“We’ve been having the same conversation, with no progress,” Donley said. “We’re spending taxpayer dollars and it sits empty. If someone wants to buy it, that’s an option.”
Mayor Voigt said they’d have to go out for bids if they want to sell city property.
“We don’t want just anything in that space,” Voigt said. “I’d rather have it empty.” He said the committee that was formed at the previous meeting needs to meet and discuss the situation.
Donley asked about the status of the shoreline stabilization grant for Horizon Park and Voigt said that it is in the engineering phase and the city will meet with engineers the next day on that. He said he expects it to be under construction next August, to avoid the peak season of Horizon Park use.
Donley also asked about an out-of-date city website and was told by director Jones that the old site lapsed in 2009 after Carol Thompson left and it wasn’t tended to. Now it is owned by someone in California.
Donley asked who does the DDA portion of the city’s current website and director Jones said he does. Donley said the interactive map he created is not there and director Jones said he would check on that.
Mayor Voigt said the city’s current website is not optimized for phones – part of the information is cut off — and most people use the phones for searches, like he does.
Donley said the website would be a discussion for next year. He said they must look at putting on a full-time DDA director and, “I think Steve’s plate is overflowing.” He suggested director Jones be either city manager or DDA director, but not both. “He’s spread so thin.”
Voigt said the DDA did complete a job description and it could do an evaluation based on that.
In other information, Voigt said the city will be in its new city hall in the next month or two and there is no rush.
He also announced that the city just received a TAP (transportation alternative program) grant for $556,000 from SEMCOG (Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments) for a $690,000 project that covers traffic safety enhancements including the crossing at Fourth Street and a mini traffic circle at Third Street.
DDA treasurer Sabrina Richardson-Williams announced that mayor Voigt has asked her to serve on the DDA for another term and both she and Donley will be reappointed in January.
Mayor Voigt said he went to a recent meeting of mayors where an attorney announced that subcommittee meetings now need to be open to the public, even if there are only two or three on the committee. He said such meetings will be posted 18 hours ahead of time.