VBT DDA hires Anthony Costantino to remove, replace banners

Anthony Costantino of C2A Enterprises LLC has been selected to do the removal and replacement of banners three times a year on 72 light poles in the streetscape along Belleville Road.
At the Jan. 25 in-person meeting of the Van Buren Township Downtown Development Authority the group voted unanimously to select Costantino’s company. DDA Executive Director Susan Ireland said she had hoped to get three bids for the DDA to consider but came up with just two.
C2A Enterprises of Ypsilanti bid $3,040 each swap-out for a yearly total of $9,120. Banner Sign Company of Detroit bid $4,370 for each swap-out for a yearly total of $13,110.
The DDA had been informed that the owner of Old Glory Flags and Flagpoles had retired and sold the business. Director Ireland said staff requested proposals from more than ten different companies to swap-out and maintain the banners on the streetlights along Belleville Road, but the response was not as successful as she had hoped.
Ireland said there are a lot of companies that will make the banners and there are a few that would install new banners only, but not do maintenance work. She said Old Glory’s cost was just shy of $4,000 each swap-out.
Neither of the bids included maintenance of the banners or bracket repair and this will be done for a separate fee on an as-needed basis.
In a memo submitted along with his bid, Costantino said his company has been highly recommended by Old Glory Flags, who has been completing the banner swap for VBT since 2007. The memo said Anthony Costantino has been working alongside Old Glory Flags for more than a decade performing this task.
Costantino said there are 36 seasonal banners and 36 township logo banners and they are replaced seasonally three times a year.
Banners are removed and replaced by ladder which requires three team members to complete this task in a safe manner, he said.
“A change we will implement is that the installation team will no longer work in the right lane of Belleville Road so that lane will remain open for traffic and the installation won’t cause any disruption,” he wrote. “Instead, C2A Enterprises will operate along the sidewalk in a small utility vehicle. This will greatly reduce the opportunity for a tragic car accident to happen and increase the safety of our team members while ensuring that there are no traffic backups.”
If there are extenuating circumstances in which the right lane is needed to perform the job, then an arrow board will be rented at the cost of the township to ensure the safety of everyone, he said.
VBT Supervisor Kevin McNamara, who sits on the DDA, said Chris Costantino, the father of Anthony, owns Rose’s restaurant where his wife works. He asked if he should recuse himself from the vote, and DDA members voted to allow that, even though most said they didn’t think it was necessary.
In other business at the half-hour meeting, the DDA:
• Heard Supervisor McNamara say he is going to ask Congresswoman Debbie Dingell for $15 million in federal infrastructure money to widen Belleville Road from Tyler to Ecorse. He said the DDA would be asked to put in some money for this and the DDA would have to get the rest of its easements. He said there would be a lot of paperwork and it’s a long shot. Ireland said it is unclear whether they would need room for three or five lanes. One property owner’s house is right next to the road and that person won’t give an easement, Ireland said, noting the DDA has been given the opportunity to buy that house for several million dollars;
• Heard Ireland report that three tax cases have been settled with the Michigan Tax Tribunal, with the DDA district having to refund one taxpayer $343.42, another $872.21, and to Walmart, $5,353. There are three cases left to settle;
• Heard Ireland also report that the DDA staff met with the staff of Community Services and the architect to review the theatre portion that the DDA is funding in the planned Civic Center building. She said they are still in the design phase, but she expects them to go out for bids in three to four months. She also praised the work of Aerotropolis director Christopher Girdwood who is “working hard out there and worth every penny we pay.” The DDA pays the annual Van Buren Township dues of $25,000 for Aerotropolis; and
• Heard Assistant Executive Director Lisa Lothringer report that the outdoor sculptures cost $100 each more this year and she has yet to hear if the Belleville DDA wishes to participate in the project this year. The VBT DDA could cut back to eight pieces if Belleville isn’t participating, she said. She also listed all the promotions for the township and reported that the DDA’s new website should be complete in from six to eight weeks.