City Council

Armada Township PLANNING COMMISSION 23121 E. Main Street, P.O. Box 578 Armada, Michigan 48005 Telephone: (586) 784-5200 Facsimile: (586)784-5211 planning@armadatwp.org MINUTES Wednesday, May 3, 2023 7:00 p.m. Regular Meeting 1. Call to Order a. Chair Kehrig called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance a. Kehrig led the Pledge of Allegiance 3. Roll Call a. Present at Roll Call: Chair Kehrig, Vice Chair Finn (arrived 7:12), Commissioners Abercrombie, Arnold, Jabara, Kutchey, and Board Liaison Murray. b. Absent: None c. Also present: Planner alternate Brigitte Smith and Recording Secretary Cris Martin; in an unofficial capacity, members of the Village Council and Village Planning Commission: Ross Boelke, Mike Shall, Jo Adair, and Kristie Patterson 4. Approve/Amend Agenda a. Motion by Murray, 2nd by Abercrombie to approve the agenda as presented. All Ayes, Motion Passed 5. Approval of minutes: a. Motion by Murray, 2nd by Kehrig to approve the minutes of the April 5, 2023, meeting as presented. All Ayes, Motion Passed 6. Public Comments – Agenda Items - None 7. Public Hearing: None 8. Reports and Correspondence: a. Project Status Report – Kehrig read the report into the record. b. Citizen Planner Program – Planning Commissioner Training - Kehrig reminded commissioners that yearly scholarships are offered through the Citizen Planner Program c. ROWE Professional Spring CES Presentation – discussed this free training available to planning commissions. 9. Unfinished Business: a. Master Plan Survey Questions – Discussion on improving the Armada Ridge property map, number of questions and the possibility of reducing them if we don’t get responses. Remove the phrase “on the other hand” in the opening question. Kutchey offered to create a YouTube video to add to various social media platforms encouraging participation. Motion by Finn, 2nd by Arnold to send the survey to the Township Board for approval to distribute with the following changes: Add an attention grabber title, add a link to the online version, Move the Due Date to the top and color red, improve the map of the Armada Ridge property, Update the demographic section. All Ayes, Motion Passed 10. New Business - None 11. PC Projects: a. Master Plan Discussion – Planner opened by referring members and guests to the Future Land Use maps of the Township and Village, and a series of questions / topics to generate discussion. NOTE: Responses from Village attendees are unofficial and to be considered as personal opinions, not the official position of the Village Council. 1) Does the Village plan to expand areas planned for commercial or industrial development? Are there additional areas where multiple-family housing would be  considered in the Village to allow for a greater variety of housing types and attract residents? There are opportunities along the south-eastern and south-western Village boundaries that are available for development. There has been some interest by bordering township properties annexing into the Village. There has been concern in the past about annexations being a detriment to the township, however this would only be the case if the Village became a city, and there have not been any discussions in recent history that this is even a consideration. The Village offers water, sewer, and police services in addition to other amenities not offered in the township. Costs for these services are higher than most surrounding communities simply due to the lower number of properties the costs are spread across. Modernization of the water treatment facility and upgrades to the sewer plant have been made in the last four years. Asked if there is capacity to increase the number of hook-ups to the water and sewer systems, studies would need to be done to confirm water capacity, sewer does have capacity but could not meet the projections of the township future land use map at this time. If the capacity were to be increased, a SAD for the properties benefiting could be established. 2) The Township’s 2019-2023 Park and Recreation Master Plan expires this year and will need to be renewed. Would the Village be interested in developing a joint recreation master plan? (Deadline of February 1, 2024, to the State). Believe the Village Rec plan is due to be updated soon. There are some great opportunities to work together to obtain grants that have population or average income as a requirement. There is also a grant to help reduce the cost of the Recreation plan. The goal would be to not duplicate amenities. Will take this back to the Village Council. 3) Is there any interest in partnering on the expansion of the Armada Ridge Road property, creating a spur from the Macomb Orchard Trail and linking downtown Armada directly to the trail? There is already a spur at Fulton bringing trail traffic into the Village. There is a need to redirect the traffic from Fulton onto Church/Burk Street, with signposts identifying Village and Township destinations. There is already an easement to complete the spur with an estimated cost of $30,000. Linking to the Armada Ridge property really would not provide an advantage to the Village. 4) The number and intensity of events at the State (armada, needs correction) Fair Grounds have continuously increased over the years. Are there improvements that the Village and Township are desiring that could be coordinated on going forward? The Fair Grounds are owned by the Armada Agricultural Society, need to engage the Fair Board to discuss this. 5) Is there interest in partnering on grant applications? Ex: Safe Streets and Roads for All (Federal Grant) or SEMCOG’s Planning Assistance grant related to transportation and safety; or recreation grants from the Michigan Dept of Natural Resources (MDNR)? There are many grants that could be used to increase safety and require regional collaboration as a component (current grants are due mid to end of June). To apply for any SEMCOG grants, the Township needs to become a member, it is $854 per year to join. There is also an EV infrastructure grant through SEMCOG. Planner can provide additional information. 6) Does the Village intend to expand its municipal boundaries (as illustrated in the 2013 Future Land Use Map)? Addressed above. 7) What other resources, infrastructure, or services could the Village and Township share to maximize efficiency and costs? In general, the feeling is that the Township and Village should work together and watch out for each other. If the Township looks for police services in the future, consider the Village police as a large percent of the calls the Village police receives are from the township. Perhaps Place-making: joint advertising of Armada businesses to ensure Armada is not bypassed. Discussion on the possibility of incorporating solar micro-grids, for smaller communities’ micro-grids can help reduce power outages by separating the community power grid from the regional grid. 12. Public Comments – Non-Agenda Items 13. Adjournment. Next Scheduled Regular Meeting: Wednesday June 7, 2023 Respectfully submitted: Cris Martin Recording Secretary Approved: DJ Kehrig, Chairperson_ Date ____