Downtown Development Authority

Downtown Development Authority Minutes Friday, September 19, 2025 at 12:00 PM 27400 Southfield Road, Lathrup Village, Michigan 48076 1. Call to Order – 12:01 PM 2. Roll Call – 12:01 PM Roll Call Present: Shermeyer, Pam; Felton, Patricia; Garrett, Kelly; Huey, Danielle; Greene, Mike; Colson, Austin. Absent: Prime, Fred; Green, Alex; Jones, Charlotte; Sugg, Dan. 3. Approval of Agenda – 12:02 PM Motion to approve the Agenda is made by Mike Greene and seconded by Mayor Garrett and is approved unanimously. 4. Approval of Minutes – 12:02 PM A. July Meeting Minutes Motion to approve the meeting minutes is made by Mike Greene, seconded by Mayor Garrett and is approved unanimously. 5. Consent Agenda A. Monthly Financial Reports B. Monthly Code Enforcement Report Motion to approve consent agenda by Mike Greene, seconded by Dr. Felton and approved unanimously. No questions or comments made on the consent agenda. 6. Public Comment (speakers are limited to 3 minutes) Lauren Beras speaks about the Lathrup Village Music Festival and requests feedback from those who attended- be they acts, visitors/observers or vendors, to improve for next year’s event. Some feedback has already been noted, but the LVMF planners would like to pool more together. DDA Director Austin Colson follows up by adding that the event was a success but they are interested in running the event better and more efficiently and thanks the board members for participating. Lathrup Village Chamber of Commerce President Mark Watts and Vice President Annette Green is invited to speak about events the LVCoC are putting on to better establish themselves as an organization, while also growing the business community and 27400 Southfield Rd | Southfield, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org  introducing local business owners to the Lathrup Village residents. On October 24th, at 6:00 PM at the Paddle and Par there will be a mixer, featuring key note speakers, interactive games and more. Dr. Felton adds that she is a member of the Chamber of Commerce as their Treasurer, and DDA Director Colson adds that there are case studies that showcase greater margins of success when there is overlap between committees like the Chamber of Commerce and the DDA, leading to more fluid local development strategies, stronger communication lines between businesses and City Staff, and improved opportunities for all. 7. Old Business – 12:09 PM No Old Business to address. 8. New Business – 12:09 PM A. LVMF T-Shirt Reimbursement to City The DDA was slated to vote on paying for the LVMF Volunteer Staff T-Shirts in the August meeting. However, the meeting was cancelled due to lack of quorum, so City Administrator Mike Greene authorized the city to pay for the shirts under the agreement that the DDA will reimburse the city to the amount of $1,339 for the 2025 Lathrup Village Music Festival through TDMK Silkscreen. Mayor Garrett makes the motion to approve the DDA to reimburse the city as presented; Danielle Huey seconds. The motion is passed unanimously. B. Holiday Lighting Proposals It’s that time of the year to choose the holiday lighting around City Hall. The City of Lathrup Village sent out four Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and received three- one from Pink Pro Solutions located in Birmingham, MI; one from Christmas Light Guys located in Sterling Heights, MI; one from Lucent Landscaping and Lighting located in Oak Park, MI- who did the lights around city hall last year. Each contractor sent renderings and proof of concepts. Christmas Light Guys provides testimonials as well as prior work done in neighboring communities like Southfield, Oakland and Clinton Township. Their proposal is for $9,900 and includes lights around city hall and the trees in front of the property. Lucent Landscaping provides pictures of the lights they put up during last years’ holiday season, and is offering a $1,000 discount as a return customer. They also provided multiple options for the board to approve with a price breakdown of each option, as well as doing the same as last year’s work. They offer to do the work for $9,000, which does not reflect any additional work from the options Lucent Landscaping has provided. Pink Pro Solutions provides renderings for what can be done around city hall, using pictures they took. They also provide renderings of garlands with red ribbons on the monument sign on Southfield Road. Pink Pro Solutions would charge $9,000. 27400 Southfield Rd | Southfield, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org  Further discussion with the board returns focus to Lucent Landscaping, who can offer the options as a form of ala carte services for the DDA Director to pick and choose in a manner that will sufficiently and eloquently light City Hall. More discussion is had, and while the Board likes the options provided by Christmas Light Guys and Pink Pro Solutions, they ultimately decide on Lucent Landscaping. DDA Director Colson also mentions how the city looked into acquiring its own lighting and notes its cost-benefit ratio. Mayor Garrett makes a motion to approve the contract with Lucent Landscaping for no more than $10,000 on the project to apply holiday lights on City Hall and its adjacent trees. Mike Greene supports. Motion is voted and approved unanimously. C. Additional Hours for Parks and Rec. Activities At the September 15th City Council Meeting, a representative for the Parks & Recreation Committee came forward to announce the board's frustration over the lack of progress being made with the Committee. They feel as though they have no direction and are showing signs of burnout. They have asked the city to hire a staff member to be at least part time to assist as a liaison to the Parks and Recreation board. The city does not have the budget to hire a part timer, but DDA Director Colson suggests that DDA Project Coordinator Tom Kennedy to be given 4.5 additional hours a week to act as the P&R Liaison. The reason this is coming to the DDA Board is because the DDA will have to pay for part of this. Parks and Recreation is only allotted $4,000/year in budget. The addition of 4.5 hours at $25/hour will add $5850 annually to the budget. The math does not account for the amount being reimbursed to the P&R board members who make purchases for P&R events, meaning P&R will only be able to cover part of the pay. The DDA has a cost- share agreement with the City, which is coming up to be renegotiated soon and showcases that the DDA is willing to put forth the effort to revitalize public amenities of the city inside and not inside the DDA district to attract new businesses and residents to the city. DDA Project Coordinator Kennedy’s role would be to seek and apply for grant funding opportunities for the city P&R to enhance public parks and infrastructure, as well as helping set up and operate events that are run in the DDA district- including scheduling, signup, volunteers and follow-up. DDA Project Coordinator Kennedy offers clarity and says that he could help to set up recreational leagues for residents of all ages and intends to sign up for grant writing courses to better improve personal and professional efficiency. Dr. Felton questions specifics regarding the shortfall and why the DDA needs to pay for this and what benefit the DDA gains from this. She also inquires how the position can be effective. Mayor Garrett comments that all boards and committees need to have a meeting regarding priorities and strategies and how we, as a city, want to address that DDA Director Colson adds that there is a Joint Meeting schedules for October 6 th to act as a 27400 Southfield Rd | Southfield, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org  Master Plan kickoff meeting that the boards and commissions can use to set some kind of direction or discuss those priorities. Bruce Kantor adds that, as the liaison to the Parks and Rec board, he is concerned that they will lose the board members to burnout. This is a labor of love for them, and they are not seeing returns on investment, so to speak. Danielle Huey inquires what specifically P&R has spoken out about, and Bruce clarifies that things like event promotions, vendor management, registrations, payments and scheduling, etc. Mayor Garrett adds that while everyone is working hard, we need to do this right and investing money into an idea that does not have a plan, or a direction will not be prudent or economically smart. Dr. Felton adds that, while we want people to look at processes and quality analysis to improve system performance, it still might not be the direction to go based on feedback. DDA Project Coordinator Kennedy adds that he is taking classes for Grant Writing and will be calling on colleagues and contacts in neighboring communities who work in P&R and ask their advice in modernizing Lathrup Village’s systems. Danielle Huey comments with experience from her job, explaining how the systems can be modernized to not only add efficiency but remove burnout. Pam Shermeyer adds that volunteers cannot shoulder the responsibility, she is disappointed that the city cannot find another way among staff to absorb the tasks to complete- even though it may be a larger ask than it is implied in the proposal. She is also unconvinced that 4.5 hours is needed every week, especially with the inevitable lull that comes in the winter. She would like to see more evaluation of the proposal to ensure the time and money is being used wisely. She also adds that she isn’t sure if the DDA should be footing the bill at all; she’s read the justification, but it just seems like the job proposed would handle too much outside of the DDA District. After some more discussion, Mayor Garrett makes the motion to table this discussion until a Joint Meeting discussing board and committee roles, tasks and desires can be held. The motion is seconded by Mike Greene and passed unanimously. 9. DDA Director Report – 12:49 PM A. Monthly Director Report DDA Director Colson Presents: The Last Food Truck Friday of the season is on Friday, September 19th, the day of the meeting. Last month there was a “Developing a Business Plan” event put on by Oakland Thrive. Additionally, the city hosted the local Chase Bank at City Hall talking about Fraud and Fraud Prevention. Business Updates: 27400 Southfield Rd | Southfield, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org  26600 Southfield Road: Holbrook Auto Parts new Flagship Store has received their ZBA variance to the city’s sign ordinance for the businesses principal wall sign. At 27320 Southfield Road: Lush Nails is completing their interior buildout. Next door at 27330 Southfield Road the Vapor Shoppe is also completing their interior buildout. At 27700 Southfield Road, the Annie Lathrup School redevelopment project received their PILOT application approval and is now waiting on the Michigan State House Development Authority (MSHDA) to review their application and determine if they can acquire the funding to move on with the project. At 26710 Southfield Road: Babylon Printing: Interior Buildout is underway and equipment is being installed. At 26720 Southfield Road: Curl Me Crazy has a new wall sign. At 27000 Southfield Road: Discount Tire: Doing a complete interior renovation for their lobby and showroom. At 27320 Southfield Road: Modern Suit and Clothing is completing their interior buildout. There are two Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations installed at City Hall (installation completed in August). The contractor installing the latest HAWK Signal south of I-696 on Southfield Road has begun work- estimated completion date is November 1st. Final Payment for FY25 Alleyway improvement has been completed by the Finance Department. The DDA Staff and the LVTV staff went over to Mara Greens’ Golf Simulator to film an advertisement for the opening of the business. This is also something looking to be done for new business- coinciding with their Grand Opening. Bigby Coffee wishes to do a 1 Year Anniversary and pseudo-Grand Opening celebration- everyone on the DDA Board and City staff, as well as all residents are welcome to attend. Information will be distributed as it comes along. Additionally: Last month, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation granted the City of Lathrup Village $28,000 grant to put towards the city’s Master Plan Update. This grant was made available thanks in part to the work on reacquiring the Redevelopment Ready Communities Certification. The Historic District Commission approved a grant from the Detroit Institute of Arts to install a mural on the south wall of City Hall. Work should be done later in the season. When it is complete, the city will host a celebration. It will be an open invitation. 27400 Southfield Rd | Southfield, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org  The last thing to note is unofficial but something for the board to consider: City Staff and the Chamber of Commerce are looking to partner together to create a Marketing Plan for the city. It would cost tens of thousands of dollars; however, Michigan State University’s School of Planning, Design and Construction partners their students with real-world entities like government institutions like Lathrup Village to provide real-world experience as part of their final project towards graduation. For just a few thousand dollars, the DDA and CoC can combine resources to pay for one of these students to complete our own Marketing Plan before the Master Plan Update, which will not only lower the price on the Master Plan, but also have the Marketing Plan completed quicker, which helps in Redevelopment Ready Certification. The Board is asked to think about this, and there will be more discussion in the October Meeting, as the due date for requests to MSU is November 2nd. 10. Adjourn – 12:57 PM Mike Greene makes a motion to adjourn the meeting. Bruce Kantor (taking over for Mayor Garrett, who had to leave partway through) seconds. Meeting is adjourned. 27400 Southfield Rd | Southfield, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org