Downtown Development Authority

Downtown Development Authority Meeting Friday, November 21, 2025 Meeting Minutes 12:05 PM: Call to Order. Roll Call Present: Prime, Fred; Shermeyer, Pam; Green, Alex; Jones, Charlotte; Garrett, Kelly; Greene, Mike; Colson, Austin. Absent: Felton, Patricia; Sugg, Dan. Mike Greene makes a motion to excuse the absences of Dr. Felton and Dan Sugg, seconded by Pam Shermyer. Motion is passed unanimously 12:05 PM: Approval of Agenda Mike Greene moves to approve the Agenda. Kelly Garratt Seconds. Motion passes unanimously. 12:05 PM: Approval of Meeting Minutes Pam Shermeyer makes a motion to approve the minutes, adding that they were the most thorough minutes she’s ever read. Bruce Kantor seconds. Motion passes unanimously. 12:05 PM: Consent Agenda Kelly Garrett makes a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. Mike Greene seconds. Motion passes unanimously. 12:05 PM: Public Comment No public comment. 12:05 PM: Old Business None. 12:06 PM: New Business Winter Festival Updates DDA Director Colson presents updates to the Winter Festival. On Friday December 5th in the Community Center at City Hall, the DDA will be hosting its second annual winter festival. Feedback from the community was received and DDA staff determined a second festival would be beneficial. DDA Director Colson asks the board members to attend, whether they volunteer or attend as guests. There will be 9 community organizations hosting tables, including Southfield Public Library, Southfield Fire Department, Lathrup Nature Group, Lathrup Village Chamber of Commerce, Lathrup Village Parks and Recreation, Community Partner Chase Bank, Community Members Lauren Beras and Loretta DeLoach have their own respective tables, and the DDA will have a table as well. Last year’s event saw over 70 guests and over 12 dozen cookies from the DDA table be made during the event, and this year’s event is expected to have a much bigger turnout. Nothing to vote on with this matter- just informative. Snow Removal Contracts The DDA bid out this year’s Snow Removal Contract and reached out to five companies, receiving three bids. This is for 11 Mile Road from Lathrup Blvd. to Evergreen, and the sidewalks along the overpasses. A memo is presented to the DDA Board. The three bids are from Express Snow Removal, Royal Maintenance Group, and Paradise Gardens. Each one providing their own package. Express Snow Removal provided a flat rate per event, which would come out to approximately $1800 per snow event. Royal Maintenance Group provided an all-inclusive package of $3600 for all snow services, including salt. Paradise Gardens initial cost would $1600 for each snow event at 1-6 inches of snow. A per event breakdown, assuming there will be as many events as last year (12 events), Paradise comes out as the most cost-efficient option. Paradise is also the cities landscape contractor, so their work is well known with city staff and residents. Paradise was our contractor last year, but that was a different process that was not bid out, due to the cities longtime contractor backing out at the last minute. Due to necessity, Paradise was asked and agreed to extend their landscape services to the snow removal, and this year they put in a formal bid to continue their work. DDA Director Colson notes that many contractors are scaling back their snow removal services. Mayor Garrett asks for more details on the package provided by Royal Maintenance Group. They would offer the city a 1-2 hour response time with their Gold Tier Package that also includes salt with their snow removal. Mayor Garrett also inquires about the response time from Paradise. DDA Director Colson notes that Paradise is on top of it, being on scene before 8 AM for early morning snowfall events and on scene as soon as possible during daytime and evening snowfall events. Pam Shermyer inquires about what Paradise would do or charge for a 5- inch event. DDA Director Colson explains the price tiers that Paradise offers: $721 under 5 inches, $824 for 6-8 inches, and $927 for 8-10 inches. Paradise also salts at our request, so it’s not something they will do and charge the city for later. Alex Green inquires about Lathrup doing its own snow removal or partnering with Southfield, but DDA Director Colson elaborates that Lathrup’s DPW does clear snow in the City Hall parking lot, but a partnership with Southfield had not been considered due to fears of pricing. However, DDA staff is open to that conversation next year. City Administrator Greene adds to explain that Lathrup Village contracts its DPW services, and having them handle this task incurs a greater price on the city and the tasks for the DPW would significantly limit their abilities to complete this particular task. Mayor Garrett will make a motion to authorize the DDA director to enter into a contract for snow removal services with Paradise Gardens for the 2025/26 winter season. Motion is seconded by Pam Shermyer. Motion is passed unanimously. 27907 California Dr. – Proposed Purchase Agreement DDA Director Colson provides updates to the purchase agreement presented at the October DDA Meeting. A formal offer was made on the property but the offer was too high, and the buyer stepped back without providing a counteroffer, stating it was far beyond their budget. DDA and City staff were left to wonder what else they could do with the lot, and now comes to the Board to get their opinion. Both the Board and Staff want the lot off the books, but the question becomes do they want to sell it at market value, or is getting it off the books good enough? The intention is to get the best use out of the lot, not just sell it. Both Fred Prime and Alex Green ask why the city couldn’t lease the property, and while staff are open to the idea now, initially it was because the city did not want to become a landlord or property manager. The  proposed purchaser was open to the idea of a land lease agreement with the city. Discussion that follows offers more context to the situation, including a brief history of the lot and how the DDA came to acquire it. The bottom line is that the proposed plan, as it is, will not provide heavy development on the lot and will provide superior stormwater management, as well as provide a public good to the community, in the opinion of the DDA Board. The Board believes that this business would be a fantastic and unique addition to the city, and advises DDA and city staff to begin negotiating a lease agreement that benefits both the applicant and the city. 12:35 PM: DDA Director Report DDA Director Colson presents: On Saturday, November 29 at 11 am, Oakland THRIVE is hosting a Small Business Social in conjunction with the Southfield Area Chamber of Commerce, with the intention of helping small business owners to create a clear strategic plan for 2026. On December 5, the Lathrup DDA is hosting the second annual Winter Festival and Tree Lighting at the Community Center, alongside 8 other community members and partner organizations. Boys2Men Youth Mentoring is hosting a Toy Drive that goes until Friday, December 12. The Lathrup Village DDA is partnering with Boys2Men to collect toys- collections will be accepted on a table in front of the Police Department, or at the Boys2Men headquarters. On Thursday, December 18th, Boys2Men and the Lathrup DDA will be hosting a toy wrapping event at the community center at 5 pm. All are invited to attend to help wrap gifts for underprivileged kids, regardless of wrapping experience or expertise. Business/Property Updates 27000 Southfield Road (Discount Tire) – Interior buildout of updates to showroom are ongoing. 26780 Southfield Road (Holy Burger) – Business license application for new burger restaurant received and is under review.  27651 Southfield Road (Middle Eats) – Received site plan approval at the November Planning Commission meeting to expand their dining room by 1,900 sq. ft. into the adjacent tenant space. Infrastructure Ongoing installation of two electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the City Hall parking lot. Installation of HAWK (high-intensity activated crosswalk) on Southfield Road between Kilbirnie and Margate Streets is ongoing. Miscellaneous Staff is currently drafting a grant application proposing traffic-calming improvements along 11 Mile Road at the intersections of Lathrup Boulevard and Southfield Road through Main Street America’s “GM on Main” grant program. These improvements are intended to increase pedestrian safety, support walkability, and strengthen the overall function and appeal of the City’s downtown corridor. The “GM on Main” Street Grant Program aims to enhance downtowns through transformative and innovative road-safety initiatives in communities located near General Motors facilities 12:52 PM: Adjournment Mike Greene makes a motion to adjourn the meeting. Pam Shermeyer seconds. Meeting is adjourned.