City Council

APPROVED 01/18/2016 SPECIAL QUARTERLY ROUNDTABLE MINUTES JANUARY 7, 2016 THE SPECIAL QUARTERLY ROUNDTABLE OF THE RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL WAS CALLED TO ORDER AT 5:30 P.M., ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016, BY MAYOR RIX. ROLL CALL Present: Allen, Greene, LaFore, Misteravich, Rix, Warn, Yaroch Absent: None Others: City Manager Moore, City Clerk Stagl Visitors: Police Chief Teske, DPS Director Goetzinger, Paul Fejedelem AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION None ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion by Yaroch, seconded by Greene, to adopt the agenda as presented. All yeas Motion carried ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION 1. Discussion of Items of General Concern Goals and Objectives Council had adopted the Goals in February 2015 and extensively reviewed them again in August. It was the decision of Council to go through each goal/objective for the benefit of the new Council members. The current goals will be used for FY2016/2017. Issue #1 – Promoting Industrial and Commercial Growth. City Manager Moore informed Council that we were in the process of updating the Community Master Plan and Business District Mast Plan. Misteravich asked the City Manager to discuss the City’s partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Baker College for the development of four (4) promotional videos. City Manager Moore also spoke on the financial packages that were available for businesses to encourage industrial and commercial development. Ccm: 01/07/2016 Page 1 of 4  APPROVED 01/18/2016 Discussion on when the old City Hall would be listed for sale. Issue #2 – Traffic congestion and accessibility on Main Street. City Manager Moore briefed Council on the Goal and objectives. Informed Council that the pedestrian bump-outs were part of the objective that would improve pedestrian safety. Some discussion on whether the City could push for left turn lights at the intersections of Main/Division and Gratiot/31 Mile Road. Issue #3 – Streetscape Implemented. City Manager Moore informed Council that this goal and objectives were being addressed by the newly reorganized Streetscape Committee. Issue #4 – Rails to Trails. City Manager Moore discussed with Council the house on 32 Mile – informed Council that Mark Clark was preparing an Attorney’s Opinion on some of the alternatives for the City to address this property. Discussed the City’s 22 acres by Striker’s Bowling Alley and the possibility of doing a property swap. It was noted that a farmer currently has been using a portion of the City’s property to farm. City Manager Moore will need to check with Mark Clark in regards to “Adverse Possession”. Issue #5 – Orientation and Training for Board Members. City Manager Moore informed Council that binders were recently created that included by By-laws for all City Boards/Commission. The City Manager was currently in the process of checking into classes that could be offered at City Hall for Board members. Issue #6 – Code Enforcement. City Manager Moore informed Council that Administration has done more work this past year on sending out enforcement letters to residents/businesses in violation of City ordinances. Council was provided with a proposed letter that will be mailed businesses that are in violation of the temporary sign ordinance. If Council was in agreement with the letter, administration would mail it out. Council was in agreement with the letter. Rix – Commented on amount of blight behind Ball Equipment. Expressed his frustration with the lack of code enforcement. As Police Officers are on patrol, they should be able to see the violators. City Manager Moore discussed developing training for City employees so that they could identify violations of the City’s ordinances. Council indicated that they wanted a timeline for when training would be done. City Manager Moore requested 1-month to come back to Council with recommendations developed with the Police Chief. Further discussion on the ‘red tag’ warning that was being proposed to address those businesses/residents that do not clear their sidewalks of snow. The door hangers were developed with the input of Mark Clark, to more effectively provide the property notice to property owners. This year, un-shoveled sidewalks will receive the door hanger and form letter Ccm: 01/07/2016 Page 2 of 4  APPROVED 01/18/2016 the first time and then violation notices after that. Issue #7 – Technology. City Manager discussed with Council that we were still in the process of determining if one IT person on staff or one IT Company, city-wide, would be financially beneficial for the City. No changes were made to the Goals/Objectives. Council recessed at 7:30 p.m. Council reconvened at 7:45 p.m. Pet Cemetery Council had been provided with documents related to the layout and hedgerow, along with recommended plantings for the hedgerow. The hedgerow would be planted along three sides of the Pet Cemetery. Discussed the cost to develop this area and the cost of the plantings. Council was informed that Paul Fejedelem has offered to pay for the first 144 markers for the pet cemetery in addition to the cost to have Tetra Tech lay-out the plots. After some discussion, the consensus of Council was to use the Red Twig Dogwood for the hedgerow. City Manager Moore informed Council that he would provide Council with the costs for the plantings prior to this item appearing on a Council agenda. RAHGS Property Proposal Council had been provided plans, prepared by the Historical Society. The plans show the Historical Society’s potential use of the property purchased by the City and TIFA. This property is across from Bailey Park. The proposed plans show that Park Street would be closed to traffic and new structures would be located where the current homes are located. Parking is shown on the plans, but only where the City’s tennis courts are located. Council discussed that the Historical Society would have to provide an alternative parking area, since the City’s tennis courts are not being relocated. Council discussed what the intent of the Historical Society was. The Historical Society was not moving historical buildings, but they were recreating new historical building. Additionally, none of the buildings being proposed were actually in the City of Richmond. LaFore suggested that we let the Historical Society know aspects of their plan we liked and work with the Society to develop a plan that can be supported by both the City and the Historical Ccm: 01/07/2016 Page 3 of 4  APPROVED 01/18/2016 Society. The consensus of Council was to direct RAHGS to focus on the portion of the property along Park Street. The City would look into installing some form of parking at the south end of the property near Beebe Street. The Council liked the idea of moving the Depot across the street to the new property. Council also discussed the possibility of moving a local barn to the property. City Manager Moore questioned if Council wanted a smaller group of Councilors to meet with representatives of the Historical Society. The following Councilors agreed to meet with the Historical Society to discuss their proposed plans: Emily Allen, Jaime Greene and Tim Rix. COUNCIL COMMENTS None ADJOURNMENT Motion by Greene, seconded by Misteravich, to adjourn the Special Quarterly Roundtable Meeting at 9:27 p.m. All yeas Motion carried Respectfully submitted: Karen Stagl City Clerk Ccm: 01/07/2016 Page 4 of 4