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July 2003 Status Report
It is my pleasure to submit to you for your review and information the monthly status report. If you have any questions or comments about the report, please do not hesitate to contact me.
1. State Shared Revenue
After much debate, a deal has been cut in Lansing for the 2004 State budget. This budget becomes effective October 1st of this year. As part of the deal the three percent across-the-board revenue sharing cuts that were initially proposed by the Governor a few months ago were preserved. As you know, there was considerable discussion about amending that proposed cut, which would have negatively impacted cities even more. Fortunately that was defeated, and the three percent cuts remain.
2. Commission Problem-Solving
A few days ago I sent you a memo with a chart on which to indicate your preferred time for the problem-solving training with Dr. Hal Stack. If you have not done so, I would ask that you return that chart with your choices at Monday night's meeting. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
3. Streetscape Project
As I am sure you know, the project is essentially completed. Except for the couple of times that they struck utility lines, I think the contractor did a very nice job on the project. I am especially pleased with the brick work as it was a tedious and time-consuming process, but I think it turned out very well. The lights are on back order and will not be delivered until the latter part of August. As I recall we had this same problem with the original streetscape project.
4. Bronze Art Gallery
We will be going out for bids shortly for this project. It is hoped that the trees and brick will be installed by the end of September.
5. Principal Shopping District Management Board
The Board met on July 15th and finalized their recommendation to the City Commission regarding the parking special assessment. The matter was reviewed by the DCC, and they are in concurrence with the Board's recommendation.
Since the recommendation is to create a special assessment district to assess all property owners within the district for the parking costs, there are a number of steps that must be taken by the City Commission. We will follow the same process we use for all other special assessments, which is the introduction and adoption of five resolutions and the holding of two separate public hearings. We will introduce the first two resolutions at the first meeting in August. We also plan to hold a workshop that same evening, at which time we can go over the Board's recommendations in more detail. This will provide you an opportunity to learn more about the recommendation prior to holding the first public hearing.
6. Budget Committee
The Committee held its first meeting last week, and we have included in your packet minutes from that meeting. It may be that some members of the Budget Committee have already contacted you regarding the information we provided at that first meeting. There are at least two other Budget Committee meetings scheduled, and we will hold others if needed.
7. Skate Park
The repairs have been made at the Skate Park, and all of the insulation has been installed. I believe there has been quite a reduction in the noise level from the park.
8. Sidewalk Construction
The new and replacement sidewalk project has been completed for this year. Some seeding and other touch-up work is being completed at the present time, but essentially the project is done.
9. Bradley Street Construction
One of the larger street projects for us this year was the reconstruction of Bradley Street from Broadway to Pickard. The first layer of asphalt was laid the week of July 14th. According to the contractor it will be the end of the month before he can get Central Asphalt back in to lay down the wearing course on the road. As soon as that work is completed the project will essentially be completed except for backfill and seeding. According to Duane Ellis the contractor has done a good job on the project.
10. Broadway Street
Another big project for us this year is the reconstruction of Broadway from Mission Street to Crapo. When this project is done we will have essentially repaved or reconstructed the entire length of the roadway. This was done in phases. The first phase was the realignment of the Brown-Broadway intersection and the installation of a traffic light; the second phase was from Crapo to Isabella; and of course now we are on the final phase. This final phase is being funded with Tribal two percent money.
11. Family Recreation Center
The Center Committee continues to meet. There was a meeting of the subcommittee putting together the Request For Proposals from consultants the week of July 14th. Those should be mailed shortly to qualified firms, and the Committee anticipates a response within 30 to 45 days.
12. Fire Funding
I have just received some information regarding the status of fire funding in the proposed 2004 Budget. The total fund appropriation for fire funding for 2004 is $3.7 million, which means that this year we will all receive the same amount we received last year. There is a caveat to this, however; under the proposed budget, if a new driver's license surcharge generates more than $65 million, fire funded cities share the first $3 million, and if it generates more than $100 million, we get an additional amount. The feeling is that there is a pretty good chance that more than $65 million will be generated within the next year or two; however, it is not believed likely it will hit $100 million.
I have been in contact with the City Manager from East Lansing, and we are thinking about having a meeting in Detroit at the MML Convention with other impacted cities to talk about this issue in more detail.
13. Department Name Change
Bill McCracken has proposed a name change for the City's Building Inspection and Code Enforcement Department. At a recent state meeting a representative of the Bureau of Construction Codes brought to their attention the portion of the new Building Code that basically creates a Department of Building Safety as the official enforcement agency. Bill and I agree that changing our name to Department of Building Safety/Code Enforcement brings it in line with the new Building Code, and reflects the department's philosophy and their daily activities and practices.
We will be implementing the change over the next few months with our new promotional and informational material. We will not throw out any current brochures or information containing the title, so the cost to implement this name change should be very minimal.
14. Industrial Park-South
If you have been by the park recently, you may have noticed that a new building is under construction. A couple of years ago we sold a lot to Bill's Custom Fab, and over the past few weeks he has been erecting the steel for the 10,000 square foot building. They currently employ about 15 people, and their intent is to over the next four or five years increase their staff to about 30 or 35 employees.
15. Project 2000
As you may recall, we recently went out for bids for the 26 acres in the Plains Subdivision. Over the past few weeks the Property Committee has been meeting with staff on this bid, and staff has been doing due diligence in checking out the bidder including their bank references and references from other communities in which they have worked. Steve Martineau is now in the process of drafting a sales agreement with the bidder. Hopefully we will be able to complete that over the next two weeks, and at either the first or second meeting in August we will be able to present a recommendation to you regarding the sale of the 26 acres.
15. Broadway And Main Traffic Light
I am sure you have noticed that the traffic light at Main and Broadway was not working. Consumers Energy determined that there was a broken line under the sidewalk. They have installed a temporary power source and will bore a new line next week.
16. Future Work Sessions
We have a few work sessions planned for the next few meetings to include Code Enforcement and dog waste, Principal Shopping District Management Board, and the proposed light pollution ordinance. In fact, the Planning Commission has requested a joint meeting with the City Commission on the proposed ordinance. In addition, Commissioner Moreno has indicated an interest in discussing the creation of a Citizens Local Government Academy similar to the very successful citizens and youth academies conducted by the Police Department.