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September 2000 Status Report
TO: Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Paul Preston
SUBJECT: Status Report - September 2000It is my pleasure once again to submit for your review and information my monthly status report. If you should have any questions about any of the items listed, or if I failed to discuss an item you would like additional information on, please do not hesitate to contact me.
1. POST OFFICE
As I mentioned in a previous memo, the Post Office has closed on the City-owned property and the property owned by Central Michigan Newspapers. It is also my understanding that they took bids for a design-build contract for the new facility on September 8th. I do not have any timetable for the start of construction, but I would assume they would like to start yet this fall or early next spring.
2. PROJECT 2000 TAX CASE
We have still received no indication as to when and if this matter will be heard before the Tribunal Judge. We have decided that we will let the matter sit and see what happens.
3. PICKARD STREET SIDEWALK PROJECT
As I am sure you have noticed, construction of sidewalk along Pickard Street is moving along rather quickly. As you know, Mr. McGuirk was required to put in the sidewalk as part of a site plan review for a building expansion that occurred a number of years ago. We are in discussion with Mr. McGuirk as to where that sidewalk should go, and whether or not he needs to grant us an easement on which to put the sidewalk. That matter is still under discussion between Mr. McGuirk, the City Attorney and City staff, and hopefully will be resolved shortly.
4. UNION NEGOTIATIONS
We had our first negotiating session with the police officers association and the command officers association this past week. It is anticipated there will be a number of meetings during the negotiation process, and we will keep you informed.
5. LIAISON MEETINGS
We have had a series of liaison meetings in September that I would like to review with you.
Isabella County: We held a liaison meeting with the County on September 13th. Two major items were discussed: prioritization of the 2% requests, and the possible paving of Crawford Road. The County indicated they had not yet prioritized their projects, but would do so at their next meeting. We therefore scheduled another meeting with the County for Friday, September 22. We also asked for their support when we approach the Road Commission to participate with the City, property owners, and Township on the possible paving of Crawford Road from Pickard to River Road. The committee indicated they would support our request.
Union Township: Also this week we met with Union Township, and the major focus of discussion was the status of their permit for the Wastewater Treatment Plant and the ring road project. As you know, the Township has received the permit from EPA for their plant project. However, there are some provisions in the permit which they do not like and have decided to appeal to the EPA.
It is my understanding that if an appeal is filed, the EPA can suspend the recently-approved license while the appeal is being heard. The Township intends to request that the license be kept in place while the appeal progresses through EPA's administrative process. They have asked for a letter from the City supporting their position that the license be kept in place while the appeal is being heard. I indicated that I would submit such a letter, and I am currently waiting for some advice from our attorney, George Davis, on how best to structure the letter.
We also talked a little bit about the ring road project and indicated that the work of the committee chaired by Duane Ellis on the roads master plan should be finished within the next few weeks.CMU: We met with CMU the week of September 11th. A major focus of the meeting was their proposed master plan. We also talked briefly about the proposed town-gown committee, and everyone agreed that it would be worthwhile to get the committee up and running. Dick Davenport, the Provost, told us that the University is experiencing one of its largest enrollments at 18,000 students. They also gave us a brief presentation on the proposed health services building to be located at the corner of Preston and East Campus Drive.
Tribe: We have been unable to schedule a meeting with the Tribe, and at our County meeting we talked about various ways of trying to arrange a meeting. The Mayor has indicated that he will contact the Chief, and Commissioner Jerry Huber from the County also indicated that he would make a couple of contacts with Tribal Council members he knows to see if we can schedule a meeting in the near future.
6. MHT HOUSING
As you know, they are proposing to build another 48 units next to their Chase Run project on Isabella Road. In speaking with Bill McCracken the other day, he indicated that they intend to break ground yet this fall, with occupancy in 2001.
7. EAGLE-PICHER/HILLSDALE TOOL
As you may recall, this is an industry that built in our Industrial Park-South approximately a year ago. They have scheduled an open house for October 6th. At this point I do not have a time for the open house, but if interested, you may want to put that on your calendar as they will be giving a tour of their facilities as part of the open house.
8. "LET LOCAL VOTES COUNT" BALLOT PROPOSAL
You may have read that the County and Townships Association as well as the local Chamber of Commerce and Union Township have voted to oppose "Let Local Votes Count". It is unfortunate because I think their decision is based on some incorrect information being published by the opponents to the proposal. As I indicated in the packet of information I gave you at the last Commission meeting, we will obtain additional information at the annual Michigan Municipal League conference, and at the next Commission meeting will share the information along with suggestions for educating the public.
9. INCOME TAX STUDY
A few days ago I received an update on the study from Nancy Ridley. She indicated that at the end of August she and Mary Ann Kornexl met with two of the people involved with the study from Municipal Consulting Services. At that time they shared with staff some of the details on the various tasks outlined in the study to give them a better feel for the City's involvement in each step. They also indicated that other than the 1990 Census data they did not have much luck finding any current data specifically for the City of Mt. Pleasant. Much of what they found was for the county, the school district, or by zip code, which in all cases encompasses more than just the City. They determined that the best way to get accurate information is to do a survey of current businesses within the community. A letter has been sent by the consulting firm to local businesses, and a follow-up letter has been sent out by the Mayor encouraging their support in providing the information. We will keep you advised of the status of this project.
10. PARK TRAIL PROJECT
As you know, at your last meeting you approved the construction of Lincoln Road in Island Park and the first phase of the trail project. I am pleased to report that the contracts have been signed and work will begin in October on the road and trail project.
11. SMART ZONES
As you know, we have begun the process of creating a Smart Zone park with the introduction of an ordinance to create a Local Development Finance Authority. There are a number of steps that must still be taken including developing a partnership between the University and businesses that might locate in the Park. It is my understanding that serious negotiations are underway between the University and two high tech companies that should meet that requirement. I will keep you informed of the status of this project.
12. PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING
I would like to take just a minute to bring you up to date on the status of the project. According to the architect, the design phase of the project is approximately 60 percent completed. They have made adjustments in the floor plan to make the layout more efficient. Exterior elevation concepts have been finished and architectural finishes are being discussed at the present time. Application has been submitted for special use permit for OS-2 site, along with a site plan review application, which will be addressed with the Planning Commission at their October 5 meeting.