[0:03] [music]
[0:15] Okay. Uh, roll call. Sure.
>> Mike Green
[0:19] » here.
>> Mayor Kelly
[0:21] » here.
>> Pam Sheremire
[0:23] » here.
>> Alex Green
[0:24] » here.
>> Fred Prime
[0:26] » here.
>> Dr. Patricia Felton.
[0:30] Charlotte Jones
>> here.
[0:31] » Dan Sugg.
>> All right. We have quum.
[0:34] » Then I'll make a motion to excuse those
not here because they did give us a
[0:38] heads up. Second in support. All those
in favor?
[0:44] » I.
>> All right. Motion carries. Uh approval
[0:48] of the agenda.
>> Move to approve.
[0:52] » Second.
>> A second. No questions. All those in
[0:55] favor?
>> I I
[0:58] » Motion carries. All right. Approval of
the minutes.
[1:01] » I'll make the motion to approve the
minutes.
[1:03] » I would like to second that and add that
they were the most thorough minutes I've
[1:07] ever read.
>> [laughter]
[1:09] » Took me 20 minutes or so, but my welcome
to uh Tom is
[1:13] » Tom was the one.
>> Good job.
[1:17] » All right, it's been made and supported.
All those in favor?
[1:22] » I I motion carries. Uh the consent
agenda.
[1:27] » I'll make the motion for the consent
agenda.
[1:30] » Support.
The
[1:32] » questions. All those in favor? I I
>> All right. Motion carries.
[1:39] Uh public comment.
[1:43] Look like we have any speakers.
We'll move on uh to old business.
[1:52] » There's none.
>> Nothing on the agenda for old business.
[1:55] Move to new business winter festival
updates.
[1:58] » Yes. So on um Friday, December 5th, in
the community room here at city hall,
[2:04] we'll be having our second annual winter
festival. Last year, we held the um
[2:10] family oriented event for crafts and
activities to come together and it was a
[2:15] big success. And following residents uh
inquiry if we were going to do it again
[2:20] this year, we decided that we will. So,
um, the first Friday of December from
[2:26] 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. we will be doing, uh,
the winter festival again. So, we ask
[2:31] all of you to attend. If any of you
would like to volunteer, uh, the DDA
[2:35] will be hosting a cookie decorating
table. It was a big hit last year. We
[2:41] went through 12 dozen uh, cookies. So,
we're going to shoot for a little more.
[2:46] Uh this year we have the Southfield Fire
Department who's going to come by and
[2:50] bring fire truck for the kids to to take
a look at. They're going to have a table
[2:55] as well giving out uh little plastic
fire hats and talking with kids. We'll
[3:01] have parks and wreck is going to have
Santa Claus. Santa's humming one of the
[3:07] uh members uh father or not father their
husband and their daughter are she's
[3:13] going to be the elf. We're going to have
them there to do photos. The uh nature
[3:17] group in coordination with the police
department are going to be doing
[3:21] ornament making. Lauren will be there um
teaching um kids how to play drreidle.
[3:27] And we'll have the uh library will be
there doing library cards and and giving
[3:33] out um coloring books. And who else am
I? Chase Bank will be there giving out
[3:39] piggy banks to kids.
>> And um It's going to be a fun fun night.
[3:45] So,
>> Chamber of Commerce, too.
[3:46] » Chamber of Commerce is also going to be
there. They're going to have their food
[3:49] truck with fries and cocoa. And then,
uh, to cap off the night, we're going to
[3:54] have Kelly get lighten up the Christmas
tree. So, it's going to be a fun night.
[4:00] So, please come on out.
>> Uh, and if anybody would like to do a
[4:03] craft or activity and host a table, we
can get you set up. So, please let me
[4:07] know and spread the word.
>> I have a question. You said uh if you
[4:11] have a you can host a table of bringing
whatever you want to bring or
[4:15] » Yeah. Yeah. So, if there's an activity
or craft you'd like to do with the
[4:18] families and kids, please let me know.
We can get you set up.
[4:22] » Yeah. It's going to be a fun night.
>> No blackjack or anything like that.
[4:25] » No, [laughter] no, no.
>> Shoot crafts. So, you don't want that.
[4:29] [laughter]
>> Yeah.
[4:31] » Very specific.
>> Prefer Christmas oriented holiday.
[4:37] » Yeah. There you go.
um that yeah, please come on out. It'll
[4:40] be a fun night. We did it last year. So,
we plan to decorate the community room
[4:43] and have a good night.
[4:48] » And we also will be at the light up
laser village on Monday night to help
[4:53] [clears throat] first bring in the
festive season.
[4:56] » And if I could ask that um the DDA and
anyone that's watching to please um go
[5:03] because we also have a council meeting
that night. So the council is
[5:07] technically only going to be there for
maybe 20 minutes and so we don't want to
[5:10] look like all of Lake just bitched.
>> Yeah. Yeah. No, we'll definitely be
[5:15] there. We're going to have a table. Tom
and I will be there for um most of the
[5:18] night and then we'll be making our way
back for the council meeting.
[5:22] » Excellent.
>> Very good. Uh there's nothing there
[5:28] approval wise. This is
>> just information.
[5:31] » Okay. Okay.
>> Any other questions?
[5:35] Uh, next item, the snow removal
contract.
[5:39] » Thank you. Yeah, so there is a memo with
three bids we received for this year's
[5:45] snow removal contract. This is for all
the sidewalks along Leather Mile for
[5:51] stretching from Evergreen to Laser
Boulevard as well as sidewalks on the
[5:55] overpasses.
So, um, the meal summarizes the seasonal
[5:58] cost estimate. We did it for an average
of 12 snow events for the snow removal
[6:04] of um the corridor along 11 mile. Uh the
methodology is broken down in the memo.
[6:10] It standardized and compares the three
proposals submitted by Express Snow
[6:14] Removal, Royal Maintenance Group, and
Paradise Gardens. Each of the vendors
[6:18] submitted a different format uh for
budgeting and and costs. One was a
[6:24] seasonal flat rate, one was a per um
push snow event pricing and another was
[6:30] hourly building uh billing. So as you
can see the breakdown was tiered for
[6:37] paradise. The initial cost would be $618
for any snow event between 1 to 4 in.
[6:44] Express snow removal gave a flat rate
per event and it would come out to 1,800
[6:49] in event uh snow event. Royal
Maintenance gave an all-inclusive
[6:53] package of $36,000
for all snow services as well as salt.
[6:59] Because the three submitted proposals
use different pricing structures, a
[7:02] standardized methodology was applied to
generate an equivalent cost for a
[7:06] typical winter. This approach allows for
all proposals to be compared uniformly
[7:09] based on projected labor needs in the
estimated number of snow events. To
[7:14] calculate labor assumptions uniformly
across proposals, we relied on field
[7:19] data provided by the current contractor
who reports that clearing two inches of
[7:22] snow typically requires approximately 3
to four hours for one worker to complete
[7:27] all sidewalks along the corridor. Using
this operational benchmark, all
[7:31] proposals were normalized to reflect an
average of three and a half labor hours
[7:36] uh per event with one primary worker and
standard uh sidewalk cleaning equipment.
[7:41] As you can see uh in the second chart
the per event breakdown for the costs
[7:48] lowest bidder would be Paradise Gardens
parts on the normalized cost comparison
[7:54] their service responsiveness and overall
value that they've provided um we
[7:58] recommend should be awarded the contract
in addition to offering the most
[8:03] competitive pricing for a typical
winter. Padise Gardens has a strong
[8:06] performance record with the city having
consistently delivered high quality lawn
[8:11] care snow removal services under prior
contracts. Their familiarity with the
[8:15] corridor pro proven reliability and
clear per event pricing structure
[8:20] together make them the most dependable
and costefficient choice for their
[8:23] upcoming season. So, we recommend that
the contract uh um quote provided by
[8:30] Paradise be the one accepted and we're
here for any questions that you may
[8:34] have.
[8:37] » Uh one question I had, how did how did
we work out last year? I know we did
[8:41] something.
>> It was a very light winner.
[8:43] » Yeah. La last year, I think the total
bill was like $4,000 just the winner.
[8:47] Um, we went [snorts] with Paradise last
year, but it was originally we had Excel
[8:52] Landscaping, who was the city's longtime
contractor for this. Uh, at the last
[8:56] minute last year, Excel notified us that
they no longer wanted it.
[8:59] » So, since we do have the current
landscaping contract with Paradise, we
[9:03] brought it before the DDA board just to
see if we'd expend extend their services
[9:06] just for the one year. It was also
directed that this year we solicited
[9:10] some quotes. So, that's what the DDA
folks did. That's why they're back in
[9:13] front of you guys asking question. Hey,
we we met with um other contractors and
[9:17] they said that they're scaling back
their snow services that they're having
[9:21] difficulty finding reliable labor as
well as the cost to keep the assets
[9:26] needed on their books was just becoming
too costly. So, it's actually
[9:30] consolidating the number of vendors
available to do this type of work.
[9:34] » We spoke to about six or seven and we
only got three back. So
[9:38] » yeah.
>> And what do you know what um the
[9:40] all-inclusive package means for royal
maintenance?
[9:45] » Yes. So in their bid um it shows that a
uh gold premium package unlimited events
[9:53] 1 to 8 in um as well as a response time
to 1 to two hours uh and also salting
[10:00] before and after storms. So that would
be uh their package and we like Mike
[10:07] said we only expended 4,000 last year.
So
[10:10] » no I was just curious what is Paradise's
time in response response time.
[10:15] » They're usually here um before 8 a.m.
They're on top of it and we have a
[10:20] direct communication with the owner who
is uh also the lawn care um contractor
[10:28] and they're very responsive.
>> Okay.
[10:31] What would happen uh or what would
Paradise charge if if we had a 5 inch
[10:36] snow?
>> Yes. So, as you can see, the their
[10:38] pricing is tiered per inches. So, let me
pull up their bid because it does go up
[10:46] um based on the
snow um
[10:51] » so if it's
[10:54] okay. And then 824 for any event between
six and eight inches and 927 for eight
[11:00] to 10 inches. And also they do salting
based on our request. So it's not
[11:07] something that they just do and then we
get build. They will actually
[11:11] communicate with me and ask would you
like salt? So that can help um at least
[11:16] keep the cost down and not doing it uh
an exorbitant amount.
[11:22] » Got it.
Um I'm just curious if Lady has or um
[11:28] has ever had its own snow removal or
either partnered with Southfield or even
[11:33] the county for this service.
>> We do have our DPW does the uh city hall
[11:38] grounds as well and um but that is a
good uh interesting idea to work in
[11:44] coordination with Southfield to see if
we could have the corridor be a part of
[11:48] their overall snow removal program. And
that's communication or appro uh an
[11:53] approach we can start talking with them
about next winter.
[11:56] » So yeah, that's an interesting idea.
[12:01] » Yeah.
>> Any other questions?
[12:07] » So I'm sorry to follow up. You're saying
that basically this is too much for DPW.
[12:11] Then
>> I can touch on that. So for just so you
[12:15] know, Ly actually contracts out our DPW
services. Oh, th this this portion of
[12:20] it's outside their scope plus the just
the number of contractors we have. We
[12:24] three or four a day.
>> We would have no time to do this on top
[12:28] of taking care of all the roads. And
part of the cost share agreement the
[12:31] city has with the DDA requires us to be
responsible for the corridor.
[12:36] » I get it. Okay.
>> Yeah. So that's why it's kind of
[12:40] interesting that this one aspect of the
city is the DDA's responsibility.
[12:47] Okay. Any additional comments,
questions?
[12:52] All right. We'll take a motion to um
approve the contract.
[12:59] » I will make the I lost it. I'll make the
a motion to authorize the DDA director
[13:05] to enter into a contract for snow
removal services with Paradise Gardens
[13:09] for the 20 202526
winter season.
[13:14] Second.
>> All right. Made in support questions.
[13:17] All those in favor?
>> I I need a roll call. Right.
[13:21] » I got everyone.
>> All right. Uh, next item. 27907
[13:28] California Drive. Proposed purchase
agreements.
[13:31] » Yes. So, we did um give an offer to the
uh the bidder who bid on the lot located
[13:40] on California that's owned by the DDA.
they um said the cost was outside their
[13:46] their structure. So um currently with
their budget so uh they stepped back and
[13:53] did not provide a counter offer. So we
were um interested in hearing your guys'
[14:00] input on the lot. was is this a lot that
we would like to move and and sell uh
[14:06] just to get off the DDA's books or is
this something where we're looking to
[14:11] get based on a fair market value? So, um
when Mike and I put the RFP out, it was
[14:17] more about the proposal itself, not the
cost. Um we were looking to get a fair
[14:23] market value as well as have more
more ability to look over what was
[14:29] actually going to be built. so that it
conformed with the city's master plan as
[14:33] well as that district in the city. So,
um the contractor or the potential
[14:40] purchaser was going to put a urban
nursery there and and grow uh fruit,
[14:47] vegetable, and herbs and also have it be
a educational
[14:52] um center in the city. And it was also
going to be a low impact use right now
[14:58] with that area. the city having the
former school property being
[15:03] redeveloped. It has um the residents
there are looking to have something be
[15:10] lower impact because of the increased
traffic that's already going to be
[15:14] created due to that project. And this
was a a p um a proposal that would
[15:23] really only have the owner there on a
daily basis and then have small groups
[15:27] um on a semi-regular basis and it was
not going to increase the traffic
[15:31] overall. It was also going to require
minimal site development uh when it
[15:37] comes to actually covering the parcel.
One of the biggest concerns for re from
[15:42] residents in that area of the city is
the actual um
[15:47] storm water management issues because we
have a drain and ditch system here in
[15:51] the city. Any type of covering of
currently pvious uh soil will result in
[15:59] changes in how storm water is managed.
And with this use, it was going to allow
[16:04] for storm water to be managed on site
and actually probably have a a net
[16:10] benefit for that area of the city
because wa storm water was going to
[16:14] actually be used to help water the
plants. So, uh, when a year ago when
[16:20] Mike and I worked with Gifles Webster in
potential uses of that lot, we saw it to
[16:26] be condos, which would pretty much cover
most of the lot itself, resulting in
[16:32] storm water to have to be managed in
another manner and also would increase
[16:36] traffic. And the one of the roads, it's
a triangular parcel. Monterey is
[16:41] unpaved. So it would require a developer
to actually put infrastructure costs
[16:47] into it and the purchaser of the lot was
not going to do that. She was not
[16:54] worried about it being a dirt road and
was going to keep it as is. So we're
[16:58] we're here to talk with you. We talked
about going in close session, but I
[17:01] think we can just discuss here. What is
your guys's appetite with this parcel?
[17:07] How would you like to see it either
developed or not developed? at what are
[17:12] we looking to get when it comes to
revenue from the sale of it
[17:21] » have to be sold?
>> Not at this time.
[17:24] » Oh, okay. I just
>> Yeah, I thought we talked about did was
[17:28] there a reason they couldn't lease it or
>> That is something we can look back into.
[17:32] We
>> touched on that last. Yeah, we thought
[17:34] that we didn't want to be uh
>> be have a renter and be uh leasers of
[17:40] the lot and have to manage the lease,
but if it's going to be that the this
[17:45] use is
>> she's very um she has an investor. She's
[17:49] very motivated. She's going to look for
a different parcel somewhere else in the
[17:52] area. She lives in Southfield. She's not
far.
[17:55] » Um so we'll lose out on this business
and this is she also wanted
[18:00] » it's a cost issue, right? I mean they're
they're saying that we're the price that
[18:04] we're asking is too high.
>> Yes.
[18:07] » And currently it's I mean it's sitting
there. I mean we're not doing anything
[18:11] with it, right?
>> Nope. And we're required to maintain it
[18:14] and um also it's on uh we're not getting
any tax value from it.
[18:18] » Right. I know we had positive feedback
from the community. The um the lease
[18:24] option for them. Um was she open to
that?
[18:29] » She was open to it. She really wants
this lot. She likes the location. She
[18:33] likes how it is located in the village
center. She also um used to work uh in
[18:41] for the city of Ferndale as their zero
waste coordinator. So, she understands
[18:46] what communities are trying to do with a
master plan and develop certain aspects
[18:52] of their city. We have an overall
village center design uh goal that we
[18:58] have here and she understands that and
wants to be a part of it. She wants to
[19:02] be a part of the community. She even
said in her response uh following me
[19:06] giving her our initial offer said that
she would still want to work together
[19:10] with us on different projects. She's
really interested in starting a farmers
[19:14] market.
>> Um she was going to talk with John
[19:16] Roberts who owns the church to the west
about doing it in the parking lot there.
[19:22] » Right. So I think the lease option um
should at least be explored with her.
[19:26] » Yeah, I I definitely at least you know
my opinion. I mean we should um you know
[19:30] revisit that.
>> Um you know I mean the way I look at it
[19:34] it's more than you know just the price
you know it's the value you know they
[19:39] want to provide the district. So
>> and also placemaking wise it it was a
[19:43] good use. I think residents would like
it and also many of their concerns
[19:48] concerns. Mike, Tom and I kept
brainstorming potential um pitfalls with
[19:53] this proposed use and we thought that
there was always a solid response to um
[20:00] any issues that could arise, especially
storm water management. That was the
[20:04] biggest concern because people don't
want to see storm water building up in
[20:07] their backyards or on their front yards.
And this was actually going to be
[20:11] absorbing more water than it was going
to be offputting into the roads and onto
[20:16] neighboring lots.
>> Yeah. No, I that's what would be my uh
[20:21] suggestion.
>> How was the price determined? Was it
[20:23] appraised or something? I mean, how did
we come up with the price?
[20:25] » It wasn't a formal appraisal. Uh
naturally, we know how much the DDA
[20:30] acquired it for back in 2013. Did a
basic adjustment for inflation for
[20:36] » asking price to start it. And we also
looked at what other lots um unbuilt but
[20:41] are being sold in [snorts] the city.
>> How big is the lot?
[20:45] » It is just slightly under a half an
acre.
[20:50] » And what was supposed to go there? You
said condos. I'm sorry.
[20:52] » No, no, no. This was going to be a
nursery.
[20:55] » Oh, just a nursery. Okay.
>> There was a um proposal for condos to be
[20:59] there at one point.
>> Yeah, we looked into it that there was a
[21:02] » on half an acre.
>> It wasn't like it wasn't going to be
[21:05] like massive obviously. I think it was
like only two.
[21:09] » Yeah. Max it would have been like four
to five like threetory.
[21:13] » First level would be Yeah. And that was
just exploratory. That was nothing or
[21:17] anything like that.
>> There was no Yeah. There was no
[21:19] developer who we were engaging with
about potentially developing that. We
[21:23] just envisioned it as potentially being
a use that could fit well in that part
[21:28] of the district
>> because it is in our village center
[21:32] district although it is outside the DVA.
I think it's kind of hard to put your
[21:38] finger on fair market value when it
comes to that lot, which is an oddshaped
[21:43] lot. It has a lot of weed trees on it
that are going to have to be leveled.
[21:48] Um, and you you already had how many
rounds of solicitations for two.
[21:54] » So,
>> this this bidder seems to be the only
[21:58] one who's really interested in it. Um,
so I would be in favor of lowering our
[22:04] offer or asking a uh uh exploring the
lease option if if that's at all
[22:10] possible from our perspective. Then it's
going to mean more
[22:14] » too much work on our end to be a
landlord. Well, that's a consideration.
[22:18] » That was actually when we presented the
concept to our planning consultant,
[22:22] their f first response back was look
into it being a lease.
[22:26] » Yeah. because other um urban nurseries
that's how they acquire their property
[22:31] is
>> so I do have a I'm sorry for to
[22:33] interrupt me I do have a question um I
make you forget what the question was
[22:39] you
>> no [laughter] I was saying no but I was
[22:41] like trying to jump in there
>> and because it's such the cost um
[22:45] structure for in the revenue for this
type of business is the margins are so
[22:50] tight that is another reason many of
these urban industries go with a lease
[22:55] because it is more affordable for him in
the long run.
[22:58] » No, I know what I was going to say.
>> Okay.
[22:59] » Um, what was the like the difference in
what we asked? You don't have to give
[23:05] like a dollar figure, but what was it a
major gap? And what
[23:08] » it was such a major gap she didn't
counter.
[23:12] » Okay.
>> And then also just thinking about what's
[23:16] going on with the city. I I'm not in
favor of being a landlord because um
[23:23] [snorts] if they do decide to move, then
we're back at square one after their
[23:27] lease is over. And so also with it being
lease and that means that the city, not
[23:32] the DDA, right, has to take care of that
property.
[23:35] » Yes.
>> Yeah.
[23:38] » Okay. Oh, and then my last question. And
if we sell it, that means we have just
[23:42] sell it as is. That means that we have
no control over what is built there
[23:46] besides what the ordinances.
>> Yep. Planning commission through the
[23:50] site plan review process would be the
only um regulatory aspect of it.
[23:55] » Well, one aspect of that, that's where
the purchase agreement comes into play
[23:58] where if we do sell it, we can put
semistructured terms in the purchase
[24:02] agreement of what can and cannot go
there. And then um also have we uh
[24:07] solicited a realtor that can maybe also
help with giving more of an accurate
[24:12] price?
>> Um not at this time, but that is
[24:15] something we can uh look into. It was a
market value based off of what recent
[24:21] lots have sold in the city. That was
where the offer came from.
[24:26] » So what are what would you say is our
current yearly cost to maintain that
[24:32] property?
I I'd have to do a little homework dwing
[24:37] the biggest thing it's landscaping every
year. So mowing it weekly
[24:41] » and there's ways to structure we can
look into this um to structure the lease
[24:45] so such that the maintenance and things
that we may be assuming
[24:50] » we have to be responsible for as a
landlord is are mitigated to a great
[24:56] extent. So, I mean, we can I I hear what
what um what what Kellyy's saying about
[25:01] the being the landlord and if you know
if they leave, we're back where we are
[25:04] right now.
>> So, we're I mean, so that but I think we
[25:09] should look at um um how the lease could
be structured to, you know, kind of
[25:16] mitigate the landlord issues that we may
be assuming we're undertaking.
[25:20] » And I would rather throw another monkey
wrench in this one. I would rather them
[25:25] take over the community garden curtain,
at least that part, seeing that that's
[25:28] going to be another thing that we're
about to run into.
[25:31] » Yes. Um Yeah. And these are all great
ideas that we can look into. I I'm
[25:37] actually in favor of a lease because the
lot would be it wouldn't be developed
[25:43] that much. There would be a small
structure for an office, a bathroom, and
[25:47] a uh processing area. And also that
processing area will be used for
[25:51] community groups to come in and do
educational workshops. And most of the
[25:56] lot is going to be a greenhouse or
continue. It'll be cleared out with the
[26:01] trees. So if a developer wanted to come
in, it wouldn't take much to do site
[26:05] prep to begin what they would like to
do.
[26:07] » I swear this is my last question.
>> Okay.
[26:10] » I'm no Bruce Caner. I'm still [laughter]
>> um who's going to be doing the clearing
[26:16] out of the trees? Would it be on the
Okay.
[26:19] Okay. Thank you.
>> Okay. I have a few questions. Go ahead.
[26:22] » So,
what is there something that says we had
[26:25] to do the adjustment for today's
pricing? Like what if we sold it for
[26:29] what we paid for it? Was that going to
be still too high? We were
[26:33] [clears throat] um uh we were looking to
make a small profit to help with our
[26:38] budget, but um at this time um we we're
open to any concepts or ideas of how we
[26:46] can help improve that part of the city.
Yeah, and that's one of the reasons why
[26:49] we kept this on the agenda was to have
this conversation to see if the DDA
[26:54] wanted to go back and essentially recoup
the cost that they paid for it back in
[26:58] the day or take less and just get it
developed and get off the books. That's
[27:02] that's why we're having this.
>> There's a small parcel that's oddly
[27:04] shaped. It's behind a building. I mean,
>> um, storm water drainage issues or
[27:10] considerations at least.
>> Um, cannot say that.
[27:13] » And god forbid that the the city doesn't
want to be a landlord. Now you see how
[27:16] landlords feel, right?
[clears throat]
[27:23] » And and they are
they are interested in leasing or
[27:26] they're they're not
>> they would be open to leasing. Yes.
[27:29] » I just find it hard to believe that
somebody who wants to lease is going to
[27:31] build a building knowing that they're
going to get no equity out of it.
[27:36] » She is more missiondriven than profit
driven.
[27:39] » Yeah, I get that. Yeah.
>> Still, it's it's an investment and you
[27:42] know it's money it's from their
perspective, it's money down the drain.
[27:45] » Yeah. that wouldn't be recouped.
>> Well,
[27:48] I But again, if you structure it a
certain way though, where they feel as
[27:51] though they're getting at least enough,
you know what I'm saying? Things are
[27:54] » they have expectations are bad. So, they
don't feel like they've got a lot of
[27:58] expenses that they
>> surely cannot pay for. Y
[28:01] » um that might be something, you know,
I'm not sure how you do that if you like
[28:05] all the maintenance on them, but
>> and I'm sorry.
[28:08] » Yeah, maintenance. Yeah, you can put
that in the lease. I said though, I'm
[28:11] not sure how you keep the cost low for
this for the lei if all the maintenance
[28:15] is on them as well.
>> Gotcha.
[28:16] » Yeah.
>> Okay.
[28:18] » But she was ready to go because she said
that the best time to clear that type of
[28:22] a lot is the winter.
>> So,
[28:24] » yeah. Everything's down.
>> They said I was done.
[28:28] » It's okay.
>> Can you ask? [laughter]
[28:31] » I've already given I've done it quite a
few too.
[28:33] » Is there an option of God? What is it
called? [snorts] Don't bite out. Um
[28:38] » Lee stone. lay stone.
>> Yeah, I was gonna say lay contract.
[28:42] » Laying contract. Yeah.
>> I mean, we can we're open to any
[28:45] concept. And I to be honest as a planner
I I thought the proposed use was a
[28:53] fantastic addition to the city, the
village center and also it was not going
[28:58] to um disrupt the neighbors uh the
neighboring residents as much because
[29:03] this is a an area where the commercial
corridor at buffers along residential.
[29:09] So, it it's um an area where it could
increase the traffic or do you or it's
[29:17] going to increase anyways because of
what's going on at the school.
[29:21] » Uh, one last question.
>> Yeah, go for it.
[29:23] » Does the city have any means to develop
it itself?
[29:26] » No.
>> No.
[29:27] » Yeah. [laughter]
>> That was quick.
[29:30] » Okay.
>> Okay.
[29:33] » Very gently.
>> We've had those discussions internally
[29:36] for a little over a year now. And uh No.
>> Okay. with respect.
[29:40] » Okay. Was it respect?
>> Okay, I understand.
[29:43] » Just out of curious, was it more of an
idea thing or a finance thing or both
[29:47] » for the city?
>> Yes.
[29:48] » Cost. Okay.
[29:53] » So, what are the next steps for this?
>> I I personally would like to go back and
[29:58] explore the lease option with her. I
think um or if this is more about
[30:04] selling the property, we could lower the
cost. So, I would like direction from
[30:10] the board how you'd like me to proceed.
Um, personally, I think there is a way
[30:15] to structure the lease in a way where it
is favorable to her in the city.
[30:22] » Yeah. I say we um and we obviously we
can talk to you but uh whatever the
[30:27] concerns are
>> and I would like to talk to Alex more
[30:30] about being a property owner,
>> right?
[30:32] » Yeah.
[30:36] » Okay. I will I will engage with the um
the uh proposal the individual who's
[30:42] looking to uh acquire the property about
a lease if they'd be interested in that
[30:47] or if she really is that driven about
coming back with a a new offer
[30:53] because I love the concept. I think it's
a great addition.
[30:58] » Yeah, that sounds good.
>> Thank you.
[31:04] » Director's report. All right.
[31:09] So, we have a few events coming up in
the uh the month.
[31:16] First one will be a small business
social um event hosted by Oakland Thrive
[31:22] at the event house here in Lake Village
across the street. It's about strategic
[31:26] planning and networking. It is on
Saturday, November 29th from 11:00 a.m.
[31:31] to 1 pm. The Southfield Chamber Area
Commerce in Oakland Thrive with a small
[31:35] business social um designed to help
business owners create strategic plan
[31:41] for 2026. Connect with peers, share
ideas, and walk away with tools,
[31:45] inspiration to grow their business.
Registration can be uh completed at
[31:50] southfieldchamber.com.
Uh, as we mentioned before, on December
[31:54] 5th, the first Friday of the month, the
Village Winter Festival will be from
[31:59] 6:00 to 8 here in the community room at
city hall. Join the DDA and many of our
[32:04] community partners for a cheerful
evening of holiday fun for all ages.
[32:08] Activities include cook decorating,
holiday crafts, ornament making, and
[32:12] photos with Santa. Also, there's an
ongoing toy drive in coordination with
[32:17] boys to use mentoring. We ask anyone
who's interested in helping children
[32:23] enjoy a wonderful Christmas to either
drop off uh donated toys here at city
[32:31] hall in the lobby or at Boys and Men's
office located at 28050 Southfield Road
[32:38] at sweet 170 until December 12th.
um what's going on currently with some
[32:44] of our businesses at 2700
Southfield Road. Discount Tire, they are
[32:50] continuing their interior buildout uh
and updating of the showroom. Their new
[32:54] signs, both the monument and the two
principal wall signs because they are a
[32:58] corner lot. They do have the option to
put two signs up that have been uh
[33:04] installed this past month. We have a new
business lo coming coming in at 26780
[33:10] Southfield Road where 44 Burrito was
located. It's called Holyberger. They
[33:14] have um a couple other locations in the
area. They've gotten rave reviews. Their
[33:20] business license application has been
received. It's under review. Their wall
[33:24] sign has been put up. There's very
little interior alterations being done.
[33:29] They were actually there earlier this
week painting the interior and they
[33:32] should be opening relatively soon once
their business applications received.
[33:36] Hopefully we can work with the local
chambers to do a grand opening which all
[33:40] of you will be invited to to come on out
and welcome our uh new business here in
[33:44] Lther Village. uh across the street at
27651 Southfield Road, Middle East. They
[33:51] received site plan approval on Tuesday
during our November planning commission
[33:55] meeting to expand their dining room by
1900 square feet into the adjacent
[34:00] adjacent tenant space which was a former
retail location for um eyeglasses and
[34:07] the use was switched to restaurant. So
they will be expanding their business
[34:13] has uh done very well. We're happy to
have them in the district and we're
[34:17] happy they chose Laam Village as their
home. The ongoing installation of two EV
[34:22] chargers here in the city hall parking
lot is ongoing and as well as the
[34:27] installation of two Hawk signals on
Southfield Road between Calbr and
[34:32] Margaret um along Southfield are being
completed. Both are looking to be uh
[34:38] actually somebody was using the EV
charger earlier today, but the
[34:42] electrification of the Hawk signals are
still to be done soon.
[34:47] Staff, we are currently in the process
of drafting a grant for proposed traffic
[34:52] calming along 11 mile at the
intersections of Lesser Boulevard and
[34:56] Southfield. General Motors in
coordination with NA the National Main
[35:00] Street Organization host a grant each
year for
[35:05] uh communities that have a General
Motors facility nearby Oakland County.
[35:10] We qualify as one. So we are doing um a
proposal for traffic markings on the
[35:17] road. This is a very congested area at
Leather Boulevard. There is a merging of
[35:24] traffic coming off 696 as well as
continuing traffic of 11 mile which is
[35:30] intersected by Laser Boulevard. It's a
very um I used to drive it. Um Tom
[35:36] currently drives it. It is difficult
coming off 696 or if you're on 11 mile
[35:41] trying to get to Southfield, it's
difficult with traffic coming off at
[35:45] highway speed uh on 696 ramp as well as
the cross traffic laser boulevard and
[35:51] then down Yes.