City Council Minutes

CITY OF GRANDVILLE

REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

The Grandville City Council Regular Meeting of September 22, 2008 was called to order by Mayor James Buck at 7:00 pm.

The City Clerk called the roll. Present were Council Members Ken Gates, Randal Gelderloos, Steve Maas, Joshua Meringa, Carole Pettijohn, Stan Ponstein, and Mayor James Buck. Absent:

Also attending: Tammy Aue, Treasurer/Finance Directory; Matthew Butts, Assistant City Manager; Randy Kraker, City Attorney; Kenneth Krombeen, City Manager; Mary Meines, City Clerk; and Dennis Santo, Police Chief.

Rev. Tom Pier-Fitzgerald, Grandville United Methodist Church, gave the invocation; and was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Motion made by Council Member Maas, supported by Council Member Ponstein, to approve the September 22, 2008 agenda as provided. The motion was APPROVED.

Motion made by Council Member Meringa, supported by Council Member Pettijohn, to waive the reading of the minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 8, 2008 and to approve as presented. The motion was APPROVED.

Motion made by Council Member Pettijohn, supported by Council Member Ponstein, that Fiscal Year 2008-2009 bills totaling $395,253.22 as presented by the City Manager, be allowed and authorize the Treasurer to pay the same. The motion was unanimously APPROVED by roll call vote.

PUBLIC COMMENT

City Council honored the Grandville Little League 2008 Junior Softball All-Star Team, and Mayor Buck read a proclamation paying tribute to the team and Coaches Heidi Hardin, Eric Kahkonen, and Marty McNamara.

74th District Representative Agema gave an update on Energy Bills and the Detroit River Crossing.

ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

Motion made by Council Member Maas, supported by Council Member Gates, to remove from the Zoning Ordinance No. 204-CB table for further discussion. The motion was APPROVED.

Assistant City Manager Butts indicated Zoning Ordinance No. 204-CB would rezone 4555 and 4565 Wilson from OS-1, Office/Service District, to C-1, Commercial Neighborhood Business District. At the August 25^th meeting, City Council did show interest in a conditional rezoning of the property. The applicant has submitted a letter dated September 18^th outlining conditions for a conditional rezoning. Conditional considerations included:

(1) façade improvements – façade plans for the north and east elevations were submitted and provided to City Council

(2) signage – the applicant would not be permitted to construct any pylon signage along Wilson Ave or wall signage along Rivertown Parkway but the applicant would be allowed to construct a second monument sign along Rivertown Parkway no further than 250 feet from the west property line – in compliance with C-1 requirements

(3) usage – 60% office and 40% retail

Comments made by Council Members included:

Maas

· asked for clarification on size of signage allowed under the C-1 Zone

· don’t like window signs – maybe Planning Commission should look at. Mr. Kraker believes the City could regulate signs that are visible from the outside – zoning regulation goes to the use not the form of ownership – the City’s regulatory power trumps an owner/tenant contract

Meringa

· asked if the proposed office to retail ratio was based on the traffic consultant’s recommendation – Mr. Jager indicated the owner believes when the building is fully occupied there will be 40% retail and based on that asked for the traffic consultant’s thoughts

· what is the current occupancy – approximately 60%

· will the monument sign along Rivertown Parkway advertise both buildings – yes

· will wall signs along the north side be removed – yes

· have the plans for the new signage been discussed with the tenants – no

· removal of any portable or temporary signs

Ponstein

· will the 100 sq. ft. signage included with the rezoning be a total of all signs or will it be in addition to existing signs – Mr. Butts indicated it is 100 sq. ft. per sign and they are allowed one sign per frontage

· the property fronts two streets, will they get two signs – Mr. Kraker stated that they may get an additional monument sign but must remove the wall signage

· there is nothing that says the tenants will remove all window signage – Mr. Jager could not commit to removal of window signage but would be happy to bring to the owner

Gates

· agree with Council Member Ponstein’s comments

· will the owner control campaign signs

Mayor Buck

· directed Mr. Jager to bring the City Council comments back to client

Motion made by Council Member Maas, supported by Council Member Gates, to table Zoning Ordinance No. 204-CB and direct the City Attorney to draft a modified ordinance to reflect the conditions proposed by the owner and bring back to City Council for action. The motion was unanimously APPROVED by roll call vote.

Discussion of the request to approve the liquor license for Tailgaters Sports Bar, 3075 28th St. Attorney for the applicant, David Schulenburg, reviewed the request. Michael Vodry and Frank Russo are the applicants. The business is proposed to be a family style bar and restaurant with 70% of sales in food and 30% alcohol.

Attorney Kraker explained that quota liquor licenses may be transferred within the county outside of Grand Rapids. If one of the City’s quota license is placed in escrow and a potential applicant would like to obtain a resort license they would need to show the LCC that the quota license is reasonably unavailable (i.e. price, litigation, etc.). Just because there is a quota license in escrow it does not prevent a restaurant from obtaining a resort liquor license. Also, if the population grows and Grandville qualifies for another quota license and that license the City could control – it would have to be issued and then used here for a period of time. A previously issued license placed in escrow may be transferred within the county outside of Grand Rapids. Mr. Butts pointed out if this license is issued for 3075 28^th St. the one in escrow will be froze in escrow until transferred to another location – there cannot be two licenses approved for one location.

Council asked questions re: tavern licenses, dance/entertainment permit, hours of operation, percentage of ownership, bar or restaurant use, number of employees, catering,

Comments made by Council Members included:

Maas

· supports local businesses

· would like to see the building put back into use

· is happy to see activity on the north side of town

Gates

· does not support giving a liquor license to a bar - would rather see restaurants

Pettijohn

· likes to see a locally owned restaurant with a unique menu

Ponstein

· agrees with Council Members Maas and Pettijohn but is not in favor of this proposal because he has not been reassured the project will be successful

Mayor Buck

· has confidence that the project can succeed and the LCC was trying to make the process as simple as possible by transferring the license from Kentwood since the original is in litigation

· don’t see any difference in the type of restaurant than when the original license was issued

Motion made by Council Member Maas, supported by Council Member Pettijohn, to approve Resolution No. 2858, approving the transfer of a liquor license from Meadowlane Golf Course, Inc., 3356 44^th St. SE, Kentwood, MI to Tailgaters Sports Bar, Inc., 3075 28^th St. SW, Grandville, MI. The motion was DENIED by a 3-4 vote (Yes: Maas, Pettijohn, Buck. No: Gates, Gelderloos, Meringa, Ponstein.)

CONSENT AGENDA

Items presented under the Consent Agenda included:

1. Reports: Fire/EMS (August), CWP (August), Investments (August)

2. Minutes: Historical Commission (May 20)

3. Resolution No. 2859: Amending the List of Designated Depositories

4. Proclamation: Tribute to Grandville 2008 Junior Girls All-Star Softball Team

5. Nomination: Scott Petersen, KDL Region 7 Representative

6. Set Public Hearings: IDD – Extreme Wire EDM (Oct. 27 at 7:15 pm)

IFT Certificate – Extreme Wire EDM (Oct. 27 at 7:20 pm)

7. Miscellaneous Purchase Orders and Requests:

a. DPW: Water Tank Inspection

Dixon Engineering - $2,600.00

Motion made by Council Member Maas, supported by Council Member Gelderloos, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented in the best interest of the City. The motion was unanimously APPROVED by roll call vote.

COUNCIL COMMENTS

· 75^th Anniversary Celebration and Lee St. Park Dedication

· Calvin Crest Ribbon Cutting scheduled for September 24, 2008 at 3:30 pm

· CWP – 2007 Excellence and Maintenance Award – September 24, 2008 at 1:00 pm

· KCDA meeting at Wyoming Library – September 30, 2008 at 7:00 pm

· Fire Prevention Open House – October 7, 2008

· GVMC Quarterly Luncheon – Calvin College – October 13, 2008 at noon

ADJOURNMENT

Motion made by Council Member Gates, supported by Council Member Pettijohn, to adjourn at 8:45 pm to Executive Session for purposes of pending litigation. The motion was unanimously APPROVED by roll call vote.

Mary L. Meines

City Clerk

Approved by City Council: October 13, 2008

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