Grand Rapids Reporter

City of Grand Rapids issued the following announcement on Sept. 11.

The Grand Rapids City Commission held its bimonthly meetings Tuesday and took action on such topics as polling locations, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) fees, Medical Mile designation, South Division-Grandville Corridor Improvement Authority designation and employee health care, among others. The City Commission heard an update on medical marijuana applications and future considerations for recreational marijuana and discussed the process and timeline for filling the city comptroller vacancy. It also set a public hearing on a proposed brownfield plan amendment for five tax-foreclosed properties as part of the City’s commitment to housing affordability. Here’s a recap:

Polling locations and election worker pay

The City Commission approved the Election Commission’s recommendation to consolidate the following precincts for the Nov. 5 election:

• Ward 1 – Precincts 2 and 5, 7 and 11
• Ward 2 – Precincts 26 and 28, 27 and 48, 35 and 41, 39 and 50, 43 and 44
• Ward 3 – Precincts 54 and 69, 56 and 58, 63 and 70, 72, 73 and 74

  Polling locations remain the same with the exception of precincts 7 and 41. Voters in precinct 7 are temporarily moved to precinct 11’s polling location – Faith United Methodist Church, 2600 Seventh St. NW. Voters in precinct 41 are temporarily moved to precinct 35 – Northlawn United Methodist Church, 1157 Northlawn St. NE. Voters in precincts 7 and 41 will receive notification of the change via mail.

  To look up your precinct and polling location, CLICK HERE.

  The City Commission also approved pay increases for election workers. Precinct chairpersons will receive $200 per day – up $25. E-pollbook inspectors will receive $180 per day – up $30. All other inspectors will earn $165 a day – up $15.

  Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design fees

  The City Commission set the fees for the newly approved Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) ordinance, which seeks to address business uses related to tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and illicit massage. The approved fees, which go into effect Sept. 26, are:

• Correction notice – $150
• Notice of  violation – $235
• Warning of prosecution action – $265
• Civil infraction preparation – $320
• Warrant preparation and prosecution – $320
• Title search – $265 plus costs
• Search warrant – $425 plus costs
• CPTED abatement vendoring – Actual cost
• Administrative fee for vendoring activity – $120
• Administrative hourly rate – $120
• Additional inspections – $120
• Special inspections – $180
• Administrative extension (outside of business hours) – $100
• Appeal hearing (outside of business hours) – $250

The Commission also set a Sept. 24 vote on establishing civil infractions related to CPTED and setting the fines for the first through third offenses. A fourth offense would be a misdemeanor. The proposed fees would be:

• First offense – $100
• Repeat offense – $200
• Second repeat and subsequent offense – $400

Medical Mile designation

The City Commission voted to designate the portion of Michigan Street NE between Monroe and College avenues as Medical Mile. The designation formalizes the longtime usage of the Medical Mile moniker for the area and complements efforts to create a distinctive identity for the burgeoning health care and life sciences corridor. For details on the designation and other commemorative street names in Grand Rapids, CLICK HERE.

South Division-Grandville Corridor Improvement Authority designation

The City Commission voted to establish the South Division-Grandville Corridor Improvement Authority qualified development area as a redevelopment project area for liquor license requests. This allows businesses in the district to qualify for approval of a license by the Liquor Control Commission if they meet all qualification criteria.

Employee health care

The City Commission approved contracts for employee health care that are expected to save the City a combined $13.1 million over three years. The three-year agreements are a renewal with Delta Dental for dental insurance administration and new contracts with Blue Cross Blue Shield for health insurance administration, Express Scripts for prescription drug administration and Vision Service Plan for vision insurance administration. The contracts go into effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Blue Cross Blue Shield was selected as part of a competitive bid process. According to Jeff Dood, the City’s chief financial officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield offered the best discounts, largest network size and lowest projected net cost over the three-year contract period. It also provided strong analytics and predictive modeling capabilities, which should help the City limit future health care spending.

Marijuana

Acting Planning Director Kristin Turkelson provided an update on medical marijuana licenses. She told the Commission that the City received 89 medical facility applications during the initial application window of March 4-15 and 80 were accepted into the April 26 draw. Thirteen more applications were received after the window closed, bringing the total to 93. The Planning Commission began reviewing applications May 23, and 28 applications were “buffered out” by approved applications nearby. The remaining applications are expected to be reviewed by early 2020.

For more on the applications, including those that have qualified under the Marijuana Voluntary Equitable Development Agreement requiring 25 percent resident ownership and the applicant residency breakdown, CLICK HERE.

The City Commission also began a discussion on a proposed recreational marijuana ordinance under the 2018 state voter-approved initiative. The City would need to opt-in to the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act before Nov. 1 – when the state begins accepting license applications for recreational marijuana businesses – to ensure local regulatory control.

The City Commission is expected to again discuss the proposed licensing ordinance at its Sept. 24 Committee of the Whole meeting. Under a City staff-recommended timeline, the Commission would vote on the ordinance Oct. 22 and consider zoning ordinance amendments in December and January.

The Commission also would consider which types of recreational marijuana business licenses to allow and the timeline for permits. City staff recommended the application period start April 30, 2020, to give them time to engage the community, research potential land-use impacts and create a licensing application, fee structure and application process.

City comptroller vacancy

Mayor Rosalynn Bliss kicked off a discussion on the process and timeline for filling the city comptroller vacancy. She told the Commission she would work with City Clerk Joel Hondorp on a proposed plan and bring it forward for consideration at its Sept. 24 meeting.

Public hearings

The Commission held a public hearing on the past performance and future needs of housing and community development programs. Community members may provide comment through Sept. 13 on the draft Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2018 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) and housing and community development needs. Send written comments to the Community Development Department, City Hall, 300 Monroe Ave. NW, Suite 460, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.

The report is available HERE and in the City’s Community Development Department 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at City Hall. Validated parking is available in the Government Center Ramp off Monroe and Ottawa avenues.

The feedback will help future planning of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) and Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) programs. The CAPER includes fiscal and program performance information for activities carried out from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, with CDBG, HOME and ESG program funds.

The Commission also set a Sept. 24 public hearing to consider a brownfield plan amendment for five tax-foreclosed properties. The properties qualify for inclusion in a brownfield plan since they are tax-foreclosed and owned by the Kent County Land Bank Authority. They are:

• 922 Benjamin Ave. SE
• 333 Brown St. SE
• 921 Hazen St. SE
• 1019 Crosby St. NW
• 632 Crescent St. NE

Most of the properties are expected to be used for homeownership opportunities as part of the City’s partnership with the Kent County Land Bank Authority and nonprofit housing developers to provide high-quality affordable housing.

The public hearing will take place Sept. 24 during the Commission’s 7 p.m. meeting at Alger Middle School, 921 Alger St. SE, as part of the Commission Night Out series. Free parking is available in the parking lot off Marshall Avenue SE.

For a complete look at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting agendas, CLICK HERE.

 Original source can be found here.

Source: City of Grand Rapids