The Chelsea Downtown Development Board of Directors meets Thursday, Aug. 16 at 7:30 a.m. in the City Council chambers in the new police station.
Here are some highlights of what they are expected to discuss from the agenda.
- Pat Cleary is expected to give a report about the Chelsea First Initiative and City Manager John Hanifan is expected to give an update on the Main Street streetscape and East Parking lot improvements.
- Under unfinished business, is a vote on bids for the streetscape and East Parking lot projects; a discussion of the Longworth property, as well as the DDA façade improvement program.
At Tuesday night’s Chelsea City Council meeting, Mark Heydlauff, the treasurer of the DDA and longtime board member updated the council on the DDA’s July 19 board meeting.
He said the board approved a bid (from C & D Hughes with contingencies) for the Main Street downtown crosswalk and handicapped ramp project, but the DDA rejected a lone bid for the East Parking lot project, (from Krull Construction) that was much higher (by about $70,800) than the engineer’s estimates.
Heydlauff said the board was looking at timelines to get the streetscape project completed and it will likely be delayed until the spring because of the ongoing road construction on the south end of M-52.
He said that the DDA had received an application for its REU program, which assists new businesses defray the costs of utility hook-ups, from Smokehouse 52, the BBQ restaurant planned for the corner of Park Street and M-52.
The REU program “provides for periodic forgiveness of the installments of principal and interest,” that amounts to 1/12th of the original amount of the special assessment plus interest. It’s a special assessment that’s forgiven over 12 years but requires City Council approval.
In addition, he said the DDA is expected to “move forward” with some type of decision regarding the Longworth property. The developer (Kadushin) withdrew its bid because it could not meet DDA requirements.
