The Chelsea Downtown Development Authority Board unanimously agreed to spend about $16,000 to refurbish 17 benches, purchase 13 new trash receptacles, and buy six new benches for the downtown at its meeting on Nov. 17.
The combination plan of replacing some of the benches and refurbishing others was the result of a lot of research on the part of Department of Public Works Superintendent Derik Bollinger who not only saved the city money but also found a local company to do the reburbishing and powder coating work.
City staff is also expected to do some research on the possibility of adding recycling options/bins to the DDA area following a request by resident Dan Gilbert.
City Manager Roy Atkinson said he was interested in looking at this option as it is available in other cities and he’d also like to see recycling options in the city’s parks as well. Recycling in the city is handled by the Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority and not by city staff, so Atkinson is hoping to work out a way to provide this service.
Also downtown, you may have noticed that the Christmas lights have now gone up and adorn the DDA area well before the city’s annual Hometown Holiday events that begin with a tree lighting in Pierce Park on Dec. 2 and the annual Light Parade which will take place Saturday, Dec. 3 at the corner of Old US-12 and Main Street. For all the planned December events, please click Hometown Holiday.
At a future meeting, it’s expected that new Community Development Director Adrianna Jordan will take over as the staff liaison to the DDA.
In other updates, Atkinson said that the Rockwell project received a $1.5 million grant from MDEC and looks forward to further developments on that housing project. The Main Street Parks Alliance and the city are scheduled to meet next week to discuss a partnership agreement and the group continues to work on the environmental aspects of the land.
Ideas for the year-round use of Palmer Commons continues to be planned as a long-term vision for the space. City Staff is putting together ideas that would be brought to the DDA and receive public input once assembled.
The DDA next meets on Dec. 15 and a recording of Thursday’s DDA meeting can be found on the city’s website.
