President Irwin called the special meeting of the Marcellus Village Council to order at 7:00 p.m. on April 15 2025, in the Marcellus Village Hall. Trustees present: Markle, Engstrom, Webb, Haley M., Haley G. and Watts.
Agenda
Motion by Haley, M., supported by Markle, to approve the agenda as presented. Ayes: All. Nays: None. Motion carried.
Deficiencies Downtown Beautification Project
President Irwin shared and read aloud the March 11, 2025, email from Bandhan Ayon, Operations Engineer, Kalamazoo TSC, at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), which states the following:
The state has received a complaint from the businesses which ended up having two-step entrances as a result of construction of the Village of Marcellus beautification project (MDOT Permit Application Ref. Number: 94946). Our understanding is that there was a decision made during the construction on how to connect the sidewalk to the business front doors. The permit plan we reviewed did not show two steps as the transition into the business. A grade from the building was inferred, but the plans lacked the detail of how the sidewalk met the building.
The current entrance to the buildings in questions do not meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. Did your engineer/consultant in the design/construction identified and documented any areas that will require an exception of ADA standards due to infeasibility?
The ramps from the road to the sidewalk are some other concerns besides the business entrances. At least two of those ramps exceed a 5% grade standard; it is 12% in some places. They also exceed 1:10 max flare side slope. We can provide details on these if needed.
As per MDOT’s agreement with the Village, upon completion of construction, the Village will, at its sole cost and expense, inspect, maintain and operate the facility constructed as the project in accordance with all applicable Federal and State laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 USC 12131 et seq., and its associated regulations and standards, and MDOT Road and Bridge Standard Plans and the Standard Specifications for Construction.
We would like to keep the permit open to keep track of the progress of the corrective actions.
Village Council members discussed the email, the Village’s investigation into the matter and plan for how to move forward so that there are no delays for the 2025 construction season. Irwin moved, supported by Webb, to authorize the Village Manager/Clerk to forward MDOT’s email to Frank Renaldi of Wightman & Associates, Inc., of Kalamazoo, Michigan (copying his supervisor), Tim Balkema of Balkema Excavating, Inc., of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and copy all Village Council members.
Outlined in the email sent to Wightman and Balkema shall be a request for a written response by May 1, 2025, with a framework for corrective actions to be taken by Wightman and Balkema to remedy the design and construction work on the Downtown Beautification Project at no expense to the Village and giving a timeframe for completion of the project. The parties are to be instructed that they are to work with MDOT so that the design and subsequent construction can be completed during the 2025 construction season and informed that the Village will take legal actions if the issues are not corrected.
Roll call vote – Ayes: Engstrom, Haley M., Irwin, Watts, Webb, Markle and Haley G. Nays: None. Motion carried.
Adjournment
Motion by Irwin, supported by Engstrom, to adjourn at 7:26 p.m. Ayes: All. Nays: None. Motion passed.
Jacqueline A. Terrill
Village Manager/Clerk
Dennis Irwin
Village President
###
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.