Advisory Committee for october 17. We wanted to start before doing our Roll Call, with a resolution that recognized Michelle Hodges for all of her service to this committee. So is Ron online? Okay, so I'd like to read the resolution. This is the resolution to recognize Michelle Hodges for her service the Belle Isle Park Advisory Committee. Whereas Michelle Hodges has served with distinction as chair of the Belle Isle Park advisory committee since 2014 and whereas Michelle's dedication, leadership and professionalism have significantly contributed to the success of the committee's connection with the public, and whereas Michelle's efforts have positively impacted Belle Isle Park, enhancing this crown jewel for all to enjoy. And whereas Michelle's innovative ideas and tireless work ethic have set a high standard for future committee members, therefore be it resolved that Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation division and the Belle Isle Park Advisory Committee expressed their deepest appreciation to Michelle Hodges for her outstanding service and invaluable contributions to Belle Isle Park. And be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution has been presented to Michelle as a token of our gratitude and entered into the official record of the Belle Isle Park Advisory Committee. This has been submitted by Ron Olson and supported by the entire bike faculty. So we just want to thank you so much for your service to this.
Thank you. Dr, oh, well, it has been I just come there with a heart full of gratitude for the pleasure and honor of being able to serve this community. And you said, rod's not on the call. I was trying to find these. I was trying to find my all in for Belle Isle t shirt, but then I couldn't find it, because I turned it into a blanket, because it was one of those special moments, those historic moments right Ron and Monica, when we were at the conservancy office, when we had no heat, and we had to bring electric blankets and gloves to work, and my husband was like, What's going on, which is testimony, the fact that we've come a long way, I think, as an organization, and To be able to work with everybody. And I hope judge Damon J Keith is looking down on us finally, because if you remember, we brought him in at our first meeting of the Belle Isle Park Advisory Committee, because it was important to make a very clear statement to the community about what our values, that we clearly were representing them and that we understood our role, and he administered a pledge, and we shared his book, and we shared an empowerment statement and the like. So because we all know he was is the most trusted individual right, and knew that democracies died behind closed doors. So that's the spirit that always tried to leave this entity with, and I hope that that will continue. And I also hope that we save the boathouse. So now that I'm a private citizen, I will say that very boldly and very strongly that I think that's important. But Lily, I'm so glad to see you join the team you and I have had many, many times together talking about what we can accomplish on Belle Isle, and I know you get it, so it'll be fun watching the sidelines, but thank you to the irony is, dr, excuse me, judge Damon J Keith was appointed by Jimmy Carter. President Jimmy Carter, who is also one of the certainly, very important to Habitat for Humanity. So to kind of come full circle and know that President Carter's been part of my world in both ways. It's wonderful. So thank you again. I there's so many people, Ron, you and your team and the city of Detroit, of course, our Belle Park Conservancy team and staff and board and certainly the community and the funders, it's just been such a fantastic ride. I mean, Belle becomes you. It's not something it truly it's a she. I always referred to her as that, and she does become part of you. So that will always be the case, and I'm going to miss working with you all every day, but we'll certainly be there, and I'm so glad we're in great hands with Dr Elliot. So thank you.
Yeah, thanks. Michelle. Ron Olson here. Sorry I couldn't be there in person, but I assume you can hear me. But yeah, I was thinking about that all in for Belle Isle shirts, and we probably ought to re get those back going again, because it's, it's an enduring statement so, but thanks again. I know when you we had that little gathering at the aquarium when you, when you stepped down from the Bic job and moved on, but, but then now we have this. So anyway, we appreciate everything. And yeah, you're right. There's been a lot of ups and downs over the last 10 plus years, and but we appreciate your you know, leadership and guidance and all that was stated in the resolution. So thanks.
Thank you, Ron. It's been a pleasure working together, and cumulatively, it's all good, and that's what matters. And Tom, you've been a great addition to the team to send that we won't be working together longer. Appreciate all the DNR has done. Thank you so much, Michelle. So you know, as we say goodbyes, we also say hello, we're welcoming Malia Howard on to this committee. I have had the honor of getting to work with Malia at the city of Detroit for several years now, and have gotten to watch firsthand the incredible job that she's done as the district manager in five and now as one of the mayor's closest advisors and the Director of Community Relations. And I think that that's going to be such an important perspective and asset to bring to this committee. So just wanted to give you a little bit of time to introduce yourself to folks that don't know you, and thank you for joining us. No, thank
you.
I appreciate it. Thank you. So my name is Malia Howard. I serve as the Director of Community Relations for Mayor Duggan. Inside of that, yes, I was. I served for probably three and a half years as the district five manager. If you saw when we had the covid Memorial, I will see one running around, getting stakes back in, doing random things. So if you saw me on Bella, that's the day you saw me on Bella. But this has just been a truly this is a pleasure. I also serve as major projects manager, and I do manage the boards and commissions for the mayor. So this is truly an honor, because I love Bella and Michelle is correct. We spent countless hours on calls, which I truly enjoyed about envisioning all the things that could happen on Belle Isle from the light show that we wanted to get started. I am an avid Christmas tree decorator for the festival of trees. I am not doing it this year because my daughter's senior year, and I need money for that, so I am missing that this year. My mother is doing it in my honor now, so and doing like Christmas tree festivals on Bilal and just all that type of fun stuff, and I really am going to enjoy this, and I hope that I can be a benefit and a help to all of you. So I'm always here in this capacity, but as a appointee for the mayor. So if there's anything that you need assistance with, that is my job. That is my actual job, but here as a board member, I look forward to working with all of you, and this is my friend.
Now I can officially stop saying we and meaning city, and I can say we, and Belle Isle Malia will be the one representing the city side. So thanks so much for for joining the team. Okay, so I'm going to go into the roll call, so let's see we have got Michael Curtis present, yes. Dr Brian banks, I believe is online present. Howard, we just heard from Angela. Are you with us today?
Okay, was not Dr alive. We not
with us today, and then what about summer? Wood,
right?
Um, quick action item. Can we approve the minutes from the September 19 five tech meeting? Motion
to approve you can second?
Can I second it myself? I think so. Okay, yeah, there we go. Perfect time. Yeah, all right, so let's turn to our park updates. First. We'll go online to Ron or general Parks and Recreation.
Yeah, thank you, and welcome the new member. Appreciate that. And Megan, your congrats on your first launch of the the chairing of the committee. But I don't have too much to report, other than the fact that, as you all know, and you'll get reports coming up here from Tom and Amanda, the progress of then you know the many projects that are going on. And I was, we were talking to the media, which the other day, yesterday, and as a matter of fact, and one of the things we mentioned to them, along with all the ARPA projects, was the fact that the extraordinary investment on Belle Isle there's with the ARPA funds that we spent on the just alone, on the Conservatory, the casino and and so far, with the work that's been done, plus the yet to be worked on the aquarium and the fountain. And then some of the other things, cleaning up the zoo area and some other things, we will have invested nearly $45 million in the last three years. And I think that's probably, probably in all you know, the most that's been invested in that the park, except for perhaps building a brand new some building way back when ever so I think, you know, it's tremendous to have that going on, but as we know, there's still more to go and things like that. Plus, plus, the other thing is with the the in terms of the state budgets and all of that kind of stuff, where, you know, everything is, is as we planned it to be, and that we're, you know, continuing to comply with ARPA regulations, which means that the money has to be obligated by the end of 24 which means that, that, I know there's work going on to design the $23 million worth of stuff on the aquarium and the fountain, but and then all that stuff has to be completed by the 2026 and so anyway, we're continuing also To to look for leveraging opportunities with with those funds too, with the various foundations and other things. But so in that regard, the the only other thing I mentioned before is the the opt out proposal for the passport, which was in the governor's budget, but didn't make it through, will be revisited after the election and what's called the lame duck session of the legislature. And what simply, what that means is that when you get your license renewal, the passport would be part of the fee for your vehicle, and then you would have a way to declare to opt out of it if you wanted to. And we are hoping that people will pause and pay attention and maybe realize that there's a, you know, that investment is good plus, or if it makes it through, there would be also an ability to donate $15 on top of that that that certainly is a choice that people would make that would go directly into supporting the infrastructure, not just for Belle Isle, but for the system itself, which is Will tangentially help Belle Isle, for sure. So those are what I have, and you're going to get more updates on the projects and details, and especially the boathouse, which was referenced, and that process is marching along, and and Tom will give you an update on that shortly. So that's all I have. I don't know if there's any questions that anybody has or anything in that regard.
I beg members have questions.
Thanks so much, Ron. We'll turn to Tom to give some more detail with his update.
Yep. Thank you.
All right, thank you so just a few brief updates for Bella isle. Number one, all of our summer staff have been officially taken off the payroll as of October 12, that was their last day. So I wanted to give a shout out to all of them for all the hard work that they've done in the park, and let them know how much we're going to miss their help throughout the winter season. But we certainly could not make it through an entire calendar year without the hard work of the staff members that we have that come back year after year, had a lot of great new folks this year that played a lot of key roles and really did some excellent work for us. So appreciate that. The speaking of the 12th I wanted to also give a small shout out to Darlene centerelle, who is our events guru, who organized our harvest festival that happened this past week. Believe at least about 1500 people attended. We had sign ups that are still being tallied, and it was just a great turnout. We had hayrides and donuts and bounce houses and archery and touch a truck. One of the coolest things that I saw was the ability to touch a helicopter. So Michigan State Police brought their helicopter, and kids and families were allowed to climb in there and pretend they were the pilot and take photos. So it's just a really great event. We haven't had a harvest festival here at Belle Isle since before covid. So darlisa probably put in a lot more work than she's willing to admit in getting the harvest festival off the ground, but every staff member played a key role. Great shout out to law enforcement division, to the bio Isle Conservancy, to the Michigan State Police, to the outdoor adventure center and all of our volunteers that came out to assist with the event. I think it was well received, and certainly the staff had a great time. I didn't get to go on a hayride, though, so I was a little disappointed. But other than that, you'll get a lot of updates on some of the projects and and other things going on when Amanda does her update. But you will notice as you come onto the island that MDOT is starting to wrap up their resurfacing project that starts basically from the Dawson and then all the way back around to the exit of the park. So pay some extra close attention to some of the lane shifts and parking patterns that exist, for example, coming back along riverbank, there are some sections that have parallel parking again in order to make the road wide enough to travel, but certainly we wanted to continue to enhance the parking opportunities that existed with the most recent changes, enabling people to park nearest the area that they want to go. So appreciative with MDOT and their contractors for getting that done, and certainly the coordination that it took, led by Amanda, to extend the Ralph Wilson trail in the same amount of time as the MDOT project. I think a lot of folks were amazed at what it took to move a road to accommodate a trail to resurface the park, but it certainly looks a lot better, and I think everyone's excited to see that trail continue. So that's all I have about the park. I'll throw it over to Gail to make sure I didn't miss anything. And then after that, I have the memo to talk about.
All right, yes, the only real update I've got today is letting people know that we will be keeping the restrooms open for a minimum of the next two weeks. And keep an eye out. Once we get into November, we will start winterizing our non heated buildings, the bus stop, for example, by the aquarium is heated and will be open year round before we move into the memo, yeah, I just want a second your your shout out to Dar Lisa. I did attend the harvest fest with my family, so had at least three participants from from my crew, the five of us all were out there and and they had a blast. And I saw all the hard work that went in behind the scenes. And it was a really great community event. There were tons of people out there and excited to have that back on the island. So thanks. Thanks again to Dar Lisa for everything you you did for that day. Does anyone else want to share anything before we go to the next All right. All right. So you remember Tom, yeah, so
I believe Barb attached the memo that had sent to the committee. As you know, we received proposals for the boathouse. We received two group submissions after our initial process, and one of those, one of those proposals, has been moved forward for further consideration. I've had internal meetings with DNR staff, and with Parks and Recreation staff going over the proposal and obviously formulating some of the questions that we have that will assist us with filling in the blanks and making sure that we have all the pertinent information to properly move forward with a proposal. Initially, I wanted to invite them to present at this BiPAC meeting, but in the interest of making sure that our regular business gets done, I'd like to suggest a special session. I threw out a couple of dates for consideration that being october 29 or November 7. The reason for choosing those is number one, it would be an evening meeting, and it would lay more folks from the public to be able to attend. My suggestion would be that we have it at the Flynn building, and that we would have that proposal submit. Obviously, they're paper copy to everyone on the committee and various stakeholders, but then lastly, be able to present their their idea and answer any questions that you may have. So that is the memo that I sent along. And so leave it up to Megan whether you take a vote on that.
Yeah, I think we should take a vote. I think it's a phenomenal idea to have a special session just to talk through this, because I think there's a lot of you know, back and forth conversation that we want to have. We have a lot of general business to do for the island in this meeting. So I would like to say of the october 29 or November 7 is that something that we as a BiPAC can agree to one of those dates in this session, because then that way we can communicate to the public this year that's online that we'll be having that, because it's coming up pretty soon. Are there? Is there preference between that october 29 or November 7 for the group?
November 7, November.
It's fine with me. Okay,
great. Um, so do we need a formal motion for that or Yes?
I mean, yeah,
do okay.
First, does a formal motion second?
Okay, so let's So do we have someone to move that we will have Hold, hold a special session of the BiPAC committee on November 7 at 6pm at the flint pavilion. Yes, I will support Perfect. Okay, so that's been approved, so just again, re restate that for the public, yeah, doesn't want to take a vote. Oh, oh, oh, sorry, all those in favor. I told you I was rusty on my on my Robert's Rules. Okay, so that's been approved. All right. So then again, just to restate that, though, for the public and for folks that are joining us online, and we'll, we'll send out communications about this as well, but we will be holding a special session then on November 7, at 6pm and we'll have that at the Flynn pavilion, where the entirety of the conversation will be dedicated to the boathouse proposal. We will have the developer that has submitted that proposal make their own presentation, and then the opportunity for a public conversation about that. So I very much look forward to the US hosting that conversation and and asking as many questions of that proposal as we can. Yes.
Megan Tom, can we get the proposal sent to us ahead of time so we can absolutely yes, yeah, formulation,
I can, as a matter of fact, send it to you after this meeting. It may come in the form of a link, because it's quite a large file, so if you're not able to access it, just let me know.
Thank you.
Certainly I can print it out too, but most people like to me. Personally, I like to have a paper copy. But the meeting also, we can make virtual for folks that can't make it in person, so that as many people as one can say,
great point. So we'll host something that's hybrid. Then, yes.
Okay, anything else from Tom or Gail on your end? Okay? Lieutenant Cisco, good
morning. Everybody. Counterparts on there or not, but we're on fall options. It's been pretty good with the with the weather and operations out there. So still having some speeding issues Aaron, but we were able to participate in harvest fest. Glad to be part of that and have that back pre covid. We there was an annual event, so I was glad to see that come back again. And yeah, props to Darlene, so she does a lot of behind the seats on permitting. Also want to shout out to sis and Michelle now. Thank you very much for your support to a lot of these northeast and especially our stuff, the truck event that's in partnership with Detroit Police Department Sergeant program, so you'll be missed, but don't don't forget. Okay, good. Other than that, again, we're back on our our fall hours. We still have 24/7 hour coverage to the to the island, and support that with MSP. So that's really all I have for our end of the search questions, yes, sir,
if speeding is our biggest problem, which it is, why can't we have some more of those electronic signs that say, you know your speed is so and so? Can we put like 10 more around the island? I know they're ugly and everything, but if that's our problem, then let's
they're that technology, nice, super expensive. So between, you know, within the state, you're seeing it, each department with the state gets a budget in a certain amount of years. So we try, and Tom and I have been trying to coordinate some of those. I mean, parks division was able to fund for the actual set ones that were on the signs. We were able to purchase the actual trailer that went around the island. But they're, you know, trailers like that are in excess of seven to $10,000 so, and the signs themselves aren't, aren't cheap. So we try and talk about that every year. It's just, if we can, you know, work within it. Now, there's some grants that we've tried to reach out for on our side, on law enforcement end, and it's always like, where is the federal money going to go to so we still try to seek for that every year. It's hoping that we get an account. But our goal, because Tom and I talk to us all the time, we're parks and law division are committed safety out here. Um, so is MSP, so that's, that's one of the biggest things. We have been in concert with MDOT on a lot of conversations, trying to figure out how to slow gap edges down, one of our thoughts and we were talking about trying to put speed bumps in those temporary ones that could be removed. And a lot of us are aware of them. I mean, they're down by the riverfront area. That's still on the table. I think MDOT left us with, it's on our our budget to produce, right? Tom I believe. So we're trying to figure that piece out. We would like to start slow on that and and go from there, because with those coming in. You know, the public has got to get used to those. And unfortunately, because we do see some high speeds coming off of the bridge portion, if we were to put one in right there, we would be worried about people who want a little more airborne. So we're trying to figure that piece out, but we are working on it, and our hope is to put a few more signs like we're talking about this coming year. And I know, I know Tom has gotten a new type of fund that was given to park division for, I can't remember what you're calling. It's a law enforcement, public safety and technology. So with that, hopefully we can use a little bit more in that for these things we're talking about. So we are talking about it. It's just trying to get to the funds unlocked.
Thank you. Yeah,
thank you, Lucia. I also have a question. I've had a lot of people reach out to me about the citation at the zoo for the senior photography speak to that. Yeah.
So as you're we're all aware the the old Zoo, and as a child, I used to go to it when it was actually open to the public. So when it became closed, and, you know, we signed the lease with, with the city, or the, you know, the use of that, it's, it's, it's a, it's an ISR inside of there, and it's a safety issue. It's a very, very big concern. The buildings are, you know, they're crumbling. They're in disrepair. We've had to, you know, actually go and rescue people out of there in different extremes, and it's hard terrain to to navigate to get people in and out. There's a lot of things people don't realize the risk involved with the actual entrance of that, there's manhole covers that are missing from years of, you know, people salvaging things they shouldn't have. It's really not a safe area, and it's become tagged in so many social media posts out there. And I know we do our part trying to say, Hey, don't do this. Don't go in here, but people still do it. Parks division is always fighting folks that bring their own tin snips and break in fresh areas and patch jobs we've done on the fences out there. So I guess the big thing to the public is, please don't go in there. It's a safety issue. It's become like synonymous for laughing, especially with October coming around, and we're into Halloween time. People think that it's a great place to be, and it's not. It's not a safe place. So that's the, that's the that's the biggest part about that. So it is a live trespass issue. It's been signed and posted throughout the years. We enforce that pretty heavily. We can. We can get the folks out of there. We try and stop them prior to so they're not conveying crime. But unfortunately, people still wandering forward and then with them posting on social media, if it gets back to us, and we look into that too. So that's what led to that incident in particular, that was a social media posting that occurred. We had officers investigated through and making conversations. And, yeah, it was, I know it was canned. Is like they're just, you know, senior pictures or or whatnot, but any kind of professional type photography requires a permit through parks division, and they that's not one of the recommended sites they would have on there for a GET YOUR really nice photos taken here. So that's kind of the whole gist of that. And I know it's gotten round about on social media lately. We post every two weeks our conservation officer cases of like, these are things that happen around the state, and then as soon as they go to press, then some of these things, because that actually happened quite a while ago, but it's just now getting through the medias here. If it wasn't something that just happened in the last week, we're talking a while back, but, but that's the whole basis behind that. So we really urge the public, you know, look at it from a distance, remember the history of it, and enjoy that part of it. But, I mean, I think we're all on the same board open a new development happens with it down the road, because between parks division and law enforcement, it does cause a lot of issues. We've had people get injured in there. Unfortunately, we've had somebody that was deceased, you know, several years ago, which was a homeless subject, and that was really terrible. You don't always know who's in there, what's going on. But there's also wildlife there, actually, too. I mean, we do have coyotes on the island, raccoons, you name it. You guys have all seen it a drone here, so, you know, they've got to have a green space to go. And they like that messy flatwoods back there. So I don't really think that's a place, you know, enjoy nature from afar, but like, you get into some of these up closest encounters with Mad raccoon or possum, it's not always a good thing. So we're just asking people stay out of there. But thank you for asking about that.
I think it's it's important to point out too, and Amanda might talk about it, but the structures back there are scheduled for demolition that'll be funded this coming year. So we've already started working on hiring Project Manager for that project. And just to reiterate what the lieutenant said, Belle Isle is a terrific place to do, senior photos, prompt photos, wedding photos, I can name about 2530 locations that would be great for that, but the zoo property is not one of them.
Do any other BiPAC members have questions for Lieutenant thank you so much. Is MSP on one yes?
Slightly answer yes,
okay, Lieutenant Cody, can we have an update for me? Please?
Good morning. The troopers that came out for the harvest, they stated they actually had a really good time. They were trying to figure out who had more fun with the helicopter, either the adults or the kids, but they they're excited to come back again, if you guys host it again next year. Other than that, there's really nothing else for MSP.
Great. Any questions for Lieutenant? Okay, well, you know the comment on the zoo is a perfect transition to Amanda's update on infrastructure.
Pictures as always, luckily, we've been up to the last month since September, speaking of deer there, so that was amazing that I took that picture, because I had two little dogs that were just dying to chase them. They were quiet, and I got a good photo. I we, yeah, we've been going through the zoo a lot with engineers lately, like was mentioning, and several deer back there. So there are lots of wildlife in there, okay, but, yeah, we don't want teenage wildlife. Those decks are open. They're very dangerous. It makes me nervous, because every time I've gone in there, probably five times in the last month, there have been kids in there every time, and it's not safe. I totally mom them and tell them they should be there.
Okay, moving on.
I will start off with the Conservatory, because that's what I get the most calls about every week. So we are really getting towards the end there, so we're excited to be preparing now to reopen it this December. So Jeremy and Billy are figuring out their exhibit for the showroom. As we wrap things up, the tropical house glass installation is done. So they're moving on to the cactus house, which is the last large glass replacement room in the conservatory that they'll be working on. Limestone panels are wrapping up and replacing all the limestone panels around the bottom of the dome and the vestibule you can see here is a limestone cap that's on the new walls and the new planting areas in the showroom that's just a mock up company replaced. But anyone's wondering why it's chipped there? So yeah, working with RAM to finish up a lot of stonework while the glass is underway, and just replacing the odds and end panels as we can around the conservatory wide so next so be seeing a lot of minor things. Here's some pictures. You can see this nicely the opportunity to replace the glass on top of these. We call them the low houses on the tropical house and the cactus house. It wasn't the initial scope, but when we had a lot of snow break the roof panels, we were able to go ahead and add that in. So it's it's great we can add this scope. And you can see on the left is what it looked like before they removed all the glass or baited it, and then you can see what the new glass looks like there on the right. So it's looking really good. Next slide here, you can see the waterproofing around the vestibule that ensure that the limestone panels when they're replaced, that those last for another 100 years moving along, and that's what the new limestone panels in. So there's the new panels, and then the new piece on top to complement it, and then on the right you can see all four sides and the dome and the vested fuel. Those have all been replaced. Next slide all right, and the casino roof project now we have our final walk through on Monday, and it looks really great new roof, downspouts, gutters, drainage system. One thing that we talked about previously was the copper ball finials on top of the dormers and each tower, those now have lightning protection. So there's lightning protection on the towers and then on the flat roof. So we're looking forward to final inspection on Monday. Next slide I just sold. Yeah, there's looks really cleaned up. And this, this project will go a long way to preserving the building, because the roof is replaced, so being watertight, we won't have the water running down, deteriorating the stone on the side of the building. So this was a long time coming, and we're glad to have this done. Next slide, and this just shows the extent I've been harping all along on how important water management is for these historic buildings. That just goes to show really, this was from the roof to the basement. We are working on controlling the water to protect the building next slide. And then as we wrap up the roof project, we're going to transition into providing for better accessibility to the casino. So this next phase will address the porch and then provide ADA accessibility from the parking lot, from our ADA parking spaces to the plaza level, and then up to the porch level. So while the roof project is done, we're just we will be completing this work before the casinos open back up for events. So next slide, I kind of have a couple more images to show you know, the condition of the porch. It's a lot of trip hazards. This material there that they had surfaced it in is old and deteriorated. It needs to be replaced. So we'll be addressing that surfacing and then doing repairs on the stairs and concrete as we work around the porch next. Yeah, and then just wanted to kind of just give a overview of where this ramp is going to be. It'll be at the northeast corner of the building. We'll bring it up to the plaza. Then I'll kind of wrap around that planter. And so the goal is to make it look very seamless, similar to the rampant the Scott found, just kind of follows that curve around, disappears so and then the this maintenance ramp. It's not even it doesn't mean code. We will remove this and install steps there in that space. So we'll just have the one ramp at the corner next slide. That's just so this is showing how that where the ramp will wrap around from the plaza up to the porch next slide, and then, as well, the vestibule or the front door. We'll have automatic openers for that, so we'll also be acceptable. So we're we've got to open up the casino and have it be inclusive and accessible for everyone. So that timing, I'll be able to have more about that next month. So the contractor is pricing this out right now. Okay, I think that's it for that Casino. Well, as Tom mentioned before, we've got a lot of road work going on now, and that was resurfacing the roads and our trail contractors were, as Tom mentioned, had to shift the road over to accommodate the Wilson trail. They got club, so we had a lot of roadwork coordination on the same time. So they are wrapping this up now, putting the final surfacing on the roadway, pouring the second half of the concrete entrance to the Yacht Club tomorrow morning at eight, to make sure they are out of the way as much as possible. And then on Monday, they'll be transitioning over to the Coast Guard station, so they're making really good headway on that, and which is good think we'll be able to sneak that section of the road trail work in before the plants all close. And then that's what it's going to sound like.
So and then, as well, while we've got the road and trail work going on, we're working with wild type and natural community to collect native plant material from the park to help with the shoreline restoration. So there will be shoreline restoration along this canal area here, where it's very narrow, and then about four or five sections on the south side. So that's being collected on Belle Isle now, similar to the how they did the flat collection of the What music flatwood restoration. So, and I saw people using the trail yesterday, already, they're out there. So glad to have that connection there. Next slide, thanks Tom, um, yeah, so, and then the the surfacing project. This was great. We're able to work with MDOT and our mobility engineering team on coordinating the two way cycle track around the park. That was one of the recommendations out of the mobility study that came from the public engagement. You know, we presented that project last summer. A lot of the feedback we had led to, well, let's do, you know, if it's so confusing to get around the park, and the confusion resulting in, like, you know, traffic accidents, let's make it two way. And people said, No, we wanted to keep it one way. This, you know, this drive is part of our, you know, enjoyment of the park. So we said, Okay, back to the drawing board. And they we, so we kept the recommendation is to keep it one way. But then we added in the cycle track, so it's a two way cycle track, which is good, because I see people going both ways in that one lane, like lane now, so it's a 10 foot wide cycle track, and then they narrowed the lanes on the roadway. So we're hoping Todd that'll help out slope speed a little bit. You know, we don't have like, 15 foot wide length. They're all 10 lanes now. And then we'll coordinate with this cycle track that MDOT put in as we finish the trail project. And so by the end of next summer, we'll have a two way cycle track where bicyclists can loop around the whole park, so that that's great. And then mdot, as well, added in a lot of these, you know, street crossings for the bike lanes. They added in Ada ramps and a few locations along the strand. So, yeah, they're a great partners, and we're glad to have this improvement done. Next slide, shelter nine is wrapping up, but we have our final inspection on for this on Monday, and then open, I guess, open for fishing again. So that'll be great, um, and next spring, uh, athletic shelter heating, not super exciting project, but I think our rowers here will be happy to know that we're getting heat in the building. We expect to have those out for bid this late this year, or early January, so
we're moving ahead on that
next slide
and then again, here's for folks who might we've mentioned ARPA a few times. We've got any new attendees who are not familiar with the ARPA list. The projects that will be addressed with that 23 million that was provided to the park, Scott fountain, structural stabilization, the Belle aquarium, conservatory, HVAC improvement, and then, as well, we're going to be implementing 80 accessible improvements as well. We're working on a facility plan for that building, which was necessary to really, you know, look at what what the future needs are. They're approached dramatically to be able to sign the AIDS heating system to what it needs to be, and then Parkway passing this material abatement and ancillary repairs around different buildings in the park. That school remains to be seen as we worked with our construction manager and then working on a park wide strategic development plan that kind of builds off that mobility plan we're just wrapping up to work with the community. We're looking developing communication plan. Now we really want to think ahead about what, what our next efforts are, where we're going to be focusing investment and priorities. We roll ahead. So we've been talking about a lot of roofs, lot of drainage projects, a lot of the things that we had to do. Now we're looking ahead to see you know, a little more flexibility, and wanting to work with our stakeholders and partners and work together plan ahead, and then the wayfinding signage that is will be bid out in November. And so looking forward to getting some new signage in and help people navigate around the park. So we have contracted with the construction manager who will be working with the state and all of our consultants to kind of manage this so we can rep, you know, get all the construction done by 2026 and Chrisman is the group that we'll be working with to help us. They have a lot of experience with historic restoration, which is key for Scott fountain aquarium. We really wanted to work with someone who could be great partners, and they got a lot of that under their belt, so we're looking forward to working with them. We are planning on having these different engineering documents done December. January is the time frame, so we're, you know, some of them are at some are farther ahead than others. We're looking to get all those bid documents ready by early 2025 and then we'll be building 2020 25 through 2026 so sure working with Tom and dar Lisa Marie on any closures throughout the next couple years. So we just ask for a patient, unless we work to improve the park. So I think that was the last Okay,
thanks so much. Amanda. Always super informative and a lot of good content there BiPAC members. Do you have any questions for Amanda? Thank you. I'll ask just one, which is, can you clarify for the ARPA dollars, which of those have been fully obligated versus which are still outstanding to be obligated as we near the 2024, deadline?
So everything but $400,000 is obligated. So just that way funding package, we will bid that out separately. That won't be under Chrisman. It's very small project, so we wanted to just do that one like on the side. So 23 million, minus 126
I mean, I know there was $2 million that was set aside for the demolition of the boathouse that's not going to be demolishing. Now, where did that 2 million go back into the pool?
It's in the pool. It's all in one pool too. So the benefit of having Chrisman be the CM is that, you know, they have that one budget to do everything. So we have a little flexibility there. And you know, obviously that will, if you know that whatever happens with that budget, they've already, already moved around. So if you want to smooth you a little bit, but I mean that important one will,
so at this point, there'll be no ARPA funds going to the boathouse.
That's really to be determined based on the outcome of their proposal and how quickly our questions can be answered. The money is obligated through the contract manager. So the point in being able to do that is that, for example, you mentioned $2 million if that $2 million was not to be directly spent in boathouse, that's $2 million we wouldn't spend on something else on the island, which would then give us the ability to, hopefully get $2 million to assist With anything that happened there. It really just depends on how things wash out with that proposal. There were some discussions about how some of that money can't be directly spent to assist a project or give a project a leg up, but we might be able to tackle some specific item regarding the property with those dollars, for example. And I think one example we talked about was the pools and some of the accessibility over to the island at the bow house. So that's why that money is sort of tied into that contract manager.
But yeah, worst case scenario that that money can pivot over to something else, and that would free $2 million of obligation we have for another project. So
we don't want to lose that 2 million. I mean, that's no you. Well,
no matter what, we're not losing the 2 million. We're spending every net gold
put on my former ARPA hat. I think it's really important to clarify what obligation means, just for the public, so that the Federal regulations require that the dollars be under contract for a project. So what Amanda's communicating is that all but 400,000 of the total are already under contract. What we do to deploy within that contract is still what's, you know, able to be determined for the 2 million specifically, and then I think, for other portions as well, but in terms of the the all of that money would not go back to the federal government because it's already met that deadline. So that, I think, is important distinction. Any other questions for Amanda or for dandy and our team. Great. Okay, so now for the best part of the meeting, public comment, let me pull up my timekeeper and as a reminder, Michelle, you always did a great job of this. Public comment is kind of like a city council hearing. You have three minutes to speak, and unfortunately, at the end of that three meet, three minutes, I will stop you. It's not meant to be kind of a back and forth discussion like we might have in a community engagement session. It's more meant to just be a time to share your public comment for the committee. And if there are follow up items, we could sometimes put them in the chat or follow up on a one to one basis. So with that, let me start my three minute timer. If anyone that's here from the public in in these offices today wanting to make a yes, okay. FCI, does everyone want to make a public comment that's here? No,
okay. You
want to stand up and I will let you know when you're okay. All right, go ahead.
Hi. Amy Hubbard, Detroit resident, Wayne State grad. I've been coming to these meetings all summer about the boathouse. There's a lot of people here. I hope some of these people here go house. That's great. I'm excited about
the meeting on the seventh looking forward to it. I
tell everybody, glad got a little bit more time to get the word out. So that's pretty much my only comment on the boat. How's the other thing I want to say is about the speed signs on my way over. Great. Those are great. That checked me because I was looking at the skyline with the sun. I was like, I was beautiful. Oh, shoot, a couple miles over. So that helped. I noticed something, though there's only one speed limit sign coming over the bridge, I think. And then where the meter is the sign, there's no speed limit right there. So it could be like, Oh, is it 30? Is it 25 I wasn't paying attention. I missed the sign. So I know we know it's 25 but not everybody does so and I understand they're expensive, but this is Michigan. This Detroit were innovative. So I thought maybe, like a high school or the college interns, like a robotics team or something, maybe they could come up with a sign that would be really cool. Or we could have permanent handmade signs, maybe by kids or a school, or a incentive for a local artist. You could have, like, permanent, not digital, like reminder 25 just like a don't litter, or whatever, and you can put them everywhere, and you could make them themed. You could have one of the deer telling you, or one of the coyotes, or something, I don't know. I think there's a lot of things when money is an issue, you gotta start thinking outside the box. But I think the electronic signs are awesome. I didn't realize they were so expensive, but, um, please, so I don't know you gotta there's a lot of talent in this town, you know, and you could use the schools. You could do internships with the college. So it's not kids, but you just do kids. You can just teach. It's kind of a win win, you know, until you get the money, then you can get the better technology. But in the meantime, because speeding is an issue, I was following the some of the contractors. You guys, I'm on the moon. Go like, and there might have been lighthouse, you know, it just people are distracted. So when you see something like a reminder, like whatever happens either owl guys you know, who don't pollute, like, where to go, you know. So anyway, I just think that could be a good idea. So anyway, thank you.
I look forward to the meeting, and thanks so much. Amy, all right. Anyone else here for Go
ahead, Henry goits from friends of Detroit rowing, I'm here with the president of friends of Detroit rowing. I'm here with Todd Platt, who's the vice president of friends of Detroit growing. I appreciate we have other friends for the boathouse and its future. But I guess I'm confused. I appreciate Mr. Curtis about bringing up the $2 million ARPA funds that were at one point allocated for the boathouse, one way or another. We try every direction with maybe, oh, a little confused, I guess even after discussion. Thanks for bringing that up. Sounds like from Amanda that the money's already been spent, or at least allocated elsewhere. Is that and yet, Tom makes it sound as if maybe that money still is available. Can that just be clarified a bit? That would be a wonderful amount of dollar that would envelope the building, both the roof and the outside, while the work potentially could be done. Obviously a lot of you discussed on November 7, so I think that would be a valuable asset for potentially moving forward with preserving the boathouse that can be done fairly quickly. A little concerned is after July 31 with when the submissions for the proposals were due, we're not going to be into November, and this has to be allocated by the end of December. So we'd like to move as far as fast as we can. But anyway, question about that. Thank you. Thank
you so much. Anyone else here that like to make a public comment in person? All right, would anyone online? Oh, looks like you've already got hands. Great. Let's go with Lisa, please. Lisa dikieri,
hi everyone.
Lisa dikira, with historic designation advisory board, as always, thank you for taking these public comments. I want to thank Tom bis for his leadership on this issue and really helping move this along with the boathouse, as you all know, at the historic designation advisory board and we represent City Council. We know City Council is in full support of seeing a revitalization, reuse solution for the boathouse, we certainly want to also advocate for some portion of that 2 million ARPA funding that was allocated for demolition to be put to some other use at the site that would help benefit the private entity that is interested in reusing the building. We all know that getting bank financing, whatever type of financing, they're going to be looking for, will be easier for them if they can show that there is some skin in the game from the state regarding those ARPA funds. So whether it's the full 2 million or just a portion of the 2 million, and that it goes towards some improvement of the site that mdnr would need to do anyway. It just makes logical sense. So whether it's flood mitigation, whether it's, again, accessibility, like I believe Tom mentioned, dealing with the swimming pool, things that obviously need to be done, regardless of what a plan may be for the building, and that would just be extremely helpful to the development team that's being given the opportunity to put forth their proposal. I also just want to say that for the November 7 public meeting, please send the information, the announcement on the meeting, to our office as soon as possible, so we can share it with city council and so that we can also get it out through our social media channels, because we have a lot of people interested in this issue. So thank you again, and we're here to support and help in any way we can.
Thank you so much. Lisa looks like we have
Carolyn. Go ahead. You
do you okay?
You can Okay,
you're good. You
are we can hear you now.
Okay, good. Thank you. My name is Carolyn. I volunteered on the island since God knows when, but anyway, I would hope well, first of all, Michelle, I want to thank you for all the work that you've done with the conservancy. I remember back in the days it was you and two part time secretaries and how the Conservancy has grown, I would hope that at some point we would think about bringing back the holiday straw. I know it's probably not possible for this year because of the conservatory not necessarily being open, and that was always one of the key places to go. And then the other thing that is a concern, Amanda, I believe at some point you said that what they're talking about reversing the direction of traffic on central that goes through the forest. My concern about that. I understand part of why you want to do it, but my concern about that is it's going to bring more traffic through that forest, and I don't know what impact it would have. You're going to have exhausted all that kind of good stuff. And we all know that that forest is very fragile. Okay, thank you.
Thank you so much. Carolyn, is there anyone else online that would like to make a public comment?
No, okay, one more opportunity for public comment from folks online. All right, so with that, back to advisors, if anyone has any kind of concluding comments that they'd like to make.
Okay? Well, I
apologize for my target is this morning, but congratulations, and congratulations. I know you were at the helm for many years, and I know that we weren't always on the same time, so I appreciate your professionalism and hope hopefully you you feel good about everything that you accomplish. And welcome. I haven't met you, so I would like to get to know you a little bit better, because I haven't met you before. But I just want to say that still, I still feel very strongly that if we do have openings in the future, that we try to reach out to the indigenous community in Detroit, to the Native Americans. I truly feel like, because I talked to many of them, that they like to have more of a presence here on the island, and I think it's important that we try to do that in even if they're not on this board, but just like invite them into conversations this territory, their land. And so I just feel like we really need to make sure that we put that kind of like front and center. And so just probably keep repeating that until I feel like we're doing that for other than that, I'm just happy to be here, and hopefully the future is just looking very promising. I am very much in support of saving the profile, so I'm looking forward to the proposal and the meeting on the seventh so that we can see what you know, what everybody thinks. And thank you all for being here in person and online.
Thank you. And welcome to the board, by the way, thank you, and welcome as chair to the board. I agree with this young lady here when she said that it's a distraction when you're coming in, yeah, because it's so beautiful, it's just beautiful. So you get distracted, and you start looking at other things, and pretty soon you're going more than 25 so I think we have to think about that even more things on the bridge itself, because you could miss that one sign, and then you're looking around again, and there's so much beauty that that I think that causes a lot of the speed. So if we can think about that a little bit in the future, that would be great.
That's it. Thank you.
I'll make a comment in relation to Angela's point about indigenous representation, Amanda and I have been working really closely, as she alluded to, about the island wide planning process, building up the mobility study, and one of the things that we've been taking a close look at is who are the communities that we really need to kind of change the way that we approach engagement, because they haven't been as engaged or sufficiently engaged in the past. So I would say that indigenous representation on the island is something that I hear a lot, and that's definitely on that list of like, how do we want to think about that? So we'd love to pull you into those conversations as well and make any connections that we might not have for that specifically, I think the only other thing I wanted to do is reiterate the timing of the meeting. So let me just go to the BiPAC members online to see if they have any concluding remarks.
Dr, thanks.
Okay, okay.
So with that, I just want to again state that our plan is to have a November 7 meeting that would be a special session specifically regarding the proposal for the boathouse that will be at 6pm and at the Flynn pavilion, there will be a hybrid option. I would encourage a lot of you, as many as are able, to attend in person. I think that will really enrich the conversation for us to all just be together in person and talking through this issue, and like we've already talked about. Please spread the word to all of your networks. We'll create something, a flyer that then we can circulate more broadly and have everyone share out. And would love it if the city could share on its channels too. And with that, do we have a motion to adjourn
Megan? I'm sorry, yes. You know, sometimes the Flynn isn't very good for for sound. So I think somebody needs to make sure ahead of time that the sound is good. And also we may need a display, electronic display like this for people in the back that can't see the presentation. We can prepare ahead of that. I think there's gonna be a lot of people there. Yeah.
So I've been to a couple meetings recently where we have had the ability to do the display, and it's worked pretty well in terms of the sound, but that's a great point. So we'll make sure that that is prepared and ready, and that we're we're ready to get started right at six.
So that's, I love what
Angela said. I think that with the indigenous people of the area, maybe with the zoo, maybe we can say, Okay, if you had two acres here, what would you do? You know, let's get them involved, and maybe using it that represents them somehow. I don't know how. I'm just thinking out loud, but I'd love to be able to get them involved in that. Yeah, how big is this? How many acres? 2020,
okay,
the zoo is the store spot for me too, just because my grandmother ran it for 12 years. So it's like always, every time y'all talk about it,
we're lucky to have such a strong personal connection. Okay? Do we have a motion to adjourn? Motion to adjourn. Second All in favor. Thank you all again for being here today. You next time you
