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Published: Saturday, April 24, 2010 "Third Thursday"
City plans 'Third Thursday' events to lure people to downtown area
ALLEN PARK –– Retailers and residents near the downtown business district might see a horse and carriage pass by their windows if a Downtown Development Authority proposal is approved by the city.
The DDA board approved a resolution Thursday to bring Ann Arbor Carriage to the downtown for $1,500 as a part of a summer event it is calling “Third Thursday.” The authority established it on a trial basis, and if successful, it could be expanded.“We are spending money to create traffic to our business district,” DDA acting Director Mike Donofrio said. The event will run from May to August on the third Thursday of each month. The city of Wyandotte has had Third Friday monthly events downtown for several years. Donofrio said the Police Department must approve the proposal, and the DDA has to determine if any permits are needed before the carriage can come to town. He said the DDA is looking to bring a little of Central Park to Allen Park. It would be about a 10-minute ride and would be free.
The carriage operators prefer to make right turns, so the proposed route is to begin on Allen Road, turn right onto Park Avenue, continue through the business district and turn right on an undetermined side street to get back to Allen Road. Donofrio’s plan initially calls for the carriage to be set up in front of Moro’s Dining, 6535 Allen Road.He said horse droppings will be removed by the carriage company. The DDA also plans to pursue bringing street vendors to downtown and hopes to have more restaurants offer outdoor seating.
Also, June 10 marks the first Farmers’ Market, an effort started last year to attract more people to the area on Friday afternoons. It again will be at the corner of Allen Road and White Street.
Reported by the News Herald, Angie Favot afavot@heritage.com
ALLEN PARK 1/28/2010 :–– Mayor Gary Burtka addressed the city’s financial state and upcoming projects at the annual State of the City address.
The address was hosted by the Community Council Thursday evening at City Hall, 16850 Southfield Road. Burtka spoke on what each department covered in 2009 and what plans are for 2010. The assessor’s office report said that in the 2010 tax year the city will lose about $97 million in taxable value, which results in a decrease of about $1.5 million in revenue.“As property values decline, our tax base declines,” Burtka said. Residential values will fall overall by 12 percent and commercial and industrial values will drop 8 percent. The financial overview said that at the end of fiscal year 2009 the city had a total fund balance of $4.9 million, which is equal to 21.6 percent. Generally accepted accounting practices recommend a balance of 10 percent to 15 percent in a rainy day fund. The unrestricted portion of the fund balance is at $3.5 million, or 15.4 percent.“This is the highest it has been for over a decade,” Burtka said.He said that with the instability of state funding, the struggling economy and a declining housing market, the city’s revenue sources will decrease.“The city has been and will need to continue being creative to provide the same level of services to its residents with less funding,” he said.In addition, the city saw an 11.1 percent decrease in state revenue sharing, which caused a $300,000 funding shortfall. A change in actuarially required pension contributions for the current year requires the city to fund more than $1 million toward than it historically had to.“Unless the market recovers the losses incurred, the city can anticipate future increases in its actuarially required contributions until previous balances have been restored,” Burtka said. The upcoming loss of revenue is estimated to be well over $3 million next year.“To keep Allen Park the absolutely wonderful community that it is while maintaining fiscal health means that we will continue to be vigilant and understand that more hard decisions will have to be made,” Burtka said. Other speech highlights included the announcement that Festival of Trees has signed on to have it annual fundraising event at City Hall again for 2010, the building of a new municipal complex in vacant land next to the current City Hall and completing a recreation area on land near the Fairlane Green at Outer Drive. Burtka said that in 2009 the Building Department issued 2,612 total permits. The city also issued 46 certificates of occupancy for new businesses.“That’s pretty good when the state says we’re in a recession,” he said.The Building Department’s goals for 2010 include a $30 million upgrade and renovation to the Detroit Water and Sewer Plant off Goddard Road and implementing a neighborhood stabilization program. The clerk’s office plans to recode ordinances and place them on a CD and a Web site so residents have better access to them. The Economic Development Department’s goals for 2010 are to retain and expand business to create jobs. The department also will create an incentive plan for property owners and organize a real estate tour to market residential and commercial properties, Burtka said.
Reported by the News Herald, Angie Favot
Mayor seeking volunteers for a commission to help organize the upcoming Census / as reported by the News Herald , By Angie Favot
ALLEN PARK –– Mayor Gary Burtka is seeking volunteers to form a commission to help organize the upcoming census count.“For the next eight months, this is probably the most important commission the city will have,” he said.The census population totals determine which states gain or lose representation in Congress and the amount of state and federal funding communities receive over the course of the decade.Burtka said for every missed person, the city will lose $18,000 in federal money.In March, the U.S. census form will be mailed or delivered to residents. The U.S. Census Bureau encourages completed forms to be mailed on National Census Day, April 1, because the bureau delivers the population information to the president for apportionment in December.Burtka wants the commission to convene until August to help ensure that residents fill out the forms.To join the commission, send contact information to the city clerk’s office in City Hall, 16850 Southfield Road, or send an e-mail to Clerk Michael Mizzi at mmizzi@cityofallenpark.org.
Published: by the News Herald,Tuesday, December 15, 2009, Written By Angie Favot
ALLEN PARK — For the second year, the city’s annual audit shows an increase in fund balances.
Randy Darnell of accounting firm Darnell & Meyering P.C. told city officials there is an increase of about $612,000 in the fund balance for the 2008-09 fiscal year, which ended June 30.The general fund reported revenue in excess of expenditures of $438,253, resulting in an increase in the general fund balance, or “rainy day” fund, to about $4.9 million.Of that amount, about $3.5 million is unreserved and undesignated, equaling 15.4 percent. Darnell said auditors usually recommend between 10 percent and 15 percent in reserve.The City Council was expected to approve the audited financial statements at a meeting set for yesterday evening.The city had revenues of $26.4 million and expenses of $26.2 million. An additional $354,000 in transfers brought the excess to about $612,000.“It’s a matter of them being prudent in reducing expenditures,” Darnell said.According to the report, the city’s financial position is the product of a number of transactions including the net results of its activities, the payment of debt, the acquisition and disposal of capital assets and the depreciation of capital assets.Net assets may serve over time as a useful indicator of a government’s financial position, the report says.“In the case of the city, assets exceeded liabilities by $80,435,504 in the current year compared to $86,553,328 in the prior year,” the report says.The largest portion of the city’s net assets reflects its investment in capital assets, such as land and improvements, buildings and improvements, vehicles, furniture and equipment, according to the report.The 2007-08 budget initially was supposed to have a deficit of about $161,000, and that was before an $800,000 tax loss from Ford Motor Co. The fund balance, as a result of cost cutting, ended up being about $4.4 million.The audit does not include $25.3 million in long-term general obligation bonds and $3 million in Wayne County-issued recovery zone bonds the city sold in October to pay for a 104-acre property off Southfield Road that is the site of the new Unity Studios development.
Unity Studios Sets Aug. 27 Groundbreaking more ...
Rat Control Program – Starts Monday, August 17, 2009
The City will give out Rat Poison at no charge on the following days & times only:
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:30 – 9:30 AM
- Tuesday and Thursday: 8:30 – 9:30 AM and 3:00 -4:00 PM (Additional afternoon hours on Tuesday & Thursday only)
You may pick up the poison from the Ordinance Department at City Hall
Bait boxes will be available to purchase for $5.00
Please note: Residents must sign waiver in order to receive poison and residents are responsible for disposal of carcass.
DTE Appliance Recycling Program
Save energy. Save money. Save the hassle.
Did you know that your old refrigerator or freezer can use more than twice the amount of electricity as a new one? Replace your old refrigerator or freezer with a high efficiency unit and you could save up to $150 on your energy bill each year -- and keep harmful materials out of landfills.
Plus, when you do, DTE Energy will give you a $50 rebate and haul your old appliance away for free through the Your Energy SavingsSM program! At the same time, we will also pick up your old room air conditioner and dehumidifier which will qualify for a $20 rebate.
Schedule a no hassle, convenient pick up today and begin managing your energy costs.
If you have questions about this program, call 866.796.0512.
*To participate, you must be a Detroit Edison customer. Room air conditioner & dehumidifier pick-ups must be scheduled with your qualified refrigerator or freezer appointments.
See other program requirements. Click here...
Liftion Institute (Unity Studio) Information Forum was held on June 3rd ....more
Unity Studios Plans Fall 2009 Opening
ALLEN PARK, Mich. - A veteran Hollywood film executive who is a native Detroiter will build a $146 million, 750,000-square-foot film, TV and media production studio factory and village on 104 acres of land at Southfield Road and Enterprise Drive in Allen Park, officials announced today.
Productions at Unity Studios will employ up to 3,000 skilled and non-skilled union workers. Unity will employ up to 83 management/operational positions for the studio and within the Village.
City of Allen Park residents and laid-off union workers from across the region will get first shot at the jobs, Allen Park Mayor Gary Burtka said.
"Unity Studios amounts to an economic development blockbuster and the best economic news announced in Downriver and southeast Michigan in years," Burtka said. "This project represents new hope and, more importantly, job opportunities for thousands of Allen Park residents and auto workers who have lost their jobs.
"We have found an economic boost in the lights, cameras and action of Michigan's newest high-tech industry."
Governor Jennifer Granholm said the Unity Studios project highlights the success of the state's efforts to attract the film industry to Michigan.
"We are working hard to build a diversified economy and create good-paying jobs for our talented workforce," Governor Granholm said. "As a result of our aggressive film incentives enacted just a year ago, we are not only bringing new investment to the burgeoning film production community in Michigan, we are putting in place the infrastructure for an industry that will support long-term job growth and opportunity in new, creative sectors."
Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano said the Unity Studios project is an important step in diversifying the county's economy.
"Our economic development team has been working diligently with Allen Park on this project," Ficano said. "We are now attempting to put together an incentive package that will create jobs in a new industry for the region."
The county is considering making a Renaissance Zone designation available for the project when all benchmarks are met by investors, Ficano added.
Unity Studios will be majority owned and operated by a group of investors from Los Angeles and Michigan, with Jimmy Lifton of California as the President. Lifton, originally from Southfield, Michigan, has been in the business of entertainment for 30 years. He has owned an internationally distributed record label, produced 13 feature films, and is Principal of one of the largest independent post-production audio studios in Los Angeles, Oracle Post. Some of the most famous and familiar TV and film industry giants use Oracle Post including Fox, HBO, NBC, ABC, Disney, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Lionsgate, Universal, Dreamworks, Warner Brothers, VH1 and MTV.
Also unique about the project: The Lifton Institute for Media Skills will implement one of the largest retraining programs ever enacted in Michigan. Out of work skilled and unskilled labor will receive on-the-set training and production experience, giving students production credits. In addition, the project will include a village where people can live, shop and find entertainment options.
"My goal was to help bring a new industry to my home state." said Lifton. "I like to think of Unity Studios as a factory in the tradition of Henry Ford's Rouge factory model. All aspects of production occurring in one location; workforce training, production, post-production, distribution and marketing. We will constantly be creating product on the lot, utilizing the Detroit area's best asset, the creativity of its people."
Burtka said the project represents a creative and progressive approach to community-based economic development and redevelopment: under the agreement with Lifton, the city will own equity in the studios. In addition, the studios are being developed on brown field property currently occupied by various buildings and open fields. As a result, it does not increase sprawl nor does it require the city and its taxpayers to shoulder significant new infrastructure costs.
"This project is an economic development win-win-win for Allen Park residents," Burtka said. "We did not need to raise taxes a penny to win this project. Our residents get first shot at the jobs, and they are owners too."
Allen Park officials said the project would not have been possible without significant support from the State of Michigan.
"We offer our sincere appreciation and heartfelt thanks to Gov. Jennifer Granholm, the Michigan Film Office, Robert Ficano, the Michigan Economic Development Growth Corporation, and to the state legislators who helped us put all the pieces together," Burtka said.
Additional details about Unity Studios will be released in coming weeks and months, including the start of construction, hiring, enrollments in the training institute, and partnerships with various other companies and industries in the region and state.
Unity Studios Facts
- A full-service movie, television and media production studio factory and village to be built on 104 acres at Southfield Road and Enterprise Drive in Allen Park.
- $146 million total project investment.
- Phase 1 will encompass 40 acres of the site. It will include 750,000 square feet of production, post-production and production services facilities with eight sound stages. In specific terms, there will be four, 24,000-square-foot sound stages, 45 feet to the grid. There will also be four smaller stages of about 11,000 square feet with 21-foot ceilings to accommodate smaller productions, TV shows, commercials and Media School productions.
- Up to 3,000 skilled and non-skilled union jobs each year working on the sets of media productions and within the Village.
- The project will generate up to 83 full-time managerial and operational jobs.
- City of Allen Park residents and laid-off union workers from across the region will get first shot at the jobs.
- A unique and progressive economic development model in which the City of Allen Park will have equity in the project.
- The project is being developed on brown field property that has served as home to auto makers and suppliers for decades. As a result, it does not increase sprawl nor does it require the city and its taxpayers to shoulder significant new infrastructure costs.
- Unity Studios will be majority owned and operated by a group of investors from Los Angeles and Michigan, with Jimmy Lifton of California as the President.
- Lifton, a native Detroiter, has been in the business of entertainment for 30 years. He has owned an internationally distributed record label, produced 13 feature films, and is Principal of one of the largest independent post-production audio studios in Los Angeles, Oracle Post. Some of the most famous and familiar TV and film industry giants use Oracle Post including Fox, HBO, NBC, ABC, Disney, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Lionsgate, Universal, Dreamworks, Warner Brothers, VH1 and MTV.
- The Lifton Institute for Media Skills will implement one of the largest retraining programs ever enacted in Michigan. Out of work skilled and unskilled labor will receive on-the-set training and production experience, giving students production credits.
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