DDA not eligible for stamped concrete; MDOT to lay grass

By CHARITY SMITH

csmith@yourdailyglobe.com

Bessemer - Several people came to the Bessemer Downtown Development Authority meeting on Wednesday evening to hear a discussion about the possibility of purchasing colored, stamped concrete to be laid down along U.S. 2 as part of the ongoing highway reconstruction project.

The idea was to fill the space between the curb and sidewalk with the concrete instead of grass from Mill Street to Peck Street, and the DDA was going to pay for it.

However, the discussion never occurred as Mayor Adam Zak, who was in favor of the concrete, said they had discovered that the majority of the area in question is out of the DDA's jurisdiction.

Zak said he, council member Terry Kryshak and city manager Charly Loper spent a lot of time digging into the issue. He said they learned the majority of the north side of the highway is not in the DDA district, so the DDA can't spend money there.

On top of that, Zak said they also learned, through their research that the DDA can't spend any money unless it's in the DDA's annual plan, which the stamped concrete was not. Neither was spending money on the old Gambles building as they had hoped or doing any sort of bonding to help other projects.

"I don't think any of us realized that all that stuff had to be in the plan," said Zak. "So there is a lot of stuff that we had been talking about that we can't even spend money on."

Because of the discovery, MDOT will be planting grass in those areas between the curb and sidewalk along the completed U.S. 2.

According to Zak, the DDA has bonded some large scale infrastructure projects in the past. He said that in 1995 and 2007, the DDA bonded $500,000 and $750,000 projects. He said it is something that just fell through the cracks, as none of the current DDA members knew about the changes and regulations necessary to do such things, he said.

Loper said the regulations on DDA spending are specific. "When the DDA started, they did spend money outside of the DDA district, but moving forward, we can only do that if it is marketing related. So our welcome signs are fine, our banners are fine, but otherwise it has to be specifically in our district."

As a result of the discovery, the DDA's approval to pay around $1,000 for new street signs along the entire highway was nullified, as the DDA can only pay for the street signs for the area's that are within its district. Loper said that she believes the city will be able to pay for the signs in the other areas.

"(The DDA district) does account for over half of it," said Zak. "There's most of the south side and some over there on the north. So it's over half of the signs. I'm sure I can get the city to cover what's not in the DDA."

Zak said that they should look into getting new poles along with street signs as it would probably not be too much more. He said the poles are old and rusty and it doesn't make sense to put new signs on old, rusty poles.

"I think it's a good idea," said Kady Meinke, DDA board member. "We definitely have the money now that we know were not going to be paying for the stamped concrete."

The city will be ordering white signs with black letters to match the signs on Sophie Street. The DDA voted to get new poles, brackets and signs for the intersections that are within the DDA district, as long as the purchase is not more than $5,000.

In another matter, the DDA hired Samantha Dorr, assistant city secretary, to replace Loper as staff for the organization. Loper had said several months ago that she felt she just didn't have enough time for the organization, with all her other duties, especially with the large construction projects. Although the DDA had not been paying Loper for her services, they approved a contract to pay Dorr approximately $4,755 a year, which Loper said was a "cheap contract." The DDA members agreed, unanimously and approved the contact. Dorr is expected to work four hours per week for the DDA at $20 per hour.

Dorr said she was excited about the opportunity to help the city, but also to learn more and meet more people.

Loper recommended Dorr for the position, saying: "Samantha's been fantastic. She's been learning so quickly at the city and has been picking up a lot. We've been really impressed. I think she would do a fantastic job at this."

The DDA will discuss future goals and planning at its next meeting.