Palmer Park - WKTV Journal

The City of Wyoming hosted several meetings about its new master plan. (WKTV)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

While recognizing the accomplishments of the Kent Country Dispatch, the Wyoming City Council expressed concern over the funding of the dispatch authority and decided to only approve a one-year renewal agreement for dispatch services at the council’s Monday night meeting..

Mayor Jack Poll said the concern is with Kent County dispatching its Sheriff Department personal to areas in townships without any payment by the townships.

“This is in addition to the county essential providing those townships some free services from the Sheriff Department, some townships pay for enhanced services, and charging the townships for jailing persons committing crimes in townships and paying the costs for courts that serve townships,” Poll read from a discussion that took place about dispatch funding.

Poll noted that cities like Wyoming must pay for most of the same services with Wyoming residents paying county taxes to support services for the townships while also playing city taxes to the city so it can pay the county to provide those services to the city residents.

City Manager Curtis Holt, who was the chairman for the Kent County Dispatch for 14 years, said funding has been a concern with the authority. The county does view the issue differently in that it the sheriff provides police services for those communities as part of the dispatch which is part of the county taxes.

“The difference is is in 75 percent of the nation dispatch authorities stand separate and are not part of the sheriff’s department,” Holt said during the city council meeting. “We have actually voiced a desire to look at this as an independent agency and the county continues to resist that as a potential solution.”

Holt said longterm funding of the dispatch authority is something that will have to be considered in the near future.

The county was seeking a five-year renewal for dispatch services. Poll said under the approved agreement, the city could opt out if a better solution is found.

Council members did note that over the years, the services provided to both residents and officers through the dispatch have improved greatly. This included eliminating the number of call transfers from residents to local police departments and bringing online a new 800 megahertz countywide dispatch system that will make it easier for the different departments to communicate with each other.

Palmer field set to get new lights. (WKTV)

Palmer Park

At its Monday meeting, the City Council approved a $277,137 bid by Buist Electric for new field lights and a net at the Palmer field. Buist Electric was the lowest bidder.

Wyoming Director of Community Services Rebecca Rynbrandt said that many people do not realize that the Palmer field is located on Kent County land. The ball field is located on the edge of Kaufman Golf Course, which is operated by the county and the 44th Street Armory. The city has had a relationship with Kent County specific to the Palmer softball field since the 1960s.

That agreement, according to Rynbrandt, is that the city is responsible to operate and maintain the field and its related facilities such as the parking lot, restrooms, lights and retention wall.

According to Poll, the lights at the park are 35-years-old with the electrical service in the park being antiquated and need of upgrades to meet code. The project was noted as a priority with the city’s 5-year community Recreation Plan. The new netting would be added to the left field fence with the height being raised to help prevent balls being hit onto 44th Street. The work is scheduled to be done this year.

The total costs came in higher than the estimates of $175,000 partly because of the decision to use LED lighting which uses a fraction of the energy relative to other lighting sources. LED lighting also has a 25-year warranty , which provides a savings in maintenances and repair costs. The LED lights will reduce the light spilling into the surrounding neighborhood.

Due to the age of the equipment and the transition to an LED product, the city is seeking a reimbursement of some funding through a Consumers Energy program. The Council did approve an amendment to the budget of $130,000.

[Re]Imagine Wyoming Master Plan

After 16 months of work and numerous meetings with community members, the Wyoming City Council approved its new master plan, which will provide a framework for city growth over the next 15 – 20 years.

Stop sign added

The council also approved a new stop sign for the intersection of Goldcrest and Mulligan drives. Drivers on Goldcrest Drive will now need to stop at the intersection before entering onto Mulligan Drive.

Appointments

The City Council approved Nancy Quero-Ramirez to the Community Enrichment Commission and Audrey Zapata to the Planning Commission.

The above image shows the location of the Greens of Wyoming plat.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

After determining a developer had followed all the proper procedures required, the Wyoming City Council gave tentative approval to its first plat proposal in more than two years.

At its July 5 meeting, the Wyoming City Council followed the lead of the city’s Planning Commission and approved a tentative preliminary plat proposal, called The Greens of Wyoming, for a 13.15-arce parcel located off 56th Street not far from Gezon Parkway. Developer of the site is Sniper One LLC.

The tentative proposal calls for 39 lots to be built on the property with a straight road running about the full length of the site with a cul-de-sac at the end. The development is designed to connect with the Palmer Park subdivision to the east of it with Mulligan Drive being extended. Mulligan Drive is designated by the city to eventually link all the subdivisions over to Burlingame Avenue.

Many of the residents in the Palmer Park subdivision attended the meeting in opposition of the project citing a number of concerns including that the full engineering on the plan was not included and existing drainage problems that could increase if the plat is put in.

“I really don’t see how we can deny this project,” said City Councilmember Dan Burrill, who sits on the Planning Commission as the council’s representative. Burrill pointed out that the plat meets all the requirements set forth by the city including fitting the zoning for that area which is R-1 Residential.

City Manager Curtis Holt said it has been some time since the city council has had to review a plat. In fact, the last plat project brought to the city was the Rivertown Valley III located just south of 56th Street on Nile Drive. That plat’s final approval was in 2014.

A portion of the tentative preliminary site plan for the Greens of Wyoming.

For the City of Wyoming, the platting of property is a three-step process. The first step is the tentative preliminary plat which authorizes the basic lot sizes and orientation and street layout. The second step is the preliminary plat approval which will include the engineering detail for the construction of the plat. The last step is the final plat approval.

City Planner Tim Cochran said the city has a number of similar blocks of land like The Greens of Wyoming that could be developed especially now that the housing market seems to have stabilized. In fact, just west of The Greens of Wyoming property is another undeveloped parcel of land.

Residents especially were concerned about the overall layout of the plat and drainage issues. Because of the narrowness of the property, staff said there is not much more the developer could do as far as layout. The property does meet zoning with its 10,000-square-foot lots, which residents noted does not fit in with the current lot sizes of the existing properties.

As for drainage issues, Wyoming Department of Public Works Director Bill Dooley said after the June Planning Commission meeting, his staff investigated if it had received any complaints and did not find any on record. Mayor Jack Poll said staff will get back with residents on the drainage concerns.

Dooley said it’s good when residents do voice their concerns as it makes city staff and officials aware of what has been happening in a specific area and to make sure those concerns are addressed.

The developer can now move forward to get engineering and other requirements for the preliminary plat approval. This includes having the plan reviewed by the Kent County Drain Commissioner’s office.