DEARBORN—This week’s city council meeting highlighted several items that are poised to impact the city’s future, including details on the move into the new Dearborn Administrative Center and the upcoming Intermodal Passenger Rail Facility Project.

The rail facility project, which was supposed to be completed in August 2013, has faced some delays with construction. The delay is due to the sale of the ‘railroad right of way’ to Amtrak, which halted development on parts of the project and forced construction to resume out of sequence. 

A resolution was presented during the meeting for an additional $184,655 in costs for construction, bringing the total to $2,708,797. The city has yet to set a date on when the project will be completed, but noted that construction has once again resumed. 

The city also discussed Severstal’s planned donation to help facilitate the city’s move into the Dearborn Administrative Center. The steel mill factory offered over $8 million to help cover costs for the planned move. Currently, the building, located at 16901 Michigan Ave., has been allocated a construction budget of $4 million for renovations and site improvements. 

The city plans to meet with Severstal in the next week to finalize details about the company’s contribution.

A resolution was also presented for the mayor to execute an application agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a $1,737,715 grant, to support eligible projects, programs and activities. This includes a subrecipient contract with ACCESS and the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit.

Toward the end of the city council meeting, a couple of feuding neighbors put their issues on display in front of the council. 

One local resident took to the podium and suggested the council outlaw wind chimes, as he believes it disturbs the city’s noise ordinance. The local man said that his neighbors installed a wind chime, and when he complained about the noise, they retaliated by putting up six more of them. He took the issue to the city and it determined that wind chimes were in compliance with all city ordinances. 

The council suggested that the man seek legal counsel because his complaint falls under a ‘private nuisance.’

Two feuding neighbors residing on Hollywood Street also took the podium to discuss their mutual dislike. The first man claimed he was having difficulties dealing with his neighbors after he complained to residential services about their installing a pool in their yard without a permit.

Immediately after, his neighbor took the podium to tell the council that he eventually did acquire a permit for his pool, but later learned from residential services that the neighbor who filed the complaint against him doesn’t even have a certificate of occupancy on his property. The council suggested the two households settle their disputes with residential services.