DEARBORN — The second City Council meeting of the year, held on Tuesday, January 29, revealed details of the city’s planned move into the Dearborn Administrative Center as well as developments of a plan to park residential vehicles in city parks during snow emergencies.

This was the first time all seven city council members sat through a meeting together. During the last meeting, councilman Brian O’Donnell had been absent on a business trip while Council President Susan Dabaja ran her first meeting. Present along with the council at this week’s meeting was Mayor Jack O’Reilly.

Close to 20 city-related resolutions were passed during the meeting, which concluded pretty quickly in under an hour. Among the approved resolutions included one awarding a contract to Vortex Midwest for $175,000 to install at Hemlock Park a “splash park,” which will include a pad with ground nozzles that will spray water upwards for children to play in. 

A resolution was also passed for an Interlocal Services Agreement between Dearborn and Dearborn Heights that will allow residents from both cities to borrow books and other materials from either of the city’s libraries. Dearborn currently operates three libraries, while Dearborn Heights operates two. 

But during discussion of a resolution that would award a contract to The Dailey Company for the first phase of Construction Management/General Contractor Services for the Dearborn Administrative Center, one citizen had a concern.

The building, located at 16901 Michigan Ave, was bought after the city approved a purchase agreement to sell City Hall to Art Space for $1.65 million. Resident Lee Jacobson told the city that he hopes they would be as transparent as possible during the planned move, asking for a possible time frame and an update on the money expected from Art Space.

Mayor O’Reilly stated that the money from Art Space is not included in this year’s budget because the agreement is not yet official, adding that they have only paid a small deposit. He says that the contract with the Dailey Company would allow them to inspect the new site and begin planning a design until the sale of the current site officially goes through, after which the city can then begin phase 2 of the move.

Jacobson suggested that the city offer residents a tour of the facility to get them familiar with the building, but Councilman Thomas Tafelski stated that not enough people would be interested in the matter. During a roll call vote for the resolution, Tafelski was the only person on the council to vote against it. 

During the public comments section at the end of the meeting, Jacobson once again addressed the council, asking the city to allocate public parking lots during major snowstorms, so that residents can avoid getting ticketed during snow emergencies.

Mayor O’Reilly stated the city is in the planning phases of identifying appropriate parking lots where residents will be permitted to park their vehicles during snow emergencies. A possibility might include parking spots at local neighborhood parks, but the city will need to work out a feasible schedule with the Department of Public Works so that plowing operations don’t conflict with the plan.