City discontinues real estate listing agreements for campus, corner lot

Tecumseh City Council unanimously voted Monday to discontinue the real estate listing agreements for the Tecumseh Business and Technology Campus (TBTC) on East Chicago Boulevard and property on the northeast corner of East Chicago Boulevard and Maumee Streets, across from Tecumseh City Hall. In May 2014, council voted to list the Maumee Street property with Howard Hanna after Potter Family Foods expressed interest in building a Chomp Burger restaurant. The listing agreement was for 12 months and would net a commission of seven percent. The TBTC has been listed almost since the city bought the property, Tecumseh City Manager Kevin Welch said, adding he and Paula Holtz, Tecumseh Economic Develop-ment Director, have thought about discontinuing to list the TBTC. “The climate for bare property is not the greatest,” Welch said. “Chances are, at least for the next few years, when a business locates there, they’re going to expect the property for free. And the unfortunate situation is you’re still paying a realtor fee. It’s kind of hard to swallow that.” Council could decide to list the properties on their own, list them with new realtors or re-list them when the market is better. Welch said the city should make it known that a negotiated commission will be paid to realtors if they find a buyer for property at the TBTC or the corner lot across from City Hall. Councilmember Ron Wimple asked if there had been interested parties at either property.Welch said there has been interest in the TBTC but no written offers have been made.Thirty to 40 packages have been sent to prospective businesses looking for property in the state, Welch said, noting the prospects came through the state and were made available across the entire state.In other news, Council members voted Monday to contract with Peerless Midwest, Inc. for $33,892 to rehabilitate and replace the pump at Well No. 14. “This has been one of those wells we’ve been babying for the last few years and it needs this work here pretty quick,” Welch said. “And it probably needed it awhile ago.” The replacement pump is a submersible and should last seven to 10 years, according to Wastewater Treatment Plant Supt. Todd Amstutz. A turbine pump would cost the city over $100,000 to install, Amstutz added. Peerless Midwest, Inc. has completed the last two well rehabilitations and pump replacements for the city. Michael Andrews Concrete’s contract to repair sidewalks through the city’s sidewalk replacement program was extended for 2015. “We’ve bid out sidewalk replacements in the past, and I have to say, last year was by far the easiest working with this contractor,” Welch said. In 2014, the city bid out the sidewalk replacement program project and Michael Andrews Concrete was the sole bid. The cost is $205 a slab, which amounts to a 2.5-percent increase over last year’s prices, said Welch, “which I think is very, very reasonable considering prices have gone up on almost everything more than that.” Council approved the Union of Operating Engineers tentative agreement as well, which includes water and sewer plant and some city hall employees. Welch said the agreement is consistent with the Police Union contract and what has been approved for nonunion employees with exceptions specific to the Union of Operating Engineers. The agreement is for three years. In other business, council: • Accepted a letter of resignation from Election Commission member Phil Krieger and appointed Mildred Gentz to the commission with a term expiring January 2016• Authorized Welch to cast a ballot on behalf of the City of Tecumseh for this year’s Michigan Municipal League Workers’ Compensation Fund Board of Trustees election• Entered into closed session to discuss pending litigation

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