Allen Park City Manager Mark Kibby (second from left) announces the 5 p.m. June 30 groundbreaking ceremony for the new Department of Public Services facility at the June 23 city council meeting, as City Councilmen Charles Blevins (left), Gary Schlack and Matt Valerius, Mayor Gail McLeod, City Councilmen Tony Lalli and Daniel Loyd, and City Councilwoman Pam Sych listen during the council’s first live meeting in three months.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK – City officials will break ground at 5 p.m. June 30 for a new Department of Public Services facility located on 12 acres east of I-94 and south of Outer Drive.
Designed by Novi-based Sidock Group, the project will consolidate the city’s current three DPS locations to one site, on land purchased from Baker College, which originally acquired Buhl Athletic Field from St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Melvindale.
Currently, Allen Park has DPS facilities on Roosevelt, across from the courthouse, and behind the former city hall, near Southfield Road and I-94. The deteriorating salt dome also will be relocated to the new site.
C.E. Raines of Riverview will provide the site and civil engineering work for the project, which will include a 55,000-square-foot facility, with 10,000 square feet of office space and a 45,000-square-foot garage and storage area.
The indoor storage for large DPS equipment will protect it from the cold winter weather, and eliminate the need to warm up hydraulic pumps for up to an hour before the equipment can be used.
The property includes 1.74 acres within the city of Melvindale, which is zoned residential, but Baker College wanted to sell the entire 12-acre site without subdividing it. The acreage within Allen Park is zoned light industrial.
Vehicles will enter the site from the Melvindale side of the property, from Outer Drive at Hanna Street, which currently has a traffic light. A second driveway will line up with nearby Harman Street, to provide a wide turning radius for large trucks.
City Manager Mark Kibby said the city will not incur debt to complete the project, and residents will not be asked to support a millage to pay for the facility. The sale of city land, including the DPS sites which will be vacated, will help finance the project as well.