people could take their tea out and sit. Ms. Brnabic said she would like to |
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see even a basic drawing of the limestone parking lot and landscaping. |
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Ms. Brnabic said that she felt better with a capacity of 49, but she |
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questioned whether he had an expansion plan for the future. Mr. Bruhn |
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said that he would not expand the parking. Ms. Brnabic asked Mr. Bruhn |
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if he would be willing to commit to the hours of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. He said |
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that he would, noting that it would be for the tea rooms and that if there was |
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something happening in the evening, such as a wedding shower, it would |
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not go past 10:00 p.m. It would have to start a couple hours after the |
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closing of the tea rooms - start at 6:00 p.m. and be gone by 10:00 p.m. - |
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because he usually had classes in the morning. He concluded that even |
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on the weekends, there was no reason to go past 10:00 p.m. |
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Mr. Reece said that he applauded the passion and desire to want to do |
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something with the property. He indicated that some people were |
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saddled with a historic district designation and did not want it. He thought |
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Mr. Bruhn had been given two sound pieces of advice, and he strongly |
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recommended that he paid close attention. A business plan would allow |
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him to better channel his energies into what he wanted to do, and hiring |
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an architect would take ideas and concepts and put pencil to paper so |
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things could be priced appropriately. Regarding the issues he would |
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come across with barrier-free access in the facility, Mr. Reece was not |
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sure if Mr. Bruhn had had any discussion with the Building Department, |
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but he suspected Mr. Bruhn would face some significant challenges in |
|
those regards. He felt that hiring an architect with an historic background |
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would serve him very well before he got in too far, so he would know |
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exactly what the issues would be in terms of site plan approval for the |
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parking lot screening, lighting, etc. A home that suddenly became a |
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commercial business would require the Commission to take a look at |
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things to make sure they were done properly. He agreed with having |
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limestone parking, and he thought the Commission could work with him to |
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make the concept a reality, but he cautioned about the realities to the |
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concept the Commission would have to deal with. He did not want Mr. |
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Bruhn to fail because he did not have a very clear understanding of what |
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challenges he would face, and he reiterated that there would be |
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challenges. He felt it was a great concept and a perfect use for the facility. |
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It would be welcome in the community, but they would have to meet |
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somewhere they could both, from the City’s perspective and the business |
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perspective, be at the right place at a point in time. He suggested that Mr. |
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Anzek or the HDC could help find architects. Mr. Bruhn mentioned that |
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there were also architects at OCC. Mr. Reece said that traditionally, the |
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Oakland County Health Department could be a challenge, too. He |
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wanted to see Mr. Bruhn get his ducks in a row to go forward so that the |
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$100k price tag was indeed a reality and did not turn into $200k. He |
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