Water Street Project lurches forward, ever so slightly

The Ypsilanti City Council has hired C.B. Richard Elllis for the sum of $56,000 to do a feasibility study AND market the project nationally to see if a developer can be found.

Brian Robb, D-3, and stickler for saving tax dollars for residents, did not think yet another study was warranted:

"It's like we're throwing money away, and they are going to tell us we need mixed development."

We tend to agree with Brian on this. How many studies are we gonna pay for all telling us the same thing? Granted, the last study done was in 2001 but let's just say the site hasn't changed in size or style. It's still there.

Why should this concern you? It's big money right now being siphoned out of your pockets with more, much more to come. The Ann Arbor News has more:

The city has changed the focus of the project from residential to a mixed use of residential and commercial. The city has spent about $23.5 million on the project so far, money that came from loans, bonds and grants. Loans, bonds and refinancing cost about $15.7 million and will cost the city about $15.6 million in interest that will have to be paid by 2031. The total cost to taxpayers is about $31.4 million.

Lois Richardson D-1, um, where were you?

The City of Ypsilanti just had a pretty big vote ya might have heard. The City Council voted 4-1 to approve $274,000 to pay AATA in full for the 7 routes in an out of Ypsilanti that service 578,000 people each year, getting to and coming home from work, going shopping or other errands. Now, Brian Robb D-2 felt the city should have held out and seen what AATA was going to ask for first before committing that much money. We disagre with him on this and want the busses funded fully BUT he makes a good point, a very defensible point and one that who knows, um, Trudy Swanson and Lois Richardson could have chimed in on. But they were nowhere to be found. Now we're SURE they'd both have a good excuse for not being at one of the more important City Council meetings this year and giving the 1st Ward NO REPRESENTATION on this vote. Basically the 1st Ward had no say on this topic.

If it were us and we lived in the 1st Ward, we'd be on the phone right now finding out why they weren't there and what was so pressing they would both miss the vote.

Betcha Megan Turf wonders why too.

EDITORS NOTE--We were informed by Brian Robb that Trudy Swanson is recovering in the hospital and has a fine excuse and thusly we took her name off the headline.

We wish Trudy Swanson the fastest recovery

Minor league baseball in Ypsi? It could happen...

...at least there are some working on turning the stalled River Street project into a minor league ballpark with an outdoor market. That's right, several Ypsilanti residents are looking at building (With investor dollars, not tax dollars) a 6,000 to 7,500 seat stadium with storefronts along Michigan Avenue and a hotel to the south of the stadium.

Kevin Hill and Brian Robb D-3rd Ward were interviewed by the Ypsilanti Courier about this project and both were extremely optimistic. While definitive plans are not yet available Hill was quoted as saying a site plan was at least six months away.

Robb had this to say about the private aspect of the project vs public dollars:

"We have been in contact with several groups who are interested in minor league baseball and are interested in moving teams," he said. "We will not build it, they will build it."

YCD likes baseball. YCD would love more stores downtown. YCD would love the River Street area built on.

Johnny thinks "Ypsilanti Space Punks" has a real nice ring to it for a name.

'Stop City Income Tax' files suit against city of Ypsilanti

A group calling itself 'Stop City Income Tax' has filed suit to block the proposed Ypsilanti City income tax. The tax, if approved later this year would impose a 1% sales tax on Ypsilanti residents and 1/2% on non residents who work in Ypsilanti.

Claiming the ballot language itself is too vague and therefore not legal as well as claiming it violates Michigan's Home Rule Act, Brian Robb, Democratic council member in the third ward said:

"The city should not be advocating one side of the issue or the other and the city cannot have ballot language that violates state law".

City attorney John Barr, while not addressing the Michigan's Home Rule Act portion of the complaint did say:

"City council believed they weren't hoodwinking the voters".

Uh, yeah, but John, they didn't THINK They were hoodwinking the voters or they KNOW they weren't hoodwinking the voters. Which is it?

The YCD has come out very early on as being opposed to the proposal, the YCD also thinks after Jenny from the Block and the Republicans in Lansing just helped themselves to more of our money, this proposal has a real chance of being pounded should it go before voters.

Got something to say to the authority figures?

Then SAY IT, citizen. I hope this bunch answers their emails, Barry LaRue never answered mine when he was simply keeping a chair warm on City Council.

Tell 'em Johnny sent ya

Mayor & City Council

City of Ypsilanti
One South Huron Street
Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197

City Council Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers.

Mayor
Paul Schreiber
Mayor@cityofypsilanti.com

Please contact the City Clerk's Office at (734) 483-1100 for an appointment

Mayor Pro-Tem
S.A. Trudy Swanson, Ward 1
satswanson@hotmail.com

Council Members
Lois Richardson, Ward 1
loiserich@hotmail.com

John Gawlas, Ward 2
jgawlas@cityofypsilanti.com

William Nickels, Ward 2
kbnickels@aol.com

Brian Filipiak, Ward 3
bfilipiak@cityofypsilanti.com

Brian Robb, Ward 3
brobb@cityofypsilanti.com