Pete Flintoft, Tim Merkel, Patti Schwarz and Chris Martinson were appointed to the Chelsea Downtown Development Authority on Dec. 11 by a 6-1 vote, by the Chelsea City Council.
Mayor Jason Lindauer, who submitted the appointments per the city charter, said Chelsea is one of the few cities in the Midwest that has “expanded and not constricted … in part because of the DDA.”
He said he was excited about the addition of Martinson, who is new to the board, and who will soon open the Chelsea Alehouse downtown.
All four appointments expire on Dec. 31, 2015.
Before the appointments were made, resident Jan Bernath spoke during the public portion of the meeting and asked the City Council to “initiate an open member-seeking process for the DDA, such as advertising vacancies in the newspaper and various electronic communications detailing an application process.”
In her opinion, “the longer a person serves on a decision-making body, the more he or she becomes invested in the decisions made in the past,” and she thought that there was “an imbalance between new members and long-standing members that is not conducive to independent thought and decision making.”
Also before the vote, Council Member Rod Anderson again voiced his thoughts about improvements that could be made to the DDA.
He said that his comments were not directed at any specific individual who is on the DDA, but reiterated that “the DDA’s objectives are not necessarily the same as the City of Chelsea. We need to rectify this.”
He said among his issues with the DDA were “transparency issues” and that it was difficult to find information on the DDA’s website.
He said the City Council’s only “action is to review the individuals who are appointed to the board.”
Anderson said that “all the individuals are fully capable, this isn’t about you, it’s about the process.”
Appointments to the DDA are up to the mayor and are voted upon by the City Council. But, at least two city council members have said previously that they’d like to participate in the vetting of the resumes of those who express interest in the DDA board.
Council Member Cheri Albertson said she agreed with Anderson when it came to “transparency issues about the DDA.”
Council Member Ann Feeney said she had been on the DDA for 15 years and “now with all the negative press the DDA is getting, some business people don’t that to be part of it.”
Council Member Marcia Parker stood up for the DDA, calling it “valuable to the community,” and thanked its members for all they do for downtown businesses.
Anderson was the lone “no” vote on the appointments.
Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. Of course the DDA’s goals are different from the City’s– that’s in the nature of things, and the DDA board is certainly justified in interpreting these goals. Just as the City Council is (or should be) justified in looking into how new or re-nominated DDA trustees will pursue those goals. This fundamental Council duty, which I thought had some previous support, has been completely disregarded.
BTW, here are the DDA goals summarized:
* To maintain the city center
* to enhance the historic character of the downtown
* off-street parking
* Maintain the different character and function of the highway commercial district and downtown Chelsea.
Since the DDA is funded by monies that would otherwise accrue to other governmental entities (e.g., about $250K/yr to the City, about $25K/yr to the Fire Authority, etc.) it seems reasonable to want to know how effectively these resources are being used. Not under current practice, though!
Rod Anderson
Chelsea City Council