Did the City Buy a Bridge Last Night?

Anyone watching the City Council meeting, would not have a clue.  The elephant sitting on the property was never mentioned, until Manager Brown said the property was free of contaminants, except for around the trestle (he did not elaborate, and no one asked how much it would cost to mitigate the contamination problem).  I learned afterwards that Acheson Ventures expressed interest in the bridge, and that a scrap metal dealer would remove it for free.  Presumably people watching on TV or sitting in the audience, hoping to be informed about the city’s business would have liked to have been informed. But the Council was in a hurry.

There was not time to discuss this issue, with the County lurking in the background trying to purchase it right from under the city's nose.  It was a reminder of how city business was done in the past.  An article in the Sunday paper, and a rush to decision, one day later, by the Council.

The only one to ask probing questions was Councilman Mark Byrne.  We were told that the property had been “tied up in litigation”, until just recently and that the city had the first opportunity to purchase it, and if they didn’t purchase the County would. 

If the County bought it, the property would go off the tax rolls (currently a loss of revenue to the city of about $4,000 per year), and never return.  Of course, if the city buys it, it will go off the tax rolls until they re-sell it.  If the County buys it, they will turn it into a park.

Mayor Moeller was adamant that the city needed to control the future of this property.

Councilman Byrne asked if control of the property could be accomplished through zoning.  Apparently it could not.  He then asked how the property was presently zoned.  No one in the room knew, including the City Manager, who has extensive real estate and development experience and had performed due diligence in negotiating the sale.  Finance Director Ogden, City Engineer Clegg, and all of the other Councilpersons were not aware of the zoning, and so they proceeded without finding out.   The City Clerk was sitting with a lap top computer, and could have made two clicks and found the answer on the city web site. The map shown was taken from that site and shows all of the property around the site to be zoned “Central Business District”. Parks are not a permitted use in this zoning district.  Which is the worse offense, to be incompetent or to be deceitful?   

At this point, the only voice against the proposal was Councilman Byrne’s, backed up by Mayor Pro-Tem James Fisher.  Fisher was noticeably ill with a fever and probably should not have been at the meeting.  Nevertheless, he supported Byrne’s attempt to stop the railroad, by voting to delay the decision.  Their effort failed 5-2.

My recollection of the meeting is not intended to be chronological.  At one point, Byrne asked City Engineer Clegg what would need to be done to alleviate the nasty odors emanating from the adjacent sewage treatment plant.  A lengthy response, culminated in an opinion that the city could spend more than a million dollars, but it would most likely still smell.

When it was his turn to express support for the acquisition, Councilman Doorn indicated that he had visited the property just before the meeting.  In his opinion, it enjoys a beautiful view and is the “gateway” to Port Huron.  I wonder what kind of business could operate successfully in that environment? 

A real gateway would probably be complimentary to the impressive south side of the river. On any given day people can be seen enjoying our natural gift.  Young and old, sit on the large rocks or lean on the rail while fishing and enjoying a parade of river activity.  It is hard to imagine a better use for the subject property given its city-built limitations.  The county builds great parks.  They would not have skimped in matching what Acheson Ventures has accomplished.  The well known natural fishing hole would attract many visitors to our downtown.   Large placed rocks and railings would make it a safe place for young people learning how to fish.  A fish cleaning station could be built without the neighbor complaining about the smell.  If a park is not a permitted use – it should be re-zoned, so that it is.  This could all have been accomplished with the “other government’s” money.  The tax dollars our citizens have been contributing to the county, would have been spent right here, where we could take advantage of it, instead of having to drive miles to a nature center or farm museum.

Much was made of controlling the future use of this property for the citizens, and yet selling it to a private developer.  Which is it?  The last time the city sold waterfront property, it was the city marina.  At the fear of looking foolish for having lost a previous Acheson offer, they grabbed the first offer that came along, even though other buyers expressed interest.  I don’t know if the city is worse at buying or at selling.  It would probably help if they would read the sales agreement.  Once again, the city manager comes to the council without the details of a written agreement.  How are they supposed to make an informed decision?

 Someday in the future, when we have finally sold the property, we will have paid $660,000, plus the unknown cost of mitigating the contamination.  If we are going to sit on the “gateway” for several years, we will probably have to make it more attractive.  Landscaping and railings may be in necessary.  In order to sell it we may have to attempt a correction of the odor problem.  We will need voter approval to sell.  Depending on how long we own it, some future council might feel a need for a study, to determine highest and best use.  Probably should have it appraised.  The folly is never ending, and the cost will only go ever higher.

Manager Brown expressed confidence that the property was being purchased below market value.  Further, he stated he would immediately begin to seek a buyer.  He then hedged his position by stating the obvious – in these hard economic times, it is uncertain what it will be worth or how long it will take to sell.

To his credit, somewhere along the line, Councilman Al Lewandowski changed his mind and the final vote to purchase was passed on a 4-3 margin.

The owners of this property must be giddy with their good fortune.  In hard economic times they have been blessed with two buyers.  One has a large fund of money accumulated through a special parks millage and with access to Federal grant monies.  The other is feeling newly rich with the sale of an industrial building, and motivated by need to preempt the first buyer. 

The only thing more laughable is if word had gotten out that the county wanted to buy a bridge in Brooklyn.