VBT DDA reluctantly gives Aerotropolis another year

The Van Buren Township Downtown Development Authority at its Oct. 25 meeting was on the warpath telling Aerotropolis it no longer wanted to pay its $25,000 annual dues for zero return.
The DDA has paid the $25,000 yearly membership dues for the township since the Aerotropolis organized in 2009, which makes it $175,000 paid so far for nothing in return, DDA officials said.
But after an hour-long, spirited discussion, the DDA agreed to pay its dues and gave Aerotropolis one more year to prove its value to the township or the DDA could stop paying dues.
DDA Executive Director Susan Ireland said it was time to pay this year’s $25,000 dues to Aerotropolis and it was in the budget, but she sat on it because of concerns of DDA members and invited representatives of Aerotropolis to come to the DDA’s regular meeting to talk to board members.
Present for the meeting were Marco Salomone, the full-time director of business development for the Detroit Region Aerotropolis for more than a year, and Luke Bonner, a marketing consultant working for Aerotropolis since February.
They told the DDA of all the things they have been doing, including a meeting of ten corporate site selectors from around the country in June and putting a billboard up at the airport. After giving their spiel, DDA chairman Craig Atchinson began the grilling.
Atchinson had been the most outspoken in questioning the return on investment with Aerotropolis.
“How long has Aerotropolis been in effect?” Atchinson asked and Salomone said it was formed in late 2009.
“Here we are seven years later,” Atchinson said. “What has Van Buren Township benefitted from being in it? What are we getting out of it?”
Bonner said he has seen development in Romulus, but since he’s been here he hasn’t seen a project in Van Buren. He noted Romulus projects will hire VBT people.
“What is the benefit?” Atchinson persisted.
Bonner said he worked at Ann Arbor SPARK, an economic development organization, for some time and they were never engaged with anything from Aerotropolis.
He said that he had been at SPARK for two years and gave a speech to the Wayne County Commission. Kevin McNamara, who is soon to be elected supervisor of VBT and was a Wayne County Commissioner, was in the DDA audience and said he was impressed with SPARK.
Bonner told of his work at SPARK to get development of connected and autonomous vehicles at Willow Run Airport and the state gave $20 million to start phase 1.
Bonner said since 2009 Aerotropolis has had “a failure to launch” and “study after study.”
He said there was more time spent on changing the name to VantagePort and then back to Aerotropolis than anything else.
“More money was spent on flash and pizazz than tackling and running,” he said, adding there needs to be marketing of the region collectively.
“You have a major site,” Bonner said. “Everyone calls it the 440,” referring to the 440-acre site at the northwest corner of Ecorse and Belleville roads.
He said the tour Aerotroplis had brought in people from around the country and they gave unabated feedback on the weaknesses and strengths of sites in this area.
“The assets we have here are on a par with others,” Bonner said, adding, “I think we are doing the right things.”
Ron Akers, VBT director of planning and economic development, agreed with what Salomone and Bonner had said.
“A failure to launch is a good way to say it,” he said of Bonner’s words.
Akers said developers don’t start off coming in the door to talk to him, but they look at the infrastructure and other aspects of sites first.
“When you have somebody putting that all together and handing it to them, that really helps,” he said of Aerotropolis’ recent efforts to get information on sites in its district.
Atchinson asked Salomone if he was full time and he said he was, but until a year ago Aerotropolis was run by part-time people and consultants and was, “really, just reactive.”
“We’re going to Chicago in December to meet with site selectors there,” Salomone said.
Bonner said his firm does economic incentive work. He said he has four other people on his team and they do social media and try to make sites look good. He said they’ve done six to seven blog posts related to Aerotropolis and posted on Twitter, “creating a dialog of good things happening.”
DDA member Ron Blank said Romulus has broken ground touted as new construction within Aerotropolis. He said the owner of that property knows every piece of property in Southeastern Michigan, more than anyone else.
“What did you do?” he asked the two Aerotropolis representatives.
“A whole incentive package came through our board,” Salomone said. “It saved them $1,000.”
“They were there anyway,” Blank said. “In 2009 when it originally started they told us Aerotropolis would have development start to finish in 90 days. Nothing goes up in 90 days.”
Salomone and Bonner were shocked at that promise and said they knew nothing about it.
“We can accelerate your time line … to fast-track projects,” Bonner said.
“A few people sitting at this table were here at the time,” Blank said of the promises by Aerotropolis. “We had 440 acres and thought somebody was going to develop that piece … it’s all over the country anyway, listed by Signature.
“You say you may go after the people who don’t know about it,” Blank said.
“Why is that vacant earth after 3.8 billion years? Why is it still vacant?” Bonner asked.
“Because for the first $3.1 billion years GM owned it and thought they would build a plant,” Blank said.
“Why is there so much vacant property?” Bonner asked. “How should we package it to bring people to the property? There is so much online these days. Economic development companies bring a lot to property than they can do on their own.”
“We’ve got a $25,000 annual membership that has not been renewed,” Blank said. “Since 2009 we’ve paid – a couple hundred thousand already. We have not had any development through Aerotropolis to date.”
DDA member Helen Foster asked how many of the seven original communities have dropped out of Aerotropolis.
She was told Belleville and Huron Township have not paid for a couple of years. Ypsilanti Township pays just $15,000 and the City of Ypsilanti asked for a $10,000 waiver. Romulus pays the full dues.
Foster asked if they are taking into account the highest and best use of a municipality’s master plan.
Salomone said Huron Township has areas boxed in by trains and homes that didn’t have trucks before now have trucks.
“We’re trying to be collaborative,” said Akers.
“Just looking for premiere community, sir,” Foster replied.
Salomone said Aerotropolis gets $100,000 from Wayne County, $50,000 from Washtenaw County, $10,000 from DTE, and got $90,000 from the Airport Authority this year for the marketing event and expects more next year.
Bonner said they are tied together with Cranes to do an event in February from the Airport Authority budget to promote the Aerotropolis region.
McNamara rose to speak on behalf of Aerotropolis. He said SPARK worked on autonomous cars and they went on the wrong side of the airport (from VBT).
“They know what’s happening with Aerotropolis and not a darn thing for VBT. We know Huron Township pulled out.”
He said starting in January he will sit down with the township’s planning and economic development department and come up with a strategy and will be pulling off partners.
“I’m begging you to give them one more year,” McNamara said to the DDA. “Give them $25,000 and if something doesn’t happen …”
“We’ve been in a deal now for seven or eight years and got nothing out of it,” Blank replied. “We wasted our money, spent $100,000-$150,000 and got nothing for it … the operation itself is dysfunctional.”
Blank said he’d expect they’d be coming in and saying, “Sorry about that and we can do better.” He said they should look into the way some other communities pulled out or negotiated less in dues.
“Some projects fell apart in Huron Township and we have a meeting coming up with their attorney,” Bonner said.
He said VBT can lean on Aerotropolis on day-to-day stuff as much as it wants, concerning marketing, project management, and research. They’ll try to make stuff happen, he said.
DDA member Carol Bird said some of the communities didn’t pay anything and they’re still on the map and, “We may not pay and we’re still on the map.”
Bird said as a long-time Realtor she knows that when a person likes an area, they like it, period.
“I think we’ve been taken,” Bird said.
Salomone said the Aerotropolis approach is for regional development.
“If we don’t pay, we’re still on the map,” Bird insisted.
Bonner said in SPARK they had a bunch of communities that didn’t participate and they were not supposed to provide hands-on stuff to the community, but regional stuff they did.
“I’m still looking at what is the benefit,” said Atchinson. “We’re still on the map.”
“There are seven communities in the region,” Bonner said.
“We’re not going to chop Huron Township off the map,” said Salomone.
Bonner said a Colorado company wanted to develop in Huron Township, but the township made an error. They could have had incentive, Bonner said.
“When it started, it was some way to speed the process,” Bird said of claims made of Aerotropolis.
“But they never heard of it before,” Blank said of the new Aerotropolis leaders.
“Completely approved in three months or six months,” Blank recalled. “It wasn’t going to happen and we knew it.” He said the first four or five years were in a bad economy.
“If we’re being asked for the same $25,000 this year, that’s not fair,” Blank said. “Can you offer us something?”
Akers said the township supervisor’s seat on the Aerotropolis corporate board would be lost if the dues aren’t paid.
VBT Supervisor Linda Combs said she’s been going to the meetings for four years and leading were Joe Nardoni, Sean Brosnan, and Tim Keyes, all part time. Now, Salomone is full time.
“It’s like Kevin said, give them one more year and see what they can do,” Combs said.
DDA member Mark Laginess said Aerotropolis already has shown it makes accommodations.
“Give them half and in six months see how they’re doing,” Laginess said.
Salomone said he wants to sit down and see the township’s criteria for progress and they’d be happy to come back in six months.
“This is a fork in the road,” Foster said, “What are you going to do? I’d like to see us maintain that seat on the board for a period of time.”
“I can’t imagine Aerotropolis would take us off the board after all these years,” Blank said.
Atchinson said he can’t make the motion, but the DDA could pay such and such and they could take it to their executive board.
Blank said he was ready to make the motion, but he was interrupted by DDA Executive Director Ireland.
She said the Aerotropolis project was brought to VBT by an enthusiastic person and expectations were more than what was delivered. It was a major project for this person, with VBT right in the middle of the Aerotropolis region.
“It’s hard to do a full-time job on a part-time basis,” Ireland said. “You have allocated money in the budget for it,” she said of this year’s dues. “They have been able to help Ron [Akers] a lot,” she said.
“The things they’re doing, Matt [Best] and myself don’t have time for,” Akers said.
Blank said two motions could be made: one, a payment of $25,000 or two, the DDA send a letter that they accept a lesser amount.
Salomone said the reduced rates for the City of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township are actual hardships.
“It goes to you, Ron,” Atchinson said to Akers. “Is it something we should do?”
Akers replied that someone in his planning training told him development is a “shots on goal game.”
Blank replied, “We just learned the Zambonie wasn’t even on the ice.”
“I think another year would be warranted … to see what they can do,” Akers said. “I think they’re moving in a positive direction.”
DDA member Chris Brown asked what metrics they have to gauge success and Salomone said, “bricks and mortar, investment and jobs.”
“There are a lot of metrics, but it’s can I see something being built in my community?” Bonner said.
Bonner told of Ashley Capital that decided to build in Livonia instead of Van Buren Township and he is meeting with Ashley Capital next week.
Supervisor Combs said the township told Ashley Capital they had to upgrade a road. “They paved a whole bunch of stuff they weren’t supposed to pave,” she said.
Bonner said they are building a 500,000-square-foot facility in Livonia and may land a headquarters there.
Blank made a motion to pay $25,000 to Aerotropolis for one more year and the motion passed unanimously.