Belleville’s DDA ‘a work in progress’ after resignation of director

“This is a work in progress,” Alicia McGovern, chairwoman of the Belleville Downtown Development Authority near the end of the Sept. 21 regular meeting of the DDA.
“We all want this to work out,” said Mayor Kerreen Conley who sits on the DDA.
Their comments were after a long discussion about the current DDA situation.
City Manager/Police Chief Dave Robinson said the DDA director has resigned. He referred to Tim McLean who was the deputy city manager and also served as DDA director.
“I’m in the process of redefining that position,” City Manager Robinson said and hopefully will put out a call for that position soon.
“I am taking the DDA over – another hat,” he said, adding the DDA to the police chief and city manager responsibilities.
“I may keep that position and I would direct a person to make sure things are done right until the training wheels can come off … I may have some questions along the way,” he said.
Chairwoman McGovern said the DDA does have a contract with the city and will pay for a director. She suggested somebody from the DDA could sit on a committee to interview the person.
Robinson said most certainly he will include somebody from the DDA, the way he did when McLean was hired.
“I was with Carol (Thompson) for ten years and I would like to be on the committee,” said DDA treasurer Sabrina Richardson-Williams, referring to a previous DDA coordinator.
“I’m OK with Sabrina sitting on that board,” McGovern said.
Treasurer Richardson-Williams said the DDA agreed to pay 40% for a coordinator and some for clerical. She said a lot of money is going out and she wondered if there was a breach of contract. She said the person they thought was covering the job isn’t covering it.
“We have an obligation to provide those services,” said Mayor Conley, referring to the city.
“The chief has stepped in … the administration, minutes are being done. Checks written,” Conley said.
Richardson-Williams asked about public relations and overseeing who’s doing the maintenance.
“How long do we go as a minor job?” she asked. “He has several jobs,” she said of the chief.
“We’re entering into a big-ticket item,” McGovern said of the DDA director. But, she mentioned how one side of Main Street looks good, but the south side of the street has weeds. She said there is no oversight and the DDA is supposed to have a monthly report on what’s going on. She said the maintenance was not done and that’s where the frustration came in.
Robinson said they have been working on it. They are working on the light poles. And, the masonry stuff, with masons hard to find now. They had two seasonal employees and six young folks. Weeds grow and there are so many things to be done. He said he knows that next year they will be in teams of two, not just one group. He said this is the first year the city had two DDA people and six youth and it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
He said with football and band and other things starting, they tend to peter away in August. He said the program should start in April or May, but they couldn’t this year.
Robinson said anytime anyone from the city called, the crew responded. He said they were in Victoria Commons a lot. Weeds pop up all the time, he said. The contracted service did a good job and responded whenever he called.
“I understand weeds do grow, but 12 inches is quite a long weed,” McGovern continued.
“That was part of the reason he resigned,” he said of Tim McClean, the former deputy city manager and DDA director.
“In all fairness to you, I want to make sure you’re not spread too thin,” McGovern said.
“I’m not going to have somebody step in,” Robinson said. “They’ll have to prove to me they can do it … When you go a whole summer without a meeting and not one board member called to complain … When you manage a large amount of money, you have to meet regularly.”
DDA member Kelly McWilliams said, “That’s why we shouldn’t share with the city … It’s taxpayers’ money … I thought maybe we should ask him why he left … I appreciate you. You do a great job. We need somebody just to do the DDA job.”
Robinson said that would be the DDA board’s decision. There is a contract with the city, but they could reopen the contract, he said.
“Eighty percent of the time I allowed him was for DDA stuff,” Robinson said. “I didn’t have help handling the city. We had questions about satisfaction of performance. So many things are entwined with the city.”
He said Richardson-Williams was at the city council meeting the previous Monday and it was the first time he saw a DDA member at a meeting. He said the DDA has to be able to enmesh with the city and it was beneficial to have a DDA member there.
“I was not happy with the rate of accomplishment … I’m just filling in as director,” he said, adding that being on the DDA board is more than just showing up at meetings.
“The person we hired was not able to do what we wanted,” said Mayor Conley. “At the end of the day, there’s a lot of work to be done. Was the structure wrong? I don’t know. There’s a lot to be learned.”
Robinson-Williams said, “Time will tell. We’re in a standstill right now.” She said 40% of the budget is involved.
“You don’t automatically get charged for someone right now,” Mayor Conley said. “Just for the work done.”
Robinson-Williams said next month when the accountant runs the accounts payable, it should be less.
“Last week, 90% of my time was on DDA matters,” Robinson said.
McGovern said, “City manager, police chief and 90% of time on the DDA. Oh, boy.”
Robinson said his police sergeants and City Clerk Brianna Hootman fill in to help. He said he had to dig through McLean’s computer for information, which was Carol Thompson’s before him.
“He’s been gone almost two weeks and 90% of my time was spent searching, fact-finding. Where are we with light poles? When is the dock being pulled out?”
McGovern said she asked McLean to put together a checklist and there should be one Robinson can find. She said if the DDA has concerns about having their own person, they could discuss that.
Robinson said the position he’s hiring will be a city position – a project manager. A lot will be for the DDA, but Robinson will have oversight.
He said his hope is that he will manage that person and tell the person what to do. It could be a five-minute meeting. Robinson would assign those projects and if they’re doing great they could go from there.
DDA secretary Denise Baker said that Richardson-Williams would be on the committee for hiring and she would tell the DDA what she thought.
“I agree with Denise,” McGovern said. “Have her tell us what she thinks of the candidate.”
“We have a contract and whatever I have to do, I will do,” Robinson said, urging DDA members to communicate with him. He said every one has the ability to call him. He said he doesn’t know how the communication was between the DDA and McLean.
McGovern said they talked often on the phone and every Friday at 10:30 a.m. they met.
Robinson said over the last 13 weeks that meeting was scheduled, they met three times. He said it took a lot for him to prepare for the present meeting. There were no meetings for two months and there are a lot of things that need actual approval by the board. He said it was a lot to dig back into previous minutes to get information.
“Tim had to dig through Carol’s stuff, in his defense,” McWilliams said.
“He isn’t here to defend himself,” McGovern said.
“All I ask is your patience and persistence,” Robinson said. He said having the new person as a grant manager is on the list. He said he goes to city and DDA meetings to get information. He said most of the time there are city council members at the DDA meeting.
McGovern asked Mayor Conley if she didn’t go to the city council meetings and the mayor said she did.
“This is a work in progress,” McGovern said.
During comments at the end of the meeting, Richardson-Williams said she looked forward to working this out. She said the city council approved the DIA outdoor art program, which she was enthused about.
Mayor Conley agreed that everyone wanted this to work out. She said Sabrina was on the committee and that is good.
McGovern said they are in transition and will get back on track. She said there are two seats available on the DDA, since Jim Chudzinski resigned before that night’s meeting. Anyone interested should contact the city.
Baker said, “We’ll see how it goes.”
McWilliams thanked Robinson for jumping in and handling DDA affairs.
Members of the audience then had a chance to speak.
Therese Antonelli representing the Belleville Area Chamber of Commerce said, “Chief Robinson is a huge asset to our community… Last thing we want is to lose him. He is literally doing three jobs. I did not agree with the last DDA directors.” She said a lot of DDAs do marketing, advertising, and promoting. She said the Chamber hasn’t received its two $2,000 checks from the DDA for Lake Fest and Winter Fest. She noted the chamber in Romulus is putting on Pumpkin Fest.
Antonelli said she was so disappointed that a festival wasn’t held in Belleville that could have brought thousands of people to the community. It makes her sick, she said.
She also asked about the DDA putting lights on the trees on Main Street. She said she could get a quote from “my guy” and McGovern agreed.
Mayor Pro-Tem Ken Voigt spoke from the audience, as well. “I agree with Theresa, 100%. A lot of other DDAs put on events. In our community it’s not done that way.”
He said whether the Chamber has a 501c3 or not for the Winter Fest, “What the heck. Why split hairs? An organization capable of putting on two phenomenal events? Why screw with it?” Voigt said.
He said a lot of communities leave the lights up on the trees all year long and with LED lights, it’s not expensive.
“Our DDA district and TIF district capture an inordinate amount of tax revenue. I’m willing to bet between 80-85% of the community. The tax district takes in an entire subdivision — Victoria Commons — and the senior highrise.
“We have not had an increase from the TIF district since 1985,” Voigt said, adding the extra taxes from Scott Jones’ project is going to the DDA.
He said the council normally would be getting more, but when the contract with the DDA was reduced, the city had to have a part-time police chief and only half of the DPW. Voigt said he was glad Chief Robinson renegotiated the maintenance agreement.
Voigt said he has been involved with the DDA since Day #2 and the best DDA operation was when the city manager served as DDA director – not two fiefdoms.
“I want you to keep in mind … that just ‘cause the last person didn’t do a good job, not to throw the baby out with the bath water,” Voigt said. “We struggle as a council to come up with money for services.”
He said they placed a responsibility, a heavy responsibility, on the chief.
Whitney Beaubien said she is part of the Chamber and it would be beneficial for the DDA, the Chamber, and the CBC to sit down together to help bridge the gap for scheduling events. She said every person who works for the Chamber makes no profit and pays their own expenses.
McGovern said for the first Lake Fest the Chamber didn’t have money and everybody came together.
Julie Kissel said she lived 18 years in Sumpter Township and three years on Charles Street in the city. She said her 19-year-old son is an EMT fire fighter and makes $15.50 an hour. She said she didn’t know about all of the things she heard at this meeting, although she reads the Independent.
McGovern said the DDA does have transparency and open meetings. “This is the first time I’ve seen our audience this vocal.”
Former mayor and former councilman Tom Fielder said there are two openings on the DDA now: one at-large for someone living anywhere in the city and one for someone living in the DDA district.
Someone mentioned that a Chamber representative is on the board and it was noted a Chamber representative is not a requirement to be a part of the board.
“I live in the DDA district,” Fielder said. He said the council approves everything the DDA does and DDA members are appointed and not elected. He said having a presence in city hall definitely is a benefit.
Fielder said when there is an opening to be filled, the name shouldn’t be put out in public, which puts undue pressure on the person named.
“They shouldn’t have done that,” Fielder said. “It’s not good government.”
He referred to an incident at the last city council meeting where a member of the audience, supported by two others in the audience, named a councilman he thought should be the new deputy city manager.
It was announced that the State of the Community will be sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce at 9 a.m., Oct. 5, at the BYC. Chief Robinson will be speaker for Belleville since the mayor was unavailable. McGovern was asked if she could speak briefly on the DDA and she said she would check her schedule.
Councilman Steve Jones announced that the theme for the Dec. 3 Winter Fest parade this year will be “Christmas Candyland.”
Chief Robinson announced later in the week that the next DDA meeting will be held at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 26.