Eastpointe, MI - Let Residents vote on spending, new city hall

COLLECTING SIGNATURES: Group sets out to get city hall issue on ballot
Residents want say on project
February 1, 2007
BY DAN CORTEZ FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Ken Brown wants to be clear. He does not oppose the decision to build a new city hall in Eastpointe.
What Brown does not like is the plan city leaders have settled on to pay for the project -- $4.5 million in bonds. That's why he is among a group of residents -- Let Eastpointe Residents Be Heard -- spearheading a petition drive to get the issue on the ballot.

(RASHAUN RUCKER/Detroit Free Press)












Ann Vieira pauses before entering the Eastpointe Post Office to sign a petition for Ken Brown and James Collins, all of Eastpointe, on Friday.

"I'm not saying we're against a new city hall, but let's put this to a vote," Brown, 51, said Monday. "It's a big ticket item, and it's for a long term. I felt the need that people need to vote on something like this."

The group has until the end of February to collect about 2,300 signatures -- 10% of Eastpointe's registered voters -- required to put the issue on a ballot later this year. The group is going door-to-door and spending time at the local post office to collect signatures. Members say they have several hundred already.

It was November when the City Council voted to build a new structure at the same location on Gratiot Avenue. City leaders spent more than a year debating whether to renovate the structure, build a new one or turn an existing building somewhere else in the city into a new home.
In June, the City Council said building a 17,000-square-foot city hall -- estimated to cost $3.6 million to $3.8 million -- would be a better choice than spending a projected $3.2 million to bring the current building up to date. The project would not have an impact on taxes paid by residents.
"The council carefully studied this," councilwoman and Mayor Pro-Tem Veronica Klinefelt said Wednesday. "We have to make a decision to move forward."
James Collins, a former council member who advocates making repairs to the current building, said a financial decision that has so much impact on the city's future finances should be decided by a public vote.

"Something this big for a city of our size, let the people vote," Collins, 70, said this week.
Brown, 51, who works as a sales manager in the auto industry, said the city should use reserve funds instead of assuming such a substantial debt.
"I don't think this is the right solution," he said. "We already have a few big ticket items for other buildings."
But Klinefelt said the expense is a worthy one. The new building will cut down on energy and maintenance costs and could spur new development along Gratiot.
"I understand the state of the economy, but you can't let your city fall apart," Klinefelt said. "There have been repairs that have been needed for years."
Contact DAN CORTEZ at 586-469-1827 or dcortez@freepress.com.

leteastpointeresidentsbeheard@yahoo.com