Buchanan commissioners table LiveBuchanan votes

BUCHANAN — Buchanan City Commissioners have postponed action on formalizing the relationship between the city and a local economic development organization called LiveBuchanan after both commissioners and residents raised questions.

Commissioners had been asked to approve two measures related to LiveBuchanan at their meeting Monday night. The first was a resolution acknowledging the partnership between the city and LiveBuchanan with the second outlining the agreement between the two entities.

The proposed agreement would have the city pay LiveBuchanan $56,000 a year for five years to pay for the organization’s programming and projects as well as classes, professional development and other training associated with being a Michigan Main Street community.

That amount would not include the salary of Assistant Community Development Director Ashley Regal or the use of space in City Hall, City Manager Tim Lynch said. Regal would remain a city employee although she would be assisting LiveBuchanan. Lynch called LiveBuchanan a “quasi-governmental organization” although it is not part of city government.

The motions to table both items were approved on 4-1 votes with Mayor Sean Denison voting no. Although no date was given as to when the two items will come back for a vote, Commissioner Larry Money urged the commission to hold a special meeting as soon as possible to clear up people’s questions.

Commissioners had different reasons for tabling the items. Dan Vigansky is still pushing for the restoration of the DDA disbanded by commissioners in 2020, while Patrick Swem and Mark Weedon said they wanted to have their questions cleared up. Money maintained that it was just a matter of “dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’.”

“This is a $250,000 plus commitment, it needs our attorney’s eyes on it before we move forward,” Swem said.

Weedon said the strides made by LiveBuchanan “cannot absolutely be dismissed”. “Don’t take this vote to mean that we don’t support you,” he said. “This postponement is not indicative of our final decision. It is needed to make sure we make the right decision for all of Buchanan.”

For his part, Denison said he and others who make up the LiveBuchanan board have volunteered their time when no other business owners wanted to take part. He said the volunteers have been harassed as those opposed to LiveBuchanan have spread lies.

City Clerk Kalla Langston read summaries of written comments received on the subject before the vote. Eight people submitted written comments opposed to the proposal while one person wrote in support of LiveBuchanan.

LiveBuchanan board member and business owner Randy Hendrixson said it’s important for the city to embrace the Main Street program and provide financial support so they can gain the accreditation. “We have been working diligently over the past two years to earn the accreditation,” he wrote. “… If the city believes in this program and wants to be included, the city must invest further into this process.”

Downtown business owner Alan Robandt wrote the most extensive comments. He questioned the legality of the city giving money to an outside organization as well as the membership of LiveBuchanan which he said has excluded many downtown property and business owners. He supported recreating the DDA as a city entity as it was before.

He wrote that LiveBuchanan’s efforts in organizing Common concerts, Munchie Mondays and the new small business incubator as well as supporting marijuana businesses and promoting a mural of Buchanan native Hannah Roberts have not been effective.

“That is what we have after two plus years of this anti-DDA program,” he wrote. “It’s not an effective spending of Buchanan’s tight resources.”

Regal spoke before the vote, sometimes nearly breaking down as she spoke of the work she and others have done to establish LiveBuchanan and to make Buchanan a Michigan Main Street community. She noted that she had been tasked with making Buchanan a Main Street community when she was hired in October, 2021 and has worked to do that since then.

Projects undertaken so far include starting the small business incubator, stringing lights across Days Avenue, creating a large mural on the outside of the library and signage and billboards on U.S. 12.

She said Michigan Main Street officials from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation have set an August deadline for the city to pass the two measures tabled. She said Michigan Main Street provides training and other resources and requires a funding commitment from the local governing body. “This is a make or break moment,” she said.

Regal did get approval of a new fall festival with everyone but Vigansky voting yes. Vigansky proposed doing it next fall in 2025 because of the shortness of time in planning it now. Regal said it will be Oct. 5 at the Common and feature a variety of activities with a number of organizations and entities participating.

Also Monday, commissioners approved a $52,900 contract with Abonmarche for design and engineering services related to the new handicapped accessible kayak launch at Riverfront Park. Community Development Director Rich Murphy said the city is getting $230,000 state grant and is matching it with $80,000 raised from non-government local sources.

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