By Christmas the only building in this photo that will remain on the Industrial Brownhoist site at Saginaw and Columbus is the small octagonal guard shack, foreground. City Makes Tough Calls - Demolish 3 IB Hulks, Pump $295,000 Into Marketing
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The City Commission may end up turning an eyesore and problem environmental site into the centerpiece of a new downtown Bay City.
One key reason is an anticipated $1 million brownfield cleanup grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency that commissioners gave the go-ahead on Monday night (Sept. 28).
City staff said that the EPA is very flexible about use of the brownfield dollars, a statement that perked up the ears of commissioners.
There was some hesitation about pulling the rip cord on the three main buildings of the old Industrial BrownHoist complex, but in the end it was decided the deteriorating structures had to go.
"The superstructure is worse than anyone imagined," said City Manager Robert V. Belleman, noting the positive aspects of having a "buy contract" instead of having to pay for removal.
Ideas for use of the site are not firm, but include a farm market, marina, a waterpark hotel, the proposed Dow Corning Maritime Heritage Center and other attractions.
Tear them down! That was the word from a panel of members of the RiversEdge public-private development group, including developers Paul Rowley and Art Dore, who appeared at the earlier finance and policy meeting.
Bierlein Companies, Inc., of Midland, will pay the city more than $11,000 for the scrap steel but they will have to do some heavy tear down work to get it. And, the firm may have to sit on the scrap and hope steel prices rise to make out, according to Belleman.
According to Steve Black, deputy city manager, the buildings will be gone by Christmas. And, a troublesome tar pit at the heart of the complex will be targeted with a $200,000 EPA grant and 20 percent city match, he said.
Commission President Chris Shannon urged preservation-minded citizens and officials to focus efforts on the Monarch building, the red brick structure that once housed the Bay City Trolley Company.
Spending $295,000 on marketing and hiring a lobbying firm to seek federal stimulus dollars was not as tough a decision, but the potential is too great to resist, most commissioners opined.
Of the total, $100,000 will go to the public-private group for marketing including upgrading a website and $195,000 to the Ferguson Group (TFG), a Washington lobbying group representing many governmental units. TFG is to seek federal funds for city projects, including Uptown.
Skeptics were assured the money will not come from the general fund budget but from an "opportunity fund" built from sale of city-owned property and other sources. And, the Ferguson contract is month-to-month with an "out clause" if performance is not up to commissioners' liking.
Two speakers from the public had ideas for use of the buildings, but Commissioner Kevin Novellino commented: "Unfortunately we waited so long for ideas to come to fruition. The engineers let us know development was not feasible because it would be too costly."
"Potential investors find the buildings unsightly," said Commissioner Kellie Snyder. "They are of no historical value and are not safe; we need to move forward."
Only Commissioner Marie Kurzer dissented as the commission voted 8-1 to do the deal with Bierlein to tear down the Kahn, Corner and Foundry buildings on the 48-acre IB site. Kurzer had pushed for a 3-week delay to hear the ideas of the speakers, but it was noted that one, Bob Graham, has been talking to the city since 2002 about ideas for saving the buildings.
"The big fix is to create tax base to fund the services we keep cutting," said Commissioner John Davidson, who recently was elected to the board of the Michigan Municipal League. "We need somebody in high places swinging a bat for us," commented Commissioner Novellino.
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