BRIDGE PERILS: City Needs Guarantee State Will Keep 2 Spans Open

County Officials Should Consider Probe, Court Action for Future Growth

December 20, 2017
By: Dave Rogers

The biggest danger we see in the idea to privatize two bridges in Bay City is that we have no guarantee the State of Michigan will keep Veterans and Lafayette bridges open.

Wouldn't the toll bridge plan for Independence and Liberty bridges put Bay City at the mercy of state officials who, since the two other spans are state-owned, have the option to close and remove those bridges -- in the name of austerity, of course?

Mayor Kathy Newsham, City Manager Dana Muscott and some commissioners seem so hell-bent on convincing we unschooled taxpayers of the inimitable value of this plan that it creates a suspicious cloud over City Hall.

"We'll revisit it in a couple of months," Muscott told TV-5, virtually dismissing the storm of protest and the Bay City Times poll showing 83 percent of respondents opposed. "People just need a little time to get used to change," the City Manager said.

We can't help but reflect on how the previous Manager Rick Finn might have handled this issue.

Is this issue a test of leadership and veracity in public service for all our officials? You bet! And it is a fiery cauldron that might move us ahead in unity or unsparingly sink the city and the county into oblivion after lo these many years.

Make no mistake, this issue has vast implications for all residents of Bay County, townships, and small cities. County officials need to put the feet of city officials to the fire or risk countywide disaster through their inaction.

Talk of a City Charter Commission might provide a perfect opportunity to reconsider the strong mayor system, so residents have a more secure way of controlling what goes on at City Hall.

The perilous possibility of being stuck paying ever-higher tolls to cross the river lurks like a boogeyman.

Many citizens have signaled they will never use the toll bridges as long as the free bridges are available. So, wouldn't that quickly overload, and wear out the state-owned spans? That's an easy question to answer.

Worse yet, what if toll bridges were our only option? If that happens we can kiss progress and population growth goodbye forever.

Please tell me if there is a river city in the United States that is served only by toll bridges?

The state has shown little responsibility in fixing highways and trunk lines, with motorists dodging potholes and rough patches almost everywhere.

Who's to say the Lansing crowd wouldn't quickly try to dodge costs of maintaining Vets and Lafayette?

There's always some priority item -- like cutting taxes for corporations or filling up more prisons -- that could arise when the matter of funding Bay City's bridges comes up in the halls of government downstate.

I don't know about you, but this whole affair screams for a legislative investigation or one by the attorney general's office. Bill Schuette is running for governor and he is from neighboring Midland; so might the Attorney General make some points by shining the spotlight on this issue?

The only other option for threatened city taxpayers is to seek clarification through the courts about the long-term responsibility for the two state-owned bridges in Bay City.

As we have opined earlier, this issue is one on which the future of Bay City depends. It's no time to shrink from asking the tough questions, and demanding straight answers.

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