City Council Approves Work Group to Study Downtown Public Space Proposals

The city has formed a working group that will spend a good deal of the holiday season weighting the two proposals for a public gathering space in downtown Saline. 

In a memo to council, Marl said the working group will weigh competing proposals for a gathering space. One proposal is the one recently proposed by  downtown property owner, Tyler Kinley. The other was proposed by former Community Development Director Ben Harrington.

Kinley Proposal

Tyler Kinley represents Praxis Properties, which owns several downtown properties, including Murphy's Crossing. He was planning a public space as part of developing the South Ann Arbor Street wing of Murphy's crossing. He proposed the city join his public space proposal with its own property and with money ($500,000 is the figure that's been kicked around, but it's far from official).  By joining the properties, the gathering space might be as large as the space proposed earlier for the Henry Street parking lot. The state could match the city's contribution. A gathering space there might reshape many of the ways Saline holds festivals and events. The creation of the space might not cost many parking spots. 

A shared space with a private owner certainly has complications. In addition, much of the space the city could commit was once owned by the Girbach family, and a clause in the sales agreement says the property would revert to the Girbachs if the land was no longer used as a parking lot. It's clear that City Council member Dean Girbach isn't content to let the city hand over that property for a public space without something in return. Girbach is abstaining from votes on related issues.

Henry Street Lot

Former Community Development Director Ben Harrington recommended the Henry Street parking lot as the best spot for a public gathering space. There were several reasons. One, the city owns all of the land. Secondly, city residents already use the lot for social events like the Farmers Market,  Summerfest and Oktoberfest. It was also used last year for the Salty Summer Sounds Music Series. It was identified as a place for a gathering place as far back as the 2007 Urban Design Plan. However, the state of parking in that lot has changed with the early success of Droptop Pizza. Ownership previously stated they were scrapping plans to open in Saline when they learned of plans to eliminate some of the parking for the public space - and then announced plans to open after being assured by Mayor Marl that the city would maintain parking. It's thought the Henry Street Lot proposal would cost $1 million - though it's expected the city would seek grants for the project.

The Group

The working group consists of Chair Elle Cole, the deputy city manager and treasurer; Colleen O'Toole, the city manager; Janet Dillon, city council; Jenn Harmount, city council; and Nicole Rice, city council.

Council voted 5-0 (Rice absent, Girbach abstention) to form the group.

The group will meet in person and virtually, speak with property owners, property owners and other stakeholders before making a final report/recommendation to city council no later than Jan. 13.

"The working group should consider both
the potential risks and benefits of the proposals and shall solicit feedback /insights from all
impacted businesses and property owners," Mayor Brian Marl wrote in his memo to council.

January Deadline

The reason for the Jan. 13 date is that it's generally believed the chances of receiving matching state funding for a joint project with Kinley will dwindle if the city hasn't committed to the project by the second city council meeting of the month. That January deadline, however, may leave the full city council little time to study and react to a recommendation to join Kinley's project.

Jan. 13

Marl's motion states the working group will dissolve after Jan. 13. Councillor Dillon said she wasn't comfortable with that because there was so much work to do. Marl said council vote to give the group more time to work if it is needed.

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