Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BUCHANAN — Buchanan City Commissioners appear to be getting closer to giving financial support to the LiveBuchanan economic development organization, although questions remain about exactly how much money will be provided as well as whether the now-defunct Downtown Development Authority will be revived.

Commissioners first debated support for LiveBuchanan to join the Michigan Main Street Program last week and held a special meeting Monday to continue the discussion. Although the goal had been to vote on the LiveBuchanan-Michigan Main Street proposals Monday, commissioners had too many questions and agreed to put off action until Aug. 26.

Commissioners specifically want more specifics from LiveBuchanan including a budget detailing how the organization will spend the city’s money-whether it’s $56,000 a year for five years or a lesser amount. They want accountability and transparency from LiveBuchanan which is a non-profit but not a government entity.

Main Street Manager Ashley Regal said Michigan Main Street requires a five year commitment from the local government, a full time manager and money set aside for training. She backtracked from the Aug. 31 deadline to apply, saying the state had just changed its application rules  and wouldn’t make the city wait three years to apply again.

Commissioner Dan Vigansky remained skeptical. He said LiveBuchanan does not have open meetings and that the proposed contract was too loose. “I want the DDA back,” he said. “Nobody is squawking that LiveBuchanan is crooked, but they’re not open and I question where the money is going.”

Commissioner Mark Weedon tried to move both the LiveBuchanan and DDA proposals forward. He acknowledged that he was one of those disbanding the DDA in 2020 but stressed the importance of moving forward. He suggested approving the LiveBuchanan resolutions while starting the process of bringing back the DDA.

With over $200,000 already set aside in this year’s budget for economic development, Weedon said that any funds given to LiveBuchanan wouldn’t be requiring any additional taxpayer dollars. He and other commissioners said that part of the money would be used to augment Regal’s current $55,276 salary to handle her Main Street duties.

Commissioners ended up postponing action until Aug. 26. They want a more detailed contract proposal from LiveBuchanan including a budget showing what the money will be spent on. They talked about giving less than $56,000 a year and requiring LiveBuchanan to report quarterly to the commission and provide accountability.

In addition to the debate among commissioners, audience members spoke both for and against the LiveBuchanan organization and reviving the DDA. Written comments were also received and unlike last week, most were from LiveBuchanan supporters.

Downtown business owner Tom Jolly said he hadn’t heard a clear explanation of where the money will be going if the city provides financial support to LiveBuchanan.

He also was critical of LiveBuchanan and some of its projects like the new small business incubator. “I’ve seen vendors pull out to where there’s only one vendor left,” he said. “I wouldn’t say that’s a success.”

LiveBuchanan board member Michael Rowland disagreed. He said having businesses leave the incubator is a sign of success and shows it’s fulfilling its purpose. He said there has been miscommunications circulating in the community about what LiveBuchanan is doing.

Former business owner Tracy Dippo also spoke in favor of LiveBuchanan. “This board is full of positive, hardworking folks,” she said. “They’ve completed the task of becoming a Main Street community. They have a long list of accomplishments already.”

Downtown business owner Jeffrey Antisdel had a different take on the situation. Like Jolly, he was concerned about the lack of checks and balances with the LiveBuchanan proposal. “The commission has a duty to spend taxpayer money wisely,” he said. “It would be in the best interests of taxpayers to have more control and have other business owners have more input.”

He was among those who said reconstituting the DDA would be of value although it might be years before a new DDA could accumulate the level of funds it had when it was disbanded-a figure as high as $300,000 or more. The downtown property value baseline for the DDA’s tax increment financing would go from today’s values and not those of the past.