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BUCHANAN — Buchanan City Commissioners are looking to establish a new relationship with the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber to revitalize economic development work in the Buchanan downtown and become a Michigan Main Street community.

Commissioners heard from Chamber President Arthur Havlicek and LiveBuchanan Board Chair Randy Hendrixson before voting to move forward with drafting a contract with the Chamber. LiveBuchanan is a volunteer organization formed in 2023 to spur economic development, pursue the Main Street designation and start a small business incubator.

Havlicek presented a comprehensive strategy for LiveBuchanan’s future. He outlined a new organizational structure designed to improve operational efficiency, enhance financial oversight, and provide greater regional support for downtown revitalization. The Regional Chamber will provide staffing, shared services such as marketing and grant writing and access to cutting-edge data.

The Main Street effort had been on hold since August as commissioners first debated support for LiveBuchanan and then how to use it as a vehicle to bring back the Downtown Development Authority. That time period also saw the resignation of the city’s assistant community development director, Ashley Regal, who had worked with LiveBuchanan.

Havlicek proposed providing the city with the staff and expertise needed to pursue the Michigan Main Street designation as well as to re-establish the DDA to provide longterm funding for downtown economic development efforts. Having the Main Street designation will provide the city with more resources to promote that development.

The proposal would have the city pay the Chamber $100,000 annually for five years. Hendrixson and Havlicek pointed out that the city is already budgeting $69,000 for downtown economic development efforts and still has the leftover funds from the dissolution of the previous DDA.

The funds would primarily be used to hire a LiveBuchanan director to do that work. The director would be a Chamber rather than city employee and have access to Chamber resources and services. The city would receive regular reports about LiveBuchanan activities and have representation on and oversight of the LiveBuchanan Board.

“The Regional Chamber’s involvement is designed to enhance LiveBuchanan’s efforts and maximize the City’s return on investment,” Havlicek said. “I thank the commissioners for recognizing the transformative potential of this new partnership and look forward to positioning Buchanan as a model for community-driven revitalization.”

“The collaboration with the Regional Chamber is a game-changer for LiveBuchanan,” Hendrixson said. “Their support provides critical resources and expertise, enabling us to implement the Michigan Main Street Four-Point Approach™ more effectively. We’re confident the partnership will drive sustainable growth, attract new investment, and strengthen the long-term vitality of our downtown.”

Commissioners’ debate and discussion before the vote centered more on the money obligation than the value of the Chamber partnership. Commissioner Dan Vigansky questioned spending that much money and tried unsuccessfully to postpone action until March or April. He also wanted assurances that the DDA will still be brought back.

“I want to postpone this to April so our new city manager can look at it,” Vigansky said. “It’s also a $500,000 commitment and I think it will be detrimental to recreating the DDA. LiveBuchanan has not been open and we’ve given them money without any oversight.”

He said Buchanan should stop pretending to be something it isn’t and compare itself to what’s been done in other communities such as Bridgman. “Bridgman has the nuclear plant and the lake, we need to stop pretending we have the same,” he said.

Commissioner Raquell George also questioned the accountability of the LiveBuchanan organization and the need for new bylaws for them but ended up voting to move forward with drafting a contract with the Chamber. As Commissioner Patrick Swem noted, drafting the agreement doesn’t commit the city to spending the money yet.

“The problem I see with only pursuing the DDA is that we’re trying to carve out a path by ourselves,” he said. “This allows us to get help from the Chamber which has been delivering across the region. This contract will provide more support and the value they will bring in is more than what we will pay.”

Mayor Mark Weedon said he favored pursuing the contract with the Chamber to support LiveBuchanan efforts, saying that the city needs to take advantage of the “palpable vitality” that’s starting to be seen in the city.

In other action at Monday’s meeting, commissioners selected Bendzinski & Co. to perform financial and rate consulting services for $24,000 and Jones & Henry Engineers to assist the wastewater treatment plant in determining pollutant levels for $9,875.

Commissioners voted to keep the commission meeting times the same, at 7 p.m. rather than 6 p.m., for 2025. They also cancelled the Dec. 23 commission meeting.