Council Member Report from Zach Michels

I had completed another report that I was going to submit before learning that two items I had submitted for the next meeting agenda would not be on that agenda.  (That following one item I had submitted for the previous meeting that did not appear on the agenda.)  While the reason for the most recent omission was given as the need to reduce the length of our meeting, I do not believe that either of the items would have required more than 10 minutes each, given we have been discussing and debating them for north of 5 years.  Needless to say, this action has further increased the trust deficit in the City’s leadership, with consequences yet to be seen.

So, instead of that report, which would have addressed those action items, I present this one which imagines what could have been instead.

Imagine, if you will, that the City had taken action 4 or 5 years ago.  That was about the time the majority of Council was ready to build a new public safety building on Ann Arbor Street and a new city hall at 8140 Main.  Yes, 4 to 5 years ago.

Since that time, we have explored more than 5 additional sites for the fire station and more than 6 additional sites for city hall.  The majority consented to this further exploration in the spirit of supporting a completely-exhaustive process and to gain the support of the dissenting members of Council once there were literally no stones unturned. 

In retrospect, that approach appears to have been in error.   

The dissent, to this day, continues to argue that it is possible to somehow fit the 18,000+ square feet, determined necessary for the fire station as part of a needs assessment, onto an area measuring roughly 15,000 square feet.  The dissent, to this day, continues to ignore that constructing at the current site would significantly increase the per-square foot construction costs, by requiring construction of a temporary fire station to serve the City during the 12 to 18 months of construction or by requiring multiple trips by the construction trades to complete the project while the station remains semi-operational, or would eliminate any fire station presence with the City altogether during the duration of the project.

So, let’s imagine that the City took action, as the majority of Council desired, that the minority did not take action to poison the well of public opinion, and that we now have a 3 or 4 year-old public safety building housing the fire department and the sheriff department and a 2 or 3 year-old city hall.

From the financial perspective, we would have reduced the cost of the project, using big, round numbers, by roughly $3,000,000.00.  That figure is based on known escalation costs for fire station construction during that time.  Imagine, we could have saved $3 million dollars on a $10 million dollar project!  Additionally, we would have been in a position to refinance the bonds at the historically-low rates that are here now.

I find the opportunity cost with respect to the forgone public service during that period to be even greater and more inexcusable. 

Our new fire station would have provided better opportunities for our first responders to remain healthy, both by providing space for social distancing and private sleeping quarters and reduced exposure to toxic materials due to inadequate decontamination facilities at the functionally-obsolete station they’ve had to use in the interim. 

Our new fire station would provide a readily-identifiable and available location for drive through testing.  It could have provided a readily identifiable and available location to provide pick-up meals and other resources for families and seniors who have lost access to meals or who are at risk from entering commercial grocery stores.

Our new city hall would have provided greater space for staff to socially distance for those unable to work from home.  It would have provided a dedicated meeting space so we are not scrambling like gypsies trying to find a location to meet in the middle of a crisis.  It would have provided adequate space for council members, staff, and members of the public to socially distance at any necessary meetings.  It would have provided the capability to live stream meetings for our citizens and the press in both good times and times of crisis.

If our inaction, our continuous can-kicking, results in any harm to members of the public, our staff, or our first responders, it will and ought to be on our heads for the rest of our lives.  It will be something that each and every one of us will have to answer to our maker. 

We must, at all times, strive to serve the public good, to promote their health, safety, and welfare.  We must not bow to parochial, personal demands that harm the public good.  Yes, the fire station will be farther from my house, farther from Westridge.  Providing the best available public safety is about more than the shortest drive time, however.

Like most rational humans, I prefer to spend as little as possible.  I understand others on Council and within the community remain concerned about the cost for a new fire station, too, but more and more delay will not reduce costs; it will only buy us higher costs or an inferior project.  I can guarantee, with my take home pay last year being less than $19,000, that I will feel the pain of the costs more than most on council, but I am willing to bear that burden for what that investment provides to our community.

At our next meeting, I will call for our Council to finally take real action on public facilities.  I will call for an action item to affirm that the police (sheriff) station will be co-located with the fire department on the City-owned property on Ann Arbor Street.  I will call for an action item to approve the contract with Partners in Architecture to continue with preliminary design work.  I will call for the immediate creation of the construction committee.  I will call for the promulgation of requests for qualifications for construction manager and/or construction manager at risk firms.  I will call for an action item to determine the City Hall will be located at the City-owned property at 8140 Main.  I will call for the preparation of a contract with Partners in Architecture to begin design work on the new City Hall.

I understand that that is a lot.  I understand that it may be a shock to some.  I argue that all of that could have and should have been done years ago.  We have lost the luxury of further can kicking.

I also call on the skeptics to abide by our Council Rules and engage in the process like the team of rivals that helped President Lincoln preserve the Union rather than acting as obstructionists happily watching the roof on fire.