My thoughts on the charter amendment ballot proposal
“Shall the Dexter City Charter be amended to insert language relating to the City-owned land bounded by Alpine Street, Main Street, Mill Creek, and the railroad to retain the land in public ownership, in perpetuity, and devote the land to active recreation, passive recreation, or both?”
TL;DR: Vote YES!
Residents who supported the November 2022 $8.4 million public safety millage felt duped when, just months later, the City Council voted to proceed with the renovation and enhancement of the current fire station site (8140 Main Street). Those residents thought their vote meant that their money would be spent to build a new fire station at the corner of Meadow View Road and Dexter-Ann Arbor Road, on the City-owned property purchased for that purpose, as had been advertised, via a large sign, for years.
Two council members, in response to their constituents’ shock and dismay, helped those residents submit a petition to both preserve public land for park use and to relocate the fire station. (Yes, the efficiency of this dual-purpose amendment has baffled some.)
With knowledge of the public’s exercise of its First Amendment right to petition its government, five council members voted to restrict the public safety millage monies in an attempt to prevent their use at the Meadow View and Dexter-Ann Arbor Road location.
Although two council members supported expediting a public vote on the charter amendment by submitting a council-initiated charter amendment with the same purpose, four council members voted against it (one was absent), effectively delaying the public vote on this issue until this November. (Note that this date, 7/24/2023, is conveniently missing from the publicly-disseminated timeline.)
Two other dates missing from the City’s timeline? (1) March 14, 2016: when the public facilities subcommittee voted to recommend to City Council that the current fire station location no longer be considered as a feasible site. (2) May 28, 2019: when Council voted to “cease any efforts or expenditures to remodel, modify or update the current fire station at 8140 Main Street.”
As noted in the informational flyer disseminated by the City this past week (paid for with your taxpayer money, by the way), the City intends to fight the charter amendment if it passes. Let me say that again: The City plans to fight the majority of its voting residents who want to preserve public land for park use. Let that sink in. Notably, Ann Arbor residents passed a similar amendment in 2018. Although that amendment could have similarly been challenged in court, the City of Ann Arbor and a potential developer did not fight it (see amended City of Ann Arbor Charter here). Dexter City Council would do well to learn from that.
Did you feel duped by your support of the public safety facilities millage in 2022? Then vote YES to this charter amendment. Are you concerned about current and future developments along Mill Creek? Then vote YES to this charter amendment. Do you want to have public park space that can compete with that of our neighboring communities? (The City of Chelsea is knocking it out of the park, pun intended.) Then vote YES to this charter amendment. Do you want to give the fire fighters the station that they actually want and deserve? Then vote YES to this charter amendment.