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The City of Ypsilanti is moving forward with the termination of its agreement with the Depot Town Community Development Corporation.
Erik Dotzauer, director of the DTCDC, said he is meeting with city staff Friday to go through what the transition process would be. He said the DTCDC will “hand over the keys” to the parks July 20.
“It’s bitter-sweet,” Dotzauer said this evening of the city’s decision to terminate the agreement.
City Council unanimously passed a resolution June 3 setting the 45-day notice to terminate the memorandum of understanding the DTCDC and the city share. The memorandum allowed the non-profit to control maintenance and event planning for Riverside and Frog Island parks while keeping the parks city-owned and public.
The DTCDC has been operating the parks for a little less than a year. The city has set aside $22,000 to maintain the parks and the Ypsilanti Area Jaycees will take over the scheduling of events for the parks.
Sandee French, who sits on the Depot Town Association Board called the city’s decision “short-sighted” at tonight’s DTA meeting. French, as well as other members of the board, addressed their questions to Ward 3 councilmen Brian Robb and Peter Murdock who were also in attendance.
“The CDC had a new dock built, its not complete; is the city going to put in the money now to complete the docks?” French asked. “Is the city going to take out the logs that are in the river? Is the city going to continue to build the parks or is it just going to mow the lawn and let it go back to the way it was?”
Robb called the CDC’s behavior “erratic” surrounding the group’s decision to name a bluegrass festival the “Ypsitucky Jamboree.” Additionally, he pointed to the fact that the group did not submit an annual report or keep the city informed on what grants it was applying for. He also said City Planner Richard Murphy had to speak with Dotzauer about trash pick-up.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting Councilman William Nickels also spoke of several issues with the CDC that were brought to his attention in recent weeks.
“Look, if you sign a memorandum of understanding you live up to it,” Robb said tonight.
Merrill Guerra, who sits on the CDC board as well as the DTA board said the CDC was never contacted by anyone from council about any of the issues brought up at the council meeting Tuesday evening.
“Therefore we never had an opportunity to respond to the issues outside the (Ypsitucky) name,” she said speaking directly to Robb at tonight’s meeting. “We will move forward and find ways to contribute to the city but I take issue with you calling us erratic.”
French said she thinks terminating the agreement with the CDC makes the city look foolish.
“You’re not hurting the CDC, the CDC will go on,” she said. “The residents of the City of Ypsilanti are the only ones that will be hurting because the city is not going to have the money to put into the parks to improve them.”
Dotzauer said the DTCDC would continue to work to improve the Ypsilanti community and would be changing its mandate in the near future. In the meantime, he said the group has decided on a name for the bluegrass festival that would replace the “Ypsitucky Jamboree” name.
Dotzauer said he would release the name of the festival as soon as the Web site domain name was purchased and other paperwork was finalized.
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