Three city council seats are on the ballot this fall in the City of Saline. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert has some information on the candidates.
There are six candidates on the ballot. It's the first city election since voters approved the transition away from two-year terms to four. This election will be for three-year terms. After this, there'll be four years, and elections will be on the state and federal cycle.
Jenn Harmount is the only incumbent. She's running for a second term. She says infrastructure improvements need to be a priority for Saline in the coming years.
"We talked about the wastewater treatment plant and the huge bill for that and what that's going to mean to increasing bills for water and sewer. And it's really important that we have development that will help offset that. And so, smart development is really important for Saline moving forward and how we're going to do that."
The five challengers seeking a council seat includes Bret Pollington. He's lived in Saline for three years, but his wife Jess is a native. He's running because he believes there needs to be more diversity of ideas. One of the major issues he'd like to focus on is the need for more lower-income housing.
"Working with developers and seeking out developers that specifically specialize in affordable housing is helpful. I think creating good relationships with downtown building owners and trying to facilitate cheaper rents, bringing in businesses that have smart, sustainable business plans, all of those things, I think, will help with affordability."
Jim Dell'Orco is a research scientist at the University of Michigan Medical School. He's owned an historic home in downtown Saline for about 15 years. He's served on the city council from 2020 to 2023. He stepped away due to family concerns. One of the things that motivated him to run again was the rehabilitation of the wastewater treatment plant.
"We've got a lot of aging infrastructure in this city as a a lot of municipalities do across the state of Michigan, as well as nationwide. A lot of this stuff went in the late '50s, early '60s. So, we have to be proactive and stay on top of making sure we are doing preventative maintenance to prevent catastrophic failures and try to keep up with capital improvement."
Matthew Aungst's family has been in Saine for generations. He's been endorsed by the Young Democrats of Michigan. He too sees the need to bring more housing to Saline that people can afford and to stop seeing younger people forced out of the market. Aungst says the city should rethink its zoning laws.
"I definitely think that we should be prioritizing livability instead of profitability. Definitely, it seems, in recent years, the city has sort of just sold the land to the highest bidder and let them do what they want and sort of just signed off on everything that whatever the developer was that wanted the city council sort of agreed to."
Miri Weidner has lived in Saline for about ten years. She's been a volunteer for many events around the city during that time and is a member of the Saline Park Commission. Weidner says one issue the city needs to improve upon is communication with its residents.
"Things that are being developed, nearby homes or even just a neighborhood over, residents seem to not know how they got there. And by the time they're being developed, they've already gone through zoning, they've gone through planning. So, there's really no input that the community can give on that project at that point."
Tramane Halsch was born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He moved to Michigan in 2018 with nothing but a suitcase. He worked as a software engineer and now operates the business consulting firm Haus of T-Rex. Halsch serves on the Saline Economic Development Corporation and the Tax Increment Finance Authority. He also served on the Rec Center Task Force. Halsch says the city needs bold leadership to bring more businesses to downtown.
"Not just businesses, but, like, the right businesses. Part of the reason why we've established the social district was because we wanted to create a place where people can enjoy themselves, enjoy a drink. So, I think that's done a lot to increase traffic and just visitors downtown."
One of the biggest issues the new city council will need to deal with is the future of the Saline Recreation Center. It's a very popular spot featuring an aquatic center, exercise equipment, and numerous activities. There are fitness classes from cycling to rumba. Volleyball, softball, and tennis courts are just outside.
But it's also aging and has become a financial burden for the city. It keeps digging into its general fund to keep it operating.
One solution under consideration is creating a millage with the Saline Area School District. Those talks have just gotten underway, but City Manager Dan Swallow says it seems like a good solution.
"The city, for some time, has recognized the fact that there's not adequate general funding and revenue to fully support the Rec Center in the manner it should be in terms of capital investment and in terms of operational expenses. And so, there is a need for additional funding, and I think the most logical choice would be through some sort of community-supported millage."
Nearly 60% of the Rec Center's patrons live outside of the city limits of Saline. Other issues the new council will likely be involved in is the possible removal of the Saline River Dam. Another is the possible purchase of the historic Davenport House Curtiss Mansion. The city has a goodwill agreement with its owners. However, it's still to be determined if the purchase and refurbishing is practical and what the city would do with it afterwards.
Absentee ballots are already being collected. There is no early voting in Saline for the November 4th elections.
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