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Posted on Fri, May 20, 2011 : 5:54 a.m.

Business owners raise concerns over absenteeism at Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority board meetings

By Tom Perkins

Two Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority board members have missed more meetings than is allowed by the DDA’s by-laws, meaning they could be removed from the board.

But so far, the board chairman has opted not to begin removal proceedings, and that has angered several downtown business owners who say the DDA is less effective because of the absenteeism.

Rene Greff and Darryl Daniels have each missed four meetings — one more than allowed in a year under section 6 of the DDA by-laws.

Daniels is a partner in Jacobsen/Daniels Associates in downtown Ypsilanti and he owns the building that houses the company. He also rents office space to the DDA, and his term expires in July 2013. Greff owns the Corner Brewery with her husband, and her term expires in July 2012.

DDA Executive Director Tim Colbeck keeps track of members’ attendance and must notify board Chairman Dave Wheeler if a member misses more than three meetings. Once that happens, section 6 of the by-laws states, “removal proceedings shall commence.”

Section 7 continues that a member “may be removed from office for neglect of duty including noncompliant attendance record . . .''

Colbeck said “may” and “shall” don’t necessarily mean “must” and the board decides what measures to take, though he acknowledged the interpretation has been debated. If the majority of the board votes to remove a member, a recommendation letter is sent to City Council, which has the final authority on the question.

Dave Heikkinen owns Heikk’s Decorated Apparel Studio in downtown Ypsilanti and is the chairman of the Downtown Association of Ypsilanti. He has been a vocal critic of the DDA and said the board must bring the issue to a vote, even if the members aren’t removed. That would send a message about attendance, he said.

He contended Wheeler is ignoring the by-laws by not bringing the issue to a vote, and the absenteeism lengthens the amount of time it takes for the DDA to accomplish goals and tasks.

“The DDA is there to help develop the downtown; they collect tax dollars and the board members have a responsibility to manage those dollars, and when people don’t show up, things don’t get done,” he said. “If you’re not going to participate, get off the board and let the mayor appoint someone else who will show up.”

The board discussed the issue at its April 21 meeting. Colbeck said he didn't have a position on the issue, but the general agreement was that board members’ productivity and value can’t solely be judged by their attendance, and Greff and Daniels have contributed significantly to the DDA.

Wheeler expressed similar thoughts.

“The people who have missed meetings are some of the hardest workers on the DDA, more so than some people who are there every time, so I think that needs to be considered,” he said.

Wheeler also said the issue was discussed at the April 21 meeting and he felt it was adequately addressed there. He said it’s not mandated that the board vote on removal, and the board has not expressed an interest in doing so.

Daniels said he didn’t believe his absence at meetings was creating a problem.

“I know it’s not impacting my performance,” he said.

Greff said she has offered to step down because she's opening a restaurant in India and travels frequently. But other board members and the mayor asked her to stay because she is a value to the board even if she can't make all the meetings, she said.

"I am willing to step down," Greff said.

Mayor Paul Schreiber appointed Greff and Daniels. He said he prefers to work with members as much as possible to keep them on boards.

“They’ve both been good board members and certainly are not slackers,” Schreiber said. “I think it’s always good to keep good board members, but you also need to have a quorum, so it’s tough. I’d certainly like to see them at more meetings."

Comments

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Sun, May 22, 2011 : 1:20 p.m.

Instead of watching the "Maury" show, we can always count on reading much ado about nothing of the happenings at the Ypsilanti government and quasi-governmental organizations. Much ink is dedicated to reporting and commenting on petty squabbles while ignoring the important issues. I think a better use of time and discussion would be to take a quick look at the DDA budget. Most of the budget is committed to debt service, parking lots, etc and is NON-discretionary. A large part of the remaining discretionary budget is currently committed to the DDA director's salary & benefits. Part of the remaining balance has been proposed to be spent on a $30k "parking study". In lieu of past missed grant application deadlines and other less than stellar performance by previous and current DDA directors, doesn't it make more sense to eliminate the DDA and roll over ALL of the discretionary funds into the general fund?

ypsilanti

Sat, May 21, 2011 : 2:02 a.m.

So the DDA can't even follow its own rules? Can't even change it's own rules to bring these two "valued" members into compliance? Then why have the rules in the first place?

Galileo2000

Fri, May 20, 2011 : 4:24 p.m.

Mr. Wheeler mentioned that this was discussed in the April 21st DDA meeting. Per the April minutes posted, and subsequently approved in the May YDDA meeting, there is no mention whatsoever of this discussion. It is interesting the Chairperson of this committee is just disinterested in following the bylaws. To make matters even worse, there is movement inside the YDDA now to change the voting rules to effectively cover-up for people being absent. They are apparently afraid that those who do show up will be making decisions during their absence. The Board and its Chairman need to follow the rules, show up for meetings, and make responsible, timely decisions on behalf of the taxpayers. If they can't do that, then each should do the honorable thing and just resign. I hope the City Council is paying attention and, if possible, that they bring some appropriate pressure.

glimmertwin

Fri, May 20, 2011 : 12:22 p.m.

Government a corporations. By-laws, mission statements, whatever. They ignore them anyway. It might look good on a business plan, but living up to them appears to be quite another story.