FeedsWayne City Council won’t commit to downtown revitalization
A resolution to promote downtown revitalization failed for a lack of support from the Wayne City Council on Tuesday.
The Wayne 2020 Committee developed the resolution at their last meeting. It asked the city council to commit to: continued implementation of the Andrews University Study, the creation of a downtown zoning overlay district, continuation of the public art program that began with the State Wayne Mural and continued vigilance in promoting beautification through the elimination of blight and dangerous buildings.
“I feel that we have a tremendous asset in our downtown that other communities don’t have,” said Sherrie Pryor, a life-long Wayne resident and member of the 2020 Committee. “They don’t have anything to revitalize.”
Pryor said she developed the resolution to get some kind of commitment from the city council on the activities that the 2020 Committee has worked on during their three-year existence.
“I’ve seen what a thriving downtown can look like,” said Pryor, whose day job is the Operations Director of the Plymouth Downtown Development Authority. “I just want there to be a downtown where I live that can be everything it can be.
“We have our challenges,” she added, “but even challenges can be turned into a positive.”
Councilwoman Donna McEachern moved a portion of the resolution–that the council focus on downtown revitalization–but the motion died for a lack of support.
Mayor Pro Tem Pam Dobrowolski said everyone on the council already focused on those kinds of issues.
McEachern said, though, that she just thought the committee sought an affirmation from the council.
Mayor Al Haidous said he didn’t have a problem with the resolution, which he felt followed the goals of the council.
“It’s been taken seriously,” he said of the Wayne 2020 Committee.
He said he’s committed to downtown revitalization, too.
“It’s going to take more than one political generation to accomplish,” Haidous said.
