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When I was working on the Holman Pool project, I promised the citizens of Owosso that I would monitor closely, the spending of their money. Recently there have been several events & issues that I believe have raised a red flag. Let me explain why:

Owosso has been involved with purchasing additional commercial property in the city. First, we ended up with the "Hotel" property. Soon, the "Armory" will be empty, and now, the "Vaungarde" property has become an issue. Each of these potential acquisitions seems to be a "Lose/Lose" situation for the city. We are acquiring property which may not have a great deal of commercial value and, at the same time reducing the city's tax base, possibly for an extended period of time. Is this going to be Owosso's future? Every time an old building burns down or starts to crumble, the owner turns to Owosso for a "Bail-Out".
Owosso's tax payers deserve better.
Home owners have to have insurance and they pay their property taxes. Are all the old buildings around town insured? How many other buildings around town are uninsured and are tax delinquent or are waiting to burn down or crumble away? Well, I can think of some others: Riverside, A.O.Smith, many old buildings in downtown and others in Westown. Something needs to be done about this now, before we have to do this all over again and again. Are there any federal or state grants available for distressed cities, like us, to help ease the strain on Owosso's taxpayers? I don't mean a deal with strings attached like the "Hotel" deal or "Brownfield" tax breaks. I am talking about cash that would pay for the demolition of these buildings, cash that would not come from our general fund. Someone should be looking for this. We can't keep using taxpayer's money for these demolitions.

Something else bothers me, all of these private "Executive" sessions at recent City Council meetings. The public is given no opportunity for input in these secretive decision making sessions. You would think that City officials would welcome public comments and suggestions in matters such as these, if for no other reason than to obtain further facts and possible suggestions as to alternative solutions to the problem. Why can't there be open discussions before these kinds of decisions are made? If the City is entering into real estate investment or speculation with taxpayer money then taxpayers have the right to know in advance and voice their approval or disapproval.
Our public officials are elected and we have to trust their judgment. But, they must have all the information and input available before making a favorable decision, not just the information given to them, in secret, by the City Manager. Please council; don't leave the public out, no more secret sessions, unless they are absolutely necessary.

There was some talk about "South" and "North" sides of Owosso at the last City Council meeting. I live on the south side of Owosso, I grew up there. At this time, we have no representation from the "Southside", on the city council. Even though I would like to think that this should not matter, I am not sure.. Several issues have surfaced on the "Southside" this year: the pool closing, tall grass, old buses, empty burned-out houses and neglected street projects. This has me concerned about the council's awareness of "Southside" problems.
Now, the city is considering a survey to find out what people would like in their neighborhood, dividing the city once again. Do we really need this? What we all want, no matter where we live in the city, are safe neighborhoods and quality of life work for everyone who is able to work. We don't need to spend money from a fragile budget for a survey that continues to segregate, based on which side of the tracks you live on.
On this same subject, I do want to commend Councilman Cline for his special involvement with some recent "Southside" issues. I would hope that the rest of the council will follow his lead and become involved with all of Owosso's problems equally.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I will be reading this at the next Owosso City Council meeting, Dec.4 at the City Hall. Please come down and voice your feelings about these issues or anything else that is going on here in Owosso.
GARY MARTENIS OWOSSO
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Gary,

Do you know what the city plans to do with the properties it acquires?

Also I think the city council should be made up of representatives from different districts. The south side definitely needs representation or at least an advocate on the council. I do not live in Owosso but it seems to me you definitely have regional interests there.

Take Holman Pool for example ... my opinion on that pool was that the city was intentionally allowing Holman Pool to close so that there would be a greater demand for a YMCA pool in the next few years. The city would then help the Y build a nice pool facility somewhere ... and I bet it wouldn't be on the south side. This would've gotten them out from under an old pool and promoted the construction of a new facility in a central location. Logically this is a good idea, if you take the pool users out of the equation.

But ... that was just my opinion and some people would say that my opinions are "ridiculous".

However my point is, a representative from the south side certainly would have been more of an advocate for the holman pool users. (I would think)

I heard they used to have a "District" system, but few people on the southside vote and even fewer interested in being on the council.

So, they changed it to all citywide councilmembers.

I know they have at least one councilmember from the southside, they did have two. Mark Owens lives in the SW quadrant and Mark Anderson did, too. Anderson is long gone, but there have been other people who ran from the southside and I think their voter turnout records might indicate the voter turnout is at least comparable to everywhere else.

Their theory doesn't hold water anymore. They could go back to districts.

Don't know if that would be an improvement or not.

The pool theory is interesting. You don't think the city council knows whats best for the people?

even I didn't realize there were so many comments about the city!

....Now may be a good time for Owosso residents to revisit the idea of electing city council members by "wards" or "districts" for future elections rather than from the city "at large," as is done now. This would require a change in the City Charter--which could be difficult to accomplish-- but it's worth considering.

I believe that a majority of the present council members live in neighborhoods located North of Main Street.....more likely North of Oliver Street and East of Chipman. Ideally, where a councilperson lives should not make a difference, but IMHO, it DOES matter!

I'm sure that our present council tries to be impartial when deciding where to spend the City's money, and makes every attempt to spread it around when determining which neighborhoods are to benefit from various city projects. But the public perception is.....that MOST of the big capital expenditures go to the NORTH EAST quadrant of the city. There are exceptions, of course, such as the Baker College campus and ANYTHING that Memorial Hospital desires....but for the most part, most of our tax dollars are spent in the North end or in Downtown Owosso.

One way to change the status quo is to elect people from other sectors of the City to assist in the asset allocation process.

I think I know of a good candidate from Owosso's South side.....His name is Gary Martenis!

It was at least 20 years ago, my father started a petition to put a change to the city charter on the ballot that would go back to the old system of electing the council by wards and the people to elect the mayor rather than the council. He had more than enough petitions in the time frame he needed. However, the city disqualified enough signatures (most not registered to vote they said) leaving not enough to put the question on the next election ballot.

My father and those who assisted in the drive were pretty upset.

Phil Heavlin, former councilperson, lives on Glenwood, across from Washington School. I believe Mark Owens lives near Chipman and South St. Mike Bruff grew up near MHC and I believe still lives nearby. Linda Robertson lives across the street from her predecessor, near St. Joseph School & church. Joanne Ford lives on Hiawatha , NW section of town. I'm not sure where Harvey, Kline & Horvath live.

. . * * * * * I SECOND that nomination! * * * * * * . . .