“Community Columnist” Michael Schrader

(About denial)

Written 13 October 2016

This past April, Main Street Port Huron became leaderless with the resignation of its director. Since that time, there has been some serious soul-searching about the function and purpose of Main Street, given that the Downtown Development Authority exists and has some functional overlap. Surprisingly, Port Huron has chosen to do the prudent and smart thing, and fold one entity into the other, with a new part-time director. Downtown, as it once existed, is dead; however, that does not mean the geographical area that once was the economic center of the area does not still have value and importance.

Several member of the council correctly asked what kind of a person would fill this new technical position making about one-third of what the City Manager makes. Based on my two plus decades in the municipal infrastructure/development/planning field, I foresee one of two possible types of candidates for this job, depending on whether the city wants someone with technical expertise and vision willing to objectively assess the current sad state of downtown and give innovative and creative ideas that may be counter to the city’s preconceived notions of what downtown should be, or someone to diligently implement these preconceived notions.

If the city is seeking a bold and cutting edge professional, there are those who would be willing to take this position and the responsibility because they are professionals who enjoy the challenge and view the reward not as monetary but as seeing their vision come to life. These are the kind of people who will tell you that downtown can never be what it once was. These are the kind of people who will tell you that as the neighborhood for three major employers, the hospital, the government buildings, and the college, it can serve them and tie them together; instead of being a destination for those outside the area, it is a destination for those already here. These are the kind of people who will tell you that it is time to get rid of the unneeded traffic signals, and perhaps something a bit more modern, such as a roundabout or two, will do. These are the kind of people who will tell you to quit worrying about servicing cars, and start worrying about servicing people, with state-of-the-art pedestrian facilities connecting these employers with each other and with the state-of-the-art transit center. These are the people who are the outsiders who have spent much of their careers outside of Michigan, bringing fresh approaches.

If the city is seeking someone to merely implement its existing and stale preconceived vision for what downtown should be, then it need not bother to look beyond the cronies and political hacks that fill city hall. To follow orders, one does not need technical expertise or even experience. If the city already has its mind made up as to what it thinks downtown should look like, it should save itself a lot of effort and just go ahead and hire the 16 year old friend of the granddaughter of whatever city official has a granddaughter has a 16 year old friend looking for a job to be a good and loyal employee and push the papers exactly as told. It is generally not a wise idea to hire a professional and then attach the shackles on what he or she really can do; it is insulting to the professional, a waste of time and money, and does not end well. The cities that I have known to do this tend to get a bad reputation among design and planning professionals as a bad place to work and do business. When you are trying to encourage growth and development, that is not a good reputation to have.

I am trying to stay optimistic that the city will want someone with true vision, even if it is not the city’s preconceived one. Unfortunately, based on my few conversations with city policy makers, I suspect the city will ultimately hire someone connected with someone already with the city who will do what he or she is told, no questions asked. Perhaps, just perhaps, I will be proven wrong.

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