By Jim Sack
The Downtown Improvement District is essentially the neighborhood association for the downtown. They have meetings, by-laws and events not unlike my little neighborhood association, only their challenges are significantly greater, their budget considerable, their organization much more powerful and their effect on our community could be profound.
On the DID board sit some powerful people from city government and business and their efforts have somewhat reinvigorated the downtown area. Past leaders were County Council woman and candidate for mayor, Paula Hughes, and Dan Carmody, who is now running the sprawling East Market in Detroit. Rich Davis is the current director, Charles Heiny, an attorney, is the board president. Mitch Harper represents city council, Greg Leatherman represents the mayor. Downtown business leaders, downtown landlords, downtown small business folk and dog-walking residents also sit on the board. St. Joe Hospital, Fort Wayne Newspapers and other powerful entities are members.
Over the years the DID board has decided a needed step would be the creation of a trust to collect funds and to acquire land and/or buildings for development or redevelopment. At the DID board meeting last week in the splendidly restored old Freimann Room, now the Shield’s Room, of the History Center, a debate ensued over the nascent Downtown Development Trust, the unfortunately acronymed DDT.
Mitch Harper, city councilman from the city’s west side, was uncomfortable with something in the way the DDT was unfolding, namely, a certain lack of transparency, or openness to public scrutiny. He reminded the board politely, as is his norm, that the DID was a creation of city council and, therefore, the DDT is, by extension expected to also be transparent in its dealings. A number of members at the table shot back that the DDT was a private entity, despite its parentage, and, therefore, able to conduct its business privately, behind closed doors, without the prying eyes of journalists to report its actions, such as buying a prime piece of real estate in a questionable deal in the heart of downtown.
The chief protagonist of this view was Greg Leatherman who repeatedly and testily challenged Mr. Harper on the question of openness. Essentially, Mr. Harper felt that in such matters of land acquisition and transferal the DDT should be able to act privately in order to secure the best possible deal that would lead toward an economic and timely redevelopment of the scads of surface parking lots and nearly vacant buildings in our center. Mr. Harper reminded Mr. Leatherman that the public would prefer openness.
The 800-pound gorilla in the room, who was not present, was Bob Walters, a powerful local attorney, an owner of important property downtown and the husband of the exceptionally civic-minded, capable, productive and remarkable Irene Walters. Mr. Walters, you may remember, would not sell a key parcel of land downtown to the city a few years back to site a hotel. He wanted what amounted to a sizable premium over the appraised price. He expected the land to greatly appreciate as the downtown developed and would not sell at 2008 prices, but wanted something like 2018 prices when, he gambled, prices would have quadrupled thanks, in great part, to the work of the city, the DID and other civic improvement groups.
You see, the rub, the significant rub, was that Bob Walter, who would benefit greatly from increased development downtown, especially near his property, who is staking a part of his fortune on it, was announced as a nominee to the DDT. As my farm-girl mother might have said, that’s putting the fox among the hens. There is no question that it is a conflict of interest. None.
But, I chatted with Greg Leatherman after the meeting and he strongly supported the nomination of Mr. Walters and the need for the DDT to keep its proceedings private. He argued for privacy in real estate transactions, something quite understandable, normally. He argued the great integrity of Mr. Walters, he argued that Mr. Walters would also be tasked with approaching foundations for seed money and purchase money for the DDT and, he added, few people in Fort Wayne come close to equaling Bob Walters’ skills in that realm, and he added a footnote: there is essentially one-degree of separation in a town our size. Heavy hitters, the ones who can get things done, are involved in the community in many, many ways. Their myriad, connections can be seen as greatly beneficial, or highly questionable, depending on your perspective, or ax to grind. Certainly, I do not have the clout to do what they expect Bob Walters to do. They get things done, usually for better.
But, Harper is also right. The organization, the DDT, should report to council, our elected officials who represent our interests. Appointees to the DDT, such as Mr. Walters, should be approved by council.
As it stands, the DID appoints three members and the Alliance, one of those semi-governmental development groups, appoints three members and the six appointees appoint three more. In a small town like Fort Wayne it is just too easy to pack such a board with friends and business buddies. Council should have oversight.
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Reminds me of that post you made about being in Eastern Europe with the native talk about good and bad mafias that take care of their towns. I think that was you…
Very informative article….keep them coming
Jim,
This is very good reading and insight into the DID.
It almost sounds like a good government idea, going bad.
Wow. What a fantastic write-up!
And, or course, Mr Leatherman has ALWAYS been correct on his guesses??? on Harrison Square, hasn't he??? Like- "just trust the people from Atlanta – you have no need to see their financial condition" Who's side is he on????
Jim-
Pardon my ignorance but why should we care? Does the DID and by extension the DDT have taxing power or other ways of getting in our pockets for the benefit of downtown property owners. My biggest concern about downtown is that they have the lights on Clinton and Lafayette timed so that I can get through without stopping.
It was a comparison of Sevastopol and Odessa, the later being the town, I was told, that I would like more…cleaner, better paint jobs, better public transit…because the mafia, she said, runs it.
Evert, you need to get a faster skateboard. The DID assesses dues of its members, those being the businesses and property owners downtown, in the center. It receives tens of thousands of dollars in support from city council, it is a quasi-public entity and may well find its way on to the property tax rolls. It is in close affiliation with the Alliance and the Convention and Visitor's Bureau, neither of which are bad things, but together they form a rather potent lobbying block when questions of governmental spending are addressed. I will guess that should they buy a big chunk of land downtown that parcel goes off the tax rolls until it is resold. I guess there are implications.
By the by, I spoke with Greg Leatherman, a guy who tries quite hard on behalf of his home town, and he noted that he had not individually endorsed Mr. Walters, rather all three as a package. I have my differences with Greg, but he argues forcefully and effectively for his positions. With the Harrison in mind, he would love to have it built and on the tax rolls. Feather in his cap. He doesn't think that any more pressure than he is already applying will do any additional good, may bugger the current relationship, and scare off any replacement developer. John Shoaff, on the other hand, sees the $5,000 per day fee as a part of the contract Hardball negotiated and important toward the future of redevelopment in the center. We are well over $500k that should have been paid to the city. I wonder why the city does not press Hardball, instead, for a share of the revenues which are all going south. Anyone in development, in real estate, anyone who litigates contracts will tell you a fight is to be avoided, but Shoaff is fundamentally right.