UPDATE: You weren’t supposed to see that: Advisors revise Saginaw spending suggestions report.
SAGINAW, MI — Support for existing community centers and neighborhood revitalization programs as well as investments in new ventures — including a grocery store and a behavioral health clinic — were among federal stimulus spending ideas recommended by a Saginaw City Council-appointed advisory group.
The council last week received from the 15-person committee a report outlining nine recommendations that total almost $28 million in investments.
Ultimately, the City Council will decide whether or not to follow the suggestions, which would be covered by about half the $52 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) stimulus Saginaw received last year.
Earlier this year, the council agreed to reserve $26.4 million of ARPA funds for projects that would counter city budget losses inflicted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report from the advisory group, however, largely deals with a different category of proposals: Ideas recommended by members of the community including Saginaw residents and workers, business leaders, and other stakeholders in the region.
The council appointed the advisory committee in January. In the eight months since then, the group hosted dozens of meetings and reviewed 409 stimulus-spending ideas submitted by the public. Those ideas added up to $290 million. The advisory group was tasked with identifying the best of those ideas, and at about 10% of the cost of that total.
The resulting 16-page report — uploaded this week to the city’s website — attempts to accomplish both those goals by offering nine investment plans for the council’s consideration.
Those plans, however, largely are general in nature. The report often avoids referencing proposal specifics that would tie funding to specific partnering organizations, instead focusing on “the need over the solution.”
In other words: If the City Council follows the report’s guidance, officials must determine the finer details at a later point.
Members of the advisory group plan to discuss the report with council members during a 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29, meeting at City Hall, 1315 S. Washington.
Reneé Johnston, the advisory committee’s chairperson, said she wanted to wait to discuss the report and its recommendations publicly until the Aug. 29 meeting.
Saginaw Mayor Brenda Moore said she wanted to wait to share her thoughts about the recommendations publicly after she can speak to the advisors during the presentation.
“I’ve been looking at it every night,” the mayor said of the report. “I’ll have more to say after the 29th.”
It’s unclear when the council could vote on any resolutions addressing the recommendations. Moore and other council members have cautioned patience in the stimulus-spending strategy process. Per U.S. Department of Treasury-issued guidelines, the council can determine how to spend the $52 million as late as December 2024 before it risks forfeiting the funding. The city can spend the money as late as 2026.
“I’m going to want to know how sustainable some of these projects can be, even if we can’t spend this money after (2026),” Moore said, hinting at some of the questions she may ask during the presentation later this month. “Having this stimulus is the opportunity of a lifetime, and we’re not going to blow it. Not on my watch.”
The plan at a glance
The committee’s report ranks its nine recommendations based on priority, which were determined using earlier direction from the City Council as well as feedback provided in community-distributed surveys and public meetings.
Those nine recommendations — titled as the committee categorized each in the report — and the suggested funding levels are provided below, followed by a summary of each proposal. The recommendations receiving the highest priority scores from the committee are listed first.
- “Community centers, childcare, and youth development,” $10 million
- “Grocery store capital investment,” $2 million
- “Housing revitalization,” $4 million
- “Foster, transition, and elder care,” $2 million
- “Saginaw behavioral health clinic,” $5 million
- “Parks,” $1.5 million
- “Arts and culture,” $1 million
- “Neighborhood associations,” $1.6 million
- “Fairgrounds,” $1.3 million
‘Community centers, childcare, and youth development’
The report’s top-ranked suggestion also represents its priciest pitch: $10 million for supporting existing community centers, childcare and youth development organizations.
The document indicates the committee reviewed submitted ideas that would have benefited multiple organizations in those industries, with proposals ranging from $100,000 to $5.5 million in price each. Advisory team members decided $10 million in investments could satisfy critical needs related to this category of support, the report states.
“This is a single recommendation that combines many community needs,” the document reads. “This is done with the goal of deep collaboration in mind. The detailed work of piecing that collaboration together will rely on City Council and City Administrative staff.”
The document outlines the need for community centers, childcare and youth development investments in Saginaw, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic devastated such services.
“The lack of available childcare combined with the lack of paid family leave means parents in low-income households are more likely to experience a reduction of income or leave their jobs due to a lack of childcare options,” the report reads.
Investing in community centers — specifically in historically underserved communities — would generate opportunities “for significant and diverse programming,” the document states.
“The Committee believes that currently, community centers lack the resources to provide adequate programing and one-on-one attention that children need, but with these funds, they agree that the community centers in Saginaw could adjust their current operations and implement a more impactful program for residents with an evidence-based curriculum.”
The report does not identify any specific organization that should receive funding if the City Council follows the recommendation.
‘Grocery store capital investment’
The recommendation receiving the second-highest priority ranking from the committee would land a new grocery store in a region needing more shopping options, the report states.
The $2 million stimulus investment would fund the city purchasing a blighted building and renovating it to house a grocery store.
The document does not suggest Saginaw City Hall operate the store, instead proposing the municipality recruit a nonprofit, co-op or chain grocery store to take the reins when business begins there.
“In recommending the funding of a grocery store, the Committee acknowledges that the impact will go beyond just providing access to food in the community,” the document reads. “Evidence has shown that eating healthy, consistent meals improves stability related to housing, healthcare, and childcare as well as economic prosperity.”
The report references U.S. Department of Agriculture data and a 2014 MLive article that outlined Saginaw’s struggles with healthy food options and the obesity that results from living in “food deserts.”
‘Housing revitalization’
Also high on the committee’s priority list: A pitch to invest $4 million in housing revitalization efforts, with a focus on improving the city’s aging residences.
The document cites data indicating over 93% of Saginaw homes in 2020 were built more than a half-century ago.
“That is staggering in comparison to (the) fact that, in the surrounding areas of (Saginaw County), only 16% fall into that category,” the report reads. “These old structures are prone to complications with their structure, foundation, maintenance, upkeep, and heating/cooling to name a few.”
The document states a well-funded housing repair program could serve disproportionately impacted residents.
“Any housing repair would need to be tailored to resident income through the implementation of a tier system,” the report reads. “This would ensure that this program is not limited by geography but instead serves any within the City that are in need of this support.”
‘Foster, transition, and elder care’
The committee’s recommendation to spend $2 million on foster care, foster transition care and elder care would benefit programs Saginaw also supports through its annual U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The city last year distributed $2.2 million in CDBG funds to 29 initiatives.
The advisory committee’s report outlines how the pandemic disproportionately impacted foster care children as well as senior citizens, whose health remains especially vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus.
‘Saginaw behavioral health clinic’
The report suggests spending $5 million on capital costs necessary to build a behavioral health clinic.
The total cost of the project would add up to $15 million. While the document does not outline the potential funding sources of the remaining $10 million, it recommends establishing the clinic through partnerships with the state, the Saginaw County government and Central Michigan University’s College of Medicine, which operates partly in downtown Saginaw.
“The Committee understood that this investment goes farther than just mental health,” the report states. “It will be an economic development opportunity, attract numerous businesses, a site for future growth attracting some of the brightest medical minds in the state, and a large infrastructure project that would provide jobs and opportunities to many residents.”
‘Parks’
The report states investing $1.5 million in revitalizing city parks would benefit Ojibway Island; the park at the site of the former Morley Elementary School; as well as Bliss, Hoyt and Wickes parks.
The document suggests spending about $300,000 on restoration efforts at each site.
‘Arts and culture’
The advisory group’s recommendation to spend $1 million on arts and culture initiatives proposes creating a grant program to benefit arts-centric organizations in the city through 2026.
“Furthering the arts and culture in Saginaw is a community need articulated by numerous committee members,” the report reads. “These projects can attract all types of people and businesses to the City and create long-term economic prosperity.”
‘Neighborhood associations’
The committee also recommended providing $1.6 million to the city’s 16 neighborhood association groups.
“Neighborhood associations could spend money on a park, sidewalk replacement, tree planting, signage upkeep, or many other possibilities — ensuring that neighborhoods will be able to address their own unique priorities,” the report reads.
‘Fairgrounds’
The final item on the committee’s priority list also was one of the 31 stimulus-spending proposals submitted earlier this year by Saginaw City Hall department leaders.
The advisory group recommended spending $1.6 million to demolish still-standing structures at the old Saginaw County fairgrounds property in the city.
For generations, the site hosted the annual fair until plummeting attendance led organizers to relocate the event to Chesaning in 2002. The move left the old site vacant, turning it into a 52-acre eyesore on the city’s East side.
Demolishing the remaining structures would remove a significant obstacle officials said has turned away investors at the Saginaw Housing Commission-owned site for more than a decade. Among the most serious fairground revitalization ideas in recent years includes a new city park pitched by residents in the neighborhood.
Counting the credit
While the advisory group’s recommendations were included in the report, the 16-page document was authored by staff with Guidehouse, the Virginia-based consultant company contracted to help Saginaw with organizing its stimulus-spending strategy.
Along with Johnston, members of the City Council-appointed advisory committee include the following individuals:
- Kevin Albosta, vice president of finance at Covenant HealthCare
- Jeffrey Bulls, a member of Community Alliance for the People (CAP), a group that organizes around issues including Saginaw’s $52 million stimulus planning strategy
- Hurley Coleman Jr., also a member of CAP
- Fenobia Dallas, a rhetoric and professional writing professor at Saginaw Valley State University
- James Doane, a retired financial planner
- James A. Hernandez, a financial aid advisor at SVSU
- Grady Holmes Jr., the former executive director of The Ezekiel Project, a Saginaw nonprofit
- Veronica Horn, the president and chief executive officer at Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce
- Christina Jones, a longtime member of Houghton-Jones Neighborhood Association in Saginaw
- Sharon Leamon-Case, the vice president of operations at Ascension St. Mary’s Hospital in Saginaw
- Amy Spadafore, managing director at Pit and Balcony Theatre in Saginaw
- Tina Swanton, a staff member at Michigan Health Improvement Alliance
- Calvin Talley, a former administrator at SVSU
- Valerie Toney, a support coordinator at Saginaw County Community Mental Health
The $52 million stimulus set aside for Saginaw arrived via a $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act signed into law in March 2021. The stimulus provided $350 billion for local and state governments. Michigan municipalities received $10.9 billion from the stimulus bill.
The Saginaw City Council in May approved only the second expenditure tied to its $52 million stimulus. That’s when council members unanimously approved spending $864,750 on hazard pay for municipal employees who performed services during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first stimulus expenditure was approved in February, when the council OK’d the contract with Guidehouse. The 3-year deal could cost up to $850,000, although city officials said the final cost likely will fall short of that amount. The contract amount will be determined by the level of services provided by Guidehouse’s staff over the course of the three years.
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