Lenawee County shelves Project Phoenix proposal
ADRIAN — Project Phoenix is on the shelf.
Lenawee County county commissioners were told at their meeting Wednesday that the proposed recreation and events center in Tecumseh cannot proceed in its current form without state or federal funding, and the likelihood of receiving that funding has fallen because of "misinformation."
County officials had been counting on up to $10 million in state funding and $5 million from the federal government to go toward the project, which, at the high end, had an estimated cost of $88.8 million.
“I am very disappointed to have to bring this news before the board,” Lenawee County Administrator Kim Murphy said in a prepared statement. “We have all been working very hard to do our due diligence during the early stages of this project and the numbers suggest this project could be a real catalyst for our community and economy. Mere weeks ago, we were on track to see state and federal investment of over $10-15 million into Lenawee County. Now that money will go to other communities. It is unfortunate that some individuals and agencies within our community advocated that money not be spent in Lenawee County.”
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"Misinformation" about the project had dropped the likelihood of getting state funding from as high as 80% down to 5%, Murphy said, citing consultants the county hired to work to secure the funding.
"Over the last 4 to 5 weeks, various individuals, special interest groups and organizations designed to promote economic development have opted to either speak against the data being provided or to cast doubt on the validity of the material," Murphy said. "They have created a negative narrative full of misinformation to serve a specific agenda."
Murphy said without the state and federal support, funding from other sources would be difficult to secure.
"As a result of the propaganda being provided and pushed to our state legislators, we have lost the ability to bring tens of millions of dollars to Lenawee County," she said. "These monies will be allocated, but not to Lenawee County."
The commissioners on Wednesday also did not appropriate funding for Lenawee Now as part of their budgeted third quarter appropriation. Commissioner Dawn Bales, R-Madison Twp., motioned to approve all third quarter allotments, except for the allotment to Lenawee Now. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Ralph Tillotson, R-Adrian Twp., and it passed by a vote of 6-3. Commissioners Terry Collins, R-Adrian, Nancy Jenkins-Arno, R-Clayton, and Dustin Krasny, R-Cambridge Twp., were the "no" votes.
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Krasny questioned whether the move was punitive toward Lenawee Now for not supporting Project Phoenix, which Bales declined to answer during the meeting.
In an interview afterward, Bales said that she has stood firmly behind Lenawee Now in the past, but its recent failure to support Project Phoenix with all of the monies that would be brought into Lenawee County as a result led to her motion.
Collins said the commission was leaving Lenawee Now in the lurch. The economic development organization receives $150,000 a year from the county and the third quarter appropriation would have amounted to approximately $37,000, according to Bales.
Board chairman David Stimpson, R-Tecumseh, said in an email Thursday that he voted to withhold the funding because Lenawee Now has "not delivered measurables for economic growth to the county in any remote degree that would be reasonable" at a time when "all communities have experienced a decade long economic growth."
He also cited the agency's "direct actions to work against" Project Phoenix rather than work with the county "has been apparent."
"They refused to communicate, work in conjunction with or find solutions to concerns or questions about Project Phoenix," he said in his email.
"They have never in my knowledge issued a resolution opposing or publicly questioning any project in the history of the organization," Stimpson wrote. "This was done deliberately and intentionally to undermine state funding for this project."
Lenawee Now had asked for an independent audit of the finances of the project. Murphy said Monday during a presentation to Tecumseh city officials, county commissioners and the public that the county had hired the Rehmann accounting firm to do an audit.
Lenawee Now officials did not respond by deadline Thursday to messages seeking comment.
In a news release sent after the meeting, Murphy said the work on Project Phoenix has not been wasted.
“Our vision for the future of Lenawee County remains the same,” Murphy said. “We want to create jobs, we want to make this a community attractive to young families, and we want to provide more programs and services for our residents. We’ve identified some gaps as part of these efforts, but we need revenue streams to fund these and facilities to house them. If Phoenix isn’t the solution, then what is? We need collaborative community partners to come to the table as we work together to find that solution.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Lenawee County shelves Project Phoenix proposal
