Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Talks are continuing about the potential purchase of a vacant lot for a public gathering space project in the City of Howell.

The Howell Carnegie District Library Board met Tuesday night and heard a presentation from the City. It has put forth a proposed purchase agreement for vacant property at the corner of Clinton and Center Streets for $600,000. It’s referred to as the old Holkins Lumberyard lot. Half of the property that contains a building was sold earlier and the Library owns the other vacant, grassy half.

The project would involve adding 127 parking spots to the downtown with a public gathering space that could be used year-round with a pavilion and ice-skating rink in the winter. It’s been identified as a priority development site for the City for years.

City Manager Erv Suida made a presentation to the board, saying it’s an exciting community project that will provide not only more parking but needed development and a space to gather. He said it’s about wanting to be community partners and solving problems for not just the library but the downtown as a whole – adding they feel it’s a reasonable and fair offer to make the vision a reality. Suida said the last thing he wants to see is a lot in the downtown stay vacant for another 17 years. He clarified that guaranteed parking for the Library is not included in the terms of the City’s proposal – saying it’s a “flat out” purchase for the appraised price and they want public parking for the public.

Council members Nikolas Hertrich and Luke Wilson also spoke about various needs and the benefits of the project, although they were time limited.

Board member Tony Kandt stated the best they could do at the meeting was agree to have a legal review for a deal of this magnitude. He said they want to understand the project better and noted that as a public entity, their duty extends beyond the City limits and they have a responsibility to others in their boundaries. Kandt said they need to do their due diligence to understand the plan well enough to be able to make decision and determine what benefits it would provide to the library. He later commented the land was built for parking and the City can put in a lot as a public entity but won’t approve a special use for the Library – adding he also didn’t like the public debate.

Questions were raised by the board about a parking study. Suida said they know parking is a long-term need and they anticipate doing a parking study sometime in the future but do have plans to add more parking to that part of town. He noted the study was already planned pre-COVID but it couldn’t proceed because the numbers wouldn’t have been accurate.

Questions were also raised about funding. The City is seeking grant funding for the project and should be notified sometime this month. If the grant is not awarded, the City is still prepared to move forward with a project.

The board ultimately approved a motion to send the draft agreement to their attorney for review and compliance with statutes the Library is subject to, as well as any other recommendations from a negotiating standpoint. It was stated there are a lot of points for the board to consider and more information and discussion are needed, which can take place while the agreement is under review.

During the meeting, Library Director Holly Ward Lamb clarified that previously the board didn’t put the property on the market with the intent to sell it. She said they came to the table as good neighbors after being approached by the City about redeveloping the entire parcel, and it was huge contingency that the only way at that time they would sell the land would be if their parking issues were addressed.

Lamb told WHMI in 2006, the Board of Trustees had the foresight to purchase the property at the corner of Center and Clinton Streets to provide parking for library patrons. The property is not currently listed for sale. She noted a recent property appraisal was undertaken strictly for internal planning purposes.

Lamb says the library listed the property for sale in 2020-2021 in conjunction with the City of Howell receiving Redevelopment Ready Community status with the contingency that dedicated library parking was directly addressed to the satisfaction of the library board. She said one potential offer was received during that time frame - the terms of which were not beneficial to the library.

Before any decisions are made around potential projects, Lamb said now is the time to conduct the planned 2020 parking study, which did not occur due to COVID. She said understanding the current parking situation and any additional parking needs related to potential projects will significantly benefit this section of the City.

Lamb stressed as always, the library is open to any discussions and partnerships that will enhance library services for the residents of their entire service area; which is approximately the boundaries of the Howell Public Schools district. She added that the library board has a long-standing tradition of fiscal stewardship in the short and long term.