Birmingham meeting gets heated over parking garage plans, public comment rights

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – Things got heated at a city commission meeting in Birmingham last week when the mayor opened up the meeting for items that were not on the agenda.

Voices were raised and attorneys advised not allowing discussion. The meeting ended abruptly while someone was in the middle of a sentence.

It can be hard to find parking spaces in downtown Birmingham. The city appears to be taking its time planning the next bit of construction, and while there's a lot of planning there's also a lot of opposition to the latest idea.

There are signs in town urging residents to vote yes on a bond issue but the opposition is vocal. Resident David Bloom is a local activist fighting the new Birmingham expansion plan and bond.

Another resident and local activist, Clinton Baller, said he thinks the city is supporting the bond and preventing opposition from making its case, and said the bond wasn't properly discussed in public.

Baller filed a complaint with the state saying the city was the city improperly supporting the bond issue in a flyer it distributed, but a letter from the secretary of state's office said there was nothing wrong with the flyer.

Watch the video above for the full report from Local 4 News at 6.


About the Authors

Rod Meloni is an Emmy Award-winning Business Editor on Local 4 News and a Certified Financial Planner™ Professional.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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