Pugh ties it to cable channel dispute; Bing slams move as political

By STEVE NEAVLING
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER


Detroit City Council rejected a $100-million plan this morning to convert the temporary MGM Grand Detroit casino into a new public safety headquarters. Renovation was to begin Monday.

The 6-3 vote means Mayor Dave Bing loses $100 million in low-interest bonds to repurpose the vacant 75,000-square-foot building along the Lodge Freeway to house police, fire and EMS personnel and a state-of-the-art lab for Michigan State Police.

Council members ostensibly rejected the plan because the amount sought in bonds is $37 million more than the cost of renovation.

But that wasn't the deciding issue for everyone.

Council President Charles Pugh told the Free Press today he's freezing business with the mayor's office until Bing restores live council broadcasts and drops a lawsuit filed this week over the issue.

Pugh and Bing disagree over the broadcast times for council meetings.

"I voted 'no' on principle," Pugh said after the meeting. "This is the wrong time to come to me and ask me to vote 'yes' on any expenditure of tax dollars when a frivolous lawsuit is filed against this body."

The mayor, shocked by the news, struck back.

"It is obvious from today's vote that six of our council members have chosen politics over public safety," Bing responded. "Council President Pugh has indicated that all city business is suspended until the citizens are able to see council on television five days a week. It is unfortunate that he and some of his colleagues view media exposure as a bigger priority than public safety. A consolidated headquarters will increase efficiencies, and help address critical issues such as the response time that some council members have pretended to be a priority. Citizen safety should be non-negotiable."

Also voting no were council members Saunteel Jenkins, Kenneth Cockrel Jr., Brenda Jones, Kwame Kenyatta and JoAnn Watson.

"The extra money is just out there for the administration to use as they please," Jenkins said.

Not exactly, said the mayor. The $37 million surplus is for other future building projects, all of which must be approved by the council.

The low-interest bond rates came under President's Barack Obama's recovery plan and could have saved the city $19 million compared to other bond sales.

Detroit bought the MGM building this summer for $6.3 million.

Council members in support were former deputy police chief Gary Brown, Andre Spivey and former police public information spokesman James Tate.

"This headquarters needs to be built and done on time," Brown said. "Time is money, and delays mean more money."

Bing filed a lawsuit against the council Tuesday after it took control of the Cable Commission, which operates public-access channels 10 and 22.

The conflict is over when and how often to broadcast council meetings. Bing wants to limit council broadcasts to Tuesdays and Thursdays to make room for diverse programming about services, resources and events in the city.

The council wants live meeting coverage and repeated broadcasts, which often consume nearly a third of the airtime.


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