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May 5, 2004Power plant portion to be studied
Record-Eagle/Lara Neel Jeff Nixon wants the Traverse City Light & Power brick building on West Bay to become a teen center rather than allowing it to be demolished along with the rest of the plant. Jeff Nixon will fund study of brick buildingByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - The brick-and-glass portion of the bayside power plant has a date with a wrecking ball, but a stay of execution is possible. Traverse City officials - in a series of will-we, won't-we, maybe-we-should decisions - agreed to revisit an idea floated by some residents to keep the brick portion of the plant for community use. "I want to look at this building; I want to go inside," said city resident Samantha Burrows. "It's really, really, really easy to tear things down, (but) we don't build like this anymore." The entire power plant facility, which borders Grandview Parkway, has been slated for demolition after the National Cherry Festival ends in July. Workers have begun preparing the site for demolition. The commission voted 4-3 this week to allow city resident Jeff Nixon to assemble, at his own expense, experts who will figure out how much it would cost to salvage and remodel the building. Nixon will present his findings at a June 7 commission meeting. "I think it makes sense to do an economic analysis of the feasibility of keeping that building," said commissioner Scott Hardy. "If we don't at least take a look at this building, I think we'll be shirking some of our fiduciary responsibility, because once it's gone, it's gone." Hardy and fellow commissioners Anne Melichar, T. Michael Jackson and mayor Linda Smyka voted to give Nixon a chance to study the building. Commissioners Rick Csapo, Ralph Soffredine and Phill Orth opposed the request. The city's planning commission in December considered keeping the brick section but decided to scrap the idea as well as the building. The planning commission recommended forming a waterfront planning committee to study future uses and new buildings for the site. In March, the city commission adopted "givens" for the planning process and stated that the entire plant be removed. Several commissioners were exasperated by what one called an "11th hour" effort to save the brick building. "Everything I've heard is to bring it down, period," Csapo said. Orth said plans for the power plant site have been studied extensively and very few want to keep any portion of the plant. "The only question was how soon is it going to come down," he said. He also questioned whether Nixon's report would be unbiased. "I have real concerns about us relying on economic information you will provide," he said. But Nixon said his report will be fair. "I am just as interested in the truth as Phill Orth. I would have no reason to fudge any numbers," he said. "I have always thought that building could be a revenue source for the city, not an expense." Several residents, such as Andy Rink, said the building "warrants another look." Others think having so much open space on the bay would make Traverse City unique. "This issue has been discussed time and time again," said Mike Quirk. "I think the community has pretty much said we want open space as soon as possible. I think it's time to take it down."
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