Confusion City (Part Two) • Unsolicited Advice

If things like clicks, comments, shares, messages and “likes” are any indication, my last article on Bay City’s  apparent state of confusion had its desired effect.  If nothing else, it tapped into some common sentiments among various constituencies in our community. 

At risk of using a trigger word, I am going to term these sentiments as potential “bridges” to a solution.  The fact that a lot of people could see I am trying to help was positive.  If you didn’t get that out of the first piece, let me be clear that is my goal.

Before I get back into the matters at hand, I did want to address a little of the feedback we got to the initial story.

The first thing is the idea that Review Magazine is “stepping up” to fill a void in local journalism.  I think this belies the history of the situation.  This magazine has been published for four decades, covering arts, entertainment and politics in the region.  It has one of the largest print circulations of any periodical in this region, outpaced mainly by things like real estate magazines and auto traders. Our website has similarly robust traffic, especially when we publish stories like this.

We cover every election and have been both a cheerleader and a critic for the City for some time now.  I’ve been writing these columns for a decade and a half.   There may have been a time where we could have been called alternative, but that time has long passed.  Basically, we are the press in the sense we have remained true to goals of investigative journalism and discourse  that have been abnegated by mainstream media over the years.

The second thing I’d like to address is comments on why I did not mention “this topic or that.”  This comes down to a couple of issues.  First, this column is trying to make a point, not all points.  Second, I am always working with a word limit.  That’s how print journalism works.  Words = real estate.  I get assignments for 500, 1000, 2000 words.  I came in just over 1000 the last time after edits.  It’s harder than you think.

One thing I am used to when I write these pieces is that some people will use it as a space to take shots at me.  These are invariably  people that don’t have first hand experience with me.  You won’t find people who know me from my time in industry, academia, entrepreneurship or philanthropy who take those kinds of shots. One part of it is that’s just not the kind of people that run in those worlds.  The other is they know where I am coming from.  They have heard me argue with myself in coming to a conclusion.  They know I have more in common with Mr Spock and the guy who accidentally invented Flubber than anyone talking to them from a TV screen.  I am not here to argue or to ridicule anyone.

The last type of feedback was that the article was just an opinion piece.  Well, exactly.  I usually give people what I call my “product liability speech” before I interview them.  I am not a journalist.  I’m an engineer working as a writer who has worked a lot of jobs.  In the last 25 years I have helped negotiate the sale of BP Specialty Chemicals and I have cleaned the toilets at Washington Lanes when the janitor didn’t show up.  I’ve been a gold or platinum card member on six different global airlines and also managed to settle in the same place for long enough to serve on the County Land Bank for 8 years. I’ve been on the faculty of two colleges. I’ve started businesses that worked and some that failed.  Stuff happens when you are trying. I tell people I have been trying to retire for the last 20 years and I’m staying busy doing it.  

In that period there have not been a lot of times when I thought I was in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing.  It also puts me in a position to write articles like this, whether you end up agreeing with them or not.  I’m just offering up my experience at this point, and that is going to be the point of this follow-up article.  

Based on all that, yes, these are opinion pieces.

In the last article we talked in generalities about a few things, mostly centered around Bay City’s “hot-button” issues: toll bridges, The State Theatre fiasco and the effectiveness of local government, both elected and appointed.  When I used the term “we,” I mean all of us, because these are community concerns by every definition and the solutions are going to require a concerted effort to make sure that none of this serves as a brake for the momentum that has built in the Bay City business community.

If you have been following any of these stories on other news outlets, you probably know that many of the people and entities involved in the above are beginning to break their long spell of silence, trying to explain their roles in navigating what is clearly a quagmire of largely self-created issues.

In these various explanations, most of them have attempted to establish a timeline of events, which helps to add a frame of reference to the story.  I’m going to do the same, but instead of picking a date - like 2019 or 2017 - I am going to frame all of this by re-introducing two names and reminding you of an effort.

The two names are Rick Finn and Candace Bales.  The effort was the committee which drafted and  revised the City Charter..

For those that don’t recognize the name Candace Bales, she was the long-time Director of the Downtown Development Authority.  For years, she was the primary  public relations manager and a power broker for downtown Bay City.  When she retired in 2017, it is fair to say it left a huge hole in the informal leadership structure of our community.  It was in this vacuum that many of the concerns surrounding the State Theatre, City parks and parking lots began to ferment into the current mess. 

While Ms Bales operated behind the scenes, if you follow local news, there is no way you are unfamiliar with the debacle that was Rick Finn’s term as City Manager.  This isn’t just my opinion.  He has a string of terminations now that confirm what we all felt about him.  If you want a snapshot of the Rick Finn era, take a look at the crosswalk from the employee parking lot at City Hall.  Yikes.

It was into this breach that our current City Manager, Dana Muscott, stepped.  Many seem to have forgotten that she was more or less drafted into this role, publicly expressing some reticence to step into the full time job despite having previously  served in the role in an interim capacity.  If you have a picture of someone ruthlessly climbing the organization chart, that is not at all what happened here. 

I’d previously had experience with Ms Muscott when she was working her way up through the Clerk’s Office.  In order to run events on City property you had to go through her.  There were a whole host of activities that ran through those offices and it was my observation - again as someone who made a living critiquing organizations - she ran a pretty tight ship.  This was one of the things that made the allegations around Wenonah Park so shocking.  It is the primary reason I started out assuming she and the City has been a victim of fraud.  

It is easy to surmise that Ms Muscott knew how valuable someone like Candace Bales was to the City.  When Mike Bacigalupo began to step into this space, it is understandable why the City would bring him into these peripheral roles.  Relationships matter in getting things done and relationships are built on trust.  It’s become pretty apparent trust was breached.  I’ve been defrauded by people I knew and trusted.  It’s as hard a lesson as there is and I didn’t have to do it in the public eye.  

What I would say to Ms Muscott on this front is,”hang in there.”  Federal court is stressful, but the opportunity to testify will offer more relief than you imagine.

Many of the public’s criticisms of Ms Muscott and other City staffers fall into a few areas. I’ll pile some of these into “frustrating for everyone, but simply ‘facts’ at this point.”  

The Supreme Court decided sometime ago you don’t have to live in the community you are employed by.  There may be contractual terms, such as how long it takes you to respond if you are on call. But you can’t, for instance, say Bay City cops have to live in the City limits.

Suggesting we have absentee leadership because some of them live a few miles away is a bit of a stretch.  All you have to do is go to community fundraisers, business mixers, breakfast clubs, etc and you will realize some of these people spend far more time here than they do “at home.”   Specific to their commitment to the City, I’m going to break the tie in favor of the civil servant who has spent most of their adult life working in public service over the Facebook “Top Contributor” to a complaint page.

Criticisms surface  when people come across the published salaries of local civil servants.  Yes, some of them creep into the six figure range now.  Yes, that is a lot by local standards. Yes, most of them could get far more in the private sector for similar responsibilities.  No, we are not likely to have a cordial conversation on any of that. Trust me - who makes what for what level of effort is one area I love to talk about. It’s just not the time or the place.  

The reason I brought up the City Charter Commission is this:  A lot of things people complain about on social media were actually up for discussion when the Charter was revised in 2018 - 2019.  The kicker is they had trouble finding enough people to volunteer to fill out that committee.  

That’s a common theme in City Hall, actually.  There are a number of local committees and commissions that rely on volunteers to keep them running.  They have quite a bit of input into how the community functions.  They have relatively low bars for participation, but many go year upon year with vacancies.  Compare that fact with the hundreds of opinions my last column, Confusion City generated, and now we are near the root of the problem.

At the outset I said I was going to try to help and I’d like to try and fulfill this promise.  With that said, I’d like to offer a little bit of unsolicited advice to those who find themselves in the middle of some pretty confusing situations right now.

To the City employees who are working in City Hall, I’d say the same thing as above: “Hang in there.”  My Dad was a career Civil Servant, as were most of his friends.  Unlike people who run for office or write opinion columns, these are not people who signed up to be a local lightning rod.  But times have changed.  I know it is tough to constantly get your motives questioned.  There was a time when consistency and dedication meant more.  We are not in that era and I do not blame you one bit if you have a retirement countdown calendar on your wall.

I will also tell you that, while I do not have editorial control at the REVIEW, I do have a lot of influence.  If you forward me your press releases, I will do my best to get them published and circulated.  Getting the word out is a harder job than ever and we are here to help.  Our readers are who you are trying to reach.

To the voters in Bay City I would say “get involved.”  Like I mentioned, there are numerous opportunities to volunteer.  For every moron on social media there are three people making sense.  If we can get those people involved, we will move the ball forward.

Even if you do not have time to volunteer, I would suggest you take the time to occasionally check the City website.  They regularly ask for public input, as required by law or the City Charter. Recent efforts have included a renewed Master Plan for city infrastructure and a modification of the No Wake Zone on the Saginaw River.  I have not asked, but I would guess that both of these got fewer comments than my last article.  Probably by a lot.  We need to reverse that.

To Bay City Bridge Partners my honest advice would be “repent,” but I am guessing that is not in the plans.  When you realize my favorite Bible verse is Matthew 21:12, you’ll see I am coming from a good place.  This is the scene when Jesus flipped over the tables of the money changers.  In my opinion, we could use a little more of this type of “religion” in our economy.   Metaphorically, of course.  But, honestly, you have a self created mess on your hands.   

I’ve helped people solve bigger problems if you need a hand. I can help you understand the community, if you want.  I’m really good at math and have done a ton of brownfield jobs that might prove relevant. That kind of work goes for $325 an hour and you can reach me through the REVIEW offices.  In the meantime I might suggest taking out some full page ads in the REVIEW  trying to get your message out.  It might sound counter-intuitive, but our readers are who you need to reach and you might actually gain a little credibility by advertising in a periodical that calls your business model parasitic.

To whatever is left of the State Theatre organization, I might suggest it’s time to call it a day.  Non–profits exist to do things that for-profit entities can’t or won’t - like rehab an old theater. Your work is done here.  We don’t need help to present concerts or comedy.  You can see how tough that environment is from the news surrounding other big events this Summer, here and nationally.  You are not equipped to take the risks that exist in that industry.  You do not have the right relationships.  It really does need to go forward as a “for profit” venue owned by an entertainment promoter.  

Assuming that doesn’t happen, this brings me to another point. If the State does emerge from this as a new “charitable” entity, you may also want to fix what appears to be a glaring omission on your board. For a non-profit supporting the arts and music, I am not seeing a lot of artists or musicians on your list.  You’d be surprised who is out there, honest and interested.  You might even be surprised to find a few have the resources and connections to make the place really take off.  

In the meantime, good luck in court, though your case might not provide as much relief as you think based on currently available information.

To our local politicians:  I know you all are reading this.  I wish there would have been a little more listening the last few years.  Just understand we are in a different era, but it is not so different that experience doesn’t matter. You really need to find out who your resources are to navigate this environment.  The fact that you stuck your neck out to run for office is commendable, but you are going to need help from people who have a different set of skills and experiences than you have.  I’ll probably retell the story of how I learned the difference between negotiating with business people and negotiating with Capitalists in a future column.  What I can tell you now is it comes in handy to keep a couple of heretics on speed dial.  

To everyone reading, one final thought:  It’s going to be a long, hot summer. Don’t let these foibles get the best of you.  Bay City is awesome in the Summertime.  You won’t have to look hard any weekend to find people happy and living their best life. 

That -friends - is actually the town we live in no matter what the curmudgeons tell you.