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ALPENA -- The Alpena Downtown Development Authority board had to get creative to fill an open board seat needed to cast votes.
In July, after accepting a letter of resignation from board member Cory Canute, the remaining board members realized they then had fewer than the state-mandated minimum of eight members. The acceptance of the resignation left the DDA board in limbo and unable to vote on any action, including adding new members.
On Monday, Alpena Mayor Matt Waligora reappointed Canute to the DDA board so the board can conduct interviews for potential board members and allow them to vote on a recommendation to the Alpena Municipal Council and other items of business.
Anne Gentry, DDA executive director, said Canute is expected to step down again after new members are seated. She said that it may take until October before that happens.
She said eight people associated with businesses in the DDA district or within a proposed expanded DDA district have applied for positions on the board.
Gentry said the DDA board decided to push the appointment process back a spell to see if Alpena County decides to help financially support the expansion. If the expansion project falls through, applicants from the new proposed district would be ineligible to sit on the current board.
Alpena and Alpena Community College have already committed to support the boundary expansion, which could lead to growth farther down Chisholm Street and 2nd Avenue from the current DDA boundaries. The city council has expressed doubt that the project would move forward without support from the county.
"We're hoping to add up to four candidates, which would make us an 11-person board, taking into consideration Cory will resign after we get new board members," she said. "Plus, a lot of the new candidates own property in the new proposed district, so that is why we kind of pushed things back a bit because what the county does will impact what we need to add."
The DDA is seeking a commitment from Alpena County of about $375,000 over 30 years. Gentry said the expansion would help developers acquire grants to cover project costs and ultimately boost the county's tax roll.
The commissioners on Tuesday voted down a proposed 30-year deal with a pair of opt-out options, but are considering using money the county received from the federal government's American Rescue Plan Act to use toward the DDA project.
Gentry said not having enough board members to vote on issues didn't really stymie any ongoing matters.
"Luckily, we really didn't have anything pressing to vote on," Gentry said.