Sale of park land a topic in commission race

The candidates have a different view of the county's recent sale of three historic mills, including the Phoenix Mill. Photo by Fred Shadko Darga vs. Marecki

Sale of county park land front and center in commission race

By Alex Lundberg

The candidates running for the District 9 Wayne County Commission seat have similar long histories in their communities and in the county, but very different ideas about how to best guide its resources.

Current District 9 Commissioner Terry Marecki, a Republican, was elected to the post in 2015. She is a former Livonia city councilwoman, council vice president, Livonia city clerk and member of the Livonia board of education. She currently chairs the county’s public services commission. She is also on the Health and Human Services and Ways and Means committees.

Marecki said she worked to straighten out the county budget, improve parks and roads and other county assets when COVID-19 struck in March. As with a lot of other things of late, the next budget is up in the air.

“We’re in the budget process now,” she said. “We’re working to keep services like public health and the sheriff’s department funded, those are set, but I don’t know what’s going to happen with the budget. Depending on the tax collection, I think next year will be the harder hit.”

Since the state went into

I am very helpful. If I can get answers for people or remove obstacles, I’m available. I’m easy to work with. I’m the only Republican surrounded by 14 Democrats. Terry Marecki I want to strengthen our health and safety systems, work on infrastructure and prevent the sale of county park land to developers. Nancy Darga

lockdown, she said she’s been working with the commission and in her capacity as a member of the Back to Work Task Force to lend assistance where she can. So far, she said the county has given out $50 million in small business grants to businesses that are fighting to stay afloat.

Former City of Northville Mayor Pro-Tem Nancy Darga is the Democrat running for the seat. She has already worked for the county as the chief of design for the Wayne Country Parks system for more than 25 years, during which time she helped found Friends of the Rouge.

She was the first executive director of the Ford Piquette Plant, a founding member and managing director of the Motor Cities National Heritage Area and currently works with the National Park Service on the

Rouge Gateway Project.

She said she has a vision for revitalizing Wayne County.

“I want to strengthen our health and safety systems, work on infrastructure and prevent the sale of county park land to developers,” Darga said.

That last point she’s particularly passionate about. Darga said the county has a nationally-significant parks system (Hines Drive is part of the Underground Railroad, Elizabeth Park in Trenton has connections to the War of 1812) and county residents have approved higher taxes to pay for their upkeep. Darga was a leader in the opposition to Wayne County’s sale of the Phoenix, Wilcox and Newburgh mills, three Henry Ford-era industrial facilities.

“I am vehemently opposed to selling off parks land,” she said. “I would have public hearings before the sale or lease of park land.”

Marecki said she was passionate about the parks as well, but has a different approach to preserving them. She said all three of the mills are showing 70 years of neglect. She said the roughly $10 million the county has for parks would disappear if they were renovated at a cost of $1.5 to $3 million each.

Marecki said that considering two of those mills are in Plymouth and fixing them on the public’s dime wouldn’t be the fairest use of the whole county’s money, she said the plan being pursued now will take that financial pressure off Wayne County and renovate those spaces.

“The county decided to do a public/private partnership to restore them and open them to the public,” Marecki said. “One of the conditions for that will be that the land will have to remain open to the public for use during the hours the park is open.”

She said the current plans call for a restaurant (Phoenix), an art center (Wilcox) and a brewery (Newburgh). In the case of the latter, the developer will only get the deed to the mill after he builds a horse stable for the animals on the property now. If the developer were to sell the property, the same conditions would pass to the new owner.

Darga said she should be elected to the county commission because she will always put people first, not party, and will respect the trust that people put into their elected officials. She also said she would bring her years of experience to help the county move forward.

“I have years of experience turning obstacles into opportunities,” Darga said. “When I was in the city government, I learned how to do things with a busted budget.”

Marecki said her willingness to help is why she said she should be retained.

“I am very helpful. If I can get answers for people or remove obstacles, I’m available,” Marecki said. “I’m easy to work with, I’m the only Republican surrounded by 14 Democrats.”

District 9 comprises Northville, Northville Township and part of Livonia.

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