UPDATE: What City Commission Candidates Said About 3 Key Issues

Residents who filled the  on Wednesday evening got the opportunity to meet seven City Commission candidates during a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters in preparation for the Nov. 8 election.

The forum, led by moderator Judy Bateman, gave candidates Kyle DuBuc, Mike Fournier, George Gomez, Peggy Goodwin, Rick Karlowski, Bill Shaw and Scott Warheit the opportunity to answer questions about the downtown retail/restaurant mix, the , the  to make it easier for bicyclists and pedestrians to get around in the community, combining/outsourcing city services and taxes, among other things.

Residents were given free rein to submit questions for the candidates, which candidates answered and they were allowed to give brief opening and closing statements. 

The forum was cordial. All candidates agreed Royal Oak is unique, describing the city as "vibrant" and "something special" and calling the downtown "an asset."

The audience included several city officials, including Mayor Jim Ellison, Commissioners Patricia Capello and Jim Rasor, City Manager Don Johnson, County Commissioner Dave Woodward and school board member Marty Cardamone.

Bateman said residents would be able to watch the forum in its entirety at lwvoa.org at a date to be announced.

Responses from each City Commission candidate:

What is the right retail/restaurant mix for downtown?

“I think we want to continue to grow the downtown area in a thoughtful and responsible manner. People come to Royal Oak because of the vibrant entertainment district that we offer. I do think that we are on the right track. As far as what I would like to see, I definitely want to see more diverse retail to broaden the base of appeal and make sure there is something for everybody and that we aren’t overly saturated with bars and restaurants that only appeal to a particular group.”

How do you feel about the Fresard property/Kroger issue?

“I think the debate over Kroger was unfortunate – how it went down in the community. We have a responsibility to ensure that the downtown is developed in a way that we have designed and anything that comes in fits the character. By that measure the planning commission seems to have made the right decision.”

What is your opinion of the non-motorized plan?

“I am certainly in support of the non-motorized plan. Livable, walkable communities are something that people want. If we want to attract people to live in Royal Oak, then this is an asset to the community. It would connect neighborhoods to the downtown. It connects people to work, not to mention the obvious environmental benefits.”

What is the right retail/restaurant mix for downtown?

“Our downtown is a true asset and anyone that says otherwise is just kidding himself or herself. My wife and daughter and I have the privilege of living just outside of downtown and we enjoy going to the library, and and the to buy our vegetables for the week. The downtown is more than just bars and restaurants. It needs to mean something to everyone in the community. Bars and restaurants are not going to be our demise but they are necessarily going to be our savior either.”

How do you feel about the Fresard Property/Kroger issue?

“As it relates to the process, I think it played itself out. It didn’t pan out and the fact is we have an empty site there that isn’t generating its highest and best use. We need to let the market decide what the highest and best use for that property is.”

What is your opinion of the non-motorized plan?

“I support the idea but we’ve got to do it the right way. Benchmark, benchmark, benchmark. There are communities across the state that have done similar things with success, some with not so much success. With public safety being our No. 1 priority, we want to do things that bring value to the city, that create demand for our properties. Making getting to downtown more accessible will open up the marketplace for things more than bars and restaurants. If people can ride their bikes, take their kids in a wagon, we may see other sorts of retail open up that really meet the needs and services of everybody.”

What is the right retail/restaurant mix for downtown?

"The downtown serves its purpose. You can’t legislate percentages. You do that by what you participate in. When there was shopping, did you go to it? If you don’t it doesn’t come back. We have to stop fighting the fact that we have created an entertainment district."

How do you feel about the Fresard Property/Kroger issue?

"I believe that Kroger had more than ample opportunity and I believe that the Planning Commission took a just route in falling back to the rules that we’ve all given to them. It was not my preference for them to be here, but it is also not against my premise that they try. We need to ask ourselves what do we want here and send that message out."

What is your opinion of the non-motorized plan?

The non-motorized plan works hand and hand with what we did 10 years ago when we created the master plan. It creates a walkable community, which everyone can enjoy. How can we do it? We have to sit down and get some professionals involved. They already are exercising those ideas in a lot of other cities, so we don’t necessarily have to invent it. I hope to see us widen some of the sidewalks downtown. With all the bump outs from the eateries, as it stands right now you couldn’t walk downtown with a friend.

What is the right retail/restaurant mix for downtown?

“I have actually worked with the downtown business community for several years. The facts are we have 85 retailers in our downtown area that we tend to overlook because we have about seven entertainment venues and about 45 Class C restaurants.  We are actually a shopping district. That’s what put downtown Royal Oak on the map. So I think that we need to play up the fact that we are a shopping district with great entertainment and great restaurant options.”

How do you feel about the Fresard property/Kroger issue?

“It’s a matter of being proactive and not reactive. . I was in favor of Kroger if they could have done the right thing, which was to develop something similar to the Kercheval Kroger in Grosse Pointe where it blended in. I do believe competition strengthens other competitors. Competition is good.”

What is your opinion of the non-motorized plan?

“I am a huge proponent of the non-motorized plan; however, it has to be realistic within our developing city and what we can reasonably do with or without grant money. The beauty of the non-motorized plan is that it came out of grant money because we have a master plan. The pedestrian ability of our downtown is what makes us great.”

What is the right retail/restaurant mix for downtown?

“Our downtown is an asset. I work with a great deal of young engineers at GM and they come to Royal Oak and they buy houses and condos because of our downtown. Having said that, we do definitely need to get more balance. The DDA has had a study done that says 'Here are some retailers that would fit into your downtown and your demographics.' We have to start proactively seeking out businesses that we want.”

How do you feel about the Fresard property/Kroger issue?

“I also agree with what the Planning Commission did. Having said that, I am often perplexed as to why people have to bring in complete and total site drawings to the Planning Commission for the first time. Could we have gotten Kroger to change the plan a little bit easier had they been able to bring a sketch as to what they wanted? They would have been denied right away and then they could have gone back and spent the big money on the type of architecture we obviously wanted.”

What is your opinion of the non-motorized plan?

“I would also like to support a non-motorized plan – a walkable downtown, a walkable city, a city that has bike lanes is preferable. However we have to realize this city is quite old. Everyone is going to have to understand that we can’t just shut down major thoroughfares. It’s extremely expensive. Where we can make adjustments, I think we should look into it.”

What is the right retail/restaurant mix for downtown?

“I’ve heard a lot of discussion today about the downtown area. I live out in the 13 Mile and Woodward area and we have a lot of retail out there and a lot of mix use. I don’t define my thinking strictly to the downtown area. I think too many times we’re looking at this table to come up with the answers. I believe the answers are with the DDAs and the Chambers and the marketplace.”

How do you feel about the Fresard property/Kroger issue?

“I wish we had not had the back talk and the back actions that were going on in the background. I think it’s unfortunate. We need something in that area. We need something at (Interstate) 696. We need something in the bump shop property. We have holes all through our city. They have to be filled. I do not see a plan in place in Royal Oak to implement bringing people into this city. It’s got to start with planning somewhere and I believe it’s got to be in the marketplace.”

What is your opinion of the non-motorized plan?

“I must say that when I grew up in Royal Oak we had a non-motorized society. We were able to walk and get on a streetcar and go all the way down to Detroit. Unfortunately, this is the Motor City and we made it great for automobiles and now we are struggling to get back to where we were years ago. I would support the non-motorized but gosh I wish you would have grown up when I did.”

What is the right retail/restaurant mix for downtown?

“I live downtown. Unfortunately, the retail portion of my building has been empty. Sometimes we’ve made it a little more difficult at the table here than we need to allow new businesses to move in. We need to develop downtown and move it down past 11 Mile. The Emagine theater was a good start.”

How do you feel about the Fresard property/Kroger issue?

“I think the Kroger debate was a giant missed opportunity. Living right next to the Fresard dealership I can tell you it is an eyesore. We should have worked more with Kroger to come up with a solution, a Royal Oak solution that made sense. We needed to work with them to come up with a unique Royal Oak solution rather than demanding that they do it exactly one way and having Kroger say, ‘We’re only going to do it one way.'”

What is your opinion of the non-motorized plan?

“I think the non-motorized plan is a great start. I think it’s something that we need to be discussing as a city. We need to be talking to residents and local businesses that will be affected by changes in our sidewalks and things like that. One of the reasons I bought my home in the downtown was because of its walkability.”