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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Councilman Bryant (BB) Nolden 3rd Ward City Of Flint
Observation of a City Councilman: Letter to the City of Flint
“The restoration of run-down urban areas by the middle class (resulting in the displacement of low-income residents)” is gentrification (wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn). As residential shifts continue to emerge, urban planning and other phenomena affect the composition of poor neighborhoods. This is what I see happening in the City of Flint. A prerequisite of Urban gentrification is the deposing of poor residents of a neighborhood who are uprooted because they are unable to pay increased rents or property taxes, and exorbitant water bills.
As a Councilman I have observed residents incur increased rates for city services that have not yet been provided. The clandestine shift to a regional form of government where the city of Flint loses control of some of its greatest assets is tyrannical. As an example, the Water Plant is the city’s greatest asset, with a value in 100’s of millions, if not billions of dollars, could now be headed for the auction block as a result of this shift. Flint’s water asset can be traced back to incorporation of the city in 1855.
The City Council voted 8-1 to move to the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA) for Flint’s water services. I was the lone no vote. The vote carried, in my opinion, using a substantial amount of half-truths. During negotiations, City council was told the Flint River was not a viable option. Secondly, that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) would not approve the use of the Flint River, thirdly, the quality of the water would not be up to par, and finally there was no money for up-grades to the Water Plant!
After the City of Flint received approval from the state to go with KWA, the City of Detroit sent a termination letter, effective April 14, 2014 (Detroit is our current water supplier). That is when the City of Flint decided they should use the Flint River as a water source, exposing the lies I alluded to above. Improvements have been taking place at the Water Plant since the letter arrived. The city received approval from the DEQ to run the plant for 3 weeks in late July. This is the first step in using the Flint River during the construction of the pipeline, two years or more down the road.
This shows the lack of transparency we have with our Emergency Managers to date. I am an elected official. However, information I should receive in a timely manner, is often given at the last minute. This lack of transparency is an additional by product of gentrification—assault on democracy. Despite the fact that I and eight others where duly elected. It is shameful and disrespectful, because the EM expects us to make decisions on the spot, based on what we’re told. I will not be a party to these types of shenanigans. I like to research and read things for myself before making a decision, like any thinking person would.
The 3rd Ward is the largest in the City of Flint, with very diverse neighborhoods – far North end, Eastside and Rollingwood areas. Each area is very different. However, they all have one thing in common – lack of basic city services (e.g. police, fire services, street lights and grass cutting etc.).
I would like to pose a question to the residents of this community in hopes it will spark this difficult conversation. When will we see some relief for the seniors on fixed incomes who have to choose between paying the water bill or buying food? If you estimate the additional taxes and fees residents are paying since the takeover, an extra $800 dollars a year, you can surmise the devastating effect this has on seniors and others on fixed incomes. It is my hope that this letter would start a conversation in the community that leads to more transparency and, hopefully, slow this movement towards urban gentrification in the City of Flint.
Kind Regards
Bryant BB Nolden
3rd Ward City Councilman
May 2013 MPA Graduate UMFlint |
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Tue Jul 23, 2013 12:09 am |
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Raymond Sist
F L I N T O I D
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| An excellent letter. It would be nice to see it widely circulated in the media. |
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Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:39 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Nolden had been printed in the Courier, Flint talk and on Facebook before the Flint Journal decided his letter was worthy enough for their publication
Guest view: Flint water deal highlights need for more transparency
Print
MLive/Flint Journal opinion By MLive/Flint Journal opinion
on August 13, 2013 at 3:00 AM
By Flint City Councilman Bryant Nolden
Gentrification is the "restoration of run-down urban areas by the middle class (resulting in the displacement of low-income residents)." As residential shifts continue to emerge, urban planning and other phenomena affect the composition of poor neighborhoods. This is what I see happening in the city of Flint. A prerequisite of urban gentrification is the deposing of poor residents of a neighborhood who are uprooted because they are unable to pay increased rents, property taxes or exorbitant water bills.
As a Flint city councilman, I have observed residents incur increased rates for city services that have not yet been provided. The clandestine shift to a regional form of government in which the city of Flint could lose control of some of its greatest assets is tyrannical. As an example, the water plant is the city’s greatest asset, with a value in hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, and could now be headed for the auction block as a result of this shift. Flint’s water asset can be traced back to incorporation of the city in 1855.
The Flint City Council voted 8-1 to move to the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA) for Flint’s water services. I was the lone “no” vote. The vote was based, in my opinion, on a substantial number of half-truths. During negotiations, the city council was told the Flint River was not a viable option. Secondly, that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) would not approve the use of the Flint River. Thirdly, the quality of the water would not be up to par, and finally, that there was no money for upgrades to the Flint Water Plant.
After the city of Flint received approval from the state to go with KWA, the city of Detroit (our current water supplier) sent a termination letter, effective April 14, 2014. That is when the city of Flint decided they should use the Flint River as a water source, exposing the half-truths I alluded to above. Improvements have been taking place at the Water Plant since the letter arrived. The city received approval from the DEQ to run the plant for three weeks in late July. This is the first step in using the Flint River during the construction of the pipeline, two years or more down the road.
This shows the lack of transparency we have with our emergency managers. I am an elected official. However, information I should receive in a timely manner is often given at the last minute. This lack of transparency is an additional byproduct of gentrification — an assault on democracy. It is shameful and disrespectful, because the emergency manager expects us, the duly elected officials, to make decisions on the spot based on what we’re told. I will not be a party to these types of shenanigans. I like to research and read things for myself before making a decision, like any thinking person would.
The 3rd Ward is the largest in the city of Flint, with very diverse neighborhoods – far north end, east side and Rollingwood areas. However, they all have one thing in common – lack of basic city services (e.g. police, fire services, street lights and grass cutting).
I would like to pose a question to the residents of this community in hopes it will spark this difficult conversation. When will we see some relief for the seniors on fixed incomes who have to choose between paying the water bill or buying food? If you estimate the additional taxes and fees residents are paying since the takeover, you can surmise the devastating effect this has on seniors and others on fixed incomes.
It is my hope that this letter would start a conversation in the community that leads to more transparency and, hopefully, slows this movement towards urban gentrification in the city of Flint.
Bryant Nolden is a Flint City Council member, representing the 3rd Ward. You can contact him at 810-397-3193 or bnolden@cityofflint.com. |
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Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:37 am |
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