Ypsilanti Water Street citizen committee adopts consensus process, schedules meetings and requests remediation briefing

A citizen committee charged with drafting a request for qualifications (RFQ) to guide redevelopment of Ypsilanti’s Water Street site agreed Thursday to adopt a fist-to-5 consensus process, a rotating facilitator model and a meeting schedule stretching through August, and asked environmental consultants to brief the group on remaining site contamination.

The committee, created under a city resolution and tied to the community benefits ordinance (CBO), met at Ypsilanti City Hall and on Zoom. Katie Jones, the city’s economic development, equity and strategic communications staff liaison, told the group the committee must meet at least six times within 180 days and circulated a draft RFQ and maps showing remediation work to date.

“We did have maps that show what has been remediated, and we can bring that to the next meeting,” Jones said, explaining that two-thirds of the site nearest Michigan Avenue has already been excavated to remove PCBs. She said additional Phase I historical work and Phase II testing will continue and that the city is funding a comprehensive Phase I through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).

Committee members pressed for clearer documentation. “There will always be contamination at this site,” Lisonbee Krieger, who said she has served on the Brownfield Authority, told the group, “but that contamination is now getting to a level that redevelopment is feasible.” Chuck Boltman, who lives adjacent to the site, asked the city to provide maps that explicitly show which parcels have been tested and remediated.

Members voted informally by verbal fist-to-5 responses to adopt the consensus tool and to try a rotating facilitator approach in which a primary facilitator volunteers for the next meeting and names a backup. The committee also agreed by verbal consent on a slate of meeting dates that includes April 22 and May 20 (joint visioning sessions with council) and additional meetings June 24, July 22 and Aug. 26 at 7 p.m.; an April meeting was set for April 15 to allow time for public notice and additional preparation.

Public commenters called for density, mixed uses, preservation of natural areas, and accessible amenities. “I would like to see multi‑story buildings with retail on the bottom,” KJ Pedri, a Ward 3 resident, said during public comment, urging grocery and activity options and suggesting the site could be considered for a shelter if the city lacks one.

On technical questions, staff said recent excavation addressed the worst PCB concentrations and that testing and remediation will continue as the RFQ process moves forward. The committee requested that AKT, the consultant working on the site, present updated remediation maps and findings at the next committee meeting so members can assess which uses are feasible and so they can prepare public-facing materials that explain technical constraints in plain language.

The meeting closed with volunteers signing up to facilitate upcoming sessions and with staff agreeing to circulate existing AKT presentations and other background documents.

Next steps: the committee will convene again on April 15 to review AKT’s presentation and to continue review of the draft RFQ and the CBO materials before the joint visioning session with city council on April 22.