Glenn Thompson rears his ugly head in public - again

Get this bullshit from Glenn Thompson, self-appointed market czar: "For many years the vendors at the Farmers Market have requested the Market be cleaned and painted, better lighting installed and the water and electric utilities improved. Jeff Dehring, a parks designer, has expanded this into a $1,500,000 renovation. More has been spent on consultants than would be required to do the work the vendors want. A simple maintenance task has been delayed years as the project keeps expanding."

As usual, Glenn neglects most of the story, and embellishes other parts of it to suit his own deluded purpose.

Firstly, Glenn does NOT speak for all of the vendors at the Public Market, there are many vendors who have wanted the market to be expanded, renovated, built upon in order to have more stall spaces to sell from. The destruction of the Kokinakis house on the market property presented a golden opportunity to construct what could be a premier showcase of a multi-use market space, not just some dingy parking lot with depression-era sheds.

Secondly, the current cost for a council-approved, market commission approved construction plan comes in at around $1 Million, with 1/3 paid by the DDA, 1/3 by Parks and Rec of Ann Arbor, and 1/3 paid by the Market Operating Fund, all of whom have the cash set aside to do the project. The delays that Glenn talks about are of his own making, he has rallied a few vendors to his cause, who have badmouthed ANY capital improvements proposed for the market, and showed up at hearings and council meetings to make it look like there is significant opposition to what is really a worthwhile project. Perhaps Glenn is predicting the future cost of completing the project, because his resistance has led to the delays, and the delays of construction have led to increased costs for construction. Any renovation MUST be accompanied by installation of water management systems, and improvements like that don't get any cheaper the more one waits. Glenn, stop blaming Jeff Dehring, he isn't at fault, YOU ARE.

Thirdly, Glenn Thompson does NOT speak for the citizens of Ann Arbor, maybe just a few. Over $90,000 was spent on consultants to come up with a vibrant proposal that Thompson didn't like, so he started up a phony interest group, put up a blog that makes it seem like he has an army of Ann Arborites supporting him, and he regularly communicates to City Council and the Market Commission that he doesn't want the market to be improved unless he agrees with the design. That $90,000 was literally pissed down the drain, forcing a market commission composed of volunteers to go back to the drawing board, and drawing out a process that could have been a completed by now, with a totally renovated, beautiful market structure, public space and surroundings that would have benefitted all Ann Arborites, vendors, and the Kerrytown business community.

Glenn Thompson is alot like the Bush administration - assume everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie until you can prove otherwise.