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Saginaw council approves $6,570 signage and lighting grant for Ashton Apartments after resident objections
Summary
The Saginaw City Council approved $6,570 for signage and lighting at the Ashton Apartments after residents raised concerns about tree removal and whether recent renovations were eligible for taxpayer-funded grants.
The Saginaw City Council voted to approve a $6,570 grant for signage and lighting at the Ashton Apartments, council members said, after residents raised concerns about trees removed from the property and work already completed before an application.
Residents including a commenter who identified himself as Benjamin told the council the property’s new owners chopped down mature trees, left stumps and rocks, and posted a small mural on social media that the commenter described as an amenity for residents rather than public art. “They chopped down beautiful trees for no reason,” Benjamin said during public comment, and asked staff to inspect landscaping work and to be cautious about spending taxpayer dollars.
City staff told the council that the city cannot reimburse work already completed and that only items not yet begun would be eligible under the building-improvement grant program. Staff identified signage, lighting and public art as the elements that had not yet been started; the council limited its action at the meeting to the signage and lighting elements and asked the applicant to return with revised public-art details.
A council member moved to approve the signage and lighting grant for $6,570; the motion was seconded and the council voted to approve it. Staff and a council member said they would ask the applicant for a public-art proposal that is “more Saginaw-centric” before considering further funding.
The council did not approve reimbursement for work the applicant had already completed, and staff said the full set of potential eligible items had been reduced accordingly. The city did not provide a roll-call vote count in the record; minutes note only that the motion passed.
The next step, council members said, is for the applicant to return with updated public-art plans and for staff to follow up on the landscaping questions raised by residents. No additional funding for the project was approved at the meeting.
