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Residents raise questions about $15M enhancement grant; Lenway Now defends expenditures and town-square spending
Summary
Public commenters questioned how the city's $15 million enhancement grant has been spent, citing alleged large payments to private projects; Lenway Now's executive director defended the expenditures and said a forensic review found no improper spending.
Multiple residents at the May 4 Adrian commission meeting raised concerns about stewardship of a roughly $15 million enhancement grant tied to projects such as the town square, a bike-loop/winter-street project and the Park House renovation. Commenters said they had not seen full accounting for expenditures and asked who would follow up.
Victoria Paulo said she had discussed the award with Administrator Ball and reported figures she understood: roughly $7.8 million spent and $7.2 million remaining, and a claim that $3.5 million had gone toward a private Park House renovation. She asked who would investigate and whether there would be an audit.
Pat Farber, executive director of Lenway Now—which the meeting record shows as a lead organization on many enhancement projects—responded directly in the meeting. He said Lenway Now was brought into the grant effort by lobbyists who secured the larger-than-expected award, that Lenway Now maintains records for all paid bills, and that a forensic audit performed after Administrator Ball’s arrival found no irregularities. Farber provided line-item figures he said were already documented: $710,357.17 for Smith Group design on the bike-loop and $318,343 on Town Square design so far, and he described public-private partnerships as the mechanism for larger capital projects.
Commissioners told residents the city now has an enhancement grant committee and that the group (including three commissioners) meets May 21; staff said the grant committee and the city attorney will continue oversight and provide follow-up. Separately, the commission approved Resolution R26-042 to list 411 South Main Street for sale with deed restrictions (single-family use, no subdivision), a 30-day sealed-bid window and broker-listed price around $219,000 after remediation work and a prior appraisal.
The meeting record contains competing claims about finances and partners; Lenway Now said documentation supports its spending, while residents asked for fuller public accounting and auditing.
