Ypsilanti City Council appointed eight community members to the ad hoc citizens committee for the Water Street redevelopment project.
At their Feb. 17, 2026, meeting, members of City Council voted from a list of 28 applicant names. The individuals selected for the committee are Chuck Bultman, Dallas Ford, Diana Gonzalez, Juanita House, Edward Koryzno, Allison Krueger, Lenore Ariel Ojibway-Gifford and DaRon Weatherspoon.
The Water Street redevelopment area is a 32-acre site owned by the city. A brownfield contaminated by previous commercial and industrial use, cleanup of PCB, or polychlorinated biphenyls, and lead at the site has been an ongoing project for the city.
At least three members of the committee were required to be selected from community participation meeting recommendations from the public. Krueger, Gonzalez and Weatherspoon all received straw poll votes from attendees during the Jan. 28, 2026, community meeting. In addition to community members, three members from City Council, one from each ward, will serve on the committee.
The committee will help create the Request for Qualifications to find a developer or developers for the project. Committee members will be tasked with evaluating proposals based on cultural vitality, social equity, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability, showed committee establishment documents.
Members of the ad hoc committee are intended to reflect an equitable representation across all three wards, including a mix of long-term and newer residents, business owners and other community representatives, showed requirements for establishing the committee. Committee member finalists were selected first by individual votes from members of City Council. Then, a slate of eight applicants was unanimously approved by councilors. When voting on appointees, councilors considered the unique perspectives or expertise each candidate would bring to the committee, such as experience with similar projects or representation for different groups within Ypsilanti.
Policy allows up to two non-city residents with relevant experience to be appointed to the committee. Two members selected for the committee are Ypsilanti Township residents, meeting materials showed.
Committee members will meet at least six times within 180 days of the group's formation. These meetings will be open to the public under the Open Meetings Act and records produced will be available under the Freedom of Information Act.
Committee members will draft and submit an RFQ to City Council. From there, City Council will hold public hearings, then choose to accept, reject or amend proposals. After RFQ approval and developer submissions, the committee will reconvene for additional meetings to review submissions and recommend qualified organizations to City Council. Recommendations from the committee will guide Water Street RFQs for at least five years.
Applicants and members of the public not selected for the committee still have the chance to participate in the developer selection process by attending committee meetings to offer input.
