“There are some things that cannot be disclosed at this time, due to some NDAs that are in place. However, I can assure you that this is for the public good. It isn’t being done by a private developer. This is a public project that is in the best interests of the community, that truly can be transformational.”
Dr. Sam Shaheen, president and CEO, CMU (Central Michigan University) Medical Education Partners
This “nondisclosure” review took place at the seven-minute mark during a Saginaw City Council special meeting on Nov. 28, 2022. During the proceedings that followed, there was a 7-1 vote to approve $5 million in federal ARPA anti-poverty funds toward a $15 million “behavioral” mental health clinic. This would be part of a larger center that could approach a $100 million investment. County board members have backed another $5 million from the post-pandemic American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in January 2021.
On behalf of Saginaw Daily, we repeat our modest idea that JoAnn Crary with Saginaw Future, and Veronica Horn with the Chamber of Commerce, maybe could explore whether more info could be provided that would not violate any privacy agreement. For example, would it be feasible that without giving out an exact street address, maybe be a little more helpful than putting an NDA on the entire DDA, which now extends “downtown” along the river corridor all the way past City Hall to the Courthouse. Is the entire Downtown Development Authority part of a Non-Disclosure Agreement?
Or, maybe, how much of the project will be devoted to the type of outreach described by noted Saginawian Hazel Wilson in our main feature report?
In summary, our simple startup request remains active. Consider saying CANNOT only when deemed necessary. Think of details that CAN be better explained, instead of making non-disclosure such a general routine. This may be standard operating procedure on smaller projects, but ARPA is not standard. That’s why Dr. Shaheen says “transformational.”
Meanwhile, existing mental health agencies have been zeroed out from ARPA in favor of the big project, but the City Council will at least consider carving from remaining monies from the original $52 million grant. This sum is pegged at $1.84 million, but the numbers can bounce around as members bargain, the same as at any level of group budgeting. One issue contrasts nonprofit agencies with for-profit enterprises. Council members are asked for a second proposal review that basically would amount to mini-grants. For their part, County Board members have closed the books on any small-agency funding.
Click here to view the Saginaw Council special meeting (Dr. Shaheen begins at 6:55).
