Ortonville- The Downtown Development Authority appears to be developing discontent among its members, with a second resignation letter turned in from a board member in as many weeks.
In a letter to the DDA Board of Directors dated Sept. 16, DDA Secretary Sherry Regiani said she would resign effective Oct. 18. Her resignation letter came less than two weeks after David Bonner announced he would resign as DDA chairman effective Sept. 20.
‘Ortonville does have so much going for it and so many people are doing well and working hard, but we need more volunteers,? said Regiani last week. ‘We need responsibility and accountability. There are people on the board who have opinions, but no action… If one or two people do the work while others sit back and complain, it takes its toll.?
In her letter, Regiani cited several reasons for her resignation: the lack of organization for a signature event that would be the main annual fundraiser for the DDA; the lack of donor recognition/advertising; and other commitments, including her acceptance of a position on Clarkston Optimist Board of Directors.
But her main reason, she said, is that Ortonville United Methodist Church Pastor Tim Dibble has been promoting the Beets, Beats & Eats event as a church event and claiming the church was asked to be a co-sponsor, which she says is untrue.
Beets, Beats & Eats has been a Friday night event in Crossman Park for the past two summers, with vendors and musicians and a dinner put on by the church. However, Regiani says, the dinner was never supposed to be a monopoly by the church. Regiani says she suggested in a multitude of meetings that perhaps the Rotary Club, Lions Club, Boy Scouts, band boosters, the parks and recreation department, or even other churches might all want to have turns hosting the dinner, too.
‘The original plan was someone different doing (the dinner) every week,? Regiani said. ‘Then, their friends and families could see what was going on. My question is, how did it get to be the (one) church every week??
Regiani believes it should be open to the community so that any civic organization should have a week. She said Dibble said he would look into it, but it never progressed and the board didn’t back her up.
Dibble says the net proceeds from the $5 dinners goes back into funding the missions of the church, including the Ortonville Community Emergency Fund, Vacation Bible School, and other charitable events and organizations throughout the year.
Dibble notes that overtures were made to local service organizations, in writing or by phone last year, specifically, the Masons, the Lions Club and the Rotary Club and has letters dated Nov. 8, 2006, to each organization that did inquire whether they were interested.
‘It’s a pretty big commitment,? Dibble said. ‘They were given the opportunity, we even offered the possibility of doing one or two special nights, and at the time, none expressed an interest.?
Promotions Committee minutes from the Dec. 4, 2006 meeting state in the correspondence section that Dibble had not received any responses to his offer of vendor opportunities for Friday nights in the park. Action was to be that he would continue his outreach.
He adds that people don’t realize it takes quite a bit of effort to put on the dinners, including the food shopping and cooking, as well as meeting health department standards, licensing and regulation costs.
Liz Rheaume, president of the Ortonville Lions Club, said Dibble did contact her, but she remembers discussion about sponsoring inflatables. She could not recall if they discussed the dinners. The club was not interested in the inflatables.
‘If we are approached about the dinners, I will take it to the club to see what they want to do,? she said. ‘Personally, I would be interested in doing the dinner one or two nights.?
Dibble said he doesn’t recall if the opportunity was offered to other churches to put on the dinners, but remembers telling the promotions committee about the other organizations and adds that they will be offered an opportunity again.
‘We will once again discuss this and address it this winter when the promotions committee meets,? he said. ‘The committee determines these things, not just me… I was sorry about the two resignations. The rest of us look forward to working together and get along well.?