Ambrose returning to DDA board to fill open position

An article by Leslie Shepard    No Comments

Walled Lake City Councilman and former Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Board Chairman Casey Ambrose will be resuming a role on the DDA board.

“I’ve only missed a handful of meetings since I left the board, but have been included in discussions,” Ambrose said. “It’s nice to be back among my comrades to move the business environment forward along with the city.”

Former DDA Board Chairman Bill Sturgeon recently stepped down from that position after he was appointed to serve on the City Council following Ed Bennett’s resignation. Pat Wlodarczyk assumed Sturgeon’s role as DDA chairperson.

The DDA board vacancy prompted the council to encourage Ambrose to fill the vacant seat on the DDA board in order to bridge the gap between the two governing bodies.

“It’s important for a council member to sit on another board like the DDA to bring back information so everyone is on the same page,” Ambrose said.

While the city electorate voted in the 2010 election to appoint no more than one council member to commissions or boards, the DDA is deemed a statutory committee which gives the City Council the authority to appoint board members.

According to Public Act (PA) 10 of 1992, the state Legislature statutorily amended a section of PA 566 of 1978 that states the act “shall not be construed to prohibit a public officer or public employee of a city, school district, community college district, or county from being appointed to and serving as a member of the board of … a downtown development authority pursuant to Act No. 197 of the Public Acts of 1975.”

“It allows Walled Lake to decide if a council member can serve on the DDA board and council approved that at the last meeting on (Tuesday), April 19,” said City Clerk Cathy Buck. “Council thought it in the best interest of the DDA to have Casey on that board.”

Ambrose served as DDA board chairman for nearly 17 years. When the board was formed in May 1990 he was the initial vice-chairman, but was appointed chairman a few months later. When he was elected to serve on the Walled Lake City Council in November 2007, he resigned his post since, at the time, a dual municipal role was prohibited.