Freeman-Wilson, Prince discuss Arthouse lease
Gary Mayor Karen FreemanWilson, Democratic mayoral nominee Jerome Prince and some Gary City Council members have been wrestling with changes Freeman-Wilson should make with only two months left in her tenure as the city’s chief executive.
Communication between Prince and Freeman-Wilson has been sparse, they both said, but discussions on the lease for The Arthouse: A Social Kitchen may be a sign they both will work together more closely in the transition to a new mayor. Prince is running unopposed in the mayor’s race in November’s election.
At a council finance committee meeting earlier this month, several council members questioned personnel and departmental restructuring changes Freeman-Wilson proposed with a Prince administration starting in January 2020.
Freeman-Wilson said the changes she’s called for in the last months of her eight-year tenure will be good for the city even under a new mayor.
Prince has said he wants the city to put the brakes on major changes while he and his transition team prepare for his move into City Hall.
“We don’t see it as infringing on anything Prince is trying to do or his ability to govern,” FreemanWilson said.
She also said there have been communication gaps between her and Prince though Freeman-Wilson claimed she’s made department heads available to the Prince and his transition team.
Freeman-Wilson said she and Prince have only met twice since he beat her in May’s primary election, a point Prince acknowledged, but his transition team has worked with various departments in preparation, he said.
Prince said he’s “largely concerned of the timing” of changes he and his transition team have learned Freeman-Wilson is proposing.
“I’m not looking for a fight, but I want to be effective coming in (to the mayor’s office),” Prince said. “It seems to me the incoming administration should have some input into these recommendations.
“We’ve got our legal folks looking into it to see if we have any room on this.”
Last week, Freeman-Wilson got council approval to restructure the commerce department, including launching a “one-stop-shop” to make it easier for residents and businesses to pull permits and do other city business.
On Monday, Prince said neither he nor his transition team are fully up to speed on the restructuring ordinance.
At the council’s finance committee meeting two weeks ago, several department heads recommended staffing changes as the council works to approve city budgets, but they ran into some resistance from a handful of council members expressing concern over making departmental changes before January.
LaVetta Sparks-Wade, D-6th District, a frequent critic of Freeman-Wilson, repeatedly questioned the mayor and department heads on making major changes now. Other council members had similar questions.
“We have a new administration coming in,” Sparks-Wade said. “Why are we restructuring before a new administration?”
Mary Brown, D-3rd District, chair of the finance committee, said she was not as concerned as several others about the changes.
“I think even with a new administration, these are the kinds of changes we’re going to need anyway,” Brown said. “Why should we wait until later in the year to make the changes?”
The Arthouse, a nonprofit corporation that was started with financing from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, has become an area of particular interest. The Gary Economic Development Corp., or EDC, oversees the the non-profit corporation for the city, and, the city council and other agencies have used the spot for meetings and to promote changes in the city.
The EDC was considering signing a 10-year lease, with two five-year optional extensions, for $1 a year, but, after discussions between Prince and FreemanWilson, the lease has been shortened to two years. The lease is expected to be signed Nov. 1.
“Communication between (Freeman-Wilson and I) hadn’t really existed until that last interaction,” Prince said Monday.
Prince also said he believes he and Freeman-Wilson will have more discussions going forward.
The Arthouse now relies on city funding, and, it should be a “standalone” operation, Freeman-Wilson said. A number of agencies would be willing to fund the nonprofit Arthouse if the city can get the long-term lease sooner rather than later, she said.
“We don’t need another building shuttered,” Freeman-Wilson said of The Arthouse. “We think (the long-term lease) is a win-win for The Arthouse and the city.”
Michael Gonzalez is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.