Plymouth City Commission Candidate Profile: Mike Wright

Name:
Mike Wright

Age:
62

Occupation:
Owner and Operator of two businesses;
Forest Laundry & Dry Cleaning, Plymouth
Log Cabin Laundromat, Dundee

Previous public office experience?:
Plymouth Downtown Development Authority 2002 - 2007, Chair 2005 - 2007
Plymouth City Commission 2008 - 2011
Plymouth Mayor Pro Tem 2010 - 2011

Education:
Bachelors Degree, Wayne State University

How long have you been a Plymouth resident?:
26 years

What made you decide to seek office?:
Plymouth is a special place. My wife and I have felt that way ever since we discovered this small town with the cool park in the late '60s.

Being special doesn't just happen... It takes work. A lot of folks contributed a lot of time to making it this way. And many still are - people willing to step up to leadership roles shaping Plymouth's future.

When I bought my business on Ann Arbor Road in 2000 I knew it was time to start making my own contribution.

I began by recieving appointment to the Downtown Development Authority where I learned a lot about what makes this city work. My 25 years of executive experience, most of it with the Detroit Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, fit well with the mission of the DDA. Five years later I felt well prepared for service on the City Commission and Mayor Pro Tem.

I am proud when I tell people I live in Plymouth. I'm also proud to be working hard to keep it that way. I hope to be re-elected by all residents who feel the same way.

One recent issue that has been identified in Plymouth is the availability of public parking downtown. What steps should the city take to address this issue?

One of Plymouth's primary assets is our vibrant downtown. This vibrancy results from our interesting variety of retail, service, entertainment and restaurants (including outdoor dining) businesses. Ensuring that sufficient parking is available is essential if we are to retain and grow this asset.

The recent parking study commissioned by the city layed out a number of recommendations to accomplish this goal. I support action on each of these recommendations which include:

1. Increase the amount of public parking inventory by purchasing or leasing property in or adjacent to the DDA district.
2. Negotiate access to privately owned parking lots for use during peak evening and week end periods.
3. Expand effective management of all downtown parking inventory through expanded parking enforcement using new technology and customer friendly time limit reminders.

Working in partnership with the DDA on implementation, these steps will ensure our downtown area remains an inviting place to enjoy for our residents, business owners and visitors.

The city will begin its joint fire operations with Northville in 2012 after previously working with Plymouth Township. In what other ways can the city consolidate services, and what are the benefits of doing so?

Aside from parking, can you identify one other issue in the city and any plans to address it?

In the late 90s the Plymouth City Commission and Administration adopted a five year budgeting model. This tactical step improved our annual budgeting process by forcing an analysis of the long term impact of all expenditure decisions.

Consequently our community entered the new century implementing important cost cutting efforts that have enabled us to avoid the dramatic cuts to services that communities throughout Michigan are enduring. One of the most important cost cutting strategies utilized has been joint service agreements with neighboring communities.

Existing agreements include: senior resident transportation, equipment purchasing, gasoline and oil purchases for our city fleet, recreation department scheduling software, building inspection services to name a few.

Continuous and aggressive identification of these service consolidations is necessary because our revenue sources remain fragile and declining. Other opportunities for consolidating services include: leaf composting, tree planting,
information technology and building maintenance. Succcessfully adding some of these and others is imperative for the city to provide the services our residents require.

Editor's note: Candidate responses have not been edited.