Majority Of Council Wants City To Maintain Control Of Belle Isle

DETROIT (WWJ) - A majority of Detroit City Council members have voted to send a resolution to the mayor strongly urging him to maintain the city's control over Belle Isle.

However, Councilman James Tate told WWJ's Florence Walton that he urged his colleagues to wait until they learned the details of the agreement.

"Before we reject the possibility of it becoming a state park or even a metropark, I do believe there are some dollars that are potentially available that will allow us to use those monies to go towards Belle Isle as opposed to cutting additional dollars from our employees," said Tate.

Councilman Andre Spivey did not support the resolution, calling it premature.

"I do believe there is some change that needs to take place, we need to find some revenue for that island. We heard from the administration that the bathroom may not be open, the grass may not be cut," said Spivey. "There are bridges that are not safe to go over, so I think that changes have to be made - whether we do that as a city or with a partnership, that remains to be seen."

Mayor Dave Bing is currently in discussions with the state over a management agreement for Belle Isle.