A bond measure on the Aug. 6 city ballot in Birmingham is generating feisty opposition from two citizens groups whose leaders were blocked from speaking at last week’s City Commission meeting.

At the end of the three-hour meeting, at the point when Birmingham City Commission meetings allow members of the audience to speak about topics not on the agenda, two long-time residents were blocked from discussing their opposition to the bond measure.

A video of the meeting is available here.

It shows one resident (at the 3:12 mark) being told he must stop speaking because he is expressing "political advocacy," which the city attorney then declares is banned by a contract with the cable-television system that broadcasts city meetings. Minutes later, when another resident insists on speaking about the bond, Mayor Patty Bordman abruptly gavels the meeting over, gets up and walks out.

[Want more news from southeast Oakland County? Sign up for Woodward 248, our weekly email newsletter!]

This week, residents can attend a meeting that's entirely devoted to explaining the bond measure and its accompanying construction project, called Birmingham NOW, which stands for North Old Woodward. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Birmingham Art Center, 1516 S. Cranbrook Road. The meeting is described as an “informational session” on the city website, although it's unclear whether audience members will be allowed to speak.

What generated outspoken opposition and last week’s confrontations is a bond measure that would add not a penny to the property taxes of Birmingham residents. Instead, the bond — “not to exceed $57.4 million,” according to ballot language — would be paid off over 30 years mainly with parking revenues, an arrangement similar to the way Birmingham’s other parking decks were funded, according to a city fact sheet.

Money from the bond sale would first eliminate a city-owned surface parking lot and also pay to demolish a 53-year-old, five-story parking deck that shows an unsightly face to North Old Woodward in the city’s downtown — a deck that needs $6 million in repairs, according to the fact sheet at www.bhamgov.org/birminghamnowproject.

Next, the bond revenue would combine those sites and pay to build a much larger, 7-story parking deck, with three levels tucked discreetly below ground, adding more than 400 parking spaces to the downtown. That's an increase that Birmingham city planners and the downtown merchant group say is badly needed.

The project, which is to involve both public and private components, would also add a public plaza and a commercial building that would face North Old Woodward. That commercial structure, slated to contain retail space, would screen the new structure from view.

Expected total development cost? A whopping $133 million, making this one of the biggest single developments ever in Birmingham.

The commercial building would house Michigan’s first retail location of RH, formerly called Restoration Hardware, an upscale source of classic home fixtures and furnishings that presumably would be welcomed by owners of Birmingham’s numerous classic and historic homes.

City Manager Joe Valentine said planning groups selected the site four years ago as “the best location for increasing our downtown parking capacity.” The new parking deck would boast “modern amenities” such as bright LED lighting, improved entrance and exit designs, an “open-air appearance” and enhanced security.

"Most important, it will hold more vehicles,” Valentine said.

The bond measure, the new parking deck and the overall Birmingham NOW project —including its retail space and outdoor plaza — gained site plan approval from the Planning Commission, and the City Commission has approved putting the bond measure on ballots. As well, former mayor Tom McDaniel penned a guest editorial in the community-oriented Hometown Life newspaper, urging residents to vote yes on the bond measure.

But current members of the City Commission could not discuss their views of the project last week, City Commissioner Mark Nickita said in a text message to the Free Press. Their reluctance followed actions of outspoken Birmingham NOW opponent Clinton Baller, who has emailed the Free Press repeatedly in recent months.

Baller, who formed the Balance 4 Birmingham citizens group, filed a complaint on July 8 with state election officials about how the city was communicating with residents about the project. Baller’s letter requests an “expedited review” by the state and asks “that an order be issued to the city to cease and desist in its efforts to influence the election.”

State law requires city governments and other public bodies to "maintain strict neutrality" and "not attempt to influence the outcome of an election." Baller was the resident whose demand to be allowed to speak at the City Commission meeting, also on July 8, triggered the mayor’s gaveling the meeting over.

The other resident blocked from speaking at that meeting, David Bloom of the Birmingham Citizens for Responsible Government, is seen on the video politely telling elected city officials that he would seek legal advice about enforcing his right to speak. Both Baller and Bloom are known for opposing city spending measures.

Although developers who are poised to construct the Birmingham NOW project would receive no tax benefits, critics of the project have said Birmingham's leaders are being too generous with the developers.

That's the same complaint that opponents have cited in Royal Oak when criticizing that city’s massive downtown development plan, now well under way, although in that case the developer did receive incentives. In response to that concern, Royal Oak City Manager Don Johnson told the Free Press last year that government incentives were virtually a necessity when redeveloping older downtowns.

"You almost can't build anything in a downtown these days without offering fairly generous incentives. Every office building that's going up here, we have skin in the game," Johnson said.``

In Birmingham, resident Paul Reagan, who attended last week’s City Commission meeting, said he and other critics of the city hope that a defeat of the bond measure on Aug. 6 will be their first step in shaking up local government.

“We’re planning on winning this in August and then winning in November” by electing new members to the City Commission," Reagan said. After that, "we'll be cleaning house,” replacing the mayor and city manager, he said.

Reagan said he and others believe there are corrupt ties between various parties involved in Birmingham NOW. Still, he added: “I can’t see a money trail” and “I have seen no evidence of bribes.”

MORE:

$1.1M Birmingham home is a 'secluded haven' on unusual lot

Royal Oak pet stores banned from selling dogs, cats: Here's why

Contact Bill Laitner: blaitner@freepress.com. Susan Bromley of Hometownlife.com contributed to this report.