Grosse Pointe Woods and Shores make trade they say is mutually beneficial

GROSSE POINTE WOODS/SHORES — Bartering is an old-fashioned way of exchanging goods, and officials in Grosse Pointe Woods and Grosse Pointe Shores hope to put this practice to good use for both of them.

During a June 6 Grosse Pointe Woods City Council Committee of the Whole meeting, Woods City Administrator Frank Schulte said the Woods had budgeted funds in the 2021-22 fiscal year budget to acquire a used garbage truck to pick up leaves. It turns out that Grosse Pointe Shores recently bought a new garbage truck and was planning on selling its old one, which is valued at $8,000 to $12,000.

“They have taken meticulous care of this truck,” Schulte said. “It is in good running shape.”

While the Woods could have purchased the truck outright from the Shores, Schulte said city officials discussed a different solution. The Shores hosts a big concert in Osius Park followed by a fireworks display each year for July 4. Schulte said the Shores was interested in borrowing the Woods’ covered sound stage for that concert.

Schulte said the Woods typically rents out the sound stage for $2,000 per use. In an agreement hammered out by administrators in the Shores and Woods, in exchange for the garbage truck, the Woods would let the Shores borrow the sound stage for free for its July 4 event for the next four years — 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. After that, if the Shores wanted to continue to borrow the stage, Schulte said they would need to pay the rental fee.

“It’s a great trade-off for both of us,” Schulte said.

Woods Mayor Arthur Bryant echoed that sentiment.

“I agree,” Bryant said. “I think it’s a good deal.”

Woods City Councilwoman Angela Coletti Brown agreed, as long as “their dates (of usage) don’t conflict with any dates we have an event for.”

Schulte said the Shores’ July 4 concert happens at a time when the Woods isn’t using the sound stage, so it’s not a problem.

The Committee of the Whole — which is also the council — voted unanimously to recommend approval of this deal to the council. At press time, the council was slated to approve the trade as part of its consent agenda during a meeting June 20.

Having gotten the informal blessing of the council, Schulte was slated to finalize the agreement with the Shores. He said the Woods should be able to take possession of the garbage truck this month.