Members of the Detroit City Council are still deeply skeptical of a plan to turn Belle Isle into a state park.
That’s despite efforts by Mayor Dave Bing’s office and state officials to persuade them it's a good idea.
At a meeting today, Council members continued to express concern about a lack of specifics in the plan—including how much money the state plans to invest in improvements.
They also questioned why the state wants a long-term, 30-year lease.
Council member Saunteel Jenkins says there need to be more guarantees.
“If you’re saying to us ‘We want to trust us, give us 30 years and we’ll go out and get the money to make these improvements…’ I just want to see it in writing,” said Jenkins.
State officials said it's tough to be specific about those improvements because there’s no master plan for the island.
But they indicated the state could issue $20 million in bonds to upgrade Belle Isle.
