Bob Flynn smiles behind the mic at the WCSR station in March. Lauren Scott | Collegian
Bob Flynn represents Ward 3 on city council
The voice of Hillsdale is back — and now he’s saying Hillsdale College must do more for the city it calls home.
“People I‘ve talked to have said it’s not fair that the college has all this money to buy homes and property to turn into nonprofits, because that‘s why we have to have special assessment districts to pay for our roads,” Flynn said.
Elected to the Hillsdale City Council for Ward 3 earlier this month, Bob Flynn hopes to improve the local economy.
“I would love to see our downtown thrive. When I was growing up, it was a very vibrant downtown,” Flynn said.
Flynn was a host on WCSR for 46 years until his retirement in March 2024.
“It was not a spur of the moment decision,” Flynn said. “I came to the conclusion that I’d like to give it a try and continue to support the city.”
Scot Bertram, director of WRFH Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM and lecturer in journalism, said he thinks Flynn’s radio experience will help him in his new role.
“As a local radio host, Bob likely has become very familiar with the role of community sounding board,” Bertram said. “At the very least, he won’t be surprised to hear frequent opinions about what’s wrong, and sometimes even what’s right, in Hillsdale.”
While the college has benefited greatly from the city over the last few decades, Flynn said, the city has levied SADs — which require each property owner in a district to pay up to $5,000 to fund road repairs in the district — against residents in Ward 3 to help pay for a $6.5 million infrastructure project.
“I feel that the city has gone above and beyond for decades to be a good neighbor and to help when Hillsdale College has requests,” Flynn said.
The college recently made a deal with the city which will allow it to begin construction on the Dow Hotel and Conference Center expansion, with the city allowing the college to block off a portion of Galloway Drive and Summit Street.
“The city is allowing them to build this large hotel, which I feel is much needed, but it’s like the college is just throwing us a $2 million check and saying, “Now, leave us alone. Don‘t bother us with anything.’ And I don’t think that’s fair,” Flynn said.
While the college has worked with the city to provide a $2 million endowment for general city services, Flynn said the college has rebuffed previous efforts by the city council to get the college to opt into a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program.
“The city council has asked at least twice that I know of over the decades for the college to participate in a PILOT payment program, in lieu of paying taxes, and the college has said, ‘No, thank you’,” Flynn said.
But Flynn said he is optimistic about the future for the relationship between the city and college, and grateful for what the college brings to the local economy.
“I love Hillsdale College. They employ a lot of people and have a lot of great facilities that people use,” Flynn said. “I’d like to see them incorporate more into the city and say, ‘Hey, let’s all work together to make the college and the city a great place to be.’”
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