From the 4 October, 2007 edition of the Ypsilanti Courier.

A group of Ypsilanti residents eyeing the stalled Water Street Project for a minor league baseball stadium are taking steps to see the idea turn into reality.

Kevin Hill, a member of the Downtown Association of Ypsilanti and the resident spearheading the stadium idea, said the former ad-hoc group that had been considering the use is now a permanent committee with about eight active members.

“We meet regularly about every two weeks,” Hill said.

However, he said he would like to keep the specifics of the committee confidential, as the group is still in a premature stage.

The committee has created a rough sketch of the plan for the stadium and surrounding community. Using about 16 acres, the stadium would seat 6,000 to 7,500 people and would feature an out-door market in front of the entrance. Light residential and commercial use would be located north of the stadium, with storefronts along Michigan Avenue and loft apartments overlooking the stadium. A proposed hotel would be located to the south of the stadium, again featuring rooms with a view of the ball game.

Hill called it the “first conceptual design.”

However, he said the group is working with private investors and the Michigan department of Transportation to create a formal site plan for the stadium. He said the site plan is one of the criteria the city requires for developing the Water Street Project.

“The city has criteria and we plan on meeting that criteria,” Hill said.

When asked how long it might take to create a site plan, Hill said, “We’re a good six months out.

“We will have a site plan,” he said. “The site plan is our highest priority.”

City Council Member Brian Robb, D-3rd Ward, is one of the members of the ballpark’s committee. He said the group intends to plan and develop the park completely through private investments.

“We’re not looking for government money,” Robb said. “The idea is to take the city our of the real-estate development business.

“We have been in contact with several groups who are interested in minor league baseball and are interested in moving teams,” he said. “We will not build it, they will build it.”

Robb said talks are too premature to discuss what groups are interested in building a stadium and moving a team to Ypsilanti.

“We’re still trying to generate interest,” Hill said. “As more time has passed, more interest has been generated.”

When asked how he would feel if a different plan for Water Street was conceived and executed before his group could get the stadium off the ground, Hill said, “We think that would be incredible.

“The whole idea is to have that piece of property developed,” he said.

Both Robb and Hill said the main goal of the committee was to get people thinking of different uses for the Water Street Project. They said the city still relies too heavily on the Freed design, and more creative ideas would help get the project up and running quicker.

The following is from Saturday the 29th edition of the Detroit News.

Treasury wants Pontiac review
Move puts troubled city one step closer to state takeover

The city, plagued by a $6.2 million budget deficit and a mayor and City Council that can’t agree on how to resolve it, is inching closer to a state takeover.

Following a preliminary review of the city’s finances in August that found that Pontiac is in the midst of a financial emergency, the state Treasury Department has recommended that Gov. Jennifer Granholm appoint a review team to conduct a more thorough analysis of the city’s finances, the next step in a possible takeover. No action has been taken yet on those recommendations.

If Granholm does appoint a review team, the panel would spend at least 60 days studying the city’s books, and could either work with the city on a consent agreement to get back in the black or recommend that an emergency financial manager be put in place. That manager would run the city and supersede the mayor and council.

“It is rare,” said Terry Stanton, the Treasury Department’s spokesman, referring to how often a review team has been appointed. “There have only been a handful. This is the second review since I’ve been here and that’s been six years.”

Only three other Michigan cities in the last two decades have faced a state takeover because of financial problems so dire the state determined they couldn’t handle them on their own. Hamtramck and Flint are no longer under state control anymore. Highland Park still is under state control.

The Treasury Department’s recommendations follow a preliminary review that was actually requested by Mayor Clarence Phillips. At odds with the council over his proposed 2007-08 budget — which was rejected — Phillips said he felt the city needed an “intervention.” The council argues his budget was based on unrealistic revenue projections that would’ve just exacerbated the city’s problems.

Phillips laid off dozens of police officers and general employees last year. Phillips did not return phone calls seeking comment.

If only Pontiac had a City Income Tax. Then they would surely have all the money they needed to solve their problems.

That, of course, is a facetious statement. Pontiac already has a 1% income tax on residents and businesses and a 0.5% income tax on non-residents who work in the city.

At the end of the day, it still comes down to being able to wisely spend the money you have.

The highlight, however, will be the world’s largest game of Chutes and Ladders brought to you by Shannon Gordon and the good folks at Gordon’s Five and Dime. Had Shannon been willing to call it by its British name of Snakes and Ladders, the people at Guinness would have been interested, but since Shannon wanted to thumb his nose at copyright infringement and the Hasbro corporation, we’ll just have to give it the unofficial world record.

Shannon’s put some work into this and is planning on bringing the community some interesting match-ups. At 11AM, there will be a game between members of the Plymouth Whalers ice hockey club. At 3PM, the principals of the local elementary schools will face off against one another. There were supposed to be other “celebrity” match-ups like a City Council game or a rematch of some of the recent political contests. There was even supposed to be a blogger match, but that never materialized. It’s Saturday. People have things to do. It’s really no big deal. The game will be cool enough on its own.

As a consolation, there will be a head-to-head, winner-take-all match between myself and local rabble rouser, Steve Pierce at high noon. It may not be Foreman v. Ali Rumble in the Jungle or even Sugar Shane Moseley v. Luis Collazo at Mandelay Bay, but it’s something.

In an effort to make the game interesting, we are doing a 50 Cent / Kanye West thing where the loser has to retire from the game forever.

Vegas already has the line at -260 Robb / +105 Pierce. I’m heavily favored, and with a line like that, I stand very little chance of making any serious money unless I’m willing to throw the game. I’m not ruling that out, but you’re better off taking Kentucky getting 23.5 against Florida Atlantic than you are betting on this one.

The most interesting thing to note is the board itself. Local businesses, among others, sponsored squares. While I’m not certain of this, it appears that Shannon has organized them in a hierarchical format with his most favorite being at the very top. As you can clearly see, my square is at the very top.

I would encourage everyone to stop by this family-friendly event and watch me kick Mr. Pierce’s ass all over the street in the name of charity.

From the September 7th edition of the Saginaw News.

What a wonderful inaugural season for the Great Lakes Loons.

By attracting 324,564 fans, the Class A Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate finished fifth in attendance in the Midwest League — including 30 sellout home games.

The Midland franchise finished last in the league’s Eastern Division, but who cares? There’s the fireworks, the autographs, the handshakes with the players, the up-close and affordable family entertainment that a minor league baseball team can bring to mid-Michigan residents.

Oh, it also provided 23 full-time jobs and more than 200 seasonal part-time jobs. Every little bit of employment helps, especially around here.

As a nonprofit organization, the Michigan Baseball Foundation — the club’s parent — can put its profits into charities. It gave away more than 1,000 tickets, raised more than $30,000 for causes such as breast cancer research by auctioning off jerseys and got sponsors to donate money for extra base hits.

In all, it has raised about $150,000 so far, and after dealing with its expenses it plans to give away more for youth athletics, including scholarships or grants for baseball fields.

But there’s more to the Loons than entertainment, jobs and charity. Something bigger.

“We have become a regional team, with fans coming from Midland but also from Bay City and Saginaw …,” said William Stavropoulos, the former Dow Chemical Co. chief executive officer who helped organize the Michigan Baseball Foundation.

That’s precisely what Dow wanted when the foundation formed the team. Regionalism. Making the Tri-Counties a package deal is one of the keys to keep around here the international talent the Fortune 50 company hires. It also improves the lifestyles of those of us who are already here. Dow even has paid $200,000 to an Arlington, Va., consulting company to figure out ways to do that.

Numerous regional efforts already are in place — MBS International Airport, Delta College, Saginaw Valley State University and our strong medical facilities. The Midland and the Saginaw Bay symphony orchestras. Hemlock Semiconductor is becoming a powerful and growing Tri-County economic force.

But there also are some newcomers. The Vision Tri-Counties leadership group. TheDow Event Center in downtown Saginaw, which attracts major entertainment events. It’s also where the Saginaw Spirit junior amateur hockey team plays.

And now the Loons and their sparkling Dow Diamond (which, by the way, will host the 2008 Midwest League All-Star Game in June).

With their first season now officially a success, they’ve hit a home run for the Tri-Counties.

I was looking at today’s Ann Arbor News, and noticed in the letters to the editor that the first letter was a well-written anti-income-tax missive, and the second was a plea to allow the keeping of chickens in Ypsi. Seeing these two juxtaposed made me realize that in addition to trying to turn out the NO vote, we can also try to scare the YES voters by promising to illegally keep chickens in all our backyards if the income tax passes. We’ve got to work on as many fronts as possible…

Without a doubt, my readers are the greatest in the entire world.

I offer the letters to the editor in question for your viewing pleasure:

Ypsilanti voters should defeat income tax

Last year, I had to make a very difficult decision. After investing over $50,000 into restoring my historical home, spending nine years building a career at an Ypsilanti business, and dedicating all of my free time to local causes, I had to make the very difficult choice between staying in Ypsilanti or moving away when an opportunity presented itself.

Unfortunately, all of my love for Ypsilanti was not enough to outweigh the fact that I couldn’t afford to live in the city any longer. The high cost of living in and maintaining an historical home was enough. The addition of extremely high taxes had our finances balancing on the edge. Then when we learned that Mayor Paul Schreiber and City Council wanted to add income taxes on top, we tipped over the edge.

Many people like me are already struggling to afford living in Ypsilanti. These people see that crime is on the rise, services are being reduced and City Council is making poor decisions on where to spend the city’s limited resources. City officials have already said that an income tax won’t solve any of the current problems. It is obvious to me and many others that an income tax WILL scare more residents away and hurt businesses. For the sake of Ypsilanti’s future, I hope everyone will vote “no” on the income tax.

Rachel Cuschieri-Murray, Ferndale

Backyard chickens belong in ‘cool cities’

What a delightful essay about the Ypsilanti family’s chicken drama (Other Voices, Sept. 5).

This summer my husband and I visited a beautiful garden in Portland, Ore. The garden’s owner and designer fenced off a section of her garden for a flock of chickens. She thoroughly enjoys their soft clucking sounds and sharing the eggs with friends and neighbors.

How can she do this in a big city where yards are small and homes close together? The city of Portland has an ordinance which allows people to keep chickens in their yards.

Since droves of people are leaving Michigan for “cool cities” such as Portland, perhaps we can lure some of them back with offers of home-grown chickens and fresh eggs.

Sara L. Gibb, Ann Arbor

From the August 28th edition of the Lansing State Journal:

More than two decades have passed, but Pat Gillespie still remembers the uneasy feeling of traveling into the heart of downtown Lansing.

The East Lansing man would look out the passenger window of his mother’s Chevrolet station wagon and catch a glimpse of Velvet Fingers and other adult businesses that lined Michigan Avenue.

“It wasn’t a place where you ventured too far out of your car, especially at night,” Gillespie said. “It just wasn’t a safe place.”

But drive through today, and an apparent transformation is under way. It’s the result of more than 10 years of planning and development of a new vision by builders and government officials. From a baseball park to a recent $3.2 million streetscape project by the city, the corridor reflects more of a welcome mat than a sin strip.

A Virginia-based expert, who helped Lansing with revitalization of the Washington Corridor, said if he were handing out grades, he would give the progress at Michigan Avenue an “A.”

“Downtowns are successful when they become a neighborhood,” said Doyle Hyett, chairman of HyettPalma, a consulting firm that has helped cities in all 50 states with revitalization efforts. “Not just places of commerce, but well-rounded places that people want to go to for a variety of things.

“That’s what Lansing is trying to do now.”

Jim Heyden, a former Lansing police officer for 33 years, remembers when Michigan Avenue was “seedy.”

He also recalls listening to complaints from some business owners about the prostitutes and drugs in the area.

“I often thought to myself: ‘That area will always be doomed,’ ” said Heyden, who retired from the department in 1994. “I guess I was wrong, but I am glad.”

The problems that plagued that area of the city seemed to disappear overnight when then-Mayor David Hollister got the city to build the $13 million Oldsmobile Park in 1996.

Omar’s, a topless bar, is the only adult business still on Michigan Avenue.

The ballpark is considered by many the catalyst for change along Michigan Avenue.

Gillespie, who has overseen projects around the state, has done his part in the ongoing transformation of Michigan Avenue.

He is in the middle of a $12 million project that will bring restaurants, apartments and condominiums to a new development across the street from Oldsmobile Park.

“This is a place where I can bring my kids and not feel like I have to keep a hold on them every second,” said Gillespie, 36, a father of three young children. “That wasn’t the case when I was their age.”

When Hollister took office, he targeted the Michigan Avenue corridor as one of the areas to improve.

“The approach to the Capitol from Michigan Avenue was simply an embarrassment,” said Hollister, who was mayor from 1993 to 2003.

“Now, it’s a place for young people to go. You see kids with their baseball gloves and dads going to baseball games. The change there is like night and day.”

Bill Haggerty lives in East Lansing, but remembers the conditions of Michigan Avenue in the 1960s through the late 1980s.

He said walking to Clara’s, a restaurant on Michigan Avenue, during the lunch hour caused him to put his head on “swivel” while walking past those hanging outside of the adult bookstores.

“You wanted to make sure you had a way out,” said Haggerty, 64. “And when it started to get dark, you wanted to be someplace else. That isn’t the case there any more, thankfully.”

But not everybody is completely enamored with the new Michigan Avenue.

Fred Perrelli, owner of Perrelli’s Barber & Style Shop, a downtown fixture for nearly 50 years, said he longs for the days of the ’60s and ’70s when his business was bustling.

“Downtown was the place to be. Now, people have all sorts of options on where to go outside of downtown,” Perrelli said.

“I know there were problems on Michigan Avenue in the past, but there are bad apples wherever you go. I would take the downtown of the past back in a second.”

“The Ypsilanti downtown business district along Michigan Avenue was a sad stretch when Rinehart opened Bombadill’s Coffee House there three years ago. Though the area continues to struggle, since then the cafe has become a popular meeting place, bringing together families, workers from local businesses, students and faculty from Eastern Michigan University and anyone who’s looking for coffee, pastries, a wireless Internet connection or just good conversation.”

The key word is STRUGGLE.

On Wednesday, September 17th of this year, the Ann Arbor News ran an article on downtown developers Eric & Karen Maurer and their successful downtown development projects. In the article, it said,

“The buildings [128 and 130 West Michigan Avenue) sit on a key downtown corner, in a burgeoning entertainment and restaurant district.”

The key word is BURGEONING.

People, that’s just how fast things happen here in Ypsilanti. Our Historic Downtown has gone from “struggling” to “burgeoning” in 26 DAYS. That’s insane.

At this pace, in a couple of months, it’s going to be too busy to go there. We’re going to have to find somewhere else less crowded.

“[My favorite thing to do in Ypsilanti in the fall is ] to see the swarms of trick-or-treaters in downtown Ypsilanti and to see the neighborhood kids come trick-or-treating to our front door year after year. I love to watch them grow up.”
Paul Schreiber, Ypsilanti Mayor

“[My favorite thing to do in Ypsilanti in the fall is ] taking the kids to Wiard’s Apple Orchard and EMU football games.”
Diane Keller, Ypsilanti Chamber of Commerce, President

“[My favorite thing to do in Ypsilanti in the fall is ] to wander around the historic neighborhoods, admiring the beautifully restored historic home and gardens and have coffee or a meal in Depot Town or Downtown Ypsilanti.”
Liz Brater, State Senator

“[My favorite thing to do in Ypsilanti in the fall is to go to] EMU football games and trips to Wasem Cider Mill are our favorite fall Ypsi treats.”
Bill Nickels, Ypsilanti City Council member, Ward 2

“The police department enjoys patrolling the downtown halloween festival with the children in their costumes, store owners mingling in the streets, and hay rides up and down Michigan Avenue.”
Matthew Harshberger, Ypsilanti Police Chief

“My wife and I enjoy taking advantage of the outdoor settings from Depot Town, Riverside Park, to the small park between Bombadill’s and the library.”
Jon Ichesco, Ypsilanti Fire Chief

“[My favorite thing to do in Ypsilanti in the fall is ] to catch smeet frogs in Riverside Park before they hibernate.”
Brian Robb, Ypsilanti City Council member, Ward 3