Reliable
Sources Tell Us
The
Michigan State Fair is Again Threatened by Secret Deals Made
at the Highest Level with Little Consideration for the
Taxpayer!
People
we trust are now telling us that the Governor's office is
pushing hard to shut down not only the Michigan State Fair but
also the Fairgrounds itself. The idea is to sell off or lease
all or pieces of the Fairgrounds to interested private
parties. The argument is that State is has money trouble
(which is true) and it can't provide for the State Fair as it
has been doing for the last 160 years through wars and depression,
good times and bad (which is not true).
The
Fairgrounds is largely a break-even proposition. The State
Fair itself sometimes runs a deficit that the State has made
up, but it is a tiny piece of the State budget.
The
last time the State made a land deal involving the Fairgrounds
involved a property that was not part of the Fairgrounds but adjacent
to it on the Northwest side. This land was collect by eminent
domain for the propose of creating an urban camp ground.
People were evicted from their homes to achieve this lofty
purpose. After a long, when no camp grounds had appeared, the
State sold the land to developers who, a year or so later,
made a deal to sell it to the Detroit school system for way
more than they paid for it. In fact the deal smelled so bad
that public protest and a lawsuit convinced the State to renegotiate
the sale.
Representative
George Cushingberry, the House Appropriations Committee
Chairman is pro Fairgrounds and has requested that we try
to obtain as many letters of support as possible to save the
Fair and keep the Fairgrounds open.
If
you want to help the State Fair, download the Word
template for a letter supporting the Fair and the
Fairgrounds. The letters should be an original letter, no
faxes or e-mails. Each person provide their contact
information as shown in the template. You don't have to
live in Cushingberry's district, letters can come from anyone
who has an interest in the Fair. Send the letter directly to
Rep. Cushingberry's office or you can send it to ICARE. Or
download and circulate a copy of the petition
that ICARE II has prepared for distribution and return it to
ICARE at the address on the petition
or at PO Box 201053, Ferndale MI 48220.
Picketing at CVS
in Hazel Park:
Hotel
Patrons and ICARE II Picket CVS to Save Hotel
Hotel
patrons and some ICARE II members picketed the CVS drugstore on John R.
in Hazel Park on Saturday, December 20th and again on January
3, 2009. What's the issue? See below.
Proposed
Hazel Park Day Hotel demolition (revised)
ICARE
has unanimously passed a resolution calling on CVS to abandon
plans to demolish the Days Hotel at the corner of John R. and
Nine Mile Rd. to build yet another drug store. We have learned
that CVS plans to close their two existing stores in Hazel
Park if the this plan goes through.
The
hotel was originally a Holiday Inn, then became La Casa and
fell into bankruptcy as a consequence of questionable
management. In October of 2005, Joe Keyes, a
Chicago
civil engineer with long term ties to
Hazel Park
and a vision, purchased the hotel on a land contract. Keys has since invested
approximately 1.5 million dollars in the vision and has
re-energized this vital area-wide part of
Michigan
’s tourist and hotel industry.
Keys
was unable to get financing to cover the balloon payment in
the land contract but
continues to run the hotel profitably...renting it month to
month. The landowner is now trying to evict Keyes to clear the
way for CVS. ICARE takes no position on the ownership
questions but, as a matter of public policy, is strongly in support of retaining the
hotel and
against replacing it with a drugstore. The area, including
Hazel Park
, has many drugstores but only one strategically located and
profitable hotel. The City of Ferndale has join with ICARE in
issuing its own resolution supporting the idea of keeping a
hotel at that location.
ICARE
has also learned that the CVS plan would require Hazel Park to
sell a piece of land now devoted to a war memorial.
We
believe that, if CVS understood the ramifications of the loss
of the hotel to the area, it would stop pursuing this site,
particularly when it already has two well used and managed
stores in Hazel Park and several in nearby communities. CVS is
planning a bigger store at the Hotel location.
ICARE
II Watches Developments at the Fairgrounds and Surrounding
Area
In
1996, John Hertel, the manager of the Michigan
State Fairgrounds, announced a proposal to make the
Fairgrounds a paying proposition. A developer would build an
auto racetrack. Hertel didn't consult his neighbors, who were
appalled by the idea. They formed I.C.A.R.E.(Inter-county
Citizens Achieving Regional Excellence), an organization
of concerned citizens.
They opposed the track idea in the media, before governmental
bodies, and threatened legal action. They were concerned about
noise, traffic, and parking overflow. The developer backed out
in the face of this opposition. ICARE won this battle and a
battle against a subsequent race track proposal. (See
history page.)
Some
Old Issues:
There
are some issues that have been resolved or are not active at
present:
Metro
Park Proposal
We
have proposed to the
Huron Clinton Metro Park Authority that they create an urban park using the part of the
Fairgrounds that was slated for the race track. We still strongly support this idea. We feel that a park "close
in" to our area would be a welcome addition to the more
bucolic settings that make up the Metro
Parks. There is not the political will on the part of
those who control the Metro Parks to take any creative steps
at this time
Intermodal
Facility Expansion.
The
State Highway Department wants to expand intermodal facilities
in the Detroit area and one of their plans envisioned expanding
facilities at the rail yards in Ferndale and possibly at the
Fairgrounds. Ferndale city officials vowed to sue to stop
expansion in their city. The State has now taken the Ferndale
yard off the table and has assured us that State Fairgrounds
is not currently under consideration for this site. This
project is awaiting further studies and funding. ICARE has OPPOSED
this project...especially as it related to Ferndale and the
Fairgrounds. This project may come alive again as Michigan
gets stimulus money from the Federal Government.
The
fate of the Woodward/Eight Mile Rd. Bridge
The
city of Ferndale wanted the center bridge that carries two
lanes of traffic over both Eight Mile and the interchange
lanes between Eight Mile and Woodward torn down at the expense
of Michigan taxpayers.
After
spending nearly half a million tax dollars to come to a
decision, the State rejected Ferndale's idea and has now renovated the existing bridge..
The configuration of the bridge remains as it has
been; ICARE supports this as the safest design.
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