Bloggin’ on the Edge

22

Oct 2007

HIstoric theater is a long shot, but still the best bet

Posted by Scott Spielman at 1:42 PM | Comments | Permanent Link

There seems to be a bit of confusion lingering about the status of the Historic Wayne Theater.

Part of that could be my fault; I wrote a story with the headline: Theater group halts restoration plans for the paper last week. We print the paper on Tuesday night and publish it on Thursday. Wednesday afternoon the story changed.

For the record, though, I don’t believe anyone in the city administration wants the theater torn down. At least, they don’t want to pay for it. The city would have the authority to order it razed if the Dangerous Building Appeals Board rules that way, but the costs would be astronomical. It cost about $100,000 to tear down the old Nankin Hospital and that structure was no where near as big, sturdy or complicated as the old Palace Theater.

Nobody has the money required to demolish the theater. The city could fund it, initially, and put the cost on the tax roll, but they would never recoup those costs.

The best bet is for the community—or some large investor—to come together with enough money to bring it up to code and then plan for its renovation and expansion. It’s a long shot, but it’s the best bet for the city.

Comments | Permanent Link

19

Oct 2007

Between a rock and a hard light

Posted by Scott Spielman at 4:30 PM | Comments | Permanent Link

The Northville Township Board of Trustees found themselves in a tough position Thursday night.

Faced with a group of concerned—if not angry—parents, they tried to defend their position on the traffic light in front of Northville High School.

And that position is that it doesn’t need to function all the time.

They’re right, too, but they’ll never win that argument. Consider all the rational ways they tried to: (1) townships have no jurisdiction over roads or the timing of stoplights; (2) the traffic count isn’t high enough to warrant a light at all—let alone one that is always flashing it’s green-yellow-red sequence (3) it’s not a real intersection (4) there’s no data that would suggest it would improve safety there—or that it’s an inherently dangerous road to begin with.

Good luck telling that to a parent whose son or daughter has to navigate the clogged driveway at the beginning or end of the school day.

It’s funny, though, that this rancor has fallen on the trustees. They never liked the school site plan to begin with—and in fact sued the district over it—and any previous attempts to get some speed or road issues solved with Wayne County have been less than fruitful. They’ve tried, too.

The board probably came off looking heartless in their refusal to send a resolution in support of a change at the light. I probably sound just as heartless when I say it was the right thing to do. There has been plenty of time spent on this already, discussion debate and study. I think it’s okay to trust the experts on it.

Comments | Permanent Link

17

Oct 2007

Fault isn’t form of government

Posted by Scott Spielman at 4:01 PM | Comments | Permanent Link

Here we go again.

The recent announcement of the resignation of Joyce Parker, Inkster city manager, and the city economic development director will probably bring back a debate about the form of government in that city.

In the past, members of the city council have tossed around the possibility of changing from a city manager form of government to a strong mayor form of government. Current Mayor Hilliard Hampton has been a strong proponent of this, claiming it will help economic development efforts to have someone in charge who is dedicated to improving the city.

That issue was included in the charter revisions rejected by Inkster voters. It was the main reason why this newspaper didn’t endorse the revisions, as well.

It’s true, too. The city will best be served by someone who is dedicated to improving the city. It will also best be served by someone with the background to pull it off, and an elected mayor doesn’t ensure that. It’s important to remember that the city management form of government is successful in nearly every community where it’s used, too.

Even so, the debate is always a good thing, because it can illuminate different ways to improve the city. It gets the discussion going about what characteristics the council—or whomever ends up leading the search—should look for in their next top city official.

The form of government, though, isn’t to blame for and perceived lack of progress in the City of Inkster. The economy itself is more to blame than anything. There’s more needed to help the situation than a cheerleader—no matter where the cheerleader lives.

Besides, there’s always the possibility that this underlying friction could be one of the causes for Parker’s departure.

I was sad to hear of Parker’s announcement when she dropped by recently. She has had her issues to overcome while in office—what administrator hasn’t—but I think she has done a good job since she came on board. She was certainly a much better choice than Bob Gordon, whom she replaced.

Inkster has taken some positive steps—the most visible of which is the new city hall—and more developments are in the works. There’s certainly no debating that.

Comments | Permanent Link

16

Oct 2007

Tough questions in hostile territory

Posted by Scott Spielman at 11:24 AM | Comments | Permanent Link

Northville City Councilman Jim Allen had an interesting quote at the council meeting Monday night:

“The world is changing, and we’re protecting the way things are,” he said.

He was expressing concern about the recent tax hikes approved in Lansing and the tax spread across a variety of services. State Rep. Marc Corriveau (D-Northville) was there, talking about those and other issues.

I’ve got to hand one thing to Corriveau; he hasn’t exactly been shy about talking about the situation in Lansing. He’s been more visible than any other state representative I’ve seen during the last several years. He shows up at these meetings, knowing he’s going to be asked tough questions, but answering them—or trying to—just the same.

Comments | Permanent Link

12

Oct 2007

Budget buffoonery

Posted by Scott Spielman at 10:19 AM | Comments | Permanent Link

Today I feel like playing a game.

I walked into a Northville Township budget study session last night (a few minutes late, as usual) to hear Township Supervisor Mark Abbo finish off a sentence: “…all this buffoonery in Lansing.”

The words ‘Buffoonery’ and ‘Lansing’ came up often during that three hour study session.

Here’s the game: submit your own sentence either beginning with or ending with ‘all this buffoonery in Lansing.’

I’ll get things started, on a serious note: We have to stay vigilant to protect ourselves from all this buffoonery in Lansing.

Or a more light-hearted take: All this buffoonery in Lansing has me checking out the housing and job market back in Oregon.

On a semantic note, there technically is no buffoonery going on in our capital. A buffoon is someone who is always trying to be funny, or joking around. I don’t think are legislators are trying to act like buffoons. They just can’t help it.

Comments | Permanent Link