A Brief West End Project Review

[XLFD]

This is all I can claim at this point in the West End Ludington Project.  A map with what looks to be three phases of the project, but no other explanations (not courtesy of any FOIA request):

The light blue project looks as if it corresponds to this first grant application providing a walkway between the west end of Ludington to the lighthouse breakwall.  It's hard to read all of the small print or the various mutations of the far end of Ludington Avenue, but there is a lot of information that print tells us that hasn't been released to judge whether this is an improvement or just another misuse of the State and Local taxpayer's dimes to disrupt the natural beauty of that section of beach.  Replacing it with kinetic sculptures, promenades and the like. 

The lavender area represents a rotary/turnaround for dropping people off at the beach apparently, as the other phase has Stearn's Park traffic heading off to Court Street instead of terminating at Ludington Avenue.  Though I'm sure with enough cash involved these constructions could look pretty good, do we really want to invest over a million dollars in total to experiment with the already proven beauty and utility of the area?  And do it with exactly no public knowledge of the whole project's scope.

I sent a FOIA to the City Manager after last meeting's public hearing, and was told I could get a look at the application for the funds for $63.25 -- that's right, I would have the privilege of looking at the forms and maps that our public dollars have been spent to make for this application for this, for the low price of $63.25.  Public Hearing?  More like public deafness and blindness.  Let our information go, John Shay! 

 

Here was what I had to offer to the City Council that night, others also asked some questions about it and that will be available when the video becomes available: 

 

I would like to thank the council and the Ludington Daily News for correcting my one mistake during the last meeting when I said the City never conducted any public hearing prior to the submission for DNR trust fund grant money last year.  They just so happened to have held public hearings on the last February and first March council meetings last year, like they have this year.  It is noted in the minutes of those meetings, where exactly two people spoke, both living outside the City limits of Ludington, who thought it was a great idea-- whatever it was going to be. 

 

Having said that, I would like to point out that the councilors and paper have also made a mistake in saying that those were public hearings, in that the City, while allowing two outsiders to speak up for a secret project that City Hall has still not revealed the plans for to the local public, had outlawed a local citizen of Ludington from being able to attend public meetings without express written permission from de facto City Manager John Shay.  This was due to a policy this council passed two years ago that is properly under review in federal court that allowed this de facto official to ban anyone from any public place in Ludington.  Is it truly a public hearing when certain members of the public are not able to attend due to the whims of a de facto city manager?  I don't think so, but I don't make the rules here in Ludington, you do.

 

After the last public hearing I was still in the dark about this project and the rest of the associated projects that Tom Coleman spoke of.  I made a FOIA request to the City asking to inspect the application they made for this grant from last year-- since I wasn't able to attend the public hearing-- and what they have already prepared for this year.  I got an odd response from this entity that is holding two public hearings on this project while just telling us its for a 10 ft. walkway between Ludington Avenue and the breakwater that costs just under half of a million. 

 

The response was that if I wanted to inspect this application I would have to pony up $63.25.  Just to inspect what they are holding these public hearings on, without not even a diagram given to the public via their website or newspaper.  $63.25 to inspect a public record of an application to this grant-- what are our City Officials hiding now?

 

Why are public officials who are paid good money in wages and benefits, making non-exempt records that they keep secret unless citizens pay extortion fees, behaving like this?  It certainly isn't lawful or ethical:  Let me be clear: this project will affect our City's most valuable resource, one that has received national recognition, and change the character of it dramatically.  As such it requires that the citizens, not a lot of out of towners with their own bag of agendas, make informed decisions about this effort and whether it is an improvement or just a collossal waste of taxpayer money from state and local funds that devalues the park.   

 

Our City Charter, rules made by the people of Ludington, says a vote of the electors of the city is needed to divert the use of any public park grounds to another public use in section 14.3.  But we are being totally kept in the dark.  I made this point last time and have they showed the public anything?  Anything? (shakes head no)

Public hearings are supposed to be about opening discussions, communicating needs, increasing awareness, attracting attention, reopening dialog, finding solutions, gathering information, and taking the pulse of the community.  These public hearings have had none of that nonsense.

 

And what about Tom Coleman from our last hearing?  This guy is the former chair of the Planning Commission who undoubtedly thought up some of these things in one of City Hall's back rooms, and currently sits on the Construction and Property Maintenance Code Appeal Board as a City official.  He declines to tell us those facts while praising the project with no particulars mentioned about it other than its being done in pieces and something about a proposed marina.  Who knew?

 

I am particularly energized to oppose whatever this is all about on just the fact that we don't know who is behind it, how much it will eventually cost us, whether it will do more harm than good, why it is being done without public involvement, and a host of other reasons. 

But I never got to say:  "And I will particularly make note to the Trust Fund board about the City planners keeping the City in the dark about the whole thing, even violation the freedom of information act to do so."

[AQUAMAN]

I enlarged this drawing about 10X and still can't read the graphics. Very fuzzy, or is it on purpose?

[XLFD]

They actually had a bigger drawing of the full project tonight where you could make out some of the stuff.  At the end, these guys had no problem with once again telling me about how open to the public this project has been, and how it's been out there eight/nine years.  I was on the LFD for half of that time and kept my ears open, I have been publicly active in the area keeping my ears and eyes open, but I have yet to see anything discussed and open to the general public except to these midwinter meetings where the product is not even discussed.  Anyone else here see anything else about this secret public project?

[Willy]

I object to the wasteful spending of taxpayers dollars for these kinds of projects and the fact that these people want to pour cement on the beach. 

[XLFD]

Mr. Democracy himself, Mayor John "I wanted five terms" Henderson should be looking to explain this project and put it on the local ballot, so the project can truly be vetted by the public, not passed by a covert group of interests behind our backs.  But democracy is the furthest thing from anyone's mind on the City panel. 

[XLFD]

I just added my public comments at the meeting to the thread head.  I will be making available at a later date how you can actually express your opinion on this issue without a whole bunch of ham-handed city officials around telling you that this process was open to the public, once they pass this hidden covenant/grant application over to the DNR trust fund.  Our whole country is drowning in debt, we don't need boondoggles like this weighing us down further.

[Sam Axe]

I would like to see the fountain put back at the Ludington Ave 

[XLFD]

Fountains are great ideas, particularly for the downtown, where upkeep can be maintained.  A fountain in the grassy area of Stearn's Park also would be a good add-on, I think, or even between the Avenue where it diverges.  I also would like to look more into the trolley the one citizen introduced last night that would toggle between the beach and the downtown. 

Us citizens have all these ideas, but the whole framework of the West End Project has already been established by some faceless person or persons, including several out-of-towners, who thought these things up:  a rotary, a sidewalk parallelling the beach, diverting traffic flows, eliminating and adding parking, kinetic sculptures, etc. 

[Sam Axe]

A long time ago there used to be a musical fountain at the west end of Ludington Ave, it also changed colors it was very nice