Ludington's Community Garden of Garbage and Grasses

[XLFD]

Ludington's Community Garden grew from the demolition of the downtown bowling alley in the 200 block of West Ludington Avenue.  For a couple of years, people in the community have been allowed to grow vegetables in wooden enclosed areas, in what has been trumpeted as a great idea for this currently idle space in the downtown. 

Ludington leaders have big plans for this area and beyond.  They would love to put in a multipurpose convention center/hotel/retail space in the block which would necessarily relocate the fire department and other businesses in the block, but they are falling short in being able to fulfill that dream for now.  If such a plan does achieve fruition, it will be greatly subsidized by the local and state taxpayers, as I have learned from a recent FOIA reply.  But that is for another article. 

In this one, we will focus on the current use of the block and how it runs counter to several recent moves by the city council in order to better control blight issues in our fair city.  In the middle of May, the City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews) dutifully reported this year's plans for the space:

"Ludington’s community garden space is becoming more of a pocket park, with a stage, more picnic tables and benches, a rain garden, miniature teepees and more, along with the artwork already in place on the surrounding buildings... 

Brandy Henderson, Ludington Area Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director, said the group wanted to clean up the space and turn it into another community park. 

Henderson, Jordan Miller, John Henderson, Todd and Julie Schrader, Nick, Heather and Aiden Tykoski, Jordan and Heather DeVries, Carrie Kosla, Michelle Hemmer, Laura Paine, Chris and Eva VanWyck, and Anita Wilson spent the day Sunday transforming the space. 

They used pallets and donated wood to build a stage, planting some of the raised gardens, digging to start the rain garden, and preparing the site for some help from the public this coming Saturday, May 23. The community will be asked to help paint the tables and benches and otherwise beautify the space in downtown Ludington...

If the block is developed as hoped and some mixed-use project is created in the future, the park pieces will be moved. 

The community wants to see the block at its highest and best use, Tykoski said, but until a development, “we’ll make it a fun gathering spot.”"

http://www.shorelinemedia.net/ludington_daily_news/news/local/artic...

The community garden is being transformed into a downtown Ludington pocket park, here with local community leaders donating their time Sunday afternoon. A public work bee will be held Saturday, May 23.

The work on May 23 and May 26 did produce some results.  The community garden before that had been left neglected since at least the previous year, and was basically an eyesore.  The two days of community work and the additional work on the planters and planting done on June 2 by LHS students had a stage at the site, some order to the chaos, benches, and even a wooden walkway.  But after May 26th, with several projects left undone including clean-up of scrap wood the community garden sat, and sat... and sat with the unfinished projects and leftover scrap wood left on the lot. 

Here is a picture taken on July 1, over five weeks after the tepees were started and the scrap wood was put in a pile behind them (that's a pile of weed-infused earth to the right): 

From this angle, you can better see the scrap wood pile and the incompleteness of the tepee construction, you'll also notice a bunch of weeds:

Over the winter, our city council in order to fight urban blight enacted an ordinance to regulate people who leave junk on their property.  Junk was defined as: "all waste material, including but not limited to ... waste building materials...".  This is clearly junk.

Sec. 18-152 of the Ludington City Code says:  "No person shall place or store any junk... on the exterior portion of any property in the City of Ludington...".  This junk is clearly on the exterior portion of the property.

Sec. 18-153 of the Ludington City Code says:  "First offense. A violation of this... shall constitute a municipal civil infraction.  This should have been caught in the intervening six weeks by our vigilant code and law enforcement teams and written up as an infraction. 

You know they won't do this, because this is their own bailiwick, but hear what happens when they do this to a common citizen's property.

Just last year, the City of Ludington went onto a man's property and took 'junk' which wasn't junk.  It was actually valuable building materials and other construction equipment and personal items worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.  They charged the homeowner for having them commit this theft giving them a sizable bill for transporting the 'junk' to a landfill.  This home is in my neighborhood.

The City code enforcers justified this by saying that they sent a certified letter to the homeowner telling them of their intentions and had a court date made.  But within the city's records (received through a FOIA request), they never had a return service for this letter or for the court hearing.  The homeowner claims to have never received such letters, which is seemingly verified by the lack of a return service.  The result was that a court hearing was convened and the homeowner never showed up.  A default judgment occurred and your city leaders invaded this man's property and took his valuable 'junk'. 

Yet, even after some hasty rearranging of the 'junk' at the community garden before the Fourth of July parade, the junk remains in the exterior of the community garden, blocking the artwork, as seen in this picture taken on July 5th: 

If you look at the picture you can see more of the hypocrisy of our city government.  Some of the weeds to the left of the pictures are over 60 inches high.  Reportedly, people are getting notices all over the city for grass that hasn't yet reached the city's new limit of ten inches, but on their own community garden, their weeds are over six times that length. 

Yet our city has already invaded our fellow citizens' private yards this summer (as confirmed in FOIA responses) in observance of a new 'tall grass ordinance' to mow lawns at an incredibly high figure and attach a 25% 'administrative fee' for their own enrichment.  They are under exactly no obligation by their new ordinance to notify you of this service after they have noticed your lawn is in supposed violation. 

They can freely violate the laws that they make you pay dearly for without even having to notify you of your violation.  This is what is considered just and fair by your current city leadership, and is why that leadership needs to undergo a drastic change. 

[John Doe Jr]

What a chaotic spectacle of debris. Even the homeless avoid this area. Looks like a hangout for the socially deprived. Hippies are like "HUH?" A great model to show and teach your kids what to sharply avoid.

[XLFD]

One man's art is another man's eyesore.  Yet, if you are planning for some place to be a gathering point and focus for the community and its visitors, you don't let it sit in neglect for a month and a half with many of the projects half completed and looking like a garbage dump with junk wood and junk pallets lying around. 

This lot could be a cute retro pocket park with its own counterculture aficionados, but it has been only a half-done project that makes Ludington look as if it is counter to culture and ran by 1970's era radicals that have more interest in bong hits than upkeep.

[stump]

I didn't catch the story about what the tepee was for, a place for the homeless to take shelter? a rest room when in need? The people in charge of care for this area [ THEIR BRIGHT IDEA ] should bring that little tractor back and level the whole thing. If you can't take care of YOUR project get rid of it. YOU are making our city look bad.

[XLFD]

The two tepees are in pink and blue, probably to signify women and men respectively, but I am outraged because there is not a rainbow colored tepee, or tepees for the 55 other gender classifications.

Just take a look at what our city code enforcers write up as a matter of record, and you can believe that if this was your or my property, they would be leaving you letters saying your property is out of character of the community or to cease and desist harboring junk.  It's not you, it's them, so it's all good.

[MED]

If the intent for the teepees is a restroom, we'd better put CAMERAS in there!

[Willy]

I think the park is a good idea but not an unfinished park. As for the murals, I like them for the art but they don't belong plastered all over those walls in a downtown setting. Something more historical or mainstream would be better there. Leave the colorful abstracts to side streets and medical marijuana clinic walls.

[AQUAMAN]

Same old story, do as we say, not as we do! I still think that area is an eyesore, and this is a plan gone wrong for sure. 

[MED]

Well, if you do have "junk" in your yard, now you know where to dispose of it. Got any old tires laying around?

[stump]

I thought the old tire drop off was on the corner of Rath and Ludington Ave.

[AQUAMAN]

Yes, and here's a couple of nice pics. of the DPW park on the north side of town. Maybe they should combine the two at the downtown location. 

[XLFD]

Good catch, Aquaman, they've put a lot of barrels out just recent.  If I remember my FOIA response from Sue Sniegowski, the barrels were formerly containing road salt.  It doesn't excuse the eyesore that the neighbors have to endure, who don't keep barrels in their yards.

[Jasper]

Seriously road salt in steel barrels?  Wow, Just Wow?  The COL must have put salt in that broken down dilapidated tank that is strapped to the wall.  Where is this location?

That would be like filling the back of your vehicle with however many pounds those drums hold. The salt would eat your vehicle like termites eat a wooden structure!  WOW!!