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Tom Hallock
Chairman of the Planning Commission and former City Commissioner
Tom Hallock is a lively conversationalist in one-on-one
encounters, remarkably unlike the cordial but seriously
deliberative individual we see when he’s serving in his official
capacity. On-the-record or off-the-record and whether discussing
his publicly known battle with cancer, or comparing today’s
local political climate with the past, or addressing concerns
about downtown, Tom talks and listens with alacrity.
He wasted no time labeling a “waste of time” the brouhaha over
the Rasor/Bordine Affair and he hesitated not at all to
acknowledge that one result of his Planning Commission vote re
the Emagine matter is that several widely known residents “no
longer speak to me.”
Emagine led to our discussing the unwillingness or inability of
some individuals to have disagreements over an issue without
becoming personally offended. We agreed that part of the problem
may be the tendency to see every civic/political debate as a
moral issue, rather than as simply a judgment call. “And, of
course, if alcohol is involved . . . “
Tom understands residents’ disappointment with the
recession-caused change of concept for that corner at Eleven
Mile and Troy and what he believes will be temporary negative
effects in the neighborhood and the north end of Downtown. But
he firmly believes “A movie theater fits perfectly with a
downtown with plenty of places to have lunch or dinner before
or after a movie.”
When our conversation turned to Arts, Beats & Eats, Hallock is
more accepting than I am. “Of course, there will always be
matters which have to be worked out. But if we have confidence
in the competence of our Administration to expertly consider
such things as parking and police protection – and I have that
confidence – then we are left with what looks like a great
addition to our successful downtown.” Tom suggested thinking of AB&E
as “an extension of our Clay and Glass Festival.”
I grumbled that although I, too, have confidence in our
Administration, I remain concerned about the less-than
transparent rush to approve the festival without any input from
residents. Think how CITCOM repeatedly demands that developers
and entrepreneurs of much smaller projects “check with the
nearby neighborhood.”
I couldn’t resist asking Tom to compare the tone of CITCOM
meetings during his four years (2001-2005) with that of recent
years. He expressed dismay that the unavoidable occasional
flare-ups seem to affect the mood for too long. About his
tenure, he recalled the one meeting during which he publicly
criticized then-mayor Bill Urich about the mayor’s suspected
involvement in creating a controversial video. “The flare-up
went on for about 10 or 15 minutes.”
For the rest of that meeting and thereafter, he recalls,
business was conducted as civilly as before the flare-up. “We
had very few 4-3 votes.”
Speaking of budget, perhaps nothing ever changes, for Hallock
remembers in 2001 making such moves as consolidating departments
and reducing staff by attrition. Talking about budget also
caused Tom and me to agree that it was a wise move to encourage
the previous Director of Finance to retire and to replace him
with Don Johnson, who later became City Manager. We traded
anecdotes about how opaque “explanations” of IOUs and
allocations, however valid technically, had kept the city
commission in the dark about the city’s financial real condition
before Johnson’s arrival.
Hallock thinks it was wise to promote Johnson to city manager
during the current tough economic times, especially since
Johnson has detailed knowledge about the city’s finances.
Our conversation inevitably touched on the role of party
politics in local government. Tom, who describes himself as “a
ticket-splitting former Republican who now leans Conservative,”
acknowledges that there will always be party support for this or
that candidate. He sees no problem “if that support is nominal
and is not intended as a political takeover and training ground.
Elections in Troy are partisan and it costs ridiculous sums of
money to run. Local small government elections should remain
within everyone’s capability, and not end up as a contest over
who has the best connections.”
Broadening the context is the fact that as an employee of the
U.S. Postal Service Hallock is/was restricted against personally
running in partisan elections by the federal Hatch Act. Hallock
states he loathes night-before-the election negative postcard
mailings/fliers as they usually are untrue and do not offer time
for rebuttal.
Although Hallock served only one 4-year term as commissioner,
his impact was such that when he is discussed, many of us think
of his having served longer. That may be because of his earlier
civic service. Currently, he serves as Chairman of the Plan
Commission, but his interests spread widely, and he remains
familiar with everything from the activities of the city’s
several historical panels to operations of the school board.
As customary in these coffee chats, Tom and I – off-the-record –
compared without debating our impressions about present and past
city officials, and of how institutional memories impact
relationships between City Hall and, say, the District Court,
Library, and DDA. I commented about occasional complaints from
Staff when retirees become commissioners and “have too much time
on their hands.” Tom talked briefly about how Semchena’s past
service as city attorney brings detailed knowledge of the inner
workings of city hall to his position as commissioner. One
cohort of VersagiVoice readers have a different perspective,
maintaining, “Chuck knows were the bodies are buried.”
At one point, Tom described his move to Royal Oak in 1983, after
having lived in Ferndale, Highland Park and Oak Park. He
purchased an affordable home on Center Street – “in a nice quiet
neighborhood” -- at a time “when no one could have foreseen the
dynamic destination Royal Oak has become.”
That led to our talking more about downtown. We both admit to a
little pique toward those who never come downtown but complain
that it has become an entertainment destination. “They seem to
be longing for a quiet downtown that no one ever hears about but
where they can come a few times a year to buy dresses.”
We agreed that many of those complaining deserted downtown
retailers when the shopping malls were built. Both of us suspect
that most people who now come downtown to dine and dance and be
entertained are not likely to shop at traditional retailers. And
both of us acknowledge the difficulty of retailer entrepreneurs
being able to establish a destination store in such an
environment.
Tom says the development of I-696 was a major factor in making
“Royal Oak” mean something other than Woodward Avenue. “And city
planners were either smart or lucky to place the original
village, now downtown, south of Eleven Mile in a square. That
makes it work so much better than the tunnel downtowns of
Berkley and Ferndale, which is also bisected by Woodward.”
Other “hot spots” have risen then faded, he says. “Royal Oak may
have ‘peaked’ in your words, but it has leveled off as still the
place to come. How often do we see television reporters choosing
downtown Royal Oak from which to broadcast about metro-wide
events?”
Even after taking recession-caused hits to property values, Tom
offers, “The city has a great quality of life, a low
unemployment rate, an outstanding number of civically active
residents.”
Since he feels that way, it is not coincidental that Tom Hallock
insists that elected and appointed officials – including
volunteers on city panels – should listen respectfully during
Public Comment and Public Hearings – “even when they all say the
same thing, and you’ve heard it all before, or the same
individuals or identifiable groups are speaking.”-- Jan 2010
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