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Readers Say . . . |
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Mark Liss re Warren
DDA
Reader Comment On another issue, "ORANGE BARRELS. Were you aware that for the parade last Saturday, side streets were not only closed at Washington but were also closed at West Street.** I usually drive the area just before the parade to get my blood pressure going. It seems that Kinsey-Garrett had a funeral that morning and they had to redirect traffic from 11 Mile to West and then to the next street south requiring the funeral directors to be posted 2 blocks away in order to get the cars to the funeral home. Again, other cities have their parades on Sundays so as not to disrupt business patrons. -- Gayle Chinn
Condo
owner comments on Historic District Commission ruling All of us frequently must balance a variety of requirements in our daily lives and our jobs. Sergio decided to only address the building code requirements. He now complains that he should not have to address the other two requirements because he has spent a lot of money on the equipment, it meets code and the City has agreed it meets code. However, no one claims the City REQUIRED the specific design and the specific equipment Sergio unilaterally chose to meet his code obligations. Instead, three members of the HDC properly recognized that there is more than one way to skin a cat, and it believes that Sergio could have (and still can) meet the health and safety requirements while still maintaining the historic nature of the building. To date, he simply has chosen not to. We believe that alternatives that properly balance and meet ALL requirements were available to Sergio when he designed his rooftop and they still exist today. All the HDC and Skylofts have asked Sergio to do is to meet ALL of his obligations, not just one. We continue to stand ready to help Sergio design a rooftop that meets ALL of his obligations. -- Jim Vondale . . . 100 West Fifth St #408
Although we are fortunate Sawicki, Knollenberg
and Pappageorge claimed victory,
it's unfortunate we couldn't put a businessman
instead of another politician (lawyer) at the helm of Michigan.
I can only say to the liberals, you were the ones that kept voting Coleman Young back in to office. You voted to re-elect Kwame Kilpatrick to a 2nd term. You're the ones that supported the amendment to make sure the teachers pensions and raises were paid, but "to hell" with the students. -- Name Withheld PRESIDENTS
HOOVER & EISENHOWER DEPORTED MILLIONS OF ILLEGALS SO AMERICANS HAD WORK!
§Also in attendance at the Historical Dinner was not only the Mayor and Commissioners Capello and Ginotti but State Representative Marie Donigan, County Commissioner Dave Woodward and School Board Trustees Kevin McLogan, Gary Briggs (President) and Christine Hartwig. We all were approached, as we always are, by constituents who have questions, comments and words of encouragement. Every time I go to one of these events, and I go to dozens every year and have attended hundreds over the last ten years, I end up with work to do the next day! I enjoy every event I attend. I just thought maybe you missed us. :) -- Marie Donigan: Oct 06 §Thanks again for your continuing coverage of the broad spectrum of "Royal Oak." It is deeply appreciated. -- Tom December: Oct 06 § Reacting to last week's brief item about new challenges to the "hockey stick" argument for global warming, Lori Broesamle writes, "It is not the hockey stick which is broken, it is the hockey pucks that do not value your health, let alone their own!" -- 16 Aug 06 § In a personal farewell message sent because she and her family are returning to England after six years in Royal Oak, LocoMom Belinda Amner makes a final comment on the Whittier Elementary situation: Frank
I have high hopes that the general Royal Oak
public will see the significant long-term, financial, community and city
benefits from maintaining a south-central elementary school... let alone the
benefits to the hundreds of 5-10 year- olds who will be educated within
their community... even if the children do not walk to school daily,
they will know the school is in the middle of all their fellow student
community (in itself being community education!) and a high percentage will
not have their lives compromised by hours of school bus journeys and
remoteness from their school community.
In a separate message to "Folks," Amner provided useful communication data about several civic activities to her fellow activists:
We are relocating back to England after some 6 years here in Royal Oak,
Michigan. Sad to leave so many good things, but happy to be headed back
home. The new email address for us will be familyamner@hotmail.com.
While I always enjoy reviewing your readers' feedback I was a bit disheartened to read that one person thought that there will be a lot of 4 to 3 votes by Royal Oak's City Commission during this year's budget process. While I wish the writer would have attached their name to this opinion I also think that this view might be shared by more than one Royal Oaker. I'm sure at times past Commissions might have seemed more combative and less willing to see the "bigger picture" namely, what is in Royal Oak's best interest for the city and all of it's residents and businesses. While I have only served on the City Commission for a little over four months I am confident that as we go into the budget process and try to work our way through prior deficit spending. You'll see this 43rd Commission stand up to this difficult task with the strength the people of Royal Oak have asked us to use. Their overwhelming mandate in defeating last November's ill-advised property tax increase told those on this Commission what is expected of us. I am confident that this Mayor and this Commission have the will to see this budget process through to a conclusion that will reflect well on the seven of us and make those who showed enough confidence in this Commission, proud of their vote. I believe the writer who forecasted many 4 to 3 votes during this years budget will be pleasantly surprised and will see that this Commission possesses the common sense to do what is fundamentally correct. -- Stephen Miller, Royal Oak City Commissioner
§Frank, I have a possible solution to the 'Pedestrians At Risk' dilemma you posed in VersagiVoice. The answer - a Multi-Purpose and/or Bike Lane, adjacent to the parked cars, in conjunction with back-in angle parking. This could keep the cars further away from the pedestrians. You also asked the question, Would vehicles be endangered with angle-parking? And to unify your house again, the answer is no, not if the angle parking implemented is the back-in variety. -- Sandy Johnson §Sergente Versagi,* I recalled to my weakening memory my old GI insurance policy. ...I carried the maximum offered: $10,000. At my time of discharge I cut it to $5,000, and continued paying annual premiums for many years. Gee!, back in the "Forties" you could buy a house for that amount of cash. Today I received an e-gram that carries the answers to my question. A copy is attached. The "facts" are attributed to Limbaugh. If they are correct...WOW!. -- Phil Smith [Smith attached Rush Limbaugh's comparisons of the millions of dollars being received by families of 9/11 victims to the meager thousands of dollars received by families of military personnel killed in the service of their country. The point is even more contentiously being made currently by conservative writer Ann Coulter who is charged with going too far when she accuses some 9/11 widows of "enjoying" the deaths of their husbands -- monetarily and politically. *Fellow WWII vet Phil likes to practice his Italian (which he speaks better than I] whether corresponding or chatting with me. -- FJV] §I have been following the I-75 widening and the Lincoln Bridge issue with interest. Dealing with the government on road projects is convoluted and frustrating. I remember when 696 was opened and the Mohawk exit was on the plan. No one, outside of the engineers, knew it was coming until it was too late. Remember 696 took almost 30 years to get done. When the layout for 696 was designed, Royal Oak was only a dot on a map. And most of the area around Ten Mile was industrial. Today the area is more and more residential. I applaud the residents of the area for fighting for their rights to protect what is important. A home is everyone's little piece of "quality of life". -- Laura Harrison "Thanks for the tip. Just took the elevator down to Barnes & Noble and got the WSJ (urban convenience at its optimum)". . . . is part of an email exchange with Skylofts Association president Tom December.
1. Start with real problem. This progression applies to Iraq, Social Security (but without success) and just about every Bush initiative since he took office, Richards maintains. Previously, Richards participated in a VersagiVoice coffee conversation. [See] Readers Say On your web site you mention the school district has received the Business Officials Award for 19 years. While this may sound impressive, it really isn't. Very few school districts have the human resources or even apply, due to the paperwork that must be submitted. I have been told the number is very small. Awards, like college degrees, are sometimes not all they are cracked up to be. Sounds good, though. During my first year on the Board, I found PTA had a better business practice than the school district. Receipts were not the norm for reimbursement. A hand-written note, you owe me x, was not accepted in PTA. We adopted a policy requiring documentation. I would assume the district may attempt to dispute the point I make about the way expenses were paid. I refer you to the year the district expense policy was passed when I was on the Board. I believe it was my second year on the Board. Paula Lawson I wrote: Pete
Webster responded: About
the use or not of the Gregorian calendar, Assistant Deputy City Attorney Mark
Liss adds: As
of this century the Old Calendar has “lost” 13 days and will lose one every
couple of centuries or so because it does not track the Solar Year as accurately
as the Gregorian - which “skips” Leap Year days every so often to adjust for
the overcompensation of adding a day every four years.
Does that make sense? Liss provided a link which
tells you more than you'll ever need to know about all this!: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_Calendar Then there is the secularist attempt to adopt BCE and CE, meaning Before the Common Era and Common Era. This or that dictionary, however, confuses the issue by converting BCE to Before the Christian Era.
About the SOS meeting
re Hold Harmless
I'd like to thank all that attended the SOS, Save Our Schools, public information meeting last Wednesday, March 29th, including Frank Versagi and Jennifer Kopsch of the Royal Oak Review. I'd also like to thank the local media for advertising this event as well. This shows the critical role that the local media plays in supporting events that educate and inform the public. I'd also like to thank our invited guests Dr. Thomas Moline and John Schwartz of the Royal Oak School District for attending and participating in this event. This helps to show that even though we may have been on opposite sides of the facility bond, that both sides are willing to maintain relationships. In an attempt to be on the same page, these meetings help to understand how decisions are made and most importantly, to keep an open dialogue. Both speakers did a great job presenting their information. Our group, always capable of asking the tough questions, did just that, and Dr. Thomas Moline and John Schwartz did a fine job answering them, fielding all of the questions from the audience. In all, it was an extremely informative 90 minutes and my only regret is that we could not have several hundred in attendance. -- Mark J. Buszka, President, SOS, Save Our Schools This
& That I think you will see lots of 4-3 voting splits for the next several months, as the commission goes into the budget season. -- Name withheld Your newest posting states that a couple of Royal Oak restaurants currently serve food and alcohol 24 hours a day. This is incorrect. State law prohibits serving alcohol after 2 am, and doesn't allow serving alcohol to start back up to either 6 am or 7 am. The Royal Oak establishments are in compliance with State law. Nearly all, if not all, Plans of Operation in Royal Oak liquor establishments require "last call" at 01:40 am. -- Commissioner Mike Andrzejak. [Re the proposals to purchase Normandy Oaks] While the Committee discussed reducing the number of proposals to six, it is their intent after I get some clarification on those six proposals to give a recommendation to the City Commission that only includes three, maybe four, and then it will be up to the full Commission. -- Planning Director Tim Thwing [Re the proposals to purchase Normandy Oaks] I disagree with you on the Normandy Oaks story. . . . I spent countless hours reviewing the proposals. Yes, money was one item. I also looked at what type of developments these might be. While I am not convinced that selling Normandy Oaks is the best option for Royal Oak right now, if the mood of the majority of my fellow commissioners is to sell it for future development, I want the best type of [neighborhood] development. . . . Last but not least, we looked at the amount of property tax revenue that could be generated for our city's General Fund. As it is my belief that this property is not capped property, the property tax revenue generated would have no restrictions and would have no effect on Royal Oak's Headley, Prop A cap restrictions. -- Commissioner Stephen Miller In response to Laura Harrison's comments in VersagiVoice and The Daily Tribune re "Retailers Struggle", Harrison is quoted as saying, "I haven't heard that anyone is doing well anywhere." Well, Laura, you can't speak for me, as Chinn Jewelry is doing very well considering the economy, the Internet and eBay. Check Internet diamond prices and then come in for a free quote. You will be pleasantly surprised and you can purchase the mounting from us. We will set the Diamond, size the mounting to the correct finger size and give you a free insurance appraisal. In many cases this can be done the same day. Try to receive that kind of service from the internet . . . . . . Lori Broesamale, owner of Mia Maholo states, "If they expect me to beat Wal Mart, they have come to the wrong place." In fact, I would welcome a Wal Mart or Costco to downtown Royal Oak. We specialize in quality watch repair, watch band adjustments, and battery installations. We don't try to compete with the Wal Marts and Costcos of the world. We provide the quality services that they have chosen not to do. -- Gayle Chinn I've followed your conversations with Tom December. I know he would like to quiet the train whistles. Me too! When he approached the DDA, they essentially said they were interested, but that he should find a funding source. That brings me to my request. I don't have Tom's email address. I was wondering if you would forward the Cool Cities website address to him. I'm wondering if his idea might qualify for this funding. The Notice of Intent to apply for funding must be submitted by 3.21.06. I have not heard the DDA or City Commission discuss this. I'm also unaware if the committee formed a couple of years ago still exists, and if so, whether they've met to discuss the 2006 Cool Cities submission . . . . . . If you wouldn't mind doing this, the address is www.coolcities.com. -- Sandy Johnson
Chuck Button praises
Jay Dunstan The citizens of RO need to study and do their homework so they can make informed decisions or contribute to the city's well being. There is no simple solution to the complex situations that our elected officials are facing.
As I mentioned in a recent letter to
the editor, we are now suffering the unintended consequences of tax
reform passed some time ago. That would be the Headlee amendment.
At the time it looked great and it has kept our taxes in check. The
other side of that is the fact that the population demographics have
changed over the years and so have the services that support that
change. One example is our ALS/ambulance service. Every service
has a cost and needs to be supported by revenue that has to come from
the tax payers who want or use the service. Streets are not plowed out
of the goodness of the city's heart; they are plowed because the
citizens of the city want the service. The service has a cost. We as
taxpayers have to provide the funds for the service.
The employees that provide the services we want or need to make the city function require a living wage, health insurance and retirement plans that are to be funded by the taxpayers. These employees are not ripping off the city by receiving these wages and benefits.; they are providing the underpinning that keeps the city running day to day. For those services they, just as any working person, expect to be paid. I have confidence that the City Manager and the city commission will be up to the task of dealing with the problems that face Royal Oak.
The solution may very well be a millage or
tax increase to adjust the playing field to provide the funding for
the services provided.
About the water service IOU. It will
need to be addressed by charging higher water rates to compensate for
the fact that we enjoyed artificially low rates in the past.
By the way I believe that the hospital was called Royal Oak Hospital. Actually my older brother was born there. Former DDA Chairman Tom King III says any millage increase which goes to repay the Water Dept I.O.U. is unfair to most taxpayers. Jay Dunstan comments
Three years ago I was one who believed emotion
would compensate for lack of knowledge. At some point I became more involved in
city matters and was able to grow a better understanding of the issues which
from time to time lately seem to be slowly tearing our city apart.
Unfortunately, as I have learned from a year of close involvement in our
city's budget struggle, there is no single or simple answer to our problems.
Despite what many residents may believe, our current Commissioners and Mayor are
not trying to pull any wool over our eyes. While I may not always agree with
each of their decisions I can say that each of them has the well-being of Royal
Oak foremost in their minds. If they are guilty of anything it is of choosing
the wrong time to serve their city. Local Civic & Political Developments There is a more intense
emotional component in the following extracts from an exchange with a
regular reader, who chooses not to be
identified but whose thoughts are as valid as the VersagiVoice
comments to which he objects.*
VOICE: It is possible for someone who is right to be discourteous. . . . It can only be considered grandstanding to ignore a polite request to forego commenting. READER: I didn't consider it a polite request. I considered it an attempt to thwart the voice of the opponents of the bond by a proponent of the bond in an authoritarian manner. The mayor also cut off Alex in a discourteous manner, when he allows others to go on or asks the commissioners if they would allow Alex to extend his remarks. *One of the advantages of website publishing is that "column inches" can readily and quickly be provided for responsible dialogue. See Why this website? Opposition to Dreams Unlimited Clubhouse not just NIMBY Reader/parent Tom Regan
comments re Savage conversation
At the candidate forum, Mr. Savage mentioned some examples of "fluff:" music and drama (which he stupidly described as "extracurricular"). Savage said he would make these programs "pay to play," which means eliminating them, since there is no practical way to have a music and drama curriculum financed by student fees. Mr. Savage has no idea what he is talking about. Mark Twain famously remarked that he would rather stay quiet and be suspected a fool than speak and remove all doubt. Thank you, Mr. Savage, for removing all doubt. 31 March 2005 A friendly exchange about
"Merry Christmas"
South Washington retailer
Lori Broesamle, of Mia Mahalo, wrote:
To which VersagiVoice
replied:
And Lori Broesamle came back
with:
Readers react
For the rest, readers continue to praise, criticize, suggest new topics, urge me to investigate this or that, express gratitude or irritation, provide background information, ask me to take sides in turf battles -- much of which is accommodated, or not, elsewhere than this website. Owen Perkins on
Fences I am opposed to the Administration’s attempting to interfere with the rights and freedoms of the residents to the use of their property and to be able to provide protection from trespassing, ingress, as well as to keep children and animals within the confines of the yard or for decorative purposes. The current ordinance has worked very well in providing for health and safety restrictions and yet not being overly restrictive. Front, side and rear yard fences have been allowed in the township since Governor Lewis Cass named the area in 1818 and later the township Royal Oak, since the unincorporated Village of Royal Oak in 1836, since the Incorporated Village of Royal Oak in 1891, since the Incorporated City of Royal Oak in 1921 and since the current ordinance in 1991. THERE IS NO NEED TO PUT SUCH RESTRICTIONS, to not allow front yard fences in this community that is approaching 170 years! I don’t think the suggested updates are necessary. The current form of the ordinance works very well and the changes suggested to ameliorate the special concerns of few should not be sufficient to make such drastic changes to the ordinance that will affect many hundreds of residents and potentially all of the current or future residents. I applaud Mr. Winters for his attempt to solve the spite desires of a few, but in my opinion this is most certainly not the way by eliminating front yard fences and doesn’t address the underlying desire of a few. This NEW insertion into the ordinance to prohibit front yard fences is a blatant attempt by the Administration interfering with the rights and freedoms of the residents to the use of their property and to be able to provide protection from trespassing, ingress and property rights as well as to keep children and animals within the confines of the yard. All non-sight obscuring fences meeting height, material and fence definitions and ordinance restrictions should be allowed along any property line. Such new restrictions prevent the property owner the full use of the property and do not cause a detriment to others. I don’t have a front yard fence and all the fences in the rear and side yard were placed there by the neighbors. I respect the need and right of my neighbors to construct them under the current ordinance that I believe is sufficient.
The need for front yard fences is apparent to me by the number presently found as one drives thorough the residential areas. One example is Gardenia Avenue from Campbell Road west to Main Street, where I counted 21 such fences. I could relate other examples as well. The photo of a home on Twelve Mile Road made of cobblestone/fieldstone has a iron fence with fieldstone posts to match the house, is an extremely impressive fence and the proposed ordinance that would prevent front yard fences would not allow such fences on any future sites. This is reprehensible. The portions under section A that are proposed to be deleted should remain such that front yard fences are permitted. I implore the City Commission to take no action on this proposed ordinance to prevent the installation of FRONT YARD FENCES and thus allow in the future such fences to be installed under the current ordinance as it exists today. PROPERTY RIGHTS must continue to be provided such as previous City Commissions have supported! Thank You.
Kevin Sutherland adds a new dimension to the Water Works Building dialogue Frank; I have not spoken out publicly on this subject before now because I have always assumed that the City of Royal Oak would contact me and my fellow neighbors about this subject. But alas, not one official word from anyone even though I live right behind the water works Building and have for over 23 yrs. I find this wrong and insulting. This building is in the middle of a subdivision surrounded on all 4 sides by houses. I guess a few neighbors living right in front of the W.W.Bldg want the building demolished but wouldn't you think that all of the houses surrounding the building should be asked as well? I was even more shocked to hear that someone was proposing to put up a Quonset type structure in its place so the city could store football equipment. In the middle of a neighborhood!!!!!! Are they nuts? I know for a fact that even when the City did have money (4 or 5 years ago) they did nothing to keep the building from deteriorating because they planned to tear it down and they needed a good reason - building beyond repair. Now they have it, or do they? I know I should speak out at a Commission meeting but that is difficult for me because I work for the District Court and even though I could say I am speaking as a citizen, it could be interpreted as using my status to unfairly influence a city decision. I just want to end by saying: CONTACT ALL THE NEIGHBORS SURROUNDING THIS BUILDING, not just the 3 houses in front of it. Actually Frank, the issue is not just this 91 yr old building, it's the whole fenced-in complex. Drive by the Waterworks Bldg. sometime on all 4 sides and see what the citizens behind the building look at every day. When the building is torn down, then those houses in front of the building will be able to see the trash as well. We see blue tarps, huge bleachers, trash barrels piled up, trailers, and anything else they want to throw in that fenced-in area. My issue is simple: Even though we might be more than 300 feet away, it's an open area and all the houses on Magnolia Rd look at it everyday. If the City wants to do something drastic to change the complex, then notify all the houses surrounding the complex so they might have some input in any decisions. Kevin Sutherland Laura Harrison writes
I can remember when we used to say how lucky we were to live in Michigan because of the wealth of jobs. Not anymore! And the small businesses are REALLY feeling it. This is the only state that penalizes small businesses by charging a tax on us. Lansing has got pull its collective heads out of the "sand dunes" and realize we are not the Michigan of the 20th Century. -- 02 July 2005
Laura Harrison, owner of
Ladybug Shoppe and former City Commissioner, comments: As a "mom&pop" retailer, the retail world has changed too. I know I am a destination business and that close to 90% of my customers are repeats. These customers are my bread-and-butter and also my friends. I consider the biggest loss to the rebirth of downtown Royal Oak is the DAYTIME foot traffic we enjoyed in the 90s. That coupled with economic slowdown and changing shopping habits (catalogues & internet) has affected several retailers including malls (ugh!). Downtown Royal Oak has two great events that bring people to the downtown, Clay & Glass and Bloom. But we need more and they need to be retail-driven. Why isn't Bloom held on Washington? Where are the old-fashioned sidewalk sales? Not all events need to be block-busters. Finally, I find communications between the small retailers and the city, the DDA, Main Street Program, etc. extremely limited. Several years ago, it was mentioned that a monthly communication from Main Street was in the works and nothing has occurred. Communication is key. Small retailers are busy just trying to control the minutia of the day to day business. There are two reasons I do not attend the morning Main Street meetings. Not at 8:30am and the topics for discussion. How about a meeting with retailers to share what kind of advertising works in their businesses and get the biggest bang for the buck? I love downtown with all its warts and bumps, but the status quo cannot continue. A very smart local newspaper man once told me, set a goal for what you want the downtown to be and keep your eye on the prize. And bigger is not always better. I truly feel that a lot small independent businesses is key. Thank you again. [Harrison's comments are also part of the Downtown Dialogue.] -- 23 Aug 04 Peggy
Goodwin writes VersagiVoice: Several retailers and Jerry Dettloff have already agreed to participate in a facilitated meeting. This preliminary website dialogue helps identify the issues which that meeting will need to address, possible participants, and provides for quick clarification about rumors. See below. Michael Prevo
writes: 12 July 2004
Erik
Tungate, responds:
I appreciate your sending this to my attention. I would like to clarify a few of the items. I mentioned to
the members at our June meeting that I had accumulated a $500
phone bill for the month of May for calls that I had made on behalf of the
Recruitment Committee. I paid that bill out of my own pocket.
Needless to say, they would be a good
fit for the bank building
because they are extremely interested in community revitalization.
It's the same concept they used in downtown Grand Rapids. The DDA
was asked to approve business cards for the Recruitment Committee
because of the nature of our business. We do interact
directly with potential businesses and are often asked if we
have cards. We believe
that it showcases the professionalism of our members and further markets Royal Oak
to firms across the nation. The members of our committee agreed to
finance it out of our own
pockets as long as it was
approved by the DDA. That
request is still in process and
nothing has been determined.
As for specific personality conflicts on the
Recruitment Committee, we manage
the committee on an objective basis and act on a majority. We are a
professional group that makes decisions
that we hope will benefit Royal Oak and surrounding areas. VersagiVoice: Dedicated volunteers, openly disagreeing with each other about civic issues. That's transparency in government. |
Royal Oak Budget This &
That Sandy Johnson makes case for keeping the DDA About cigarette butts & downtown Use your browser's Find-command to locate comments from those listed below. Tom December Mark Liss Gayle Chinn Jim Vondale Marie Donigan Brendan Becker Lori Broesamle Belinda Amner Stephen Miller Sandy Johnson Phil Smith Laura Harrison Dave Richards Paula Lawson Pete Webster Mark Buszka Alan Kroll Mike Andrzejak Chuck Button Jay Dunstan Tom King Bill Shaw Tom Regan Dale Savage Owen Perkins Kevin Sutherland Peggy Goodwin Michael Prevo Erik Tungate |
