Monday, October 15, 2007

We're back -- sorta, kinda, like'a

We returned from our honeymoon in Italy on Friday (which followed our wedding in July) to find the trees beginning to turn and lawns beginning to sprout campaign signs.

In case you hadn't noticed, we've been quiet lately, and it's election season.

We will be canvassing our neighborhood (Mill Pond), and making lawn signs available to those who wish to support our candidates. If you'd like some lawn signs or would like to help campaign in your neighborhood for any of them -- Mayor Tom McDaniel, Commissioner Scott Moore, School Board member Shelli Weisberg (a Buzz contributing editor) and Historic District and Design Review committees chair Gordon Rinschler -- just and we'll forward it to the candidates.

We'll be talking a little more about the candidates and the issues, and some of what's gone on this summer, in future posts. Don't expect the same old Buzz, though. We're married, we have two more kids, a couple new hobbies, and once this election is past us -- you, the voters, willing, having elected the aforementioned candidates -- we can slip further into retirement.

Stay tuned, and look for Buzz Editor Clinton Baller on the next episode of Comcast 18's Talk of the Town show.

Oh, yes: Please try to make it to the fundraiser for our candidates at Dick O'Dows on Thursday. It'll be a gas.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Meet the candidates and contribute on Oct. 18

A fundraiser has been set for City Commission candidates Tom McDaniel, Scott Moore, Shelli Weisberg and Gordon Rinschler. It is set for Thursday, Oct. 18, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Dick O'Dows on Maple.

The fundraiser is sponsored by Residents for Birmingham, a grassroots organization led by Buzz contributing editor Christopher Longe, a Birmingham architect. For more information, contact Longe at 248-258-6940 or .

Friday, September 21, 2007

Six candidates in race for commission

Six candidates are expected to vie for four seats on the City Commission this November.

Incumbent Mayor Tom McDaniel and Commissioner Scott Moore will seek reelection. Shelli Weisberg, Gordon Rinschler, George Dilgard and Seth Chafetz also have filed petitions stating their intent to seek election to the commission.

Weisberg, a Buzz editor and lobbyist for the Michigan ACLU, has been elected to the Birmingham School Board three times, and has served on the board for 10 years. In 2004, she was appointed to the city's Historic District & Design Review Commission, which last year was split into two boards -- the Historic District Commission and the Design Review Board -- on which she still serves.

Rinschler, an automotive consultant, is a retired Chrysler executive engineer. He is chairman of the Historic District Commission and Design Review Boards, and spearheaded the effort to approve a $9.8 million bond issue to pay for underground parking at Shain Park.

Dilgard, a financial analyst, sits on the city's Planning Board.

Chafetz, a figure skating coach, was ousted from office while serving as mayor in the 2003 election. He was elected to the city's library board in 2005 after the City Commission declined to reappoint him to the city's Parks and Recreation Board.

Booth Park dedication set for Oct. 14

The dedication of Booth Park has been set for Sunday, Oct. 14, at 1:30 p.m. A few improvements to the park will be unveiled, including the addition of bronze plaques to the donor wall. The city will provide refreshments. Come on out and celebrate the new park. For many, it will be a chance to reconnect with fellow workers from the community build.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Triangle plan adopted; east side of Adams excepted

The Birmingham City Commission Monday night adopted the Triangle District Master Plan and enacted a series of ordinances that create an overlay zoning district and give the plan the force of law.

Action on a portion of the plan dealing with land east of Adams was postponed pending further input from residents. The commission directed the Planning Board to hold further hearings -- with direct notice to all property owners between Adams, Eton, Lincoln and Maple -- on long-term plans for Adams Square and the first 120 feet east of Adams, south of Adams Square.

Friday, August 17, 2007

You go, Richard Rollins!

LAW OFFICE
RICHARD C. ROLLINS
30300 NORTHWESTERN HIGHWAY
SUITE 313
FARMINGTON HILLS, MICHIGAN 48334

July 26, 2007

Mr. Clarence P. Cazalot, Jr. President
Speedway SuperAmerica, LLC
Corporate Headquarters
5555 San Felipe Road
Houston, TX 77056-2723

Re: Social Responsibility to the Community

Dear Mr. Cazalot:

I am writing this letter to you on behalf of myself, and other concerned residents of the City of Birmingham with respect to the Speedway location located at 34750 Woodward Ave. I live in Birmingham, Michigan, which is a small, upscale, predominately wealthy, toni community, located outside of Detroit, Michigan. It is the hub of the Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills area where automotive executives and other professionals live. The City of Birmingham continues to upgrade its neighborhoods and business districts with multi-million dollar homes, brand new construction, and beautiful landscaping within the City. It is a City that is proud of its history and architecture.

Sadly, in the middle of all this beauty is a tired, run down, old-fashion, poorly designed, and basically ugly Speedway gas station at 34750 Woodward Ave, Birmingham MI. 48009. The station has excessively bright lighting which is too bright for the area, a rusting canopy over the pumps that allows water to leak onto your customers and it has no landscaping. Next to the station, on ,the North side, is the construction of a new AAA office building. South of the Speedway station is a Porsche dealership, and a British Land Rover dealership. Both of these automobile dealerships are in modern buildings. Further South, is a modern Borders Book Store. These modern buildings only highlight .the dilapidated condition of your Speedway.

The station is an embarrassment to the City and to Speedway. I recently noticed that Speedway has invested the time and money to place television sets on top of each gas pump (with speakers blaring away advertisements), but failed to upgrade the premises to make your station suitable for the neighborhood. The station looks as though it was built 25 years ago and belongs in the ghetto.

On August 7, 2007, the Oakland Hills Country Club (which is close to your Speedway station) will host the PGA Championship Golf Tournament. Also, each year over one million people pass by your gas station during the Woodward Dream Cruise which has become an event that welcomes guests from all over the nation and from around the world. The event features a classic car cruise up and down Woodward Avenue, celebrating automobiles from the past. The cities that celebrate the Woodward Cruise, along with Oakland County and the State of Michigan, spend a significant amount of money each year upgrading the roads and the landscaping along the route in anticipation of the event.

There are new gas stations opening up in the area with beautiful architectural design, featuring granite and stone exteriors, aesthetically pleasing lighting and beautiful landscaping, which compliments the neighborhoods. Other Gas companies have recognized that gas stations can be beautiful and, as a result, profit from the upgrade. I am enclosing photographs of the Birmingham Speedway gas station for your review, as well as photographs from the newer gas stations in the area for you to compare. I believe that you would agree with me that your competitor's stations are far nicer and inviting than the your station.

The purpose of this letter is to request that you inspect this eyesore, and work with the City of Birmingham in rebuilding a beautiful new gas station. Please know that I am not writing on behalf of the City of Birmingham. I would appreciate you being a Good Citizen and have social responsibility in line with your mission statement on your website.

Your anticipated cooperation and prompt attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter in more detail with you at your convenience.

RICHARD C. ROLLINS

cc: Kenneth L. Matheny, Vice President - Investor Relations & Public Affairs
Daniel J. Sullenbarger, Vice President - Corporate Responsibility
Dan Schulte, City of Birmingham, Assistant City Manager
Laura A. Wood, City of Birmingham, Department of Public Services
Donald F. Carney, Jr., Mayor Pro Tern

LifeLock helps protect your identity

This is a bit off topic, but it's my blog, and I'll...

Being in the credit card business, I've always been a bit concerned about identity theft. A couple of years ago, I subscribed to a service called Identity Guard, which for $12.95 a month keeps an eye on the three major credit bureaus for me and sends me alerts via email any time someone checks my credit. The service also gives me the ability to check my own credit reports and scores, and has a lot of useful advice about how to improve your credit.

But I never felt that Identity Guard and similar services went far enough.

I recently came across another service that is more proactive in protecting my identity. Called LifeLock, it automatically places and renews fraud alerts on my files with each of the three credit bureaus. This means that anyone checking my credit is forced to pick up the phone and call me to confirm that I have indeed applied for credit with them. In addition, LifeLock requests that my name be removed from pre-approved credit card and junk mail lists, which are common sources of information for identity thieves. A happy result is that junk mail is dramatically reduced.

You may have seen or heard advertisements or interviews in which LifeLock's CEO, Todd Davis, gives out his Social Security number to demonstrate his confidence in the system.

I'm not going to give out my Social Security number, but I do recommend the service, and I have obtained a promotional code that friends and acquaintances can use to get a 10% discount off the annual or monthly fees for the service. With the code, you will pay either $99 per year, or $9 per month, per adult, and I'll make a couple of bucks that will go toward Buzz expenses. I think it's well worth the protection it affords. Ask anybody who's been a victim of identity theft.

The service comes with a guarantee, by the way. LifeLock says, "If your identity is misused while you are our client, we'll spend up to $1 million to make it right."

To learn more or sign up for the service, visit the http://www.lifelock.com/default.aspx?promocode=AVID )" title="LifeLock website">LifeLock website. The promotional code is "AVID," which is the name of my company.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Mr. Markus loves his vehicles

Meter maid's SmartCar is latest addition to city fleet, the Birmingham Eccentric reports.

The 21st Century parking meter

A city obsessed with parking should not miss the to remind you to feed it.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

From the Birmingham Eccentric

Some worthwhile reading from our friends on East Maple:

Belly dancing has a long, proud history

Cafe Via snares new bistro license

Assessment case closed - or is it?

Deja Vu: When parking meters seemed un-American

From the Wall Street Journal
By Cynthia Crossen

July 30, 2007; Page B1

Parking on city streets today is a cinch compared with the 1930s, when free, unlimited parking was considered every American's constitutional right.

Just as their grandparents had tied their horses to the general store's rail, American drivers expected handy curb space for their cars when they went to town. By the 1930s, however, there were too many cars and too few curbs.

The result was chaos. Employees of downtown businesses hogged spaces for whole days; some merchants deliberately parked their cars in front of competitors' stores. Other drivers circled the narrow streets waiting for a rare free space. Trucks loading or unloading double-parked. In most cities, there were no marks on curbs to delineate spaces. In the few timed spaces, enforcement by chalking the tires was easy to beat. And the art of parallel parking was in its infancy.

"None of our cities were designed for motor traffic, and only in the West were they young enough when the automobile arrived en masse to adapt themselves to the new traffic medium," wrote Arthur Pound in the Atlantic Monthly magazine in 1938.

For drivers, downtown bottlenecks were maddening, but for retail businesses that depended on customer turnover, they were ruinous. Some large cities tried banning all parking on a few major thoroughfares, but many shoppers wouldn't walk even a few blocks from their car to a store. They took their business to the periphery of the city.

In 1932, the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce decided it had to do something about the city's downtown parking problem. A local newspaper editor, Carl Magee, was charged with finding a solution. Mr. Magee invented the park-o-meter.

The nation's first parking meters -- crude, single-coin machines that charged a nickel an hour -- were installed in Oklahoma City in July 1935. Public opinion ranged from mockery to indignation. One day, two couples set up a folding table and four chairs in a parking space, deposited a nickel in the meter and played a rubber of bridge.

But many drivers believed that charging for parking was downright un-American. The "newfangled nuisances," "damn foolish contraptions" or "gypometers," opponents said, illegally infringed on the individual's right to free use of the public streets. They amounted to a tax on automobiles, depriving owners of their property without due process.

"This is just a combination of an alarm clock and a slot machine which is being used for further socking the motorist, who is already paying enough in taxes," argued William Gottlieb of the Automobile Club of New York.

There was little legal precedent for cities trying to tax parking, although in 1812, an English coachman was indicted for allowing his carriages to remain an unreasonable amount of time in a public street. "Every unauthorized obstruction of a highway to the annoyance of the King's subjects is a nuisance," the court ruled. "The King's Highway is not to be used as a stable yard."

In Oklahoma City, a local lawyer quickly filed a legal challenge to the meters and obtained a temporary restraining order. Eventually, Oklahoma courts ruled the meters legal, but in 1937, the Alabama Supreme Court declared Birmingham's parking meters to be an unauthorized exercise of the city's taxing power, and ordered them removed. Other state courts allowed parking meters, but only if their primary purpose was to regulate traffic, not to raise revenue, a distinction that quickly faded in the lean days of the Depression.

Mr. Magee, already a wealthy man before his invention, was an unlikely parking consultant. As a crusading newspaper editor and lawyer in New Mexico in the 1920s, he had been instrumental in exposing the Teapot Dome oil scandal, which resulted in Albert B. Fall, then secretary of the interior, going to jail. Mr. Magee also did a series of reports on corruption in New Mexico's courts, leading to his arrest and conviction for libel; he was later pardoned by the governor.

Subsequently, one of the New Mexico judges Mr. Magee had targeted in his series ran into him in a Las Vegas hotel and knocked him down. Mr. Magee pulled out a revolver and fired at the judge, killing a bystander instead. He was tried and acquitted of manslaughter, but soon after left New Mexico for Oklahoma, where he started a weekly newspaper.

Mr. Magee's invention spread fast. By the early 1940s, there were more than 140,000 parking meters operating in the U.S. Retailers liked the regular turnover of parking spaces, and most drivers resigned themselves to a practical necessity. A few resentful drivers tried to "beat" the meter, inserting an inventive range of slugs -- trolley tokens, washers, plastic discs used in board games, foreign coins, paper clips, amusement park ride tokens. In Providence, R.I., police found a 14-carat gold wedding ring. Heavy blows to the head of the meter could also sometimes buy time.

In San Antonio, a local newspaper reported in 1936 that city officials were allowing parking meters for horses: "Mr. John Farmer can ride up in some mode of conveyance drawn by horse, wrap the reins around the meter, insert his nickel and ankle off to transact his business."

Salvatore's, Elie's jump final hurdle

The City Commission Monday night gave final approval to bistro liquor licenses for Salvatore Scallopini and Elie's. The restaurants' lawyer said they would be serving liquor by the end of the year.

Elie's was permitted to include belly dancing after a bid by Commissioner Don Carney failed to derail its application.

"By any definition, 'low-key entertainment' includes belly dancing," said Commissioner Scott Moore, who supported allowing the traditional Middle Eastern folk dance.

The commission faced three votes on Elie's. On the vote that included entertainment, Moore was joined by Mayor Tom McDaniel and commissioners Julie Plotnik and Dianne McKeon. Carney was joined in opposition by commissioners Rackeline Hoff and Stuart Sherman. The other two votes were unanimous in favor of Elie's.

Carney said entertainment was not part of his vision for bistros. Hoff said she needed a definition of "low-key" before she would approve the application. Sherman said he was "looking for guidance" on how to define "low-key entertainment."

Both bistros will include outdoor dining. Salvatore Scallopini will modify its facade to include a new service entry on Harmon. It will add two outdoor cafe's -- one on a deck over Harmon, the other on the sidewalk facing N. Old Woodward -- and a refreshment kiosk. Elie's will add a garage door-like facade that will join inside with out.

Three other bistro applications -- for Cosi, Papa Joe's and Cafe Via -- have gained Planning Board approval and await final OK of the commission.

Friday, August 03, 2007

More good reading on good design

Our friend, Tony May, offers up the following:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Whitney Gould on good design and why we should care about it.

The UKs' Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) on the Value of Good Design: How Buildings and Spaces Create Economic and Social Value.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Must reading for commission, other advocates of public development

Our friend, Roger Gienapp, writes:

This is an article about how good decisions are made and is applicable to some of the decisions made by our commission in recent months. The simple list of "What placemaking is and isn't," if applied to Barnum, Shain Park and a few others, leaves me wondering if we are on the right path.

Project for Public Spaces: What is Placemaking?

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Commission faces hard work on Shain Park

Ain't email great?

Subject : Shain decisions
Date : Thu, 26 Jul 2007 18:50:00 -0400
From : Clinton Baller [cmballer@visa-master.com]
To : Tom Markus [Tmarkus@ci.birmingham.mi.us]
Cc : [cjlongeaia@ameritech.net]

Tom,

The city faces some important decisions on the design of Shain Park. Among them:

* Whether the bandstand should be permanent or temporary.
* If permanent, how big will it be, and will it be necessary to build a 14-foot wall to obstruct sound?
* Will restrooms be included in the design?
* What will the fountain look like? How will it ultimately be designed?
* Where will exhaust fans go, and how loud will they be?
* Will the decision on placement of the ramp be reconsidered, and if so, will any sort of pedestrian study be undertaken or taken into account?
* Will Merrill Street remain open a portion of the time, or will it be permanently closed.
* Will a skating rink or other wintertime activity be included?
* What will come of the "parent play area" that is proposed?

We are curious about how these issues will be resolved. The concept design submitted by Albert Kahn is a good start, but we are nearing the point at which the designers at Kahn who put pencil to paper will require that major decisions be made, and will need significant day-to-day input.

We believe good design results from the synergy between designer and client, and that both must be highly skilled. The role and importance of the client cannot be underestimated.

As members of the public with a keen interest in the Shain design, we are eager to meet the Kahn design team, curious about how the major decisions will be made, curious about how the design process will unfold, and hopeful that those who ultimately represent Birmingham bring the necessary skills to their role.

Clint Baller
Chris Longe


Subject : Re: Shain decisions
Date : Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:02:00 -0400
From : "Tom Markus" [Tmarkus@ci.birmingham.mi.us]
To : Clinton Baller [cmballer@visa-master.com]
Cc : Dianne McKeon [DJMcKeon@aol.com]; tim currier [tcurrier@beierhowlett.com]; Bob Fox [Bfox@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Bruce Johnson [Bjohnson@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Bill McElhone [BMcElhone@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Christian Wuerth [Cwuerth@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Dennis Dembiec [Ddembiec@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Dan Schulte [Dschulte@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Jana Ecker [Jecker@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; John Heiney [Jheiney@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Janet Laing [Jlaing@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Judy Rumps [jrumps@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Joe Valentine [Jvalentine@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Lauren Wood [Lwood@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Mark Gerber [Mgerber@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Nancy Weiss [Nweiss@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Richard Patterson [Rpatterson@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Sharon Ostin [Sostin@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Tim Wangler [twangler@ci.birmingham.mi.us]; Tom McDaniel [mcdaniel_tom@hotmail.com]; Rackeline Hoff [rackyhoff@hotmail.com]; Scott Moore [sdm984@hotmail.com]; Don Carney [doncarney@sbcglobal.net]; Scott Moore [sdm984@sbcglobal.net]; stuart sherman [stuart.sherman@sbcglobal.net]; Don Carney [doncarney@unalink.com]; Julie Plotnik [julie@victoryhomeloans.com]

Generally, I would say all of your questions should receive additional attention and resolution by the commission prior to going out to bid. Some of the items may be bid as alternates or we may even consider phasing in order to spread the costs so that the economic impact of these issues can be more fully understood before we totally commit to undertaking some of these items.

1. Bandstand could be bid either way so we know the economic impact. Additionally, we should probably plan it either way so we can make an informed decision based on cost, aesthetics, functionality, etc.

2. Same as one. Based on the current level of use it would seem we could get by with something less permanent but we should design for a temporary facility as an alternate. Some may argue that if you build they will come, and others will say maybe we don't want more activity. Again some policy type issues which will require resolution by the commission.

3. Restrooms should be included as a design alternative so we can at least evaluate the cost. I, for one, believe this item can be handled at least for events with portable facilities or the use of available public facilities such as the city hall or library without additional capital cost, but added operation/maintenance cost due to extended hours. I don't think we need to build them at this time. Again this matter should be discussed by the commission when this matter returns to them for direction.

4. The architects will need to provide designs for the fountain, and the commission will need to make a decision so as to include in the bid document. As this is a public process, you should have plenty of time to express your personal views.

5. As you know, the location of the fans may be determined based on other design criteria, which should be transparent, and the sound can be spec'd so you should know from the design spec what the sound will be.

6. The location of the ramp is a commission decision. It is up to the commission to determine if they will revisit this issue. The police department is looking into the possibility of a pedestrian study. So far, I understand ped studies are not very common as to methodology or practice, but they are checking to see what if anything can be done.

7. Again a commission decision based on the multiple opinions they will likely receive from you and the hundreds of other interested parties who will express their views.

8. Skating could be included as an alternate, and if considered may be more conducive to a phased program likely due to cost concerns. Just another commission determination.

9. The parent play area is subject to the same review by the commission as all other areas and will be included, not included or modified based on a myriad of commission determinations prior to bid and maybe after depending on cost considerations.

Due to the noticing problem the plan and historic review boards have reheard this matter and will be forwarding their recommendations to the commission, which will then rehear the Shain Park issue, at which time you can express your views and opinions prior to the commission taking any further action. I know you are both concerned about design as well as a myriad of other variables that go into decisions as complex as this one, including cost, functionality, safety, impact on the citizens, residents and businesses, etc. Ultimately our elected representatives -- the commission -- has the responsibility to decide what is in the best interest of the whole community. Our commission will make those determinations as soon as they are comfortable with the amount of information, the public input and their own reconciliation process with what they think is the right decision.