Friday, June 29, 2007

Residents question underground Shain parking

By John McTaggart

It may be time to rethink the underground parking concept for Shain Park, if the opinions of about a dozen Birmingham residents in the park one recent afternoon are any indication.

Design work for the project has been delayed while the city holds two more unanticipated hearings on it; original hearings before the Planning Board and Historic District Commission were improperly noticed.

The city is using the time to look into conducting a pedestrian study of the area, and to explore additional funding sources for the project, which is currently nearly $1 million over budget.

The Buzz used the time to interview some residents about the project.

Most of those interviewed thought a revamped park would be a valuable asset to Birmingham, and most, when shown preliminary drawings by designers Albert Kahn Associates, liked the concept and thought a $3 million price tag was reasonable.

But agreement with city leaders broke down when it came to the $10 million-plus parking structure. The structure was ordered after City Commissioners decided that an enlarged park that consumed the surface parking lot across from the Community House could not result in any significant loss of parking spaces.

Voters last year approved a $9.8 million bond issue after promoters told them the garage was necessary to an improved park, and that the cost would be covered by the parking system, not a tax increase.

The city is now considering an increase in parking fees to cover not only the cost of the bond issue, but current operating costs.

I would just like to know what they’re thinking,” Davison Brantley, a 35-year Birmingham resident, said. “This garage is a waste of money and time, I think. Get with the program.”

Sandy Patrick, 34, brings her children to the park nearly every day during the spring and summer, and said she would like to see the $10 million put to better use.

“I just don’t see the point in that kind of expenditure, especially with times like they are. If there is any other way for them to spend that money, I say put it on the park surface. Make the park a $5 million park if you want to spend it so badly. That garage doesn’t do me, and the rest of Birmingham, any good.” Patrick said.

“I believe it’s a case of the eyes being bigger than the stomach,” said Jon Rinke. “From what I can tell, they’re just in too deep right now to make any changes. That’s too bad, because they were elected to avoid situations like this.”

“The park design looks beautiful, and that’s all I care about – the park itself,” said Don Meisner. “Redo the park, leave the parking like it is, maybe spruce it up some, but let people use the garages we already have. They’re empty all the time anyhow. This is supposed to be a walkable city, yet you want to build a millions-of-dollars garage directly under the park. Where’s the common-sense factor?”

Several city parking structures, notably the ones on Pierce and Peabody, are in fact heavily used. But the Chester St. garage behind the library, which is within the district of Shain Park, is largely empty, and the city has acknowledged that there is no need for extra parking within that district. The roughly 150 spaces that currently exist across from Shain Park would be replaced by more than 200 spaces in the two-level underground garage.

“I feel it’s unnecessary,” Meisner said. “It’s unnecessary and over-the-top, even for this town.”

“When you spend other people’s money it’s easy to spend it foolishly,” Uptichi Crafosi said. “When I spend any amount of money, I try to get great value. I don’t think the city officials follow that philosophy at all. Perhaps it’s more about this commission leaving a legacy. I don’t know.”

“There’s an old boxing saying that a good manager knows when to throw in the towel,” Robert Mendez Sr. said. “It’s time to throw the towel in on this underground monster and get a better idea. It’s just too much for what we get out of it.”

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Farmers Market opens Sunday

The Birmingham Farmers Market kicks off its 2007 season Sunday in the parking lot across from Salvatore Scallopini on N. Old Woodward.

The market feature more than 40 vendors offering a variety of regionally grown produce, flowers and plants. Patrons can expect to see more organic products this season, as well as more health and beauty items than in any of the past five seasons.

Birmingham food vendors will set up specialty food stands. A kid’s craft area will also be available.

Principal Shopping District officials says that there is plenty of parking during road construction south of the market along Old Woodward, and west on Harmon and Vinewood.

The market offers package pickup.

Hours are 9 a.m.-2 pm. Sundays from July 1 to Oct. 21. For more information, call the PSD at 248-433-3550.

Plan Board gives thumbs down to Grace parking lot

By John McTaggart

Grace Baptist Church supporters jammed City Hall Wednesday night hoping to persuade the Planning Board to approve a church plan to double the size of its parking lot, but most of them left disappointed.

After a hearing that lasted nearly 90 minutes, the board voted 4-3 to recommend that the City Commission deny the church’s application for a special land use permit.

The expansion would require the demolition of three single-family homes owned by the church and located on Edgewood. Neighbors raised aesthetic and safety concerns.

“A stone-cold looking parking lot I totally disapprove of,” said Cedar Drive resident Jill Forsyth.

“I drove around there on a Sunday between 11:45 am and 1 p.m., supposedly the busiest time, and saw ample parking around the church.” board member Mark Nickita said. “I think this is a perfect example of how shared parking would work.”

Nickita lives within a few blocks of the church.

The city’s planning staff recommended denial of the request, saying the church should further explore shared parking with the neighboring YMCA and St. James Park, an option the church says it has already looked into.

“What works in concept doesn’t always translate into reality well,” Grace Baptist Church Pastror Dr. Charles Whitfield said.

The issue wasn’t new; a clerical error in noticing nearby residents for a May 23 hearing brought the issue back to the board’s agenda.

The City Commission has the final say on the proposal, and is expected to hear the issue Aug. 20.

Plan Board gives nod to Elie's, Salvatore Scallopini

Elie’s and Salvatore Scallopini were one step closer to serving liquor after the Birmingham Planning Board Wednesday night approved the restaurants’ site plan and special land use permit applications.

Plans for outdoor cafes dominated the discussions.

The board postponed action on an application from Cosi because the restaurant proposed taking six metered parking spaces on N. Old Woodward for a 744-square-foot summer dining deck. It asked the restaurant to go back to the drawing board and resubmit a plan that takes fewer parking spaces.

The board approved a single outdoor café at Elie’s, and two at Salvatore Scallopini’s – one on Harmon facing Booth Park and a second on N. Old Woodward – designed by Ron Rea and Roman Bonislawski of Ron & Roman Design, of Birmingham.

It also approved belly dancing as low-key entertainment for Elie’s. Neither Salvatore Scallopine nor Cosi said they would provide entertainment.

Elie’s proposed an eight-seat bar with two additional seats at a bar-height table. Salvatore Scallopini and Cosi both proposed four-seat bars.

The City Commission is expected to consider the applications in late July or early August.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Eurasian Chen Chow Brasserie to replace Pampas

Chen Chow Brasserie -- featuring Eurasian cuisine, a sushi bar and a small dance floor -- will replace Pampas Churrascaria at 260 N. Old Woodward in early September, its owners told the Birmingham City Commission Monday night.

By a 4-1 vote (Commissioners Rackeline Hoff and Stuart Sherman were absent), the commission approved the restaurant's liquor license transfer subject to a contract governing a dance permit. The owners also operate Melange Bistro Wine Bar in Ann Arbor.

Commissioner Donald Carney opposed the transfer, saying he was "uncomfortable" with the dance permit and would prefer to approve the restaurant and wait a year before approving a dance permit.

Click here to see the restaurant's written presentation to the commission, which included a menu.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Elie's wants belly dancing as bistro's low-key entertainment

By John McTaggart

Elie's Mediterranean Cuisine will ask the Planning Board Wednesday to approve belly dancing as a form of low-key entertainment as part of the restaurant's application for a bistro license.

Elie's is one of three downtown Birmingham restaurants that will be considered for bistro licenses Wednesday night. The city's planning staff has recommended postponing decisions on Elie's and Salvatore Scallopini, and has recommended conditional approval for Cosi.

All of the applications must eventually pass muster with the City Commission. The commission is willing to consider up to six bistro applications this year from existing restaurants. The applications from Elie's and Salvatore Scallopini are recommended for postponement in part because their proposals for outdoor cafes, which are required by the ordinance, don't meet criteria set by the city.

The bistro ordinance allows applicants to be approved for "low-key entertainment," but does not define "low-key."

Elie’s owner Elie Mondalek believes belly dancing, which has a rich cultural history, fits the bill.

“We used to do it here,” Mondalek said. “So it’s nothing new to us, really. It’s very low key, and certainly nothing way out there.”

Detroit's Greektown was for years the home of two popular belly dancing clubs, Mykonos and the Bouzouki Lounge. Mykonos is closed, and the Bouzouki has changed its entertainment format.

Belly dancing at Mediterranean restaurants is popular all over the country, according to Mezze Café & Cabaret manager Jeremy Padilla.

Mezze, a popular Grand Rapids restaurant, features weekly belly dancing.

“It adds so much culture and so much fun to the dining experience,” Padilla said. “We’ve been doing it for quite some time now, and it’s really been a wonderful thing for us. It’s very tasteful, we have families with smaller children come in for the belly dancing show, and it’s something I would strongly recommend. It really exposes people to a different culture and enhances the dining experience greatly.”

“There is nothing sleazy about it, nothing without taste or class,” Mondalek said. “I would not have anything like that at Elie’s. People on the board should know that. I believe it will make dining here more enjoyable, more fun, and that, in my opinion, is good for the city and for Elie’s.”

Click here for a National Geographic video on belly dancing.

Wednesday’s Planning Board meeting is at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Barnum discussion posted on city website

Governance at its worst, the City Commission discussion that resulted in the vote to evict Beaumont from Barnum School can be viewed in the archive of commission meetings posted on the city's website.

Click here to visit the archive. Then click on the June 11, 2007, link.

The discussion begins 1:50:05 into the meeting, after a brief blackout in the video. Click and drag the slider to skip ahead to the segment.

Monday, June 18, 2007

And now for something completely different

Character of town and its leadership are casualties in Barnum decision

By John McTaggart

Before joining the Buzz, I would come to town occasionally and walk the downtown streets, make my way through some of the tree-lined neighborhoods and daydream about living in this or that home. I believed that an address in Birmingham would signal my arrival, let people know of my success, and give me a town I could call home and be proud of.

There are few towns that inspire these kind of thoughts. Birmingham is one of them.

Truth is, I still feel that way.

However, before long, a three-ton wrecking ball will demolish Barnum School and extinguish a part of Birmingham history. Down will come the walls and windows, nearly 100 years old, and down will come a piece of the character that makes this town what it is.

In the name of progress, this property, with the addition of some grass seed and a few trees, will soon be transformed into a community park, complete with ball diamonds, soccer fields and a playground. In the name of progress, the school will soon be forgotten, as will the pleas of those who are so passionate about preserving at least the original portion of the school.

In St. Clair Shores, where I live now, there are no fewer than seven community parks within three miles of my home. In the town to my west, there are five, beyond that, dozens more, and here in Birmingham, there are a slew of beautifully kept community parks, including the western portion of the Barnum property itself.

There are, however, very few Barnum Schools.

What many are missing here is the fact that this old building is one of the few remaining links between Birmingham today – vibrant, bustling, affluent and thriving – and Birmingham yesterday – a quaint, blossoming village, inviting and friendly.

The City Commission, along with the current Ad Hoc Design Committee, seems quite firm on their decision to demolish the building, even going so far as to speed up the process by six months or so. Having sat through several Ad Hoc Design Committee meetings, it’s obvious that this issue was decided long before it was ever up for discussion.

This is, I’m afraid, the seedy side of local politics.

Backdoor dealings and easily influenced boards, commissions and committees are commonplace in city politics. Far too often, the loudest opinion is the one that gets recognized, not necessarily the most practical or best one for the community.

In this case, it’s particularly true. A persistent, persuasive and vocal group has taken the Barnum issue hostage, and the rest of the town is forced to pay the ransom.

True, it is expensive to maintain, to renovate, to refurbish and to rejuvenate, but the costs are small given the value of a grandfather telling stories to his grandchildren of the days he spent within those four walls, days when the town wasn’t so urbanized. Even Commissioner Scott Moore and Mayor Tom McDaniel elicited a chuckle from the crowd at the commission’s last meeting when they spoke about the memories they had of attending Barnum School.

By tearing this building down, you essentially fade these stories, and countless others like it, away.

It really isn’t so much about saving the school as it is about making the best decision. Perhaps City Manager Tom Markus is right, that selling a portion of the property makes more sense. Let those funds make the remaining property at Barnum even more beneficial to the community. Perhaps turning the original school into “Barnum Pavilion,” as the Rea/Peterhans plan suggested, is the best option.

Either way, the frightening part of this whole episode is the gullibility and outright arrogance of many on the City Commission. An integral part of leadership is the ability to make decisions that benefit those you lead, even if it goes against the will of those who shout the loudest.

When I walk down the streets of Birmingham today, I still daydream, still pick out homes here and there I would love to live in, and still dream of calling this town home. However, when leaders make shortsighted decisions, allow themselves easily influenced, and fall prey to power-hungry political factions around town, it sours my view.

The Birmingham I hope to live in is closer to Mayberry than Metropolis. Sometimes, the leaders of this community forget this.

Birmingham is about strong character, in old buildings like Barnum School and in its leaders. This is what draws people in, prompts young people to dream of a day they can call this town home. With the decision of the City Commission last Monday evening, essentially approving the demolition of the school with little or no due diligence, this town lost a bit of both.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Beaumont eviction is reckless and irresponsible

By Clinton Baller, Shelli Weisberg and Christopher Longe

Whether you are for or against the demolition of Barnum School, you should be appalled by the behavior of our City Commission Monday night.

In an astounding and unforgivable display of negligence and incompetence, a majority of commissioners succumbed to political pressure from a small group of neighborhood residents and arrogantly ordered the early eviction of Beaumont Hospital from the building. (See story below.) They failed to perform even a minimal amount of due diligence, and ignored the advice of City Manager Tom Markus and of Commissioner Rackeline Hoff, their own appointee to the Barnum Ad Hoc Design Committee, to reject the committee's recommendation to evict.

They utterly abdicated the fiduciary reponsibility they accepted when they were elected to office.

It's no way to run a city.

Beaumont Hospital pays all maintenance costs currently associated with the building. Upon eviction, the city will either have to cover those costs (estimated at $300,000 to $400,000 per year) or demolish the building. Demolition was the clear choice Monday night. Yet the commission has no idea how much it will cost, how long it will take or what effect it will have on the neighborhood -- and did not bother to ask.

The city has received an informal quote from a contractor who pegged the cost at around $450,000, not including removal of hazardous materials.The Buzz has received an informal estimate that pegged it at $700,000, not including remediation. The commission neither asked for nor received any reports on the demolition process.

The commission did not ask if the building contains asbestos, lead-based paint or any other environmental hazards. Had it asked, it would have found that the second Barnum ad hoc committee considered asbestos removal a "critical open issue," and that an environmental assessment in 2002, while concluding there was no imminent threat of the release of hazardous materials, was inconclusive about hazards that might be uncovered or released in a demolition. The use of asbestos and lead-based paint was common for most of the history of the Barnum building. The commission has no idea how much it will cost to investigate or remove hazards, and didn't ask.

The commission's concern for the finances of the project Monday night was limited to setting a phony cap on bond fund expenditures of $1.5 million for demolition and park development combined, which several commissioners indicated they would lift if necessary.

The Buzz may have performed more due diligence on Barnum than the commission itself. A contractor we asked to estimate the cost of demolition, EDP Demolition president Greg Ogden, pegged it at $700,000, not including environmental remediation. Other estimates obtained by the Buzz pegged the overall cost of demolition and modest park development at between $1.8 million and $2.7 million. Furthermore, the Buzz recently contacted both the Birmingham Area Senior Citizens Coordinating Council and Beaumont Hospital to gauge their interest in Barnum. Both said they had not been asked by the city, but were interested, and BASCC said as much in a letter to the city. The majority of commissioners expressed no interest whatsoever in discussing the matter with either organization.

Unfortunately, due diligence by a community website is no replacement for due diligence by city fathers.

This criticism is not sour grapes. Many believe we are opposed to demolishing the school, and opposed to an expanded park. We are not. We are opposed to bad management, and don't want to see what should be a methodical and responsible process hijacked. Too many decisions on Barnum have been deliberated and decided in private, without public vetting. That may be why so little questioning occurred at Monday night's session.

In January, the commission rejected the same proposal for eviction and demolition that it faced Monday night and, spurred by Hoff and Commissioner Julie Plotnik, reasonably and intelligently decided instead to develop a plan for the park and obtain cost estimates first. In February, the commission appointed the Barnum Ad Hoc Design Committee to assist the city in hiring a park designer. It stacked the committee with residents who favor quick demolition and appear to care little about due diligence. Hoff was appointed the commission's liaison.

During the intervening four months, committee Chairman Jeffrey Van Dorn spent far more time lobbying commissioners and others in favor of early eviction and demolition than he did on helping to hire a designer or performing other due diligence. Before any design effort was begun, Van Dorn was irresponsibly telling commissioners and other influential citizens about his preconceived plan -- backed by two other members of his five-member committee, Carroll DeWeese and William Duffy -- and misrepresenting to others the opinions of those with whom he spoke, making it sound as if support for his idea was more widespread than it was. As Chairman of the Presidents Council of Homeowner's Associations, Van Dorn has been in the company of those for whom misrepresentation is routine.

At committee meetings, Hoff and city staffer Lauren Wood repeatedly tried to rein in the committee without success. Though demolition of the building appeared to be the primary goal of the committee, virtually no discussion of the logisitics of such an undertaking occurred.

Van Dorn may have legitimately returned to the commission to ask whether the park is supposed to be designed around a building, or not. Having already decided that no sale of any part of Barnum should occur, and having already decided to rezone the property as public, the commission never actually decided to tear down the building. The last time they deliberated, in January, they left open the option of finding a use for part of the building. And on Monday night, though demolition was clearly the goal, the commission specifically and curiously rejected adding any mention of demolition to its resolution.

Commissioners showed little interest Monday night in the committee's work, or in what a Barnum Park would or should eventually look like. No one -- not a commissioner or committee member -- could or would say what has changed since January to necessitate bringing the question back. Hoff and Plotnik, among the very few involved in the process who maintained a semblance of integrity, continued to urge planning Monday night, but were voted down by a reckless and apparently pandering majority composed of Mayor Tom McDaniel and commissioners Don Carney, Scott Moore, Dianne McKeon and Stuart Sherman.

Inaccurate and unbelievable comments and misrepresentations were accepted without challenge.

Van Dorn made the false assertion that all four Barnum committees favored tearing down the building. He wasn't challenged or corrected -- perhaps because his rewrite of history fits with his and the majority's goal. The truth is that two of the committees concluded the building was a valuable asset worthy of public or private use. Van Dorn also asserted, without basis or challenge, that 9 out of 10 Birmingham residents favor the demolition. He repeatedly made rhetorical reference to the "many years" residents have been "waiting for a park," without regard to the fact that a park already exists on the property, and without regard for a process that, up until just a year ago, considered putting the building to use.

Later in the discussion, a neighborhood resident asserted that early demolition was necessary to eliminate drug dealing, gun play, bonfires and marijuana smoking at the site. The incredible assertion, news even to some commissioners, went unquestioned. Had they asked, they would have found that in May, several youths were found playing with paint ball guns on the property, which resulted arrests and minor damage, and that in June, a single youth was arrested for marijuana possession.

Van Dorn sent an email to Markus Tuesday morning that was either delusional or disingenuous: "thanx for youre help on barnum at the city commission meeting last nite," he wrote.

"I think your thanks are misplaced. ... I have steadfastly been opposed to the demolition," Markus replied.

Van Dorn went on: "i felt like the very few critics of our plan last nite were saying 'you cannot start to dig the hole for your new house until youve picked out the wall paper for the kids bedroom'. im glad the commission saw thru this suggestion."

Actually, the critics are saying, "You should not start to dig the hole for your new house until you have a blueprint for the foundation and some idea of what it's all going to cost." Simple sound management.

The commission not only allowed neighborhood residents to do an end run around the city administration and dictate policy, it allowed them to perform an interesting turnabout on the commission itself. The commission's earlier decisions on Barnum have been contingent on promises of fundraising by the neighborhood group. Monday night, the neighborhood group made fundraising contingent on demolition. No one questioned how the fundraising would proceed, or what else might be required to mount a campaign. If Booth Park fundraising is any lesson, not only a plan for the park, but a plan for recognition, is necessary before a campaign can succeed. Demolition won't be a factor.

Commissioners didn't even question logistics related to the goal of tearing down the school and planting grass and trees.

Van Dorn asserted that demolition in the summer of 2008 would allow planting in the fall of 2008 and use of the park by the spring of 2009. His unrealistic presumptions about timing, on which the commission's decision appeared to be heavily based, were accepted without question.

The earliest Beaumont could be evicted would be July of 2008, leaving little time before fall for removal of hazardous materials, preparation of the building, demolition, backfill and site restoration. The neighbors and their supporters on the commission who so sorely insist on a quick tear-down neither asked nor told about the possible effects of a massive and prolonged summertime demolition on other neighbors who live and breath adjacent to the building.

Had they asked, city officials would have told them the committee hadn't considered logistics, that significant due diligence is necessary, and that a summertime demolition may prove unreasonable.

One commissioner has dismissed our criticism as merely a difference of opinion about "approach." The commissioner was right. Planning and estimating is a reasonable and intelligent approach. Early eviction and demolition is an irresponsible one. Sadly, there is no legal requirement that our city fathers employ common sense and reason when managing millions in taxpayer dollars.

If you're inclined to accept Monday night's decision as simply a matter of good people disagreeing, you'd be wrong, and you'd be accepting a process that utterly lacks integrity.

Monday night's reversal of January's sound decision was based not on good information obtained through reasonable due diligence by right-minded stewards looking out for the common good. It was based on political pressure from paranoid residents brought to bear on well-meaning politicians who know where they want to go, but have no idea how to get there sensibly, responsibly and with integrity.

It's no way to run a city.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Do-over on board hearings defers Shain debate

By John McTaggart

An expected debate over the location of the Shain Park underground parking ramp was deferred Monday night after city staff said hearings last month before the city’s Planning Board and Historic District Commission were improperly noticed.

The hearings have not yet been rescheduled. In the meantime, city staff will look into options for conducting a pedestrian study of the area, and look at ways the city can fund cost overruns on the project.

“Procedurally, it seems to me, that with the defective notice and the requirement that this be re-heard, that it would be most appropriate to defer moving ahead until the hearing process takes place,” City Manager Tom Markus said. “Something may have come out of those hearings that would have changed the product we’re looking at today.”

Mayor Tom McDaniel agreed: “We have no choice but to do this public hearing process correctly,” he said.

Cost of the 200-space parking deck, originally pegged at $9.8 million, the amount of a bond issue approved by voters, is now pegged at $10.5 million. Cost of park improvements, for which $3 million in park bond funds were allocated, is now estimated at $3.5 million or more. Neither of these estimates include street and sewer improvements around the park, or public restrooms.

Concept drawings for the park are substantially complete, and the project is now on track to pass through a design development phase. City boards and the public will have continued opportunity for input during this phase of the design process.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Ain't Email Great Dept.

From: [JefferyVanDorn@aol.com]
To: Tom Markus [tmarkus@ci.birmingham.mi.us]
6/12/2007 9:48 AM

tom markus-

thanx for youre help on barnum at the city commission meeting last nite. i was so pleased to hear your comments on the park. they were all factual and right down the middle. you left the coloring of remarks to others.

i felt like the very few critics of our plan last nite were saying "you cannot start to dig the hole for your new house until youve picked out the wall paper for the kids bedroom". im glad the commission saw thru this suggestion.

in the next week or so i would like to sit down with you for an informal discussion of both barnum and shain if you have time. also id like your thoughts on our private fund raising plans.

barnum is in my opinion quite simple. the amenities all ready will most certainly stay where they are. i.e. ball diamond, soccer fields, tennis courts. with our thrifted budget there wont be too many fancy things added beyond this right now. id like to spend some of the money on a lot of the new american elm trees because they take 30 yrs to grow!

shain on the other hand is quite complex and the design we saw last nite is not pleasing the people. i have a few suggestions that im eager to share with you. too many to list here. the fixes for the current shain park design are much more pressing that barnum- or anything else on the cities radar screen right now for that matter.

i think for shain we need a general contractor/ program manager/ benevolent dictator who is NOT a vender to the city. both paul and dennis are terrific project engineers but theyre not designers or stylists or architects. theyre trained for infrastructure and we make them be stylists!!

this is the only note im sending out this morning on barnum. i want to send notes to the mayor and julie p and clint and chris long's wife but they will have to wait for another day. i thought it was important to thank you for your support of what is a truly grass roots effort from the people. theyve waited so long- thru endless repetitive studies.

perhaps we could walk to lunch in town? thur, fri this week, or mon, tues next week?

you are dedicated to the people of this city and it clearly shows every day.

jeff van dorn

From: Tom Markus [mailto:Tmarkus@ci.birmingham.mi.us]
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 11:49 AM
To: JefferyVanDorn@aol.com
Cc: Dianne McKeon; tim currier; Bob Fox; Bruce Johnson; Bill McElhone; Christian Wuerth; Dennis Dembiec; Dan Schulte; Jana Ecker; John Heiney; Janet Laing; Judy Rumps; Joe Valentine; Lynne Moore; Lauren Wood; Mark Gerber; Nancy Weiss; Richard Patterson; Sharon Ostin; Tim Wangler; Tom McDaniel; Rackeline Hoff; Scott Moore; Don Carney; Scott Moore; stuart sherman; Don Carney; Julie Plotnik
Subject: Re: thanx

I think your thanks are misplaced. You should be thanking the commissioners who supported your views and those of the neighbors who supported the early notice/demolition of Barnum. I have steadfastly been opposed to the demolition and quite frankly told a group of the neighbors (very early on) that we should consider selling that portion of the park. I truly believed that much could have been accomplished if we had considered a private partner to some degree. My views have been regularly rejected by the neighbors and the majority of the city commission. I only supported demolition or partial demolition as a last resort after determining no suitable user could be located so as to avoid carrying charges for this building being loaded onto the backs of the taxpayers. I am not confident that we had completely exhausted that opportunity so as to give early notice.

In my role as city manager I am allowed to express my views, beliefs and recommendations right up until the commission acts and then I am required to implement the decision and policy of the commission, which I do. I do try to be even handed in my efforts to facilitate the direction of the commission. Now that the commission has decided to give notice the staff will carry out the required steps to fulfill this direction.

I would be happy to meet with you however I believe you would be better advised to attend the numerous hearings of the various review boards to express your points of view regarding Shain Park. As to the other matters you mention I will be pleased to meet with you.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Correction: 8.1% of Birmingham homes for sale

Our friend, real estate agent Maureen Francis, writes:

Last night, I was watching the Birmingham City Commission meeting on Comcast, and Mayor Tom McDaniel misquoted a statistic that was wrong in the first place. He stated that "10% of Birmingham homes are in foreclosure." He was quickly corrected, or quickly corrected himself, and changed his statement to "10% of the homes in Birmingham are for sale." Neither statement is correct.

I am assuming his source of information is a factually incorrect post on the Birmingham Buzz, which claimed that 11% of Birmingham is for sale based on statistics found on Realtor.com.

Some real estate brokerages in Birmingham use two multiple listing services, MiRealSource and Realcomp. If a home is entered into both MLSs, then it appears twice on Realtor.com, thus falsely inflating the number of homes on the market. Realcomp is clearly the MLS service provider-of-choice for Birmingham brokerages, and if one wants correct market statistics, Realcomp should be the source of information.

I checked Realcomp this morning, and found that there are 727 homes and condos for sale in Birmingham. Realcomp's public record data, which is a different database than the MLS information, shows 8,938 households in Birmingham. So the correct percentage of homes for sale in Birmingham would be roughly 8.1%, not 11%.

Thanks, Maureen! We stand corrected.

Beaumont to get the boot; Barnum demolition likely

Beaumont Hospital will be evicted from Barnum School as soon as legally possible, with the likely result that the school will be demolished to make way for an 8.3-acre park in the heart of Birmingham, the City Commission decided Monday night.

No more than $1.5 million in parks bond money will be spent on the demolition and park development, the commission resolved. A neighborhood group agreed to fund any shortfalls through donations.

The commission acted with neither a firm estimate of the cost of demolition (informally pegged at between $450,000 and $750,000) nor a plan for park development.

The vote was 5-2, with commissioners Rackeline Hoff and Julie Plotnik dissenting.

Beaumont Hospital’s current lease is to expire in December 2008; the approved motion will most likely terminate the lease by July of 2008. Demolition could begin as early as next summer.

The move was in response to a request from the Barnum Ad Hoc Design Committee. Hoff, a member of the committee, opposed the move, saying it was premature. The committee has not yet fulfilled its primary mission to issue an RFP for a park designer.

Two previous Barnum ad hoc committees said the building was an asset to the community and reasonably could be put to public or private use. Others, including City Manager Tom Markus, have said the building could be a vehicle for defraying the cost of partial demolition and park improvements.

But a group of neighborhood residents that has lobbied the commission forcefully over the past two years apparently won over a majority of commissioners in its goal to have the hospital evicted early and the building demolished quickly.

The commission’s action on Barnum Monday night contrasted sharply with the process it has adoped for improvements to Shain Park. The commission has committed $3 million in park bond money to Shain, and $10 million to Barnum. Shain design is receiving close scrutiny in a process that includes most city boards and many opportunities for public input. The design of Barnum has to date received virtually no commission attention, with the overwhelming focus of most participants on termination of the Beaumont lease and demolition of the building.

“We will have a basic park, like Poppleton Park or Quarton Park, a beautiful park with grass and trees,” Jeffrey Van Dorn, chairman of the Ad Hoc Barnum Design Committee, told the Commission.

However, another member of the committee, Carroll DeWeese, told the commission the park would include play fields and other amenities that would make it a place for the entire community to recreate.

And a member of the community group lobbying for demolition, Ned Liddle, said Van Dorn’s plan for grass and trees is “just a first step,” and that Barnum will be developed as an “urban park like you would see in Paris.”

Parks & Recreation Board Chair Therese Longe told the commission the Recreation Master Plan “considers Barnum to be a community park. It has current recreational uses that we want to see maintained there and expanded. We're very concerned that if you just knock down the buildings and you put in grass, that it stays grass forever, and it never becomes the community park for all the citizens, not just the immediate neighbors who we understand would like to see just grass and trees. But the parks and rec board expects that this will be a community park that will have parking on it that will be just like Quarton is, for the benefit of the entire community.”

A park design submitted by Ron Rea and David Peterhans could fulfill the desires of many, but its cost was estimated at more than $2 million, and the city will be hard-pressed to pay for it. After demolition, it will have an estimated $750,000 to $1.05 million in bond money for improvements. Neighbors have said they think they can raise an additional $250,000, but that a commitment to demolition is necessary to begin fundraising.

Booth Park boosters raised roughly $170,000 and found that both an approved park design and promises of recognition were necessary to collect private money.

Neighbors of the park portrayed Barnum School as a safety hazard. One neighbor testified that drug dealing, bonfires and gun play are common at Barnum, though no police reports were presented to substantiate the testimony.

Monday, June 11, 2007

City should justify investment of tax money

Our friend, architect Frank Carnovale, writes

For years, I lived on Purdy and Pierce streets at and across from Barnum Park. My kids grew up running, playing soccer, softball and generally enjoying this great open neighborhood park. I have logged countless hours in the sun and rain watching the trajectory of different balls while conducting a debate with myself about what should and could be done with Barnum School. For too long, this old brick school building has quietly enjoyed some reverence, but has endured more speculation and insults from the community and local neighbors. There is no doubt that this building, in its current size and condition and with its limited use, should be improved for the community as well as the surrounding neighbors. This improvement may simply mean that the building is demolished and given up to arborvitae. However, I can’t stop thinking that a slimmed down school building could convert to a fantastic art museum, concert hall, center for community creativity or a world research center for real estate gentrification integrated into a new city park.

Birmingham’s prosperity has been built with hard-working taxpayers' money and planned by energetic public debate mediated by professional planning as well as exceptional city leadership and insight. In consideration of the current economic condition of Michigan, this model of local government and past successful fiscal management would do well to incorporate one additional approval weapon to the decision arsenal. Which is simply this: Spending money collected from working Birmingham families should attract and generate future tax dollars sufficient to justify the initial investment.

The practical application of this sensible planning approach might be applied to Kenning Park. Kenning Park houses the ice rink, tennis bubble, baseball diamonds, and skate park. Additionally, the police pistol range, city mulch bins and local parking lot occupy space in the unimproved East End of Birmingham. Despite past neglect, Birmingham’s Rail District is an area of dynamic change and growth. This evolution is producing tax revenue for Birmingham which can build and sustain parks and parking meters. This fact begs the question: Where should Birmingham spend the taxpayers' money? Should it build a train stop? Should it build bike paths? Should it install sidewalks on Eton? Should it improve the prison-compound look around the skate park? Where will the employment of the people's money produce the most positive benefit for the citizens? This great city is in competition for business investment and Michigan tax dollars. I am an advocate for the improvement of Barnum Park. However, one dollar in the dumpster will not pay a dividend. One brick in the Rail District might feed the insatiable tax beast in Birmingham.