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The Birmingham Buzz #3
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January 15, 2002

Welcome to the third edition of the Birmingham Buzz. If you missed our first two editions, check out our archives at http://www.bhambuzz.org/archives.htm.

Our mission: To inform and involve all Birmingham citizens.

Visit us at http://www.bhambuzz.org.

In this edition:

1) Booth Park plan takes shape.
2) Presidents Council opens to public.
3) Join us MONDAY evening.
4) Positively negative acronyms.
5) Don Carney and the inessential Eccentric.
6) Buzz finances made public.
7) To be removed.


1) Booth Park plan takes shape.

An artistic gateway, inspired by history or Cranbrook or both, appears to be in the future for Booth Park.

About 30 Birmingham residents joined two city commissioners, most members of the Parks & Recreation staff and board, and two consultants from Wade-Trim on Saturday for a workshop to begin developing a plan for Booth Park.

The park, at the corner of N. Old Woodward and Harmon streets, was never fully restored after a major sewer project several years ago. It contains a children's play structure, a backstop for an informal ball field, and it serves as the northern terminus of a wood-chip trail that follows the Rouge River from Linden Park at Lincoln. It is bordered by Harmon on the north, N. Old Woodward on the east and residential property on Bonnie Briar on the west. On the south, the park is bordered by public land that extends up a sharp incline to the parking lot next to the First Baptist Church on Willits.

The parkland was donated to the city by George Booth, founder of Cranbrook.

After a brief introduction and inventory of the park's main features, Wade-Trim's David Anthony broke the group into four sub-groups. Each was given an hour and a half to develop a quick plan for the site and encouraged to plan without regard to any possible restrictions.

Nearly unanimously, the four groups suggested:

* An artistic gateway feature, perhaps with a historical theme, at the corner of Old Woodward and Harmon that would contain seating.

* Keeping and improving the play area and play structure (not necessarily the existing structure) toward the north end of the park.

* Providing an upscale fence or landscaped buffer along the streets to restrain toddlers and to create a transition into the park.

* Improving the turf and drainage.

* Planting shade trees and/or erecting pergolas or other structures to provide shade.

* Adding tables, seating and waste containers at the play area and other areas of the park.

* Taking advantage of the Rouge River to create multi-purpose riverwalks that would accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, and would connect with other Rouge pathways. The paths would include view areas, seating, and possibly historical markers, art and water fountains.

* Keeping the south end of the park in a more natural state

Two groups suggested providing more, or more efficient, parking.

Other suggestions included:

* A skate park for in-line skaters and skateboarders.

* A "health" trail.

* A basketball court.

* Bridges and walkways to connect the park to N. Old Woodward and to the municipal parking lot on Willits.

* A permanent kiosk that could be leased to a food-service business.

Gail Von Staden, whose home on Harmon abuts the park, suggested that Cranbrook provide inspiration for the park's design, in view of the fact that the park was donated by Cranbrook's founder. Von Staden also noted that approximately 100 cars turn around in her driveway daily, mostly as a result of the free parking on Harmon.

Kelly Lewton, owner of Aunt Olive's Good Food 2 Go, expressed interest in leasing a kiosk, or in serving food from a wheeled cart.

Among those attending the meeting were City Commissioners Don Carney and Rackeline Hoff.

Anthony said Wade-Trim will take the ideas from the meeting and develop a preliminary plan, which will be presented at a second, as-yet unscheduled workshop.


2) Presidents Council opens to public...

The Presidents Council of Neighborhood Associations is opening its doors to the public.

At its Jan. 3 meeting, after turning away Eccentric reporter Larry Ruehlin, the council apparently reached a "consensus" that meetings should be open to all Birmingham residents. Discussion is to be limited to presidents of neighborhood associations and their recognized delegates, with inclusion of others at the discretion of the chair, according to proposed minutes of the meeting prepared by council secretary Jean Holland.

This is good news to anyone interested in the council's participation in local politics.

The council ostensibly is composed of the presidents and delegates of Birmingham's neighborhood associations. It is influential and effective. It was a driving force behind the $25 million parks bond issue, approved by voters in the 2001 election, and it has influenced planning and other policies in Birmingham, including adoption of the so-called "bigfoot" ordinance.

It is also the primary liaison on the City's official Neighborhoods Roundtable Committee. It supports such things as historic preservation, sewer improvements, parks improvements and a code of ethics for city officials. When the council speaks, city officials appear to listen.

Expect it to speak on matters such as residential and downtown development, historic preservation, infrastructure improvements, and how the proceeds of the $25 million bond issue are spent.

The council's influence, however, may be far out of proportion to those it truly represents.

Many Birmingham neighborhoods do not have associations, and so are not represented on the Presidents Council. Other associations apparently have chosen not to participate.

Among those that do participate, some are well organized, with bylaws and elected leaders, others appear to be more loosely organized, and still others are nascent.
Furthermore, several associations appear to be over-represented on the council.

The Buzz has emailed a series of questions to outgoing council president Tim Bannister, incoming president Paul Reagan, secretary Holland, and several delegates. None has responded.

Among other things, the Buzz is seeking:

* A copy of the council's bylaws.
* A list of current council members/delegates.
* A breakdown of the associations represented, including:
* The number of members in each association.
* How each association defines a "member."
* Whether or not each association has its own set of bylaws.
* Whether or not each association elects its leaders.
* How each association communicates regularly with its members.

In addition, the Buzz is seeking clarification of the representation of at least three neighborhood associations on the council.

The Quarton Lakes Neighborhood Association, for example, appears to have two active members on the council. Jean Holland, who lives on Brookwood, is its secretary, and Ralph Seger, who lives on Pilgrim, is its treasurer..

Across town, the Pembroke Manor Association appears to be represented by both Ken Gorski (Pembroke) and Dorothy Conrad (Yorkshire), both of whom take official actions in meeting minutes.

And in Central Birmingham, the incoming 2002 council president is Paul Reagan (Purdy), of the Central Birmingham Residents Association. A frequent participant in council business, however, is Anne Honhart, who lives on Frank St.

The questions arose after Buzz editor Clinton Baller attended a Presidents Council meeting Nov. 29.

Reagan, who responded to his email by phoning Baller, declined to answer questions, and instead accused Baller of being a "shill" for developers.
"You're a snake, a--h---, and if I catch you trying to get into a meeting like that again, you better wear a coat, because it's winter, and its cold outside," he said.
Reagan is co-editor of the secretive and staunchly anti-development BeLine newsletter.

Despite the council's goal of fostering communication, understanding and cooperation among residents, downtown businesses and the city officials, Reagan and several other council members simmer with negativism and resentment toward the business community and both residential and downtown development.

At its Nov. 29 meeting, for example, Conrad opened the meeting by gleefully displaying the most recent edition of the Eccentric, with a banner headline announced the City Commission's decision to reduce allowable building heights downtown. "That's 75 cents wasted," declared Reagan, in one of numerous negative references to the Eccentric.

Later, in a discussion of downtown, Gorski noted, "There's nothing downtown that any of us are interested in." Replied Reagan, "Downtown is nothing more than a commercial petting zoo."

City Commissioner Russell Dixon articulates the promise of neighborhood associations and the Presidents Council:

"Neighborhood associations have the potential to make a significant contribution to local government," says Dixon. "They have the ability to provide information and reach general agreement and consensus among their members. They can provide an articulate voice to comment on a variety of issues. To the extent that the President's Council can facilitate communication between associations, and to encourage uniformity in procedures and organization, all neighborhoods will benefit from this type of cooperation."

The Presidents Council's next meeting is Thursday, Jan. 31, at 2252 Yorkshire (east of Eton).


3) Please join us MONDAY.

Our next meeting is Monday, Jan. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at Baldwin Library. Please come, listen, learn and get involved. If you like what you see, please pass the word and allow us to add your name to our list of Supporters. Just send email to info@bhambuzz.org
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4) Positively negative acronyms.

Add to NIMBY the following list of acronyms making the rounds lately:

NIMFYE - Not In My Front Yard Either
PIITBY - Put It In Their Backyard
NIMTOO - Not In My Term Of Office
NIMEY - Not In My Election Year
NOPE - Not On Planet Earth
LULU - Locally Unpopular Land Uses

And our favorites:

BANANA - Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Nor Anytime
CAVE - Citizens Against Virtually Everything


5) The inessential Eccentric?

Soon after the Birmingham Eccentric endorsed his rivals in the November election, Birmingham City Commissioner Don Carney canceled his subscription.

A Nov. 4 letter signed by Carney and several other Birmingham residents said, "We have noticed the Eccentric's bias toward business interests, especially interests of developers, in the past. Still the paper's endorsement of a slate of candidates running for city commission who are clearly not supportive of the interests of residents of this city was shocking. The editorial exposed the paper as a media organization completely out of touch with the community it is supposed to serve."

We recently asked Commissioner Carney in two separate emails to explain his comments. We also tried once unsuccessfully to reach him by phone. We asked:

* If he still does not subscribe to the paper.
* If he doesn't subscribe, does that mean he doesn't read it?
* If he doesn't read it, how does he keep abreast of some of the more mundane things the paper covers, such as obituaries, schools, local sports, local society and feature stories?
* If he does read the paper, how does he get it?
* If he agreed with the suggestion of Birmingham resident Paul Marion Reagan that the City look elsewhere for an outlet for its legal advertising.

Commission Carney did not respond to our questions. If he does, we'll keep you posted.

6) Buzz is an open book.

The Buzz is a grassroots, shoestring operation. Its finances, such as they are, will be published. Check them out at http://www.bhambuzz.org/Our_books.htm.

7) To unsubscribe, send a request to info@bhambuzz.org.