Monday, August 16, 2004

janet [1] sent this email to you through the Radio UserLand [2] community server. keep up your efforts! You are on to some interesting politics. Taubmans do have great connections in Lansing, given legislation was passed to protect their company from a takeover. Money has always influenced politicians. Some how you need to connect with more of the people that spend their lives commuting and don't read the paper - there are loads of them in the community. They need to understand how the extension will negatively effect their quality of community rather than shortening their drive home and to the mall. If a 5 lane road and Life Style Center (in the 1960's they were called shopping centers i.e. Northland)are such great assets to a community Why don't the Taubman's build them near their homes? Interesting point. It seems that all people involved in the decision making do not live in the area under urbanization. It is always so much easier to make decisions that do not directly effect you. But to the 400 + family's that will get impact of this there is no representation. We have been trying for the past three years and get ignored or patronized. 8:44:46 AM    comment [] Lets Blame Big Government This weekend we had a chance to talk to some folks that knew a little more on the past decision regarding the termination of M-5 and how the government supposedly stuck it to the township. We were lead to believe this as having attended most all public meetings where the township government kept using the rational that they had to build the M-5 connector because the state and federal government just dumped the ending of M-5 on our door step and  carelessly abandoned us. When digging up the truth, it was discovered  that the state owned the right of way so the road could not be continued northward (based upon environmental concerns).  They placed into that agreement that if the township wanted to continue the road they would have to pay back all parties that funded the road from 14 mile northward. We learned out township gladly agreed at the time because it would bring vitality northward to the township. The covenant was placed there to ensure there was no change of heart from the township on going further northward. What is underhanded,  is our leadership taking the woe is us stance and blaming everyone but themselves and the county for not using foresight and budgeting for the widening of the secondary road system to handle the termination that they all knew and agreed to was to occur years ago. Now a year after the M-5 opening, we get to hear how big government screwed us and now we get the forward thinking (in the year 2525), that gridlock will occur. Why we are now hearing this message is because it is convenient for the DDA and development community to build out 300 acres of pristine woodland and open space. A chunk of the value is tied to having a major highway go through it to make the commercially develop able part extremely valuable and it increases all develop able land northward to M59.  The gridlock argument is the false driver. Or how does adding a 600,000 sq. ft. mall help the traffic problem? Can anyone educate us on what they thinking when they agreed to this many years ago, or did they think that a major highways terminus was going to reduce traffic thus they did not have to plan for widening the existing road infrastructure? So now it is a crisis and the surrounding community has to as one long time DDA board member stated in their last meeting,  "some have to loose for some to gain" . We think it is time for them to loose.   8:10:35 AM    comment []

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