Unfortunately, not an April Fool's joke....
Cornerstone Alliance (Whirlpool) is seriously attempting to pull this off.
They make certain they can count on the BH City Commission to get what they want....
There's a photograph of Whirlpool Corp. in the Commission's meeting space!
Read between the lines when possible, and do your own research - two things that are always necessary to decifer the reporting of the Herald Palladium.
Harbor Shores public review period will begin this weekBy Julie SwidaHerald Palladium Staff Writer 1/1/07
BENTON HARBOR — A 30-day public review and comment period regarding the Jean Klock Park Conversion and Mitigation Proposal for the Harbor Shores development will begin Wednesday.
The Benton Harbor City Commission voted Monday night to approve the public review process, which includes a public hearing 6-9 p.m. April 17 at the Benton Harbor Michigan Works! office.
The plan involves leasing part of the park to Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment Inc. for three holes of a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, the centerpiece of the proposed half-billion dollar development that would include hotels, marinas and hundreds of new houses in Benton Harbor, Benton Township and St. Joseph.
The park conversion plan involves a lease for the golf course and a maintenance agreement for the park. It needs the approval of the National Park Service because federal money was used when the park was developed.
The proposal calls for the city to approve a long-term lease converting 22.11 acres of the non-beach portion of Jean Klock Park to public golf course use. In exchange, Harbor Shores would pay for improvements to the rest of the park and convert 38.41 acres of other land to parks linked to the city’s downtown and residential areas by a trail system. The April 17 public hearing will be led by Phillip Schaeffer, a retired circuit court judge from Kalamazoo. Written comments can be submitted at the public hearing or can be sent to the city clerk’s office.
The documents pertaining to the park conversion and mitigation proposal are available for public review at City Hall, 200 E. Wall St.; the clerk’s office, 175 Territorial Road; the Benton Harbor Public Library, 213 E. Wall St.; and Benton
Harbor Area Schools Administrative Offices, 777 Riverview Drive.
The documents include a detailed description of the proposed conversion and replacement parcels, related agreements and environmental assessments.
The documents have been reviewed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the National Park Service. The public hearing and 30-day public review period must take place before a final proposal is submitted. During Monday’s meeting, Commissioner Juanita Henry proposed a longer public comment period, but other commissioners said it is time to move the proposal along. The vote to schedule the process as outlined was unanimous.
In another matter, the City Commission approved spending $4,500 for a facilitator for a three-day workshop later this month.
The decision-making and goal-setting retreat will be 6 to 9 p.m. April 18, 8:30 a.m.to 2 p.m. April 19 and a yet-to-bescheduled date. The meetings will be led at the city’s Business Growth Center by Joe Ohren, a consultant recommended by the Michigan Municipal League. City Manager Richard Marsh, in proposing the retreat, said that because he and several city commissioners are new, it is necessary to invest time and resources into discussing roles, responsibilities and procedures for strengthening decisionmaking processes in the city.
The workshops will involve commissioners, department heads and some citizens. Marsh said the first session will deal with decision-making processes and the second session will deal with goal-setting. After that, a third session will be scheduled at which goals will be prioritized and timelines set to reach the goals.