BENTON HARBOR
Commission votes to let Harbor Shores use BH rights of way
Developers commit to raising $1 million to improve Hall Park
By KEVIN ALLEN
Herald Palladium, Whirlpool Company paper
BENTON HARBOR —The Benton Harbor City Commission voted Monday to allow Harbor Shores to use the city’s rights of way to bury irrigation pipes and build paths for the development’s Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course.
Six commissioners voted in favor of the agreement, while Mayor Wilce Cooke and Commissioner Juanita Henry voted against it. Commissioner Byran Joseph was not at the meeting.
Cooke wanted to delay the decision until next week’s commission meeting to scrutinize the agreement’s wording.
City Manager Richard Marsh said the document has been before the commission for more than a month and had been discussed at two prior meetings. If commissioners had any additional questions, Marsh said they should have asked him before Monday.
“I think it’s counterproductive to discuss these issues here on the floor,” Marsh said.
Marsh recommended that the commission approve the agreement. The commission’s Planning and Economic Development Committee also recommended approval.
“We’re not giving up anything,” Marsh said. “They’re using our right of way and that’s it.”
Commissioners Ralph Crenshaw and Ricky Hill voiced support for Marsh and the agreement with Harbor Shores.
“If people had a problem with it, you had (the document) and could have raised those concerns before tonight,” Hill
See HARBOR SHORES, page A6 (website doesn't allow)
