Comments on: Budget Round 1: Community Services

By: Bob Martel

Bob Martel — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:57:57 +0000

Selling parks to raise or save money is not a viable option even aside from the facts raised by [18] as it presumes that there is someone who wants to buy the park for some type of redevelopment. There may indeed be a few park sites that would be of interest to developers who might actually be financially capable of making a project work, but I would bet that those sites are also the most desirable ones for community access/use and that any effort to sell those sites would be political suicide for any politician supporting such an effort.

I’m all in favor of “thinking outside the box” but when such efforts result in time being spent on ultimately impractical solutions (such as a City financed convention center,) I fear that the time needed to find the practical solutions is lost. By all means, explore all options, think outside the box, but please, reject the impractical ideas early in the process and move on!

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:00:37 +0000

I hate it when people undermine political grandstanding with facts.

By: Gerry Clark

Gerry Clark — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:15:54 +0000

Many of the parks listed as potentially for sale could not be sold. Several are part of a platted subdivision and if not used for parks would revert to owners, plus housing density numbers were calculated with park open space as a part of the formula. Several other listed parks are wetlands, others are nearly 100% street and utility easements, finally many others were purchased with State and Federal matching grant funds that may need to be repaid if the granting agencies would OK the sale. If the City did decide to sell parks they should be rezoned from Public Land first, following the required rezoning process.

By: jcp2

jcp2 — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:43:33 +0000

We got one already. It’s called Cobblestone Farm in front of Buhr Park.

By: Alan Goldsmith

Alan Goldsmith — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:37:48 +0000

Great idea–COWS. Why not plow up the Library parking lot and turn it into a petting farm and grow corn. At least the city wouldn’t be putting it’s financial future at risk once again with guaranteeing risk bonds for a private out of state developer.

By: gill

gill — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:42:30 +0000

What about space for Project Grow (and they pay to maintain the areas they use)?

Also, lawn is probably the easiest thing to re-establish on the property if there is a desire to restore the land to its “postcard” stature in the future (when the economy recovers).

By: Stew Nelson

Stew Nelson — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:41:53 +0000

Don’t even bother asking me what I think!

~Stew

By: mr dairy

mr dairy — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:41:17 +0000

Aren’t we happy that Sandi Smith is thinking outside the box? How nice.

What will she suggest next? A big unnecessary conference center in downtown? Now that’s really creative thinking.

Farming is hard, dirty, costly and risky work with as good a chance for crop failure as a profitable harvest. Does anyone actually believe that an experienced farmer would relocate his/her operation to a public park to show city folks how to grow corn or slaughter a cow? Does she know what it would require to turn turf grass on hilly terrain to productive farmland?

Maybe we can get Archers Daniels Midland or Cargill to foot the bill?

Maybe change the name to Monsanto Hills and hire laborers from Ann Arbor Hills.

Now get back to work and think outside the box for ways to fix the Stadium bridges.

By: a2DLS

a2DLS — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:00:38 +0000

Miller is just full of great ideas for someone knowing they are leaving the city with a packed pension and then on to another public funded position of double dipping the system.

She knows half these ideas have no chance of coming to fruition with the union stronghold on our public sector. Consolidation of services? Outsources job duties? Nothing but rhetoric
as she dances out of the city.

By: Sandi Smith

Sandi Smith — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:02:07 +0000

It was me who had suggested we try to think outside of the box. What if we could find a farmer who was interested in doing demonstration farming and educate our citizens about local foods while paying the city a modest lease fee. The land would still serve a public purpose and be available as public land into the future (although probably cost prohibited from returning to a golf course.) There is some interesting work happening in Detroit now. You can read about it here: [link].