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Story by Sara E. Teller

The Oak Park Public Safety Department is a busy place to be. Its Director, Steve Cooper, and his team are cross-trained as police officers, fire fighters, and medical first responders. The Department was the first in the state to combine these services, and Cooper said the structure works really well.

Cooper was selected for the Police Officer Association of Michigan’s 2016 Award, which was issued that May. “I was nominated by my staff. We have so many great men and women. To be nominated by individuals you work with on a daily basis, to know they think highly enough of you to submit you for this, is extremely humbling.” he said. Director Cooper has a plaque on his wall, but jokes, “I really can’t get any mileage off of that anymore. You always have to stay focused and humble.”

Cooper has been with the Department for 28 years, and said public safety officers have been cross-trained for as long as he can remember. “It’s been that way since 1954. Everyone in the Department completes police academy training, training with the fire department, and additional medical first response training. We have individuals looking to join our team that come in already police-certifiable, too, and we just go from there,” he explained.

Once training is complete, public safety officers start their days in police uniform, carrying additional gear and tools with them so they can easily transition roles if needed. “They’ll ride around on patrol with a duffle bag full of fire gear, an extinguisher, and a medical box,” Cooper explained. “If needed, they’ll change right there in the street.”

He said the department always has stand-by officers at the station, as well. “Our stand-by officers are there to process prisoners and handle walk-in complaints. If there’s a fire emergency, we stop what we’re doing and put prisoners in lock-down so officers can jump in a fire truck and respond. We also partner with neighboring departments like Beverly Hills, Berkley, and Huntington Woods, and will call in off-duty staff if we need to.”

To determine whether officers are ready to hit the road, they undergo what’s called a “shadow phase.” Cooper explained, “In this phase, you ride around with a senior officer who is in civilian clothes and handle all the calls. You’re given feedback, and this determines if you’re ready.”

OAK PARK’S PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT has many community policing initiatives that really make it stand out. The Department recently started a canine unit and took on Canine Officer Mase. “We found Mase at Vohne Liche Kennels in Indiana. They house dogs that undergo special training in their six-week courses. They join bomb squads and police departments, and really are a valuable tool,” Cooper said. “He’s been doing extremely well, just a really great job, and he has grown leaps and bounds since day one.” Mase is named after Oak Park’s fallen officer Mason Samborski.

Every day, Mase is out in the field responding to calls with Officer Mike Hodakoski who, after an intense interview process, was selected to serve as Mase’s handler. “We sent out correspondence to our staff, then conducted an extensive interview process with everyone who showed interest, including home interviews and oral boards. We brought in master-handlers who had canines. It takes a lot of time and commitment to work with Mase. Training is conducted once a week, which needs to be logged and the handler needs to do different activities with him. This really becomes everything you do.”

He said it takes a special kind of person to understand Mase’s role with the Department. “The canine is a tool used for many different things, and socialization is part of it as well. We need to make sure he interacts with the public. Now that Officer Hodakoski has had a chance to bond with Mase, we’ll be able to bring him to schools and conduct demonstrations to students. It’s important for people to realize Mase is not just an at-tack dog. He follows directions and commands very well, and can go from chasing down a bad guy to being completely docile.”

THE DEPARTMENT ALSO LAUNCHED AN ICE CREAM TRUCK INITIATIVE last summer in an effort to build upon its relationship with the Oak Park community and to make the first interaction with police a pleasant one. “One of my detectives had approached me with the thought that this would be a great way to engage with the community. I like to say, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, so make it a positive one,” Cooper said. “The truck goes to events like end-of-the-year school celebrations and block parties. It’s not just for the children either. While it’s a great tool for the youth, it’s a great tool for adults, too. We take turns riding up and down the street, sharing free ice cream.”

Oak Park’s Department of Public Works donated the van that’s used, and the Public Safety Department solicited the help of local sponsors to decorate it and get it ready for the road. Prairie Farms donates ice cream every week. The truck runs from the last day of school through Labor Day weekend. “It’s a nice conversation piece,” Cooper said. “People were a bit shocked at first. Then, they started asking when the truck was coming to their neighborhood.”

The Department also has a Community Resource Officer, Devon Benson, who wears many hats. Benson interacts with all three public school systems Oak Park is responsible for, including Oak Park, Berkley and Ferndale, and is the City’s liaison for block clubs, making public appearances and demonstrations at community and city functions.

“Officer Benson helps neighborhoods set up block clubs. He gets them up and going,” Cooper explained. “He attends all meetings and events for the clubs, including summer block parties, and provides updates at these meetings. Mase attended one of these. They are a forum to solve problems and exchange ideas.”

As far as working with the schools, “Oak Park handles student programs for three districts and Benson hosts various programs, such as meet-and-greets and stranger-danger demonstrations,” Cooper said. “He also works with the private schools of Oak Park’s Jewish community, as well as local nursery schools and preschools.”
When not in meetings or at schools, Officer Benson manages Oak Park’s 15 crossing guards, mediates neighborhood complaints and issues, and handles vehicle fleet changeovers. He is a highly visible member of the Public Safety Department.

OAK PARK PERIODICALLY OFFERS AN INTERACTIVE OAK PARK PUBLIC SAFETY CITIZENS ACADEMY and Junior Citizens Academy to the community. These classes are designed for those who have an interest in learning about law enforcement, fire safety, evidence processing, and medical first response. They spend time with various members of the Public Safety team learning things like how to process fingerprints,
how to pick up subjects for a police line-up, how to dress like a firefighter, how police are trained to respond to dangerous situations, and what a firefighter does when responding to a scene to help contain the fire and get people out of harm’s way.

“Detective Robert Cook approached me with the idea,” Cooper said. “We never had a Citizen’s Academy before, and he thought it would be helpful to invite the community to see what goes on behind the curtain, so to speak. We use a firearms training simulator, which is interactive. Actors on screen are given demands. Some obey, some don’t, and we react accordingly.”

The Academy offers a great way for residents to gain a better understanding of what officers face in the field. “They see things on the news and wonder why an officer responded a certain way, but don’t realize we only have a split second to react. You can go into a gas station for a Slurpie, and in the blink of an eye, a robbery is in progress,” Cooper explained. “We lay out all of the equipment and ask residents to try it on. Just our police vests and gun belts are very heavy and can be exhausting to wear for hours on end. They can also operate fire trucks, squirt water from the trucks, and explore the jaws-of-life. Our evidence technicians and special response team direct particular segments, and participants are shown patrol and traffic operations, the detective’s bureau, criminal procedures, forensics, the 9-1-1 dispatch area. This year they’ll be shown a real homicide case and go through how it was responded to. It’s interactive in every way.”

Classes are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis with roughly 25 people per class. Details are posted on social media and on the City’s web site. They include instructions regarding how interested residents can enroll. For more information, contact Detective Robert Koch at (248) 691-7514.

“We did a pilot program with Oak Park High School students,” Cooper said of the Junior Citizen’s Academy. “We basically covered the same concepts, but tweaked them a bit to appeal to 16- to 18-year-olds. The programs have been a huge success. They really help us to build a good relationship with the community. It’s very rewarding.” The next round of the Oak Park Public Safety’s Citizens Academy will be held every Wednesday in May 2018 from 6:00 to 9:00 P.M. Those interested in enrolling should contact Detective Koch at (248) 691-7514.

For more information not he Public Safety Department, including information regarding any of the department’s initiatives and events, or how to register for upcoming classes, please visit www.oakparkmi.gov/departments/public_safety

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By Mary Meldrum

Get ready for a brand-new Nine Mile! One of Oak Park’s major thoroughfares is about to undergo a major makeover.

The Nine Mile Redesign project was borne from the leadership change and a paradigm shift in the Oak Park City government’s focus that began in 2011, following an economic recession that almost bankrupted
the City. One big change came in 2014 when the City hired Kimberly Marrone, Economic Development &
Communications Director. Marrone explained the objectives and the progress of Oak Park’s Nine Mile Redesign project:

“My role in the City is for economic development, so we want to attract new businesses and retain the businesses we currently have in the city as well as help them grow and expand,” says Marrone. She is part of an Oak Park government leadership that has implemented service-oriented and pro-growth policies. These policies are gaining momentum – funding and creating an impact for the city’s future.

In 2014, a Strategic Economic Development Plan was adopted by the Oak Park City Council. The plan outlined action steps to assist in sparking additional economic development to Oak Park. Marrone discusses the growing evidence that providing places to walk and bicycle is a successful strategy for maintaining and restoring economic vitality. Indeed, there is solid research that supports the connection between pedestrian-friendly environments and economic viability.

Major firms around the country are beginning to loudly advocate for pedestrian, bike and transit-friendly development patterns. And they are voting for these changes with their walking boots on, relocating to city centers that are a better fit for their business, their ideals, and for their employees. Booming business centers like Atlanta and the Silicon Valley are showing how an over-dependence on the car can stall economic development. Businesses are increasingly concerned with lengthy commutes, gridlock, lack of transportation choices, air pollution, and the overall decline in quality of life that can make recruiting and retaining skilled workers difficult.

According to the 1997 Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, the number and location of open space/parks/recreation ranks high among factors used by small businesses in choosing a new business location. According to a 1998 analysis by ERE Yarmouth and Real Estate Research Corporation, real estate values over the next 25 years will rise fastest in “smart communities” that incorporate a pedestrian and bike-friendly configuration.

Road Diet
A study conducted for the City in 2015 with grant money showed it was feasible to redesign Nine Mile Road with a so-called “street diet.” The road will be reduced from five to three lanes, and the City will create linear parks, additional parking, bike lanes and streetscape amenities, a known formula to spur economic development.

“Businesses want to know if they can be successful here in Oak Park. They want to locate into a community that people are attracted to live in,” says Marrone. Oak Park and surrounding communities have seen a steady demand for homes and an uptick in median home prices over the past several years, making Oak Park an attractive place for businesses to settle in and grow.

Reducing traffic noise, traffic speeds, and vehicle-generated air pollution will increase property values. Adding green space, parks and public gathering places are multipliers in the property value equation. One study found that a five-to-ten mile-per-hour reduction in traffic speeds increased adjacent residential property values by roughly 20 per cent.

“We applied, jointly with Ferndale, for the grant from MDOT last spring and received notice in September of 2017 that they would partially fund the project. The total project cost is roughly $1.4 million. We received a grant award from SEMCOG and from MDOT in the amount of $983,826. This would require a 30 per cent match from the cities,” shares Marrone.

In 2018, The City of Oak Park will finalize road plans for Nine Mile, solicit bids this Spring. The City will add bike lanes and redesign the parking starting in late Spring or early Summer. The majority of the work is repainting of lines with minimal actual road construction.

Nine Mile Road was developed before I-696 was finished, and now carries much less traffic as it once did. In fact, the car count is roughly 17,000 cars per day now, making it a “tired” street with too many lanes. People drive past businesses on Nine Mile without noticing them. A road diet would slow the traffic and improve safety, allowing businesses to enjoy a spark of additional success, as well as fill vacant storefronts.

In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a push to move away from downtown areas, like Detroit. That movement has recently reversed, and there is a shift to embrace downtown density again in most communities. Oak Park’s Nine Mile Redesign project is quickly getting traction to promote a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly downtown area by addressing traffic issues, greenway development, and density.

Pocket Parks
Oak Park residents were interested in creating space where people could gather. As part of the Nine Mile Redesign project, a park was tested with the Sherman Summer Pop-Up Park in 2017. The City closed about 100 feet of Sherman Street.

In June, and put in tables, chairs, games, activities and programming. Sometimes they held scheduled musical entertainment, exercise classes, art and STEAM programs from the Oak Park Library and Recreation Department. Sherman Street residents were asked for input and invited to help create the space. In feedback following the pop-up park, 83 per cent of survey responses said they were in favor of the permanent park. The City applied for, and received, a grant from Oakland County.

“We went to great lengths to take into consideration the wishes of the community and to ensure that the needs of the residents were being met,” said City Manager Erik Tungate.

For the Nine Mile Redesign, the engineering firm suggested closing three streets at Nine Mile Road to create pocket parks. The City decided to close only two, Sherman and Seneca.

When people on Seneca were approached, most were happy about it. Of those with reservations, they expressed worry that emergency vehicle access would be impeded to homes and businesses; that school buses might not be able to travel the street; and questions on whether the park could invite crime to the area. Not one item went missing from the temporary pop-up park; creating more of a crowd typically creates less crime. The Public Safety Department reported that emergency vehicle and bus access was not impeded, and noise and vandalism was not an issue.

Bringing people together has long been known to produce economic value. Population density creates and increases social capital and economic opportunity. Social capital has value in fellowship, shared information and common goals; it thrives in communities that provide platforms and places for people to come together to shop and share their knowledge and information, while collaborating and socializing. Social capital allows people to become invested in the outcome of their neighborhoods, and economic capital to flourish.

“When talking to new potential businesses about locating in Oak Park, they become very excited about the vision and plans we have, specifically for the Nine Mile Redesign Project,” says Marrone.

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Story by Ingrid Sjostrand

If you’re an Oak Park business owner – or aspiring to be – and you don’t know Kimberly Marrone, it’s time you should. As the Director of Economic

Development & Communications, she works to provide the tools businesses need to thrive and to promote Oak Park as a sustainable community.

“We work with new and current business owners from inception through development to meet business timelines, provide market research data, site selection, and site plan process. We provide the best customer service from beginning to end,” Marrone says. “We help connect business owners and entrepreneurs to resources and incentives to help their business startup, grow and expand.”

Oftentimes, these resources are free. There are opportunities on which businesses are missing out. As Economic Development & Communications Director, Marrone also oversees the Zoning Board of Appeals, Brownfield Authority, Corridor Improvement Authority, the Economic Development Authority, and Planning Commission for the City of Oak Park – where she is focused on creating a better business market.

“New this year, we will be adding all licensed businesses to an online database on our City web site, connect them to resources that are available, counsel businesses when needed, provide invitations to business seminars, and publish bi-monthly newsletters,” Marrone says.

Not only does she help businesses, she works with residents, property owners and surrounding communities to make sure that Oak Park continues to succeed. This includes following the City’s Strategic Development Plan and finding the best way to implement key initiatives and build a stronger tax base for the city.
Since 2014, she has led the Economic Development team in improving the economic outlook for the city of Oak Park. Marrone and her team have been instrumental in several recent projects totaling over $65 million in development since 2014 – including the FedEx Ground distribution center, the largest development deal in the city’s history. Oak Park also became a One Stop Ready Community through Oakland County’s program, and are working toward completion of Redevelopment Ready Certification through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

A Michigan native and graduate of Oakland University, Marrone previously worked as Executive Director of both Imlay City’s Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Development Authority. She has a background in local government and the private sector, including real estate. For her work, Marrone received the Rotarian of the Year Award in 2012 and the City’s prestigious Employee of the Year Award in 2015. She’s also been instrumental in the City being awarded the eCities lab Best Practices Community honor in 2015 (Marrone also received this award for Imlay City in 2012 and 2013); the Five and Four Star eCities Top Performing Community Award; and the Main Street Oakland County Vision Award in 2016.

Marrone is a member of the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce, International Council of Shopping Centers, Eight Mile Boulevard Association Board, Michigan Economic Development Association Board, and other organizations that are beneficial to the economic development of Oak Park.

2018 plans are already looking bright, with a variety of projects in the works. The much-anticipated 8MK restaurant rehabilitation of the historic WWJ building will include Oak Park’s first banquet space. The Jefferson Oaks mixed-income housing development offering 60 housing units will open in the Spring, and the 9 Mile Redesign Project will also begin this Spring. A portion of 11 Mile Road was recently rezoned from light industrial to mixed used. This new zoning allows for a variety of uses in one building.

Business and residents interested in taking advantage of the resources available through Oak Park’s Economic Development & Communications Department can reach out to 248-691-7404.

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Story by Mary Meldrum
Photo by Bernie Laframboise

In 2014, Congregation T’chiyah welcomed Rabbi Alana Alpert from California to Oak Park, Michigan. Her arrival initiated a new direction for the congregation as she began a dual position, serving both as Rabbi and as a community organizer with Detroit Jews for Justice.

Rabbi Alpert arrived prepared for the challenge. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz where she studied resistance and social movements and learned about faith-based community organization. She had already en-gaged in leadership around feminism, Israel/Palestine, GLBTIQ rights, and prison reform. She attended rabbinical school to prepare for Jewish leadership, and she also spent three years in Israel and speaks Hebrew fluently.

Congregation T’chiyah was founded in Detroit in 1977, and they were “lay led” for most of their existence. About five years ago they decided they wanted a rabbi and that they wanted to focus on social justice work. But they didn’t need a full-time rabbi. While there was good work happening on the community relations and social service level by the local Jewish community, they felt that there was room for more meaningful work with racial and economic justice. The congregation set about looking for a rabbi that had a background in community organizing who would be their part-time rabbi and their part-time organizer for the broader Jewish community. That idea eventually developed into what today is Detroit Jews for Justice.

The congregation now resides in Oak Park, and has approximately 90 congregational members – more than double the membership from when Rabbi Alpert arrived in 2014. Rabbi Alpert attributes this growth to her smart congregation that adopted a social justice mission. Having an energetic, young rabbi out in the community raising awareness has attracted additional members, as well.

Aside from the original members setting some good objectives, their work is now resonating with a greater cross-section of people from a wider geographic area around Detroit, and includes new members from younger generations. While established members tend to be a steadfast part of the congregation, younger members connect with the social justice mission of Detroit Jews for Justice, and they eventually become more interested in the larger scope of work that the congregation does.

Detroit Jews for Justice is based off a successful model in New York, the Twin Cities and Washington, D.C., which they have adopted and adjusted to their context for their program in Oak Park. “Our mission is to be a Jewish voice in the progressive community and the Jewish community. We are interested in engaging Jews in movements for racial and economic justice,” describes Rabbi Alpert. “We have built a base of about 100 people who identify as Detroit Jews for Justice leaders, and they choose as a group to focus on certain topics.”

Rabbi Alpert is clear that their work distinguishes them from other groups; what they do is not social service. They are trying to change conditions. She also says there are lots of folks who live in the suburbs who want to put in time and get involved with Detroit. Detroit Jews for Justice is giving people more meaningful ways to connect with the city and be supportive of Detroiters.

As outlined in their core values, Detroit Jews for Justice honors the long history of activism that came before them and organizes around aspiring towards a better world. They choose work that is actionable, winnable and relevant to the lives and experiences of communities in the region. Their work follows the lead of people who are directly impacted by injustice; they support the work around key issues of Detroit and surrounding communities, and they address root causes of injustice.

The group now meets once a month at Rabbi Alpert’s home because young people seem to prefer to meet in homes. They also meet twice a month at the Mondrey building in Oak Park, and twice a month at various locations in Detroit. “We have a high percentage of attendance from our membership,” says Rabbi Alpert.

“We usually have at least 20 people on a Saturday morning and about 40 people on a Friday night.”

Rabbi Alpert reports that congregational members, as well as members for the Detroit Jews for Justice, travel from all over the metro area including Detroit, Shelby Township, West Bloomfield and Huntington Woods. As an organization that serves families who live in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs, Oak Park has proved to be a comfortable commute and very convenient meeting point for everyone.

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Special Feature by Mary Meldrum

WITH AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF BARS and restaurants and a heavier volume of foot traffic, Ferndale has become a destination city. And, like many destinations, there is a need for parking. While this seems like a good problem to have, change doesn’t come easy to any established city’s infrastructure, and this subject has created angst for many in Ferndale. The growing pains experienced in Ferndale are being felt by many communities in the Detroit area, and even nationwide.

In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a push to move out away from downtown areas, like Detroit. That movement has recently reversed, and there is a shift in lots of communities to embrace downtown density again. There is a struggle in community development to navigate, accept and accommodate that change in cities across America.

After a lengthy development phase and input from businesses and residents, the City of Ferndale finally approved plans for a mixed-use parking structure on West Troy near Allen at its October 23 Council meeting. Dubbed “The Dot” (‘Development On Troy’), the project features 397 much-needed off-street parking spaces. It will also house over 14,500 square feet of ground floor retail and commercial space, over 39,800 square feet of office space, and a stand-alone residential development capable of supporting 14 to 25 units.

With the approval in place, the city will now finalize engineering, put out bids for contractors, and start construction on the parking deck by April of 2018. Many are relieved to know there will be more parking coming soon. But, while the debates regarding most of the details of this project have been put to rest with this approval, there are still some unhappy business owners and residents who have questions and concerns regarding loading zones, crosswalks, environmental impacts, as well as who will – and more importantly who will not – benefit.

For one thing, there are questions about the City devoting 100 per cent of the $200 thousand dollars allotted for parking mitigation towards providing free valet service.

Assistant City Manager Joe Gacioch provided me with an update on the progress since the October approval of the DOT.

“Right now, the architects are going through the schematic design process,” he reports. “They are finalizing calculations for engineering elements.” He expects schematic designs to be completed within the next four weeks and, once the final design happens, they proceed to competitive bids for construction. The City will then review bids for construction and select a general contractor.

They are looking to break ground in the spring of 2018, concluding an 18-month approval process that included research and public engagement.

“For the long-term view, I think this project is efficient in terms of addressing adequate parking, walk-ability, and density in terms of the daytime and nighttime activity,” explains Gacioch. “Mixed-use helps address the daytime activity because we want to increase foot traffic with the office space. These are all goals that line up with the city’s plan. One of the great things about office space is that they leave at 5:00 P.M., and we have a vibrant downtown economy during the evening, so those spaces become available to accommodate the evening traffic.”

“For the short-term, we recognize there will be discomfort for downtown. We want to minimize the disruption. We have been working with the DDA and businesses to come up with strategies to provide temporary parking solutions.” Gacioch shares, “This inward movement to downtown density is very difficult, and we have to be sensitive to that.” He admits that “nothing is perfect,” but they are working to ease the burden of the construction as much as possible.

They will be testing valet services downtown. A free valet service will be provided downtown during the testing periods (Small Business Saturday weekend, November 24-26, and during the DDA Holiday Lights Festival, December 8-10). The City is also looking to rent a parking lot close to downtown to add more parking spaces during the construction period.

There are grave concerns having to do with the survival of some of the small downtown businesses. They will feel the pain, more than anyone else, of the expected 15-month long construction project which will, of course, put even more pressure on the existing limited parking. Will their customers endure the difficulties of circling for a space or parking further away? Or will they just go somewhere else?

Pat Doran, Professional Guitars
Professional Guitar shop owner, Patrick Doran has been a small business owner in the city since 1990.

“There wasn’t always a robust nightlife here,” Doran says. Where Doran and others really feel the pain right now is on days of a big football game or St. Patrick’s Day. The bars patrons take up all the parking, and that becomes a problem for businesses like Professional Guitars or the Candle Wick Shoppe where somebody just wants to come and buy a guitar string or a candle. If somebody just wants to pop into a shop to buy an item, they will be put off by the lack of parking. Pat points out that it is also unlikely that his customers will circle the block multiple times to find parking.

“I think everyone in Ferndale realizes something needs to be done about the parking,” Pat admits. Most understand the need for additional parking, but they don’t all understand the City’s drive to make it a mixed-use project rather than just throw up a barn for cars. “I think it is going to be more of a hardship for retail businesses to survive when they start the construction.” In addition, night life brings its own flavor of change. “My store is adjacent to an alley, and I can’t count the discarded liquor bottles and beer cans that were not there in 1990,” he reports. “The place next to me has had problems with alcohol and fights.”

Prasad Venogopal, Ferndale Resident
Prasad Venogopal is one of many parents whose children attend the Mejishi Martial Arts Studio on Nine Mile, a business that backs up to Troy Street and is very close to the planned structure.

Venugopal and other parents drop their children off on Troy Street, and many of those kids cross that busy street to get to Mejishi’s. “Children as young as four and five are crossing, and I have personally seen numerous instances where cars have not stopped for the crosswalk and children have come close to being run over,” explains Venugopal. “With that kind of traffic and the dozens of kids who attend Mejishi, I am concerned about what impact the parking deck is going to have on this situation. I haven’t seen the architectural drawings, but if the crosswalk is not part of it, I think crossing the street will be more dangerous.”

Like others, Venugopal is not a fan of the mixed-use aspect of the parking deck. “I think if they need more parking, they should put in more parking. That’s all it should have been. That is how the conversation began,” he opines.

Chris Best, The Rust Belt
“This is very necessary. We are overdue for a parking solution in downtown Ferndale,” declares Chris Best, co-owner of the Rust Belt. Referring to the economic boom that the city has been experiencing, “There are no signs of slowing down as far as development; new businesses, lofts, condos and it is all adding density for businesses, which is great.”

Indeed, Ferndale has become a bustling town with several new businesses, more people and, as Chris adds, “Unfortunately, that is the path for most downtowns, in order to grow. You need people to patronize the downtown; you need density and walkable downtowns, which are very coveted by quality retailers.”

Density creates a rich diversity. Parking is a problem because the mass transit system in the area is anemic. “While it will be a disruption during the building time – which is a big bummer – it is very much needed as part of the evolution of downtown Ferndale.”

Martha Sempliner, Owner Library Bookstore
A landlord and business owner in Ferndale for over 30 years, Martha Sempliner has been following the progress of the city’s parking solution.

“I think this is going to be detrimental to every business. If they close the street for 15 months, where are the workers going to park? Where are the people who use the businesses going to park?”

With regard to the city providing valet or bus service to move shoppers, she doesn’t believe patrons will wait for that. In this day of instant access and convenience, she thinks shoppers just won’t come and will choose to go someplace else.

Referring to all the other more convenient choices available to customers, “Why would they wait to take a bus across the street?”

“What everyone here needs is parking. They don’t need the rest of that. We don’t need apartments or businesses,” She insists.

With clientele that routinely travels from areas like Detroit, downriver, and Ann Arbor, Martha is wary that the construction of the parking deck will disrupt their visits to her store.

As a landlord, the parking lot she owns already experiences people parking there who are not her customers. With regard to illegal parking in her lot, she says, “This project is going to exacerbate the problem we already have.”

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Story By : Sara E. Teller

DURING A MEETING HELD NOVEMBER 3RD TO consider a proposal to develop a regional mass transit system, the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation’s (SMART) Board of Directors
approved a budget amendment designed to fund the new initiative, which includes stops along Michigan
Avenue, Woodward Avenue and Gratiot Avenue.

The service would specifically connect downtown Detroit with Metro Airport, Pontiac, Troy and Chesterfield Twp. Washtenew County has been excluded from the plan thus far, and details regarding specific stops along the route have yet to be determined. Some of the current destinations will be eliminated, but only those that cross new points along the grid.

“One of SMART’s most important objectives is to provide reliable transportation to get people to work,” said the company’s Marketing and Communications Director, Beth Gibbons. “By improving service throughout the region’s major corridors our ability to connect jobs with workers is enhanced, which could serve to attract businesses across the spectrum to locate or expand in South-East Michigan.” One of these prospects, a valuable consideration for the new transit system, is Amazon. The well-known marketplace has been scouting a location for its second headquarters, and SMART’s proposal may help to entice it and other big names to establish in the Detroit area.

Amazon has been undergoing a competitive site selection process, asking leaders of population-dense areas to submit their cities as headquarter candidates. In choosing the location, Amazon has specified a preference for metropolitan areas with more than one million people, a stable and business-friendly environment, urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent, and communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options.

Wherever the marketplace decides to set up shop, the site is projected to create as many as 50 thousand new full-time positions for residents, with an average annual compensation exceeding $100 thousand dollars per employee. “Amazon has not released any feedback for submitted proposals that would provide any concrete information on the likelihood of selecting Detroit for the HQ2,” said Beth. Of SMART’s plan, she said, “We have received a variety of responses from the public regarding the proposed service changes. SMART has reviewed the comments, and made adjustments to better meet the needs of our riders.” Additional meetings to solicit feedback are scheduled.

Riders are especially looking forward to being able to connect to the Internetwhile in route. “Wi-Fi service will be available to rediers…on the new express starting January 1st” of this coming year, Beth explained. “SMART is planning to add additional amenities to a number of the stop locations along these corridors.” She added, “SMART’s current fares will still apply to the new service, at $2 dollars one way.”

Regional transit service will begin on January 1, 2018, with a projected annual cost of $14 million, which will fund all expenses related to operating the new system. “This includes wages and benefits for additional drivers, maintenance and IT staff, fuel and maintenance on the buses, and all other operational costs associated with the service running on the road,” Beth explained, adding, “When SMART successfully increased our millage from 0.59 to 1.0 mils in 2014, we committed to balancing our budget, signing new union contracts, and replacing our entire fixed route fleet of buses. Now that those objectives have been accomplished, we have a small amount of funding to reinvest sustainably in improving service. Using the funding to leverage additional federal and state grant funding, we are able to fund about $14 million in continuing, additional service into the future.”

Robert Cramer, Deputy General Manager and EEO/DBE Compliance Officer of SMART, said, “The design of the new service carefully balances the desire to limit the number of stops with the need to connect to as many mobility options as possible. More specifically, the stop locations are selected to connect to other SMART and DDOT routes, park and ride locations, the airport, the QLine, the People Mover, Amtrak Train Stations in Pontiac, Dearborn and Detroit, MOGO Bike Share downtown and Dearborn’s Bike Share along Michigan Avenue. Using only the very limited number of stops on these three routes, you can directly connect to over 92 per cent of all SMART and DDOT routes. The seven-day frequent nature of these routes and this emphasis on connectivity improves a person’s ability to get around the region significantly.” Dan Dirks, Director of Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) believes SMART’s plan will complement its current services. “This complements DDOT service, which is a benefit to DDOT customers and city residents,” he said.

Public hearings began on November 15th for anyone who wants to attend. Comments regarding the new initiative are also being accepted through November 20th at the SMART Administrative Offices, via phone at (313) 223-2100 or email at PublicHearing@smartbus.org.

0 2019

A message from the station organizers.

THANK YOU, FERNDALE! If you’re a Ferndale resident, a Ferndale Friends supporter, a Rust Belt Market patron or you’re just giving this article a quick look, you’re part of making our dream come true. Ferndale Radio has live programming on the air, and you made it happen.

We’ve been over the moon since we turned the mics on for the first time on Black Friday. A dedicated group of volunteers has been happily filling our live schedule, and we’re delivering music that’s rarely — if ever —heard anywhere else on the FM dial.

We appreciate everyone who has stopped by the station to give us a thumbs up or a word of encouragement. We are thankful for all of you who follow us on social media and spread the word to your friends and family. And we are forever grateful for those who donated to us when this was nothing more than a crazy idea. Your faith in us was inspiring.

The best part about all this is it’s only going to get better. We plan to broadcast hyperlocal news, high school sporting events and talk shows just as soon as we get our sea legs, and we hope to have a variety of specialty programming and a livestream up and running sometime in 2018.

We love this community, and we know that Ferndale is the best possible place to put a station like ours. Thanks for being part of this journey with us and believing in us. We truly could not have done it without you. We hope to make you proud.

FerndaleRadio@gmail.com
FerndaleRadio.com
Michelle Mirowski, Dave Phillips, Jeremy Olstyn, Keith Fraley, Dave Kim, Paul Schmalenberg

photos © Bernie Laframboise
photo © David McNair

0 2765

By : Hugh Nichol IV
& stephanie loveless

FERNDALE FRIENDS HAS BEEN RUNNING a series of articles regarding “Instant Runoff Voting,” which was adopted in 2004 as the preferred voting method for Ferndale’s mayoral and council races but, for a variety of reasons (legal obstacles, incompatible voting machines, etc.), has never been implemented. However, as of this year Ferndale has new voting machines which are IRV-compatible, sparking renewed interest in the subject.

Instant Runoff Voting allows the voter the option of ranking their choice of candidates 1-2-3. For example, a voter might have marked their 2016 presidential ballot as 1) Trump 2) Johnson 3) Clinton; or 1) Stein 2) Clinton 3) Johnson, etc. With IRV, no candidate can be elected until they have received at least 50% + 1 vote.
Minneapolis, Minnesota has been using IRV (also known as Ranked-Choice Voting or RCV) for ten years, after adopting it in 2006 – two years after Ferndale. Voter turnout went from 15 per cent in 2005 to 42.5% in 2017. In the most recent elections on Nov. 8, two transgender candidates were elected to city council.

The citizens of Maine voted in 2016 to adopt IRV for the entire state, but the measure has been at least temporarily delayed by the Maine Legislature. Now, volunteers are working to gather 60,000 signatures to put the matter back on the ballot. They reportedly gathered over 30,000 signatures their first day.

MARNE MCGRATH SERVES as our Ferndale City Clerk and, as such, she has an important role to play in terms of the implementation of IRV in Ferndale. The city clerk, along with the city manager and city attorney, make up the Fern-dale Election Commission.

McGrath, a Ferndale resident since 2001, was born in St. Ignace, in the Upper Peninsula. She started as a volunteer in the cable TV department at City Hall in 2001, rising over the years to a position of considerably greater responsibility as City Clerk since 2015.

We asked McGrath what she likes and dislikes about IRV. “I like that IRV/RCV gives the voter the opportunity to truly express their preference of candidates. If one candidate doesn’t win with a majority I think IRV is a great method to determine which candidates are more preferred by voters.”

As for her dislikes, “Since I haven’t had an opportunity to see it in action yet, I don’t have an opinion. Our new voting equipment can only be configured to six vote positions, so I am concerned about how we would manage a ballot with more candidates.”

According to Shane McKibben, of FAIR.Vote, “Minneapolis and Oakland both limit rankings to three candidates, and St. Paul limits rankings to six, so this is not without precedent and should not prove too large a concern.”

One of the obstacles in the way of implementation is the requirement for State-approved ballot instructions. In other words, the Michigan Bureau of Elections must approve the specific language used on the ballots which instruct the voter how to mark their ballot. Recent feedback from the Secretary of State suggests that several changes to current election law are required to move forward. Most recently, ballot instructions have been reviewed by Ruth Johnson’s office and are currently being reviewed by Legislative Services.

However, IRV has already been used in Michigan, in Ann Arbor in 1975, as well as in Kalamazoo in 1918. We asked if Ferndale can follow Ann Arbor’s precedent (up-held in Stephenson vs. Ann Arbor Board of canvassers) and implement without State-approved RCV ballot instructions.

McGrath answered, “Our City Attorney (Dan Christ) has long contended that preferential voting is permitted under the Home Rule City act. I believe this is how Ann Arbor was able to implement it in 1975. Since we work with the County to create our ballots and tabulate our results I’m not sure if there is a way to implement IRV without state-approved ballot instructions. I don’t know how much election administration has changed over the past 40 years, but it could be that at the time Ann Arbor created their own ballots and administered their elections locally, rather than through the county elections division. This may have given them more local control of the ballot structure and voting instructions.

When does McGrath expect we will be able to use IRV in Ferndale’s mayoral and council races?

“It is my hope that we will be able to use IRV in the 2019 local election. It is disappointing to be so close to implementing the wishes of our voters, and yet not be able to do so. At this time, the Commission is unable to approve the equipment because although it has been assured that the equipment is capable, it has not yet been demonstrated. The Election Commission looks for-ward to a demonstration of IRV so it can move forward with the implementation process, whether that be through updated state election law or a determination that the City Attorney’s opinion that IRV is allowed as a preferential form of voting through the Home Rule City Act.”

McGrath has a deep love for Ferndale. “I love working for the community I live in because I feel my efforts directly impact the quality of life in Ferndale. My background is in customer service, and I believe a customer-oriented mindset is crucial to effective public service. Prior to Ferndale I worked in the hospitality industry. I feel that every work experience has value, but none more so than being our City Clerk. I envision a future where we continue to be innovative, diverse, and always evolving to find the best ways to serve our residents.

“It has been a goal of mine, and every clerk since the ballot measure was approved in 2004, to see the implementation of IRV finally come to Ferndale. It was disheartening to learn that we are unable to do so without a modification to state election law, but I remain optimistic that we will be able to bring IRV to Ferndale by working with our legislators, IRV organizations, and our city attorney.”

If you are interested in working for IRV in Ferndale, contact:
Stephanie loveless at steffie@ferndalefriends.net
Hugh McNichol : 517-420-8452; hugh.mcnichol@gmail.com

For more information, contact:
FairVote: www.fairvote.org,
6930 Carroll Ave Ste 240, Takoma Park MD 20912
301-270-4616, info@fairvote.org
www.firv.org
www.rankedchoicevoting.org

 

0 1765

ORGANIZERS BEHIND THE Voters Not Politicians petition drive to end gerrymandering in Michigan are reporting an explosive response to their efforts. (See The Effort To End Gerrymandering In Michigan in the Fall 2017 Edition of Ferndale Friends.)

“We are excited about the out-standing efforts of our all-volunteer petition gatherers, and are confident we will be able to turn in sufficient signatures before the end of the year,” said Katie Fahey, President and Treasurer of Voters Not Politicians. “Citizens are unhappy to learn that politicians get to choose their own voters instead of voters choosing them. Michigan is ready to end the extreme parti-san gerrymandering by both par-ties that robs voters of their constitutional rights to hold representatives accountable at the ballot box.”

Gerrymandering is the legal process by which the political party in the majority redraws voting district lines in order to benefit their candidates at the expense of the candidates of other parties.

The grassroots organization’s 100 per cent volunteer petition circulation team collected over 160 thousand signatures in just five weeks. That’s a pace of over three signatures collected every min-ute. They have now collected over 350,000 unverified signatures.

“We have come a long way in just a few short months,” said Fahey. “Not many people thought we could gather sufficient signatures with volunteers. We’re proving them wrong. Now we are preparing to protect our petition from partisan elites who want to deny to the public the transparency and citizen involvement our proposal will bring to redistricting.”

In response to expected opposition from establishment organizations opposed to their efforts, Voters Not Politicians has hired Fraser Trebilcock, a noted law firm in Michigan, to bolster its legal resources. The public relations firm Martin Waymire (which has managed a number of successful statewide ballot campaigns) will also assist with communications and other aspects of the campaign.

The initiative campaign needs 315,654 valid signatures to reach the ballot. Although the signatures are being checked against voter databases to re-move invalid signatures, at this point, the campaign expects to turn in about 400,000 to provide a strong cushion in case some are found invalid. These signatures have been collected in every one of Michigan’s 83 counties. This demonstrates that Michiganders – from Houghton to Monroe – are behind fair, independent, and trans-parent redistricting reform in Michigan.

This campaign could not have reached this mile-stone without more than 3,000 trained volunteer circulators collecting signatures everywhere, every day, from flea markets to rest stops along I-75 to cow pastures and everywhere in between.

The organizers claim 13 times more individual donors than any other MI 2018 ballot initiative. These success stories suggest that the citizens of Michi-gan are ready for the change being proposed and are looking to finally end gerrymandering in our state.

http://www.votersnotpoliticians.com/

0 1821

Story By :  Jeff Milo
Photo By : Bernie Laframboise

FERNDALE HAS HAD ITS SHARE OF FAMOUS FOLKS HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT. BUT FEW ARE AS OUTGOING AS AUTHOR JOSH MALERMAN; HE’LL TELL YOU HIS STORY IF YOU BUMP INTO HIM. More likely, he’ll probably want to hear your story. As a writer, he’s naturally fascinated by people. He has a knack for getting familiar very fast. That’s expected, not just as an author who’s naturally fascinated by people, but also from years of touring with and performing at countless local rock venues with the band The High Strung.

Next year, Malerman’s breakout horror novel, Bird Box, is being adapted into a major motion-picture production, with a cast that includes Hollywood icons like Sandra Bullock and John Malkovich. His third novel on a major publishing house came out on Halloween, and his fourth will be out by Spring of next year. Oh, and you can hear his lead vocals over the rock music of The High Strung’s song “Luck You Got” during the opening credits of Showtime’s Shameless. Life begins at 40, they say, but for Malmeran, so does fame…, but that “fame” only comes after writing more than a dozen novels before his first publication, and after almo
st 20 years in his band during which they released seven LPs and logged about 2,000 days of touring.

“I knew from the moment Universal (Pictures) optioned Bird Box that I’d have no say in the script, the music, the process; I’m fine with that. Not just because that’s the natural process for an unknown author selling a book to the movies, but because I’m a true fan of collaborative art! I’m interested as hell to see what they do with it! Have fun with it, I say! The book will always be there.”

Bird Box made a big splash in the genres of horror and dystopic thrillers: a near future world (set in Michigan) where an uncanny new species has infiltrated civilization, the mere sight of these supernatural entities can spiral any observer off into destructive mania. “So, I just hope three things for the movie: that it’s scary as hell; that the music is phenomenal, and that everyone involved has a really good time making it. That’s where I’m at with it.” He said he feels the same way about next year’s Unbury Carol, another horror novel, which will be out on Del Rey, and has its own potential to be adapted some day.

His most recent, Goblin, came out on Halloween. It’s a novel told in six short, interconnected stories; effectively presented as “What if The Twilight Zone were an actual city?” And the citizens of this fictitious municipality known as Goblin seem to be aware that their town is naturally supernatural, and that an intangible entity of danger resides in its recesses.

“And that can easily be said about America as a whole, right now,” Malerman mused. “Things are crazy. We all know it. And yet, aren’t we all still proud to be from the USA? Aren’t we still glad to call this place home? Now, Goblin doesn’t have the same political madness, but it certainly has that pride. Everyone in Goblin is a bit obsessed…Behind every closed door and draped window, there’s a person fixated on something in their life that would sound crazy to the rest of us who are, really, in turn, fixated on our own infinitesimal things.” It being a horror novel, though, you can expect that Goblin residents often flirt with near or certain doom due to the malevolent magnetisms of their fixations.

Malerman says that Goblin shares very few similarities with Ferndale. Nevertheless, our city’s unique charms still influence Malerman’s imagination in other ways. “Ferndale is exactly the right-sized city in which, when you go out, you have a good chance of running into someone you know—but you still might not.

So when you do run into someone: it’s a spark! Ferndale is a great mix of
“small town” and “city,” so it definitely plays into the landscape of whatever book I’m writing. There are enough bookstores here (Library Bookstore, John King North) and in Oak Park and Berkley, where I can hope to find an old horror novel I’ve been searching for. Couple that with the coffee shops, here!Trip that with the bars! Then, let’s quadruple that with the folks inside those bars; yeah, Ferndale plays a major part in my life, which in turn plays a major part in the books.”

As Malerman tells it, he finds inspiration here in more eclectic forms. (And that, as you’ll read, is notably due to his partner, in life and in art, Allison Laako.) “Ferndale is the kind of smaller town that has completely adopted the big city freedom of expression,” Malerman says.

One weekend night, Laako enthused Malerman to head out to Zeke’s to see a band; that she’d catch up later. Only thing was, his driving ahead on this frigid winter night meant she’d have to walk there. “The band has already started and I suddenly see someone in a penguin suit outside walking up to the door. I think, ‘Hmm, we have a penguin suit…! I wonder…?’ And sure enough, brilliant Allison found the warmest thing in our house to wear, penguin-head and all. Everyone in the bar, they laughed, they got into it! You can be a freak in Ferndale! But…the locals are also hungry enough to ask a little something more of your freakishness—be clever about it, use it in a powerful or fun way. If you’re gonna let your freak flag fly, let us all hear it flapping in the wind. We like that sound in Ferndale!”

Laako is a hybrid, visual artist, improvisatory thespian, singer, and makeup visionary. Her creativity and vibrant imagination have certifiably inspired Malerman during their six years together—intimate scenes of which are captured in Quilt of Delirium, a recently released documentary streaming online, directed by Scott Allen. That film can continue telling the story of Malerman, beyond this page. It’s a story that includes his band, The High Strung, as well as unpacks the source of his deep love for telling stories.

Goblin is out now; Unbury Carol is on the way, and a movie version of Bird Box will be out after that. Oh, and then there’s that new High Strung album…All this creative output, surging right out of Ferndale.

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