The air was electric at last night’s Saugatuck City Council meeting. History itself seemed to echo from the gavel as Mayor Pro Tem Bill Hess called the session to order at precisely 7 p.m.
He had 23 minutes 59 seconds to complete the business of the night and claim the laurels for leading the shortest city council meeting in recent memory.
The previous record holder — Barry Johnson, once mayor when he set the 24-minute record, now councilman — chatted before the meeting. “I have a lot of things to talk about,” he smiled.
The meeting itself was routine and the agenda thin, a normal occurrence for most municipalities this time of year:
• Approve the minutes of the previous meeting;
• Pay the bills (total $295,242.24, including $1,655 for a state-required sign at the Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area);
• Mayor’s comments (“Thank you very much. Happy holidays,” was it from Hess);
• City manager’s comments (none);
• Guest speakers (none);
• Public comment (none from just two people in the audience — one newspaper reporter and the planning commission chairman);
• Unfinished business (none);
• New business (none);
• Consent agenda (none);
• Public comment (none, same two people in the audience, still nothing to say);
• Communications (accept copy of Saugatuck Township fire board minutes — four pages);
• Boards, commissions and committee reports (Councilman Mark Bekken’s update on the Kalamazoo Lake Sewer and Water Authority meeting; Hess’s update on the proposal before the planning commission for a new restaurant); and finally
• Council comments. ...
The chance for the record-holder to stretch out the meeting and save his title?
Johnson updated he council on the closing of the dune deal last week that transfers the property from the Land Conservancy of West Michigan to the city (“Amazing amount of coverage we’ve gotten on that,” said Councilman Jeff Spangler about the reports in newspapers, online, TV and radio). A brief discussion about the possibility of having the Allegan County Community Foundation oversee the natural area’s endowment.
Then the council chambers grew quiet. The only sound came from the “Village Office” sign creaking in the strong winds outside.
Johnson gallantly admitted defeat.
“A new record?” he said as Hess tapped the gavel.
Yep. 12 minutes.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
A Party for R.J. Peterson
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| Guests at Tower Marina in Douglas talk before lunch is served Friday, Dec. 23, to celebrate the 85th birthday of R.J. Peterson, front right. Peterson’s birthday is Dec. 31. |
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| R.J. Peterson, right, at Tower Marina. |
Downstairs, friends and marina employees were busy arranging snacks, sandwich fixings and, of course, the large sheet cake to celebrate the marina owner’s 85th birthday.
Sealed envelope in hand, Peterson came down the stairs to cheers from more than a dozen people.
As he mingled with the crowd, Peterson talked about dredging and the move to consolidate Saugatuck and Douglas cities with Saugatuck Township.
Marina worker Kim Rewa briefly protested, telling Peterson that this was a birthday celebration, not a time for working.
Peterson just smiled and kept on chatting until he was called to cut the cake that said: “Merry Christmas and happy Birthday R.J.”
His birthday is actually Dec. 31.
Keewatin site
The Great Lakes steamship Keewatin is now floating in Kalamazoo Lake for the first time in decades. The ship had been resting in mud until dredging removed the sediment earlier this week.
The ship will be towed out of the harbor in June to its new home in Canada.
To see a video of the dredging site, visit:
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/videos/x1282423391/Keewatin-Dredging-Site
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Saying farewell with a poem
Resignation letters are common in local governments, but one with a poem? That’s a rarity.
When Helen DeGeatano submitted her letter of resignation from the Douglas Downtown Development Authority, she included the 1875 poem “Invictus” by William Henry Henley.
“It kind of represented what I experienced over 12 years being on committees,” DeGeatano said.
She has served on the historical preservation committee and the parks committee as well as the downtown development authority.
“I felt it was time for me to step back and do more with the Dutchers,” she said.
DeGeatano leads the Douglas Dutchers Vintage Base Ball Club, a team that plays 1860s-style base ball. Last year, she helped bring the Basket Factory Vintage Base Ball Festival to Beery Field.
Here’s the poem:
When Helen DeGeatano submitted her letter of resignation from the Douglas Downtown Development Authority, she included the 1875 poem “Invictus” by William Henry Henley.
“It kind of represented what I experienced over 12 years being on committees,” DeGeatano said.
She has served on the historical preservation committee and the parks committee as well as the downtown development authority.
“I felt it was time for me to step back and do more with the Dutchers,” she said.
DeGeatano leads the Douglas Dutchers Vintage Base Ball Club, a team that plays 1860s-style base ball. Last year, she helped bring the Basket Factory Vintage Base Ball Festival to Beery Field.
Here’s the poem:
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Most hated men in Saugatuck?
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| R.J. Peterson, left, and Eric Conroy at The Annex Coffee Shop Saturday. |
Is Eric Conroy the most hated man in Saugatuck?
And R.J. Peterson the town’s own Benedict Arnold?
Radio host Mike Johnson christened the two with the infamous titles Saturday morning during “The Morning Grind” radio show on 92.7 FM.
Johnson was exaggerating, of course — listeners to his weekly radio show know he can push boundaries — and used his radio time to interview the two Keewatin conspirators about the future of the 104-year-old Great Lakes cruise ship that has been in Kalamazoo Lake for 44 years.
Peterson brought the ship to Douglas in 1967. He sold the vessel to Gil Blutrich of Canada this year, finalizing the deal Nov. 30.
Blutrich is chairman and president of Skyline International Development Inc., a private Canadian investment and management company. He plans to have the vessel towed out of Kalamazoo Lake to its historical home of Port McNicholl, Ontario, where the ship part of a renovated waterfront and tourist attraction that will include a reconstruction of a Canadian Pacific Railway station.
“We have the availability of funds that will restore the ship and preserve it for another 100 years,” said Conroy, a former crew member and now consultant overseeing the project. “This ship was very much a part of pulling our country together.”
Conroy explained that Canada was formed differently than the United States. America was cemented through a series of wars, while Canada was united through negotiations. The Keewatin helped exchange goods and people from the west to the east.
“Here, it’s a local attraction. There, it’s a big deal,” Peterson said in September about the ship.
The Keewatin has links to two other famous ships: It took sea trials in Scotland along side the Lusitania, the ship sunk by a German submarine that brought the United States into World War I. The Keewatin has the same style of engine as the Titanic. The staircase and the dining saloon are the same as well. The Marconi Room is the same as the radio room on the Titanic.
Conroy said Saugatuck-Douglas area residents will get a special “thank you” gift when they come to visit the ship in its new home. Residents will be able to get into the new attraction for free.
The ship is set to be removed in June.
“I want to thank you,” Johnson said to Conroy after the radio interview. “Now take the boat and leave.”
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Parade with a peppermint twist
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| A member of the Precision Snow Shovel Brigade Drill Team holds his ground during a string strike Saturday. |
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| The Peppermint Stick Brigade falls into form after the Silly String assault. |
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| The shovel brigade gives chase. Note the Peppermint Sticks ahead of them. |
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| Shovel brigade members break off the chase for a photo on Butler Street. |
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| Crowd-pleasers at the end. |
Charak posted a photo Saturday of the Yuletide-attired Peppermint platoon from last year’s parade. The comment alluded to the drizzle dampening West Michigan all afternoon: “The Poor Poor patties, will their makeup run ... call the wambulance girls!”
He added a caption to the photo: “I hope it stops raining, the living room drapes I’m wearing must be awfully heavy when wet and my make-up will certainly be ruined. I will look just like a stray cat caught in the rain, this day is just ... WHAAAAAAAAAA”
Engel responded: “You’re going down jug head.”
Archie, Betty and Veronica — all Riverdale, in fact — trembled in their boots.
The two groups have nurtured a good-natured competitiveness since the Peppermint Stick Brigade arrived on the scene in 2009 to challenge the pre-eminence of the Precision Snow Shovel Brigade Drill Team in local parades.
The groups are much alike — disciplined, musical in the military style, each carrying an object capable of a colossal smack. Though the drill team’s snow shovels seem a more brutal stick for punishment, the candy cane scepters of the Peppermints can no doubt be wielded with sufficient force to stun a Clydesdale pulling a carriage through town.
The similarity was bound to bring them into conflict. The morning’s Facebook taunts seemed to be the spark and when the Peppermint Sticks struck, they smacked with a storm of Silly String, smothering the shovel-swingers in front of scores of spectators.
To their credit, the veteran Precision Snow Shovel Brigade Drill Team did not break ranks, bravely weathering the sticky string and completing their crowd-pleasing choreography with a defiant smack of their own — shovels on the pavement.
The Peppermints gleefully hustled back to the start of the parade, waving their sticks in the air as they weaved through the sidewalk crowds. The shovellers gave half-hearted chase, picking the plastic party string off their pajama bottoms and coconut bras. They finally stopped to get their photos taken with fans and decide at which bar they would bend elbows.
The Peppermints could claim sweet victory.
The shovellers were going to taste dignity in defeat.
Next year’s parade ought to be epic.
Some links
More photos: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/photo/x560072332/Saugatuck-parade-Silly-String-ambush
Peppermint Stick video: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/videos/x1112597806/Peppermint-Stick-Brigade?page=0
Snow Shovel Brigade video: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/videos/x1560336985/Saugatuck-Snow-Shovel-Drill-Team?page=0
Friday, December 2, 2011
Consolidation discussion hits Facebook
The man who recently started a Facebook page about the drive to consolidate the cities of Saugatuck and Douglas with Saugatuck Township jumped the gun a bit on launching the site.
“I started to get a Facebook page ready, but didn’t intend on launching it right away,” said Matt Balmer. “I was waiting to gather more factual information so I would have more to write about. However, then I figured that I really do have enough and maybe more importantly, it would allow me to receive questions from people that are seeking more information. Information that I could research for them, if I didn’t already have the answer. I still haven’t truly promoted the page, but will begin to do so soon.”
The Tri-Community Consolidation Information page has about two dozen “likes” as of Friday.
Questions range from the cost of the consolidation process, extra-voted millages and what would happen to current employees of each municipality if the areas merged into one.
The Consolidated Government Committee turned in petitions to the State Boundary Commission in November to begin the process of merging the three municipalities.
The state must verify the petitions and hold hearings before the Boundary Commission makes a recommendation on uniting the communities.
The consolidation group’s website, congov.com, answers questions about the merger process and funding. Since Oct. 31, the site has had 1,461 visits and 6,661 hits, the committee said.
The site has a forum page but it has not yet been used by anyone.
“We are all for an open exchange of ideas. Dick Waskin’s post says it best, ‘Let’s keep it fact based and be sincere about what would be best for the Tri-Community area,’” said committee member Steve Hutchins.
The group is not on Facebook but is open to using social media to get the facts before the voters, he said.
The group also holds open hours from 10 a.m. to noon every Saturday at the Saugatuck Douglas Chamber of Commerce office in the Douglas Professional Building, suite 104, corner of Wiley Street and Blue Star Highway. The only Saturdays the sessions will not be offered are Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.
Balmer, a former mayor of Douglas and owner of Everyday People Cafe, has been hearing from people about consolidation
“I’ve found that most people either don’t believe that it’s ever going to seriously happen, or they know so little about it that they don’t really know what to think,” he said.
The former mayor has spoken out against consolidation, but says he is open to new ideas.
“I have learned enough to know that I am definitely not in favor of consolidation, but if someone could show me enough concrete evidence that it could indeed be beneficial, I would not be opposed to changing my mind. I don’t think I’ll ever see such evidence given everything I’ve learned thus far, but I’m open to the possibility,” he said.
Balmer said he wants to get the facts out to people.
“Really I just want to concentrate on gathering the facts and helping people understand what consolidation would entail,” he said.
Another former Douglas mayor has also spoken out against consolidation.
Renee Waddell used her last evening in office to speak out against the merger.
In a letter last week, she wondered about the fate of the two post offices if the towns consolidate.
“Douglas, as unique as each citizen for whom it is intended and if any place can lay claim to the title of unique, it’s the Douglas post office. Daily, Joe and Kathy can be seen treating a friendly dog to a bone, receiving second home owners back into town and offering a smile as they pass a package to you over the counter,” she wrote.
Douglas or Saugatuck: “What will their destiny be? Which one will have to go?” she asked.
“I started to get a Facebook page ready, but didn’t intend on launching it right away,” said Matt Balmer. “I was waiting to gather more factual information so I would have more to write about. However, then I figured that I really do have enough and maybe more importantly, it would allow me to receive questions from people that are seeking more information. Information that I could research for them, if I didn’t already have the answer. I still haven’t truly promoted the page, but will begin to do so soon.”
The Tri-Community Consolidation Information page has about two dozen “likes” as of Friday.
Questions range from the cost of the consolidation process, extra-voted millages and what would happen to current employees of each municipality if the areas merged into one.
The Consolidated Government Committee turned in petitions to the State Boundary Commission in November to begin the process of merging the three municipalities.
The state must verify the petitions and hold hearings before the Boundary Commission makes a recommendation on uniting the communities.
On the web
The consolidation group’s website, congov.com, answers questions about the merger process and funding. Since Oct. 31, the site has had 1,461 visits and 6,661 hits, the committee said.
The site has a forum page but it has not yet been used by anyone.
“We are all for an open exchange of ideas. Dick Waskin’s post says it best, ‘Let’s keep it fact based and be sincere about what would be best for the Tri-Community area,’” said committee member Steve Hutchins.
The group is not on Facebook but is open to using social media to get the facts before the voters, he said.
The group also holds open hours from 10 a.m. to noon every Saturday at the Saugatuck Douglas Chamber of Commerce office in the Douglas Professional Building, suite 104, corner of Wiley Street and Blue Star Highway. The only Saturdays the sessions will not be offered are Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.
Balmer, a former mayor of Douglas and owner of Everyday People Cafe, has been hearing from people about consolidation
“I’ve found that most people either don’t believe that it’s ever going to seriously happen, or they know so little about it that they don’t really know what to think,” he said.
The former mayor has spoken out against consolidation, but says he is open to new ideas.
“I have learned enough to know that I am definitely not in favor of consolidation, but if someone could show me enough concrete evidence that it could indeed be beneficial, I would not be opposed to changing my mind. I don’t think I’ll ever see such evidence given everything I’ve learned thus far, but I’m open to the possibility,” he said.
Balmer said he wants to get the facts out to people.
“Really I just want to concentrate on gathering the facts and helping people understand what consolidation would entail,” he said.
Post offices
Another former Douglas mayor has also spoken out against consolidation.
Renee Waddell used her last evening in office to speak out against the merger.
In a letter last week, she wondered about the fate of the two post offices if the towns consolidate.
“Douglas, as unique as each citizen for whom it is intended and if any place can lay claim to the title of unique, it’s the Douglas post office. Daily, Joe and Kathy can be seen treating a friendly dog to a bone, receiving second home owners back into town and offering a smile as they pass a package to you over the counter,” she wrote.
Douglas or Saugatuck: “What will their destiny be? Which one will have to go?” she asked.
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