Valentine's Day View

The window display at With Our Hands in Saugatuck.

Wendy Wise has again captured the holiday season with her new window display at her shop With Our Hands at 303 Butler St. in Saugatuck.

The mannequins, which have previously been draped in patriotic colors and Yuletide wear, are now covered — barely — with hearts.

The changing window displays draw in people to the shop, Wise said in earlier interviews.

Saugatuck Township mum in Dugout Road debate

Dugout Road in Saugatuck Township. The Kalamazoo River is on the left.

The entrance to Dugout Road.

The Saugatuck Township board remained mum on its plans for Dugout Road, though some residents made their views clear at Wednesday night’s meeting.

“This is a big issue,” said Dayle Harrison, a member of township planning commission.

For more background, visit http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x1354948821/Hearing-set-on-fate-of-Dugout-Road

Property owners adjoining the road have asked the Allegan County Road Commission to vacate the road.

A hearing on the topic is 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Allegan County Area Technical & Education Center, 2891 116th Ave. in Allegan. Saugatuck Township will get the first offer to acquire the land after the hearing and decision by the road commission.

The dangerous unpaved road hugs the north side of the Kalamazoo River and dead-ends at private property. Road maintenance trucks and fire trucks cannot safely navigate the stretch the township calls “perilous.”

For a look at the road, visit http://www.hollandsentinel.com/videos/x301189104/Dangerous-Dugout-Road?page=1

Area residents have asked the township to acquire the road and keep it open as a pedestrian path.

Russ Harris told the board Wednesday he’d like to see the road turned into a walking trail. He also suggested the township get other groups, such as the Nature Conservancy, involved to make it a linear park.

“It’s the most spectacular view of the river in the township,” said Harrison. He urged the township to make a statement to the road commission about acquiring the land.

Board members declined, saying they cannot comment on the issue until after the hearing because the board has no authority over the road.

Trustee Chris Roerig said he wants input from the planning commission and parks commission before he would discuss it.

Township representatives will be at the hearing, said Supervisor Bill Wester. The township will discuss the issue at its March meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, at the township hall, 3461 Blue Star Highway.

Pine Trail Camp originally filed a request to vacate Dugout Road in March 2010, then suspended the issue two months later among fears the camp would be pulled into the lawsuits between the township and developer Aubrey McClendon, who owns land around the road, also called Singapore Road.

In May, the request to close the road was again made.

Toilet talk in Saugatuck

This park in Saugatuck could be the site of new restrooms.

Few topics in Saugatuck city get council members going like public restrooms, and when the topic came up of adding new toilet facilities at the corner of Butler and Water streets, some members became, well, flushed with excitement.

“A lot of businesses say we need another toilet downtown,” said Councilman Henry VanSingel at last month’s study session.

The council is considering changes to a half-acre site to include a memorial to a former police chief, picnic tables and an amphitheater for 80 to 100 people.

And a bathroom.

“I’d like to see something designed around a couple of restrooms there,”  said City Manager Kirk Harrier.

The city has four public restrooms, two on the north end of downtown — one facility is at Butler and Main streets, another on Water Street at Wicks Park — one on the west side of the Kalamazoo River at the foot of Mount Baldhead and another at Oval Beach on Lake Michigan. Only the Butler Street restroom stays open in the winter.

In December, the council began looking at ways to finance a new restroom at Coghlin Park on Culver Street. The park is becoming more popular and is the site of jazz concerts and Waterfront Film Festival events. Estimates put the cost at $50,000 to $80,000.

The city council also wants a unisex restroom with two separate toilets worked into the renovation of the park at Butler and Water streets. Each room would have a changing table, toilet and sink.

(Here’s a link to a story with more details about the park proposal: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x690035342/Park-design-could-include-amphitheater)

Mayor Jane Verplank suggested a restroom for men and two for women.

Harrier was looking at costs, noting that small unisex bathrooms would be easier to heat than the current facility several blocks away on Butler Street.

The facility used to rack up $600 to $700 monthly heating bills until the city made some modifications in the ventilation system and lowered the heat to about 60 degrees, said Treasurer Peter Stanislawski.

Now it costs about $100 to $120 a month to heat, he said.

Harrier would like to shut down that restroom in the winter and have a smaller — and cheaper — facility to maintain throughout the snowy season.

Bathrooms have always been a high-profile topic in this tourist town.

In 2008, Saugatuck made international news when a business owner got frustrated at the number of customer complaints about the dirty restrooms on Butler Street. He cleaned the restroom and submitted a bill to the city. The city thanked him by presenting him with the Golden Plunger Award.

Here’s a link to that story:

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x1678071002/Saugatuck-merchant-receives-Golden-Plunger-Award-for-cleaning-bathrooms

State of the State visitor

State Rep. Bob Genetski, R-Saugatuck, left, talks with Chris Roerig.

Saugatuck Township Trustee Chris Roerig got a close-up seat for last Wednesday’s State of State address in Lansing.

He sat with State Rep. Bob Genetski, R-Saugatuck, during the talk at the Capitol.

Roerig said it was his first time at a State of the State address.

“Bob invited me as a local official and small business owner,” he said. Roerig and his wife Linda own Baragar Pines Tree Farm, 2661 64th St. in Saugatuck Township. He is also vice president of sales and marketing for CQS Innovation, Inc., 2390 Pipestone Road in Benton Harbor.

“The atmosphere was positive,” Roerig said. “The governor impressed me with his commitment to accountability to achieve goals and the progress that the state is making.”

School board thanks

 

Students from Douglas Elementary School and Saugatuck High School thanked members of the Saugatuck Public Schools Board of Education on Monday, Jan. 16., for their time and dedication.

The elementary school students made a banner that said “Thank You So Much Saugatuck School Board” and signed it. High school students donated money for two water filters to be sent in the board’s name to the Dominican Republic. The filters will help families that do not have clean water.

January is School Board Recognition Month.

To see videos of the presentations, visit:

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/videos/x1987749512/Douglas-student-thanks-school-board?page=0


http://www.hollandsentinel.com/videos/x255288961/High-school-student-thanks-Saugatuck-board?page=0

Nothing to say about McClendon lawsuit

Saugatuck Township board members sat quietly Wednesday night as half dozen audience members asked what was happening with negotiations in the Aubrey McClendon federal lawsuit.

Township trustees did say two things:

-- Jim Hanson: Discussions are progressing toward scheduling a meeting with  attorneys to discuss the next step in the McClendon case.

-- Jane Wright: No court recorder is present so the board cannot talk about the lawsuit.

McClendon sued the township in 2010 alleging his property had been singled out for spot zoning in 2006 when the township passed an ordinance limiting development. In July, McClendon’s Singapore Dunes LLC and the township reached a consent agreement to end the lawsuit, though in November, a federal judge dismissed the agreement.

That means the lawsuit is still pending in federal court and the two sides have another chance to work out a compromise.

In December, township Supervisor Bill Wester said the board will meet with its attorney this month to decide the next step.

(FYI: Wester was absent from last week’s meeting)


David Swan, president of the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance, asked the board on Wednesday to re-examine the zoning of the property as a way to settle the issue.

“This is just such an easy path and an inexpensive path,” Swan said. He directly asked Trustee Chris Roerig if he would open a motion to look at the zoning, but neither Roerig nor the rest of the board could discuss the issue.

The federal judge earlier told the township that anytime the McClendon lawsuit is discussed, the session must be recorded by a court reporter so the information is accurate. For the first time in months, the court reporter was not at the township meeting.

The confusing way to choose a chairman

A spectator in the crowd at Thursday’s Allegan County Board of Commissioners meeting leaned over to me and asked, “What are they doing?”

“Electing a chairman,” I whispered.

The spectator shook his head and said it was all too confusing.

The process of electing the chairman — Mark DeYoung, who was also chairman last year — is a complex task at the county level.

First, county Clerk Joyce Watts opened the meeting. Then the board elected a temporary chairman — this time, Commissioner Jon Campbell. Each person had to get up from their regular seats and physically occupy the center chair. Campbell then asked for nominations for the permanent chairman.

DeYoung and Commissioner Dean Kapenga were nominated.

The board had to decide if it would vote by show of hands, written signed ballot or written unsigned (secret) ballot. First, it was to be written signed ballot, then, by the suggestion of Commissioner Max Thiele, it became a secret ballot.

Two commissioners were then appointed to collect and count the ballots. They were sworn in by Watts. After the ballots were counted and DeYoung declared the winner (no totals shared), the papers were given to the clerk.

Believe it or not, this was a walk in the park compared to last year’s choice which took five attempts. Ryan Lewis at The Allegan County News described last year’s voting debacle:

“DeYoung's eventual election followed four other attempts. Three came back with the votes for DeYoung and Kapenga tied at five and one commissioner explaining on his ballot that he did not want to vote for either candidate on the slate.”

Read the entire description of last year’s voting at http://www.allegannews.com/articles/2011/01/13/local_news/6.txt