| Author | Message | ||
| Stephen Goodfellow
|
Last weekend my wife, son and I were out walking. As we passed the alleys of McLean and Colorado, we were astounded to see dumpsters being filled with alley trash. We introduced ourselves to Angela and Jamal who live on Rhode Island, and they informed us that it was a block club effort. We also discovered that MY block (Farrand Park, between John R & Brush) - does NOT have a block club. We want one, so I'm reaching out to see if anyone can give us a quick crash course in setting one up. Also, Jamal's brother has bought the wonderful stone house on the SE corner of Colorado! That house has been essentially abandoned, save for a roof that was thrown on it by the Highland Park Historical Society back in the 80's. How wonderful it would be if it came back alive again. Finally, Jerome Drain (of Weed and Seed) informed us that the Historical Society designation has lapsed. That's not good. The historical designation affords us higher house values by making the neighborhood a more desirable place to live. Could someone please let us know what the status is, and what needs to be done to reinstate the designation. I think it deserves a discussion topic all to itself. | ||
| Katherine Clarkson
|
Steve, Jerome is mistaken. The national historical designation has not lapsed--designations don't "lapse." There is no "renewal" concept; once designated they stay in place until all the buildings are gone or because they have been remuddled and lost all historic appearance--and even then, they have to be removed by a direct action. They don't "expire" or "lapse." There is an important addendum--the historic tax credits for national historic properties is only available for income-producing property. So home-owner occupied houses are not eligible for national tax credits. MORE IMPORTANTLY, the Michigan State Historic Tax Credit IS available to homeowner occupied buildings, but only if the city in which they are located has a HISTORIC DISTRICT ORDINANCE. Highland Park does not. The tax credit law was passed in 1999. I spoke with one of Martha Scott's assistants last September and they have offered to help get the ordinance written and in place. Now that I am unemployed (as of last month), I can spend some time following up on that so that we can take advantage of the Michigan Historic Homeowners Tax Credit. What has lapsed is the corporate status of the Highland Park Historic Districts Association. It's lapsed because there was no point in paying $10 a year annual corporation fee for a group that wasn't meeting and had no activity. I got sick with cancer in 1999 and the Historic Districts Association went into a deep slumber. We did manage to wake up long enough to find a buyer for 94 Colorado in November 2001. That property is worrisome, though, since the taxes are not being paid and, until this week, the grass hadn't been cut this year. The couple that bought the house ran into some problems when the wife was laid off at Ford about 2 mos after they bought the house. I hope that the recent grass cutting is a sign of revival by the Edwards (owners). I can tell you that after 9 years of being the responsible person and cutting the grass myself (and ruining three lawn mowers in the process), I was ecstatic when the Edwards bought the house and thought that having relatives right behind at 93 Rhode Island would insure the same high level of maintenance they (Angela and Jamal have shown. Not so far, but there is always hope. By the way, the roof was put on in 1991. | ||
| Stephen Goodfellow
|
Katherine, Thank you so much for your clarifications. As usual, you are a font of information. The HISTORIC DISTRICT ORDINANCE would seem to be a high priority for our city. Such an ordinance would certainly bolster the city's self esteem, bolster house values and allow for other untold benefits. This, and the Highland Park Historic Districts Association lapse seems important enough to justify a separate discussion group for funneling news and comment. | ||
| Earl O. Wheeler, Councilman
|
This is Councilman Wheeler, I live on Mclean between John R and Brush. I would be glade to give city information to this webesite, by the way I am not running for re-election so you won't think this is political. We, the City Council signed an agreement at our last meeting with the Wayne County Sheriff for four years. There is also the question of Casino Gaming within the City of Highland Park going on the Sept. primary ballot. There will be more if you are interested. Earl O. Wheeler E-mail adress earlwheel@aol.com | ||
| jerome drain |
Katherine, Thank You for the correction. I knew that a lapse occurred pertaining to Highland Park and a historic association. I have been contacted by a number of citizens interested in highlighting Highland Park and it's rich history, I,m also willing to donate $50.00 toward re-activating the corporate status of the Highland Park Historic Districts Association. I believe it is about time to re-activate the group with new members if necessary. | ||
| Stephen Goodfellow
|
Highland Park Historic Districts Association? Count us in for $50.00 too! | ||
| Katherine Clarkson
|
Jerome & Stephen: Fantastic! We need new energy for the HPHDA and your input is most welcome. I will contact Lansing and see what we have to do and get back with you. Meanwhile, the HP Revitalization Task Force spent about 5 hours on Saturday, July 12 cleaning up the roof, opening its drains and making a start at cleaning up the grounds around the library. We got the debris out of the stairwells at the back of the library and did some weed removal of the curbs in the parking lot. There's a lot of landscape to take care of so the hope is to get some more volunteers in two weeks (Saturday, July 26) for another grounds clean-up. The roof repair job is progressing with donated materials from local businesses. Steve--where should I post the details about Saturday the 26th? We'll start at 9:00 a.m. and gather in the parking lot of the library. Bring whatever tools you can--rakes, shovels, edgers, trash bags, gloves, gas powered weedwackers, gas powered hedge trimmers, pruning shears, bottled water and whatever else occurs to you. Woodward Manchester Corp. is providing the dumpster. After we get the grounds under control, we want to clean up the interior--there's peeling paint and plaster and over a year's worth of dust. The goal is to get the library reopened this fall. Call me at 313-867-8673 to coordinate our activities. | ||
| Stephen Goodfellow
|
Hi Katherine, That's important stuff! I've placed your call to action on the front page of the site, under news: http://hpfolks.com/index.html | ||
| Deputy B. Chase
|
Thanks from the patrol officers of the WCSD assigned to Highland Park to all the citizens and block clubs who have put forth the effort to clean up the alleys. It makes it much easier to watch houses and approach alarms when there is another access point to house. Lets face it, individuals dont break in through the front door, nor do they exit through the front window. Also, a few tips to citizens and block clubs that only cost a few bucks and make all the difference in the world....Please, Please, Please, make your address numbers visible from the street. Some residents dont even have them up, and it really puts the police at a disadvantage when we have to figure out which house is which. It really cuts down on reponse time when we can look at a house and see the address. Secondly, try to keep the back yards well lit. You would be suprised how easy it is to install a flood light for the back yard and they are relatively inexpensive(feel free to call mini station and I would love to spend a couple of minutes to point out your vulnerable areas in your yard; I work afternoons) And last, but not least, can someone call the city and see what can be done about the missing street signs. This too would cut some seconds off reponse time. Especially at night when street lights have a mind of their own. |
