William Matt
It is my pledge to always seek justice on behalf of the City of Lansing. As your neighbor, I will work diligently to find responsible solutions to our challenges, and lead with a vision guided by a hope of an ever-better city.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Political Musings
Beyond the camera initiative that I have talked about extensively, I thought I would spend a few minutes talking about other city matters.
Storm Cleanup: The South side was hit pretty hard with the storm that hit Lansing. Monday night, the Mayor offered further assistance to those who still needed brush hauled away, which was good step forward. The State is to decide if any funding will be made available to the city, which suffered a million dollars in damage. Call me cynical, but with the state budget woes, I don't expect any relief. That is a sad statement to make. If the state were flush with cash, I'd be more confident that assistance would be given, so I'm sad to say that despite any natural disasters in the future, it will come down to how well the state is doing finacially. That is not how I want to see the state operate. A natural disaster response should not be delegated by the state finances. I hope I'm wrong, and the state comes through.
Lansing Township Last Thursday I was appointed by resolution for the City Council appointment in City-Township sewer negotiations. I'll be working along side Jerry Ambrose, our Finance Director and Mayor's Chief of Staff. I'm really looking forward to the experience, and representing Lansing on this sensitive and important issue.
Housing Developments There are a couple major projects being proposed in the 3rd Ward. One on Wise Road calls for 48 units next toand managed by a church. Half of thes units will be designated for seniors. The Wexford neighborhood has submitted a significant number of petitions against this project. While I think that senior housing is important, and the faith based managed concept is unique and has lots of merit, I don't currently support this project. Too many neighbors are against it. There is an abundance of empty houses and lots of rentals already in Lansing. Generally speaking I prefer owner occupied, followed by single family rentals, and large complexes last. The second development calls for 100 units behind Hunters Ridge along the Grand River. This is a big, big project, and again, faces stiff opposition from the neighbors. I haven't been to a public hearing on this project yet, but I'm concerned that they haven't satisfied the neighbors, and I would like to see a master plan for any riverfront development in the city. Developers need to persevere though...the Westood development came back several times and was changed to address neighbor concerns. It was approved last week. Developers may need to work with neighbors and council to alter initial plans, but some project may still be able to be worked out. For the Wise road project for instance, I would suggest half the size, 24 units, and senior only. That would probably get approval from the neighbors.
Cell Tower Issue Grandhaven Manor has proposed a t-mobile cell tower in the woods near Lewton Rich and Averill neighborhoods, near Lewton Elementary School. Again, neighborhood activism has produced organized opposition. What a great democratic nation we live in! I don't support the tower there, and I think that at least 4 Council Members will oppose it. I'm not speaking for them, but I think Tim is strongly opposed. Derrick is likely opposed. Kathie is in favor of it since she favors infrastructure investment. The others, I'm not sure. I would be surprised if Carol or Sandy went against anything the neighbors wanted. Cell towers are needed, but not in residential areas and near schools. We have some in Lansing Parks, which seems an obvious cash income source the city sorely needs. I am NOT in favor of a moratorium on towers, but would support setting up a master plan for tower placement in the city. Ans just to clarify, this tower project IS NOT related to the Police Communications tower, so opposition to it will not endanger the public, as some rumors are floating around say.
Storm Cleanup: The South side was hit pretty hard with the storm that hit Lansing. Monday night, the Mayor offered further assistance to those who still needed brush hauled away, which was good step forward. The State is to decide if any funding will be made available to the city, which suffered a million dollars in damage. Call me cynical, but with the state budget woes, I don't expect any relief. That is a sad statement to make. If the state were flush with cash, I'd be more confident that assistance would be given, so I'm sad to say that despite any natural disasters in the future, it will come down to how well the state is doing finacially. That is not how I want to see the state operate. A natural disaster response should not be delegated by the state finances. I hope I'm wrong, and the state comes through.
Lansing Township Last Thursday I was appointed by resolution for the City Council appointment in City-Township sewer negotiations. I'll be working along side Jerry Ambrose, our Finance Director and Mayor's Chief of Staff. I'm really looking forward to the experience, and representing Lansing on this sensitive and important issue.
Housing Developments There are a couple major projects being proposed in the 3rd Ward. One on Wise Road calls for 48 units next toand managed by a church. Half of thes units will be designated for seniors. The Wexford neighborhood has submitted a significant number of petitions against this project. While I think that senior housing is important, and the faith based managed concept is unique and has lots of merit, I don't currently support this project. Too many neighbors are against it. There is an abundance of empty houses and lots of rentals already in Lansing. Generally speaking I prefer owner occupied, followed by single family rentals, and large complexes last. The second development calls for 100 units behind Hunters Ridge along the Grand River. This is a big, big project, and again, faces stiff opposition from the neighbors. I haven't been to a public hearing on this project yet, but I'm concerned that they haven't satisfied the neighbors, and I would like to see a master plan for any riverfront development in the city. Developers need to persevere though...the Westood development came back several times and was changed to address neighbor concerns. It was approved last week. Developers may need to work with neighbors and council to alter initial plans, but some project may still be able to be worked out. For the Wise road project for instance, I would suggest half the size, 24 units, and senior only. That would probably get approval from the neighbors.
Cell Tower Issue Grandhaven Manor has proposed a t-mobile cell tower in the woods near Lewton Rich and Averill neighborhoods, near Lewton Elementary School. Again, neighborhood activism has produced organized opposition. What a great democratic nation we live in! I don't support the tower there, and I think that at least 4 Council Members will oppose it. I'm not speaking for them, but I think Tim is strongly opposed. Derrick is likely opposed. Kathie is in favor of it since she favors infrastructure investment. The others, I'm not sure. I would be surprised if Carol or Sandy went against anything the neighbors wanted. Cell towers are needed, but not in residential areas and near schools. We have some in Lansing Parks, which seems an obvious cash income source the city sorely needs. I am NOT in favor of a moratorium on towers, but would support setting up a master plan for tower placement in the city. Ans just to clarify, this tower project IS NOT related to the Police Communications tower, so opposition to it will not endanger the public, as some rumors are floating around say.
Labels: averill woods, cell tower, development, lansing, t-mobile
# posted by Bill Matt @ 11:12 AM 
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
