On the Agenda: Approval of Agenda begins at 0:45 Approval of Minutes - October 13th, 2021 begins at 1:07 New Business: 1. Beautification Sub Committee Report begins at 2:25 2. 2022 Meeting Schedule begins at 5:08 3. DDA Grant Program - add Demolition Section begins at 6:20 4. Herbert Roofing DDA Grant Request begins at 9:29 Old Business: 1. Lamplighter Flower Shop begins at 14:19 2. RRC/MEDC Update - CEDAM Fellowship - Michelle McGregor begins at 15:18 3. Economic Development Plan and Studies Update begins at 18:55 DDA Coordinators Report begins at 21:00
First let me apologize for being about 28 days late in posting this meeting! I got it onto YouTube and then shared it on my Carla Citizen Facebook because I couldn't get to the blog post right away. Then I just forgot about it. Note that I always put the meeting videos up on YouTube before I post them anywhere else, so check there first. https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlaCitizenMI/videos
First up for discussion from the Beautification Committee was the flower pots that beautifully adorn our township. Sadly Abele's can no longer provide the service of delivering the pots each year and then picking them back up in the fall. So the DDA will be working with other departments from the township and do that themselves. They will be going down to about 65 pots instead of the 100+ pots they have been doing. The pots will go from I-75 down to Gretchen St and Dixie. Also they will put them at the bridge area, the township offices, and the North Gateway area. They also talk about the Asphalt Art project they are working on bringing to our community. Looking at doing it around the bridge area first. I have checked out that project online and it is some beautiful artwork.
The last topic from the Beautification Committee is the Earth Day Community Cleanup that will be held on Friday, April 22nd, 2022. I will have to clarify the date of the cleanup because looking at the calendar, it looks like Thursday the 22nd is Earth Day; Friday is the 23rd. They are looking to get volunteers from the community residents, businesses, and maybe the schools. They will be providing dumpsters and will include tires, also maybe looking at disposal of mattresses.
They also updated their DDA Façade Grant Program to include demolition. They also awarded the grant to Herbert Roofing. Herbert Roofing will be demolishing the old house that sits between their business building and Drakes Bar.
Next up was the announcement that they have purchased the Lamplighter Flower Shop. They have made the first payment on it and will make the final payment in March 2022, then they will take possession of the property.
Some updates from Michelle McGregor and Township Manager Adrianna Jordan on the various projects/studies like the Capital Improvement Plan they are working on, and they have received a total of $100,000 in grant money to help with these.
Updates from the DDA Coordinator Bill Wheeler, he also talked about the cleanup work that was just completed at the old Gobeyn's Service Station.
On the Agenda: Approval of Agenda begins at 0:48 Approval of Minutes - September 8th, 2021 begins at 1:05 NEW BUSINESS: 1. Beautification Sub Committee Report begins at 1:40 2. 2022 Budget begins at 4:38 3. Capitol Stone Works Façade Grant Request begins at 5:46 OLD BUSINESS: 1. Dixie Hwy Project Completion begins at 8:36 2. RRC / MEDC Update – CEDAM Fellowship begins at 9:20 3. Economic Development Plan and Studies Update begins at 10:19 DDA COORDINATOR'S REPORT begins at 13:36 DDA MEMBER COMMENTS begin at 20:00
One sad bit of news came from the Beautification Sub Committee. Abele's will no longer be able to place and then pick back up the flower pots each year so the township would need to find other means to get that done, and the cost will be $30 more per pot. The beautification sub committee will be having more meetings to come up with a solution for this.
The community Fall Cleanup will be moved to next spring, probably around April 29th & 30th, 2022.
They awarded another grant for a local business to spruce up their building. I can't remember what year they started doing this and wanted to share some information for businesses that may want to apply, but I can't find any information about it on their website. Some parts of the township website are up to date and very informative, other parts haven't been updated in years.
There were some informative updates by the Township Manager, the DDA Coordinator, and the Township Supervisor about Economic Developement plans etc....
In case anyone was wondering about the work that has been done at the closed Gobeyn's Service Station, it is an environmental cleanup. They mention it briefly here in this meeting.
I see residents bitching online about the empty buildings here in Bridgeport and the DDA Coordinator mentions here an update on the empty hotel situation. I don't think that most residents realize that to get these empty buildings properly dealt with, burned out homes etc... can take years of paperwork, court cases, legal fees etc... Maybe if more residents would attend the meetings, or at least give these videos a listen, or even contact the township government, they would understand how much work the township does on these problems and how long the process can take; but then I guess they couldn't go online and bitch about things they don't actually know about.
There are always little bits of good information here and there in these meetings, and it is worth it to residents to take the time to listen to the whole meetings.
They didn't use the microphones very often during this meeting and some of the people speak very softly so sorry if you can't hear everything. I couldn't hear everything even while standing in the same room with them.
From the Beautification Sub-Committee - The flower pots will be coming back again next year. You could argue the pro's and con's about that, like it is a lot of money and that money could be spent elsewhere in our community; and on the pro side - I Love The Flower Pots!! End of discussion!
Next from the sub-committee was talk about looking into the Asphalt Art Initiative, and they are looking at possible grant money for that. They are thinking about it in the Dixie/ Bearcat Blvd. area, the Dixie/State St. are and possibly around the bridge area I think. I like this idea! I am assuming this is the program they are looking at: Asphalt Art Initiative
You can see the photo at the top of their page is from right here in Saginaw County at Ojibway Island.
They are also talking about having a Fall cleanup on October 15th at 1pm. I will post more when it is available. This is another nice idea I like!
Next up was the equipment purchase discussion. My understanding of the discussion is they will be purchasing a piece of equipment that they will use for snow removal on some sidewalk areas and places like the bridge and trail. I'm not clear if this equipment will also be used for other things. It sounds like the DDA and the township will be splitting the cost. I think this also has to go to the regular town board for approval? They do have a long and informative discussion about this subject during the meeting that you can watch here in the video.
This is another subject you could argue the pro's and con's on. First it is again a lot of money, and money that could and probably should be spent elsewhere and on more important things in our community. I argued against this when it was proposed several years ago. On the pro side: At this point in my life I am just damned tired of seeing the mess our sidewalks are every winter. We have so many walkers that try to walk year round in the downtown area, kids from the schools walking, but sadly in the winter time many of these sidewalks are not safe to walk on. I'm not sure which sidewalk areas would be cleared by the township, I doubt it would be in all the neighborhoods. That is a nice dream though! Some of you have probably seen me out trying to snow blow off some of the sidewalks in the downtown area over the years. I tried to keep the ones going to the post office clear for all the neighbors that walked there, especially our elderly residents. I am not physically able to do that very often anymore, so yes, at this time, I would like to see these sidewalks kept clear by whatever means is available. Buy the equipment!!
During the board member comment section Jeff McNally mentioned that their business, McNally-Nimergood Cranes will be having an open house to show their new facilities on October 1st. Not sure if it is open to the general public,
This will be a long post that will cover the DDA board
meeting and other items I feel a need to comment on. First I would like to apologize for the poor
quality of the video. My camera is good
but the lighting is dismal in the meeting room so the video comes out grainy
and blurry. Most of the members there
have no microphone, they can barely hear each other, and I can barely hear them
at times. It will be very hard for the
public to hear some of the conversations, and the nuances that I could hear and
see in person.
First let’s start with a history of DDA boards:They were meant to be temporary and the focus
was supposed to be on reviving failing historic town centers and
infrastructure.They were supposed to
have sunset clauses written into them, they were never meant to be a permanent
part of any local government.Their
original purpose has been ignored and abused for so long now that it has just
become accepted practice.DDA board
members are not elected officials, they are appointed.The DDA board answers to the township trustee
board; and the DDA Coordinator answers to the Township Manager, the Township Manager
is also the DDA Director, a point that someone seems to not understand.The township board and the DDA board should
act as two independent bodies with that chain of command.My problem is that it seems that the two
boards act as one entity, answerable to no one.I believe it is required by law that the Township Supervisor sits on the
DDA board, and that should be the only overlap between the two in my opinion.
Here in Bridgeport we have two other township trustee board members that also
sit on the DDA board.It is my personal opinion
that creates a conflict, especially when you have half of the DDA board members
not even show up for meetings and votes.How many people really run this township and make the decisions that
affect the lives of the residents?
Some of the people on the DDA board, and in the township
offices, that I know and like very much.Some
I don’t know at all so I don’t have an opinion on them.Some like Augie Tausend, I find him a
likeable person, and he can be very easy to get along with.We don’t speak any longer, but I have no
problem with our interactions in the past.At least to my face he has never been disrespectful to me, unlike a few
others.I do have respect for him on a
personal level, but would still like to see him gone from office for numerous
reasons. There are some other township elected officials and employees that I
would like to see out the door today!
Another thought before I move on back to the DDA board
meeting:Any employee or official of our
township that deals directly with the public should never be abrasive, arrogant,
condescending, confrontational, or a bully!And no township employee should ever be privately contacting members of
the public that post opinions online about the township, and trying to get them
to stop their “negativity”.That is
extremely inappropriate.
** If you watch this on YouTube, it will show you what times what segments start at, and you can watch it in theater mode.
Now onto the actual DDA board meeting:This was another very interesting and
informative board meeting.I hope
everyone will take the time to listen to it all from beginning to end.I will only be focusing on one part of the
meeting – The non-motorized trail along Fort Rd.
This plan has been talked about for many years I
believe.My reaction has always been a
big eye roll.I have never seen that as
a viable option.They say they would
have the wider paved trail from the gravel parking lot on Fort Rd./Fayette St. going to the dike, then from the dike to Dixie
they would have a regular sidewalk. First problem is you have the people’s
homes.Some are very close to the road
and the sidewalk will go right through their front yard, too close to their
homes for my comfort if I was a resident there. I took a quick drive over there
this morning just to refresh my memory on the layout.One problem I saw was close to Dixie there is
a utility pole and there is not enough room between the road and the pole for a
sidewalk.I guess you would have to move
the pole to make room there.Then down
where the culvert goes under Fort Rd. into Davis Park, I don’t think there is
enough room between the road and the once beautiful pond, now destroyed, for
the wider trail they are talking about. Wasn’t that section of Fort Rd. washed
out a few years ago from flooding?We
are in a flood plain, we will always have flooding.What will happen to the “trail” in another
bad flood?Will it wash out and need to
be repaired?How many times will that
happen?How much time and money has this
township wasted on things they have put in the flood zone that just ended up
destroyed?I believe the flooding is
worse in that area due to several factors.One being that there used to be two culverts that ran under that road
into Davis Park and one has been removed.I don’t believe the one alone can handle the water flow in times of
severe flooding. I believe that is also part of the cause of the damage that has been done to this area. Bill Wheeler mentions the
“ditch” that runs along Fort Rd. from the once beautiful pond over to the
river.That is NOT a ditch, that is a
frigging man-made disaster of this townships making!!Way back when in time, this township dug that
ditch/canal as a canoe launch from the pond out to the river.Is the canoe dock still in the pond?No it is not!Is the pond still there?No it is
now destroyed.Is the canal still
there?Well technically it is, but it is
usually dried up and at other times just a nasty mucky mess.The river is still there but damaged.Why do people think that sand bar has formed in
the river at the end of that canal from hell?Some of us that have been here much longer than some of these officials
and employees of this township, and have actually been alive longer than some
of them; we remember the beautiful pond, and the wetlands, and the river, that
have now been destroyed by just one act of this township. Some of us actually
give a damn!!
There is a phrase that really irritates me, like nails on a
chalkboard, that phrase is “Lipstick On A Pig”.I don’t think there is any more appropriate phrase for this trail plan
than Lipstick On A Pig!You want to
build all these beautiful parks, make it a livable place for the residents,
improve the townships “ratings” etc…I
call BS on that!! This township doesn’t need more parks, doesn’t need this
trail.This township needs to properly
take care of what you do have now.You
mow them, but not much else is done.You
don’t have enough money, enough manpower, enough time etc… to properly take
care of what you do have.
Oh the township cares about the environment and river etc…I call BS on that too!! .How much trash have I personally had to haul
out of these parks and river because the township was not doing it?Would the township still be burning illegal
trash down in the woods on the Davis Park “island” if I hadn’t spoken out about
it?If you truly care about creating
beautiful parks etc… for the residents, then you would fill in that canal,
restore the pond, and repair the damage to the river.Talk to experts about having two culverts
back under that road.The damage to the
wetlands on the other side of Fort Rd. will probably takes decades to repair on
its own; but the damage on the townships side should be repaired by this
township. To do anything less than that, to put in that trail, is nothing but
lipstick on a pig!
There is one other subject that I would like to give you my
opinion on, and it is just my opinion, probably the most hated opinion poster in
Bridgeport Township.This is something I
noticed mostly during the discussion on the trail along Fort Rd., but I did
notice this nuance throughout the rest of this meeting.There are subtle nuances that viewers of the
video may not be able to pick up on because of the poor video and audio quality
of this video.I will admit that I could
be wrong in my perception of what I saw there, but since I did talk to several
other people that watched the video of this meeting and they said they saw the
same thing, then I will share my thoughts on it.Remember I said at the beginning of this blog post that the DDA board
answers to the Township Board and I feel that the two act as one entity instead
of two separate entities.I also
mentioned that the DDA Coordinator answers to the Township Manager, the
township manager is their boss and has the power to hire and fire the person
filling that position.When Bill Wheeler
started talking about the Fort Rd. trail, the Township Manager/DDA Director
spoke up, and seemed upset, because this was the first time she was hearing
about this.OK, so maybe not everyone is
in sync yet, but maybe it is more like not everyone is in "the clique"??
Chain of Command.What upset me is what
I perceived as coming from Bill Wheeler towards the Township Manager as a very
dismissive attitude towards her concerning this.Don’t roll your eyes and look to the board
members, the Township Manager/DDA Director is your boss, the one that has the
power to fire or hire you.She is the
Township Manager, you are not.Like I
said there are nuances in tone of voice, body language etc… that the public may
not be able to pick up from this video.I thought maybe my perception was jaded by my opinion of Bill Wheeler
from dealing with him over several years here in the township, but others I
have talked to share this same opinion of him, and others say they saw the same
thing in the meeting.My opinion is that
he can come across as very arrogant and condescending towards others, that he
thinks other people are just idiots and he is smarter than everyone else.About the only good thing I can say about his
work is that he does a good job with the baseball games and the miracle league
over at Liberty Park, but I don’t actually know that first hand because I have
never dealt with any of that over there.I have another perception that I may be wrong about, but it seemed to me
that the DDA Board also has the attitude that they will do what they want and
don’t answer to anyone??I would love to
hear other people’s opinions on all of this.
BTW, if I was the Township
Manager, Bill Wheeler would be fired, or at least not the DDA Coordinator.Maybe there is someone out there that is more
qualified for the position, and more personable?Maybe he should spend his time focusing on
just one job, as the Parks and Recreation Director?
I could heap lots of praise on the DDA Board for things they
have done in our township that truly enrich it and the resident’s lives, but I
also have concerns about things. How much
land does the DDA Board actually own?How far has
the DDA District been expanded here in the township?I think some of these things have gone way
beyond what DDA Boards were originally set up to do.They were meant to be temporary tools to be
used for the benefit of local areas, not permanent government entities, and not large property owners and developers.
This was an informal and very informational meeting. They
will be holding another informational meeting later this year, possibly in
November. There were some business and residential people at the meeting
that came and asked questions and provided input.It would be nice to see all the seats full at
the next meeting.The items discussed
involve our community and this is the communities chance to ask questions and
provide input.You can always contact anyone
in the township anytime you have a question, concern, or suggestions; but this
is also a very nice platform for doing it all at one time with more people and
the information is shared with a larger audience.
One of the items discussed was the resurfacing of the Dixie
Highway from I-75 to Airport.I will say
I think it is very nice and am glad it is done now.It is really nice to drive on and looks
fantastic!They also discussed the
future plans for the resurfacing to be done next year which will be from
Airport to Junction, and maybe sometime in the future it would extend farther
on Dixie to the Bridgeport Township boundary line it sounds like.That would be fantastic!!Especially if it was also done all the way
into Birch Run.It would be lovely to
drive that section of Dixie without it pounding on your back & wearing out
your vehicle.
Another item that would probably interest residents is the
discussion of putting in a parking lot next to the post office.I know it is a nightmare there for residents
trying to get to the post office or other businesses there.I don’t really have an opinion because I can
see, and argue, both sides of the debate on this issue.If it happens then there will be some happy
residents.
Some of the other items discussed were the possible grant
program to help local businesses, updates on the property and some possible
future plans for the land next to the park area by the historical bridge, updates
on the old hotel behind Night Flight Fireworks, Candlelite, and the gas station
by Damores toward BV, the portable speed limit signs around Bridgeport. Please take the time and listen to the meeting, and hopefully more residents will show up at the next meeting.
Sorry about the quality of this video! I forgot my tripod so the video is a little shaky. Also the township has low lighting at this new location which makes the video grainy, and a poor sound system.
The meeting starts with a presentation by the Superintendent of the Bridgeport Schools. He talks about current news for the schools, and long range plans and projects. Mr. Whelton passed out a talking points memo for his presentation and I have attached that to the end of this post. His presentation is just a little over 30 minutes long and is worth listening to. He goes into more detail than it shows in his talking points memo and you can hear his enthusiasm for our schools and students.
It sounds like there is a new rule that DDA boards are required to hold two informational meetings per year for the public. These meetings will be for the public to come and comment on things they are concerned about, things they are happy about. Sounds like the DDA board will provide updates on projects etc... to the public. They are looking at setting the date for the first meeting for Tuesday, August 27th. I believe it will likely be in the evening. I will post any updates on this as they come out.
It is always worth your time to listen to the DDA Coordinator's report for updates and information, also to the board member comments. One of the items discussed during board member comments was the canoe kayak launch at Hoffmann Community Park. The location is still not open and may not be this year.
The talking points memo for Mark Whelton, the Superintendent of Bridgeport Spaulding Schools presentation: Click on image to enlarge.
There may be some board members that don't like my right to come and video tape the meetings but that is a right that our Founding Fathers had the foresight to grant to all citizens. That's life and you just have to deal with it.
And I am wondering why if you don't live in our township and you don't own or run a business in our township, why would you be on our township DDA board?
Now to the meeting.
The Bridgeport School Superintendent introduced himself to the board and shared some of his visions for our community. I believe he will be speaking again at the next DDA board meeting on July 10th.
During the New Business section of the meeting they discussed some plans and possible plans for various projects for the township.
It would be nice if Bridgeport residents would attend these meetings and hear what their plans are and provide them with feedback.
** Don't change the amount of the beautiful flower pots that brighten up our community or I may start a revolt!!!
Mr. Ron Gobeyn will be retiring from the DDA board after serving our community for 26 years on the board. Thank You Mr. Gobeyn for all your years of dedicated service!
Today's meeting was more of an informational meeting since they did not have a quorum present. The most interesting information from the meeting was the announcement of a ribbon cutting event for the Cass River Trailhead on May 15th, 2019 at 12:00pm. That is all the information I have about the event other than it sounds like it might be by invitation only? There is no information on the township's website, on the parks & recreation Facebook page. Nothing in the emails from the township. I guess if it was open to the public they would put out information for the public.
** Update: Found the information in the Birch Run Herald this week! The ceremony will be held at the trailhead area by the historic bridge, 4422 Williamson Rd. The public is invited to the ceremony and luncheon. You need to register by Monday, May 13th by calling the chamber office at (989) 624-9193.
They also discuss the problem with members not being present for the meetings and that there may be openings on the DDA board in the future.
Bridgeport's new Township Clerk is Lee Carpenter who also owns Dream Fields landscaping business. I am not sure when Bridgeport Township first hired Dream Fields to do some of their landscaping projects in our township but in 2015 there were complaints about the work, or lack thereof, being performed by Dream Fields. It is first brought up in a slightly heated at times discussion during a Bridgeport Township DDA Board meeting of June 10th, 2015. The discussion takes place during the Beautification Committee Update segment. Video below is cued up to the discussion, just click the link.
There was more discussion about the landscaping contracts during the DDA Board meetings of July 8th, 2015, September 9th, 2015, October 14th, 2015. I missed several of the DDA Board meetings over the next several months so I am not sure if they discussed the contracts or Dream Fields. During the February 24th, 2016 meeting of the DDA Board it was mentioned that Reliable Lawn and Landscape would be doing the landscaping for all the projects in Bridgeport done by the DDA Board. Reliable had been doing some of the landscaping projects in the township for several years and the board was very happy with their work in the past.
2011 - Lee Carpenter is recalled from the Bridgeport Township Trustee board by the voters.
2012 - Lee Carpenter runs in election to regain his seat as Township Clerk but voters say NO!
2015/2016 - Bridgeport DDA Board no longer will be hiring Mr. Carpenter's business Dream Fields for landscaping services because they are unhappy with the work performed.
2019 - Members of the Bridgeport Township Trustee Board vote to hire Mr. Carpenter to fill the vacant position of Bridgeport Township Clerk based on his "experience".
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."
I have missed so many of the township and school board meetings over the past 9 months or so and I think it is the DDA meetings I have missed attending the most. I did also miss attending the Township Trustee meetings. Maybe because there are always so many good and positive things going on in this township and they are just a fun bunch of people.
First I would like to say Congratulations to Roberta Placher, Jim Baker and Jeff McNalley on your election!
Now on to one of the good exciting things going on in our township. The Dixie Highway Road Project. I am going to love this after it is done!! This is a project that has been in the works for quite awhile now. I see that the Township Trustee board approved a resolution back in December 2016 in support of the project. I found some DDA Board meeting minutes from September 2017 where they gave an update on this project. I will include some screen shots from the minutes. I don't know who originally started this plan, but Hats Off to you and everyone else that has been involved in all the planning and hard work put into it!! I plan on attending all the future Trustee and DDA meetings so will keep posting updates for this. Just click on the photos to see the larger version --
This is also a good time to remind Bridgeport residents that you can go to the Township Government website and find meeting agendas and minutes, news updates etc... You can also sign up for the "constant contact" email and you will receive all the meeting agendas, news etc... right to your email inbox. https://www.bridgeportmi.org/
Next they talked about the property that has been donated by John & Betty Hoffman on Dixie Highway out by Junction Rd. John Hoffman has done so much for this community, his is a legacy that will live on for a long time. This property is in the Rolling Hills business area and will hopefully be used in the future for a community sports complex. Good plans for the future of our community.
Another project I am excited about is the restoration of the old Bridgeport Oil & Gas Station located in front of the Historic Bridge. It is called the Cass River Trail Head project and will include the restored station and a park area. You can follow updates on the station restoration and some history of the station on this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SaveBridgeportOilandGas/
There are more updates in this meeting and in the DDA Coordinators report.
The meeting starts with the introduction of Ted Valley and Jaeleen Davis from the Birch Run/Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce.Ted Valley is the President and CEO of the chamber and Jaeleen Davis is the Vice President. I think they will end up being called the Dynamic Duo. During the public comment period Jaeleen spoke about the upcoming Best of Awards dinner and award ceremony being held on February 16th.
There was some information about the townships partnership with Saginaw Future and some of the benefits we receive from them.
There has been a purchase agreement placed on the Knight's Inn here in Bridgeport. Hoepfully that works out and the business will be back open fully.
The beautification committee meeting had discussed looking into Streetscape opportunities in the future here for Bridgeport. Those ideas sound good and hopefully that is something that we will see in the future.
Carpenter's Plaza is looking really good. The demolition is complete now and the property is cleaned up. In one way I hate to see those buildings go because they were a fond part of my childhood. I loved going to the IGA with my mother and shopping there. You knew almost all the other members of the community and it was like a community gathering whenever you went. Two of my favorite memories are the Faygo Black Cherry Soda I would get there and the new soft rubber kick ball I got every year there. I waited every year for them to put up that huge rack that held all the balls and then picking out my new ball. Hoffman Drugstore was also nice, they had a nice lunch counter. Again it was a community gathering there. That was all back in the days when you greeted all your neighbors and everyone helped each other out. Back in the old days. Same thing with the laundromat. So part of me is sad to see those buildings go, but it was time and it looks very nice now. Hopefully we will see something nice go in there in the future.
DDA Coordinator Steve Dobis gave updates on the two beautiful "Rock" areas here in Bridgeport. I do love those two areas. Also some updates on other landscaping maintenance areas here in Bridgeport and thanked the community members who sponsor these areas.
The gorgeous flower pots will be back this year. They should be out during the week around Memorial Day.
The next DDA Board Meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 8th.
Here is the meeting schedule for the Bridgeport Township Trustee Board meetings and the holiday hours for the township offices for 2017. The DDA Board meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 12 Noon. All meetings are held in the Bridgeport Governmental Center.
And my yearly reminder that all Bridgeport residents can sign up for the Constant Contact emails from the township. The emails keep you updated on a wide variety of information that is important and informative for residents. You can sign up on the township website http://www.bridgeportmi.org/
There was a board meeting on November 9th but I totally forgot about it. Sorry again!! I can blame it on either the election coverage overload or just my aging memory.
I post many things on my Facebook page that never make it to this blog. I share events and photos that are of interest to the Bridgeport Community there. And I often share the videos there of the various board meetings before I get them here onto the blog.
Wednesday's meeting was short, mostly just setting future meetings and updates on some of the current projects in the works here in our beautiful little township. I am looking forward to all 3 of these projects. They will bring so much to our community! I have watched more and more people using the historic bridge and the trails since it first opened. It is great to see people having their wedding, prom, family gathering photos being taken on the bridge. You see whole families out walking the trails or just enjoying the views from the bridge. When the Cass River Trail Head project finally gets done, I believe that will draw even more people here to enjoy the beauty of our Cass River. The canoe/kayak launch I suspect will be one of our most popular attractions! The landscaping project on the Dixie toward Buena Vista is moving along. They do have the Bridgeport rock in place now there and the landscaping will follow. I have been wanting to get out for days to photograph the rock and the progress in Davis Park but have not been able to get out there. You can follow the Davis Park project progression on the Bridgeport Parks and Recreation Facebook page. They keep sharing photos of the progress and it is looking good. https://www.facebook.com/BridgeportPR
There is always a lot of good information in the DDA Coordinators Report and the board member comment period. One of the things they talked about was that Jill Thieme from the Cass River Yacht Club provided the lunches that day. I got lucky and got one of those lunches and wrote a little review here on the blog about it. Summary - It Was Outstanding!! I think that the Cass River Yacht Club is Bridgeport's hidden little gem. The best food in town and not enough people know about it. If you haven't tried it, you need to! If you are one of the many that just rave about her food - Help Spread The Word!!
The next board meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 14, 2016
