Neighbors helping Neighbors

Last week we learned of the needs at Memphis Elementary School for supplies that many families cannot afford these days. Speaking with one parent, we were told that the school supplies alone are more than $60 per child. The response was immediate. Our friends understand and support neighbors helping neighbors. Therefore it was with great pleasure today when we were able to deliver three boxes of needed school supplies to Memphis Elementary. Pictured above is the school secretary, receiving the donations along with the two Democratic Candidates for Trustee; Linda Belesky and Lou Angeli. Also contributing were the other Democratic Candidates; Kitty Slamka (supervisor), Jennifer Baranowski (treasurer) and Linda Waddy (clerk). Along with the help of The Friends of the Belle River we are proud to have citizens such as these also willing to have a voice in our Township Government.


We also spoke with Nancy Thomson, the school principal. She expressed that the next need that she will see is the need for new clothing for her students. This would include everything from socks & underwear to sweat pants and T-shirts. Because of this need, we will now be asking for donations from others as well. If you would like to contribute you may contact "The Friends" via our comment section, or please reach out to those others listed above. Thank you in advance for caring and sharing.

Public Hearing - Continued

One of the residents asked if there would be a public role call vote on whether or not this would be approved. He wanted it to be known that the people were watching and accountability would be expected for those votes. This resident and everyone needs to know that in Township Government, the supervisor (Dave Rushing) appoints all members of the Planning Commission and is not an elected position. If a resident has an issue with the members, or how they would ultimately vote, that issue could only be taken up with the supervisor. Tom Miller did point out that not all decisions with Mr. Birkenshaw are made through planning. At this month's Board Meeting there was discussion as to whether a consent agreement should be signed by the Township allowing some "adult material" and thereby avoid the need to follow the steps outlined by our own ordinances or the judgements already rendered by the courts. The idea for a consent agreement did not just magically appear. There must have been some prior discussion regarding this. Perhaps Mr. Rushing would like to explain how this came to the board before any hearing was to be held by the Planning Commission???

Both Mr. Birkenshaw's attorney and the Riley Township Supervisor, Dave Rushing addressed the fact that there had been a discussion to have a consent agreement between the two parties, Bisco's and the Township, which may have made this public hearing unnecessary. It was explained that the attorney for Mr. Birkenshaw wrote the consent agreement and that it could have possibly stopped some of the legal expenses being incurred by our Township.

We know that there are legal expenses building because of the lawsuit concerning all of the blight on this property. We also know that Mr. Rushing stopped the first lawsuit regarding this blight when he was elected four years ago. We know that for the last two years or more Riley Township has been fighting to get this cleaned up through the courts and that we, as a Township, continue to win through the appeals process (and we continue to pay). We don't know why a consent agreement would even be considered when we are winning. We don’t know why Mr. Birkenshaw is not paying our legal expenses, as he is the one that continues to appeal and continues to lose. There is also now a question as to whether or not our ordinance enforcement officer is being allowed to do his job and continue citing the property for the blight that is already there. Continued citations for blight may bring up contempt charges and fines that Mr. Birkenshaw would have to pay. We should at the very least continue to enforce those ordinances we know he is still violating.

Public Hearing Thoughts & Comments

Last evening was the Public Hearing for the "adult bookstore" requested at the property owned by Mr. Birkenshaw at Bisco's truck stop. There were at least 40 people in attendance for the hearing. It should also be recognized that Tom Miller, the Planning Commission Chairperson, did an excellent job of running the meeting and keeping it controlled at all times.

The public hearing started with Mr. Birkenshaw's attorney giving all a civics lesson on the Pledge of Allegiance, the First Amendment of the Constitution and Mr. Birkenshaw's right to free speech by having his "adult bookstore" granted. (Technically, adult bookstores are in the category of sexually oriented businesses or S.O.B.'s. Don't you just love acronyms?) After hearing why the S.O.B. should be a permitted use by the attorney, one by one the citizens from Riley, Emmett and Memphis stood up and said why they believed it should not be allowed. Many also spoke to the fact that for years he (Bisco's) has not cleaned up his blight, have skirted ordinances on the edges rather than comply and some spoke to the character of the man who would want to bring the S.O.B. to our community. The comments ranged from the effect on families, their children and society in general, the harm these businesses can do to the surrounding area by their existence, statistics on the increase in crime and other undesirable outcomes and the freedom that citizens should have in determining what they want in their neighborhoods. On this issue, our community certainly extends beyond the boundaries of Riley Township.
More thoughts and opinions will follow soon.

An Invitation

We have been hearing from more people every day regarding Friends of the Belle River. Many of the comments come from the fliers many received prior to the primary election and some comments are mentioning the auto sticker with logo. If you would like to receive a sticker for your car or truck, please leave your name and address in comments. We will not share nor post your information. It will be used only to mail a "Friends" sticker to you and to keep you informed of future happenings.

Posting Comments

I have noticed an increase in traffic, yet no new comments are being posted. For those of you that are new to blogs, to post a comment is quite easy. Just click comments at the bottom of the posting that you would like to add your thoughts to. A new window will then pop up and you can begin posting either under your own ID or as anonymous. You can make a choice each time. L
Looking forward to hearing from you.

Riley Twp - Rural Character

We have written a little about the election. We have written a little about river conservation. This time let's have it be known that our Rural Character is being challenged.

In the Voice this week was posted a notice that a Public Hearing will be held at the next Planning Commission Meeting on August 18th at 7:00 P.M. This will be to hear public comments on a request by Robert Birkenshaw (the owner of Bisco's I-69 truck stop) to change the use in one of his buildings. On the white out-building facing M-19, he is asking for permission to operate an "adult bookstore".

According to our ordinance, this should not be allowed within 1000 feet of a residential district. Look at his property!! He is certainly within 1000 feet of the houses in Emmett. He is also within that same 1000 feet of residential properties in Riley. The property across the street (M-19) is zoned commercial for only the first 600 feet. Also, the property behind him (Burt Rd) is zoned for mobile homes which is a residential zoning. Why is there even a question as to whether or not this is legal. I understand that the request was sent to the township lawyer for a legal opinion. Let's make sure that our opinion is known too.

By coincidence this week in the Times Herald there was an article about him tearing down some of his buildings in Emmett, including his topless bar. Could it be only by happenstance that he now wants to open his "adult trade" in Riley? Is it possible that this is only a first step before wanting topless dancers at his new location also?

I don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know that it will take citizen voices and citizen presence at this public hearing to make certain that our voices are heard. Please mark down the date and time. Show up. Voice your opinion. Is this the RURAL CHARACTER that we want to have?

By the way, good luck to the candidates that we have endorsed. we wish you the best results possible on Tuesday. May you all be on the ballot in November.