Despite some public opposition, TC City Commissioners last night voted unanimously to rezone the corner from a C-2 Neighborhood Center to a C-3 Community Center District, allowing for the construction of a CVS Pharmacy with drive-thru window.

Deciding the future of the corner – which has housed a variety of gas stations, most recently a Union 76 station – has been made more complex due to a gas-contamination plume in the soil.

Mayor Estes said concerns over the environmental hazard and clean-up, as well as the CVS developer’s willingness to cooperate with architectural and design changes to meet requirements set forth by the planning commission, were reasons for moving forward with the rezoning, “The city can’t afford to buy this property and do what it wants to,” he said. “The city doesn’t have the dollars to clean up the property.”

Tax money captured from the CVS development will partially fund clean-up efforts at the site.

Traverse City resident Karen Segal said the CVS issue is part of a bigger discussion that the TC City Commission urgently needs to address: Division Street traffic and safety. She said the congestion from traffic trying to move in and out of the pharmacy would only contribute to a greater number of automobile related accidents at the intersection.

“From our perspective, it looks like a beautiful development; it deserves to be someplace else,” she said.

TC Resident Pat McGuire agrees Division Street is a problem, but he called the Front Street corner an eyesore; and said he supports the project moving forward.

TC City Commissioner Jeanine Easterday cited environmental concerns and the creation of new jobs as her reasons for moving forward with the rezoning. “I believe that this development has enough of the positive aspects and the additional advantage of cleaning up one of the most contaminated areas in our city,” she said.

Following comment on the Front Street rezoning, the commission voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to support finding a solution to Division Street Traffic problems.

Mayor Estes called that resolution the first step in a cooperative effort between all involved parties to reduce traffic-related problems with Division Street. On March 2, he plans to meet with Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and MDOT Transportation Director Kirk Steudle to discuss the issue.

“We’re absolutely serious about doing something,” he says. “We’ll go the extra mile to make changes if necessary so that we can come up with a solution for Division Street – before all of us meet our maker.” 

“Cremation rates in the U.S. are skyrocketing. It’s completely changing the way the death-care industry works,” states Lindberg, “and that fact is one of the reasons we got in this business.”

Lindberg goes on to add that a cremation can be arranged online for as little as $1,000, compared to up to $15,000 for a funeral with a fancy casket and graveside service.

“Talking with people who have lost a relative is difficult at times,” he says, “but we're bringing so much value in terms of our basic offer that it feels good to be able to save people big money and get them an outstanding and personalized product at the same time. I'm proud to say our company really helps people.”

With customers from all over the country – including California, Florida and Hawaii – Lindberg says Stardust Memorials has experienced tremendous growth in just 15 months. “We were lucky to get a good start right out of the blocks, and every month has been better than the last.”

The secret to the online discount store’s success? It boasts a large inventory of urns, which include biodegradable, ceramic, glass and wood urns. Prices range from under $20 to $400. Pet urns are also available for sale. In addition, the company carries a line of remembrance jewelry, such as sterling silver cross and heart pendants. Some products are made locally; others are manufactured across the country and overseas. Along with free ground shipping, Stardust Memorials also pays the sales tax, offers a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee, and a price match guarantee.

Lindberg explains, “It's an incredible value, and that value proposition is what is driving our sales growth. No one can beat that offer. Our customers save hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars by purchasing from us.”

“There is definitely a demand for downtown living, and I’m happy to be filling that niche,” says Socks.

One of the units is already sold, but three are still available. For more information on the development or condos, visit: socksconstruction.com.

Last summer, at 78, he competed in the M-22 Challenge, a strenuous test of endurance that involves a 2.5-mile run, a 17-mile bike ride and a 2.5-mile kayak race. “I did OK in that,” Clampitt, the retired Air Force veteran, tells The Ticker. “I finished ahead of 109 other people.”

A few years back he hiked the length of the Appalachian Trail, some 2,184 miles from Georgia to Maine. And he has a goal of re-climbing the highest peak in Africa in five years at the age of 83. Mount Kilimanjaro measures 19,341 feet above sea level.

His motivation?

“I want to go for the Guinness record,” he says matter-of-factly. “Right now an 82-year-old guy has it. I’ll do it when I’m 83.”

Clampitt’s high-energy exploits can serve as inspiration for competitors of all ages, but he’s not the only Social Security recipient excelling in athletics. He was one of 14 men and six women in the 60-99 years category of the M-22 Challenge.

That competitive spirit and go-go lifestyle are more typical among seniors who refuse to give up their athletic activities just because of age. Just ask Jim Anderson, long-time basketball player and coach, who still plays three times a week with other hoops lovers.

“We play every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. at the Immaculate Conception gym,” says the 68-year-old. “It’s not an organized league, just a bunch of guys who get together to play. Sometimes there’s six, or eight or up to 10 or 12 of us.”

Anderson coached basketball for some 40 years, most notably at Traverse City Senior High. So what hold does the game have on these guys?

“I first played in the fourth grade at Guardian Angel (school) in Manistee,” recalls Anderson. “But I grew to love the game when I was in the eighth grade and Jim Ooley, the famous football coach, ran a Saturday gym. I really got my love of the game from Jim Ooley. You can learn about life, about discipline, about gratitude, about teamwork, all through the game of basketball.”

Another active group gathers at Centre Ice every Monday and Thursday night where the Over-50 Hockey League players lace up their skates and hit the ice.

“Hockey is the greatest game in the world,” says Tom Tracy, a Traverse City chiropractor who’s been in the league for 25 years or so. “There’s constant motion, you have to be aware of everything.”

Most players are in their 50s or 60s, according to Tracy, who turns 70 this month. Some played hockey in their younger years, but several started when they hit 50 or so.

“There’s a saying in the league that ‘The older you get, the better you were,’” says Tracy with a laugh.

Howe, a professional photojournalist, launched the blog in 2010 in response to issues like changes to Eighth Street and the formation of Michigan’s own Complete Streets Advisory Council that same year.

“I’ve been going at it for two years pretty hard, and in the beginning it was a huge learning curve in terms of the subject matter,” he says.

But now, with underwriting by local and national organizations and an average 400 hits per day, Howe’s looking to ratchet up the blog’s reach by making it a broader platform for community and civic leaders – one that will link active citizenry with the biggest transportation and public space issues in TC.

At the top of the blog's hot-issue list for 2012: TC’s proposed dog park, the need for downtown public restrooms, and the potential use of roundabouts on and improvements to Division Street. (Howe calls Heuss’ death on Division Street a “failure of leadership” and cautions that, without someone to champion a way forward, “We’re stuck.”)

Taking a front seat at MyWheelsAreTurning is also the city’s upcoming corridor studies of Garfield Avenue, East and West Front, and Fourteenth and Eighth streets. Howe says bridging the gap between the needs and desires of the public and the design process is key to each corridors’ success.

“I think we just need to flip how we plan,” he says. One suggestion? That the city spend less time planning for cars and instead focus on pedestrian traffic, while improving walkability on those corridors. With more than 70 miles of public road right-of-way in Traverse City, he says there’s a lot of public space “that we really just give over to one mode of transportation and one use.”

Despite the blog’s own push for forward, out-of-the-box thinking, Howe describes MyWheelsAreTurning.com as nothing new.

“Almost every city has a version of [MyWheelsAreTurning.com],” he says. “The cities that we look to in terms of models of how to use public space – the Portlands, the Madisons, the Copenhagens – they have several, because that’s what we need to stay involved. It’s about staying involved and making sure your values are represented as best as they can be through the process.”

No matter what the cost?

“I’m sure I’ve burned a few bridges in terms of being someone who likes to make critical comment,” says Howe, “but I think it was something that was needed and was missing in TC.”

Want to take part in the conversation? Howe welcomes it: MyWheelsAreTurning.com.

“If anything, that race put us off a year. This was something that the president of the track club – Karen Wells – and I have been talking about for a few years now,” Siderman says. “The Dean Reinke thing came about, and we thought, ‘Let’s let that play out.’"

Registration (expected to cost $65) isn’t yet underway for the Lighthouse Half Marathon but will be later this spring. Like the Bayshore, a portion of the proceeds from the event will go to the Peninsula Township Parks Commission.

Siderman says the group is planning for 1,000 runners. But if the Bayshore’s popularity is any indication, the scenic setting – orchards, vineyards and Grand Traverse Bay in autumn – might draw even more to the event.

“It’s definitely going to be a hillier course,” he says, “but beautiful.”
 

Michael Estes
TC Mayor
I have been married to Rhonda for 38 years come August. We met at a Western Michigan University football game, where we both attended college. She had a unique sparkle, a twinkle – and a cute little nose that said “You’re the one.” When I proposed two years later, I was fairly shy and wimpy. I muddled through the words and prayed her response was yes. Rhonda has made our marriage work. She’s the backbone of our family and the glue that holds it together. I owe everything to her; she has made all the sacrifices. 

Derek Bailey
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians Tribal Chairman
I met my wife, Tonia, through work. I knew of her, but at a conference in Petoskey is where we truly talked with one another. For our first date we went out to eat. I was so nervous I could hardly finish my salad. I fell in love with her passion for life and her beauty within. Tonia is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. We dated for two years, and on her birthday, I went down on one knee and proposed in front of family and friends. We were married in October 2006.

Chris MacInnes
Crystal Mountain Chief Operating Officer
Jim and I met in a hot tub at a Salt Lake City hotel where we both happened to be on a ski trip. We ended up talking lots and skiing together. I knew he was "the one" because we share so many common interests and values, but really, we just knew we wanted to be together. I was set to rent an apartment in Newport Beach, California, then, to be closer to Jim and my work in Los Angeles. But he suggested I move in with him – you know, to save money. Well, 29 years later, and here we are. There’s a note on my wall that reads, “Keys to a Successful Partnership: Integrity, Maturity and an Abundance of Mentality.” I would add that a sense of humor helps, and that you both take your work seriously, yourself lightly and find the fun in every day.

Share the Love
Ticker readers, how did you meet your true love? Click on the comment button below to share your story (in 100 words or less, please)!

Pictured above: (clockwise from top left) Derek and Tonia Bailey; Steve and Terry Cousins; Mike and Rhonda Estes; Laura, Grace and Chris Oblinger; Jim and Chris MacInnes.

The decision was handed down from the board following a 9-0 vote taken last week. Starting Jan. 1, 2013 each elected official will lose their $450 a month car allowance – a total of $5,400 each for the year or $27,000 for the quintet. (That’s not total savings to the county, however; officials will now track the mileage they rack up in their personal vehicles for county business and be compensated at the IRS rate of 55.5 cents per mile.)

“I believe we’ll be cost neutral at the very worst,” predicted commissioner Sonny Wheelock.

Judges, who receive a monthly car allowance of $125, will not be affected by the vote since their compensation is mandated by the state.

At the same session, the commissioners voted to freeze their own compensation through 2014. Commissioners are paid $7,000 annually, with the vice-chair Larry Fleis receiving $7,500 and chairman Larry Inman getting $8,000.

“I think we need to set the tone for bargaining down the road … ,” said commissioner Christine Maxbauer. “I just happen to believe we need to be freezing salaries all over.”

Fleis offered another opinion.

“I think we’re woefully underpaid,” he noted. “For the number of meetings we attend and the number of hours we put in … Down the road we’re going to end up exactly what we pay for – not very good representation …you get what you pay for.”

In addition, commissioners are paid $35 per diem for each meeting they attend, not including their monthly meeting of the full board. The per diem is capped at $90 per day. For all-day conferences, they receive $70.

Commissioner Ross Richardson voiced support for paying commissioners a higher annual salary and doing away with the per meeting rate.

Commissioners also receive health, dental and vision insurance for themselves with a 10 percent co-pay. Additional spouse and family coverage is available for them to purchase. Commissioners who opt out of the health coverage are eligible for a $2,000 stipend.

“I would like to see the board switch from providing health benefits to a standard flat salary,” said Maxbauer. “Then, if a commissioner wants to purchase health insurance benefits, then fine.”

Human Resources Director Jen Seman conducted a survey of Michigan counties and found that the average salary for responding counties was $8,415. That ranged from a low of $5,000 in Leelanau County to $17,956 in Lapeer, where board members receive a straight salary and no per meeting rate.
 

“It was a swanky place back in the day,” Jil Johnson tells The Ticker. “I’ve always liked it and after learning more about it, I like it even more.”

Researching at the History Center of Traverse City, Johnson learned that Whiting built a reputation as “the poor man’s banker” in Traverse City. He constructed the hotel in 1894. Not only would Whiting lend money to area farmers, but the hotel allowed him to provide them a room.

Over the years the hotel underwent a number of changes and Johnson was intrigued by the history of the building. A tour of the current hotel provided her more insight for her project.

The artwork utilizes a vintage typeset drawer that features 89 compartments of varying sizes. She bought the drawer last summer with the idea of using it somehow in an art project. “The handle looked like a hotel marquee to me,” says Johnson. “A friend suggested The Whiting – and that’s how it began.”

With the concept in mind, Johnson spent five months researching and painstakingly crafting tiny characters to inhabit the 89 rooms.

“They’re a combination of historical characters, some present day tenants and others that you might find in any general hotel of the era,” explains Johnson, who spent many hours using magnifying eyewear, tweezers and other devices to complete each miniature person.

Among the tiny residents are:
• Two benign ghosts – a little boy who plays with a ball and a love ghost who strews rose petals
• Several horse heads – Whiting’s hobby was raising and racing horses
• Rock-A-Billy Red – the resident musician
• Tin Can Mary – who collects tin cans to raise money

“Every once in a while a spectacular piece arrives in the gallery and that happened for us,” says Sue Ann Round, owner of the Michigan Artists Gallery in Suttons Bay where The Whiting is on display. “Jil Johnson has outdone herself creating yet another masterpiece of contemporary folk art based on the historic Whiting Hotel.”

So will Johnson do similar projects on other Traverse City landmarks?

“No way,” she says with a laugh and a shake of her head. “My next project is already underway and it’s a beautiful amazing war horse.”

The county saved some $200,000 in November and December because of the lighter-than-average snowfall, according to Road Commission Manager Mary Gillis. She isn’t ready to count up the extra money just yet, though she hopes there still’s some left when the department does so in April.

“One bad month could wipe out the savings of a good year,” Gillis says. And that doesn’t just mean snow, either – ice storms are also costly to the road crews, she says.

If there is leftover cash, the department will be able to patch, seal or maintain that many more roads come spring and summer. As an example, the amount saved in the last two months of 2011 could mean 10 miles of chip sealing sprayed on roads, or it could be about 2.5 miles of shoulder-to-shoulder overlay paving, Gillis says.

The bulk of the savings comes from less overtime pay, and less fuel, salt and sand. The road commission employs a full-time staff in order to be ready when those road-clogging emergencies do happen. When they’re not plowing, crews are repairing roads, picking up dead animals and performing other maintenance work.

Any extra money will be welcome, said commission chairman Marc McKellar, particularly since the state has decreased its contributions to local road commissions in the last decade or so.

The schools also could benefit from a continuation of the light-snow trend. Paul Mahon, director of capital projects and maintenance, at Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS), says it costs $9,500 a day to clear snow when there’s two inches of snow overnight.

TCAPS allocates about $250,000 per year for snow removal. During the 2009-2010 school year, it allocated $188,000; the year prior, $310,000.

“This year, I think we’re on track for one of the smaller numbers,” says Paul Soma, chief financial officer, adding any leftovers will be rolled back into the general fund. “The bigger impact (of the warm weather) is on our utility bills. We could see as much as a $150,000 variance on our natural gas budget.”

So, what's the forecast for March? Jim Keysor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Gaylord, says it should be warmer than normal, with several more storm systems – though some will bring rain rather than snow.
 

Since opening its doors almost two years ago, the TBCAC has helped more than 270 children – 170 last year alone – in the Grand Traverse region. The most common age served? Four.

“Those numbers are of pandemic proportions,” says Brooke Nettz, executive director of the TBCAC. “Child abuse will continue to exist until humanity pulls together and says ‘enough!’ Let's start here in northern Michigan.”

The TBCAC believes if only one child is abused, that’s one too many. And so, for the second year, it will be hosting the Zero Tolerance Event in an effort to educate and inform the public on the reality of child abuse. The free event is Saturday, April 21 and is slated at this point to take place at the State Theatre.

Representatives from local agencies – including law enforcement, teachers, social services and business leaders – will come together to pledge their support and commitment to the well being of area children. 

“The Zero Tolerance Event currently only happens here in Traverse City, but our plan is to spread it across the nation,” Nettz says.

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Tribal Chairman Derek Bailey says his tribe is a strong advocate of the TBCAC and its mission. On Monday, the tribe presented the organization with $23,000 as part of its biannual two percent gaming revenue allocation.

“Abuse can definitely be generational,” says Bailey, “and by working together, there’s hope for breaking that cycle within individuals, families and communities.”

New for this year’s Zero Tolerance Event: a video contest. Students of all ages are encouraged to submit a five-minute online video that supports the theme. Photography and film industry experts will judge the videos, and the winner will receive a $500 downtown gift certificate.

The event will begin at 1 p.m. with the Grand Traverse Band's Mino Biimaadiziwin “Good Life” Hoop Dance Society, followed by a viewing of short films by local students, break dancing and a police-escorted walk down Front Street and a community mural painting at Ecco.

“We owe it to the 170 children served by the TBCAC in 2011 – and our area children currently suffering abuse in silence – to know that the adults in their lives are not afraid to get the facts about child sexual abuse, are willing to learn how to protect our children to prevent abuse, and how to respond when confronted with a report of abuse,” says Shelley Kester, chair of the TBCAC and family law attorney.

For more information, click here.
 

From her home in Kingsley, Miller designs the costumes worn by the biggest names in the ice skating world, including current U.S. ice dancing champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White. The Michigan-based duo just brought home their fourth national win from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships held last month in San Jose, Calif.

That bronze, copper and gold-sequined dress Davis wore for the pair’s Latin dance? A Stephanie Miller original. So, too, was the stunning purple dress she donned while she and White waltzed across the ice.

“Color of fabric against the skater’s skin tone is the first thing we always look at,” says Miller. “Then I listen to the music and consider what the skater’s likes and dislikes are.”

Miller should know what Davis, 25, likes – and looks good in – by now.

“Meryl was eight years old when we first started sewing her freestyle dresses and then for her and Charlie when they became a team shortly after that.”

Miller designs and does the “stoning” – the crystals, beads and other sparkly embellishments – for the costumes, and her business partner Luanne Williams does all the sewing from her home in Grass Lake, near Jackson.

“Luanne can sew anything I draw up,” says Miller of their 17-year working relationship. “She is amazing.”

So how does the northern Michigan resident do her long-distance designing to the stars?

Miller and Williams meet once a week at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, where the skaters come for fittings. Skaters who live out of state or out of the country rely on mail and email for just the right look.

Miller herself was a synchronized skater for 17 years and also did ice dancing – she designed all her own costumes back then. Her eye for design, however, caught the envy of many fellow skaters and soon her professional designing career was underway.

The pair’s list of skating clients is long and also includes 2011 U.S. National Figure Skating Champion Alissa Czisny and current Canadian national ice dancing champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

One of Miller’s most memorable experiences as a skating costume designer: the 2010 Winter Olympics when her and Williams’ creations were decorated with gold and silver medals.

These days, Miller is hard at work designing one of Meryl Davis’ pieces for the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships – keep your eye out for an orange dress with fringe – held next month in Nice, France.

The proposed Cherry Republic Center? Dead. Morsels bakery and café? Moving. Local developer Thom Darga? Eager to build.

“There currently is no valid purchase agreement for the property,” says Kevin Endres, whose real estate firm Three West is representing seller Tom McIntyre, CEO of Passageways Travel. The property, first listed in June 2009 for $1.75 million, is now listed at $1.695 million.

But Darga told The Ticker late last week he has every intention of securing a new purchase agreement – after his original one expired – and moving forward with his proposed four-story, mixed-use building. “We’re very eager to continue and complete this project.”

Cherry Republic’s Bob Sutherland first announced plans nearly a year ago to redevelop the corner, led by a Cherry Republic retail and production facility occupying the first two floors. He later teamed up with Darga on the project, but then terminated his purchase agreement back in October – though Cherry Republic was still a possible tenant.

“I was exhausted,” Sutherland says of his efforts to get the project off the ground. “I had to back away.”

In many ways, this proposed development has been about much more than the building itself. Discussions about public restrooms, a civic center, and partnering with TC Light & Power on infrastructure improvements all contributed to delays with the project.

Darga subsequently negotiated a new purchase agreement under the name Virgin Olives, LLC, but that agreement expired, he says, while awaiting some final funding approvals from the state. His project proposal has since been approved for approximately $2.4 million in brownfield redevelopment dollars and qualifies for $1.5 million in tax credits. One last approval remains: a permit from the Historic Districts Commission.

In the meantime, Sutherland has completely walked away. “I couldn’t give Thom the commitment (of taking the first two floors) and he needed to move forward,” he says. “I’d love to see that corner developed, to see that energy and investment downtown. But I don’t want to be the first one in on the building.”

Darga says he has two new parties interested in the first two floors. Though he won’t disclose names, he says one is a firm familiar to the community, the other is a different retail venture.

Atop those two floors, Darga hopes to build up to 13 residential units – approximately 1,600 square feet each, all with bay views, and all in the neighborhood of $500,000.

Assuming Darga and the seller negotiate a new purchase agreement, the project will commence in September instead of at the end of this month as originally hoped. The 55,000-square-foot building project is estimated at about $13 million.

As for Sutherland, Cherry Republic’s current lease next door to the proposed new building expires May 31, 2013. “I’m starting over looking for a permanent home downtown.”

They call themselves the “Britten Extreme Team,” and they’re reaching new heights for business. Their mission is to rappel down multi-story buildings and hang banners for their clients.

“We have a specialty lift that’s able to reach 85 feet in a mall property,” explains Britten’s Vice President Dale Troppman, discussing a recent installation at Pentagon City Mall in metropolitan Washington DC.

"But that just wasn’t high enough to get to the side of a three story escalator. Instead we had to hire a gentleman to go over the side in a bosun’s chair” (a chair held in the air using ropes).

In Salt Lake City, Britten hired a group of window washers to get the job done on a 10-story building.

In an effort to take things in-house and cut expenses, Britten has created its own "Britten Extreme Team," a group trained to literally jump and repel off tall buildings to do large installations.

This week, the team got its official training, thanks to True Adventure Sports from Alabama, which paid a visit to Traverse City.

“We sent out a note asking for volunteers to go through the training program,” says Troppman. “We had a full roster in less than 60 minutes.”

Regional Operations Manager AJ Witthoeft was one of the first to sign up.

“I love the adventure, and I’m not afraid of heights.”

The team crammed 40 hours of training into three long days.

After classroom training on knots and safety at Britten's headquarters, the team headed to the State Theatre in downtown TC to test their skills. The objective: jump off the back of the building, change bungees and ties on the giant banner Britten installed a few years back, and land safely.

Installer Andrew Adams accepted the challenge. “I was ready. I actually wanted to be first down the wall.”

Mission accomplished all-around. The State Theatre "jump" was a success, and the team is now undergoing their final certificate testing (all members must get a 100 percent score on a knot exam and rappelling test).

To watch the Britten Extreme Team in training, click on the video at top left.

“This year, Safe Harbor is up almost 20 percent,” says Goodwill’s Street Outreach Coordinator Ryan Hannon. “We averaged about 45 people per night for the past month, and last January we averaged 35." The average is 31 people per night during the winter season.

Donations to the program have tapered off since the holidays, however. “During the holiday season, people are feeling more generous, but the need doesn’t end after the holidays," Hannon says.

Safe Harbor of Grand Traverse began in 2003 when the First Church of Nazarene in Traverse City opened its doors to provide meals to the homeless. Later that year, the church launched an overnight program that provided shelter to adults on the coldest nights of the year. By 2004, other churches were following suit.

Four years ago, Safe Harbor approached Goodwill Industries for assistance in training and organizing volunteers. Goodwill’s Street Outreach has become an integral part of the program that now includes more than 24 churches rotating overnight and meal services throughout the winter months. 

It’s estimated that at any point in time there are 740 homeless individuals in the surrounding five-county area, according to statistics gathered during a PIT count (Point in Time) conducted in January 2011. These figures include people on the streets, in emergency shelters and those in transitional housing or being evicted. This year’s count, conducted Jan. 25, is expected to be even higher, Hannon says. The final numbers will be released in about a month.

While drug addiction and mental illness can lead to homelessness, Hannon says the majority of people on the street are there because of a series of unfortunate events, including illness or job loss.

“The economy is bad and that’s forcing people out of their homes,” he says.

The lack of affordable housing is another likely contributor, Hannon adds. “There are not enough (designated affordable housing) units, even if everyone had jobs to pay for them.”

Safe Harbor is often the last resort for many. 

“There are some success stories where Safe Harbor has touched someone at a deep level and helped them gain sobriety and transition into a job and housing," says Nick Twomey, pastor of Bay Pointe Community Church, which participates with the program. But more importantly, he adds, people are treated with respect. “While we may not succeed in getting someone off the street, we’ve seen tremendous success in helping people go from feeling worthless to feeling safe and comfortable.”

There are several ways to help the operation. Monetary contributions can be made directly to Safe Harbor through The Presbyterian Church of Traverse City or Goodwill’s Street Outreach Program. Also, purchasing items on the Goodwill Street Outreach site wish list and buying from or donating items to the Goodwill Store on South Airport Road benefits programming.

For more information on Safe Harbor, visit www.gtsafeharbor.org.

They did. Unanimously. In one meeting.

“I was absolutely shocked when it was unanimously approved at the public hearing,” Niedermaier tells The Ticker. “It’s been amazing to put together something that works for the township and works for us.”

Now, he’s preparing to break ground this month on his combination farm-pub-brewery – Brewery Terra Firma – with plans to open in July. The business, located at Hartman and Dracka roads in Traverse City, is expected to create 10 new jobs. It will serve as a brewery (with a 2,000 square-foot tasting room), an agricultural destination (with seven acres of crops), and a farm pushing for 100 percent efficiency. 

Niedermaier says the BTUs given off in the production process will be harnessed to heat the building, and the “spent” barley husks will not be sold to area farmers for filler feed, as most breweries do, but turned back into the fields for use as fertilizer.

“There is nothing in Michigan that compares to it – maybe not even on a national or global scale,” says Niedermaier, former head brewer at Traverse Brewing Co. and former brew master at Right Brain Brewery. “People will be watching this as a model.”

Barley used in beer can’t be grown in Michigan’s climate, so Brewery Terra Firma will get its barley from all over the world. It will, however, be able to grow other ingredients on site, such as hops, herbs, spices and beets (and, yes, they’ll have a beet beer).

Another Traverse City microbrewery has big plans on tap for this month. The Filling Station Microbrewery at the former railroad depot off Eighth Street is starting to brew and will open Feb. 28 with eight microbrews on tap, and 12 eventually.

The business is a family affair. Brewer David Cannizzaro, a former Vermont baker, is joining his father-in-law Ray Klepper, who’ll serve as general manager. Klepper has lived in the area for 30 years and was semi-retired (he formerly did machine design for Verstand Engineering in TC) when his daughter Lyndsay and Cannizzaro moved back to Michigan to be closer to family. Lyndsay and Ray’s other daughter, Amanda, will take part in the business.

“David has been home brewing for 15 years,” says Klepper. “When we went to visit him, he was brewing better than anything I was buying!”

The brewery space and pub span approximately 4,000 square feet and will carry wood-fired pizzas and salads. There will be 68 seats inside and nearly double that when the patio is open. “We’ll use the covered train platform as a patio with a lake view in the warm months,” says Amanda Klepper.

For more information on the breweries, click on the links:
http://thefillingstationmicrobrewery.com/
http://breweryterrafirma.com

The Acme Township Planning Commission voted unanimously Monday night to recommend the project for approval by the township board.

It will now move on to the board of commissioners, which will have the final say. That board’s next meeting is on Tuesday, Feb. 7, but it’s not known if they will take up the matter at that time or if they will require more time to review it.

“I feel good about the planning commission moving this on to the township board,” said Steve Smith, one of the developers of the Village at Grand Traverse, which is to include the store.

The township has been at odds with Meijer at times over the years, and the matter has been subject of several lawsuits and counter-suits.

Meijer will be the first part of Village at Grand Traverse to be built. Township officials and residents still hope the development someday includes neighborhoods, local government buildings, bicycle trails, parks and something to resemble a traditional downtown.

Many residents have heatedly criticized the board at recent meetings for dragging their feet. When officials predicted another half-year of deliberations, crowds turned out to mostly express strong disapproval.

Since then, the board has accelerated the process. They’ve systematically voted on separate aspects of the project, including traffic roundabouts, signs, environmental implications for Acme Creek, the types of grasses to be used for landscaping, sidewalk easements and other matters.

Rob Evina reiterated some of the criticisms at the beginning of Monday’s meeting, saying he wanted to “hold their feet to the fire.”

“I implore you on behalf of the community to put this thing to a vote,” he said. “Vote it down if you don’t want it. Stop the bleeding for this community so we can heal.”

Yet concerns remain that Meijer might end up setting the tone for the project and Acme might not get the town center its citizens have long wanted after all.

“This doesn’t meet the goals of our master plan,” planning commission secretary Virginia Tegel said Monday of the Meijer, though she voted for its recommendation.

She said the store on its own is only reachable by car and doesn’t address the easily walked and biked community people want to see. She added that she hopes the next phases of the project will better address that goal.

Smith says he’s willing to work with the board to see that local dream come true.

“I really hope that we can work together with the township on anything to better the community,” he said. “I really want to cooperate with the township to bring amenities such as a new township hall and a fire hall and create a town center that everyone can be proud of.”

Gowen is among five college students who recently started an internship with the National Cherry Festival. Four more students will come on board this spring, rounding out the 2012 intern class that dives into all things Cherry Festival – not to mention other Festival-sponsored events, like next month’s Winter WOW!Fest and March’s Leapin’ Leprechaun 5K road race.

This year’s intern class is the largest to date, says Trevor Tkach, the Cherry Festival’s interim executive director who calls the program “my baby.”

“We’ve had interns for a number of years, but we started to get more sophisticated with the program four or five years ago,” Tkach says.

He’s taken cues from successful internship programs downstate, such as the one offered with the West Michigan Whitecaps minor league baseball organization and another through Central Michigan University’s recreation, parks and leisure department.

Most interns are from Michigan, though some come from colleges outside the state and even from overseas. Last year’s class included a student from Germany. Their majors vary, too, from communications and event planning to parks and recreation.

Intern positions are ever-evolving. When the festival came out with an enhanced ticket system, an intern assisted specifically with the box office. This year brought the first social media/communications internship.

“It’s gotten to be such a big thing to manage our message on the web, through email and all these other facets,” Tkach explains.

Whatever the position, interns are “always busy,” he says. “They’re here for half a year and are really getting a feel for running this business. They don’t just want to come in and make coffee, which internships can turn into. They’re here to learn and get their hands dirty—and they do that.”

Along with honing workplace skills and learning more about northern Michigan, interns could very well end up with job leads.

That’s what former intern Michelle Elliott, 24, experienced in 2009 when she took on sales and marketing duties for the festival. “I got a really well-rounded internship experience there, which is why I enjoyed it so much,” says Elliott, who met her future employer – Viktor Incentives & Meetings, a Traverse City travel company – at a festival event.
 
The job perks aren’t too shabby, either. “We get a small stipend and they pay for our housing,” Gowen says of the $1,000 each intern receives and the accommodations that are provided by Arbors of Traverse Apartments.

The festival is July 7-14. For more information, http://visit.cherryfestival.org/

For the first time in its 36-year history, Michigan’s oldest Nordic ski race is going big-time: It will host the American Cross Country Ski Association Masters National Championships during the VASA races Feb. 10-12.

What’s even cooler is that top dog Traverse City skiers have home-court advantage, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a splash.

“If a skier wins their age group in specified distances, they will be both a VASA Champion and a National Champion,” says Pete LaPlaca, VASA Board President.

The Championships will bring in nearly 1,000 skiers from about 20 states, LaPlaca estimates. The opportunity to host will keep Traverse City and the VASA on a short-list of the top Nordic destinations in the country.

“Our trails and grooming are some of the best and most challenging in the country,” he says. “Our lake-effect snow is so consistent that we are the only cross-country ski race in the Midwest that has offered a full 50km race over the past decade.”

LaPlaca estimates that the economic impact on the area will exceed $300,000 from lodging, dining, entry fees and ski gear.

In addition to the Championships, there’s a little something the youth can take a stab at – qualifying for the Junior Olympics. That’s right, this year also brings the addition of the Great Lakes Youth Ski Festival which will serve as the U.S. Ski Association’s Junior Olympic qualifier. These youth races will replace the former Jr. VASA races.

Kids of all ages and abilities are welcome to participate in the weekend-long festival that will include races, relays and obstacle courses. Age-appropriate race distances are offered to age group skiers including: 5 and under, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, and 14-19.

New changes this year, according to LaPlaca are: a start line that is 20 percent wider for safer starts, an improved sound system for fans and course improvements including widening parts of the trail system, removing pinch points and improving passing zones.

In all, the VASA weekend includes two full days of racing with the Saturday 1-6K Junior races, and the original 12K, 27K, 50K freestyle and classic races, and the Sunday Gran Travers events including 1-6K Junior races, and 6K and 16K classic races.

The following Sunday features the Healthy Heart Benefit Tour on Feb. 19, also at Timber Ridge, benefiting the Munson Women’s Heart Health Fund.

For information on racing or volunteering, visit www.vasa.org.