Head Fake by the Lake - Well, once again the sputtering sphincter that passes for a city government here has joined forces with Darth Garner to pass a "special assessment tax", which seems to benefit the residents living Muskegon Ave. and the Downtown Condo Developers, ignores the rest of Nelson Neighborhood, and drops the cost squarely on the remaining denizens (the F.O.E., the Masons, and businesses)... Well, in the spirit of driving slow, waving and smiling. let us consider something else...
Not too long ago , Business 31 was moved from Webster and Muskgeon avenues to the Lakeshore route; this takes State/County responsibility of maintenance and snow removal and moves it further west leaving the residents in the rest of Nelson Neighborhood to fend for themselves and suffer with City snow-removal and repairs (and we all know how effective that is - thankyou Mr. Mayor). This redesignation paves (no pun intended) the way for the next phase (...wait for it...) the Special Assessment tax, to pay for snow removal for those who live any where else in Muskegon and in the process help save salary funding for Dan, the echo-monkey. The next step is to detach Downtown Muskegon from the Nelson Neighborhood and VOILA! the crime stats, no longer linked to Nelson, drop like the mercury in January, and Downtown is saved (picture Kevin Kostner standing in a corn field at the edge of Downtown watching the condos grow, nifty upscale boutiques and bistro's flourish). Good job MainStreet Muskegon!!!
Now if only the echo-monkey had a real backgound in community development (not public administration and six months teaching English in Asia) he would know a city's real strength comes from it's diverse neighborhoods, not homogenization. If the Muskegon had an effective City Manager and City Attorney and a Mayor who was a leader, it wouldn't be as it is...Broken by the lake.
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