The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Letters to the Editor
PUBLISHED: July 3, 2008
To the Editor: A cesspool is a cesspool whether you try to call it a swimming pool or not.
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If your search for enough supporting statistics (guest column by Dan Calabrese, June 19) you can claim that this recession is not "technically" a recession. But look around you. Everything at the grocery store is growing more expensive, from rice, to bread, to milk to bananas.
I pay higher health insurance premiums than ever, and now, as opposed to last year, I pay a deductible for literally everything - except maybe phone calls to the doctor's office.
People are losing their pensions, losing retirement savings, losing homes and losing jobs like crazy. And do I need to throw in gas prices?
Maybe nationally syndicated columnist Dan Calabrese is one of those not really affected by everyday living costs. But the readership of the Chelsea Standard is composed of real people who have to live in this world day to day, and endure this recession/depression.
Mr. Calabrese can call my cesspool a swimming pool if he wants to, but I choose not swim in it. He is, however, free to dive into his own.
Roy Schmidt
Sylvan Township
To the Editor: I'm hoping there will be lots of Involved Voters (IVs) in Lima Township this election season.
Involved Voters know that there is a primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 5. They know where to find information about who's running for which federal, state and local offices and they get to know the candidates.
Reading the Chelsea Standard and Dexter Leader blogs online led me to create a blog called "Involved Voters" (www.involvedvoters.blogspot.com). I plan to use it to share information that will be useful to aspiring IVs.
I will be focusing on Democratic candidates for office, but also will include general information for Lima Township voters.
Bernadette Malinoski
Lima Township
To the Editor: I would like to respond to two articles in the June 26 edition of the Chelsea Standard/Dexter Leader.
First, I was not surprised to read the article written by Sean Dalton, "FSW request for rezoning gets the OK."
Certainly, the result of the Planning Commission's decision was no surprise to anyone involved in the effort to appeal to Magellan to alter the plan of total site demolition.
Groups interested in preserving Chelsea's history by rehabilitating and reusing some of the historic buildings rather than total demolition that went on public record were: Chelsea Area Historic Society, Chelsea Depot Association, and Preservation Chelsea as well as some retail owners and family members of one building owner in the downtown area.
Additionally, people who were not members of any group nor affiliated with FSW in any way also objected to the total demolition of this site.
As a concession to honor FSW and its significant Chelsea history, Mr. Papo agreed to commission a sculpture and have descriptions of the importance of FSW in Chelsea's former economic and cultural life.
First, I hope he keeps his promise, and secondly, I hope that this "public art" is visible to the public and not in a parking lot as originally proposed.
The Comprehensive Plan currently in process has no language with teeth to encourage developers to accommodate historic sites by rehabilitating and reusing them.
As it currently exists, saving our historic sites is a "wish." For the most part, Chelsea has been extraordinarily lucky to have had some good stewards of its buildings and heritage. Obviously, as just demonstrated, a wish is not enough.
The Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Development Authority and Chelsea Center for the Arts heard presentations about a proposal to rehabilitate and reuse some of the FSW site.
Furthermore, multiple business owners said in private conversations that they sympathized with the proposed effort of rehabilitation and reuse, but they were reluctant to make statements publicly. In the short term, not ruffling any feathers is good for business.
But, Chelsea's historic sites and buildings are economic assets, and if treated as assets, they are ultimately better for business by making Chelsea attractive to people who are looking to shop, dine, play, live and consult in places with authentic character. This requires long-term thinking and action rather than wishing.
Secondly, I submitted a letter to the Planning Commission for its meeting on June 17 against the Walgreens proposal to enter the community at the proposed site.
Among my many reasons for opposition to this proposal is that the area is identified as a "gateway overlay" on the land use map. While I was heartened to read that 80 people turned out in response to the Walgreens proposal, I fear that the Planning Commission will not hold the line on the gateway overlay, and that Walgreens will come in, pave away, ignore the gateway overlay, put Chelsea Pharmacy at risk, and suck the money out of Chelsea to the Walgreens corporate headquarters.
Official bodies — CACC, DDA, and longtime business and building owners of Chelsea would do themselves a favor if they brought extraordinary pressure on this issue.
Those people who wish to have Walgreens here as competition could drive out to near I-94 where, if it belongs at all, the store should be located. As for me, I'd like to be able to walk in town to fill my prescriptions and buy toothpaste.
The northern space of the Chelsea Clocktower building would be a good location for the Chelsea Pharmacy to relocate. I think many who want to support locally owned businesses would welcome them back into a downtown location.
There is plenty of parking on the northern end of the Clocktower building for those who wish or need to drive. And, it would keep the money in Chelsea.
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