DRIVE IT FOR ITS STYLE... LOVE IT FOR ITS SUBSTANCE West Bloomfield Voters Face SMART Election !MOO $379* JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER $995 DOWN LUXURY VALUE PACKAGE !BOO Chrome Wheels • ABS Brakes • Power 0 Door Locks • Power Antenna • Automatic • Dual Air Bags • Remote dy CV Entry • Power Windows • Stereo Cassette • Leather Interior • Heated Seats • Sunroof • CD $659* ti $2,995 DOWN ANIMEIPOIMOPM.11111.1 mnb' Executive Car . Leather • Dual Air Bags • Remote Entry •• ABS Brakes •• AM/FM Stereo Cassette CD 6-Play • Alloy Wheels • Automatic • Trac Control • Leather • Power Sunroof O ■ 111111, Lexus Certified Pre-owned Cars , '91 ES250 Cashmere, Leather, Moonroof, Very Nice! '92 BMW 3181S Red, Like New! '93 ES300 Green, Loaded '95 ES300 Black, One Owner, 12,000 Miles, Chrome Wheels, CD, More $12,990 $17,590 $19,990.. $28,990 '95 SC300 Platinum, 11,000 Mlles Looded '93 LS400 Black, One Owner, Chrome Wheels, Phone, CD, Trac. '93 GS300 Ebony/Jade, One Owner Like New! '93 ES300 Cashmere, One Owner Leather, CD, Loaded $38,990 $34,990 $29,890 $22,990 *24 month closed end lease. 24,000 miles maximum, 150 per mile over. $995 cap cost reduction, $400 ref. sec. dep. First monthly payment, tax, title fee. Purchase option at lease end: $24,313.08. ** 36 month closed end lease. 36,000 miles maximum, 150 per mile over. $2,995 cap cost reduction. First month payment, tax, title fee, $500 ref. sec. dep. due at inception. Purchase option at lease end: $33,343.04. LEXUS OF Exit 104 off 1-96 • 5709 S. Pennsylvania, Lansing • 517/394-8000 (CALL S. COLLECT) For a personal showing: Call 1-800-539-8748 OR 1-800-LEXUS-4-U would greatly benefit the business community, allowing workers to get to and from jobs. In addition to dial -a-ride trans- portation, the millage, if passed, will bring bus service along Orchard Lake and Maple roads, and down Middlebelt to Detroit Metropolitan Airport. It will also include a route to Oakland Com- munity College. Among those leading the mill- age proponents are West Bloom- field residents Ilene Singer and Belle Freedman. Ms. Freedman, a resident of the Hechtman Federation Apart- ments, said she used to use the transportation system when it was available, primarily for doc- tor visits. The senior, in her 80s, said without accessto transportation she sometimes feels trapped in her apartment. "What a handicap it is not to get out, even if it's to Orchard Lake Road for an hour to have a cup of coffee," she said. Ms. Singer helped form a grass- roots group, Citizen's for SMART, after the township board decision last year. "I became active because I was furious," Ms. Singer said. "My right to vote on the issue was tak- en away." Oakland County Commission- er Shelley Goodman Taub, who also sits on the West Bloomfield Transportation Task Force, said she will support whatever the vot- ers decide. However, she notes that when West Bloomfield had SMART service, only about 15 people rode the park-and-ride every day and only 12-15 people per day were using the dial-a-ride service. All voters can participate in the bus election regardless of whether they plan to vote in the primary. ❑ PHOTO BY DANIEL LIPPI TT The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection est Bloomfield Democ- rats who were not plan- ning a visit to the polls for the Republican pres- idential primary now have a rea- son to join their neighbors at the ballot box. On Tuesday, March 19, voters in West Bloomfield will be asked if they want their property tax raised by one-third of a mil to re- join the regional bus system SMART (Suburban Mobility Au- thority for Regional Transporta- tion). If the measure passes, bus and dial-a-ride services would return to West Bloomfield. The March 19 ballot proposal asks residents to authorize the township to levy .33 of a mill (33 cents per $1,000 of assessed prop- erty value). That translates into $33 a year for a home that sells for $200,000. The millage, if passed, will raise an estimated $709,000 for SMART service in West Bloom- field. SMART transportation came to a halt in the township last spring when the West Bloomfield Board of Trustees opted out of a county-wide millage election for the regional bus system. Communities participating in last year's millage voted on whether to fund bus services in the county. By choosing not to hold the election, the township gave up its existing bus service. "If this (current) millage pass- es, West Bloomfield would receive 120 hours of community transit service (dial-a-ride) a week," said Trisha Stein, the marketing man- ager with SMART. "The service generally is used by the elderly and disabled. They typically use our transportation to get to doctor ap- pointments, shopping and work." Proponents of bringing bus ser- vice back to the area maintain it 24 Ilene Singer speaks at a Feb. 29 Citizens For SMART rally.