business & professional
Open For Business
A thriving Jewish community and a business-friendly mayor
are helping Keego Harbor grow.
Allan P. Adler
Special to the Jewish News
K
eego Harbor is becoming a retail
shopping destination.
Businesses and merchants agree
that the city is attracting not only custom-
ers from the surrounding communities but
also from other parts of Metro Detroit.
A key factor in helping this movement is
Keego Harbor's Mayor Sidney Rubin, who is
in his third term. Rubin, using his business
expertise, has led the way in straightening
out the city's finances and making it more
commercial friendly.
Professional photographer Brian
Masserman is pleased with Keego Harbor.
"It's a robust business climate. It's got a
real groove Masserman says. "Businesses
that are opening up here are staying open.
People stop in one store and stick around to
shop in other stores. There's an abundance
of mom-and-pop stores. It's got a small
town feeling:'
Masserman, 49, who moved his offices
to Keego Harbor five years ago from
Commerce Township, couldn't be happier
about the relocation.
"I'm glad I made the move because now
my business has doubled:' he says, noting
he shoots everything from bar mitzvahs to
weddings.
The photographer is very familiar with
the Metro area. He has been associated
with Temple Israel, was born in Detroit,
raised in Southfield and attended school in
Birmingham.
The mayor, who has
lived in Keego Harbor
since 2001, isn't a career
politician. He did
serve on the Michigan
Waterways Commission
and is currently on the
Board of Directors of
IV
Keego Harbor
the Oakland County
Mayor Sidney
Community Mental
Rubin
Health Authority, among
other organizations.
He says he ran for office because he didn't
like the way the local leaders were handling
city finances. In 2005, Rubin recalls, the
city was near bankruptcy. "I realigned the
government's structure based on needs:' he
says. "We basically said goodbye to bureau-
crats and hello to stakeholders in the city.
"We've attracted a considerable amount
of home redevelopment by simply spend-
ing a lot of money repairing the streets.
Once we did that, we saw for sale signs
38 June 6 • 2013
Upscale finds abound at the Bloomfield Consignment Boutique in Keego Harbor.
come down. People started fixing up their
homes:'
Rubin, 75, who is affiliated with Temple
Israel in West Bloomfield, says the major
accomplishment since he was elected was
the refinancing of Keego Harbor's $2.9 mil-
lion debt. Half the debt was erased through
a creative sale/lease back program with
Oakland County for the city hall.
"We allowed the county to sell the bonds
to pay off our debt, and we lease the city
hall property from the county:' Rubin
explains. "The money we give the county is
used to retire the bonds (that built city hall,
the police department and public works
facility):'
The other half of the debt, he says, was
eliminated by refinancing a 1994 Tax
Increment Financing Authority bond. The
interest rate was cut from 4.8 to 2.1 percent
and the payments stretched out to make the
debt more manageable.
Rubin has stellar business credentials.
In 1964, he started Circus World Toy
Stores. He was a founding member and
board chairman of Bloomfield Savings
of Michigan and co-founded Innovative
Vending Services, a national company
based in Walled Lake.
As mayor, he has been credited with
minimizing the forms and application pro-
cess for new businesses.
Ilene Lederman Goodman, owner of
Too Chic Boutique, opened her store three
years ago and says the city was more than
helpful in getting her started. She says there
were permits to acquire and some expected
inspections, but the paper work was mini-
mal and not a hassle.
For Goodman, being close to a large
Jewish community has helped her busi-
ness. "We have a lot of Jewish customers:'
she says. "People either know me or know
someone in my family, and the Jewish com-
munity is very supportive of one another:'
But she also says the entire city is a
great place to do business. "People are very
friendly and seem to be thrilled to have a
business like mine here Goodman says.
Rita Greenstand, owner of the Bloomfield
Consignment Boutique, agrees. She bought
the business four years ago and the transfer
was very smooth. She says the city was very
cooperative, and it was easy to get started.
A member of B'nai Moshe in West
Bloomfield, Greenstand says Keego Harbor
is a perfect location for her. "I get a lot of
extremely nice clients and customers coming
into my store," she says. "I love it because ifs
centrally located. I get people from Pontiac,
from West Bloomfield, Walled Lake — I
think that's what's great about it, all types of
people from all walks of lif'
Rubin credits his fellow council members
as well other city officials and staff for the
growth in Keego Harbor.
"I think I'm the luckiest person in the
world to have this opportunity to give back
to a community that I live in and enjoy:'
he says. "You can't do these things alone,
there's a good team that has been put
together. There are no egos, no in-fighting.
We've accomplished a lot together."
Being Jewish has not been a factor in his
role as mayor, Rubin says. "In the begin-
ning, many thought being Jewish might be
a career-ending omen, but I proved them
wrong:' he says. "It didn't matter whether
I was Jewish, a Democrat or a Republican,
people have enjoyed the benefits of good
sound business decisions:'
Dr. Ashok Gupta, who has had offices in
Keego Harbor since 2005, is also a fan of
the city and the mayor.
Gupta, who promotes walking in his
practice, says Keego Harbor "is one of the
few walkable cities I have seen in my 34
years in Michigan.
"Sid Rubin has made a big difference;
he has brought the community together;
Gupta says.
Even the annual Memorial Day parade
has taken on new stature over the past few
years. It has grown from a small, local event
with 30 to 35 units to one that attracts
thousands of people and had 67 units this
year. Participants came not just from Keego
Harbor but from a number of surrounding
communities. The parade was televised live
on local cable channels.
Oakland County Commissioner John
Scott, who represents Keego Harbor, has
high praise for the city and the mayor.
"Before Sid got there, the city seemed to
be in a little disarray. They were in financial
dire straits," Scott says. "Rubin and other
newly elected city officials worked with the
county to straighten out their finances.
"The city ... is poised as a community to
be in great shape financially in the next five
years. They're doing what has to be done to
attract businesses:'
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