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ACK P OG SSIVES CO VE E I ATlA T -PAGE 3
VOL. VI NO. 16 MARCH 21 - 27, 1984
• •
By T rry elly
ST. JOSEPH - Despite plans for ex­
panded bus rvice throughout the Twin
Citie Benton Rarbor city. will remain
. the only municipality to subsidize Dial­
A-Ride, according to a recently relea d
nsportation study.
Benton Harbor's sub' dy is $36,600
thi year nd will increa 30% over the
next four year . Riders nn also e an
additional 10 cent ri in fare ., the study
report .
Under the plan, Dial-A-Ride hopes to
meet the goal within the next four
years: become the primary public trans­
portation provider in the area; restore
fleet size to 17 vehicle from its current
number of 11; work toward a coordinat-
• •
PU
By Terry Kelly
BE TO HARBOR - At the arch
15 bid opening the city received three
bid on an abandoned commericial
tructure t 999 Pipe one, ccording
to Community Services Director illiam
Lilly. I
Charle Bunting, 761 orth Shore
Dr., as high bidder th $650. Bunting
'ould u the property for a car wash
and axing operation, Lilly said.
City firefighter Waymon Hodge , 1210
Ogden, bid $502, Lilly d. According
to Ully, Hodse 'planned retaD u of the
-
ed and broad b d tran portation sy t­
em' incre se marketing and promotion of
Dial- -Rid rvice; and link people with
places of employment.
An additional 50 000 rides i forecast
for 1983-84 by the author of the udy,
Wilkins and Wheaton Engineering of Kal­
amazoo. The rise will come by increasing
rvioe hours by one and one-half hour
per day and adding three vehicles.
Service to St. Joseph Township was
announced this week on the same basis
as th t provided Benton Township -
double fare ($1.80) for rides orginating
in the T ips.
City residents pay $.90 because of the
Continued 0 p 6
I'
.y
property.
Ho es told The Citizen he planned
on rehabbing the property with a hope
of lea ing the pace to someone.
Robert Bell, 310 Searles, bid 501
and projected creating six ne jobs
with the opening of his own r taurant
at the location.
According to lilly, the city commis­
sion will decide which bidder will get the
property taking into consideration pro­
po I use as well as price.
Bell is "up t" ith the city' handling
25e
BLOC
D
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of the 999 Pipestone property.
Bell said the property went up for tax
bid two years ago. At that. time the state
had stopped deeding tax -reverted pro­
perty·to the city. ...
Bell said he went to the .K.alamazoo
tax auction only to find that the tate
had changed its mind and was returning
t -reverted propertie to the city.
Bell said he then contacted Lilly who
went ith Bell out to the 999 Pipestone
location before the state took the pro­
perty over and hen it could ve been
purcha d for the bac taxe
Bell claimed Lilly discouraged him
from paying the bac taxe at that point
becau the co of the property ould
be ,000 or more - the amount of past
due taxe. Bell said Lilly told him hen
it came to the city, BeD could get the
property for bout S 1 000.
Lilly p mi d to let Bell kno
hen the "p per rk" on the 999
Pipeston had been proce , Bell ld.
Bell ld h oc ed hen he
announcing
the property s to be bid on arch 15.
Bell . d h con c city hall t th t
'point "but no one kn anything about
it," Bell said.
"They (the city) h d no bid forms,
knew nothing and told me to talk to
Bill Lilly. He was never in hi office
and never called me back," said Bell. .
The Citizen reported in its arch 14
edition, the same problem Bell ex­
perienced - no one at city hall including
the clerk's office and two community
rvic staff personnel kne anything
about the sale and referred the matter
to Bill Lilly who could not be reached.
Lilly denied that he had ever promi d
to contact anyone should the 999 Pipe­
stone property came up for sale.
Bell id he has also tried un co -
fully to buy from the city the
story bric building immediately [acent
to the Secretary of State' office,
The city of Benton Harbor i the lar­
gest property owner in the city with
vast holdings of tax-reverted land.
hom B.RA.S: Gifted d Talented Academy will participate
COQlpetition at HIe CrMk. SIlo prepared to do battle in
Woodard, Abby Hay ,Elizabeth K n,