AUG�ST 5 - 11, 1915 THE CITIZE
3
on Leuty
BE 0 HARBOR - After
pproving five insurance plans
pre nted by City e or/
Insurance an ger rands Raw
linson, the Benton Harbor City
Commission learned, July 29 .
that R linson wa re igning hi
po t.
Rawlin on, ho h held the
Benton H rbor office for almost
four ye rs, tendered hi resigna
tion in a closed session of the
comrru on. Th commission
then oted unanimously to
ccept the r signation, effective
October 1.
Ra linson has orked an
e or for 23 ye , including
10 yean with Berrien County.
fter the meeting, he had noth
ing but praises for Benton Har
bor, ying th t h has enjoyed
his ork in the city much
any other pl ce that he h
orked.
wlinson stated that the
city h m de "significant
gains", especially in its in urance
coverage, hich he presented to
the commission before his
re ignation announcement.
Benton Harbor's insurance
coverage is a 28 percent increase,
but, Rawlinson . d, he is
pie d with the increase since
many municipalities are exper
iencing 200-600 percent in-
y 0 Leuty
BE 0 HARBOR - Vin
cent Place, a proposed S2.8
million hotel, retail, and office
center in do ntown Benton
Harbor, received go-ahead by
the City Commission.
The commi . on unanimously
ppro d application for a
$900,000 UDAG at a pecial
meting, July 31.
On that day, the commis
ion held t 0 public hearings.
The re oning behind that move,
ccording to city officials is that
they received th plans for the
project from Detroit -ba d
developer en ey Enterpri
Development Co., on onday,
July 29, and had to hold the
two required hearings and nd
in the gr nt application by the
end of the July 31 business
d y.
Alex Little, city Economic
Development Director, id that
the application, to be filed in
th city' n me, wa worked
on by him If and Community
ere e. Rawlin on noted the
City of St. Joseph as an example
of a 400 percent incre in
insurance coverage.
Coverage approved by the
City Commi . on included the
Police Profe ional liability In
urance Policy ( 1 million cover
ge; 6,261 annual premium),
Fireman's Error and Omi ions
Policy (1 million coverage;
$790 annual premium), Auto
Fleet Policy ($ 1 million liability;
5 000 annual premium), Com
prehensive General Liability
Insurance Policy ($500 ()()()
cover ge; '$88.930 premium),
and the Public Officials Errors
and Omissions Coverage (SI
million coverage; S5,100).
All the pproved policie are
rene ab, ccording to Raw
linson, and are earned by the
John DeVries Agency, St.
Joseph, with ew Insurance
Agency, 589 E. Main St., Benton
Harbor, the p rticip ting
agent.
Rawlin on said that the city
is still lacking "umbrella"
coverage. After the meeting,
Rawlinson explained that um
brella coverage "over-lays" all
other coverage, a "cap" on
the coverage.
In other action, the com
nu on heard from Johnny
Burch, 570 Columbus, who
o
ce
ter
Services Director Bill lilly the
night before the hearings, and is
"ready to be sent.
Little termed the develop
ment as a "key" to revitalizing
Benton , Harbor's depre sed
downtown. He said that the
goal for the downtown is to
get a good retail base in the area.
According to Little, Vincent
Place, in the former Vincent
Hotel, 185 E. Main St., will
include 39 "upscale" guest
rooms, which he described as
being a "step bove" regular
hotel rooms.
The facilities will also include
20,000 quare feet of leasable
office sp ce, a recreation/gam
room, an athletic center, a
re taurant, and a lounge. Tennis
courts, also in the development
plan , ould be located on
near-by property, according to
little, but he could not specify
where.
'Supportive convenience re
tail" stores will be housed on
the street-le I of the building.
Senior Center announces
HARBOR - The
following events are heduled
for rvices and ctivities taking
pl ce in August for the nior
citizen center of Benton Harbor
nd Benton Township:
B . c health screening, Aug
ust 8 and 22 from 9:30-11:30
. m. edicare/medicaid counsel
ervice, Augu t 1, 8 22, and
29 by ppolntrnent only.
Le I id rvice August 14,
9:00-12:00 by appointment
only. Board of Directors meet
ing ugu t 21, 2:00 p.m.
Recreation period: Pool
games cards and other table
games, Aug. 23, 1 :00-3:00 p.m.
Surplus food distribution to
eligible nior, Aug 27, all
day, from 9:00 a.m. -3:30 p.m.
Exercise class, each Monday,
August 5, 12, 19, and 25 from
10:30-11 :30 a.m. This activity
. the only one of the month
not reserved for seniors only .
The annual picnic in Hull
Park will art at 11:00 a.m.
and continue until 3:00 p.m.
Participant seniors must obtain
ticket t the pi nic site to
receive food, and are requested
to bring either a salad or
veget ble di h to pa .
ked the city to investigate
the Private Industry Council's
(PIC) involvement with Wheeler
ociate , 219 E. ain St.
Burch alleged that PIC is guilty
of withholding funds from
Wheeler & Associates, operated
by Dr. Calvin Wheeler.
Wheeler runs a 14-week pro-
gram, for profit, that teaches
weatherization and other house
related skills. After the meet
ing, Wheeler said that the pro
gram is not only meant to teach
a kill but to also help persons
find jobs after they have
received their training.
Burch said that PC's stop
p ge of a 10 n earmarked for
Wheeler & Associates is pre
enting students from using
basic equipment and fety
gear.
ineteen tudents are in the
seventh week of the program,
said Burch, who added th t
Wheeler's training is a necessity
in an area like Benton Harbor,
here jobs are carce and
money is tight.
City Manager Ellis Mitchell
told Burch that he would set
up an appointment between
himself, PIC, and Wheeler &
Associates.
The City Commission, in
another matter, approved, after
a public hearing, the transfer
a
ne
The project is aimed at
creating 40 full-time permanent
jobs - with 75 percent of those
jobs going to low and moderate-
incomepersons. Another 43
jobs would be created by con
struction, according to Little.
City Manager Ellis it chell
said that the remaining 1.9
million needed for the project
will be funded through banks
and other private sources sought
by Kensley.
Vincent Place's building is the
site of the former Vincent
Hotel, a Benton Harbor land
mark built in 1925. The hotel
closed its doors in 1975 and
was purchased by the federal
of $ 18 000 of Community
Development Bloc Grant
(CDBG) funds from Emergency
Relocation to Stabilization.
Community Development
Director Bill Lilly aid that
Stabilization includes the
bo rding-up and securing of
vacant propertie. Currently
Stabilization has 15,000 in its
budget, which Lilly termed
inadequate.
Lilly id the Emergency
Relocation fund is the least
ctive fund and doesn't
fore e much ctivity in the
fund this fiscal year either.
Another public hearing wa
held to field comments about
th vacation of a ten foot
portion of orth Street. The
portion, to be deeded to Sumi
tee, Inc., 475 Paw Paw, will
aid the company in its expan
sion program, Lilly said. 0
citizens commented t the
hearing. The commission
approved the v cation at its
july 15 meeting, but was re
quired, by charter, to hold
the he ring.
In other moves, the com
mission approved six properties
to be painted in accord with
the. city's Community Improve
ment Program. The properties
re at 938 Jennings, 777 Colfax,
619 E. Empire, 687 E. Empire,
for:-Vince
go ernrnent, which renovated
the building for a Job Corps
Center that eventually fell
through. In December, 1984,
the city voted to buy the build
ing from the federal government.
At the rust hearing, held t
9 a.m., no citizenss were pre
sent. Only ayor Wilce Cooke,
Commissioners Charles Yar
brough and Michaer Govatos,
and city staff were present.
A quoram is not needed at a
public hearing.
At the second hearing and
special meeting, all commis
sioners were pre nt.
In another matter, ayor
Cooke announced that the city
789 E. Wastungton, and 791
Lavette.
In another matter, City an-
a er aid th t "the city i ready
to a i t in any way" the
or nizations in the city' five
we k Community Pride cam
p ign entitled ' i ion Pos
sible: City On The ove".
itchell said that the city
will concentrate on code en
forcement. He aid th t where
the codes are we ,they will
be strengthened, and where
they are old they will be up
dated. Mitchell aid that the
rea on the city is in its pre nt
condition is that over years
the codes have not been en
forced.
Mayor Wilce Coo e, in
another matter, set August 12,
as the date for public hearing
to show cause for vacant struc
tures to be demolished.
Community Development
Director Lilly id th t the
propertie being considered for -
demolition are:361 Summit, 331
Forrest, 566 C , 554 C ,
128 . Hull, 685 Maiden Lane,
395 Summit, 152 Apple, 335
Pipestone, '353 John, 841
Odgen, 546 Pavone, 660 E.
Main, 740 Thresher, 234 Bell
view and 432 Foster.
o
h s obtained a S500,OOO grant
from the national Economic
Development Administration.
The gr nt will be applied for
improvement of city treets
- namely industrial area streets
like Graham Ave. and S. Fair
Ave. Cooke said that the city
Should receive the money within
30 days and start wor on
streets in "the next couple of
weeks."
Cooke, claiming that his
communications with federal � . I
officials in Washington, D.C.,
helped bring the grant to the
city, said that he anticipates
more nts to come rolling-in
in th next 60 days.
Witt
t
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I
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