court to reclaim control of the
properties because it' not worth it.
"I told them (City official ) th t," he
stre ed, "hiring an attorney and
going through court will cost me
more than the properties are orth."
Cole said he under tands the
neighbors' concerns. "I give them
my ympathy but there's nothing I
can do." .
Vice Mayor Beverly Moore said
Col excuse represe one of the
ter concerns he has bout ab-
ntee landlord. While it may be
less expensive for him.to write off
the propertie , meanwhile, the
neighborhood suffers," she aid.
Ac the treet from the offend-
ing propertie Kathree Johnson liv
with daughters. age twelve and
eleven. he says: "I'm cared to
leave my house, thinking
somebody' going to break in.
There' so much' traffic standing
around out there in front of 511 Wil-
"INSTEAD OF addressing the lard lit all times of the night. I can't
problem by using the Ho ing Code, stand it. I don't think my kids hould
let's see about ing State statutes," be exposed to that kind of stutT."
LaForge said. Johnson said it h become so bad
After another resident of the Wil- lately until he is afraid to allow her
lard Street area echoed Burton' con- dau hter to walk to the bus top in
cerns before tbe Commi sion, the morning. "I had to come p th
Annen, appearing to direct hi ten- alternative means of portation.
lion specifically t Burton, ld, "We This' intolerable!" sh said
getyourpoint;weacknowledg your Barb Gordon, Director of
concerns. There will b a full offen- Kalamazoo's Neighborhood nd
sive, a total attack on thi problem." Community Development Depart-
"We can't discus all means avail. me nt, conceded that the Willard
able," Assi tant Public Safety Chief Street addre e in question have
David Weessie later informed the long been con idered "nuisance"
Michigan Citizen, "but I feel contl- properties. "There have been many
dent that the matter will be Ived violations of the Ho ing Code over
in a hort time." He aid a coor- the p t few years," he id.
<flnated effort by the Tactical'
Re ponse Unit and th Buildings
Department i underway,
City records how Thomas O. and
Donna J. Col of Mattawan �
deed holders of the t I rd
Street properties t re the center
. of tlie neighborhood' concern.
However, the Cole insi t that they
old the propertie to Gerald Jone in
1985 under a land contract, a priv te
agreement between buyer and
nero
"For the first few years Gerald
kept up the properties," Col id.
"He paid me on time and kept up on
the taxe . For years now I haven't
een a penny due me under the land
contract nd no tax h ve been . d
on the properties in the t three
years."
CO L HA 'T taken Jone to
By DANNY R. COOKS
Corr,spontknt
KALAMAZOO - On July 15th
Kalamazoo' City Commi ion was
again graced with the presence of
Gwen Burton.
Her July 1st concern, the aban­
doned buildings on Willard Street,
was again her topic. She asked the
Commission to discontinue business
ual: "Giving Gerald Jon all
the time he needs to continue ing
the ho for drug nd prostitu­
tion."
"Resolution of the Willard Street
problem is a priority," Mayor Ann n
informed Burton,
Commissioner LaForge sug­
gested that undercover officers in­
filtrate the area and attack the
problem at its roots since there ap­
pears to be a number of shady char­
acters I urking along the periphery.
Michigan Citizen interviewed
Gerald Jones. He admitted to al->
cobol and dru but insis eel he
no I hand1 on hi life. "For a
while there, I didn't care about h­
iog. " Jo d, Itdog tride a len-
peed bike, 100 ing mote tbe
trugg�ina entrepreneur than aUe d
pimp and dNa I ."1bi are dif-
ferent DOW. ain't d
dens or p n; notld
like tHat. f) j m and
use them ut if the police ca 't top
them what can I do? I've told the
police to arre t anybody fo on tho
properties." '
On Tuesday, July 16th, at a pe­
cial meeting of the Kalamazoo City
Commi ion's Minority Concerns
commtnee, City M nager Jame N.
Holgersson unveiled the Public
Safety Department' "Action Plan
For Willard Street Area- To combat
the Continuing Problem of Open
Prostitution and Nan::otics TraffIck­
ing."
GATHER! G Intelligence on
peclfic locations involved; peclfic
tim of occwtenocs; and vehicles
and subJec in combined to
become 8rst a tl lep in the
plan.
Enforcement included u-
ianing the ctical Response Unit to
primary co I on a.daily basi to
aggre ively enforce City ordinan­
ces ' tatutes and to contact and
identif uspects. The plan also
directed shift commanders to aug­
ment the Tactical Response Un1t
with palmi officers on a daily basis.
Further, the Department would util­
ize covert operadons to gather intel-
KEN HARTMAN, Dangero ligence and to make arre ts for both
Buildin Coordinator for the City, prostitution nd narcotica traffick­
provided the Michi n tizen with in.
a chronology of actions taken against "HiJh visibility CX)mb
the properne ince June of 1 i trol and covert
The venteen parate tions i - tio will have a 'sianificant impact
elude Notice of Violation i ued for on the illegal activiti ," the action
exterior conditio , Condemnation plan summarized.
orders, notice of major tire d mag Owen Burton, coocerned parent
to building and notice of hearing for nd aoocs neighbor in the Willard
owner to appear itb pla and Street area, di mi any sugge -
schedule for repair or demolition of lions that her a a before the
U three build in . . .City Commission led i re olved
. Gordon id pro titutionand drug to put the problem to rest.
ale and con umption on the Vice Mayor Moore, however,
premises are public safety issues that aid she was pleased to ee Burton
th Public Safety Department hand- take the initiative to come &0 City
I . Hall e pl'CJ her concern .
ie id offlc rs have orde "More peopt Id do 10, It
to identify and que lion all pe 0 . id.
en on the propertie .
On Sunday, July 14th the
IV'\IUVl!.IJ"W1UU - Tb e
Concern Committee 0
Kalamazoo ety Commi on tat
Dougl Community tl at
12- noon on July 11. Major �lc 0
di ion w the ammendcd DIu
LoA ring Ordinance.
Ein lly enacted by the City
Co ion on March 30, 1989, the
orcS nee m it illegal for a person
to knowingly loiter a out, yard..
uromoblte, boa t, airplane,
curbl wn, or other pi ce of any
rip tio n hatsoever where oon­
trot d u DC or drug parapher-
naUa are sold, dispensed, bed,
given away, or tored.
Committee Chairperson, Pastor
C. G. Charle , of Tabem cle Church
of God in Chrl t, led many at the
meeting in q tioning the re
ordinance:
" 0 person hall knowingly loiter
ut or in any pI ce or are open to
the publiC where controlled su tan­
ces or drug paraphernalia are being
illegally old, dispensed. furnished,
given away or tored."
WRITTE THE first time,
the ordinance w chall ged i Y
1989 by several defend ted
under it; they argued that the or­
din nee was unconstitutionally
