City Council Meeting--10.13. can be viewed on Channel 18

During the public comments portion of the Council meeting on Oct 13, Joe Merkel & Ellen Thackery spoke about the importance of the win-win adaptive reuse of the livery at the council meeting. Jan Bernath submitted the approximately 700 signatures to save the livery--well over 400--almost 500-- were Chelsea residents. Approximately 60 people supported the speakers at the council meeting.

Statement from Joe Merkel:
Ladies and Gentleman, I come before you this evening as a voice of the
community. Prior to a week ago, I had no real concept of the course
that it appears we are on to dismantle or take down the Livery and
Mack Buildings.

Both public and private outcry, has afforded this opportunity to share
the following:

My experience in Real Estate Development, Historical Research and
Business provides me the ability to assess this situation with what I
believe to be, reasonable objectivity.
There are 2 primary ways to increase revenues in a growing community:
1) Development
2) Enhancement of the community itself. ie. attractions, tourism, and
merchant diversity.

Actually, there are 3. The 3rd way is to raise taxes and we all know
how that feels.

I am asking you to hear my voice in both a historical and business capacity.
With that said, my beliefs are:
1) Funding can be obtained for the restoration and utilization of
these buildings.
2) A plan can be formed that will meet the needs of the city, (ie.tax
rolls) and the desire for historical preservation and utilization of
these historic structures.
3) I will , volunteer my time and experience, to work with a
body/group for the specific task of designing and implementing a plan
to such regards.
4) I propose this plan be called the “Chelsea Livery Project”.

If restored/utilized, a number of value added benefits come to mind:
1) Tax revenues for the City of Chelsea are preserved/enhanced.
2) Historical Tourism- Another place for approximately 90,000. Annual
tourism/visitors to consider.
3) Permanent Chelsea Area Museum location for our long standing and
interesting heritage to be displayed and enjoyed.
--Museums that focus on the history of their community do their
communities great justice. In doing so, many families choose to call
those towns/cities home, giving this new arrival/family a part in the
rich history and a true feeling of small town America, Thus enhancing
Chelsea as a great place to raise a family. Everyone wants to fell and
be part of a community. Should we not make this a integral part of the
plan.?


If objectively approached, the plan will incorporate both the North
and South side of the tracks having a  improved pedestrian crossing to
encourage traffic in both directions for business owners of the
downtown district. And a small park/sitting area along main street.


As most or all of you know, I was asked to chair the Chelsea Area Fire
Authority millage effort.
As a result of good planning, intelligent thinking and honesty with
the taxpayer’s, we were successful in our efforts. On Sunday evening,
I clearly told the Save the Livery Coalition that the only way any
plan has a chance of success is one that considers the needs of both
the city and the individuals who live there.
With that said, it is my belief that a group of intelligent and
qualified people can and will be assembled upon  your granting their
desire to wait on the demolition of these buildings.

During the CAFA millage project, I knew there was strong opposition
from the majority of taxpayer’s for any increase in taxation.
Likewise, I was supremely confident that the voters would rally if
given the facts and able to see the true need for the increase. The
outcome and success of that project affords me the opportunity to go
before the community again, providing facts and rallying their support
for both tourism and the DDA. It can and will be a attractive finished
product that the city and its’ residents shall be proud of. I will not
tell you that I or any of the people who have worked toward solutions,
before me, have all of the answers at this time. I will tell you my
dedication and commitment to projects that I believe in and that I
will help to find the appropriate people, funding sources, engineers,
planners and developers in attempt to save a portion, if not all of
these historic structures.

In Summary,
The GOAL should be to preserve the historic, small town, feel of this
community while utilizing these historic structures for modern day and
future purposes.

I would like to thank the Board, in advance, for their consideration
in granting a 1 year stay from demolition so ALL OPTIONS may be
considered. Prior to next months Council Meeting, I will commit to
providing City Council a proposal with timelines for each function
necessary to stay within the 1-year window. As we all know, once the
buildings come down, we will not be afforded the opportunity to
rethink our decision in the future.  I believe, after your review of
the proposal, you will be able to embrace the idea that a individual
or group of people, on behalf of the city, can be appointed to work
with the Livery Coalition and the Chelsea Area Historical Society to
incorporate ideas in concert with planning and studies you have
already completed. I do believe there is a WIN/WIN scenario that will
allow the city and its’ residents a finished project that will both
preserve tax revenues and enhance the historic feel of the downtown
area.

Statement from Ellen Thackery:


To Mayor Feeney and Members of City Council,

My name is Ellen Thackery and I am the Southeast Michigan Field Representative for two organizations—the Michigan Historic Preservation Network and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. I am here tonight to advocate for the preservation and stabilization of the Livery and the other buildings from the Longworth Complex. I believe that these buildings can be and should be adaptively reused and I see that all three buildings have architectural interest, and strongly contribute to the historic character of Chelsea's business district. 

Some may say, “Who cares about a livery?” and they may look at the livery’s concrete block and say that it doesn’t look like something worth keeping. I can tell you that one of the reasons I care about historic architecture is that it tells the story of a community and it provides continuity in a community. This concrete block building and its neighbors help to tell the story of the development of Chelsea, and I submit that you are lucky to have these pieces of your history still standing. Bob Christensen is the coordinator of all nominations from our state to the National Register of Historic Places. He has held this position for many, many years and he knows as much as anyone I could name about architecture throughout the state. When I asked him about the livery, he said, “The Livery Building is, to my mind, a Big Deal.  Every town had its hotels and most of these hotels had livery barns.  Both the hotels and the livery barns were characteristic features of business districts.  Many of the barns were wooden.  In any event, few of these buildings survived for long into the auto age.  Chelsea's stands out not only as one of the few survivors of these buildings, but also for its substantial concrete block construction.”

Now, I know that a National Register nomination for downtown Chelsea has been completed and is waiting to be reactivated. I would encourage you to reactivate it. The National Register is an HONORARY designation—it provides almost no protection for the buildings listed on it, but it does raise awareness of your historic places for visitors and residents alike, and it provides a marketing tool for your community to attract even more heritage tourists. Further, it allows property owners to access the federal income tax credits for rehabilitating historic buildings. The federal and state rehab tax credits were created so that buildings like the livery could be adaptively reused.

I want to leave you with this: despite the fact that Chelsea’s commercial district is not listed in the National Register, it still seems to me that the business and government leaders of Chelsea have valued the historic character in Chelsea and have preserved that character over the years. The stock of historic buildings is one of the downtown's greatest assets. Demolishing these highly visible historic buildings flies in the face of the care that has been exercised in the past and doesn't make sense in terms of promoting the downtown’s and city’s image as a cool and historic place. Instead, I would respectfully encourage the city to market these buildings for adaptive reuse, with the requirement that the historic character be maintained. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Ellen Thackery
Southeast Michigan Field Representative
Michigan Historic Preservation Network and the National Trust for Historic Preservation
107 E Grand River
Lansing, MI 48906
(517) 371-8080
info@mhpn.org

Recordings of the council meetings can be viewed on Channel 18. Watch for an article in Thursday's Chelsea Standard this Thursday.

Ask the council members their position on supporting the save the livery effort as proposed by Joe Merkel and Ellen Thackery at the meeting. To communicate with city council members, please refer to the following contact list:

2009 City Council Members
Mayor, Ann Feeney (term ends 11/09)**
email: afeeney@city-chelsea.org
Home Phone: 475-1493  Work Phone:  475-1909
 
Jason Lindauer (term ends 11/11) (mayoral aspirations)
email: jason_lindauer@ml.com
 
Cheri Albertson (term ends 11/09)**
email: cheriaa@umich.edu
phone: 475-8313
 
Bill Holmberg (term ends 11/11)
email: holmbergwilliam@sbcglobal.net
phone: 433-9733 
 
Rod Anderson (term ends 11/11)
email: rod.anderson@sbcglobal.net
phone: 475-5898
 
Kent Martinez-Kratz (term ends 11/09)** 
email: kkratz@jpsmail.org

Frank Hammer (term ends 11/09)**
email: beemerguy@fastmail.fm
phone:  475-1828 
 
Council Meetings are held the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Meetings will be held at Washington Street Education Center, 500 Washington Street.