Moderator John Hansen’s notes:
We make the agenda at the meeting so you never know what’s on peoples’ minds until you ask.
Today we started with dog parks. The closest current park is near N. Territorial and Zeeb and is a private membership operation. There are no nearby public parks and none in the hopper as far as we could tell. Dr. Westhoff cautioned folks to make sure that dog parks are safe for your dog. Not all parks screen out aggressive pups.
What’s going on at the corner of Baker and Dan Hoey? Councilman Michels explained that prior to doing road improvements the City tries to upgrade all of the underground stuff so they don’t end up tearing up a brand new road surface to fix something that could have been done in advance. The current work is in advance of the new roundabouts in that area.
Which led us right into our next topic. Matt McDonell from the Washtenaw County Road Commission brought in a diagram of the double roundabout at Baker/Dan Hoey/Shield that is about to happen. The diagram was helpful but the dialog was even more interesting. The WCRC doesn’t just build a road all by itself. Funding has to be collected from a variety of sources and working relationships have to be formed with all concerned. Utility poles have to be relocated and underground work (see above) has to be done by others in advance. The City was involved in design and will add lighting and landscaping to what will be the de facto entrance to the City. The school district negotiated better access to the parking lot at Creekside school which also serves the big athletic fields. The Walkabout Creek apartment complex gets a nice new entrance as well. No houses will be demolished as a part of this project. It is going to be a mess but we are going to love it when it’s done.
Information was distributed about a document destruction service provided by the Dexter United Methodist Church on May 19 and it was noted that the Dexter farmer’s market is open for the season.
Elmo Morales noted that it was the first anniversary of Elmo’s Ping Pong Palace and then he left some with a tear in their eye as we helped him sing the chorus of If You Knew Susan Like I knew Susan in memory of his recently departed wife.
The next meeting of the Dexter Forum will be Saturday, May 19 at 8:30 AM at the Dexter Wellness Center at 2810 Baker Road. The meeting will be conducted by Bridge Magazine as part of their state-wide truth tour.
The Dexter Forum is supported by the Dexter Wellness Coalition as part of the 5 Healthy Towns initiative to “help connect with others in healthy ways”. The purpose of the Forum is to create an opportunity for interested women and men to gather to discuss important issues facing our community. All are welcome on a drop-in basis. The group meets on the first and third Saturdays of the month.
The Forum is co-moderated by Karl Fink and John Hansen.
