Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. No, no, no, I'm fine. I'm going to be here all night. I'm pretty tired.

I'm hard, so I'm going to freeze.

I don't know, yeah. I'm writing a book about it. Good evening ladies and gentlemen.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the city of Benton Harbor. We are going to get started. I appreciate you all for being timely and looking beautiful in the process. We are going to begin with the invitations from Pastor Kenneth Robinson of Second Baptist Church.

Let us pray. Turn to God our Father. Creator of every community and giver of every good and perfect gift. We pause this evening in this moment in time to acknowledge your presence and your power. First, we want to thank you for this morning's early rising, keeping us enclosed in our right minds, giving us the useful activities of our lay homes, and just blessing us to see another day. And then to thank you for the blessing that you have bestowed upon us, the city her people, her neighborhoods, her businesses, her schools, her places of worship, our community stakeholders and partners, all who labor daily to make this community strong and vibrant. This evening, Heavenly Father, as we have gathered for this State of the City address, we ask for your divine wisdom to rest upon our mayor, our city officials, our first responders, educators, healthcare workers, business leaders, and every citizen entrusted with the responsibility of shaping the future of this city. Grant them clarity in decision making, integrity in leadership, compassion in service, and courage in times of challenge. Heavenly Father, help us to remember that a great city is not built merely by buildings and budgets, but by justice, unity, opportunity, and caring for one another. Teach us to work together across every line that seeks to divide us, strengthen our commitment to protect the vulnerable, uplift the discouraged, empower the next generation, and create pathways of hope for every resident. We pray for peace in our streets, prosperity in our homes, fairness in our systems, and healing where there has been hurt or hardship. May our city continue to grow not only in economic strength, but also in moral, character, and shared purpose. I ask this gathering today that the words spoken inspire cooperation, vision, and renew dedication to the common good. And may all that is said and done reflect the highest ideals of service, leadership, and love for our neighbors. It is in your holy and gracious name we ask it all. Amen.

Amen.

Well done, Pastor Robinson. Up next, we have Kenesha Hurt from Refreshing Fountains Church of God in Christ. She will bring the Star Spangled Banner.

Thank you, everyone. Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming Whose broad stripes and bright Stars through the perilous fight, for the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming. And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, We proved through the night That our flag was still there Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave For the land of the free and the home of the brave. Alright, let's give her another round of applause.

On the next we have our Mayor Pro Tena. She Gil Turner will bring the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right, up next we have Governor Whitmer's office. Acknowledgement of the 160th anniversary proclamation to the city of Benton Harbor.

So just that proclamation is forthcoming who are unable to have it for this evening, but been out here celebrating its 160th year.

All right, without further ado, I present to you our honorable Lieutenant Governor Carl E. Gilchrist.

I remember back when I was shorter than everybody in this room. And I remember my first lesson in community. That lesson came from my parents. You see, y'all, I drove a long way to be here. I'm from Detroit. My parents were very active in my neighborhood on the east side of Detroit. They taught me what community was. They were very active in our neighborhood association. It was called Elmwood Park No. 2. And I was a four or five-year-old young man. And my job in all the neighborhood association meetings was to give everybody their water, to make sure everybody had a piece of paper and everybody had a pen. Because with that water, that paper, and that pen, they assumed the position of people who could change their communities for the better. They advocated for there not just to be new apartments built in our neighborhood, but for there to be hearts in front of those apartments because our neighborhood is to be beautiful. We understand that in Benton Harbor with the investments that have been made and that are manifest in the beauty that is in our system. They understood and advocated and had people working to make sure that there was business opportunity available to people, that there were stores that sold food that was both healthy and that we could afford. They taught us what it meant to be entrepreneurs. But really what I learned about that definition of community was that there were people who cared for and would work on one another's behalf that were not your family. That extended with the definition of family men, if we think that family is really just a set of people who want you to be successful. And I know that in this community, we want our neighbors to be successful. We want our babies to be successful. We want our businesses to be successful. We want our community to be successful. We know that our vibrancy as a collective is simply the multiplier of the vibrancy of ourselves. We want to see opportunity available for everyone, and we see that in corridors that are growing and that are lit up in a way they have not been in a long time, because of the leadership and collaboration and partnership of every individual and institution that is represented in this audience. I'm here. on behalf of the entire state of Michigan, all 10 million of us, to say congratulations to Benton Harbor on 160 years. I'm here to say that the thing I'm probably most excited about this coming to Benton Harbor is Gus Macker. Worst idea of doing a couple Gus Macker targets in my day. But what it represents, that we can work together and win together, that's what this city embodies. And when your mayor gave me the honor of inviting me to come be part of this, I said yes rather quickly. Because I want all of you to know, I want every resident, I want everyone who's invested in and cares about and wants to see Benton Harbor be successful. I want them to know that I want to see that success happen too. And that we all have a role to play in making sure that it happens. We all must choose to sit at the table of decision making. We all must not neglect or negate the power of our neighbors to contribute to what makes this city an amazing place. And so I thank you, Mr. Mayor, for your service, your leadership. I thank you for the partnership that you showed everyone else who's interested in this city being an amazing place. And that is why it is my honor to introduce to you, for this date and city address, the mayor of the great city of Ann Arbor, Mr. Baxter.

Thank you. First of all, I am for your attendance tonight. By seeing you all here, it lets me know that I'm not in this by myself. I do want to play an inspirational video that was made a few years ago by some youth in Vittenhaar, and it capsulized And it is only a reflection of the great future. Because somebody mentioned that building great buildings and great structures, that's a part of it. But we want to build great people. So I want to kneel. Mr. Gunn, are we ready? I present to you our wonderful youth of the City of Nicaragua.

You gotta get up And put your hands in the air You gotta get up And put your hands on me, yeah Say I believe, I believe, I believe I believe, I believe, I believe So much city we gon' make it, cause nobody will Just one more step, let's move the drink and now I'm hot, yeah So I take it back, see me in time, I don't know how it feel Just take it back, just put me in the gym, I feel bad So much city we gon' make it, cause nobody will As long as you stay, you'll be there I'll sit down on the grass for you

Oh, yeah

Gotta focus, gotta get it in It's the real world, this is not pretendin' Gotta move forward, even though it's heavy It's all agitation now, it's just a money letter Gotta get it, ain't gon' miss a thing When it comes to life, I ain't got a thousand things

Like an extra, I'm so round about that one Sayin' it's cool, even though it's hard As much as it will finish, it will never stop Even if I remember the words, I don't make it I know I got it, it can't change See, we gon' make it, bitch, I can catch you, boy I see we gon' make it

Get up, put your hands on me, yeah Get up, put your hands on me, yeah I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe I believe, I believe, I believe, yeah I don't make sure to hear my words. I don't make sure to hear my words. I don't make sure to hear my words. I don't make sure to hear my words. And your issues will go around Cause we gon' be not like twins Cause we gon' be twins Yeah we gon' be not like twins Cause we're not gonna be all right I said it's all right, all right, baby It's the way, baby Get up, get up And put your hands up in the air You gotta get up all night long

Of me, of me, of me, of me, yeah

Hi, my name is Ardell Clark, and I bring you Beyond Limits Entertainment. They're going to do a dance we're singing. We got to do construction work. And as you see all the construction work going on around the community, you truly, truly buy into this. You got to believe that we are truly, truly on the way and continuing forward to success and continuing forward on the community.

So welcome them as they present. I believe, they believe in the world.

They said you wouldn't make it so far out now And ever since they've said it's been hard But never mind how much I had to cry Cause you can never let it go inside You work too hard You know exactly what you want and need So believe And you can never give up You can reach your goals Just come to this world and say I can't believe I can't believe I can't believe I know what I'm taking on You're more than just dancing, dancing is so un-fun I need more, you're more than just letting me show You keep me waiting here, I'm losing your mind Sometimes it makes me feel so sorry, sorry You know I'm fine, you know I can't let you go tonight Just let me go, you know I can't let you go tonight Oh

Let's give them another round of applause. So tonight we are here to discuss some very serious but uplifting business. We will discuss the past, the progress, possibility. The past influences the precinct or the present. And the present shapes the future. When we reflect on the past, we did not start out as busy people. This community started out as a village, Brunson High. And there were three men. So says the history. But I'm sure it was some women. That was right front and center. Helping in that effort. That was Mr. Charles Cole. Henry C. Morton. and Mr. Brunson. And then as time moved forward, we became Benton Harbor in 1866. And I don't know what deal was cut to change it from Brunson Harbor to Benton Harbor, but there was a senator by the name of Mr. Thomas Hart Benton. that had the honor of having this city named after him. And I just brought this book that I'm studying because it was President Andrew Jackson who struck the state of Michigan into the United States of America. And that was in 1828. So here we are celebrating 160 years of our past, of our progress, and of our future. This is my first PowerPoint presentation. So if you didn't just suffer me, But this is our story. And we are those living that are here to tell that story. For far too long, our story has been told about us instead of violence. And tonight we take ownership. The city of Benton Harbor is a municipal corporation. And the number one shareholder is the residents. But every community first must have residents. But every community thrives and grows and develops through business, through enterprise, through commerce. And if you look at the word business, you see the word busy And when you think about busy, from a definition standpoint, it's activity. It's life. It's movement. It is growth. So business serves as the engine of any community. And that's why if you look at the word car or career, which is connected to business, then that's how you see communities growing. Investors are partners in possibility because investing is like placing a seed. And sometimes you may get a bad climb. So we see businesses come, and unfortunately in some cases we see them go. But the investor is that person that comes in that has hope in the community. And then, of course, partners, regional and state allies, which we have many present here tonight, if I start calling names. But if I can just say a few, we have with us our Colonel of the Michigan State Police, who has served as a partner to the city of Michigan Harbor. And Colonel, we have our Superintendent of Mid-Hour Area Schools here, Dr. Simone Griffin. So hopefully we can get that tool, that wonderful tool, as a field trip that you gave to me of the Michigan State Police Headquarters. Absolutely awesome in our sight. We have, as we mentioned, our Lieutenant Governor representing the Whitman administration. And we have our own state representative of the 38th district here this evening, Representative Joey Andrews. Charlie Swanson is representing Governor Whitmer's office and administration. So perception shapes reality. And tonight we define ours. In 1990, the city of Benton Harbor, according to the Chicago, the reader, it was said that Benton Harbor slipped to city number 300 by Money Magazine. which said that Benton Harbor was the worst place to live in the entire United States. And it reads here, drive around the city of Benton Harbor, Michigan, the southwestern part of Michigan where Upscale Chicago is now like a vacation and the decay is obvious. The town looks like four square miles going out the world as one local educator describes. It says here, every year Money Magazine assesses 300 metropolitan areas using nine parameters on their livability. Last September, the area consented around Bent Harbor, but including St. Joseph and several other neighboring municipalities, fell from 298 to dead last on the money scale. Since the whole area was called Big Harbor and money, the town itself suddenly became known as America's Iron Pit. The destination, which was news around the country, outraged locals. But we're here today, as stated, to tell a different story. Big Harbor at one time, as you know, was a thriving hub of commerce and manufacturing. Malibu Steel, Superior Steel, I'm not speaking before my time, Bosch, and many other manufacturing auto specialists. This is a community conversation, so. But it was thriving with commerce and manufacturing. A legacy of production anchored by industry, driven by innovation. A strong down time when I hear people talk about four theaters. Drugs store, not CVS store. Walgreens. Tablets.

There was a growing population.

nationally known as symbol of Midwest prosperity, but slowly erosion, decay. Like many communities, change came not as a collapse, but as a steady decline over decades. Jobs left. Manufacturing declined, hollowed out the tax base. Population declined. post-war suburbanization to residents outside of the city. Downtown empty by the 1980s and 90s, vacant storefronts replaced with busy sidewalks. My political mentor, Wilson Cook, told me when he first became the mayor in the 80s, it was tumbleweed rolling down Benton Harbor on Main Street. But we're here to announce tonight that we are going to see a city go from vacant to vibrant. There were a few, two major riots in the city of Mendenhall. One was in 1966. Another one was in 2003, which we'll talk about. But there were smaller riots in between. But in 2003, the city of Benton Harbor hit a breaking point. But that was preceded by the death or the murder of Eric McKinney. which was in 1990. But that breaking point in 2003 was a moment that tested us with civil unrest. And the entire nation was watching. In fact, I got a call from my college roommate, and they used to call me Mark B. And he said, Mark B, man, you've been high for a while. I said, what? And I went and turned on, I think it was BBC News. And I looked and saw my community engulfed in flames. But what defines us is what came next. And out of the ashes 20 years of progress, project by project, neighborhood by neighborhood. 25 homes built in 2005, where Mr. President Jimmy Carter came to bid hard. Through Habitat for Humanity, and tonight we have Rosa here. And Jimmy Carter said, make Big Harbor all it can be. But we also had a governor at that time that stepped in. And she developed the governor's task force. Are any members of the governor's task force present? Please stand. where grant opportunities through Kellogg Foundation, Huffington Foundation, Whirlpool Foundation all came together and programs were provided for this community. And that, I believe, was the beginning of progress. And it was a beginning where the city of Benton Harbor began to turn the corner. We had 220 new housing units built through the whole sixth project from 2004 to 2018. Star Development and Cornerstone Alliance served as partners in the development of the project, working in conjunction with the Benton Harbor Housing Commission, which we had with us our chairman. We had our former mayor, Mayor Emma Holes, on that board, and our director. with us this evening. And I'm recognizing people because it's so important that we understand that there's no big I's and little n's. It's so critical that we understand that if we don't work together, I mean the smallest link in the chain, but if we work in silos, that were like pearls with no stream. So phase one was Brunson Hill, which was 48 single-family rental units. The infield housing initiative was 70 single-family urban infield rental homes developed. Harvard Habitat for Humanity built an additional 25 homes. Phase four was Harvard Bluff, which was formerly Haverwells. built 50-unit multi-family apartment complex development, and hundreds of acres was restored. And one of the reasons that I brought or wanted to do this here was because at one time this was just, as it reads here, hundreds of acres that were restored from liability to a community asset. Cleanup work healed land that had been damaged for decades. Over 3 million dilapidated buildings were demolished and over 140 tons of waste material was removed from the portion of the Park Park River and throughout the various sites on the property. Environmental burdens were transformed into recreational and economic anchors of the community. So this hotel, the Inn at Harbor Shores, in 2005, there was an intergovernmental agreement. And I'm saying that because moving forward, in order to make Southwest Michigan a place of destination, not just in a regional way, but I believe that Southwest Michigan has a global mission where we can attract the entire world. But in order to do that, we must have governments working together, which is why I invited the mayor of St. Joseph, Mayor Brooke Thomas. Please give her a hand. Is there any ground?

Yes, there is.

but we want to bring our municipalities together as a solid base. One of the lessons that I learned in Mr. Faye Whitwine, some of you know that name, former CEO of Whirlpool Corporation, he had a global vision for this area. And when Mayor Richard M. Daley was out of office. And he called and had a meeting with me, and he said, Mayor, I want you to go, and I want you to hear Mayor Daley. And at the time, I was a Mayor Pro Tem. Mayor Pro Tem Turner. And when I went to hear Mayor Daley, I was captured by two things. One, he said that the new oil was gonna be water. Agree or disagree? But it captured my attention. And then he said that we have to begin to think regionally. where in China, one city has a population of Milwaukee, Chicago, Gary, South Bend, Benton Harbor, all put together. And he said, if we continue to operate in our little locale, then the global world will pass us by. So this property was a part of the 425 where it was Big Harbor for 20 years. So from 2005 to 2025, December, this was Big Harbor, Michigan. And it reverted back to St. Joseph. But the economic incentives that this property in partial was able to capture as a result of the 425 this hotel was built. And many of the other developments that you see around it would begin to spill back over into the city of Benton Harbor, and that's what we'll talk about. Next slide, please. So here I have with the, how many are familiar with the Sydney PGA?

And you can do better than that. I sang this song before Jeffrey and I were born.

Stephanie Fields. The eye-hug when I got the whispers. I even saw some of you dancing to Boyz X. I want to recognize Mr. Brian Joseph, who was one of the brain-trusted minds behind the entertainment that came to . But that brought exposure. Because Ben Hirons now was capturing the attention of the world. Where, through the city of PGA, Over 30 million viewers were home in open a cornerstone that time. I believe it was Mary Mary. We would meet with different investors trying to court bring in people who was willing to invest in this community. But ultimately, we want that investment to have access for everyone. We want equitable development. We want world-class investment. But we want it where everybody can coexist together. When I had Mayor Dudley, who I showed him my riverfront and took him around and toured of the city of Denton. Because I like to study. I don't care if you're a Republican, if you're a Democrat, whatever you say you are. I'm looking for greatness. I'm looking for expertise.

I'm looking for goodness.

And he told me that one of the things that made the Detroit Riverfront so attractive and good for Detroit was it brought everybody together, from the janitor to the CEO, from the superintendent to the student in kindergarten. Everyone could enjoy the Detroit Riverwalk. So we had Gene Clark Park. We have our first heat program. I want Benson Harbor to become the walking trails capital of Southwest Michigan. Why? Because walking is health. Walking is, brings and builds community and family. But we'll talk about that as we move forward. But 2010, World War Corporation decided to invest $70 million on mainstream. And that began to start the process with strong institutions, strong entrepreneurs, where small businesses served as the largest employer in the United States. It's not the corporations. but corporations serve as an anchor for communities. One of the things I can contribute to our success is bipartisan support for investment in Bent Highway Mission. Congressman Fred Upton, who I learned about when we were suffering from our water crisis right at the beginning, And I gave him a call. And I said, Congressman, right now we have $258 to fight a $30 million crime. And he brought a check in from the EPA for $5.6 million. But one of the things I learned was that we had to, as a government, build relationships. And two of my mentors, Mayor Hightower and definitely Commissioner Joseph, was always talking about relationships. And when I became the mayor, I decided I'm going to go to Washington, D.C. And at that time, it was still under emergency management. So through the financing, the city manager, I said, I'll dedicate my stipend in order to pay to go to the United States Conference of Mayors. And for the first two and a half years, I didn't collect the stipend because I used it to develop myself, invest in me. Because I wanted to see what is the role? What is the duty? How should a mayor move, not just on the local level, but on a state and national level? And when I went to DC, I learned a lot and had an opportunity to met with the president in the White House. And I had a chance to ask a question. And I was sitting in the back, further back than Peter Colobus, and I just raised my hand, just a long shot. President Obama looked down and said, the young man in the back, who's not so young now, but I asked him, how do you continue the high step, Mr. President, and get things done? when you have opposition on the right and even opposition on the left from your own party. And he shared with me after taking a long pause, so long that I said that I asked the wrong question. But the first thing he said, he said, Mayor, you have to watch your temper. He said, because in leadership, things will be presented to you that will make you angry, upset, frustrated, disappointed. He said, but if you keep your temperament on an even keel, then it won't ill affect the decisions that you make. And you won't be governed by emotions. but he'll be making decisions based on facts. The second part of that, he said always remember that there'll be people that's gonna always have something negative to say.

Well, I wish somebody would listen.

He said always. No matter how good it is. And he started giving examples. I'm not going to bother you with the examples. But the last thing he said, he said, he died on the cross. No matter how piercing the dice or arrows are. He said, keep your eye on the big picture. And he said, you can do those three things. His mayor, Iago, told me something different. He said, you're going to be all right. So from that meeting, I went to meet with Congressman Upton, who I don't know to this day if he made a phone call. But when I got back to the state of Michigan, WSJM, if they're here, they leaked the story. And I got a call from Governor Snyder. And he said, I want to meet with you in the Romney building, in the governor's office. And I had a witness that was here that took that picture that you saw, Andrew Mondry, please stand. but I learned that across administrations and through leadership changes, state and federal partners change, but we have to stay in the relationship building business because the Titanic, as we know, was a great ship The Andrea door was raised with, but the greatest ship is relationships. Is everybody all right? I'm moving through it. So you see the pictures and we'll have a movie, but I want to talk about what happened next. to see because change is different than transformation. Transformation comes in phases where the caterpillar at one point is in a totally different form but yet the same essence and if that caterpillar stays in that metamorphosis process that eventually you'll see a what? Flying. So progress never happens absent a crisis. So the city of Benton Harbor, after the emergency management, going toward the second term, we received a phone call that there was some concerns about the water. And I got a call from the governor's office, and they told me that it was going to get worse before it gets better. Because the media blitzed, which I didn't see it, but it was like a tidal wave, 20 feet high, over my head in the city. The story gets better. The city of Vincent Howard, through building relationships, through support, through community engagement, we received $33 million to replace every dead circle where it was removed and replaced. And when the lieutenant governor came down and we had a press conference and he said, man, we can get this done. in a year, 13 months I believe he said, something along that line. I said, what? And he said yes. So we went about, and I'll just give you a short, we partnered with the state of Michigan through the procurement process to bring the top contractors around the state to come in to replace the lead lines. I took a trip to Flint, met with Mayor Neely, all the team that he had down there to find out what went right, what went wrong. And education is so important when we talk about transformation. We saw the young people dressed in the construction outfits, but when you go around the city of Benton Harbor, you will see that the streets, the sidewalks, are being revealed. We had $26 million, but we finished the lead-line project early and under budget, which Senator Peters told me is unheard of. So I want to give a special shout-out to our former city manager, Douglas Mitchell, and our current city manager.

And it's sad.

for their hard work. We have the Ox Creek development, which is about $15 million, which we have the Global Brazil, which is being redeveloped. We're still going after funding for that. Then we have another partner, Corwell Health. Isn't that a good year? Please stand up to put their footprint down to provide a greater health service for our community. Then we have our national night out. I believe she, Mr Chief Dan McGinnis, who has been with us for 27 years. Three years on the cry of these days is this day. But we've captured, I mean, millions in grants under his leadership. In 2025, Ben Hubbard, Department of Public Safety will award a total of $887,793 in grant funding to supplement the department's budget for major purposes and projects. A thousand, I don't know how many book bags have been given out over the years. and we're looking to have our greatest partner with Big Township and Chief Abrams is not here this evening, but we want to be able to bring again Big Harbor, Big Township together, not just to fight crime, because the greatest form of crime fighting is prevention, intervention.

That's how we get in front of crime.

Otherwise, crime is, you know, they say it pays. But that's how you keep jobs for probation officers and no disrespect there, but we want to be able to build a community where our young people are given opportunities. The city of Vincent, Howard, is the Port of Opportunities, where in 1862 the port was completed. And one of the things that I have been able to do is partner with the help of the city council, the city manager, the Great Lakes and St. Louis Cities Initiative, which is a organization that is over 500 makers. And each city touches either Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, or Lake Superior. But one of the things that we have found is that, or I've learned, that the Great Lakes region, if it were a country, is third in GDP, where All of those communities together, which this organization was founded by Mayor Richard David and Mayor David Miller of Toronto, they found that when mayors work together, then we are stronger and we can appeal to the federal government for funding to help our communities. So we recently was on Capitol Hill appealing to have the drinking water fund funded. which expires this year. Just recently Congressman Tom Walker talked about how the Great Lakes need to be funded, where there's a request of $500 million per year for the next five years for our Great Lakes. Because in Southwest Michigan, fishing, boating, is a $20-25 million industry. And the jobs that it produces The restaurants that I've connected to, it's an entire economy. So we have to be involved. And one of the things that I've caught a lot of Facebook chatter is posting pictures of our beautiful riverfront, where I posted a picture of Navy Pier, a picture of Hamilton, Ontario, That's a port city, the largest producer of steel in Canada. But I see possibility with Riverview. I believe that Riverview can not only be a haven for new housing, restaurants, retail, marinas. And the housing will be for all. not just condominiums and high-end lofts. That's a part of it, too. Because I'm here to tell you, the city of Venture Harbor needs revenue. Or you can get out of here. And one of the things that I've learned, and I said this to the House Oversight Committee in Lansing, and I believe Pastor Lynch In fact, he was. The Pilgrim Western Missionary Baptist Church. I told the committee that if it don't make dollars, it don't make sense. But DJ Quick, if you ever heard of him.

So, Ben Howard is on the floor.

I want to just touch on a few points before we close. The transportation system. How many have heard of Dollar Ride? You can give a hand for Dollar Ride. It was actually, when I was young, it was Dollar Ride. But then I learned it was Dial-A-Ride.

Then I learned that it was Takata.

So it has changed over the years. But we're at a point now where we plan to, with the support of the commission, the Takata board, where we've been partnered with the state of Michigan. And they are putting in, I believe, close to $2 million to expand Dollar Ride or Takata to make it more efficient. Just imagine taking Takata to the South Green Area. and fly into Los Angeles, California and come back and get picked up by Takata. Or you want to go to a Cubs game and you want to take Takata to Michigan City and take the Michigan City shoreline to downtown Chicago, take the L up north. Or maybe we want to just have a weekend at Navy Pier. But I thought about that. When recently going to Canada, I took a plane from O'Hare Airport to Toronto, It took an Air Canada bus to Hamilton Airport, took a Uber. But it was the transportation system that made my experience very enjoyable. And I said, why can't people enjoy our transportation system where they can come anywhere in the world, come to South Bend and Big Harbor or Twin Cities Transportation Authority picks them up and they come stay at the end of Harbor Shores, or stay at the hill, or maybe enjoy Jean Clark Park. But mobility and transportation is gonna drive economic development over the next 20 years. And the city of Benton Harbor, we must revolutionize, professionalize, and upgrade our transportation system. We have Lake Michigan College here and they pick up students all throughout this area in order to bring them to college.

We have with us our county commissioners,

None other than our county commissioner, Maggie Algrove.

Commissioner Bob Harrison.

Commissioner Ray Bell.

We almost got four on here tonight.

But that's what it's gonna take in order to move our community, Benton Harbor in particular, but the great Southwest Michigan as a whole. We also have with us the Economic Development Director of Bearing County, Mr. Dan Fetty. So we're at a close because I'm standing in the way of that good spread over there. But some of you know the story. But we just want to stand here and declare, as I said earlier, that the city of Benton Harbor will no longer be viewed as a vacant, desolate community. We'll be alive and crying for you in the city of Benton Harbor. All the way from the village of Dollar, Illinois, we have with us, Mr. Mayor, would you please stand?

Please stand.

But think about the type of relationships that we want to be. Because one thing I realized when I walked on 200 East Wall Street is that we can't fit higher, we can't do it at all. It's gonna take a collective, a village, in order to make this happen. So I want you to stay engaged, I want you to keep investing. And I want you to keep showing. And if you don't mind, I do want to announce we do have our Whirlpool Corporation Community Liaison, Ms. Tracy Robinson, President. And I want to thank you for making this city address holistic, but Whirlpool And on June 18th, I can remember 30 years ago, maybe a little more, where I first met Sinbad. And keep him in your prayers, where he had a contract to revive me. And they totally, I mean, the blacktop was a place where children, young people in Benton Harbor could go and play ball, Coach Sterling in the house, give him a hand. But on June 18th, those, the basketball courts will be restored. So we're asking for volunteers. Now, Mary Jane Hightower Park, Children's Park, June 20th. We'll be dedicating that park as well. So, although we know that Big Harbor was established by three men, But look at us today. That was one of the things that I always heard about how great Big Tiger was.

But it was hard to

I had to pull it into the present. Because I didn't own it.

But it is defined by its resilience, and its progress, and its future. And I want to recognize Ms. Pittenharbour, Ms. Pittenharbour and Ms. Schwartz. And last but not least, Brayden, lest I be standing in and having suicide, I want to recognize my beautiful wife.

That's 39 years.

And if anybody deserves an award, Puttin' up with me? You out here peeping.

So thank you all, Ben Potter.

I just want to remember one thing. Richard Hunt. Tammy, could you please stand? And your board and team. Richard Hunt Studios. And if you look at that building, what it was, and what it's being transformed into, where's your heart? It's whirling. and decided to make Benton Harbor, I don't know if his second home is proper, but Benton Harbor had a very special place. So we're in the process of naming that street Richard Hunt Way. Hopefully we'll have that done with the support of the council on September 12th. for our Martin Luther King statues. And I do have for the African American Artists Museum, in my trip to Ghana, one of the mayors who I met, who's over a big reach, one of the things that he gave me was a, I think it was like a chief. I don't think goshiki is the right word, but he took it off his back. So I'm going to donate it to the African American Arts Museum for young people when they want to learn about Africa. They can go and learn and see. something that actually came from that great continent. So thank you. I love you. God bless Big Harbor. God bless America. This is David Adam here. He's going to give us the benediction. But I heard a preacher say, good food, good meat, let's eat. That's not a prayer. I want to ask you to bow your heads as we pray. Father, we thank you, God, for this special day. We thank you, God, for how you brought us these 160 years to now. It is you, God, that has made it possible to give you all the glory, honor, and praise. We thank you for our leadership and all those that are working entirely to do your will. For except the Lord build the house, the labor labors but in vain. Except the Lord watches the city, the watchmen waiters but in vain. So, God, we ask your favor upon all of us, that we'll stay steadfast in truth, in honesty, and in love, that we might be able to do the thing that's pleasing in thy sight. We give you all the glory, honor, and praise. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Everybody say, Amen.

Where's the spoon?