(Original Text)
Wayne County currently has three parcels of parkland, two with historic mills, for sale in Hines Park. While we strongly support the leasing of Hines Park's historic mill buildings to private developers for rehabilitation and re-purposing, we strongly oppose selling these buildings, and the parkland they sit on, because once they are sold they are lost forever and we will have no ability to protect these important historic park amenities.
In August of 2016 the voters of Wayne County approved a Park Millage by more than a 67% margin. This support was for the operation, improvements and programming of the Park System.
It was not to sell our parkland!
The voters of Wayne County trust that the current administration and elected officials will protect and enhance Wayne County Parks, the first County Park System in the State of Michigan and one of the oldest in the State.
In 1947, Ford Motor Company deeded over the Ford Village Industry Plants and surrounding lands to the Wayne County Road Commission to be used for park purposes for the good of the people of Wayne County.
We understand that the County is facing financial constraints. That is why the millage was supported. The millage has raised $247,000,000 since 1996 to enhance and increase our parkland, not to sell it!
These properties can be redeveloped in a historically sensitive way through a joint partnership with private developers and the County. The County can make federal cleanup funds available that developers cannot access. The developers can give financial support for required grant match through a long-term lease agreement. This business model is used by the State and National Parks in many places. Also, since control of the floodgates, dams and waterways at these properties is vital to the health of the Rouge River watershed, sale of this land could restrict this critical access.
The Evans administration can be known as one that had a creative solution and enhanced the park system, or it can be known as the one that cannibalized the park system and destroyed what former leaders spent decades building. We ask Warren Evans to do what is best for the people of Wayne County and cease selling off our beloved Wayne County parkland.
Wayne County currently has three parcels of parkland, two with historic mills, for sale in Hines Park. While we strongly support the leasing of Hines Park's historic mill buildings to private developers for rehabilitation and re-purposing, we strongly oppose selling these buildings, and the parkland they sit on, because once they are sold they are lost forever and we will have no ability to protect these important historic park amenities.
In August of 2016 the voters of Wayne County approved a Park Millage by more than a 67% margin. This support was for the operation, improvements and programming of the Park System.
It was not to sell our parkland!
The voters of Wayne County trust that the current administration and elected officials will protect and enhance Wayne County Parks, the first County Park System in the State of Michigan and one of the oldest in the State.
In 1947, Ford Motor Company deeded over the Ford Village Industry Plants and surrounding lands to the Wayne County Road Commission to be used for park purposes for the good of the people of Wayne County.
We understand that the County is facing financial constraints. That is why the millage was supported. The millage has raised $247,000,000 since 1996 to enhance and increase our parkland, not to sell it!
These properties can be redeveloped in a historically sensitive way through a joint partnership with private developers and the County. The County can make federal cleanup funds available that developers cannot access. The developers can give financial support for required grant match through a long-term lease agreement. This business model is used by the State and National Parks in many places. Also, since control of the floodgates, dams and waterways at these properties is vital to the health of the Rouge River watershed, sale of this land could restrict this critical access.
The Evans administration can be known as one that had a creative solution and enhanced the park system, or it can be known as the one that cannibalized the park system and destroyed what former leaders spent decades building. We ask Warren Evans to do what is best for the people of Wayne County and cease selling off our beloved Wayne County parkland.
ARCHIVE of Updates & Actions:
Updates & Actions
Thursday, December 5
The Commission voted to sell Wilcox and Newburgh Mill. Commissioners Diane Webb, Tim Killeen and Glenn Anderson voted no. Our petition supporting a lease agreement instead of an outright sale of the mills reached 17,241 signatures.
Tuesday, November 26
The Wayne County Public Services Committee voted to send the proposal to sell the mills for a full commission vote on Dec. 5, 10:00am, even though we presented our petition with over 15,000 signatures, and even though 25 people spoke against selling Newburgh Mill and not one single person spoke in favor of the sale. 24 people spoke in favor of the plans for Wilcox Mill but few argued why a sale would be better than a lease.
Monday, November 18
An informational presentation on the proposed sale of parkland in Hines Park was held at Schoolcraft College VisTa Tech Center Auditorium.
We presented a summary of the proposals to sell the Wilcox Mill in Plymouth and the Newburgh Mill in Livonia, and other pending land sales, and steps you can take to help stop the loss of our public parklands. The Wayne County Commission has received purchase agreements on these park properties. They will be voting whether to approve both at the Public Services Committee at 11 am on Nov. 26 followed by a final vote at the "Committee of the Whole" on Dec. 5 at 10 am.
October 26, 2019
The Wayne County Commission has received offers on both the Wilcox and Newburgh Mills properties.
October 16, 2019
Nancy Darga, former Wayne County Chief of Design for Wayne County Park, and current mayor pro-tem of Northville, presented the case for stopping the sale of Wayne County parkland at the Canton Democrats meeting. You can view the powerpoint presentation here.
Saturday, Oct. 12
The 13th Congressional District Democratic Party Organization considered a resolution opposing the sale of the three Hines Park Mills, proposed by the Westland Democratic Club. Nancy was invited to give a presentation to the Executive Board followed by one from Wayne County given by Khalil Rahal. Mr. Rahal gave several false statements and took the opportunity to criticize Ms. Darga. Earlier, his boss had asked for the resolution to be removed since Hines Park is not in the 13th District. This was countered by the Westland Democrats who pointed out that this issue affects the entire region. The executive board took a vote and the resolution failed by a few votes, showing we had good support for saving parkland. The General Meeting followed the Executive Board and the failed resolution was changed to sending a letter to the Wayne County Commission in support of the sales. SHP and Wayne County were each given 3 minutes to provide an abbreviated version of their early presentations. Following Nancy, Khalil brought Tony Roko and Greg Hoffman to the microphone but they were not allowed to speak as each side was just allowed one person. After the presentations, each side chose an additional person to speak. Tony Roko mainly complained about how our group has victimized him. Commissioner Diane Webb spoke eloquently for SHP. Additionally, State Representative Cynthia Johnson (House District 5) asked the county many questions. The resolution to send a letter in support of the mills sales failed. While this was not a total victory in that the original resolution to oppose the mills sales failed, our work did prevent the 13th District Democrats from sending a letter to the Wayne County Commission in support.
September 22, 2019
Letter Writing Campaign Kick-off. The Wayne County Commissioners will be voting in November on the sale of Wilcox Mill and additional parkland that surrounds it.
It is critical that all of the Commissioners hear from us immediately!
We are starting a letter writing campaign to let the Commissioners know that we oppose the sale of our parkland.
Click here for the contact information for each of the Commissioners. We have a sample template that you can use here, but please include your own personal thoughts and feelings. Make sure to fill in the blanks in the template with your information.
September 17, 2019
Please attend the 13th Congressional District Democrats meeting Sat. Sept. 21 at 10 am at Local 600, 10550 Dix, Dearborn, MI 48210. They are considering a proposal opposing the sale of Wayne County parkland. SHP's Nancy Darga has been invited to speak. If you cannot be there, please let Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib know you support it.
Commissioner Daub is providing an opportunity to learn more about how Wayne County Government works by hosting a Town Hall Meeting in Canton. We encourage you to attend so you can be more effective at making your concerns heard. More info here.
Wayne County is considering a lease of land at Warren and Merriman to a developer who owns the land next to it and is planning to build a strip mall and wants to build a parking lot in the park! Check out the video of the Westland City Council Meeting on Sept. 3 where SHP's Jack Smily and Bill Craig spoke up against the sale of more parkland for a parking lot. Jack starts at 8:48.
Aug. 10, 2019
Save Hines Park has posted a video of archeaologist Dr. Misty Jackson, PhD. commenting on the likelyhood that the Wilcox Mill site and Parcel B may include a native american burial ground. Another good reason not to let our parkland be sold to private developers. You can watch the video here.
July 13, 2019
Save Hines Park supporters carried signs, handed out information flyers and spoke with people at Wayne County Parks Fun Fest event. Please check our Facebook page for photos.
June 22, 2019
Save Hines Park carried signs, handed out information flyers and spoke with people at the Wayne County Senior Picnic.
June 18, 2019
Save Hines Park protested at the presentation of the private development plans for Wilcox Mill at the Penn Theatre in Plymouth.
June 6, 2019
Save Hines Park organized a protest at the Livonia Recreation Center to oppose a planned meeting between County and City regarding Newburgh Mill. 16 supporters carried signs. The meeting was cancelled.
June 3, 2019
A Save Hines Park supporter, Livonia resident, asked the Livonia City Council to send a letter to Wayne County opposing the sale of parkland, specifically Newburgh Mill.
June 2, 2019
A Save Hines Park supporter carries sign at Newburgh Mill. Engaged with people passing by.
May 4, 2019
A Save Hines Park supporter carries sign at Wilcox Mill. Engaged with people passing by.
April 25, 2019
A Save Hines Park representative attended Coffee Hour with Wayne County Commissioner Melissa Daub.
April 18, 2019
Save Hines Park creates a two-page information handout for the public to share across Wayne County.
April 15, 2019
A Save Hines Park representative made a presentation to Allen Park Democratic Club. Several members were willing to sign our petition.
April 10, 2019
A Save Hines Park representative made a presentation to Wyandotte Democratic Club. An audience of 40 was willing to share our concerns.
March 14, 2019
24 Save Hines Park protesters carried signs outside the State of the County address by County Executive Warren Evans.
March 3, 2019 An article on the proposed sale of the mills has been published in the February 2019 issue of The 'Ville magazine. You can read it here. We also have a new Save Hines Park video here.
We had a great turnout at Parcel B (map) on February 23, 2019 for a Facebook Photo Op to show our opposition to the sale of this parkland. See the photos at the top of this page.
If you haven't seen the latest Save Hines Park video on Facebook, you can view it here. Please share it with as many people as you can to help spread the word!
January 23, 2019
On Jan. 22, three representatives from Save Hines Park and a representative of Friends of the Rouge attended a Wayne County Commission study session on the "Mill Run Project". Read the detailed report on the meeting here.
January 16, 2019
We had a wonderful turnout at the Livonia City Council Meeting on Wed. Jan. 16, thank you to all who came! We sent a clear message to the council that we do not want them to support Wayne County's plans to sell our parkland.
February 8, 2019
At the Conference of Western Wayne (CWW), Wayne County Executive Evans had time on the agenda to give County Updates. He was followed by a partial presentation of the Mill Run Project. Later in the agenda elected officials were allowed to make comments. Commissioners Webb, Anderson, Haidous and Marecki made remarks regarding Mill Run Project. Save Hines Park representative Bill Craig followed with public comment, "I want to thank Mr. Evans for proposing his Mill Run Project. It has activated the general public. Of course, there is some support, but there is also ever increasing opposition to sell any park land. The general public is paying more attention to the Millage and Wayne County Parks. Maybe this will lead to changes that actually preserve the legacy handed down to all of us. Bill sat in front row wearing our Save Hines Button. Our button was noticed.
NO UPCOMING MEETINGS
We will update you as soon as we have any information about meetings to attend. Meanwhile please keep spreading the word to anyone you know and keep communicating with the Wayne County Executive and Commissioners.
Please read our January 9, 2019 press release here
· Join us at Parcel B (map) on February 23, 2019 at 2:00 pm for a Facebook Photo Op to show our opposition to the sale of this parkland. We will be passing out our new Save Hines Park buttons as well.
· If you haven't seen the latest Save Hines Park video on Facebook, you can view it here. Please share it with as many people as you can to help spread the word!
Updates & Actions
Thursday, December 5
The Commission voted to sell Wilcox and Newburgh Mill. Commissioners Diane Webb, Tim Killeen and Glenn Anderson voted no. Our petition supporting a lease agreement instead of an outright sale of the mills reached 17,241 signatures.
Tuesday, November 26
The Wayne County Public Services Committee voted to send the proposal to sell the mills for a full commission vote on Dec. 5, 10:00am, even though we presented our petition with over 15,000 signatures, and even though 25 people spoke against selling Newburgh Mill and not one single person spoke in favor of the sale. 24 people spoke in favor of the plans for Wilcox Mill but few argued why a sale would be better than a lease.
Monday, November 18
An informational presentation on the proposed sale of parkland in Hines Park was held at Schoolcraft College VisTa Tech Center Auditorium.
We presented a summary of the proposals to sell the Wilcox Mill in Plymouth and the Newburgh Mill in Livonia, and other pending land sales, and steps you can take to help stop the loss of our public parklands. The Wayne County Commission has received purchase agreements on these park properties. They will be voting whether to approve both at the Public Services Committee at 11 am on Nov. 26 followed by a final vote at the "Committee of the Whole" on Dec. 5 at 10 am.
October 26, 2019
The Wayne County Commission has received offers on both the Wilcox and Newburgh Mills properties.
October 16, 2019
Nancy Darga, former Wayne County Chief of Design for Wayne County Park, and current mayor pro-tem of Northville, presented the case for stopping the sale of Wayne County parkland at the Canton Democrats meeting. You can view the powerpoint presentation here.
Saturday, Oct. 12
The 13th Congressional District Democratic Party Organization considered a resolution opposing the sale of the three Hines Park Mills, proposed by the Westland Democratic Club. Nancy was invited to give a presentation to the Executive Board followed by one from Wayne County given by Khalil Rahal. Mr. Rahal gave several false statements and took the opportunity to criticize Ms. Darga. Earlier, his boss had asked for the resolution to be removed since Hines Park is not in the 13th District. This was countered by the Westland Democrats who pointed out that this issue affects the entire region. The executive board took a vote and the resolution failed by a few votes, showing we had good support for saving parkland. The General Meeting followed the Executive Board and the failed resolution was changed to sending a letter to the Wayne County Commission in support of the sales. SHP and Wayne County were each given 3 minutes to provide an abbreviated version of their early presentations. Following Nancy, Khalil brought Tony Roko and Greg Hoffman to the microphone but they were not allowed to speak as each side was just allowed one person. After the presentations, each side chose an additional person to speak. Tony Roko mainly complained about how our group has victimized him. Commissioner Diane Webb spoke eloquently for SHP. Additionally, State Representative Cynthia Johnson (House District 5) asked the county many questions. The resolution to send a letter in support of the mills sales failed. While this was not a total victory in that the original resolution to oppose the mills sales failed, our work did prevent the 13th District Democrats from sending a letter to the Wayne County Commission in support.
September 22, 2019
Letter Writing Campaign Kick-off. The Wayne County Commissioners will be voting in November on the sale of Wilcox Mill and additional parkland that surrounds it.
It is critical that all of the Commissioners hear from us immediately!
We are starting a letter writing campaign to let the Commissioners know that we oppose the sale of our parkland.
Click here for the contact information for each of the Commissioners. We have a sample template that you can use here, but please include your own personal thoughts and feelings. Make sure to fill in the blanks in the template with your information.
September 17, 2019
Please attend the 13th Congressional District Democrats meeting Sat. Sept. 21 at 10 am at Local 600, 10550 Dix, Dearborn, MI 48210. They are considering a proposal opposing the sale of Wayne County parkland. SHP's Nancy Darga has been invited to speak. If you cannot be there, please let Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib know you support it.
Commissioner Daub is providing an opportunity to learn more about how Wayne County Government works by hosting a Town Hall Meeting in Canton. We encourage you to attend so you can be more effective at making your concerns heard. More info here.
Wayne County is considering a lease of land at Warren and Merriman to a developer who owns the land next to it and is planning to build a strip mall and wants to build a parking lot in the park! Check out the video of the Westland City Council Meeting on Sept. 3 where SHP's Jack Smily and Bill Craig spoke up against the sale of more parkland for a parking lot. Jack starts at 8:48.
Aug. 10, 2019
Save Hines Park has posted a video of archeaologist Dr. Misty Jackson, PhD. commenting on the likelyhood that the Wilcox Mill site and Parcel B may include a native american burial ground. Another good reason not to let our parkland be sold to private developers. You can watch the video here.
July 13, 2019
Save Hines Park supporters carried signs, handed out information flyers and spoke with people at Wayne County Parks Fun Fest event. Please check our Facebook page for photos.
June 22, 2019
Save Hines Park carried signs, handed out information flyers and spoke with people at the Wayne County Senior Picnic.
June 18, 2019
Save Hines Park protested at the presentation of the private development plans for Wilcox Mill at the Penn Theatre in Plymouth.
June 6, 2019
Save Hines Park organized a protest at the Livonia Recreation Center to oppose a planned meeting between County and City regarding Newburgh Mill. 16 supporters carried signs. The meeting was cancelled.
June 3, 2019
A Save Hines Park supporter, Livonia resident, asked the Livonia City Council to send a letter to Wayne County opposing the sale of parkland, specifically Newburgh Mill.
June 2, 2019
A Save Hines Park supporter carries sign at Newburgh Mill. Engaged with people passing by.
May 4, 2019
A Save Hines Park supporter carries sign at Wilcox Mill. Engaged with people passing by.
April 25, 2019
A Save Hines Park representative attended Coffee Hour with Wayne County Commissioner Melissa Daub.
April 18, 2019
Save Hines Park creates a two-page information handout for the public to share across Wayne County.
April 15, 2019
A Save Hines Park representative made a presentation to Allen Park Democratic Club. Several members were willing to sign our petition.
April 10, 2019
A Save Hines Park representative made a presentation to Wyandotte Democratic Club. An audience of 40 was willing to share our concerns.
March 14, 2019
24 Save Hines Park protesters carried signs outside the State of the County address by County Executive Warren Evans.
March 3, 2019 An article on the proposed sale of the mills has been published in the February 2019 issue of The 'Ville magazine. You can read it here. We also have a new Save Hines Park video here.
We had a great turnout at Parcel B (map) on February 23, 2019 for a Facebook Photo Op to show our opposition to the sale of this parkland. See the photos at the top of this page.
If you haven't seen the latest Save Hines Park video on Facebook, you can view it here. Please share it with as many people as you can to help spread the word!
January 23, 2019
On Jan. 22, three representatives from Save Hines Park and a representative of Friends of the Rouge attended a Wayne County Commission study session on the "Mill Run Project". Read the detailed report on the meeting here.
January 16, 2019
We had a wonderful turnout at the Livonia City Council Meeting on Wed. Jan. 16, thank you to all who came! We sent a clear message to the council that we do not want them to support Wayne County's plans to sell our parkland.
February 8, 2019
At the Conference of Western Wayne (CWW), Wayne County Executive Evans had time on the agenda to give County Updates. He was followed by a partial presentation of the Mill Run Project. Later in the agenda elected officials were allowed to make comments. Commissioners Webb, Anderson, Haidous and Marecki made remarks regarding Mill Run Project. Save Hines Park representative Bill Craig followed with public comment, "I want to thank Mr. Evans for proposing his Mill Run Project. It has activated the general public. Of course, there is some support, but there is also ever increasing opposition to sell any park land. The general public is paying more attention to the Millage and Wayne County Parks. Maybe this will lead to changes that actually preserve the legacy handed down to all of us. Bill sat in front row wearing our Save Hines Button. Our button was noticed.
NO UPCOMING MEETINGS
We will update you as soon as we have any information about meetings to attend. Meanwhile please keep spreading the word to anyone you know and keep communicating with the Wayne County Executive and Commissioners.
Please read our January 9, 2019 press release here
· Join us at Parcel B (map) on February 23, 2019 at 2:00 pm for a Facebook Photo Op to show our opposition to the sale of this parkland. We will be passing out our new Save Hines Park buttons as well.
· If you haven't seen the latest Save Hines Park video on Facebook, you can view it here. Please share it with as many people as you can to help spread the word!
