MY PLAN FOR CHANGE
The following is my plan for the
people of Kinross Township for
CHANGE in our community. Unlike
other community planning efforts, my
plan will encompass the idea that we
can’t continue doing the same thing
over and over again and expecting
different results. It is time to
change the attitude of Township
officials who think that change and
growth will magically come to us if
we just wait long enough. I know how
the "official" Kinross Township Plan
came about. The Township paid
thousands of dollars to a planning
company to come in, look at our old
plan and reword it. Word games are
not going to benefit Kinross
Township. We need to realistically
review the old plan and responsibly
make effective changes that benefit
Kinross Township and her taxpayers.
It simply amazes me that if you ask
the current Board members about the
Township plan, they know very little
about it. After spending thousands
of your tax dollars to re-develop
this same largely in-effective plan,
you would think they would be
familiar with it. All it is to them
is a bunch of words that meets a
specific deadline. As unfamiliar as
they are, the recreation plan they
paid for was ignored and they were
ready to toss it out the window when
they were going to close down the
recreation center. It is time the
taxpayers stopped paying for
deliberant indifference and outright
deception in this township. It is
time for Kinross to make some tough
changes and to grow into the
community that we have the potential
to be.
A Plan for Kinross / Kincheloe by
someone who cares.
The Growth and Economic Vitality
Vision theme is a strong initiative
for business diversification,
including tourism, and creating job
growth.
The Community Vision theme
recognizes that economic
opportunities for business are the
foundation to build the financial
stability that is sustaining
families in our area.
The Unique Character Vision theme
views the qualities found in Kinross
Township as major opportunities for
tourism and business opportunities.
ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION
Goal 1: Attract, retain, and expand
business and industry as a priority
for diversifying the local tax base
and providing local employment
opportunities once those businesses
have been established. I believe we
should offer a grace period of one
year to new businesses before we
start increasing their property
taxes. We are giving Mascoma a
fifteen year tax waiver why can't we
offer that for new small businesses.
I was open four months and the
Township increased my property tax
by $500. Does that make sense for
new small business? We have a new
TAX ZAR, Dave Kauer, in Kinross who
wants to raise everyone's property
taxes even those who are considered
non-profit. This TAX ZAR needs new
tax dollars to keep up with the
extraordinary high Township
administration salaries being paid
to the accountant - $67,000 annually
plus benefits and the deputy clerk
Sheila Gaines who gets $57,000
annually plus benefits. When I get
elected I will try to put a stop to
taxing non-profit organizations. I
believe that this is wrong. I will
not ever tolerate unreasonable
policies or expenditures that hamper
the effort to move our township from
moving forward.
Policies
1. Further
identify specific planned areas with
appropriate standards for
infrastructure and aesthetics where
business and industry can locate
within the Township.
2.
Allow commercial and industrial uses
only where they will be compatible
with existing and planned use.
3.
Continue to facilitate the retention
and in-place expansion of commercial
businesses and industry in a safe
and orderly way.
4. Encourage
commercial and industrial
development where city services such
as sewer and water are available or
can be feasibly extended.
5. Locate
business and industry in areas
within the Township where the use
would require spacious land area and
isolated location. The site for
these uses should place a minimum
demand on Township roadway systems
and service capabilities and not
adversely affect nearby housing
areas.
6. Establish
a Township regulatory committee to
monitor Frontier (Mascoma) ensuring
public safety standards are met or
exceeded.
Goal 2: Utilize tourism as a
significant community development
tool centered on the natural
amenities, park facilities,
industry, and historical assets of
the Township.
Policies
1. Develop
tourism and industry in sustaining
and enhancing the Township as a
whole.
2. Develop
facilities and infrastructure to
support tourism activities in
Township parks and historical sites.
Encourage development of
recreational, entertainment, and
support services such as restaurants
and lodging in the Township as a
whole.
3. Assist
groups in the Township with
development of tourism activities
related to historically significant
resources.
4. Utilize
the Township parks and historic
sites as the centerpiece of tourism
promotion and development.
5. Create
year-round opportunities for
recreation within the Township to
include winter activities such as
cross-country skiing/snowmobile and
summer activities such as bicycling,
camping, horseback riding, canoeing,
and fishing. Emphasize the areas
vast trail system which has been
left out of the Townships recreation
plan.
6. Develop
a tourism plan with the involvement
of the Kinross Business Association,
the Kinross Historical Society, and
the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
The plan should have the following
priorities:
a.
Market to County residents.
b. Market to state residents and
visitors through the “Pure Michigan”
campaign.
c. Build/restore resources for
tourism.
7. Implement
policies that improve the water
quality of Kinross Township Lakes as
a way of enhancing the natural
environment for tourism and quality
of life of Township residents.
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND QUALITY
Goal 1: Promote the continued
development of high quality, high
value industry with living wage jobs
such as encouraging the continued
operation of State Correctional
Facilities in Kinross
Policies
1. Promote
high quality commercial and
industrial construction to insure
building durability and an
aesthetically attractive appearance.
2. Require
industrial development in Kinross
Township to meet site and building
performance standards and Michigan
State Building Codes.
3. The
Township shall encourage site upkeep
and maintenance through code
enforcement to promote a positive
commercial and industrial image.
Goal 2: Work to balance Township
regulations with the needs of
business and industry to preserve
the natural environment in Kinross
while encouraging an environment
that fosters long term business
operations right here in Kinross
Township thus stabilizing our job
market
Policies
1. Develop
and initiate a plan to make this
area economically desirable to
companies looking to locate here.
This plan should embrace the idea of
offering the many vacant lots to
potential businesses with a viable
plan for development (not based on
political favors as it has been in
the past). These potential
businesses would have a certain time
period to develop and start their
business. If the progress has not
been made in a timely manor, the
property would revert to the
Township.
2. Locate
commercial business and industry
with consideration to environmental
issues and compatibility with
neighboring land uses. |
