Ayer Street Golf Driving Range Moving Along

IRONWOOD, MI - Sunday, June 08, 2008 - Progress is being made on the Ayer Street Golf Driving Range. Angelo Lupino Construction crews have been working on landscaping and developing the project.

Back on July 23, 2007, Pastor Tom Rouse, of the nearby Lighthouse Family Church, addressed the Ironwood City Commission (ICC) regarding the development of the Ayer Street Golf Driving Range. He informed the City Commission the church owns the property and approximately two (2) acres would be leased to the Ayer Street Golf Driving Range. Pastor Rouse noted the Church is a non-profit 501(3)(c) organization. The City Commission, at that time, told Rouse that property taxes need to be levied on the parcel since it is being used for commercial purposes.

Soon, according to Ironwood's City Manager Scott Erickson, Hovey, Inc. will be breaking ground on the Towering Pines Low-Income Housing project located across the street from the driving range. Upscale townehouses are expected to be erected adjacent to the Towing Pines by FarmHaus, Inc. soon thereafter. The City owns the 16 acre parcel where both housing developments are scheduled to be erected. Hovey has a two-year option -- without any earnest money or downpayment -- on eight acres of the parcel. In a similar arrangement, Bob Schonberg, Vice-Chairman of the Ironwood Planning Commission (IPC) and officer of FarmHaus, Inc. has an option on the other eight acres.

According to City Manager Erickson, who's also an engineer, City tennis courts will be constructed near the Hovey complex. When asked where the courts would be located, Erickson responded with "On City property!" When it was pointed out that the City only owned 16 acres in that location, and eight were promised to each of two developers, the Manager still insisted that the courts would be located on City land near the project.

EDITOR'S NOTE: It is this reporter's opinion that a sitting member of the IPC should not be negotiating land deals with the City he is supposed to be representing on the Planning Commission. This is a gross conflict of interest as well as a violation of the City Charter. The manner in which both parcels was sold was illegal anyway, so I suppose it makes little difference.

Hovey promises to pay $80,000 for their 8 acre parcel. Schonberg, IPC Vice-President, is only going to pay $20,000 for his parcel. The properties are adjacent to one another -- they are identical. Neither parcel was appraised as required by law. And neither was put up for bid which is also a requirement of the law.

It is also this reporter's opinion that eight acres PLUS eight acres totals 16 acres. Unless the proposed "City" tennis courts are to be located on "private" Hovey land, something isn't adding up here! This is yet another example of City Manager Scott Erickson's double-talk. Why we don't fix up our existing tennis courts the City has? Why do we always abandon the old to create new? Repairing several courts around the City would be a much better move than building more new ones and letting the old ones go to ruin.