GuestCommentary

Save Jean Klock Park

Guest Commentaries

To submit a commentary to the guest forum e-mail us at:

contactus@savejeanklockpark.org

We can assure you that the nation is watching what is happening

here.

Hopefully you are too. Is your public land at risk? If so

info@savejeanklockpark.com

Together we can make a difference!

Line Drawing
By Judy Sokolowski

Where should the line in the sand be drawn?

On one side of the line is a natural park, a beach and one of the

greatest of

the Great Lakes. On the other side is a developer’s

dream for a lushly

green and manicured playground for the summer

crowd.

The park side has provided and continues to provide enjoyment for

many

generations during every season. In summer, families play in

the sand,

splash in the water and listen to concerts. Surfers,

boarders, and boaters

color the lakefront with their sails and

competitions. Beachcombers seek

the tumbled colored glass and

the prized Indian beads tossed enticingly

ashore among the pebbles.

In winter, the normal squeak of sand under

bare feet is replaced by

the crunch of snow under boots. The waves of the

Lake are frozen

in place like a child’s game of statue.

The developer says his dream will provide the same enjoyment for

many.

But he says he needs a view of the lake for his project to

succeed. He will

bring bulldozers to sculpt the sand to meet his

needs -- the same sand that

has been sculpted naturally through

time by wind, waves and the changing

seasons. He will only need

sand to add competitive interest to his

playground.

And what of the beach grasses, woods and flowers whose roots

grow deep

in the sand? Many of these growing things only survive

and thrive in the

sandy conditions where they have evolved over

hundreds of years.

The developer will cover it all with imported turf and strategic

plantings

offering a challenge to summer visitors. He will need to

pump hundreds of

thousands of gallons of water to keep his project

green and lush. He will

deplete the water in area streams and

subsequently endanger the fish and

wildlife of those picturesque

waterways. He must find a way to control the

ever-moving sand

from covering his playground. The chemicals he brings

to insure his

plantings’ survival will leach back into the ground and make

their

way back to the waterways from whence they came – again

endangering the fish and wildlife.

The developer says the summer visitors will build houses adjacent

to the

beautiful green playground. He sells his plan to a crumbling

city

government with the promise of jobs for the local people who

sorely need

jobs and tax money for the faltering city government.

But at what cost?

What happens if a new developer a few years from now decides to

build

more houses on the green playground? This new developer

believes there

is more money to be made in building houses than in

playgrounds. Again,

the developer promises more money and jobs.

Suddenly the pristine green

playground has become another

construction site. Those summer visitors,

who built their mansions

adjacent to the playground, suddenly have a new

view – of their

neighbor’s backyard.

Gradually and greedily the line in the sand has been covered by

sand blown

in the wind.

All is gone – the park, the beach, the sound of laughter and

crashing

waves, the excitement of competition, the quiet picnics,

the concerts, the

beach grass, the tiny flowers, Indian beads and

colorful tumbled glass, the

jobs, and, yes, even the lush green

playground.

So where should the line be drawn?

Preserving Jean Klock Park:

A symbol of Benton Harbor’s Culture and

Legacy

Respectfully submitted by Mary Jo Schnell, for your consideration

from a

frequent

visitor

who

cares very much about the many

tiers/tears

of Benton

Harbor

communities and

residents.

So many things from Chicago come to the St. Joseph/Benton

Harbor

area—

why not

the

wisdom of Studs Terkel, too? After all,

it would seem

the

primary focus of

Harbor

Shores is

on new

neighbors from Chicago and

I can

think of no finer neighbor

have

than Studs

Terkel.

In his book “Hope Dies Last: Keeping the Faith in Difficult

Times”, the

reader strolls

among

“intimate portraits of ordinary

people caught up in

extraordinary times.” (Darrin

Burgess’

review

in “YES! Magazine”) This

history, it’s said offers perpetual

reminders

that decisions

made by higher-

ups

that will affect many

people can be much

improved

with open dialogue

and

little

American “can do”. (ibid) The centerpiece

for the book

and

title

comes

from an

exchange with Jessie de la Cruz: “With us, there

s a

saying, ‘La

esperanza muere ultima. Hope

dies last.’ You can’t

lose hope.

If you

do lose

hope, you

lose everything.”

From the research I’ve done on Harbor Shores, it would seem

there’s gads

of “can

do”

but not

a lot of open dialogue or

transparent processes when it

comes to the brass

tacks of

the

promised economic development and what

indeed is meant by

“renewing

and

revitalizing” the

community—whose

community is

undefined.

And the sense I get from folks who care about what is going on:

that it’s a

done deal,

it’s

now

best to tuck and roll and hope for the

best, and why

bother pushing back—the

powers that be

always get

their way. No hope

those sentiments. This is a direct

reflection

on the Harbor

Shores

initiative—

and a poor one at that. Is it about

location,

location, location or

the process,

the process, the process?

I’m from Chicago, too, and I often visit family and friends in

Benton

Harbor. I was

horrified to

discover plans to eradicate or

significantly alter

Jean Klock Park to make

way

for rather pricey

residences, a water park

with

docks, golf course and other

amenities that

would be a pretty

penny

to gain

access to and enjoy.

For all the talk

about diversity and

economic

development,

it would

seem you would need to be in

possession of a pretty

penny to

benefit from this lauded

opportunity. On the flip side

of that

pretty

penny, the

economic development (“jobs created by

the

development”)

for

those less fortunate in

Benton Harbor would be

that you

can get a

job…minding

the store and supporting the

lives

of those with

pretty pennies,

or so it would

seem. If

not, why not

equally identify

and

promote these

“other” opportunities just as

much or

more so? Unless

there’s

something

about it that’s giving

the developers pause.

Will Benton Harbor be a “World Class Community” or a “Whole

Community”?

While

this

question stretches way beyond

semantics, it is

important to note the use of

language

when one

prescribes community and

economic development outcomes using

the word

“class” in the

context of a

city like Benton Harbor that

has such a history of

class

disparity. Ouch.

I hear that the planning has been going on for years—as most

planning and

development

initiatives need to. But really. If you

are not engaging with

multiple tiers

of the

population in

the

process—beyond those that feel

indebted to you—and

reaching for

the

best of the best

practices when it

comes to renewing and

revitalizing

an urban area so rife

with so much, you

are setting

yourselves up for some serious

resentment—a kind of

undertow

that saps the hope

of even the most hopeful. You

may even be

setting

yourselves up to be blind-sided in your

economic

development

outcomes.

And it does not

have to be that way. And

it is not too late.

And it means

practicing democracy (more on

this

later).

Let me back track just for a minute and say that I’m truly not from

the

school of an

“us

vs.

them” mentality. I’m not thinking as I

write this “it’s

Jean Klock Park or

Harbor

Shores”. I’m

thinking:

both/and. I’m thinking:

added value. I’m thinking:

preservation of

cultures and

community

legacies

as well as expansion of

opportunities.

I’m thinking:

ongoing access

of all

people to passive

recreation and preserved (and

intact) ecologies as

well as

increased

potential

for “new neighbors” from Chicago.

And, yes,

I’

m also

thinking of caring equally for the

existing community and

also

expanding the

base.

Have you ever heard of Suzanne Morse’s book “Smart

Communities: How

Citizens

and

Local

Leaders can use Strategic

Thinking to Build a Brighter

Future”?

org/resources/smartcommunities.

html

) If not, you should get

yourself a copy

and take a good

read. In

short,

she outlines seven

process strategies

that could still be

integrated into

Benton

Harbor

community development effort:

1. Investing Right the First Time – identifying the high

leverage issues

and

decisions

that

yield the greatest return.

2. Working Together – building the partnerships necessary to

create

new

opportunities for

success.

3. Building on Community Strengths – emphasizing what is

right and

unique

rather

than

what is wrong.

4. Practicing Democracy – developing ways for citizens to

actually

decide the

future

rather

than always reacting to it.

5. Preserving the Past – using existing buildings, history, and

culture

inform

and

catalyze

the future.

6. Growing Leaders – creating opportunities for citizens to

learn and

develop their

capacities to take action together.

7. Investing in a Brighter Future – encouraging risk-taking and

entrepreneurship in

tackling

tough community issues.

And given the nature of Jean Klock Park, its legal and binding

dedication

as a

public

park,

conservation value, potential for

providing enormous

benefits to

so many more, I

would

also

recommend “Measures of Health:

A Guide for

Describing,

Assessing and

Nurturing

Healthy

Relationships

between People,

Land and Community” (

www.

wholecommunities.

org

Fyi,

there

are many,

many studies that show the economic

benefits for

preserving

such a park as

this one intact. Google can help you

there.

Let’s just say for arguments sake the history and current process

for the

Harbor

Shores

development was asked to be measured

using the ten

practices included in

“Measures of

Health.” How

would it fair? You be

the

judge.

"Measures of Health"

Remember that in doing any community development work you are

doing

nothing less

than

creating a legacy for the children of both

existing resident

community members as

well as those

new and

visiting community

members.

It’d be nice if they learned from

leaders and this

process how to

be equitable

with opportunities and

resources, how to

play

together and

treat

each other

with equal

respect and value. Leave no child’s hope

for

that

future behind

(and

leave no child inside—a nod to a terrific effort by

Chicago

Wilderness,

www.kidsoutside.info

Last but not least, a word to the wise: the new neighbors you are

courting

may have

been

exposed to some wonderful new paradigms

when it comes

community

development,

the

importance of

“greening” areas, land

conservation, caring for the

environment,

and

social and

economic equity—

yes, even these things. So it

would

behoove you to

understand that people

don’t leave their

experiences behind when they

travel and please

know that

they don’

necessarily want to be traveling backwards in

time when they

arrive—especially when we’re

talking about a palpable sense of

inequity.

They don’t

expect to be told to avoid traveling the

length

of Pipestone

Avenue

while in town. Why

not go there first or at

least promote what

exactly it is

you’ll be doing in these

communities—and with equal emphasis

for how you’re

promoting

what

you’re doing for

those with the pretty

pennies? Stop hiding

what is

wrong and step up to the

real challenge

and

opportunity

waiting for courageous

leaders. We’re in the 21st Century. There’

room for hope to live there too.