Jean Klock Park | Benton Harbor | Harbor Shores golf

In our opinion

Harbor Shore

revelation that this golf course

project has been

in the planning stages for almost 20 years is an

indication that the Grand

oulevard

evelopment was the first step in

weakening the park’s deed.

As this proposal has evolved the pieces of nondisclosure,

manipulation and

deception

ave

clearly

fallen

into public light.

It is without pleasure that we show you how the entire area was

not

included in

the planning of its future development while

powerful

corporate executives, who

came here from other parts of

the country,

laid out their own plans for our lake

front community

that we were

completely unaware of.

Edgewater Presentation Board

During the 2003 litigation, some of us wondered if Cornerstone

Alliance and

Whirlpool were involved in the Grand Boulevard

Development in Jean Klock

Park. Then a presentation board was

discovered that was left behind in a local art

gallery from a meeting

the Chamber of Commerce (Cornerstone Alliance) had held

the

night

before. This presentation board was dated 1999 and clearly

showed

the

Grand Blvd. Development and indicated “recreational

development" in the park.

The board also appears to indicate that

Whirlpool and Cornerstone Alliance were

involved with the then

undisclosed Grand Blvd. Development.

View photo board

Canoe Livery

Grand Boulevard Renaissance Inc

stated throughout litigation

and

published on

their website

that the City of Benton Harbor

would

“replace each and every acre

of property developed along

Grand

Boulevard with acreage on the Paw Paw

River” for a canoe

and small

boat livery. The closest possible exchange of land of

equal or greater

value is required for mitigation properties and the

riverfront was

the

only property similar to lake-front property that

was available in the

city.

The purpose of mitigation is to create new parkland for that which

was lost.

Instead, the mitigated land that was swapped for the

park

ere

six

scattered

“green

spaces” throughout the downtown area,

one that’

s contaminated with lead

nother

which is located along

the St. Joe

River, is the only parcel that’s

marginally acceptable as

replacement

land for Jean Klock Par

except that its one

of three

parcels

that

are

existing parks.

In all

six

cases no “new” parkland has been

created.

And

the

riverfront

property that was promised in 2003

would be used for

a boat

launch and canoe livery but for

the

Harbor

Shores

golf course

mitigation

instead.

River Run

On December 19, 2004, just 11 months after the Consent Judgment

was

handed

down, the Herald Palladium announced plans for a

500 acre

development called

‘River Run.’ The article titled ‘Road

map to the

future?’ said nothing about Jean

Klock Park and

included a map

showing the project boundaries. Jean Klock Park

did not appear within

the indicated boundaries. Soon after we

learned there were

plans to

use the park for a golf course and the

following spring obtained a

brownfield document that included an

outdated map showing 2 holes

of a golf

course in Jean Klock Park.

‘

Road map to the future?

’

Then on May 8, 2005 the Herald Palladium ran another article titled

‘River Run

project aims for balance’. This article went into more

detail

about the golf course

but still no mention of using the park.

The article

ended with a quote from Jeff

Noel, Whirlpool’s vice

president of

communications and public affairs that, “There

are no

commitments or

preconceived notions”…..to the current plan.

Again, the

map was

included that showed JKP was outside of the

boundaries of the

proposed

project.

River Run project aims for balance

'River Run' Changes name to 'Harbor Shores'

When the Truth is Exposed

By this time word was getting out about the threat to the park and

the

public began

writing letters to the Editor. The Herald

Palladium

would not publish them saying

they were “based on

rumor.” The

Friends of Jean Klock Park went to the paper

with the

outdated map

and insisted that they publish the truth, which they

did on

July 3, 2005

in an article titled ‘Fight for Klock.’ In this article

‘River Run’

became

‘Harbor Shores’ and a map of the park as a golf

course appeared for

the

first time.

Fight for Klock

But

on June 28, 2005,

just five days earlier,

and

even though the

Herald Palladium

was

aware of the plans to use the park, an article

was published

announcing that

‘River Run planning gets city’s

approval’. In a

grave injustice to the citizens they

serve, the city

leaders approved

the plan without disclosing to the citizens that

their

park would be

sacrificed for this project.

River Run planning gets city’s approval

No Opposition

In March of 2006 it was learned that at the June 15, 2005 Michigan

Natural

Resources Trust Fund Board

(MNRTF)

meeting that the board had

been

told by

Geoff

Fields, the attorney that was hired to represent

Benton

Harbor for the

Grand Blvd.

project and who also

represented

Cornerstone Alliance, that there

was no

opposition to

the mitigation

and conversion of the Grand Blvd. property.

This statement was made nearly 14 months after the Consent

Judgment was

handed down and the controversy had quieted

down.

But the discovery by some

city residents that claims of no

opposition

to the mitigation were made, prompted

those residents

to go the April

19, 2006 Trust Fund Board meeting to go on record

as being opposed

to the previous conversion and the newly

proposed one.

June 15, 2005 MNRTF meeting minutes

[See pages 15-16 of PDF]

April, 19 2006 MNRTF meeting minutes

[See pages 6-7 of PDF]

90 Acres

On February 22, 2006 Geoff Fields provided the Michigan Natural

Resources

Trust Fund Board with a preview of the proposal for a

golf

course within Jean

Klock Park. In his statements he tells the

Board that

there are approximately 90

acres of parkland within the

boundaries of

Jean Klock Park. As the city’s attorney

he knew full

well that there are

only 73 acres left to Jean Klock Park due to

MDOT using

approximately 8 acres for the cloverleaf interchange

for M-63 in the

early '50’s, and the mitigation of 9 acres of parkland

resulting from the

Settlement

Agreement and Consent Judgment.

Using the original

acreage of the parkland

appeared as if less

would be lost.

Feb. 22, 2006 MNRTF meeting minutes

[See pages 4-6 of PDF]

Water View Rebuttal

From the beginning the developers insisted that a water view was

requirement

for a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course therefore

Harbor

Shores would not go

through with the project if they

couldn't obtain

the park. We called Nicklaus

Design and

discovered that was not true,

that the requirement was acreage. At

the

August 16, 2006 Michigan

Natural Resources Trust Fund Board

meeting we

exposed the truth to

the board.

On August 22, 2006 at a public comment hearing for the project,

shared the

truth with the residents. But once again the spin

changed

when Mark Mitchell,

CEO of the Alliance, agreed that we

were correct

but that Jack Nicklaus would not

designate the course

a “Signature”

course without the park. Then after the truth

was

revealed to the Trust

Fund Board and the public, Harbor Shores

used the

water view

requirement, again, with the Department of

Environmental Quality in

order to obtain that agency’s approval for

the project.

August 16, 2006 MNRTF meeting minutes

[See pages 11-18 of

PDF]

Benton Harbor’s Legal Representation

It was unknown to us that Geoff Fields, the attorney

from Dickenson and Wright

who was

hired to

represent

the city for the Grand Blvd.

evelopment, also

represented

Cornerstone Alliance at

the same time. Mr. Fields was

party to writing

the language for the 2003

Settlement Agreement,

giving him full

advantage when

he later represented the city

for the

Harbor Shores

project and the time came for

him to construct the

golf

course and

lease agreement for the park.

Soon after the lease agreement was signed by city officials, John

Cameron, a real

estate attorney and founder of Harbor Shores

Community Redevelopment Inc.,

joined Geoff Fields’ law firm. At

that

time, Geoff Fields resigned as the city’s legal

representative

for the

Harbor Shores project citing “the Firm’s completion of its

assigned

task for the city of Benton Harbor on the Harbor Shores

project.” Geoff

Fields will still represent the city on any future

litigation for the Grand

Blvd.

Development in regards to the former

awsuit

Let

ter of Resignatio

Save Jean Klock Park

No Public Disclosure