I’m not a politician. I was an elementary school teacher at Collins Elementary for 30 years. I loved my job! I’d always start the year off reading, The Golden Rule by Ilene Cooper and then ask my students what that meant to them. I got answers like: “Treat others how you want to be treated.” “Be kind.” “Be honest.” “Always tell the truth.” Believe it or not, one year I had a second grader say, “Have integrity.” When I asked her to explain to the rest of the class what that meant, she was SPOT ON!
Imagine my dismay when I find out Wednesday night, November 8, that our Cannon Township Board can’t even begin to come close to following this simple Golden Rule.
On October 13, I was heading home down the beautiful gravel section of 5 Mile Road that happens to be part of the North Country Trail. This less than a mile section also has 3 trails leading into the Cannonsburg State Game Area. I came across some surveyors and stopped to ask, “What’s up?” I didn’t recall reading anything about any projects on this road. The surveyor replied, “The Township wants this paved.” So I asked if I missed something. He told me that the township would get a deal on paving their parking lot if this section was paved as well. As I drove home, that song, “They Paved Paradise and Put Up A Parking Lot” rang through my head. I decided to check my Cannon Township News and their website to see if I could find anything about this. Nothing. I decided to call the township to see if this was true.
When I got on the phone, they put me through to a guy named Jim. He informed me of the township’s intention to pave 5 Mile. I asked if we, the residents of 5 Mile Road, would be notified of a meeting to discuss this. He told me, “We are just waiting to hear what the Road Commission says.”
Monday, October 16th I called the same man back. I asked if there was a meeting set and if there was any way we could prevent this GORGEOUS section of road from being paved. I asked, “Could I start a petition with my neighbors?” He replied, and I quote, “No. Any one doing petitions can give out misinformation.” I wasn’t really sure what was mis-informative about paving a gravel road or not paving a gravel road. I asked, “Can you tell me at least why this is getting done?” He seemed super annoyed at my question and responded with, “100% of the people on this gravel section want it paved. You know it’s safer to have paved roads.” I gave him my name and phone number and he told me he would get back to me once they had a date set for the meeting. I thanked him and hung up.
I began to ponder, “Wouldn’t people that bought property on a gravel road, want to have property on a quiet gravel road? I mean, you would know if the road was gravel before your purchase, right? There sure are plenty of paved roads in this area. I think I’m going to go ask a few of those gravel residents for myself.” (No petition…just a curious retiree. The VERY FIRST home I went to had NO CLUE that this was going to happen. They had lived there for 30 years! They were very upset that the township would do this to them. I gave them my name and headed to the next house where nobody was home. The third house I went to said they were unaware of this taking place and were also opposed to having their road paved. The 4th house was not home. The 5th house said that they were unaware as well but the man also said, “My wife doesn’t really love the dust in the summer.” After making my way back home, I decided that maybe I better make some sort of petition (after all) to bring awareness to my neighbors who walk their dogs, ride their bikes, X-C ski, jog, hunt, fish, etc down this road. I went door to door to ask residents if they had heard that the township wanted to pave the rest of 5 Mile. NOT A SINGLE ONE knew about it from Egypt Valley to Honey Creek. NOT ONE! Some of these residents have lived here for nearly 40 years! I started a petition. My new neighbor started an on-line petition. (To date there are 121 signatures OPPOSED to having this paved). My paper petition only had the households that FOR SURE would be affected (from Honey Creek to Egypt Valley). We all waited patiently to get our letters. They never came to ALL of the residents that would be affected by higher and faster traffic volumes. Only the few residents that lived on the gravel section received letters. They were kind enough to share the meeting date of November 8th with me. I checked The Cannon Township site & facebook page to see that there was no mention of this. None. That’s when a friend of mine suggested making it a Natural Beauty Road. So my neighbor who is an attorney drafted things up and I went around to the neighbors once again to get signatures. Here is our proposal so you can see why we wanted to save this section of gravel:
TO: Kent County Road Commission
Attn: Mr. Wayne Harrall
1500 Scribner Ave NW,
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
PETITION TO ESTABLISH 5 MILE NE FROM DURSUM AVE NE TO HONEY CREEK AVE. AS A NATURAL BEAUTY ROAD
We sign this petition to designate 5 Mile Road NE from Dursum Ave. NE to Honey Creek a Natural Beauty Road. This section of road is approximately 1 mile.
- This portion of the road runs right through the middle of the Cannonsburg State Game Area, which is home to native trees and plants including: Mature Red oak, White oak, Black oak and Tamarack trees. Plants that have the highest conservation value (10 out of 10) have also been seen in The Cannonsburg State Game Area including: Silky Aster, Blue-eyed Grass, Goat’s Rue, Bird’s-foot Violet, and the Woodland Poppy. Other precious native plants include: Lupine, (which is THE ONLY plant to host the Karner blue butterfly), Liatris Scariosa, Rattlesnake Master, Iron Weed, Dotted Horse Mint, Woodland Sunflower, Stiff Goldenrod, Poke Milkweed, Butterfly Milkweed, Wild Geranium, Red-Stick Dogwood and many more.
- This portion of the road runs through undisturbed wetlands, oak savannah, and grasslands that are home to many native species. It includes many birds such as a wide variety of songbirds, Cooper Hawks, Pileated Woodpeckers, and Bald Eagles to name a few. Many animals also rely on this portion of the CSGA, especially the reptiles and amphibians. Turtles depend on this habitat as they return to lay their eggs in the same area each year. A newer land-owner recently filled the other side of 5 Mile to put in a driveway. Habitat is critical for the survival of many species and losing more of the wetlands would be detrimental.
- This area is used by many in the local community for outdoor recreation. Activities include: gravel and mountain biking, cross country skiing, hiking, fishing, running, hunting and walking. This portion of the road is well suited to allow the residents to enjoy the natural beauty of West Michigan.
- This portion of the road is also part of the North Country Trail. The North Country Trail is a unique trail system that traverses various scenery and terrain and public land such as state forests, game areas, parks, and even some private land. Allowing for recreational use by hikers, walkers, bikers (in some areas), and others to explore and appreciate the natural beauty of the outdoors.
- North Country Trail along 5 Mile NE
- Given the continued urbanization of Kent County, it is important to protect those areas that are forested and wild. And, in fact, given that this road intersects the Cannonsburg State Game Area, it is well suited to a Natural Beauty Road designation.
All landowners who were home that day, signed the document.
I decided to go to the Cannon Township Board Meeting that last Monday in October to see if Paving 5 Mile would be brought up. They actually started the meeting saying, “Is anyone here to discuss the paving of 5 Mile?” My neighbors and I raised our hands timidly because it sounded like we were in trouble. Then we were informed, “That meeting will take place on November 8 at 7 PM.” Somebody asked, “Will this be treated like the paving of Chauncey meeting?” And it was then stated, “Yes. You will need 80% of the people in the room to be against paving 5 Mile. Just like Chauncey. 80% said they didn’t want it paved so we didn’t pave it.”
Once I found out that a meeting date had been set and that 80% of the people attending the meeting had to be opposed to paving, I looked once again on the Cannon Township sites to see if this had been posted. It was not. So I decided to do some posting myself. My post was shared with over 60 people. People were contacting me and I just asked them to come to the meeting.
On November 8, Cannon Hall had “standing room only” attendance. Jim started off the meeting saying that this would NOT be a meeting for public comment and that the KCRC was just going to present their plan to pave 5 Mile. My attorney friend stood up and stated, “I am an attorney and the first amendment states that we have the right to freedom of speech.” Jim basically told her she was rude and to, “Please be quiet and let the Road Commission share their presentation.” I was so confused. They were NOT planning on letting the opinions of the taxpayers in Cannon Township be heard? I was told that was what this meeting was going to be about. I also told my neighbors this. I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under my feet. I had planned to say something on behalf of our native animals and plants. I thought we were going to be able to vote with the number of people in the room, too. That’s what was said and not only the last October meeting but also the one prior to that. (I do have video footage to prove this is true.) I felt cheated and defeated by someone who couldn’t live by The Golden Rule. As the night went on, Jim (the guy that never called me back) began tripping over his own lies. People DID get to speak out. And thank goodness Joe Gavan was there as he asked us to put it to a vote. It was a unanimous ‘OPPOSED TO PAVING.’ by over 90% of the residents in that room. But Jim said, it wouldn’t count and it would not be treated like Chauncey because (and I quote) “Nobody lives on Chauncey.” Huh?
I was SO NERVOUS to speak. I can talk in front of 28 second graders, but a room full of adults had me sweating and shaking. Here is what I said: (attachment-not available) If the township wants the KCRC to work on something, how about putting up a sign at the corner of Egypt Valley and 5 Mile that says, “Crossing traffic does not stop”. I already called them about making it a 4 way stop but was informed that people need to die there first. Oh my.
I’ve never felt so compelled to write in or call the news as much as I am now. I’m so sad that it has come this far. So much of our taxpayer’s dollars and time could have been avoided had the township just practiced The Golden Rule.
With gratitude,
Marnie TenCate