Former Muskegon Resident Says Clean It Up First
Hello,
I know this is long, but its worth reading.
My name is Jonathan Hoogstra and I am a second year law student at Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, Wis. I grew up in Muskegon, attended Western Michigan Christian Highschool and did my undergrad at Calvin College. My parents are still hold residence in Muskegon, and I am a frequent visitor. While busy, I am VERY interested in any way I could help re-develop the former papermill property (whether that include sharing ideas, negotiating, or filing paperwork).
THE LARGEST MISTAKE WOULD BE TO FOREGO A CLEAN-UP
The most concerning aspect of the former papermill is the enviromental liability. Properties with extensive pollution problems can be left untouched for DECADES if not longer. MUSKEGON MUST FIRST GET THIS SITE CLEANED UP, whether it be through negoitations with SAPPI or forced legal proceedings; just any way possible. Allowing this issue to pass by the way side will be asking for a disaster that could last for more then 20 years.
BENIFITS OF CLEAN-UP
If the city of muskegon were able to fully clean up the site, the possibilities are almost endless. Just a clean empty site will include these benifits:
1. Increased property value to local residences because of:
a. improved views of lake muskegon (from everywhere on the lake)
b. mill smell elimination (for everyone on the lake)
c. mill light elimination
d. mill traffic elimination
e. mill pollution elimination
2. The Lakeside community will return to a residential/commercial community
3. Increased potiential in tourism for the Lakeside community as well as Pere Marquette beach.
RE-DEVELOPING THE PAPERMILL AS A UNIVERSITY/GRADUATE SCHOOL CAMPUS
In my opinion, the greatest use of the property would be a campus for higher learning and here are seven reasons why:
1. Universites generally DO NOT DIE like factories
2. Provide Jobs for hundreds, if not thousands
3. Moves huges sums of money into the community
a. GVSU generates $500 million/year into Greater Grand Rapids
b. Collective Calvin College tuition is +$100 million/year
c. Dontations can reach into the hundreds of millions
d. Endowments can reach into the billions
4. A University or Graduate program on the site would attract students
a. location on Lake Muskegon is cool
b. location near Lake Michigan and Pere Marquette beach is awesome
5. Blessings from the Students
a. A huge refreshment of talent back into the local workforce
b. free labor from students (internships, ect...)
c. Student spending would be a huge benifit to local business
d. settelment of highly educated individuals in Muskegon is great for long term development
e. High-educated students act as models for success to local kids
f. Students settle down in Muskegon to raise families would make the community flurish
6. Blessings from Professors
a. High earning Profs pay more taxes
b. Professors create business and research opptunities in Muskegon
c. Profs. settle their families into local community
-Profs. start showing up on local PTA boards
-Profs. start sharing the expertise in local gov.
d. Transfer of human brain power into Muskegon
7. Blessings from University
a. Muskegon gets put on the map (think what GVSU did for Allendale)
b. Sports (football stadium opening up to a sunset over Muskegon Lake)
c. Research could give birth to any number of industries in Muskegon
Moving in a establish University is much easier then creating one. (creating might take a hundred years.) Furthermore, it is not hard to find Universities that might want to move if the right deal was struck. Here are some suggestions:
1. U of M flint campus (who doesn't want to move out of flint to a beach town?)
2. Any of the Smaller schools in overcrowded Chicago
3. Any College/University surronded by a high crime big city
And thats not the only way to move a college/university to the site. It could be a collaberation of local schools like GVSU, MSU, and U of M creating a unquie campus for a collective gradute school, or collection of gradute schools.
Jonathan Hoogstra
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