The City of Dearborn’s Recreation Commission is hosting a public hearing on March 8 to discuss a series of improvements to Camp Dearborn, including a new walking path, canoe launch and a shore fishing platform.

Residents will be able to comment on a proposed Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant application for improvements at Camp Dearborn in Milford.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. and will be held in the Board Room of the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave.

The grant would fund the installation of a multi-use path that will connect the Milford Trail on General Motors Road to Camp Dearborn. The path will include a canoe/kayak launch and a shore fishing platform on the Huron River.

City officials say all improvements to be funded with this grant are proposed to be universally accessible; therefore, the City would especially like to receive input from citizens with disabilities.

If you are unable to attend in person, written comments about this grant proposal can be addressed to Greg Orner, Director of Recreation, City of Dearborn, 15801 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI, 48126.

Individuals with disabilities who require special accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to attend or participate in this public meeting should contact 313-943-2350 or TTY 313-943-2199.

Mayor John B. O'Reilly, Jr.

With the city looking at a $20 million gap between revenues and expenditures, Dearborn city officials will be asking for a tax hike this year.

At his State of the City address Wednesday, the Dearborn Press & Guide reports that Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly said he would “recommend the City Council approve a 1.38 mill increase as they formulate the budget, which must be balanced and adopted by June 30. Currently the city has an operating millage of 13.62. If the increase is adopted it would be the highest rate allowed under the City Charter.

“For a house with a taxable value of $70,000 — about the average for Dearborn — the bottom line would be about $100 more in annual taxes. The increased cash flow would be a needed step in the right direction, said O’Reilly.

“If that measure proves insufficient, O’Reilly said the city could issue a ballot proposal asking for an additional 3.5 mill increase, up to 18.5 mills. The maximum allowed under state law is 20 mills. Either increase still would equate to a total tax bill less than what most property owners paid in 2006, though. And if it does come down to a ballot proposal said the proposal would come with a five-year sunset clause.”

The mayor also said that while the city has reduced general employee staffing by nearly 30 percent over the last decade, there are plans to cut 40 more positions in July. As far as cutting police and fire staffing levels, the City Charter-mandated police and fire minimum staffing levels makes that much more difficult.

“No one likes to hear it, and I prefer not to say it, but we have to face it,” O’Reilly said. “The voter-approved City Charter provisions of our police and fire departments severely reduce our flexibility to manage costs.”

The Press & Guide reports that the mayor underscored the staffing mandate predicament by saying that public safety costs in Dearborn are about $51 million a year, while the city’s operating tax — the lion’s share of city revenue — only pulls in about $48 million annually.

“We need to understand that mandating the number of officers and firefighters doesn’t automatically correspond to our desired level of security,” O’Reilly said.

For the full State of the City story written by J. Patrick Pepper in the Dearborn Press & Guide, click HERE.

Michigan Gov. Snyder’s budget proposal will cut deep into school budgets across the state and Dearborn could feel the pain to the tune of $14 million. In addition to the cuts in revenue, our district may face as much as a $5 million increase in the amount paid to the State’s pension fund.

So Dearborn School Supt. Brian J. Whiston is asking community leaders and parents to contact the Governor’s office and explain how the impact these cuts will have on children in Dearborn. As residents of this city, we need to do all we can to ensure that at a minimum our per-student funding isn’t reduced. So please consider dropping a letter to the Gov.

Whiston’s letter begins below:

Dear Community Members,

Now that Governor Snyder has presented his budget proposal, the debate in Lansing will continue for several weeks as legislators work out the details. In order to better understand how this plan will impact our classrooms, I would like to take a moment to provide the following summary of the key components of the Governor’s budget proposal.

Impact on District:

— Per-student funding reduced by $470/student $8,695,000

— 31a At-Risk funds eliminated $4,900,000

— Section 41 Bilingual funds eliminated $435,000

— Total $14,030,000

In addition to these cuts in revenue, the district may face as much as a $5 million increase in the amount paid to the State’s pension fund.

As concerned community members, it’s important that you voice your opinion on the Governor’s cuts. Every parent, business owner, home owner, and community member should contact Governor Snyder at:

Governor Rick Snyder

P.O. Box 30013

Lansing, MI 48909

(517) 373-3400

Rick.snyder@michigan.gov

Explain to the Governor that:

 Reductions in funding at this level will be devastating to our classrooms.

 Dearborn students across the district will see reductions in staff, resources, and services.

 These budget recommendations hit Dearborn harder than other district due to the elimination of needed funds for “At-Risk” and bilingual students.

 Reductions in funding will mean fewer resources, human and material, needed to help students achieve the new state mandated college-ready test scores.

I highly encourage you to contact the Governor’s office and explain the impact these cuts will have on our students, your children.

Fortunately our representatives in the state house and senate are aware of this situation and are working to help Dearborn students. We thank them for their support and caring about our students.

Despite several years of declining state revenue, the Board of Education and the administrative team have remained committed to timely budget planning and being fiscally responsible to the citizens living in our district. Working with our staff and community, the district will continue to take a proactive stance on budget issues and maintain our commitment to devote available resources that meet the academic needs of students.

 As state lawmakers move through the budget process, we will continue to provide you with information on any changes that could impact funding for Dearborn Public Schools. Although school districts do not have the ability to raise revenue locally or control spiraling state retirement costs, we will work to preserve quality instructional programs so that all students will continue to be successful in the classroom.

Sincerely,

Brian J. Whiston

Superintendent of Schools

The car glass in dozens of vehicles parked in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Inkster were shot out by a group of Dearborn Heights teens wielding BB guns Friday night, according to several readers of DeepsaidWhat.com and the owner of a nearby auto glass repair shop who contacted us.

It isn’t clear how many of the damaged vehicles were in Dearborn but the men responsible for the damage have been arrested.

We will share more details as they become available. The auto glass repair shop we spoke to says police from Dearborn Heights and Dearborn stopped in his shop on Saturday alerting him to be prepared for a very busy day of glass repairs on Monday.

The Dearborn Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the non-profit division of the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce, brings Dearborn SOUP to Dearborn beginning March 6.

SOUP is a monthly dinner that funds micro-grants for creative projects. This event, modeled after Detroit SOUP (www.detroitsoup.com), is designed to support local entrepreneurs whose ideas will positively impact the community in the areas of the arts, humanities, or “green” initiatives.

The event will take place the first Sunday of every month and will be held at The Glass Academy in Dearborn. Each attendee is asked to donate $5 for admission, which includes a light meal generally consisting of soup, salad and bread; all of which are donated. During dinner, up to four pre-selected individuals will present their ideas. The attendees then vote on a winner and a portion of the proceeds is then granted to fund the winning idea.

To ensure a successful launch, the Dearborn Chamber Foundation is looking for sponsors, local artists who would like to showcase or sell their work and a photographer who is interested in documenting the launch. All the furniture will be made of recycled material so donations of rugs and reusable materials would be appreciated. Interested parties can reach Dee Hamka at (313) 801-4444.

The launch will take place Sunday, March 6 at The Glass Academy located at 25331 Trowbridge (www.glassacademy.com) at the southeast corner of Michigan Ave. and Gulley. Doors open at 6:30 pm. You can keep up to date on  information about Dearborn Soup on Facebook.

David T. Brandon, athletic director for the University of Michigan, will be the keynote speaker at the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce’s Business Builder Breakfast, Tuesday, March 8, 7:30 am at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn. The event is sponsored by Raymond James & Associates.

David T. Brandon was named director of Intercollegiate Athletics at University of Michigan – Ann Arbor in January 2010. A U-M alumnus who played football under Bo Schembechler and later served as U-M regent, Brandon, 57, was previously chairman and chief executive officer of Ann Arbor-based Domino’s Pizza.

“We are excited to host David Brandon and look forward to learning his motivational lessons in leadership,” said Chamber President Jennifer Knott Giering. “It’s important that we offer our membership access to high level key opinion leaders and we are confident his words will be inspiring.”

After joining Dominos in 1999, Brandon led the pizza giant to becoming the largest quick-service restaurant in history. In 2009, Dominos, with 9,000 franchised and company-owned stores in the US and 65 other countries, had global retail sales over $5.5 billion.

Previously, Brandon served as chairman, president and COO of Valassis Communications, Inc. of Livonia. In his 20-year tenure, the company grew from a family-owned business of 75 employees and $30 million in sales to a publicly traded industry leader with 1,300 employees and a total enterprise value of $2 billion+.

The Chamber’s Business Builders Breakfast in March is one of four such events planned for the year. Previous speakers included Ford Motor Company’s Alan Mulally and Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. Individual tickets are available ($30 for members; $35 for non-members) as well as corporate tables ($400) by going to www.dearbornchamber.org.

The Dearborn Chamber of Commerce provides 500+ members with the opportunities and resources to engage and network with other businesses, enhancing financial growth, professional development, and the ability to contribute to a thriving community environment.

We were hoping for the best but feared the worst and unfortunately the latter occurred.

Borders filed for bankruptcy and with that decision will close its Dearborn store as soon as this Saturday, according to some media reports. The store at Ford Road and Mercury is one of four in Michigan that will close, including stores in Utica, Grosse Pointe and the Arborland mall store in Ann Arbor. Its flagship store in Ann Arbor isn’t on the list.

This decision leaves Dearborn without a big name bookstore. But it could translate to more business for Dearborn Music at Michigan and Monroe and even my favorite used book store, Rodegher’s Used Books on Michigan, just west of east of Telegraph.

Here is The Detroit News story.

Dearborn’s  Green Brain Comics welcomes Eagle Award nominated writer Gary Reed for a book signing in honor of the new Deadworld Omnibus. The signing will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 16th from 4-7 p.m. ​

Don’t miss this chance to get a signed copy of the book that reboots the series that’s been called the “grand-daddy” of all zombie comics. The previous collection Deadworld Classics Vol 1 will also be available, which was named by Fangoria.com as one of the top 10 Horror Comics of 2010.​ It was zombies before zombies were cool.

​What could make this event cooler? Well check these next two offers out.

Dress as a zombie and the best costume will win a page of original Deadworld art from Wayne Reid plus an autographed copy of Deadworld Chronicles where the story appeared. Or bring in your best zombie drawing and the winner gets a free Deadworld Portfolio which has 10 full color prints, all by classic Deadworld artist Vince Locke. Now you’ve got plenty of extra reasons to visit ​Green Brain Comics.​

​You can RSVP to the event on the Facebook event page.

Green Brain Comics is located at 13210 Michigan Ave. in East Downtown Dearborn. For more information check the website at www.greenbrain.biz or call 313-582-9444

Travel along Chase Road in Dearborn will be slowed a bit because of new road construction between Ford Road and Warren that will last through July.

The City of Dearborn is urging motorists to find an alternate route. Traffic will be shifted to the east half of Chase Road and reduced to one lane in each direction.

The road project will result in a new water main, new curbs and the resurfacing of Chase Road.

The City of Dearborn’s Department of Public Works yard is open 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the third Saturday of each month for residents to dispose of furniture and other household materials that normally would require a special fee for curbside pickup.

The next date is Saturday, February 19. The yard is at 2951 Greenfield.

Other items accepted at the DPW Yard on the designated day are dirt, sod, sand, concrete and bricks; firewood, logs and stumps; bathtubs, sinks and toilets.

Not accepted are fuel, tires, ammunition, refrigerators, microwaves or other appliances.

Note that hazardous materials are not acceptable at the DPW yard or at the curbside.

For questions about curbside pickup or to check if materials are acceptable for disposal at the DPW Yard, call DPW at 943-2085.