Goodwill Industries of Detroit is close to inking a deal with Norm Newman to move into the former Inca building in West Dearborn.

Nearly three years after posting signs promising a “Redevelopment”, the long vacant building that once housed the Inca computer store in West Dearborn could soon have Goodwill Industries as its new tenant.

At Monday night’s City Council meeting Goodwill officials announced they are close to inking a final deal with Norm Newman to lease the vacant building, which is adjacent to another Norm Newman vacant property that once was home to Pier 1. The Pier 1 store relocated to Allen Park.

The Dearborn location, just like the one Goodwill operates in Canton, would be a retail store as well as a drop-off point for just about everything.

At Monday’s council meeting Newman’s daughter, Randee Freedman, represented Newman Building.

We spoke to Norm Newman back in March of 2009 and he hinted that a large retail store would be coming to this location. Many believed it might be a large chain grocery store, such as Aldi.

In between that time the white paper went up covering the glass windows in February 2009 and today, Newman rejected at least one other request to lease the space now headed to Goodwill Industries. That earlier request was for a family gaming business that was to be modeled after a popular Canadian chain.

Dearborn Chamber president Jennifer Knott Giering wrote in the Dearborn Press & Guide in August that Goodwill was looking at Dearborn as a location for another retail store. Giering toured the Canton store for her article and wrote that  “we (Dearborn) should consider them as a creator of local employment opportunities, and support these businesses.” You can read her full column HERE.

If you still need more information about the three proposals on the ballot Tuesday, Dearborn officials have sent out two handy links that explain what they mean.

Proposals on the Nov. 8 ballot ask voters to make decisions about temporarily increasing the funding for City services and authorizing a dedicated source of revenue for the library system.

Proposal One asks voters to temporarily increase the millage rate for city services by no more than 3.5 mills for no more than 5 years.

The temporary tax rate would cost the owner of an averageDearbornhome about $187 more a year, if fully levied. The City has lost revenue for basic services because of sharp declines in property values and other economic factors.

Proposal Two asks voters to approve a one-mill increase to fund library services for up to 10 years.

A third ballot proposal asks voters to decide if the Civil Service System, which applies to certain City of Dearborn employees, should be eliminated from the City Charter.

To find out more, click http://www.cityofdearborn.org/government/city-services/public-information/latest-news/688-voters-asked-to-decide-funding-for-city-services

To view a League of Women Voters forum featuring Mayor O’Reilly talking about the temporary tax rate increase, the library funding measure and Proposal 3, click http://www.cityofdearborn.org/government/city-services/public-information/latest-news/684-learn-about-ballot-proposals-by-watching-cdtv

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. For election information, call the City Clerk’s Office at 943-2032.

Dearborn Police say there is a bobcat roaming the campus of Henry Ford Community College.

Dearborn Animal Control was notified by Henry Ford Community College Security that they spotted what appeared to be a bobcat on their property.

This is the third sighting within the past two weeks.

Police say that residents should be aware that bobcats are territorial animals and unless cornered or threatened, they will avoid human contact.  Residents will small pets are being warned to use precautions when leaving their animals unattended. If the animal is sighted please contact the Dearborn Police.

The Dearborn Community Fund is accepting submissions to the Midwest Sculpture Initiative Visual Arts & Writing Contest. Entries must be submitted between January 2 and February 29, 2012. Three cash prizes will be awarded.

Writing and artwork submitted in the contest must have been inspired by one of the 12 sculptures on exhibit throughoutDearbornin the 2011-12 Art In Public Places Project, part of the Midwest Sculpture Initiative (MSI).

Artists and writers may submit a maximum of three images of artwork or poems, essays, dialogues, and/or narratives.

All submitted work will be reviewed by a jury. Prizes for the winning pieces are:   $100 first place, $50 second; and $25 third. Several honorable mentions also will be selected.

Entries can be submitted on paper or electronically in PDF format to communityfund@ci.dearborn.us. For complete contest guidelines, view the brochure that lists the sculpture locations at http://www.dearbornfordcenter.com/communityfund/ or call 313-943-5478.

Winning entries will be read and juried artwork displayed on March 28, 2012 at the Dearborn Community Fund’s “Multi-Arts Night Celebration” at theFordCommunity & Performing ArtsCenter,15801 Michigan Ave.,Dearborn.  This event begins at 7:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Winners also will be recognized in the Dearborn Press & Guide newspaper.

“We expect entries to in the Visual Arts & Writing Contest to reflect the variety of styles found in the sculptures in the Art In Pubic Places Project. They range from whimsical to serene, provocative to straight forward,” said EmmaJean Woodyard, executive director of the Dearborn Community Fund.

The Art in Public Places project is coordinated by the non-profit Dearborn Community Fund (DCF). The organization provides resources to support recreational and cultural projects that impact the citizens ofDearborn. It is funded entirely through generous contributions from individuals, businesses, sponsors and fundraising activities.

For additional information about the Visual Arts & Writing Contest or the Dearborn Community Fund, call 313-943-5478.

The City of Dearborn is finally going on the offensive, working to explain three critical ballot proposals in emails to residents and local media outlets.

While there has been a lot of emotion around what proposals to support, the operating and library millage are ones that need to be passed if Dearborn is to maintain its current level of services.

Below is information about each proposal from the City ofDearborn.

Proposal 1: Operating Millage

Q: What does this ballot proposal ask voters to do?

A: Determine whether to temporarily raise the authorized level of the City’s general operating tax rate by a maximum of 3.5 mills for a maximum of five years. The operating tax rate is the most critical source of funding for most City services.

Q: How much would 3.5 mills cost the owner of an average Dearborn home?

A: $187 a year. The averageDearbornhome has a taxable value of $53,435.

Q: If approved and levied, how long would the temporary tax rate increase be in place?

A: Five years or less. Each year, the city Council would have the authority to levy the number of additional mills necessary.

Q: Why are voters being asked to decide?

A: Because of a structural budget deficit, the City is facing about a $20 million difference in what it costs to offer current services and facilities and the revenue the City takes in.  Revenue for essential City services has declined significantly in recent years because of the decline in property values.

For instance, the value of an average home inDearbornin Fiscal Year 2008 was $69,583. Now it is $53,435. Overall, the City has lost about 16 years of growth.

In Fiscal Year 2008, the owner of an averageDearbornhome paid $948 in operating taxes. Now, the owner of an averageDearbornhome is paying $801, or $147 less, in operating taxes. If the 3.5 mills are approved and levied, the owner of the same home would pay $988. Other sources of revenue for essential City services have also declined significantly while at the same time costs have risen.

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The downtown West Dearborn business deck is being shuffled again due to the closing of one longtime hair salon and a restaurant deal that is no longer going to happen.

A sign to patrons hangs in the door of Salon West.

The bad news begins with the closing of Salon West, a hair salon and spa that after 18 years in Dearborn was forced to close.

Blame the closing on the tough economy. Patrons of the salon will recall that the owner several years ago poured thousands of dollars into a major remodeling of the facility and added a spa to go along with haircuts.

Trouble is Salon West reopened when the economic slide was just beginning. Combine that with the opening of Om Spa directly across the street and you had the perfect storm. The closing is unfortunate.

Just across the street from Salon West, a vacant building that earlier in the year had signs proclaiming La Shish was reopening in it is now dead. The vacant building once housed a blues bar called George and Harry’s. The restaurant owner – the same person who owns the recently reopened La Shish at Michigan and Oakman in East Dearborn – ran into several obstacles trying to open the restaurant, including with DTE Energy and the current placement of some of its power equipment, the adjacent business owner and the city of Dearborn. In the end, he simply was unable to reach a deal with building’s owner.

Morris Goodman, a Dearborn attorney, past president of the Dearborn Democratic Club, a longtime political activist and observer and regular reader of Deepsaidwhat.com has jumped into the severance payment scandal swirling around Turkia Awada Mullin, the former assistant Wayne County executive.

Bottom-line: Goodman says Wayne County Executive Bob Ficano should ask her to resign from her new job as CEO of the authority that oversees Metro Airport, a position in which she has zero experience. His column begins below:

Morris Goodman

In Alcoholics Anonymous there is the expression that an alcoholic only makes progress over his addiction when he becomes “sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Well, the citizens of Wayne County need to declare they are “sick and tired” of the continuing scandal over the insanity of the Turkia Awada Mullin severance payment scandal. It is simply insane for anyone in the Wayne County or Metro Airport hierarchy to believe that it was OK to pay Ms. Mullin $200,000 in a severance payment when she voluntarily left her position as the county’s development director to take a higher paying job at the airport. Even more insane is that a week later she received another $25,000 for accumulated sick and vacation days when she signed a document that the $200,000 is all she would get.

 It is simply incredible that when the story broke both Ms. Mullin and County Executive Bob Ficano initially defended the severance payment as well-earned and then within days both said that the $225,000 in severance and sick/ vacation days would be returned. The severance was either well earned or it was not. If it was not, then returning the money does not hide the irreversible stain of the certainly unconscionable, and arguably illegal, original payment.

 As I was driving to work on Monday October 24, I was listening to WJR’s Paul W. Smith interview one of the Free Press reporters involved in the Mullin severance investigation. A recording of what County Executive Bob Ficano said to Smith on his show on September 29 was played. Ficano said the contract with Mullin to pay her a severance was not uncommon. He also said that Mullin had done a great job for the county by bringing $5.5 billion dollars worth of new development to Wayne County. Who had given him this information?

 The Free Press reporter had written a story the previous day about how Mullin has overstated the amount of development she or her department aided by over $2 billion – a classic example of frowned upon “Resume’ inflation.” Smith commented that the continuing revelations about the questionable actions and retractions surrounding this story were tantamount to “blood in the water”. The sharks are circling. How much longer can this go on?

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Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad

Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad on Thursday was named one of the top public officials of the year, one of nine leaders across the U.S. who were recognized as the best and brightest in state, city and county government by Governing magazine.

The annual awards program, now in its 18th year, recognizes the top state and local government officials for their leadership and accomplishments in their positions and communities.

Here is what the editorial team of Governing magazine had to say about Dearborn Chief Haddad:

“Home to the nation’s most concentrated Arab community, Dearborn, Michigan, boasts one of the most widely admired approaches to counterterrorism — one pioneered by the city and state’s first Arab-American police chief. Heralded as a model for the nation and for federal policy, Haddad’s approach uses community-based policing to defend against violent extremism.  A 7 percent drop in crime in 2010 and Dearborn’s culture of trust and civic engagement are testaments to Haddad’s success.

” . . . Haddad has formed relationships built on trust and respect with all members of his community, particularly the Arab and Muslim populations. Haddad has pioneered a new approach to counterterrorism, using community-based policing as a way to defend against violent extremism.

“[There] can’t be this boots-on-the-ground sort of militaristic, machismo attitude about countering terrorism,” says Juliette Kayyem, the former assistant secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “It has to be one of civic engagement, and I think the Dearborn model is a model for the nation and for federal policy.”

Governing magazine says that Public Officials of the Year are selected from nominations submitted by readers, experts in the public and private sectors, and its editorial team. Among the qualities recognized are leadership, courage, innovation, creativity and good management. Governing magazine has named a total of 167 people as Public Officials of the Year since it began the awards.

“These dynamic state, city and county public officials faced both economic and political challenges,” said Governing Publisher Fred Kuhn in a statement. “Through their collective vision, these stellar leaders worked to better not only their communities but to set an example for future leaders to follow.”

You can view a Kiwanis Club of Dearborn video interview with Chief Haddad about his career by clicking HERE.

What’s your best Dearborn story?

That was the question posed by the Dearborn Historical Museum earlier this month, and residents and former residents have deluged the museum with favorites — dozens and dozens of them, written out and signed, up close and personal.

As a result, a prospective book project announced by the museum as a fundraiser three weeks ago is officially on. It will contain more than 100 favorite stories, it is expected to be priced around $20, and it should be back from the printer as a soft-cover publication before Dec. 1.

The book, the first of its kind ever compiled by the museum, is titled “Best Dearborn Stories: Voices From Henry Ford’s Hometown.”

“I’ve always believed that people love to share stories about themselves and their towns, so I’m not at all surprised at the response,” said L. Glenn O’Kray, vice chair of the Dearborn Historical Commission and coordinator of the project.

“Even though we set a very short deadline for submitting the stories, I think it just encouraged everybody to sit down and write instead of putting it off. We had an original goal of 300 stories, but realistically that would have been too many for one book. We do plan to keep additional stories as they come in, anticipating that we’ll have more than enough for a sequel next year.

“As it is, we should have the books available for sale at the museum in plenty of time for Christmas shopping.”

Publishing costs are being underwritten by the Museum Guild of Dearborn, a nonprofit group of more than 20 clubs that support the museum. The Guild is finalizing a contract with a printer for a rush job on the book, which will be sold at the museum’s gift shop at the McFadden-Ross House, 915 Brady.

Profits from sales of the book will go to the museum, which has begun a membership drive to help keep its doors open after city funds run out during the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2012.

In case you missed it, Dearborn resident Paula Hamilton-Stokes, who was elected and served on the Dearborn Charter Commission in 2007, says the city’s move to try and eliminate Dearborn’s Civil Service Commission through a ballot question sets a bad precedent.

In a column that first appeared in the Dearborn Press & Guide last week, she said she does not support Proposal Three, which would eliminate the Civil Service Commission.

“As one of nine former, elected Charter Commissioners I was charged with revising the city of Dearborn Charter. We laboriously scrutinized every section.

“We spent a minimum of time discussing Civil Service. Why…? There was little to discuss. The Civil Service Commission is doing its job. The Human Resources Department is doing its job, and the protections written into the charter are still valid today, perhaps even more so.

“Michigan’s governor has made it quite clear he will find the extra funds he is looking for, possibly at the expense of state employees, be they involved in teaching, or working at the local government level. The residents and the employees need Civil Service to continue standing sentry, looking out for our best interest.

“Changing the City Charter, a mere three years after its unanimous passage, sets a dangerous precedent. If the “powers that be” don’t like something, just re-word it so it suits you. We could find ourselves changing lots of things just because a few don’t approve.”

Hamilton-Stokes raises an interesting question. What has changed in three years since voters approved the City Charter that city leaders now have decided to bring Proposal 3 to the ballot?