Residents and business owners are invited to an interactive community forum, with refreshments and door prizes included, on Wednesday, Dec. 12 to share ideas for development near Dearborn’s Intermodal Passenger Rail Station.

The forum will be in Studio A at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center and will begin at 5:30 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres and light fare, followed by a presentation at 6 p.m., and interactive activities until 7:30 p.m.

Coordinated by the City Plan Division and the Economic and Community Development Department, and facilitated by experts from MIPlace Partnership, the forum will ask participants to think about the look and feel of the area near the train station, now under construction on Michigan Avenue near Brady Street.

The forum has the tag line: “Lend us your imagination…be part of Dearborn’s transformation.”

The city was just one of five in Michigan to win a competitive grant to earn MIPlace Partnership’s expertise. MIPlace will focus on the area around the new train station.

Creating a sense of place means planning future economic developments in the area with the community’s unique characteristics in mind.

Placemaking is based on the understanding that thriving communities are sites that attract employees, where connections can happen, where productivity and creativity increase, and where networks foster collaboration and innovation.

Using transportation hubs, such as the train station, as a focus for placemaking projects is called Transit Oriented Development (T.O.D.), and has been successfully applied in towns around the country.

T.O.D. is not a familiar concept, but participants should not be intimated, said Barry Murray, director of the city’s Economic and Community Development Department.

“Please come and share your ideas about how the west Dearborn area can capitalize on the benefits of having a major train station in one of our downtowns, and how we can build on our community’s traditions to generate a unique sense of place,” Murray said.

“It’s meant to be fun, while at the same time giving people a chance to speak up about what they think should be included in the future development of west Dearborn neighborhoods and business areas,” he said.

The forum is open to all, including residents throughout Dearborn, business owners, and those who work and go to school in Dearborn.

The Dec. 12 event will set the stage for a three-day forum, known as a charette, which will take place in January.

Supporting the event through door prizes, food and beverages (as of Nov. 30) are: Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Steakhouse, Bailey’s Pub & Grille, BD Mongolian Grill, L.A. Bistro, Merle Norman, Sophia’s Giftique, Starbucks Coffee Company, The Post Bar, and Westborn Market.

The city of Dearborn’s Public Service Days program will conclude for the season on Friday, Nov. 30 and resume again on April 1, 2013.

That means for the winter months, residents will not be required to remove their parked vehicles from the streets from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on their trash collection day.

However, it is still a good idea to keep vehicles off the streets when possible, to allow for more efficient trash pickup, said Jim Murray, the director of the Department of Public Works.

The collection of loose leaves raked into the streets continues until Dec. 7, so having parked vehicles off the street as crews do their work is helpful, he said.

Another date to remember is Dec. 14. That is when the City will stop its seasonal collection of yard waste put in proper containers on trash day.

This curbside yard waste collection will resume the week of March 18, 2013.

For more information, contact the Department of Public Works at 943-2085.

Sam Salamey

The race for judge in Dearborn’s 19th District Court was supposed to be a close one but when the votes were all tallied, it was Dearborn attorney Sam Salamey defeating incumbent Judge Richard Wygonik by more than 4,000 votes.

Salamey pulled in an impressive 18,150 votes to Wygonik’s 14,020 votes.

Salamey worked hard, going door-to-door to most homes in Dearborn and picking up a key endorsement from Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. What weight the mayor’s endorsement had on this race isn’t known but the Wygonik camp was unhappy when the mayor made the endorsement earlier this year.

Wygonik was appointed to the bench in 2005 and Dearborn voters retained him for a full six-year term in November 2006.

Dearborn residents are reminded there is still time to order a free 2013 City of Dearborn Calendar before this Wednesday’s, Oct. 31 deadline.

Residents can order online at www.cityofdearborn.org

Reserving a copy of the calendar online save taxpayers money and is a more efficient and accurate way of ordering.

As an alternative method only, residents without internet access may order a calendar by calling a voice mail box at 943-3003.

Residents who call are reminded to give their complete address, including individual flat or apartment numbers, in addition to the street address and zip code.

The city’s 2013 Calendars will be mailed to Dearborn residents who place their order by 5 p.m. Oct. 31, 2012. Later orders cannot be accommodated.

The Calendar and Guide to City Services includes information about programs, facilities and events, as well as provides Dearborn city government phone numbers and recycling week schedules.

As a cost-saving measure, the calendar is no longer mailed to every household automatically. In January a limited number of calendars will be available for pickup from Dearborn Public Libraries and other city buildings.

Residents will also be able to find the 2013 City Calendar at www.cityofdearborn.org in January 2013 and can view or print the entire calendar or individual pages at their convenience.

Those who order a Calendar should receive it in the mail before Dec. 31, 2012.

Dearborn will start its annual collection of leaves raked into the street on Monday, Oct. 22.

Dearborn will start its annual collection of leaves raked into the street on Monday, Oct. 22 and will continue the program until Friday, Dec. 7, weather permitting.

Leaves raked into the street will be picked up on a neighborhood’s trash day, on the week that is not a recycling week.

Dearborn officials are reminding residents that crews will not always be able to pick up leaves from an entire district in one trash day. When that happens, crews will return where they left off during that district’s next trash day that is not on a recycling week.

Crews expect to be in every district collecting leaves raked into the street at least two times during the fall season.

For safety reasons, don’t rake your leaves into the street until it is close to the time when they will be picked up. Leaves that linger in the street can cause slippery conditions, or lead to car fires.

For a weekly leaf collection schedule, call the Leaf Hotline at 943-2444.

Dearborn residents are reminded about the preferred method to ensure your leaves are picked up promptly.

Jim Murray, the director of the Department of Public Works, says residents should put leaves in yard waste paper bags or 20-32 gallon containers with a City yard waste sticker and set them at your curbside every week on trash day.

Place the bags or containers on your easement by 7 a.m. on your trash day each week. They will be picked up that same day with your trash, recyclables and other yard waste, such as grass clippings.

Yard waste stickers are available at City Hall and Dearborn libraries.

Leaves in plastic bags or in cardboard boxes will not be picked up.

Dearborn City Clerk Kathy Buda is encouraging voters to apply for an absentee ballot for the general election because of expected large turnouts.

“I’m encouraging qualified voters to apply for an absentee ballot” said Buda. “That will allow them to feel less rushed and to thoroughly read the ballot.”

Residents who are registered may apply for and be given their absentee ballot at the City Clerk’s office in City Hall weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Absentee ballot applications and additional information are also available by calling 313-943-2031 or 313-943-2032.

The Clerk’s Office will accept absentee ballot applications until Saturday, Nov. 3. On that day, the Clerk’s office will be open from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 6.

Buda says showing a government issued ID is encouraged to ensure accuracy but voters who don’t have their identification with them can still vote. They will be asked to sign a brief affidavit. Those ballots will be included with all others and counted on Election Day.

Residents may check their voter information and view sample ballots HERE

The League of Women Voters of Dearborn-Dearborn Heights announces the launch of the nonpartisan election resource www.VOTE411.org. This “one-stop-shop” for election information provides simple tools to help Michigan voters navigate the voting process this November.

VOTE411.org provides candidate information, voter registration tools, polling place locations and other helpful Election Day information.

Detailed candidate information, including candidates’ direct responses to issue-related questions, is available for 19th District Court, Dearborn Heights City Council, Circuit Court Judges, and State Representatives, and many other races.

Users can visit www.VOTE411.org and enter their address to find information from the candidates they will see on their ballot.

“As voters, we need simple, helpful tools to help us navigate Election Day,” said Mary Bugeia, President of the League of Women Voters of Dearborn-Dearborn Heights. “This is one of the most important elections of our lifetime, and each one of us has an important role to play in weighing in on the issues and priorities that matter most for our community.”

The last day to register to vote in the Nov. 6 presidential election is Tuesday, Oct. 9.

If you are a Dearborn resident and unsure if you are registered, or to find out your precinct, please call the Dearborn City Clerk’s Office at 943-2032.

You may register to vote at the Clerk’s Office during business hours 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. through Tuesday.

Residents who are registered may pick up an absentee ballot application at the City Clerk’s office during those same business hours.

The Clerk’s Office will accept absentee ballot applications until Saturday, Nov. 3. The Clerk’s office will be open that day from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov 6.

Government issued photo ID is required at the precinct in order to vote.

Dearborn is adding new tennis courts at Ford Field Park to replace two old deteriorating ones. The old court surfaces were cracking and in need of replacement.

Dearborn’s Ford Field Park is getting a tennis court makeover, thanks to a Wayne County grant millage allocation.

Separately, a new spray park element will soon be added to the baby pool at Dearborn’s Dunworth Pool.

The total commitment from Wayne County for these two projects is $137,000, with $90,000 for Ford Field Park and $47,000 for Dunworth Pool.

Regular visitors to Ford Field Park will notice that the current tennis courts were recently torn up and removed, including the fencing that surrounded the two courts.

Construction on new courts would soon begin after Dearborn’s City Council approves the award of the contract for construction services. That is set to take place at the next council meeting.

City officials tell DeepsaidWhat.com that the two new courts will come complete with freshly painted court surfaces, striping, new fencing, and new tennis posts and nets to replace the old deteriorating courts. The old court surfaces, for those who ever used them, were cracking badly and in need of repair or replacement.

Nearby residents who were concerned they had lost their tennis courts will be relieved to hear that the new courts will be erected in the same location, providing many tennis players with a nice facility to enjoy for many years to come.

The city hopes to have both projects up and ready for residents to use for the summer of 2013.

While Norfolk Southern and MDOT continue to negotiate, Dearborn officials say construction will soon begin on the train station.

Dearbornites tired of passing weed-covered piles of dirt at the site of what is supposed to be the city’s future intermodal train station on Michigan Avenue may soon get some reprieve.

While the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Norfolk Southern continue to negotiate to resolve several key issues, including right of way, train platform heights and purchase price for track, Dearborn officials tell DeepsaidWhat.com that construction on the actual train station at the southern portion of the property could begin shortly after Labor Day. Norfolk Southern apparently gave the city the green light to begin station construction.

We’ve received dozens of notes from readers asking what was going on with the construction project on Michigan Avenue, just east of Brady on the south side of the street. The piles of dirt in the parking lot of what will soon be the new location for the train station have been sitting for so long that weeds now blanket the dirt mounds.

MDOT and Norfolk Southern have not yet reached agreement on platform heights for the new station, which is a major hurdle since the single track will need to be used by both passenger and freight trains, each with different load heights.

Norfolk Southern also wants to install a second track sometime in the future. Just a single line exists today.

In addition, MDOT and Norfolk Southern still are negotiating on the price for the track from Dearborn to Detroit. The state has already purchased the property to Kalamazoo so it can construct a new high speed rail system but needs to purchase this final section of property.

No one said this project was going to be easy but the sliver of good news is that real work might soon get underway.