The fountain at the Henry Ford Centennial Library needs about $750,000 in repairs, city officials say.

We had heard the rumors and now The Detroit News reports that the water fountain which sits in front of the Henry Ford Centennial Library could be demolished and replaced with a smaller one because Dearborn lacks the needed money to repair the marble structure.

The fountain was a gift from the Ford Motor Company, an elegant water display to greet visitors to the city’s main library, which opened in 1969.

A new proposal could see the marble structure that once featured jets of water dancing upward amid colorful lights in a “water symphony” demolished in favor of a smaller version or even leveled for a garden.

According to The News, the venerable landmark to the drive down Michigan Avenue has fallen into disrepair, even after a $250,000 donation by a local benefactor more than a decade ago and repairs that were intended to “ensure the long-term future of the fountain,” according to the former public works director in 2006.

Jim Murray, director of the city’s Public Works Department, tells The News that annual maintenance and operation costs near $75,000. He says full restoration could cost as much as $750,000, a bit strain on the city’s budget. Officials are exploring options, including paving over the iconic structure.

All of this raises the simple question: How did we get here?

The start time for the adoption of the City of Dearborn’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget is now 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 29 in the City Council Chambers. The meeting was previously scheduled for May 22.

This meeting is open to the public.

Dearborn City Council is still scheduled to review Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr.’s proposed Fiscal Year 2013 budget at a public hearing on May 14 at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers at Dearborn City Hall.

Extensive documents relating to the budget proposed for Fiscal Year 2013, which begins July 1, 2012, are posted at the city’s website, www.cityofdearborn.org. Additional information about the city’s overall finances, proposals for future budget years, and past spending can also be found at the same website.

A new Tim Hortons coffee shop could soon be headed into a second location on Michigan Avenue. The Dearborn Elks, owner of the property at 25000 Michigan Ave., is requesting to have their property rezoned as part of negotiations it is having with the Tim Hortons franchise.

The property, formerly home to the Elks organization, is zoned BB, Community Business at the southern portion, while the northern portion is zoned RA, One Family Residential. The request is to rezone the residentially zoned portion of the property to BB Community Business. The change will accommodate resuse and redevelopment of the property.

The Dearborn Elks have been renting the property out for banquets, as it is too large for their current use.

Mark Kellenberger, on behalf of Tim Hortons, will make the request to have the property rezoned at a Monday evening meeting of the Dearborn Plan Commission.

Judge Richard Wygonik

Dearborn’s 19th District Chief Judge Richard Wygonik may not have received the endorsement of Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., for his re-election (the mayor endorsed attorney Sam Salamey), but he did pick up the endorsement of former Chief Judge Leo K. Foran.

The Wygonik re-election team issued a media release touting the Foran endorsement news this week. In addition, team Wygonik said the judge would ”soon release a roadmap for future court reforms.”

Foran served 34-years as chief judge of the 20th District Court and one-year as chief judge of the 19th District Court. During his  judicial career, Foran also served as a visiting judge in both Circuit Court and Recorders Court.

Wygonik’s re-election team says Foran’s endorsement comes after recent statements by opposing political campaigns that “falsely” tried to link Wygonik to the rocky tenure of former Chief Judge Mark Somers, who is the target of lawsuits by court employees. Wygonik’s election team says he is not a party to the lawsuits and, in January 2012, the Michigan Supreme Court appointed Wygonik to replace Somers.

In their news release, Team Wygonik also noted that the Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct requires that candidates for judicial office “should not knowingly, or with reckless disregard, use or participate in the form of any public communication that is false.” They also provided this link HERE

“I was a chief judge for well over thirty years and made decisions concerning the administrative operations of two district courts,” Foran said. “Chief Judge Richard Wygonik is doing an excellent job. We need him to continue to guide the court through difficult times. I’m proud to endorse his reelection,” Foran said.

Wygonik thanked Foran and pledged to continue to serve as chief judge to the best of his ability.

“I’m grateful for the support of former Chief Judge Leo Foran. I’m also proud to have been appointed 19th District chief judge by the Michigan Supreme Court. I will continue to strive for greater efficiency in court operations and to work to protect the rights of those who appear before the courts,” Wygonik said.

Wygonik was appointed to the bench in 2005. Dearborn voters retained him for a full six-year term in November 2006. He is a lifetime resident of Dearborn and a graduate of Fordson High School. He received his law degree from Wayne State University after completing his undergraduate work at Henry Ford Community College and Western Michigan University. Wygonik has been a practicing attorney since 1972.

Free Comic Book Day 2012 at Green Brain Comics in Dearborn will feature more guest comic creators then ever before, a workshop area, and lots of ways to get FREE specially marked comic books.​

Green Brain Comics store owner Dan Merritt says this upcoming Free Comic Book Day will be the biggest celebration ever. “It’s outgrown the store,” said Merritt, the coordinator for the event.  ”So we’re planning an expansion into the parking lot and essentially doubling the fun!”

​This year Green Brain Comics is partnering with Oakwood Healthcare Systems, the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority and Kids Read Comics to provide a huge tent to house a host of local comic creators, local vendors, and a comic workshop area for kids of all ages. ​And you get free comics, Merritt said.

Inside the store, Green Brain Comics will be giving away thousands of comics printed specifically for Free Comic Book Day. Everyone who comes in gets the choice of three, from a selection of over three dozen different titles. Plus, you can get up to four more by donating non-perishable canned food (for Gleaners Food Bank), used cell phones (for Cell Phones for Soldiers), gently used books (for Friends of the Library Dearborn) or just for appearing in costume, Merritt said.

​There will be live music, DJs, door prizes and even a photo booth.

​Free Comic Book Day kicks off at 10 a.m. and runs until 8 p.m. Saturday, May 5th at Green Brain Comics, 13210 Michigan Ave. East Downtown Dearborn. Call 313-582-9444 or got to www.greenbrain.biz for more information.

For a look at the complete guest list so far, click below.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dearborn City Council will review Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr.’s proposed Fiscal Year 2013 budget at a public hearing on May 14 at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers at Dearborn City Hall.

The budget adoption meeting, also open to the public, is scheduled to be 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 22 in the Council Chambers.

Extensive documents relating to the budget proposed for Fiscal Year 2013, which begins July 1, 2012, are posted at the city’s website, www.cityofdearborn.org.

Additional information about the city’s overall finances, proposals for future budget years, and past spending can also be found at www.cityofdearborn.org.

Elena's Mexican Carry-out is now open for business. The restaurant is located at 24142 Michigan Ave.

Dearborn residents looking for a new place for authentic carry-out Mexican food can now visit Elena’s Mexican Carry-out in west Dearborn.

Elena’s is located at 24142 Michigan Ave., just west of Telegraph on the north side of Michigan Avenue. It is in the building that formerly housed a Thai food restaurant and before that a deli called Harley’s.

Alex Flores and his mother Phyllis are hopeful their new restaurant will prove to be more attractive to the taste buds of Dearbornites and nearby businesses. Judging from what is on the menu, it would appear Flores has the right stuff.

Flores says all of the recipes at Elena’s are from his grandmother. Everything is made fresh daily, right down to the salsa that his mother Phyllis makes each morning.

The restaurant opened last Wednesday and for now will be carry-out only. In the future, the restaurant could expand into the building next door should a dining option be needed, Flores said.

Hours are Monday-Thursday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to midnight. The restaurant is closed on Sunday. For now, Elena’s will not offer food delivery.

On Monday, the restaurant offers $1 deep fried beef tacos. Lunch specials are Monday-Friday until 2 p.m. For $7, patrons have the choice of either two tacos, flautas, enchiladas or tamales, along with rice, beans and a 12 oz. soda.

For more information you can call the restaurant at 313-768-5211.

Valerie Murphy-Goodrich

The Dearborn Civil Service Commission voted to remove Human Resources Administrator Valerie Murphy-Goodrich, a city employee for 18 years,  from her position with the City of Dearborn.

Under the Dearborn City Charter, the Human Resources administrator “serves at the pleasure of the Civil Service Commission.” Murphy-Goodrich had been head of the Human Resources Department since 1994.

Regular readers of Deepsaidwhat.com will recall that Murphy-Goodrich was at the center of the political controversy that involved Dearborn Civil Service Commissioner Marjorie Powell, a former City Council president. The Civil Services Commission wanted Powell out and Murphy-Goodrich was pushing to help Powell keep her position, which could have helped her keep her own position. Lawsuits were filed by Dearborn lawyer Morris Goodman to help keep Powell’s appointed position but those efforts failed.  We wouldn’t be surprised to see Goodman get involved in this latest matter.

So after nearly two years after the Powell controversy erupted, the Civil Service Commission on April 19, 2012 voted 3-0, with Commission Chair Margaret Schaefer and Commissioners James. C. Peitz and W. Robert Schneiders voting in favor of the removal.

Commissioner Mohamad I. Chehab, who was just appointed in March and was attending his first meeting, abstained and Commissioner Michael Berry was absent.

Schaefer, in a city issued press release provided to media on the same day as the Civil Service Commission vote, said the decision was a difficult one, but was necessary in order for the commission to proceed with improvements to the Human Resources Department, as recommended by an independent review dated February 2011.

The review was conducted under guidelines found in Section 11.6 b of the City Charter.

Consulting firm Plante Moran performed the review, which outlined serious deficiencies in the operation of the department and included seven recommendations and 11 action items.

A key recommendation was for the city to “re-engineer all core HR processes across the organization as a means to gain needed efficiency and standardize service delivery to all departments.”

Schaefer said one of the concerns of the commission was the lack of progress in the implementation of the reforms proposed by Plante Moran.

Among its implementation recommendations, the Plante Moran report identified the need for a more timely process for hiring and promoting employees, increased use of technology, department restructuring into specialist versus generalist roles, an evaluation of training offerings, and development of a performance management system for staff feedback and increased accountability.

Under the City Charter, the Civil Service Commission has the responsibility for selecting a new Human Resources Administrator.

Camp Dearborn will welcome RV campers early this season. The official camping season of Camp Dearborn, May 1 through October 31, will be altered this year by accepting RV campers beginning Friday, April 20.

Lee Morris, interim camp manager, made the decision in response to the many calls he receives from anxious campers.

“The warm weather in March woke up the campers and they are ready to go,” said Morris. “We’ve had plenty of RV owners calling about the start of the season. Now I see we’ll be ready by late April, so we will make the change.”

The camp office is accepting RV site reservations now, but tent and cabin rentals will remain within the traditional season of May through October. The camping season with full recreational service begins mid-June and runs through Labor Day Weekend.

Camp Dearborn offers 191 temporary RV sites, 118 tents, 30 rustic cabins and eight new resort cabins. Temporary sites are either full hook-up or electric only and can be reserved by calling either of the Camp offices: Dearborn Recreation Department at 313-943-2350 or Milford Camp Office at 248-684-6000.

In addition to the popular camping area, Camp Dearborn offers acres of picnic area equipped with tables and grills alongside a beautiful half-mile beach and swimming lake. The Camp is open to the public daily, 7 a.m. until 10 p.m.

Admission at the gate is $4 per car for residents of Dearborn or Milford, $6 per car for all others and $10 per car for all special event dates.

Season passes are available for frequent visitors at the rate of $25 for residents of Dearborn or Milford and $35 for the general public.

More information about Camp Dearborn and scheduled events can be found at www.campdearborn.com, the Camp Dearborn Official Page on Facebook, or by calling either of the Camp offices.

Hundreds of talented Dearborn students, ranging from kindergarten to high school, will perform, display, and demonstrate their arts during the 2012 Youth in Arts Festival and opening of the 2012 Dearborn Public Schools City Wide Art Show.

This free event is open to the public and will take place on Wednesday, April 25, from 4 to 8:30 pm, at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave., in Dearborn. The annual event is a cooperative project by the Dearborn Community Fund (DCF) and the Dearborn Public Schools. Honorary chairs for the evening are Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., DCF Chair Karen Nigosian, and Dearborn Public Schools Superintendent Brian Whiston.

Those attending the Youth in Arts Festival will enjoy the artwork of students participating in the all-school City Wide Art Show exhibit in the Padzieski Art Gallery. The Art Show runs from April 25 through May 28, 2012.

Two and three dimensional art will not be the only evidence of artistic ability on display. The Elementary Honors Choir, directed by Jim Walters, the Secondary Honors Choir, directed by Jennifer Pegouske, and the Dearborn High School Choir, directed by Carmelle Atkins will provide guests with outstanding vocal entertainment. In addition, the Henry Ford Community College Blue Fusion Vocal Jazz Ensemble under the direction of G. Kevin Dewey will take part in the evening’s showcase of local talent.

Rounding out this celebration of the arts will be instrumental performances by the Fordson Jazz Band conducted by Scott Guthre, the Edsel Ford High School Chamber Group conducted by Mike Kalasz, and the Maples Music Ensemble conducted by Catherine Odam-Prowse. Dearborn Youth Symphony ensemble will also perform in the theater lobby.

As a special treat, Dearborn High School Theater students will add a dramatic element to the program under the direction of Greg Viscomi, the 2011 winner of the Mayor’s Arts Award.