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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
4
March 28, 2013
N
ORTHVILLE
- P
LYMOUTH
Chocolates, dinner and an origi-
nal musical cabaret are all part of
the effort to help support a new
music and arts therapy program for
autistic children inNorthville.
The program has enlisted the
help of the Northville Educational
Association, Eastern Michigan
University professors, a profession-
al artist, a chocolate maker and the
highly acclaimed musical group,
Encore!
Encore! is the Eastern Michigan
University musical performance
group that will perform following a
special dinner at Genitti's
Restaurant and Theater beginning
at 6 p.m. April 11. Following a five-
course family-style Italian dinner
and silent auction, the performers
will take to the stage. The cost for
the special event is $35 per person
and tickets re available by calling
(248)349-0522.
All the proceeds from this
Cabaret For A Cause dinner will
help fund the Sprouts autism pro-
gram at Thornton Creek
Elementary School, The first $1,000
in donations will bematched by the
Northville Educational Founda-
tion.
Additionally, during April, which
is AutismAwareness Month nation-
ally, there will be an original water-
color artwork on display in thewin-
dow of Chocolates by Renee on
Main Street in downtown
Northville. The work is being com-
pleted by professional artist Lisa
Richter, the aunt of one of the
Sprouts students.
Chocolates by Renee owner
Stephanie Tortoni will also be
offering a special handmade choco-
late during April, and a portion of
the profits from the sale of the
treats will go toward the Sprouts
program, too.
The original musical program at
Genitti's, Cabaret for A Cause, will
be written by Eastern Michigan
University Music Director and for-
mer Las Vegas musician and direc-
tor Ryan Phillips and the choreog-
raphy for the cabaret will be creat-
ed by veteran Broadway hoofer
and current Eastern professor Phil
Simmons. Honorary chairman of
the event, Bill Brown said,
“Excitement about the Cabaret for
a Cause fundraiser that will benefit
the Sprouts music experience pro-
gram continues to grow. I am
extremely grateful for the support
shown by Genitti's Restaurant,
EMU theater and the Northville
Educational Foundation.”
During the Cabaret For A Cause
event, there will be a silent auction
featuring Red Wings tickets, a pro-
fessional photography package, a
spa package and many other items
donated tohelp the program.
A cash bar will be available dur-
ing the evening.
Genitti's is located at 108 East
Main St. Free parking is available
on Main Street and behind the
restaurant.
The plan to repair and repave
the asphalt streets in the
Ridgewood Hills subdivision in
Plymouth Township has fallen flat
with several of the affected proper-
ty owners.
Robert Conrad, a resident of the
subdivision, spoke to members of
the Plymouth Township Board of
Trustees at aMarch 12 public hear-
ing, asking for reconsideration of
the Special Assessment District or
SAD approved to fund the repaving
of Ridgewood Hills. Under the
terms of the proposed SAD, each
Ridgewood Hills residence would
be assessed $6,422.61 to be paid
toward the repaving project.
The township would collect the
funds through the special assess-
ment of property taxes to pay for
the project, collecting a percentage
of the total as a service fee, and
remitting the remainder to the con-
tractor doing the work. Approval of
the project and assessment district
by the township is required for the
project to proceed.
Conrad presented a letter to the
board of trustees, signed by 10 resi-
dents of the subdivision, protesting
the manner in which the SAD was
developed and explaining that an
alternate proposal would have
repairs and repaving done to the
most traveled streets in the subdivi-
sion where the work is necessary
while doing less expensive and
extensive work to other areas
which are less traveled. Under the
plan he suggested, residents of
Ridgewood Number One would
pay $7,700 for the cost of the repairs
and the remaining residents would
pay $1,600 per lot, which he said
“more correctly reflects the
cost/benefit ratio the group had cal-
culated.”
Conrad also told the boardmem-
bers that the residents were con-
cerned at the failure Township
Director of Public Services Patrick
J. Fellrath to meet with them or
provide an estimate of the portion
of the total cost of the project that
was involved in the regrading of
Hillcrest Street, the main ingress
and egress to the subdivision. In
the letter, Conrad said that Fellrath
said the contractor would not pro-
vide that information.
Another Ridgewood resident,
Don Zaksek, a retired financial
analyst with an MBA in finance,
found this curious, Conrad said.
The group then asked another resi-
dent, who is a retired engineer, to
provide an estimate using the infor-
mation the group was able to
obtain.
It was on that estimate and pro-
jections the group based their
alternative plan, he said, because
the township refused repeated
requests for information about the
project costs.
“Our challenge to this assess-
ment is that there is substantial
and unreasonable disproportional-
ity between the amount assessed
and the value received by each lot
owner,” Conrad, a Wayne County
engineer, stated.
“Some homes are only partially
in the SAD,” Conrad said. “Let's
give an opportunity to everybody in
a public format,” he suggested to
the boardmembers.
“There should have been a
meeting of the residents. We're
stuck with a SAD that does not rep-
resent the entire group,” he said.
In the letter, Conrad and the
other residents also requested,
“access to all files related to the
SAD proposal, particularly those
associatedwith its establishment.”
His comments drewno response
from the board members who
voted unanimously to authorize the
final engineering drawings, to take
bids and have the supervisor pre-
pare the final Special Assessment
Roll for approval after the 30-day
waiting period.
Some homes are only
partially in the SAD.
Let's give an opportunity
to everybody
in a public format.
”
Residents protest planned paving assessment
All the proceeds from this Cabaret For A Cause dinner will
help fund the Sprouts autism program at Thornton Creek
Elementary School, The first $1,000 in donations will be
matched by the Northville Educational Foundation.
”
Cabaret planned to aid program in Northville