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VOL. 138, NO. 33

Chelsea Standard
75
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2011
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Make sure to click on www.heritage.com around the clock for the most in-depth coverage of Washtenaw County. Our most viewed story this week is Florence Beach wins Lima lawsuit.

Chelsea Fairways residents seek aid

City offers special assessment to help nish developments
By Eric Anderson
Special Writer

Chelsea City Council members discussed plans to assist the Chelsea Fairways neighborhood at its Tuesday meeting. The fairways, a subdivision created about 10 years ago, has suffered from tough economic times that caused the original builder to leave some lots in the area unfinished. In addition, the neighborhood streets are not part of Chelsea proper, causing problems with snow plowing and other services. Matt Jordan, a repre-

sentative of the Chelsea Homeowners Association, was on hand to discuss provisions of a proposed special assessment that would calculate how much each property owner would have to pay to join the city. Jordan was appreciative of the councils cooperation. With this plan, there is no disconnect between the neighborhood and the city, Jordan said. This brings both parties closer together to share the cost and burden. Jordan also asked about the special assessment method, wondering how the

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Citizen of the Year John Frank Beach v Lima

Photo by Erica McClain

Just beyond the entrance to Chelsea Fairways on Freer Road and Fairways Lane lies PLEASE SEE FAIRWAYS/3-A an unnished home.

Beach wins suit against township for property right

By Sean Dalton
Heritage Media

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Photo by Erica McClain

John Frank (center) received the 2011 Citizen of the Year award at the Chelsea House Victorian Inn on Aug. 10. President of the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce Rick Benson and the chambers executive director Bob Pierce were among those who surpised Frank.

Citizen of the Year

John Frank honored for work in getting downtown Chelsea listed on historic register
By Erica McClain
Heritage Media

John Frank is enamored with local history, and its pretty evident when he describes how he and his wife, Jackie, restored their late 1880s home to a near-museum quality. But what might not be so apparent is that Frank has spent the better part of more than a decade working to preserve and honor Chelseas downtown by getting it onto the National Register of Historic Places. With those years worth of effort capping off in the success of adding 61 buildings, including the Longworth Complex and the McKune Memorial

Library, to the register, the Chelsea Citizen of the Year Committee had a rather clear cut decision for its 2011 award winner. A committee, including representatives from the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce, which stewards the award with the Chelsea Standard, surprised Frank on Aug. 17 with an official decree at the Chelsea House Victorian Inn. I am flabbergasted, Frank said as the chambers executive director, Bob Pierce, informed Frank of his award. Franks earnest surprise made this years presentation one of the most fun, according to Pierce. The look on Johns

face when we announced his selection as this years winner will remain with me forever, Pierce said. Kim Broekhuizen, who recommended Frank for the Citizen of the Year award, said in her nomination letter that Frank had a dedicated vision, and when he was faced with nos, rather than be discouraged, he continued to educate others and research and work for what he knew was right for the downtown. I cant think of a more humble man, that I have had the privilege to know, who has tirelessly worked for what he thought would make Chelsea an even greater place to call home, Broekhuizen
PLEASE SEE FRANK/14-A

This Sunday will mark an anniversary on the Beach farm property located in Lima Township on the north side of Jackson Road. Not the anniversary of the farm itself, which is now 158 years old, but the seven-year anniversary on which Florence Beach found a fence on her property demolished by the township The 120-foot fence bordered the Lima Township hall property and a small plot between that property and the Beach property frontage on Jackson. It was quickly replaced after Beachs attorneys sent a letter to the township, but a legal battle, which only ended this past June, would ensue that year. Beach says that she filed the suit to quiet her property title, having no idea at the time that she would need to spend $68,980.68 on legal fees, only $7,653.23 of which she will receive back after the state Supreme Court ruled in her favor in a 5-2 decision. I have no problem spending that money to protect the farm its what my father would have done, Beach explained. In the end, the township and its attorney Victor Lillich sought to force Beach to file a plat correction under the Land Division Act, but her attorney Peter Flintoft successfully argued that such an action would be unfair to not only Beach, but the more than 300 other similar cases in the state of Michigan that would be affected by such a precedent. I think this is a win for the little guy (filing a plat correction is) expensive, Flintoft said. It would up the engineering costs by $25,000 at least, and also what it does is it creates an avenue for the township to make other objections that they werent entitled to make, within the current framework of the case as it stands under the current shape of the law. We were happy to say, Just stay on your side of the fence, Flintoft said. While Beach is the plaintiff, she was required to file suit to protect the integrity of her title. Flintoft said that the course of going to the state Supreme Court and various lower courts on the way was the doing of the township. He added that the defenses motion to force Beach to file an LDA plat amendment was likely an attempt to keep the townships case alive. Last Friday, Beach sat in her dining room looking out over her property with a look of relief on her face. She said that she feels no regrets, other than that taxpayer dollars were wasted. I think its just wasteful and disrespectful, she said.
PLEASE SEE LAWSUIT/3-A

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