Oceana’s Herald-Journal • August 13, 2015 • 3a
Know
In The
Mason, Manistee voters give nod to WSCC millage renewal
Proposal fails in Oceana, Lake counties By Kevin Braciszeski Shoreline Media Writer
West Shore Community College’s capital fund millage renewal request passed by 686 votes Aug. 4 after carrying a 2-1 margin in Mason County. Voters in Oceana County did not support it, and it received 36 yes votes to 63 no votes. It also lost in Lake County by 5 votes with 18 yes and 23 no. The request was approved in Mason County by a vote of 1,157-636 and passed in Manistee County 786589. “The students, staff and board of trustees are gratified that district voters chose to support West Shore Community College by voting affirmatively in Tuesday’s capital millage election,” President Dr. Kenneth Urban stated Tuesday. “The college promises to be a good steward of the resources granted to it, and we’ll continue to change lives and make our communities better places to learn, work, live and prosper.” The college’s millage request was for a 10-year renewal of a .9732-mill capital fund levy. The millage generates about $2.8 million a year in revenues. About $1.2 million a year is spent on maintenance from the fund. Since 1996, it’s been used for improvements including the new wing on the Arts and Sciences Center, construction of the Schoenherr Campus Center, renovation of the Arts and Sciences Center, Recreation Center improvements and new computer labs. It was also spent on replacing student desks and classroom equipment, repairing and replacing roofs, improving parking lots and sidewalks, connecting the college to the regional sewer system, replacing directional signage and updating and increasing technology and equipment for students, staff and public use. Without the millage, that money would have to come out of operating funds, possibly causing steeper rises in tuition.
Correction
Fr ee ride
Pentwater’s Bicycle Sharing Program is a gift to the community By Mary Beth Crain OHJ Contributing Writer
Some people believe that everyone should have a good breakfast. Others believe that everyone should have a good education. And Claudia ResselHodan believes that everyone should have a good bicycle ride. “I’ve been bicycling all my life,” the trim, energetic Pentwater resident explains. “I have this great photo of me when I was 7, with my two teddy bears strapped to the front and back of my bike. I thought everybody should have a good ride! And I still do.” That’s one of the reasons ResselHodan, who’s on the board of the Downtown Development Association, proposed the idea of a bicycle sharing program for Pentwater as a joint venture between the DDA and the Pentwater Police Department. “I got the idea because I know that large cities have bicycle rental stations,” says Ressel-Hodan. “And Pentwater does have bicycle rental businesses. But I thought, why not provide bikes for free to the community, and operate on the honor system? It won’t hurt the rental merchants because it’s a known fact that bicycles bring more bicycles. So it could only help them. “I knew that the police were picking up abandoned bikes. So I talked to our chief of police, Laude Hartrum, and he was very excited about having a purpose for those, because they were just taking up space. He also looked at the project as a possible solution, over time, to the summer parking problem in the village.” Ressel-Hodan chose the four best specimens from the bicycle lineup. Those, along with two bikes donated by community members, comprise the fledgling fleet. Then, she and her brother, Tim Ressel, set to work. “We refurbished the bikes over the winter. Then Tim made the bike stands and I painted them. Another community member, designer Janet Webber, created the signage for the sharing centers, and some members of the artisan center made the signs that go on the bikes. And I have a committee of men from the Pentwater Service Club who check the bikes for maintenance. What I like about it all is that it’s so typically Pentwater. You never do anything alone here.” Bicycle sharing is simple. The village provides bicycles free of charge for a day to anyone who wants one. There are two sharing stations, at the Pentwater Village Marina and Channel Lane Park, and all you have to do is grab a set of wheels and adhere to the program’s motto: “Enjoy, Return, Be Safe.” There’s no signing out and in—at the end of the day, you just bring the bike back to one of the stations. If you need air in your tires, or need to make a minor repair, there’s a cycle aid station in the parking lot of the police department. “The PPD helped with that project,” says Ressel-Hodan. “Laude has been extremely supportive. There’s an air pump and repair tools, and a bench with arms that you can put the bike on.” OK. Here’s the obvious question. What’s to prevent someone from just taking off with a bike? Well, Ressel-Hodan maintains, it’s precisely because Pentwater is such a close-knit community that a trust-based program like this can work. “We haven’t had a theft problem,” she happily reports. “So far all the bikes have been returned. After all, this is Pentwater. And I may be naïve, but I believe that people who like to bicycle aren’t into stealing.”
Andrew Skinner • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
Pentwater Police Chief Laude Hartrum displays the tools located at the village bicycle repair center located next to the Pentwater Police Department.
Can our congested downtown streets be free at last? Pentwater Police Chief Laude Hartrum has a dream
Andrew Skinner • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
Claudia Ressel-Hodan, above, stands at one of two Bicycle Sharing Centers now located around Pentwater. The stations feature free bicycles and helmets for area residents and visitors to use and return. Below, each of the six bikes made available for use are identified with teal tape stripes and a placard featuring the village of Pentwater logo.
And Ressel-Hodan is definitely one of those people who likes to bicycle. In fact, that’s an understatement—biking is pretty much her passion. “Bicycling has always been part of my life,” she reflects. “It’s a big part of our family. When I came to visit from Milwaukee, I’d bring my bike on the Badger and ride here. Right now I’m planning a bicycling trip—I’ll bike to Muskegon, take the ferry to Wisconsin, bike up Wisconsin from Milwaukee to Manitowoc, and take the Badger back.” The fact that she’s 62 makes such an undertaking that much more amazing. “I feel really free on a bike,” she smiles. “Sometimes, when I’m on the bike trail, I’ll just break out singing, ‘Oh, what a beautiful morning!’ “I like the simplicity of biking. That’s why I love living in the village. Just hopping on my bike and going wherever, without having to worry about a car.” It’s an experience she wants others to share, and not only through bike sharing. So, this ever-civic-minded woman is embarking on yet another project: the Oceana Cycling Club. “It’s just starting up,” she notes. “My friend Denise Pegura and I came up with the idea. We’ll meet up for long rides, and on Monday nights we’ll meet at the village green at 7 p.m. for short rides through town. Everyone is welcome.” Although Ressel-Hodan was born and grew up in Milwaukee, Pentwater has always been an important part of her life. “My grandfather, John Kienny, came here with the logging industry and the railroads, and my mother, Berniece Kienny, grew up here. She married my dad, Ed Ressel, and they moved to Milwaukee, but we came here in the summers. Then in 1977 my parents retired and returned to Pentwater. So then I came almost every year to visit them.” A licensed psychologist, Claudia and her husband and fellow psychologist, Jerry Hodan, lived in Florida before
A story about the hidden history of Hart in the July 30 Oceana’s Herald-Journal incorrectly stated that the Oceana Eyecare building, 44 State St., in Hart was the city’s oldest standing building. In fact, the building was built in the 1960s following a fire, but according to historian Katie Kolokithas the business is potentially the oldest continually operating family business in Hart. It started around 1907 as a jeweler/eye doctor by the same family that operates it today.
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Days until school begins Andrew Skinner • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
Ressel-Hodan poses for a photo along the north Pentwater pier.
“We haven’t had a
theft problem. So far all the bikes have been returned. After all, this is Pentwater. And I may be naïve, but I believe that people who like to bicycle aren’t into stealing,” — Claudia Ressel-Hodan
retiring to Pentwater—an admittedly atypical move. “We did the opposite of what most people do,” she laughs. “We really wanted the beauty of the community, and the four seasons.” Even the winter? When your poor old bike sits forlornly in the garage, dreaming, like the rest of us, of sweet, carefree spring? “Oh, I love the winter! I cross-country ski, and snowshoe. We love just sitting by the fireplace. And the artisan center is a great place to be in the winter. I’m learning pottery there.” What’s her long term vision for the bicycle sharing program? “I’d like to get a sponsor to bring in some nice coaster bikes that they would donate in return for advertising,” she says. “And of course, just more donations and volunteers. But my main goal is to make Pentwater a bicycle community.” While that may be a while in coming, the seeds Ressel-Hodan, the PPD and various community members have planted are already beginning to bear fruit. The feedback has been gratifying. “An older couple told me that they’re really happy about the program because when their grandchildren come to visit, there aren’t enough bikes to go around. But now they can use ours. They said, ‘Thank you for doing this for Pentwater.’ “And one day I saw a young couple having breakfast at Goodstuffs, and one of our coaster bikes was out front. It was a beautiful day and they were just enjoying themselves. It was such a nice scene. And to me, that’s the success of all this.”
Pentwater Police Chief Laude Hartrum believes that bicycle sharing could be part of the answer to Pentwater’s summer parking woes. If this sounds a tad unrealistic, think of Europe. “In Europe, and around the world, biking and cycling are huge,” Hartrum observes. But what about the other things we use our cars for? Like shopping and running errands? “Well, they still shop in Europe,” Hartrum drily notes. “So I’m assuming there are ways to make that happen in Pentwater.” Hartrum is excited about Pentwater’s Bicycle Sharing Program for a number of reasons. “I think there are a lot of benefits. It helps take stress off the infrastructure for the village. And it offers a number of health benefits.” He should know. Trim, fit and good-looking, you’d never guess that once upon a time, Hartrum was 70 pounds heavier and headed for some serious health problems. “I just worked out, counted calories and changed my lifestyle,” he says with matter-of-face modesty. “Exercise is key.” Does he bike? “Some,” he admits. “Mainly I walk and work out. But biking is a great form of exercise, certainly.” The bike sharing program, he remembers, was actually the result of two separate visions: the DDA’s and the PPD’s. “Last year we put together a work group to promote bicycle use in the village. We wanted to alleviate the summer parking problems. So we looked at ways to put more bike paths in. Then last winter, Claudia and the DDA independently came up with the idea of the bike sharing program. Since that wasn’t something the PPD could do alone, combining our efforts was the key to success. We were able to help by releasing some of our recovered bikes to them—we pick up abandoned bikes at places like the state park, Channel Lane (park) and the school and this project was a perfect way to put them to use.” The DDA and PPD also pooled their resources to create the cycle aid station. “We’d wanted to do a free air fill station and the DDA wanted a cycle station,” Hartrum recalls. “So we combined the two and it’s really become a nice package for the downtown area.” One of the challenges of having more cyclists, Hartrum acknowledges, is educating them in the rules of the road. “One of the biggest challenges is that bicyclists have to follow the same rules of the road as cars,” he explains. “So we’re working on an education program. We’d love to see everybody wearing helmets and moving with the flow of traffic. So one of our goals for the next couple of years is educating the public on cycling safety.” Is he seeing some positive effects yet from the new program? “Oh yeah,” he nods. “A lot of people come to the back door here with questions and comments, and all have been positive. We’re proud because it’s the first program of its kind that I know of at least in the two counties, Mason and Oceana. And it’s a real community effort. The volunteers coming from the DDA, and the donations, have been critical. Those guys are doing a great job.”