BELLE ISLE: FLAGSHIP OF PRIVATIZATION: COUNCIL TO VOTE MON. OCT. 14 — 3 P.M. | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city's independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

Monica Patrick speaks at rally to save Belle Isle Sept. 22, 2012.

By Jean Vortkamp

October 12, 2013

Jean Vortkamp

DETROIT — I went to the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 8 about Belle Isle. No vote was cast. As I understand the vote is moved to Monday Oct. 14 at 3 p.m. I want to share what I understand from the meeting. The lease that is signed by SnydOrr is for 30 years with two 15 year extensions if the state wants it. A man from the city staff, I think a lawyer, said that the way the lease is worded is more like a sale. Um…yikes.

I do not believe SnydOrr could possibly have the good of the island, Detroiters or other Michiganders at heart. So I have been looking into it.

Roger Penske at Mackinac Policy Center conference. Penske profits greatly every year from the Grand Prix event on Belle Isle.

Most of what you see happening to Detroit is openly a part of the Mackinac Policy Center’s plans. These people plan long term and sneaky. Think low down, disrespectful, greedy, mentally unbalanced and bam! You get it. We take the everyday Detroit kindness for granted and think others are like us. This is a fatal error.

A developer from Bingham Farms named Rodney Lockwood has a plan for The Commonwealth of Belle Isle. http://www.commonwealthofbelleisle.com/ http://www.mackinac.org/18159.

He wants to make it like Puerto Rico (a commonwealth) but tax free for the super rich who pay a fee to live there on top of the cost of their condos built around the big fountain. Lockwood was the president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and is on the Mackinac Policy Center board http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/mackinac-center-public-policy.

Koch Brothers

The Mackinac Policy Center is funded by groups such as the Walmart clan – the Waltons, and the Koch borthers. So far all their plans for Detroit – privatizing the public lighting, privatizing garbage can be found on their website and are currently in action.

Asset sales http://www.mackinac.org/3153

Water Dept. Privatization http://www.mackinac.org/3162

Public Lighting http://www.mackinac.org/4149

Members of the Walton family who founded Wal-Mart, from left to right, Jim Walton, John T. Walton, Rob Walton, and mother Helen Walton. The Waltons are the richest family in the world, with the Koch Brothers second.

Do you really think this could NOT be a part of that? They want Belle Isle to be their showpiece of privatization. Here is their piece “For whom the private belle tolls.” http://www.mackinac.org/3156. JACKALS!

That is a direct smack to Detroit and the US. This is not just about this park, this is about a symbolic destruction of publicly owned assets, of the dismantling of government by a group of far right wing psychopaths.

Read the lease. http://www.freep.com/assets/freep/pdf/C4212687101.PDF Detroit gets no money. No I do not know how they plan to shift the ownership, but I am sure they already have a plan.

Rev. Edward Pinkney speaks at rally in Benton Harbor: Jean Klock Park is not for sale!

And keep your eyes on that conservancy which has 5 Detroiters out of 19 people on it. To sell Jean Klock Park in EM-run Benton Harbor, they shimmied the park to their Conservancy to dump it into private hands. http://www.belleisleconservancy.org /.

“The Belle Isle Conservancy is governed by a 19-member board of directors, including five appointees from the City of Detroit: a seat appointed by the Mayor, one by the City Council, representatives from the Recreation Department and General Services Department, and the manager of Belle Isle in the Recreation Department.”