Jean Simonson letter

Dear Saugatuck Area Dweller, Thank you for your concern in coming out to this meeting. I hope we can have some helpful input about the future of our nice village. As a native, born a half a block from here, I would like to think my ideas are relevant to the future of Saugatuck. Naturally I am concerned with the appearance of buildings. But more important to me is the need to keep what we have in real estate holdings--street ends--parks. Just because a bit of village property is sitting unused, but coveted by the adjoining landowner, is not a good enough reason to convey it from the public domain to private ownership. That land belongs to us and the generations to come. We could even expand village holdings to make the whole area more attractive to us and to our visitors. The future commercial health of our village shops and eating places depends on parking• Why not a village parking lot on the hill so the merchants and workers could park there and not tie-up the streets with their cars? Perhaps the village could buy the old school property from oval earnings. Expansion of the oval area to the north would be a worthy idea.The questionable private use to which this area is now put, is an embarrassment to the community. My apologies to the Historical Society if these ideas are not pertinent to this meeting. Sincerely, Jean Simonson