Credit river for the long haul
Hello Neighbors,
As many of you know, I’ve lived in Credit River my whole life – I met my wife here, we raised our family here and built our life here. Over 45-years ago I started my construction business with a truck, hard work, some vision, and a little bit of luck. Keeping my business in Credit River has always been a priority, it’s a family run business that I hope will be here for my children and my grandchildren. As our business boomed over the past ten years, we began to outgrow our current building. So we looked for land in town to build a new headquarters.
We did some research, informally talked to the current mayor and council, and bought land where the city’s policies said someday would be developed with a mix of uses – including industrial and commercial businesses. Over the next year we worked on creating a plan for a rural industrial park that could bring new businesses to town and would be a new home for our headquarters. We followed the city’s ordinances and rules and made a complete application. After several meetings of heated discussions and debate our project was denied. There’s a lot of talk going on out there, but at the heart of our issue is that we believe that the Council did not follow its own ordinances and rules. That’s not right. Plain and simple.
Because I am committed to making this city better, and I’m in this for the long haul, we filed a lawsuit. A lawsuit that says – you didn’t follow your own ordinances and policies – and that’s not fair, that’s personal. Look up the lawsuit and check for yourself.
That’s the truth. I want to keep my business here. I want our Council to follow the rules and I’m willing to make hard choices, like filing a lawsuit to make sure our leadership is held responsible. I want our city to be great for my children and grandchildren, and if I’m your Mayor, I promise to uphold our rules and ordinances. And if those rules and ordinances no longer represent our community, then we will change them in the right way following proper processes and procedures.
I don’t plan to address this again, but I do think it’s important for the truth to be told. I have nothing to hide. The events of the past couple of years is what made me think of running to be your mayor. Because we need to rebuild trust between residents and the city council, and we need to build our city as a functioning, respectful, transparent government that serves us all.
JM
