Neighborhood Club, Beaumont announce partnership, and plans for bigger facility

This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Representatives from Beaumont Hospital and the Neighborhood Club stood before the City of Grosse Pointe's council Monday night to announce a sort of pre-engagement between the two, as well as hopes for a wonderful dream house.

The two parties "have agreed to work on a partnership to increase both of our capabilities," said John Bruce, the Neighborhood Club's executive director. There will be new programs at the Neighborhood Club focusing on health and wellness, while the organization seeks funding and makes plans for a new, expanded Neighborhood Club at Waterloo and St. Clair in the City.

Bruce cautioned that he didn't want to oversell or overcomplicate the announcement, which is confined to news of the alliance and its plans to expand programming. "There's still a whole lot of work to do," he said. But by early next year, he hoped the two could unveil specific plans for a bigger "health, wellness and recreational center" under the club's auspices.

The council appearance was to let City leadership know of the plans for a larger, more active Neighborhood Club before work goes any further. 

The Neighborhood Club will celebrate its centennial in 2011, and the partnership has the potential to launch it into its second century in an enviable position.

Services for Older Citizens, which shares space in the club, recently announced plans to expand into Newberry House on Ridge Road, should it be able to raise the $2 million needed for renovations. Bruce didn't know how a new Neighborhood Club might affect those plans.

In other council business, the body approved -- by a split vote -- first reading of a noise ordinance aimed at silencing power lawn equipment after a certain hour. Council members Chris Walsh and Donald Parthum argued that absent strong evidence of a problem, an ordinance would only invite complaints. Public Safety Director Jim Fox submitted a memo outlining the 59 noise complaints police responded to in 2008. Only nine were for lawn-equipment noise.

Mayor Dale Scrace countered that having a law in place gives the city enforcement power when residents complain, even if they do so infrequently. The ordinance passed on a 4-2 vote, with Walsh and Parthum voting no and Scrace joined by council members Jean Weipert, John Stevens and John Stempfle in approval.

If passed as written, the law would limit gasoline or electric-powered lawn equipment to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays and legal holidays. 

The council also authorized the purchase of several pieces of used leaf-collection equipment from Grosse Pointe Farms, approved a maintenance contract for the new Village parking structure, and gave the final OK to the purchase of a used Pontiac Torrent for use by City Manager Peter Dame. The arrangement replaces the car allowance Dame had been receiving, which was eliminated in this year's budgeting process. The change is expected to save the city money within three years.

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