Residents Question Park's Use of Windmill Pointe for Storage

With its tall trees, wide expanses of grass, vistas of Lake St. Clair, busy marina and fresh buildings, offers a Pleasantville sort of experience to park users. 

That's if you look left while entering the park at the foot of one of the city's most picturesque thoroughfares. 

Glance the other way and it's big, heavy city vehicles, about a dozen, various pieces of equipment and piles of debris, including mulch and dredging from the lake, the latter of which has been shipped away after drying out in the lot.

The overflow parking lot at Windmill Pointe Park is becoming a catch-all storage area for the the Department of Public Works, which has run out of space at its main building. 

The city's decision to store its heavy machinery and dump stuff in the lot upsets some residents, and city officials are working to figure out what to do with the things that they run out of space for.

City Manager Dale Krajniak says the city doesn't have a lot of spaces to choose from. They're not the right size, not secure enough or in areas that would be even more disruptive.

The residents understand, but they don't like the looks of it. They say it detracts from the beauty of the park and neighborhood. They believe it reflects badly on the city.

It may sound like grousing about dollars being wrinkled, but to some residents - and even to city officials - it's about more than having something pretty to look at.

There is concern about kids playing on the machinery, both from a safety point of view and as far as liability for the city. Residents say they've seen kids on the vehicles.

There is also concern about the new heavy flow of loud trucks on Barrington and Pemberton.

Since the trucks began parking in the lot residents of Barrington and Pemberton say their streets have become the heavily-traveled routes for the the noisy vehicles, some of the drivers ignoring the no-left-hand turn sign out of the park. 

Robert Payne, a resident on Barrington, says he met out-of-town visitors at the Park who complimented the beauty but asked, why the junk in the lot? He said he wants the city to find a more suitable place, where people can't get hurt, where the scenic park is protected and so that his street is quiet again.

He said the lot looks junky and hurts the city's reputation and potential to attract new residents and it also endangers kids who play there, putting the city on the hook financially if an accident occurs.

John Teodecki, who also lives on Barrington, suggested making the lot a designated Department of Public Works facility, possibly enclosing it or at least screening it with landscaping that blocks everything from view.

Another resident, one of several who attended the Grosse Pointe Park City Council meeting Monday to share their opinions, said "Barrington has become a dumping ground."

City Attorney Dennis Levasseur said Pemberton has also noticed the increased truck traffic.

Another resident asked the city to make it a priority to find a solution, and Krajniak said the city will come up with a plan very soon, though it's not likely to be what one audience member at the meeting called out as a suggestion.

"Have a garage sale! Get rid of some stuff."