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September 11, 2003Here's an offer you can't refuseByRecord-Eagle staff writer I have a dream. It's much like the Wuerfel family's dream of bringing minor league baseball to Traverse City, so I can relate to what they're going through these days. For years, I've been trying to get someone to build me a two-screen drive-in theatre. Movie fans love the idea. They say they can't wait for it. So I talked to anybody and everybody who would listen, and I gave them all the same pitch: If you give me the money - through a tax proposal or bond issue - you can have a say in how I build it, where I build it and what movies I show. To my astonishment, no one took me up on it. So, after I came into some money recently, I decided to build the darn thing myself. I picked out a piece of property, contracted land developers and architects and spoke to every single government official that I could find, asking the same question of each: If I build my theatre on this 45-acre corn field, what problems do you foresee? Enviromental issues? None. Sewage problems? Zip. Worried about aesthetics? How 'bout if 75 percent of it is green grass? Increased traffic? Some, but most of it will come before my movies begin and after they are finished - certainly no more than Traverse City already sees between 5-6 p.m. weekdays. I'll even widen the road near the entrance - once again at my own expense - to help with the traffic flow. Noise? It won't be as much as you'd think. I'll drop everything into the ground to decrease the sound and the lights. I'll berm the parking lot, too. Over-use? Nope. How 'bout if I only show movies 45-50 nights a year, and only during the summer months? And I'd like to add a smaller building or two and offer members of the community a warm place to work out during the winter months. All are welcome. I'm a reasonable guy. I don't want to offend the neighbors. I just want to give the community something they can enjoy... something to bring families and friends together. Trust me, I'm not in this to get rich. I have money already. I'm just trying to give my kids - who I'll bring in as partners - a way to make a living while also giving something back to a community that has been so good to me over the years. So what do you think? Great idea, eh? What do you mean you don't like where I want to build? What do you mean you want to have a say in how it's done? You didn't seem to care when I wanted to use your money. Doesn't anyone get it? This land is costing its owner big bucks in taxes. He's going to sell it to a developer eventually. Wouldn't you rather see something built there that we can all be proud of? That's what the Wuerfels are trying to do with their baseball project. My theatre is ficticious, but their baseball dream isn't. Don't let the nay-sayers ruin it. Let's play ball, Traverse City.
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