This vacant lot used to t
he site of the gazebo on the northeast corner of the intersection of 142nd Avenue and 18th Street in downtown Dorr. The gazebo was removed after the owner of the property said he no longer wanted it there on the small lot. Plans now are for the quaint little structure to be placed in the parking lot immediately west of the Then & Now Historical Library. The gazebo was the subject of minor controversy last year when a local resident objected to having a Nativity scene erected at the site because it was a public building.
Mr Young – you note in the article that the gazebo was removed after the owner said he no longer wanted it on the lot. I’m curious where you received that information.
Mike Hagerty, Owner of Property
It was said in a Dorr Township Board meeting at which I was in attendance.
Thanks Mr. Young for the quick reply. Just for accuracy, please know the first time I was aware the gazebo was being removed was last Thursday when I received a call from the Township telling me the property had been cleared. I had a 6 year agreement with the Township and we were in year two. The Township decided to end the agreement early, which was well within their rights. Per the agreement between the two of us if they terminated the agreement early they had to return the property to its original condition. I hope you can now understand my confusion when I read the article that the owner wanted the gazebo removed. It was the action of Township not the owner.
The following is the story I wrote on the July 18, 2013, Dorr Township Board meeting:
“After spending the last five years on a small parcel at the corner of 18th Street and 142nd Avenue in downtown Dorr, the gazebo and other its on the site will have to come down.
Property owner Mike Hagerty has decided to return the land to private property and has asked the Dorr Downtown Development Authority to remove the gazebo and other its at the site.
The DDA has attempted to purchase the land from Hagerty, but Township Board Trustee John Tuinstra said the two sides “are a long way apart and an offer and counter offer were made.
Bill Fifelski, owner of the Marathon gas station across the street insisted, “The bench and the trash can (on the property) are in the public right of way and they can stay.”
Nonetheless, as owner, Hagerty is determined to have the small site in the heart of downtown Dorr restored to its original state.
There was no word yet on what will be done with the gazebo.”