Belding mayor in middle of mall dispute

An investigation swirling around the mayor of Belding has people talking, but police aren't sure if there's a crime or just poor business practices.

[john d]

i live in belding. i feel bad for the store owners and what has happened..but that mall needs to come down. its like walking into a nursing home without the old people smell. no ones in there except the employees. how about a decent restaurant? not to say the others arent, but everyone is closed or packed on sundays and some people just open and close when they feel like it. we need a good place to eat that doesnt involve a drive-thru or maybe a bowling alley that has more than 4 lanes where ANYONE can go and not just the general regulars.

[getting closer]

Well there is a start..... let's see how much more they can dig.... connect the dots... hardware=rayborns hairsalon=husteds..... rayborn/husted stepdown.... rayborn husted loose businesses (look into why tv8)....s husted looses bank job.... still mayor (dig deeper tv8) c'mon henry erb..
are they getting closer....

[Ghost Town]

I live in Belding, I can say that I am happy that I did not buy a house in this town for what the town has or what I should say as what the town does not have. The only thing that this town has is somewhat affordable houses, with high taxes. The town has nothing to show for the high taxes the residents pay. I am looking at selling to get out of here. Rayborns went from a moving sale to going out of business. I mean, their items in the store were always overpriced. I think they should dig into the facts a little deeper.

[manmorgue]

Make it a dirt parking lot

[whatdoyouthink]

Hey - I have an idea! Maybe a new state of the art $50 million high school will help Belding with their image problems. Doesn't that make sense? Just like urban renewal - if you build it they will come.

[hi_hi]

I'm glad to see another salon go down/ out of buisness, they have plenty of salon's and pizza places in belding. They need to tear down the mall, / the empty spots avaliable, a Something that belding really needs. In this case belding does not have alot of money we all no that. but we need to take imediate action

[BlackShadow]

Thanks News 8 for putting all this online and given people that have no clue what is going on something to talk about. These postings are nothing but spam and flaming. I've had enough of people talking about something they have no clue about. Last I looked the bowling ally had 12 lanes. We don't need a another Place to eat. How much money will a dirt lot pull in. And how many of you can pay for a new high school when everyone is out of work and can't pay the taxes.

[Think about it]

We do need a wider variety of businesses in Belding. I drive to Greenville for everything. The bowling alley could be better. It is always full of smoke and is only open when they feel like it. Cory's would be better if the service was better. It takes 2 hours to eat dinner there, and it also smells like smoke. Driftway serves food, but they stink like smoke worse than the other places. The Belding Brothers cafe is the only nice place to eat, but they don't have much variety because it is a coffee shop style restaurant. We do need a restaurant that families can go into without having the stench of cigarette smoke in the air. It would be great to tear down the mall and put in better business space and make it more like downtown Rockford or Lowell, but who can afford to do that?

[whatever]

24 out of 16 huh.Where are these 24 stores in the "mall".The only desent place in there is the Apothecary.Stores would come if more than one name ran the town!Lets build more empty strip malls.What a hoot.This town makes me laugh.
And what about the sidewalks they are putting on m-44 to beautify the town.HAHAHAHA.Look around theres more to be done than sidewalks.Belding is one big eyesore!
I think I'll go open a pizza place in one of the empty buildings and while I'm at it maybe turn the old Gibson building into apartments.

[Todd]

That was all sarcasm (new HS, dirt lot, 4 lanes), the real issue is what is going on. We were told there was no criminal investigation and now there is...how many more lies is there?? The rumors did not start completely diffusing until he lost his job and I don't see how the bank could justify firing him on speculation after that many years of service. Finally, I do see a reason to resign as mayor....back taxes. Many people on the other blog spelled it all out for everyone about back taxes (can't hold public office and all votes are void when back taxes are owed). Don't put the shovels away yet!

[Jenny]

john d wrote:

i live in belding. i feel bad for the store owners and what has happened..but that mall needs to come down. its like walking into a nursing home without the old people smell. no ones in there except the employees. how about a decent restaurant? not to say the others arent, but everyone is closed or packed on sundays and some people just open and close when they feel like it. we need a good place to eat that doesnt involve a drive-thru or maybe a bowling alley that has more than 4 lanes where ANYONE can go and not just the general regulars.

Well, there is mall space available to purchase... why don't you open up a restaurant? Why tear down something that actually has potential. Why does our own community shop out of town rather than locally? Support your local biz, don't belittle it.

[johnny 5]

Frankly I'm not surprised by this revelation. It's been well known for quite some time now that Belding is a black hole of greed,corruption,shady business dealings, and fiscal malfeasance. Did we all forget the shocking investigative report that Henry Erb did on the shame that is Belding back in the 70's? And how about how they railroaded the Gus Macker people and the hundred of thousands tourist dollars the tournament brought into the local coffers right out of town because they refused to pay protection money so something wouldn't happen, like an "act of God". What this town needs real bad right now is someone in city hall like Billy Jack/sheriff Buford. Then we would see the fur fly where it should and you can take that to the bank.

[getting closer]

Todd wrote:

That was all sarcasm (new HS, dirt lot, 4 lanes), the real issue is what is going on. We were told there was no criminal investigation and now there is...how many more lies is there?? The rumors did not start completely diffusing until he lost his job and I don't see how the bank could justify firing him on speculation after that many years of service. Finally, I do see a reason to resign as mayor....back taxes. Many people on the other blog spelled it all out for everyone about back taxes (can't hold public office and all votes are void when back taxes are owed). Don't put the shovels away yet!

the no criminal investigation is on his bank job.. not his job as mayor...

[Proud PFC]

I would bet if you look at the citys bi/laws or City charter you will find that ANYONE being on an elected board needs to be in good standing with the city and if he is behind in his taxes he is in violation of the City charter and/or BI-laws therefore NOT in good standing so he shoul be removed or become current on his tax dept..

[BlackShadow]

Why is it all these people that have something to say don't do something to fix the issue. The last time when the mayors set was up for election, who ran for election to take that stop NO ONE. That tells me 1.You all don't care 2. To chicken to run.
Also every one has the right to speak at the meetings, but NO ONE will stand up and ask the questions. Nothing is going to change by posting on this website. Get off your butts and do something about the issues.

[why dont you]

BlackShadow wrote:

Why is it all these people that have something to say don't do something to fix the issue. The last time when the mayors set was up for election, who ran for election to take that stop NO ONE. That tells me 1.You all don't care 2. To chicken to run.
Also every one has the right to speak at the meetings, but NO ONE will stand up and ask the questions. Nothing is going to change by posting on this website. Get off your butts and do something about the issues.

and you should speak? are you doing anything...
i am glad to see that tv8 is getting a bit wiser....

[Trash Man]

Look at that area next to the Subway. Been vacant for how long out there? That area could not support that many businesses.

[cjr]

I have a great idea. It came thru on a survey on what we thought about tearing down the mall and putting up a main street. We had a main street idiots, but they tore it down and we lost a lot of business. They could have repaired the buildings that were a hazard and we would have a town like Ionia or Greenville which is where I go to shop. Where in Belding can you buy a pair of shoes? Lets let Leppinks decide as to who should open a business and who should not. They should be on the board.

[Eternally_irrita ted]

The Belding mall has been a joke for years and then some extremely smart people decide it is a good idea to build a strip mall on M-44! Come on! They would have been better off building a STRIP CLUB in the town. That way people won't have to go into Grand Rapids or Lansing for the action. It would stimulate the economy and bring jobs to town :) Let's face it, the town is not much good for anything else.

[Vicious]

TV 8 didn't even get the facts straight. First of all, they don't just owe last years taxes. They owe from 2006 on. Not $4,000 someone will have to soak up when they buy the place, but $12,000. The TV guy just shrugged it off, no big deal. That is what is wrong with our society. People in politics are allowed to not pay city taxes and then say "They see no reason to resign" Are you kidding me. Have you ever heard LEAD BY EXAMPLE???? TV 8 didn't even get the facts of the mall straight. THAT MALL HAS BEEN AS EMPTY FOREVER. Born and raised in Belding I am here to tell you I have NEVER seen all the stores filled. NOT ECONOMY, it was just a stupid idea from the get go. Rent is to high for this small town. It makes me so angry that TV 8 had a guy that literally shrugged his shoulders on air. Shane thinks the rumors led to his dismissal at the bank. PLEASE...... Whatever Shane... do you really sleep at night??? For the record Belding does NOT need anymore Pizza places, tanning salons, hair salons, bars or churches.