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Rosa Parks Institute joins OOEC on behalf of Owasippe
The Owasippe Outdoor Education Center (OOEC), the "Save Owasippe" group working to keep the 4,800-acre Scout camp in Blue Lake Township from being sold to a developer, is stepping up its efforts to get the property sold to them, now with the help of a big name backer.
On Friday, the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, based in Detroit, was to announce its partnership with the OOEC and its hope to create a "Camp Rosa Parks" at Owasippe when, and if, OOEC is successful in purchasing the property.
Mitch Dennison, vice president of the board of directors for the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, told the Beacon last Wednesday of the Institute’s intention to open a branch office in Muskegon and to partner with the OOEC in bringing the activities of the Rosa Parks Institute and other non-profit organizations to Camp Owasippe.
Dennison said, should the property come into the OOEC’s ownership, a Camp Rosa Parks on a portion of Owasippe would become the home base for the Rosa Parks Institute’s national "Pathways to Freedom" program. The program is in its 19th year and brings children from around the world together for an annual educational experience promoting the legacy of Rosa Parks.
Parks became known as the mother of the Civil Rights movement when, in 1955 on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, she refused to give up her seat to a white man. She passed away in 1995 at the age of 92.
Her act of quiet courage and strength became the model for non-violent civil action. That philosophy for life is the foundation for the Institute and its Pathways to Freedom program, which seeks to instill in youths between the ages of 11 and 17 dignity, integrity, strength of character and sound judgment. The program focuses on community activism, voting rights and protecting the environment.
"Nature had always been a part of Miss Parks’ philosophy," Dennison said.
It’s the environmental aspect of the program which led Dennison, a native of North Muskegon and a graduate of Reeths-Puffer High School, to bring the Institute’s program home to the Muskegon area.
Dennison said a site for the Rosa Parks Institute’s branch office in Muskegon has not yet been selected, but a likely location may be at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Muskegon, from where Dennison was to announce the Institute’s partnership with the OOEC last Friday night.
Dennison is certain, however, that the pristine forests, ponds and streams of Owasippe would be perfect for the Institute’s dream of a permanent Camp Rosa Parks. But those hopes won’t be realized unless the OOEC is successful in getting the Chicago Area Council to sell Owasippe’s 4,765 acres to them.
Last Wednesday, the OOEC announced it’s offering $12.3 million for the property, the amount set by an appraiser for Blue Lake Township in June. But the Chicago Area Council currently has an offer of $19.4 million for the property from an investment group in Holland, Michigan which wants the property rezoned for residential development.
The Chicago Council sued Blue Lake Township last year over its refusal to grant the rezoning. The property’s current zoning limits the use of the property to camping activities only. The property has been used for camping and scouting activities since 1911.
A trial is set in 14th Circuit Court for Oct. 16. Blue Lake Township filed on July 23 to have the case against it dismissed. A hearing will take place on Aug. 24 to hear that motion.
The OOEC is calling on the Chicago Council to immediately drop its lawsuit against the township and reopen talks with them about selling them the property. In a press release last Wednesday, OOEC chairman Joe Sener, issued a personal challenge to the Chicago Council’s board president, Michael Hughes.
"Mr. Hughes, I remind you of our conversation over lunch a couple of months ago. It is time to demonstrate that you clearly wish to resolve the long-term issue of Owasippe ... Mike, join the OOEC and our partners, call a halt to the lawsuit against Blue Lake Township and come to the table as a willing seller."
The OOEC will purchase Owasippe as currently zoned. In addition to partnering with the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, OOEC has partnered with several other non-profit groups interested in basing their camping and educational activities at Owasippe.
According to the OOEC, the group has garnered substantial financial support from its partners for the purchase. Part of that financial support will come from the Rosa Parks Institute, according to Dennison, who said he expects the Institute’s activities at Owasippe to "bring in a considerable amount of capital."