Vicksburg’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) invited Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, (right) to hear about the many projects being planned by the DDA and tour the current trail through the Recreation Park. He was accompanied (left to right) by state Representative Brandt Iden; Bill Adams, village president; and DDA president Steve McCowen.
Upton heard presentations from Kathleen Hoyle, DDA director, Bill Adams, Ken Schippers, village manager, and Mary Balkema, Kalamazoo County treasurer who holds the Mill of South County and the Gary Gray property off of Spruce Street in the Kalamazoo County Land Bank. Upton was optimistic that Congress would not raise the gas tax and would find other ways to deal with the budget shortfall. He held out hope for the local bid to bring a missile development site to Fort Custer and with it some $3 billion dollars in development competition.