Meet Doug Ingles He's a Hillsdale business owner and he wants to tell you about it
Betsy Woodruff
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: News
|
Choosing Hillsdale
"It's hard," says Doug Ingles, standing at the side of his empty roller rink. He's talking about owning a small business in Hillsdale. It's early Saturday afternoon, and the rink is about to open its doors.
But Ingles maintains grimly optimistic about his business prospects.
"I have hope for the future," he said. "If we don't have hope for the future, what do we do?"
He doesn't hope for government bailouts or federal dollars.
"I'm responsible for my business, and I take responsibility," he said.
Though some citizens complain about red tape as yet another hindrance to economic development in Michigan, Ingles refuses to blame Mayor Michael Sessions or the city bureaucracy for its economic condition. He sat on the planning commission for eight years, the city council for six and was mayor for four.
"I see good people trying to do good things," he said.
And when the council makes a mistake?
"That's what we have elections for."
Ingles' decision to run a business in Hillsdale is all his own. As a former coach of the World Team USA speed skating team, he said he could have taken a job coaching in a variety of locales.
"On a phone call, I could be in Chile or Puerto Rico or France or Italy," he said. "I choose Hillsdale."
He traces his roots back to Hillsdale, where his family lives.
Doubting Hillsdale
"There's some good, some bad," said Eric Rowley, the vice president of engineering concepts and processes for Conversion Technologies International, a company based in Ohio. He was speaking of his experience doing business in the city of Hillsdale.
Though he has never lived near Hillsdale, his group bought the Allied Properties, 16 acres with four buildings on East Bacon Street, five years ago.
Compared to other localities, he said Hillsdale can be a difficult place to operate. He said he had especially struggled to work in tandem with the municipal utilities, saying they "leave a lot to be desired in the way of being helpful to bring business into that part of Hillsdale."
He had one memorable conflict when he received a bill which he felt he should not have had to pay. At other times, though, Rowley said the board was easy to work with.
Sounding off
Hillsdale's political leaders remain focused on change, but they realize that improvement will be an uphill battle.
In an interview with The Collegian on his race for re-election to the city council, Bruce Sharp said he believes that Hillsdale's industrial base is gone.
Instead of trying to encourage the re-establishment of factories here, he hopes Hillsdale will move toward adding more specialty shops downtown.
He also said the most appealing aspect of Hillsdale is its safety.
"Hillsdale's coming back," he said. "I really do believe that."
Sharp has unique credentials to discuss Hillsdale's economy: he has not always been guaranteed a job.
"I feel the effects of unemployment like everybody else," he said.
Positive change
Hillsdale is making some changes. Kevin Conant is working to get a liquor license so he can open a pub downtown, and the city has been able to get a variety of federal grants to improve downtown storefronts and renovate apartments above shops.
Hillsdale has also become part of Michigan State University's Small Town Design Initiative, which Christine Bowman, our director of economic development, hopes will make the city more aesthetically appealing.
Perhaps Doug Ingles' relentless optimism makes sense.
Be the first to comment on this story