Tim Jones has lived in Kalamazoo’s Eastside neighborhood for 25 years. He’s watched businesses move away, leaving vacant buildings and blighted properties.
“Really, the Eastside has been struggling,” said Jones, 56. “And that’s a bad thing when you look at all of the other areas where the city is spending money, like downtown. So I am hoping that whatever their intentions are, they can do a lot more on the Eastside, especially for the kids.”
He was among the scores of neighborhood residents who are looking forward to progress more than the past, providing feedback and weighing in on how to spend resources, to both the city of Kalamazoo, as it makes decisions on its 10-year master plan, and a newly elected Kalamazoo Eastside Neighborhood Association (KENA)…