August 17,2016 Dear Rebecea, Chris, John and Ted. “Thank you for sharing our interest in taking steps to assist the Dickman Ré Business Improvement District (BID) in attracting businesses that are consistent with business plan forthe Magnificent Motor Mile Since John and Rebecea might not be familiar with the history ofthe BID let us provide {You with some background information. Back inthe early 1990's, al of the automotive ‘manufacturers were puting pressure on dealers to re-locate our facilities to ether a highway location or one inthe middle of the primary shopping district, which for us ‘would mean a move to Beckley Rd or an I-94 location. ‘As we were considering new locations, BCU and the City of Battle Creek realized how the abandonment of several dealerships would be devastating forthe Dickman Road corridor, and asked for a meeting. Aftera series of meetings, trips to Lansing to enact ‘new legislation, and working with city officials in both Springfield and Batle Creek, the [BID was formed. A substantial amount of money was put in by both city governments and all businesses to help us get started, By almost every measure, the BID has been a success, We have attracted several new ‘businesses to Dickman Rd:The success of the BID led to a change of opinion by the auto ‘manufacturers, allowing ust stay on Dickman, Since the star of the BID, the dealers hhave invested over $10,000,000 in new or remodeled facilities, making it one of the bright spots for development for Battle Creek and Springfield. We continue to invest in landscaping and maintenance to keep Dickman Rd. looking good! ‘While we don’t have employment numbers for every business, we can conservatively estimate that the dealers employ over 300 people, with over $200 million in annual sales. ‘We bring thousands of ou of town shoppers to Battle Creek and Springfield every year ‘As we said atthe beginning ofthis eter, itis critical that we tke steps to assure that ‘businesses that relocate or start up on Dickman Rd be consistent with the family friendly, high quality businesses that make up the BID. It is advantageous for all of us to look out forthe best interests of the BID inthis way. Thank you for leadership forthe BID. I look forward to working withthe City of Batle reskin conipyour sess jit vente! (Chairman, BID Board of Directors