Amazing, humbling and exciting are the three words Casey J. Ambrose’s son and Walled Lake City Councilmen, Casey R. Ambrose used to describe his feelings after the council decided on naming the campus after his late father.
“That’s the same way it felt when I was asked to join the council,” said Ambrose. “It was just super humbling to know what this property could be and how far it’s already come.”
Members of the Walled Lake City Council felt that it was only right for the city’s public safety campus, which is located at 1499 E. West Maple Road to be named after the man who helped rejuvenate it: The late Casey J. Ambrose.
After Mayor Linda S. Ackley proposed the resolution to name the city’s public safety campus the Casey J. Ambrose Public Safety Campus at Tuesday’s city council meeting, it did not take long for the council to unanimously agree to pass the resolution.
Following a prior councils’ decision to purchase the property that is now known as the public safety campus years ago, the city learned the land had contamination issues and could not develop anything on the property with that contamination not taken care of.
Spearheading this issue was Casey J. Ambrose.
Ambrose, along with the city council at the time and current City Manager Dennis Whitt instilled plans to clean the property and get money for it through forfeiture funds that has put the city in a position to redevelop the piece of land.
Ackley, who has served on Walled Lake City Council since 1979, and was elected as mayor in November 2013, has had a firsthand experience of how much the late Ambrose impacted the city and community of Walled Lake.
“When Casey backed a project, believed in a project, you knew it,” said Ackley. “It was something that he wanted to see come to fruition but he also wanted to make it a fun project for everyone involved.”
The public safety campus currently has no development on it other than a parking lot as well as a bridge that connects the campus to the Michigan Air Line Trail. The bridge was made following the support of Casey J. Ambrose, and has resulted in more traffic coming through the Walled Lake Farmers Market, which is open Wednesday’s at the public safety campus.
Following in his father’s footsteps to continue developing the property is current councilman and 2022 Michigan State graduate, Casey R. Ambrose.
Ambrose was sworn in as city councilman Dec. 6, 2021 – just two months after his fathers passing on Oct. 31, 2021. Stepping into his father’s role with the city was definitely a challenge for the 21-year-old, but he chose to approach the situation with the same glass half full attitude that he got from his father, knowing he had a council full of mentors to help.
“I feel every single one of them is a mentor,” said Ambrose, referring to the city council members. “They’re all special in their own way and know more about a certain topic than another.”
Denise Paré, who has been a resident of Walled Lake since 2004, said she’s always felt welcomed by the community since moving. Part of that welcoming atmosphere was provided by Casey J. Ambrose, by attending his restaurant, Casey’s of Walled Lake.
“It was a friendly place that I didn’t feel judged in when I walked in,” said Paré when asked about Casey’s of Walled Lake and the Ambrose family. “I had such respect for their family dynamic and what he brought to the community.”
In other council business, council members also passed a motion to renovate the Walled Lake Cemetery’s roads. The cemetery has a reserve fund with $63,000 in it which will be used to pay for construction costs.
The job is expected to use $50,000 of the reserve fund. Construction on this project would begin a week after the July Fourth holiday.