Pontiac, Michigan

Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located within the Metro Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County.

Named after Chief Pontiac, the city was best known throughout its history for its General Motors automobile manufacturing plants including Fisher Body, Pontiac East Assembly (a.k.a. Truck & Coach/Bus) and Pontiac Motor Division, which in the city's heyday was the primary  automobile   assembly plant where the famed Pontiac cars were produced and named after the city. The city of Pontiac also was home to Oakland (automobile) Motor Car Company which was acquired by General Motors in 1909. Also of note is the Pontiac Silverdome, the stadium that hosted the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1975 until 2002, when the team moved back to Downtown Detroit.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.28 sqmi, of which, 19.97 sqmi is land and 0.31 sqmi is water.

The city is bounded by the City of Auburn Hills to the east and north, the City of Lake Angelus to the north, Waterford Township to the west, and Bloomfield Township to the south.

The former Pontiac Township included what are now the cities of Pontiac, Lake Angelus, and Auburn Hills. The township incorporated as the City of Auburn Hills in 1983. Although the township no longer exists as a civil entity, it is still used as a survey township for land use purposes.

Demographics
As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $31,207, and the median income for a family was $36,391. Males had a median income of $31,961 versus $24,765 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,842. About 18.0% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.3% of those under age 18 and 15.7% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 59,515 people, 22,220 households, and 13,365 families residing in the city. The population density was 2980.2 PD/sqmi. There were 27,084 housing units at an average density of 1356.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 34.4% White, 52.1% African American, 0.6% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 6.2% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.5% of the population.

There were 22,220 households out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.4% were married couples living together, 27.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.9% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.28.

The median age in the city was 33.4 years. 27.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.2% were from 25 to 44; 24.2% were from 45 to 64; and 9.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

Education
Residents are zoned to the School District of the City of Pontiac. The district runs one main high school, Pontiac High School. There were once two high schools, Pontiac Northern and Pontiac Central, but both were combined at the Pontiac Northern location in 2009. This combined high school is known simply as Pontiac High School today.

The district currently serves about 6200 students.

There are four charter schools in Pontiac which offer a school choice to residents of Pontiac and the surrounding cities. The four charter schools are: Pontiac Academy for Excellence (K-12), Arts and Technology Academy, Walton Charter, and Great Lakes Academy.

Pontiac is also home to Notre Dame Preparatory High School, a private, Catholic school located in the North East area of the city.

History
Early expeditions into the land north of Detroit described the area as having "extreme sterility and barrenness". Developments and exploration were soon to prove that report false.

The first settlers arrived in what is now the city of Pontiac in 1818. Two years later there were enough people there to form a village named after the famous Indian chief who had made his headquarters in the area only a few years before. Pontiac was Michigan's first inland settlement.

The village was officially recognized by the state legislature in 1837 and it incorporated as a city in 1861. From the beginning, Pontiac's central location served it well. It attracted professional people, including doctors and lawyers, and soon also became a center of industry. The city became the location of choice for woolen and grist mills which made use of the Clinton River as a power source.

Abundant natural resources led to the establishment of several carriage manufacturing companies, all of which were thriving at the turn of the century when the first self-propelled vehicles were introduced. Pontiac quickly became a capital of the new automotive industry. Throughout the 1920s and 30's, Pontiac experienced tremendous growth in its population and size as tens of thousands of prospective autoworkers moved here from the South to work in its GM auto assembly plants. As the small "horseless carriage" manufacturers became consolidated under the mantle of the General Motors Corporation, Pontiac grew as the industry grew, suffering the same setback as other cities during the depression years of the 1930s.

In late 1966, Pontiac-born and real estate developer A. Alfred Taubman tried to build a large-scale shopping mall in vacant downtown land where the Phoenix Center now stands. This unsuccessful plan would be the catalyst that would push Pontiac resident C. Don Davidson and his University of Detroit architectural class to create a more comprehensive plan that would benefit the city and the entire region around it. In 1969, the city of Pontiac adopted the Pontiac Plan as the official plan for rebuilding the vacant area of the downtown district.

In 1968, Davidson overheard news by the Detroit Lions of their desire for a new football stadium in Southeast Michigan. Professor Davidson and city leaders made a push for a new  multi-purpose stadium in the area that became known as the Silverdome. Construction began on the 80,000-seat stadium in 1972 and it opened in 1975 as the Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium. This too was a part of Davidson's vision for Pontiac.

Construction began in the 1970s on an urban renewal project known as the "Pontiac Plan". The initial phase of this plan included the Phoenix Center, three office buildings, a transportation center and a high-rise residential complex. The "Pontiac Plan" was a vision of Pontiac business owner and U. of D. Professor C. Don Davidson. The remainder of the plan was never completed. In July 2012, mayor Leon Jukowski and Emergency Financial Manager Louis Schimmel announced plans to demolish the Phoenix Center due to disuse, maintenance costs to the city and a physical block preventing Saginaw Street to re-connect to the downtown area. Owners of the connecting Ottawa Towers filed an injunction, claiming the demolition would devalue their property and lose parking. On December 2012, a judge granted an injunction for the Ottawa Towers on an "expedited calendar" which prevented the demolition of the Phoenix Center for the time being.

In 2010, city leaders and business owners launched "The Rise of The Phoenix" initiative. This plan was aimed at businesses interested in downtown retail space. The applicants selected would be given free rent in exchange for multi-year leases (two years or more) as well as one-year of free parking in city lots. This plan led 52 new businesses to locate in downtown Pontiac. Further plans to bring mixed-use developments and loft living into downtown were announced in September 2011 by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA). MEGA estimates the development could generate $20.4 million in new investment and create up to 107 permanent full-time jobs in downtown.

On January 26, 2012, West Construction Services began the renovation and restoration of the former Sears building in downtown Pontiac for the Lafayette Place Lofts, the largest construction investment in Downtown Pontiac in approximately 30 years. The 80,000 sqft project is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified residential and commercial mixed-use development which will consist of 46 new urban rental lofts, a fresh food grocery store and café, and an Anytime Fitness center. Construction was done during 2012 and the loft and market opened its doors on December of that year. 10 West Lofts, another development in the area, will bring more loft living to downtown Pontiac.

Culture
Regionally, the city was known for the Arts, Beats and Eats Festival, a widely attended summer festival featuring an art show, musical concert venues, and a sampling of food from numerous regional restaurants. In 2010, the festival was moved to nearby Royal Oak.

The city is at the north end of the famous Woodward Avenue, known in the 1950s and 1960s as being popular with young people who would "cruise" and drag-race their hot-rods in the area. Pontiac participates in the annual Woodward Dream Cruise, an event celebrating Woodward's hot-rod history, stretching from Pontiac to Detroit. The downtown area is also known for its nightlife with nightclubs and music venues such as Clutch Cargo's and The Crofoot.

The city is also host to two of the nation's renowned haunted houses: The Realm of Darkness and Erebus. The Realm of Darkness has in previous years been chosen as America's Best Haunted House. Erebus held the world record for "Largest Haunted House" from 2005-2009, at 4 stories high.

Pontiac is the location of the Michigan Motion Picture Studios, formerly known as Raleigh Michigan Studios. Pontiac was one of the cities in Michigan used to film the 2012 remake of the film Red Dawn, recreating Spokane, Washington. Additionally, downtown Pontiac in August 2012 was the filming site for the forthcoming tornado-themed disaster movie Black Sky.

Pontiac is home to the Michigan Fallen Heroes Memorial, which is located within the Oakland County Government Complex off of Telegraph Road.

Transportation
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, operates its Wolverine from Pontiac to Chicago via Detroit and Battle Creek, Michigan. Service is three times daily, both arriving and departing.

Commuter rail service was once provided by Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) and later Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA) from Pontiac to downtown Detroit. This service ended on October 17, 1983, after subsidies were discontinued. Efforts continue to this day to restore such commuter service.

Class one freight rail service is provided by Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW), which also operates a large classification yard in Pontiac serving the local auto industry. The Grand Trunk Western Railroad (reporting mark GTW) is an important subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway (CN), constituting the majority of CN's Chicago Division (itself part of CN's Southern Region). It currently operates in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, forming the CN mainline from Port Huron, Michigan to Chicago, Illinois, as well as serving Detroit, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio.

Oakland County International Airport services the city and surrounding areas with commuter air service. The airport previously was owned by the city of Pontiac and was known as the Pontiac City Airport, despite being located in neighboring Waterford Township and not on land contiguous with Pontiac's city limits.

Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) operates local and regional bus transit.

The major thoroughfares in the city are: Woodward Avenue (M-1), Huron Street (M-59), and Telegraph Road (US 24). Portions of Woodward Avenue were once known as "Saginaw Street" and "Wide Track Drive" (the portion of Saginaw Street that runs through the downtown business district remains under that name).


 * provides a connection northwest to nearby Flint. Detroit is to the south.
 * runs through Pontiac.
 * ends north of Pontiac in at I-75. Southbound, US 24 serves suburban Detroit and Monroe before crossing into Ohio.
 * serves local business traffic through the city.
 * northbound ends in Pontiac. Southbound, the highway routes to directly to downtown Detroit.
 * southbound ends in Auburn Hills at I-75. Northbound, the highway connects to Lapeer. Note: M-24 does not intersect with US 24.
 * runs west to Howell and east to Utica and several other Detroit suburbs.

Government

 * State officials
 * Governor Rick Snyder (R)
 * State Senator Jim Marleau (R) - 12th State Senate District
 * State Representative Tim Greimel (D) - 29th State House District


 * Federal officials
 * Senator Carl Levin (D)
 * Senator Debbie Stabenow (D)
 * Representative Gary Peters (D) - 9th Congressional District

The current Mayor of Pontiac is Leon Jukowski, who is serving his first term to which he was elected in November 2009. He narrowly won over Sandy-Michael McDonald, the Downtown Development Authority director. Jukowski previously served as Deputy Mayor, an appointed position under then-Mayor Willie Payne. He had unsuccessfully ran for mayor in the 2001 and 2005 municipal elections, losing in the primary elections. Jukowski is an attorney who has various real estate holdings in downtown Pontiac.

Recent history has shown a high rate of turnover for Pontiac mayors. The previous mayor was Clarence Phillips. Phillips had been the State Representative for all of Pontiac and neighboring Auburn Hills from January 2001 until his inauguration as mayor following his successful landslide November 2005 win over incumbent Mayor Willie Payne. Payne narrowly had unseated incumbent Mayor Walter Moore in November 2001.

Pontiac currently has a state-imposed Emergency Financial Manager who makes the day-to-day executive and financial municipal decisions. The first and second managers, Fred Leeb and Michael Stampfler, respectively, were appointed by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.

The third, and current, manager is Louis Schimmel and he was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder. Schimmel had been serving as Emergency Manager under Michigan Public Act 4, but will be appointed as Emergency Financial Manager by the Local Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board in the interim leading up the November 2012 statewide ballot referendum that will determine whether Public Act 4 is overturned.

Although their decision-making power is currently limited under emergency financial management, the Pontiac City Council continues to meet every Thursday (save for holidays) at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The City Council President is Lee Jones and President Pro Tempore is Patrice Waterman. Public comment is permitted at the beginning of council meetings, but is limited to five minutes per citizen and requires a card submission before the meeting begins.

The seven member council is elected from evenly populated districts. District 1, which covers the southwest corner, is represented by Waterman; she was elected to her first term in 2009 over W. Charli Yarbro. District 2, which covers the central western part of the city, is represented by George Williams; he was elected to his first term in 2009 over write-in candidate Irma Hayes. District 3, which covers the northwestern part of the city, is represented by Mary Pietila; she was elected to her first term in 2009 over now-School Board Member Sherman Williams II.

District 4, which covers the northern portion, is represented by Randy Carter; he was elected to his first term in 2009 without opposition. District 6, which covers the central portion north of downtown, is represented by Jones; he is currently serving in his second term and is the most senior council member, as a result. District 5, which covers the northeastern corner of the city, is represented by Donald Watkins; he was elected to his first term in 2009 over Ron Harmon. District 7, which covers the southeastern corner, is represented by Kermit Williams; he was elected to his first term in 2009 without opposition.


 * 2013 Municipal Elections

At the January 10, 2013 Pontiac City Council meeting, Mayor Jukowski announced his intention to seek re-election as mayor.

Notable people

 * Albert J. Campbell, United States Representative from Montana
 * Jack Kevorkian