The sagging economy is affecting everything from school enrollment to the number of rounds of golf we can afford to play.

That's one conclusion that can be drawn from a look back at the numbers of 2008. As the first quarter of the new year comes to a close, we take a look into the rear-view mirror at the past year.

Here we offer a bit of explanation on what the numbers show in five areas. See a full list of the numbers.

Fewer paying to play

Golf is one of the few luxury sports where you pay each time you play.

The expensive game has been feeling the pinch as the Michigan economy has continued its downward spiral the past five years. Since The News began keeping track in 2004, the number of rounds at the two local courses owned by the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Authority, the Kensington and Huron Meadows golf courses, has steadily declined except for a slight uptick in 2006.

In 2004, the two courses hosted a combined 81,919 rounds of golf. Last year, that number dipped to 65,109 rounds, a drop of more than 20 percent.

Kim Jarvis, the former park superintendent at Huron Meadows now in the same role at Kensington, blames the economy. She also noted that many golf courses in the country are in a similar position, citing figures from the National Golf Foundation that golf participation has been flat or shrinking since 2000. Jarvis said Kensington will offer deals this season to attract players.

"A lot of people don't have disposable income (any more)," she said. "People have to give up golf and getting their hair done and things like that. When we don't have any money, we have to look at ways to save."

- Jason Deegan

More borrowing books

Library usage is way up, according to Hartland's Cromaine Library Director Ceci Marlow Stuart, however you count usage: Circulation, hits to the library's Web site and people coming through the door.

"We know that folks are coming to us now to get the newest books or latest in technology. They are also coming in to read the newspapers, use the Internet and take advantage of our story times," she said, based on recently collected data.

While all demographic sectors appear to have increased, Stuart said the top users are preschoolers and stay-at-home moms. They are visiting Cromaine - and other area libraries - primarily Tuesday-Thursday because of the children's programs offered.

"Our story time does not have a cost associated with it" compared to programs at area books where children may latch on to something they want, meaning mom would have to buy it versus rent it.

Stuart said libraries also have seen a marked increase in teen patrons and younger, male retirees.

"We have been told one of the first things to go in this economy is cable television, and if cable goes, there goes Internet, too," she said. Many people are waiting to use library Internet access or bringing in laptop computers and accessing the library's wireless access. "We can never have enough computers" to accommodate everyone wanting to use one.

- Laurie Humphrey

Fewer students in class

The fact that families have been leaving Livingston County and the state has been evident to officials in the area's five traditional public school districts for several years.

In 2008, Brighton, Fowlerville and Pinckney saw their overall number of students drop for the third year in a row. Hartland and Howell also saw declines for the first time.

In all, the county's traditional public school districts lost a combined 421 students from 2007-08. The biggest drop came in Pinckney, which saw a decline of 126 students from the year before. Howell, which had bucked the trend until 2008, came in second with a loss of 105 students.

The economy and a declining birth rate both are contributing to the student loss, said Pinckney Community Schools Superintendent Dan Danosky. Pinckney is graduating about 50 more students a year than its bringing in with kindergarten.

"About 50 to 75 more seems to be kids moving out of state or moving closer to the metro-Detroit area as their parents move closer to their jobs or their families move in with other family members," Danosky said.

The only exception to this trend of declining student numbers comes from Livingston County's two charter schools, Charyl Stockwell Academy and Kensington Woods High School, which have seen steady enrollment increases nearly every year.

- Leanne Smith

More are riding the bus

Ridership on the Livingston Essential Transportation Service buses was up dramatically in 2008 and the trend continues so far this year, according to LETS Operations Manager Katrina Maxwell.

In February, LETS had 9,095 riders, compared to 7,734 in February of the previous year. For all of 2008, LETS ridership skyrocketed to 107,561 from 92,195 during 2007.

"It's the economy and a lot of people out of work who can't afford to have a car, pay the insurance and the upkeep," Maxwell said.

LETS has not yet added any more buses or services in response to the ridership increase, but the agency is seeking to add a new service this year.

Director Doug Britz has applied for a Job Access and Reverse Commute grant totaling $175,000 through the Federal Transit Administration. The grant would be used to purchase and operate a special bus that would travel along the Grand River Avenue corridor from Brighton to Fowlerville. The service would be to provide public transportation for "low-income, elderly and disabled people who don't have a job, because transportation is a barrier for them," Britz said. Given grant approval, the program would start around Oct. 1, he said.

- Tom Tolen

Housing market suffers

One of the most visible signs of the economic times are trends in residential building permits, which are down, and home foreclosures, which rose to well above 1,000 in the last 14 months in the county.

New home construction has ground to a halt, declining from 2,095 building permits in 2004 to just 191 issued in 2008. Meanwhile, property foreclosures have risen sharply: Only 259 were filed in 2004 compared with 1,345 in 2008.

Todd Buckley of the Buckley Jolley Real Estate Team in Brighton is president of the Livingston County Association of Realtors.

He said the changes have affected his industry by shifting the way members do business in the county. Those who worked in new home construction have shifted into traditional or bank sale properties and the market has forced agents to become experts in short sales and bank-owned property sales.

"The vast majority (of homeowners) own more on their mortgage than they can sell their house for," he said. "Most of our members are working with short sales these days."

A short sale allows a home to be sold for less than what is owed with the bank releasing the homeowner from the note.

Buckley keeps an eye closely on the housing supply, which is about 14 months now. The all-time high in the county was at 26 months in August 2007. Buckley said the market should begin to level off when there is about an eight or nine-month housing supply.

"It comes back to economics 101," he added. "It's basic supply and demand."

- Casey Hans

Posted by News staff | The Livingston Community News March 27, 2009 00:00AM
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