Baldwin, Princeton and a good use for vacant homes

I caught Baldwin resident Dale Nordby thinking out loud on the phone this morning about the differences between Baldwin and Princeton and about a possible use for the many foreclosed homes in the township. I urged him to write me a note about his thoughts and here it is:

My first thought was; What keeps Princeton and Baldwin apart? Physical? Town/country, Structure/no structure? People? Old/young, independent/dependent, renters/owners, natives/new residents, political? Part time government/full time professionals, bottom up/top down, motivation? Business interests/family interests, control spending/control taxes.

My other thought; I read in the Princeton paper that there was a large turnout for a Habitat for Humanity meeting to help build a couple houses in Princeton this summer. My first reaction was that it was great to see so many generous people in these hard times. Then I thought, don't we have too many houses now? I don't want to rain on the parade but wouldn't it be better if we could use these resources to clean up and fix up the vacant ones and move someone in?

Thanks, Dale. Anybody have anything to add on either point?

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