Ludington City Council June 22, 2015 Meeting: The Quiet Game About Maclean

The agenda for this meeting was very light when compared to the scopes of prior ones this year, where the city has wished to exert new powers and authorities over the junk you leave in your yard, your backyard fires, your grass height, your rental property, and your seemingly endless supply of money which they think you have.

                                                                  The Giuoco Piano opening, the quiet game

Once again they were to discuss the proposed changes to the charter, and when it came down to the meeting they focused on what seems to be the most unpopular one, the decision to change the city clerk and treasurer into appointed, rather than elected positions.  The grandfatherly and uncontroversial mien of Councilor Dick Rathsack read the prepared logic behind the move, much of which was read verbatim from here on p. 37

Between the time they published this and the meeting, they added some statistics about how other communities run these positions in order to suggest that Ludington is behind the game in switching away from democratic elections.  Undoubtedly, this will be the way they will want to market this concept to the public, since the rest of the arguments are specious.

Otherwise, the meeting was just rubber-stamping several positive things for the community.  They approved a resolution to give the SS Badger National Historic Landmark designation, and would've adopted a similar resolution (39:00 into the video below) for the deification of Don Clingan, President of Lake Michigan Carferry, who came in and offered a speech about the recent changeover the Badger did so that it would be in compliance with new EPA standards.

They approved the necessary logistical plans for this years Rhythm and Dunes concert series, and also spoke of a new frame and effectively approved the idea but sent it back to committee to work on the concepts of where to locate it and what needed to be in the immediate area for safety concerns.  Attorney Wilson suggested signs so city liability could be minimized, Councilor Holman suggested having sand in the base of the area.

                                                         South African version of proposed picture frame for Stearn's Park

These are the things that will be reported in the local news in more detail than they deserve to be, however, there were some more revelations of impropriety regarding city official, Downtown Development Authority Treasurer Kathy Maclean and her fraud schemes that have bilked over $150,000 from the state and local communities and look to get a little over half of that more. 

One would think that the President of the local Chamber of Commerce and her husband, David Maclean, affiliated with Maclean Construction (which ironically did 90% state contracted work), both of whom just started up a Spindrift Cycling Shop at the property where all the fraud is taking place, would not need over $200,000 of fraudulently applied for grants from the state.  But they do, and they have done so at least three times.  Is this truly who we want to head our local Chamber of Commerce?  Is she the best representative of what businesses in the Ludington and Scottville area aspire to? 

                                                             Kathy Maclean sitting next to a prize pumpkin

Of course, the city council were doing their best to applaud the Gus Macker Tournament that Kathy's agency runs every June and her well documented defrauding of the State of Michigan could not ruin that euphoria.  I gave the speech below the meeting video at the beginning of the meeting (2:45 in), and it went uncommented on by one of the fraud's knowing accomplices, City Manager John Shay, and the councilor/wife of the other major accomplice, Heather Venzke Tykoski.  Nor did anyone else touch the topic, which seems to me to be a massive elephant in this council chamber that will only get bigger by it being ignored.

If the record wasn't significantly pointing to fraud in each of the three instances, do you really think any of the officials would not roundly deny the incendiary allegations?  If the Ludington Daily News' reporter Kevin Brasiczewski who was there for the meeting, really cared about the misuse of the public's funds, do you think he may have stopped and talked with me after the meeting, instead of leaving just after the meeting like I did.  I even held the door open for him.  Here's what the City of Ludington Daily News headlined for today.

But Kevin does what he can to keep his job, even if it allows our officials and their cronies to do whatever they want and write the headlines and stories for you.  They are our friends and would never cheat you out of your money or your civil rights after all.  Read the COLDNews for propaganda, read the Ludington Torch for the full poop on the bad guys and gals wearing white hats.

 LCC June 22 from Mason County District Library on Vimeo.

"I want to thank the council for not pushing the rental inspection ordinance onto the citizens of Ludington as they originally planned at this meeting.  Let us hope that the proverbial stake has been driven through its foul heart, for it's just bad policy for the city, and it's definitely, a tax which needs to be approved by the electors, even if the city never realizes a profit from administrating it.

Since it appears that the regular agenda has decisions that would only have positive impacts on the city, as it should, let me devote my public comment to unfinished business concerning the willful frauds being perpetrated by the city's appointed department heads and other city officials.  At the last regular scheduled meeting, I made accusations of impropriety in the application process for the community development block grants. 

Sadly, in an application for façade grants, Kathy Maclean and her husband failed to disclose her status as a Ludington public official, namely one who in her official capacity could help administer the funds for the program, and one who in her official capacity would have voted for a $1000 gift from the city's DDA cashbox, and in her duties of "approving all vouchers for the expenditures of funds for the [Ludington DDA] authority." 

Compounding the deceit, Community Development Director Heather Tykoski and City Manager John Shay, fully knowledgeable of Kathy Maclean's role in the DDA for the last ten years, allowed that application to pass their review and submit to the state a clearly fraudulent application without disclosing the conflict.  Mind you, this relationship would not disqualify her from these grants, but not disclosing the conflict in a public meeting would be unlawful, unethical, and potentially nullify the grant. 

These legal matters appear to have been mostly addressed at the last special meeting, other than the $1000 DDA gift, and why such gifts have been done in the past administratively by the DDA without any vote declaring any conflicts of interest of the membership who benefit therefrom.  Nor has the city addressed the other clear fraud indicated by the application when the Macleans certify that they have no tenants in their rental rehab units that the state spent more than $150,000 to help create.

State and local law mandate that the rental rehabbed units be occupied for the first five years after they become available, and if they have vacancies, these need to be advertised as rental vacancies at the state website and locally.  The Macleans have left those apartments remain vacant only four years into the covenant, probably a lot longer according to my sources, without advertising them at either place.  Mrs. Heather Tykoski told me that all local rehab units were filled up just a couple of months ago, probably at about the same time when the Mclean application was crossing her desk saying their rehab units were vacant.

If you want a third incident of fraud perpetrated by the same cast of characters supposedly serving our community but better suited for court-ordered community service, look no further than the Macleans' application and pre-application for rental rehab funds made for the property of 102 West Ludington Ave.  The dates of both records were signed well before the property was owned by the Macleans, and if you weren't aware, part of the application (which wasn't included in the records of the application provided to me) is the title deed to the property in question, for the state will not grant you money for property you do not own at the time of application.  This appears to have been conveniently left out of the application; fortunately, it's available through the assessing records.

So please, councilors, give us the public some answers to these frauds and tell us again why we should allow you to appoint city clerks and city treasurers, when the city manager, community development director and DDA Treasurer you appoint are party to such clear and egregious frauds of the state and local taxpayers?  It is far easier to vote out or recall bad elected officials who allow such clear fraud to exist without comment or decisive action."

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Very informative X. It seems that when you point out to Ludington citizen's representatives the tangled web of deceit, their reaction is always the same. It's as if their brains become disengage. They have a blank stare while you talk, then seem to revive themselves when you finish. Below we see the LDN flanked by the Mayor to the right and Council to the left. All of them act so detached from the reality from what is going on that you come to realize that monkeys would be more responsive and caring about the people of Ludington than the elected leaders.

At least with the monkeys you have two out of the three primates being able to look, hear and/or speak when evil deeds are brought before them. 

BTW, its good to hear, see, and speak to you once again.  I noticed your prior post was left about eight days ago, which is very uncommon for one of our members who have been here and very prolific since 2009.  Worried that you may have reconciled with the ex-wife or got picked up by one of those MSP stealth helicopters that I've been fortunate enough to avoid. 

Had computer problems. As far as the X-wife goes, we do get along for about 10 minutes at a time. After that it's back to combat mode. I got a good look at one of those stealth copters. The only problem with it is that it can't fly unless Viagra is mixed with the fuel.

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