Ludington City Council Meeting April 22, 2019: New and Recycled Themes

[XLFD]

A new style of agenda was introduced at this meeting, including much of the standard format we have became accustomed to. New was a consent agenda following public comment which allowed the quick passage of 'routine' items, such as the adoption of the agenda, approval of the minutes and the 'paying of the bills'. Reports from committees come next, which include actual reports summarizing the committee's meeting(s), if any.  Then action items are introduced starting with old business then new. Finally, reports from individual councilors, the city manager, and the final public comment period, followed by miscellaneous business likely provoked by such comments. 

The new format is a result combining ideas and past practices of the new city manager, Mitch Foster, along with necessary tweaks to the current system that the Open Meetings Act lawsuit has motivated. For it's initial run, it seems to have worked fairly smoothly. After the invocation and pledge was performed, I led off comments with a follow-up of a comment I made at the last meeting which caused a minor firestorm of controversy.

April 22nd, 2019 Ludington City Council meeting from Mason County District Library on Vimeo.

XLFD: (3:40 in) "At the last regular meeting, I made a comment at the end regarding the city council following a course of conduct that wasn't based on anything placed in front of them, regarding the pay raise for acting city manager, after the fact, for Jackie Steckel. I tied it into the lack of due diligence this council took in deciding to ignore competitive bidding protocols for sidewalk installation, where a majority of the council listened to the hearsay of a committee chairman, who listened to only part of the hearsay of the City's DPW supervisor, and this city council, without looking at any of the facts, decided unanimously that they would pay nearly 20% more for each sidewalk replacement and installation rather than obey the rules of competitive bidding.

Last Monday, I saw a committee of the whole discuss the sidewalk issue for an hour, particularly the lack of necessary funds in the City program and the need for more funding, without any city official mentioning that the council added nearly a 20% surcharge on each sidewalk project in the process of violating competitive bidding rules just a few meetings ago. Yet, at the April 8th meeting, nine people, mostly officials, weighed in on my call for accountability, by either defending the character of Jackie Steckel, impugning my character or a combination of both, a couple taking well over two minutes of time to do so. Nobody actually pointed to one thing that Jackie accomplished in her seven weeks of doing two management jobs, albeit the clerk mentioned she had stayed late on occasion.

That stuck me as rather odd, especially since I had wondered what would make an acting city manager of Ludington need to work sixteen hour days in the middle of winter, when the available record shows nothing other than the attendance at a few meetings where nothing much was introduced as new or changed policy. My need for understanding drove me to submit a FOIA request where I asked for her efforts for one week in the middle of her term, namely: "All correspondence, phone records, and written work product created by Jackie Steckel during the five day period between February 18- February 22. Include any time sheets, dockets, or activity logs made in February that apply to this period for her."

I received a cryptic response from the FOIA Coordinator saying "The responsive record available is attached. The remainder record as requested is not available." I received 5 screen shots from her Outlook calendar and more screen shots of a list of her E-mails sent and received during that period.
The calendar indicates [Outlook Calendar] that she worked her normal eight hour day, 8 to 5 with an hour for lunch, there's absolutely nothing that fell outside of that range among her scheduled activities, mostly private meetings. There were no E-mails at all included in my response, there was nothing showing any products of her work for the whole week. The next time the public sees work product is in the March 11th agenda packet, where she has memos, one recommending the council choose a much larger contract bid for sidewalk replacement. Thank you.[END]"

As noted, I may as well have blasphemed Mother Teresa at the last meeting for all the response I received then. At that point I had only wondered why a city manager for Ludington would need to work 16 hour days in the middle of winter and why there was nothing to show the public for those Herculean efforts. This time, I came with Ms. Steckel's written proofs of her own dishonesty, at least for this representative week, I even brought it with me. Yet even though six of the nine people who thought I had committed a thoughtcrime at the previous meeting were attending this meeting, nobody decided to argue against the fact that she was, at the least, exaggerating.

This wasn't a surprise, back in 2014, she effectively defrauded a lot of people, used a lot of public resources against normal protocols, to run a benefit softball tournament. I would have been impressed with her charity had she did this on her own time with her own resources, but she involved a lot of the city's resources, which could also have been forgivable had she not stated to the public that all proceeds from t-shirt sales would go to the Whitman's, when those t-shirts had been purchased through the general fund.

City records showed that the sales proceeds went back into the general fund and stayed there to cover the expense revenue-neutrally, so this was an outright lie to those thinking their purchase of an overpriced shirt would go to the widow.

The mayor was polite enough to let me have the better half of a minute extra for my full comment. Kelli Morrison of Sparta got up next and made her plea for using Cartier and Copeyon Park for her business ventures involving water sports. The Cartier operation for her company, Lakeshore Water Sports, has been ongoing since last year. She proposed the use of one site to base her business and explained how it would work before was asked by the mayor at the three minute mark whether she had much more, at which point she concluded.

The consent agenda was approved without discussion, followed by the committee reports which contained the police chief's monthly report for March, a notice that the LFD would have an open house on May 5th between 1-3 PM at the new station on Tinkham. The monthly planning, zoning, rental inspection was presented. The parks committee reviewed the topics they went over at their previous meeting, including Morrison's request.

City Manager Mitch Foster covered lightly over some topics including looking at the budget two months earlier, the new agenda, and a new social media policy (see page 66). Councilor Joe Lenius brought up FOIA requests as a budget item and wanted to see that brought forth publicly, he also brought this up at the prior meeting. In the discussion it was brought forth that the city manager used to do the task until he ran out of time for it. What wasn't elaborated on was that there wasn't an additional $15,000 being spent on attorneys doing a totally redundant task.

The amusing part of this dialog was seeing the look on Councilor Brandy Miller's face when Councilor Angela Serna suggested that the City should look at perhaps rethinking the process or at least rebidding the service of FOIA Coordinator out. Councilor Miller is married to our FOIA Coordinator's law partner, who seems to benefit directly from the current system.

The council approved a May 11 Fun Run for the LHS Booster Club, and approved fire protection services outside of the city limits. This is for a few places outside of the city limits to the north that are better served (according to insurance agents) by the LFD rather than Hamlin's or PM's departments.

The discussion then moved to what turned out to be the most contentious part of the meeting: how to cover the $15 per person for recycling carts to be used by the waste collection contractor, by either making those who wish to recycle 1) purchase them, or 2) have the City cover their costs. A lively conversation followed leading to a vote where Councilors Serna and Miller allied together to vote against option one. The rest of the present councilors (Dave Bourgette was absent) voted to add the $15 fee to the taxpayer wanting to recycle their garbage. These carts will be picked up once a month.

Two traffic control orders were discussed in a bit of detail, effectively making the 100 block of North William Street a one-way street going north, and establish stop signs on William where it intersects Court Street. This kind of corrects a long-standing problem where all the traffic on that block is angled so that those going north would use them.

The stop signs reorienting themselves on William only makes sense because those driving south are effectively coming to the end of the street. William Street had been this way a while in the past, and the configuration never changed to make it a proper two-way street.

Two lease agreements with Harbor View came before the City. These did not actually have any effect on the City running the marina, it just allows Bob Manglitz and associates the ability to get out of their lease this October. There are plenty of secretive talks between the State and City, but that wasn't part of tonight's vote. Councilor Serna found out through questioning that there was no penalty clause for the leasers. The geniuses at the state and the city twenty years ago obviously didn't really think this through.

Mayor Steve Miller had the line of the night that made things clear as mud to the social media crowd at 73 minutes in: "This is not a City of Ludington takeover of Harbor View, this is one of the steps towards the assumption of, of that. We're not in the beginning stages anymore, we're still incubating, we're on our way."

Perhaps the saddest part of the night came when the council voted down Lakeshore Water Sports Cartier Park operations. There is nothing in the packet that would explain why the council made their decision, there was oblique references to communications that were not shared with the public or with the four city councilors that aren't in the Parks Committee. This was one more meeting where the council acts blindly on an action issue without having information provided to the public and a majority of the council. It also showed once again that the public's perception of the City as being anti-business seems to be correct. Councilor Serna did ask plenty of questions, but got few answers, just references to other unseen documents.

Two first presentations of ordinances were made. The first was primarily for clarifications of 'carve outs' made through previous ordinances on transient merchants in city parks and property. It gives the council a little more flexibility to allow such traders. The other established rules for standing committees, making them effectively follow the Open Meetings Act and/or council rules, while exercising no governmental or proprietary authority. This is great news for those hoping for more transparency and accountability, but citizens must still be vigilant because old habits sometimes die hard.

During the council discussion period, it was clarified that delivery people can still go to the parks to deliver their food, they just can't set up a truck or tent there. It was explained why the standing committee ordinance had to be passed by ordinance. It was explained that committees would always meet at city hall, and adjourn to other places if that is part of the committee's work.

When the city attorney was saying that nobody wants to read the last hundred years of the city council's minutes, I was bemused by Mitch Foster looking over at me as he was saying that and grinned with amusement as if he knew that I have done a lot of historical research in our lawsuit that prompted this change of the status quo. This is why Mitch should be a good manager; John Shay would have been glaring menacingly at me for the same thing. Open government and communication benefits everybody, and I think Mitch knows that.

Other than the annual mayoral proclamation of the Relay for Life, the meeting wound down with no public comment and no additional business. I would have talked myself with a fairly upbeat message, however, I worried that one of those six people from the last meeting would grandstand for Jackie when I could not offer my prepared refutation that I had expected to come from my first comment. Apparently, they can live with being lied to and having their city council act impulsively on those exaggerations.

[Du Wright]

Thanks X for the recap for those not brave enough to stand before the city council and be attacked or feel like one's time is wasted on minds already made up on a decision.  I hope that changes with a more open standing committee format, and that the city council actually starts listening to constituents.  I appreciate the fresh approach of the new city manager and his knowledge of the open meeting act and freedom of information.

About the Act of a Complaint.  It doesn't matter if you criticize Mother Teresa, the ACM in relation to an interim salary policy, or any other act of any other city employee, there will be a lot of smoke blown into the eyes of the city.  Bringing up an issue of using city books and employee hours to house a charity that happened nearly five years ago, has obviously been lost on this city.  That fire should have been put out many years ago, imo, by an Ethics Board for complaints and resolutions.  Even if the letter of the law was not followed, the intent was a good one, for a former employee and his family and that's all that most people can see.  The letter of the law should have been followed by the attorney directing the council to follow the law.  

And the issue of the ACM interim salary contract and renegotiating of it, well that's at the discretion of the council, and they took their discretion.  The intent was to reward a long-time employee.  To make any difference in any policy, one should probably discuss the deed, not the doer.  The act, not the actor.  The policy, not the person.  At this point, it seems the council really doesn't want to hear about any policy regarding any Interim salaries.  On the other hand, no council, imo, should attack anyone who speaks about any issue within the city, especially those affecting our taxes.  What has been happening in attacking X is a most disgraceful local political act, especially with garnering inflammatory attacks.  Wisdom and restraint are required in listening, especially with views that one does not like.  I think some one should be big enough to say, "Let's take this issue (any issue that causes controversy, any issue that causes many to get up and attack) to the Ethics Board (or something like it) for resolution and thank you for bringing it up."  

When WILL it end, X?  When the issues are resolved?

[AQUAMAN]

Well said dianne, but the changing of the guards at both the Mayor's and councilmen's seats haven't changed the fixed agendas and dirty politics that seems to carry on forever, and in X's case, about 10 years now. These people have no idea how to run a business, nor spend prudently, nor the Rules of Robert, nor the City Charter rules at all. The notion of "conflict of interest" is also unheard of in definition. Until more like Serna and a few other newbies get all this arrogance and ignorance out of their fellow council people's heads, it will never stop, ugh!

[Du Wright]

Very true, Aquaman and likewise well said, in that a lot of the problem, imo, is summed up in two words you used: arrogance and ignorance--not good attributes for a public servant.  More like, humility in service of upholding the Charter and laws and listening to the will of the people would take care of a lot of the problem.  I think the new city manager shows a new fresh approach to both.

[Willy]

If addressing the Mayor during Council meetings while at the podium gets no results, I would like to see someone turn around and talk to the camera since citizens who watch the meetings are the people the Council and Mayor work for. Addressing the Council gets no results but much scorn as X has proven many times over. A sad state of affairs indeed. Also we have to remember that the City Manager does not work for the citizens, he works for the Council which in itself is not conducive to Ludington having a responsive form of Government especially when the Council is so blatantly anti citizenry.  Thanks X for another excellent job of reporting the Councils follies.

[AQUAMAN]

You know, it's pretty hard for any individual to quit a job when your earnings just tripled in scale from your last job, which is why Mitch Foster is going to put up with this BS for a while. But for how long? I'll bet right now at least $100 that if his character is strong for a productive and calm type of living, that he'll quit in the next year or so, and go back to Minnesota where he can get some job where the politics is more useful and normal. Anyone want to take odds on this bet?

[Willy]

I thought he worked in Wisconsin and isn't he originally from Michigan? I certainly would not blame him for leaving especially seeing that he manages a Government whose leaders are so hostile to it's citizens. But this is a good lesson for him learn. How not to bite the hand that feeds you.