Ludington City Council Meeting April 25, 2016: Fourth Down and Stenches

[XLFD]

The April 25, 2016 meeting of the Ludington City Council didn't have a lot of meat on the agenda, what it had were a few summer events needing approval for signage and road closure, and three annual reports from city departments and the waste contractor.  Despite this, it was a long meeting because of the 2015 reports covering half of the time of the meeting which lasted the following lengths as measured on the included video:

Ludington Police:  23:30- 51:00 (27.5 minutes)

DPW/Motor Pool/Parks:  51:50- 1:03:50 (12 minutes)

Recreation:  1:05:10- 1:16:50  (11.7 minutes)

While there is nothing wrong with the comprehensiveness of these reports, in fact it's good to see more information than less given to the councilors and public, Captain Harrie's LPD coverage was a bit more than expected and mostly statistics and congratulatory to the LPD.  The interesting points of the other reports was that Recreation Director Cathy Van Sickle noted she was retiring this fall and reported on the growth over the years of her department, including over this last year.  DPW director Joe Stickney commented on the replacement of downtown lights, the mixed blessings of having higher water levels, cutting trees, and the addition of a parking kiosk at Cartier Park this year.   All of their written reports can be found in the 4-25-2016 Councilor Packet.

On page two of that packet is John Shay's memo addressing the raw sewage/sulfur smell issuing from the Ludington Wastewater Treatment Plant (LWWTP).  John admits 'part' of the reason is that the older aeration system is at the end of its career and is scheduled to be replaced, and they are working to get some businesses to issue less Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) waste. 

None of these entreaties are given in the memo.  I doubt the House of Flavors and hospital will alter their practices without some negative effect on their business, at best whoever he may have talked to listened politely to Shay and probably wondered why the City is so inept.  Shay indicates at the end of that meeting, that the one main BOD offender is now taking their wastes elsewhere to be disposed, telling us that you do not put a new roof on a house when you are going to be demolishing it in a couple of years.  A lot of damage can take place in a couple of years that you have to live under that roof before that house is built. 

Linda Rowcliffe of the Fourth Ward brought this up 5:20 into the meeting, just after my initial three minutes where I addressed the issue of the continued unlawful and unethical activity of our city attorney and manager acting in concert, I even used the loaded term 'conspiring'.  That speech is provided after the video; once again, for the fourth straight time, the officials avoided the charges of impropriety even though it is fully documented (Mika Meyers, Rural Development Outlawyers).

She brought up the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and their findings of sulfurous gases emitting from the LWWTP.  She brought to the council's attention how this was a chronic problem back in 2009 at which point the city said it would be addressed.  She inquired about being compensated by the city for the loss of quality of life and the additional need for closed windows, which will necessitate more air conditioning costs.  The smattering of applause you hear came from me.  We've bantered about this here:  The Big Stink in Ludington's Fourth Ward

Both Fourth Ward and Sixth Ward Councilors, Krauch and Castonia respectively, were both absent from the meeting, ironically these are the wards closest to the latest environmental crisis in Ludington.  As elected representatives of the people, they should not be AWOL here, or through their normal means of contact.

My initial comment at the beginning of the meeting started at 2:20 into the meeting and I was able to complete it in the three minutes provided.  Once again, the city manager and attorney are called to the mat for city charter violations indicating ethical and legal violations, but not one of our officials will touch it.

April 25, 2016 Ludington City Council from Mason County District Library on Vimeo.

"I have here in my hand Ordinance 326-16 passed unanimously by this city council on March 21, 2016.  I have discussed this ordinance before, it effectively gives the city attorney up to $50,000 to do legal work concerning the future water and sewer projects.  The four legal service agreements for the city attorney were included in the packet for that meeting. 

My first critique made at that meeting was that there was no competitive bids for legal services, which was mandated for agreements of this size by the city charter.  I am not comfortable with the past ethical conduct of our city attorney or our city manager, a fact I have made known on numerous occasion here, and with documentation for  many years.  Our city attorney overbilled us for three straight years, submitting over 30 invoices with the overbillings sometimes amounting to $150/per hour more than they should, and it was always signed by John Shay.  These two conspired to unlawfully contract with a cost of service consultant without this council's approval. 

But I have three minutes and need to cover new charges of impropriety, so here it is.  This ordinance said it would be effective 20 days after publication.  Informal publication happened the next day when the newspaper printed a synopsis of what happened at the meeting.  Twenty days from this would land us at April 11, coincidentally the next city council meeting.  Checking the finance report from that meeting, we find that the city attorney had already charged the taxpayers over $1500 for legal services for the rural development projects. 

This ordinance, says that the city manager and clerk have the sole authority to sign this agreement to pay for legal services, and that they could only do so twenty days after publication, April 11.  So how does the city attorney charge Rural development legal services before the April 11 packets were delivered to me on April 8th, when no official could sign the legal service agreements?

Furthermore, how can one justify the invoices asking for $7000 more to the city attorney's wallet in the current financial statement covering a period of just two weeks in this meeting’s packet?  Can the city attorney or any of you explain to us why he unlawfully charged us for his services before the last meeting and now wants to charge us an amount that eclipses the rates that most other legal service agreements cover for multi-year projects?  Thank you."

At 1:17:45 I spoke of a local environmental group and how it has been... ineffective at its mission and directives.  I follow that with a plea for the mayor to fire his friend who is on the Ludington Ethics Board.  Unfortunately I never got around to saying my last paragraph before the time ran out, I had one last piece of discourse about the city attorney.

"AFFEW hosted a full day's symposium on Saturday for Earth Day at the Center for the Arts.  AFFEW's stated mission on their website is to provide the public with information regarding environmental issues having local importance.

 

Absent from their discussions were substantive topics that affect our area and are not being addressed by the City, AFFEW or Councilor Winczewski, who is on the governing board of both.  Why does Ludington have so many kids with high lead levels, more so than Flint?  Why does our city manager lie about the lead levels in our drinking water and is insulated from repercussions of his untruths?  Why are lead levels 330 times the minimal reporting level in the sediments below what was once a popular swimming area, the PM Bayou?  Why does the city hire one of their crony companies to prepare an executive summary which lies about those lead levels found in a DEQ report?  Why does the city allow a building filled with asbestos tiles to get demolished and then try to ignore the ramifications to our communities health?  What about that stench in the Fourth Ward?  AFFEW's answers to these real and local problems is effectively to say effew, help us recycle batteries. 

Recently appointed Ludington Board of Ethics member Branden Dunblazier was tried by the Mason County Prosecutor's Office and must pay $870 for operating while impaired by liquor.  I realize that he's a friend of the mayor's but such an offense by someone whose duty is to judge the potentially unethical actions of others is offensive to my sensibilities.  I speak as a victim of a drunk driver back in 1994 who was nearly killed by a man probably not much unlike your friend that had very poor judgment.  I speak also for one of my friends from MCC high school, now a teacher thereof, who found himself almost permanently disabled when a drunk driver plowed into him in front of Shop & Save.  

Appoint Branden to a committee where good ethics and good judgment is not required, like the City Attorney's office, but fire him from the Board of Ethics ASAP.  Maintain some semblance of integrity for this city which finds itself dreadfully short on ethical conduct."

Councilor Moonbeam did wind up addressing my critique of her green Astroturf organization and herself.  She seemed a trifle annoyed at my insinuations and one mispronunciation of her group, enough to give two sentences in retort (not that I had any opportunity to reply).  She started off saying she wanted to clarify things, but said nothing of substance, just like AFFEW hasn't.

"It's pronounced AFFEW and it's real name is A Few Friends of the Environment and the World.  And what that group is, is an educational group that does bring forward environmental concerns in the community, and, again, I would just like to be sure that you have the facts." 

Punctuated by some vigorous head-nodding by Shay, she thought she added something, but she stopped before she could give us any facts other than telling us what AFFEW stood for and what their mission was, which I had already stated.  I guess we have to wait AFFEW years before they realize there are many environmental concerns here in Ludington not being addressed by her and her peers.

[Willy]

This was a priceless comment that you made at the City Council meeting. Love it.

Appoint Branden to a committee where good ethics and good judgment is not required, like the City Attorney's office, but fire him from the Board of Ethics ASAP.  Maintain some semblance of integrity for this city which finds itself dreadfully short on ethical conduct."

[XLFD]

I liked it too, but two minutes were called just before this, so the council and public never got to enjoy it.

If I had, I'm sure Councilor Moonbeam would have added AFFEW words about Richard Wilson being among the most ethical persons she has ever known and unworthy of oversight. 

[XLFD]

 In today's COLDNews an article about the City attempting to fix the stench problem.  In it:  "Chris Cossette, superintendent of the WWTP, said the problems have caused stinky smells at the plant since January, and said they became more noticeable to neighbors when the weather warmed up and windows were opened." 

Since January?  Cossette gave the 2015 Annual Report in front of the city council on February 22, 2016, and made no mention of any smells, good or bad, at the plant at that time.  In fact over a month after these stinky smells arrived he listed the goals for 2016 which has nothing about mitigating the stench that had been there for a month:

Goals for 2016
1. Continue to serve the users of the City of Ludington’s wastewater treatment system in the
most cost effective means possible.
2. Continue to work with the City’s consultants to complete the design of the upgrades to the
wastewater plant and collection system.
3. Finish the MAHL study and adopt a new Sewer Use Ordinance
4. Improve/ update the City’s Industrial Pretreatment Program
5. Continue to work on developing an Asset Management Program

[Brad]

Also in MCP....

http://www.masoncountypress.com/2016/04/28/ludington-taking-steps-t...

Also noted in story.... "Since that time, a Facebook page has been set up called “Concerned Locals” to allow residents to air their concerns about the issue."

However, with a quick search, I did not find it... huh?

[jfc123]

Here is a link to the group on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/527087387490657/

This WWTP has been needing upgrades for at least a decade, the COL has not spent any money there and is a big reason that they did not have a permit for 5 years. No plan to fix it prior to getting one recently. It seems too little and too late. If its a stormy year then there will be a lot more issues this summer im afraid. They are way below the MDEQ required capacity.

This WWTP failure in 2008 should have been fixed then, all of it, the capacity and the mess left in the Pere Marquette bayou. I kind of think they hope the state takes them over so things get done, the current officials don't know what to do .Go here and complain: http://www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,4668,7-277-57911---,00.html under assistance then either office of the attorney general or Michigan utility concern.

This is a really big deal and could become a major catastrophe for the whole city. 

[Jasper]

IMHO the AG don't give a flying crap. He is too busy dealing with other issues such as prosecuting the two senator's and dealing with the issues of Flint.

[Jasper]

Just check out his Facebook page. Appearances to schoolchildren is one of his activities. Why?

[AQUAMAN]

The COL, AG, and others are too busy with nonsense that they don't have time to focus on the matters of urgency and importance anymore. Lud's. clownsil is focused on "tourist related projects", not infrastructure, as their job duties require. Regular routine maintenance on anything anyone owns, is an ongoing chore you don't ignore. Now the problem is overwhelming in financial and physical nature, requiring the taxpayers to divvy up some $15 Million in new bonds! That alone should be enough evidence of the negligence and incompetence of John Shyster Shay III to get him FIRED!

[XLFD]

Back in 2014, I did a public comment that was prescient of our current difficulties, but was publicly ignored for the most part, at least by our leaders and media:   "I must remind the council of some of their involvements from the last meeting.  First, the Department of Environmental Quality states that "anyone discharging waste or wastewater into the surface waters of the state is required by law to obtain a NPDES permit."  These are valid for four years, at which point they are either re-issued or not, the City of Ludington's was not back in 2011, and received major flags from the DEQ.  All this is available at their website; FOIAs to the DEQ confirm it. 

As the city manager for over four years covertly, and often unlawfully, directed money towards engineering, legal issues, and cost of service studies in order to remedy the problems, the citizens of Mason County, your kids, your parents, your friends and associates, have dealt with unsafe and unhealthy levels of pollutants being dumped into a still-water lagoon off the Pere Marquette River.

Instead of publicly acknowledging the problem and working openly to find a solution, our manager did nothing constructive and instead chose a secretive and destructive path that put us downstream wallowing in dangerous waters for four years.  This council may like basking in filth and corruption, but the public doesn't."

The record of that time indicates the city manager and attorney hired a consultant company without council approval, and funded the consultations by claiming them as legal services to keep it under the radar.  Meanwhile, our Grand Rapids law firm was quibbling with the DEQ and DNR and who knows who else over ways to get that permit without the remedies given them, spending money on lawyers rather than solutions.  It's coming home to roost in our nostrils now. 

[jfc123]

Agreed! Now there is a Facebook page not started by anyone here, but what a great way to reach all!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/527087387490657/528390880693641/?no...

Follow the link and sign up!

We need to schedule a rally that can be held at Tamarac Docks to learn more about what is going on and the new watershed council that Ray has started! Lets get Ludington back to the people that love it, not strip it!

Hate to say it all the time but get YOUR city back!