Ludington's West End Project: Born to be Bad

[XLFD]

The Obstructionism

Three Years ago, I delved into the origins of the west end project through requesting public records not otherwise available publicly.  Like many other things of interest, City Manager John Shay, FOIA Coordinator of the City of Ludington, put up roadblocks and otherwise made finding info on the west end as a dead end.  He did this procedurally.

On March 7, 2013 I made this request for public records after finding little of any use in the minutes of meetings the city had available:

"John,

Under provisions of the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (MCLA 15.231 et seq; MSA 4.1801 (1) et seq) I am requesting to personally inspect the following public records, or receive scanned or electronically transmitted records (whichever is most economical) for :

1) The final design of the West End of Ludington Avenue Project approved by the city council on on the date 2-26-2007, including any descriptive records included at that time of how the project was to be developed, timelines, projected costs.

2) The public notice for the 2-20-2007 public meeting, and any minutes, notes from that meeting."

As an aside, the minutes of the Feb. 12, 2007 LCC meeting had John Shay mentioning in the third paragraph from the end that:  "There is a public meeting on Tuesday, February 20 at the Community Room to discuss the West End of Ludington Avenue."  It also mentioned a link to the plans and drawing on the city website, of which I have never seen since using the city website often since 2008. 

On March 14, 2013, I received the response from Mr. Shay:

"I have attached the City of Ludington’s response to the 185th FOIA request that you have submitted. There are 37 pages of records at $0.25 per page for a total cost of $9.25. Upon receipt of your payment, the City will release the records to you. The City does not have official minutes to the meeting on February 20, 2007."

3-14-2013 FOIA Response was also provided.

This prompted me to respond later that day with the following:

"John,

Do you have the public notice for that February 20, 2007 meeting?

Also, since you have stated that the sole reason to make unasked for copies of records when I ask to inspect records is to protect the records from a variety of abuse at the unwashed public's hands, what is preventing you from scanning the originals and sending it in a .pdf file? Or is this solely at the discretion of the FOIA Coordinator?

I keep reading the State's FOIA policy over and over again, the court precedents, but can't find any kind of discretionary powers conferred to FOIA Coordinators in that law (beyond the ability to forestall fees entirely if they think it is within the public good to disclose)-- they are supposed to abide by the requestor's wishes within reason and act within the FOIA-- but see it in almost every section of the City's FOIA policy since the City has done major overhauls of this policy twice over the last two years. You are practically asking for this unreasonable policy to be challenged for its lawfulness.

Can you begin to actually start providing records in accordance with your duty to the people to do so? I am asking for something in this instance that shouldn't at all be secret, but you charge me, an indigent person with an affidavit on file with your public body, money to inspect what should be broadcast at your open meetings and put on your website. As it is, I am compiling this information, summarizing my concerns, and sending it to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund to supplement your grant application for the West End Project.

Having public hearings in the middle of winter without providing the citizens any sort of context for what this project entails, relying on public disclosure over 6 years ago that was predominantly negative to the concepts, charging over $60 to look at the grant application, is not how these projects should work."

Following that exchange, I received no further responses, so I did move on to notify the MI DNR of the way the city was handling this project later that year, and caught the City Manager in his usual web of lies after receiving the city's application through them, at no cost.

The Implications

The year 2007 would see the City leadership cloaked under the cloud of scandal courtesy of the former Building Inspectors Jack Byers' lawsuit claiming violations of the Whistleblowers' Protection Act and the Open Meetings Act (OMA). It's difficult to go into too much detail of the particulars of this suit, because the City has obstructed any review of their records, including the non-exempt court pleadings, by similar tactics used here. But let's take a look at the OMA and how it would apply here.

Shay said the February 20, 2007 event was a public meeting, which indicates a formal gathering. This was not a workshop or a brainstorming session, this was a meeting to discuss public policy, to be attended and ran by city officials. As such it needed to be properly noticed to the public, which doesn't appear to have been done, and official minutes needed to be kept, which weren't, by the city manager's admission.  Shay has referenced another 'public meeting' having took place also, which also had those two failings of a proper public notice and minutes. 

Thus, either each meeting was in violation of the Open Meetings Act or they were not the 'public meetings' that John Shay, Heather Tykoski and other officials have said on numerous occasions that they were, or were going to be.

Law and/or ethical violations aside, the records show that the West End Project was a conceptual idea even before July 2004, that after an attempt to get a $70,000 grant for engineering what needed to be done, they eventually petitioned for and received a $50,000 grant.

They eventually spent over $51,000 to Progressive AE to design the blueprints for what they wanted to do, and eventually broke it down into phases and values that have became rather fluid through the years, as Deb Del Zoppo found out at the last meeting when trying to get some facts from Shay.  Back at a time when Heather Tykoski was Heather Looney, they gave out a lot more info than they are now:  

Nowadays, they are trying to put up canoe racks and signs, walk back their sand dune walkway and cost projections, and generally change this project designed by a firm with employees that may have never even set foot in the area they wish to change so dramatically. What a colossal waste of cash and time have they wrought.

[Willy]

I found a City of Ludington web site that describes John Shays position as Manager. I thought it was serious piece of information until I read the last sentence and it was then that I realized that site must have been sponsored by comedy central. I also searched for pictures under John Shay and found the image below.

[AQUAMAN]

Thank you XLFD for the trip down memory lane. A nice compilation of detailed dates and facts that surround this Boondoggle Project. Imagine ALL the roadblocks that were, and also the ones that continue to this very day. After a full 11-12 years of controversy and lies, there still isn't any definitive specifications to this first phase that remains very unfriendly to locals, and strictly opposed by thousands. Even a city council 4th ward man can't answer the questions, and can't identify even one constituent that favors it.

[XLFD]

You're welcome, Aquaman, and since you're talking wards, let us remind the populace that the West End of Ludington is squarely in the Third Ward.  Let us also remind the people that Councilor Leslie Warren Johnson, current occupant of the Third Ward seat, has only had glowing praise for the project when he opens his mouth about it.

 

He never wants to justify its high cost or address the unpopularity of it among anybody other than city officials who choose to get some 'free' state tax/fee money from it, and why he doesn't want the issue to come to a public vote as our charter directs when we change the public use of a park. 

My attitude of it hasn't changed either, except I have grown more against it as I find the city manager willing to lie and obfuscate the facts to the citizens and the DNR Trust Fund Board, and see the utter ridiculous aspect of 'landscaping' with non-native and invasive species a beautiful natural section of the park and setting up visually-obstructive canoe racks and water trail signage in areas where they claim they don't want to block the view. 

[shinblind]

Somebody needs to do a facebook with the info on whom to contact in the SOM to abort the West End Scheme. 

There should also be a Go Fund Me page seeking funds to run ads in the COLDS and in MCP stating our position and whom to contact in the State.

This thing, this West End Scheme isn't going to suck the life out of itself. This Zombie Project must be killed in its crib.

It is a War. 

[AQUAMAN]

shinblind, with all due respect, I already posted the contact for the SOM in the other thread. It's Tamara Jorkaski, Grants Mgmt. Section, MDNR, Constitution Hall, P.O.Box 30425, Lansing, Mi. 48909. Call: 517-284-5948 or email:[e-mail]. Send her as many emails and snail-mails in opposition as possible, along with anyone else interested. Thanks.

[shinblind]

Got to keep the fires on this stoked Aquaman.

Soon it will be summer. People will be distracted with warm weather, the beach, fishing, cookouts and the election. This will fall by wayside if you don't keep it stoked.

Apathy is your enemy. 

Shay operates under the cloak of apathy to further his agenda.

[AQUAMAN]

Absolutely right shinblind. My 3rd mailing to Tamara went out yesterday on this matter. Also sent her 2 emails. She only replied that it would be presented during the grant application hearing, whenever that is. Did X say that would be much later, Dec. 7th or so? That's a long time to wait. But it does give more time for input, lots and lots of negative input against the project. Thanks for any help.

[Brad]

Yesterday I sent the first of my emails to Tamara Jorkasky Grant Coordinator and the Trust Board. I plan on sending others before each grant hearings and definitely before December 7th.  Unsure if I will be able to, but wondering if anyone can attend the grant hearing December 7th?

EVERYONE opposed the desecration of the West End NEED to send emails or letters to Tamara and the Trust board. The only way to stop this is to stop the grant. The city council, manager, employees will NOT listen.

Here again is Tamara’s last response to me.… ”The City of Ludington did submit a grant application for the Stearns Beach Recreation Area at the dead end of Ludington Ave. Recommendations will be made by the Trust Fund Board December 7. There are other Trust Fund Board meetings prior to that meeting. All meetings are open to the public. Here is a link to the meeting schedule, http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-65134_65142-318972--,00.html. Let me know if you have any other questions.

The application number is TF16-0035. The Board does not make recommendations on projects until December 7 and it is open to the public. If you have items that you want to bring to our attention you can e-mail or send letters and I will include them with the grant application as part of our review. If you would like to bring things to the attention of the Board you may attend any of the meetings. I would recommend attending a meeting prior to December 7. I would recommend the October 19 meeting."

Grant Coordinator:

Tamara Jorkasky, (Region 2&4) Grants Mgmt

Section MDNR

Constitution Hall

525 W. Allegan St., P.O.Box 30425

Lansing, Mi. 48909

517-284-5948

[e-mail]

Trust Board:

Dr. William E. Moritz, Director
Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 30028
Lansing, MI 48909
517-284-6367
[e-mail]

Brad Canale
2028 Audubon
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
734-647-7038 - Business
[e-mail]

Steven Hamp
1520 Harding Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
313-961-0500 - Business
[e-mail]

Samuel Cummings, Chair
CWD Real Estate Investment
15 Ionia, SW, Suite 630
Grand Rapids, MI
616-726-1700 - Business
[e-mail]

Erin McDonough, President
Michigan Oil and Gas Association
124 W. Allegan Street, Suite 1610
Lansing, MI 48933
517-487-1092 – Business
[e-mail]

Or at: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-65134_65142-39501--,00.html

I feel it is also good to email the board members.

Thank you Shinblind and Aquaman for above contact info and thanks to everyone’s opposition. We all must be resilient.

[shinblind]

Thank you Brad. I hope you publish that post here at least weekly if not more often.

We also need to get the word out on facebook twitter and other social media. Groups like Vanished Ludington and Vanished Manistee.

I also believe a timely ad with the local print medias would reach people that would otherwise not be informed of this. What would it cost for a bordered classified with bold type in the Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day issues? Maybe Macker? It would be a good cause for someone running for City Council to take up (hint hint). I am willing to put my money   behind what I believe in.

The most important thing is to get the word out.

[MED]

I would contribute to the cost of running such an ad. Don't forget tournament week July 14-17 of this year. Many fishermen in town that week and they all have a great love for the area and the wild sands of our west coast.

[Willy]

Count me in for a contribution.

[Brad]

Came back to this post looking for info.

So any guess who wanted to destroy the West End in the first place...?  Tykowski and Shay... Hendersen... Coleman...  I know it seems to be part of Tykowski's "legacy".  Where did this scheme come from?

And who truly supports the West End demise..?  Other then if one is looking for favor later from COL.