Rowe, Rowe, Rowe Your Boat Gently Down the Street

[XLFD]

Earlier today, WMOM reported the following:   "Yesterday, the city of Ludington was deluged with a heavy rain storm. What if you lived in constant fear that your basement would be flooded, every time a heavy rain came around? That's exactly happened to a single mother of two on North Harrison street. Allison Prince claims that she's made two formal complaints to the city since 2006.

Her home is next door to Rowe Engineering. Small pond forms in the truck dock loading area. When the rain water rises it spills over into her backyard and then seeps into her basement. She says that in past six years, she's lost a washer, dryer, water heater, and computer as a result of a flooded basement.

Mom News contacted Ludington City Manager, John Shay, who said he will personally inspect the situation and find a solution for Ms. Prince."

 At the Rowe Engineering Loading Dock, this morning one day after modest rains, note high water marks

 

The information arm of the Ludington Torch has been mobilized to check on the two formal complaints made by Allison to the city, and how they handled those.  In the meantime, we researched the available information to find that Allison's formal complaints had not been addressed publicly according to the published meeting minutes of the City's Planning Commission, City Council, etc.  But we did find that Allison was not the only one to complain about the lack of adequate drainage in that area. 

 

A woman on the 900 block of North Harrison {just west of Rowe and parallel to it} raised this issue according to the 7-14-2008 Ludington City Council minutes:  "...{She} questioned whether there were any guidelines regarding the runoff of water for factories and buildings in the City. City Attorney Roger Anderson stated that the zoning ordinance does require a site plan review which is to minimize runoff of properties on to adjourning properties. {She} stated that the amount of runoff water from the factory during this last big storm was 5 feet with 10-15 yards of dirt. There are no drainage pipes and Straits Steel and Wire built a gravel bed with pvc pipes which goes right into the parking lot and because she is the neighbor her house received the largest amount of runoff. She has asked that the City address this issue. His Honor Mayor Henderson asked that the Planning Commission and Site Plan to review this and see what the City can do to resolve this issue. 

 

She revisited this issue in the public comments at the next meeting on 7-28-2008, and was not replied to.  However, the next month's Municipal Marina Board meeting at Michael's Restaurant had the Board talking about Mayor Henderson's pet project, the transient docks at the marina: "Everything required by the DNR and DEQ is in place to begin the new transient dock project. A public notice regarding the project has been advertised by the State as required. The total cost is estimated to be between the eight and nine hundred thousand dollar range, but could change depending on how the bids come in. If the project can be bid soon, construction could start this fall." 

 

Nearly a million dollars altogether and dozens of meetings were put into those transient boat docks at the marina, whereas nothing in the public meetings of all the City's departments had any notice or money devoted to the transient lakes created by a moderate amount of rain in the area around Strait's Steel and Rowe Engineering. 

 

Not only do the taxpayers of that area have to deal with the flooding of their houses due to lack of a sufficient infrastructure plan to deal with drainage, and all the health issues that come with standing water, the City has continued to ignore all requests up to now in order to devote incredible amounts of money (over $2 million) to two unnecessary projects, in the next two years after this was brought to their attention (the transient docks and the water tower painting) at the 2008 council meeting, and after Allison Prince's initial complaint.

 

Has there been any official word from Mayor John Henderson or the Ludington Planning Commission since 2008?  No, they've been too busy thinking of how to improve the end of Ludington Avenue for about $700,000 by putting in a concrete walkway parallelling the beach, and going to the breakwall.  Seriously.

 

And now that Ludington City Manager John Shay has the football, do you think he's going to run with it?  Let's not forget, he was at those 2008 meetings and has likely looked at Allison Prince's complaints through the years, and has done zero.  If he now says he's going to address this-- get out your waders, ladies.

 

[XLFD]

It's always a good sign to see any media outlet question public policy.  That's what they are supposed to do after all.  It's easy enough to Ludington just run with Daily what the government News feeds you.

[Sweater Cows!]

The city is determined to "pave paradise to put up a parking lot"(sidewalk) at that area of the beach. Why do they want to screw up the one nice private area. Not everybody wants to be in the view of the whole of the beach when they go down there. A nice little private "NATURAL" area should be left for those , the sidewalk that leads to the breakwall now is sufficient.

[XLFD]

If I was at City Hall, I would be seeking and listening to public input on any kind of 'improvement' to a public park.  This current group could justify a westward expansion of House of Flavors into the existing park if they marketed it as an "ice cream park".  No doubt, the City's negligence of the Strait's area will soon be rationalized as an environmentally conscious creation of wetlands.

[XLFD]

Half wrong.  The paved way between the end of Ludington Avenue and the breakwall is a big part of proposed improvements that need to be okayed by the state before proceeding forth.  The overall project has been split in two to be able to get the needed money if both are approved.  This may not go through if the grant(s) are denied. 

But there will be a new way for people to get down to the beach in a wheelchair that was privately supported and funded.  The new walkway isn't concrete however, but will be made of planks that would be rolled up and stored during the off season.  This is to be put to the north of the beach, I believe, starting at the concession house there.  During the off-season, they'll still have to knock down and roll over the wind-fences, LOL.

[AQUAMAN]

Another shining example of city priorities, tourist related projects first, the public last. After 6 long years of ignoring and being ignorant to this situation, if I were Ms. Prince, I would seek damages for the appliance and computer losses, if she hasn't already with her insurance company. Either way, I would imagine other similar-like damages to several basement structures, and others in that area also might want a class action suit to get this matter taken care of and teach the city fathers to listen up and do their job!

[AQUAMAN]

Quite right X, we have addressed this subject before too. There are two (2) new walkways proposed for Stearns Park of recent. One is a dedicated handicap walkway from private donations, already having enough funding to happen; number two is the publicly grant funded walkway at the end of Lud. Ave. to the north breakwall. I agree with the handicap walkway, the other I disagree with. The disagreed walkway is proposed to be located on the south end of Stearns Park where privacy and a short/narrow beach now exists for locals in the know, local fishermen in the know, and so forth. The masses that usually attend the beaches in the summer, mostly tourists, don't really know nor identify with that section of beach, and therefore, it is rather unpopulated and popular for mostly locals that also want some privacy and enjoy the beach at the same time. Plus it is definitely a unnecessary expenditure into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, aimed at the tourist population again, instead of the locals needs for infrastructure long past needing repairs and maintenance.

[XLFD]

An update from WMOM on the flooding situation around North Harrison.  I noticed that there had been the construction of a retaining wall along the north extent of the Rowe Engineering property on Saturday, so they are doing something.  Debbie Rasmussen was the person who brought this to the City's attention in July 2008, and got the pledge from Mayor Henderson to have it looked at:

MOMs watchful eye continues to look at the situation on North Harrison Street. Friday morning we told you about Allyson Prince who lives near Rowe Engineering, a division of Straits Steel and Wire. Her yard floods after a heavy rain storm, like the one on Thursday morning. A pool of water that form in the Strait's parking lot then runs over into her yard. WMOM reported the situation to the City Manager. John Shay promised to look at the problem and report back to us. He did on Friday afternoon. He said that workers from the company would build a retaining wall to contain the excess water.

Now, Allyson Prince's neighbors, Randy and Debbie Rasmussen, report a similar situation at their home. They claim that water has been running over into their yard since 2006. They say that the problem began when Straits added on a new building and no drain was hooked up in the block. When a big storm came, the Rasmussen's also lost a furnace, water heater, pump and furniture.

At least one formal complaint was made to the city commission by the Rasmussen's four years ago. Both families are hoping that the city and Straits Steel and Wire can find a permanent solution to the flooding problem in the North Harrison street area.

[XLFD]

Today WMOM's Morning Madhouse Facebook page put up another installment of this Tuesday 5-8 post 11:58 AM WMOM.

Funny, a site plan review happened for Strait's just last year;  why wasn't this addressed then Planning Comm. and Mayor Henderson?  Debbie Rasmussen brings up that the City has not addressed the issue since her formal complaints.  That's what you get for not living in the downtown district, Debbie...