Top Ten 2019 Exposures of the Ludington Torch

[XLFD]

Happy New Year.  In further commemoration of the end of the previous decade, this is the secondary top ten list of achievements in 2019 of the Ludington Torch, which highlights the investigative journalistic aspect of this website.  The other 2019 top ten list highlighted more of our activity outside of journalism, where we sought help from courts, other public agencies, and individuals in order to correct wrongs or make various public entities more transparent and accountable.

In this list, we concentrate more on the Torch bringing light to the folks in order to foster awareness of what's all going on in this neck of the woods.  Unlike the COLDNews and Mason County Press, we do not have a habit of ambulance-chasing or reporting on 'news' unless it has been overlooked by them and others.  Besides supplementing what those media offer, we have a habit of looking around and finding items of interest that they look over or fail to report on due to what seems to be their higher degree of loyalty to public officials rather than to the public. 

We never make that mistake here at the Ludington Torch.  As we concentrate most on City issues, you will find nine of the exposes deal with the City of Ludington in some way; one should not infer that this makes it the most secretive or corrupt agency in the area, just that it is our main focus and its problems become magnified because of that.

So without further tumult, here is the last year's best exposures in an order that could be easily debatable:  

10)  June 2019: Exposed the likely reason why the City spent six times what it could have for engineering on Legacy Park rather than take the low bid.  Chemistry

"So instead of spending $840 and going with the same person who provided a perfectly fine 2D rendering in 2014 and a surprisingly low estimated cost for the project then (about half of what (Heather) Tykoski herself estimated), and someone who is clearly talented enough to use 3D software (had that been part of the RFP), they are going to spend $5150, or over six times as much, on Prein & Newhof's Matt Levandoski… When Levandoski turned in his original proposal paperwork on May 6th, he thanked her profusely for all the time she spent helping him put it together, and met once again with her personally later that day. This was the day where the DDA reviewed his and Progressive AE's proposals. 

9)  August 2019: Exposed police breakwall enforcement was for revenue generation rather than public safety

"The LPD along with their arm called the beach patrol were 'not doing their jobs' because they had not been writing tickets for people walking out on the breakwall; no, they were not doing their jobs because they failed to stop people from going out on the breakwall during hazardous conditions or set up a meaningful blockade.

8)  Feb 2019: Exposed an unethical diversion of charity money and treasury swapping scheme for Brandy Miller's self-marketing

"It was decided by Ludington City Councilor/Chamber President/Executive Director of the LCVB/DLB voting member Brandy Miller to write a check effectively to herself rather than to who it was supposed to go to. No wonder she's grinning so widely, since Tooman will need to give it back to her once the picture is taken for her 'charity' which isn't a charity at all."

7)  April 2019: Exposed the City's part in the closure of Ludington radio station WMOM

"A subcommittee which made the decision for the whole DDA Board, as noted in the next meeting of the DDA, where it was announced that the 'powerless' committee had already unilaterally denied the radio contract and directed the DDA's money into video production... One needs only look at how WMOM was exploited by city officials and then trashed by city officials to recognize what happened in this case wasn't good for the downtown, wasn't good for the local business climate."

6)  May 2019: Exposed LGBTQ inequality, in that they were able to use city parks without going through the usual process other groups had to endure

"Organizers of West Shore Pride have never had to go through a process that all others are forced to go through, even other controversial events like 'All Hands on Deck'. Witness the Fourth of July parade and fireworks, a Ludington staple, was approved tonight by council along with the Daily News' Boat Show. So why is West Shore Pride being given a free pass to invade a park every year?"

5)  Feb 2019: Uncovered a student loan scheme originating in the LPD cadet training program where the City dispensed forgivable loans approved by a standing committee 

"Neither the cadet or the lateral-entry programs described in the 'advisory' Personnel committee have been approved by the full council. The 'Retention and Loan Agreement' shows that the Chief's cadet program has been accepted as public policy prior to the 1-14-2019 meeting, the council's unanimous approval (with reservation by a councilor elected since the policy was 'supported' by three current councilors in committee) show that the unlawful loan was considered proper by them... Everybody needs to be scared about why there was no question of the legality of this loan from where it originated: from Chief Barnett and City Attorney Wilson-- those who define the law as it pertains to Ludington."

4)  November 2019: Exposed the very non-transparent lease agreement the City entered into with the state to lease Harbor View Marina, the process is pending challenge in 2020

"In the memorandum recommending the council should approve the lease agreement provided, it acknowledges that an alternative would be for the state to operate Harbor View with a management team and notes that the state does "not wish to compete with a municipal facility."
I can think of a half dozen private marinas who have had the same sentiment over the last forty years. Now they will have the daunting task of competing with not one but two municipal marinas, created and maintained through millions of state and federal tax dollars, all while portraying themselves as enterprise funds. Just look at how that 'enterprise fund' went crying to the state for a couple of million dollars in free grant money for new docks. Look at how that enterprise fund got a quarter million for marina dredging, a half million for transient docks from state grants over the last decade, grants which are funded by taxes and boater registrations. Private marinas can't do that, they have to pay taxes from any profits they manage, taxes which help their competition prosper and make more facilities. 

If they ever look for a helping hand from the state, all they get is the finger. It’s time for the state and city to consider providing better essential services for all, not wastefully building and maintaining redundant recreational facilities for the rich.

3)  May 2019: Exposed false problems and costly overcharges and overestimations in proposed school bond improvements before and after election, further exposed violations of election law

"Have fun paying those extra taxes to do whatever the contractors (none within 100 miles of Ludington) want to do with your schools, you'll be happy to learn they have reserved enough to tear down all the other schools they are replacing, including perfectly functional Foster Elementary."

2)  August 2019: Repeatedly exposed and explored the unequal application of the City's code of conduct for public officers

"I was shocked to hear that the mayor said Councilor Serna impugned the character and performance of Chief Barnett and the rest of the city council, and stunned to hear Councilor Kathy ironically call Serna rude, disrespectful, and a liar in what was an apparent violation of the code of conduct. All was done without proof or further discussion before this council who unanimously declared Serna to be the very essence of evil.

Since then, I have sought out those inflammatory posts and received them from Mayor Miller and found out that the episode at the last meeting was a bit of localized hysteria, fortunately contained before it could spread out from that side of the podium. In question were a couple of social media posts where the police were called out for not doing their jobs, and the council was called out for doing their job in secrecy, which quite frankly, were both true. The allegations were well founded and neither impugned the character or motives of either agency or any individual."

The last exposure was chosen as #1 for all of the flak I received at the prior council meeting from a range of individuals, when I faulted the city council for giving the interim city manager (Jackie Steckel) a pay raise without justification other than the employee's statements that she worked 80 hours a week and yet had no obvious achievements over the time she wanted back pay.  The public deserved a reason, the council just said sure, have a raise, you did so much. 

I made a FOIA request for a one week window to see when she was working and what her work product was.  Other than some fairly unimportant E-mails, there was nothing to show for her work, and everything done during the week was during the normal work hours:  a 40 hour week.  Both council and Steckel showed what kind of public integrity they had by the incident.  

1)  April 2019: Exposed that the City wasted money on the sidewalk contract and the interim city manager's amended contract, who exaggerated her work hours:

"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 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."

[Willy]

Thank you X. When looking back on all of the questionable practices by City leaders it's hard to get them organized in my head but you have done a terrific job of condensing the major problems created by City officials that Ludington citizens were not allowed to know about. If not for you and the Torch we would still be a backwater town controled completely by unscrupulous people. Looking back on some of the most egregious goings on still makes me angry at how politicians try to use their offices for personal gain while ignoring the public. Articles like this along with the other ten 2019  misdeeds deserve a special place in the archives so that folks can quickly view a condensed chronology of unscrupulous politics and how they affect the average citizen.

[Freedom Seeker]

"While ignoring the public ..." When the public gets their tax Bill's is when the public takes most notice or is personally affected by one of the council's decisions.

People don't really care about Heather's chemistry, even if it cost the city six times as much. Or if the DDA is meeting illegally in subcommittee meetings until it affects them. In the end the hidden sins will be found out or affect them in some other karma unless it is challenged.

Break wall fiasco was interesting even if Councilor Serna got wrongly slapped. Seems the public was behind break wall monitoring, especially with three drownings. Holland just lost one over new years. Tragic. Barnett finally got in gear. He got away with the student loan scheme because it would take challenging it in court for municipal ethics laws.

Unethical filtering of money between Chamber and DDA, how will we ever know without a challenge? And the principals in charge have a big smile and a name to get away with it? Karma will eventually bite someone in the butt. A lot of the older citizens are aware, long suffering, and are awaiting that karma to justify arrogance and impudence.

Misuse of sidewalk funds, improper bidding, lacking sidewalk and misuse of funds to neglect infrastructure in sewer, roads, sidewalks and PM Bayou cleanup will haunt them. All of them down there can't be that ethically challenged and crooked.

Those that think they are getting away with this stuff will pay one way or another. Thanks for the information and the dedicated fight, XLFD and others!

[Du Wright]

Good points, Willy and FS. I agree that "unscrupulous" actions affect the taxpayers the most when their water bills and taxes keep going up and the potholes and sunken manholes don't get fixed because the city does a good job otherwise of deciding public projects pretty much in secret (as it had been until they were forced to open up and report committee meetings). When we get unpopular splashpads that take away our fishing park, and provide no sidewalks down a dangerous hill to the park for the kids. An administration that blew money like crazy, and never took care of the debris dumped into the bayou from their neglect of sewer infrastructure and squandered the grant to do so was never addressed. How about an unpopular west end to throw more beer parties for the tourists? And costs us more grief with the erosion and devastation caused by messing with the waterfront. Stupid ideas of a young generation that has little motive to save the taxpayer or even consider paying off the huge debt they're racking up like drunken sailors with an endless open tab.