The Place Where Ludington Talks
Torch E-Forum 2012: District 5-7 County Commissioners
This is the first in a series of three articles on the candidates who will have their contests decided on the August 7 primary, this amounts to almost all races in the County as everyone running in contested races are Republicans. The following link shows how to contact each candidate running for office if you have other questions, providing phone, E-mail and addresses of each candidate Mason Co. Candidates August Primary
The first in our series will be the last numerically for County Commissioners. Three races will be spotlighted in this thread, the next thread will contain the candidates for treasurer, surveyor, and district 1; the last thread will cover races for district 2-4 commissioners. The districts have went down to seven from ten just this year, and the new districts have been reshaped by 2010 Census data Mason Co. Redistricting Map. Feel free to comment in the thread on anything the candidates present, or don't present, but try to limit it to just these candidates.
District 5: (pink on map) Summit Twp, Riverton Twp, Scottville City, PM Twp (s. of US 10)
Dale White v. Mary Nichols (Incumbent): Both responded to the questionaire. Ms. Nichols replied:
"Thank you for your time and efforts in keeping the residents of Mason County informed on issues.
I will be attending the forum Scottville Band Shell in Scottville on Monday July 23 and Kiwanas Pavillion in Ludington on Tuesday July 31 and will address the excellent questions that
you have posed at that time. I look forward to seeing you there!
Thank You! Mary Nichols"
Oy vey; it's good I know her positions from her previous stances, cause she makes it hard to get this blog out to print. But first here's Mr. White's replies to questions he paraphrased in his response:
"Regards to answering your questions:
1) What differentiates Mary & Dale:
a) Mary Nichols and I both have similar views on County issues
b) I due not have any thing negative to say about
2) Regarding Health Insurance and compensation:
a) I due not believe in my hart a commissioner should receive any health insurance.
b) $20,000 of health insurance is out of the question.
3) Is $1000 a meeting fair?
a) I was a commissioner back in the 1980’s of a small town in the Upper Peninsula, at that time we received around $12.00 per meeting. Knowing it normally takes 4 to 5 hours research & correspondence for each issue that should be part of the consideration. Manistee’s compensation package of $500 a year I feel is a little short however.
b) I think $1,000.00 per meeting is out of the question
4) Public’s best interests in regards to the Wind Park?
a) I guess this depends on what side of the issue the public was on. Each side of the issue was hard set of either for or against with no changing of there minds. I think the 2 million consumers offered the county was considered appropriate by on side and bribery by the other side. I was supposes of this project as a whole. Being an electrical contractor for over 42 years and knowing wind in general in Michigan is only around 8 % efficient I think this project is one waste of money.
5) The Greatest accomplishments of the commissioners in the last two years?
a) I am sure the wind park in the commissioners eyes is up there.
b) I feel this wind park will end not only coasting the consumer at least 50% More in energy but the end result is this county will end up the looser at the end.
6) What accomplishments do I hope to gain the next 2 years?
a) I hope either Mary or my self may make a little difference on the board slow down the spending. The county board is a little to liberal for my taste."
Interestingly, I believe Dale is right about him and Mary having similar views, and I look forward to hearing her look two years forward and backward in her live forums.
District Six: Victory, Sherman, Freesoil, Meade, and Sheridan (north half) Twp. (green on map)
Janet Anderson v. Rich Morong (Incumbent)
Both candidates failed to return their questionaires. Morong voted for raising Commissioner's salaries and was usually voting for the wind farm's passage. Ms. Anderson failed to let her positions be known.
District Seven: Logan, Eden, Custer, Branch, Sheridan (south half) Twp. (purple on map)
Floyd Kaminski, Aldon Maleckas, and Tom Posma (Incumbent)
As you will note, long-term incumbent Posma failed to list his E-mail address on the voter's list, and although we eventually got his E-mail from Aldon Maleckas, it was too late. Nothing more unprofessional than not giving out an E-mail address when you are a public official.
Floyd Kaminski did not answer timely, an unwise option (his answers, given a day late, are at the bottom. Better late than never!)
Aldon Maleckas impressed me by his answers (questions in blue):
1) Tom Posma has served on the County Commission over the last few years. Aldon: what differentiates you from him on the issues that are of concern to you? The County Commission has failed to represent county residents by disregarding information supplied by residents affected by the wind farm in Riverton Township. In addition, I think that Commissioners should make more of an effort to ask their constituents how they feel about County issues. When I called Commissioner Posma to find out how his district felt about the proposed wind turbines, he only told me about the opinions of non-resident experts. I expected a comparison of the pros and cons of the wind park and a statement that he had talked to a large number of his district residents and that the majority was in favor of the wind park; this did not happen. I do not see how the existing Mason County Comprehensive Plan could allow an industrial wind farm in an agricultural and residential area; after all, the retention of the scenic character of the landscape (so cherished by residents and visitors) is important to the plan. Zoning ordinances came about to eliminate land use conflicts and to preserve the status quo so that people that make investments have some idea that radical changes within their zoning district are not going to happen tomorrow. The addition of a new use to a zoning district needs to be done conservatively. The addition of 50-story tall industrial wind turbines to Mason County agriculturally zoned districts is bringing an enormous change to the existing small scale agricultural and residential community in Riverton and Summit Townships. Current residents are justified in their concern about their lifelong investment in their homes and their future quality of life among industrial turbines.
2) County Commissioners currently meet once a month for about 1.5 hours per meeting, and yet some have received up to about $20,000 a year for health and dental insurance for this part-time job, and receive a healthy per diem for committee meetings within the county. Do you think this is fair compensation for the job performed? Explain. All County Commissioner’s compensation should be approved by ballot. It is not my job to determine if the Commissioner’s compensation is fair; it is the people of Mason County.
3) A current proposal from the Finance Committee looks to eliminate health insurance for all Commissioners who have benefitted from it in the past and instead about triples the current base salaries of the Commissioners up to $11,200- $13,000 and increases per diem. With the current difficult economic times in Mason County, do you feel this is ethical of the Commissioners to do? Is $1000 a meeting a fair amount in compensation for the Commissioners? Explain. Let the people of Mason County decide.
4) Do you believe the County Commissioners have operated with the interests of the public in mind as regards the Lake Winds Energy Farm? No. On May 19, 2011, the County Commissioners first voted to pass the wind turbine regulations recommended by the Planning Commission. The Board of Commissioners then bypassed both the Planning Commission and the public and immediately voted to amend the newly passed regulations with changes requested by Consumers Energy. Instead, these changes proposed by Consumers Energy should either have been presented at a Public Hearing in front of the Board of Commissioners so that all residents could comment on them, or they should have been sent back to the Planning Commission for further review and further public comment through Planning Commission meetings thereby allowing the pros and cons of each concern to be aired. Commissioners are not elected to rule their districts, they are elected to represent the views of the residents that elect them; however the commissioners cannot do this if they do not allow the public time to review and comment on proposed legislation or amendments.
Has Consumer's Energy, in your opinion, received any special treatment from the County of Mason over the course of time since before the Commission developed its zoning policy for wind energy? Yes, wind turbine developers in general have received special consideration by the Board of Commissioners. Under the original 2004 wind turbine zoning regulations, wind turbines were not allowed in a square mile section that contained twelve houses or more. In 2005, at the request of a wind turbine developer named Midland Energy, the “twelve houses in one square mile requirement” was voted on by the Board of Commissioners and eliminated from the wind turbine zoning regulations. The elimination of this requirement opened up much more area, no matter how dense the homes were, to industrial wind turbine development.
Consumer’s Energy became visible sometime in 2007/2008. Since that time, the Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners have worked with Consumer’s Energy to further change Mason County’s zoning ordinance so that their wind turbine project could be developed in Riverton and Summit Townships. In 2008, the Board of Commissioners allowed the noise decibels from wind turbines to increase from 45 dBA at the property line of uneased owners to 55 dBA. In 2009, Consumers Energy worked with the County to create a regulation that allowed them to “pool” eased land, thereby reducing the requirement for setbacks between eased properties. In the fall of 2010, Consumers Energy worked with the County to get an amendment approved to allow an increase in height of MET towers to 315’. Under the current wind turbine zoning regulations, wind turbines are allowed as close as 2 times the turbine height from the property line of an uneased owner (952’ for a 476-foot tall turbine) and 1.5 times the height of the turbine from the home of an eased owner (714’ for a 476’ turbine). Regulations written by the Planning Commission and approved by the Board of Commissioners have allowed turbines to be placed close to homes and have allowed Consumers Energy’s project to go forward. It is interesting to note that Ralph Lundberg, a Planning Commission member, will have five turbines on his property which will earn him thousands of dollars in the following years. Although more recently Mr. Lundberg has recused himself from wind turbine votes, he was very involved in the writing of the original wind turbine regulations and in changes through 2005. If these various amendments to the zoning ordinance had not been passed by the Board of Commissioners, the wind turbine project would not have happened. Yes, Consumer’s Energy did receive special treatment.
Has this process been transparent enough for the people affected? Some of the people in Mason County reacted to the changes in the zoning ordinance; their information and concerns about the wind farm and the changes to the zoning ordinance were ignored. Consumer’s Energy’s concerns were not ignored. On May 19, 2011, Consumer’s Energy’s changes to the zoning ordinance were presented to the County Commissioners without Planning Commission input or time for public review and comment. Commissioners were given five minutes to study the seven pages of changes before they voted. I doubt the majority of the people of Mason County are aware of how the wind farm happened or all the implications of the industrial wind turbines in a small-scale agricultural and residential area.
5) What are the two greatest accomplishments the County Commissioners have been part of in the last two years? The recent vote to equalize compensation for all County Commissioners.
6) What two accomplishments would you hope to be part of in the next two years of service to the County? If I can convince a majority of residents in District 7 that these accomplishments would benefit them, I would work so the zoning ordinance and changes to the zoning ordinance would have to be approved by ballot before they become effective and that the County should look into a Land Bank to counter the destruction of property values and the County tax base caused by property foreclosures and tax sales.
Final comment: As an individual I have my own opinion; if elected as a District 7 representative, I should represent the opinion of the District 7 residents. I believe in majority rule and the right of the minority to be heard and for their concerns to be answered. This gives the minority the opportunity to change the majority opinion. A County Commissioner should represent the opinion of the people that elected him; not the opinion of the United States government, the Michigan government, some corporation with deep pockets, or his personal opinion."
Floyd Kaminski (same questions as Aldon):
Your first question. What concern me most on the county commission board is
that most of the member do not or have not listen to there voters in their area.
If some thing of that great importance that would effect the area I would go
out and and ask the voters on their ideas and then take them back to the board.
2. This is not fair. There should have never been health insurance given to
a person with a part time job. When looking up the meaning of full and part
time job I came up with the break down of 30 hours a week or less is consider
a part time job.
3. What a joke. I broke down the new base pay and it came to $933.33 per month.
For a person that works a $8.00 per hr has to work 116 to make this amount,
at 12.00 per hr has 77 hrs and one at 15.00 a total of 62.25 hrs. If the board
members with their 2 hr monthly meeting and put in at home 3 hrs for county
work this still breaks down to 66.67 per hr. This is very unfair in these times.
4.I am not for or against the wind farm. I the late 60's everyone was in a uproar
about the pump storage project. That is now forgotten. I live on round lake
and about 10 years ago they put a tower up on Hanson rd and now in the evening
when sitting on my deck I have a blinking red light reflecting off the lake.
I got over it. This will pass and be excepted by most in the year to come. They
look better than a large coal burning power plant.
5. What great accomplishments have they done except a balance budget.
6. Lower the base pay and per diem for meetings to the board, and work to lower
the taxes to the people in the county."
No edits, additions, or deletions were used in making this forum. These are the candidates own words and opinions.
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