Ludington Newspaper Double Faults on Coverage

[XLFD]

I was involved with a couple of stories the City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews) would cover on Tuesday, July 15, 2014.  The first one was in a section I haven't been in for a while, the sports section.  I had made a comment just a couple days before (in regards to a picture taken of me presenting a piece before the county commission) that I don't mind my name showing up in the COLDNews as long as they spell it right and keep it out of the "From the Record" section.  As if on cue, the new sports editor spoiled my second place finish at the 2014 Ludington Open Tennis Tournament by spelling my last name "Rada" (as seen in the orange square):

 

It surprised me how close I came to winning the big tournament, being that I haven't really been playing competitive tennis since I was in my late 20s (I just turned 50), and have only been able to play this year on the weekends with my brother, who lost in the semifinals to LHS tennis coach, Tom Kudwa. just like I did in the finals. 

The crafty veteran of sixty years used an eclectic game of strategy to win the title from us "Rada" folks.  Back when I was in high school in Scottville, Mr. Kudwa was my teacher for advanced math and science classes, and this weekend he would give me a tennis lesson.  The guy's a hoot. 

The lights will be on all night this coming Friday at the Schoenherr Tennis courts just north of the middle school to foster tennis playing in the area by one and all.  Grab a racquet and go if you want to play, it's not a contest so don't worry about your ability, or lack thereof.

 

 

 

Toward the end of the first section of the paper, the COLDNews Kevin Brasiczewski recapped the previous night's meeting, where I had a significant part thereof.  For those of you who wonder why I call the newspaper the City of Ludington Daily News rather than the Ludington Daily News (as it shows on its masthead), you need only look at these recaps at the end of most every meeting, and compare it with the video of the actual meeting.

Even though I make myself available at the end of the meetings before I go home to do more important stuff, Kevin (or Patti, his replacement) has never paid me a visit afterwards to get my proofs or comments.  If my involvement in the meeting makes the paper it is in a summarized or edited form that leaves out key points, misstates it entirely, or ignores it. 

Either way is fine with me, as it just goes to prove the point that they are working for the City of Ludington, the corrupt entity at the head of our city government, and not the people of Ludington, who deserve the full story, not just what the COLDNews deigns to relieve themselves on us with.

This day, they would only focus on the points I made about the property recently sold at a fraction of its worth.  My full public statement on it was printed here and I said a condensed form of what I fully uncovered here: 

 

"The City acquired this property from the estate of Lee Peters, and tore the disintegrating building down at a price to the taxpayers of nearly $50,000.  After this the lot was appraised at $50,000 in 2003.  In 2006, Bob Gibson, who owned a neighboring parcel made an offer on the property and was shot down by the Building & Licensing Committee chaired by Councilor Castonia, with Councilor Holman also on board.  The reasons they stated were that it would limit the possibilities of future development and wondered if parking was the best use of the land.  A request from Kirby in 2007 to purchase and use the space for tenant and business parking was also turned down flatly by John Shay, stating that the city felt "their would be better uses for the property" as found by that previous meeting.

Six years later, John Shay bypasses the committee and brings an outrageous offer from his daughter's soccer coach in front of this full council.  The City will sell the lot for only $5000, fully one-tenth of the lot's assessed value in 2003, and one-tenth of the amount the taxpayers spent to demolish the Peter's Building.  The property would be used for the private parking of his trailer, only, and the rest will be a private lawn. 

So now, we sell this lot nestled in the midst of the business district not for public parking, which would be a conforming and a desirable use, but as a side yard with restrictions against development into anything but a 'green space'.  We sell it not for fair market value, as proposed by the previous interested buyers, but for a meager fraction of its worth to be used for private, non-business use by close associates to the City Manager.   What is perhaps the most disgraceful thing is that  you all voted for this without discussion of how it was unfair to the public to sell it for less than a tenth of its worth without putting it on the open market and selling it for a use that was not desirable in a business district."

Brasiczewski does more than usual by factually expressing one of the more important points I make.  But then he launches into the councilor's and city manager's lame defense of this action without any question thereof.  Councilor Winczewski seems to believe that a green space in a business district is the best thing around.  I could agree with her in several situation if it was a publicly available space made into a park to help the surrounding district attract extra business.  But it isn't; it's just a private side yard surrounded by buildings that ruin any park effect. 

The reportage of the transaction (outside of this website) left out enough details to alarm the citizens about the fairness of the transaction, or the underlying sweetness of the deal for Sweetwater Holdings LLC (Nathan and Amanda Grubich).  Shay's reported defense mentions a recent assessment of the property that amounts to 1/3 of the 2003 price (even though I have reviewed the FOIA I received from the and found no written records of any such assessment, and no reference to it in the recent correspondence), which means that Shay is relying on an oral assessment from someone who he fails to mention.  It might not even be an assessor. 

 

His further statement that it will keep a downtown business downtown shows just what a farce this City of Ludington and its culture of cronyism has become.   This isn't the first business who have threatened to move if the City leaders didn't bend over backwards to give them a special privilege, whether it be a special tax abatement, a no-bid contract, or a sweetheart deal like this.  All of these deals put extra burdens on the regular taxpayers whom don't think it's proper to extort the local government and have other people pay their way.  

[Willy]

It is still rather unbelievable that the Council boldly ignores the best interest of the citizens by doing a favor for one of their friends. Wait a minute, I take that back. They actually are acting as expected. Cronyism at it's best is alive and well in Ludington.

[XLFD]

 At last night's LIAA meeting, Councilor Winczewski (who is also on the Planning Committee) came over to my table to discuss the issue with the property.  I will give her credit for being the most stand-up councilor, but I questioned her about the recent $16,000 assessment and was told by her that to her understanding the assessment was made by their current assessor (Brent Bosley).   To which I had to reply sarcastically that "oh, there's no conflict of interest there."

But like at the end of the most recent meeting, she went on to talk about how it was so nice now to be able to have this green space and that it's going to be there forever because of the purchase agreement, and before we could really get more into it, Dusty Christiansen of LIAA started the meeting underway.  It prohibited me from eventually telling her that it had been a 'green space' under control of the City since 2002, and now it will be a 'green space' under control of a private entity who can kick anyone off the property at will if they decide to wander through the 'green space'.

As for prohibiting the now-private property owners from ever developing that 'green space' into anything productive, be it parking lot or structure, when it's surrounded by buildings in a business district, shows only that our planners and councilors are drunk with insane power.  These kinds of decisions, coupled with their denials of Kirby's and Gibson's to make this lot a productive space, is why our city is struggling.

The meeting itself was rather dry, other than a very interesting presentation by a County Planning Commission member, Mike Shaw, at the end about the US 10 Corridor between Ludington and Scottville.  I'm hoping to get a copy of the presentation, because it was loaded with good ideas, for once.

[AQUAMAN]

The fact that most city councilors have engaged in government jobs and activities all their human lives, earning $$$ from the public trough, is the reason for such non-business like thinking imho. I went to school with both Kathy and her hubby Mike long ago, both are great people. But I don't think Kathy has the business acumen to understand the full implications of her proposal and eventual actions that the COL approved. It's certainly not a good financial decision, and to say we want to expend $45K in losses, simply because these people are a "good investment", is totally against the foundations of sound business decisions. I would also finalize that statement that if this is the case, and so true, why not invest in many more financial losses, into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and make more decisions like this that benefit the locals, home grown local business owners, not some late comers to Ludington? Wouldn't locals certainly play a more important and dedicated part to promote the COL, than someone that may just sell this property into the near future for a huge profit? Is there any guarantee they won't? I didn't see any! This whole episode was a sham from the start, and even more so at the finish line. 

[XLFD]

So like when one of our local private marinas fall on hard times (like they all are due to the unfair competition and practices of the Municipal Marina), the City Manager can offer them the City Marina for cents on the dollar to keep these businesses in Ludington, and bring fairness back to the table.  No longer will one marina not have to pay property taxes, receive millions of dollars in improvements paid for by our state taxes through the DNR, get discounted gas, etc.

And maybe we can throw in a stipulation that this new private marina has to keep their bathrooms, fish cleaning station, etc. open to the public for use, like the current public marina doesn't, even though their agreements with the State say they must.  But this won't ever happen, because the City would rather beat these businesses into submission.

[Willy]

And don't forget the untold thousands of dollars of lost taxes that lot represents. I don't know Councilor Winczewski but her actions speak volumes about what is between her ears and in her heart. She and the other "go alongs" are making a mess of the City's' reputation.

[XLFD]

There is really little difference between this transaction and the deal with the Danaher lots near the water tower.  The taxpayers paid for the demolition of structures, were partially reimbursed by private purchase at severely discounted rates, used a non-public medium to determine how to deal the properties out, etc.   It's the Ludington Way, under our current management.

[AQUAMAN]

And again I repeat what I have said in the past about such decisions coming at a timetable that finds citizens all too busy with family and holiday, or blizzards. The timetable this time was 4th of July celebrations. Are people watching closely the actions of their city council and officials, or are they trying to enjoy the height of the summer with family, friends, and good weather?