Ludington City Council Meeting 2-23-2015: Water, Water Everywhere

[XLFD]

With cold temperatures outdoors, ice a-forming and the snow a-blowing, the cozy confines of the Ludington City Council at the city hall featured a warmer water-themed night.  On the agenda was the council submitting an application to the State for city marina improvements, and the annual reports from 2014 of the three water-based city services:  water treatment, wastewater treatment, and utility maintenance. 

The only other item of note on the agenda was also water-based, approving a low bid for the exterior work on the proposed maritime museum.  Beyond the normal routines of approving agendas, paying the bills, and approving a road closure and 5K run, these rounded off the business of the city this night. 

The night of February 23, 2015 will likely be remembered for three other things that weren't on the agenda.  The first occurred at forty seconds into the meeting, with City Manager John Shay giving the invocation.  Typically, Chief Barnett does this, but for the second straight meeting he was absent, and so was the usual back-up Councilor Rathsack, and another likely alternate, Councilor Castonia. 

Untitled from Mason County District Library on Vimeo.

Listening to Mister Shay speak words of appeasement to God and invoke the name of Jesus Christ in his benediction has got to make one wonder why he has refused to swear an Oath of Office for his position when it is required to do so.  He was hired in 2003, I had got on his case about the oath of office back in 2010, my attorney asked him straight out in 2013 whether he had ever taken an oath of office, and he said he hadn't.  Without such an oath, he has made no covenant with the people of this city to follow the Constitutions of the State and Federal government.  

How can you be found to not follow your oath of office if you never have sworn an oath?  City hall has known of this act of omission for some time and is okay with it; perhaps it's because they realize that the unlawful acts he has been caught up in would have more consequences if he did.

The second event of note was that there was no public comment, not even from me.  For the first time since I started going to council meetings regularly in May 2012, I sat on my chair for the entire meeting.  It wasn't because I did not have something to comment on; I would have liked to comment on the city marina grant issue and a recent FOIA issue that I will both shortly report on, perhaps give notice that a May special election was coming up and it would be a great time to run a Fourth Ward special election to get a legitimate councilor for them.  I will give a "thumbs up" gift to anyone that can decipher why I did not talk at this meeting.

The third item was the arguable lack of a quorum for the last part of the meeting.  At 44:15 into the meeting, Councilor Tykoski was excused from the meeting (probably summoned by his dominant wife) and with his absence and the other two noted absences, there were only four councilors present.  As also noted, the legitimacy of Councilor Krauch is in question to all those who read and follow the written laws, so if we assume his votes are not legitimate, there were only three of seven councilors present, not enough for a quorum to decide issues. 

As there was a vote to later approve the Water Plant report and to accept the low bid for the museum project without a strict quorum, one could argue these votes were not valid if they accept the legal premise that Krauch's councillorship is invalid.

As for the water themes, the city council voted unanimously to approve the application for the first of potentially six grants from the DNR/Waterways to upgrade the four easternmost docks in the city marina (pictured above) at a total cost of over $1.8 million.  They also voted unanimously to accept the reports after asking questions.  Finally, they unanimously voted on accepting the low bid for the exterior work even though it was still about 20% more than the engineer's estimate of what it may cost. 

The City of Ludington will happily tell you that money for both projects do not come from the city's general fund, but they will be leaving out that the majority of funding will come indirectly from out of your pockets through taxation. 

Council packet for this meeting

[Willy]

You had an uncontrollable woody and didn't want to show up those on the Council who long to be long. If I'm correct then please make sure it's only a thumb that's going to be up.

Every time the State lavishes money on the Council to improve and maintain the City Marina only shows how unfair the playing field is for the private marinas who must struggle to compete against Governmental favoritism.

[XLFD]

Willy, you should know by now that such uncontrolled excitement is not sustainable when you're that close to Councilor Holman.  

Whereas that answer is wrong, your second paragraph is spot on.  The unfairness of the marina situation is completely ignored by the City leaders, who seem only interested in gaining extra funds and advantages over their private competition, and are gleefully ecstatic about it when they do.   I hope the next Third and Fourth Ward Councilor (and at-large councilor) to be decided in 2016 will make it a point to at least acknowledge the inherent injustice of what's going on and address it as an issue.  In the meantime, I'm creating a parable...

[Willy]

I agree X, Holman is definitely a reason to loose control, of what though, is the question. When the Mayor asks if anyone is apposed to an item that is being voted on is he saying "anyone apposed same sign"? I can't understand what he is saying. Another thing is when these City employees are  addressing the Council they should in fact be facing the public and the camera because that is who they really work for. My second guess for the reason you did not comment is that you gave up talking for Lent and your hoping Holman is attracted to the strong silent type.

[XLFD]

Before you waste a third and fourth guess insinuating my unrequited love of a certain at-large and in-charge councilor let me inform you that anything involving the undeniable chemistry between her and I is not even close to the answer you're seeking.  Aquaman's guess is a bit more on the mark.

What you're saying about these annual reports is seriously, a good idea.  Another great idea is to let the people ask questions of these department leaders, just like the councilors get the opportunity to do.  Councilor Winczewski would then be able to get a little extra time to have her dinner uninterrupted. 

Lastly, the mayor's phrase is an accepted way to call for votes, as long as it follows "All in favor of the motion please say aye (pause).  When he says "Anyone opposed, same sign.", it means that after he pauses again, anyone who says aye is in opposition to the motion.  I find this annoying myself, I think it's refreshing to hear someone say "Nay" once in a while. 

[stump]

I can imagine the thoughts going on in the minds of Shay, Cox and the few councilors that showed up for the meeting. What the hell is he going to spring on us now. LOL.

[AQUAMAN]

Quite a lengthy meeting, but many things were revealed, esp. in the infrastructure dept.. It's falling apart at the seams! Water dept., waste treatment plant, sewers, tiny 4" water mains long since outdated that remain in service, where 8" mains are the norm, and also are noted at 100+ years old. Water dept. storage tank that has been repaired with a new roof, long ago another patch, no longer able to treat water efficiently with improved chemicals since it's inception in 1957, and so much more. Even the admission of a waste of 650,000 gallons of water during a Friday Nite Live event, and still putting bandaid patches for cures. That's what the locals get for their taxes. Then, on again to tourist projects. A hefty and unbelievable $1.8 Million proposal for replacing city docks, passing with flying colors, while the infrastructure remains broken. Shame on these councilors, each and every one of them. Where in the world are your duties to the city? To safety? To MDEQ requirements put off all too long? To sludge and malfeasance in holding sewage ponds? I guess the ONLY way these people come to terms with reality, is for a major emergency breakdown in the systems. Note too that the LPD reports for several years running are reporting less crime and less arrests. Then why the increased budget for more people and more expense? The continued and flagrant injustices of priority spending by this council, is enough to make anyone sad, upset, and totally disgusted. X, the only reasons I can think of not commenting that nite was either a severe frog in your throat, or waiting for Barney to get back to work to address some other issues. Either way, your inaction got a big smerk from the big jerk, Shyster Shay III, and Kathy next to him, with her pitcher of margaritas down below the podium, not seen previously in sight until the last minute of adjournment.

[XLFD]

Thanks Aquaman for noticing the minutiae about the water systems particularly, of which I had practically forgotten to comment on.  The wastewater treatment plant chief Chris Cossette's frankness about the lack of a discharge permit since 2011 being the elephant in the room was refreshing, as was his and the other water chiefs coming up and acknowledging how far behind the city is on the water infrastructure, with 100+ year old water mains being the norm (56%) rather than the exception.  But when all this comes up what happens...

The City begins the process of applying for nearly $1 million in grants and putting nearly $1 million in upgrading their city marina docks, then they also oversee putting over $1 million towards building a maritime museum, with plenty of public funds coming from the state and even local sources. 

But what is most revealing is the councilor's questions and the lack of prioritization they ascribe to the situation.  The female councilors ask about what a difference it is between going from four to eight inches (at 25:00 in), and the adolescent inside me found it hard to not bust a gut with laughter with the innuendo that they are not talking about pipe widths.  The councilors questions seemed mostly on process, however, and danced away from what corrective methods the city will need to employ and the overall costs. 

When those chickens come home to roost, maybe they will wonder about why it was so expensive to correct, not realizing their waste of money on frivolous things over the years instead of on infrastructure repairs is the problem.

[AQUAMAN]

Okay, I also want to bring attention to the fact that Darryl Plamondon of the water dept. praised all his crew, esp. when an emergency situation exists, and the crew has to respond on their free time. The innuendo is hard to believe, that they don't get paid, and do this gratis. I praise them for responding alright, but per union rules, I'm guessing they get double or triple time, depending on the date and time of day. That certainly isn't a free will offering. And that situation shouldn't exist so often if the water lines were up to date to begin with. He also stated they only replace and maintain fire hydrants when spare time exists. That seem strange? I mean, that's the very essence for fire responders, having that fixture in tip top condition to put out fires, so that too isn't par performance. That also goes for any other water related dept. at the city, it's not free, nor a goodwill gesture by any means. The other water treatment plant at Stearns Park, the mgr. says they are training two new employees, so the regular maintenance time wasn't done because of this training. That too isn't par performance, it's clearly sub-standard, and another weak excuse. Ever also notice how the tag team system works with the councilors? Yes, again Holman and Johnson made tag team partner motions and seconded motions thruout the night, I counted at least 5 times, with no other councilors involved. Doesn't that sound planned ahead? I mean, what's the chances? It's very very slim that the same councilors are going to do this time and again. Lastly, I think Shay did a quicky job on the invocation. That sounded strained and pretentious, not to mention the fact he only spoke a total of 20 short seconds, thus reinforcing his anti-God stance and refusal to take an oath of office attitudes. Footnote: Kathy, when you come to a formal city council meeting, try to eat your meal beforehand, not during the meeting. It's rude, and unprofessional to say the least. She looked like a chipmunk at the beginning, with a full cheek full of food to chew, which I didn't appreciate. At first I thought it was just gum, but she chewed and swallowed it too. She also appears many times to be looking down her nose at people, with those glasses down on the bottom of the nose, kinda like Sen. Carl Levin does, in condescending fashion. Kathy, take your job seriously, NOT YOURSELF!

[AQUAMAN]

XLFD, if you are waiting to comment at the CC mtgs., with Chief Barnett present, you will have to wait until their April calendar. The Chief is on a medical leave due to an illness by one of his children per the LDN today. No attachment is being allowed for some reason. I assume you have the use of force and procedure policies FOIA's granted recently? Perhaps have some comments or questions? Just wondered.

[XLFD]

Here's the more informative MCP article on the chief.  As per the Family and Medical Care Leave Act, he can take unpaid leave for up to twelve weeks to care for a family member and not lose certain benefits. 

This is an act by the chief that I can truly respect, leaving the state to be with a family member who one must believe to be in bad shape.  I wish whoever it is he visits, Godspeed in their recovery of health, or if that is not possible, a peaceful denouement for the family.

I am also hopeful that the extended leave will give him enough time to reflect on what he has done here in Ludington, and re-establish priorities to make himself a better public servant when he returns. 

[XLFD]

Earlier today the COLDNews reports that the City Encourages running water in their headlines, which is a bit stronger than the 'insurance' Daryl mentioned at the meeting.  In the COLDNews article they quote him as saying to have a trickle about the size of a #2 pencil come from your spigots, but my own experiences and other websites indicate that just running a steady drip is enough, with all apologies to steady drips everywhere.

Thanks again for your honest observations, Aq, they are hard to dispute. 

[stump]

I would think if the chief is on leave that another officer in charge of his duties would be present in his absence. Maybe he thought he wouldn't get paid on his off time . It must have really stressed Shay to give the invocation.