What a Deal

[shinblind]

Through the generosity of the ratepayers of Ludington, the water bills that the residents of Pere Marquette township will soon be paying will drop by 10% according to a blurb in yesterday's COLDS.

ALso benefiting from their largess will be Michigan Power. They won't have to  pay for upgrades in their own water filtration system using PM Lake water, but instead cut a sweetheart deal with City Manager John Shay to provide them with filtered city water. This was also approved by your City Council and mayor.

The upgrades in the infrastructure to provide water to PM township & Michigan Power will be  an additional $10 million dollars above what was deemed necessary, courtesy of the philanthropy of the ratepayers of Ludington and the City Government.

Oh and one more thing in your future, ratepayers of Ludington, since the sludge retention vault from the upgraded water plant will soon be undersized for additional demands put upon it, expect another fleecing er. having to upgrade this system. But hey what's another couple of million.

[XLFD]

Unfortunately, when the figures come in for getting the wastewater treatment plant in compliance with the state, so we can actually have a discharge permit (the Ludington WWTP hasn't had one for four years, but you wouldn't know about that if you just followed the local paper), we will find the water treatment upgrades cheap by comparison.

Our guy in charge, John Shay, has been caught lying on court affidavits and in state applications for grants, getting Ludington into an insanely expensive $1.2 million deal to paint two water towers that were in full compliance, let's have him oversee $50 million in infrastructure improvements-- before he moves and plies his 'competence' elsewhere. 

[Willy]

I would like to know what was discussed at these negotiations for the "freebies" P. M. received and what if anything was passed under the table.

[shinblind]

I hear you Willy 

I would like to know how the negotiations with Michigan Power even began.

 

Was John Shay sitting in his office one day and thought,"You know, I gonna give Michigan Power a call and see if they could use some city water."?

Or more likely did the executives of Michigan Power from their offices on Sixth  Street say,"Hey why are we filtering our own water when we could be using Ludington water. Which city official can we hoodwink into cutting us a sweetheart deal on water? And they unanimously shouted John Shay."

Remember the upgrades that the City of Ludington needed for the water treatment plant was $4 million dollars. With Michigan Power added on the price of the upgrades balloons to $14 million. That is $10 million dollars that the water users on Ludington are going to have to pay to supply water to Michigan Power. That works out to about $3,500 per household.

I don't know if Shay is either incompetent or a crook. But from his body of work as a city manager I do know he is a fool.

[XLFD]

"I would like to know how the negotiations with Michigan Power even began"

Sounds like something a FOIA request could figure out.  I know that Michigan Power management was very happy with this going through.  It's very believable that John Shay sold us down the river.  Reminds me of one of my favorite Alarm songs:

[shinblind]

Do the residents of Epworth need a water rate reduction?

Do the retail business along US10 need a water rate reduction.?

Do the businesses in the industrial parks need a water rate reduction?

Do the people who live in the sub divisions along the Lincoln River need a a water rate reduction?

These are some the places served by PM Township municipal water service.

The residents there will be getting a reduction in their current water rates of 10%.

Along with Michigan Power getting a de facto tax subsidy on infrastructure improvements to bring them city water.

All of this will be borne on the backs of the City Ludington water users in the form of increased rates and unneeded expense.

Courtesy of the City Manager and the City Councilors for making this happen.