Ludington City Council May 24th, 2021: Transition Back to Normal

[XLFD]

The May 24th, 2021 meeting of the Ludington City Council will be best remembered for a theme regarding a return to normalcy after fourteen months of Zoom meetings (including three in-person meetings that featured masks and fears).  Visual clues were evident immediately upon entering the council chambers, where wearing masks was the exception rather than the rule, with only one city official wearing a mask and no grief was given for those who went full-faced. 

Chairs throughout were still staggered 6 feet apart, and two councilors were situated in the peanut gallery normally reserved for citizens, so one could still tell Covid-19 restrictions were in the background.  Look for this to be relaxed in future meetings, councilors should be back in their spots in June and chairs throughout the chambers will be moved tighter to accommodate more people while still providing a psychologically safe distance.  The City would later approve July and August events, the Freedom Festival Parade and fireworks, and Suds on the Shore, to continue the trend to normalcy.

I was definitely pleased with this development as I had not brought a mask, nor was I planning on donning one because I had brought a beverage and a couple of comments.  I was motioned by Police Chief Tim Kozal for a side meeting just after choosing my seat.  I had an idea of what it might be about.

I hadn't broke any laws that I know of, but I had made a FOIA request for a police incident report including bodycam and in-car camera footage, and received an uncharacteristically high figure for my response: $60.  Now this wasn't nearly as high as the $2400+ that Chief Barnett wanted for the Baby Kate incident report, an amount that was challenged in local court, costing the City of Ludington (COL) many times that amount to defend and eventually forcing them to settle the case and send me all my court costs, and the report without fees.

To prevent a needless escalation that always results in a waste of resources for all concerned, I made a FOIA fee appeal mentioning the three ways the response did not accord to a lawful FOIA response and pointing out that the rate of pay asked was higher than any city official's rate, and above even the outside legal counsel rate-- all just for burning a CD.  I reminded them that since a normal ten year old could burn a CD, that one of the COL's dozen police reserve volunteers, some trained in computer forensics, should be able to figure it out at their pay rate (free).  Additionally, I reminded them that a CD must have already been burnt with the information sought, for the material I was seeking would have already been perused by the prosecutor in the arraignment that had already taken place as a result of the incident.

These were all potentially winning points for the appeal, but I had also indicated that because of the appearance of a cover-up in this case that I would be looking a lot more closer into other minor controversies that I have normally overlooked during the last year since I had grown to better trust city management and reduce my FOIA rate significantly.  I punctuated that notion with a FOIA subscription and a request that looked at their responses to FOIAs six months into the past and future.  

To say my second prepared public comment was loaded for bear on the subject would be an understatement, but I never would mouth that comment since Chief Kozal acceded to dropping the fee while explaining that the video would need to be edited due to minors being caught in the footage but that the cost would fall low enough to waive the fees.  Chief Kozal invited me talk to him first in the future to avoid issues, and I have since, working out a compromise to make the two FOIAs added less burdensome and in line with department protocols.

Councilors aren't elected due to their beauty, yet it was good seeing their faces at a regular meeting for the first time since March 2020.  When they wear masks and decide to take more money from a lot of people, they remind one of bandits, it's not a good look for them.  They have proved through the years that they do have a hunger for your money, that was a secondary theme of the night and one I touched upon in my first comment:

XLFD (2:00 in):  "Tonight it looks as if the City will settle a tax tribunal dispute that it has had with Pere Pointe off and on over the last dozen years.  One can only wonder whether Pere Pointe could have reached its full potential of having three towers of condos rather than just one if the greedy city hall accepted the assessments of hired professionals using reasonable methodologies, forcing developers into court over protracted periods. 

In a dozen years, City leaders couldn't bother to spin why they were taking these entrepreneurs to court trying to exact more tax money from them and making it impractical for this development to proceed organically.  At least the committee and the new assessor figured out the City messed up, it's too bad they haven't similarly concluded publicly that the City's efforts over the years were akin to shooting themselves in the foot over and over again.

I am hopeful that city management keeps the public better informed about city hall staff as pertains to their powers and duties.  The city charter has definite officers with definite powers and duties, yet we have lately seen a lot of shifted responsibilities including the reorganization that will be passed tonight.  

Minimally, the public should see changes in formal job descriptions come before them at these meetings for approval before the amended office becomes officially set.  We should also be careful not to violate the city charter accidentally just because it appears expedient to do so.  If charters seem to get in the way of the City's goals there's usually a good reason why [END]."

To be sure, I haven't followed the Pere Pointe case since the John Shay/Richard Wilson years of Ludington where it appeared to me that the COL's avaricious attitude for getting maximum taxes from a development that eschewed public funding in its creation was excessive even for that time's leadership.  As former City Attorney Wilson's input into that case appears to be over, the COL has effectively and apparently figured out there was not a lot behind the case in the first place from their side.  Wilson's firm enriched itself courtesy of Ludington taxpayers seemingly at the expense of seeing a full development of the property.  The COL has finally figured out that equation, leading to them unanimously voting to approve a settlement in the tax tribunal case in favor of Pere Pointe.

Current City greed was on full display later on in the meeting, where Mayor Steve Miller stridently read a resolution "opposing legislation depriving Michigan residents the right to regulate short term rentals".  It was hard to sit still with all of the crap coming out of his mouth that was about as true as the resolution's title, but here's what he said (56:00 in):

The COL through the city council has the power to issue a resolution showing their own support of a piece of legislation, but I highly resent them saying that the community supports that position, when they don't clearly do so.  The legislation being considered is not designed to take local control from the citizens as stated, but from onerous laws and fees of local governments that restrict Tin Gods at city halls from imposing them on people utilizing their own property as they see fit.  

Last year, the COL passed their own short term rental ordinance.  Many aspects of the City's new law restricted a person from making a short term rental; for example, if two other properties in your block had short term rental licenses, you couldn't qualify.  But the worst excess practiced by the City was based on pure greed.  As the fee schedule below shows...

The minimum cost of starting a short term rental in Ludington would be $2100, non-refundable, all given to city officials for allowing you the opportunity to conduct a business transaction with your own property.  This is why the COL is so vigorous in their efforts to stop this legislation, it's pure  city hall greed and control over your demesne.  Normal city hall stuff, but they're throwing in some made-up populism that just isn't there when people are told what's happening. 

After the resolution was eagerly passed by the councilors, it switched over to Lyla McClellan (a city official on the Board of Review) vowing to carry the fight for city hall control and greed to the county Republican Party.  Hopefully, she encounters some resistance and becomes more knowledgeable about how 'local control' negatively affects people, their pocketbooks, and their liberties.

Public comment saw the return of C. Dale Bannon on both ends, reminding the council about proper map placement (up is always north) and commending them for correcting the problem when told of it.  Jaycee president Cory Rickett followed me during the original comment, advocating for the approval of the parade and fireworks that were passed.  Like Lyla, he failed to mention that he was also a city official (chairman of the Planning Commission).  

In other business, the council approved two ordinances, one for a five year agreement with kenneth Berthiaume for auditing services, and one for reorganizing the community development department (CDD).  The latter simply placed the city manager as the head of the CDD, but the council packet further explained a broadening of the powers of the former head of the CDD (Heather Tykoski) into the aspects of planning, assessing and zoning that have previously been detached from the CDD. 

The shuffling of duties and powers including the potential hiring of more clerical help, is why I cautioned the council in my comment to remember the limits of the city charter.  Time will tell whether the city manager and/or Heather are up to handling and coordinating the additional responsibilities.

The council approved the local hospital installing a life jacket station on the beach (details foggy), and new bylaws for the West Michigan Fire Authority was approved.

Lastly, Councilor Bourgette should be specially commended for reading a rather lengthy addition to the contracted work for the wastewater treatment plant costs (which amounted to a little over $150,000), all while having a mask on, despite repeatedly stumbling over variants of the word "remedial".  It shows that he is busy working back to his return to normalcy, even while wearing the mask.

[Willy]

Thanks for the information X. I find the fee schedule for the short term rental insane, especially for a town the size of Ludington. First of all I'm against short term rentals in residential areas because I have seen to many problems arising from this practice but for the City to milk this situation shows they are absolutely greedy or are trying to discourage short term rentals. $2100 for a single unit just to get started is nuts. Then add in $100 inspection fee and another $100 for a follow up inspection after a property owner has possibly sunk thousands into making repairs just makes no sense. And if the need arises to file an appeal, that will cost another $200. The crazies are still in charge.

I see that the City offered Heather more power so she would give up her title. She must have been fuming when they proposed this to her. Just what the citizen's of Ludington need. Heir Heather involved with planning, assessing and zoning. It seems that the City leaders have been affected by Covid or they just might be loony from wearing the face masks for to long.