Unbelieveable! The COL and their censorship about the PM Bayou!

[jfc123]

I spoke out, rather nervously, since this is not what I do on a daily. The shock and awe that I saw when I replayed the video vs. the minutes in the meeting, WOW!!!

Minutes:

John Chippi, Macomb Township, representing Tamarac Sportfishing Dock owned by John and Diane Chippi, commented on the 2008 storm where the wastewater treatment plant failed and took out the sewer line out along with dumping 15 million gallons of raw sewage into the PM Bayou. He noted that nothing has ever been cleaned up or done in the Bayou. He stated that this has put his parents’ business out of business. The City has dredged the City Marina and is looking at potentially upgrading the City Marina, but nothing has been done to the Bayou.

My comment starts at 1:43:37 ish.

I thought this was public record? A legal binding concern? Maybe just not in Ludington where they twist your comments? I don't need more of them to put words in my mouth!

Absolutely nothing like what I said! The 1.2-1.8 million left out. The 2-3 times they dredged their own marinas. The fact that Madison road is still in the bayou along with the several of our docks, RAW sewage, several times and that they ran w/o a wwtp permit for 4 plus years and are working on a temporary one because I complained that they did not have one? Also deleted was that we have not had any communication since 2013. This is where the kayak man should have launched, in safe harbors!

All we want is our property restored to what it was prior to the failure of your waste water treatment plant! How hard can that be in this city that only knows how to spend your tax dollar. I can not get over the comments in another thread that one councilor said most signers are tourists. Most that love and want the west end project axed are locals because the stupidest thing in it is cutting parking! That area needs more parking not less! The tourists that signed stay up so they can get first dibs on the state park camp sites. Sad he has no clue?

[XLFD]

jfc123,

I added a direct link to the video, put in a picture of your back while you were speaking, and did some work on the font, which goes a little wacky sometimes when you copy-paste from a .pdf file.

There are basically three things at work here that you need to come to grips with if you are planning on becoming a regular at these meetings and expect a fair shake. 

First, these are minutes of a nearly two hour meeting, everything that is said cannot be expected to be entered thereon, otherwise we go from 'minutes' to a 'transcript'.  The video is even better than a transcript, and illustrates quite often that the minutes overlook some of the more important points the public brings up.  It shows your point here.  I am actually thankful that the LCC meeting minutes are more complete than many other public body's minutes and of course for the videos.

Second, the clerk typically has the minutes drawn up by seven days after the meeting, reviewable by the other city officials.  It's not unreasonable to presume that an official like the city manager may choose to amend what is ultimately put in the minutes and what is left out.  After this happens often enough, the clerk is likely to self-edit some information out of the minutes because they know it would not be approved. 

Third, if you go through the past minutes, with their corresponding media coverage (by the COLDNews and the MCP) and compare that with the corresponding video, you will find the minutes offer a more fairer coverage.  I have spoken out at around a hundred of these meetings for typically five minutes or more on very substantive material, and the only time I get mentioned in the media is basically when a lawsuit is being served or discussed in a closed session, or one or more of the officials attack me viciously at the end of the meetings.

[jfc123]

But the numbers matter! How can you spend this money 8 years later when you could have made things right 8 years prior when Gov. Granholm and the feds gave you money to clean it up?

I didn't mention being talked of in the media, just want comments recorded correctly so the state can pull them and read what really happened! In the minutes.

[XLFD]

If you provide a link to the video of the meeting and provide your own transcript of your words (or the relevant words of others) it can be just as effective, if not more so, than if it's in the actual meeting minutes when shared with the state.  If a state official is actually one that works for the folks, a rare breed I hear, they will expect some city-friendly editing in the official minutes, after all

[AQUAMAN]

So, what you are both saying is that the actual minutes of any city council meeting are not verbatum per the video? They, city hall, John Shay, actually modify the minutes by deleting what they don't want recorded? Anything that might sound incriminating or illegal per their own judgment? Is that it? If so, doesn't that too also sound like fraud, misrepresentation, misinformation? Is this legal to do? Or is it just another John Shay twist on truth and fairness? Minutes at any meeting, whether it be corporate, court, or any public hearing, has to be factual and to the letter doesn't it? Another quaint little tidbit of info. that I hadn't heard of before now. No wonder Shay can't take an oath of office, everything he touches or gets involved with has his stamp of impropriety and lies to no end!

[Willy]

I agree that editing the comments of citizens is a bad thing. There rarely are enough people who speak up at the City Council to be concerned about how much content will go into the minutes. Cherry picking thru the concerns people raise and discarding information is not good for Democracy. Not only does the City control the amount of time people talk but in essence control what is said by what is revealed in those minutes. Very bad practice in my opinion.

[dowland]

This is unbelievable. They are totally corrupt, makes me sick.  I truly don't know how X can stomoch these people meeting after meeting.

[Willy]

I was thinking the same thing dowland. From the time he was pressured at the Fire Dept. for his stance on his bicycle ticket to Heather Tykoski filing a false claim about him surveying her house to his being banned from City Hall, there has been a steady stream of lies and negative actions directed at X by the creeps controlling the City. Most people would have buckled under the pressure. If it wasn't for X the citizens of Ludington would still be in the dark as to what these City representatives are up to.

[shinblind]

"Who controls the past controls the future.

Who controls the present controls the past."

George Orwell
 

Shay understands this with his abridged transcripts.

Two references from Orwell in the same week. Must be election season.

[jfc123]

This link here is when the city manager  John Shay said they were going to clean the mess out of the bayou the storm caused and includes an estimate:

http://www.shorelinemedia.net/ludington_daily_news/archives/ludingt...

Here is where the state and federal government came to Ludington's rescue with money, it starts on the middle of page 3:

 http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/lwm-nfip-summer-2008_248403_7...

Funny thing is that there was never any money spent in the bayou, just rebuilding the road. Where could the money allotted have gone? How can money disappear?

Also, this link was very difficult to find this time seems as if someone is trying to cover up? Glad I have it saved on an external drive. There are a lot of bad people running this city it seems because where did the money go? I wonder if these people learned integrity at the same place the principles at Detroit Public Schools did?

Bad things always come full circle, their time is gonna come, you cant cheat people forever and not get caught.

[Willy]

Good find jfc123. The article definitely addresses that the bayou was to be dredged. I agree, that if the money had been received then where did it go. That might be a good question to ask Shay at the next meeting.

[XLFD]

.

Have you located any material dealing with FEMA relief given to the City of Ludington directed towards correcting the flood damage, particularly to the PM Bayou?

Minutes reflect this in January 26, 2009:  "City Manger (sic) Shay explained that the City received $47,276.57 today which represents the federal FEMA reimbursement of the June 13th storm related costs. The City has not received the State portion yet nor the Federal Highway Administration share, of $288,000." 

He then stated in March 23, 2009:  "the City did receive reimbursement from FEMA of $57,000, and will receive $286,900 from the Federal Highway Administration for this storm."

In June 22, 2009:  "City Manager Shay informed Council that we have received the final payments on the storm damage from the Federal Highway Administration. Total reimbursements received were $286,000."

I haven't seen any accounting of these funds in the available public records.

[shinblind]

Sounds like you need to do another FOIA request to see exactly how these funds were allocated X. The $140,000 just didn't disappear. You add up the numbers and money received for estimated repairs are within $750. The money was there.

It is unfortunate that when the cost was$140,000 to dredge PM bayou in 2008 the brain trust at City Hall didn't jump at the opportunity to get the job done. They had the equipment contracted at the site. Now with the estimated repairs closer to the $2 million mark they can't find the funds for the project. This is pretty much the same complacent and incompetent crew running the City.