Shining UV Light on Ludington UV Fire

[XLFD]

The Ludington Fire Department (LFD) recently received a new medical response vehicle, used primarily when they are toned out for medical emergencies and EMS assists.  They had a local company named "Urban Vinyl" (UV) do the lettering on the side of the vehicle, it looks as if they did a good job:

About two weeks prior, UV provided an instructional post on Facebook showing a bit of their process on the vehicle above, it looks as if it was taken inside the fire station's bay:

A couple of days before the medical response truck was pictured, UV had another Ludington-based concern's truck with their new custom vinyl work on the sides of their truck, it looks like they also did a nice job on that:

Scottville-based Polyrite also utilized the services of UV to detail their truck in mid-April:

And at the end of last month, UV did some work on one of Larsen's Landscaping's fleet trucks:

A client that he continued to help with vinyl graphics throughout this month:

You will notice the last picture is from Derek Kowatch, he is the contractor for Urban Vinyl that did all of this work, and more over this last month.  Derek learned much of his craft when he was an employee at Nick Tykoski's "Safety Decals" business, up on First Street in PM Township. 

You may recall there was a host of ethical issues that arose because Tykoski not only did over $15,000 in no-bid sign work for the DDA (under purview of his wife, Heather Tykoski and ultra-corrupt former City Manager John Shay), but then won a 'competitive bidding' process that was anything but a bidding process after drafting the requirements in the DDA sign committee.  

Fortunately, when they were caught later in that graft and in the cover-up, they reduced the $150,000 contract for wayfaring signs down to a still-overpriced $60,000 for the unethical couple using their public positions for their own personal gain.

You may have guessed from his last post that Derek is a firefighter, and he's been on the LFD since 2011.  We all appreciate the dedicated work that these part-paid volunteers do for the community, but there is at least one person who does not appreciate his work in vinyl graphics.  The governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, declared his type of work as non-essential, auto detailing is not critical infrastructure work, and the job has remained non-essential all through April, when he has done all this work for local companies and the LFD.  

And yet he's getting a lot of in-person non-critical work, while many in Ludington (including Larsen's Landscaping until very recent, where he also works) who have been deemed non-essential are sitting on their hands while their businesses suffer.  While one could say he is violating the governor's executive order, there are a couple of additional things in play.

It is never indicated in Derek's personal page or UV's page that the auto-detailing work was being done for the LFD without remuneration to UV.  There are several vinyl graphics he has added to make the medical truck transform from a plain red truck into what it looks like now.  This service would likely run a few hundred dollars due to the intricacy and amount of the detailing. 

If this service was done for free, where Derek would have to absorb all of the costs, you would assume he would say so, it would look very good for his business, and it would allay the appearance of impropriety created by being hired by LFD for this work and not considering other vinyl graphic artists, like his old boss, who happens to not be on the LFD at this point.  Of course, Derek shouldn't be doing any of these jobs under the terms of the existing executive orders

Looking at the last several 'paying of the bills' sections in the recent city council packets (including the one for this coming Monday), they have assigned no expense for the vinyl graphics work by the LFD.  Is the LFD waiting for Derek's job to become legitimate again before paying him for his work?  If that's the case, why doesn't Derek, the LFD, or the City of Ludington let us know, and also let us know why they are operating contrary to executive orders when the rest of the public can't? 

Not even a non-profit that helps feed the poor that gets ran out of business by local public officials for doing work considered non-essential.  Providing food for the less fortunate is somehow less essential than putting stickers on trucks?  Chief Matt Murphy, where are you?

[Freedom Seeker]

Same ole, same ole corruption of bidding processes in Ludington with different faces. I find it interesting that Derek broke away from Tykoski. But he seems to have learned no-bid well from his old boss. So would the fire department be above the law for pinstripping? Doesn't seem like Larson Landscaping should be in light of the governor's order, but be sure there was a lot of stuff going on under the radar all over.

[Du Wright]

Thanks X for keeping the corrupt under light of the UV fire! I hadn't read some of the links provided in the Tykoski "no bid" processes which apparently could have been a misdemeanor. I hope our new city manager and mayor read and takes to heart each of these links and considers the "sins of the past" and finds a way to bring Ludington out of the underworld of corruption and into a cleansing light.

[XLFD]

No problem, people are not likely to remember that during the Tykoski sign scandal this was dismissed by city officials and the local paper as just the way business was done in Ludington, and my banishment from city hall and eventual loss of a job due to Mayor Henderson's influence was just the way they handled whistleblowers then, even when they weren't part of city government any more. 

It's difficult to corroborate many things during the virus crisis because the supply line of FOIA requests are not easy to get; City Manager Foster has been great in the past, but there are challenges to get records when many are working remotely.  I have gotten wind since this story aired that there may have been a bidding process conducted for this vinyl work, but it's unclear how and when it was done and why was the non-essential work being done (and bid on) for the LFD during this time.  

I know several people in the private sector who can't skirt the new executive order rules that have closed them down, so when the City/LFD is actually conducting bids for non-essential car detailing work, it's bound to make them resentful of city hall exercising a privilege they don't have.

[Willy]

Aside from the LFD job I applaud UV for getting out and doing work, something we should all do while giving the finger to Whitler. A far as the LFD job is concerned, unless he did the job for free including providing the materials, he and the LFD, demonstrated a lack of common sense. If he did do the job without payment then there is no issue but if he received or will receive a fee for his services the City should take a long hard look at what happened. Giving a no bid job to an employee hardly inspires confidence in who is in charge and who is making the decisions, especially  while the rest of us are being forced to hide under our beds because of this epidemic sham. Good catch X.

[XLFD]

I also admire those who are able to get around these meaningless-for-safety executive orders, but advertising your non-essential work being done on your internet business page and personal Facebook page is not a wise way to do it, and can get you in some trouble. 

I didn't find out about this until tonight but there's an auto detailer in Midland who is in a heap of trouble for doing his non-essential job.  He has received a note from the city attorney and the prosecutor sounds as if he wants to make an example of the businessman:  “These are extremely difficult times that, unfortunately, call for extreme measures to protect the public health, which is my top priority as Prosecuting Attorney,”:

Jimmy Sheets, the owner of High Definition Detailing, is being charged in 75th District Court for allegedly violating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Sheets is the only local person being charged with violating the order, which requires “non-essential” businesses to close and prohibits private gatherings. A violation of the Executive Order is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a fine of $500. High Definition Detailing is known mostly for its work on high-performance and luxury vehicles, working on detailing, paint restoration, and window tinting among other services.

City Attorney James O. Branson III sent Mr. Sheets a warning letter, which said the business would need to cease operations and close. Mr. Branson later referred the matter to Midland County Prosecutor J. Dee Brooks

“This shall serve a your final notice to cease all business operations until such time that Executive Order 2020-21 has been rescinded or amended to allow your business to operate legally, or, in the alternative, until such time that Governor Whitmer has issued any other such Executive Order which allows your business operation to resume business,” the letter reads.