BELLEVILLE-AREA INDEPENDENT

published: July 22, 2010
Mike Foley tells city council: Spicer didn’t fulfill contract

A pre-construction meeting for residents and business persons in Belleville was paid for by the Belleville Downtown Development, but Spicer Engineers failed to hold such a meeting.

This is the message Mike Foley, owner of Frosty Boy, brought to the city council Monday, during the council’s 29-minute session.

“I reviewed the contract with Spicer and there was a lump sum payment to Spicer and work was paid for and not received,” Foley said.

Foley referred to the Oct. 15, 2007 Letter of Agreement for Professional Services signed by Spicer officials Wayne A. Zolnierek and Ronald Hansen and City Clerk Diana Kollmeyer on Oct. 16, 2007 and DDA Chairperson Rosemary Loria on Oct. 17, 2007.

On page 3 of the agreement, under Design Phase Meetings, it states: “Spicer Group will prepare a PowerPoint presentation with presentation maps and present the project and expected construction schedule at one public informational meeting. It is expected this presentation will be scheduled after construction bids are obtained, contractor is selected, construction is scheduled and sequencing has been finalized. Spicer Group will make and distribute meeting minutes. The fee is a lump sum price per meeting of $1,938.”

Also, he points out, on page 4 of the agreement under “Construction Administration and Staking” it states: “Once contract documents are in place and DDA/City funding is in place, Spicer Group will schedule and coordinate a pre-construction meeting for the project. All parties involved with the project will be required to attend including utility providers, contractor and subcontractors, the DDA/city, local or country representatives and any others that may be impacted with construction.” (italics added)

Also, on page 4, “Spicer Group also recommends a meeting to be held to inform all local businesses and local residents as to the anticipated schedule of the project and impacts of construction. This meeting is included in the fee schedule and work plan in the Design Phase Meetings section.”

“We’ve already paid for all of this and haven’t had it,” Foley told the council.

“Why weren’t these meetings held to inform not only residents, but the people who make their livelihood on Main Street?” Foley continued, noting he said the largest construction project in Belleville’s history shouldn’t be run by volunteers (DDA members).

“We already paid for the meeting,” Foley repeated, adding he’s sure that Spicer wanted to fulfill its contract and that somebody must have told them, “never mind.”

Kollmeyer, who is now city manager, said a pre-construction meeting was held with utilities, contractors, city and DDA representatives – just a regular pre-construction meeting.

“I don’t think the pre-construction meeting was for those impacted by the work,” Kollmeyer said.

Foley said they did the pre-construction meeting, but didn’t include those impacted in any meetings.

“It’s unconscionable to move forward without getting us all together and trying to make up for it with a 7 a.m. meeting with volunteers,” Foley said, referring to the July 20 meeting at city hall that was to be chaired by the current DDA chairman Kerreen Conley. This is after construction has already begun, he pointed out.

“Why didn’t Spicer fulfill its contract?” Foley continued. “We weren’t privy to any sequencing. We were all shocked when they started on the wrong side of the street.”

He said instead of an early morning meeting, that is too early for him to attend, he would like to see the promised PowerPoint presentation and have bi-weekly meetings with Kollmeyer, who said she is the one in charge of the project, with a lot of help from DPW Director Keith Boc.

Foley said the very first day of construction, Denny’s driveway was blocked with a big pile of dirt, blocking access to his hair salon. He said that could have been avoided with a pre-construction meeting and input from the businesses.

Prentice Howell of the Antique Shop said for the last three days two pieces of huge equipment have been on his sidewalk blocking his front door.

“I don’t have a front walkway like the other businesses,” Howell said, with a demand. “I expect it to be gone by 10 a.m. tomorrow.”

He said the equipment appears to be broken, and “If it’s broke, it can’t sit there week after week after week. I’ll get an injunction.”

Howell said whoever put up the temporary no-parking signs doesn’t know how to put zip-ties on the posts, since the ends of the ties are sticking out at the height of an eight-year-old’s eyeballs on the sidewalk side.

Councilman Brian Blackburn agreed with Howell: “Your front door is not a parking lot.”

Councilman Jim Shrove said the council will be doing a follow-up on the contract and Councilwoman Kim Tindall she, too, would like to see the contract. She noted that she did not get invited to the pre-construction meeting, either.

When someone asked how much the false start on the wrong side of Main Street was going to cost the city, Boc said, “It’s not going to cost the city anything. It was the engineer’s mistake.”

Councilwoman Tindall said there are issues that need to be addressed for the merchants on Main Street. She noted the officials at city hall will get paid no matter what happens on Main Street and it is the merchants who are truly impacted.

“I don’t know who dropped the ball,” Tindall said, noting, “The meeting tomorrow is a day late and a dollar short.”

Mayor Pro Tem Rick Dawson said, “I also thought it should have happened … I’m sorry you won’t be here at 7 a.m. I think we’ve fallen down on communications. The DDA and us, too.”

“I’m here almost 24/7. All you have to do is come in,” said City Manager Kollmeyer.

Foley said they should have a meeting every two to three weeks as a remedy to show an attempt at communication.

“The ball should be in Keith and Diana’s court,” Foley said. “Keith knows what he’s doing. I would hope he’d be our point man for this project.”

“You’re right. He’s the one who knows where everything is underground,” Kollmeyer said.

* Heard Mr. and Mrs. Fred Trombley, who live at 110 Liberty, say they are interested in acquiring the pump house at 100 Liberty that the city is considering demolishing and selling the property. They were told some things have to be done to the infrastructure there before it can be sold, and the city will have to take bids on the property before selling it. The Trombleys said they would wait for word from the city;

* Approved $120,706.74 in accounts payable, including the following departmental expenditures in excess of $500: to R. Dixon Lawn Service, $930 for grass cutting (includes $300 for Village Park when the city’s mower broke, plus cutting of empty lots); HD Water Works Supply, $658.22 for grates for road repairs; McCoig Materials, $607.50 for cold patch/pot holes; and Stan’s Alignment Service, $609 for vehicle maintenance;

* Heard Kollmeyer say she would be at city hall at 7 a.m. the next day for the meeting with businesses and, “Hope we can work through some things”; and

* Heard Steve Jones encourage everyone to come to the Music Lakeside concert July 22 at Horizon Park. He also announced the Art Colony for the four Thursdays in August at the park and an art show at the end of August.

Strawberry Festival OKs stop-payment fee on check from Foley

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

Monday’s meeting of the Belleville National Strawberry Festival Board of Directors was considered a wrap-up session, with reports from various committee chairman on the festival with intentions to improve next year’s event.

But before the regular business, Board President Tom Fielder gave the public a chance to speak and Mike Foley of Frosty Boy had a complaint.

After it was all said and done, the board voted unanimously to give $35 to Foley to cover the stop-payment fee on a check he gave to the festival and then withdrew.

Foley said he believed the way Vendor Chairman Sharon Pokerwinski handled a payment from Foley to the festival was fraud.

He said he was told that the vendor spaces were full and so for him to have the spaces in front of his business open to the street, he would have to pay $250. He gave Pokerwinski the check and then saw that the spaces in front of his place were vacant anyway and there were no vendors up to Five Points.

“I believe that was fraud,” he told the board. “I was told it was full to get money. On the phone a couple of days ago, she told me it was a gift. Last year I lost 50% of my business during construction and I can’t even afford to sponsor a Little League team this year.

“I was absolutely ready to jump through the phone when she said it was a donation,” Foley said.

He said as soon as he saw the setup Thursday night and Friday and saw not one vendor south of Goofy’s car wash, he decided he shouldn’t have had to pay. That’s when he put a stop-payment order on the check and incurred a $35 fee. He asked the festival board to reimburse him.

He also complained about the Boy Scouts dumping trash in his dumpster on Thursday and Friday until it was full. They told him they were told to use the dumpster behind Frosty Boy.

He said he decided not to go to court over what he considered fraud until talking to the full board.

Pokerwinski said Foley had told her, in front of her family after they had purchased ice cream at his shop, that he wanted to do what he could for the festival.

She said they decided 23 food vendors were enough and those were all sold out.

He had four spots in front of his business and that would equal $400, Pokerwinski said. He asked me to give him a price and I said $250, she told the board.

“We were sold out of food vendors. That was not a lie,” Pokerwinski said.

Joan Bodnar, the festival’s executive director, explained that the scout leader who usually supervises the boys had to work Friday night and the dumpster episode was a mistake. They were supposed to use the dumpster behind Mr. Goofy’s, she said.

Festival President Fielder said selling Foley two spaces in a place where “nothing exists” is not the right thing to do.

“I’ve always worked with the board and even was on the board in the past,” Foley said, noting he brought in motorcyclists as entertainment to add to the festival.

“She led me to believe something was true to get money,” Foley said. “Now she explains it’s food vendors she meant when she said ‘we’re sold out.’”

Pokerwinski said the festival had 16 craft vendors open and they were put in a central location.

Fielder said Pokerwinski had charge of commercial vendors. He asked for a motion to put the reimbursement of $35 on the agenda for action and Bob Stoner made the motion, seconded by Diane Shew.

“This is not to beat Sharon up,” Fielder stated. “She was full and they put crafters in the middle.”

Robert Austin of Brown Bag restaurant said he had problems with the festival, too. He said last year he paid $200 for a space for his restaurant. He said this year he was told it would be $500 per space.

He said, right off the bat, merchants who are in the city all year long are charged more. He said he should be able to get some consideration. He said he couldn’t afford the $1,000, so he decided to barbecue at his place, which he had done for three weeks “with the city’s approval.”

He said he got calls from merchants telling me, “Robert better not be cooking out there.”

Austin said over the Strawberry Festival weekend, the festival filed a police report on the cooking outside and outside seating, he said.

“I think it’s unfair that festival will pick on people who are here all year long,” Austin said.

He said his wife owns a boutique and she was asked if she could sell outside. “Whether it was her or her employee who was asked makes no difference. She had a sidewalk sale permit obtained previously.”

He said the Strawberry Festival should be a part of this community and not just make money and leave. He also said they should be nicer to merchants.

“Someone from Strawberry Festival filed a complaint, with no name,” Austin said, adding it was true that he did not have a permit.

“Since then, I’ve applied through the city and it’s working its way through the system,” Austin said. “I continue to cook with the approval of the city.”

Pokerwinski said she and Bodnar “had a conversation” with the police chief and he had to ask the city manager for information. She said Diana Kollmeyer said he could cook, but not have outdoor seating or a band.

“We were talking to the chief about two different things – the gospel people and him,” Pokerwinski said, adding she talked to Shawna Austin’s mother and “she said Shawna wasn’t there, then I left.”

She said last year all the food vendors were charged $500 each and, “We let him go.”

Fielder said this year Austin did not have a spot and he was an independent businessman doing his business at his regular location.

“It’s unfortunate the Strawberry Festival was the one that pointed it out to the city,” Fielder said. “Shawna also was not in the festival venue.

“If the Strawberry Festival was involved, I apologize,” Fielder said.

“I had seats outside since April when I opened,” Austin said. He said he asked the city council if the Strawberry Festival has carte blanche on that street for the festival and the council said no. Fielder also said, “No.”

“Some of the merchants think the festival does have control of how we do business during the festival,” Austin said.

Foley asked about the situation at Mr. Goofy’s where the owner was directed to shut down vendors he had sold space to.

Fielder said Goofy’s was in direct competition with what was going on on the street. But with Robert and Shawna, they are not within the festival district and, “It’s unfortunate that it was done.”

Austin said, “You had entertainment in Mike’s lot and he didn’t have a permit from the city, so I felt I was singled out. I hired entertainers on my own dime to add to the festival when I read they weren’t having entertainment this year.”

The festival committee then discussed business matters and reports on the festival, which had increased revenues of $14,750 this year. Sponsor revenue at $35,000 was $8,000 more than expected, said Bodnar.

A letter received from the Chamber of Commerce earlier that day, giving the festival 30 days to terminate use of cubicle space at the chamber building, was put on the agenda and discussed. The festival representatives will talk to the chamber first before making any plans.

Sumpter Township Police Officer Beth Egerer has been named Officer of the Month for July by her department for her work in getting two local sex offenders convicted.

At the July 13 meeting of the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees, Police Chief Jim Pierce said these two offenders have been brought to justice with the help of Officer Egerer’s efforts.

On June 25, 2009, Officer Egerer was dispatched to a sexual assault investigation. The victim was 12 years old and she said the offender touched her in the pool and then cornered her in the bathroom and took a video.

On July 8, 2009, Bou was taken into custody on a parole violation stemming from a different sexual assault that occurred in Sumpter Township.

On July 15, 2009, the police department received an approved warrant for Criminal Sexual Conduct in the second degree and Habitual 4^th Offender for Bou.

Several search warrants were issued and executed by the Sumpter Police Department and the video and camera used were recovered.

On June 10, 2010, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office went to trial with defendant Bou and he was found guilty of all charges. The Prosecutors are going to ask for a sentence of 10-30 years in prison, Chief Pierce said.

In the other case, on June 26, 2009, Officer Egerer received a fax from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office regarding a sexual assault that had occurred in Sumpter. The victims were nine and seven years old when their grandfather started sexually assaulting them.

Phillip Thomas was charged with nine counts of sexual assault. Last week, Thomas pled guilty on two counts of Criminal Sexual Assault in the First Degree and the Prosecutor is going to ask for the maximum amount of prison time, Chief Piece said.

Criminal Sexual Assault in the First Degree carries a sentence of life or any term, not less than 25 years.

Judge William Szlinis bound two Sumpter Township residents over to Wayne County Circuit Court for trial on charges of first-degree home invasion.

Judge Syzlinis, retired from the 34^th District Court bench, was filling in for Chief Judge Tina Brooks Green on July 14 at the Romulus court.

Richard Levoid Johnson and Demetre Maurice Brown-Lovelace, both 19, were returned to the Wayne County Jail to await their July 21 court appearance at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit.

Judge Szlinis was considering the attorneys’ requests for pretrial bond service reviews for the co-defendants with the possibility of reducing their bonds, when Sumpter Police Detective John Toth jumped up in the courtroom and told the judge the bond that was set was cash bond, not 10%.

“Oh, that makes a big difference,” Judge Szlinis agreed, continuing the set bond.

The two men were apprehended by police on June 29, one after he allegedly was seen by police leaving the residence just broken into and the other at the hospital where he was taken by friends after he cut himself on the glass broken for entry.

At first, police thought two men were sleeping in the residence that was broken into and entered by the intruders, but Sumpter Police Chief Jim Pierce said police found out later that one of the men had left before the break in and the other was sleeping.

“A man should feel safe sleeping in his own home in Sumpter Township,” said Chief Pierce, who attended the court session on July 14 in case he was needed as an eye witness in the preliminary exam, which was set for the two co-defendants.

The two residents of the home on Sumpter Road near Dunn Road were also present in the courtroom, along with Sumpter Police Sgt. McGlynn and Det. Toth, both of whom were on vacation. Toth had driven from Traverse City, where he was on vacation, to attend the court session for the preliminary exam.

But the two defendants chose to waive their rights to preliminary exams and go right to circuit court.

Chief Pierce said the home invasion charges are very serious and could lead to life imprisonment, since the home was occupied and a knife was found on one of the men.

Eight people are running for seven seats open on the first election held for the Belleville Area District Library Board.

The candidates include six who had been appointed to the interim board, plus two newcomers.

The candidates will be listed on the Nov. 2 General Election ballot and voters in the City of Belleville, Van Buren Township, and Sumpter Township will be able to vote for seven names at large.

The seven-member interim library board was appointed by officials in the three municipalities to get the board started after forming the district was approved by the three municipalities.

Cynthia Hawthorne, Director of Elections in the Wayne County Clerk’s office, said those filing as of the 4 p.m., July 15 deadline were:

Candidates gathered about 40 signatures on their petitions or filed a $100 fee without petitions.

Paul Henning, who was appointed to the interim board by Van Buren Township, did not file to run for the permanent board.

photos by Bill Otzman

published July 15, 2010
VBT Board of Construction Appeals:
Fence those open basements

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

After a two-hour, lively discussion on July 8, the Van Buren Township Board of Construction Appeals granted the appeal of the developer of Cobblestone Ridge Villas on West Huron River Drive.

He no longer is ordered to fill in the open basements that have been there since 2005, but there are some stipulations and he has 30 days to comply.

He has to encircle the seven open basements with 4’ high vinyl-coated cyclone fencing, cemented in with locked gates. He also has to pump out the 4’ of water in some of the basements, clean up the straw, bricks, steel and other construction debris, and install green barrier areas.

Harlan Davenport, chairman of the board, said he would be out there keeping an eye on the developer’s work. If the work isn’t done within 30 days, the board will meet again to consider ordering demolition of the basements.

Joe Paluzzi of Michigan Homebuilders has promised to do the work so he doesn’t have to knock down and fill in the basements. He emphasized he has a big investment in the project.

At one point, Davenport made a motion to order Paluzzi to demolish the basements, but the other two board members – Bob Coppock and William Osier – did not second the motion.

Davenport also said he would like to see a hefty cash bond to assure Paluzzi would comply, but Coppock said, “No bond for me.”

Coppock showed sympathy for the builder’s situation, saying they are all builders on the board and they all know how hard the current economy has been for them.

“I understand the situation he’s in. It’s dead. I feel for you, I do,” Coppock said.

Matt Forster, VBT building official, said he ordered the demolition of seven building foundations installed in 2005, which would have three to four townhouse units in each.

He said the job was abandoned for more than two years and because of a lack of attention, there is standing water in some of the basements, which is a drowning hazard; there are complaints of odors; and freezing temperatures over the years have caused damage to the basements.

Forster said all the permits expired in 2005-6 and the last inspection was Dec. 1, 2005. Since then work was abandoned, he said. He noted the orange fencing around the foundations has fallen down and there is construction material left on the sites, with the brick and stone causing blight problems.

Forster said he sent certified mail to the address on file at the township and it was returned. He sent the mail to the name on the tax roll and that, too, was wrong. He finally posted the properties on May 18-19 and someone alerted the developer and Michigan Homebuilders called the township about May 20.

Davenport said under the rules, the developer had the right to appeal and he did.

Paluzzi said he definitely didn’t predict what happened to the economy and he didn’t expect to still be involved with those building sites five years later.

He said he would like to bring the foundations up to the proper conditions, because he still wishes to use them. He said demolition is a drastic order.

A man from Jaeger Engineering told the board the concrete still has structural integrity.

Paluzzi said he would like to clean up the sites, remove the straw, fix the orange fencing, and get the sites back to the proper conditions. He said they intend to complete 30 or so units.

“It’s five years later,” Davenport said. “Why has it come to this? I drove by … it is unsightly. Nothing is maintained… We three are contractors and we know we have to protect the public any way we can.”

Forster repeated that the foundations have been in for five years and there has been a complete lack of maintenance for 12 months.

“Five years is a long time,” Davenport repeated. “We’re trying to weather the storm like everyone else … You did not come forward without having to come to us for an appeal…”

Osier noted that Forster gave the board pictures of Paluzzi’s Celtic Farms community that is being built in Flat Rock.

“If you can build houses, you can maintain your development here,” Osier said. “If I left a project like that, I’d be feeling pretty guilty right about now.”

“We haven’t thrown our hands up,” Paluzzi said. “We wouldn’t be here today if we had.”

Coppock asked Paluzzi what he planned to do and he said he would “re-maintain the fences” and install 6’ chain link fences around the open basements with construction barrier, so people wouldn’t be able to see into the lots. He would contain and maintain the site.

Paluzzi complained that the homeowners association for Cobblestone is “upsidedown.” He said 46% of the residents are not paying their association fees, while he has snow removal, insurance, and maintenance to cover.

“I’m glad those pictures were presented,” Paluzzi said of his development under way in Flat Rock. He said he started that six years ago and five homeowners are living there and eight new homes are under construction.

He said he worked with the bank there and that made way for the project. He said the “bank here is harder.”

“We don’t have anyone knocking on our doors to buy,” he said.

“You can protect that property,” said Davenport. “But it’s still a visual eyesore. I know I wouldn’t want to see that for the next 5, 6 years.” He added that he wouldn’t consider a construction barrier fence because it is unsightly.

“I’m look for ways to try to work this out,” Davenport said.

He said, “We have a problem with the hardship, but you waited a long time to come to us. To wait 12 months …”

Paluzzi said, “We received nothing until May of this year.”

Forster said another site manager was out there and the warning was verbal. “We tried to light a fire,” Forster said, presenting pictures from June 15, 2009. “You can see there were maintenance issues then.”

Forster said, “As a building official, I took responsibility to have houses built safely. It’s my duty to the citizens of our community.”

Forster said in 2005, Paluzzi pulled permits for all those lots to beat the water rate increases and Paluzzi said that was so and that the cost would have been four times greater had they waited.

“We had 62 units to absorb,” Paluzzi said. “Not only did we have to pull permits, but we poured garage footings, and installed plumbing. We felt the absorption rate would be five months.”

He said the project was not phased and all was done in one push.

“It made practical, common sense to do that,” Paluzzi said. “The intention was to build them all.”

“You beat the water rates by putting in all the basements at once,” Forster said. “I think we have to come up with a better plan so people don’t have to look at that for 10 years.”

Forster said the township had to cut the grass there twice this summer.

He said the Michigan Building Code and Property Maintenance Code gives two options: demolition or bring it up to code, keep the basements dry and pumped out and renew the building permits and get active with building within a reasonable time.

Paluzzi asked if he was the only developer with problems and if there were others in the community. Forster replied that the township sent several notices at the same time.

He said Country Walk, built by Bernie Glieberman, went back to the bank and they sold it to builders who completed the work.

“Is there anyone like me with 30 units that need to be started?” Paluzzi asked, and Forster said no.

Forster said he would like to see a “good chunk of bond” put up to ensure the work.

Davenport said the appeals board last met 10 years ago or more, so they were out of practice. He asked for input from the audience.

Bob Marion said he and his wife Theresa have lived at Cobblestone for four years and they’ve watch it all happen.

“Nothing I’ve heard from the developer accounts for the blatant neglect of the property. He owes $9,000 back electrical bills, so their meter is locked out.

“… He has a track record of not doing anything … He sold the properties and the way to deal with the purchasers is to ignore their concerns … Animals fell in and we have to call the township because there is standing water in the foundations. He has not taken the time to come out and see…

“This builder, when we first moved in, had $100 a month association fees. Why should residents pay the fees when they get nothing in return?” Marion asked. “Year after year after year of neglect and disinterest in the people who bought his properties. He has done nothing to demonstrate he will change.

“You chose to pay association fees for unpaid, unbuilt properties and then raised the rates arbitrarily to $145,” Marion said, adding that the developer has to pay the difference.

He said only four out of the 24 people who live there aren’t up to date so the 46% figure is not true.

Theresa Marion said the developer said he would come out and clean up the area, but for four weeks nobody’s lawn was cut and residents had to rent, borrow, and buy lawnmowers to do the work that is supposed to be taken care of by the association.

“The township will make him do it,” Coppock said.

Resident Elroy Szabo said, “I think you should deny the appeal. He’s basically abandoned the project. We have 24 units without any representation as an association.” He said Paluzzi violated the rules by not auditing the books and is in arrears to several vendors and doesn’t address the issues in the development.

“All the basements are flooded, the fencing is down, and he hasn’t checked,” Szabo said. “He’s basically thumbed his nose at Van Buren Township. I feel you should deny his appeal.”

When Coppock asked if the sales site is open, Paluzzi said it no longer is manned because there is no traffic.

“Maybe the best answer is to throw my hands in the air and just walk away,” Paluzzi said.

Residents said they have seen people come up to the sales office and then leave when they find no one there.

Paluzzi said this is an $18 million project and they had to pave part of Hoeft Road.

In other business, the board voted to approve the township rules as presented and officially voted Davenport in as chairman.

VBT grants 12-year tax abatement for General Electric at Grace Lake

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

A 12-year, 50% tax abatement agreement with General Electric was approved unanimously by the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees at its July 6 regular meeting.

Although by the township’s regular grading system for abatements, GE would only rate an 11-year abatement, it was granted the full 12 years because it will be reoccupying office space vacated by Visteon, plus will add at least 275 new jobs.

Executive Assistant/Assessor Susan Ireland presented the Industrial Facilities Exemption Certificate for New Equipment, noting that although GE plans to employ more than 1,000 people eventually, now the projections are set at a more reachable 275.

The abatement is on the $1.7 million new personal property GE is adding to building 40 and part of building 45 at the former Visteon Village, now called the Grace Lake Corporate Center.

GE is establishing its Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center and will be GE’s largest population of technology professionals under one roof.

With the tax exemption, GE will pay about $11,200 in township taxes over the 12 years instead of $22,400. For all taxing jurisdictions (including Van Buren Township) GE will pay about $52,379.06 in total taxes instead of $104,758.

GE is expected to make an additional request for an abatement later for building 50 and the remainder of building 45. Due to time limits for filing an application, it is necessary to split the request into two applications, Ireland said.

The property is located in existing Industrial Development District #18, granted to Visteon on Oct. 16, 2001.

A GE representative said the company is fortunate to have the workforce in Michigan from which to draw. He said recently 500 job openings were posted and there were 48,000 applications, with most being Michigan residents.

Supervisor Paul White said he doesn’t like to give tax breaks to businesses, but if the township doesn’t compete in this way, it will lose out.

The GE representative said they picked Michigan out of 10 states for this new facility and the Grace Lake facility built by Visteon allows them to get up and running in a short time.

He said there are 350 employees now and plan to have 450 by the end of the year, increasing to 900 in 2011 and 1,000 in 2012.

“We will get half of what the tax would be instead of having empty buildings,” said Treasurer Sharry Budd.

Resident Reg Ion said he has a problem with tax abatements because the “big guys get it and other guys don’t.” He said that if the township denies the abatement, the company can appeal to the state and the state could override the township’s decision. He was advised that was correct.

“Any jobs are good jobs in Michigan,” Ion said.

In other business at the July 6 meeting, the board:

* Unanimously terminated the lawn mowing contract with Abraham Landscaping company for lack of performance and granted the contract for the remainder of the summer’s grass cutting to Michigan Lawn Management (Randy Brown) at the price he bid in the spring;

* Postponed action on contracting with Michigan Lawn to also do surplus grass cutting and related services for enforcement of the grass and weeds ordinance, to help Gonczy’s Property Maintenance, the hired contractor who got behind because of the rainy weather this spring. Trustee Philip Hart insisted Gonczy do the work at the bid price saying Gonczy could hire extra help, if he needed it. For property owners to get one fee if Gonczy cut the grass ($20 per ¼ acre) and another if Michigan Lawn did ($29.95) was unacceptable to Trustee Jeff Jahr, as well as Hart;

* Approved extending without penalty the collection of the 2010 Summer Property Taxes from the current deadline of Sept. 14 to Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010;

* Approved the job description for cable director and the personal services agreement with Aly McCracken for the position, moving her from a part-time independent contractor role to director at the same pay of $36,564. She did not qualify as an independent contractor under IRS rules because she didn’t have a separate office, didn’t have her own equipment, and didn’t pay her own employees, as required, said Supervisor Paul White;

* Approved unanimously support for the Wayne County Department of Public Services Application for Transportation Economic Development Funding. A project to reconstruct Ecorse Road from about 200’ west of the SB I-275 ramps to the NB I-275 ramps (coordinated with the reconstruction of the Ecorse Road bridge over I-275) was made eligible for MDOT TEDF-A funding due to the GE investment at the Grace Lake Corporate Center (formerly Visteon Village). This project, at a total cost of $2.25 million has a $1.8 million funding request and $450,000 in matching funds from Wayne County, would have a completion date of December 2012;

* Approved paying the voucher list which included a check for $7,877 to Empco, Inc. for assessment of public safety director candidates;

* Heard Director Bruce Ross announce that the Recreation Center is a cooling center and people are welcome to come to cool off from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 6 p.m. on weekends;

* Was advised that from 8 a.m. to noon on Aug. 14 is Free Shredding Day at the township hall parking lot, where Recall Corp. will accept five cartons or five medium size bags of documents to shred without charge. Details are on the township website;

* Heard Ion say that the sky blue paint on the new water tower blends in with the sky color and planes might hit it. DPW Director Todd Knepper said a base coat was put on the tower and the blue-tinted paint is the second coat. White paint will cover the blue (and they will be able to see where they missed painting) and the finished design will have bright blue rings at the top and bottom and the VBT logo on two sides.

School Board approves eight more contracts for BHS construction

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

At Monday’s meeting of the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education, the board approved eight more contracts for construction of the new $79 million Belleville High School, now under way.

Bidders recommended by Plante Moran CRESA, and approved by the board, were:

* Building flatwork and concrete, ELS Construction of eight bidders, $1,360,000;

* Miscellaneous steel, Casadei Steel, Inc., of four bidders, $620,000;

* Gypsum and acoustic ceilings, ANM Construction Co., Inc., of six bidders, $1,398,900;

* Food Service, Stafford-Smith, Inc. of three bidders, $144,218;

* Manufactured casework, Case Systems, Inc., of six bidders, $349,240;

* Science casework, Architectural Systems Group, LLC, of seven bidders, $718,700;

* Telescoping stands, foldup bleachers for both gyms and mezannine level – Interkal, Inc. of two bidders, $207,868; and

* Fire protection to make the building 100% sprinkled – Shambaugh & Son, L.P., of eight bidders, $788,475.

Paul Wills of Plante Moran CRESA said gave an update on the progress of construction, noting the foundations, south wall and frames are visible from the south side of the building. The mason is expected on site July 26.

He said there are $8 million worth of smaller contracts yet to approve.

At Monday’s meeting, the board also:

* Discussed setting up a forum for candidates after the primary election to ask them what they think about education. The district will look into having such a forum at Wayne County Community College;

* Approved the MiSec (Michigan Schools Energy Cooperative) bylaw amendment as presented by Pam Smart, Business Office Manager, to implement a diesel fuel program by the co-op. Van Buren currently participates in the electric co-op program with substantial savings and it may participate in the diesel program in the future;

* Postponed the off-site special board meeting, originally scheduled for July 15, until sometime in August, because issues to discuss are not ready yet; and

* Heard Curriculum Director Peggy Voigt give a report on the lack of Annual Yearly Progress at BHS last year and since Title I federal funds are being used, the steps they had to take to inform parents. The district does not yet know this year’s AYP rating for the high school. She said the poverty level is 50% at the high school, so they are using the federal funds provided and so will continue to face sanctions if AYP is not met.

The next meeting of the board will be Monday, July 19. It will start with a disciplinary hearing at 6 p.m. (which was postponed from a previous date), and will include two executive sessions, one to discuss a letter from the district attorney and one to discuss contract negotiations.

Flags demolished at VBT cemeteries set off patriotic fire storm

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

Van Buren Township’s Flag Lady, Marie Krouse, with her arms full of tattered and broken American Flags, told the VBT Board of Trustees at its July 6 meeting about the demolition of flags that she had placed on veterans’ graves.

The township board already was set on firing Abraham Landscaping for not fulfill its obligations at mowing and for being careless in the cemeteries, but Krouse’s report, followed by statements by historian Cathy Horste strengthened the board’s resolve.

Krouse said she comes from a family of people who have served in the military, including her husband who retired after 24 years in the Air Force and two children who are on active duty.

She loves her country and its flag. Since she is currently unemployed, she has taken the responsibility of placing flags on the graves of veterans in the township’s four cemeteries. Two to three times a week, she visits the cemeteries to check the flags for damage. (She also places flags in the Sumpter Township cemetery.)

She said two weeks before Memorial Day she checked the cemeteries and found that the township’s cleaning crew had pulled out all the flags and thrown them in the trash after the annual spring cleanup.

Krouse said Boy Scouts earn badges for properly disposing of American Flags and she always carefully collects damaged flags. She gives them to the Veterans of Foreign Wars and they give them to the Boys Scouts for the ceremony.

“You had a lot of angry vets who felt dishonored right before Memorial Day,” Krouse said of the members of the Belleville VFW and Polish Legion of American Veterans posts.

She put in all new flags so they would be in place for Memorial Day.

On June 25, she said Joanne Montgomery from the clerk’s office called her to tell her a new veteran had been buried at Tyler Street Cemetery. She brought her flags, supplied by the township, and headed to the cemetery.

When she arrived, she found many flags that were damaged by weed-whipping, which she can tell is much different than weather damage.

After checking, she found another 30 were destroyed at Soop Cemetery.

“All the flags were new before Memorial Day,” she said, adding she had photos of the damage to the flags and stones.

“If you don’t have to pay them, please don’t,” she said of Abraham’s. “They don’t deserve it.”

Cathy Horste, VBT’s volunteer historian since 1976, gave a history lesson on VBT cemetery care. She had served as Sexton of the Township’s cemeteries during the 1970s and early ‘80s.

She said she is glad the township has taken steps to solve the problem with the mowing, but now it must address the state of disrepair of the fragile, old tombstones in the cemeteries.

She said a five-foot monument in Tyler Street Cemetery has a sizable chunk knocked off at the corner of it, apparently by a lawnmower. She said they could match the color left as evidence.

She said in the 1900s, the township organized cemetery associations at each of the cemeteries. A portion of the sale price of each cemetery lot was set aside for the perpetual care of the cemeteries and the tombstones.

Although the township mowed the grass, the cemetery associations did things like maintain the pitcher pumps, reset fallen stones and repair broken ones.

They used the money from the township in the perpetual care accounts to do the resets and repairs, Horste said.

“Between the township’s DPW and cemetery associations, our cemeteries were beautiful – the envy of our neighboring communities,” she said.

She said in about 1975, the township disbanded the cemetery associations and put their perpetual care money into the general fund.

Supervisor Elton Gollwitzer promised the public, the lot owners, and their descendents that the township would continue the perpetual care, including, specifically, the stone maintenance.

“I know the township meant well with that promise -- many of you have family buried there. But I fear the promise may have been forgotten,” Horste said.

She said after last year’s Haunted History Tombstone Tour, she received several telephone calls from people who enjoyed the tour but were very concerned about the fallen stones.

She said the establishment of a cemetery oversight committee is a good idea, but she is against leaving the work up to volunteers. She said the repairs should be paid for by the township in accordance with the promises made in 1975.

She said in 1977, she supervised the township’s reset work, which took only a bag of ready-mix cement to fill the frame and reset the stone on it.

She said she will volunteer her time to work with the DPW crews to identify the stones that need to be reset in each cemetery and to show them how to do it, if necessary.

“I beg you, don’t let the well-being of our treasured souls depend on committees and donations or the goodwill of others,” said Horste as the tears flowed.

“And please don’t let these treasures become lost.”

Clerk Leon Wright said he visited all four cemeteries and found they are in “dire need.”

He said he is organizing a cemetery advisory committee with the sole goal of putting together a cemetery ordinance.

“I want to reach out to the community to get their ideas on this… And I will see what support we can get from the general fund to support this.”

Supervisor White commended DPW Director Todd Knepper for being on top of the mowing problems from the start. Knepper said Parks and Facilities Director Bruce Ross reported back to him on the problems and they tried to do the appropriate thing.

published: July 8, 2010
Sumpter police nab 2 for home invasion, as home occupants sleep

Sumpter Township Police arrested two men for pulling a daytime home invasion that was so quiet the home’s occupants slept through it all.

The two men could be looking at life sentences, since there is a heavy penalty for breaking into an occupied home, said Sumpter Police Chief Jim Pierce. A knife was found on one of the men.

Arraigned July 1 at 34^th District Court on first-degree home invasion charges were two 19-year-old Sumpter residents: Richard Levoid Johnson of Karr Road and Demetre Maurice Brown-Lovelace of Wear Road. Each must post a $100,000 cash bond for release, with no 10%. They are being held at the Wayne County Jail.

They will be back in court at 9 a.m. July 14 for preliminary exams in the 34^th District courtroom of Chief Judge Tina Brooks Green, who will determine if there is enough evidence to bind them over to circuit court for trial.

It all started on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 29, when a neighbor to a home on Sumpter Road in the Dunn Road area, walked over to the police department to talk to Chief Jim Pierce, who was in the police department parking lot.

He said two black males were in the driveway of the house next door, knocking on the door and peeking in the windows. Then he heard glass break and he came over to tell police.

Chief Pierce said he drove partway up the driveway next door to the house and then walked up the drive.

He said he saw a man at the house who he had arrested several times before, most recently at Sumpter County Fest. Chief Pierce said the man looked at the chief and the chief looked at the man, and they both registered recognition.

Then, the man he knew (Johnson) rode a bike west into the woods, wearing a black T-shirt and carrying a backpack.

Another male, this one with a striped shirt (later identified as Brown-Lovelace), came out of the house and headed toward the woods in a northerly direction.

Chief Pierce said Belleville Police Chief Gene Taylor heard the pursuit on his radio and volunteered to help.

“Gene was in a position to see, observe, and apprehend the first guy on the bicycle,” Chief Pierce said, adding Taylor was savvy enough not to believe anything the man told him after he was apprehended.

The man had changed his shirt to another color and ditched his backpack in the woods.

When Taylor asked Johnson why he was so sweaty, he explained that he had been exercising by riding his bike in the woods.

“Chief Taylor held him for me and I IDed him and arrested him,” Chief Pierce said.

The second man had cut his arm fleeing from the house and had left his blood at the scene. Chief Pierce said the man got away and made it to a house, where someone took him to the hospital.

“They probably passed right by us on their way to the hospital,” Chief Pierce said.

A Michigan State Police tracking dog followed the scent to the house and then the dog was taken to the hospital where it identified the man whose scent he had been tracking. The MSP Trooper Mirandized Brown-Lovelace and kept watch over him until Chief Pierce could arrive and take over.

Chief Pierce said doctors told him the tendons in Brown-Lovelace’s elbow were cut so badly the man will never have complete use of the arm again.

Both men were lodged in the Sumpter holding cells until they could be arraigned at 34^th District Court.

“We have a small department and we have to bring people in to make a case,” Chief Pierce said, noting Officer Toth is good at interrogation.

Meanwhile, the people in the house were sleeping didn’t know what was happening outside.

One of the suspects was found with a knife and Chief Pierce said it didn’t belong to the homeowner.

Chief Pierce said Sumpter Police had arrested the same two guys at Sumpter Fest. He recalls they were being “smart mouthed” and both had warrants and were arrested.

Others who were troublesome at the festival were issued “trespass” tickets and were not allowed to go to Sumpter Fest.

Johnson had been arrested for obstructing a police officer in March and in December was in custody for another offense and tried to commit suicide by trying to hang himself with a blanket.

Dispatcher Malissa Baker, who discovered Johnson’s attempt, said Chief Pierce gave him a good talking to at the time and, because of that face-to-face discussion, Pierce was able to recognize him at the crime scene.

Chief Pierce said Johnson was the first one to be put in the department’s new restraint chair while he calmed down.

Chief Pierce said Van Buren Police had used its restraint chair on one of Sumpter’s unruly arrestees recently and so Sumpter thought it should get such a chair, too. He said it has been very useful, when needed.

Sixty-four years later, Primitivo Gutierrez completes ride in C-47

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

It took 64 years for Primitivo Gutierrez III of Belleville to complete a ride in a C-47 that was interrupted after taking off from Seattle in 1946.

On Saturday, Gutierrez climbed aboard the vintage C-47 plane at Willow Run Airport and took off to complete the flight he started so long ago.

Gutierrez recalls he was coming home to Detroit from Seattle, and he and his buddy decided to try to hitch a free ride in an Army aircraft. Although he and his friend were Navy, they were still military and rated the ride.

Gutierrez remembers they were in the air for about 10 minutes, when the pilot got a message that there was a higher priority in Spokane, to pick up some cargo, and the plane had to land and bump the sailors.

“We decided just don’t fight it and took the train to Michigan,” he recalled.

But now, he had a chance to ride in essentially the same plane – a C-47 – to buzz the Fourth of July parade in Ypsilanti.

Dutch Jordan, a member of VFW Post 2408 in Ypsilanti, made the arrangements for two seats on the Yankee Air Force vintage plane to fly over the parade. The Fourth of July parade in Ypsilanti has been held every year for the past 81 years, he said.

Gutierrez saw his chance to complete his ride on a C-47 and took part in the raffle for the seat – and won.

It was a little harder for Gutierrez to climb up the ladder to the plane now than in 1946 because he’s now got a stiff knee and a burn on the back of his knee from botched treatment after surgery.

But, he said, he practiced climbing a ladder at home so he’d be able to get in the plane – and he did it without any trouble at all.

Gutierrez served in the Navy from 1943 to 1945 in the European Theatre – Italy, North Africa, Belgium, France – and then his ship went through the Panama Canal to the Pacific Theatre.

His 30-man gun crew ship was headed to Iwo Jima, but they were ordered to give their equipment to another ship and head to another island.

“We were so mad,” he recalls, noting they wanted to fight at Iwo Jima. Later they learned of what happened there and, “We were glad we didn’t make it.”

He said he belongs to Belleville VFW Post 4434, and found that another member, the late Leonard Rochon, had been at Iowa Jima. The two didn’t know each other then.

“I came to Belleville from Detroit in 1947. Belleville is my home,” Gutierrez said.

He and his wife Sarah Jane had 12 children: seven daughters and five sons. His wife of 64 years died May 28, 2009 and Jeff and family moved in with him to keep watch over him.

“They really take good care of me,” he said of his children.

Present with him on Saturday to see him off were his sons Primitivo IV, also a member of VFW Post 4434 and also of Belleville, and Jeff. At Post 4434 members differentiate between the two Primos, by calling the younger one “Primo Quattro”.

“I’m really looking forward to the ride,” he said Friday night and his sons agreed their dad was really excited about the upcoming adventure.

On Monday, he raved about Saturday’s flight. “It was beautiful. It was just what I was expecting. It was the end of my flight 64 years ago.”

He said the plane took off and made “four rounds” and then landed. Then it took off again and made another short flight before landing for good.

The Yankee Doodle Dandy aircraft is a survivor, too.

It was saved from a devastating fire at the hangar on Oct. 9, 2004.

The plane never left the states and, most recently, was on loan to the University of Michigan from Selfridge Air National Guard Base until 1970, when the Yankee Air Force purchased her.

The U of M had used her for aerial data gathering for its Environmental Research Institute.

The YAF restored the plane to troop carrier configuration and after 18 months of painstaking restoration work earned the “Best of Transport” category award at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Gutierrez said the plane he was on in 1946 had no seats on it, being just for cargo. He was happy to see the C-47 he was going to ride had seats – indentations in benches along the walls.

When the YAF Museum was on fire, five members, with adrenalin pumping, pushed the 25,346-pound plane out of the blazing hangar to save it. Also saved were the B-17 and B-25. Other planes were lost in the fire and the YAF and its foundation is on a mission to rebuild into a first-class museum facility.

On Saturday’s flight, pilots were Howard Rundell and Tony Buttacavoli. Ray Christiansen served as flight engineer.

“They talked me into joining the museum,” Gutierrez said on Monday, noting he will be able to do volunteer work there.

The Yankee Air Force Museum will host Thunder over Michigan on Aug. 7 and 8 at Willow Run Airport, featuring what is advertised to be the largest gathering of WWII heavy bombers in the world.

A number of American and German WWII vehicles, with crews, is expected to parade through Belleville on Aug. 6 to promote the planned battle reenactment during the annual air show. The parade will take place if Main Street construction allows.

Yet another violent storm ripped through this area on Sunday afternoon – the fourth storm during the month of June that required sounding of the emergency sirens in the City of Belleville and Sumpter Township.

At about 2:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon a tornado with winds up to 105 mph damaged several roofs and destroyed two garages southeast of Willow and Clark near New Boston, but caused no deaths or injuries.

The National Weather Service said it was surveying damage in the Carleton areas of Monroe County to determine whether that, too, was a tornado.

There were reported sightings of low, rotating, ominous clouds heading east in southern Sumpter Township in the Willow Road areas near Karr, Sumpter and Haggerty.

Belleville Police Chief Gene Taylor spotted first funnel cloud he ever saw in the Willow/Clark Road area and alerted Sumpter Police to its whereabouts. A Sumpter police car followed the funnel westbound, finally abandoning the observation as it headed past I-275. Chief Taylor watched it from the north. The Sumpter officer then offered help in Huron Township.

“Good thing we have a network of sirens to warn the people,” said a television weather forecaster on Sunday afternoon, noting the people of Southeastern Michigan were warned repeatedly by the National Weather Service, TV reports, and a series of emergency sirens that went off in community after community as the storm marched its way across the state at about 40 mph.

Sumpter Township is looking into reports that when the sirens were activated, some or all failed to sound. The sirens had worked fine on three previous occasions recently.

At about 2:14 p.m. fire fighters at Van Buren Township Station #1 at Sumpter and Hull roads reported hail falling. A minute later, police reported hail at Five Points in downtown Belleville.

Shortly thereafter, North and South Middle Schools opened their doors to be available as storm shelters for the public.

By 3 p.m., the storm had finished with the Belleville area and was heading eastward.

A campground in Clyde Township, west of Port Huron, was not under a tornado watch or warning, before the storm swooped down flipping campers around and into a lake, killing a man and injuring four others.

Through Sunday, Michigan reported 5.4 inches of rain for the month, more than 2 inches above normal, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures were about 3 degrees above average in June.

There have been more tornadoes and warnings in Metro Detroit so far this summer than the entire summer of 2009, according to weathermen.

At Monday’s School Board meeting, a contract with an electrical contractor that had just gone to a non-union shop was approved after some lively discussion.

Trustee Martha Toth said several months ago the board agreed that it would not insist on union contractors for work on the Belleville High School construction, but would require “prevailing wages” be paid to contractors, so no workers get mistreated.

Taking that position was for the highest good of the taxpayers, Toth said, and the board realized the job site could be the site of picketing.

Metro Electric Engineering Technologies of Romeo bid $4,990,000 for the architectural, mechanical electrical work on the new high school.

The next lowest bid was from Gillis Electric, Inc., a union shop in Livonia, at $5,678,000, which is $680,000 more than Metro’s bid.

The estimated cost for the work, before bidding, was $5,397,580, so Metro came in $407,580 less than the estimate and Gillis came in $280,420 more.

Sid Dotinga, project manager for Granger Construction which is overseeing the high school project, told the board when the bid came in so low, he went over the scope of the work with Metro and was satisfied Metro knew what the job was and could do it.

To make sure, since Metro was going with a “new open shop business model,” Metro was asked for a second performance bond to make sure the work was completed and on Monday afternoon, Metro presented a letter from a bonding agency saying the bond would be issued.

Dotinga said Granger does that (requires additional bonding) selectively on specific contractors. He said the management team will keep close track of where Metro is and make sure they have certified payrolls.

Dotinga said Joe Brewer, owner of Metro, is a competent manager and, “It’s a calculated business decision to stay competitive.”

Gary Helmer, business representative from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, was present to give board members a warning that the union has grievances against Metro, “which we are going to pursue.”

Helmer said Brewer thinks the 20 men needed for the job will stay with him, but Helmer thinks the men will stay with the union.

He said Brewer has been a good contractor over the years, but “We are going to pursue our interests.” He told the board, “There’s a lot to think about.”

In other contracts recommended to the board by Plante Moran CRESA at Monday’s meeting, the board approved:

* E&D Specialty Stands in the amount of $468,950 for grandstands and bleachers, lowest of four bidders;

* ThyssenKrupp Co. in the amount of $132,400, for two elevators, lowest of three bidders;

* Great Lakes Mechanical, $3,523,000 for sheet metal, lowest of eight complete bids;

* Building Automated Systems and Services, $512,112, for temperature controls, lowest of three bidders.

* Approved use, at established rates, of a school bus for Huron Valley Ambulance’s Camp 911 on July 8 and 9 to take campers from Van Buren Park to St. Joseph Hospital Emergency Room and Van Buren Township Fire Hall #1;

* Approved requested retirements of teachers Henrietta Stover, BHS, after 14 years; Constance Riggs, Savage/ Haggerty/ Rawsonville, 31 years; Evelyn Larabell, Rawsonville, 41.5 years; Ethel Anderson, Edgemont, 32 years; and Linda Lewis, Edgemont, 39 years. The termination of Kaleena Jedinak, Tyler, after 5 years was approved for relocation; and

* Approved the following requested terminations of support staff: Susan Johnston, paraprofessional/NMS, retirement; Arlene Morin, food service /Savage, 38.5 years, retirement; Diana Campbell, secretary/Haggerty, 28 years, retirement; Kerry Zielinski, secretary / SMS, 9.5 years, employer termination; and Vanessa Janke, secretary/ administration, .5 years, other employment.

Five more contracts for construction of the $79 million Belleville High School were approved by the school board at a special meeting June 21.

The following contracts were recommended by Plante Moran CRESA after reviewing competitive bids and selecting the lowest, responsible bidders.

The Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education unanimously approved the recommendations:

* Tennis Courts and Surfacing – Goddard Coating, $35,648 (low bidder of five);

* Landscaping – Mid-Michigan Turf Care, $218,120.60 (lowest of 11 bidders, including Davenport Brothers of Belleville at $385,877);

* General Trades – Heaney General Contracting, Inc., $2,339,987 (low bidder of five); and

Also at the June 21 meeting, the board held two executive sessions: one to discuss a written opinion by the district attorney (34 minutes) and one to discuss contract negotiations (1 hour and 37 minutes).

The board also heard information from Forensic Accountant Tom Taylor of Taylor and Associates on the amended budget.

Taylor spoke to the board about the budget process. He said early in the school year discussion should be held on the budget and the board should adopt a budget calendar.

“If you are diligent about sticking to this calendar, you are not rushing around at the end of the year to finalize your budget,” he said.

The board held a special meeting on June 24 to adopt the final amended budget for 2009-10.

After a public hearing Monday, the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education approved a balanced budget of $52 million, which necessitated cutting into the fund balance to balance.

“We’re spending over a quarter of a million dollars more than we’re taking in and we’re running out of people to cut,” said Board President David Peer in explanation.

School Supt. Thomas Riutta said the board is trying to “keep everything together.”

He said with no changes, three years down the road the district would be $34 million in deficit.

“There won’t be a Van Buren District,” he said. “We’d have a beautiful new high school that’s vacant.”

Board members said the state has said districts in deficit funding could be combined with other districts.

Financial consultant Tom Taylor said, “Once you spend your fund balance, you become a deficit district and we don’t want to go there … then we’d have to talk to the state about what we’re going to do … You don’t control your own destiny.”

A group of paraprofessionals were present in the audience, apparently alerted to the budget that cuts to zero the number of paraprofessionals in the elementary schools.

At first, board members said the board has yet to make a final decision on the paraprofessionals, but then admitted the parapros they were not in this budget, but could be put back if things work out.

Board members said there were no teacher recalls in the budget, referring to the 81 that were laid off earlier in the year.

The district has assumed 233 fewer students this fall, at $7,700 per student in state aid that would be lost. Taylor said that 130 of that number is from closing the alternative education program.

The state has yet to decide exactly how much state aid the districts will get, and may not make that decision until it has to in October.

Also, since there is a decline in property values, there are a record number of appeals on property taxes, and the district won’t know what “charge backs” they will get from the county on that.

“Our objective is to keep this district solvent. We don’t want the state here,” said Trustee Bob Binert.

“This year we eliminated alternative education and career education,” Toth said. “Next year we won’t have those big things to cut and I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Board members said there is nothing in this budget for library books or textbooks.

The Van Buren Township Planning Commission voted unanimously at its June 23 meeting to recommend rejection of the Visteon rezoning application to make way for a generator at the east area of the Visteon property.

The landfill-gas-to-electricity generator would be placed in the backyards of some Van Buren Township residents, who have strongly objected.

Dan Swallow, director of planning and economic development, said the recommendation to deny the rezoning request is expected to be on the agenda of the township board’s July 20 meeting.

The township board will make the final decision, since the planning commission is a recommending body.

The vote was taken after almost two hours of discussion and, although they were told to behave themselves and not applaud during the meeting, the two dozen residents present clapped anyway after the final vote.

Several homeowners spoke against the rezoning of 7.01 acres requested by Visteon from the present AG-Estate to OT Office Technology, citing noise, odors, loss of property values, and a host of other fears.

Visteon’s request had diminished in size from some 10 acres earlier in the year to the current 7.01, after neighbor opposition and the planning consultant’s previous recommendation to deny.

But, despite other objections, the decision by the commission was based strictly on the June 18 recommendation to deny by Sally Hodges of McKenna Associates, the planning consultant.

In a nine-page statement, Hodges backed up her recommended denial by pointing out the shortfalls of the request.

She said the requested rezoning is not supported by the Township’s Master Plan sequencing standards. The site is in an isolated finger of land projecting into an established single family residential neighborhood and no provision is made to use Visteon Way to benefit the township through an expansion of the OT area, other than lots owned by Visteon.

Hodges said while researching the request recently, she found that Visteon has yet to turn over Visteon Way to the county as a public road. Hodges pointed out that township taxpayers paid for the road, constructed some eight years ago, that was supposed to be public, but it’s still private, owned by Visteon.

Also, the generation plant proposed use is not permitted by right in the OT district, she said.

The site does not strictly meet the lot area requirements of the sequencing standards and the location of residential parcels on three sides negatively affects the build-ability of the site, limiting its future use when required protective screening and setbacks are provided, she said.

Also, the substandard lot area and location of residential parcels on three sides may make it difficult to adequately protect the single family residential neighbors from the impacts of noise, truck traffic, odors, lights, fumes and other impacts of OT uses.

And, since the proposal does not meet the sequencing standards of the master plan, the zoning change could set a precedent for other sites.

Also, the proposed rezoning may cause remaining AG property to the north and south to have a reduced value as AG property and as OT zoned property because of lack of access to Visteon Way.

Before Hodges gave her report, James J. Militello, director of global real estate for Visteon, went on the defensive.

He said Visteon hasn’t turned Visteon Way over to Wayne County, but that process is currently underway and was delayed by the county which wanted a DTE easement.

Swallow said the county has transmitted a quick claim deed to Visteon for execution, but there are quite a few concerns “out there” that should be looked at.

Also, Militello referred to talk that Visteon was not truthful with the buyer of a house recently sold and didn’t tell the new owner about the proposed generator in the back yard.

“Our obligation ends with our property,” Militello said, adding he made complete disclosure to the buyers about the property.

He said he did not tell them who lives next door, what the school scores are, or other details because it was not his obligation.

Also, the property two doors down from the new home-buyers was posted with the rezoning application information, which is proper, he said.

Attorney Timothy Stoepker, representing Visteon and Hoosier Energy (which is ready to build its $25 million landfill-gas-to-energy plant), defended the rezoning request.

He said they are seeking to rezone the property to OT, which is what it calls for in the Grace Lake Master Plan. Once the property is rezoned, it can have any number of uses, “but we address the use being sought.”

Stoepker said the plan is for a co-generation facility, taking methane gas from the nearby landfill to heat water to provide a primary heat source for Visteon’s campus, with the energy going into the electrical grid “and ultimately to Visteon or local businesses and residences.”

He said the 20’ tall, 136x58’ facility would be self-contained, with piping underground and five smokestacks.

Stoepker quoted the VBT website, saying the township’s goal is to work towards a green community and green development.

He said now the methane gas from the landfill goes up the air stacks into the air.

“For many people this is a new use,” Stoepker said. “Well, it’s a new day … we’re looking at ways to make ourselves a green community … take a landfill that’s a problem … and keep methane gas from going up in the air … put energy in the grid and allow the State of Michigan to fulfill its renewable energy goal…”

John Delaney of Mida Drive said at a recent private meeting held by Visteon for neighbors, they were told energy would be sold to the grid.

Also, the neighbors were told the house in question hadn’t sold because it was damaged by vandals and might never be sold. Delaney said in fact the house was sold by Visteon two days before that meeting.

“A promise is only as good as the promiser,” Delaney warned, referring to the unkept promises of Walmart.

Burt Whitbeck, who lives next to Visteon Way, said he is an electrical contractor and knows what a generator is and that they are usually in industrial complexes. He asked if environmental impact studies were done, and he was told they had been done.

Whitbeck said Visteon bought up seven homes from neighbors and then sold four of those to new owners.

Michael West said he bought the newest house and, “I’m not saying I was lied to, but I wasn’t told that I would have a generator in my back yard.”

He said his wife has multiple sclerosis and “anything irritates her… this is irritating her…” and negatively affecting her health.

West said he drove by Visteon the previous night and, “there wasn’t a light that wasn’t turned on,” showing the corporation really has no concern over energy use.

West said he does not want “a big humming building in his back yard.” He said they bought the house without knowing about the generator planned. “I’m sure Visteon won’t buy it back. I don’t think we could sell it.”

Ernie Tozer of 9200 Hannan said, “This potential accident is in our backyard.” He added that if the residents living there now won’t sell, the goal of the master plan for that whole area to be OT might never happen.

Tozer stated this generator is an industrial process since it takes a raw product, processes it, and produce hot water to heat the buildings at Visteon and electricity to send to the grid.

“They are deceitful people … liars and back-stabbers,” said Shari West, who said they would have to pay for her funeral since all this is wearing on her health.

When Commissioner Tom Koscielny asked about moving the generating plant to another location on the Visteon property to get it away from the residents, attorney Stoepker said other locations had been considered.

Militello got an aggressive tone and challenged Koscielny, asking if they moved it would it then be a permitted use.

A permit to Hoosier Energy to install the generating facility on that site was approved by the Michigan DEQ in November. Residents had to find out about the generator plans on their own, since Swallow did not tell them about it until after they badgered him with questions at the first public hearing on the rezoning.

In other business at the two-hour meeting, the commission tabled approval of the minutes of the May 26 meeting because of some inaccuracies. The corrected minutes will be considered for approval at an upcoming meeting.

Commissioner Donald Boynton was absent and excused from the meeting because of a death in the family.

published: June 24, 2010

Consultants give McClanahan top score in VBT top cop search

After the candidates for the Public Safety Director position in Van Buren Township were screened by the township board and their four favorites sent on to professional consultants for evaluation, the top choice turns out to be VBT’s present interim director, Carl McClanahan.

On Tuesday, VBT Supervisor Paul White said the four now will be scheduled for interviews by the board in a yet-unscheduled work/study session. Then, the final vote by the township board will be taken at an upcoming meeting, hopefully on July 6, Supervisor White said.

The four finalists for the Public Safety Director position were evaluated by EMPCO, a professional assessment consulting firm, on June 16 at Van Buren Township Hall. The finalists were:

* Carl McClanahan, VBT Interim Public Safety Director, a resident of Van Buren Township;

* Paul J. Myszenski, appointed as Interim Director of Public Safety/Chief of Police for Bloomfield Hills Dept. of Public Safety; and

Supervisor White said McClanahan achieved the top ranking score in the EMPCO assessment center.

McClanahan has been serving as VBT Public Safety Director since the first of the year, filling the spot left vacant when Jerry Champagne was fired in May 2009.

Police speculated the drowning death of a 14-year-old swimmer last week was due to him getting caught in the undertow of the Huron River that goes through Belleville Lake on its way to Lake Erie.

The cold, 70-degree temperature of the lake that day may also have been a factor.

Van Buren Police Captain Gregory Laurain identified the teen as Kasey Farley of Ypsilanti, who had been swimming off the beach in Van Buren Park with his cousin.

The cousin, Fred Hensley, 18, told police he and Kasey were swimming just off the beach area and Kasey went out past the posted warning buoys on his own.

Capt. Laurain said Hensley reported that he looked away and then heard Kasey calling for help and flailing in the water. Then Kasey went under.

Capt. Laurain said police and fire rescue teams responded to a 911 call at 3:12 p.m. on June 16.

The VBT Marine Unit was already on the lake and responded within minutes. The Public Safety Dive Team also responded, along with whatever officers were available.

Officers manning the traffic unit were pulled into regular patrol duties as backup, to go on runs as the emergency efforts unfolded.

Farley reportedly was located at 4:17 p.m. by a diver in about eight feet of water, 200 feet from shore, beyond the buoys.

Attempts to revive him were immediately initiated by fire personnel on the scene as he was pulled into a boat and was continued by paramedics as Huron Valley Ambulance transported him to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:15 p.m.

Hensley told police that Kasey knew how to swim and he did not know what could have happened.

Capt. Laurain said the incident is under investigation by police. He said the autopsy was done by Washtenaw County and they are awaiting the results of the toxicology tests, which “take a while.”

Police said the teens were staying at their grandmother’s home in the area, and the grandmother told a television reporter she did not know they had gone swimming.

Opal Thomas told a Channel 2 News reporter that she wouldn’t have given permission to go swimming and she thought Kasey was in the house with other boys.

Thomas said she was Kasey’s legal guardian and was in the process of adopting him.

While the swimming area of Van Buren Park beach is marked by buoys with a sign warning of deep water and strong current, there is no lifeguard on duty.

Last weekend’s Belleville National Strawberry Festival went off without major glitches, with the usual fights, lost children, and disagreements between local merchants and the festival committee.

Vendors said there were more people this year, but they had less money to spend. The number of vendors was fewer than usual.

On Friday night, the carnival rides were shut down by police because of the impending storm, which blew through, cutting electrical power to some of the surrounding rural Van Buren and Sumpter township areas for almost a full day.

A construction fence at the high school was knocked down by the 60 mph winds that blew up Friday, but on Saturday morning the fence was put back in place, none the worse for wear.

The festival parade on Saturday morning was under sunny skies, which was the norm for the rest of the weekend. There were fewer floats this year, but lots more politicians.

Four funeral processions traveled through the congested city on Saturday, briefly interrupting the detoured traffic.

Some festival-goers complained about a “soapbox preacher” expounding at the corner of Main and Second without a festival vendor permit, but Police Chief Gene Taylor said the preacher was exercising his constitutional right of freedom of speech and refused to remove him.

Robert Austin, formerly of the closed Red Beans and Rice and now of the Brown Bag Deli, told the city council Monday night of his weekend clash with the festival committee and city officials over whether he had the proper permits to be cooking and serving outside and having a band playing.

Austin said he has had outdoor seating at the deli since he opened. He said he cooked 630 slabs of ribs over the weekend and he said he thought he had permission to run his business there.

He said a member of the festival committee shut down his wife selling merchandise in front of her shop, even though his wife had the required sidewalk sale permit.

“The city council should reconsider how the festival infringes on our businesses,” Austin said.

He checked with City Hall, he said, and was told the proper permits for what he wants to do will cost $1,100 which he can’t afford. He asked for a break on the cost of the special-use approval procedure and the outdoor café permit.

The council agreed to meet with merchants who wanted input on the festival committee agreement before next year’s festival, but agreed the fees quoted to Austin are necessary because the planning consultants have to be paid for reviews and other expenses.

In a related matter, John Juriga said the new wall seating around town was well-used during the festival, but those sitting there got ketchup, mustard, and other food stains on the seats. He said the seats need to be power-washed and sealed before the next festival.

After a lengthy discussion at Monday’s regular meeting, the Belleville City Council voted 3-1 to store a portable stage in the DPW yard if someone else would buy it and manage it.

Councilman Jim Shrove, who voted no, said Belleville doesn’t have any city events for it.

“If an organization wants it, they should buy it and pay for it,” Shrove said.

Purchase of the portable stage, a deal at $4,500, was proposed to the Downtown Development Authority by DDA member Ken Voigt last week, but the DDA said the city should own it. DDA members informally agreed to purchase it, if the city would assume ownership.

When Voigt appeared before the city council with his proposal, however, the council was less than enthusiastic.

The stage, which is in Alabama and Voigt proposed to buy sight-unseen, is a customized 20 ft. cargo box which unfolds to a 17x24’ roofed stage. The front section can be expanded to 25’.

Voigt said the stage comes equipped with a plug for a portable generator, over 20 electrical outlets, overhead stage lights, rope curtain lighting, built in electronics, drum riser, and cushioned flooring. At the front of the stage there are four high-speed cooling fans and 20 more performance lights.

While the council was discussing with Voigt about who should own the stage, Kay Atkins and Barbara Miller of the Belleville Area Council for the Arts were whispering to each other in the audience.

They came up with a proposal to present to BACA that would use the $5,000 Moriatory fund as a revolving loan fund, as it has in the past when it fronted money for the community band and later for the community chorus, who both paid the fund back.

Atkins said they could rent out the stage and earn the money to return to the fund.

Voigt said a lot of communities own stages. He thought Belleville could get the stage and make it available to any nonprofit groups in the 48111 zip code to encourage more events.

“We’re the only community in Southeast Michigan that has a downtown on the lake,” Voigt pointed out, adding the music festival he ran in 1999 on the lake was very successful and made great use of the lake.

“You’re splitting hairs about who’s putting on an event,” Voigt said. “We need to act like a community. It’s our thing.”

Most agreed that buying the stage sight-unseen was risky business, but Voigt said even if it needed upgrading, it was a deal since new stages cost about $100,000 and a similar used stage on eBay cost $19,000.

“It’s well worth it,” said Chief Gene Taylor. “It could be used … or could sit like the Santa Claus Shop and go dormant.”

Don Bluhm told of his experience with antique car purchases and said while the stage would be good for the community, “Don’t buy a pig in a poke. I haven’t seen many good ones.”

* Voted to raise the sewer rate by 8%, a 45-cent increase, because the city’s rate has been increased. Water rates remain at the current rate of $5.56;

* Approved a clerical correction of a utility rate resolution passed last June to modify the ordinance to match what the city has been doing since then, according to city attorney John Day;

* Approved accepting the low bid of The Jeffery Company of Gibraltar for $19,733 to resurface the alley running south from West Columbia Avenue, near Five Points. There is only $17,000 in the budget for the project, so cutbacks in the scope will bring it down to the budget price. City Manager Diana Kollmeyer said they would like to have the project done before Main Street is torn up for construction, so it can be used as an alternate route for some motorists;

* Set a public hearing for 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 6, to consider an ordinance amendment regulating electronic message signs. Both the Van Buren Public Schools and the City of Belleville would like to erect such signs;

* Approved the request of Girlstown to hold car washes from noon to 6 p.m. on June 30 and July 21 (rain days July 1 and 22) next to the fire hall at Second and Liberty, as it has done for the past two years. Kay Atkins suggested the girls do some community service to give back to the city that is paying for the water they use and Autumn Ross said she would take the idea back to her supervisor;

* Heard Mayor Richard Smith say that a year ago a committee came up with suggestions for park usage fees, but he wants to sit down with the new members of the parks & rec committee to discuss the proposal. City Manager Kollmeyer said while they are at it, the 1999 parks ordinance needs cleaning up, too;

* Approved the 2009/10 fiscal year budget amendments, with just two weeks left in the fiscal year. The amendments were recommended by Plante Moran consultant Molly Goike, who explained the changes and noted the fund balance will be about $50,000 less than expected, bringing it to $170,180;

* Adopted revisions to the city’s drug-free workplace policy, as recommended by City Manager Kollmeyer;

* Approved accounts payable of $291,605.60 including the following purchases in excess of $500: Birchler Arroyo, $654, planning services; Hennessey Engineers, $2,592.75, survey/alley improvements; Jack Doheny Supply, $847.67, sweeper repair; Mich. Ammo Co., $828, ammunition; and Midwest Backflow, $814, inspections;

* Witnessed Don Bluhm show water samples from his tap on Brain Street and ask for help with the water quality, so his wife can do the laundry and brush her teeth. He said DPW Director Keith Boc said he would be flushing the hydrants every 10 days, but since that promise the flushing has occurred only April 29, May 11, and June 10. Bluhm asked if he should go to the board of health, saying his family has to buy bottled water for cooking and drinking. The city will look into it; and

* Voted to change the next meeting date to July 6 at 7:30 p.m., since the July 5 date first set is inappropriate because City Hall will be closed that day because of the July 4 holiday.

On June 7, Jerry Champagne began work on his new job: Public Safety Director of the City of Ecorse.

This was little over a year after he was fired as public safety director of Van Buren Township.

Recently, his civil rights law suit against VBT and township officials was settled out of court with a payout of $457,000 for him and his lawyer.

Joyce Parker, appointed Ecorse emergency financial manager by Governor Granholm last year, was quoted recently as saying she would be looking at the two other top candidates for public safety director after the one they chose worked a few days and decided to back to St. Clair Shores.

Public Safety Director Stephen Poloni, who had worked at St. Clair Shores for 23 years and sought other employment during a recall drive there, decided to stay after the recall failed.

Poloni was to work through the end of July. Also, Ecorse’s police and fire chiefs had retired in November and continued on their jobs until the new public safety director could be appointed.

Ecorse has a $14.8 million budget, with 19 police officers and 14 fire fighters. The city levies 64.1 mills, and the emergency financial manager said the city would have to levy an additional 10.4 mills for police and fire as of July 1, which will cost Ecorse taxpayers about $200 more a year.

Without the millage, the city would have to lay off 9 police officers and 7 fire fighters, Parker said.

Van Buren Township’s population is about 27,000 with about 11,715 households. Ecorse has a population of 10,137 with about 4,000 households.

VBT has 45 sworn police officers and 36 fire fighters. Ten fire fighters are blended (cross-trained) police/fire officers.

After the rush-hour traffic flows through the city this afternoon, Main Street in Belleville will be closed so vendors and the carnival can set up shop for the 34^th annual Belleville National Strawberry Festival.

The festival officially begins on Friday on Main Street, at St. Anthony Catholic Church with a carnival and beer tent, the Chamber of Commerce midway next door at the high school (which opens Thursday at 5 p.m.), and events planned at Trinity Episcopal and Belleville Presbyterian churches on Belleville Road.

A free shuttle service, the Wyandotte Trolley, will be running continuous loops around the festival starting at the Meijer parking lot on Belleville Road. It will be available from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

The highlight of the week end will be the big parade at 11 a.m. on Saturday. It starts at the high school and heads toward Five Points and then turns to negotiate a narrow path through the vendors on Main Street, ending at the museum, where it disbands.

The Princess Laura Riverboat is offering half-hour cruises on Belleville Lake every hour from 1 to 5 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Cost is $5 for adults and $2.50 for children 12 and under.

There will also be a dinner cruise from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The boat is docked at Horizon Park.

A children’s area on Main Street will feature the Meijer’s Children’s Mobile Unit, Zhu Zhu Pets Tour 2010, and the Kraft Lunchables Tour 2010.

The only free stage entertainment scheduled will be from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday at Frosty Boy on Main Street when the Strawberry Idol contest is held.

On Sunday, the Annual Cinnamon’s Fathers’ Day Car Show will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Victory Park.

St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, 409 W. Columbia Avenue, will host festival events from 4 to 11 p.m. on Friday, noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

Trinity Episcopal Church, 11575 Belleville Road, will feature a craft fair and plenty of strawberry treats. It will be open 4-9 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Belleville Presbyterian Church, 11900 Belleville Road, will offer juried crafters, food booth, and strawberry treats. Guided tours will be available of the Martha-Mary chapel, which was one of those built by Henry and Clara Ford to honor their mothers.

Events at the church will take place from noon to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

The downtown area, with a new extension of the children’s carnival behind the museum, will be open from noon to 10 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

The festival office is at the Chamber of Commerce, 248 Main Street, phone 734-283-9634. Joan E. Bodnar is executive director and Tom Fielder is president of the Strawberry Festival Board of Directors.

Because of budget cuts, there will be no Strawberry Queen pageant and no entertainment on Main Street, other than the Strawberry Idol.

Three representative of Wolverine Power Cooperative addressed the workshop session of the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees on June 8, explaining who they are, that they want to be friends, and that they might move the generators they just bought in Sumpter to a location in northern Michigan.

Wolverine was represented by Craig Borr, executive vice president; Brian Warner, director of environment; and Mick Raschke, chief plant operator in Sumpter.

Raschke was hired from FirstEnergy who built the natural-gas-to-electricity peak generating plant on Rawsonville Road in Sumpter in 2002 and then sold it to Wolverine early this year. Wolverine took over operation April 1.

“The Sumpter Township facility is very, very valuable because it uses natural gas fuel, especially if the Cap & Trade carbon tax is passed,” Borr said.

He said it depends on federal carbon legislation. He said such a plant can come on line quickly when the wind doesn’t blow to move its wind turbines Up North.

“We have the ability to move the plant to Northern Michigan, but it’s nothing we plan to do short-term. It’s an option for the long-term,” Borr said.

One is the property classification issue: real vs. person property. FirstEnergy filed an appeal with the Michigan Tax Tribunal and then Wolverine stepped in.

“It’s not our style to come in and strong-arm,” Borr said, adding they want to be sincere and honest, but they have an obligation to their owners and members of the cooperative to operate at the lowest cost. The cooperative runs on a not-for-profit basis.

The generating plant is a peak-use producer of electricity, and just ten days earlier the plant was called on to supply an electrical load to the Midwest market. When there is a period of hot weather, electrical use goes up, Borr said.

“We’re the type of board you can’t offend,” said Sumpter Supervisor Johnny Vawters, noting the township wants Wolverine to give them straight talk.

“Someone [FirstEnergy] came to the Board of Review and didn’t get what you wanted,” Vawters said. “It was sent to the county and state. We have established a good relationship, but we don’t want you to move the turbine nowhere.”

Borr said the generators could be used anywhere and could be converted to a combined cycle in Sumpter.

“There is no intent to immediately move those facilities,” Borr emphasized, adding the decision will be made in conjunction with federal carbon rules. He said the natural gas fuel has a smaller carbon footprint than what Wolverine currently uses.

He said the federal legislation has passed the U.S. House and is expected to go to the Senate next month.

He was asked how many people work at the plant in Sumpter and replied there are three and none live in the township.

Borr said if the Sumpter plant was converted from peak use to continuous operation, the number of employees would rise to about 20 workers. He said the workers, members of IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) union, are highly technical and haven’t had a grievance with Wolverine in 15 years. He said qualified Sumpter residents would be able to apply for jobs if that happened.

Warner said currently the Sumpter plant is allowed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to operate 2,000 to 3,000 hours a year, but it actually runs more like several hundred hours.

“Typically on the hottest days of the year it would be operating,” Borr said.

Wolverine provides wholesale energy and transmission to six member organizations in its cooperative servicing 35 counties in upper Michigan, with headquarters in Cadillac.

Borr said Wolverine has a sparsely populated customer base, but serves a wide, rural area, offering only wholesale sales.

Borr said Wolverine is much smaller than FirstEnergy, the previous owner. Wolverine’s delivery costs are high, but its energy costs are below Detroit Edison, he said.

“Sumpter is a pretty big asset in our fleet,” Borr said, adding its maintenance teams rotate throughout their facilities every seven years to cut trees, etc.

“We want to have an outstanding relationship with the Sumpter Township Board and we offer raw honesty,” Borr said. “Tell us if something’s not right.”

Recently Supervisor Vawters, Police Chief Jim Pierce, and Dispatcher Malissa Baker were guests of Wolverine for a tour through their Cadillac headquarters. Vawters reported they were “treated like royalty.”

* Signed a 30-year water contract with the City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department that had been negotiated by township attorney Rob Young and other officials to get the best rates. The agreement includes a voluntary program to get people to space out (restrict) their water usage during the day. Young said it’s a better contract than the township had before with Detroit;

* Officially approved the sale of the southeast corner of Willis and Sumpter roads to Jim Nasser, with the closing set for June 10;

* Approved having Michigan Lawn Management cut premises having noxious weeds violations, at the same price as the previous year;

* Heard engineering consultant Keith Uutinen explain the discussions going on for a second water feed from Detroit to the township, since if the single feed on Savage Road goes down now, the whole township is without water. He said the city is interested in building a two-mile water line to Carleton Farms for a cost of $2 million, but if Sumpter doesn’t want to pay the $650,000 to build the pit, Detroit wouldn’t do it. Uutinen said state the Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund with its low interest rate would be “slam dunk” for the second feed and would cost the township well under $800,000;

* Heard Trustee Alan Bates announce the Technical Rule Violation prisoners will be back working in the township on June 14. Recently that program was cut;

* Heard Senior Director Denise Droullard said the seniors gave a going-away appreciation dinner for the TRV crew and are happy to hear they are coming back. She said to comply with drug testing laws, the township is joining a consortium;

* Heard Chief Pierce credit Leona Mixson with getting flowers and bushes planted in front of the police station. He also praised the citizens’ committee working on the millage renewal and the officers who worked on the Sumpter Fest parade and festival. He saluted the officers, while facing the cable camera;

* Was reminded candidates wishing to get on the ballot for the Belleville Area District Library Board election must file by July 15 at 4 p.m. at the Wayne County Clerk’s office; and

Karensa Smith of Canton Township has been chosen from a field of 463 applicants to be the new principal of Rawsonville Elementary School.

At Monday’s meeting, the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously to name Smith to the post to replace Susan Farber, who is retiring.

Smith currently is principal at Merriman Elementary School in Romulus and has the challenge of closing her school.

Smith has earned her bachelor (1997) and master’s (2002) degrees from Michigan State University and has been principal at Merriman for a year.

Before that, she served as Title 1 Learning Specialist at Wick Elementary, taught fourth grade at Merriman for seven years, and interned in a Detroit classroom.

Personnel Director Linda Olson said there were a lot of very good potential candidates and the selection was not an easy process.

Dr. Olson said out of the 463 applicants seeking an elementary principal position on Applitrack, more than 100 were interested in the Van Buren job posting with about 45 meeting most of the qualifications. Interviews were offered to 12, with seven responding. Two were called back for second interviews.

Prior to the second interviews, each candidate was asked to spend a full day in Rawsonville Elementary.

The interview team was made up of Curriculum Director/Deputy Supt. Peggy Voigt, Farber, Olson, principal Aleisa Pitts and two teachers, Lindsay Pawlowski and Kahlia Kaiger.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the board approved the employment of Stephanie Kerns as the Transition Specialist at Belleville High School for the 2010-11 school year.

At its May 10 meeting, the board approved a plan that outlined the process to move students from the Alternative High School, which is closing, to BHS this fall. One component of the plan was the hiring of a Transition Specialist.

Kerns was employed as an English Language Arts teachers at the alternative school.

* Approved a Schools of Choice Program Declaration for grades K-12. School Supt. Tom Riutta said since the district had lost 400 students, there is room, but if certain schools become full, students can be put on waiting lists;

* Approved membership in the Michigan Association of School Boards for 2010-11 school year at a cost of $7,086. Last year the district’s benefit of membership included more than $100,000 in reduced cost due to insurance pools;

* Approved Michigan High School Athletic Association membership for the middle school and BHS for the 2010-11 school year;

* Approved getting Chase “P” credit cards for department heads and employees to use to minimize cost of purchase orders, payment mailings, etc. Proper controls are being put into place, Business Office Manager Pam Smart assured the board;

* Approved revised student handbooks for the elementary schools and BHS. The middle school handbook will be ready for approval at a future meeting;

* Approved the second reading and final approval of a revised board policy on supervision of construction for the present bond project. The Change Orders wording removes “under emergency situation” and removes “significant and/or” because the phrases were deemed vague;

* Heard a presentation by Rebecca Schmidt on the grant-supported, Positive Behavior Support project that is being implemented in six of the nine schools in the district;

* Congratulated the Bus Roadeo team that won first place in recent competition, dethroning Westland, the usual winner. They are heading to the state competition on June 22;

* Heard parent Greg Powell again address the board concerning the affect of the construction on use of the athletic fields by students and asked for a schedule of when they will be available. He said, in a letter to the board, that his son was a varsity baseball player for BHS as a freshman and sophomore and has the ability to play college ball, if given the proper opportunity. He said there is a two-year window that will determine if his son and many others will become college student athletes;

* Approved the retirements of bus drivers Thomas Anderson (6 years) and Peggy Proffit (2 years) and Denise Dickerson, an At-Risk paraprofessional at North Middle School, after 26.5 years;

* Approved the requested termination of teacher Stephanie Barkman, of North Middle School/Tyler/Rawsonville, after three years of service, for relocation;

* Was advised that 17 teachers were recommended for tenure in April: Angela Mays, Tracie McKeon, Veronica Rodriguez-Coker, Alicia Dubisky, Sara Higgins, Andrew Hartman, Yvonne Mallon, Jason Butka, Angeline Dermody, Joseph Brodie, Sarah Avery, Jami Wiese, Stephanie Nota, Jennifer Runyan, Lisa Myers, Anita Norman, and Stephanie Kerns; and

* Went into executive session with district attorney Gary Collins to discuss contract negotiations.

published: June 10, 2010:
Overflow crowd watches city council OK balanced budget

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

In front of an overflow crowd in the meeting room on Monday the Belleville City Council unanimously approved a $2.1 million balanced budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

“The nice thing about our proposed budget is there’s no tax increase,” said Mayor Richard Smith. The current 17.9 mill tax will be continued.

Many of the people in the audience had attended the meeting because they felt there was a chance the council could raise taxes to balance the budget.

Molly Goike of Plante Moran, the city’s financial consultants, explained how the proposed budget got from a $40,000 to $50,000 deficit a few weeks earlier, to the balanced budget before them for consideration.

She said they sat down and worked at it and balanced the figures with a little bit of a surplus.

Goike said they readdressed the administrative fees to other funds, which gained $9,000-$10,000. Federal CDBG funds can be used for a couple of demolition projects, which would save about $5,000. Another $5,000 came by eliminating planning commission fees. The $25,000 contingency fund was cut by $10,000 to add to the budget.

“We also took a closer look at fees for September Days,” she said, referring to the senior center in Van Buren Township. “Back in the day the fee was for something, but now it’s not for anything specific.”

She said the $10,200 September Days fee has been eliminated from the budget and she is sure there will be no change in services to seniors.

She said that left an $8,600 surplus. Goike said the budget “is a moving target” and as the year progresses other changes will be made.

Ron Vesche asked if there will be new inspection fees for landlords, which was discussed, and he was told there wouldn’t.

Mike Foley asked about the $117,000 transfer out of the public improvement fund to the general fund. Goike said the general fund needed money back. She said the general fund levies 17.9 mills and part of it was allocated to public improvements.

Goike said the fund balance in the public improvement fund would be used to pay down the things already purchased through that fund, like the fire truck.

Foley said the council hadn’t rescinded the motion that allocated those funds and attorney John Day replied, “Not yet. This is just a proposed budget.”

Former Mayor Tom Fielder said a few years ago the existing council said that one mill would be for that purpose and councils since then chose to follow that, but were not bound by the old council’s actions.

Goike said a new fund has been established for current and future purchases.

Expected total general fund revenue for 2010-11 was $2,159,022, down from $2,226,357 in 2009-10.

The Downtown Development Authority budget for 2010-11 was also approved as part of the city budgets. The DDA expects total revenue of $980,814, down from $1,372,296 in 2009-10.

In other business at Monday’s meeting, the council:

* Unanimously approved Kenneth Lee Grant as the new fire chief and thanked Bill Emerson for filling in as chief;

* Unanimously approved the request of Brian Copsey, operator of the Bayou Grill, 404 Main, for use of Fourth Street Square during Strawberry Festival for an outside café and classic rock bands from 4 to 8 p.m. Copsey said no alcohol would be served outside;

* Opened five bids for removal and replacement of the existing surface in the alleyway between W. Columbia Ave. and W. Wabash Street. Start date would be June 22. The budget for the project was $20,000 and engineering costs have already been deducted from that amount, said DPS Director Keith Boc. The following bids were opened, with estimated length of work and cost: Al’s Asphalt, three days, $20,445.75; ADT Paving Co., seven days, $38,742.50; Nagle Paving Co., five days, $32,475; The Jeffery Co., four days, $19,733; and Best Asphalt, eight days, $29,173.25. The bids were turned over to the administration for study and recommendation;

* Unanimously approved closing Robbe Ave. behind Mayor Pro-Tem Rick Dawson’s house at 155 E. Columbia Ave. from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 26, to allow for parking of about 20 motorcycles during a progressive dinner for members of Star Touring and Riding, Chapter 211. Members Rick and MJ Dawson will be serving appetizers and salad from 10 a.m. to noon;

* Unanimously approved the Advance Construction Contract with MDOT concerning the $1.7 million Main Street enhancement project and approved official signators as (Mayor) Richard S. Smith and (Clerk/Treasurer) Lisa Long;

* Approved holding the annual citywide garage sale, where no permits are required, on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 11 and 12. The council agreed to consider having Friday added to the dates next year, as well as the suggestion to hold it before school starts in the future;

* Approved accounts payable of $165,837.17 and the following departmental purchases in excess of $500: $675 to Alpha Psychological Services to assess new part-time police officer; $606 to Barrett Paving for cold patch; $995 to Bio Care Inc. for physical exams for new fire fighters; and $850 to Gene Taylor for reimbursement for the Dumbo Drop program;

* Heard Mayor Smith refer to the article in the Independent about the streetscape at Five Points minimart, stating he went over twice to ask Mo to sign the easement agreement and Mo said the city should pave his parking lot or pave half of it. “I don’t know if he was kidding,” Mayor Smith said. He said they moved forward and Mo signed. Mayor Smith also said he was there and DPS Director Keith Boc did not yell at Mo, but only talked in a loud voice since, “It’s his natural tone of voice.” Foley said he’d take the mayor’s word for it about the yelling, but he said there definitely was blackmail involved with Mo, with Boc threatening to take 11’ of his parking lot if he didn’t sign. Also, Spicer engineers painted lines all around Mo’s sign showing how they would take it out and lines in the parking lot to show what they could take. They said they would only take 2’ if he signed. Foley said that kind of treatment “is not pro business… The facts of how he was treated was not pro business.” Boc insisted it wasn’t a “blackmail situation.” Boc explained that in order to put the planned planter in, they needed easements on both sides and because of the shape of the planter, Mo’s sign was in the way;

* Heard Copsey of the Bayou Grill complain that he’s from “the other side of the bridge,” referring to his time at O’Charley’s in Van Buren Township, and the police in Belleville are not as hospitable as those in VBT. “I’ve been losing guests because they feel they’re being targeted,” Copsey said. He said a particular police officer has pulled over five customers and questioned them as to what they are doing out so late. This is five people in just the month since they’ve been reopened. “The pro-business attitude from VBT is not being reciprocated here,” Copsey said. He said he was forced to do a field sobriety test in front of the Bayou after giving an intoxicated female a ride home. He said the officer smelled the alcohol in his car. “I’m not feeling welcomeness this side of the bridge,” Copsey said. He said the young officer sits within a block of his business with his lights off. Owner Yanni Cristodoulo was due to return home from Greece on Wednesday evening and the mayor asked them to meet with him and other officials in the near future to discuss the situation. Police Chief Taylor told the Independent the story is not quite what is being told, but he didn’t want to say anything further at this time; and

* Heard Kay Atkins say she would like to ask, again, that the council publish a tentative council agenda in the newspaper of record so people would know what would be discussed at the meeting. Clerk/Treasurer Long said she sends the agenda by email to those who request to be on her list, but Atkins said some people don’t have email and don’t get to city hall, but do get the paper. When Atkins was on the council, a resolution as passed to publish the agenda ahead of time, but it hasn’t been done for several years. Mayor Smith said he would look into it.

A young child’s foot was run over by a car on Main Street on Friday after getting an ice cream treat at Frosty Boy following a soccer game.

Belleville Police Chief Gene Taylor said Officer John Kapchus was in the area when the collision occurred and he heard the impact at about 6:32 p.m.

Chief Taylor said a car had swerved around traffic and was driving toward Five Points in the parking lane. The car stopped after the accident. A man ran out and removed the child from the roadway, Chief Taylor said.

Chief Taylor said the girl was wearing soccer gear which somewhat protected her.

The child was transported by Huron Valley Ambulance to University of Michigan Hospital, Chief Taylor said. The girl’s condition was not available to the Independent by Tuesday’s deadline.

A violent storm dumped about 2” of rain on the tri-community within a few hours Saturday night, but while tornadoes threatened, they skipped this area.

Tornadoes were reported in Dundee and Taylor, wild winds tore at roofs and trees and caused the Fermi nuclear reactor plant in Monroe to shut down as a precaution. No fatalities were reported in Michigan from the storm.

The emergency sirens in the City of Belleville and Sumpter Township were sounded to warn residents of the danger of tornadoes in the Belleville-Sumpter area as announced by the National Weather Service.

Belleville Police Chief Gene Taylor praised the severe weather report televised by Channel 2, which put the weather as the priority and cancelled all regular programming and commercials until the danger ended in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

Eight tornadoes hit southern Michigan over the weekend, three in southeastern Michigan.

The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down at 2:11 a.m. at County Line and Rankin roads in Monroe County, causing high winds to rip off siding at a building at the Fermi 2 nuclear plant.

The National Weather Service said a tornado traveled southeast through Dundee for 13.5 miles, sustaining winds between 130 and 135 mph.

Belleville Planning Commission chairman Steve Jones was driving home from Ohio during the height of the storm and reported it was hard to see to drive. He also was alerted on his cell phone as he drove that a tornado was in his area.

In Van Buren and Canton townships, there were several roads flooded. In Canton, Michigan Avenue east of Haggerty was closed and I-94 was reported closed in two spots, due to flooding.

The dip under the railroad track on Belleville Road near Van Born that generally floods after heavy rains, flooded again. A driver who tried to make it had to abandon the vehicle, but left a bag or purse on the car roof.

A car was stuck in the water flooding Beck Road between Ecorse and Van Born on Sunday morning and had to be freed by a tow truck. Beck Road also was flooded near Beck Ball Fields, which also were flooded.

On Haggerty, deep flooding across the road slowed, but didn’t stop, traffic at Ecorse and Van Born intersections.

Sumpter Police Chief Jim Pierce said there was some road flooding in Sumpter, but nothing major that he knew of.

At Monday’s Belleville City Council meeting, Phyllis Smith said she would like to thank whoever was pushing the sirens four times in the city of Belleville to let residents know what was going on.

Another resident said she wanted to thank police, also, for waking her up, so she would know what was happening.

Published: June 3, 2010:
Muslim man sues PD after stop, pat-down by woman officer in Van Buren Township

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

A Muslim male is suing Van Buren Township Police and four officers claiming that the pat-down by a female officer after he was stopped for drunk driving violated his constitutional rights.

He also complained that three male officers laughed and joked as they watched the female officer put her hands down the front and back of his pants during a pat down.

On May 25, Ahmad Mohammad Kasham, 24, of Ypsilanti filed a civil rights complaint in U.S. District Court in Detroit against the VBT Police Department, Officer Jessica Shippe, Sgt. Michael Papin, and Officers John Doe 1 and 2.

He is seeking a jury trial and an unnamed sum for all compensatory and punitive damages and equitable and injunctive relief to which the court finds him entitled, together with costs, interest, and attorney’s fees.

The complaint states Kasham is “of Middle Eastern national origin, Muslim/Arab-American male, and an adherent of the religion of Islam.”

He was stopped by Officer Shippe, a Caucasian female, on July 10, 2009, on suspicion of being intoxicated.

In the complaint, Kasham said he was the designated driver for his friends who had been consuming alcohol that night. He said after Shippe stopped his 2007 Dodge Charger on the South Service Drive near Beckley, she requested backup and “four additional Caucasian male officers were on scene and out of their vehicles.”

(Later in the suit the complaint says it was three other officers plus Shippe at the scene.)

Officer Shippe conducted four field sobriety tests and, according to the complaint, put in her report that he failed the tests. The complaint alleges the videotape from the police cruiser demonstrates he passed all the tests. (The VBT police report of the incident states Kasham passed one of the tests.)

The complaint is also at odds with the police report on another detail. Kasham said he had consumed one shot within a minute of leaving the restaurant (Diamondback Saloon) and he was stopped while the liquor was still on his breath. The police report quotes Kasham as saying he had two double shots, which he amended to just two shots.

The preliminary breath test registered .098 blood alcohol content. In Michigan .08 BAC is considered intoxicated. He was placed under arrest, handcuffed, and Officer Shippe searched Kasham’s person.

“A Caucasian female officer placed her hands down the front and rear of Muslim, Arab-American male’s pants,” the complaint emphasized.

Kasham was then transported to VBT PD where he was given a chemical test that indicated a .06 BAC and falling, the complaint said. The police report said it was .07 and then .06.

He was charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a second offense which mandated the confiscation of his license plate. He also was cited for improper lane usage. He was photographed, fingerprinted, posted a $200 bond and was released.

On or about Sept. 29, 2009 the entire case against Kasham was dismissed, according to court documents.

Kasham said as a direct result of what occurred, his parents immediately disowned him and asked him to leave their home as a result of a female touching his private parts, as his religious beliefs prohibit a woman from even looking at a man between the waist and knees, according to court documents.

All this has brought extreme humiliation, embarrassment, and mental and emotional distress, the complaint claims.

He said the other three officers should have intervened in the search of his person to protect his constitutional rights, when he was unable to do so himself.

They also violated Kasham’s Eighth Amendments rights by exhibiting deliberate indifference to his customs and religious beliefs, the complaint said.

Kasham also claims Officer Shippe committed Criminal Sexual Conduct by placing her hands down his pants but she was never charged or arrested for the crime.

“The Defendant Officers knew or should have known the Plaintiff was a Middle Eastern, Muslim Arab-American and permitted a white female officer to conduct the search of his person in the Plaintiff’s private region while four white male officers looked on and laughed,” the complaint said.

“The actions and antics of the Defendant officers on that night clearly demonstrate that their motives were racially and ethnically motivated against the Plaintiff so as to inflict extreme humiliation, embarrassment and terror upon him,” the complaint said.

An exhibit included in the complaint was a letter from Julie Pomerville-Steiner, MA, LMSW, CAC-1, of Life’s Way Family Counseling and Education in Ann Arbor, where Kasham was said to have started attending therapy sessions in November 2009.

She said Kasham operates a dry cleaning business as well as working at his uncle’s store. He began therapy with symptoms of anxiety and depression and was having difficulty sleeping and eating.

She wrote he was having trouble getting up to face the day and had seen a rise in his irritability and anger. He reported his anxiety level rises when he sees a police car.

Steiner wrote that these symptoms began after the incident with the VBT police. She said the white male officers stood by and laughed and joked about the female officer’s handling of the situation and, “Apparently it was made known that the female officer was new to the police force.”

She said Kasham reported feeling violated and ridiculed.

Officer Shippe’s official report on the incident was verified by Sgt. Papin.

She states that at 2:15 a.m. on July 10, 2009, she was on routine patrol, travelling westbound on the South I-94 Service Drive near Beckley when she observed headlights travelling in her lane of travel. She said she saw a vehicle traveling toward her patrol vehicle heading eastbound in the westbound lane.

She said she activated her overhead lights and spotlight and the vehicle weaved into the eastbound lanes of travel. She turned her vehicle around and made a traffic stop.

Shippe said Kasham told her he was traveling the wrong way on the service drive because he thought it was a one-way road.

Her report said Kasham stated he had just left the Diamondback Saloon. She said she asked him if he had any alcohol to drink and she quotes him as saying, “I had two double shots, I mean two shots.”

Her report states that while speaking with Kasham she could smell a strong odor of intoxicants coming from his person. Also, his eyes appeared red and watery. In the rear passenger compartment of the vehicle she located an open case of beer, the report said.

Kasham’s attorneys are Lahn, Hall and Shand, PLLC, of Saline, represented by J. Geoffrey Lahn and David A. Shand.

U.S. District Court Judge Sean F. Cox will hear the case.

VBT Board agrees to sell its Visteon claim to Fulcrum for 58% of value

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

On May 21, Van Buren Township Supervisor Paul White signed an agreement to sell $9,831,427.66 in unsecured claims against Visteon to Fulcrum Credit Partners of Austin, Texas, for 58% of its value.

Fulcrum wired the purchase price of $5,702,228.04 to VBT to deposit in the Local Development Finance Authority account to pay for future Visteon bond payments.

The official documents on the sale were acquired from the township clerk’s office under a Freedom of Information Act request.

Matthew W. Hamilton was the authorized signatory for Fulcrum, which is registered as a Delaware limited liability company.

In an April 6 resolution passed by the township board, the board unanimously agreed to sell its $9.8 million claim against Visteon to a third-party entity interested in purchasing the claim for more than the $2.2 million minimum guaranteed by Visteon.

The resolution authorized Kilpatrick and Associates, the township’s bankruptcy counsel, to negotiate a sale of the claim for the maximum financial benefit of the township.

Since everyone on the board agreed the time between the purchase offer and its acceptance was critical, the board agreed to give the supervisor authority to sign such acceptance of a good offer, provided he passed the offer by all of the elected officials he could contact.

In exchange for the $5.7 payment, Fulcrum gets all right, title and interest in and to Proof of Claim 3304 and the Transferred Rights in the total aggregate face amount of $9,831,427.66.

Visteon is before Judge Christopher S. Sontchi in Federal Bankruptcy Court in Delaware for a voluntary chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, seeking reorganization.

The corporation, a former subsidiary of Ford Motor Co., is a leading global supplier of climate, interiors, lighting, electronics, and other automotive system, modules, and components to original equipment.

Among the hundreds of debtors being considered by Judge Sontchi was Van Buren Township which, under Supervisor Cindy King, entered into agreements to help Visteon build its corporate headquarters in the township.

Over the past few years, Visteon Village became partially vacant. The property stretches from Tyler to Ecorse roads between I-275 and Hannan, and encompassed nine buildings.

Recently General Electric leased some of the village and now a landfill-gas-to-electrical-energy plant is seeking approval on the east side of the Visteon property.

The Visteon parcels are subject to property tax valuation and assessment within the township. In 2002, VBT assisted Visteon in financing the construction of Visteon Village by issuing about $28 million in 30-year bonds supported by the full faith and credit of the township.

The township primarily relied on the property taxes it collects from Visteon to service the debt obligations owed on account of the township bonds.

Since petitioning for bankruptcy on May 29, 2009, Visteon has paid about $2.9 million to the township for full payment of the summer and winter property taxes.

For purposes of computing real property taxes, the township valued Visteon Village at about $165 million.

Visteon thought that was too high so last fall it began to negotiate with the township to reduce the assessed value of Visteon Village, saying it would probably have to sue if the assessed valuation wasn’t reduced.

So, the township hired appraisers to value the property and the parties engaged in a series of negotiations on the tax assessed value of Visteon Village.

The negotiations took into account the issue of the industrial facility tax agreements that provide tax abatements to Visteon which enticed them to locate in the township.

Visteon had been unable to meet obligations for the staffing levels at Visteon Village and so the township was entitled to revoke the tax abatements.

To solve the disputes in January, the township and Visteon agreed – and so did Judge Sontchi – to reduce the value of Visteon Village by $100 million (to $60 million), to a taxable and assessed value of $30 million.

In exchange, Visteon agreed to pay the township $2.2 million in cash. Also, Visteon agreed not to object to a proof of claim for a general unsecured claim for VBT in the amount of $9.8 million for the remaining amounts owed (what they would have paid in taxes and other breaks).

Also, the township agreed that Visteon’s good faith inability to meet its commitments in the tax abatement agreement shall not be a basis to void or cancel the tax abatements.

In the bankruptcy court documents, Visteon stated that it expects no shortfall with respect to the township bonds to arise until 2015 at the earliest.

The extra $5.7 million will be used for bond payments and extend the LDFA bond fund out a few more years, with township officials hoping the economy will be better then.

At the April 5 township workshop meeting, Dan Swallow, Director of Planning and Economic Development, said Visteon was trading much higher these days and that’s why the issue has become such a “hot button now.”

At the regular meeting on April 6, Swallow said the advantage of negotiating a sale of what is owed to the township is that the township will get a certain settlement in cash and quickly. The disadvantage would be that the township might receive less than it would by waiting until the end of the bankruptcy.

He said the question was whether the board wants to negotiate a sale now or wait until the bankruptcy court decides later. He said Visteon’s bankruptcy is expected to end during the third quarter.

Supervisor White said a group of investors could offer 85 to 92% of the total owed or the township could wait and get 60% -- or the full 100% from the bankruptcy judge. No one knew for sure.

Recently, bankruptcy proceedings were delayed again because rival Johnson Controls had offered to purchase Visteon and the judge thought it should be considered.

Visteon again reduces size of rezoning request for generating plant

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

At the May 26 meeting of the Van Buren Township Planning Commission it was announced that Visteon had amended its rezoning request earlier that day, so the commission postponed consideration of the request until its June 9 meeting.

About 20 people in the audience who are neighbors on Hannan Road to the parcels up for rezoning to make way for a future landfill-gas-to-electric-energy-generating plant at their backdoors had been ready to oppose the rezoning.

After the item was postponed, they filed out into the hallway and met with Visteon’s Director of Global Real Estate James J. Militello and Visteon attorney Timothy Stoker to voice their concerns.

After the meeting ended, Planning Commissioner Boynton talked to them, too, reportedly urging them to support the rezoning.

Especially upset were Mike and Shari West who had closed the day before the meeting on a house sold to them by Visteon as a residence. They said they had been trying to buy the house since last September, but the taxes “were screwed up” and didn’t get straightened out until recently.

They didn’t know the electrical generating plant was being planned for their back door until after they bought their dream home.

Shari said Darlene Lampe of Coldwell Banker Preferred Realtors handled the sale and Lampe told them she didn’t know about Visteon’s plans. Shari said Lampe lives on Marlowe Street in Van Buren Township.

Shari said Visteon officials told her the notice of the rezoning request was posted on her property, but Shari said it was posted two houses down and she hadn’t seen it.

She also said she suffers from multiple sclerosis and is afraid the vibrations, humming, or odors from the proposed plant will adversely affect her health.

Recently, Visteon held a private session designed for neighbors only to attend to explain the energy generating plant where videos of other plants were shown. The Wests weren’t invited.

While Visteon reported neighbors at the meeting were enthusiastic about the plans, the neighbors themselves said that is not true.

Although VBT officials were invited to the meeting, they chose not to attend.

Visteon first requested, on Feb. 11, rezoning of three parcels of about 18.3 acres in size from AG Agricultural & Estates District to OT, Office / Technology District and the planning commission held a public hearing on March 10.

Visteon then amended its application, removing the northern and southern parcels leaving a 10-acre site and then, on May 26, amended the application again to leave a square eight-acre parcel up for rezoning.

In a report to the commission at its May 26 meeting, Sally Hodges of McKenna Associates planning consultants said Visteon had submitted a separate request to the Township Zoning Enforcement Officer requesting a formal interpretation of whether a cogeneration building is a permitted use in the OT District under 14.02.12 of the Zoning Ordinance.

Visteon contends it is, describing the cogeneration plant as an “essential service building” since it will provide hot water to heat the Visteon buildings and provide electricity to DTE as regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Visteon said the $25 million investment will bring increased taxes to the township and schools. The building is estimated to be 136 feet long by 58 feet wide by 20 feet high. A permit to Hoosier Energy to install the facility was approved by Michigan DEQ last November.

Hodges had recommended the planning commission recommend denial of the requested rezoning (that was amended in March) to the township board, because the site wraps around single-family residential uses, the site is irregular in shape, and not compatible with the residential neighborhood. There also was no assurance that access to the site would be limited to Visteon Way because the proposed site reached to Hannan Road.

In order to head off a negative vote, Visteon changed its request to reduce the size of the site and to promise to cut off any access to Hannan Road until the site on Hannan is rezoned for non-residential use in the future.

The conditions offered by Visteon agree to develop the western part of the Visteon property first, before development occurs on the eastern portion and when the western portion is submitted for site plan approval, Visteon will designate an area to allow ingress and egress across the western portion to the eastern portion to and from Visteon Way.

At the May 26 meeting, Visteon attorney Stoker told the commission that they received McKenna’s letter and reviewed the comments and then decided to change their request.

He said the entire frontage on Hannan Road has been removed, along with a long narrow parcel.

He said he knows the staff and planning commission will need time to study the changes.

“We apologize to the community,” Stoker said to those present. “We’re just trying to be responsive.”

Dan Swallow, VBT Director of Planning and Economic Development, said there was some correspondence to the planning commission concerning the rezoning application and they will save it and read it at the June 9 meeting.

When the item was postponed, neighbor Ernie Tozer of 9200 Hannan, wanted to ask about the situation. He said they are talking about a piece of property right behind a house that was recently sold to a couple for a residence.

Swallow replied, “This is just a rezoning request.”

Boynton made a motion to postpone the item to the June 9 meeting, which passed unanimously and the unhappy crowd grumbled as it made its way out to the hallway to continue the discussion.

In other action at the 45-minute meeting on May 26, the commission gave preliminary site plan approval to Statewide Boring for a 17,500-square-foot addition to the north side of the existing building at 6401 Haggerty Road, between Ecorse and Van Born roads and backing up to I-275.

Mike Thomas, part owner and president of Statewide, said the company does large-scale machining and the present facility is full. They will use the additional space to expand their customer base and try to grow their business.

Among the items machined are windmill parts. Also, they worked on offshore oil drilling equipment for a firm in Cleveland, “but we may want to rethink that,” he said.

“We try not to be automotive,” he said, adding, “Last year 80% of our business came from out of Michigan.”

He said there are lots of machining businesses, but Statewide’s specialty is large machining.

“For large stuff, they have to come back to the Rust Belt, good old Michigan,” Thomas said. “My competition is on Groesbeck Highway.”

Hodges said that L&W will not allow the business cross access, so they had to modify their plans to stay on the site for parking. She recommended approval of the preliminary site plan, with a list of seven stipulations.

Published: May 27, 2010
Van Buren Township Trustee
Al Ostrowski wins another award

Van Buren Township Trustee Al Ostrowski has won another certificate of recognition for “initiative, diligence and exemplary service” from the City of Dearborn Police Department.

Ostrowski is a part-time animal control officer for the City of Dearborn and was one of the officers that worked at what the media dubbed the “house of horrors” where hundreds of dead and live Chihuahuas were found and had to be removed. Ostrowski was shown on television news reports several times in a hazmat-type suit working at the site.

On May 14, Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad signed Ostrowski’s certificate in recognition of his efforts.

The certificate reads: “On 07/22/09, Animal Control Officers along with the Police Department responded to 7840 Orchard on a report of neglected animals. Upon investigating further, it was determined that there were numerous dead and malnourished animals among the very poor living conditions.

“After days of hazardous rescue and recovery, it was determined there were 113 living and 151 dead dogs that had to be taken from the biohazard conditions. All of the officers involved went above and beyond the call of duty under hazardous conditions to rescue these animals. Due to the dedication of all the officers, numerous animals were rescued and were able to be saved.

“The Officer is a credit to the Department and is deserving of a Special Recognition award.”

Ostrowski said it took five, eight-hour days of work to get all the dogs out of the house, which was demolished April 15.

The owner of the dogs, Kenneth Lang, Jr., pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty to ten or more animals, which is a felony. He was given five years of probation in a mental health program.

Meanwhile he is to be under strict observation by the court system and cannot own animals for the rest of his life. The man reportedly lives in a group home in Oakland County.

Ostrowski also received a commendation from Chief Haddad for his work last year to help Dearborn police officers capture a fleeing robbery suspect.

VBT police officer injured in May 22 collision on Haggerty

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

A Van Buren Township Police Officer, identified by bystanders as Ken Toney, had to be extricated from his patrol car by fire fighters with a Jaws of Life on Saturday morning, after he was broadsided by a pickup truck and pinned in his car.

Reportedly, at about 9:18 a.m. Officer Toney was exiting a drive in the 16000 block of Haggerty Road, south of Riggs Road, and was broadsided by a pickup truck.

The patrol car was pushed to the east side of the road and Toney had to be cut out of the wreckage. Fire fighters removed the driver’s door and then removed him through the driver’s side of the vehicle. He had been handling a police run in that area.

Public Safety Director Carl McClanahan, who did not wish to identify the officer involved until the accident report was complete, said the police cruiser was struck on the left side door area by a Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck that was traveling south on Haggerty.

Director McClanahan said the road surface was wet from an earlier light rain.

The officer sustained minor injuries and was conveyed to St. Joseph Hospital by Huron Valley Ambulance, where he was treated and released a few hours later.

The driver of the pickup refused medical treat at the scene, McClanahan said.

The police cruiser suffered heavy left-side damage and the pick-up truck had heavy front-end damage. Neither vehicle was drivable and both vehicles were removed from the scene by tow trucks, McClanahan said. Haggerty was closed at Bemis for about an hour.

Michigan State Police are investigating the accident and McClanahan said they expect the report later this week.

At Monday evening’s CCW class at VBT Fire Station #2, Officer Toney showed students the three staples in his head. He said the crash caused his head to hit the flashlight on the assault rifle in the car.

He said the scout car was new, with only 5,700 miles on it.

Van Buren Public School Board approves new web site host at local cost of $6,171

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

“It would be quite a race to get it done by back-to-school,” said Brian Damman of School Fusion, the firm that was approved as a third-party website host for the Van Buren Public School District.

At Monday’s School Board meeting, Damman gave a presentation on what the new website will offer, dazzling the school board and impressing the audience. He said most of it can be complete in time for the new school year, but it will be a work in progress.

Since federal funds are available for internet services, the web design will cost the district just $6,171 of the $18,700 total price for the first year.

School Supt. Thomas Riutta said the district has been looking at getting a new website host, and had thought it could be done next year.

The district website now goes through the Wayne RESA (Regional Education Services Agency), but because of budget problems RESA is no longer supporting the platform the district has been using. Supt. Riutta said the district has done extensive research on the topic and came up with four hosts that were contacted and compared.

“School Fusion seemed to be the best fit for our district,” Supt. Riutta said.

Riutta asked for a one-year trial period to see if this is the direction they want to pursue for the district.

To get the new website up and running by the first of August, the board had to act quickly, Riutta said.

Pam Smart of the business office explained the funds that are determined by the percentage of free and reduced lunches, making the district eligible for 67% reimbursement of the $18,700 contract.

Smart said the $6,171 remainder will be taken from the phone account at Elwell which has extra funds because of switching from T-1 to fiber optic.

“We’re granted X amount of dollars,” Smart said. “If we don’t spend it, it goes back. If it says internet connections, it better be internet connections or someone’s going to jail.”

Smart said this year the district has requested $300,000 in federal ERATE funds and she doesn’t know how much will be coming.

Damman, who traveled from Denver to give the presentation on the School Fusion services, outlined the custom design that would be put together for the Van Buren Schools.

Damman said School Fusion serves 500 school districts which includes 5,000 school buildings. He said most of the districts train personnel by webinars from Denver offered by School Fusion.

Local districts using School Fusion include Holly Area Schools, Lake Fenton, Mt. Morris, Birmingham, Lindon Area Schools, and Clinton County RESA.

The web site will be able to replace the Honeywell alert system when its contract lapses in two years, noted Paul Henning, district information officer.

“The reason we stuck with RESA all these years is we didn’t foresee having the staff to keep it [a website] secure … which this does,” said Trustee Martha Toth about School Fusion.

Damman described a long list of ways administrators, teachers, students, and parents could use the site, with individualized services such as classroom web pages and personal space and file management.

School Fusion will manage content, so local school employees don’t have to take time to make sure everything put on the sites is appropriate.

In other business at Monday’s meeting, the school board:

* Approved school bus use for six Boys & Girls Club field trips and Van Buren Township Recreation Department’s Safety Town program on July 8;

* Held the first reading of Board Policy #4890: Supervision of Construction that amends change orders for the 2008 Bond Project to take out the terms “emergency” and “significant” because they are vague. Change orders under $20,998 could now be approved by the superintendent, but presented to the school board at its next regular or special meeting for consideration and ratification. The change is expected to save time and money;

* Held the second (final) reading and adoption of the new District Grading Policy;

* Approved acceptance of the Wayne RESA budget after a report by Trustee Brenda McClanahan, who had attended a RESA meeting to get more information;

* Decided to set the long-discussed board retreat for four-hour sessions on possible dates of June 24 and July 15, starting at 5 p.m. The off-site meetings will be held at either Wayne County Community College or Washtenaw Community College, Riutta said, adding the board has a lot to discuss. Director of Instruction Peggy Voigt said the reports are back from the Genesee ISD on the community visioning session and those will be discussed at the first session;

* Approved the requested retirements of Robert Seefeld of Career Tech after 35 years; Catherine Alter of Elwell Elementary after 37 years; Marylynn Buckosky of South Middle School, after 39 years; and Martha Gregg of North Middle School after 24 years. The board also approved the resignation of Debra Cooper of BHS after 20 years for other employment;

* Honored student winners in recent Drag Racing and 4AAA competitions, who brought their trophies to show;

* Heard a report from Deb Rowsey and Pam Bradley on Savage Elementary School’s Positive Behavior Support program, run through a RESA grant, that works at behavior modification to decrease the number of office referrals;

* Was informed that Transportation Department employees won first place in a recent bus rodeo (won by Wayne Westland for the last four years in a row) and drivers Karen Blevin and Dawn Ackron will continue in state competition;

* Heard resident Greg Powell, a youth sports coach, discuss the construction project behind the high school that destroyed the baseball field when there were two BHS home games remaining and then ceased further work. Powell said the players had to play their last two games in high school at a Little League diamond. He suggested the district build an extra diamond at North Middle School to allow BHS players to have home games while construction is under way. He also said if the board decides not to put artificial turf on the football field and use sod instead, there would be no home football games next season, which includes band reviews and other annual events. He said the students are giving up things because of the mud, dust, parking disruptions, and other problems and the district should give up something, too; and

* Went into executive session to discuss negotiations.

At its regular meeting May 18, the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees unanimously passed the first readings of two ordinances: one a revision to the curfew ordinance and one a new truancy ordinance.

The two ordinances will be back before the board at its next meeting, June 1, for final approval.

VBT Public Safety Director Carl McClanahan, who is serving on an interim basis, said the ordinances are needed to give his officers the tools they need to control juvenile misbehavior, especially leading to home invasions.

The first ordinance revision, repeals the old curfew ordinance and replaces it with a new curfew for minors.

“We did research and did use the Canton ordinance as a model,” McClanahan said.

He said the biggest difference is that the current ordinance targets juveniles, “under 12 years old, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.”

The new ordinance is for juveniles 13 years and under, but allows them to be out an hour later. They must be off the streets from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

He said the new ordinance also says it is unlawful for minors under the age of 17 to be in a public place from midnight to 6 a.m. The former cutoff was 11 p.m.

At the workshop session on May 17, Trustee Jeff Jahr said, “We’re relaxing the curfew hour,” and McClanahan explained that this is the same as Canton and, “We don’t want to interfere with school functions.”

The second ordinance is new and allows officers to have probable cause to investigate school-age children who are doing other than attending school during school hours.

McClanahan said this will mitigate things that happen during school hours, specifically home invasions.

The ordinance says it is unlawful for minors of school age enrolled in a public or private educational program to be absent from school “and found loitering, idling, wandering, strolling, playing or aimlessly driving or riding about in or upon a public place” when school is in session.

“Having it as a misdemeanor allows us to bring the problems in from the streets to our station,” McClanahan told the board.

Those wishing to study the ordinances before they come back before the board for final approval may call the clerk’s office at 734-699-8909.

* Heard a report from 34^th District Court Judge Tina Brooks Green and then approved the 20010-11 proposed $3.8 million court budget, which is down 5% from last year’s $4,990,000. Judge Green said the court does not amend its budget throughout the year. “It is what it is and we don’t change it and live within it,” she told the board. “We do more with less,” added Judge David Parrott at the board’s workshop session. Judge Brian Oakley also was at both the workshop and the regular session with the other two judges and Court Administrator Al Hindman;

* Approved a revision to the investment policy to allow five-year investments (rather than three years) to get a better interest rate on funds that won’t necessarily be needed during that time;

* Approved designating Supervisor Paul White as the commissioner and DPW Director Todd Knepper as alternate commission for the new Downriver Utility Wastewater Authority;

* Approved the job description and personal services agreement with Lynette Jordan, making her the senior director at a salary of $46,000. She fills the position that has been vacant since February;

* Approved the job description for the senior coordinator, the job being vacated by Jordan, and authorized the supervisor to advertise for a candidate. The position will be part time, 35 hours a week, and pay from $14 to $18 per hour. At the $18 rate, the pay would amount to $33,000 with no benefits;

* Approved a revision to the Public Safety Committee bylaws to change the monthly meeting to the first Wednesday of the month at 5:30 p.m., to allow the group to use the board room. This would result in better audio and video recording for cable casting on Channel 12. The group has been meeting at 5:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month. The bylaw change officially changes the meeting time from 7 p.m., which is stated in the bylaws, to 5:30 p.m., the time they have been meeting;

* Heard Supervisor White read a letter from Mindy Porzondek, praising Lt. Dennis Brooks for the excellent job he did teaching the CCW course the previous Saturday and noting it was too bad that eight people who had signed up hadn’t shown up. Those slots could have been filled by others who wanted the free class, she noted;

* Heard Supervisor White read a letter from Daniel G. Vincent, the Public Safety Director for the City of Grosse Pointe Farms, praising the work of Officer Ryan McCormick and his K-9 as he helped with a narcotics sweep at Grosse Pointe High School on April 28;

* Heard Clerk Leon Wright read a letter from Joanne Murphy of Royal Oak which praised the work of Joanne Montgomery in the clerk’s office who helped find certain graves in the cemeteries; and

* Heard VBT Historian Cathy Horste explain the Rubby Ducky race on Belleville Lake Aug. 12 to earn funds for the Belleville Area Museum. Clerk Wright agreed to sell tickets and so Horste presented a large, helium-filled yellow ducky balloon to Deputy Clerk Kathy Kline to remind everyone about the tickets.

Van Buren Township Senior Coordinator Lynette Jordan has been promoted to Senior Director, a job she has been doing along with her coordinator’s job since February when Linda Combs went on medical leave and then resigned.

At its May 18 meeting, the township board voted unanimously to approve Supervisor Paul White’s recommendation of Jordan for the job at a salary of $46,000.

Jordan started working for the township’s building department in November 2005 and transferred to the role of senior coordinator in July 2007.

“Ms. Jordan is very familiar with township policies and procedures and during the past 32 months she has become a very important part of the September Days Senior Center,” White wrote in a memo to the board.

“She has been able to maintain continuity and provide a sense of confidence at the center since February,” he wrote. “I wholeheartedly endorse her promotion to the position of Senior Director and trust you will, as well.”

White pointed out it will be necessary to hire someone as senior coordinator, but he believes this can be part-time at 35 hours per week, instead of full time. He said that because of the loyal volunteers, the services to the community should not be diminished.

“This will be one step closer to reducing costs and maintain services during these uncertain economic times,” White wrote.

He said the director’s contract saves the township about $5,400 for fiscal year 2010 in the director wage line item and would save $4,864 next year.

Changing the coordinator’s position to part time saves $16,325 in 2010 wages and fringes, he said.

The pay would be $14 to $18 per hour with no benefits and at the $18 rate the salary would be $33,000.

Supervisor White said with the two changes, there will be a savings of $29,046 in 2010 in the senior department and $35,594 in 2011.

Treasurer Budd said a bachelor’s degree in gerontology is required for the director, but Jordan does not have a bachelor’s degree. (Linda Combs who resigned after serving in the position also had no bachelor’s degree.)

Jordan’s employment agreement states she must get her associate’s degree by July 2013 and is required to pursue further education.

Jordan asked why they were changing the requirements and Supervisor White said a bachelor’s degree was required in the prior job description.

Jordan said White said she could have a part-time employee along with the part-time coordinator to help her. White said they would talk about it.

“I was under the impression you talked about it,” said Clerk Leon Wright to Supervisor White.

“We have that agreement?” Jordan pushed, wanting the extra part-time employee to help her.

Trustee Jeff Jahr said he would have a hard time approving Jordan as director if there were side deals as part of the agreement.

At the regular meeting the next night, when discussing the issue, Treasurer Budd said that right along she thought it was unusual for Jordan, an employee, to come and make demands to the board.

She referred to the recent workshop session when Jordan approached the board to complain about Supervisor White and how he wasn’t offering her enough money for the director’s job.

Jordan said she wanted the same pay as former director Linda Combs. White said Jordan wanted $48,000.

The board stood behind the hiring township procedure and Supervisor White and told her she had to negotiate with White and he would bring a recommendation to the board.

A recommendation to go out for candidates for the director’s position was withdrawn from a subsequent agenda when White and Jordan apparently came to an agreement.

“I have concerns about her comments at the work/study (the previous day). It was not proper to address you in this way,” Budd said to Supervisor White.

Trustee Jahr said he has been told there is no commitment made to Jordan although she suggested there was a commitment on staffing.

Former recall agitator Larry Fix said he disagreed with Budd’s comments, saying Jordan’s comments “were fitting” and that maybe White made promises to someone else about employment.

Trustee Jahr said in looking over the requirements for the coordinator’s position, the educational requirements are higher than the current educational background of the “person we just hired as director.”

He said that has the potential of having the coordinator having more credentials than the director.

White said Jordan is working on her associate’s degree and has met certification for first aid, AED, etc.

Published May 20, 2010:

Churches to hold Blessing of the Fleet on Belleville Lake June 6

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

A Blessing of the Fleet event has been scheduled for 2 p.m., Sunday June 6, at the Horizon Park boardwalk in downtown Belleville on the lake.

At Monday’s City Council meeting, the Rev. Gregory Zurakowski, new pastor at Belleville Presbyterian Church, explained the project, which was endorsed unanimously by the council.

Rev. Zurakowski said his church, in cooperation with Trinity Episcopal Church, St. Anthony Catholic Church, First United Methodist Church and other area churches have come together to hold the blessing.

“The blessing of the fleet is a time-honored event in many waterfront communities around the Great Lakes and on the coasts of the United States,” and the world, Rev. Zurakowski told the council.

He said he will work with Van Buren Township’s Marine Officer Chris Hayes to develop the safest and most efficient format for the blessing.

He said, in general, they foresee boats passing in review by a fixed point at which area clergy will offer a blessing to each vessel and her crew, or boats will gather in a loose rafting arrangement at a fixed point on the waterfront and a mass blessing is offered.

“The area clergy and I believe that this event could serve the community beyond its religious significance by bringing increased focus on the lake as a community asset, and hope to have this become an annual event,” Zurakowski said, suggesting some kind of maritime festival could evolve in the future.

Zurakowski wore a jacket with a Coast Guard emblem on it and explained he was retired from the Coast Guard.

He said the religious leaders hope that the event will bring the community together in a faith-based manner.

He said since he is a newcomer to the community, perhaps he can get away with saying the community doesn’t seem to be taking advantage of its precious lake as a drawing point and it could be like Torch Lake and other resort communities.

Mayor Richard Smith supported the event, adding that he always encourages anything pointing out the use of the lake.

Resident John Juriga said Belleville has had the lake for 90 years and, “We’ve used it, abused it, but never celebrated it, to my knowledge.”

In other business at Monday’s meeting, the council:

* Set a public hearing for 7:30 p.m., June 7 to discuss the $2,145,682.79 proposed 2010-11 budget, that currently will need $46,000 taken from the savings account (fund balance) to balance. Tapping into the fund balance was not a popular move and so the council and audience discussed other options, which included raising taxes (also not popular), moving a $25,000 contingency fund into the general fund budget, sharing fire department services with Van Buren Township, charging a $100 fee for annual inspections of rental units, and working at cutting costs after the balanced budget is approved so money doesn’t really have to be taken from the fund balance. To bring the budget closer to balance, the city already moved the 1.3 mill (about $86,000) capital expenditure money to the general fund for this year. That means the house at 420 Savage, recently purchased by the city, will not be slated for demolition this year, but money remains in that fund for projects already committed to;

* Heard 34^th District Court Chief Judge Tina Brooks Green present the court’s proposed $3.8 million budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year. She was accompanied by Judges Brian Oakley and David Parrott. She said the overall budget went down 5% from last year because a couple of years ago financial consultants Plante Moran made them set aside $300,000 for prefunding of retiree health care, but now the court no longer has to do it because Plante Moran changed its mind, saying no one else in the state, except Romulus and the court, were complying with the prefunding rule so they didn’t have to do it, either;

* Approved without discussion signing the Michigan Uniform Video Service Local Franchise Agreement with Comcast that pays a 5% franchise fee to the city;

* Tabled until the next meeting a proposal to sign contracts with the Michigan Department of Transportation for grants to the city for the downtown projects. City attorney John Day wanted to delay action to give him time to coordinate language on reimbursement by the Downtown Development Authority;

* Approved accounts payable of $27,898.78 including departmental purchases in excess of $500 to: Blue Ribbon for “dump leaves” at $3,200; Evans Electric for repair light poles at $895; Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton, P.C. for water advertisement at $802.13; Hennessey Engineers for general work at $3,224; ICMA renewal of membership at $598.40; Michigan Municipal League dues at $2,389; and Oakland Co. Treasurer for CLEMIS at $1,932.75; and

* Went into executive session to discuss negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement.

Published May 13, 2010:

Man grabs money and runs at Chase bank in downtown Belleville

A man who couldn’t pass a fraudulent check at the Belleville branch of Chase bank, grabbed some cash from a nearby cashier’s window and ran off at about 3 p.m. last Thursday.

He was taken into custody in Romulus on Monday and is being held on a federal warrant for a parole violation.

Belleville Police Chief Gene Taylor said Sean Lamont Goodman, 43, of Van Buren Township was arrested by the Absconder Recovery Unit of the State of Michigan.

The FBI will be handling Goodman’s prosecution because he was wanted on federal warrants, Chief Taylor said.

Chief Taylor said the incident actually was a botched attempt to pass a fraudulent check over $500 in value.

Chief Taylor said the man obviously needed the money badly, for the “frustration factor took over” after he couldn’t get money from the check.

He saw someone getting cash from a teller, so he announced that he was armed, grabbed an undisclosed amount of cash, and ran from the bank, heading northwest. A weapon was not seen, but only implied.

Since the money hadn’t left the cashier’s custody, the customer lost nothing, Chief Taylor said.

They had the name and address of the suspect and also had his fraudulent check and his picture on bank video.

After he ran from the bank, local police officers were unable to find him despite an exhaustive search, so Chief Taylor suggests he may have gotten in a vehicle and driven off.

Various witnesses told police officers from Belleville and Van Buren Township that the man ran: under the bridge, behind some bushes, out Denton Road, out Belleville Road, and out Quirk Road.

People driving into Belleville during that time saw police searching on and around the bridge.

Chief Taylor said the FBI, which usually is involved in all bank incidents, lately has had its resources redirected to homeland security matters and only gets involved in very serious bank crimes.

But in this case, the FBI has taken over because there already was a warrant for his arrest on other charges.

Local residents reported that when they went to withdraw funds that afternoon, the bank was locked and police and employees inside waved them away without explanation.

Some said they were a little disconcerted because that afternoon the stock market made a 1,000 point dive before righting itself somewhat and they wondered if the closed bank was related.

One customer said, “I think the bank was closed because of Greece,” referring to the financial problems in that country that allegedly influenced the U.S. stock market.

School Board names Mike Van Tassel new principal of BHS

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

Michael Van Tassel is the new principal of Belleville High School.

He replaces interim principal Dennis Connolly who had been filling in for the past year.

In making the recommendation to the school board on Monday, School Supt. Tom Riutta said in a memo to the board, “This is an important decision; we are building a new high school, re-integrating alternative education students as well as dealing with a critical budget shortfall next year.

“My recommendation for high school principal is Michael Van Tassel. I think Mr. Van Tassel has demonstrated that he is up to the many challenges which our District faces in the upcoming years, with a clear understanding of what needs to happen to make our students successful,” Riutta said.

The newest member of the board, Kevin English, made the motion to approve Riutta’s recommendation, which was seconded by Bob Binert and unanimously passed by the board.

When English ran for the board last fall, he told supporters that he would work to get Van Tassel hired as BHS principal.

Riutta said Van Tassel has served in a number of positions with the Van Buren Public Schools: teacher, band director, and assistant principal at both the high school and the alternative school.

“Most recently, Mr. Van Tassel’s assignment has been an informal co-principalship with Mr. Connolly. Mr. Connolly has been most impressed with Mike’s work ethic and his commitment to improving Belleville High School,” Riutta wrote in a memo to the board.

“Mr. Van Tassel works well with staff, is highly motivated and has demonstrated excellent communication skills and a willingness to put in the long hours necessary to improve Belleville High School.

“I am confident that he will serve the students of Belleville High School well,” Riutta said.

Van Tassel will begin his new position on May 17. Connolly has agreed to stay through the end of the school year and will be available to serve as a mentor next year, if necessary, Riutta said.

“This is the beginning of an administrative reorganization at the high school,” Riutta said.

“I have talked to both Mr. Van Tassel and Mr. Connolly regarding a clear measurable list of responsibilities for the assistant principals. We will be working on job descriptions over the summer; I believe when the job descriptions are completed, we will be more productive than in the past years,” Riutta said.

The master’s degree in education that was lacking in the past for Van Tassel to be eligible for this position was completed in December at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, according to Van Tassel’s credentials presented to the press.

Van Tassel also holds a master of music degree (performance) and a bachelor of music degree. He was director of bands at the Van Buren Schools for 15 years before moving into administration at the high school in 2005.

Van Tassel has been a polarizing figure in the past, influencing band parents to fill board meetings to support him on various issues.

In 2006, before he resigned, former BHS Principal Kevin Kelly gave a poor evaluation of Van Tassel’s work as assistant principal. Van Tassel applied for the principal’s position to succeed Kelly, but Sheila Brown was selected.

Then, the late School Supt. Pete Lazaroff reassigned Van Tassel from his BHS assistant principal position to a position at South Middle School. Van Tassel filed a grievance and influenced supporters to crowd the board room for many long, emotional meetings. They got what they wanted again and the board overruled Lazaroff on Van Tassel’s behalf on a 4-3 vote.

Then, Van Tassel left the district to go back to the university. Sheila Brown resigned with one week’s notice just before school started in 2008.

Assistant principal Tim Ottewell took over as principal for the 2008-9 school year until the principal’s position could be filled.

In 2009, a procedure seeking a new principal ended up with Van Tassel not being among the finalists and his supporters again protested to the board. The job was offered to Matthew Chapin, who accepted it before he rejected it.

Dennis Connelly, an experienced consultant who fills interim positions, was brought in to serve while the search for a new principal was re-launched.

After members of the community served on focus groups, four finalists were chosen, including Van Tassel. But Supt. Riutta’s recommendation was to not select a principal now, but to keep Connolly as principal for the time being and make Van Tassel an assistant principal.

Riutta said last October that after the new high school is built, they could begin a search for a new superintendent who could pick his own high school principal.

He changed his mind and on Monday recommended Van Tassel to the position he has been seeking for years.

After Monday’s meeting, a board member noted that board members believe Van Tassel has changed and will no longer use political action to get what he wants.

In other business at Monday’s meeting, the board:

* Approved the first reading of a District Grading and Homework Policy that removes non-academic factors such as behavior, attendance, and work completion from grades, to measure what students have learned. The second reading will be June 14;

* Tabled action on the Wayne RESA Budget and appointed Trustee Brenda McClanahan to attend the RESA budget session on May 19 to get more information on the document. Under state law the board must act on the RESA budget not later than June 1;

* Approved the Alternative Education Transition Plan proposal as recommended. The alternative classrooms in trailers will be closed and the students returning to BHS. The plan addresses concerns voiced by parents and teachers concerning the move;

* Approved the second, and final, reading of a revised board policy on purchasing goods and services. It changes “lowest qualified bidder” to “lowest responsible bidder.” Trustee Martha Toth said “responsible” means who can get the job done, based on price, quality, and service factors;

* Recognized National Teacher Week, honored PTO presidents, honored Students of the Month, and honored an EMU fraternity that has been volunteering at Elwell Elementary School;

* Approved requested retirements of Saundra Brown of Edgemont, after 34 years in food service, and Betty Scott of North Middle School after 25 years as a paraprofessional;

* Approved hiring Noreen Desilets as a bus driver at a pay of $12.59/hr. and Stacie Carr as a paraprofessional att $9.75/hr.;

* Approved the retirements of teachers Elsie Berry of ECDC after 33 years of service and Carrietta Preuninger of Tyler Elementary after 38 years of service;

* Discussed the trouble everyone has hearing the board when it meets at the BHS cafeteria, as it did Monday. Toth said if they want the television cameras, this is the only building that can be used. Board President David Peer suggested having contractors move upgrades to the cafeteria acoustics to the front of the schedule instead of at the end. Peer said it didn’t used to be this bad and Toth said the sound equipment was a lot younger then; and

* Went into executive session to discuss a written attorney opinion on negotiations.

Five graduates of Belleville High School will be honored on Sunday as a part of the ongoing Distinguished Graduate program.

This year’s honors go to Randy Brown, Rosemary Otzman, Dr. Tami Harkai Remington, Dr. Susan Clark Studer, and William Wolters.

Randy Brown graduated from BHS in 1981. While attending school, he was a percussionist in symphony band, jazz band, and marching band for three years. He also was a member of the German Club.

Always the enterprising businessman, Randy opened Randy Brown Landscaping in 1985 while attending Michigan State University (MSU). In 1991, Randy earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Landscape Architecture from MSU. After college, he continued to grow his landscaping business which evolved into The Gardner’s Choice, currently located on Belleville Road.

He has been active with the Jaycees, the Belleville Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Van Buren Public Schools. Randy has spent many years volunteering across the community, many times loaning his employees and equipment to help collect food drive contributions, stringing Christmas lights in the township, and helping to clean Van Buren Park for events. One could say that if it happens in Belleville, Randy is there.

Since he joined the Belleville Area Chamber of Commerce in 1990, Randy has held many positions, including President. He is a familiar face at all the local events, and is in charge at a number of them, winning the Joan Van Buhler Award for Outstanding Achievement from the Chamber. In 2006, Randy presented his idea for a nighttime Christmas Light parade. He had a vision of crowds of families enjoying the parade, fireworks, and the arrival of Santa Clause in a “Norman Rockwell” small town Christmas, complete with falling snow. This vision became a reality in 2007 in spite of many roadblocks. Over the last three years, activities have been added that are making the parade into a daylong event which draws more people every year. He organizes the parade, the fireworks, and a dinner at the BHS cafeteria before making the mad dash to emcee the parade on Main Street. For the record, because he has hosted both the Christmas and Strawberry Festival parades for many years, his has become the voice of parades in Belleville.

Over the years, he has proved to be a staunch supporter and enthusiast of the school district. When the idea for the Van Buren Public Schools Education Foundation was presented to him, he immediately agreed to be a part of it, serving as past vice-president and president. After four short years, the Foundation raises $20,000 each year to be awarded as grants to the Van Buren Public Schools staff to benefit the students.

He spent three years as part of a voluntary building committee to study building needs for the Van Buren Public Schools. This group later determined that the only practical plan for the high school was a new building and he spent many hours working on multiple bond campaigns to help pass the funding necessary. It is the recommendations of this committee that laid the groundwork for the new BHS that will open in the fall of 2012.

As a business owner he has volunteered his time and resources to support many athletic and extra-curricular groups in the public schools, even though he doesn’t have any children of his own. On a more personal note, he helps organize the Florence Brown Invitational, a cross country meet to honor his mother. Randy has also found time to teach courses in horticulture at the Wayne County Community College and is a member of the Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association.

“I have always been proud to be a graduate of Belleville High School and have tried to pay back all of the opportunities that I have been given,” said Brown. “It is a very proud and humbling experience to be inducted into the Distinguished Graduate Hall of Fame.”

Rosemary (Kuchta) Otzman has distinguished herself in the field of Journalism.

Rosemary graduated from BHS in 1954. As a student, she served as an editor for the BHS school newspaper, contributed to the Belleville Enterprise as a student columnist, and performed lead roles in the junior and senior plays. She received the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award for having the qualities of dependability, service, and patriotism to an outstanding degree.

Rosemary attended Albion College where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English in 1958. She minored in art, education, and German and was editor of the college newspaper. Rosemary also took additional courses in sociology, outdoor education, and advanced photojournalism. She married after college and had three children: Gerald (now deceased), William, and James. She worked as an elementary teacher in Albion Public Schools (1958-59) and as a substitute teacher in Grand Ledge, Romeo, and the Van Buren Public Schools District. She also covered municipal meetings at night for various newspapers.

Rosemary has spent most of her life doing what she loves the most: newspaper writing. She has a distinguished career in journalism that spans more than four decades. Her credits include being a news broadcaster for WSMA Radio in Marine City, Special Writer for The Detroit News, managing editor of three weekly papers based in Richmond, Michigan, and editor/reporter for the Longmont Daily Times Call in Colorado.

In 1990, Rosemary moved back to Belleville from Colorado to take care of her aging mother. She was hired by The Belleville View newspaper and soon became editor. After leaving The View, she started composing a newsletter to keep snowbirds in Arizona up on the news that was happing around town. It was first called Dave’s World after the former Van Buren Township Supervisor Dave Jacokes. The name eventually changed to Davey’s Locker. The little newsletter became such a hit that it was soon published by the thousands and was delivered to nearly all households in Van Buren Township by volunteers. In 1995, a group of local investors who, impressed with her work, transformed her newsletter into the Belleville-Area Independent and positioned her as editor/publisher. She has received well over a dozen awards from the Michigan Press Association for her work in the Independent. The newspaper boasts a circulation of 7,000 readers and that it is the only local newspaper still located in Belleville, right at the site of the old movie theatre.

Along her way she has been a Cub Scout Den Mother, a board member of the Otsikita Council of Girl Scouts, a volunteer for Meals on Wheels, a volunteer for a safe house in Longmont, Colorado, and a volunteer for the Belleville First United Methodist Church food closet. She even found time to start and serve as president of the Belleville Toastmasters.

Rosemary has been called everything from a “straight shooter who tells it like it is” to a “controversial community member” and then some. Say what you like, there is still no other community paper that covers local meetings and events with as much detail as she does or cares as much about the community.