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March 2007 Postings 3-31-2007-04 The post below was sent to me and some of the links do not work. I am working on creating a single page with all the links on it. Some of the Links in the post are web sites that I have to go a get a link to. It will take me a day or two to get all the links linked up. The Page will be called HOT LINKS Thanks for your patience Webmaster 3-31-2007-03
Here are some documentation links from archived
posts - not a complete listing - I got tired of the harping (Kurt,
Marcus) that everything here is just opinion:
City Charter language regarding civil service
hiring requirements:
Various links that show how public was misled
when they voted on the fire amendment:October, 2005 ISO letter:
October 10, 2005 Letter
Page from 2005 MIOSHA report:
MIOSHA Report
November, 2005 city manager news article:
November 2005
Response to manager’s gag order of the firemen:
http://www.imfd.org/gag2.jpg
City manager’s letter ordering direct
deposit:
Direct Deposit Memo
State law prohibiting the order:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-Act-390-of-1978.pdf
Cool Cities website - T.I.D.E.
requirements (gay requirements):
Cool Cities website
International magazine article using Iron
Mountain as the perfect example of what NOT to do to your police and fire
departments:
http://www.imfd.org/folly.html
Michigan Freedom of Information Act link:
Learn more here about gathering
public information
Info on Gilbert & Associates - getting thousands
for reassessment without winning a bid:
News article showing city manager
suspended a firemen without grounds, suspension not upheld by civil service
commission:
other link
July, 2006 letter from the ISO informing
the city that they will not be able to retain the class four rating:
ISO Document
Michigan Court of Appeals language on the
"Bolt" decision - our jacked up water rates may fall under this ruling:
http://www.michbar.org/opinions/appeals/1999/101299/5280.html
Link to the Federal Railroad
Administration regarding train horns:
Federal Railroad Administration: FRA
City Fee Schedule, showing huge increases in
some areas, plus new fees:
May, 2004 news article laying down many City
problems - some of which the council was in the infancy of creating at that
time:
May 18, 2004 newspaper article
Spread sheet showing astronomical amounts of
money wasted on Rich Brook in just a few months:
Spreadsheet
Two links regarding the hiring of the Main
Street Coordinator:
Youtube link that shows the contrast between a
council that allows freedom of speech at their meetings, and what we have in
IM:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pXSWjVzdaF8
Pennsylvania news article that lists the City
Manager’s job history:
Another Pennsylvania news article reporting on
the City Manager getting fired from Wilkinsburg, PA:
http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/19990108wilk6.asp
TV6 News links to stories about the self-serving
attempted recall that proceeded the 2003 election:
http://www.wluctv6.com/Global/story.asp?s=1381343
http://www.wluctv6.com/Global/story.asp?s=1275416
http://www.wluctv6.com/Global/story.asp?s=1420416
TV report showing how many students Bay West
ALREADY has in the area:
Online definition of "duplicity" - a Freudian
slip(?) in a news letter from former Kingsford mayor Steve Zurcher:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/duplicity
Humorous Youtube link to a video on Battle Creek
- Cool City. The very end says it all:
Two very interesting links about Bryan Crough,
that DDA "miracle-worker" that was brought in by Marquart & Tousignant in a
transparent attempt to spin their parking lot dream into realization:
Michigan Attorney General Opinion on Open
Meetings:
http://www.ag.state.mi.us/opinion/datafiles/1970s/op05284.htm
ISO letter from December, 2006, showing
frustration that they have not been able to reach Marquart by phone to set
up a date for re-rating the City (apparently he never returned their calls,
either):
ISO Letter
TV6 News video - Mayor takes credit for cleanup
at 1200 Grant:
http://www.wluctv6.com/Global/Link.asp?L=232574
Charlotte, NC new article showing city owning up
to sewage-filled house:
3-31-2007-02 There are a lot of alleys in need of repair, to help many other elderly people to access their homes. I wonder why the only alley that seems to have been repaved in the past 30 or so years is one that runs alongside Mr. Rosenthal's house. 3-31-2007-01
Looks to me like Kurt's 21
"facts" turned into chopped liver by time post
3-30-2007-01 finished putting them through the grinder. Good work
there, 01.
Some people forget there are a lot eyes on
this site. Many of the brains behind those eyes have carefully stored
a lot of information. It can be unleashed at a moment's notice on naive
spinmeisters. Kurt should have learned something from Marcus' (or the
Mayor's) pitiful attempts at distortion.
3-30-2007-01 It took about a half-hour of my time to copy, paste and comment on the FACT post that appeared yesterday My comments are in bold parenthesis. 3-29-2007-05 After this, I am done here, this is not a "forum" it’s a one sided blog for people who hate the city and see nothing good. (If it’s one-sided, why was your post accepted?) #1 Fact: my water pressure is ten times better than it was. (Ten times what? Certainly not ten times the previous water pressure, or your house lines would have blown) #2 Fact: With water improvements come greater expansion (Maybe eventually, but not since they were put in. The highway upgrade was not related to the bond issue. That’s where the expansion has been taking place). #3 Fact: Walker and Kramer are ten times safer than they were. (How do you keep coming up with this ten times number? How many accidents can you recall at Walker and Kramer drive. It’s better, but the cost for such a simple project was way too high) # 4 Fact: My street is smooth (Lucky you. Fact: Mine isn’t) #5 Fact: At least one alley has been repaired so that elderly people can safely get to their house its impossible to resolve every problem immediately (One alley in the whole city? Impressive! Do we now repair alleys only when the elderly can’t get to their house?) #6 Fact: 1100 blk of Houghteling has been repaved (This one was repaved because of sewer work. Three houses are the only regular users of this dead-end, one block street). #7 Fact: the 700 blk of Fairbanks has been completely rebuilt. (True, but again because of sewer work.) #8 Fact: The 800 blk of Fairbanks is a mess. (And the 900, 1000 and 1100 block as well. This is a heavily traveled street.) #9 Fact: Streets on the west side have been repaired Hemlock and "A" st I believe. (Hemlock was done under a previous administration. I am not aware of any paving on “A” Street) #10 Fact: The 900/1000 blk of East "C" has been paved. (Yes, as part of the LaFave development I believe, again because of sewer and/or water line installation. Notice how your paving sites are sewer and water related, not mill and pave projects.) #11 Fact: Repaving costs money (Did I miss a post that claimed it was free?) #12 Fact: All roads can't be paved at once. (Who ever said they should be? All of the roads don’t need paving, just a lot of them). #13 Fact: Expansion in the City of Iron Mountain continues (Modestly, yes, and mostly on the highway. This administration had nothing to do with that.) #14 Fact: Medical Coverage for the City has skyrocketed (It’s a problem faced by every city, township, county, and state in the whole country, not unique to Iron Mountain) #15 Fact: The city has been (at least in their own way right or wrong) proactive in controlling current and future labor costs and benefits thus saving you the taxpayer's money now and into the future. (Retirees and active employees understand this. It is the confrontational attitude of the administration and failure to study the many creative alternatives that other employers have worked out that causes the ill-will) #16 Fact: Sometimes change hurts (Brilliant observation of the obvious) #17 Fact: Status Quo was not working and the City was drowning in previous administrations and council's inactivity and mistakes. (Obviously something was wrong for the poster to vow never to return back in the sixties.) (All administrations make mistakes. Someone listed 16 major ones in a post a few days ago, and someone else added another six major ones, all made by the current administration. Can you name an administration that has made more than this one. The administration immediately before this one made some dandies, but this one has set an all time record by a wide margin.) #18 Fact: this site does not provide unbiased information and anyone with opposing viewpoints is attacked and maligned. (This site is open to all information, including yours. Any opinion expressed here is subject to debate, criticism or praise. If more people are critical than praising, don’t you think maybe, just maybe, it reflects the community’s attitude toward this administration?) #19 Fact: The voters of this city have spoken and clearly felt that the city was on the right track (whether that is still the case will be seen) (The voters merely threw out some previous office holders. They hoped for improvement. How they feel in November, or maybe in an August primary if one is needed, will be the first performance scorecard for this administration. The voters will determine, for their performance for the first time. What’s this “felt the city was on the right track” nonsense. If they felt the city was on the right track, they wouldn’t have pitched the incumbents) #20 Fact: True unbiased facts do not require attacks (Allegedly true unbiased facts are always presented as such, but sometimes they don’t stand up under close scrutiny. That’s why the language has developed such expressions as stretching the truth, half-truths, spinning and bold-faced lying. What is a liar? Someone trying to convince you that what he is telling you is the truth when he knows he isn’t because it serves his purpose and motives. Marquart and Tousignant are in the top 2%. That’s an estimate, not a FACT, by the way. Trouble is they aren’t smart enough to get away with it. They are run-of-the mill liars, not world class liars. Those are found in Washington and even they get caught in their own web regularly) #21 Fact: Facts can be interpreted and reported and viewed as one sees fit (Yes, and isn’t it frustrating when those dummies you try to convince don’t see it your way because they have dug up the facts for themselves. I know, I know. They are stubborn as a mule, thick headed, numb skulls, idiots, and lame-brained. Since this was your final post, it looks like we’ll have to muddle through without you. It’ll be tough, but we’ll give it our best shot. 3-29-2007-09 I'm the second person on this forum to ask this question: What is a GAMES convention, mentioned in post #3-12-2007-13? Whoever posted it, could you shed a little light on what that's about? 3-29-2007-08
Aside from Mr. Rosenthal writing down his
opinion and calling it fact (such as, his water pressure is ten times better
- that’s just an opinion, and exaggerated, at that), I hope he will come
back and contribute something factual to this website. A great start would
be answering the post about the blight ticket. Another would be to verify
whether or not he stands by his statement that a judge decides what is
factual - such as the judge’s finding that he was booted out of his union.
Is that factual, or just some judge’s worthless opinion, Mr.
Rosenthal? It’s all documented here on this website, and was mentioned in a
very recent post.
There were a couple of other items that I just
didn’t understand in his post. The biggest one was the line about the voters
of the city clearly feeling that the city was on the right track. What is
that about? The last time the people voted on anything, they slam-dunked the
city’s "right track". What are you talking about, Mr. Rosenthal?
Your last listed "fact", I have to agree with,
the one about how facts can be played with. You are perfectly
describing the shameless political spin that has taken over City Hall. I'll
leave you with a quote, but I don't know who originally said it. It
describes, I think, what you seem to want all of us to do.
"Opinion is that exercise of the human
will which helps us to make a decision without information."
3-29-2007-07
Response to 03-29-2007-05
Glad you are not coming on any more. The truth
really hurts hey!
Lets see now --- Are you Rosenthal, or the Mayor
or are you Marcus? --- or could you even be Marquart?
3-29-2007-06
Someone left a post on 3-11-2007-07 concerning blight on the
property of a Councilman‘s family member:
Mr. Rosenthal, you are determined that all sides of a story
are told. I would challenge you to tell us YOUR side of the story concerning
the Tchokreff property at 608 West ‘C‘ Street.
Wasn’t that property in fact cited for blight? Weren’t you,
in fact, the citing officer? Tell us why nothing came of that case. We truly
would like to be certain to get all the FACTS of this story.
3-29-2007-05
After this, I am done here, this is not a a
"forum" its a one sided blog for people who hate the city and see nothing
good.
Fact: my water pressure is ten times better than
it was.
Fact: With water improvements come greater
expansion
Fact: Walker and Kramer are ten times safer than
they were
Fact: My street is smooth
Fact: At least one alley has been repaired so
that elderly people can safely get to their house-its impossible to resolve
every problem immediately
Fact: 1100 blk of Houghteling has been repaved
Fact: the 700 blk of Fairbanks has been
completely rebuilt
Fact: The 800 blk of Fairbanks is a mess
Fact: Streets on the west side have been
repaired Hemlock and "A" st I believe
Fact: The 900/1000 blk of East "C" has been
paved
Fact: Repaving costs money
Fact: All roads can't be paved at once
Fact: Expansion in the City of Iron Mountain
continues
Fact: Medical Coverage for the City has
skyrocketed
Fact: The city has been (at least in their own
way right or wrong) proactive in controlling current and future labor
costs and benefits thus saving you the taxpayer's money now and into the
future
Fact: Sometimes change hurts
Fact: Status Quo was not working and the City
was drowning in previous administration's and council's inactivty and
mistakes. (Obviously something was wrong for the poster to vow never to
return back in the sixties.)
Fact: this site does not provide unbiased
information and anyone with opposing viewpoints is attacked and maligned
Fact: The voters of this city have spoken and
clearly felt that the city was on the right track (whether that is still the
case will be seen)
Fact: True unbiased facts do not require attacks
Fact: Facts can be interpreted and reported and
viewed as one sees fit
3-29-2007-04 I was wondering if there would be anything on this subject in your forum. I am not sure if the Prosecuting Attorney will be running for re election this year also. If so, people must know what kind of job he and his office DOES NOT do. I found out personally why many people call him "Monty Hall", let's make a deal!!! and our victims are still and will remain scared victims as long as he remains in this office. There are too many times he plays with ones life and emotions. By the time the case reaches the judge, it is almost a "done deal". And people are so quick to blame the judge that presides over the court case. He/she can only do what is presented before them. The victim has to accept the representation from that office. He/she has no other alternative. A known fact that some police officers, both city and state are fed up with that office because many charges are changed. Lesser penalties are then handed down to the criminals. It is time that you, Mr. Prosecuting Attorney look at those cases with your heart and legal mind. Stop playing a game with what is a horrific problem with domestic violence. That is why this has become a nation wide attention. It must stop, but won't stop if you "make deals" and help out the criminal. First offense is a beginning of what can happen to the suburban housewife that was originally from Upper Michigan. The final outcome can become "death". Think about it, and stop plea bargaining. 3-29-2007-03 I'd like to add to the comments about the cones at 1200 Grant Street. After looking at the pictures posted here, I can see no factual evidence that the City had those cones put there. It seems to me that cones owned by the City have stenciling on them that show ownership of the cones. You cannot see that on any of the cones in the pictures. So, did the City put those broken down, dirty cones there, or did someone else? 3-29-2007-02
Some of the posts are suggesting
that the illegal actions by the City Manager and City Council be
brought to the attention of the Attorney-General. They will, at
the proper time.
A group is currently compiling a
list of the actions taken in the past three years by:
(a) The City Manager, on his own,
beyond the limits of his power
(b) The City Council by votes
taken that are questionable and possibly illegal
(c) Actions by the Mayor on his
own. The Mayor has very limited power under this form
of government.
The group wants to pick and choose
the issues it presents to the Attorney-General very carefully
and be sure they are serious enough to get the full attention of
the Attorney-Generals office and pass legal muster. The
research is ongoing and serious. The way it is shaping up,
there is a growing list of valid legal, and possibly criminal,
issues.
If the City Manager has any vision
of walking out of Iron Mountain with 120 days salary when he
gets dismissed, he is in for a rude shock. He is much more
likely to be facing not only civil, but criminal violations and
huge legal bills.
This investigation has nothing to do
with any election. It is proceeding regardless of election
results. Very deep pockets and much pro-bono legal work is
behind this effort. That's all I can say for now and for the
foreseeable future.
3-29-2007-01
I don’t know what Kurt’s motives are, but, the
FACT is that on a lot of city issues, there were NO facts given to the
people - only spin - until this website and its predecessor came along.
He is urging moderation now that people are stirred up and venting
over the FACTS that have been presented here? Why is that,
Kurt? If this website is not giving the complete factual data on issues,
it’s because we can’t get them from the City. People post what facts they
can manage to wheedle out of city hall, and they give up those documents as
if you were asking them to cut off their arm.
I know it would probably take a lot of
time, but I hope the webmaster can find that time to extract the numerous
facts presented in posts with documentation links and put all of those facts
on the informational buttons on the home page. The trouble is, Kurt,
that the webmaster would have to create more buttons on the home page
because of all the facts that are sitting there, lost in archived posts.
The webmaster is doing a very good job of posting every fact that comes his
way. Why does that bother you?
3-28-2007-12 Fact #1 The City water main broke at 1200 Grant Street. Fact #2 The result of that break was the damage documented on this web site. Fact #3 The City manager and council to include the mayor did nothing for 10 days. Fact #4 The Elk's Lodge, Bill Revord and Dale Alessandrini organized a call for action. Fact #5 The Mayor is on TV 6 taking credit for the organization of the help. Fact #6 If the frost was still in the ground it would not have caved in. Fact #7 The City of Iron Mountain pumped raw sewage into a Flesheim Street house and the back flow was not natural or gravity related. Fact #8 We have more pot holes on our City streets than the surface of the moon. I could go on and on. Please do not state "And this site provides COMPLETE factual information! yeah right." You have not provided one factual piece of data. Please, read your comments and you will see that your FOREST is totally opinionated. If you have facts, provide them to the web master and I am sure they will be posted. 3-28-2007-11
In response to get abackbone...
And this site provides COMPLETE factual
information! yeah right. As I said, three sides: one side the other side and
the truth.
A speeding ticket conviction is not a
disargreement or a discussion its a violation based on complete facts and if
necessary decided by a judge on complete facts. The violator sees it one
way, the police officer sees it another way and based on the facts
presented, the judge decides where the truth is. I've won and I've lost...
doesn't change my perception. What I am saying is each side sees things from
their own perspective. Judge on facts not on one sides' perception of what
is right. As much as the administrators here feel they present complete
facts..they don't. The facts are presented in favorable light to this
"side's" belief in what is right. As does the city. I am sorry if an
opposing view to the "facts" presented here is admonished with "get a
backbone" it is offensive to me that the very people that are "rising up"
against the city's supposed tyranny are responding with tyrannical views and
anger at oppostion to what they feel is right. If that is not tyrannical I
am not sure what is. If their views are indeed as "correct" and "black and
white" as they say this response of "get a backbone" would not be necessary.
They would encourage opposing views and discussion because they would be
right without question. Their "facts" would stand to opposition because they
indeed were the complete facts. Its interesting that opposing view points
are attacked for their writer's character and not for their substance. The
purpose of my last post was to help people realize that they must
decide based not on one source but on all sources, to see that in order to
decide you must gather as much information from as many sources as possible.
Does a judge or jury decide guilt or innoocence based on the prosecutions
version of the case? Based on the defendant's version of the facts? No I
think not, both sides are presented, information is gathered and somewhere
in both sides' versions the case is decided. So if indeed we are presenting
a forum for discussion than lets discuss, not name call, not admonish.
Present ideas, present facts, present opinions and welcome opposing views
discuss them then resolve...
3-28-2007-10
I have found out about your web site through
various people talking about what a good job done for creating this site. I
decided to visit the site and to my surprise, it is a shame of how our city
leaders are running this town. And you as the tax payers of this town, have
your hands tied in watching the "mistakes" made over and over again by the
same people that were voted into this office. I had moved away from Iron
Mountain in 1962, and vowed I would never return. But, through many things
occurring in my life, I had decided to return for family reasons. And first
let me say, there hasn't been too many changes in this town, since I have
graduated from high school. That is a shame already!
I held an elected office in our little village
where I resided and it isn't easy work to to try to enforce law and
regulations, but what we did, was above board, and we kept people happy to
the best we could. We did not have any "under the table" botches!!! And we
were always inspected by higher authorities within our State that overseas
and governs issues. I would suggest that with all that has been printed in
this site, that these articles are sent forward to the Attorney General, or
the Authority that governs above this local city council and have it
investigated. Also, we had to be a voting resident of our little town to
hold an office, and be paid. I guess it don't matter for your Planning
Official to be paid from our tax dollars and commute from Ishpeming. Do you
think he/she is for the best interest of our voting citizens of Iron
Mountain? This town has not "grown" up yet, and is still being operated
like it is a "village"... What a shame, as our town could be a beautiful
town. What is with all the hotels and motels being constructed? Where do
these people eat? Some people would like some nice dining. Are the owners
that already have a monopoly on the dining in this town afraid to let some
other good mid range restaurants come into town? Afraid of competition?
One dining place elects not to be open one of the days of the week, and
there are not many dining places to choose from, other than mostly fast food
places, and pizza. I do believe that there are many travelers that would
like to have a nice place, that offer a wide range of food, with a nice
atmosphere.
Think about it Mr. City Manager... or should we
be custom to your kind of dining? I have not been able to keep up with what
is happening in this city, but I can assure that if we had a problem in our
little, less budgeted village that has happened to some of your tax payers
residents, that had the unfortunate thing happen like a ruptured sewer or
water break, we would have went far and beyond to accommodate our citizens
in our village. And I am sure as all villages, townships, cities, etc.,
there is insurance to help that citizen. Or, Mr. City Manager, are the
monies not available for some other resource that has not been voted on by
the people of this city? Shame on you and your other members of your
council.
3-28-2007-09
Poster 3-28-2007-05 should lighten up!! He totally missed the humor of post 3-28-2007-01. Does he honestly believe the writer didn't know cones are not a permanent solution to anything? Did he really think the writer was serious when he said the city would probably order 5,000 cones?
If he did, he needs more help than this site
can offer.
3-28-2007-08 In response to you Kurt, are you joking or you just a joke? Or is it that you have your nose so far up where it doesn't belong? I think that maybe you are somewhere in the middle. I think maybe the city officials just don't like hearing the truth and don't like the fact the people of this city have had enough and are speaking out. Congrats!!!! to the people. It is about time that our voices get heard. The city has concentrated so much on bringing new business in at any cost. Do you really think that any respectable business would come here with our roads the way they are? Instead of building up the downtown, why doesn't someone try to clean it up first. And why all of the hotels? Why not more decent restaurants instead of new fast food places? Why not build something for the kids of this city? Why not help our elderly people? After all, they built this city. To the people, has anyone thought of bringing these clear law breaking issues to higher up? They need to be exposed to everyone. How can an investigation get started into the city council? What is being done? We can all talk about it and what has happened and what continues to happen, but maybe meetings should be held to find ways to stop this. Maybe we should do our own investigating. Where there is a will, there is a way. 3-28-2007-07 The City has really taken charge of the 1200 Grant Street Problem. 4 Orange cones to warn of the sink hole and some MISS DIG Paint. What happens now if a kid falls in that hole or rides a bike into the hole on the street? Who will be responsible for that. A true council of leaders would say "getter done and do it right"! I was in that basement to help with the clean up effort. The middle of the basement floor heaved up almost a foot. It lifted with such force that the toilets upstairs were lifted off the floor. The basement floor must be broken up and new plumbing installed. The force of the water also pushed the house towards the lake. This force opened gaps in the basement wall in which day light can be seen through them. Blindness and arrogance will not solve this or any other problem. 3-28-2007-06
Hmm, three sides to every story, eh? There is no
more black and white in this world? There is no more right and wrong? I
always thought the truth was always right. Black and white, not gray.
Are you saying that if you give me a ticket for
speeding, and I take it to court and say I was not speeding, that neither of
us was right? That the truth is somewhere in the middle? You’re kidding,
right?
Think about that, Kurt. In the case of the
people of Iron Mountain, the PEOPLE are the judge. The ONLY way the people
can make the right decision is if they are given complete, factual
information on an issue. The council and manager give only one side of an
issue - always twisted, and you know it, just like the speeding ticket
thing. You are dead wrong to say the truth is
always somewhere in the middle, especially if false statements are involved,
and that has happened on several occasions.
Get a backbone.
3-28-2007-05 I love the comment about the cones
and yellow paint, it shows how much that person really knows about how to fix
the problem with the yard. Kurt Rosenthal is correct in what he said. 3-28-2007-04
Reference the pictures of the caving in
ground...Let's all be patient...the ground is still frozen its not the most
appropriate time to repair ground ,as we ALL know, so once again, lets keep
an open mind. Another shining example of inflammatory, one sided remarks and
incomplete information. Let's look at the forest and not just the trees.
And before anyone gets their nose out of
joint...it is indeed a tragedy that this happened but lets be patient and
let the DPW do their job which they do quite well....
As I type this I am reminded of the "starving
children" commercials...instead of photographing and complaining, just feed
them. IE If you think the woman needs help..help her don't just complain. IE
Bill Revord, Dale Alessandrini and, like it or not, The City of Iron
Mountain. Thank you for your concern and help for this fellow human being.
(let the nitpicking begin....)
Kurt Rosenthal
3-28-2007-03
Here are some additions to the list provided in
post #3-27-2007-01
Civil Service
- Hired several people without going through the civil service system as
required by the City Charter. Police dispatchers, part-time code enforcement
officer, etc.
Code Enforcement
- Hired a code enforcement officer who, 1. Didn’t survive the screening
process for hiring in the police department and 2. How he gets paid is a
total mystery - his salary does not appear on the city payroll OR vendor
reports. Between the two, ALL city expenses are supposed to be accounted
for.
Fire Department
- Degraded our level of fire protection, all the while claiming they made us
safer. The ISO would not be breathing down the City’s neck if what they did
had no affect on the level of protection. MIOSHA has also been involved,
even though it’s "none of their business."
Union Busting
- Hired a union busting city manager that was so gung-ho and tyrannical
about it that, ironically, the city office workers unionized for their own
protection. (See the firefighters lawsuit on the litigation page. One of the
counts is union busting - against the law. Also, in that lawsuit, a footnote
says the police officers were booted from their union for doing what they
were being forced to do. That is more irony - the patrol officers were
caught in the cross-fire while the City was trying to bust the firemen’s
union.)
City Records
- Hired a city clerk whose note-taking at council meetings virtually assures
that you will not be able to get useful information from the council meeting
minutes he draws up. Is that just a coincidence, with so many people
interested in the goings-on of our government lately? I think not.
FOIA -
Violated the Freedom of Information Act by not providing requested
documents. Also, the act is abused regularly by using the "more time
needed" loophole.
3-28-2007-02
To all new faces here...
Remember this: in every discussion, in every
conflict, there are three sides to every story. The view of one side, the
view of the other side and...somewhere in between... lies the actual truth.
Keep an open mind, decide for yourself. Do not be led by the views of anyone
except for yourself.
Kurt Rosenthal
3-28-2007-01
So the solution to sink hole and the large
pot hole in front of Mrs. Occhietti's house is to get spray some yellow
marking paint and place cones.
I looks like we'll have to round up a
dozen Red Hat ladies and a couple pick up trucks of fill to solve this
problem for the city, too.
If the solution for pot holes is to place
cones in front of them, I guess we'll see a payment for 5000 cones on
the next vendors report.
Congratulations to John Marquart and DPW
director Bob Becotte for their innovative solutions.
3-27-2007-07 I would just like to say that I visited this website for the first time today 3/27/07. I must say, it confirmed what I already suspected and knew about our low life Mayor and City Manager. I was also happy to learn that they visit this website often. They are a true disgrace to this town. I understand that there was an incident at Mame's bar involving the Mayor's pocket boy which nothing came of. Do you think that it was because of his last name or that he does the Mayor and City Manager's dirty work??? In response to the question on why so many Iron Mountain residents are putting their houses up for sale, I would have to say that the number one reason would be because of our Mayor and City Manager and the dirty dealings, and yes there are many. The Mayor runs this town like he does Real Estate. I was so disgusted to hear what was done to that poor 88 year old woman. You should be ashamed of yourself Ken Tousignant and John Marquardt. What the two of you did was low, dirty, a disgrace to men (but then again), sick, etc......Wonder what you would do if it was your mother???? Answer, probably the same thing. Enough for now....more postings from me and definitely a lot more people as I am definitely going to spread the word like wildfire about this site and get people to post. 3-27-2007-06
First of all I'd like to thank the WEB MASTER
for the great service that you are doing for our city. As long as we can
keep all of this information coming in, maybe we can get the desired results
come election time.
If only the sewage back up had happened to Mr.
Rigoni or Ms. Jacobs, and then the broken water main at one of their close
friends house, we wouldn't be having all these articles written about
our inept city leaders.
3-27-2007-05 Pictures of 1200 Grant Street with the ground caving in. 3-27-2007-04 Here's what happens in a city with
competent leadership: 3-27-2007-03
I think the first post today, 3-27-2007-01
was one of their best I have ever seen on this site.
Sixteen perfect bulls-eyes right at the
heart of the city council and city manager.
If any post said it all, it was this one. I
wish every voter in Iron Mountain could read it.
Personally, I'm making copies of it and
passing it around.
3-27-2007-02
Webmaster
Thank you for your History of the Website
post. Well done.
I hope you fully understand the impact this
site is having on our community. You are a public servant in every
sense of the word. You are having a major impact on the future of Iron
Mountain by making this site available to us for discussions and a
source of information.
I would also like to thank the people who
have taken the time and effort to get and scan documents to you. I don't
know of any city that has a similar public discussion website run by
volunteer(s).
You efforts are sincerely appreciated.
Thank you.
3-27-2007-01
How would you like to run for
re-election and your voting record includes all of the following:
This what the Silverspoons four are
facing.
1. Blight Ordinance -
Totally botched. It has been sitting with the executive
committee made up of Tousignant, Van Laanen and Rigoni since around
July. Not a word on it. It has to be redrawn eventually, in the
meantime, no enforcement.
2. Rental Ordinance -
Totally botched. After the third version (and the legal
costs that accrue) it will have to eventually be redrawn no matter
which way the court rules.
3. Sewer back up - Totally
botched A citizen, Rob Guguerre, has sewage pumped into
his home by the city and they refuse to pay.
4. Water main break -
Totally botched An 88 year old widow of a former city
employee finds her basement flooded. It takes the community minded
Elks Club to do the clean up because the city won't pay.
5. Fire Dept Lawsuit -
Totally botched City loses, gets scatching letter from
judge, spends many tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
6. Bloomquist development project
- Mishandled Probably violated the open meetings
act by holding an unposted meeting on the site. Probably violated
the law by canceling the scheduled and advertised Public Hearing on
the matter.
7. Bandshell project -
Totally botched City wants to eliminate 30 needed parking
slots in violation of its own laws on needs of the adjacent
businesses.
8. Downtown pavillion, etc.
Firestorm erupts Without consulting affected
businesses, drawings are ordered from STS consultants which would
have eliminated 37 parking spaces, in addition to the 30 for the
bandshell area, build a pavilion nobody asked for.
9. Reassessment Totally
botched Gross errors found by Equalization Department by an
assessor who got a sweetheart contract and is way overpaid for a job
that is far from completed, and if it ever is completed, will not
come anywhere near justifying the cost.
10. Legal fees
Outrageous Fees with both the City Attorney and outside
legal firms have reached astronomical amounts, far higher by far
than anything in the history of he city.
11. Underground wiring
Unwanted and unneeded The city propose spending over
$150,000 for one block in the 400 block alley of Stephenson Avenue.
Building owners would also incur thousands of dollars of additional
hook up costs.
12. Street paving Negligible
Miles of city streets need paving, but the city officials
give scant notice. Too busy with grandiose schemes that will do
nothing for businesses or residents.
13. Cool Cities A joke
There is no money for the city in this silly program. Just another
government boondoggle program. How many times do we have to restudy
the same issues and reach the same conclusions.
14. Main Street Program.
Another cost to the city Hire a coordinator, nothing will
happen.
15. Public Works Director
Worthless additional cost Even department employees don't
know what he does. Cost to taxpayers. $48,000 base salary, health,
pension, driving allowance extra.
16. Community Planner
Another Unneeded New Employee Base pay $37,500 plus
benefits, commutes from Ishpeming, won't move here. What caliber of
person do we think we are getting for this wage.
That's just the tip of the
iceberg, taxpayers. Remember the mayor's campaign slogan?
He was going to give us the
"City we deserve" I don't think this is what we had in mind.
3-26-2007-03 I had the occasion to drive by 1200 Grant Street today. You remember, the house that was flooded after the water main break. I recall people wondering where all the dirt came from to form the mud in the basement. Well, it looks like the heavy rain last night solved that mystery, as there is now a caved-in trench/sinkhole in the poor lady's front yard. Have a heart, city officials. 3-26-2007-02
WebMaster,
You are doing an incredible job with this
site. Keep in mind that this is what the citizens of this community needed
to have, so they could be informed of the terrible things that have been
done to their city since Marquart and Tousignant have been on this council.
Through them, the rest of the council have been brainwashed into thinking
Marquart was right while at the same time he was
destroying the morale and infra-structure of Iron Mountain.
The majority of citizens are very disappointed
in this council and those who are serving. We expected far more from them
than rubber stamping Marquart's whims and tactics! They will have to explain
themselves after Marquart is fired and the Mayor is replaced.
Marquart and Tousignant have tried to claim
credit for so much in this city that came about because of the efforts of
others. It was not because of their leadership, it was because of
concerned business owners and citizen's who care! To me, that is an
indication of distortive methods and 1/2 truths to further their own cause
and self interest's for some council members who stand to profit at the
expense of others. We all know who they are!
We don't all agree with city
government at all times, but along with the disagreements, at least came
respect for what the council was trying to do. This
respect disappeared after this man came into our mist and now the community
has awoke to the damage already done. (So did other community's in the past)
Respect for citizens and their opinions
is none existent with this council!
Marquart and Tousignant's time is almost up! If
not, we will be in a world of hurt!
Tell others, write to the "speak -out" and
"Voice of the people" and list this web site number to everyone you come in
contact with including articles in the paper.
Come November, this will probably be the most
important election this community has ever experienced!
Keep up the good work WebMaster!
3-26-2007-01 The History of this Website - by the Webmaster This site is a successor to a site that was called Public Curiosities. That site ceased operating because of the time constraints of its webmaster. That webmaster then offered assistance in starting a new one, but stated he would have very little time to help in the future. I came into the picture when someone found out I could manage one. I volunteered and www.ironmountainissues.org went live on August 20, 2006. Until the Speak Up article appeared in The Daily News on Saturday, March 24, 2007, a full seven months following its start-up, this site was strictly word-of-mouth. My function is to screen the posts. All manner of opinions are offered and discussed, pro and con, on a wide variety of issues. I also received many scans of documents that people had received through from the City of Iron Mountain through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), newspaper articles and many other sources. Many of them were very interesting and informative. In those cases, I created buttons and established a category for them. My only motive for volunteering was to create a platform for discussions on issues affecting the City of Iron Mountain. I was amazed by the amount of information that came in, by the sophistication and knowledge of many of the writers on various issues, and especially by the number of visitors. I never thought such a narrow purpose website would generate the numbers it has. I have learned a great deal myself. It is the writers, not I, who choose what they want to write about. Which way the pendulum will swing on any given issue is up to them. There are so many viewers and writers that corrections on various points are common. I do not control opinions. I have refused to post only half a dozen or so posts since last August because they were so off the wall. I do not correct spelling on posts. All e-mails are discarded after posting. They are archived by month on the site. I am always open to suggestions for improving the site. No purpose is served by disclosing my identity. The focus of the website should be on the city and the many issues that concern the voters and taxpayers, not on me. I expect the viewer ship to continue rising as more people become aware of the site and the election season approaches. 3-25-2007-04
Some new visitors may be interested to know that
there are seven months of archived public forum comments.
They are interesting because some have documentation links included in
them. After you click on public forum, click the black box at the top
labeled forum home page to access the older comments. There were a lot of
very interesting things said and discussed.
3-25-2007-03
Gentlemen :
Hope that our side streets on
the West Fide will soon be repaired by filling in the deeeeep holes
(especially in the 500 block of Spruce ST.). Maybe some day we can
actually get this and many other cross streets re-black topped! They really
need it. It will save our tires and suspension systems on our cars.
Thanks M.Kesler, Taxpayer
3-25-2007-02 When have you ever seen the City of
Iron Mountain not get along with Breitung Township, Norway or Kingsford? 3-25-2007-01
Yesterday's Speak Out alerted
readers to the existence of ironmountainissues.org. This is my first time
here and I find it very informative; albeit, I'd be very nervous if I were
an elected official!
I can see the necessity of
anonymous commentary, but it seems only fair to see somewhere on this page
an informational button showing how this site began and its creators. Come
on, own up. Go public.
3-24-2007-04
Thank you.
3-24-2007-03
Based on information contained in the Vendor
Reports, the City's property and liability insurance carrier appears to
be the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority (MMRMA). One of
the entries identifying MMRMA can be found in the July, 2006 Vendor Report
which can be accessed on this site's home page under the Vendor Reports &
Claim Summary link.
3-24-2007-02 It says the city's insurance company is investigating the problem. Who or what is the city's insurance company? Does anybody know? 3-24-2007-01
For anyone interested in the standards,
practices, policies, ethics, etc. associated with the City Management
profession, visit
www.icma.org for information.
3-23-2007-07
I just finished reading post #03-23-2007-06.
When you talked about the new construction in Iron Mountain, you did not
mention the new college. I agree that the City is spending our tax money on
promoting frivolous, fanciful pipe dreams designed to attract new retail
businesses that will pay their workers part-time minimum wage without
benefits. I think they should be focusing on attracting new industry with
our tax money, instead. The local business people should think about that.
Do they want the rich business owner shopping at their business, or would
they prefer the business owner and twenty or a hundred of
his employees shopping there?
Back to the new college. With all that you
said, isn't it ironic that the city is having a new college built? This
will give all the young people with no decent outlook for their future in
Iron Mountain a way to get out with an education, giving them a chance
at a better job someplace else. Ironic, to say the least.
3-23-2007-06
I have some thoughts on the way our country is
going that I think deserve some serious thought by others. These thoughts
are mirrored in a recent article by Mark Gaffney that I saw in the Detroit
News, 03-16-2007. They are directly relevant to Iron Mountain because of how
things are being done at the local level. I think that our business
community - commercial & industrial - should think seriously about this.
When you reduce a worker’s ability to spend in
our local economy, say, by cutting their benefits or pay, their ability to
pump up the local economy is seriously diminished, due to having a lot less
disposable income after paying out-of-pocket expenses. Does anyone really
think we can compete with Chinese workers that make less than one dollar an
hour and have no benefits?
Reducing or eliminating pensions and/or retiree
healthcare coverage tends to make paupers out of the retired. They can no
longer be thought of as healthy consumers. The more you cut, the more
consumer spending decreases. If it gets to a certain point, we call it a
recession.
One more thing that suffers is this. What kind
of loyalty does a part-time employee with no benefits have to his employer?
Where is the incentive for efficiency and productivity? As soon as that
worker finds a decent, full-time job with benefits, he will be gone, even if
it’s to another state. Isn’t that what is happening to Michigan right now
and, to Iron Mountain itself? And, how can that worker contribute to the
local economy if he/she is fighting just to keep even with the necessities?
Unfortunately, this is exactly what is happening
at the state and local level. Just locally, think about all the new
construction for new businesses. We have, most notably, new motels and
restaurants going up. This is after we had Walmart, Home Depot, Subway,
Sherwin-Williams, Little Caesars, etc. These are almost exclusively minimum
wage, part-time jobs with no benefits. How is that helping our local
economy? Contrast that with the destruction of Khoury’s manufacturing. Not
the greatest wages, sure, but they had some benefits to offset that a
little.
We have the City out-sourcing work - the
cemetery and garbage come to mind. Instead of having full-time workers with
benefits performing the jobs for a very comparable rate, we now have fewer
well-compensated people able to spend in our local economy. You can’t tell
me the GAD employees are getting comparable wages and benefits after their
management gets a big cut of the contract amount. So, a smaller number of
dollars is left over for the local economy.
Another example of the City’s short-sighted
thinking is what they did to the police and fire departments. Maybe they are
saving a few taxpayer dollars with the cuts and cross-training. Maybe. I
have not seen any proof of that, but I remember the estimate being around
$200,000.00 a year. Is that really boosting the local economy? The ISO
could, and probably will change that when the city is re-rated soon. What
good is that $200,000.00 savings if our property insurance rates rise? It’s
a double whammy because, not only do we have less fire protection, we also
have more money leaving the local economic picture and going to big
insurance companies. I predict that figure will far surpass the 200 grand
figure we "saved". I think that money would be better spent by having enough
actual firefighters to provide quality fire protection, thereby keeping that
money in the city for local economic growth, don’t you?
Our local economy is headed for a disaster if
City tax spending keeps going in the current direction, ignoring the
deep problems they are creating in essential areas, in order to make money
available for flights of fancy. 1.3 million dollars for a parking lot is
outrageous - maybe even negligent - when you look at the entire economic and
financial picture of the City, and that's just one example of many in the
last three years.
We need our City and its business community to
think very seriously about these things. This was not meant to be taken as
just a city government issue. We don’t need more restaurants and motels as
badly as we need new industry that will pull new money into the community,
and give its workers enough pay and benefits to have the disposable income
necessary to boost other aspects of the local economy. Sure, tourist income
is necessary, but a lot of that outside money will never be spent in Iron
Mountain because of the lack of benefits and low pay of the workers in those
industries. Cutting wages and benefits hurts everyone, not just the workers.
3-23-2007-05
Response to post 03-23-07
I agree and I think most concerned citizens
agree, that we must have the right people run for council.
Dale Allessandrini, Ted Corombos, Jim Urbany and
a few other names that have past experience in city government like Joe
Rogina (past acting city manager) would do very well for this city and are
people with integrity and not afraid to stand up against opposition and
dictator tactics.
It is easy to get rid of people like Marquart,
Tousignant, and Rogini! Just remind people what they have done to this city
over the past few years and how they will continue to waste tax dollars for
personal gain. Citizens of Iron Mountain are not stupid and many of them
have already been affected by this council's tactics.
Be aware though --- These people will begin
damage control very soon and will distort and tell 1/2 truths and use the
media to convince people they are right and the citizens are wrong! We must
campaign as never before and make the truth known! This posting is our
greatest hope!
If anyone writes into the Voice of the people or
Saturday's speak out, they should ALWAYS give the web site of
ironmountainissues@ironmountainissues.org and encourage people to dial
in for the truth.
Finally, those who write in must provide
accurate and truthful information that exposes Marquart, Tousignant and
others for what they really are. Name calling and other innuendoes will not
convince the public. Truth will!
Lets go citizens! Start the campaigning now and
don't let Marquart scare or intimidate you!
He's like a bully --- stand up to him and he
melts like a snowball in hot weather. Watch him twist his mustache and you
know you got him! As far as Tousignant, he hides behind the bully. Get rid
of the bully, and he will also be gone.
3-23-2007-04
The post today that complained about the
Mayor and City Manager both going to the MML convention will not
be any happier to know that City Clerk Jordan Stanchina and
that Britanny (whatever her last name is) who runs Main Street program
left Tuesday morning to join the dynamic duo in Lansing.
Stanchina has been on more trips in his year
or so as City Clerk than the previous Clerk took in decades of city
service.
3-23-2007-03 I have seen the January and February 2007 payroll and vendor reports for the City. There is still no record of how the code enforcement officer is getting paid. What is going on there? I heard from a city employee that they had to be issued a second set of W-2 forms this year, because the first ones they received had the wrong employer ID number. How does that happen? Could these two things be connected somehow? Who is the Code enforcement officer working for, if not getting paid by the City? Is their now a phantom company set up to hide costs? I think these are valid and very serious questions that deserve answers. 3-23-2007-02 It just was'nt Marquart and
Tousignant that went to the MML meeting in Lansing they also toke Jordon the
treasure and Britney the main street coordinator. According to my sources
Britney did not have any reason to go and that the DDA is her boss not Marquart.
Why oh why are we flipping the bill for all the travel? The Manager and Mayor
left on Monday and the other 2 left on Tuesday for the 2:00 meeting on Tuesday.
So why did they leave a day earlier? 3-23-2007-01
Post 3-22-2007-01 did get a little carried
away with optimism. He/she also brought out some good points. Watch
for the council review of Marquart's performance. Watch for the pay
raise they give him. He is sure of a 3% raise, but it can go up to 10%
according to his contract. It's available on this site.
How the election turns out depends
first and foremost on who runs. We don't know
yet who will run. In a city the size of Iron Mountain, word gets around
pretty fast on the reputation of candidates. Even if you don't know all
of them personally, your friends, associates, other family members, etc.
will and can give you good feedback.
One advantage new candidates have is the
voting record and statements made by incumbents over the past four
years. In the current situation, there has been so much publicity and
controversy over so many issues that were not handled properly that new
candidates have a big advantage they usually don't have.
Again, it depends on who runs. Their
reputations will become well known in short order. The reputation of
the incumbents versus that of new candidates will be the determining
factor.
3-22-2007-05
I have a question…
Are we, the taxpayers, paying for this trip that the Mayor
went on with Marquart (the MML meeting that had them both absent from the
council meeting)? If so, how is that justified? In our local system of
government, the mayor is just a title given to one appointed councilperson.
His main purpose is to conduct the Council meetings and perhaps handle a
little PR. Why do we need to foot the bill for him to accompany the City
Manager on a trip? Isn’t Marquart capable of getting enough out of these
meetings without the Mayor’s assistance? For a group that is supposedly
trying to trim the budget, they sure know how to waste money when it comes
to themselves!
I’ve never seen an administration spend as much on travel
expenses as this one has. How many needed expenses could be covered if they
spent less on all these trips…. especially the ones when they chartered
planes and sent several ‘delegates‘ to do what one person alone could do?
That’s just unheard of in the past administrations.
3-22-2007-04
"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence,
it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never
for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."
George Washington
3-22-2007-03 I'm not sure Mr. Marquart, or this
current council, including the Mayor, are even convinced that they are despised
by so many. They all seem to move in small circles of supporters and,
therefore, are blinded to the whole picture. If they were even remotely aware
of the discontent among the majority, some on this council might be thinking
twice before agreeing to everything this Manager and Mayor propose. They show no
signs of being aware. 3-22-2007-02 To: Writer
3-22-2007-01 and like-minded individuals. 3-22-2007-02
I am a little disturbed about recent comments
here that talk about how things are going to change at the next election.
Some writers sound like they think it’s a done deal. Nothing is ever a sure
thing. The current council members still have a lot of influential friends
out there, quiet as they might be. The problem with that is they have the
right friends - the ones who vote religiously. Don’t count your
chickens yet. In order to affect change, there will have to be a
concerted effort to get people out to vote who don’t do it on a regular
basis, and an ongoing effort to counter the spin machine that will be
kicking into overdrive very soon.
So far, the best counter to the city spin
machine has been this website. More people need to hear about it. I wish
this site would erect a large billboard somewhere in the city. That would
cost money, but I'm confident that would not be a problem, given the number
of people who would gladly make a donation.
3-22-2007-01
Based on past history, John Marquart
gets fired after an election. His old council buddies
get kicked out and the new ones are elected by a public fed up with his
antics. The same thing will happen in Iron Mountain in January.
The print media as well as radio and TV,
which he courts shamelessly, also see through him eventually, and become
far more balanced as time goes on. This is happening here too. This
time around he also has this website to contend with. As a clearing
house and community information exchange, it has been very helpful to
all of us.
In April, he gets his annual performance
review by the City Council. It will be interesting to see how they
handle it this year in view of his many huge lapses in judgment and
obvious lack of management and people skills. His glib tongue, got him
the job in the first place. It has worn out its welcome with the voters,
but probably not with the misfits who represent us.
Another glib one, the mayor, will praise him
to high heaven. Of course, we know him all to well by now. I hope he
runs for re-election so he can be properly embarrassed.
I have heard some very formidable people are
seriously considering running this fall. If it's true, there is still
hope for open, honest and competent government in Iron Mountain, and a
new City Manager.
3-21-2007-04 Can you believe what a resident from Norway wrote in the Daily News tonight about the city taken fast action on the water flooded basement. Some Jack Obrion wrote that even the Mayor went on T.V. to ask for help. Its to bad that he does not read the paper he puts articles in. The City did not have anything to do with the clean up it was the Elks club. We need to set the record straight that the city had over a week to do something and did nothing until the paper ran an article about the Elks organizing the clean up. Get your facts straight before you write a article in the paper please. 3-21-2007-03
I don't think the City Manager and Mayor
will be all smiles when they return from another junket and read the
front page of the Tuesday, March 20 edition of The Daily News. Three
stories on the front page, all of them showing the administrative
deficiencies of Iron Mountain city operations.
Then in Wednesday's edition a Letter to the
Editor from Jack O'Brion of Norway asked how a second floor toilet can
overflow for any other reason than the high water pressure the city put
into the sewer line to try to blow out a blockage just below Rob
Giguerre's house. That's as obvious an open and shut case as you will
ever see.
Not responsible, the city said, in a letter
signed by the lady who is Chief Financial Officer. Why would a Chief
Financial Officer even get involved in this in the first place?
Because when the going gets
tough, our gutless City Manager John Marquart hides behind skirts,
that's why. He literally forced her to sign the letter because he is
her superior. So we can now add gutless to the long list of adjectives
that describe him accurately including compulsive liar, arrogant,
heartless, mean, control-freak and incompetent to name just a few.
3-21-2007-02
I would like to thank Ms. Lodhia for her honest
and forthright comments. She is a refreshing change from her predecessor. I
look forward to hearing more from her in the future and hopefully she now
realizes that our City Manager and Mayor do not always present the truth
when asked. It always pays to get all sides of a story.
Keep up the great work Pooja.
3-21-2007-01
According to The Daily News article on the
Monday Iron Mountain City Council meeting, both City Attorney Jerry
Pirkola and Acting Mayor Doug Rigoni told Rob Giguerre that his sewage
back flow problem is still being investigated by the City
administration and its insurance company. They said they were going
through a "required process."
More crap. If they were telling the truth,
why has Giguerre already receive a letter denying the claim?
Will this City Council, City Manager
(and now add the City Attorney to the mix)
EVER TRY GIVING AN HONEST ANSWER - JUST ONCE.
Seems like the epidemic of lies started by
Marquart and Tousignant is spreading around there.
City Hall should be renamed the "Hall of
Lies."
3-20-2007-08 There must be a change in the wind. First, we see the TV6 reporter showing us what she's made of, and being favorably recognized for it. Then, the Voice of Iron Mountain for decades, Frog Country's Aaron Harper. The day would not be complete without also giving kudos to the Daily News for their excellent reporting on last night's council meeting. Great job today all around for our local media. I think it was John Marquart who once said in a newspaper article, "The times they are a-changin.'" 3-20-2007-07
For those who claim this site has too
much whining, look at the well-deserved compliments that have been paid
just today to Pooja Lohdia, Larry
Swartout, Ted Corombos and Jim Hogan.
The cream rises to the top.
3-20-2007-06
You know how Marquart & Tousignant are usually
on the radio with Aaron Harper every Tuesday morning after the council
meetings? This morning, we had the refreshing opportunity to hear Mr. Larry
Swartout on with Mr. Harper. Aaron did a great job of
allowing, nay, encouraging Mr. Swartout to repeat his
information for those who did not attend the council meeting. Thanks
Aaron. You da man!
The same goes for Pooja Lodhia. It is so
refreshing to see so much integrity present in a news reporter. I'm sure
you will go far, Pooja.
3-20-2007-05
Anyone who was at the City Council
meeting last night heard Larry Swartout, Dickinson County
Equalization Director, explain in a very clear and concise way, the
failings of Rich Brook, the Iron Mountain Assessor.
The Council chambers were packed and
about a dozen people had to stand for the whole meeting. There were
empty chairs though. Marquart and Tousignant were at some Michigan
Municipal League meeting in Lansing. Sally Jacobs was excused
because of a previously scheduled vacation. Robin Tchokreff, who
probably has the worst attendance record in history of the city,
was, well, missing again.
Nevertheless, Swartout got their
attention. He gave many examples of grossly mispriced properties.
This, he pointed out, is inexcusable. Brook, who wasn't there, has
frequently stated that some properties had been incorrectly assessed
in the past. Apparently he thought he could solve this problem by
setting his own new record for incorrect assessing.
To its credit, this website and many
posts by various people had predicted this problem long ago. They
were dead right. One more example of Marquart's magnificent
hiring's, shrouded in a bid process that was tailored so only Brook
could get it. Am I right in noticing the chickens coming home to
roost?
3-20-2007-04
Hats off to Larry Swartout for an excellent
presentation at the City Council meeting last night.
What a breath of fresh air to hear someone
competent explain the work of someone incompetent, namely Rich Brook,
Iron Mountain's mediocre and grossly overpaid excuse for an assessor.
Thanks, also to Dawn (don't remember her
last name) who is the assessor for Kingsford and Breitung Township. She
took a well deserved shot at Mayor Tousignant who had been quoted
earlier in The Daily News as saying the other assessors in the county
should follow Brook's example.
She said, in so many words, "No, we'll do it
right." Touche!!!
3-20-2007-03 For those of you who missed this in
The Daily News....... 3-20-2007-02
Pooja Lodhia is to be commended on her
post. Well-written, honest and admitting some short-comings on her
part in the past, she is going up the learning curve very quickly.
It can be very daunting for a young lady
from Louisiana, looking for her first job upon graduation from
college and finding it with TV 6, to find herself in Iron Mountain,
a city she had probably never heard of a year before.
Alone, knowing no one in the area, she
found herself thrust into the high pressure requirements of the TV
world. She knew nothing about the area, its history, local politics
or anything else. She not only had to find and do stories, she has
to lug the quite heavy camera and tripod every where she goes.
Poodja will never be mistaken for a Russian woman weightlifter. She
is small in stature, but energetic and hard working.
I believe all of us should give her some
slack. She may have been used to some extent by the
Marquart-Touisgnant spin machine in the past. We know they use the
media for self-serving purposes of every chance they get. I think
she's a fast learner and will be far more careful going forward. It
is not in her best interest to be perceived as a dupe for them by
viewers of TV 6. Her credibility is much more important to her
career and opportunity for future advancement, and I'm sure she
realizes it.
3-20-2007-01 Dear Pooja Lodhia: 3-19-2007-05
After reading all of the posts on this forum, I would
like to both explain my actions and ask for your help. I'm Pooja Lodhia,
the TV6 News reporter for Iron Mountain. I'm not from around here, and I'll
admit that I'm young, inexperienced, and don't have a very strong background
in area politics. However, I believe that the people of Iron Mountain
deserve my most valiant efforts to put forth truthful, unbiased news,
whatever it may be. I believe this forum is a great way for members of the
community to engage in a thoughtful discussion of city events. As a
reporter, I think it's my responsibility to be involved in this discussion.
In my story last week about Ms. Occhietti's home, I
chose to speak to Ms. Occhietti, her son, and the mayor. I knew that the
Elks had planned a drive before city officials had, but I chose to
concentrate on the city's efforts because my story was about what happened
to Ms. Occhietti and how the city was dealing with it. I did not mean to
imply that nobody else in the area was doing anything to help Ms. Occhietti
and her family, but, as is the nature of news, I only have a limited time to
get my point across. I believed (and still do) that the most pertinent
information at the time was what the city was doing in response to a
situation that they obviously caused. I understand that many area residents
felt slighted by the way I chose what to report on, but part of my job is
choosing specific information to create a coherent story. So many people in
the city are doing so much to help Ms. Occheitti, and, with my limited time
(one minute and thirty seconds), how can I possibly mention all the people
helping her?
As for my "being in the city's back pocket," I honestly don't think I'm
in anybody's "back pocket," and if you all think differently, I encourage
you to contact me anytime with story ideas and information that you believe
that I'm not reporting on or incorrectly reporting on. I realize that
I interview both the city manager and the mayor a lot, but they
are integral to most city operations, whether anybody likes it or not.
Please feel free to call me at 774-0166 or email me at
plodhia@wluctv6.com.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you,
Pooja Lodhia - TV6 News
3-19-2007-04 Thanks Mr. Corombos for the honest and very informational answer to a posted question. 3-19-2007-03 North Star (Systems Control-Boss Snow Plow) Parking Lot issue by Ted Corombos, TIFA Board Chairman An inquiry was posted at post # 3-18-2007-01 about the history of the large parking lot behind North Star Industries operations. I will try to explain the history of it. Four or five years ago, before all but one of the current City Council members and before John Marquart was City Manager, the city was approached by North Star Industries. They stated they were running out of space because their business was expanding. They asked if the city and/or TIFA could get involved with their expansion plans and move things along. Their first choice was a five acre parcel across Quincy Street from their current operations. That site had been purchased years earlier from the city by Peninsula Beverage, but they had not developed it. They built their building just south of that parcel. North Star’s proposal was that the city, actually TIFA, purchase that land and deed it over to them. In exchange, they would build new offices and a parking lot on that site. They would also make major changes at their current operations by eliminating all the cramped offices and convert that area and more to needed manufacturing space. The cost of all this ranged from $6,000,000 up to $15,000,000, depending on various scenarios. Peninsula Beverage offered to sell the land for $20,000 per acre or $100,000. Their original purchase price was either $1,200 or $1,500 per acre. TIFA would be paying a premium for the land, but the capture of even the lower, $6,000,000 proposed expenditure, would have made it financially viable. TIFA would capture their investment in a few years. North Star, quite sensibly, wanted an environmental study done before getting a deed, so they would not be facing future liabilities. TIFA hired Coleman Engineer to do a preliminary study for around $5,000. They found some methane. TIFA and North Star agreed to do a more in depth study of all five acres, not just the few holes that were part of the first study. They split cost of the study 50- |
