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February 2008 Postings 2-29-2008-02
What is our City Council up to? They
had a closed meeting to have an evaluation of the city manager.
Now, I’ve been hearing that nothing that was said in that
meeting can be made public. What? You’ve got to be kidding! If
the evaluation absolved the manager of all his accused
wrongdoing, or confirmed it, shouldn’t that be made public
either way? It’s OUR CITY!! We are talking about violation of
the public trust. Lying about official city business. Etc., etc.
etc.
Time and again, people have written
in to this website and accused the manager and past council of
such wrongdoing. If any of them did something wrong, why is
there not an official investigation? If one of the new council
members has good reason to believe that the city manager
violated the City Charter or any other laws, why have they not
contacted the prosecutor’s office? Isn’t that more proper than a
hushed, closed meeting? Furthermore, wouldn’t an official
investigation settle the questions once and for all? If the
longer term members are so sure the manager is spotless, they
should also be clamoring for such an investigation, for nothing
else than to end the complaining about it. Why are they not?
As for my part, I have not been left
in the dark about the goings on of our council. Many people have
written in and provided documentation of many questionable
issues. I am not happy that our City government of the last four
years appears to have conducted city business in a questionable
manner. It’s about time this nonsense was addressed once and for
all. Let’s see an official investigation - by council or by the
prosecutor. The council has that power; they should use it. To
Jeff VanLaanen, Robin Tchokreff, Eden Caudell, and Dan Burke,
don’t you want the chance to publicly air every questionable
thing so we can all see how spotless and above-board you and the
manager have conducted yourselves? Aren’t you getting tired of
the accusations? If the accusations are false, why aren’t YOU
pressing charges against the people making them? I know it's
not because you're a bunch of nice guys, so, why?
Let’s get this all out in the open
where it belongs. The only people that could possibly be hurt by
that are the wrongdoers. If you are all so spotless, then what
are you afraid of?
2-29-2008-01 If you
want a cinch bet, bet that Marquart wil keep his job by a 4-3 vote.
Of course, I don't know who you'd find to take you on. 2-28-2008-02
Does anyone else think that the Daily News is in the tank with John
Marquart, Jeff Vanlaanen after reading the paper on
2/27/08??????????? 2-28-2008-01 Did anyone else receive a new property assessment? I’m having trouble reconciling the increase. On the east side and the north side of iron mountain it looks like about every fifth house or so is for sale, the local economy is not doing very well, and on the horizon is another 319 jobs about to be lost – to say nothing about the ripple effect of other lost jobs. Yet the city still believes my home has appreciated in value. I have talked to some local realtors and the verdict is that there are many listings but not may closings. In other words, there are many sellers but not many buyers. I talked to Vicki Esch, the new assessor recently. She’s only been on the job since 1/2/2008. She said that since there was no one in the assessor’s chair the city decided to follow the county and increase property assessments by the same percentage. She indicated these increases were the result of a two-year study, 05-06 and 06-07. If we would have had an assessor, there could have been a decision to petition for a one-year study if the pattern was that homes were selling below their assessed value. I can’t imagine how the homes are selling unless there are price concessions, but this is a perceived pattern on my part and may not be factual so I thought I’d ask for other opinions. There is an appeal process. You can view it at http://www.cityofironmountain.com/index.asp?nid=136. The board of appeals meets on 3/10, 3/12, and 3/13. After that you’re out of luck. I’ve been told that Kingsford’s process is much simpler. They just ask for a realtor’s market analysis of what the home is worth and then use that to substantiate any differences with the property tax assessment. Does anyone have any additional information? 2-27-2008-02
During the past four years of John Marquardt,
we have:
1.
Doubled our water bills, with no better water quality. Was
this a $4.8 million dollar mistake?
2.
Spent over $800,000 on engineering bills to STS Consultants
with little to show for it.
3.
Privatized the garbage collection at what cost. Someone
needs to check the present contract amount vs. the cost of
having the City do it. How much has GAD increased its cost
and contract since its inception?
4.
Spent over $200,000 for a city-wide reappraisal, for what
purpose. The figures have never been presented to council or
put on the tax rolls. Has anyone ever verified the need for
it? Was it ordered by the State as the Council has been led
to believe?
5.
Non-existent plans such as the master plan for City Park.
What about all the studies for the downtown paid for by our
tax dollars that have been shelved at City Hall?
6.
Built new sidewalks that go nowhere while others continue to
deteriorate. [My favorites are by Milwaukee Ave. - off of
Main St., and that beauty of the sidewalk with the
misaligned jogs along Cedar Ave.]
7.
Spent money on pie-in-the-sky studies for downtown, while
neglecting the rest of the city.
8.
Built a Million Dollar parking lot for Boss Snowplow that
still is not used to anywhere near its capacity.
9.
Purchased the Khoury property at far above its assessed
value, ‘because we could‘. Was there ever a private
appraisal done to determine its real value?
10.
Entered a 425 agreement with Breitung Township which is on
the verge of becoming another fiasco.
11.
Allowed a city employee (and, yes, he was paid directly by
the city), who was a convicted felon, onto our property and
into our confidential records at City Hall.
12.
Added a 5% tax on cable TV fees without knowing where it
will be spent.
13.
Allowed a $12,500 bid for a city audit to escalate to an
over $250,000 computer software purchase. Done, again,
without the proper bidding process.
14.
Purchased police vehicles from downstate dealers without
allowing local dealerships to bid; and borrowing money to
pay for them when we once used cash. Where is the money
being spent that used to pay for new vehicles?
15.
Tied up building projects and placed unnecessary demands on
them. Check out the planning boards ideas on the entrance to
McDonalds and how a semi has to struggle and blocks cars
when delivering. Nice Access management plan, Jeff.
16.
Planned on building a new super highway, complete with
utilities, to the site of Bacco Construction’s gravel pit on
Hydraulic Falls Road.
17.
Continued to plan and continue to dump loads of money on the
Down-town.
18.
Continued to keep John Marquardt in the driver’s seat.
19.
Continue to drive on pot hole riddled streets and walk on
crumbling sidewalks in our neighborhoods while the
US-2/Commercial corridor gets all of our attention and tax
dollars.
All of the above happened because no Council
member listened to anyone from the public or asked questions of
John Marquardt. For the past four years, John Marquardt has had
a free reign on the city. He has been treated like a god. The
savior of Iron Mountain. As such, it appears that the Council
had no control over him and gave him an open checkbook to rule
over the City. And they call all of this “progress”!
2-27-2008-01
I don’t understand why some council
members support John Marquart in any way. For instance, the
manager made Jeff VanLaanen look like a complete idiot over the
recent TIFA pass-through debacle. That’s just the latest
incidence of that for Jeff, so why does he continue to support
Marquart? Another example is that the manager is supposed to
ensure that the city charter is followed - it’s part of his job.
When Eden Caudell suggested her mother for the regional whatever
position, it was actually Marquart’s JOB to inform her it was a
breach of the city charter. Instead, he embarrassed her, too. I
felt sorry for her when she was defending her mother and her
qualifications. The manager did not do his job, and the result
made her look like a fool. Why would she continue to support
him?
Over and over in the last few
council meetings, new council members have been showing with
documentation that the manager has lied over and over.
Why would ANY council member want to project an image that the
City condones lying by the management? That's what
support of Marquart boils down to. I don’t understand why anyone
continues to support him. It is embarrassing. It is an insult to
the people. The public trust has been decimated, and their
continued support of him does not make sense. We need to
remove the cancer before this City can begin to
heal.
2-26-2008-03 If anyone is interested
the reason that Mr. Revord received a early out was because John
Marquart needed to justify sending Adam Ray to Police academy. If
Adam didn't get hired by the city by August 20something he would of
lost his accreditation for being a police officer. 2-26-2008-02 2-26-2008-01
Seen in a mailing from MML for a
"Neigborhood Improvement Authorities"
Training Seminar that is being held in Lansing on March 7th:
"A New Economic Development Tool! Communities are now eligible to create neighborhood improvement authorities as a result of the recent passage of the Neighborhood Improvement Authority Act (PA 61 of 2007). It is the latest incarnation of using tax increment financing (TIF) to promote economic growth in residential districts in municipalities. You can’t afford to miss out on the details of this Act which allow the use of TIF for residential neighborhoods for the first time. This could help revitalize your neighborhoods similar to the way Downtown Development Authorities improve your downtowns. At the conclusion of this program, attendees will be able to interpret the new legislation and put it into action in their communities. " Not a bad thing, could be a very good thing; but only if in the right, responsible hands and with fair formulations of taxes. There is a Planning Board meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 27th at 4:00. Some topics of discussion include establishing a planning commission, Capital Improvement planning, downtown planning, neighborhood planning, walkable City planning, mixed-use neighborhoods, housing, and ordinances regarding land divisions, private roads, home occupations, parking, landscaping and lighting. Any interested residents should try to attend this meeting. 2-25-2008-03
At the last council meeting, it was
nice to see and hear Robin contribute positive input to the
meeting. It seems he is breaking out .Good job Robin.
2-25-208-02
I was looking at the December vendor
report. I have not seen the January report, but I wonder
if there will be another entry something like this one:
Item 102 on the December vendor
report is $813.97 to William Revord for pension contribution
reimbursement. What the heck is that? I’ve never seen anything
like that before. Every other retiree in the city gets a
retirement check from their pension systems. Am I wrong in
thinking that, basically, this person is not getting paid out of
the retirement pension system, but instead is getting paid by
the city to not come to work? What’s up with that? There was
something about this early retirement costing the City
$87,000.00 or so. Why are we paying the cost to let someone
retire early when it has absolutely no benefit to the city? Is
this legal?
2-25-2008-01
Once again it is clearly evident why
nothing is getting done in this city.
When someone tries to merely suggest
that "personal attacks" get shrugged off instead of responded to
it is taken as "shrugging off" years of wrong doing they get too
get attacked. LIGHTEN UP! It was only advice that SOMEONE needs
to be an adult.....not forgive wrongdoing.
When two children fight over a toy
they yell and scream and call each other "dummy" or "you're
stupid!" How does this sound any different than: "You're a
liar!" "No I'm not! You're a liar, at least I didn't file
bankruptcy!" "Oh yeah??? you're a crook!" The only thing missing
is a sandbox and someone sticking their tongue out! Lets be
adult and someone be the first to stop the personal attacks.
They make us ALL look bad.
2-24-2008-02 I just finished
listening to the last council meeting on the City's website, and I
have the following remarks:
2-24-2008-01 Open dialogue had been
standard practice for over 100 years in Iron Mountain City Council
meetings until the last four years. 2-23-2008-01 Post 1-21-2008-06 talks
about "shrugging off" and "moving on." That's what the city council
had done for four years - shrug off citizens and moving on with
their narrow self-serving agendas. That is also what the voters
believed, so they tossed three of them out. 2-22-2008-02 After all
we have seen and read about City Manager John Marquart over the last
four years, any council member who votes to keep him on should be
RECALLED - no ifs, ands or buts. 2-22-2008-01
Anybody see today’s Daily News
opinion column? It’s titled "Listening to the people." They lost
me at the very first sentence, when they said, "Iron Mountain
City Council members want to improve the communication with the
public."
EXCUSE ME? The three new members
certainly want that, but the other four are doing everything
they can to stand in the way. Not just on open dialogue, either.
The open dialogue cause came up as a response to NO ANSWERS
at city hall for the last four years. I remember Robin
Tchokreff saying council meetings are not open meetings. I’ve
seen people’s legitimate questions ignored. I’ve listened to
misinformation and false statements as explanations of questions
they do answer. I’ve seen false information come out even when
the person asking the question has the documented correct answer
in their hands! And there is no opportunity to rebut these false
or misleading statements, thanks to "council member privilege"
at the end.
I agree that open dialogue
could get out of hand. I agree that it should be okay to ask
questions at public comment time and get an answer later in the
meeting. That would work if everyone sitting in the front of the
room was open, honest, and informed. However, we do not have
that luxury. And it’s even worse than that. We have council
members who never check anything on their own, and rely on only
one source for their information, no matter how many times that
source is proven wrong. Eden Caudell said it best at the last
meeting when she carefully said she "wants" to believe that the
manager is telling the truth. And that was the best defense
she could come up with to counter another council member
outright calling him a liar. The fact that she had to phrase
it that way should be a red flag as to why so many people are
infuriated.
Come on, Daily News. Stop the
pandering. It’s shameful. There are not always two legitimate
"right" sides to every story, especially when one side is not
being truthful. It infuriates me that you already know that but
choose to ignore it. What's next? Will you give in to the
pressure and stop telling us what really happens at council
meetings?
BTW, where's Pete Frecchio? His
journalism not yellow enough for you?
2-21-2008-07 Some free legal advice for the council (even though your lawyer is paid to know these things): when you draft your rules for open discussion at meetings, bear in mind Attorney General Opinion number 5332: "A public body may adopt a rule prohibiting a personal attack on an officer, employee, or board member only if the personal attack is totally unrelated to the manner in which the officer, employee, or board member performs his or her duties." 2-21-2008-06
To all the peole that are posting
their own version of hate and distrust, in particular, those
that have felt Dr.Feleppa's statement had ANYTHING to do with
removing the freedom of speech. Get a life, what I believe she
is and was referring to is the constant bickering and trivial
inconsequential (to city business) arguing that both sides of
this mess are engaging in. She merely wants coverage of what is
important, not, personal attacks waged in the name of bettering
the city (which both sides are very adept at doing). Is it
slander to state that someone filed bankruptcy (when indeed they
have)? Is it slander to state that someone is a liar, when in
indeed it has not been proven (to EVERYONE). Sure each side has
what they say are the facts to back up their statements, but so
what? Does it help the city? Does it cast a shining light on our
city that says "move here!"? If everyone would learn a just a
tad of tolerance and more IMPORTANTLY forgiveness and each side
got a thicker skin and see the attacks for what they are;
attacks. If someone would step up and shrug them off instead of
knee jerk responses in the form of more attacks, we may be able
to realize that each person involved has something to offer no
matter what "side" you are on and the actual business of fixing
the city might begin.
Someone, anyone, please be the ADULT
in this argument and act like one so we can move on.
2-21-2008-05 Who frequents and reads a site like ironmountaintruth.com? What kind of person? And why? What type of person visits any of those bitter, soulless, and vindictive hate sites driven by such a fullness of resentment, distortion, self-deception, and ignorance? Worse, what kind of person creates and perpetuates sites like those? Those kinds of sites just give me the shivers. They're chilling! Like the Ku Klux Klan or a neo-Nazi group in the room with you, animalistically spewing hate, narrowness, decadence, and destruction. The so called truth site reminds me of that militaristic Dougie homo site that was around town last summer. They seem almost identical in content except that the Dougie site was more intelligent, articulate, better organized, and better written. Which is almost coldly scarier than the poorly ranted, outrightly dishonest, and thoroughly distasteful drivel of the current site. I can't imagine someone who's visited the site to learn about it ever returning to it. I'm all for freedom of speech. One thing that's nice about freedom of speech is that I'm free to choose not to visit that site again and not to subscribe to the nonsense it's free to say. What kind of individual can call the content of that site "truth"? A lie is a lie is a lie. Right? For example, I can call John Marquart a fine city manager. That doesn't make it so. Another example, less argumentative. I can call a poodle a parakeet. I can costume that poodle like a parakeet, put it in a cage, feed it birdseed, even name it Tweety. But no matter what I do, no matter how often I call that poodle a parakeet in the newspaper, on TV, on the Web, or at live appearances, that darn dog is still a poodle, not a parakeet. 2-21-2008-04
I've never believed much in recalls. Too
often these days they are misused when people are just angry
about the way a council has voted on a matter. Seldom do they
have anything to do with misuse of power or malfeasance of
office, etc.
I must say, though, I have decided to be fully in support of a recall of any, or all, of the four council people who continue to stand behind everything that this city manager is doing, and refusing to listen to the citizens or follow our charter. It's sad too, because I think each of these individuals has the capacity to be a good representative, if only they would stop blindly listening to and agreeing with Mr. Marquart. Time-after-time there have been facts presented to them that they will ignore in favor of Marquart's explanations. What kind of hold does this man have over them? Never in my life have I seen such a phenomenon in this city's government. If they would all agree to dismiss this manager, I'd be willing to give each of them a chance to prove themselves anew; but combined with this manipulative and deceptive manager, they are out-of-control and qualify themselves for recall. This manager has done little, if anything, for this city. He's been riding along, thus far, getting credit for projects that were in-the-works before he ever got here. I don't know who these council people talk to, because I don't have a single friend or neighbor who likes this manager or wants to see him continue here. 2-21-2008-03
If it can be proven that our city
manager lied even once to the council or the public about
city business, why is he still collecting a paycheck consisting
of our tax dollars? This is an intolerable situation that cannot
go on forever. There IS a difference between political spin and
lying.
2-21-2008-02 Its apparent that the Truth Website has gotten out of control. The web master of the Truth Web Site is acting like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Therefore I have removed the link from the Main Page of this Site. The Truth Web Site is not worth visiting. Webmaster 2-21-2008-01
Tina Peterson, Bruce Rosen, Dale
Allesindrini and Dave Farragh,
I have much legal experience
with definition of slander and defamation of character
assassinations and I will tell you that Mr ----'s attempt to
destroy your name is not without merit for a law suit. Not only
to shut the site down but to also hold the web master
accountable for his sleeze!
Why are you waiting for more of this
to happen and not talking to an attorney? I can tell you that
there are many attorneys out there that would probably be more
than willing to take this one case in particular (because of who
the individual is, and we all know) on a contingency basis where
you only pay for results and/or share the monetary settlement.
You do not deserve this! Take a
stand right now for the sake of this city and stop this sick and
demented ignoramous! He knows that we know who he is --- let the
citizens also know who he is by holding him accountable!
Only then will the city have spoken (again) and stop any and
all dreams for his so -called political ambitions for the
future!
A very disgusted citizen
2-20-2008-12 As a combat Marine
veteran, I totally agreed with the criticism of Dr. Virginia
Feleppa posted on this site for suggesting that the Daily News cut
back on city council coverage. It was in especially bad taste
considering she worked for, got paid by, and is receiving a hefty
pension from the VA. If anyone should know about the blood that has
been spilled in defense of our civil rights, it should be her. 2-20-2008-11
Well said Tina,
You, Dave, and Bruce are doing a
great job. I know the majority of Iron Mtn's citizens feel the
same way. It may take a while to fix everything the last
council screwed up but just take it one issue at a time.
The arrogance of VanLaanen, Burke
Tchokreff, and Caudell will be their downfall. The people will
not put up with it much longer, hopefully a recall will happen
and then we can get some more honest citizens on the council.
Until that day, just keep up the good work and ignore the
idiots.
2-20-2008-10
I agree with the post commending
Tina Peterson for suggesting to the professor from Michigan Tech
about including interested IMHS students to help with the
Crystal Lake study. How refreshing it is to have some
real creative vision and thinking from the new council members.
Congratulations also to Bruce Rosen
for seeking and moving forward on a solution to the fire
department issue instead of just complaining and shifting blame
to the firemen for the recent fines.
If there was never a master plan for
City Park, why was it advertised that it would be available last
summer? When it wasn't there, the answer given by Mr. VanLaanen was
that it was just too controversial. How much did the city pay
STS to draw up plans with nothing to show for it (as usual)?
How much has STS been awarded from taxpayer dollars over the
last year or two for projects that were not feasible and have
never seen the light of day? Why were such projects in the
past first voted on by the council and then bid out to offer any
interested firms the chance to have a chance to do the work and
to find the very best price? Why do we have a city engineer if
we have to look to STS for every engineering project? If Mr.
Becotte is not capable or qualified, why do we continue to keep
him in this position?
For someone who was not planning to
comment on her mother being hired, Mrs. Caudell certainly had
her mother's resume right there on the tip of her tongue to
rattle off. Her mother may be a very qualified lady, but that
is truly immaterial since it is against the City Charter to hire
any family member. But then when was the past council ever
influenced by legality, as evidenced by the many legal fees and
fines assessed?
2-20-2008-09
The person doing the ironmountaintruth site wants to use attacks
on the personal lives of the new council-members. Personal lives
and spending are not an issue. It's how the tax-payer's money is
spent and the city issues that matter. Nor should family members
be brought into it (as that site has done). I hope this person
knows that once this can of worms is open, the community is
going to see it as fair game to delve into the personal lives of
the other members too. Gee, I wonder how Dr. VanLaanen will feel
if her family's personal & professional life become the target
of attack. Or if we expose Dan Burke's past and how it is that
he came to the area. I don't think that would be fair; just as
it is not fair to do so to the newest council-members. Does
anyone have such a blemish-free life that they are willing to
open their entire personal life to such scrutiny?
Another thing. How is this person finding out about these
so-called bounced checks? Is it from someone at a bank or
someone at these businesses? I would certainly stop doing
business with any place that would share such information… so,
maybe I should thank Mr. Ironmountaintruth for making us aware
of whom cannot be trusted to do business with.
Shame on the owner of that site to use personal attacks when
there's no city-related issues to attack them on. And attacking
people who are not even on the council or any other city-related
board…. What's up with that? This person is teetering on
destroying more lives than he/she realizes.
Are VanLaanen, Burke, Tchokreff, & Caudell in support of this person's tactics? If not, perhaps they ought to make it known. That site makes them look bad because it has the appearance that they support it when nothing negative about them appears on it. 2-20-2008-08
If that so-called truth website is
so concerned about truth in our government, why are they only
reporting sleazy innuendo on the new council members and a few
of their supporters? Why is there nothing on there about (1) Dan
Burke filing a criminal complaint against a citizen he
represents, just because that citizen voiced his opinion? That’s
as low-down as it gets. Why is there nothing about (2) John
Marquart and Jeff VanLaanen making total fools of themselves
over this TIFA/county millage issue? Why is there nothing about
(3) the City of Iron Mountain paying Eden Caudell’s mother from
a "ghost" grant? Why is there nothing about (4) John Marquart
getting caught repeatedly lying about city issues? Okay, maybe
that’s as low-down as it gets. Why is there nothing about
(5) Robin Tchokreff’s disrespectful attitude in several open
meetings, to citizens and council members alike? They pick on
private citizens, too. So, why is there nothing about (6) a
citizen actively trying to censor the mainstream media? It’s all
documented. Where’s the criticism, truth-site?
If Dan Burke, Eden Caudell, Jeff
VanLaanen, Robin Tchokreff, and John Marquart are not getting
any bad press on the truth website, even when they are getting
much-deserved bad press in the mainstream media, what does that
say about who is really running that sleazy site? It doesn’t
take a rocket scientist to figure it out.
2-20-2008-07 If anyone feels
they have been defamed by the "Truth" site here is the place to
complain.
(480) 624-2045 2-20-2008-06
To the Residents
from Tina Peterson:
If anyone has any questions on
my experiences with the TIFA situation last week, I would be
more than happy to share what I know to be true. You can
email me at
tpeterson@upnorthcable.com or
you can call me at 776-1150. I will be leaving Thursday,
February 21st for my son's bowling tournament in Traverse
City, but will be back on Saturday.
I want everyone to know that
myself and the other two new council members are firmly and
diligently addressing the continuous issues that are raised
in our City...both old and new. It does take large amounts
of research, contact, leg-work, and apparently the thickest
hide imaginable. No problem. We signed up for this and we
will not fail you.
Every Council situation
or topic that comes before us is never about Politics:
it is about getting as educated as possible from the actual
sources of the information, and then making the
most logical and responsible decisions based on all
of the information. We rely on information from State
Agencies, Government reps, Attorneys, County/State
officials, etc. We also rely on documentation. We
make decisions that represent the taxpayers of our City and
do not take that lightly.
We took our seats on January 7th
and while it has not been a full 2 months yet, it certainly
has been jam-packed with situations that desperately need
attention.
Although there have been mixed
messages sent to the public about their ability to
participate in "open dialogue", I want to assure you that we
will always listen. Please don't be hesitant to come
forward with your questions and concerns: This is your
City, we are your elected officials; your public
servants. Your tax-paying dollars are being decided
upon, and you own the ultimate right to inquire
on any situation. Your tax dollars are also paying the
salary and benefits of the City's non-elected officials.
As for the baloney that shows up
on that goofy website, you know the one, I'll take it this
way: We must be doing a pretty good job if they felt so
compelled to dish out more unwarranted attacks recently.
The timing is uncanny.
Sincerely,
Tina Peterson
Iron Mountain City Council
2-20-2008-05
I would like to thank Tina Peterson
on her outstanding performance on the city council. Her
suggestion of involving high school kids in the planning of this
city shows her concerns for the future. Those young people are
the future. Well done Tina.
It was also refreshing to have a
spade called a spade .It takes courage to confront lies and
personal attacks out in the open. Again, well done.
2-20-2008-04
This Dan Burke issue has got me
steamed. I don’t know whether I should be outraged or just laugh
about it. Councilman Burke actually filed a criminal complaint
because a citizen "threatened" to recall him? In my opinion, it
is a blatant abuse of his office to use the city police
department to intimidate and attempt to silence a citizen.
Furthermore, I feel it’s an abuse of the taxpayers money to tie
up a police officer’s valuable time over such a worthless
investigation. If the council does not severely censure him for
this and demand a public apology, he DOES need
to be recalled, and I will help in that effort as much as I
possibly can. I wonder why this is not showing up on the
"truth" trash-site? It's just too much of a
coincidence that only the new council members get trashed there.
2-20-2008-03
I would like to commend Linda Lobeck
for her reporting on our city council meetings. I would
especially like to commend her for the reporting on the February
18 council meeting. Thank you for not agreeing to censor the
voice of the people in your reporting, as a citizen so
earnestly suggested in that meeting. I wish you had reported
THAT comment!
As far as the other part of that
comment, that the city should move on and not dwell on old
issues, I strongly disagree with that, too. I disagree because
many of these old issues caused great damage that desperately
needs to be fixed. Lives have been directly affected in a
negative way. The public trust in our government has been eroded
to the point that it is almost non-existent. Our pockets have
been picked. We have been disrespected as human beings; we’ve
been ignored, chastised, bullied, harassed, intimidated, and
lied too if we dare to ask questions about our own tax money and
city decisions. Ignoring serious past issues that have not been
settled to the satisfaction of the people will ultimately cause
more harm than good. Shabby treatment of the public is NOT
just an old issue, but one that is still VERY alive. It is a
disgrace that a council member would file a criminal complaint
because a citizen he represents voiced his opinion. This is NOT
Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, or even Chavez Venezuela, at
least not yet.
2-20-2008-02 That trashy hate
mongering truth website is the product of a loser in the November
election. I think you can figure it out from there. 2-20-2008-01 Who suddenly appointed
Dr. Virginia Feleppa chief censor of Iron Mountain City Council
meetings. She got up at the Monday meeting to suggest that the
coverage in the newspaper had too many column inches devoted to city
council meetings. Can you believe it? Too much coverage is now bad? 2-18-2008-02
Well. Another great Iron Mountain
city council meeting was held last night. Let’s see . . . where
do I start? I liked the part where it was exposed that the
manager knew before the meeting previous to last night that the
City had to pay the $20,000.00 MIOSHA fines , but said at that
meeting that we are still working on abating the fines. It was
revealed in the January vendor report. It was quite a treat to
hear a council member actually use the word "lie" several times
to describe the manager’s explanations on many things. Then we
had a citizen trying to tell the newspaper what they should
print about council meetings. She might as well have used the
word CENSOR, because that is what was being suggested. And that
TIFA thing. We don’t know the whole story, because Tina Peterson
was kind enough to not thoroughly embarrass the mayor and
manager, but she certainly tantalized us with hints of
outright disgust at something that went on. Do tell, Mrs.
Peterson. What were they doing on our behalf that had you
shaking your head and biting your tongue?
Finally, my favorite issue; even
deserves its’ own paragraph. A citizen related how he took the
advice of Mr. Tchokreff from a previous meeting and contacted
his council representative (Dan Burke) at home to discuss city
issues. This citizen’s reward for towing the repressed rights
line and not bringing his issue to a public meeting? Mr. Burke
filed a criminal complaint against him, which was dismissed by
the prosecutor due to lack of merit. The criminal complaint (I
read it) was that the citizen threatened to recall Mr. Burke,
and that’s about it. Honest to God . . . laugh . . . I’m not
making it up. It might not be in the paper though, because of
the citizen who tried to tell the reporter that citizen comments
should not be reported. And to think I almost stayed home to
watch TV.
2-18-2008-01
Does anyone positively know who the
web master and originator of the site called Iron Mountain Truth
is?
I have been told by good sources
that the web site and web master are being investigated for a
possible law suit being brought against them for defamation of
character and slanderous remarks about a few council members and
some individuals that aren't even on the city council.
I just looked up the web site and
this is really a slime site!
If no one knows, I was told a court
order can be issued to reveal the source and that very well
could be happening at this time.
I hope the rumors are true!
Can you help?
2-16-2008-02
It looks like a good thing happened
with the TIFA agreement. The library, health department, and
senior citizens finally get to have their money. This
new agreement would not have been considered if the old council
was still intact. We would be going to court. There is NO DOUBT
in my mind about that, judging by the attitude shown right up
until the abrupt about-face by Marquart and VanLaanen for the
City of Iron Mountain.
Good going, new council members.
You made a good thing happen for our whole area. Your influence
and willingness to educate yourself on issues is already
starting to pay off. I knew I voted right.
2-16-2008-01
I was just reading the http://www.ironmountaintruth.com/
site. I don’t know who it is that writes that stuff; but while
trying to harm the new council-members, they certainly make past
council look bad.
Take for example what is
written on the page titled “THE TRUTH”. It states “While the
city is in desperate need of street alley and sidewalk repair.
While our downtown suffers. While our neighborhoods crumble.
While we loose jobs everyday, all the three new council people
can do is play politics! They seem to have no knowledge, plan or
vision for the future of the city. Where's the plan for the
above named problems? Investment is pulling out of the city
while our three new champions discuss if council meetings should
be free for alls with audience members being able to speak when
they'd like and say what they'd like!”
So, my question when reading this is: WHY do our streets and alleys need repair? Why are neighborhoods crumbling? Why is investment pulling out? Could it be because the past council and John Marquart didn’t do their job? I mean, come on! The attempt to criticize the three new council people just proves that the past council (which claims to have done so much for streets, sidewalks, neighborhoods, and economic development) has obviously left things in quite a state of disrepair. And, since the remaining four still out-vote the new three, how can the newbies be blamed if nothing looks like it will change? 2-15-2008-02 By limiting comment,
this council is telling the public 'We're here to represent you, but
we don't want to listen to you.' Well, what I want to know is: 'How
can you represent us if you refuse to hear what we want?' You want
us to get our answers during business hours. Many of us have tried
that route and were shut right out. Phones calls went unreturned,
we were treated rudely, and basically got nowhere. (And, no, I'm
not a person who recently ran for council or a landlord.) Our last
hope is to ask our questions and demand answers at open meetings.
2-15-2008-01
I’m a little confused on this TIFA
capture of County millage issue. Here is why:
1. It has yet to come up in an open
City council meeting.
2. It did come up in the County
board meeting this past Monday.
3. With no open meeting of our City
council, it appears that the manager sought a legal opinion on
his own, which always costs money.
4. That opinion had to have been
asked for before the County meeting, because the County had the
manager's opinion at their meeting. Again, it was not discussed
or decided in an open City meeting.
5. Still with no open meeting of the
decision-making body (council) of the City, the manager
apparently made the decision that Iron Mountain can keep the
County millage.
6. According to a recent post here,
the manager has reversed his decision, this time to give the
County their money, and again with no open meeting of the
decision-making body of the City.
7. According to that same post, the
same legal firm that told the manager the City could keep the
money also told the City they could not keep the money. It makes
you wonder what the manager actually asked for in getting the
legal opinion.
What the heck is going on? My
opinion is that we still do not have open and honest City
government. I’m getting fed up with the "plausible deniability"
tactic embraced by Tousignant, then carried on by Van Laanen and
Tchokreff. Ignorance of what our city manager is doing does not
let you off the hook, Mr. Mayor. You have an obligation to know
what the hell he is doing in regard to City business. I
also have a right to know what is going on, and right now, our
City has told us NOTHING about the whole sordid affair.
2-14-2008-03 Marquart caves again.
After brashly trying to capture more money for TIFA that it was
entitled to, he found out he was barking up the wrong tree. 2-14-2008-02 From what I
understand, the city reassessment is in shambles. People who have
talked to the new assessor, a pleasant and forthright lady by all
descriptions, is trying to get her arms around all that went on with
the Brook. 2-14-2008-01
Why does Iron Mountain have a city attorney? Every time we turn
around, John Marquart is paying some other firm to find a way to
get what he wants. Why did he need to hire the firm of Miller,
Canfield, Paddock and Stone from downstate? If the attorney we
have for the city isn’t adequate, why do we keep him? Seems like
Marquart hires whatever attorneys he can get to agree with what
he wants. I wonder how many he had to consult before finding
this latest group.
2-13-2008-01
I read the TIFA story in the Daily
News last night. If we are all being charged a special millage
for something like senior citizens, library, or the health
department, that money should be going to what it is collected
for. It reminds me of the special pension millage Iron Mountain
residents were paying. I don’t see the difference. We passed a
charter amendment to stop TIFA from capturing that millage. Why
shouldn’t the city do the same for our area senior citizens,
library, and health department? The health department millage
was raised by a vote of the people recently. We all have to pay
more to fund the health department because TIFA is taking a big
chunk of their money. I thought TIFA was not supposed to raise
taxes.
2-13-2008-01
It is interesting to note that the City of
Ironwood rejected their city assessor’s recommendation of a firm
to reassess the city for $214,500. Instead they put the project
out on bids and received 4 bids with the low bidder being
$148,500. A savings of $66,000 over not having it bid. I wonder
how much the City of Iron Mountain would have saved by properly
bidding out their reassessment project. Check it out at
http://www.ironwooddailyglobe.com/0212gog1.htm By
the way does anyone know the status of the reassessment for Iron
Mountain.
2-12-2008-04
On that TIFA capture story that
just popped up.
What if the city IS correct in that the city can keep that money? Shouldn't we keep it if we are entitled to it? I don't know enough about the subject to have a valid opinion. What bothers me is that so many people out there, including me, no longer have faith in the word of our government. The public trust has been eroded over the past four years to the point that they are not believed even if they are right. That did not happen by itself. Like Dale Alessandrini said at a recent council meeting, we are tired of the lies. I think Dale said he could cite 35 examples of that. Isn't that a real problem that needs to be fixed? How can we continue on with people we have lost faith in? How will we ever know if we are being misled again? This quote says it best. "Not that you lied to me but that I no longer believe you - that is what has distressed me." Friedrich Nietzsche 2-12-2008-03
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I
think the library, senior citizens, and health departments
all have special millages to help fund them, which have been
captured by TIFA. If you heard Aaron Harper's report on the
county board meeting or saw it online, it sure looks like
Iron Mountain is poised to renege on an agreement from 1991,
set to go into action when the millage reached a certain
level. Surprise, surprise. All of a sudden, the county
learns that the city did not accept the ruling of TIFA on
the issue.
When, exactly, did the city "not accept" the ruling? Is that in some council meeting minutes somewhere? Because it sure sounds like a decision was made, and everyone knows that decisions cannot be made unless it's at an open meeting. Yep, that's right, Robin, an o-p-e-n m-e-e-t-i-n-g. It's okay to renege though, because JM apparently got an attorney to say so. The old "Because we can" rears its ugly head again.. Having a good moral and ethical reputation with our neighbors really has no place in city government, right? The Daily News - a headline from April of 2006: "Bay should get TIFA's assurances in writing, county official says." - how prophetic . . . 2-12-2008-02 I have one question: why is Marquart still here? Is there anything he's done in the past 4 years that doesn't need to be either fixed or eliminated? 2-12-2008-01 I saw in the Daily News
that the Dickinson County Board was going to discuss something about
TIFA at their meeting on Monday. 2-10-2008-05
1-9-2008-2
Also we should be thankful that the
cop that got whacked by the sword walked out of the hospital the
same day.
2-10-2008-04
Our old members of the city
cult--oops--city council have been successful in turning our
down town into an exciting famous (or infamous) place to be.
Everyone can join in the excitement
at no charge. (unless they decide to charge a fee to attend
meetings.
Every other Monday at Tammany hall,
(I mean city hall) we can be entertained by a panel of 7 folks
led by Boss Tweed ( Oops I mean VanLaanen), down a path to
netherland. The entire adventure will be narrated by Rasputin
our city manager. (I mean John Marquart) You will get a real
feel of the progress that is being made.
On this journey you will go into a
maze of legal issues, State laws, federal laws and all sorts of
grants. Like the council you try to dodge the pit falls that
trap you. It is so exciting. As you exit the maze you go
directly into the dark area of nepotism. It is very amusing to
watch moustache twitch as the game of pass the buck starts. If
you are really lucky you will get to see the 4 old council
members rip on the new members. It is all great fun. Why you
may even get to hammer on the firemen, after all they are the
cause of most of the problems in Iron Mountain, just ask John.
You can also bet the farm if a vote is taken it will be 4--3.
How can you lose? John will completely dazzle you with the
mountain of yarn he can spin at the drop of a hat. When he is
finished with his oration you won't know what he said. That,
folks, is real talent. Truly remarkable.
The last part of your adventure will
be to visit the fantasy of the future. A city tour that will
include elaborate parking lots, fancy pavillions that cover
streets and best of all fancy arches that will light the way
down town. You will be in awe. You may even want to chant
with John "fee fee fee"
I must caution you not to ask any
questions that may be sensitive because you may be accused of
grand standing, or you will just be blown off because Jeff
doesn't want to talk to you. (he probably doesn't know the
answers)
I would like to sign my name to this
but I don't want to get involved with the game John likes to
play. It really is quite nasty.
2-10-2008-03 My thanks
go out to Dave Farragh. At the
February 4 council meeting, his third since getting elected, he
recommended a fix for the "A" Street project that will cost about
$35,000 in sewer pipe and connecting parts that can be done with the
city DPW employees. 2-10-2008-02 Too bad they didn't
build the bandshell. It's only ten or twenty below outside with
30-40 mile per hour gusts and I have nothing to do. 2-10-2008-01 Yeah, now it's not an
open meeting when the city council meets, according to Tchokreff.
He followed that up with his equally dumb comment to new, and far
wiser, council member Tina Peterson with "Get with the
program, girl" to suggest just doesn't understand the
unwritten policy around there that was instituted by Tousignant who
came in dead last in both the Primary and General Election.
Tchokreff isn't a slow learner, he's a no-learner. I think the term
is uneducable in education circles. 2-9-2008-02
I think we should all be
thankful that yesterday's police standoff incident ended
without a shot being fired. I think an amazing amount of
restraint was shown by our local law enforcement in not
taking this guy out. We should also be thankful that the
schools had a plan and implemented it in a timely fashion to
assure our children were kept out of harm's way. With the
rumors flying all day, and many parents in a state of panic,
perhaps, God forbid there is a next time, more substantial,
timely, and pertinent communication to the public should
take place via the local media. That would prevent a lot of
grief and undue criticism, of the kind that took place
during this incident.
2-9-2008-01
We have not had any submissions
for "dumbest comment" for quite awhile. How about this gem
from last weeks city council meeting, courtesy of
member Tchokreff:
"This is not an open meeting!" 2-7-2008-03
Here we go again, this time it is
the small town design initiative project. You can check out all
of the grandiose schemes for the downtown on the City of Iron
Mountain web site. More taxpayers money to be wasted. A pavilion
over East ‘A’ Street, Red arches over the highway at the Chapin
Pits, expensive signage and lighting. When is the city going to
wake up and start spending the money on worthwhile projects like
basic street paving and alley maintenance. If you think these
beautification projects work long-term, check out the bricks on
East ‘A’ Street.
I cannot believe that the citizens
or even the merchants who are not located in the elite group
called downtown Iron Mountain can put up with this any longer.
The City for years has bent to the point of breaking with
special favors for the downtown. If the City is to continue
removing snow and providing free parking including paving and
maintenance of the downtown parking lots, then the other
merchants who are not a part of downtown should demand the same
services. The city should perhaps be plowing the parking lots of
Wal-mart and K-mart and while they are at it they could plan a
beautification project with their bricks and trees. At least
people would notice them because this is where the traffic is
at, not downtown.
In fact, the beautification
committee, if they want to improve downtown, would do well to
ignore it and utilize their efforts elsewhere, like at city park
and the many tot lots and other parks in the City. I wonder if
the downtown merchants would then purchase and plant their own
flowers. While they are at it, they could stop with all the
parking lot maintenance. Has anyone ever noticed how the
downtown parking lots are plowed by 7 a.m., but half the streets
and alleys in town aren’t done by mid-morning. If the city
stopped plowing the lots, they would have more time to clear our
streets and alleys.
Over the years, study after study
has been done of the downtown and dollar after dollar has been
dumped into saving, improving, beautifying, designing,
preserving, and for what result.
This all started in the early 70’s
with a multi-million dollar relocation of the Railroad tracks
along US-2 from about Econo foods to Wendys and in back of the
Downtown buildings along the West side of US-2. This was done to
get the train away from the downtown buildings and to provide
additional parking. This was followed by the City purchasing
downtown buildings to be torn down for parking lots. Then came
some failed borrowing schemes and tax breaks for downtown
buildings (i.e. Koffmans and others) with the City floating the
loans and bailing them out.
If 25 years ago, the City would have
quit with the bailing out of downtown, I am sure that it would
have gone into decay, some developer would have bought up a
block of buildings, demolished them, and replaced them with a
decent shopping mall with stores that provide the goods and
services that the average person would buy. That would have
revived the downtown atmosphere that we lack. Just think, 25
years of bailing out downtown, even at a modest sum of $200,000
per year….add it up. Was this taxpayers money wisely spent. Or
with this money, perhaps a large portion of our streets, alleys
and sidewalks could have been taken care of.
Lets stop this nonsense and get back
to the basics of government. That is the safety and welfare of
all its citizens, not just the welfare of a select few.
If “downtown” has any hope of
continuing, it has to be saved by the merchants, not City tax
dollars. Those design initiative photos show people walking on
in front of the stores… as if there are really stores worth
walking to. If the businesses are not thriving, it’s the
business’s fault, and throwing all of this money into
beautification is not going to change the fact that downtown has
little to offer the average buyer.
2-7-2008-02
I just learned that audio
recordings of city council meetings are now available on the
official city website. That's great! No, really! However,
I am disturbed that I have to enable cookies on my computer
if I simply want to hear what our city council had to say at
a public meeting. I've been to many other "legitimate"
websites, and never had to enable cookies just to hear an
audio file. These are city council meeting files, for
heaven's sake! I don't appreciate being tracked in
any way by my city government just because I have
an interest in what they are up to. It's just another
example of abuse of power to me.
I'll sign myself as Winston Smith 2-7-2008-01
So, just when was it that some
of our council members decided council meetings are NOT open
meetings for the public to have their concerns addressed,
but only for doing city business? That attitude is directly
at odds with the spirit of the open meetings act, as well as
our city charter language covering the subject. That is an
opinion and attitude that is intolerable in any public
office, anywhere in the USA, except Iron Mountain, Michigan,
of course.
This four-year-long mind set in our city council has caused more strife with the citizens than any other single issue. It is the root cause of many of our other important issues, and it's just plain wrong. And it's ironic that one citizen would stand up and praise them for it in a public comment period that they have only because the law requires it, according to one council member. The political situation here in Iron Mountain makes us a laughing stock, both locally and abroad. It has to end. We do not have our city back yet. I agree with a recent post that says most of the truthful information coming out at council meetings is from the citizens. That is unacceptable to me. Our city government has, for four years, been doing whatever it wants, regardless of the people, the city charter, and various other laws, and then not giving us the whole story, or worse, giving us a false story - case in point, the non-existent Centers for Regional Excellence grant. Only one example of many. When did Iron Mountain citizens decide it was acceptable to run the city like we are a 1950s era Russian village? I know I never agreed to that, along with several thousand voters who just seated a strong change to that unacceptable way of doing things. What more is it going to take? This is our city, after all. Our work as responsible citizens is not done. Our house is still not clean. 2-5-2008-01 Iron Mountain Council
Member Robin Tchockreff keeps putting his foot in his mouth
practically every time he opens his mouth. Here is a council member
who has been sitting there for six or eight years, has never run
against any opposition, (shame on you, 2nd ward residents) and has
never developed a single worthwhile idea that he has carried out to
completion. 2-4-2008-01
Here is a quote from the unapproved council meeting minutes
for the last council meeting (01-21-2008), under council
member privilege:
"Member Tchokreff will not tolerate open dialogue with the public and feels the Mayor should be in control of the floor." Hmm. The Mayor should be in control of the floor, that's true. What I don't like is that the "open dialogue" comment is not used fairly and across the board. If it happens to be a supporter of the fantastic four, open dialogue seems to be okay. If you've attended meetings, you know that to be true. It's only when the mayor and his cronies don't like the person or their opinion that this "rule" is enforced. I think Mr. Tchokreff should be more concerned with gathering facts on issues rather than nit-picking something that is not even a rule. Heck, most of the truthful information that has come out at council meetings for the last four years has come from citizens, not the council or city manager. Maybe that's why he doesn't like it. 2-3-2008-01 What's the
problem with dumping snow in the Chapin Pit? They've been doing it
for years and years with no problem. 2-2-2008-01 I don't think anybody
should object to a review and/or investigation of TIFA projects.
There should be nothing to hide. I remember reading that Marquart
tried to get things in the budget that were illegal or beyond the
responsibilities of TIFA, but at least some were bounced by the
TIFA Board. I can't remember if I read it in The Daily News or past
posts on this website. Who knows what he might have slipped through. 2-1-2008-02
I still cannot believe the city
continues to dump snow into chapin pit. Can you imagine how many
contaminants are in that snow they dump into chapin pit which is
then pumped into lake antoine. They seem to be very good at
destroying lakes [crystal lake] around here. Why aren't the
property owners on lake antoine aware of this? There are other
places to dump snow. Use your brain.
2-1-2008-01
After viewing the December vendors
report, I see that Doug Rigoni continues to receive his
portion of benefits for being part of the "Council of wrong
doings".
I can't for the life of me
understand why TIFA funds have been spent on Traders Mine Road
when it is clearly NOT in the TIFA District.
The TIFA map clearly shows that the District Limits are at N.
Quincy St. and E. Frank Pipp. How could the previous council
have even approved this? Why was the "State Grant" added to TIFA
as revenue? Was this just another smoke screen for how much TIFA
is spending illegally? Did the State give the grant to the City
or TIFA ? How much did the improvement cost from US 2 to N.
Quincy on Frank Pipp, and how much for Traders Mine Rd.?
I would like to see the City
Council have a representative from the State come to Iron
Mountain and view how the previous Council spent TIFA funds. I'm
all for improvement, but not at the expense of increasing my
taxes to make-up for what TIFA is capturing and spending! Thank
You.
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