January 2008 Forum

IronMountainIssues.org

January 2008 Postings

1-31-2008-02

December vendors report. Why does the assessor, Vicki Esch, who started working in January, get paid almost $880 in December? I don't recall seeing an agreement for contracted work before she started as a salaried employee. If there was contracted work, that should have been put out on bids. Does anyone have a copy of her contract to see what this assessor is going to cost us? And, also in the vendor's report: why is the assessors digital camera $169.96 & the code enforcement digital camera $507.57? Do we need clearer pictures of blight than we do of assessed property?

1-31-2008-01

December 2007 Vendors Report

1-30-2008-01

Answer to post 1-28-2008-02

The Health Department, the Senior Citizens Programs and the County Library are entitled to ALL of their voted millage now, with NONE OF IT CAPTURED BY TIFA.

There is an agreement between TIFA and Dickinson County that clearly specifies that if voted millage plus the County tax levy exceeds a certain level, TIFA will not capture any of the voted millage. All three of the levies were voted by the people.

That level was surpassed with the 1 mill levy voted on by the taxpayers for Bay College. So the Library, Senior Programs and the Health Department should not have any of their levy captured by TIFA going forward.

County officials should be on TOP OF THIS and make sure that the $87,000 is received and properly distributed to each unit.

That was an excellent post by 1-28-2008-02 and shows once again that there are many very knowledgeable people out there who do good research.

County people read this site, I know that. The County is run so much better than the City of Iron Mountain that I am sure they will see to it that the $87,000 will go where it belongs.

Would Marquart try to keep it in the Iron Mountain General Fund if he thought there was a the slightest chance of getting away with it? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha !!!

1-29-2008-01

I am one of those restless natives. I will not only sign a recall, but will volunteer to be a circulator. I can only see a 4 to 3 vote for the next few years, That is unacceptable!!!!

1-28-2008-02

I see the "Old Guard" is trying to force the new City Council members into NOT answering citizens questions and just passing them on to the "Spin Doctor".

I do have an issue I'd like to see an answer for. If according to County Tax Records,in 2006 the City of Iron Mountain had a "Taxable Value" of $177,237,272 and $16,815,778 in Breitung School District "Taxable Value" and collected the following Taxes:

County Library: $174,647.74

Health Department: $38,810.60

Senior Citizen Programs: $77,621.22

$291,079.56

AND:

A TIFA " Taxable Value" of $51,636,195 and captured the following Taxes:

County Library: $46,472.58

Health Department: $10,327.24

Senior Citizens Programs: $20,654.48

$77,453.30

What happened in 2007? The County Tax Record shows the following for the City of Iron Mountain: "Taxable Value" of $188,147,166 and $18,439,504 in Breitung School District "Taxable Value" and collected the following Taxes:

County Library: $185,928.01

Health Department: $41,317.33

Senior Citizens Programs: $82,634.67

$ 309,880.01

AND:

A TIFA "Taxable Value" of $58,011,913 and captured the following Taxes:

County Library: $ 000.00

Health Department $ 000.00

Senior Citizens Programs: $ 000.00

$ 000.00

The City should have collected and passed-thru the following TIFA Taxes:

County Library: $52,210.72

Health Department: $11,602.39

Senior Citizens Programs: $ 23,204.77

$87,017.88

I guess my question is, what happened with the $87,017.88 ? Did the City collect these taxes and NOT give them to the County? Did the City just add this money to the General Fund? Can someone answer these questions?

Thank You.

1-28-2008-01

Under the flimsy excuse that council meetings are only for "business", whatever that is supposed to mean, Van Laanen is trying to keep the public in the dark by reverting to the Tousignant gambit - speak, sit down, shut up. No questions will be answered directly buy council members or the city attorney. Remember what happened to Tousignant, Jeff?

Fat chance of the public standing for this. If the four old members, accurately called Marquart's Zombies by a previous poster, can't see through this or are part of the scheme, the three ward members should remember they are eligible for recall.

Ten circulators in each ward, already arranged by the way, would get the required number of signatures in nothing flat.

Three of Marquart's Zombies would also be recalled if they dare to keep him instead of firing him.

The natives are indeed restless.

1-27-2008-01

If there was a simple survey taken of public opinion of the four incumbents sitting on the city council, it would be 75-25 against. A survey on the city manager would be even worse.

These people are just out of it. They are Marquart Zombies, led by the slippery Pied Piper.

It's amazing how, after only two meetings with the new council, how many people are asking for a recall election. My opinion is to wait and see how they handle the citizen dialogue with the council issue, but even more important, whether they vote to keep or fire the city manager.

John Marquart is the worse thing that has happened to Iron Mountain EVER. He has lied so often and so openly that the entire community knows it. Some don't care, especially those who have benefited and those who stand to benefit if he stays, but they are a tiny fraction of our population.

Any council member who votes to keep him is certain to face a recall - and will surely lose in a landslide.

1-26-2008-01

I couldn’t believe they cut down the trees by the ‘pit’. It looks just terrible with them gone. Now I read that it was done in order to check the fence. Well, they might as well say goodbye to the fence now, no matter its condition. With the trees gone, what’s to keep the sides of the pit from washing away, taking the fence with it?

They plant trees downtown where they aren't needed and cut them away from areas where they should remain.

1-25-2008-01

I saw a recent post that shows the city spent $800,000.00 on "engineering" done by STS Consultants. We may as well add $200,000.00 to Rich Brook and his associates as more money down the drain, for a total of $1,000,000.00 WASTED in one year.

Now, we have a picture in the newspaper of a covered downtown street. Isn't that dandy? Looks like we're going to take another stab at wasting wheelbarrow loads of money on the downtown parking lot area. I suppose the project will need the expertise of STS Consultants, too. If that's not enough, they're even talking about covering the road across the pit. Marvelous. I'll bet all the employees of the Niagara paper mill are cheering and sleeping better already, knowing how much this will do to generate real jobs with benefits, like the ones they just lost.

Pay no attention to your pothole-filled streets. Pay no attention to those degraded alleys. Pay no attention to that fire hydrant on your street that doesn't work. Pay no attention to that high water bill. Pay no attention to higher property insurance rates and safety fines. Pay no attention to what your Old Guard city council is doing; they'll take care of everything for you. Oh, and you'll be just fine if you don't have a house fire. Everything's just peachy in Iron Mountain, ʽcause our downtown is gonna be purty.

1-23-2008-05

Maybe I should just keep quiet and let Robin Tchokreff resign. If there’s any truth to that rumor, we’d all be better off with one less of the Marquart puppets. Still, I just can’t see letting people stew and raise their blood pressure over the thought of such an action.

I really see no need to be concerned about the Tchokreff /Tousignant rumor.

First of all, if they are stupid enough to even try that after the voters made it clear they wanted Kenny out, the supporters of such a stunt would risk almost certain recall.

Secondly, how do they expect to pull it off? It takes a vote of the council to fill an empty seat until the next election. The nominations and vote could not take place until after the current council-person has resigned, thus no longer being a voting member of the council. So, they’re left with a 3-3 vote, at best.

1-23-2008-04

It would be beneficial to see regular city council meetings broadcast live (or within the week) on the Iron Mountain School Channel or the Charter Community Channel.

How to proceed in seeing this through? It's been done before and is done in other communities. With such a controversial past year, and it doesn't seem to be waning anytime soon based on the continued anger I am reading on this forum.

I believe the public would have great interest in being able to view meetings from home. It can do no harm, and only do a positive service for the residents of our town.

1-23-2008-03

Why is it that none of the media reported on the "outburst" at the end of the last council meeting? We had council member Rosen trying to ask a question of a citizen at the podium, and the mayor tried to silence him. Mr. Rosen responded that he wants to see something in writing that prohibits the council from interacting with citizens at council meetings. Then council member Tchokreff piped in with threats that he would stop any such attempts to communicate with the citizens in the future.

You got that, people? A majority of our city council still wants to keep you in the dark. What's more, since it was a council member asking a question, it appears that the majority of the council even wants itsʼ own members to be kept in the dark, with all information spoon-fed to them by the city manager.

They also, with Doug Rigoni's help, drove that point home on the Millie Hill development issue. They made an issue out of the fact that the new members did not ask Marquart for information on the development, but failed to mention that the new members DID receive information directly from the developer himself. How can Marquart continue to control the vote of the council if members are going to be informing themselves beyond what he spoon-feeds them, after all?

I am shocked that they were so blatant about how they want to continue to make decisions based solely on what Marquart tells them about an issue. Haven't they learned yet how screwed up this city has become because of doing that for four years already? Or, don't they care? I'm afraid a recall is definitely in order.

1-23-2008-02

RE: 1-18-2008-08:

Right, lets ask the FIRE CHIEF about insurance costs....kind of like asking an insurance sales man about fire fighting.....maybe we should ask our insurance people how our insurance may be affected!

1-23-2008-01

Our new mayor, Jeff Van Laanen, tried to silence recently elected new member Bruce Rosen from asking a question of a speaker during the Public Comment period.

Under dictator (oops, I guess he was actually mayor) Tousignant, all the rubber-stamp council members had agreed informally afgreed to this policy. It was a policy that had never been part of Iron Mountain council meetings. Trying to prevent a sitting council member from asking a citizen a question was unheard of.

Van Laanen said it was an "unwrittern policy." It sure as hell was unwritten, but it was the only policy he had ever lived with under and seems to have decided being dictatorial, like Tousignant, was a good way to operate.

Bruce Rosen would have none of it. He said he was elected by the people and would respond to and ask questions of any speaker he chose and no-one, including the mayor, was going to stop him. Bruce Rosen was the TOP vote getter in both the Primary and General Election. Tousignant was DEAD LAST in both elections.

Didn't any of this register with you, Mr. Van Laanen? If it hasn't, it will.

Congratulations, Bruce. You have already established yourself as a true public servant. What a breath of fresh air.

1-22-2008-02

Here is the answer to email 1-22-08-01: a) Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, any vacancy occurring in any elective office shall be filled, by the concurring vote of at least four (4) members of the Council, within thirty (30) days after such vacancy shall have occurred. The person appointed by the Council shall serve until the next general city election.

This information comes directly from our city charter, chapter 4, section 4.8 Vacancies. It looks like we protected from a person simply “taking” a city council seat.

1-22-2008-01

Response to 1-20-2008-01

If a vacancy should occur, it shall be filled in accordance of Sec 4.8 of the city charter, that is it will take a conccuring vote of at least 4 members of the Council.

1-22-2008-02

The Carpetbagger, Part III (Part I is post 2-8-2007-07, Part II is post 10-20-2007-01)

. . . The ride back to town was relatively uneventful. His throat was raw and sore from dealing with the foul gulp of tonic, and his eyes a little red and glazed. The lurching wagon was not doing any favors for his tender stomach, either. Still, it did not occur to him to have sympathy for all the people he had sold his abominable mixture to in the past.

Several attempts to engage posse members in conversation were met with stoic silence and feigned indifference. They had been tipped off about his silver-tongued abilities, and had orders to be wary.

"I don’t have to worry yet," he mused to himself, "I still have the right friends in the right places.

He held his head up proudly and defiantly on re-entering the town. Despite the fact that he was escorted by fifteen deadly serious-looking men, he knew the importance of appearing larger than life. The boardwalks were filled with the usual number of townsfolk going about their daily business. An old woman looked up from her sweeping and met his gaze with a stony glare. Gradually, he realized there was scarcely a face that was not turned toward him, all watching in poignant silence as he passed by. He struggled to retain the bright, self-assured look on his face, and succeeded, for the most part.

"These yokels mean nothing," he thinks. "They aren’t capable of thinking for themselves. Even the best of them don’t measure up. I still have support where it counts. They are too stupid to realize they can’t win; I’m too good for that to happen. They think they have me. Fools."

He is distracted by the sound of hammering, and then he catches the smell of fresh lumber.

"I see someone in this two-bit dump finally mustered the ambition to do something productive," he remarks snidely to the taciturn rider closest to him.

His remark is met with silence, but, he notices that the normally grim man has obviously found some humor in his words, which greatly puzzles him until they round a corner and approach the town square. The sight of the nearly completed gallows is almost too much. He wins a valiant effort to appear unaffected by it. It must be a coincidence is all he can think. He cannot accept that things may have finally caught up with him. Nonetheless, his stomach lurches violently again.

With an inward sigh of relief, he sees a small knot of his influential friends waiting near the jail. Amid the warm greetings, it is made known that they strongly support him, and that any attempt to discredit or punish him will have to be proven beyond the shadow of a doubt. He acknowledges to himself that things might get a bit rough this time, but, in the end, he’ll still be walking tall. He knows they control the evidence, and he silently congratulates himself for cultivating the right people in the right places, with the right favors and the right secrets. Due to the number of fine, upstanding citizens willing to vouch for him, the sheriff has even agreed to allow him to stay in the hotel rather than the jail.

"And they’re the biggest fools of all," he unconsciously says out loud.

To be continued . . .

1-22-2008-01

Rumor has it that Robin Tchokreff is going to resign from the City Council and that Ken Tousignant will take his seat. I have no idea how this seat will be filled but the thought of Ken returning to the City Council scares me.

1-20-2008-01

Citizens and voters of Iron Mountain:

We don't have our city back - not yet.

We had the horror of watching seven council members and an out-of-control city manager run our city for four years. Now, we have the horror of watching four council members and an out-of-control city manager running our city. Has anything really changed?

What it amounts to, in both cases, is City Manager John Marquart and four people sitting on the council who support and practically worship a man who has been fired from two of his last three positions as city manager.

They worship a man who has shown himself to be a reckless spender, a liar of unprecedented proportions, a man totally dismissive of any views that we citizens try to present.

I don't see any of them changing their stripes. There is only one possible way to avoid two more years of the misery we have faced for the past four years.

We must seriously consider a RECALL of three of them. (Jeff Van Laanen cannot be recalled for six months because he was recently re-elected.) The three newly elected members, Dave Farragh, Bruce Rosen and Tina Peterson will fight valiantly and with determination on our behalf, and they will repeatedly be voted down 4-3.

Marquart will remain as city manager. Foolish and outright stupid ideas will pass 4-3.
The three members eligible for recall, Robin Tchokreff, Dan Burke and Eden Caudell have a long voting record of going along with everything, legal and illegal. Nothing will change.

All three of them are very weak council members, both on their record and politically. All three can and should be recalled. Tchokreff has never run with any opposition. Dan Burke had mere token opposition, and Eden Caudell won a squeaker. None of them has distinguished themselves with any creativity, mental acuity or watchdog inclinations.
They have never questioned anything the city manager has proposed.

It will be interesting see how they praise the city manager is the annual review that is coming up shortly.

We made some progress in the past election, but not enough. These three people are very weak council members who would have lost this past November if their terms had been up.

We have only one choice if they vote to keep John Marquart as city manager. Recall them.  Based on the recent election, the public will overwhelmingly support a recall. They would have to run as supporters of John Marquart, and that's enough to get them trounced.

If the public could vote up or down on John Marquart, he would not get close to 30% of the vote. Any council member voting to keep him would face the same situation in a recall vote. They would go down in flames.

1-18-2008-01

Response to 1-16-2008-04:

I don't buy what you are saying and question what "site" your info was from.

Also, if there wasn't an impact to the residents if the ISO rating changed, why did our City Manager keep them out for 2 years? Why did he lie to the public about his mostly non-correspondence with ISO and also give them (and us) innacurate information on our City's protection levels?

If you want to know the truth about how ISO ratings affect the average residents, commercial interests, and at what point the publishing of the class rating would happen: Do some more research, ask our Fire Chief (who knows this info inside and out), and/or try and contact the ISO agency itself. Put the whole story out there, not just some figure you cherry-picked....we've had enough cherry-picking.

But I do agree that it is about more than ratings, fines, or insurance. However the residents feel, they should make those concerns loud and strong to the council members so this City can start putting a viable plan together that satisfies safety, budget, and Agency regulations. There are solutions...let's dig in and get them in place before irreversible tragedies strike. Irreversible monetary penalties have already done damage to our budget and we still have not made the necessary changes to avoid more.

Residents actually have the power now to truly be heard. Everything is now open for discussion at a City Council Meeting. Council members were elected by residents, to serve the residents; it is their sworn duty to provide the highest level of safety to citizens and employees, in an economically responsible way.

1-17-2008-01

Response to post 1-16-2008-04

With the possible exception of the homeowners insurance rates not being affected by a move from class 4 to class 6, which I believe to be true, the rest of your figuring is flawed. I guess you will have to wait and see, just like me. It will cost the businesses, as you said, but the real point is that you and I and everyone else in town were all but promised that our current fire protection setup is better than it used to be. The change in the ISO rating, along with the MIOSHA fines proves that to be completely false, with no room for argument. And determined by outside, unbiased sources to boot. Isn't it the least bit important to you that you were seriously misled by your government?

On that note, we all owe a debt of gratitude to all those who spoke up on many issues, whether it was on this website, at a council meeting, or in a court room, to let everyone else know what was really happening. Those who have written in recently to call you losers are out to lunch.

1-16-2008-04

Well,

I'll bring out my "can opener" and a fresh...(or maybe old) can of worms, so here goes. I was thinking about the recent writing about the possible changes in the ISO fire/rating. So I did a very quick search for ISO rating on the wonderful Net. Here's what I found. Not every insurance company EVEN USES the ISO and when it comes to residential property there are NO changes in premiums for the homeowner whether there is a class 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1. So...with the rumored change from a four to six the residents of Iron Mountain would see NO change in their rates... The difference is commercial. In the chart I saw, based on a $1,000,000 building the change from 7 to 1 is negligible, about $280 dollars a year. So you see the rhetoric about the ISO rating is just that RHETORIC, there are certainly stronger arguments out there for maintaining adequate fire protection...ISO is just not one of them.

1-16-2008-03

A few of the vitiolic posts of late read very close to the writing style of the TRUTH website.

My question to those writers - What part of "YOU LOST" don't you understand?

The new city council has had two meetings so far. Hardly enough time to establish a track record.

Those venomous writers do not point to a single specific issue. Just ramblings. Nuff said.

1-16-2008-02

Regarding the NewPage Niagara and other mills:

Is anyone really surprised? Why? Haven't you been paying attention? Expect more of the same, sooner or later. Traditional manufacturing is dying in this country, way too expensive, especially in remote, outlying areas like the sticks in which we live. If we're to survive and prosper, we have to get on top of things, get connected, with the times, get ahead of the times and focus on modern manufacturing and services such as in the health industry, for instance, and jump at tech manufacturing and services like those of the Chicago outfit the city of Iron Mountain ignored and botched a couple years ago. It's a damn shame what's happened in Niagara, but it'll be much, much worse if people and their leaders in this area don't wake up, stop waiting complacently for stuff like this to happen, get pro-active, and get ahead of the curve. We're among those rural areas in this country losing our critical mass, folks. The area can't simply hope and wish and wait for prosperity to come here, can't ignore opportunities that knock, can't expect money and jobs to simply be attracted out of the blue or by a bunch of puny and silly civic projects to our area among a hundred jillion other remote rural areas. We have to stop rueing and whining what has happened and what might happen and instead go out, now, and actively pursue and get the businesses that will make us viable and prosperous. Wake up, people! Get off your butts and start getting it done!

1-16-2008-01

Sad day at Niagara Paper Mill.

The mill will be permanently closed by the end of this April. 320 good jobs in this area will be lost.

1-15-2008-03

If you think that you are getting a real picture of how things are going in Iron Mountain from this website, you may want to rethink your viewpoint. This site is so packed with information straight from the same people who attend every council meeting and hilariously try to disguise their letters as being from a "non-resident" or whatever else suits the purpose. The last time I wrote a comment I was threatened and that sort of thing will continue until you stop allowing anonymous posts. But without that anonymity how can all the rumors keep running wildly about - casinos that aren't really happening, frightening land deal schemes coming out of Arizona, horrifying chlorinated water, mean coucil people stealing your money to pay off unknown people. Get a life and try contributing something useful to your world and community instead of spreading rumors and foolish scare tactics. I think you already won - anyone who had interest in bringing this town back from years of do-nothing-but-protect-their-own interest government is over it. You've got your town back - for what it's worth.

1-15-2008-02

that I have a Bachelor's degree and no longer live in Iron Mountain due to idiots like yourself. Maybe classes are in order for y'all (trying to use words that aren't too large for you to understand.

If you are that interested in how taxpayer's money has been spent - look at what the council has done over the past 4 years without making up bogus numbers of your own (excuse me of Corumb's and believe me I could care less if I spell that idiot's name correct, and learn a little. The city was going in the right direction. Luckily there are still stand up people on that council willing to put up with idiots like yourselves. I could drill the facts into your head and you still wouldn't understand, so carry on your hate brigade and it'll all come back to you in the way in which you deserve.

No more time for foolishnees or games with people that are as about as ignorant as they come.

1-15-2008-01

I can’t help but respond to post 1-14-2008-02. I, for one, am not a “hate filled inbiciles” nor am I a hate-filled imbecile or a miserable sap. I’m a citizen of this community that pays taxes. I am very interested in how that tax money is spent! Do you understand why I would be interested in that? It’s because I feel as if I am being bled by user fees, taxes and every other way the council has discovered to suck money out of us. I drive on crappy roads; there’s not an alley I’d risk taking my car through; our very expensive water isn’t something I’d like to actually drink; it’s nearly impossible to sell a home (and we know there’s an abundance of homes that are for sale) and there are no jobs available so we can actually *pay* these taxes/fees. Lastly, it’s because of this website that we are *not* ignorant of what happens in this city.

I’d like to make a suggestion to the author of that post. We have a new college in town. Perhaps you may be interested in attending and learning how to actually *spell* so that your vitriol isn’t as painful to read.

1-14-2008-02

it's inconceivable to think what all of you "ignoramus's" (as per phantom writer of a few entries ago) actually do all day. Obviously there is not much constructive real work being done by any of you hate filled inbiciles. You all must to live such putrid unhappy and unfilling lives, since all you live for is to try and ruin the lives of intelligent, well intended individuals. Guess what? It's not working. You'll all remain miserable saps for the rest of your useless lives.

Getting rid of Marqaurt-and the past and present good city council people (that does not include puppets Rosen, Farraugh or Peterson) that actually have a brain is all that you stand for. I'm sure in two years you'll still be arguing about some inconsequential issue or trying your pathetic recall efforts - for what?

To be THE BIGGEST LOSERS OF ALL?

Why don't you all just SHUT up , get a life, and most importantly do what's best for the city instead of fighting your own petty little war against people you don't like.

I would have never believed Iron Mtn had people so low and ignorant before this website bs. but here is the proof.

Read it (if y'all can read) and weep......

1-14-2008-01

On top of the costly lawsuits we already know about, there are two items on the December, 2006 vendor report that are described as lawsuit settlements. They are items 15 and 107. Does anyone know what those were for? I never heard anything in a public meeting about any lawsuit settlements in that time period. Why don’t we ever know what our own government was/is getting sued for unless someone else lets the cat out of the bag? I want to know why our tax money was paid out in these two lawsuits and why we were again kept in the dark.

1-12-2008-01


	REPORT OF STS CONSULTANTS BILLINGS FOR PERIOD
	FROM MARCH 2006 THROUGH NOVEMBER 2007

	THESE FIGURES ARE DIRECTLY FROM THE VENDORS REPORTS ON
	THIS "ISSUES" WEBSITE

	Breakdown by project was not possible because totals for each month are
	combined among the various projects as a lump sum in the Vendors Report

		General
		Fund
		and
		TIFA	TIFA
		Combined	Portion

2006	January	0.00
2006	February	0.00
2006	March	10,417.36
2006	April
2006	May	12,733.50
2006	June	56,069.63
2006	July	0.00
2006	August	8,901.75
2006	September	45,521.55	18,000.00	Rounded - hundreds illegible
2006	October	94,377.64	65,000.00	Rounded - hundreds illegible
2006	November	69,837.27
2006	December	8,915.26
2007	January	36,905.73	10,270.05
2007	February	0.00
2007	March	27,400.90		Other TIFA billings may be missing,
2007	April	8,403.55		but combined total should be correct
2007	May	14,823.42
2007	June	79,392.62	308.91
2007	July	0.00
2007	August	1,421.25
2007	September	50,718.13	32,879.14	Design costs for tabled city hall parking project
2007	October	129,350.44	78,271.59
2007	November	83,514.27	14,596.43
2007	December
		738,704.27	219,326.12

Pending bills		70,000.00	70,000.00	Various Industrial Park projects in some dispute
			289,326.12

Totals		808,704.27

	The $808,700 is pretty close to the total NON-COMPETITIVE business STS got from Iron
	Mountain since March 2006.

1-11-2008-01

I think the key issue on all that money spent on STS Consultants is that other engineering firms were never given the chance to bid. Mr. Marquart said that STS gives the city a rate well below other firms, but how do we know that if no one ever gets to compete for the projects? Did he ask them? That's what the required bidding process is all about! On top of that, another big issue with this is: should the city be spending that kind of money on engineering, some of which was just money down the drain, when so many other city issues need urgent attention, and are just being ignored?

They can say professional services don't have to go through the bidding process until they are blue in the face, and it won't change the fact that a ton of money was wasted doing it their way, while more important matters were pushed aside.

1-10-2008-03

Judging by the questions I heard the newly elected council members ask at their first meeting, I think the grilling will be getting hot and heavy.

There is a council-as-a-whole meeting scheduled for this coming Monday, January 14 at 6:30 PM.

I think it should be quite interesting. It would be a good idea if Linda Lobeck and Aaron Harper also attended. If the remaining John Marquart or the four council remaining members think a 4-3 voted can carry them through for two more years, they are living in dreamland.

The voters spoke loud and clear. They are VERY VERY impatient. They won't stand for 4-3 votes for long.

There are murmurs already about getting recall petitions out against Tchokreff, Caudell and Burke if they don't shape up immediately and smell the roses.

Do any of them think it will be hard to get around 100 signatures against each of them and force a recall? Do any of these three want to use their rubber-stamp voting record and praise of Marquart to hold back the coming storm?

They have nothing going for them. If they vote to keep Marquart, they are automatically dead meat. A recall is absolutely a given, and they will most deservedly go down by a landslide.

The only chance they have of avoiding a recall is to vote to fire Marquart and start listening to common sense. Short of that, they will suffer the fate of Tousignant, Rigoni and Jacobs well before their remaining two years are up, and by even wider margins.

1-10-2008-02

Based on Monday’s council meeting, am I to believe that the last council spent over $600,000.00 of OUR tax money on STS Consultants in a year and a half?! Even worse, that this money was spent WITHOUT a vote of approval from the council?! All okayed by Mr. Marquart?!

I agree with the previous poster in that John Marquart has to go. Along with him, the people who thought spending our money like drunken sailors have to go, too. I’m curious, was the council instructed/coached to approve the STS amounts on vendor reports during those pre-meetings Ms. Caudell mentioned? They must have been, because they sure as hell never questioned one penny in an open meeting!

I would imagine that Marquart & Co. are not at all happy with the informative handouts prepared by Mr. Rosen. It makes it much more difficult to keep us all in the dark, relying on Mr. Marquart’s word on everything. Mr. Rosen, thank you for the subtle acknowledgment that us common folk are not morons, and that, hey, we might even deserve to know what’s going on in our government. That doesn’t make you a very good politician, but I think I like you all the more for it.

1-10-2008-01

Why is it that with the obvious planned retirement and subsequent actual retirement of a police Lt. and the subsequent promotion of our school liaison officer has no one been hired to replace him? Thus leaving our most valuable assest-our children- less protected. Where are the "cable fees" being spent now?

Why is it that it appears EVERY SINGLE local police agency is receiving grants for THOUSANDS of dollars and Iron Mountain has got nothing??? Maybe more retirements should be planned...

1-8-2008-04

John Marquart must go.

Does anyone genuinely understand this?

For as long as John Marquart remains the city's manager, the city will accomplish nothing for anyone. I mean that quite thoughtfully. Nothing for anyone. It remains government by public relations rather than government by performance and accomplishment. Since November 6, 2007, John Marquart has exhaustively kissed the feet of and manipulated Mr. VanLaanen, Ms. Caudell, Mr. Tchokreff, and Mr. Burke -- who investigate nothing on their own, ever, and treat his word, the word of a proven and regular ignoramus and liar, as Gospel -- in order that he might continue to control them and, by extension, this city for at least two more years, till the next election when their majority will be vaporized. And by which time he plans to be hired and working his dark magic in a small, obscure town elsewhere. So far, he has succeeded. Are you going to let him get away with it?

This city will not progress or prosper even minutely -- on the contrary, it will continue to slide away from survival itself -- for as long as you allow an ironfisted, egomaniacal, and unscrupulous bureaucrat to run it, Iron Mountain. If you care, care enough to look for yourself. Though the man's talent is to distract you from it, the evidence is right under your nose and has been for years. John Marquart is a self-important, officious-sounding man interested only in sucking the public teat for his own benefit. That's it. Period. Everything he does serves that end. I dare anyone to prove otherwise. That's what a less than well-intentioned bureaucrat posing as a competent civil servant does, what he lives for, why he maneuvers the power structure around him -- to secure a public job, to keep it, to protect it, to empower it. For himself. That's what John Marquart does. And you let him get away with it. At our -- at your -- expense. And in more ways than financially. If you do nothing about stopping it, then you're condoning it. Shame on you.

Get after your council members, Iron Mountain. All of them. Tell them John Marquart must go. And tell your friends, family, and neighbors to do likewise.

Iron Mountain, I assure you that we absolutely will not achieve anything substantive as a city for as long as John Marquart is our city's manager. Indeed, soon we will begin to pay dearly -- some say, correctly, that we have already -- for the behavior of John Marquart as our city's manager. Therefore, if you want the city to stop deteriorating and start improving, John Marquart must go. Promptly. There is no other first step. Only that one. He's in the way. Fire him and then we can finally proceed. That is, if you care to proceed. If you have the will to proceed.

1-8-2008-03

A word of advice to our new Mayor, Jeff VanLaanen, if I may. In this last election, you should take into account that the citizens of this city do not agree with your old point of view just because you were reelected. You made comments that led many voters to believe you were breaking off from the other incumbents hard line on their pet issues, including the cable franchise fee.

The citizens of this city cast 1,031 votes for you to retain your seat. You had better take note that number pales in comparison to the 3,209 votes that were cast for a change in thinking. Think about that when you feel like showing hostility or arrogance to the new council members again. That goes for the other three, too. Four to three votes on everything important that is brought up is an insult to our democratic process and election system. I don’t think the people will stand for that very long. Those numbers are a loud voice that you would do well to heed.

1-8-2008-02

How can someone seated on the council vote for himself for an appointment? If this is not a conflict of interest what is? Expect to see a lot of 4 to 3 votes until the next election. I only wish more people would have seen VanLannens smoke screens for what they really were. Two more years of repression on its way. In two years remember trust none of the incumbents and vote in a clean slate.

1-8-2008-01

The tone of the new city council’s willingness to work together was set in the first five minutes of last night’s meeting, when Jeff VanLaanen was elected mayor with a four-three vote, and then Eden Caudell was elected mayor pro-tem by a four-three vote. Bruce Rosen was nominated for both positions, and he was the top vote getter in the election, but they chose to slap him in the face twice, along with all of the people who voted for him in the election.

With that established in the beginning of the meeting, I found Ms. Caudell’s comments about "working together" highly hypocritical. She even tried to prevent Mr. Rosen from adding items to the agenda, and talked about some kind of "pre-meetings" where they get together and decide what they will talk about. Sorry, Ms. Caudell, but your feeble attempts to back-peddle on that after a citizen called you on it just don’t hold water with me. You are not permitted to meet with a quorum to discuss city business unless it’s a published meeting, but then, you should have known that already. A suggestion for Ms. Caudell: in the future, I don't believe fluffy rhetoric with no substance is going to cut it anymore. Try talking directly about an issue next time. Facts might just trump fluff in the near future, as it should be.

Kudos to council member Peterson for chastising council member Tchokreff on his disrespectful attitude toward a citizen who chose to speak at the meeting. It’s about time one of those arrogant so and sos was called on that. Kudos also for calling out council member Burke for his disrespectful attitude when you were speaking. As I said, any comments the fantastic four made about working together were hypocritical at best. They oughtta be ashamed of their hostile conduct and double-talk last night.

Thank you, council member Farragh, for explaining to the council that Mr. Marquart works for you, and not the other way around. There seems to have been some confusion over that in the last four years.

1-7-2008-02

Does the person (or persons) who keep the City web-page actually know how our local government works? I was just reading the City Council page of the site. http://www.cityofironmountain.com/index.asp?nid=42

It talks about the Mayor as though we have a mayor-strong government. Our mayor is simply one of seven council-members who is chosen by the council to lead the meetings.

I realize that Ken Tousignant has always acted like he is in control of the city; but it just ain’t so.

The site also states that: “The Mayor is elected for two-year terms. Council Members usually have four-year terms, which are staggered so that three seats are normally filled by elections every two years. City elections for Mayor and City Council are held in November of odd-numbered years.” [underling is mine]

The Mayor is elected only in that the council votes to select their head chairperson; but in no way is it correct to say that there are “City elections for Mayor”. Trust me, if the city had a chance to vote, Kenny would NEVER have been our mayor!

Also, I hope the new mayor will have the “Mayor’s Welcome" changed on the website too. I’m one of the people still looking for those ‘World class’ restaurants and lounges.

1-7-2008-01

Well, the day many people have been waiting for has finally arrived. Tonight will be the first time in the past two years that somebody sitting on the city council is likely to ask a few challenging questions.

Since Bill Calcari and Bob Jayne chose not to run two years ago, John Marquart has had free reign of this city. Let's remember who has been elected and who is merely a hired hand.

1-6-2008-01

The story of downtown Iron Mountain is sad and simple. Give them everything they ask for, regardless how insane or senseless, regardless of the cost and you become an "in" council member. You are welcome at the Moose-Jackson Cafe.

Forget the rest of the city. The other taxpayers don't count for anything except to write their annual property tax check to the city, pay outrageous water, sewage garbage, TV cable fees and keep their mouths shut.

Spend thousands of these taxpayer dollars to plow the parking lots (before many streets) and haul the snow away. Pave, repave, stripe, sweep and maintain these parking lots at no incremental cost to the adjacent property owners.

All other businesses have to not only do all these things with their own funds, they have to buy the land first place and pave it with their own money, plow them at their own expense, and maintain them.

The downtown merchants say they pay taxes, therefore are deserving of these services. Oh? I was under the impression all other businesses outside the downtown pay taxes, too. Should the city also provide the same services to the hundreds of other businesses who are now paying for these services separately?

Devise a well thought out plan to sell all downtown parking lots. Let adjacent owners bid on and buy spaces based on personal needs. They can form an entity to maintain and plow them. The city has no need for this off-street parking burden that is costing an outrageous amount of money. Most cities are out of the off-street parking business by now, or have figured out a way to generate enough income from them to offset the maintenance costs.

In Iron Mountain, the political clout of the downtowners has prevented this from happening. Most taxpayers would certainly favor getting some alleys and streets paved with the yearly savings. If you don't think so, put it on the ballot and we'll see.

The taxpayers and voters of Iron Mountain sent a loud and clear message this past November. No more narrow self-serving agendas. Did the four remaining stooges get any of this? We'll see in short order.

1-5-2008-01

I read this years ago in Dave Barry's book "Dave Barry's Greatest Hits", and apparently the IM downtown improvements are following a pattern so many other towns have followed that it has become a joke.

unwarranted government interference in the private sector is a small price to pay if it draws the government away from its efforts to revitalize decaying urban areas. The government inevitably tries to do this by installing 60 billion new red bricks and several dozen vaguely old-fashioned streetlights in an effort to create a look I would call "Sort of Colonial or Something."

The government did this to a town right near where I used to live, West Chester, Pennsylvania. This is a nice little old town, with a lot of nice little old houses, but about 10 years ago some of the downtown merchants started getting really upset because they were losing business to the "shopping malls," a phrase the merchants always say in the same tone of voice you might use to say "Nazi Germany." Now, as a consumer, I would argue that the reason most of us were going to the shopping malls was that the downtown stores tended to have window displays that had not been changed since the Truman administration, featuring crepe paper faded to the color of old oatmeal, accented by the occasional dead insect. And the actual merchandise in these stores was not the kind you would go out of your way to purchase or even accept as gifts. We are talking, for example, about clothing so dowdy that it could not be used even to clean up after a pet.

What I am saying is that the problem with the downtown West Chester stores, from this consumer's point of view, was that they didn't have much that anybody would want to buy. From the merchants' point of view, however, the problem was that the entire downtown needed to be Revitalized, and they nagged the local government for years until finally it applied for a federal grant of God knows how many million dollars, which was used to rip up the streets for several years, so as to discourage the few remaining West Chester shoppers. When they finally got it all together again, the new revitalized West Chester consisted of mostly the same old stores, only in front of them were (surprise!) red brick sidewalks garnished with vaguely old-fashioned streetlights. The whole effect was definitely Sort Of Colonial or Something, and some shoppers even stopped by to take a look at it on their way to the mall.

1-4-2008-01

Why are we still chlorinating? Is it because of the A street water tank?

1-3-2008-02

1-2-2008-01

Hit the nail on the head. And at least some of the residents of Iron Mountain have felt this way for years. The writer is fortunate that the shops have been closed when he has passed through, for if he had the opportunity to visit them he would likely have been even more disappointed. With the exception of a few the arrogance of the downtown merchants is unbelievable. They expect us to kiss their hinders, when they should be willing to kiss ours. There are some good businesses downtown but these tend to be accountants, hair stylists, and other specialty shops where the customer comes once a month or less and would seek out the shop no matter where they were. The parking is terrible and the city would like to eliminate a good bit of what there is to add things to try to attract more traffic. In the 60’s and 70’s you could hardly walk down a side walk downtown because of the people. In the new millennium you can’t walk down the sidewalks because of the sandwich signs and flower pots, the big ones on the sidewalks and the hanging baskets. Downtown is just a dying horse and buying new saddles won’t cure the horse.

1-3-2008-01

November 2007 Vendors Report

1-2-2008-01

I hope you'll accept another comment from an outsider. I have the opportunity to visit, or pass through, Iron Mountain several times each year; almost monthly, in fact. So, I'd like to add my two-cents worth about your downtown. Personally, I can just imagine how frustrated many of you become over the wasted tax-dollars. Yes, I said wasted.

Perhaps if the city administration is so determined to re-vitalize your downtown, they ought to start with getting the downtown merchants to co-operate.

I come through Iron Mountain primarily on weekends. Friday nights, your downtown is closed up. On Saturdays, a few places are open for only part of the day. Then, again on Sundays, everything is closed. Why, even many of your supper clubs are closed when I'd like a Sunday meal before heading out of town.

I also had the opportunity to be coming through on Christmas Eve day, late in the morning. Yes, stores were open; but, to my astonishment, their sidewalks, for the most part, were not shoveled.

I travel extensively, and can tell you this: The downtowns that are surviving are open and inviting. Store windows are colorful and inviting. Stores are open past 5 p.m. and are open on weekends to compete with the big chain stores. Supper clubs are always open on weekends for those traveling. And sidewalks are shoveled in winter and swept in the spring, summer, and fall. Christmastime includes decorations and sometimes music. (A one-night Christmas walk is not enough.)

You have ski hills to draw people in. I'd say the majority of people would come on weekends. When their day of skiing is done, where can they go. Wal*Mart, K-Mart, Shopko? Certainly not downtown. Your merchants need to look into thriving old downtowns. They have a variety of shops, carrying items in all price ranges; and, most importantly, they are open on weekends and evenings.

You can waste all the tax dollars you want on fancy bricks, trees, or lighting. You can have occasional festivals. But none of these will make up for a lack of interest by the merchants. Unless we feel welcomed by their displays, the condition of the stores and their accessibility, and can find them open when we'd like to stop, everything else is just icing. Icing might be pretty, but their has to be some substance to hold it up and give it purpose.