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July 2008 Postings 7-31-2008-07 To the writer of the
post about committee filings and wondering about the Yes committees
filing. 7-31-2008-06
Since we claim to all want to be
fair and honest - will someone please post the "yes" recall
committee's financial backing breakdown. The same one that
is posted here about the "no" recall. I would like to see
where the funds came from for that committee. Just so I can
have the whole picture.
Thank you.
7-31-2008-05
To 7-31-2008-03
I have thought of that. But, FNB
(day business) had generously allowed use of their parking
lots to meet city codes for Sol Blu to open as they did for
Gleasons when they were open as well. Although it is rare
that customers need to use that option with both sides of
Ludington basically empty in the eve due to The Daily News, the
bank, and Fleury Singler being closed.
Otherwise, valet parking is
used in larger cities all the time. City parking lot is just 1.5
(small) blocks away, for those who don't mind walking. Not a
huge negative at all.
There are also what I consider
blighted rental buildings on my block and between the Old Fire
Hall bldg and Fontanas that could increase downtown parking by
their removal. Many transient residents in the units. Not all,
but a lot. But that's another issue entirely that I'm not in a
position to address.
My guess is 400 person capacity,
maybe 450 with the three suites. Also the (small) bar is still
intact in the old Gleasons I think. The second liquor license
could be sold off as only one would be needed with an extra fee
for more than one bar in the business.
This was the original intent of the
Gleasons' owners, as a brew pub adjoining, not an events
center. What was the capacity of The Premiere Center /Roller
Rink? The parking was less than ideal there, and no one didn't
book the place due to that.
Again, I am speaking as a downtown
business owner who had hoped to see some changes downtown as
that was the Big Plan the past few years. This would be a
positive change/growth. Not looking for taxpayer funding, but
still feel it's a better choice of tax money than a large scale
production. A fraction of the $. The city already plows the
downtown parking lots so it would be dual use. I guess I'll
hope that a private individual may read this and want to run
with it.
Therese
7-31-2008-04 Eden Caudell, Robin Tchokreff, and Dan Burke did not contribute a single dollar of their own money to the anti-recall committee. Anti-Recall Committee Court Filings. 7-31-2008-03 Tina Peterson- Very well said and informative! It's great to finally have some council persons looking out for the whole community instead of a few special interest groups or their pet projects. Keep up the good work, I think more people will get on board soon enough. Therese Bujold- I would think parking would be a major issue downtown for any moderate to large capacity venture. I think many people would still be opposed to tax monies going towards private businesses regardless of where it resides. Doug Rigoni and Tousignant are a perfect example of this, they were/are a master of getting tax dollars to fund their own little private enterprises. I'm not comparing you to them, I have no reason to believe you would try to do what they have been doing, I'm just saying tax dollars should go towards services or projects that benefit the entire community. Just my .02 7-31-2008-02 To Tina Peterson: 7-31-2008-01
Does anyone know if the Railroad
Property is contaminated?
7-30-2008-11
To: 7-30-2008-06
re: Revitalization of Downtown vs.
using the Khoury property for a convention center.
Downtown, the old City/Fire/Police
hall is 70% complete for such a center. Sol Blu has a fully
functional top of the line 99 person capacity bar in Ste. 104.
Suite 103, the next one West, is vacant, gutted, and
unfinished. Next business east of that is the "Old Gleasons" or
Fire Hall. With the 3 parcels and limited (compared to the
Khoury situation) money that would have to go into the Iconic
Building of the Downtown, it is my thoughts that this is a far
better option if the taxpayers are footing the
bill. I have Sol Blu into the 3rd month of a 1 year listing.
Would be happy to sell, or joint venture when the year expires.
Either/or Grows the Downtown,
and honors the ancestors of the Community.
They are all interconnected without
any major structural changes.
I will do my homework to see what
the person capacity would be of 208, 210, and 212 East.
Ludington Street Combined.
Only a suggestion and yes I would
benefit, but why not preserve relatively inexpensively rather
than start from scratch.
And thus, Downtown revitalization,
the mantra of the City Council.
Therese Bujold
7-30-2008-10
The Daily News refused to run this
PAID AD in their paper. No wonder they have not report the full
story on the reassessment.
Boy, do we need an actual newspaper
in our city!!!!
REASONS TO VOTE YES FOR THE RECALL VOTE YES If you want a sensible street paving program Caudell, Tchokreff and Burke would not allow for a great street program that was proposed by the three new members. VOTE YES If you want a reduction in water rates Caudell, Tchokreff and Burke have never considered lowering our outrageous water rates. It can be done. VOTE YES If you want your Cable TV fee eliminated Caudell, Tchokreff and Burke voted in the Cable TV fee "because they could” and voted to keep it on in one of those now famous 4-3 votes at the first meeting with the new members. VOTE YES If you want an efficient city government and not a bloated bureaucracy. Savings of approximately $200,000 are possible in this area alone. VOTE YES If you want new council members who will insist on following the City Charter and the laws of the State Michigan and avoid federal tax violations. The three new council members have found many instances of past violations. They have insisted that all new matters get good legal opinions from the city attorney before approving them. VOTE YES If you are tired of not being able to have direct dialogue with a council member during the five-minute Public Comment period. This practice started four and a half years ago, and continues to this day. It will only end if you vote YES to recall your council member. Paid for by the Honest and Open Government Committee, Carol Schneider, Treasurer 7-30-2008-09 THIS SITE MUST STAY, REGARDLESS OF THE ELECTION OUTCOME The suggestion that this website should be shut down is quite preposterous. It does not block commentary on either side of an issue. When an issue is discussed in such an open forum, the truth has a way of sticking its foot in the door, and with proper documentation, make itself heard loud and clear. Some people will take a flippant comment or subtle humor as the truth. Others will defend their hard line stance despite all evidence available to the contrary. Most people, when they know very little about a subject, are open minded. Being unfamiliar with a given subject does not indicate a person is ignorant, but rather that the particular subject was below their radar screen. We all have vast gaps in our education on many technical, scientific, economic, medical, mechanical and many other areas. The vastness of accumulated human knowledge by over 6 billion people now living plus the writings of now deceased people of greatness in a wide array of subjects is overwhelming. This site has a narrow, but important function. It concentrates on the affairs of the City of Iron Mountain. It has been a clearinghouse of information that would be literally impossible for any one person to assemble, much less disseminate. Some posts are far better than others. Some post show great depth of local affairs while others do not. Eventually, because of the many poster who participate, an issue gets thrashed out at the city council level because enough people take an interest in it. The information flow from this site has had an impact on many issues. I don't condone name-calling or hate mongering, although a little humor is fine. The now open reassessment issue has been commented here for a long time. It finally has reached the stage of serious inquiry. The fact that the former assessor had hired his wife's brother, who was a felon on parole, broke here first. This site put huge pressure on the council when a elderly lady's house was flooded with city water and another received gushes of sewage. Lies have also been disclosed on this website in instances too numerous to mention. This site is the eyes and ears of our city government, no matter who is currently sitting on the city council. Remember: The price of liberty and freedom is eternal vigilance. It will always be so. I thank the people who are maintaining a website that is (1) free, (2) open, (3) and contains more information than I could ever assemble, even if I had 24 hours a day available. Don't be afraid of this website. But don't try anything too cute, regardless of the subject at hand. Too many eyes are watching and many minds are thinking things through. Thank you, webmaster, whoever you are, as you volunteer your time almost daily and anonymously. I fully understand you are only the messenger. Shutting down the website would create an information blackout for the over 8,000 people of Iron Mountain. The newspaper, TV and radio do their bit. For in depth information or simply posting a question, nothing can replace this website. Sorry I was so wordy. 7-30-2008-08
Thank you, writer of post
7-30-2008-03, for saying in words how I feel about things in
town. I have posted on this website before, and I know that my
feelings come out in my posts more strongly than I would like. I
am not a professional writer, unattached from what is going on.
I am just a human being who sees things going wrong with our
City, and the people we are supposed to trust are not being
truthful with me about it.
So, no, I don't hate anyone either,
even if my frustration at the rampant corruption in our City is
showing through. The way I see it, only one side of this
horribly polarized City provided documentation to back up what
they were saying. Every time. And those other three, Burke,
Caudell, and Tchokreff, MUST be recalled so we can begin to heal
as a community. I do sorely hate the situation here, and I pray
that it will change decisively on August 5.
If any of you want to see what hate
is, go to the Daily News website and read the comments from
someone calling himself Nonamiss, on many letter to the editor.
This person is a Burke, Caudell, Tchokreff supporter, so who is
truly guilty of fostering hateful attitudes? I am
truly surprised that the Daily News allows this person to
continue with his name-calling and smearing of people with no
documentation to back up his wild claims..
7-30-2008-07
From Tina Peterson:
I have just received an email that
there will be a Healthcare Committee Meeting Thursday,
July 31st at 1:00 PM in conference Room "A" at City
Hall. I encourage anyone with questions on the OPEB Actuarial
to attend, as Mr. Michael Gano from Gabriel Roeder Smith &
Company will be present. I realize that this is extremely short
notice, as it was for me, but it is a good chance to receive
information.
Response to 7-30-2008-04:
Where do we begin for
Manufacturing or Alternative Energy? We just DO.
There is no other way. You start by educating yourself
(Example: MSU "Field Day" at the UP Experiment Station) with all
available resources from the Federal and State level, especially
when at the local level you can't get even basic information
from someone who's job it is to do just that.
You plunge ahead on your own and
make contacts and try to market your area/region after you have
gathered important information needed by Alternative Energy
Companies to locate here. I have received lists of their needs
from them and it had nothing to do with trails
or a "vibrant" this or that. It was purely feedstock
availalbility, rail access, water access, acreage,
Roads/transportation, and State and local incentives. ( For
example, a 100 million gallon per year Cellulosic Ethanol plant
requires 3500 metric Tons of feedstock per day and a minimum of
22 acres. )
Then, you contact appropriate
Departments of the State to do what they do best.
Then, you cross your fingers and
pray with everthing you've got that our area will get this
venture because it will mean possibly a total of a
couple of hundred decent jobs and a revitalization of the local
farming industry. It will also help the local trucking and
forestry industries. But if it doesn't work out, at least you
know it is possible.
As I learned at the MML conference
in Baraga, there are different categories of Economic
Development and businesses. Some are "Indicators" or
"symptoms", and are called Lifestyle Businesses.
Examples would be restaurants, retail, hair shops, motels, etc.
If the local economy is good, they are robust and healthy,
but do not generate the local economy. They
are very important, but not the provider of the bulk of an
area's economic income.
The other types are Steady and High
growth. Companies like Verso, LP, NewPage, Systems Control, etc.
would fall under these categories. They provide the jobs and
income to feed the "Lifestyle" businesses. Without
Manufacturing, or wage-paying businesses....there will be no
restaurants, retail, hair shops, etc., because residents will
not have the income to support those "Lifestyle" businesses. We
need them all to sustain our population, to
grow our population.
This is why I fight so hard
for the family-sustaining jobs. It's not that I don't
believe in trails or downtown improvement...it is because I know
they don't come first. Families being able to
have shelter, food, and utilities come first. They get
these necessities when they have good jobs. Then they spend
their income within their community on "Lifestyle" businesses.
Then we all benefit. All of us. The merchants survive, the tax
base increases, the schools benefit, etc.
You can check this out with the
Small Business Association of Michigan. Mark Cleavey gave a
presentation in Baraga and also offered to come to Iron
Mountain.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
The State of MI has recently made an
even stronger push for Community Colleges to provide training,
though I must note that our Universities have been heavily
involved for years:
"Green Jobs Initiative has been announced by Governor Granholm – a $6 million investment in training for jobs in alternative energy industries including wind, solar, biofuels, geothermal and other green industries. The Department of Labor & Economic Growth (DLEG) will partner with community colleges, entrepreneurs and employers to create the training programs employers need to help green companies succeed in Michigan. The new green jobs website, www.michigan.gov/greenjobs, will serve as a clearinghouse for information on internships, jobs, and training opportunities. The site will also facilitate collaboration between businesses, educational institutions, and government, linking research in renewable energy and conservation with development of education and training programs for current and future jobs." Some Community Colleges in Michigan already have curriculum in place for 1 year certificates and 2 year degrees in Alternative Energy. Bay West could be one of them, if we think in the present and think ahead for our local Economy. Sincerely, Tina Peterson IM Council Member 7-30-2008-06 To: 7-30-08-05 7-30-2008-05 Step 1: Stabilize the political situation in Iron Mountain. You must have the community support for any project. Explain the project to the citizens and not hide the project in budget numbers. We need an honest and open government to be solid leadership in these tough times. Teamwork includes the fans or taxpayers. Step 2: The city of Iron Mountain, using TIFA money should purchase the railroad property behind the Khoury's property. The City would then own a large piece of "prime real estate." Step 3: The City then applies for infrastructure Grants to install water, sewer lines, cross streets and to align Grant Street. Step 4: After creating a "Prime Commercial Retail Area", the city then sells these lots. The money made from selling these lots then benefits the City of Iron Mountain. Four steps that will span about 5 years. This plan does not include investing all of the Cities resources into one private project. By developing the land we then can attract a variety of business's, not just one specialized business. That area has huge potential if developed correctly. I will not support using all of or any of the City Resources for one specialized project. Its taxpayer money and it should be used to benefit the majority of community. If you look at the West end Escanaba or the West end of Marquette, you see infrastructure being installed, then business's follow. I hear terms like "think big" and "look at the big picture." I believe I am. We begin with a realistic dream and plan. No bashing or community degrading here. 7-30-2008-04 To 7-30-08-02 7-30-2008-03 I personally don’t see this site as breeding hate. I’ve read this site since its inception and still I hate no one. I’m not pleased with much of what has gone on in the City and am displeased with many decisions that have been made; but even finding that out has not caused me to hate anyone. Because I might want people removed from a position doesn’t mean that I hate them. To hate is a choice people make. It cannot be forced on anyone by reading statements. If someone has turned to hate because of reading comments on a computer, I strongly suggest they do a personal, moral inventory or seek professional counseling. Some of the comments on here may sometimes be unnecessarily insulting or degrading (which anyone has the option of agreeing or disagreeing with, by the way), but they shouldn’t “cause” hatred, anymore than reading positive comments should make you love someone. 7-30-2008-02 Reference 7-29-2008-09 The taxpayers of Iron Mountain should pay to host the logging congress once every 4 years?????? You said: "Oh well, maybe the City of Iron Mountain will get an alternative energy manufacturing company and the Khoury property will be sold to them as prime property." At least the property would be sold and not given away. You use the word "prime property" and I would agree that this area is a prime development spot. The city as a whole should benefit from its development, not individuals. 7-30-2008-01 Quite frankly, the hatred this sight breeds is apalling. Degrading this community
is your job? 7-29-2008-11
Mrs. Game, to say the least your
behavior at last nights special meeting was unacceptable. I
doubt anyone listening to Mr. Swartout thought this was a
laughing matter. I hope you were paying attention when he
discussed the 100 block of West A And West B streets. If this
information had not been brought to the forefront, you could
have been assessed at the higher $4.50 per foot rate. You owe
an apology and a thank you to those who made the effort to bring
this information to the attention of
the taxpayers of Iron Mountain. Or
maybe you would prefer to pay more!!!
7-29-2008-10 Burke wasn't at the council meeting on time because he was watching his kid's soccer game in Florence. With any luck, next week the voters will arrange for him to have more time for such important matters. 7-29-2008-09 To 7-28-05 7-29-2008-08
Regarding this reassessment
investigation, I have a question or two of my own. Does the city
attorney, Mr. Pirkola, represent the best interests of the City
as a whole, or is he there to find ways to make whatever the
majority of the council wants sound legal? I think that's a
legitimate question.
I'm getting tired of the carefully
phrased legal questions and answers that have flown around since
2004, on practically every city issue out there. It seems that
every legal opinion rendered was not in the best interest of the
City, but in the best interest of Marquart and his council
buddies finding ways to get around the law, and do whatever they
wanted to do. This reassessment investigation needs to be taken
out of the city attorney's non-objective hands and given to
someone with no ties to anyone involved. It's time to get to the
bottom of this.
Oh, and this, too. Caudell, Burke,
Tchokreff, and Vanlaanen, this happened on your watch.
You had the ultimate responsibility, and you ignored it, even
when there was a huge public outcry. The buck stops with you.
Don't you get that, even now? You all screwed up big time. With
our money. Eden, that means you can stop wasting everyone's
time trying to find ways to say it wasn't your fault, or your
precious John, either. If it was wrong, which you seem to be
admitting now, than it WAS your responsibility. No ifs, ands,
or buts.
VOTE YES
7-29-2008-07
To the poster of 7-23-2008-04
I am wondering, have you ever just once asked to see the documentation that Tina, Bruce and Dave have repeatedly offered up for all to see? I seriously doubt that would be the case with your negative attitude towards those who research the issues. Why don't you do that and then come back to this web site with your findings. Please make sure to bring your documentation along for all to see. Following blindly, whoever you may think is right, is indeed a foolish approach to finding out the facts. I have noticed that people who are against the recall never mention any of the issues. Why is that? Is it because you have not taken the time to research and instead just believe what you are told. Anyone can paint a pretty picture, that doesn't make it the truth. I hope when you follow the group you don't jump off the cliff because you are told to.
In order for this community to move forward, the past has to be laid to rest. That does not mean we should ignore past problems without resolving them. If you do nothing, people will continue to operate in the same manner as they always did. Mistakes will then be made again and again.
The city can't keep putting all their eggs in one basket. We do need an events center with the loss of the premier center, but not to the exclusion of everything else. The 425 agreement that was signed will expand the areas we are responsible for. How do you propose we do that when we can't take care of what we have. There are many many homes for sale in Iron Mountain and the streets in many areas are just plain awful. If you were driving up and down those streets looking for a home, would you be impressed? Would you be anxious to move into the community? One last note if we make exceptions for one private enterprise then you might as well plan on doing that for any business who may consider coming to Iron Mountain. Why wouldn't they expect the same treatment?
I would if I was considering bringing a business to the area. 7-29-2008-06
I attended the July
28th council meeting regarding the reassessment issues.
I was appalled at
the fact that Mr. Burke arrived 30 minutes late for the
meeting, with no explanation or apology and gave the impression
that the meeting shouldn't have started without him. Doesn't he
realize that he is supposed to be there for us, members of the
city of Iron Mountain, not the other way around? Also, in my
opinion, he was inappropriately dressed as a councilman, looking
more like a bar room bouncer than a council member. Is this the
kind of person we want representing our city? All the other
council members were very well dressed.
7-29-2008-05 Democracy is the theory
that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it
good and hard. 7-29-2008-04 They put this reassessment investigation in the hands of Gerald Pirkola? How in the world is he going to be objective? Didn't he draw up the contract(s) to hire Brook as both an employee and a sub-contractor? Didn't he sit at the meetings when questions were being raised all along? Do you really think he's going to find in any way that might make himself look bad? I'm sorry; but I think this needs to be investigated by someone completely uninvolved in this mess. 7-29-2008-03 Thank you for your
response to my question about the Iron Mountain economy after the
mines shut down. So you are saying that after the 1920s when the
iron mining ceased production, the only industry that Iron Mountain
had was the Groveland Mine? How did that sustain this community?
There must of have been thousands and thousands of jobs available
there. That had to have been a great loss when they closed. Now we
have the Verso Paper Mill and I know that it has changed hands many
times since its inception and thus many positions have been
eliminated. More economic depression and from what I have heard, LP
is on shaky ground too. It sounds like our entire county needs to
have a marketing and sales director to go out and sell this
community and share all the possibilities Dickinson County has to
offer. Please don't think me facetious, but I think Mrs. Peterson,
of the Iron Mountain City Council would be a good person for this
position. She has made so many contacts with the governor and
alternative energy companies and I am sure that this has given her
the inroad to have a head start in this position. 7-29-2008-02
Reassessment meeting summary 7-29-2008-01
Your vision will
become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside,
dreams. Who looks inside, awakens." 7-28-2008-05 Reference 7-28-2008-02 Yes Iron Mountain and most of the UP was founded on mining. Calumet was almost the state capital and lost by only a few hundred votes. At one point in the late 1800's - early 1900's there were more people in the UP then down state. By 1921 the mines started closing around the Iron Mountain Area and finally the Groveland mine closed around 1979. Pretty depressed times had fallen upon Iron Mountain. Then around 1982 Champion Paper started looking around to build a paper mill. Around 1985 LP started building its OSB board plant in Sagola. The mill in Niagara was upgrading its machines and adding a gloss coat process to its facility. Lots of jobs, lots of good paying jobs. 40 to 80 thousand dollars a year type jobs. With all the growth in paper came the logging and trucking growth. We needed to get the timber into the mills and the product out to the consumer. 2 young guys could lease a truck, drive 5 days a week and both make around $80,000 a year. With high gas prices and low demand for paper, things have really gotten bad. Mill closings, layoffs and foreclosures on property. If your asking this question to say "Hey that's why we need the Events Center" sorry but I only see minimum wage jobs here. I want to comment on another posted here. Reference 7-28-2008-04 Terese and John Fortier, Kris Leonard, Doug Rigoni, Jane Santini and everyone that worked on the Izzo-Mariucci Classic worked their tails off for that event. They did an awesome job of organizing that event. But I hope their support for this Event Center is not an attempt to repay Steve Mariucci for his involvement in the Classic. I personally spent close to $5,000 in the 10 years of that event. I think most people that were able to buy some of the merchandise did. But giving Tax money to this project to make it work does not make sense. Please tell me that you can look a family in the eye and say "The Iron Mountain Event Center will have between $50,000 and $150,000 of income a month and will be a financially sound investment for the City." I would ask you then to go to any of our local banks and say the same thing "The Iron Mountain Event Center will have between $50,000 and $150,000 of income a month and will be a financially sound investment for your Bank." The numbers just do not add up. Lets say we build it. Now lets organize a convention. Lets say we are going to try an attract a group of doctors to hold their convention here in Iron Mountain. First, how are they going to get here. Our Air service at Ford Airport is sub-par. Second, the wives of these Doctors want to go shopping. Well, we can rent a car and drive to Green Bay. Third, what do we have to offer outside the convention hall. We do offer some great golf, but if that was such a huge draw then Pine Grove and Pine Mountain would be booked solid. We need to start with our infrastructure and local businesses. Get them strong and other things will follow. One last thing. I don't remember Walgreen, Wal Mart, Home Depot, the new K-Mart or any recent business getting taxpayer help to build their business. They did it on their own. What kind of message are you sending. Who would come here after this obvious one-sided support plan for a business. I am not a pessimist, I am a realist and a business man. Thank you for your time. 7-28-2008-04 This site is so full of
jealousy and hatred that I don't know how you live with yourselves. 7-28-2008-03
Top 100 Reasons I support
this recall:
Nah, just kidding. I won't list all
100. But in my experience so far as a council member and a
resident, these are the reasons these people are truly hurting
our City and our local Government strength:
During Executive sessions,
Committee meetings, and Council meetings; Eden, Dan, and Robin
(and Jeff) have...
> Blocked attempts at solutions
> Blocked public input
> Refused to look at
documentation
> Irresponsibly thrown tax
dollars away
> Rewarded (praised) lies
and mismanagement
> Rewarded lost tax dollars,
hundreds of thousands
> Made no attempts to see
anything besides what John Marquart told them to see
> Did no research...Did only
what John Marquart told them to do...voted how he told them
before the meeting.
> Bullied, interrupted, and
treated we newbies like we had no right to be there. I cannot
emphasize enough the bullying part, and I live for the day the
executive session recordings are public.
> They all continually claim
that "trails" are what will bring in big business. Eden can be
heard to say during a council meeting that a $120,000 pavilion
and a $500,000 parking lot out her business's back door
is what will draw a large company to us.
Which brings me to this point:
> These people have
demonstrated an uncanny knack of looking out for mostly
themselves. They have fought tooth and nail to preserve their
pride, ego, and colleague's pockets: repeatedly showing they
feel taxpayer's dollars, and safety, be damned.
They have decided that the City
Charter means nothing, State Agency rules are beneath them, and
the public will always be just a "tiny fraction."
They have claimed that you have to
lie to people "for their own good", and have even convinced
others to twist the truth.
Speaking of which...
Mr. Orttenburger knows better than
what he wrote in the Daily News. He was at the meeting where
Steve Mariucci said it was only a $6 million dollar project and
knows the number is not $23 million. He heard Steve
Mariucci say that the feasability study for the Hotel tanked,
and there would be no Hotel...there would be no senior
living. Where Steve said that he didn't even know that we had
any money budgeted for him. When Mr. Orttenburger claims it is
88% to 12%, he knows those percentages are not correct.
Mr. Orttenburger also knows that
when he bandies about numbers like $5 million dollars in "trade
activity", he had better fill in the blanks. The spaces
inbetween... like how many sets of "800 participants" per year
are needed in that facility to add up to that much "activity."
Which is quite impossible anyway because Mr. Mariucci stated
that his facility would not be of that magnitude. They had
downsized, remember? Good try, but your numbers are out of the
air and extremely misleading. I wish you had worked that hard
on the basic regional information I had asked of you towards
manufacturing and alternative energy months ago.
I have a spreadsheet, produced by
our CFO and handed out at a joint TIFA-Council meeting: It is
our TIFA Budget until it's end. The numbers from that
spreadsheet that have anything to do with the Events Center
total up to $4.67 million dollars. There are
additional City Funds being budgeted for the Events
Center also. Other large amounts go to Hydraulic Falls Road
(which is starting from scratch after $80,000 in
Engineering costs!), and 1 million is budgeted
for the parking lots behind City Hall.
If we are going to give $4.67+ million dollar incentives to
a business that will create part-time, minimum wage
jobs....well, why didn't we do that for Walgreens or
McDonalds? If I were those businesses, I would be very
jealous and incensed. Why didn't we let them buy
property at a "discount", Mr. Orttenburger, so they
could parcel it off and make millions?
That is the rest of our TIFA
money until it is gone. The rest of it. Done. All Gone.
No other chance for Economic Development.
If anyone out there, and that means
you "vote no" people also, thinks I'm not going to question
that; you are out of your mind. You would have to be bloody
insane to say, "Oh, well, I know you have done really wonderful
things for your hometown and you are famous...so we are going to
give you every last dime we have."
I will question this no matter how
many people call me a naysayer and whoever (coincidentally,
seems to be the ones who will make a profit) comes to a council
meeting and says we owe him because he did nice things or
is famous. I would never verbally support gambling
away our future economic develpment on something that the MEDC
has not squared away yet. No matter how much Eden, Dan, Jeff
and Robin try to bully it out of me. Besides, the power does
not rest with me....I don't hold the key. If the Events
Center was meant to be, it will happen when all of its ducks are
in a row with State Agencies. When it is a feasable venture...
when it is a solid venture, it will happen. It needs to
happen without every last cent of our TIFA money. Iron
Mountain also needs family-sustaining, manufacturing or
Alternative Energy jobs. We need to aggressively pursue, in
partnership with our State incentives, the opportunities that
are there for the taking.....the window of opportunity for the
UP is open right now. It will not stay open
indefinitely.
I believe that Steve Mariucci had no
knowledge of the back door deals happening with land aqcuisition.
But I wish he had given us the benefit of the doubt when we
tried to tell him we could not afford to give up all of our TIFA...
instead of relying solely on those "4" and Marquart for all of
his information. I pray that he did not feel that his Charity
work meant that our City was supposed to pay him 4.67 million
dollars back...that the golf outings had strings attached. I
don't think he is that kind of person.
By the way...Eden, Dan, Robin, and
Jeff did not care that the Reappraisal was not State mandated
when that was presented to them. Or that every past
Administration had been accused of "reassessment negligence" by
Marquart and Brook so the scam could take place. They refused to
look at documentation on the Reappraisal repeatedly, as well as
all other documentation. They did, however, decide that John
Marquart deserved a bonus for our City losing about $200,000 and
having nothing to show for it. They called him a "Cowboy" and
said that's what this City needed.
They have repeatedly refused to
re-evaluate the Police-Fire situation which has cost us more...for
less service. Oh, and don't forget Marquart's bonus for costing
us over $23,000 in MIOSHA fines because he would not address the
correspondence, or the situation. But I'm sure he earned his
bonus when he blamed everyone else, and blamed a
left blinker. Or when he said it was "None of MIOSHA's
business."
The incumbents agreed with him
instead of getting off their butts for one nanosecond to check
anything out. There is a three year window on the MIOSHA fines
and we could be charged up to $100,000 if the
situation is not rectified. But they, the four, voted
down a meeting with the Department Chiefs to seek solutions!
ISO was trying to get any
type of response from our Manager, Mayor, or council for almost
2 years. Marquart and council finally, due to public pressure,
responded. The City Manager promised the moon to pacify and now
we only have two months to build a training center he
knew we could not provide, and then things will be just peachy.
These 4 council members just kept saying that ISO meant
nothing. If it meant nothing, why did John Marquart have to
promise so much to be able to read that letter at that council
meeting?
Eden proposed wiping out the Deer
Pen for an amphitheatre where the Pond is, and they all would
not show the "Master Plan of City Park" at the open house before
the election last year. Strange, huh? It cost us about $4000
in unapproved engineering costs for that drawing...and she said
at a recent meeting..."I don't think I want the amphitheatre
there anymore." There was no football field in the Plan, which
had been their initial reason for eliminating the Deer pen in
the first place. She would not agree to my suggestion of
starting from scratch using public input...well,
she just really wouldn't let me talk much at all.
Not once has any of
them ever uttered sentences such as "let's have a meeting with
that group to work out a solution." But after Bruce, Dave and
I fight hard for such meetings and solutions; Eden, Dan and
Jeff are the first to take credit, publicly, at a council
meeting. No matter how much they actually blocked the
progress towards the solution. I'm human...this one really
kills me.
I've asked for meetings between the
Insurance Rep and the Employees three times. Eden, Dan,
Robyn, and Jeff just attack the employees and get their cronies
to write letters in the paper. Letters that portray the
employees as if they were drinking champagne on yachts with
their insurance policies. Letters that NEVER explain that the
group policy (number of emp.) we have has had flat
premiums; flat costs for 3 years. Part of the
reason is due to low claims. Their letters have never told the
truth about how Departments have offered to pay higher premiums!
The insurance rep was full of all
kinds of solutions and was willing to meet with the Employees
and Retirees; The City Manager would not let that happen.
Without a total council working towards a compromise, it's going
to be a disaster. "The four" could only talk about slapping in
"UP Blue" and that was it...never once even thinking
about meeting with the employees to work something out. It has
never been their MO to treat the employees as real live
humans. "UP Blue" does not actually save any money for the
City, employees paying higher premiums does; but these
four never did their homework.
Bottom line: These council members
up for recall have not taken their positions seriously, or taken
their oath to truly represent the taxpayers seriously.
They have not been sincere. They
have stooped to dangerously low levels to protect mistakes, and
that will come out eventually when the smoke clears.
They have been callous enough to
bully senior citizens, arrogant enough to draw deep class lines,
and lazy enough to rely on an untrustworthy person for all of
their information when making decisions for their City.
When you are trying to make positive
things happen for the ordinary resident, they block and squash
you out of spite and stubbornness.
When you are trying to do the job
you were elected to, they make your stomach lining disappear.
There really may be 100 reasons, from my viewpoint.
Things cannot continue as they are.
Tina Peterson
7-28-2008-02 Can somebody help me out here? I know that Iron Mountain got started with mining but when the mines closed down what kept the city going and growing? I know that in some areas of the Upper Peninsula when the mines closed down the communities literally died. How is it that Iron Mountain survived? Many of you are so informed and if you don't know the answers you have the inside track or the appropriate numbers to call for the facts. Thanks. 7-28-2008-01
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist
sees the opportunity in every difficulty." Winston Churchill 7-27-2008-04 There is a
Special Meeting of the Iron Mountain City Council
Monday, July 28 at 6:30 PM. 7-27-2008-03
The Carpetbagger, Part
IV
(Part I - 2-8-2007-07, Part II -
10-20-2007-01, Part III - 1-22-2008-02)
. . . He chuckles to himself,
thinking about the bitter surprise the commoners received when
they attempted to get him thrown in jail on his less than
triumphant return to town. He can hardly believe his luck, and
the utter gullibility that put a little more gold in his pocket
as an ironic result. He truly owes his associates for that one.
He doesn't have much else to smile
about, though. It has been a grim, hard-fought battle of wits,
with small though significant losses occurring. It is apparent
the townsfolk did not take kindly to the slap in the face they
got from his wealthy friends. They know they were played for
fools, and they are incensed about it. Worse, they aren't
letting it go this time.
"Maybe we got too blatant," he thinks. "No matter, when this is over, I'll be the one getting even." What greatly bothers him is that, this time, it's his associates who are being called out, in order to get to him. He knows they don't have his savvy. He knows they will make mistakes, say the wrong things at the wrong time. They can hurt him because he cannot control them all the time. And the townies know it. His thoughts turn to the gall of the commonersʼ latest ploy. It greatly disturbs him that his associates lost that round in Judge Hackettʼs courtroom. "That hayseed kangaroo judge actually ruled against them.. Twice. That took a lotta guts. Money controls everything here, just like anywhere else. I wonder what happened? Someone forget to grease the right wheel. Too shoddy for me. And dangerous if I push my luck around here anymore," he thinks. Every little bit has finally whittled away the last shreds of his credibility, and he knows that better than anyone. That, and he knows he has a new and much larger enemy than ever before. "I'd like to meet the idiots who gave common sheep the right to vote," he mumbles out loud. "What the hell were they thinking? It messes up everything." "Time to get a move-on," he muses, his inner voice faltering and slipping from the polished manner of his impeccable speech. "I've milked this two-bit jerkwater all I'm gonna get. Speakinʼ of gettinʼ", he chuckles to himself, "I better get while the gettinʼs good. I'll check out that place farther south, with all the oak trees in the surrounding forest."
And with that, he sets about to
making his plans, which do not include caring about or helping
three of his most influential friends in power, who now have
their own battle for survival to deal with. Why should he, after
all? Their troubles only arose as a result of his doing what
they wanted. .. .
7-27-2008-02 Sure looks
like the Marquart-Varda-Mariucci scheme is now out in the open. I
had heard bits and pieces, but this puts it all together. 7-27-2008-01 Excellent analytical
post on the Marquart-Varda-Mariucci scheme re: The
events center. As the writer pointed out, he left out many of the
expenses, and it is still not viable. 7-26-2008-08
To the writer of 7-26-2008-04, the
letter to Mr. Orttenburger.
Please consider submitting your
letter to the Daily News. I'm sure it will be attacked by
the intrepid Daily News comment moron, nonamiss, for it's depth
of common sense, but it needs more exposure than this website.
I think I'll just give nonamiss an
easy for myself to remember nickname. I think . . . Kenny.
Yeah, that works.
7-26-2008-07 I agree with the elite (no, they find elite offensive. Make that "lemmings"). There is too much negativity in Iron Mountain. That's why, on August 5th, I will be Proud and Positive to vote YES!!! 7-26-2008-06 To 7-26-02 and all others who might be wondering: NO, the city tax payers did NOT pay for the postage for the mailing. On the first page in your mailing, at the bottom, it is stated "Paid for by the committee to Keep IM proud & Positive, Elaine Burke, Treasurer. That same committee paid for the postage and took the time to write personal notes to the individuals that were addressed. I hope that helps to settle your mind.
To my fellow space cadets,
sayonara! I am going to the bright side. God Bless. 7-26-2008-05
From time to time we hear
complaints from the downtown area concerning customer traffic
and slow business. So
it amazes me that some
downtown stores are displaying political signs. Don't get me
wrong, you are entitled to
your opinion, but not
all of your potential customers feel the same way. If you want
to retain business, it seems common sense would tell you to keep
your views to yourself and welcome all citizens to shop at your
stores. Can you afford to lose business?
7-26-2008-04 To Mr. Bruce Orttenburger President & CEO Dickinson Area Partnership Iron Mountain
I own a small company here in Iron Mountain, employ about 20 people, and I found your letter in the Saturday Daily News disturbing. Are you not obligated to look out for hundreds of businesses in this town and not just for one. Please come purchase my parking lot so the taxpayers can plow and maintain it. You have just reinforced the reason why I never have and never will join the partnership. You, Sir, need to go back to school and learn some math.
The Iron Mountain Events Center is down to a 6 million dollar project. No Hotel and no restaurant. Mariucci and Varda would only buy the property on which the building stood. The city would own the parking lot and be responsible for snow removal and maintenance. Lucky Tax Payers.
Now Mr. Orttenburger you say 3.26 million dollars of public money is worth the investment.
If Mariucci and Varda fund the whole project: A loan of 6 million dollars would require a payment of around $50,000 per month. That's just the loan payment. Throw in labor of 18 full time employees X 40 hours a week X 52 weeks = 37440 man hours. Pay them minimum wage of $7.40 = $277,056 in labor or $23,088 per month. Now this does not include unemployment tax, medicare match, and social security match. Now throw in some utilities of say $120,000 per year and property tax of $132,000 per year. Loan per month $50,000 Labor per month $23,088 Utilities per month $10,000 Property Tax per month $11,000 So that's a total of $94,088 per month of expense.
So how do you pay for it and I have not included the cost of food and beverage?
You are going to tell me that this Event Center will generate a $100,000 per month of income.
If the Tax payers of Iron Mountain Fund the 3.26 million: Debt payments drop to $200,000 per year or $25,000 per month. But to qualify for the Economic Grant you must employ 36 full time employees. Now throw in the 36 full time employees, 36 employees X 40 hours a week X 52 weeks = 74880 man hours. Now multiply that by, say minimum wage of $7.40 per hour = $554,112 per year.
Loan per month $25,000 Labor per month $46,176 Utilities per month $10,000 Property Tax per month $11,000 So that's a total of $92,176 per month of expense.
So by the tax payers of Iron Mountain giving this project 3.26 million dollars of tax payer money you save them around $2,000 a month in payments, but still have a situation where It will be impossible for them to generate the required income to support this project.
Now I have left out a lot of expenses associated with this project. If you want to see a large scale banquet facility in financial difficulty look no further than Pine Grove Country Club. What affect would this new Event Center have on this facility, has anyone thought of that. Build it, drive everyone else out of business and then close and create a vacuum of nothingness.
Wake up all you people with Vote No Signs and get educated on the facts, not on the dream and popularity of Steve Mariucci. 7-26-2008-03 In response to this post. Please read my comments in red. 7-24-2008-07 to the poster of 7-24-2008-06
What fact has been
stated here.
We will never know!
Don't understand this
statement. You would have to pursue the Truth Website also.
If you
only new the facts. In 5 years when the City of Iron Mountain
files for bankruptcy I hope you hold the same tone. How many
people in this country have either filed for or are about to file
for bankruptcy. Again no facts stated here.
Do you realize how much
money the landlords of this community spent on fighting the old
council and the left over four. It was only after a long legal
battle and the help of the 3 new council members that a common in
good faith ordinance was agreed upon. Again no fact stated
here.
The
council as a whole came up with this solution. You mean to
tell me that Caudell, Burke, Tchekoff, Rosen or Peterson new what to
look for on a sewer camera inspection tape. Dave used his
experience and understanding of the situation to solve a problem and
save tax payers money. Hats off.
I will not comment on Mrs.
Leonard's letter. It was her own opinion. I read it and
elected not to agree with her. That's America.
After spending 4.8 million
dollars to eliminate the need to chlorinate. This is not
rocket science.
No facts stated.
No facts stated. Not going crazy just sick on all the wasting of Taxpayer money. See, its easy to waste something that you did not earn or pay for. The City of Iron Mountain should hold on to the old Khory's property, buy the railroad property behind the Khory's property. Apply for grants to install the needed infrastructure and then sell lots to businesses that would like to come in. The City of Iron Mountain should not sell the property to private individuals at a great reduction in price. Then the city applies for the grants to install the infrastructure and then the private individuals sell the more valuable land and make the profit. This profit would be made off of you!!!! The taxpayer.
We are the citizens of
Iron Mountain and we pay taxes. This tax money is used for
services and grants. Do not let them use your money to make
other people money. If they want to use our tax dollar to make
money to increase the level of service, go for it. VOTE YES to stop the waste vote no VOTE YES to stop the scam vote no VOTE YES for common sense 7-26-2008-02
I would like to know, as I
am sure many others, if the Van Laanen letter was sent from
City Hall. Paid for with taxpayers money ?????
7-25-2008-01
The letter I
received from Mr. & Mrs. VanLaanen had nothing to say, no
explanations were made. You complain about junk mail being sent
to your home. I totally agree. I'll use mine to start a wood
fire to heat my home since the cable fee, water increase rate,
sewer increase, administrative fee on tax bills, etc. leaves no
money left to pay my natural gas heating bill.
The letter I
received from the Committee for Honest and Open Government was
very informative, and gave numerous documented reports on
wasteful spending by Burke, Caudell and Tchokreff.
The first letter
from VanLaanen was sent regular postage, showing no regard for
how money is spent. The letter to vote "Yes" came bulk rate
postage. That's who we need running the council, people who
watch what is spent and spend conservatively.
7-24-2008-07 to the poster of 7-24-2008-06 7-24-2008-06
During the general election last
fall, the challengers had many signs taken from yards and dumped
in Crystal Lake. Many more were dumped in a lady's yard in
Quinnesec, who called and those were able to be retrieved. Now
signs are again disappearing with signs from the anti recall
side replacing the ones taken. Perhaps the other side is having
similar problems. This is intense enough without adding fuel to
the fire. Please, everyone, if someone has a sign in his/her
yard, and you don't agree with that view, let it remain where it
is. Much money has been spent for signs, and to remove them is
a legal violation.
7-24-2008-05
I have to comment on post
7-24-2008-04
You said TIFA is a mistake made by
past council. I sort of agree. Itʼs only been in the last 6
years or so that the amount TIFA keeps from the general fund has
become a dire problem. Everyone knew that time would come,
including the people who were on the council when the TIF
district was created in 1985. Itʼs what is being done about that
anticipated time, now here, that is the big mistake. I agree
that it was more important than ever to do something about it in
the last four years. That is a huge, irresponsible and dangerous
mistake by Tousignant, Rigoni, Jacobs, Vanlaanen, Marquart,
Caudell, Tchokreff, Burke and most of all Marquart. And they
still donʼt see what they are doing.
I agree with your other comments.
Star Trek is wrong, doesn't know it, and is too stubborn and
self-righteous to open his/her mind and allow facts to invade
their thought process. What a shame.
PLEASE VOTE YES IN THE RECALL. SAVE
OUR CITY FROM FINANCIAL RUIN.
7-24-2008-04
Reply to 7-20-2008-03
Not to worry; you did not burst my
bubble. So you applied, but that's as far as it went? Hmm. NASA?
Still trying to impress? I could have got my uncle or my
Godfather (both retired) to give you a reference, had I known.
Good choice, though, for someone already out in space. Please
allow me to validate that.
I agree when you say that TIFA is
one of the biggest mistakes attributable to past councils. Where
you veer off into left field, or space, is when you don't or
won't acknowledge that the mistake can and should be rectified
by abolishing TIFA, or reducing the size of the district, or
even spending the TIFA funds more wisely. Don't you think the
mistake should have been fixed instead of made worse? That's
negligence and/or malfeasance on the part of the present old
council members, in my opinion..
That vote on the firemen was made
before the general public knew just how much the incumbents and
manager were willing to mislead and give false information to
get what they wanted. Pretty much everyone knows that now, and
on a whole lot more issues. Besides, implying that understaffing
to dangerous levels is okay because of that vote is not only
foolish and negligent, but reprehensible. How many more fines do
we need to pay before that sinks in? Are you waiting for someone
to die, or will you just blame that on anything but the real
culprits, too? Again, you are out in space not to see that.
Sorry, but I won't take up your
offer to chat privately. I would rather have this discussion
continue to be public if it goes any farther. Besides, you gave
enlightening clues on your identity, while I wish to remain
anonymous - not possible if I take up your offer.
7-24-2008-03 I received “mass mailings” from both sides of the issue on the same day. Along with the brochure from the IM Proud & Positive committee was a “Vote NO” sticker as well as an absentee ballot application. On the Vote Yes brochure, I saw no typos so I suppose if there are any, they don’t deflect from the message. I appreciated receiving brochures from both sides. It helps to be informed prior to exercising the right to vote. May I suggest that if somebody doesn’t care to read what is mailed to them, toss it. It’s not a big deal. 7-24-2008-02 Kris Leonard's letter in
The Daily News (July 23) was a corker. She says Bruce Rosen "only
got 1,171 votes in a city of 8,000 residents. Did she forget that
he was the TOP VOTE GETTER. 7-24-2008-01 To post
7-23-2008-04: Talk about whining, that's all you did in your post.
It's OK for the incumbents to send out a mailing, but not the
pro-recall committee? Is that what you're suggesting? 7-23-2008-05 To: 7-21-08 7-23-2008-04
To the "challengers" of our city
council....
Thank you for sending my house two
junk mail letters with typos. Did you just send one to
everyone? Please refrain in the future from sending out mass
mailings. It seems as desperate as the tactics you claim the
council uses now....They are filled with preposterous
claims and half truths as usual. Super for
starting a campfire.....
How much did that cost you all...and
you all claimed those facing recall hiring an attorney was over
the top...
You all are tearing this city
apart and causing all of this.....give up. Make Iron Mountain a
NICE PLACE, NOT A CHILDHOOD
PLAYGROUND FULL OF BULLIES AND WHINERS...
VOTE NO ON AUGUST 5TH
VOTE NO ON AUGUST 5TH
VOTE NO ON AUGUST 5TH
7-23-2008-03 VOTE YES AUG. 5th If you want to become informed before you cast your ballot, please take the time to read this letter. 7-23-2008-02 Sorry about that folks. I was out of town for 3 days with no internet. Webmaster 7-23-2008-01 Isn't voter harassment against the law? 7-22-2008-02
Unbelieveable! Support was given
several meetings ago to investigate the reassessment
boondoggle. Last night when Mr. Farragh and Mr. Rosen tried to
bring the whole council and attending citizenry into the loop
with their preliminary findings, the incumbents refused to let
them do so with all kinds of specious excuses. All council
persons had been given a hard copy of these preliminary findings
on Sunday evening So much for wanting to find out the truth and
deal with it in an open and honest way. It was a clear case of
trying desperately to stifle information to cover their
backsides from all their ineptitude in this issue. For the
Shakespeare citer who attends these meetings: "Me thinks the
lady doth protest too much." Incumbents, what are you hiding
that you don't want the citizens to know?
I wonder if the $209,000 spent on
this project that must be redone were from Mrs. Caudell's
personal bank account, whether she would be so glib as to
suggest we just forget the past and move forward. I doubt it.
Would any of us? Remember that exorbitant amount is off the
backs of local citizens who stretch to make ends meet each
month. Not all of us have unlimited bank accounts. To just
ignore the illegalities and unacceptable job and re-spend
another huge amount without an investigation and an attempt to
regain some of the wasted funds is ridiculous. Those who want
to ignore history and not learn from it are bound to repeat
their errors. Eden's constant mantra of working together sounds
good on the surface, but "working together" for her
means joining in lock step with the ways of the last four years.
7-22-2008-01 At the
July 21 meeting, Council Member Eden Caudell made another one of
here famously preposterous statements. 7-21-2008-02 A question
for Dan Burke. In the brochure put
out by the anti-recall committee, you state that you served twelve
(12) years as a police officer. 7-21-2008-01
In regards to Mr. Rosen's
comments to Marquart and the council members during the July
7 council meeting, I see it a little more clear than other
posts. First, Mr. Rosen clarified that the city manager does
in fact work for the council, something that has not been
happening the last four years. This was laying the ground
work for the other council members to understand the motion
he then made. He clearly explained that several attempts at
scheduling a meeting with the Police Chief, Fire Chief and
members of both departments had been requested of Marquart.
Marquart will not work for any one of the new council
members and he clearly stated this in the meeting. By Rosen
making the motion to schedule the meeting, for the whole
council to decide, was the proper procedure in a democratic
government. What many are missing is that the four incumbent
council members voted against the motion. Ask yourself
why???
Marquart and his followers Cauldell, Burke and Tchekoff have
keep the employee's at odds for the sole purpose of causing
confusion and having an easy excuse to place blame on them.
They will always keep themselves as the sole controller of
information, again ask yourself why???
Their decisions have been wrong, will continue to be wrong
and be assured they will find another manager, just like
Marquart, that will continue to cover for them.
VOTE YES Aug. 5th
7-20-2008-03 I hate to burst your bubble but legal reasons are not the ONLY reason one might need to have a complete psychological. When applying for high level jobs with the United States government, (i.e. NASA, FBI, CIA, Secret Service to name a few) you may be asked to go through this process as to get further in the interview process. Yes, I have applied for jobs with NASA. I have no legal reason for my actions.Mackinaw Center: You only highlighted what YOU thought was important in the article in regard to Pontiac, Michigan. The author clearly stated in a previous paragraph that TIFA establishment was the most devastating mistake made by past city leaders. Isn't that how our TIFA began. You can't blame the present members of the council for something that was done long ago, but I know you will. Look further into the purpose of the Mackinaw Center. Go to their site and find out what it is that they do. I have had dealings with the Mackinaw Center because I...well look it up and find out for yourself. The people of this city voted in 2005 against the firemen issue. If this is what you are referring to in regards to Mr. Marquart putting people's lives in danger, then I guess you have to blame the 1200+ who voted against this proposal. Stay in touch when you're away with Windows Live Messenger. IM anytime you're online. 7-20-2008-02 To: 7-17-2008-01 7-20-2008-01
Please ,Please, those of you
who know who this widow is , convince her to call the state
police and Dolly Cook. He NEEDS to be in jail, not only for
violating election laws, but for abuse and harassment.
7-18-2008-04 As if we needed more proof that Dan Burke is a thug better suited to a government office in Zimbabwe than in a civilized community, he has taken to harassing an elderly widowed lady who has the temerity to exercise her First Amendment rights by placing a pro-recall sign on her property.
Burke knocked on her door and rudely demanded that she remove the sign. We've known for awhile that the Council members up for recall won't and can't refute any of the charges against them, but Burke does them one better by continuing to commit the offense that constitutes a unique complaint in the recall petition against him, namely the intimidation of his own constituent, Bob Moraska.
It looks like he is now working the other side – doing his own intimidating. Comes from his bar bouncer career, I suppose. Elderly widows are an easier mark than barroom drunks, some of whom may be pretty tough.
Anyone who would bully a frail widow should be ostracized from the community, not elected to lead it. 7-18-2008-03 True and verified
episode re: Dan Burke. 7-18-2008-02 A response to post 7-15-2008-01 You wrote: " . . . and now have the papers to prove that I am a sane and mentally healthy individual." I have two comments on that. First, you don't really have a piece of paper saying you are a sane and mentally healthy individual, do you? I mean, a shrink would only have to give you something like that if you needed it for some kind of legal purposes, right? I'm speaking from my own experience, never having received or needed such an alleged paper from my own shrink for my own personal use. Second, and much longer, why would you even write something like that? Who are you trying to prove anything to? Yourself, perhaps? I wonder, because your second point completely blew off the analysis of the TIFA woes suffered by Pontiac as if it had no merit. I don't see that as a healthy decision-making attitude at all. Also, judging by your first comment about public degradation, I question your ability to see things objectively, let alone with an open mind. To ANYONE who has had to deal with John Marquart, it is laughable for you to suggest that anyone but him needs to treat people better. The man is a bullying tyrant. He is the number one cause of the horrible polarization our City is suffering through. He is a proven liar in his managerial capacity. He has mismanaged to the tune of hundreds of thousands of tax dollars. He, quite literally, put people's lives in danger. He is reaping what he sowed. And you, somehow, don't see that. But you have a special piece of paper. Hmmm. 7-18-2008-01 I am sorry but I must disagree with you regarding Mr. Rosen's behavior. His posture was in attack mode, his voice was raised, and he was definitely prepared to ambush Mr. Marquart. In all of my management classes and workshops, the one thing that is most clearly made evident is, when confronting an individual with such an issue, you take that individual aside and talk in private. Mr. Rosen was clearly lacking in that respect. He appears to need to feel that he has ALL the power and control over everything and everyone. Maybe that is why he owns his own business and has a hard time working with others. In reference to the subject he was alluding to, maybe he made some promises that he now finding hard to keep. Politics has become a nasty business. 7-17-2008-02 You missed the point. There was no public degradation. Firmness is not synonymous with rudeness. After months of Mr. Marquart ignoring opportunities to solve this important issue, because the four incumbent puppets neither question nor require anything of their employee, the city manager, it was time to find the reason for his avoiding and not even addressing the problem. Asking the necessary questions is not degrading nor is it negativity. 7-17-2008-01 Post 7-15-2008-01 says
Treat all others the way you want to be treated. This was
in reference to the alleged, but untrue, bad treatment John Marquart
received at the July 7 meeting. He was simply asked a question. 7-16-2008-01 7-15-2008-01 wrote: "Public degradation in any case is not acceptable." With all due respect, you don't know what you are talking about. 1. John Marquart works for the council. 2. He repeatedly ignores the requests of three members. That is insubordinate. 3. The other four council members ALLOW this to continue. They do NOTHING to stop it. That is reprehensible. 4. Marquart repeatedly withholds information from Rosen, Peterson, and Farragh. Name your crime for that one. Malfeasance, misfeasance, negligence, violation of public trust, etc. 5. Requests HAVE BEEN made in private to Marquart to clean up his act in relation to his insubordination to Rosen, Farragh, and Peterson, but these requests are ignored. 6. It was not public degradation, but a public attempt to right a wrong after repeated private failures. This is open government. Don't try to twist the issue. 7. Why did you fail to mention that Marquart blowing up in response was grossly insubordinate? So, what's left to do? The four Marquart puppets won't do anything about it; Marquart won't respond to private admonitions. Should the three newer council members just sit there and take this treatment? Hell no! The public has a right to know this is going on. The public also has a right to know that other avenues were exhausted before Marquart's behavior and the four puppet's blessing of it were brought to light as the unacceptable crap that it is. In fact, if Marquart or Vanlaanen had done the right thing, YOU would never have had to hear Marquart called on the carpet, as he so rightly deserved. Unfortunately, he was not fired outright for his completely unacceptable response to a justly deserved reprimand. This recall could not be more important. Please vote yes to end this Disney ride through hell we've been on for four years. 7-15-2008-01 In response to: 7-14-08 7-14-2008-05
Re: 7-13-2008-04
I too attended the July 7th council
meeting and could not be more in disagreement with your
assessment of Mr. Rosen. For his six months in office, Bruce
has been striving to bring a solution to the problem with the
fire department that was brought about by Mr. Marquart and the
previous council. After $23,000 in fines from the state for the
existing situation, we have been given a six-month window to
correct things before more fines and/or a higher ISO rating will
be handed down to us. Two months are remaining, and nothing has
been accomplished because of Mr. Marquart's refusal to meet with
the police and fire department chiefs. Yes, negotiations are
very tough, but especially so if there is no communication and
dialogue as Mr. Rosen has attempted to arrange multiple
times. It is not public degradation to challenge a person for
not fulfilling his responsibilities over and over again to
correct a serious situation. How serious? We were informed at
that meeting that Iron Mountain does not have the fire
protection services that a volunteer department would provide
due to the policies imposed upon them by Mr. Marquart and his
cronies. That means property and lives are at stake. Maybe
someone in the know can enlighten us on the serious problem on
the east side a few weeks ago that could have spelled disaster
to the homes and families there, and why Mr. Marquart ordered
everyone to say nothing. The fire department has been willing to
meet with whomever, whenever, wherever to solve the problem.
Mr. Rosen was firm as he should have been. Degrading? Hardly.
I find Mr. Tchokreff degrading in calling another council person
a snake, telling another to "get with the program," or while in
the middle of a serious discussion on qualities to be looking
for in a new city manager, Mr. Burke flippantly suggesting that
to find a new city manager skilled in administration and
finance, one would have to find him in Disneyland Let's
remember that when Mr. Marquart arrived, he didn't know what
gravel was and that it would be needed for snow-covered streets
in a U.P. winter. Actually, my first qualities would be
honesty, integrity, and upright and forthright character in a
new city manager. That would be a very refreshing change.
7-14-2008-04 Yes, post 7-13-2008-04,
maybe you should check the credential of Bruce Rosen, the council
member that you said some people called a financial guru. You just
might find out how honorable and decent Bruce Rosen really is, in
addition to his strong financial background. 7-14-2008-03 To poster 7-13-2008-02: 7-14-2008-02
re: hiring a new manager,
PLEASE do a COMPLETE vetting process.
7-14-2008-01 Those of us who realize what TIFA is doing to our City, despite rabid denial by Marquart and his cronies, can take heart that we are not the only ones who can see the problem clearly. Attached is an article outlining the exact same problems in Pontiac, that were caused by their TIFA. It's eerie how similar this story is to Iron Mountain, and completely outrageous that our own officials can't or won't acknowledge how it is destroying our City. I sincerely implore Marquart and recall council member supporters to look at this with an open mind. 7-13-2008-06 I am really tired of the use of the word "elite" when describing the people who are active in IM Proud and Positive. The people who have joined together in their efforts, come from all walks of life and only want to live in a community that is progressive and welcoming. To me it sounds like sour grapes on the part of those making that statement. When I was a young teenager, my church had a retreat presented by the Franciscans. One of many things that I took away from that was this statement, "Remember, there will always be those who have more than you and there will always be those who have less than you." We all have choices in our lives and what we do with them is our responsibility. If we covet our neighbors for what they have, then there is someone out there coveting you for what you have. The choices we make lead us to our own destiny. We have the power to change our destiny not by putting others down for what they have achieved but by making different choices. Oh, by the way, have you checked your soil lately? I am working on mine. 7-13-2008-05 I'd like to expand on the advice given to Oak Forest officials in post #7-11-2008-02. John Marquart will do what you want him to do; I assume he's being hired to be a hatchet man like he was here in Iron Mountain. However, my experience tells me he will shoot blindly from the hip when he does it, botching the methodology, ignoring or twisting expert advice, ignoring laws, incurring costly lawsuits against your city, lying about and blaming others for bad results, and then retaliating against and publicly discrediting the people who are smart enough to figure out what is happening. In time, it will become so blatantly obvious that you will find yourselves peeking outside to look at the sky if he tells you it is blue. The only reason he lasted so long in Iron Mountain is because of the self-serving, ignorant, and vindictive council members he had in his corner supporting him no matter how badly he screwed things up, no matter how much taxpayer money went up in smoke. He caters heavily to the rich and influential and steps on everyone else like we were so many ants in his way. Sadly, you won't believe it can be this bad until it happens to you, Oak Forest. Don't just take my word for it, though. I encourage you all to read all of the links showing documentation on this website, www.ironmountainissues.org . You won't find everything he screwed up, but you should find enough to send up some serious alarms. It's like a bad movie here, hopefully about to end soon. Good luck. PS - the most unbelievable thing about his reign of terror here is that he still has ardent supporters. If you look hard enough, you can usually find that they are all people with something to gain personally if he stays in control. 7-13-2008-04 We, the citizens of Iron
Mountain, have NOT lost our city. Have a large number of
individuals taken the apathetic path? Yes, and while they did that
a small number of people without vision have taken control of the
minds of the uninformed. As mentioned to me in the fall by a former
friend, "You should attend more council meetings," I did that and
saw first hand the workings of the city. Fortunately many more
people are taking up the challenge and attending. They are seeing
what is happening and are taking up the fight. At the July 7,
council meeting, I witnessed the most disrespectful, uncalled for
public degradation of John Marquart by Bruce Rosen. No matter what
your personal feelings are, the place to air them is not in public.
I don't care what arena you are in. Taking someone aside and
expressing your feelings directly is the more professional way of
handling differences. Bruce has shown his unprofessional side many
times, but this was, by far, the worst. I will continue to attend
meetings as long as I am a resident of Iron Mountain. 7-13-2008-03 I'm having some trouble understanding where the writer of post 7-11-2008-03 is coming from. The description of people not researching on their own, or using facts to form an opinion is the perfect description of Marquart supporters, but they are not the ones supposedly saying "the sky is falling", as you so flippantly put it. A little bit of attempted misdirection, maybe? Writer, you used the phrase "complete truth." That is something we will probably never have from any government, but, the past four years of Iron Mountain government has been so far from the complete truth that it is shameful and alarming. That's why we have such a division in our city - caused by Marquart and his leftover supporters from the last election. We truly need to finish the job and vote them out. I am sick of the blatant lies and irresponsible spending and uninformed, negligent decisions and non-substantive visions. It has to end, and we have our day in August to make it happen. Be Positive! Vote Yes. 7-13-2008-02 Oak Forest is becoming
aware of what they're getting, but Marquart's supporters are already
on the Oak Forest forum telling people that Marquart is awesome and
the rest of us are idiots. To those supporters I say: Marquart will
need your support there, too. Follow his example: if you can't
move forward, at least move. 7-13-2008-01
I agree with previous posts
Marquart leaving is not really fixing anything. These 4
incumbent council members have supported everything he has
done and purposely done so at arms length in an attempt to
avoid the blame. They have repeatedly supported Marquart and
claimed he is the BEST City Manager ever.
They also try to claim that change is why people are against
them, well they could be right there change just for the
sake of change does not make sense. Look at the fire/police
problem, nothing gained or saved in four years.
Marquart was the hired gun/cowboy brought in, and kept on
purpose, to make the changes we have seen. Because of this
decision and the poor leadership of Burke Cauldell and
Tchokreff our community has become torn apart and pitted
against each other. This must end Aug. 5, can anyone believe
it will get better if they stay. The four of them still
have have their agenda to complete and rest assured they
will get another Cowboy Gunslinger to come in and do the
dirty work they want. The only difference is they will try
harder to cover it up.
It won't surprise me to see them try and hire a manager Aug
4th the evening before the election. After all the fab
four have known he was leaving for the last three months,
plenty of time to line up a replacement.
7-11-2008-03 I think it is time for people who are writing that "the sky is falling", to do research on their own instead of believing all that is told to them. We all have an opinion on things but when it comes to factual information and making charges, knowledge is the best tool. It is easy to listen to others and fall in line with their opinions but is takes and intelligent and knowledge seeking individual to make good judgement based on the complete truth. In the end Chicken Little and friends did not fair so well. 7-11-2008-02 The sigh of relief at
John Marquart's departure by city employees and citizens alike is
something to behold. 7-11-2008-01 Congratulations to all
the hard working people out there, and especially the three new
council members. Your determined digging out of the facts, posting
them on this site, speaking up at council meetings and otherwise
informing the rest of us about the way Iron Mountain was being run
finally sent John Marquart scurrying for another job. Fortunately
for us, he got one. 7-10-2008-01 I run a similar
site at
www.oakforestwatch.org
that covers the city of Oak Forest, IL. I found your site while
looking for information on our new city administrator who happens to
be your current administrator. I was wondering if you could point
me to some back ground information Mr. Marquart. 7-9-2008-04
So now what Marquardt retire and
iron mountain gets federal charges against the city. There has
to be more to it.
7-9-2008-03 YEAH Iron Mountain City Manager John Marquart is expected to submit his letter of resignation today, officials said. http://www.ironmountaindailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/501878.html?nav=5002 7-9-2008-02
IRON MOUNTAIN - Iron
Mountain City Manager John Marquart is expected to
submit his letter of resignation today, officials said.
Iron Mountain Mayor Jeff VanLaanen said that he has learned that Marquart will resign as city manager. He has accepted a similar position in Illinois. VanLaanen and Marquart are excepted to issue official statements later today. For details, see Thursday's Daily News. 7-9-2008-01 C'mon Robin - your constituents don't want a land sale. Why did you support the sale? Why don't you support the residents of you ward? 7-8-2008-01
The Iron Mountain Fire Chief stood
up and stated at the City Council meeting on Monday that the
Fire Department could not meet the deployment and staffing
minimums required for a volunteer department. Havn't we been
told that our fire protection had improved? How can the Fire
Department now be comparable to a Volunteer Department? It would
be nice if City Officials could comment on this issue....
And what about Marquart stating that
one of the bargaining units was unwilling to come to the table
and have a meeting to discuss departmental issues? That dosn't
sound right.....perhaps a Police Officer could explain?
What I find most disturbing of all
is..... no mention of it on Frog Country or in the Daily
News......
7-7-2008-03
You
know what an interesting concept of hiring local people to all
positions in the city within the surrounding area creates? It
creates a person that cares what they do for today and also for
the future. A person that grows up in our area and retires here
and stays here forever definitely want to do what is best for
our surrounding area for the present and the future. Give me the
good old boy's anytime over someone hired to come here just to
do a job without any vested interest in the community into the
future. When you take into account the employees and the
citizens of the community which you serve for the long term
makes you make much more calculated decisions. Thank You Mr.
Urbany
7-7-2008-02 To Tina Peterson: I find it hard to
believe that the city insurance premiums did not surpass 5%. I know
that my "Blues" premiums rose substantially over the past several
years, except for 2007. I am not a single policy holder, nor a
small business, I belong to a large group policy, state wide.
7-7-2008-01
Response to 7-6-2008-04:
I'm sure you just were not aware of
the absolute function of that $1.3 million dollar fund
that has been discussed. It was to pay for premium increases
above 5%, not to pay for premiums. It was set aside, and
added to yearly, because those past Administrations had the
foresight to realize it would be needed in that fashion.
These last 4 years did not have
premium increases, to the best of my knowledge, above 5%. I
will double-check with our CFO to make sure that it was 4.
Therefore, that fund should have been sitting there,
accumulating interest. Interest is income.
What you say about General
Fund reduction is not accurate. We have General Fund
Depletion...big difference. We have an estimated GF
balance of about $0.00 for 2010. By the way,
The November general election "flyers" that the incumbents put
out bragged of a General Fund balance of $1.2 million dollars.
In a recent budget workshop meeting, while we were looking at a
$176,000 deficit, John Marquart said "I've
known it was this bad for years."......
You wrote:
Take a look at the
local school districts and see the cuts in personnel that have
been made and the fact that those employees remaining are paying
into the insurance premiums. Ask Denny Chartier and Craig Allen
if these cuts are easy for them to make. Ask them if they lose
sleep over it. I think I know their answers.
An important point:
Denny Chartier and Craig Allen would never make choices
in their schools that cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands
of lost, repeat, lost tax dollars. Also, the
choices they make take care of the basic necessities first. For
Example: They would never build a $200,000 pavilion, and then
fire 3 teachers to pay for it. They would never choose not
to fix the boiler, but instead plant 30 more trees on the front
lawn. They would never chop core curriculum to pay for new
Art. The Art, trees, and pavilion are wonderful things to have
and are also needed...but the necessities must come
first and it is their job to
provide those necessities to the students.
Just as it is John Marquart's job to provide necessities
to the residents of the City of Iron Mountain.
They would also never be dishonest, manipulate
fund monies around, drain funds, lie to State Agencies or to the
public....you just cannot compare our City Manager to these
men. These men have been passionate about providing for the
kids.
How about this for some startling
Marquart info? A City Labor Union offered to pay more
into their Health care, much more, and John Marquart had to
turn them down because of the previous contract he
negotiated with another Department . What he negotiated to the
other Department, which was extravagant for us, factors very
much into our future Health care and Pension costs.
Wasn't it also his job to negotiate
in the best interest of the City?
Tina Peterson
7-6-2008-04 Mr. Rosen, in his recall
letter, stated that the "Health Insurance Fund Balance" went from
1.3 million dollars prior to Mr. Marquart's hiring to nothing
today. I am assuming that that money was spent over the past 4
years. In case people haven't noticed health cost and insurance
rates have sky-rocketed in that time period. My experience has
shown me that the year 2007 showed the lowest increase in the
percentage of insurance rate preceded by extraordinary increases and
again 2008 has seen an increase. How much are city employees paying
toward their insurance premiums? If they are not paying anything,
this can surely contribute to the depletion of funds for insurance.
As for general fund balances, many state and city agencies, as well
as schools have reduced fund balances. Many schools are being
forced to close and consolidate with nearby districts. Is this also
John Marquart's fault? I am not a Rhode Scholar, but it doesn't
take one to see that when premium benefits are offered, with no
employee contribution, and state funding has been cut, that the well
is going to go dry at some point. Take a look at the local school
districts and see the cuts in personnel that have been made and the
fact that those employees remaining are paying into the insurance
premiums. Ask Denny Chartier and Craig Allen if these cuts are easy
for them to make. Ask them if they lose sleep over it. I think I
know their answers. 7-6-2008-03
From Tina
Peterson--Yes, it's long...I've got a lot to say.
We were told last week that
anyone not on the committee is now not allowed to speak at
that committee meeting. Not allowed to speak.
Even though the meeting is posted in accordance with the
Open Meetings Act, and can be considered a "special
meeting". So, all of the most important issues of the City,
the ones that seem to be constantly passed off to the
committees, cannot have the input of all council members
during critical conversation. But remember, they did
not want to discuss the issues at the regular council
meetings either...that was the reason they wanted the
committee meetings in the first place.
I went to a "Streets and
Utilities" committee meeting last week and tried to not
speak since I am not officially on the committee. (I had
asked to be switched to that committee months ago, but was
told by Jeff VanLaanen "No." He said I could always
have input at the committee meetings, however.)
On the subject of the East Side
Water Tank, where both Jeff and Dan have barely any
knowledge and I've been entrenched from the start....I've
researched, had conversations with the engineers and the
owner of Dixon, had conversations and answers with the DEQ,
and many answers from Dave Farragh...I was not allowed to
speak.
I had to leave, because I found
it frustrating to not be "allowed" to put forth correct
and related information.
The main reasons I
support this recall election:
My experiences as a council
member thus far are that we will not have open, honest
government until those seats have new people and we have a
new City Manager. Personally, I believe that an
honest City Manager with integrity, who cares about
all of the residents, is the only solution
for progression towards Economic Development. In my council
packets that I receive, 90% of non-agenda items provided by
him are about downtowns and consist of articles on things
like street musicians, mimes, flowers, and now...convention
centers. He provides barely any other information needed by
a typical city council member; mostly only articles he surfs
for (on our dime) to further his "vision" and theirs...and
never has there been both sides of
a situation. There has to be a better balance between
effort towards the downtown, and the rest of our City if we
want to survive financially. There also has to be a fair
balance of information handed out, or it resembles
brainwashing.
I have seen and witnessed
firsthand these council members' lack of concern or
compassion for the ordinary resident and their deserved
needs. The only passion they have shown has been when they
directly benefit, or if they publicly take credit for what
they truly should not have.
Not one time,
have they or the City Manager cared enough to re-evaluate
situations they created that are not working.
Their drive is too make it "look good", no matter the
immense cost to the taxpayers or all who personally suffer.
If it is not true, then they/he will manipulate it to try
and make it come true....or twist it around until it almost
resembles the truth. We deserve better.
No matter what a letter to the
editor might have said, the true "non-team-players" are the
ones up for recall and the City Manager. From the night of
the election, there has not been a gesture of respect or
professionalism from them to us. The first meeting
symbolically showed that with the Pro-tem position. I
personally have been told by them that I should not even be
on the council, that I'm not capable, etc.
Critical information was never shared with us, we were
treated horribly, and were told repeatedly that we didn't
have a clue. Ideas that we put forward were instantly
scorned or rejected, no matter how much it might improve the
community. It feels like they are constantly trying to
squash us, and do not want to allow us to develop as
council members.
"Public Input" to them has
meant one of their immediate group; instead of the
whole City of Residents.
Responses of "Forget the past"
were their only answers to our questions
about Hundreds of thousands of lost taxpayer's dollars.
They have yet to define or explain critical financial
situations they created, and instead proceeded to attack and
blame others.
The man basically in
charge of our City who helped to lose these
hundreds of thousands of dollars, who has polarized our
community, who lied about countless City issues, both large
and small; these members up for recall glowingly and
proudly called him a "cowboy" and said our City needed him
as our "cowboy." They rewarded their Cowboy with a bonus.
They blamed everyone else for his and their mistakes,
including whole departments and the surrounding
communities. They did not put forward one solution
for recouping the huge Tax dollars they
lost. They never, not once, apologized
to the residents for all the terrible City
situations that happened on their watch, and the bad
decisions they made to create them. They never accepted
responsibility for City situations they were a part of, but
instead "attacked the messengers" only. Most importantly:
They still head in that same, dishonest and negligent
direction; arm and arm with the City Manager.
There is no line of
separation between the council members up for recall and the
City Manager now. Not in their pre- and post-
meetings in his office before and after the council
meetings. Not at the meetings at Ken T,'s house, during
City hours. Not when they cannot answer a question without
looking to "John" for the right thing to say at council
meetings. Not when they all seem to feel that
regular, normal tax-payer services are never
at the top of their priority list...
I asked John Marquart on
December 26th, 2007 to start fixing the Fire Hydrants
because at that time there were over 28 that were out of
service. This had been brought to his attention many times
before. His immediate and exact words to me were..."We
can't afford to." I continued to ask through these months.
It is now July, 2008.
If you want your streets and
alleys fixed, your hydrants fixed, your water clean, your
budget balanced, your level of police and fire protection to
equal the costs....if you want all of these
luxuries, Iron Mountain, be ready to have to fight
tooth and nail for them if you retain the members
up for recall. Because they have not put effort into one of
those subjects. They have fought against
most of those luxuries. You may not see that in
the Daily News, but it is recorded from the budget workshops
and full council meetings. Money that should have been
going to our necessities these past few years was squandered
and there are no excuses. This must stop. Money that
should have been put aside for health care was not.
Money that was set aside by past councils for
health care premium increases above 5%, $1.3 million, was
carelessly spent to $0 when there were 3 years without
premium increases. The fact that they emptied that
account increased our future unfunded liability and
skewed the equations considerably. They did not
seek solutions for Health care until just
recently, and have tried to blame the employees and
retirees as an excuse.
When it is close to an Election,
they have tried to pull projects out of thin air to look
good politically. After not one word or written
info in any council packet, there is "City Land
Purchase" to Medallion Management Inc. on Monday's council
Agenda for the low-income housing project that "appeared"
just before last year's election. The one where the Daily
News published a letter praising John Marquart on the front
page. The project that John Marquart said a few months ago
wasn't going to pan out when I asked him.
The Daily News seemed happy
enough to publish an "article" by their "group" member on
the front page, as if she were an employee or
correspondent. Though I have only stated that I feel it is
wrong and fiscally negligent for our City to fund the total
of 4.67 million in TIFA dollars to the sole project of the
Events Center and it's infrastructure, I have been accused
of everything from "attacking Mr. Mariucci" to (here's a
new one) "Being against progress" and "Not thinking
Big." Nope, sorry; It's like this: I
don't agree to have the majority of this City's TIFA money,
until it closes shop in 2011, to go to only one project that
does not bring back a suitable return we can afford.
Most importantly: The
Developers....the ones who would make the profits
if the Center is a success....the ones who we are
practically giving the property away to, and who
will parcel off said property for their own profit.....should
be the ones mainly responsible for the investment.
The Developers should carry the bulk of the gamble,
risk and the costs. I believe in nurturing
development, but not giving away everything we have while we
suffer with a broken budget. I will never feel
that $4.67 million of TIFA money should be given for this
one and only project, with no hope
or chance of some TIFA money available towards any
manufacturing. I have a spreadsheet, handed out at
a joint TIFA meeting, showing that almost all of the future
TIFA funds ($4.67 million) are towards the Events Center.
Remember, at the City Council meeting, Mr. Mariucci said he
had no idea what was budgeted for him, and then said it was
good to know something was.
Also keep in mind: I do not
have the power to "hold back" this project, as they keep
accusing. It is where it is, but not because of me; it
doesn't have its "ducks in a row" yet. I have nothing to do
with its feasibility studies, developer agreements, State
Grant approvals, calculated employee numbers, Loan
approvals, etc. I am not on the TIFA Board. All that they
can or cannot do to move this project forward has been
completely in their own hands, not anyone else's.
I am, however, an elected
council member who is "allowed" to voice my concern at
nearly 5 million dollars that will not be available for any
other Economic Development. I am "allowed" to have strong
opinions on the types of jobs I would like to see in our
Community, and have a strong desire for those jobs to pay
enough to afford heat, childcare, and food. I am most
certainly "allowed" to voice my very vocal opinion about
communities across the UP who have taken advantage of the
State incentives towards Alternative Energy Manufacturing,
while our council-members-up-for-recall have turned those
ideas down flat. Repeatedly. Refused to even discuss it
whatsoever, except to say it was impossible.
These Council members argued
that putting TIFA money towards streets was like throwing
money away....and like a band-aid....???
If we finally started a
comprehensive plan towards streets and alleys which we
begged (yes begged) them for; we would have some
streets fixed. I believe that to be a tangible product that
money is spent on. Real. Definitely not a waste to the
City or the County. It also improves our City, is an
investment into our City. All taxpayers will benefit
from fixed streets; their cars and spines will certainly be
relieved.
We tried to tell them that
decent streets go a long way towards attracting Economic
Development. Eden Caudell said that a million dollars spent
on the parking lots, $500,000 on the one behind City Hall,
is what is going to attract big business to Iron Mountain.
On that same TIFA spreadsheet, there is $500,000 that is
budgeted for 2008, and another $500,000 for 2009. This will
include a $120,000 (prior listed cost) pavilion behind City
Hall.
When these members and the City
Manager are gone, residents won't feel intimidated to speak
up, won't have to feel bullied, and will finally feel that
they have input into their own City. Heck, I'll
even finally have some input into the City.
The redistribution of tax dollars back into the City will
benefit all residents, not just the chosen
few. 21st Century Economic Development will be aggressively
pursued, my personal guarantee, and we will have
new area jobs that can sustain families.
Everything will
run smoother, because there will not be one stubborn,
calculating man denying Departments from communicating with
each other, and with certain council members. No more of
him denying meetings that could potentially bring
solutions...or trying to deny the Press or State Agencies to
talk to certain employees or council members. There will be
no time, energy, and dollars continually lost on situations
that have clearly failed: Because people will not only be
allowed to talk about it...they will be allowed to
work towards a solution! Employees will not have
to constantly feel in fear, or feel pitted against each
other for survival's sake.
There will not be a nucleus
of mistruths and negativity coming from the City Manager as
there is now. There will be normal teamwork...and
then we can all finally get on with doing what is best for
our entire City and all of it's residents....with a lot less
stress, and a heck of a lot less drama. Our City needs this
Change and it needs it now. There are many decent and
honest people who are willing to run for these
seats...people we can trust and respect. If the Intimidator
is gone and all who blindly follow, then there will always
be decent people willing to take on running for council.
The last few years, it has been a situation of knowing you
were going to be publicly ripped to shreds and made
completely miserable if you stood up for what was right.
Now there is HOPE.
Let's give our City it's best
chance, and have a full group of elected officials who truly
think of the Resident's needs first. Let's have open,
sincere, and honest local Government. We have so many
things to accomplish, so many opportunities within
reach...let's go get them as a cohesive and
functional City.
Sincerely,
Tina Peterson
IM Council Member
7-6-2008-02
Yesterday evening two of us were
walking in the cemetery to check out the status of the
maintenance we had read about in a former post. In some areas,
it was neatly trimmed; in others, the former poster assessed the
situation correctly when he said that it looked like a
hayfield. In this hayfield, we encountered an elderly
gentleman, obviously frustrated with the condition of the area
around his family's graves, who had brought his own gas-powered
weed eater from home and was doing his own "perpetual care" that
he had already paid for. What a shame to have even part of our
cemetery in such a sad state on this weekend when so many
visitors are in town or at any time for that matter..
7-6-2008-01
The newly posted site,
www.ironmountainrecall.com, identifies the committee promoting
the recall as The Committee for Honest and Open
Government in Iron Mountain. According to a filing at
the Courthouse, the committee's address is P.O. Box 822,
Iron Mountain, MI 49801. Recall supporters should
send checks, made payable to the committee, to this address.
(Personal checks only--Corporate contributions are illegal.)
Recall opponents have plenty of money and plenty of incentive to
spend it. Now is the time for recall supporters to match their
checkbooks to their convictions. August 5 is now less than a
month away.
7-5-2008-04 To poster #7-2-2008-01: Shame on Bruce Rosen? For what? Having the nerve to question the decisions and opinions of people who believe they are beyond reproach? Give me a break. It's about time someone stood up to the self-believing "elite" in this area. They have made so many bad decisions it's nearly unbelievable. And then, they refuse to EVER admit they were wrong, which does nothing but compound the problems they created. Also, to poster #7-1-2008-03: Where have you been? The rental ordinance debacle did not come OUT of court until we elected three reasonable council members last year. The road blocks are not being constructed. THEY WERE ALREADY THERE, put in place by Marquart and his puppets. The road blocks are coming down, not going up. You certainly have a lot of nerve to ignore the history of what happened with this issue. Thank you Bruce Rosen, Tina Peterson, and Dave Farragh for bringing some sense to our city government. 7-5-2008-03 Our city manager was
seen thinking outside of the boot on Friday. 7-5-2008-02 Regarding the cemetery /
city management priorities issue - remember, Marquart's first list
of "moving forward thoughts outside of the box" included selling the
cemetery. That never happened, perhaps because at some point
someone pointed out to him that it is specifically illegal for a
home-rule city in Michigan to sell its cemetery. 7-5-2008-01 Post 7-2-2008-01 wonders
what's bothering Bruce Rosen? It's the same long list of
issues that bother quite a few thousand other people around Iron
Mountain. 7-3-2008-02 For crying out loud. I was in the cemetery for a burial yesterday and follow up visit today. Tomorrow is the Fourth of July and the start of a long Independence Day weekend. How come half the cemetery looks like a damn hayfield again -- weedy, unmown, and unkempt? You know how many residents and visitors are going to be going through there the next few days? Someone at city hall really has his priorities screwed up. No one will ever convince me that Chapin Pit is more important than Cemetery Park in this town, and any city manager who believes otherwise and assigns city workers accordingly isn't worth the spit he's made of. Marquart, what the hell are you thinking? For goodness' sake. Get your heads on straight, city hall! Is it possible to have a dumber, more inept city management? 7-3-2008-01 Have you noticed that in
the last six months that every initiative to get things moving has
come from one of the new members. 7-2-2008-02 One more note on the landlords vs. city issue - the City has said repeatedly that they have worked with the landlord's association from the beginning. That's a lie - there WAS no landlord's association until the council tried to push through the first piece of crap they called a rental ordinance. 7-2-2008-01
Shame on you Bruce Rosen. Your own
glass house is already riddled with stones. Why don't you tell
us what is really bothering you. Many think they already know.
7-1-2008-03
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Be careful the
accusations you make 7/01/08-1. I heard Don Christy give
positive feedback to the results of the landlords meeting with
the council as well as "POSITIVE" feedback and kudos for Deacon
Don from Mrs. Caudell. Give these people credit for coming
together to resolve this situation out of court. Quit
constructing road blocks.
7-1-2008-02 The Landlords of Iron Mountain had to file a lawsuit against the City to get the Manager and the Council to listen. Please spare me the great work bit on behalf of the City. 7-1-2008-01 To the post 6-29-2008-02 The last part of your post was shocking, have you not followed what has been going on? You stated “Let us drop all the negativity and come together as a community that wants to prosper for the good of the community. I believe that the agreement that was reached between the Landlords Association and the city is a good example to follow. Was it good in the beginning? I think not. Being open with communication and the understanding of what was best for the community and the landlords made this possible” Negativity, what is it when Eden Caudell says we need to start taking pride in our homes and businesses? Until the last four years I have been proud. Burke is just an angry man that fostered more bitterness, filling charges on two occasions was as ridicules as it gets. Tchokeff what kind of example is he? This group has torn away at the very fabric of a community. They have created this not the people writing to this site, the vile site as they call it. Open communication is what this site is about. The links on the home page refer to public documents, those documents have been extremely difficult to obtain under this administration, is that open communication? The Landlords have asked since the beginning to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code for rentals. This would have been a good solution and would have prevented lengthy lawsuits over the clarity of the convoluted code Marquart came up with. I doubt very much this issue has been resolved; City Officials are just bidding time. They have never backed off on any of their plans they only put them on the back burner until they feel no one is looking. The only reason any progress has occurred is due to the 3 new council members. Change 3 more council members and then our community can be open, understanding and working together. |
