Week in Review
City Council, Monday, July 21
N.b., Councilman Flynn was absent from the meeting, and so it concluded in a timely manner and without the usual self-aggrandizement.
Public Comment
Matt Bell, on solar panels: “I’m always glad to have grants as a citizen of the city. But sometimes the State says, ‘Do this awesome project, and we’ll give you some money for it,’ and down the road, we’re stuck with the bill.”
On the Road Diet: “Even if the State paid us to do it, it’s a terrible idea to close M-99 down to one or two lanes. . . I’d recommend, bring it back up, and vote it down. . . There aren’t real studies that show that business goes up when you reduce it down to two lanes. It’s just that people who hate cars and love Europe want to turn us into something like that.”
Zech Steiger, on the Road Diet: “People don’t like traffic. And if the main thoroughfare through town is full of traffic, that’s going to disincentivize people from moving here, especially if the local roads still continue to be the third-world roads they are.”
Cathy Kelemen, mayoral candidate, in a trembling voice:
Deeply Concerned about Negativity: “What I’m seeing since April is several prominent roles being empty. And that’s a concern.”
Trying to put Bentley in timeout: “I wanted to speak on behalf of Mr. Beeker. . . Mr. Beeker is very generous with his time. . . He doesn’t own the Road Diet. It’s not his plan. It’s the City’s plan. So whoever takes it over: be kind to them. They’re just fulfilling a task assigned to them because they work for the City.”1
Keefer House Update
The Keefer House appears to be in its usual state of neither being finished nor even nearing completion.
Bentley, on a departed contractor: “Did you lose Eric?”
Nick Fox of CL Real Estate: “Yes. . . it was his decision.”
Solar Grant
City Manager David Mackie wants to put solar panels at the Airport using a State grant in combination with a City contribution. Council appeared to be unsold on the idea.
Mackie: “It will ultimately lower the cost for all our customers. . . The grant makes it very attractive.”
Paladino: “Could we get some sort of description of the lifespan of the panels, maintenance costs, environmental impact. . . how this is going to work with the changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill and the elimination of those tax credits?”
The vote, Mackie says, will happen next month.
TAP Grant/Road Diet
Last month the Council voted in favor of proceeding with the Road Diet, which was projected to cost the City $200,000. After some sleuthing at MDOT, Councilman Bentley appears to have learned that the Road Diet could cost the City as much as $400,000. Mr. Mackie and other City Staff challenged MDOT’s numbers, and after working through the numbers again, expect the cost to fall somewhere between the two numbers.
Mackie: “We do expect the numbers will go down.”
Bentley, continuing his jihad against the Diet: “MDOT’s engineers are stalled. . . because they’re trying to reconcile these numbers. . . and there will be more opportunity for input from Council or the people about the details of Mr. Beeker’s plan. . . We’re going to dig into the proposal again, figure out the numbers again, have another public forum, and then have a vote again.”
BPU Electric Director Jake Hammel’s Resignation
BPU Electric Director Jake Hammel resigned, writing a letter to Council. Unlike other recent quitters, Hammel did not politicize himself. Have we cured Negativity? Hammel:
I am writing to formally submit my resignation from my position with the City of Hillsdale. . . I remain committed to assisting the transition process in any way that is helpful.
Bentley: “Manager Mackie, was this out of left field?”
Mackie: “This one was out of left field.”
Bentley: “Like the water situation, does [Hammel] have a strong lieutenant that might get up to speed?”
Mackie, Negative!: “That one is No.” On second thought: “We do have a good lineman staff.”
Gerg, groping for answers: “Is there any thought on some kind of hiring program?. . . some way we can package the whole City?2 I’m just curious what the recruitment package looks like.”
On bribing: “We’re going to have to sweeten the pot and make it more attractive.”3
On Community: “A lot of these professionals we have are home-grown people, and they love this community. And for them to be leaving—it’s tough.”
Mackie: “It’s easier for other communities to poach our existing trained folks and pay them a little more money.”
Alan Beeker Retirement Celebration
Council got sappy for Alan Beeker, who will retire in August.
Mackie, asking a very Negative question: “How long have you been [with the City]?”4
Beeker: “It would be 13 years this October.”
Bentley, interrupting the sentimental proceedings to thank Public Services Director Jason Blake for picking up additional work on account of Staff departures: “Thank you, Jason.”
Mackie, on the new structure of City Staff: “With the additional work that I will be undertaking [with BPU], Sam Fry. . . will be taking on additional responsibility as well.”5
County Commissioners, Tuesday, July 22
Public Comment
District Court Judge Meg Stiverson ripped the Commissioners—specifically Leininger, Collins, and Wiley—for their lack of concern regarding the future home of the District Court, 25 Care Drive, the current LifeWays facility.
“I’m here. . . with the support of the entire judiciary to comment regarding the proposed resolution to rent the building to LifeWays for the next five years, with renewable terms. Clearly the judges have been misled by this Board of Commissioners. Though I have no problem with LifeWays and am in fact the happy recipient through my court of many of their services, you have no constitutional or legal obligation to LifeWays. You do, however. . . have an obligation to provide for the Courts—and a jail, frankly.
If you go to extend that lease, unless you are planning on violating their lease in the future, you are leaving the District Court without a place to house a functioning branch of the government.
The judges have sought legal counsel, and we are prepared to act. This Board will be legally responsible for paying all our attorney’s fees and bearing the brunt of a potential lawsuit—probably the most fiscally irresponsible thing I’ve ever seen a Board do. . . The fact that you haven’t been sued yet. . . is, frankly, a miracle.
In keeping with Stiverson’s request, Ingles and Benzing attempted to remove the LifeWays lease extension item from the agenda, but the majority of Collins, Leininger, and Wiley overrode them.
Senior Center Update
Maggi Monroe, Senior Center Director: “Part of what makes the Center great is the great community—staff and volunteers alike.”
On the sort of things you pay for: “The Center continues to boom. We. . . instituted a new yoga program.”
Economic Development Partnership Report
The County’s ED Partnership wrote a letter to the Board describing how they will, via State programming, transform Hillsdale County into a bustling commercial center.6
In Hillsdale County, we face a growing need to better understand our current housing stock, future needs, and the barriers that residents, workers, and families encounter when seeking affordable, quality housing.7 A housing study would provide: data-driven insight into current housing conditions, demand by income level, and gaps in availability; guidance for local planning and zoning decisions to support sustainable growth; support for grant applications and public-private partnerships that depend on credible, localized data; a blueprint for Economic Development, ensuring our employers can attract and retain a skilled workforce.
Sally Clark, EDP Director:
“You might recognize me from Michigan Works! I was business services on the workforce side, and I’ve joined the other side of the team doing economics. They are kissing cousins. It’s a wonderful place to be.”
On needing money for things: “We don’t have a consistent housing study.”
On who will foot the bill: “We are putting together a list with the City of Litchfield, the City of Jonesville, the City of Hillsdale.”
On transparency: “We invite you to have a seat at the table.”8
On partnerships with State bureaucracies: “We partner with great companies like Michigan Works!, MEDC. . . We can connect you, help you get the resources. . . This drives the Economic Impact of Hillsdale County.”
Opioid Committee
The Commissioners appropriated opioid cash for the purpose of reducing “opioid use stigma.”
Election Update
Ingles, on the topic of next week’s HCR issue: “There will be a primary election for [Hillsdale] Mayor on August 5th.”
LifeWays Lease
Commissioner Collins presented a five-year lease agreement with LifeWays, with options to twice extend the lease five more years into the future. The facility currently occupied by LifeWays, Ingles contended, has been understood by both the Board and the Courts to be the future home of the District Court.
Benzing, on LifeWays’ Disingenuousness: “LifeWays has told us for the last several years that the current building is not big enough. Now, we are looking at signing an additional five-year with two five-year extensions for a total of 15 years. Suddenly, the building is adequate for their needs.”
“But the real crux here is, we sold the building for the District Court. We don’t have any other place for it to go except into that building. We spent, a month or so ago, $120,000 for an architectural firm to design construction and engineering drawings for that building to put our District Court it. . . We don’t have a place for our District Court if we lease the building to LifeWays for another five years.”
“I’m flunked by the fact that we would come back. . . with a proposal to lease the building for up to 15 years, which is contrary to every discussion that we’ve had in this room for the last year in regards to the purpose of that building.”
Bert, whining: “Last meeting we had the opportunity to approve a resolution to provide bond funding for LifeWays to build a new building, and you changed that to put that to the vote of the people, which is still technically not legal.”
On treating LifeWays as equal in importance to the District Court: “[LifeWays] never sent us notice that they are not renewing the lease. . . And then we said that we’re not going to provide the bond funding. . . this is a renewal of the lease previously done. The only changes to it were the rent rate. . . Now if you want to go back and rescind the action you took last meeting and provide the funding that they think they need, OK.”
Ingles, responding: “It was very clear for an extended period of time that 25 Care Drive was going to be vacated by LifeWays. The proposed move of District Court to 25 Care drive came from that in the first place: that LifeWays—on their own—was going to move. Not that the Commissioners were going to ‘kick them out,’ as you say.”
On changes to the lease: “The lease terms are not the same as the lease terms that Maribeth [Leonard] signed. The lease term of five years, quite frankly, is an embarrassment. . . The five-year lease is not acceptable.”
On following procedure: “I move to refer this lease to the Facilities Committee.” Support from Benzing. Motion passed, 3-2, Wiley and Leininger opposed.
Later on. . .
Bert, concerned about the budget two weeks after trying to issue an $18 million bond to an organization with dubious funding sources: “Nobody can show me where the funding is going to come from for this move. . . Budgetarily, we are constrained.”
On trying to jam the courts all into the courthouse: “To me, there can be three court rooms in that building. The judges need to figure out a way to coordinate schedules to move hearings around.”
Ingles: “Commissioner, you said the key word: To you, three courts can fit in that building. . . I ask you, Commissioner, how do we pay for the alternative. What is the alternative, and how do we pay for that?. . . We are by statute required to house our District Court.”
LifeWays—which claims to care about the citizens of Hillsdale County so very much—is now, with the aid of several Commissioners, trying to hang on to its formerly-inadequate facility, thereby blocking the District Court, even though the organization is reportedly able to secure a building loan on its own.
External Links
“I’ve advised the board to keep on doing as we’ve been doing until we can’t do it any longer.” LifeWays Board Chairman Earl Poleski.
“This award will support the installation of a small solar array at the Hillsdale Municipal Airport.” David Mackie.9
“Bentley gets it.” Hillsdale Conservative Network.
“These ideals are central to our heritage—the headwaters of our cultural stream—and should be the primary focus of American heritage education. They bind all Americans together as equal members of one national family, regardless of ancestry or birthplace.” Jose Arevalo.
“The new documents released by Tulsi Gabbard leave no doubt - none - that the Barack Obama White House invented a phony espionage scandal to hang on the incoming Trump administration.” Matt Taibbi.
“Today, America First Legal (AFL) released explosive new documents conclusively proving what AFL has known since day one: the infamous October 4 memo from Attorney General Garland labeling concerned parents as ‘domestic terrorists’ was a political operation of weaponized government, not the normal, lawful execution of federal laws by the Department of Justice (DOJ).” America First Legal.
Kelemen’s campaign slogan might as well be: Be Kind. Naturally, this implies that she herself is very very Kind, just as Mr. Mackie is the keeper of Decency, Gerg, the pinnacle of Decorum, and Mr. Socha, the height of Genuineness.
Being Kind, however, means something similar to all the other things the fat cats continue to babble about: elected officials have a duty to get steamrolled by bureaucrats; they must rubber-stamp the projects; and whatever they do—they should not ask any questions. Questions, after all, imply that everything is not already resolved. And disagreeing isn’t very Kind.
Could we promise applicants cellophane-wrapped gift baskets? Or purchase them subscriptions to Simply Hers? What about free yoga sessions? Do they know about the Senior Center? The options are endless.
As part of his recruiting package, Gerg could inform applicants that they’ll have a chance to win immortal fame (like himself!) in the HCR—if they play their cards right.
Gerg did say some months ago that “what makes Hillsdale great is its City Manager-run system.” If we have achieved the greatness already, what’s the problem? The pot can get no sweeter.
This was the very question which Mr. Bentley asked Mr. Beeker in March—the question that has caused so much consternation.
Hillsdale appears to have an acting and unappointed Manager Pro Tem. Perhaps it’s time to admit that the Manager-BPU Director combination position was a bad idea.
The current ruling class’ vision for the future: housing markets ignored in favor of incentivized corporate developments, courts of law supplanted by State yoga, and jail replaced by social workers—all supported by that extra padding you’ve got in your pocketbook.
This is asserted ceaselessly and is never questioned. What business do municipal governments have in conducting studies of housing markets, particularly when they cannot maintain current infrastructure?
Unless you don’t want a housing study, in which case there’s no seat at the table for you.
See EGLE’s press release for more.
IMO a running line of "Greg's" dialog should be kept. He is a master at making his own statements seem ill thought out, which I'm not saying they are..... but he will later. Well put, if this place is so "perfect" why would anyone leave? If the city manager style is so effective why all the hand wringing and blame shifting, is not the manager boss of day to day? This is what happens when the same asses sit all the seats and just rotate..... DELUSIONS OF ONES OWN GRANDEUR. This is a tiny company town with almost no opportunity in the middle of no where with bad public schools.... We are poor, insular, and likely inbreed with all the focus on who is and isn't from here. This IS NOT a destination.... I've been trying for a decade to just get one of my buddies from other places to even think about a move.... They all just laugh.... and buy a house in a real community like Heartland, Rockford, Hasslet..... Elk Rapids... need I go on? This DELUSION that this is some great place died when tillable reached $5500 locally, period.
I talked to judge 3 years ago, this has been a deep issue for a long time. The commissioners have deeply failed and got big time distracted by ego and legacy and forgot duty and community. This will be part of the biggest shit sandwich the commission will ever eat, and I hope they ALL get voted out next time.... THEY HAVE FAILED, "47 votes is NOT a mandate".... you boinked the pooch with your vanity and ego.... Ding dong strikes the clock in town, ding dong.... time to pay the piper.