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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
January 17, 2013
I
NKSTER
- W
ESTLAND
The City of Westland will not be
going to trial regarding the claims
of 810 residents impacted by flood-
ing in 2010 and 2011 who filed a
class action lawsuit against the city.
City Attorney James Fausone
presented a settlement agreement
to members of the city council last
week for approval which would
provide $3.75 million in cash and
$1.25 million in billing credits to
affected residents.
Despite the large number of
plaintiffs in the case, only about 55
houses were actually flooded,
Fausone said. He also told the
council members that the settle-
ment amount could be paid with-
out forcing the city to sell bonds or
increase thewater and sewer rates.
He did caution the council mem-
bers, however, that there could still
be a water rate increase when the
Detroit Water and Sewerage
Department raises the rates the
city currently pays.
“We get a certain amount of cer-
tainty through the settlement and
were able to stretch it out over a
period of time, which we wouldn't
have been able to do with a judg-
ment” he said.
The council unanimously
approved the settlement agree-
ment which will be paid using
$700,000 of coverage from the
Michigan Municipal Risk
Management Authority. Two mil-
liondollarswill be paidnextmonth
which will include $1.3 million
from the city water and sewer fund.
Another $1 million payment is
scheduled for July and the final
cash payment of $750,000 is due in
February of 2014.
The water bill credits will begin
in July this year and continue for
three years to a maximum of $1.25
million.
Fausone also said that the divi-
sion of the settlement amounts
would be the decision of the home-
owners.
“I appreciate council moving
forward with the class action law-
suit settlement,” said Mayor
William Wild. “It will let us move
forward so we can focus on making
improvements to the system.”
Without a problem with the
sewer system itself to correct,
Fausone said the city has undertak-
en a vigorous maintenance pro-
gram including cleaning lines, tele-
vision camera line inspections and
repairs. “We're not about to have
anything wrong with the system,”
saidFausone.
The settlement doesn't include
any admission of guilt by the city in
the flooding which followed exces-
sive rainfall.
“The biggest problem in our
view was 4 inches of rain, which
really is an act of God,” said
Fausone. “There is nothing the city
cando about that.”
Inkster Mayor Hilliard
Hampton got an inside look at one
of the most illusive aspects of gov-
ernment last month when he cast
his vote as a member of the
MichiganElectoral College.
Following the popular vote in
the November election, Hampton
was required to travel to Lansing
where he and 15 other representa-
tives of each state senate district
convened at theCapitol Dec. 17. As
a delegate, Hamptonwas seated in
the Senate chambers at an elected
official's desk. Prior to the meeting
date, he was sent a certification of
his election to the college by the
MichiganBoard of Canvassers.
In the Senate chambers, with
his name attached to the desk, he
and the other delegates were pro-
vided a series of about 15 docu-
ments, the first of which was a
copy of the oath of office, which he
was required to sign.
“It was very official and it was
carried out like any other matter
beforeCongress,”Hampton said.
“It was very structured and
there was a great deal of parlia-
mentary procedure,” he added.
This was his first vote in the col-
lege and he was nominated for the
position by Congressman John
Conyers in the spring of last year.
That nomination had to be con-
firmed by the head of the
Democratic Party in the state,
Mark Brewer. “I suspect this is
probably the first time anyone has
been elected to the Electoral
College from Inkster,” Hampton
said.
After signing the oath accepting
their responsibilities, Hampton
and the other delegates signed the
actual documents confirming the
election of Barack Obama and
JosephBiden to the highest offices
in the nation. In Michigan, dele-
gates to the Electoral College must
agree to cast their votes for the
candidates chosen by the popular
vote throughout the state. Only two
states, Maine and Nebraska,
apportion the electoral votes by
congressional district voting. Had
Mitt Romney won the popular vote
in Michigan, delegates chosen by
the Republican Party would have
cast the Electoral College ballots
for the state.
The session was officially
chaired by the Senate Minority
Leader Gretchen Whitmer of
Ingham County and was very seri-
ous and accompanied by a certain
amount of pomp and circum-
stance, Hampton said.
“Like so many others, I don't
think I really knew what they
(Electoral College) did or how they
did it,” he said.
“It was an honor and it was
pretty exciting to be a part of the
process. This is part and parcel,
the linchpin of democracy,” he
said.
Hampton said that every state
has an Electoral College and the
delegates meet on the same day
across the country to cast their
votes.
“It was very serious and signifi-
cant,” he said.
The biggest problem in our view
was 4 inches of rain, which really is an act of God.
There is nothing the city can do about that.
”
Westland reaches settlement in flooding lawsuit
Inkster mayor votes in state electoral college
Diabetes meeting planned
The National Kidney Foundation of
Michigan Inkster Partnership for aHealthier
Community will host the monthly Inkster
coalition meeting at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan.
22. Those who attend the meeting will have
a say in transforming the community into a
place that supports and promotes healthy
lifestyle choices, a spokesperson from the
kidney foundation said. The s meeting will
feature a special presentation by Whole
Foods, aswell as a free, healthy lunch.
The NKFM is dedicated to helping peo-
ple better understand how to make the nec-
essary changes in their day-to-day life in
order to prevent type 2 diabetes, manage
their diabetes to prevent complications, and
live healthier lives, she said. An estimated
701,000 people in Michigan have diagnosed
diabetes, and more than 364,000 are estimat-
ed to have diabetes but are currently undiag-
nosed. Over 40 percent of all kidney failure
cases are causedby uncontrolleddiabetes.
The coalition continues to make great
strides toward improving and developing
safe, healthy, educated neighborhoods
through community action and resources.
Inkster Mayor Hilliard Hampton and city
council members collectively endorsed the
establishment of the coalition and have com-
mitted their support to the necessary laws or
policies.
For the location and more information
about this meeting, or about the IPHC coali-
tion, please contact SandyWaddell or Kristie
King at (734) 222-9800. Learn more about the
coalition at www.nkfm.org.