A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
February 19, 2015
P
LYMOUTH
Freezer Jam set Saturday
The purchase of a cold weath-
er amenity led to some hot tem-
pers during the meeting of the
Plymouth Township Board of
Trustees last week.
A request by Treasurer Ron
Edwards for board action to
approve the purchase of a SMI-
Snow Markers Inc. PoleCat
Snow Gun snowmaking machine
prompted questions from the
audience and Trustees Bob
Doroshewitz andChuckCurmi.
Edwards told Trustees the
machine was required right
away so they could see if they
had adequate water pressure
and find out if, “it works.”
Doroshewitz asked several
questions about the safety of
adding themachine to the public
sledding hill in the township
park, including the impact on
insurance coverage and town-
ship liability should injuries
occur.
His questions prompted vocif-
erous answers from both
Township Supervisor Richard
Reaume and Edwards, along
with loud comments from mem-
bers of the audience that
prompted an unscheduled 10-
minute recess calledbyReaume.
The proposed motion to pur-
chase did not include back-
ground information about the
equipment, an operational budg-
et or a time line for the installa-
tion. The information packet
submitted to board members
included only a single $21,820
line item price quote and six
pages from the manufacturer's
sales catalog.
Doroshewitz said his con-
cerns were not about the specifi-
cations or the cost, but what he
described as safety concerns for
children and citizens and liabili-
ty for the township.
“I don't think this is a good
idea…you're creating a risk,” he
toldEdwards.
“No--I'm not,” Edwards
repliedheatedly.
Curmi, too, expressed con-
cern about turning the sledding
hill into an “attractive nuisance.”
Citing examples of communi-
ties across the country where
sledding is being banned as a
risk due to serious injuries,
Doroshewitz said statistics show
there are 20,000 sledding- relat-
ed accidents each year.
“You get a written opinion
from MMRMA (Michigan
Municipal Risk Management
Authority, the township insur-
ance carrier) and from our town-
ship attorney, and I'll shut up,”
Doroshewitz said.
Edwards angrily denied
Doroshewitz' risk claims.
“I've sat on this board for a
number of years and all of sud-
den we've got to get an insurance
opinion and the attorney's opin-
ion before we can move some-
thing,” he said.
“Someone has to be there to
supervise,”Doroshewitz said.
Reaume vehemently defend-
ed the purchase and the need,
“Unsupervised hills provide
lower risk than supervised hills,”
he said, obviously agitated, as
several loud comments could be
heard fromaudiencemembers.
Reaume quickly rose fromhis
seat at the table and heatedly
shouted, “We're recessed,” and
ordered Police Chief Tom
Tiderington to join him in the
adjacent hallway.
While
Reaume
and
Tiderington spoke across the
hall, several residents stood and
approached the dais to express
their displeasure with the con-
duct of the officials to other
board officials.
Reaume and Tiderington
returned in 10 minutes and
Reaume reopened themeeting.
Despite Doroshewitz' contin-
ued examples of potential liabili-
ty, parking and staffing problems,
the question was called and the
immediate purchase of the
$21,820 snow machine approved
by a 4-3 vote. Trustees
Doroshewitz, Curmi and Mike
Kelly cast the opposing votes
while Reaume, Edwards, Clerk
Nancy Conzelman and Trustee
Kay Arnold, the four boardmem-
bers currently facing a recall
petition drive, carried the ques-
tion.
The PlymouthFife andDrumCorps will
be joined by some very special guests dur-
ing the 20th anniversary Freezer Jam this
month.
As the hosts of the annual conference of
fife and drumcorps event, whichmarks the
special anniversary of the yearly gathering,
the attending groups will be joined by The
United States Army Old Guard Fife and
Drum Corps, which will perform at the
event. The United States Army Old Guard
Fife andDrumCorps is the official ceremo-
nial unit and escort to the President of the
United States. They are a premier musical
organization and are truly amazing to wit-
ness inperson, organizers of the event said.
The conference usually draws fife and
drum corps from throughout the Midwest
region who will gather for classes in music
and marching in the morning and after-
noon Feb. 21 at Stevenson High School in
Livonia.
Freezer Jam 2015 will wrap up with a
concert from 3-6 p.m. in the high school
auditorium during which The United
States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum
Corpswill perform.
Tickets are available for the concert and
“this is an extraordinary display of musical
excellence and living history,” organizers
said. “The United States Army Old Guard
Fife and Drum Corps are a premier musi-
cal organization and are truly amazing to
witness inperson.”
To purchase tickets for the Freezer Jam
2015 concert, priced at $15, visit
erjam.org
Plymouth Fife & Drum Corps is an
internationally renowned world class Fife
&DrumCorpsmade up of students age 12 -
18 from Plymouth and surrounding com-
munities. Practicing year round, members
are dedicated to preserving the ancient
arts of color guard, fifing, and drumming.
They average 40-50 live performances dur-
ing parades, patriotic celebrations, and
other civic events throughout Michigan,
Ohio and Canada. At the close of the sum-
mer performance season, the group tours
tohistorical landmarks.
Stevenson High School is located at
33500 SixMileRoad inLivonia.
Don Howard
Staff Writer
I don't think this is a good idea…
you're creating a risk.
”
Snow machine purchase heats up meeting
