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No. 8
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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February 20 – 26, 2014
w w w . a s s o c i a t e d n e w s p a p e r s . n e t
Gov.
Rick
Snyder
announced last week that
Wayne was selected to take
part in the Selected Level
Michigan Main Street pro-
gram.
See page 4.
Pet owners can get their
animals vaccinated during the
annual Dog and Cat
Inoculation Day this Saturday
at the Romulus Animal
Shelter.
See page 3.
Members of the Plymouth
Township Board of Trustees
have given preliminary
approval to an adult nursing
and senior center off Ann
ArborRoad.
See page 5.
Barbara R. Lott, will join
Northville Public Schools as
Interim
Assistant
Superintendent
for
Instructional Services.
See page 5.
Adventurous Belleville resi-
dents are needed to partici-
pant in the Polar Plunge into
the icy water on Saturday, Feb.
22 at theBellevilleYacht Club.
See page 3.
Vol. 129, No. 8
Vol. 67, No. 8
Vol. 67, No. 8
Vol. 14, No. 8
Vol. 129, No. 8
Vol. 67, No. 8
Vol. 67, No. 8
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The Westland Wild Wings
will lace up their skates again
for the 5th Annual Red Wing
Alumni Charity Hockey Game
set for 7 p.m. March 21 at the
MikeModano IceArena.
See page 4.
South Canton Scholars
Charter Academy students
changed their usual school
attire to enjoy spirit week
recently and on Wednesday
wore pajamas to school.
See page 5.
Vol. 14, No. 8
The City of Wayne will formally
contact the Michigan Office of
Fiscal Responsibility for assis-
tance in facing the $1 million
budget shortfall this year.
Financial consultant Vince
Pastue told the members of the
city council last week that Wayne
“clearly has the makings of a
financial emergency” in recom-
mending taking this interim step
prior to seeking an emergency
financial manager appointed by
the governor. Pastue, hired earlier
this year to help analyze and pre-
pare the city budget, is the city
manager inFarmington.
He told the council members
that the city “will have a negative
fund balance at the end of the fis-
cal year. Some of your assump-
tions in the budget didnot happen.
You need to take steps to address
that.”
Pastue said necessary actions
would include ending the internal
transfers to the general fund.
“Enterprise and service funds
were used to prop up the general
fund----in excess of $3 million with
revenues of $14million.”
He said the city would have to
“take pretty dramatic steps for the
rest of the fiscal year” which ends
in June. He suggested more
employee layoffs, wage and bene-
fit reductions and other cuts in
expenses.
“Long term it will require hard
decisions. You need more revenue
to make thoughtful decisions. It's
pretty hopeless without more rev-
enue. It's that bad,” Pastue said.
He added that he was not opti-
mistic about property tax revenue
increasing for the city. He said the
city had experienced a greater
loss in property values and there-
fore amuch greater loss in tax rev-
enue than some other communi-
ties.
“I'm not optimistic that proper-
Long term it will require hard decisions.
You need more revenue to make thoughtful decisions.
It's pretty hopeless without more revenue. It's that bad.
”
See
Budget,
page 2
Threat of emergency manager looms in Wayne
Hometown Hero
Family donates $5,000 to Goodfellows
in memory of Air Force Colonel
The legal battle regarding the
land erroneously sold to Plymouth
Township in a Wayne County fore-
closure sale is not over.
The township paid $606,150 in
2011 for two parcels of land total-
ing 323 acres being foreclosed and
sold by Wayne County for back
taxes. According to an affidavit
filed by attorneys for the City of
Detroit Jan. 9, 2013, the 190-acre
parcel of the formerDetroit House
of Corrections property bordered
by Napier, Five Mile, Beck and
Ridge roads still belonged to the
City of Detroit and as such was
exempt from any sale for back
taxes.
The Detroit suit was filed April
5, 2013 and amended April 18.
Detroit contends that following the
2006 sale of 133 acres on the east-
ern-most part of the 323-acre site
to Demco 54 LLC, a property
transfer affidavit was filed and a
property split approved that
should have indicated Detroit had
kept the remaining 190 acres. It
states that state law, and specifi-
cally the State Tax Commission,
forbid the foreclosure of property
ownedby a city.
In November, attorneys for the
City of Detroit were forced to with-
draw their request for a hearing in
Wayne County Circuit Court
regarding the lawsuit filed against
Plymouth Township and Wayne
County demanding the return of
the land. The withdrawal was
based on the relationship of
Plymouth Township with the law
firm Miller-Canfield, the same
firm chosen by the City of Detroit
officials to represent the munici-
pality in the city bankruptcy filing.
Court hearing on DeHoCo property set for next month
Meonsha
Lashawna
Robinson, 28, of Inkster will
face several criminal charges
as a result of a vehicle acci-
dent in Wayne earlier this
month.
See page 4.
The Romulus Goodfellows
recently received one of the
largest donations in the history of
the organization.
A $5,000 donation was made by
the family of the late retired Air
Force Colonel Douglas C. Roach,
who passed away from complica-
tions of cancer on Jan. 11, 2013.
Col. Roach was featured as a
Romulus “HometownHero” in the
2013 program guide to the 16th
annual Romulus DDA Pumpkin
Festival,
published
last
September. A story told of Col.
Roach's heroics as “an important
Air Force advocate as a staffer
with the House Armed Services
Committee” and as a one-time
Thunderbirds air demonstration
teampilot.
“Doug was a patriot who
embodied Air Force core values,
and his loss will be felt for years to
come,” said Tony Reardon, deputy
director and legislative liaison of
the Office of the Secretary of the
AirForce inWashingtonDC.
The story, placed in the
Pumpkin Festival guide by
Romulus resident Sheldon
Chandler, came to the attention of
fellow resident Elsie Russell, who
knew Col. Roach and his family.
Her daughter, Pam, forwarded the
book to Col. Roach's brother, L.
Jarmin Roach, living in Newport
Beach, California.
Jarmin Roach was so moved by
the story that he wrote a $5,000
check to the Goodfellows and
mailed it to Russell, who present-
ed the donation to Mayor LeRoy
D. Burcroff.
“He was so touched by how
Romulus had recognized the fami-
ly and his loved ones,” Burcroff
said. “He remembered how his
dad, Leo, sold Goodfellows papers
on the corner as a way to raise
money to help Romulus families
in need. What better way to say
'thank you' than to make a dona-
tion to theGoodfellows?”
The late Leo Roach also was
mentioned in the story about his
son. Russell said the Roach family
lived on Bibbins Street across
from the Romulus Police Station
and that Mr. Roach served as pres-
ident of the Romulus State Bank,
now a branch of Comerica Bank.
The mayor's late father, Dean, also
knew Leo Roach and did business
withhimat the bank.
The Roach children - Doug,
Jarmin and Mary Ann - all gradu-
ated from Romulus High School.
Russell was in Jarmin's graduating
class. After moving to California,
she said, Jarmin became a suc-
cessful interior decorator in
Hollywood.
When Col. Roach died, Russell
said she sent a sympathy card to
Jarmin, who mailed her informa-
tion about his late brother. The
two-way communication contin-
ued with the eventual mailing of
the PumpkinFestival and then the
$5,000 check, whichwas a pleasant
surprise.
“We kept in touch all the time,”
Russell said. “When he saw the
story on Doug, he was thrilled. He
saw the map in the magazine and
remembered the streets. He said
he looked at that magazine for
days.”
Burcroff said the donation was
an example of a “ran-
dom act of kindness.”
He said the $5,000 will provide a
huge boost to the Goodfellows'
fundraising efforts and food and
Romulus resident Elsie Russell presents a ceremonial copy of the
check to Mayor LeRoy D. Burcroff on behalf of former Romulus resident
L. Jarmin Roach.
Air Force Colonel
Douglas C. Roach
See
Land,
page 2
The City of Romulus took steps
last week to start to restore the
parkswithin the community.
The city earmarked the bulk of
the Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) funds for the
2014/2014 fiscal year to restore
some park facilities and hire
three employees to help maintain
them.
“It's one step further in better-
ing in our citizens' opportunity for
parks and recreation,” said Mayor
LeroyBurcroff.
In total, the city will spend
about $17,741 to restore baseball
fields, basketball courts and play
equipment at qualifying parks and
about $81,000 to hire a full-time
and two part-time recreation
employees. The Community
Development Block Grant pro-
gram is a federal one adminis-
tered through Wayne County; the
money must be spent in low
income areas of the community.
Also, the city will spend about
$36,000 at the Thomas J. Coleman
Center on Beverly Road, the
home of the American
Progressive Association. Those
funds will pay for a new play
structure, a 16 by 20-foot wooden
pavilion, five picnic tables and
some interior repairs, according
to Bronson Bell, president of the
See
Donation,
page 3
It's one step further in bettering
in our citizens' opportunity
for parks and recreation.
”
Romulus to reopen parks with federal grant funds
See
Parks,
page 3