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No. 13
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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March 27 – April 2, 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
In an effort to balance the
deficit budget, Wayne City
Council members voted last
week to close several sections
of the Wayne Community
Center.
See page 4.
The City of Romulus is
accepting applications to
establish an eligibility list for
the position of firefighter/EMT.
See page 4.
Plymouth Community
United Way is looking for vol-
unteers to clean yards and do
light chores in Plymouth, and
Plymouth and Canton town-
ships.
See page 2.
A professional association
serving 17,500 government
finance professionals has hon-
ored Northville Township for
excellence in financial report-
ing.
See page 3.
There are only two more
days to enjoy the Quilt Show at
the Belleville Area Museum
where crowds have been flock-
ing to see the display of 140
quilts.
See page 4.
Vol. 129, No. 13
Vol. 67, No. 13
Vol. 67, No. 13
Vol. 14, No. 13
Vol. 129, No. 13
Vol. 67, No. 13
Vol. 67, No. 13
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Westland Shopping Center
will be welcoming two new
major retailers. Charming
Charlie and Shoe Carnival,
will soon open at themall.
See page 3.
One Canton Township cou-
ple realized a dream they
thought would never come
true thanks to a national group
dedicated to providing free
wedding services.
See page 2
.
Vol. 14, No. 13
If employment contracts are successful,
Joseph Merucci, the current city manager in
Lincoln Park, will be the new city manager in
Wayne. He will replace Robert English who
retired from the city in September after serv-
ing as city manager for about three years. City
Engineer Ramzi El-Gharib has been interim
citymanager since that time.
Merucci was interviewed for about 90 min-
utes last Saturday by members of the Wayne
City Council who were apparently satisfied
with his responses to their questions, experi-
ence and education.
Merucci said the largest expenses in the
city are in personnel particularly in the fire
andpolice departments.
“I would first start working with the
finance director - you've got to get control of
the spending. The majority of that would be
people. I would do a thorough review of the
(labor) contracts. There are also contracts with
attorneys, engineers and others. They all need
to be examined,” Merucci told the Wayne
councilmembers.
Following the interview the council mem-
bers voted unanimously to begin contract
negotiations with Merucci, who has nearly 30
years experience in city government. He
began his career as assistant city manger in
Garden City and was then the city manager in
Pleasant Ridge, Clawson and Fowlerville. He
accepted the Lincoln Park job about a year
ago. Merucci earned his bachelors degree in
political science from the University of
Michigan inDearborn and earned his masters
degree in public administration at Wayne
State University. He would be contract
employee and would not receive employee
benefits.
Merrucci is no stranger to municipal finan-
cial problems. Lincoln Park will have an
Emergency Financial Manager appointed by
Gov. Rick Snyder this year, based on the finan-
cial deficits in the city. Wayne currently faces a
$1.5 million deficit and a deficit of more than
$3million is anticipated for next year. City offi-
cials recently met with the Michigan Office of
Financial Responsibility at the recommenda-
tion of budget consultant Vince Pastue, the
citymanager inFarmington.
“People who say they want an EFM
(Emergency Financial Manager) are foolish -
that's the last thing you want,” said Merucci.
“The EFM has a single job - that is to make
sure the budgetmeets the revenues.”
“You have a golden opportunity with Main
Street. I'm quite shocked that your DDA
(Downtown Development Authority) board
only meets once or twice a year,” said
Merucci. “Most meet monthly. I realize the
funding is committed but there are still things
they candowith smaller expenses.”
If employment agreement negotiations are
successful, Merucci could start within 30 days.
Five local women were involved in a “fight”
earlier this month that drew a lot of media
attention.
The five participated in the Fight For Air
Climb, a fundraising event for the American
Lung Association March 2 at the Renaissance
Center indowntownDetroit.
Linda McNeil, Merrie Druyor and Dawn
Dennison of Romulus took part in the “vertical
road race” for the second straight year, climbing
70 flights stairs - 1,035 steps - to raise funds to
battle lung disease. This year, the group
increased to five, including Tammy Todd of
Taylor andPauletteMatlock of Canton.
So far, the event has raised more than
$335,000. Money raised provides life-saving edu-
cation, research and advocacy with the goal of
finding a cure.
McNeil and Druyor work in the City of
Romulus Economic Development Department.
Dennison works at a physical therapist's office.
Todd is administrative assistant with
VantagePort and Matlock is a pediatric hygien-
ist with a dental office inCommerceTownship.
McNeil said she was first inspired to partici-
pate by her husband, Brownstown Township
Firefighter Brian McNeil, who did the climb
this year in full gear for the third year in a row
despite a recent injury.
Dennison, whose husband, William, is a fire-
fighter at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in
Romulus, said she did the climb in honor of her
daughter, who has suffered with asthma since
she was 7 years old and has had trouble breath-
ing.
Druyor said she participated because of the
worthy cause and because of the fitness chal-
lenge. She and McNeil thanked their family
and friends for their support, along with their
sponsors, includingD&GBuilding inRomulus.
“We are again proud to support such a great
cause and are happy that we were able to
recruit Tammy and Paulette for this year,”
McNeil said, “and we will continue trying to
recruit additional people for next year.”
Todd, who said she was inspired to make
the climb by neighbors who became firefight-
ers, called the climb “a great experience.”
“I have a lot of family members and friends
that have either died or are struggling with lung
disease,” she said. “My grandfather and my
mother-in-lawdied fromemphysema, my broth-
er-in-law and a long-time friend passed away
from long cancer - just to name a few. This was
my way to help find a cure. I would absolutely
do it again. It was a remarkable experience.”
...you've got to get
control of the spending.
”
New city manager chosen by Wayne council
Legislators voted to
approve a budget supplemen-
tal bill that includes $5.1 mil-
lion in funding for districts
that took students from the dis-
solved Inkster district.
See page 3.
A miscommunication was the
apparent cause of a four-month
delay in the prosecution of a
Dearborn man arrested for posses-
sion with intent to deliver cocaine
at a downtown Plymouth restau-
rant andbar.
Bryce M. Koth, 50, appeared for
a preliminary hearing on charges
last week before 35th District
Judge Mike Gerou after his arrest
by Plymouth police at around 9:30
p.m. Nov.16. This court hearing was
delayed at the request of attorneys
who said more time was needed to
obtain evidentiary surveillance
video. The preliminary hearing
was rescheduled for this Tuesday.
According to police reports of
the incident, Landon Garrett, iden-
tified as the owner of the Ironwood
Grill and 336 Main, flagged down a
police car on patrol in the lower lot
of the downtown city parking struc-
ture Nov. 16. Garrett, according to
the reports, told the officer that a
waitress at the Ironwood Grill had
been given small packets of
cocaine by a customer on three
separate occasions. Garrett told the
officer that the waitress said the
packets were folded in her tip
money and that she had never
solicited the drugs. Garrett, accord-
ing to the report, said the man who
had given the drugs to the waitress
was at the bar and requested that
the officers remove the man from
his establishment.
According to the report, imme-
diately after the officer was flagged
down, he received a call from dis-
patch to meet with Garrett at
Ironwood Grill, located at 840 W.
Ann Arbor Trail. Two other offi-
cers responded to the call and
joined the first patrolman at the
scene, leaving the patrol cars in the
parking structure at the rear of the
bar.
Managers at IKEA, the leading
home furnishings retailer in the
world, have revealed plans to
expand the warehouse area at
the Canton store onFordRoad by
about 44,000 square feet.
IKEA Canton, which opened
in June 2006 at 311,000 square
feet in size, would grow to a new
footprint of about 355,000 square
feet.
Initial utilityworkwould begin
this coming summer with actual
construction activity starting in
the fall. The store will remain
open and operational during con-
struction, maintaining its full
product offering throughout the
project, expected to be complete
next spring, according to Matt
Hunsicker, Canton storemanager.
The project will include
expanding the Self-Serve
Furniture Area where shoppers
collect flat-packed furniture to
take home on the same day, rear-
ranging customer service func-
tions to the newly-built part of the
store and enlarging the home
delivery area. This extension
would blend into the existing
structure so the store can pre-
serve the unique architectural
design for which IKEA stores are
known.
“IKEA is thrilled with the suc-
cess of IKEA Canton. But, as our
customer base and sales continue
to grow - along with our product
assortment - the store's ware-
house capacity now is less than
ideal,” said Hunsicker.
“Extending the store's self-
serve furniture area so it can
hold more products would allow
us to improve the shopping expe-
rience, to meet our customers'
needs more easily, and to
enhance our ability to keep low-
ering prices,” he added.
The owner of Fiamma has since protested erroneous
reports that the arrest took place in his business.
”
Plymouth drug prosecution delayed nearly 4 months
See
Delay,
page 2
See
IKEA,
page 2
Battle for air
Local women compete
in annual fundraiser
Warehouse expansion planned at IKEA in Canton
Linda McNeil (left) of Romulus, Tammy Todd of Taylor, Merrie Druyor of Romulus, Dawn
Dennison of Romulus and Paulette Matlock of CantonTownship were among those involved in
the Fight For Air Climb in downtown Detroit March 2.