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August 15, 2013
Letters
We've said it before, but this
accomplishment really deserves a
few more words and a lot more
attention.
On a recent Monday morning,
bright and early, all the members of
the Northville Township Board of
Trustees and many other township
officials were on the site of the for-
mer Scott Correctional Facility to
celebrate the end of demolition
work there.
First, we were seriously
impressed when the township, with
the help of State Rep. Kurt Heise,
was able to buy the former jail prop-
erty from the state for only $1. These
days, buying anything for $1 is a rare
occurrence but when it is 53 acres of
property at the intersection of Five
Mile and Beck roads in Northville
Township, that's a pretty big deal.
Even with that incredible acqui-
sition, the township faced about
$475,000 in costs to demolish the for-
mer women's prison, including
asbestos abatement and hazardous
waste disposal of building materials
that were commonly used back
when the prison was constructed.
The prison was built on the site of
an old dump, too, compounding the
difficulty of demolishing the build-
ings at the site.
Township Engineer Tom Casari,
TownshipManager ChipSnider and
Township Supervisor Robert Nix
acted on a suggestion to take bids
for the demolition from companies
willing to do the work for the value
of the salvage to be found there. To
everyone's surprise, one of the top
demolition firms in the state,
Adamo Co., stepped up and agreed
to take the job for the value they
could realize from the old building
materials, metals and other salvage.
The townshipwas forced, howev-
er, to double their investment in the
project with Adamo. It cost the
township another $1 to secure the
contract with the company who fin-
ished the work ahead of schedule
this week. Northville officials are
obviously well pleased with the
acquisition of the property and
were on site wielding booms and
shovels, getting the final construc-
tion ceremoniously swept away
from the site, now ready for devel-
opment in one of the most desirable
communities in the state.
We'd just like to once again con-
gratulate everyone involved in the
project, no matter how large or how
small their participation may have
been.
This was a unique opportunity
handled in an innovative, responsi-
ble and professional way with the
best interest of the community and
the residents the priority of all
involved.
Northville Township residents
have a great deal to be proud of.
The officials they have elected and
the professionals hired to manage
their community should be among
them, alongwith this latest evidence
of the way in which local and state
government can work together to
the benefit of the people who ulti-
mately pay the bills.
Nice work and the best use of $2
we've ever seen.
First I laughed. Out loud. A lot.
Then the reality hit and I've
beenmore than troubled ever since
I finished reading This Town: Two
Weddings and a Funeral--Plus
Plenty of Free Parking in America's
GildedCapital byMarkLeibovich.
Leibovich performs an editorial
autopsy on many of the legends
(both living and dead) in
Washington, D.C., eviscerates the
entire system charged with operat-
ing our government, and makes
readers laugh out loud while he's
gleefully slicing up these moral
corpses with his very sharp scalpel
disguised as a pen.
It's only later that one realizes,
hey, this is my life, my country, the
welfare ofmy family in the hands of
these brazen, greedy, grasping,
power-hungry fools who will do
anything to perpetuate their own
careers and fortunes.
He spends a lot of time at the
funeral of former Meet The Press
host Tim Russert, with a first-per-
son account of who attends, where
they sit and their real relationship
to the other powers that be in the
room. It's filled with snarky, insider
gossip. I loved it.
First, it's funny, to know that all
these super-powerful politicos have
advanced no further than junior
high school in their emotional
maturity. They all still have the
same foibles and flaws as the rest of
us, they just hide them behind
practiced plastic smiles and
euphemisms worthy of Miss
Manners. The cliques there make
the ones in high school look all-
inclusive.
Liebovich, who is the chief
national correspondent for The
New York Times Magazine, recalls
anecdote after anecdote of
absolutely true incidents among
the very, very rich and powerful in
D.C. He names the guilty and does
nothing to protect the innocent,
because obviously, they don't exist
in our national capital anymore.
Honestly, I usually can tell
whether the writer of any political
opinion is a Democrat or
Republican. I mean, c'mon, it's pret-
ty obvious, always, no matter how
“objective” they claim to be. The
weekend news shows are one of my
favorite chal-
lenges and I
haven't been
wrong yet about
the party affiliation of any of the
experts who appear there to criti-
cize whatever the opposing party is
doing.
Liebovich, however, got me. He
took a literary machete to every
single one of them no matter which
party they claimto support.
If you think of yourself as a
Democrat or Republican, this book
has the ammunition to change your
mind, because it's obvious that the
pundit who said there is only one
party in Washington now, the
Millionaires, was right. No matter
how strong your loyalties to your
chosen candidate, this book will
alter your thinking. Well, if you
read it.
The primary election last week provides a bit of insight
into the minds of voters throughout Wayne County and may
hold lessons for those who are hoping for a successful
November.
First and foremost is the astonishing number of votes gath-
ered by Mike Duggan in the Detroit mayoral race. It is very
difficult to win an election as a write-in candidate; the odds
are definitely stacked against them and the obstacles, from
laziness to poor spelling, are numerous. Yet Duggan not only
gained enough votes to place his name on the November bal-
lot, he earned an overwhelming majority. More than 46 per-
cent of voters who cast their ballot wrote his name in.
Combined with the votes cast for other write-in candidates,
more than half of the voters opted to choose someone who
was not listed among the candidates. That is a pretty decisive
statement and it shows that, in places where there is not a
host of viable candidates, it is possible to mount a campaign
if your message is simple enough and you want to put in the
time.
Also of note to voters and officials inWayne is the general-
ly good reception that tax increases had last week. In Allen
Park, voters approved a 6.75 mill tax for police and fire serv-
ices, while voters in the South Redford School District
approved a 2-mill sinking fund to pay for building improve-
ments. In Wayne, officials are asking for a 7-mill increase to
fund police and fire retirements-so they say, although they
are obligated to fund those pensions regardless of whether
themillage is approved.
The most hotly contested primary locally was in Romulus,
where four candidates sought to replace incumbent Mayor
Alan Lambert, who is not seeking re-election, and 15 candi-
dates were vying for seven seats on the council. While the
outcome of the mayoral primary-Council President Leroy
Burcroff and Councilwoman EvaWebb finished first and sec-
ond, respectively-was not a surprise, the council results yield-
ed a few. All the incumbents finished strong, but so did many
vocal critics of city administration and policy. With three
seats opening updue toCouncilmanWilliamCrova's decision
to not seek re-election and Burcroff's and Webb's attempt to
win the mayoral seat, this will be among the most interesting
races towatchduring the next fewmonths.
That means, much to the potential chagrin of city council
and some residents alike, campaigning from the podiumwill
increase. Residents recently expressed their desire for can-
didates to keep their campaigning out of the public com-
ments portions of meetings, but guess what folks: that is just
the way things work nowadays. Fortunately, the results indi-
cate two things: that voters recognize it for what it is and that
sometimes, those who make the most noise also make the
silent candidates look thatmuchbetter.
All the incumbents finished strong,
but so did many vocal critics
of city administration and policy.
”
Primary results should be campaign lesson
Getting
it done
No matter how strong your loyalties
to your chosen candidate, this book
will alter your thinking. Well, if you read it.
”
This Town,
a scathing look inside Washington
Board spending blasted
To the editor:
I was furious recently when the
Plymouth Township board voted 4-
3 to borrow $2 million to spend on
"recreation" projects without any
input from the voters. This was
done in secrecy by burying it in a
special meeting April 23 where the
public only knew it was coming if
they checked the website all day,
every day. What they did, borrow-
ing for many unnecessary and
wasteful projects, was bad enough.
Theway they did it was shameful.
The April 23 meeting was called
at the last possibleminute. Some of
the trustees had no idea what was
coming andhadno time to read the
board packet or get feedback from
the voters. The cameras were con-
veniently turned off at both the
April 23 and July 23 meetings.
Voters at home were unable to see
the way the board acted and the
public outcry against the projects.
Numerous calls to the township
asking why the videos were not
posted go to voicemail and are
never returned.
Many of my friends and I cam-
paigned hard to help elect this
board, including the four that voted
for the loan - Kay Arnold, Nancy
Conzelman, Ron Edwards and
Richard Reaume - on the promise
they would practice conservative
Republican principles. We sup-
ported them because we did not
think we would have to watch over
See
Book
, page 5
See
Letters
, page 5