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December 26, 2013
P
LYMOUTH
Suit against township treasurer dismissed by judge
Commission approves plans for new apartment complex
A court case seeking the return
of a $559 late fee on a water bill
from
Plymouth
Township
Treasurer Ron Edwards was dis-
missed by 16thDistrict Court Judge
Sean Kavanagh on a legal techni-
cality last week.
The case was transferred to the
Livonia court by the state after all
three 35th District Court judges,
Ron Lowe, James Plakas and
Michael Gerou, recused them-
selves based on Edwards’ official
elected capacity in the township.
Edwards, as township treasurer,
is responsible for collection of resi-
dential and commercial water bills.
Last August, he was served notice
to appear in the 35th District Court
in response to a suit filed by a town-
ship businessman claiming
Edwards reneged on a signed pay-
ment agreement forwater use.
Raymont Klimas, 61, owner of
Lakeshore Tire and Auto Repair
claimed in his suit that Edwards, at
one time a regular customer at his
repair shop and car wash, rescind-
ed a signed agreement for a pay-
ment plan for his water bill, levied
the bill onto his personal property
taxes and tacked on a $559 delin-
quency fee.
Klimas said he was surprised
when he received his tax bill last
January and discovered the penal-
ty. He said he wrote to Edwards to
remind him of the written payment
agreement dating back to October
2012. Klimas said he then called
Edwards' office several times and
left messages but Edwards did not
returnhis calls.
On May 7, Klimas filed an affi-
davit and claim in the Plymouth
District Court to recover the
amount of the delinquency fee he
thought to be unjust and Edwards
was served onMay 15.
By the end of that month,
Plymouth Township attorney
Timothy Cronin filed a motion to
have the hearing go before a dis-
trict court judge to allow Edwards
legal representation in the matter.
According the court clerk, Edwards
wanted the township-paid attorney
to argue onhis behalf.
Klimas, who arrived at court
early and represented himself at
the settlement conference, said he
had to leave his business and
appear in court eight times before
the hearing last week. Edwards
and the court waited 50minutes for
Cronin to arrive before proceeding.
Kavanagh dismissed the case
after Cronin claimed Klimas didn't
formally respond to an Order to
Dismiss submitted to the court. He
was unable to produce the Proof of
Service that supposedly went to
Klimas for his response.
“A treasurer is not obligated by
law to give anyone a payment plan,
that's a courtesy.”Kavanagh said.
“I could have paid that water
bill, but it was the penalty that got
me,”Klimas said.
Young professionals, empty-
nesters, young couples and others
looking for new, high-end residen-
tial options in Plymouth will likely
have one more choice now that the
Plymouth Planning Commission
has
given
approval
to
Starkweather Station luxury apart-
ments.
The commissioners voted unan-
imously to allow developers
DevMar Development LLC. and
Burton-KatzmanLLC. to build a 93-
unit apartment community along
Plymouth Road east of North
Holbrook during their regular
meetingWednesday, Dec. 11.
Mark DeMaria, principal for
DevMar Development, said he is
optimistic that the city commission
will see the benefits his project
offers their community.
“Plymouth is a great town with
so many attractive qualities,” he
said. “The restaurants, the shops
and the events all offer people a
real sense of community. That has
great appeal for young profession-
als, empty-nesters, and young cou-
ples, but the type of residential set-
ting they seek is in low supply here.
They want to live in places with
modern amenities, new construc-
tion, open spaces and still be part
of the city. Starkweather Station
offers all of those features.”
Starkweather Station will con-
sist of two, four-story apartment
buildings that will be connected to
Plymouth's Old Village through a
lush open green space with many
large, mature trees, a walking path
and a pavilion. This community
will offer loft apartments with
shared hallways and town-lofts
with their ownprivate access. Each
will be 800-1,330 square feet and
have 10-foot high ceilings, high-end
amenities, including wood flooring,
granite countertops, stainless steel
appliances, in-unit washer and
dryer, and outdoor patios or bal-
conies, a spokesman said.
The project will now go to the
city commission for approval in
January. With that approval, the
project would be on track for
ground breaking in the spring. The
project is expected to be complet-
edby 2015.
Honeywell, and the gloves and
boots, which he described as “high-
quality.”
In a July 19 private letter to
Reaume, obtained through the
Freedom of Information Act,
Wendel outlined the dire condition
of much of the current equipment
used by the fire department. He
expressed his concern for the safety
of the firefighters and the public in
light of the outdated equipment cur-
rently inuse.
Reaume, who has had an adver-
sarial relationship with the town-
ship fire department since downsiz-
ing staffing by 60 percent and imple-
menting a 50 percent reduction in
firefighters' salaries through a
retirement program last year,
thankedHoneywell.
“The new equipment is very
much appreciated andwill be put to
good use protecting the residents of
Plymouth Township,” Reaume said.
“Onbehalf of the township, Iwant to
thank Honeywell for its support of
our community.”
Tony Schultz, Honeywell vice
president of the Americas said,
“Honeywell wants to be known as a
good corporate citizen and we feel
that responsibility in the communi-
tieswherewework and live.”
Donation
FROM PAGE 1
Plymouth Township Treasurer Ron Edwards waits for township attorney
Tim Cronin in court last week.