This is a post I have been wanting to write for over a year
and figured it is finally time! It is
actually past time for me to write this, and past time for a new township
clerk! Bridgeport residents deserve competent, honest, government officials. I will list just
some of the problems with our current clerk.
We will start back from the time just over two years ago to the present
day.
1 – Back on July 10th, 2019 I wrote a post about
the “inaccuracies” of the township clerks profile page that is on the township
government website.As of this writing,
that profile page is still up and no corrections have been made to the
information.You can read my post here
about the “inaccuracies” of his profile:
Some people might just call those inaccuracies outright
lies.I still today have to ask the
question “Is Lee Carpenter that confused?Is he suffering from memory loss?Is he attempting a little "revisionist history" to try and
mislead the residents and voters?”Does
he, and other township officials, believe the residents are so stupid they won’t
know the difference between the truth and their version of the truth?Do they even care?The fact that this “misinformation” is still
posted on the township website makes me question whether he is even honest
enough to be trusted with one of our most sacred rights, the right to vote?If
he can’t even remember what years he was in office before, before he was
recalled by the voters, is he even competent enough to run our elections?
2 – Since Lee Carpenter was installed as the current
township clerk back in 2019, there have been no updates on the townships
official website about any election information. Nothing!!In February of 2020 I posted a brief update
for residents so they could go to Saginaw County’s website to look up
information concerning upcoming elections.2020 was an important and busy election year but Bridgeport Township
residents were left in the dark.There
has only been one election committee agenda posted online back in October of
2020.No minutes are posted so I don’t
know if that meeting ever took place.On
the regular township clerks page they have some information about things voters
need to know concerning voting here, but that information is years
outdated!The absentee voting requirement section has
not been updated since the laws changed in 2018.I repeat, 2018!The township website says you must be over
the age of 60 and there are multiple requirements for applying for an absentee
ballot.The current law is that any eligible
voter is able to apply and there are no requirements or reasons needed.Was any resident unable to vote because they
read that outdated information, or had no access to any information concerning
when and where to vote etc…?
A screenshot of the current township voting information page:
Here is a link to the current Michigan Secretary Of State page with information about voting and absentee ballots:
3 – I did finally find some election information posted for
Bridgeport residents online, not on any official township page, but on Lee
Carpenters personal Facebook page.He
did post updates there.I guess only if
you are one of his friends, or knew who the clerk was and how to access his personal Facebook page, did you have or deserve access to voter and
election information. It is fine if he
wants to share official information from his page, but it should first be
posted on an official page for ALL residents to have access to.Now if his personal Facebook page is being used
as an official government page, then there is a real problem with that.Has anyone ever looked at his personal
Facebook page?
Here are two examples of voter information updates from Lee Carpenter's personal page that should have been being shared on an official township government page for all residents to see:
It appears that all his
posts are set for “public” so that anyone can see them.The problem lies with the other posts that
the public would have to wade through to find any official township news. He posts very Anti Conservative, Anti Trump, Anti Trump Supporters, Anti NRA items and the lists goes on. His political bias, and it seems hatred of half of the country, is not appropriate to be shared publicly by a government official. Here is just a small example of some of them, and these are just the memes:
July 2019
July 2021 - He likes this one so much that he has posted it twice, this past May and then again several days ago
These are some from April of 2019, right after his buddies snuck him back into office:
He is free to post whatever he wants on his personal page,
but when that page appears to be used also as an official government page,
those posts are a problem.First they
could be very offensive to many people in our township.Secondly, I feel that those kinds of posts
would cause concern for the integrity of our elections and the clerk’s ability
to run a fair and honest election. Those posts are very inappropriate for any government official to be posting for the public to see.
There have been government employees and officials that have had to step down from their positions for less offensive posts than Lee Carpenter shares. Lee Carpenter would never step down from office because he knows his buddies up there have his back. He does not have the integrity to step down from office, thus he does not have the integrity to be in office!
Almost forgot this one also from 2019. The Irony!!:
We could try to recall him again, but what is the point in that? Our current elected township officials have already shown that they will disregard the will of the voters and just bring him back again. Nothing will change until we can vote them all out!
Bridgeport residents need to educate themselves about our officials etc... and you need to get involved.
This will be a long post that will cover the DDA board
meeting and other items I feel a need to comment on. First I would like to apologize for the poor
quality of the video. My camera is good
but the lighting is dismal in the meeting room so the video comes out grainy
and blurry. Most of the members there
have no microphone, they can barely hear each other, and I can barely hear them
at times. It will be very hard for the
public to hear some of the conversations, and the nuances that I could hear and
see in person.
First let’s start with a history of DDA boards:They were meant to be temporary and the focus
was supposed to be on reviving failing historic town centers and
infrastructure.They were supposed to
have sunset clauses written into them, they were never meant to be a permanent
part of any local government.Their
original purpose has been ignored and abused for so long now that it has just
become accepted practice.DDA board
members are not elected officials, they are appointed.The DDA board answers to the township trustee
board; and the DDA Coordinator answers to the Township Manager, the Township Manager
is also the DDA Director, a point that someone seems to not understand.The township board and the DDA board should
act as two independent bodies with that chain of command.My problem is that it seems that the two
boards act as one entity, answerable to no one.I believe it is required by law that the Township Supervisor sits on the
DDA board, and that should be the only overlap between the two in my opinion.
Here in Bridgeport we have two other township trustee board members that also
sit on the DDA board.It is my personal opinion
that creates a conflict, especially when you have half of the DDA board members
not even show up for meetings and votes.How many people really run this township and make the decisions that
affect the lives of the residents?
Some of the people on the DDA board, and in the township
offices, that I know and like very much.Some
I don’t know at all so I don’t have an opinion on them.Some like Augie Tausend, I find him a
likeable person, and he can be very easy to get along with.We don’t speak any longer, but I have no
problem with our interactions in the past.At least to my face he has never been disrespectful to me, unlike a few
others.I do have respect for him on a
personal level, but would still like to see him gone from office for numerous
reasons. There are some other township elected officials and employees that I
would like to see out the door today!
Another thought before I move on back to the DDA board
meeting:Any employee or official of our
township that deals directly with the public should never be abrasive, arrogant,
condescending, confrontational, or a bully!And no township employee should ever be privately contacting members of
the public that post opinions online about the township, and trying to get them
to stop their “negativity”.That is
extremely inappropriate.
** If you watch this on YouTube, it will show you what times what segments start at, and you can watch it in theater mode.
Now onto the actual DDA board meeting:This was another very interesting and
informative board meeting.I hope
everyone will take the time to listen to it all from beginning to end.I will only be focusing on one part of the
meeting – The non-motorized trail along Fort Rd.
This plan has been talked about for many years I
believe.My reaction has always been a
big eye roll.I have never seen that as
a viable option.They say they would
have the wider paved trail from the gravel parking lot on Fort Rd./Fayette St. going to the dike, then from the dike to Dixie
they would have a regular sidewalk. First problem is you have the people’s
homes.Some are very close to the road
and the sidewalk will go right through their front yard, too close to their
homes for my comfort if I was a resident there. I took a quick drive over there
this morning just to refresh my memory on the layout.One problem I saw was close to Dixie there is
a utility pole and there is not enough room between the road and the pole for a
sidewalk.I guess you would have to move
the pole to make room there.Then down
where the culvert goes under Fort Rd. into Davis Park, I don’t think there is
enough room between the road and the once beautiful pond, now destroyed, for
the wider trail they are talking about. Wasn’t that section of Fort Rd. washed
out a few years ago from flooding?We
are in a flood plain, we will always have flooding.What will happen to the “trail” in another
bad flood?Will it wash out and need to
be repaired?How many times will that
happen?How much time and money has this
township wasted on things they have put in the flood zone that just ended up
destroyed?I believe the flooding is
worse in that area due to several factors.One being that there used to be two culverts that ran under that road
into Davis Park and one has been removed.I don’t believe the one alone can handle the water flow in times of
severe flooding. I believe that is also part of the cause of the damage that has been done to this area. Bill Wheeler mentions the
“ditch” that runs along Fort Rd. from the once beautiful pond over to the
river.That is NOT a ditch, that is a
frigging man-made disaster of this townships making!!Way back when in time, this township dug that
ditch/canal as a canoe launch from the pond out to the river.Is the canoe dock still in the pond?No it is not!Is the pond still there?No it is
now destroyed.Is the canal still
there?Well technically it is, but it is
usually dried up and at other times just a nasty mucky mess.The river is still there but damaged.Why do people think that sand bar has formed in
the river at the end of that canal from hell?Some of us that have been here much longer than some of these officials
and employees of this township, and have actually been alive longer than some
of them; we remember the beautiful pond, and the wetlands, and the river, that
have now been destroyed by just one act of this township. Some of us actually
give a damn!!
There is a phrase that really irritates me, like nails on a
chalkboard, that phrase is “Lipstick On A Pig”.I don’t think there is any more appropriate phrase for this trail plan
than Lipstick On A Pig!You want to
build all these beautiful parks, make it a livable place for the residents,
improve the townships “ratings” etc…I
call BS on that!! This township doesn’t need more parks, doesn’t need this
trail.This township needs to properly
take care of what you do have now.You
mow them, but not much else is done.You
don’t have enough money, enough manpower, enough time etc… to properly take
care of what you do have.
Oh the township cares about the environment and river etc…I call BS on that too!! .How much trash have I personally had to haul
out of these parks and river because the township was not doing it?Would the township still be burning illegal
trash down in the woods on the Davis Park “island” if I hadn’t spoken out about
it?If you truly care about creating
beautiful parks etc… for the residents, then you would fill in that canal,
restore the pond, and repair the damage to the river.Talk to experts about having two culverts
back under that road.The damage to the
wetlands on the other side of Fort Rd. will probably takes decades to repair on
its own; but the damage on the townships side should be repaired by this
township. To do anything less than that, to put in that trail, is nothing but
lipstick on a pig!
There is one other subject that I would like to give you my
opinion on, and it is just my opinion, probably the most hated opinion poster in
Bridgeport Township.This is something I
noticed mostly during the discussion on the trail along Fort Rd., but I did
notice this nuance throughout the rest of this meeting.There are subtle nuances that viewers of the
video may not be able to pick up on because of the poor video and audio quality
of this video.I will admit that I could
be wrong in my perception of what I saw there, but since I did talk to several
other people that watched the video of this meeting and they said they saw the
same thing, then I will share my thoughts on it.Remember I said at the beginning of this blog post that the DDA board
answers to the Township Board and I feel that the two act as one entity instead
of two separate entities.I also
mentioned that the DDA Coordinator answers to the Township Manager, the
township manager is their boss and has the power to hire and fire the person
filling that position.When Bill Wheeler
started talking about the Fort Rd. trail, the Township Manager/DDA Director
spoke up, and seemed upset, because this was the first time she was hearing
about this.OK, so maybe not everyone is
in sync yet, but maybe it is more like not everyone is in "the clique"??
Chain of Command.What upset me is what
I perceived as coming from Bill Wheeler towards the Township Manager as a very
dismissive attitude towards her concerning this.Don’t roll your eyes and look to the board
members, the Township Manager/DDA Director is your boss, the one that has the
power to fire or hire you.She is the
Township Manager, you are not.Like I
said there are nuances in tone of voice, body language etc… that the public may
not be able to pick up from this video.I thought maybe my perception was jaded by my opinion of Bill Wheeler
from dealing with him over several years here in the township, but others I
have talked to share this same opinion of him, and others say they saw the same
thing in the meeting.My opinion is that
he can come across as very arrogant and condescending towards others, that he
thinks other people are just idiots and he is smarter than everyone else.About the only good thing I can say about his
work is that he does a good job with the baseball games and the miracle league
over at Liberty Park, but I don’t actually know that first hand because I have
never dealt with any of that over there.I have another perception that I may be wrong about, but it seemed to me
that the DDA Board also has the attitude that they will do what they want and
don’t answer to anyone??I would love to
hear other people’s opinions on all of this.
BTW, if I was the Township
Manager, Bill Wheeler would be fired, or at least not the DDA Coordinator.Maybe there is someone out there that is more
qualified for the position, and more personable?Maybe he should spend his time focusing on
just one job, as the Parks and Recreation Director?
I could heap lots of praise on the DDA Board for things they
have done in our township that truly enrich it and the resident’s lives, but I
also have concerns about things. How much
land does the DDA Board actually own?How far has
the DDA District been expanded here in the township?I think some of these things have gone way
beyond what DDA Boards were originally set up to do.They were meant to be temporary tools to be
used for the benefit of local areas, not permanent government entities, and not large property owners and developers.
If I was someplace like a public event, and I saw what I perceived as an employee disrespecting their boss, their superior, with what I felt was some contempt, dismissal to them like the employee is better than them, then I would say that that employee needs to be gone. One way or another they should be gone, either they should leave voluntarily if they feel that way, or they should be fired. If I was to witness this happening it would take everything I had to keep my mouth shut and not publicly put that employee in their place, where they belong!
If I was someplace like a public event, and I saw what I perceived as a man disrespecting a woman, with an arrogant attitude that could be perceived as totally sexist, it would take everything I had to not walk over and slap the moron senseless, like they would deserve! ( Just a figure of speech, some hyperbole, no need to freak out about it )
This was an informative meeting on multiple subjects but most
residents are probably just interested in the MSU Survey results and the
upcoming bond proposal. I am hoping everyone will take the time to listen to it
all. There were no public comments because there was not really
too many members of the public bothered to attend. Like usual.
First order of business was the special assessment for waste
collection. The fee for our waste collection will be going up from $150.77 to
$165.00. I can already hear some residents bitching. The township has basically
been losing money on this service for several years and are now running a
deficit in that fund. They are required by the state to straighten that out.
Now for anyone that wants to bitch about it, think about the service that we
are provided in our township and the value of it. It is a great service and
worth every penny of it!! Try checking out surrounding townships and what they
offer. I personally use the recycling pickup and have since they first offered
it here. I don't put out a little red bin each week for recycling, I put out a
30 gallon trash can each week and it is usually full to the top. I use the yard
waste pickup each week. Trash pickup each week. And don't forget about the brush
pickup that is offered in the summer months every other week. I have already
used that once this year and will have another pickup before this summer is
over. I have a friend that recently moved to another state. That state does not
have bottle deposits on the containers sold there, and no curbside recycling
pickup is offered. Sadly you know where all that recycling is going.
Next up was the results from the MSU Survey finding on the
two bond proposals. The sad part of the results is that only 475 residents took
the time to respond. The results are broken down by age, length of residency,
male/female etc... Quick summary is that support for the governmental complex
is about 50/50. I thought the support for that would be higher but I guess
these are tough times. Hopefully the township will be able to better inform the
residents about this before the election in November. Residents could better
educate themselves by attending meetings, talking with officials, talk to the
police and fire departments. And please avoid the misinformation and rumor
mills I see being shared online. I will be sharing everything I can to help
inform the public before November. The municipal complex bond proposal I am
truly hoping to see pass. The support for the recreational complex was about 29% for
and 67% opposed. They will not be moving forward with that bond proposal at
this time, but did say they may look in the future at a scaled down version of
it. It would have to be pretty scaled down to pass here. A complex like they
have out in Freeland was just a pipe dream. We do not have the million dollar
properties and business tax base to support a complex like that. I actually
found it offensive that they even tried to pass that off onto Bridgeport
residents. Does anyone think that if there was a Bridgeport Township employee
for example, or any other Saginaw County resident, that may live in a place
like Freeland, send their child/children to school in a place like Freeland,
maybe uses the Freeland sports complex, that that person would move to
Bridgeport, send their children to Bridgeport schools and help to pay for that
complex? Doubtful. This bond proposal I was glad to see fail.
Let me address one comment I saw posted online in support of
the recreation center: The comment was something along the line that if we had
the complex then the youths or whoever it is that vandalize areas like the
historic bridge and park areas would stop vandalizing and spend their time at
the complex instead. Dude, they will not be buying memberships and taking out
their frustrations or just plain lack of morals by hanging out at a recreation
complex. (Insert Giant Eye Roll Here). To be fair I guess there always is a chance that they would
hang out at a recreational complex, but also cause a little trouble, do a
little vandalism maybe there, just before or after they vandalize the parks or
historic bridge areas.
Two parts of the meeting that I hope every resident will take
the time to listen to are the reports from the police and fire departments. The
fire department will be hosting an open house on September 12th, 2021. It is
their 80th anniversary. I have been here almost as long as they have! The
township manager also has an update report on things here in the township, also
worth listening to! She said that Bridgeport will be getting some money, over 1
Million dollars, from the Recovery Act. They will be talking about that at
future meetings and deciding where they money will be allocated. I'm rooting
for the police and fire departments to get a nice chunk of that money! She also
talked about attending a statewide municipal employee’s conference, or
something like that, and one of the subjects will be building trust with the
community. I just stood there, almost laughed out loud, and thought to myself
"Lady, that is a mountain that may be too high for you to climb". I
wish her luck!! Maybe if she was a lifelong resident of our township, seen all
the failures, deceit etc... Then she would understand what a task that would
be, especially with the people currently serving in elected office. For some of
us old-timers, ever trusting our current elected officials is not something
that will be happening any time soon. Elections will be coming, maybe if we get
some new officials in office that trust could be rebuilt.
