If you want to contact any of the Officials or board members for Bridgeport Township you are only given one option and that is to call the main phone number for the township offices. That is it. No email addresses, no phone extension numbers for the officials. The main phone number is 989-777-0940 and the only email address is - information@bridgeportmi.org
I went to the offices today to pick up the business cards for the board members and will provide the information. If you ever want to contact any of the members about concerns, questions etc... here is the only information from the cards.
There are two issues that Bridgeport residents need to be aware of and speak up about.
The First Issue:
The person that the Bridgeport Township board is in negotiations with to hire as the new township manager. His name is Chris Shannon and just recently resigned as the Gladwin City Manager. He was also a commissioner I think in Bay City for years and was the Bay City Mayor for 5 years. This all sounds good at first and you are probably wondering why this man would be interested in coming as the township manager to a small town like Bridgeport. Well maybe all the news articles about what some may find as his troubling history might be the clue. I will try to put them in chronological order but I should probably start with his drunk driving arrest in December 2022.
More recent articles about Chris Shannon and his time in Gladwin.
“I agree, 100 percent. People make mistakes all the time,” Gutierrez
said. “Chris Shannon does not ever take responsibility for his mistakes,
he turns around and he blames it on somebody else at all times. He
lies, he goes behind people's backs and he does play games. He is
playing a political game. I will never, ever vote to renew his
contract.”
"At the Dec. 16, 2024 council meeting, several employees from City Hall
spoke out on what they called a "toxic work environment" that resulted
from a lack of decision making and a lack of a clear direction for the
future of the city."
"At the meeting on Feb. 17, City Attorney Michael Gildner told the
council that he had recently received inquiries from several council
members, individually, regarding a complaint accusing Shannon of
violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. The complaint came from Police
Chief Eric Killian and claimed Shannon was "interfering or coercing
police employees' rights to organize a union."
There are many articles about Mr. Shannon from the newspapers in Midland, Bay City, Gladwin County, Huron County, ABC 12, MLive. MLive stories are behind paywalls and I refuse to pay them. This sampling of news about Mr. Shannon is not a complete history but I believe it is enough to cause concern if he was hired as the manager here in Bridgeport. We have enough problems, we do not need more! I think Bridgeport deserves better than this gentleman as manager, but then again maybe he is exactly what Bridgeport deserves? There are people in Bridgeport township employment that I don't feel should be there. There is one employee that I feel should have been fired years ago. This person is a nasty, loud, abusive, arrogant bully. This person has gotten away with this behavior for years because no one stands up to them, and from what I hear is getting even worse. I don't think Mr. Shannon would be bullied by this fool. There are a few people at Bridgeport that need to be gone, need to be put in their place, and maybe Mr. Shannon would be the person to do it? A bigger bully to handle the little bullies and the incompetent fools and manipulators and liars. Just that thought alone almost makes me think we should hire him, but then I think about some of the truly outstanding employees we have that have been having to suffer the fools there for years and I don't know how much more they can take. Oh the stories I could tell you all from the disaster that is known as Bridgeport Township Government. Stories that make me angry and stories that make me sad. Bridgeport needs a strong, principled, honest and caring leader, but also with a backbone of steel, and that is what we do not have at this time. I am at the point where I just don't have any F's left to give anymore about it, and I also have no hope left for this township government.
The Second Issue:
The discussion that seems to keep coming up about possibly closing the voting precinct 3 and combining it with precinct 1. That should never happen!! I believe that would probably disenfranchise more than a few voters from precinct 3. Unfairly so. I don't have the total voter numbers for these precincts but it seems like it would put more of a burden on precinct 1 with the increased number of voters coming in. Supposedly Eddie Fox wants to do this to save money. Call me a cynic but I have my doubts. After a lifetime of following our politics and 11 years now of covering them, I have become a suspicious cynic. Maybe he is sincere, maybe there are some other ulterior motives??? Maybe something personal? There may be some people that question whether this is being done because precinct 3 seems to be the strongest Republican voting precinct in our township, a township that overall seems to be very strong democrat. I have noticed that voting trend in the past when looking at the precinct breakdowns of election results and I took a look at the last election and it seems to still hold true. I have seen some truly low down dirty political shenanigans in my lifetime and I would hate to think that something like that could happen in Bridgeport. No matter what the reasons are for wanting to close precinct 3 are I believe it is not fair. The voters in precinct 3 need to step up and speak up! Make your voices heard if you want to keep your precinct open! You must contact all the township officials and tell them. Show up at meetings and tell them. Do not just allow them to railroad you over and do it without your consent.
The Bridgeport residents deserve to know the truth about your public officials and it is your responsibility to seek it out.
I have struggled for years with talking about this and just ended up choosing not to. What was the point? The damage had already been done. My word against theirs. I had just had enough and wanted to just walk away. I have felt guilty about keeping quiet about this. Very guilty about my part in helping/allowing this to happen and in keeping quiet about it.
What is that crazy woman talking about now you are probably wondering. Here is what I am talking about:
Let's go back to 2015-2016, to the Bridgeport Spaulding School Board and a lawsuit brought by a resident against Martha Sageman and the school board. I'm not sure how many of you remember that whole debacle, but I will provide my last post about the outcome of it all at the end of this post. So local resident John Rhines brought the lawsuit against the school district. During this process, in my opinion, based on what John Rhines told me personally, and text message exchanges, and from my observations, and participation in conversations, John Rhines became very close to school board member Pat Nelson. At the time my mother (who attended all meetings with me and saw some of this also) and I laughingly referred to their friendship as a "Bromance". Actually my late mother tried to raise the alarm with me about her being uncomfortable with the closeness of their relationship and the things that were going on. Sadly I didn't listen to her. A Bromance probably isn't the proper term for the closeness of their relationship, some people now might have the opinion that "Co-conspirators" is a better description. I will leave that up to you to decide what your opinion is.
At first John Rhines was just "insinuating" to me that he was actually getting inside information from Pat Nelson. Information about what was happening inside closed school board meetings, and meetings with their lawyers concerning the lawsuit. At some point in this whole debacle it went from just insinuating that it was happening to outright saying it was. Saying that Pat Nelson was telling him exactly what was happening in those school meetings and in meetings with the school district lawyers. At one point he told me that Pat Nelson was going to give him a copy of a document or documents either from the school district or from the lawyers? I can't remember exactly what the document was supposed to be, just that it involved the lawsuit. Of course John Rhines could not ever tell me exactly what he was being told by Pat Nelson or what the supposed document was, you know, because it was all "confidential". This "working relationship" if that is what would be the appropriate description, between Pat Nelson and John Rhines supposedly went on the whole time of this lawsuit. So supposedly the school district that was being sued had a board member that was helping the person suing the school district? According to John Rhines that is what happened. From my observations of their interactions with each other and conversations with the two of them, I believed it to be the truth. John Rhines also told me that there was another school board member that on at least one occasion contacted him after a closed school meeting to tell him what transpired. When I asked because I was shocked that that particular board member would also do this his reply was just that it really wasn't important information.
I still have so many questions. How many school board members knew what was going on between Pat Nelson and John Rhines concerning that lawsuit? How many board members may have also helped John Rhines? Did these people truly believe John Rhines accusations or did everyone have their own hidden agendas? Pat Nelson was the Bridgeport Fire Department Chief during this time and suddenly retired as fire chief and just spent his time then on the school board. I always wondered why he left the fire department? I have a several questions now I keep asking myself about why he left the school board and now is on the township board. I don't have just questions, I have some serious concerns about him being on the township board. Based on what I believe about Pat Nelson then I hope you understand why I am concerned.
I will say that I am not the only person that knows about what went on between Pat Nelson and John Rhines and the lawsuit, but I am probably the only person that will speak up and say it.
The Bridgeport residents deserve to know the truth. They deserve to know and then decide if Pat Nelson is someone that they want on their township board, if he is someone they can trust. You residents are demanding accountability and transparency, so go and ask for the truth!!! They may say that I am crazy, that I am lying. Maybe one will call the other a liar and say it never happened. You residents need to ask how many other people know. I have always wondered if the reporter for the Birch Run/Bridgeport Herald knew what was going on? He also seemed to become very close with John Rhines during their coverage of the accusations and lawsuit. Did John Rhines also tell him the things he told me?
This is possibly the most important time ever for me to go back to covering all things involving the township government, but I am not going to. I am just walking away. The residents of this township need to demand answers and hold the township officials accountable.
You can read the story of the dismissal of the lawsuit by the courts here:
The check registers for the township are a matter of public record. They have copies available at every township board meeting and I believe you can go to the township offices and request to see a copy. I provide these copies here for any resident that is interested in being informed and can't make it to meetings or the offices. You can learn a lot about how this township operates just from looking at the check register. If you have questions about any items on there you can call the offices and someone will be more than happy to answer your questions.
The check registers for the township are a matter of public record. They have copies available at every township board meeting and I believe you can go to the township offices and request to see a copy. I provide these copies here for any resident that is interested in being informed and can't make it to meetings or the offices. You can learn a lot about how this township operates just from looking at the check register. If you have questions about any items on there you can call the offices and someone will be more than happy to answer your questions.
The check registers for the township are a matter of public record. They have copies available at every township board meeting and I believe you can go to the township offices and request to see a copy. I provide these copies here for any resident that is interested in being informed and can't make it to meetings or the offices. You can learn a lot about how this township operates just from looking at the check register. If you have questions about any items on there you can call the offices and someone will be more than happy to answer your questions.
The check registers for the township are a matter of public record. They have copies available at every township board meeting and I believe you can go to the township offices and request to see a copy. I provide these copies here for any resident that is interested in being informed and can't make it to meetings or the offices. You can learn a lot about how this township operates just from looking at the check register. If you have questions about any items on there you can call the offices and someone will be more than happy to answer your questions.
The check registers for the township are a matter of public record. They have copies available at every township board meeting and I believe you can go to the township offices and request to see a copy. I provide these copies here for any resident that is interested in being informed and can't make it to meetings or the offices. You can learn a lot about how this township operates just from looking at the check register. If you have questions about any items on there you can call the offices and someone will be more than happy to answer your questions.
The check registers for the township are a matter of public record. They have copies available at every township board meeting and I believe you can go to the township offices and request to see a copy. I provide these copies here for any resident that is interested in being informed and can't make it to meetings or the offices. You can learn a lot about how this township operates just from looking at the check register. If you have questions about any items on there you can call the offices and someone will be more than happy to answer your questions.
The check registers for the township are a matter of public record. They have copies available at every township board meeting and I believe you can go to the township offices and request to see a copy. I provide these copies here for any resident that is interested in being informed and can't make it to meetings or the offices. You can learn a lot about how this township operates just from looking at the check register. If you have questions about any items on there you can call the offices and someone will be more than happy to answer your questions.
The check registers for the township are a matter of public record. They have copies available at every township board meeting and I believe you can go to the township offices and request to see a copy. I provide these copies here for any resident that is interested in being informed and can't make it to meetings or the offices. You can learn a lot about how this township operates just from looking at the check register. If you have questions about any items on there you can call the offices and someone will be more than happy to answer your questions.
On the Agenda: Adoption of Agenda begins at 1:05 Approval of Minutes - November 3rd, 2021 Regular Meeting begins at 1:34 Special Orders: 1. 1st Reading Ordinance 21-04 Zoning Text Amendment - Drug Rehab Facilities begins at 2:04 Public Comments begin at 3:17 New Business: 1. R21-11 Resolution Saginaw Area Storm Water Authority (SASWA) Apportionment begins at 15:42 2. R21-19 Resolution Healthcare Employer/Employee begins at 18:20 3. R21-20 Consumers Energy Streetlight Contract begins at 19:27 4. Brush Contract begins at 20:52 Accounts Payable Checks 68887 through 69065 for $490,853.43 begins at 23:16 Police Department Report begins at 24:09 Fire Department Report begins at 24:59 Manager's Report begins at 26:27 Board Member Comments begin at 30:09
The Zoning Text Amendment for Drug Rehab Facilities sounds like it is just from a review and they saw there needed to be a update to that. This is a good policy here. It will apply to Drug Rehab Facilities, Halfway Houses, and Incarceration Facilities. The amendment states that these facilities "Must be separated from any school, playground, park or church by a distance of at least one thousand (1,000) feet as measured from any point on the respective property lines." This will also apply in reverse, no school, playground, park, or church can be built with 1,000 feet of these facilities.
The two resolutions are basically just yearly business thingys. There has been a new streetlight installed on King Rd. so they have to do a contract with Consumers Energy for that. Boring stuff there.
They approved a new 3 year Brush Contract with Heart Tree Service from Bridgeport. Heart has done our brush pickup in the past and I was always impressed with those hard working crews! If I load them up with all the brush I hope to this coming summer, I probably should bake them some cookies or give them a good tip!!
The police department had 665 service calls for the month of November. Chief Duffett wanted to remind residents that there is usually an increase in larcenies this time of year so residents need to be sure cars and homes are locked up.
The fire department had 114 calls, year to date they have had 1,377 calls, they are 188 calls ahead of the same time in 2020, and are on track to receive 1,400 calls which will be a new record. Two department members resigned since last month. The fire department is still recruiting for on call firefighters.
The Bridgeport police and fire departments, along with other area agencies have teemed with Meijer's to provide meals and presents for local families in need.
From the Manager's report: The Saginaw County Road Commission will be filling in a sinkhole over on Towerline by Snowberry. The cost will be split 50/50 with the township. In the summer of 2022 there will be chip sealing done on the roadways of Fort, King, Moore, Curtis, and Blackmar Rds.
They are still seeking applicants for the Citizens Advisory Committee. They will be meeting approximately 3 to 5 times in the first half of 2022. The deadline to submit your application is December 15th. The manager also provides many other updates that are of interest to our community. Would you like to know what they are? Guess you will have to listen to her yourself. More residents really should, but few will.
There is something else I would like to address that concerns the public comments made at this months meeting and also the township board meeting from November 3rd. I have wanted to comment on this since November 3rd, but have refrained because it might have been too brutal for the faint of heart here in our community. I will try to keep this short and civil.
Let's start with some facts about the voters in our township. We have approximately 8,612 registered voters, and only 1,599 bothered to show up to vote on November 2nd. That is only 18.57% of the registered voters. Way To Go Bridgeport!! The millage lost by only 141 votes. That is about 1.6% of the registered voters in this township. I am sorry to tell you, But That Does Not Make A Mandate for this township. I truly believe that if more voters would have turned out, it would have passed, and I believe it will pass in the future.
A young man at the November 3rd meeting was upset that the township would immediately say that they would put the measure on a future ballot, and that they blamed "The Nebulus Boogeyman Of Social Media Misinformation" for the vote failing. Has anyone read the nasty, petty, ignorant, and total misinformation that is put out on social media from our charming Bridgeport residents, especially concerning the Municipal Township Office Complex? I can barely stand to read it and I usually quit before finishing. I won't tell you everything I think when I read the garbage out there, but here are a few examples: What!?!? How stupid are you? Where did you pull that trash nonsense from? Get a brain! Get A Life! Try reading some facts and figures for a change!! Maybe some therapy would help you with your anger and delusion problems! Those are just the polite thoughts that cross my mind.
I won't waste my time, or yours, telling you every example of "misinformation" I see posted concerning Bridgeport whenever I make the mistake of reading the nasty threads about Bridgeport on social media. Too much to cover there, and it is still being posted online.
BTW, I think Augie Tausend did a good job of responding to this young mans concerns in the November 3rd meeting and I hope residents will listen to it.
I didn't find anything wrong with the article, instead I saw things like this statement: “In all likelihood, we’ll need to place this back on the ballot in a future election, and hopefully, we can do a better job of combating misinformation and educating the community on the need for the new offices.”
That is what I would expect from a leader. I have been here for over 50 years and have watched and listened all those years, and I know exactly what residents would be saying if they didn't try to bring this back to the voters: "It only lost by a few votes! And they're going to just let it drop. We need leaders that will take action!!"
There are a few things the young man on November 3rd said that I agree with. We have some good people in our community. Hard working people that are struggling financially right now, some are over burdened by taxes. I understand why they would vote no and if I was in their shoes, I might have voted no also. It sounds like the people hit with the drain taxes recently are really hurting. The future right now is uncertain, especially financially for many people, so I do understand and am sympathetic to some of those that voted no.
There was another speaker at the November 3rd meeting and he offered up the suggestion of the citizens getting together with the township government to offer their concerns and suggestions, and find a way to work together on this issue for the future. I think that Augie Tausend and Adrianna Jordan gave good responses to these concerns that the speakers brought up at this meeting.
One of the gentlemen that spoke during the public comment section at the November 3rd meeting also spoke at this meeting and had a different tone. I won't say much about it except that I disagreed with what he said and his tone. And again I think that Augie Tausend and Adrianna Jordan gave a good response. One thing he said was a suggestion I think that maybe the township should mail out postcards to every resident in this township to notify them about the Citizen Advisory Committee. That would cost thousands and thousands of dollars most likely. And knowing our residents, there would be some bitching about the cost of them doing that. The residents of this township will bitch no matter what they do, bitch if they do, bitch if they don't. It is a no win situation!
The township has been trying to get this information out there to the public by various methods. For those residents that don't go online to their website, get the email updates from the township, don't drive and see the notice posted on the electronic sign, there is always the Birch Run Bridgeport Herald. The Herald does feature much of the news the residents need in the weekly paper. If you can't make it to the store, they also offer home delivery through the mail service of the paper. I feel that the residents have to make a effort to keep themselves informed.
Just a few comments about some of the things I have read from residents online.
-- Their Constant Contact email service is a good service for the residents; Oh, you say you "don't do their email"? Stay ignorant then, no one cares!
-- A Pole Barn! You seriously said that the township should build a pole barn for the new township municipal complex? I am still rolling my eyes at that one!! Nothing would say to potential future residents, businesses looking to relocate here, or investors, "Come Here For A Brighter And More Prosperous Future" like a friggin pole barn!! If you truly want a pole barn for your community offices, then I suggest you move to a township with a few hundred residents, then you can have your pole barn, and that is all you will ever have there. Small minds think small.
-- "The township needs to come to us, come to where we are!!" It is going to be hard to keep this one polite..... I found that arrogance astounding. No They Don't have to come to "where you are"!! Since they are nicer than I am, they probably would have done that if someone had worked to make that happen. Did you contact them and say "Hey, we're having some softball tournaments or whatever and I think this would be a good place for you to come and talk to residents"? I have my doubts that anyone put forth an effort like that. The township tried reaching out in many ways to the public and tried to get the public to interact with them. How many residents do we have? Around 9,000? A whopping 475 residents I think could be bothered to respond to their initial survey concerning the municipal complex. They held open houses for the public to come to and see the plans, discuss your ideas or concerns. They said that the residents could stop by anytime I believe to talk with them and look around. I think the Fire Department also said that residents could call them or stop by and discuss it with them. Residents can always call the offices, send emails, send letters to voice your concerns or ask questions. There are board meetings every month and the public is Welcome to come, few can be bothered to. They sent out mailers. They used the constant contact email service to notify residents. Information was posted on social media, posted on their website. Information about the plans were in the Herald, I believe the Saginaw News, MLive online. Maybe it was even on the nightly broadcast news? The township made the effort I feel to reach out, but it is a two way street; the residents have to make the effort to be informed and interact back with the township. If the residents can't be bothered or don't care, then I personally would tell them....."....".
Their plan for the proposed municipal complex; it isn't a luxury dream, it is a necessity for the needs of this community. I would actually like to see it bigger. My motto: Go Big or Go Home! Residents bitch online that this community is dead, it will never grow, etc... I believe this municipal complex is not just a necessity, it is an investment in our community, investment in our future. If residents are not willing to step up in many different ways for our community, and also invest in our community, it will never grow.
Well I blew the "keeping it short' part here so I might as well post one last thing while I am on my "restrained roll" here:
To you Bridgeport residents that I have been reading for years online, that constantly trash talk our Bridgeport students and our schools, I Find You Disgusting!! And that is the polite version of what I really think of you. Do any of you fearless keyboard trash talkers ever step up to do anything to make our district better, to help our students? Volunteer? Donate time or money? I didn't think so! And those "Out Of District" students that come to Bridgeport Schools that you were complaining about the other day online -- They are Bridgeport students, they are our students, our children, our responsibility! I don't care about some stupid imaginary boundary lines, and I surely don't care about their skin color. We should want all of our students to thrive in every way. We should want our school district to thrive. If you can't support our students and our district, then please just shut up and spare the rest of us from having to listen to your ignorance!
The check registers for the township are a matter of public record. They have copies available at every township board meeting and I believe you can go to the township offices and request to see a copy. I provide these copies here for any resident that is interested in being informed and can't make it to meetings or the offices. You can learn a lot about how this township operates just from looking at the check register. If you have questions about any items on there you can call the offices and someone will be more than happy to answer your questions.
