Bridgeport Township DDA Meeting May 8th, 2019

Today's meeting was more of an informational meeting since they did not have a quorum present.  The most interesting information from the meeting was the announcement of a ribbon cutting event for the Cass River Trailhead on May 15th, 2019 at 12:00pm.  That is all the information I have about the event other than it sounds like it might be by invitation only?  There is no information on the township's website, on the parks & recreation Facebook page.  Nothing in the emails from the township.  I guess if it was open to the public they would put out information for the public.
** Update: Found the information in the Birch Run Herald this week! The ceremony will be held at the trailhead area by the historic bridge, 4422 Williamson Rd. The public is invited to the ceremony and luncheon.  You need to register by Monday, May 13th by calling the chamber office at (989) 624-9193.
They also discuss the problem with members not being present for the meetings and that there may be openings on the DDA board in the future.

On the agenda:
Public Comments begins at 2:37
New Business -
1. Beautification Committee Report begins at 4:06
2. Ribbon Cutting For Cass River Trailhead begins at 5:17
Old Business -
1. DDA By Laws begins at 6:25
DDA Coordinator Report begins at 7:06
DDA Member Comments begins at 9:10
© 2019 Carla Citizen All Rights Reserved

My Personal Feelings

Some people may think they know me but few really do.  The few who do know me know that I have a limit and once that line is crossed, it is over. Let me explain my feelings on a few things.

“Your Personal Feelings”.  I can’t believe you actually went there but you did and there was no mistaking what you meant and how you really feel. I don’t respond well to someone trying to be condescending to me or trying to belittle me or my feelings, to insult me.   And I sure as hell don’t respond well to manipulation or border line bullying.   I can’t believe you actually said a few things you said, but you did so let’s discuss them.   I guess let’s start at the beginning of it all.  

Restoring the historic bridge was a great thing to do.  It is the way that it was done, the way that the business owners were treated, the nasty things that were said and done about and to the business owners and residents of this township by the township officials that were wrong.  There are some things that will never be forgotten or forgiven.  You say that there were lies told about the township and maybe there were, I don’t know because I never heard them.  And yes there are always two sides to every story and I believe that there are some stories about that time in our history that have probably not been told.  I don’t think they would shine a good light on the township government.  There we are, back to every story having two sides.

I have overlooked and tried to put in the past a few things from the trouble in our township because I thought it was best, time to move forward for the good of the township.  It seems though that it is the township that wants to bring back the ugly past.  You say that you don’t want all this trouble to start back up, to start back up because of “my personal feelings”. My personal feelings and the feelings of every voter in our township that voted to recall those board members matter.  It is not me that will start that trouble back up, it is you.  You are the ones that hired him despite the voters first recalling him in 2011 and then voting no when he ran again in 2012.  Every board member that voted to hire Lee Carpenter now, every employee that approved of his hiring; it is your fault and yours alone if any trouble starts. 

How dare you try to put the blame on me if any trouble starts over your decision to bring back the past, your decision to slap the voters of this township in the face.  I don’t just have a right to criticize my local government when I feel they have acted wrongly, I have a responsibility to do so, and I will.

Every member of that old trustee board, and some employees of this township, were responsible for the trouble in the past, for the things that were done, the things that were said.  And no member of that board that was recalled should ever again be sitting on the board or anywhere near our township government. You may think highly of him and you all may be good buddies, but it is the voters that are the only ones who should have had a say in whether Lee Carpenter had the right to sit on the trustee board again.  As you snarkily said, he will be up for election in 2020, and yes we will see then what the voters think.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he does not win election then.  I also wouldn’t be surprised if a few other board members don’t win reelection then.  

And lastly, the “experience” excuse.  Save it for someone that buys it.  Someone that was recalled from the board does not have the kind of “experience” that our township needs or wants.

"To find out who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize."

The mistake elected officials make is thinking they rule over us, that they don't have to answer to us.  They are elected by the voters, and it is the voters who rule over them through the ballot box.

Bridgeport Township Board Meeting May 7th, 2019

I have no comments on the board meeting tonight.  It was short and to the point I guess. I do have a copy of the check registers they provide at the meeting but I don't post them here.  If any residents would like to have me post them, just leave a comment and I will do so.

On the agenda:
Special Orders -
1. RZ19-01 Rezone 6600 Junction 1st Reading begins at 2:41
Public Comments begin at 5:47
New Business -
1. R19-05 Emergency Services Mutual Agreement begins at 14:46
2. R19-06 MERS 457 Supplemental Retirement Program begins at 15:50
3. Southfield Pump Station Replacement begins at 17:19
4. ARCMAP GIS Software begins at 19:04
5. Township Cleaning Services begins at 21:44
6. Davis Park Pavilion Roofs begins at 23:27
7. Deputy Clerk Appointment begins at 25:00
8. Planning Commission By-Laws begins at 25:46
Accounts Payable Checks begins at 26:41
Board Member Comments begin at 27:35
© 2019 Carla Citizen All Rights Reserved

Flashback 2015 to Lee Carpenter & Dream Fields

Bridgeport's new Township Clerk is Lee Carpenter who also owns Dream Fields landscaping business.  I am not sure when Bridgeport Township first hired Dream Fields to do some of their landscaping projects in our township but in 2015 there were complaints about the work, or lack thereof, being performed by Dream Fields.  It is first brought up in a slightly heated at times discussion during a Bridgeport Township DDA Board meeting of June 10th, 2015.  The discussion takes place during the Beautification Committee Update segment.  Video below is cued up to the discussion, just click the link.

Bridgeport Township DDA Board Meeting June 10th, 2015

There was more discussion about the landscaping contracts during the DDA Board meetings of July 8th, 2015, September 9th, 2015, October 14th, 2015.  I missed several of the DDA Board meetings over the next several months so I am not sure if they discussed the contracts or Dream Fields. During the February 24th, 2016  meeting of the DDA Board it was mentioned that Reliable Lawn and Landscape would be doing the landscaping for all the projects in Bridgeport done by the DDA Board.  Reliable had been doing some of the landscaping projects in the township for several years and the board was very happy with their work in the past.


2011 - Lee Carpenter is recalled from the Bridgeport Township Trustee board by the voters.
2012 - Lee Carpenter runs in election to regain his seat as Township Clerk but voters say NO!
2015/2016 - Bridgeport DDA Board no longer will be hiring Mr. Carpenter's business Dream Fields for landscaping services because they are unhappy with the work performed.
2019 - Members of the Bridgeport Township Trustee Board vote to hire Mr. Carpenter to fill the vacant position of Bridgeport Township Clerk based on his "experience".

 "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

The Memories Live On

They called us liars again and again
Said we were minions scurrying across the land
Nothing but rednecks as far as the eye could see
Daring to criticize and hold them accountable was called poisonous
Militant dissidents we were one and all
Bamboozled and hoodwinked the citizens did we
Called us the dreaded Libertarians for believing in the rights of man
The memories live on and the tales are still told
With the rights we did have and a voice we did use we took back our community and will again if ever need be

Something Old, Something New, Some Things Never Change In Bridgeport Township

Darlene Miller has been a member of the Bridgeport Township government for many years and was most recently the Township Clerk.  Mrs. Miller resigned/retired earlier this year I believe.  I haven't kept up with the politics so I don't know exactly when she announced her decision or when her last day was.  I personally liked her very much and will miss speaking with her at the Trustee board meetings.  I am sorry I didn't get a chance to say goodbye and I wish her well.

What I was saddened to discover today was that during the April 2nd Trustee board meeting, they voted to hire Lee Carpenter as the new Township Clerk.  The meeting minute notes say that only two people applied for the clerk position and they hired Mr. Carpenter for his "experience".

Mr. Carpenter does have lots of experience as the township clerk.  He held the clerk position I believe from 1988 until about 2000.  Then again from about 2004 until he was recalled by the township voters in May of 2011.  Remember that fiasco?  I sure do.  Some may say it is time to move on and forget the past.  I am a firm believer in never forgetting the past so that the same mistakes are not made again.  There are times it is wise to move on when there is a forward and better future being made, but there are times when ignoring the past and bringing back those same mistakes are not a good idea.  Mr. Carpenter may be a fine man and he obviously still has some supporters here in Bridgeport; but the voters of our township voted to recall him in 2011 and when he ran again for the clerks position in 2012, the voters said NO!!!  With an estimated 8,474 eligible voters, only 300 residents voted in favor of Lee Carpenter in the 2012 election.  I would say that was a pretty resounding NO!!
All of our Bridgeport township trustees and governmental leaders are there to represent us and listen to us, not to rule over us and ignore our will.   I thought that the Bridgeport voters made their will known in 2010, 2011, 2012 as to their desire to never have Lee Carpenter in our township government.
On April 2nd the township trustees chose to ignore the past will of the people and hired Mr. Carpenter anyways.  They say he had the experience but did they just chose to ignore the controversy that he also has and will bring back to the township?  Did they think that the Bridgeport voters would just forget about the ugly period that divided our township?  Did they even care?  I haven't seen any announcement from the township about his hiring and when I looked at the township website earlier today it still had Darlene Miller listed as the township clerk.  The only way I found out that he was the new clerk was by reviewing the board meeting minutes.  I wonder why?
If an election was held tomorrow I would not vote for Mr. Carpenter because of the past.  How many Bridgeport residents would vote for him if an election was held tomorrow?  Guess we will never know since the residents didn't get a say in his hiring.  He now has the position until Nov 2020 and I guess we will find out then how many residents support him.

*EDIT* June 5, 2019 - I found out during the June 4th township trustee meeting that they first voted to appoint Lee Carpenter to the Zoning Board of Appeals during the December 18, 2018 township trustee board meeting.  Were they bound and determined to bring him back to whatever position they could find for him in the township government? You can read my blog post about it:  https://bridgeportmusings.blogspot.com/2019/06/bridgeport-township-board-meeting-june.html

In case anyone needs a reminder of the controversy surrounding Mr. Carpenter and that ugly period in our township, here are some old MLive articles:

 Bridgeport Township supervisor seat to remain vacant until November election

Bridgeport Township resident files petitions to recall entire township board

Winchell to critics: Bridgeport Township recall allegations are 'community killing poisons'

Four up for recall in Bridgeport Township

Recall 'based on lies' was 'ridiculous,' says lone Bridgeport trustee avoiding ouster

Accusations fly in wake of Bridgeport board recall

Bridgeport Township supervisor primary rehashes issues of 2010


** Updated to add the results of the original fiasco and lawsuit that brought on the recall:

Judge: Bridgeport business owners can sue for damages in restored State Street Bridge case

Jury awards damages to Bridgeport store owners who sued over State Street Bridge relocation

Judge awards more than $100K in attorney fees, costs to Bridgeport store owners who sued over State Street Bridge relocation




 

2019 Bridgeport Spaulding School Board Meeting Schedule and Member Assignments

 

2019 Bridgeport Township Government Meeting & Holiday Schedule

Here is the meeting schedule for the Bridgeport Township Trustee Meetings & the Township Government Holiday Schedule. The DDA Board holds their meetings at Noon usually on the 2nd Wednesday of each month.

Always keep up to date on township news by checking their website https://www.bridgeportmi.org/ 
(Their homepage is down right now but was working earlier.  It should be back up and running again.)

 

Still In Bridgeport And Still Alive

I see it has been over a year since I have last posted.  Life gets busy.  I keep saying every month I am going to get back to all the township and school district meetings but every month I keep missing them.  So I will be trying harder this year.

Eric Clapton - Tell The Truth

I Know I Am Late

I know that I am late in sharing all of the meetings from February here on the blog.  Remember that I always put the videos on YouTube first and then share them on the blog when I have the time or energy.  I am trying to make it to most of the meetings for the township government and the school board.
Here is the link to my YouTube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9CDuA3sJJPg8uWmmwZHLKA/feed