Mark Your Calendars

Come one, come all!

There will be a Special Meeting of the Hayes Township Planning Commission and public hearing on 16 Feb 2010.  This public hearing will be to consider a new (read: rehashed and reworded, specially parsed new iteration of the old) Special Use Request by Doug Longenecker for what really amounts to Round 3 in front of the Hayes Township Planning Commission. 

Third time's a charm for Michigan Moto Mania?

The meeting will be held at the Hayes Township Activity Center adjacent to the Township Hall, 2051 Townline Lake Road, Harrison, MI 48635. 

Meeting time: 7 PM.

Come watch the smoke and mirrors and slight of hand.  Send in the clowns.

Don't miss the greatest show in town!

Hayes Township Planning Commission - Other Potential Conflicts And Problems

Besides Wes Kenney and Don Atkinson, both members of the Hayes Township Planning Commission, there are other potential problems and conflicts on the Planning Commission.

Nola Hopkins is a resident of Mostetler Road.

Tom Malone participated in the Polaris WOTT even in Aug 2010 at Michigan Moto Mania.  This event was a violation of the stay that was on the Gamble-Longenecker property at the time.  Judge Mienk declared it to be a violation of the stay, and as of yet, nothing has been done about that violation or the two Planning Commission members who participated.  Participation in the event is a misdemeanor according to the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance.   Mr. Malone should recuse himself from voting on anything pertaining to Michigan Moto Mania.

Lee Dancer admitted in front of all who were in attendance at the 21 Dec 2010 regular meeting of the Hayes Township Board of Trustees, that he does not know or understand what's in the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance.  He is the Member of the Board of Trustees who is also a member of the Planning Commission.  It is the job of the Planning Commission to implement the Zoning Ordinance in taking decisions about zoning issues.  How on earth can Mr. Dancer take a decision about anything meaningful pertaining to the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance while remaining ignorant of the content of the ordinance?  On what basis did Mr. Dancer decide on the last Special Use request made by Doug Longenecker?  Did he vote the way he was told to vote?  Because by his own admission, he could not have based his vote on the Zoning Ordinance.  One can only hope that Mr. Dancer will take the time to inform himself  on the contents of the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance before he votes on Mr. Longenecker's new Special Use application.

Maybe this time they will all vote independently of one another.  It's almost too much to ask.

Why Don Atkinson Should Recuse Himself

Don Atkinson should recuse himself from the voting on Doug Longenecker's latest Application for Special Use when it comes before the Planning Commission.

Here are all the reasons why it is inappropriate for Mr. Atkinson to vote on anything pertaining to Michigan Moto Mania:

1.  He is a resident of Mostetler Road.

2.  His niece (by marriage), Kari Garber of Harrison Realty is the realtor who showed Doug Longenecker the Gamble property on Mostetler Road.  The sale of the Gamble property was contingent upon Hayes Township's approval of Mr. Longenecker's request for Special Use.  Mr. Atkinson made the motion to approve the Special Use at the 21 Oct 2009 meeting.  The Special Use was approved, unbeknownst to the neighboring property owners.  Mr. Longenecker purchased the Gamble property on Mostetler Road as a result of the approval. 

3.  Mr. Atkinson signed a petition sponsored by the Mostetler Road and Deer Lake neighbors opposing the development of Michigan Moto Mania on the Gamble-Longenecker Property.

4.  He stated at the 16 March 2010 Hayes Township Board of Trustees meeting that he was against  the development of Michigan Moto Mania on the Gamble-Longenecker property on Mostetler Road.

5.  His son, Todd Atkinson, was helping Mr. Longenecker to design a BMX/Skateboard area on area of the Michigan Moto Mania property set aside for that purpose in Late Jun, and July of 2010.

6.  On Friday, 27 Aug 2010, Mr. Longenecker's vehicle was seen by many of the residents of Mostetler Road parked at Mr. Atkinson's house.  This constitutes Ex Parte Contact between Mr. Atkinson and Mr. Longenecker.  This contact between Mr. Longenecker and Mr. Atkinson took place three days before a Polaris sponsored event took place on the Michigan Moto Mania Property.

7.  Mr. Atkinson participated in the Polaris sponsored event, Way Out Training Tour (WOTT), that took place on the Michigan Moto Mania property on 30 Aug 2010.  This event was deemed by Judge Mienk to be a violation of the stay that was on the property at the time due to the Mostetler Road/Deer Lake neighbors' appeal of the Special Use to the Hayes Township Zoning Board Of Appeals. 

According to the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance, Mr. Atkinson's participation in the event was a misdemeanor, which to date has gone uncited by any authority in Hayes Township.

8.  Mr. Atkinson was seen by residents of Mostetler Road taking firewood from the Michigan Moto Mania property for his personal use.

The improprieties clearly color Mr. Atkinson's opinion on anything related to Michigan Moto Mania and preclude him from making an unbiased decision.

Conflict of Interest Update

The newest member of the planning Commission, appointed at Tuesday's Hayes Township Board of Trustees meeting has a conflict of interest with regard to Michigan Moto Mania.

Wesley Kenny's business, Western Decore Landscape Design, is the very first business listed on that laundry list of businesses who took out the full page ad in the Michigan Moto Mania PR and Propaganda Rag, the Clare County Cleaver's 29 Apr 2010 issue. 

After the business appeared in the support ad, sometime in May, Mr. Kenney changed the name of the business to Freedom Landscaping and moved it into a business location on N. Clare Ave in Harrison.

He is also a Michigan Moto Mania friend on facebook.  Here is a quote from Mr. Kenney taken from the Michigan Moto Mania facebook page dated 29 Sep 2010: "Good luck Moto Mania, Hopefully people will pull their head out of their asses.  We thank you for trying to bring job and people back into our community!"

Nice.

It has also come to my attention that Mr. Kenney signed a pro-Michigan Moto Mania petition.

He may be able to vote on other issues that come before the Planning Commission, but he should not be allowed to vote on any future issues that come before the Planning Commission with regard to Michigan Moto Mania.

Way to stack the deck,  Hayes Township Board of Trustees!

They were also looking into hiring the Zoning Administrator from Surrey Township until they were called on that, too.  Surrey Township is represented by Jaynie Hoerauf. 

I haven't even gotten to the old conflicts of interest that we let slide the last time around.  They are going to be called out on this blog for everyone to know about this time around.

Again No Surprises - Hayes Township Board of Trustees Meeting, 18 Jan 2011

There were no surprises at the Hayes Township Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday evening. 

As expected, the the Board decided that the questions raised about Lyle Criscuolo's documented malfeasance and blatant disregard for the Zoning Ordinance did not warrant an answer or a public hearing.   They think that the farce of a "do-over" was enough to right the wrongs committed.  It doesn't come close.   They also can't understand why we cannot just be happy that the Zoning Board of Appeals overturned Doug Longenecker's special Use and go on our merry way.  Since that is not the end of the matter, we cannot just go away.  We also cannot afford to be complacent; look where that brought us.

Really, the Board was between a rock and a hard place on this one.  But they are so far down this road that they have to see it all the way to the end, no matter what it eventually costs them.  If they seriously considered having a public hearing about Mr. Criscuolo's malfeasance, there would be much at stake.  Just holding the hearing would be an admission of some degree of culpability on their part, regardless of whether they voted to dismiss or to retain Mr. Criscuolo. 

Now the Hayes Township Board of Trustees has declined to deal with the documented evidence of malfeasance presented to them and they are on the record overlooking it as not important enough to warrant the effort.  I wonder what Judge Mienk will think about the Board's inaction when it all comes out in front of him? 

Notice that Township Attorney David Dreyer was conspicuously absent from the meeting.  He probably wanted to put as much distance between himself and that meeting as possible.  But he had written a letter with his instructions... er, opinion on the matter.

Note to Mr. Dreyer:  The problem will NOT be rectified while the current status quo remains.  It was this status quo that brought us this mess.  You have orchestrated steps that do NOTHING to actually fix the problem, they just allow the same things to continue unchecked while violations of the ordinances go unpunished.  Innocent people are paying for the egregious misdeeds of a few who are still free to continue to trample rights and violate ordinances with impunity.  It is not right, Mr. Dreyer and you know it.  There is a difference between right and legal.  Your so-called "work to rectify the problem" is nothing but lip service and too little too late.  Really, you and the Township you represent have done nothing to either make restitution, or to see that it does not happen again.  And you have been milking the Township for as much compensation as you can.  Hayes Township continues to throw good money after bad in fees paid to you for advice that does nothing but line your pockets. 

The Board of Trustees also placed a new member, Wesley Kenny, on the Planning Commission.  It looks like some people are stepping forward to fill vacancies.  It remains to be seen whether he will think for himself or be one of the lemmings. 

Bob Johnson, whose term on the Zoning Board of Appeals expired in December 2010 was reappointed for another term.

 

 
 

Grounds for Dismissal, (Review)

As a refresher, here is a list of the infractions Lyle Criscuolo has committed with regard to the Michigan Moto Mania fiasco while he has been the Chair of both the Hayes Township Planning Commission and the Hayes Township Zoning Board of Appeals. 

-         Mr. Criscuolo has held both of those offices for 15 years until Township Attorney David Dreyer deemed it improper for him to chair both boards at the same time.  He was appointed by the Board of Trustees to the Planning Commission 20 years ago.  He was elected Chair of the Planning Commission by the Planning Commission members when the previous Chair resigned from the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals.  He inherited the Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals when that same outgoing Chair resigned from the Planning Commission.  – Nobody on the Zoning Board of Appeals elected him to be Chair.)

-         Chair Criscuolo cannot plead ignorance of the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance since he was the Chairman of the Planning Commission at the time the Planning Commission helped to write the Zoning Ordinance.

-         Mr.Criscuolo has been casting 2 votes on issues brought before the Zoning Board of appeals (Once as the Chair of the Planning Commission and once as the Chair of the Zoning Board of appeals) until Mr. Dreyer deemed it improper for him to vote twice in the same issue.  (Really – what are the chances of Mr. Criscuolo voting to reverse himself on something he has already decided on another board?)

-         Chair Criscuolo knowingly allowed an incomplete and improperly submitted application to be considered by the Planning Commission.  (Chair Criscuolo should not have allowed it to be considered at all until it was properly and completely filled out.)     

-         In allowing consideration of an incomplete and improperly filled out application, Chair Criscuolo willfully ignored the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance, which he has been charged to uphold and administer as part of his duties as Chairman of the Hayes Township Planning Commission.

-         Chair Criscuolo failed to ensure that the neighbors of the then-Gamble property were notified about Doug Longenecker’s intent for the Gamble property and his request for a Special Use Permit back in October 2009 before Mr. Longenecker purchased the property.  (If Chair Criscuolo and the Planning Commission had followed due process, it is likely that Mr. Longenecker would not have purchased the Gamble property on Mostetler Road, or he might have found a more appropriately zoned property for his Motocross track.  Now Mr. Longenecker has purchased the property and that will be at the top of the list of Hayes Township’s liabilities.)

-         Chair Criscuolo and the Planning Commission failed to hold a public hearing before taking a decision about Mr. Longenecker’s request for a Special Use on the Gamble property.  Holding the public hearing before Mr. Longenecker purchased the land might have persuaded Mr. Longenecker to purchase land elsewhere, or the Planning Commission to think it through and inform themselves more fully before they approved the request.
-         Chair Criscuolo refused to read aloud the letters my family took the time to research and write for the public hearing held on 13 May 2010.  This was a suppression of our free speech since every other letter written to the Planning Commission for that public hearing was read aloud.

-         Chair Criscuolo actively tries to wield his influence over the other members of the boards he chairs.  (Until September, he wielded undue influence over the other members of two boards.)  There was roomful of witnesses to the way Chair Criscuolo browbeat Bob Johnson at the 16 Jun 2010 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting in an attempt to persuade Mr. Johnson to vote the way Chair Criscuolo wanted him to vote.

-         Chair Criscuolo is on the record (Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting – 9 Nov 2010) as believing and having stated that the Hayes Township Master Plan, (which is not the law) supersedes the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance, (which is the law).  It is unacceptable that the Chair of the Planning Commission and a Member of the Zoning Board of Appeals does not understand the proper relationship of these two documents.

-         Chair Criscuolo’s actions and words and attitude have demonstrated that he believes himself to be above the law.  (He believes that the rules do not apply to him.)

-         Chair Criscuolo’s actions and words and attitude have demonstrated that he believes that the ends justify the means.  (He believes that it’s OK to ignore and break the law if the result is for his subjective view of the greater good.)

-         Chair Criscuolo has demonstrated that he is not above twisting the meaning of or adding to or taking away from the provisions of the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance to achieve his desired outcome.  Is this the kind of leadership we want for Hayes Township?

-         Under Mr. Criscuolo’s chairmanship, the Planning Commission has changed the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance outside of the prescribed process defined in the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance.  (Minutes, 25 Oct 2010 Planning Commission Special Meeting).  (He makes the rules up as he goes along and changes the rules to suit his agenda.)  All property owners in Hayes Township should have a problem with this.

-         Mr. Criscuolo was told by Mr. Dreyer that he could neither vote nor deliberate at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting on 9 November 2010, yet Mr. Criscuolo seized the opportunity to insert himself into the deliberation process anyway in order to influence the other members’ votes.

-         These improprieties, for which Mr. Criscuolo is responsible, have exposed all the taxpayers Hayes Township to tens of thousands of dollars in liability, in just the case of Michigan Moto Mania.  One has to wonder in 15 years of Mr. Criscuolo’s tenure as the chair of the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals, how many other cases are out there?

Is Anyone Surprised?

For through the grace of God given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.  ~Romans 12:3 NASB

In an article in the 28 Dec 2010 issue of the Clare Sentinel, Zoning Boss Slot Opens in Hayes Township, by Rosemary Horvath, Lyle Criscuolo felt it necessary to invoke his occupation as a pastor in a show of pious, self-righteous indignation directed against the Mostetler Road and Deer Lake neighbors.   We dared to question the integrity of a pastor (as though that makes us somehow less Christian).  I have refrained from mentioning Mr. Criscuolo’s vocation because I felt it was inappropriate to do so. 

Pastors are fallible human beings, prone to pride and ambition just like the rest of us laypeople.  Mr. Criscuolo believes that because he is a pastor and missionary in his church, his leadership in the Hayes Township government is beyond scrutiny.  It upsets him that we have questioned his authority and actions on the Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.

Mr. Criscuolo’s standing as a pastor in his church and his missionary activities, while commendable, are irrelevant.  They have nothing to do with Mr. Criscuolo’s actions with regard to Michigan Moto Mania.  Mr. Criscuolo’s church activities are not the issue in Hayes Township, and have no bearing on this discussion.   

“Do you know who I am?”

What is your first reaction to those words when someone asks you that?  Is it a positive reaction or is it a negative reaction? 

Do you ever wonder what motivates a person to speak those words?  Generally, those words are designed to make the one to whom they are directed shrink back and get back in his place because he is obviously in the presence of one who is his superior.  The implication being, “I’m someone important around here and you’re nobody.”

Those were the very first words Mr. Criscuolo spoke to me the first time I met him personally, in May 2010.  Of course, he wanted to make sure that I knew that he was the chairman of both the Hayes Township Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals; to be sure, an important person with whom to be reckoned.  At the time, I did not realize the power grip that Mr. Criscuolo holds over the entire township’s government; but I soon figured it out.  It is power that does not belong to him.  The citizens of Hayes Township did not elect him.  Mr. Criscuolo was appointed to his position by the Board of Trustees some twenty years ago.  He has acquired power and been wielding it over the last 15 years as the chairman of two boards.  His grip on the power he has usurped is tenacious.

So it does not surprise me that despite Mr. Criscuolo’s many acts of malfeasance that we have brought to light, he still does not believe he has done anything wrong.  He refuses to step down.  If Mr. Criscuolo leaves office, it will not be voluntarily, as he has indicated to the Clare Sentinel (Criscuolo Won’t Be Resigning, by Rosemary Horvath) and the Clare County Cleaver (Opposition Seeks Removal of Criscuolo From Hayes Planning Commission, by Genine Hopkins).  He will have to be removed, and he will go defiantly.

Frankly, I don’t care if Mr. Criscuolo has little patience with those of us who don’t want a noisy racetrack in our backyard.  Our issues with Hayes Township have moved beyond the motocross business in our backyard to the apparent ineptitude or corruption in our Township government that allowed it to happen in the first place.  This is the same township government in which Mr. Criscuolo plays an inappropriately large role as an appointed (not elected) official.  We don’t have much patience with appointed officials who abuse the power of their offices, and we will do what we can to see them removed from office.    

I am in no position to judge Mr. Criscuolo as a pastor or as a brother in Christ.  He will stand or fall before the Judge of us all.  I do question Mr. Criscuolo’s motivations as an appointed commissioner.  We hold him accountable for his actions in his role as an appointed commissioner.  We did not elect him, and we object to his continued presence on both the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals.

At the December 2010 Board of Trustees meeting, Township Supervisor John Scherrer committed to putting Mr. Criscuolo’s continued tenure on the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals on the agenda of the18 Jan 2011 Board of Trustees meeting.  They should be discussing whether or not to have a public hearing about Mr. Criscuolo’s continued service, or to simply ignore his malfeasance and all it has cost the taxpayers of Hayes Township to date and will continue to cost.      

It is time for the Hayes Township Board of Trustees to relieve Mr. Criscuolo of his “unfortunate burden,” thank him for his years on the boards, and replace him on the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals with someone who will act in accordance with the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance.  Then perhaps Mr. Criscuolo will have more time to pursue his missionary activities in Africa and serve the much greater good instead of abusing his power in Hayes Township.   

One thing is certain, whatever they decide to do (or not do) about Mr. Criscuolo, each member of the Board of Trustees will be on the record.

Tuesday, 18 Jan 2011

There will be a Hayes Township Board of Trustees Meeting on Tuesday 18 Jan 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Hayes Township Hall.

It Did Not Take Long

I have delayed writing this post about Lisa Stager's resignation, but I cannot put it off any longer. 

At first I refrained from commenting other than to state the fact that Lisa resigned.  I did not want to speculate on why or to put words in anyone's mouth about her resignation.  I have since drawn my own conclusions from published quotes and demonstrated actions.  

On 28 December 2010, an article was published in the Clare Sentinel, Zoning Boss Slot Opens in Hayes Township, by Rosemary Horvath. 

John Scherrer is quoted as saying that Lisa was "too conscientious and no longer wanted to be frustrated about Michigan Moto Mania."

I wonder if that was a Freudian slip?  Perhaps Hayes Township wanted a Zoning Administrator who was less conscientious than Lisa, as her predecessor was?    Being "too conscientious" makes it more difficult for people to get around. That can be a problem when a conscientious official holds up the yardstick of the Zoning Ordinance against a desired outcome and finds it falls short of compliance.

I have no doubt that Lisa no longer wanted to be frustrated by Michigan Moto Mania.

When a spoiled child can't take "no" for an answer, it is an ordeal both for the parents and those around the child, especially when the child throws a tantrum.  I'm sure it is no less teduous and frustrating when a would be business owner has had a non-compliant Special Use overturned and then wants to continue to cajole and pester and parse and browbeat; and well, you get the idea.  It gets old fast, especially when no amount of the aforementioned behavior will make that square peg fit into a round hole.  And especially when certain members of certain township boards are bound and determined to make it fit; with a sledgehammer, if needs be.

A person can only take so much.

Lisa found herself caught in the middle, and in all probability would have had to babysit the business owner to ensure continued compliance with the Hayes Township Ordinance.  Past performance being an indicator, I'd say that's probably the case, inasmuch as the Mostetler Road neighbors have to date seen nothing that would indicate future compliance or the local authorities' inclination to enforce compliance.  I'm sure that she did not relish the thought of being the Lone Ranger with out the backing of the Hayes Township officials in the matter.  Nobody had her back.

Who needs that headache?  I'm sure Lisa didn't.

Back in a previous post, when I wondered if Lisa could withstand the pressure to bow to an agenda that was more than likely to be put on her by those who paid her paycheck, she responded, and I made her response an entire post. 

Her words speak for themselves:  "Of course you may have guessed by now that this statement is contrary to the views I have expressed about my profession.  Especially since zoning enforcement is the actual job description for the Zoning Administrator.  At the end of the day, what I "want to do" is to just simply complete a day of working at this job in such a manner as to not lose sleep over it.  (Period.)  If that ever ceases to be the case, nobody will fire me because I would quit!  No job is worth compromising one's integrity for the sake of anyone's agenda."

I just didn't think it would happen so fast.


    

This is a Public Service Announcement

Now that we are into the New Year, maybe a few of my readers have thought about getting more involved in Hayes Township.  Now is the perfect time to volunteer to serve on one of the several boards in Hayes Township.   

John Scherrer and several members of the various appointed boards that serve Hayes Township have often repeated the refrain that "Nobody wants to volunteer to be on any of the boards."  So, as a public service to Hayes Township, I have decided to run this post once a month on this blog until every board is at full capacity and there is a file full of applications to back them up.  Apparently there are still positions available for those who are interested. 

I have heard rumors that some members of some of the boards feel "trapped," like if they resign from their service on the boards, either before their terms are up or when their terms are up, there is no one else to take their place and the board will be left short-handed without them.  By making this announcement, I am doing my part to encourage the taxpaying citizens of Hayes Township to step up and apply for jobs on the boards and serve your community.

Even if they don't appoint you right away, you will have thrown your hat in the ring against future needs for people willing to do the job.  Hopefully, they will keep your application on file and check back with you at least annually for updates if they cannot appoint you right away.

This way, when terms are up, there will be a pool of new folks willing to do the jobs and fill vacancies and the incumbents will not feel an obligation to stay if they want to move on.  It will also ensure that there are fresh faces bringing their best ideas to Hayes Township.

Once appointed, these new members should never take their appointments lightly, but should avail themselves of every opportunity to train for their new position and take advantage of the resources available to them through Michigan Townships Association

I urge all of my readers who are voting members of Hayes township to consider public service in Hayes Township.  If you are interested in serving as a member of an appointed board, please go to the Hayes Township office on Townline Lake Road to fill out an application.  You can make a difference.

Right now, this public service announcement and this blog are the best I have to offer.  As soon as I am a legal resident of Hayes Township, I will be considering public service myself.