Letters

       Here you will find letters that come into our possession. They may be complete as written or edited for various reasons. Authors may or may not be identified. Editorial comment or notes may be added to clarify or challenge.

Contents

2. Restore Responsible Government ...
 1. What is Happening ...


2. Restore Responsible Government ...

About The First Week of October 2010 | Author: Uncertain

Editorial Note:
The following letter was mailed or hand delivered to numerous addresses within the Presque Isle community. It has been reproduced here in its entirety without altering the content. Formatting has been adjusted to improve readability as the original was somewhat crudely set up. Footnotes have been added to clarify or refute some of the statements made.

RESTORE RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT TO PRESQUE ISLE TOWNSHIP
RE-CALL SUPERVISOR POKORSKI


The function of the Township Supervisor is to chair meetings and manage Township business in a fair, open and responsible manner. During his first 22 months in office Supervisor Pokorski has caused the voters to question his motives and abilities.


  1. He has taken the voters rights away by making unilateral decisions without the participation, input and approval of the Board of Trustees.

    1. Supervisor Pokorski disposed of Township assets, in the form of wood products, valued at $7,000 without Board approval.

      1. In October 2009, a forest products contractor, removed trees from the New Lighthouse Park and Old Lighthouse Park, which were commercially processed, and the products were sold. There was no motion or approval by the Township Trustees to dispose of the Township assets. Supervisor Pokorski who authorized the contractors work was not present to supervise the work. There is no written documentation between the contractor and the Township. His actions caused the Presque Isle County Prosecutor to request an investigation by the Michigan State Police.1
    2. Supervisor Pokorski has called special meetings of the Board of Trustees, at very short notice, to make important decisions and some Trustees were not notified.

      1. Pokorski has sent e-mails on Sunday for special meetings at 9 am on Monday. Trustee Morrison was not notified2 of the meeting to interview applicants to appoint a new trustee.
    3. Supervisor Pokorski expended Township funds far in excess than approved by the Board of Trustees.

      1. The Board approved an amount not to exceed $7,000 for cemetery improvements. He authorized over $10,000 in work and then presented the bill to the Board expecting approval & payment without any documentation for the increased cost.3
      2. He spent the Supervisor's mileage budget in the first 7 months of the 2009/2010 fiscal year and then continued to request mileage reimbursement despite the budget over run. Although, advised in February by both the Clerk and the Treasurer, that extra funds needed to be transferred, he neglected to address the requirement until the end of the fiscal year.4
    4. Supervisor Pokorski on numerous occasions pressured the Township Clerk to issue checks for payments that were not previously approved by the Trustees.5
  2. He makes inaccurate and mis-leading claims.

    1. He claims the tree cutting at the Lighthouse Parks was completed at no cost to the taxpayers.6

      1. To date, in addition to the numerous volunteer hours, $5,000 of your tax dollars have been spent to clean up the mess and make our parks presentable for public use.7
      2. In a statement made to the MI State Police, the vendor that cut the trees admitted that the wood products were valued at $7,000 and that he did not have any written agreement with the Township. He was authorized by Patrick Pokorski to remove the trees.8
      3. The Township Board was forced to approve $2,000 to remediate a DNR violation that occurred when Supervisor Pokorski instructed the tree removal contractor to place stumps and brush on the shore of Lake Huron. Violation Notice File # 09-71-0016-V.9
    2. He claims the re-call effort is politically motivated by his opposition for the Office of State Representative. when in fact, many of the recall supporters are voters that elected him to the office of Supervisor.
  3. He lacks the leadership skills needed to manage the Township in a fair, open and responsible manner.10

    1. In his first 22 months in office he has called 16 special meetings of the Township Board. These meetings are secretive, announced only by a notice posted 18 hours in advance on the Township door and often held during the day, when citizens are working. These frequent meetings, where very important decisions have been made, including the appointment of the clerk and trustee, have been at an additional cost to the taxpayer and in a manner that prevents public attendance.
    2. Between July 09 & Dec 09 he requested reimbursement for 3,678 miles, an ave of 613 miles per month
    3. Agendas for the Township Board meetings are not available until a few hours before the meetings are held making it impossible for the Trustees to prepare for the meeting and make informed decisions.
    4. Since taking office, a high priority, on his agenda numerous times, was to establish policies and procedures for Township government. He is yet to produce a single policy or procedure for Township Board approval.
    5. In Sept 2010 he asked Trustees to approve 4 sets of minutes that were more than a year old.
Please vote to recall Patrick Pokorski on November 2nd
 11You deserve fair, open and responsible representation!

Sponsored by the Citizens to Re-call Patrick Pokorski, Frank Swartz and Barry Schatz co-chairmen.
For further info write PO Box 100 Presque Isle, MI 49777

Editorial Comments:

1 The Prosecuting Attorney's Office has determined that the claims of wrong-doing against Mr. Pokorski were unfounded and there was no evidence of illegal actions on his part.

2 By his choice, Trustee Morrison did not have email service. A telephone call was placed to his number and a message left regarding the special meeting. The notification failure was with Trustee Morrison, not Mr. Pokorski or Township staff.

3 In fulfilling his duties of Sexton, Mr. Pokorski discovered surveying and road placement errors relating to the newly developed section. In order to properly complete the project, additional expenses were incurred for re-surveying and relocation of the roadway. These errors occurred while the previous Sexton was responsible.

4 Business related travel and attendance at a Board authorized MTA training session put Mr. Pokorski approximately $1,200 over budget. The Board of Trustees authorized this expense prior to expenditure of the funds. For the months of April, May & June of 2010, he paid for all of his mileage and office supplies out of his own family funds.

5 Untrue.

6 The cutting WAS at no cost to the taxpayers. To have contracted the cutting alone would have cost approximately $10,000. To have it done in exchange for the wood products harvested was a good deal. When the possibility of cutting-in-exchange-for-wood was discussed by council in the summer of 2009, they stated that it was a "no brainer" — does that not sound like approval?

7 The phase following the cutting of the trees (the so-called cleanup) would be required no matter what route was taken. The investment of resources to create the "new image" can be minimal or extensive, depending upon your tastes. It is unfair to tag those costs to Mr. Pokorski.

8 The $7,000 figure (and that number may not be accurate) represents all wood products harvested. A significant part of the harvest originated from the Presque Isle Harbor Association property and not from the township.

9 This pile was placed immediately next to an existing pile that annually resulted from maintenance operations in the area of the Old Lighthouse. At the Board of Trustees meeting in August of 2009 when asked about the existing pile, Peter Petalia, the Parks and Recreation Committee Chairman stated: " Members felt that there was no issue as the pile is where it always has been and will be addressed as soon as the snow falls just the same as it always has been."

10 Supervisor Pokorski has demonstrated leadership by getting out into the community and attending local functions and promoting the Township. The volunteer base has expanded due to his efforts and he often rolls up his sleeves and works with them on projects. He has actioned stalled issues such as the well at the Township Hall and the expansion of the cemetery. Unfortunately he is often hobbled by Council that cannot make decisions and constantly throw roadblocks in front of his efforts.

11 We most certainly agree that you deserve fair, open and responsible representation. You are getting that with Patrick Pokorski. The problem is that many don't recognize it because it has not existed within the township for so many years.

One Last Comment: According to Michigan State law regarding recall votes, the Statement of Misconduct of an elected official does not have to be truthful and there is no requirement for independent verification of the accuracy of those claims. It is VERY important that every voter personally evaluate the issues and the claims made. If in your concience you believe that the elected official failed to reasonably fulfill his/her responsibilities of the office, then you should vote accordingly. If, however, you believe that the elected official acted in an appropriate manner and to the best of his/her abilities then you should also vote accordingly.

1. What is Happening ...

About The First Week of November 2009 | Author: Unknown

Editorial Note:
In October of 2009, the hot button issue of tree cutting at the 2 lighthouses and cemetery surfaced. The following letter was anonymously mailed to selected taxpayers in the township and found its way to the local newspapers as well. It is reproduced below as written with links added to various editorial footnotes at the end. Note carefully the tone and wording of the letter. One cannot help but wonder whether the concerns of the author(s) relate more to politics than trees.

What is Happening to Presque Isle Township?????

Acres of trees have been cut at both the New Lighthouse Park and the Old Lighthouse Park. It has been estimated the clear cut at the New Lighthouse Park is about 4 to 5 acres and the swath of trees cut at the Old Lighthouse Park is about 1.5 acres.


Our township resources were not sold for market value;1 they were given to a wood processor in exchange for his labor to remove them. The processor received all of the wood for free2 and in turn, the township has 5 to 6 acres of cleared land that must now have the stumps removed, leveled, filled and seeded all at a cost to the township residents. There will be a new area for parking at the New Lighthouse Township Park; but did we need 4 to 5 acres to park cars?3 What is the benefit at the Old Lighthouse Park? We were told that it was to improve access for ambulance and fire trucks. Then why were trees cut all the way back to Grand Lake Road where there is plenty of room for any type of vehicle? The only explanation4 is to harvest the wood resource. Trees to large to hug were taken unnecessarily.


The third area cut is Presque Isle Harbor Association property next to the cemetery. We are told that a parking lot5 is planned for this parcel. Who will be liable for for activity on this Association property? The township does not have any land right or insurance coverage for use of the property. Tree removal in this area has eliminated privacy while visiting loved ones or holding memorial services.


We want to know who is responsible for this action. The minutes6 from the Township Board meetings for the past year show no motion or approval for the removal of the trees. Further more the clerk, treasurer and two trustees say they never made a motion nor did they vote in favor for disposing of the Township assets. They were all unaware7 that the trees would be removed until after the removal. They are still unaware of the details; such as the value of the disposed resource and who did the removal.


It appears that the Township Supervisor arranged for the removal and disposal of our Township resources without Township Board approval. This amounts to circumventing the public and legislative process as set forth in the State of Michigan statutes for the administration of Township government. The Supervisor then called a special meeting of the Board to ask them to approve funds to remove stumps, grade and fill the property. This was clearly an attempt to prevent the public from knowing the cost of this project and to prevent the public their right to comment and provide input.


While some residents might not find the removal of the trees objectionable, we believe, all residents should be concerned about the deliberate circumventing of the legislative process and the denial of our residents rights to hear about and comment on the disposal of Township assets. We elected 5 Township officials to serve us. We believe that all 5 should make such important decisions.


If these issues concern you, please attend the Township Board meeting on Monday, November 9th at 7 PM at the Township hall If you cannot attend please call or send a letter or e-mail to our clerk, treasurer or trustees voicing your concern.


Karen Fournier, Clerk    595-6242 Betty Tadajewski, Treasurer    595-2223 
Lyn Morrison, Trustee    595-2989Cynthia Paavola, Trustee     595-32308  

Concerned Citizens9

Editorial Comments:

1Due to the recession, the market value of raw wood products is extremely depressed. The wooded areas in question consisted mainly of scrub — small, sparse and under-nourished with considerable diseased and damaged trees. The market value of the wood most likely was much less that the labor cost for its removal.

2 No, it was not free. The previous sentence stated that the wood was in exchange for labor. Here, "free" only means that no money was passed.

3No, we do not need that much parking. It never was about parking. The large area in question is primarily to reclaim the view of the lake that is historically documented in photos from earlier years. This unobstructed view of the lake was essential for the lighthouse keeper to monitor the lake as conducted his daily duties.

4Not the only explanation. Has the author driven this access road in traffic situations. Very unfriendly setting for large rigs and those unfamiliar with the surroundings. Intimidating for tourists.

5You were told wrong. No parking lot was ever considered.

6 These same minutes also do not show that there was an open discussion regarding possible tree clearing at the New Lighthouse. Several members of the attending public have verified this fact. Perhaps Township minutes are lacking in completeness?

7Check the Parks and Recreation report of the August 10, 2009 Council Meeting. Also, perhaps these people should get out more. There was open discussion (including the time-frame) amongst the general public at 2 different events held at the New Lighthouse in 2009 — the Arts and Crafts Show and the Township sponsored Labor Day Picnic. Too bad several of the trustees did not see those events to be worthy of their attendance.

8Does our Township Council not consist of 5 people? Looks like the authors have not accepted Pat Pokorski as being part of the council.

9Who are these people? Those paying close attention have probably figured it out.

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.
... John Quincy Adams