Wacky Nut Yells At Plymouth Township Supervisor And Stomps Out Of Meeting Trailed By Police

Okay, I'm a bad guy.  I'll admit it.  I made a boo boo.  I yelled at Richie Rich Reaume during his precious meeting.   Then I went stompy footing out.  The "wacky nut" is gone!  Bryan has left the building!  Cop on his tail! 

Cop on his tail? What?  The police?

Yes, a police officer must have heard my outburst, or been summoned in  some way by King Richard.  Maybe he has a button under his desk that he can press if he feels threatened, or if the crowd becomes too abusive.  I wish the audience at these charades had buttons they could press when we start getting abused by the Board of Trustees. 

They abuse the audiences?  Well heck yes they abuse the audiences! 

Last night they abused my intelligence.  They insulted my intelligence.  Do these (insert mean word here) really think we believe all their lies?

Okay, okay, maybe I should start at the beginning, and then maybe you'll understand why I couldn't manage to behave myself long enough to sit through a 55 minute meeting that lasted 3 hours.

55 minute meeting that lasted 3 hours?  How is that possible?

I know, I know, it all sounds crazy.  You're wondering what I was smoking last night.  You're wondering if Bryan got a hold of some of that medical marihoochie.  Nope.  My blood is pure as the driven snow.  Clean and serene.  Well, last night I wasn't so serene.  That happens when I have to sit and listen to Reaume & company.   I'm digressing.

Anyway, it all started back on April 9th, with the verbal beatdown of superintendent Jeremy Hughes.  The poor guy was just presenting a slide show about the upcoming bond issue that Plymouth Canton Community Schools is having it's voters decide.  He was there in the interests of transparency, and I'm sure he wouldn't have been displeased if he got a little support as well.

What he got was over an hour's worth of browbeating and criticism from Ron Edwards, Fancy Nancy Conzelman & company.  From what I heard, he took it in stride, and answered all the questions.  I have no opinion on the PCCS bond whatsoever, but I found it ironic that these boardmembers would behave like that to Mr. Hughes when they had their own little secret bond twirling around in the back of their heads.  Well, some of them did.  Some of them knew nothing about it.

I call it a "secret bond" because nobody, and I mean NOBODY knew it existed until at least Friday.  Even some members of the Board of Trustees didn't know it existed until Friday when Mr. Reaume posted a note on the wall outside the Township Hall announcing to the unwashed masses that He would be having a Very Special Meeting of the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees to vote on a 2 million dollar bond to be paid for by Plymouth Township taxpayers.

Robert Doroshewitz, a Plymouth Township Trustee, clearly stated that he knew nothing of this bond issue until he received a board packet sometime between Friday the 19th and Tuesday the 23rd.  Are you serious?

So Mr. Reaume calls his Very Special Meeting, and it took place right around 48 business hours after it was posted.  The people who are obligated to pay off these bonds, had Monday and Tuesday between 8:00 AM & 4:30 PM to call and ask any questions that they may have.  The problem is that they never answer their phones at the Plymouth Township Hall.  You have to leave a voicemail, and hope they call you back.  In my case they never do.  They never return my calls.  They do not like tough questions.

Knowing that the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees stood in direct violation of any reasonable person's definition of transparency, I decided against my better judgement to attend this Very Special Meeting.  I had not planned to attend any meetings for awhile  because of a recent back surgery. 

I had planned to get DVD copies of the meetings, but when Fancy Nancy Conzelman took over the Clerk's office, the price for a DVD copy of a Board of Trustees meeting went from $3.00 (promised to me by Mr. Reaume) to $50.00.  This of course is a direct violation of the Freedom of Information Act.

The only way for these people to swindle $50.00 from me will be out of my dead, lifeless hands. I'll have my shotgun in one hand, and a 50 dollar bill in the other.

So reluctantly, I chose to attend the meeting.  For reasons unannounced, Mr. Reaume had called for a closed session meeting of the Board of Trustees in the middle of his Very Special Meeting of the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees. 

Fifteen minutes after the meeting started, the public session was ended, and the boardmembers waltzed off into the inner sanctum of the bunker complex that is our Township Hall.

These (insert mean name here) made us sit and wait for over two hours!   By the time they came back, there were 8 people left.  Was this their plan all along?  Probably.

It is my understanding that they were discussing the new police contract that they have finally approved.  They have been negotiating this thing for over a year!  The police have not had a contract since the last day of 2011.  My point being that it has been going on for so long it would seem that they could have had the closed session at the end of the public meeting, and then voted on it after that closed session, or even at the next meeting if open meeting rules prohibited it.

I'm no expert on Roberts Rules Of Order, but I'm pretty sure they could have done their police business at the end of the agenda, so they didn't keep us all waiting over two hours while they had their dinner meeting. 

What?  Dinner meeting?  They had dinner?

I didn't hear it myself, but a trusted source said that one of our esteemed boardmembers bragged about having food brought in.  Now that made me mad!  Here they are, forcing us to cool our heels for over 2 hours, and then they brag about having the affair catered on the taxpayer's dime? 

It's like going to pick your date up for the evening, and then being forced to wait on her parent's couch while she goes out for a quick 2 hour dinner with some other guy, and then being forced to reimburse him for the dinner.

To sum it up:  The meeting is called to order, we said the Pledge, they approved the agenda, approved the consent agenda, then listened to one public comment about the hot mess that our emergency medical response has become.   This took all of 15 minutes.  They then moved to closed session.  This took over 2 hours.  From 6:12 PM to 8:20 PM.  Over 2 hours.

Who knows?  Maybe it wasn't the Board's fault it took so long?  Maybe the caterer got there late?  Maybe Conzelman's steak was too rare, and it had to be sent back for a couple more minutes on the grill?  I don't know how picky she is.  Maybe it took two trips to get all of Edward's food there?  I don't know.

I'll say this.  If I find out that the Picnic Basket catered this, I will come completely unhinged, and probably say stuff I shouldn't, which will end up getting me another email from Patch editors. 

By the way, the owner of the Picnic Basket party store is Al Jonna, who is BFF's with Big Ron Edwards.  It's always funny to see Big Ron get all misty eyed and wax poetic about how kind and benevolent Al Jonna is.  I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about it.

The thing is, they should have had this closed session at the end.  If they absolutely had to have it in the middle of the public meeting, Richard Reaume should have had the courtesy to inform people that it would last at least an hour, and maybe longer.  That would have been the decent thing to do.  Those that wished, could have went out and had a coffee while we waited. 

He had a very good idea how long the closed session would last.  He knowingly chose not to tell us.  That my friends, is a fact.

He could have informed people, but he didn't.  He could have told us, but he basically despises all of the people that were sitting at his meeting.  The folks who showed up are the folks who tend to ask direct questions.  Mr. Richard Reaume does not like direct questions.  He lives his life in the gray areas.  Had it been up to Reaume, they would have left for a closed session, done their business, and went home out the back door.  Digressing again.

So anyway, the King and his Court leave the room, and the wait starts.  Most of us knew each other, so conversations were easy.  I sat with a guy who I had met through another friend.  He is basically a Democrat, so I spend time trying to convert him to the Republican side, while he tries his best to convince me he is independent.  We both share a liking of Nascar racing, so many times we end up chatting about that when we get sick of politics.  Or when we are waiting while the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees strap on the old feed bags in the middle of their Very Special Meeting.

Some of us also discussed rearranging the chairs.  My idea was to face them towards the back, and then when Richie and friends came back, they would see nothing but our backs.  It would have been quite appropriate.  I probably could have received support for that idea, but we all wanted em to have to look us in the eyes while they did their underhanded business.

To be honest, I thought it may stretch to a one hour closed session, and bad back and all, I was prepared to wait it out.  One hour came and went though.  At the hour and a half mark, the crowd had thinned.  My back was screaming at me, but I became unwilling to leave at this point.  I wasn't gonna let them wait me out.

Finally!  Over two hours later, stomachs full, our elected officials return to do the people's business.  Actually I am wrong.  It would have been the people's business if the people actually knew about it.  The better way to describe it would be that those who won the election, came back to make a major withdraw from the people's bank account.  No, that's not exactly right either, because the people are paying interest. 

Okay, they came back to take out a loan for 1.9 million dollars that the taxpayers of Plymouth Township will be obligated to pay back with interest.  Perfect!

The first item after the two hour hiatus was the vote on the POAM (Police) contract.  This is interesting because, as I said earlier,  the contract expired on the last day of 2011.  So here we are, at the end of April in 2013, and finally there is a contract.  The contract is from Jan. 1, 2012 through Dec.31, 2014.  Seeing as how we are already roughly halfway through the contract, you have to wonder if they will even bother to fold up the bargaining table.  Maybe if they start negotiations now, the poor police will get their contract done when the current one expires this time. 

I don't think Police Officers or Firefighters should ever have to work without a contract.  They are the heroes, and their contracts and needs should always come first.  They are the ones who show up when you are having your worst day, and try to make things better.  Sometimes they do this at the expense of their own lives.  The events in Boston should be enough to make that point. 

There was no discussion about this contract, so I have no idea if it was good or bad for our police officers, or our taxpayers.  Hopefully it was a win for both sides.

Next on the agenda, was the infamous Plymouth Township Water Tower.  There was a presentation by a young man named Patrick Fellrath, detailing the "corrective action plan" that was worked out with the Detroit Water And Sewerage Department. 

Corrective measures?  Did Plymouth Township screw something up?

I have no earthly idea, but it sounds ominous and expensive.  I believe this whole water tower thing started in 2006, and they are still dumping money into it, and from most accounts, it still does not work correctly.

The bright side of all this was that I finally had the opportunity to witness a Trustee correctly do their job.  Chuck Curmi asked the questions that I wanted answered.  His line of questioning at least allowed me to understand some of these corrective measures, and I think he touched on some things that were not thought of, but will be explored, and maybe implemented.

My first impression of Mr. Curmi is that he looked and sounded like a seasoned boardmember.  Many times, when I was a school board member, I would ask questions of administrators that I already had answers for, but knowing that audience members did not have said information, I asked questions so that they could get it.  This allows stakeholders to understand what is going on.  There are times when doing this is important, and seasoned boardmembers recognize this.

Now we get to the issue that caused me to go all "wacky nut" on Mr. Reaume, and stompy foot it out of the meeting.

The bond issue was presented by Mr. Reaume.  He had 5 presenters listed in the meeting packet, and one of them was Mr. Tom Colis, from the law firm Miller Canfield.  Did I mention that Miller Canfield made a sizeable cash donation to Treasurer Ronald Edward's political campaign?  I did, and they did.  To me, that is an example of "pay to play."  It is no different than some of the examples that put Kwame Kilpatrick in the hoosegow.  I mentioned it in my last blog, and guess who didn't show up?  That's right!  Tom Colis from Miller Canfield!

 http://plymouth-mi.patch.com/blog_posts/on-april-23rd-the-plymouth-township-board-of-trustees-will-obligate-residents-to-19-million-in-new-spending

Is Miller Canfield really the best firm to handle the legal requirements for this bond issue?  They didn't even bother to show up on the first day of this job for cripes sake! 

Are they the best firm, or did they get the job because of campaign donations?  Maybe they got the job because of an inside contact?  Remember Steven Mann?  Former Plymouth Township Trustee?  Guess where the esteemed Mr. Steven Mann works?  That's right!  Miller Canfield!

Verrrry Interesting.

I keep saying that the government unit of Plymouth Township is an incestuous organization, and this is yet another example.  One of many.

So Miller Canfield is AWOL for the big presentation.  That leaves Boss Hogg Edwards, and Roscoe P. Reaume to answer questions.  I never lasted long enough to hear exactly what Mr. Edwards commented on, but I heard enough of Supervisor Reaume to make my head explode.

To begin with, I witnessed a truly magnificent sight that night.  Mr. Doroshewitz, Mr. Robert Jacob Doroshewitz asked some very tough and pointed questions.  This man remembered voting on Reaume's pet pavilion project.  He wasn't exactly clear on the date of the vote, but he was crystal clear on the details.

Bob Doroshewitz knew that Mr. Reaume, when selling this project to the Board of Trustees bragged about a grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).  This was a $100,000 grant, and according to Mr. Reaume, it had to be voted on that night or Plymouth Township would lose it.  This is how he operates.  He brings agenda items up without any time to ask questions or think about things.  He did it again with the bond issue.

Reaume went on to say that night, that they would get $41,000 from Wayne County, and a couple other small grants from Bosch and I believe Johnson Controls.  All in all it added up to apparently $216,000.   I say apparently, because I don't trust Reaume.  He lies too much.  Mr. Reaume, told the Board of Trustees, and the audience (me included) that the project would cost $350,000.  Lie.

Mr. Reaume, on July 17, 2012 sat on his throne and sold the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees this pavilion project for $350,000.  He went on to claim that there would be other monies available that would also offset the contribution the taxpayer would have to shell out. 

Mr. Reaume, if you are reading this, let me refresh your "memory" on what was said and what was promised on the pavilion issue.  Here it is, on your own web site. Page 3:

http://plymouthtwp.org/ReferenceDesk/AgendasMinutes/BOT/2012/120717.pdf

Trustee Doroshewitz pressed Mr. Reaume on this very issue.  He reminded Mr. Reaume of his claim that most of the money would be from grants, and that now the price had skyrocketed to the point where roughly 70% of the cost would come on the backs of the taxpayers.  He asked Mr. Reaume why?

Sadly I was not astonished by Mr. Reaume's response.

First he started mumbling, and looking down at the table.  He always looks down when he is uncomfortable.  Always.  That's how I know when a lie is coming.

When he finally said something intelligible, it was a lie.

He said he didn't remember things that way.  He didn't remember the conversation from HIS project, that took place at the July 17, 2012 meeting of the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees.  This man makes a six figure salary, with a wonderful benefit package to remember this stuff!  It's nine months!  You can't remember nine lousy months?

He should have remembered that this was a contentious issue at the board meeting.  There were arguments on how the grant actually worked.  Reaume had to work to sell this thing to Mr. Joe Bridgeman, and in the end, he failed.  The vote was 6-1.  Bridgeman knew that the project smelled fishy, and 9 months later, he was proven right.

Bridgeman had the only correct vote on this pavilion project.  He could smell the lie.

Oh, did I mention that the $350,000 price Reaume quoted for the project is now $625,000? 

The price is $625,000 and not one shovel has been anywhere near the project site.  It went from $350,000 to $625,000 and I don't even know if architect fees have even been thought of.  All the taxpayers have to go on is a price that Reaume pulled out of thin air.

Well, when Mr. Reaume said he didn't remember, I came out of my seat, and very forcefully reminded him the exact price he told the world this project was going to cost.  This is the point where I had had my fill of Reaume's lies.  The man has turned lying into an art.  His new method is to just claim he does not remember.

If you don't remember what you said, it can't be a lie right?

This is not the first time Reaume has had selective memory.  He once promised me over the phone that DVD copies of the Board of Trustee meetings would cost $3.00.  Well Nancy Conzelman didn't get the memo, and wanted $50.00.  I got His Highness on the phone, and suddenly Mr. Reaume didn't recall any conversation he had with me.  He said, "I don't remember any phone call about that" and promptly hung up on me.  Click. 

He couldn't remember a conversation he had with me six weeks earlier, so how are we to expect him to remember quoting a $350,000 price nine months after the fact?  Well Hell's Bells Richie, I'm sorry.  I know you're a busy fella and all, so maybe the extra $275,000 just slipped your mind.  Yeah right!

Now that I think about it, he has had a bad memory for a long time.  When he went and bought his license plate that proclaims him a Vietnam Vet, he forgot that he never set foot on Vietnamese soil.  Ever.

When I asked him about it, he just stared down at the table.  I turned on my heels and left before a lie came out.  It still ticks me off that he drives around town with that plate on his car.  He didn't earn the right to have it.  It's a slap in the face to every legitimate veteran in this country, and I think it's disgusting.  Digressing again.

Before I get to the police conversation, I need to point something out.  I have never once said anything nice about Bob Doroshewitz.  I have called him names, and I have made fun of him.  I have criticized many of his actions.

Well, if you are going to complain about somebody, you darn well better be ready to point out something they did that was good and right.  Mr. Doroshewitz was spot on in his criticism of the pavilion portion of this bond.  He represented the taxpayers the way they are supposed to be represented.  He took the time to consider what he had voted on, and when something radically different was proposed, he called out the Supervisor in a public setting.

I absolutely commend Mr. Doroshewitz for his stance on this issue.  He was there when this issue was voted on, and he stuck to his guns on the substance of what he voted on.  I know it took some courage to vote against the other five, as well.  They have a habit of making one pay for going against the flow.

Had Mr. Reaume called a study session to discuss these things with his board, this all could have been avoided.  Maybe Mr. Reaume's memory could have been refreshed.  This man makes six figures to properly manage your money, and he's spending it like a drunken sailor!  Mr. Doroshewitz correctly pointed that out.

So, from what I can gather from the official minutes (they are subject to change until approved at the next meeting) Mr. Doroshewitz made a motion to postpone the Notice of Intent to Issue Capitol Improvement Bonds until the next meeting on May 14.  This motion was supported by Mr. Kelly.  Doroshewitz, Kelly, and Curmi voted to postpone.  Arnold, Reaume, Conzelman, and Edwards voted to move forward.

All Doroshewitz wanted was some time to consider a 1.9 million dollar expenditure that he became aware of at most, 72 hours earlier.  He had at most 72 hours to consider this obligation to the taxpayers, and he wanted three lousy weeks to have questions answered, and Kelly & Curmi supported him.

What the heck is wrong with asking for three weeks to consider a 1.9 million dollar tax increase?  This is why I'll never trust Reaume.  He is always doing his business secretly.  He lives in the shadows, and operates in the gray areas.  He has a lot of folks fooled too.  Not me, and in this case, not Doroshewitz.  Or Curmi.

In the end, Mr. Doroshewitz and Mr. Curmi had enough reservations to vote against this expenditure.  Mr. Kelly, while supporting Doroshewitz's motion for more time to consider things, ultimately voted yes on the bond, along with Reaume, Edwards, Arnold, and Conzelman.

So here is what I think.  I think Reaume wanted that LWCF grant money, and needed a vote on it that night.  I think he fudged the numbers from $625,000 to a more palatable $350,000 in order to get the votes he needed.  He then waited the necessary amount of time needed for folks to forget about the $350,000 figure he promised.  He then slipped it into this bond proposal.  The problem is that Mr. Doroshewitz remembered.  I remembered too, and that led to my outburst, and subsequent conversation with one of Plymouth Township's finest. 

When Reaume started mumbling to Doroshewitz, and said he didn't remember, I stood right up, and I said "It was $350,000 Reaume, I remember."  I said this as I was walking out of another sham of a meeting.  I got outside, and as I mentioned, I have had recent back surgery, and under doctors orders I cannot drive a car.  So I called my lovely girlfriend to pick me up. 

While I was waiting for her, I was just outside of the doors, as it was raining.  Shortly after I got off the phone, a police officer walked out.  He asked me how I was doing, and was real polite about getting to his point of wanting to know why I haven't left the property yet.

I knew why he was there, and I understood why he had to come out and talk with me.  I said words in anger, and when I left, I didn't go directly to my car to leave the premises.  He needed to make sure that I wasn't going to throw a rock through the window or whatever.  He needed to make sure I wasn't a threat to anyone at the meeting.  I understood that, and I quickly informed him that I was just waiting for a ride, and explained why.

I told him that I was very frustrated by Mr. Reaume's memory loss, and that I had refreshed his memory, and left the meeting.  He understood, and that was the last we spoke of the issue.  He waited with me until my better half showed up, and we shook hands, and I left.  He was polite, and professional, and based on one previous experience with the Plymouth Township Police, I expected no less.

Now here is the hilarious thing about it all.  My girlfriend, knowing of my passion for right and wrong, always has the same words for me before I go to a meeting.  She always says "Don't get arrested."

Imagine her shock to see me standing with a police officer as she pulled up.

Had I had more time to think about it, I would have assumed the position, with my legs spread, and hands against the wall.   Hindsight.

So where does this leave me?  Am I now banned from the meetings?  In my defense, it's my only emotional outburst.  I mean Big Ron Edwards still gets to attend meetings, and he tried to beat up the Township Clerk in the hallway, after a meeting.  I didn't throw any fists.  I simply reminded Mr. Reaume that he can't get away with lying while I am present.

If he wasn't lying.  If he really didn't remember, he is unfit for office, and should resign immediately.

Which is it Mr. Reaume?  Were you lying or didn't you remember?  It can only be one or the other.

Either way, you are unfit for public office, and you should resign immediately...