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Health & Fitness

Following The Money At Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy

First the necessary disclaimer: The views expressed here, are my own, and do not represent Plymouth-Canton Patch. I am not paid by, nor do I receive any goods, services, or sellable commodities from Plymouth-Canton Patch. My blog, my views. Nuff Said

This is part two of a blog I wrote about Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy. In the first story I mentioned the fact that neighboring residents were very angry with this building. The way it looks, the noise, the traffic, and the lowering of their property values.      
http://plymouth-mi.patch.com/groups/bryan-bentleys-blog/p/bp--plymouth-scholars-charter-academy-surr...    

I mentioned that I don't necessarily have a problem with charter schools in a broad sense, I do however have a problem with the way this particular deal was done.

I mentioned that folks simply do not trust an entity that has on it's Board of Directors a man with longstanding ties to Plymouth Township elected officials, and more importantly, they should resent the fact that the legal counsel for Plymouth Scholars, is also the legal counsel for Plymouth Township.

This is the story of a group of people, not unlike most Americans, who have invested their money and their lives in their community. The folks who live in the Rolling Hills subdivision invested more than most, as these homes look to have cost north of $500,000 a piece.

Now I don't live on the affluent side of town, but that doesn't make me unsympathetic to those with more wealth than myself. I believe that everybody deserves a fair shake from local government, no matter what their bottom line is.

I believe that local government is elected to serve all residents fairly, and equitably. Whether you own a $75,000 house, or a $575,000 house, you have invested in a community. You have put your faith in the community leaders, to do what is best for you. You are their customer. The local government is there to serve you. They should be transparent in all of their dealings. Transparency counts.

With your taxes, you pay their salary. You put the food on these local elected official's tables. Your tax dollars send their kids to college. The car that they drive, the house that they live in, was paid for, in part by you.

Now I don't know exactly how much the yearly property taxes are on a half million dollar home in Plymouth Township, but I would guess that they are significant, and I would argue that those homeowners paying them should have a reasonable expectation not to be misled by their elected officials.

Treasurer Ron Edwards campaign statements show that he uses "Taxpayers For Ron Edwards" as the name when he filed his financial statements. He makes the claim up front that he stands for the taxpayers.

He is proud of it. Taxpayers For Ron Edwards.

Ron Edwards is one of the players in this story, but not the only one. We can add Supervisor Richard Reaume, former Plymouth Township Police Chief Carl Berry, current Plymouth Township legal counsel Tim Cronin, builder and developer Leo Soave, and the whole Plymouth Township Planning Commission to the list of characters in this sordid tale.

This is a complicated matter to sort out, but I think I have a handle on it.

This story starts with a guy named Leo Soave. He is a developer, and a major donor to Mr. Taxpayers for Ron Edwards. He is listed in the planning commission minutes as the owner of the property that the Plymouth Scholars Charter School sits on, but later in this saga, a gentleman named Enrico Soave is listed as the property owner.

Always follow the money.

From what I can gather, it was essentially Leo Soave's land. I do not know the exact familial relationship between Leo and Enrico. Maybe they are brothers. Maybe Enrico is an uncle. Maybe a consigliere. Suffice to say they have a relationship.

So back in January of 2005, representatives of the seller of the land, and the developer (Mr. Soave) approached the board and asked for a rezoning to allow single family homes on this property. It was a condition Mr. Soave wanted in order to buy the property. They made it a point to ask if it could be done expeditiously.

Way back then, residents were wary, and complained. Kay Arnold was unmoved by their concerns, and made a motion to approve the rezoning. Ultimately it was not supported, and they postponed the vote. Mr. Tim Cronin (Legal counsel for both Plymouth Township at the time, and now Plymouth Scholars as well) became involved in the deal at this point. He indicated at that meeting, that he could come back to the board with a report on the contract rezoning. This is an important fact, that will become relevant later in this story.
http://plymouthtwp.org/ReferenceDesk/AgendasMinutes/BOT/2005/050111.htm

Within the next month, Mr. Soave got his rezoning of the property, and at some point finalized the purchase. Between 2005 and 2012 not a single home was built on this property. My guess is that with the bursting of the housing bubble, there was no market for high end homes, and his funding dried up, so he was forced to sit on this land, and pay taxes on it as well.

Now, fast forward if you will, to the February 7, 2012 meeting of the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees. A small innocuous item on the agenda was the Amendment to Contract Conditional rezoning of the Soave properties. According to the minutes, there was some discussion, and Township Supervisor Richard Reaume reviewed the revised parcel plan, and a unanimous vote approved the rezoning.

This is where things get interesting.

Township legal counsel Mr. Timothy Cronin thought it was important at that time to state for the record that he works for the township, and does not do any work for any charter schools.

Here is his statement verbatim from the minutes: Attorney Cronin gave background information and the reasons why this contract amendment is being sought. He stated, for the record, that he represents the Township, and that he does not do any work for any charter schools.
http://plymouthtwp.org/ReferenceDesk/AgendasMinutes/BOT/2012/120207.pdf

Verry interesting...    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krD4hdGvGHM

At this point, there was never any mention in any document that I can find of a charter school being planned. So why would he feel the need to mention this? Kind of an off the wall statement, because as you will soon see, the expressed intent of the rezoning was to build condominiums, not schools.

Another verrry interesting point is that somehow, between February 7th of 2012, and today's date, Mr. Timothy Cronin became the legal counsel for Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy, which sits smack dab on the parcel that was rezoned.

Yet another uncomfortable truth is that Mr. Cronin, who made the big statement for the record, just happens to be a major contributor to Mr. Reaume's campaign. The same Mr. Reaume who reviewed the revised parcel plan. Mr. Cronin also was a major donor to Taxpayers for Ron Edwards. The same Ron Edwards who commented on, and approved the rezoning. Oh hell, let's just shine the light a bit brighter. Mr. Cronin's wife also donated heavily to both campaigns as well.

Always follow the money.

So let's think about this. Mr. Cronin stated for the record that he does not work for any charter school in February of 2012. Sometime between then and now, he suddenly works for Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy. He was a major donor to the Supervisor & the Treasurer, who approved this deal. He supplied a legal opinion on the contract rezoning. He then became legal counsel for the charter academy.

I don't know about you, but it sounds like a quid pro quo to me. Just my opinion.

If residents in the neighboring subdivision have a complaint about this school, how on Earth can they expect to get a fair hearing from the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees? How can they trust a Board of Trustees that employs the lawyer who is also the lawyer for the entity they are complaining about? Especially since said lawyer has contributed heavily to the campaigns of members of that very Board of Trustees?

Always follow the money.

As I stated at the meeting between residents and Plymouth Scholars representatives, this is an incestuous relationship between Plymouth Scholars and the Board of Trustees. It is incestuous, and it is inappropriate.

Did Mr. Cronin get a quid pro quo from Plymouth Scholars for a favorable opinion on the rezoning? An argument could very well be made that he did.

Now is the point where Mr. Carl Berry gets angry at me. Truthfully, I was not sure at the time of the meeting whether or not Mr. Cronin was actually legal counsel for Plymouth Scholars. I simply brought up the fact that I had heard that he was.

I mentioned to the nice fella running the meeting that I thought folks didn't trust them because of Mr. Berry's longstanding ties to the Board of Trustees, and that if in fact, Mr. Cronin was actually their counsel, he would be serving two masters.

I had not quite finished my comments when I suddenly had an angry Mr. Berry standing in front of me, and interrupting my comments. I stopped talking, and suddenly remembered a scene from one of my favorite Jack Nicholson movies, A Few Good Men.

I could see that Mr. Berry was angry. I could see that he didn't want to hear from a pissant like myself.

He wanted to tell the truth! I couldn't handle the truth!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXoNE14U_zM

So I demanded to know! "Is Tim Cronin legal counsel for Plymouth Scholars?!?"

He said YES! "He is legal counsel for Plymouth Scholars, and he is my friend, and my personal attorney!"

It was the best Jack Nicholson moment ever! Right out of the movie!

He said it, he was proud of it, and to hell with anybody who didn't like it!

I had what I had come to get. The truth. Or as much of it as I could pry out of folks.

I learned that Tim Cronin is not only the Township attorney, and the attorney for Plymouth Scholars, but he is also Plymouth Scholars Board Director Carl Berry's attorney. He now serves 3 masters in this incestuous affair.

Some sort of legal menage a trois if you ask me.

There is something else in this mess that smells rather fishy. The planning commission was obviously involved in this whole rezoning thing as well, and I did some checking on them. It should be noted right away that 5 of the 7 members of the planning commission involved in this donated to either Richard Reaume's or Ron Edward's campaign in 2012.

Always follow the money.

In the minutes for the April 18, 2012 Planning Commission meeting there in an agenda item involving Leo Soave Developments, LLC. The project name is: Plymouth Estates Condominiums. The requested action is: Approval of a Preliminary Condominium Subdivision Plan. It was at this meeting that Enrico Soave answered questions for Leo Soave Developments, LLC.

I wonder if Leo & Enrico Soave are related to Anthony Soave, who was a key witness in the Kwame Kilpatrick racketeering trial? I digress.

So moving on, the addresses listed for this condominium project? 48550 North Territorial & 48484 North Territorial.

48484 North Territorial?  Hmmm Where did I see that address before? I know I saw it somewhere. Oh yeah! The address of the Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy is : 48484 North Territorial, Plymouth Township, MI.

They wanted approval for a condominium project at 48484 North Territorial. No mention of a school at all.

So seventeen area residents showed up at this meeting with a slew of objections. Their concerns included increased traffic in the area, construction traffic through their subdivision, decreased safety for their children, lowered property values, drainage issues, greenscape buffer issues, and increased road maintenance costs. Never at this meeting was there talk of a charter school going in at 48484 North territorial Road. Not one mention.
http://plymouthtwp.org/ReferenceDesk/AgendasMinutes/PlanningCommission/2012/120418.pdf

Ultimately, Trustee Kay Arnold, who chairs the Planning Commission directed that this be brought back to the planning Commission at the July meeting, and that Supervisor Reaume should review everything, and hold a meeting with the homeowners to discuss their concerns. It's kind of funny, but there was no July meeting of the Planning Commission. They voted in favor of this project in August. I have also seen no mention anywhere that this meeting with homeowners ever took place.

Here is what I think. This whole condominium talk was all smoke and mirrors. The old bait and switch. Never ever has there been any official mention of a charter school. Here is the kicker, within a few weeks of this April Planning Commission meeting to discuss a condominium project at 48484 North Territorial, bulldozers showed up and built a charter school at that very address. Still I see no condominiums there. Just an ugly schoolhouse.

So in the end, I have found some answers to my many questions, but several questions remain.

Did Carl Berry receive any compensation from National Heritage Academies for being an integral part of this project?  Does he receive any compensation now?

Have any elected officials from Plymouth Township received any compensation stemming from this project?

Are Carl Berry, or any elected officials from Plymouth Township, or Tim Cronin investors in Plymouth Scholars?

There is a rumor that Carl Berry & Ron Edwards scouted this location, and received finders fees from some entity for securing this location. I do not know if this is true or false. There are rumors that they are investors. Again, I have no knowledge that this is true.

I do know that where there is smoke, there is occasionally fire.

Perhaps the biggest unanswered question is who all knew that charter school was going to be built on this property, and why did they not tell these residents?

I do know that Mr. Berry got visibly upset at the very mention of Tim Cronin's name, and the mention of his relationship with members of the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees.  Maybe a little too upset.

UPDATE:

I was asked by Mr. Berry to meet and have a chat about some misstatements he indicated that I had made. We met Saturday, and a couple of issues were cleared up. While he never mentioned any misstatements, he did discuss, give opinions, and answer some questions that I had regarding this charter school.

The first and biggest revelation is that as of Thursday, Mr. Tim Cronin had resigned his position as legal counsel for Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy.

That my friends is an interesting turn of events. One can look at this two ways. One could argue that Mr. Cronin resigned so that he wouldn't be responsible for further distractions.

One could also argue that Mr. Timothy Cronin had an inappropriate business relationship with both Plymouth Township & Plymouth Scholars, and that once this obvious conflict of interest was brought to light by yours truly, he had no other choice but to resign.

I believe the latter is true, and I wonder how much money he received during this relationship. I wonder if laws were broken? I absolutely believe ethics were broken.

One other revelation about Mr. Cronin that I found very telling was that it seems that Mr. Cronin has in fact represented at least one other charter school. Mr. Berry indicated to me that he had, and that makes his statement that "I do no work for any charter schools" a lie at worst, and disingenuous at best.

Bottom line: Mr. Timothy Cronin resigned.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFvU3T7eruA

Other questions were answered, and here they are in no particular order.

Mr. Berry stated the he has never received any compensation from National Heritage Academies , and he does not currently receive any compensation.

Mr. Berry stated that no elected official received any compensation in this deal, and further, neither Mr. Berry, Mr. Cronin, or any other elected official are investors in this school. National Heritage Academies owns the property, and the building. The charter is owned by an Indian tribe.

Mr. Berry stated that he had no part in scouting the location, and there was no finders fee.

Mr. Berry stated that he had no involvement in the design of the building, and that if he had, it never would have looked the way it does. He went on to say that they are bringing in landscapers to design a natural foliage buffer, and they will present this plan to residents before they implement it.

One thing he also said was that the street that parents were parking on when picking their children up is a public street, and those parents have a right to be there. I wholeheartedly disagree with his notion that it is somehow ok for all these cars to suddenly be there after National Heritage builds their school. While it may be technically legal, it is in my mind reprehensible. It shows that they have no interest in being good neighbors, and they are the new neighbor.

We spent a couple of minutes talking about following the money. I indicated to him that I had found Mr. Leo Soave was a campaign contributor to Mr. Reaume, and that 5 of the 7 Planning Commissioners had donated to either Mr. Reaume of Mr. Edwards, and that more importantly, Mr. Cronin and his wife were major donors to Mr. Reaume, and Mr. Edwards.

Mr. Berry told me that "I would find his name all over their campaign statements as a donor." I found this surprising, and I indicated that I had not seen his name on their campaign statements as a donor at all. He said that it should be there, and that he has reported the donations. I told him of a Dale Berry who is a major donor, but he claimed not to know a Dale Berry. I take him at his word on this.

Just to make sure, I just did an exhaustive check again. Richard Reaume, and Ron Edwards have not listed Carl Berry as a donor on Pre-Primary, Post-Primary, Pre-General, or Post-General campaign statements for 2012. So either Carl Berry misinformed me, or Rich/Ron failed to list him as a donor.

If Carl Berry donated to their campaigns, and they neglected to list him, I believe that is a violation of the law. I'm not a legal eagle like Mr. Cronin, but it would seem to me that failing to list a donor might just be a violation. I can't see any reason why Mr. Berry would lie to me about this issue, so I am forced to think that there may be something scroochy going on with the campaign statements of Rich/Ron. It wouldn't be the first time that these two clowns have been involved in shenanigans involving transparency. I could try to call and ask them, but all I get is a bunch of crap for answers.     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt22XnfPjz0

In the end, Mr. Berry and myself agreed on some things, disagreed on others, but had a cordial conversation. Unlike Mr. Edwards, and other Plymouth Township officials, Carl does not shy away from stating his opinions using his real name as evidenced at Patch. I respect him for that.

He has his opinions, and principles, and sticks with them. He makes no apologies about those he chooses as his friends, even though many will ultimately judge him by that very standard.

In closing, I found out once again that wherever there is conflict and controversy in Plymouth Township, you can usually connect dots, follow money, and find that it leads straight back to the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees in some way shape or form...

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