IM council to accept applications for vacancies
By LINDA LOBECK
Staff Writer
IRON MOUNTAIN - A special meeting of the Iron Mountain City Council was held this morning to accept the resignations of council members Dan Burke and Jeff VanLaanen.
Both Burke and VanLaanen submitted letters of resignation to the city clerk Wednesday. No reasons were stated, but the resignations were effective immediately.
At today's meeting, the council started the process of replacing the two council members.
The city will advertise for the two open seats starting Tuesday and applications need to be submitted in writing to the city clerk by 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 23.
After that, the council will review the applications and a special meeting will probably be held to make the appointments.
City Attorney Gerry Pirkola said that the process to follow is outlined in the city charter. The time period for Burke's seat is through Dec. 30, and there are two years remaining on VanLaanen's at-large seat.
In Tuesday's election, Burke was defeated in the Third Ward by Colin K. Jacobetti by a vote of 226 to 178.
"It's a short time period and you have to think who'd want to serve it for approximately one meeting. But you are required to advertise for the position just like the other seat," Pirkola said.
Council members discussed a shorter advertisement to take applications, but Mayor Protem Tina Peterson felt it should be longer. "One of the positions is for two years. You have to give citizens a chance to reply to the advertisement and both need to be advertised for the same amount of time."
Councilman Ted Corombos agreed. "It don't think it is something we want to rush."
The council members also discussed how long the person who is appointed to VanLaanen's term would fill it.
Councilman Bruce Rosen asked the city attorney check into the city charter to make sure that it is for the full two years.
Rosen said that Section 4.8 of the charter deals with vacancies and that a person appointed fills a seat until the next general city election. He asked that Pirkola define what that means.
Pirkola said he would check into it, but felt that this meant the next city election that council members are being elected and that would be in two years.
Corombos agreed. "If we are appointing someone to fill an unexpired term and the time is two years, that's how long they fill the position."
Pirkola said that appointments to the council have to be made within a 30-day period from the time the letters of resignation were received.
The next regular council meeting is on Nov. 16 and then on Dec. 7. The appointments would have to be made prior to the Dec. 7 meeting.
In Tuesday's election, incumbents Corombos and Dale Alessandrini were re-elected to their seats to represent Ward 2 and Ward 1, respectively.
In addition to VanLaanen's seat, the other at-large positions are being held by Peterson, Rosen, and Dave Farragh.
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poorIM
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11-09-09 1:36 PM
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Wow,,,lets see what should be on there resume,,,,Someone that filed bankruptcy and screwed over alot of busnesses and people in IM,,Or get fired by The union,,,oh wait thats on Dale's. Wait maybe you must sleep with a over weight fireman ,,,Oh wait thats on Tina's,,,Oh well Being honest would never pass with this council,,,
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REALFRIEND
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11-09-09 8:57 AM
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everyone should just stop bickering and concentrate on putting more of those little red bricks everywhere .maybe start doing the sidewalks in those pretty red bricks
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REALFRIEND
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11-09-09 8:52 AM
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this council is basically a joke
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Kazulobzrvr
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11-09-09 12:37 AM
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I think the taxpayers in the City of Iron Mountain have a right to know...don't you?
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Kazulobzrvr
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11-08-09 11:05 PM
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Bring Ted along...THAT would make it REAL interesting!!!
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Kazulobzrvr
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11-08-09 4:59 PM
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Try approaching 3rd St. from Norway St. heading either north or south...you encounter a "Yield" sign to the "Stop" sign on 3rd. WHO, pray tell, has the legal right-of-way? That is "Urbany-logic". Regarding TIFA, the monies had ALREADY been confiscated! Think of it as being tantamount to withdrawing your IRA early...the "penalty" is a PERCENTAGE of the original gross deposit LESS forfeited interest. In this case the city "paid" a 60% penalty. Is our remedial government "class" over now???
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carefuldude
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11-08-09 10:46 AM
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Kazulobzvr: Please fill us in on the 3rd street intersection issue on the north side. What happened there that was so outlandish? On TIFA: Where is it written that TIFA must capture every cent, whether it needs it or not, from Dickinson County, State, City, ISD, Breitung Township School district taxpayers because it's "free money"
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Kazulobzrvr
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11-08-09 12:14 AM
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Oh, while I'm on a roll...Mr. Urbany is the brainiac responsible for the 3rd/Norway St. intersection on the northside of town, so using him as a reference might be a debateable tactic.
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Kazulobzrvr
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11-07-09 11:55 PM
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Here is a basic factual rundown: the City, in order to retrieve the monies captured previously by TIFA (a constitutionally-questionable reappropriation of lawfully collected revenue by a non-elected body) in the amount of $1.6 M, chose to FORGOE the $600,000 to get $1 Million. THAT, they told the taxpayers, was an acceptable amount to "lose" so that the city could benefit NOW by having the $1 M THIS YEAR!!! What the council did was pay a usery fee most often restricted to organized criminal enterprise so any attempt to explain it is laughable.
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carefuldude
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11-07-09 2:13 PM
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Kazulobzvr: TIFA could not possibly spend all of its remaining income stream wisely or legally. TIFA couldn't buy more land. In fact, the Khoury purchase is very questionable. They have no more roads that need paving in the TIFA district. If you talk to Jim Brinker, retired CFO or Jim Urbany, retired City Manager, both will tell you such a pass-through probably should have been done earlier. They knew years ago the impact TIFA was having on the city budget. One last question: How much would you pay for a gallon of water if you were crawling in the desert and ready to die of dehydration? The city can't just run to the bank and borrow money. It must have a balanced budget and some reserve funds. When you can't pay the bills it's called bankruptcy.
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Kazulobzrvr
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11-07-09 12:33 PM
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Carefuldude: The $1Mil you're referring to actually COST the city $600K!!! By "passing thru" the monies from TIFA back to city coffers the city was thereby obligated to "return" the 600K TO THE STATE! Now HOW you see paying (in effect) 60% interest on the city's OWN money as sound fiscal management is, well, beyond me!
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carefuldude
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11-07-09 8:58 AM
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(continued)engineering and planning. Ted Corombos brings encyclopedic knowledge of the city besides being a successful investor and very strong in finance. None has any agenda that I can see except dedication and concern for the city.
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carefuldude
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11-07-09 8:56 AM
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To momadrama – You can read the minutes of all city council minutes and listen to the actual meetings on the city website at ****cityofironmountain****. The Daily News does a credible job, but they have space limitations to contend with. To kazulobzvr – The careening bus you refer to is exactly the predicament Iron Mountain would have been in if VanLaanen and Burke had their way. They voted against the current budget because TIFA, correctly, did not capture their taxes this year. This gave the city general fund a life-saving $1,000,000. Without it, the careening bus analogy would have been correct, but it was been averted by a 5-2 vote. To Highlander - You want a good mix of people with widely varying life experiences on any city council. Dave Farragh knows the city infrastructure better anyone alive. Bruce Rosen is a successful businessman in a competitive world. New member Colin Jacobetti is retired from MDOT, is a professional engineer, and understands all phases of
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bmoviegirl
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11-07-09 12:19 AM
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@Highlander We are fortunate we can get anyone at all. Do you honestly think anyone with corporate experience is going to move here of all places? We can not even keep people here let alone get anyone interested in small town politics with no pay.
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Highlander
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11-06-09 8:00 PM
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Shouldn't they get people on the council and as the city Manager , who have more experience in the business world and possibly some time working in corporations. I think that IM needs a real go getter , and it's just not happening now.
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Highlander
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11-06-09 8:00 PM
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Shouldn't they get people on the council and as the city Manager , who have more experience in the business world and possibly some time working in corporations. I think that IM needs a real go getter , and it's just not happening now.
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Highlander
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11-06-09 7:59 PM
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Shouldn't they get people on the council and as the city Manager , who have more experience in the business world and possibly some time working in corporations. I think that IM needs a real go getter , and it's just not happening now.
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AnitaNeuliffe
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11-06-09 5:47 PM
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I hope that often complainers Diane Schabo and Blackhawk are IM residents and take up the pen to apply for these positions what with their firm belief in what they espouse to be the best for the citizenry.
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Kazulobzrvr
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11-06-09 4:36 PM
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Oh...MikeCR...I've been to several council meetings in the past few years and can honestly say that the account of the meetings as reported in the Daily News(less) paper was NOTHING like what I'd observed! I even hung around afterward and NEVER saw the reporter asking ANY questions of the Mayor...EVER!!! High-school student newspaper reporters could be classified as more competent "journalists"! And just who the heck OWNS this news-less "newspaper" anyway?????
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Kazulobzrvr
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11-06-09 4:20 PM
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If you were a passenger on a bus rambling out of control down a cliff-sided mountain road, without brakes, would YOU stay on board KNOWING a crash was inevitable? The certainty of failure would dictate that you bail...
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USMC0311
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11-06-09 1:18 PM
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I'm not from IM, thank God! Why would he want to serve people who give no thanks! This IM City Gout is the laughing stock of the whole UP.
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MikeCR
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11-06-09 12:55 PM
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The IMDN only reports news based on the few moments the reporters talk to people. If you want investigative reporting, that will cost you additional dollars. Don't look for Jim Anderson to report this type of info (investigative journalism) on his blog either. He has his head to far up Obama's but t to be bothered with getting facts.
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momadrama
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11-06-09 12:42 PM
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Now, that's not very nice to say,Mr.'Petty'. As a citizen of I.M., I have no clue as to what's really going on in the council, but from what I read in the IMDN, it leaves me wanting to know, what's really going on here? I would like more details reporting what this group is accomplishing, besides eliminating their opponents. There seems to be an agends here, and I for one am interested as to what that is?
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Peteytabasco
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11-06-09 11:35 AM
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So Burke pretty munch punked out and quit the rest of his term because he failed to get re-elected? Boy, I sure hope the young kids that you coach little league for aren't learning how to be sore losers.
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