The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
New personnel director hired for Ypsilanti
Remediation to begin on leak from underground storage tank in city
By Rodney Smith, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: July 7, 2005
Ypsilanti City Council opened its June 21 session by introducing its new Human Resources director, Bill Johnstone.
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Johnstone, who was joined by his wife, Carol, has extensive experience in the private sector, particularly in the auto industry.
"We are very fortunate to have someone of Mr Johnstone's experience and calibre join the city team," said City Manager Ed Koryzno during the introduction.
Terry Hiske, an analyst with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, introduced Bob Steede, senior engineer with TriMedia Consultants to explain the remediation procedure for an underground gasoline leak originating at the BP Station at Spring and Huron. The leak was first detected in a routine sewerage check in September 1998. The gasoline plume now extends from the BP site, under several residential properties, under the Visteon plant, and to the Huron River.
Mayor Cheryl Farmer sought assurances about the safety of the residents, and Hiske said that, at 25 feet below the surface, the plume presents no danger, Steede added that the contaminants are below dangerous levels even if they were at the surface. Steede also gave assurances that ozone monitoring would be part of the requirements for the successful bidder. Ozone will be the primary ingredient used in remediation treatment. The total cost is expected to be around $400,000 and will be funded by the state.
James McFarland from the Washtenaw County IT Department presented Wireless Washtenaw, an initiative seeking to provide wireless internet infrastructure to the entire county.
The initiative is still in its planning stages, with officials looking to flesh out its current vision with feedback from the private sector regarding a free basic service to everyone with subscribers paying for more advanced services through private operators.
The city expressed a desire to participate in the project and passed a resolution supporting the initiative.
Ron Parks, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Minicipal Emloyees local 623, requested that the city reconsider the alterations to health insurance proposed by the city as a cost cutting measure contract which is currently under negotiation. AFSCME claims that the new proposal restricts choice to a single provider (Blue Cross) and does not save the city any money.
Audience participation was dominated by requests from citizens imploring the council to reconsider applying towing as a punitive measure for parking offenses under the new residential permit plans.
Deputy Police Chief Matt Harshberger explained that inability to accurately track the number of parking offenses incurred by a specific vehicle makes it necessary to apply towing to all offenses. Harshberger went on to explain that, officers are encouraged to use discretion, so that, while a vehicle may be legally subject to towing on its first offense, in practice it will be used where other recourse fails and for known multiple offenders.
After comments from an ACLU attorney citing panhandling as a practice protected under the first amendment of the US constitution, Assistant City Attorney Jack Gilbreath advised the city to alter the wording of the begging ordinance from "any public place [with definitions]... " to "any public parking lot," to clearly reflect the city's intent while protecting civil rights. Gilbreath and Harshberger concurred that there is sufficient detail in the rest of the ordinance to allow police to enforce the intent of the law without infringing first amendment rights.
In a long running dispute over a petition to vacate an alley by McDonald's Corp., property owner Jim Garmo expressed his opposition to the move, claiming to have been granted right to ingress and egress by Washtenaw County officials many years prior. Garmo's attorney produced an e-mail from a Washtenaw County official withdrawing the county's support for the alley vacation bid. This was insufficient to dissuade the city from proceeding; however council members resolved to alter the legal description of the alley to allow greater access to Garmo's property than was originally proposed.
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