A Quick Tour Of Mullett Township

Mullett Township News & Views-Promoting Open Government in Mullett Township

There is also the Mullett Township Party Line or you make drink the Kool-Aid from the Topinabee Development Association "Artesian" Well

Mullett Township is a general law township in Cheboygan County, Michigan. The population was 1312 in the 2010 US census. The township and Mullett Lake are named for John Mullett, who with William Burt, surveyed much of the area between 1840 and 1843.

The commercial center of the Township is the quiet unincorporated Village of Topinabee located on the west shore of Mullett Lake on M27 highway. The village is a trailhead for the DNR Trail with off-street parking and restrooms.

The village has a Post Office, Convenience Store with gas pumps, Public Library with 24 hour outdoor WiFi, an artisan-owned woodwork shop, a breakfast cafe and a bar and grille. Township owned buildings include the Library, Township Hall and Fire Hall, and an unused former school building on Lea St.

Recreation needs are served with a beachfront park and covered picnic area, free public boat launch at the north end of the village, a small public access to Mullett Lake across from the Nokia Cafe and tennis court, ball-field, and playground equipment at a public park located up the hill on Lea St.

The east side of Mullett Township is largely rural, with no commercial development. Township services include a Fire Hall and volunteer East Mullett Lake Fire Department.


Friday, August 12, 2011

Township Clerk Answers FOIA Request-NO SUCH DOCUMENT EXISTS-Or Does It?

On June 10, 2011, blog Coordinator Carl Muscott requested a document, "Hold Harmless Agreement", under the Freedom Of Information Act. This document was introduced at the April 5, 2011 Mullett Township Board Meeting as a means to illegally employ a person, absolving Mullett Township of liability, avoiding Worker's Comp Insurance and as stated, an attempt to pay an employee "off the books" to avoid a possible Court ordered wage garnishee. 

Here is the motion from the April  5, 2011 meeting. "John Brown made a motion to HOLD HARMELSS AGREEMENT With Stanley Florenski between him and Mullett Township. Seconded by Dennis Dombroski, motion passed "

After Ms Osborn  replied that"No Such Document Exists", a second follow-up request was made on July 21, 2011 for the mysterious disappearing "Hold Harmless Agreement".  Here is the complete text of the second request.


COPY
July 22, 2011

Ms. Rachel Osborn
FOIA Coordinator                                                                
 Mullett Township Clerk
P.O. Box 328
Topinabee, MI 49791

Dear Ms. Osborn,
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act, Public Act 442 of 1976 (MCL 15.231-15.246).et.seq.
I have not received a complete response to my request of June 10, 2011 for public documents. 
As recorded in the Minutes of April 5, 2011, “John Brown made a motion to Hold Harmeless (sic) Agreement with Stanley Florenski between him and Mullett Township. Seconded by Dennis Dombroski, motion passed”.
The public in attendance were witness to Supervisor Morgan’s statement of intent to use said document to employ Stanley Florenski without direct compensation or worker’s compensation insurance coverage. The public also witnessed a heated discussion between members of the public in attendance and Supervisor Morgan regarding this open and flagrant disregard of labor and employment laws.
Despite this public protest of the illegality of employing said document, the Mullett Township Board of Trustees approved the use of a Save Harmless Agreement by a unanimous motion at the April 5, 2011 regular meeting.
The Save Harmless Agreement exists in your published Minutes of April 5, 2011. It is your responsibility as Township Clerk to maintain a book of records. If another Board Member or your legal counsel retains said document, it is your responsibility under law to record it with the April 5, 2011 Minutes and provide a true copy when requested.

I thank you in advance and appreciate your prompt attention to this request.
Respectfully,

Carl Muscott
PO Box 373
Topinabee, MI
49791
Revised Statutes of 1846 (EXCERPT)
Township Clerk.
41.66 Book of records; transcription of minutes of township meeting; entering order,
direction, or rule; availability of book and other writings to public.
Sec. 66. The township clerk shall transcribe, in the book of records of the township, the minutes of the
proceedings of each township meeting held in the township, and shall enter in the book, each order, direction,
or rule made by the township meeting. The book and any other writing prepared, owned, used, in the
possession of, or retained by the township clerk in the performance of an official function shall be made
available to the public in compliance with Act No. 442 of the Public Acts of 1976.
               


Rachel Osborn, the Township Clerk again stated on July 26, 2011, in  all caps, "NO SUCH DOCUMENT EXISTS". The following is a copy of her response.

I find it very hard to believe that Ms Osborn is now unable to locate, and denies the very existence of the same "Hold Harmless Agreement" Mullett Township had drafted to allow other people to do work for the Township without incurring any liability to the Township. I have a copy of the now non-existent "Hold Harmless Agreement" retained after I, and a few dozen other volunteers spent an afternoon contributing our time to clean up the community.

Is this the mysterious, missing "Hold Harmless Agreement"that the entire Mullett Township Board approved the use of on April 5, 2011 to illegally hire Stanley Florenski "off the books"?

I guess until Ms Osborn finds another Mullett Township "Hold Harmless Agreement", it will have to do. The real problem is the attempt, stated clearly in a public meeting, by an elected Official of Mullett Township to avoid labor laws and a possible Court ordered wage garnishee to help out a friend. Were this not bad enough, the entire Board, despite public outcry, then votes on and adopts by motion this illegal action.