The Mullett Township Board held a very Special Meeting at 8 PM, Sunday October 23, 2011 to raise the “cap” on the total project cost of the Tiger III Grant application that had been set at $1,000.000.00 on October 4, 2011.
Being a Sunday, their time would have been better spent praying for a miracle.
Merriam-Webster’s definition for 1cap
noun, often attributive \ˈkap\
Definition of CAP
1 a : a head covering especially with a visor and no brim b : a distinctive head covering emblematic of a position or office: as (1) : a cardinal's biretta (2) : mortarboard
2 : a natural cover or top: as a : an overlying rock layer that is usually hard to penetrate b (1) : pileus (2) : calyptra c : the top of a bird's head or a patch of distinctively colored feathers in this area
3 a : something that serves as a cover or protection especially for a tip, knob, or end <a bottle cap> b : a fitting for closing the end of a tube (as a water pipe or electric conduit) c British : cervical cap d : an artificial crown for a tooth
4 : an overlaying or covering structure
5 : a paper or metal container holding an explosive charge (as for a toy pistol)
6 : an upper limit (as on expenditures) : ceiling
7 : the symbol ∩ indicating the intersection of two sets — compare cup 9
8 : a cluster of molecules or chemical groups bound to one end or a region of a cell, virus, or molecule
— cap in hand : in a respectful, humble, or sometimes fearful manner
I think most people in attendance at the October 4, 2011 regular Board Meeting, possibly excluding the Topinabee Development Association contingent, understood “cap” to be an upper limit (as on expenditures).
Apparently the Mullett Township Board and the TDA’s definition of “cap” is something that you pull out of your backside. If one “cap” is not high enough; you just pull another out of your a**.
On October 4th, Mr Morgan and Mr Brown explicitly stated they were “not comfortable” exceeding a $1,000,000.00 Tiger III Grant application requiring a $200,000.00 “match” from the taxpayers of Mullett Township. In truth, Karyn M Warsow, the grant writer, had requested the 20% match, despite the USDOT’s clearly stated allowable minimum for rural grant applications of $100,000.00. The Board’s doubling of the dollar amount of the match, while shrinking the project cost by more than half from 2010, might increase the odds of a successful grant application. If that happens, Ms Warsow gains a gold star on her grant writing resume.
By October 23, 2011, Paul M Rapskey, of Wade-Trim, had provided a cost estimate and design of this years’ Topinabee Green Corridor/Streetscape Project which was evidently unavailable at the time of the October 4, 2011 regular Board Meeting. This information was supplied only to the Board and select Topinabee Development Association members.
No members of the public have seen any design, concept, project costs, or any hard copy related to this year’s application for a Tiger III Grant application. The Mullett Towsnhip Board is again operating as a private corporation; ignoring the democratic right of taxpayers to vet, discuss, amend or approve a project of this scope.
The cost estimate provided for this year’s grant application, with the project “capped” at $1,000,000.00 by the entire Board only three weeks earlier, was now $1,432,922.00.
Did the Board direct Wade-Trim to revise the project down to reflect the approved “cap” of $1,000,000.00? No. They set about attempting to whittle off bits and pieces, first $15,000 bits, then $245,000 pieces including the lighting portion of the project. There goes the pedestrian safety after dark and energy savings, not to mention the TDA’s esthetics. After this whittling, the project was now diminished to $1,199,000 and change. The Board, as they are wont to do, then refers to this as $1.2M.
If the Tiger III grant application amount is now $1,200,000.00, having never seen hardcopy figures, the 20% “match” amount required of the Mullett Township taxpayers will now be $240,000.00.
This Tiger III Grant application amount was approved by the Board with one dissenting vote. Mr Brown, comfortable in the knowledge that the other four board members had voiced their support to pull a new “cap” out or their collective backsides, voted no.
The Mullett Township Board of Trustees met at the Mullett Township Hall at 8:00pm in the Mullett Township Hall in Topinabee, Michigan. All Board Members were present: Willard Morgan, Rachel Osborn, Karen Morgan, Dennis Dombroski and John Brown.
Supervisor Morgan opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.
On a motion by Dennis Dombroski to cap the Tiger Grant III at $l.2M which was seconded by Bill Morgan on a roll call vote as follows:
Ayes: Dennis Dombroski
Karen Morgan
Rachel Osborn
Bill Morgan
Nayes: John Brown
The supervisor declared the motion passed.
Meeting adjourned at 8:55pm
Respectfully submitted,
Rachel Osborn
Mullett Township Clerk
October 23, 2011 Township Board of Trustees Meeting Proposed Minutes
The Mullett Township Board of Trustees met at the Mullett Township Hall at 8:00pm in the Mullett Township Hall in Topinabee, Michigan. All Board Members were present: Willard Morgan, Rachel Osborn, Karen Morgan, Dennis Dombroski and John Brown.
Supervisor Morgan opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.
On a motion by Dennis Dombroski to cap the Tiger Grant III at $l.2M which was seconded by Bill Morgan on a roll call vote as follows:
Ayes: Dennis Dombroski
Karen Morgan
Rachel Osborn
Bill Morgan
Nayes: John Brown
The supervisor declared the motion passed.
Meeting adjourned at 8:55pm
Respectfully submitted,
Rachel Osborn
Mullett Township Clerk
