This is NOT April
Fools
It doesn’t take an April 1st
meeting to show the foolishness will not stop for the Mullett Township Board. A
large contingent of TDA members, speaking from prepared texts, and reading letters as
proxies for their fellow members who are seasonal residents or perhaps as P_ _ _ C_ _ _ _ _ _ _ likes to say, "not registered voters", alternately pleaded or demanded that the taxpayers of Mullett
Township should pay for the cost over-runs on the extravagantly designed Topinabee
Beach project. It was all done in the best tradition of a community play, well
rehearsed with everyone playing their part. It may best be described as the TDA
asking the Mullett Board to jump and Supervisor Gale asking, how high?
David Ogg and Tom O’Hare, the public
half of the Mullett Township Park, reiterated that they had nothing to do with
the design or the failure to start the project within the $400,000 budget.
Like the Family Circus character, a
ghostly “NOT ME”, who creates mischief with impunity, Mr Ogg mentioned the over
100 anonymous people who contributed to the design. He stated the project was
over-budget because three years had elapsed and a window of opportunity when
contractors were desperate for work had been missed. Mr O’Hare also reiterated the 3 year delay
from design to seeking bids as the reason for the cost over-run and unforeseen
costs on the storm-water drainage system. The drainage was in the proposed design
from day one, as essential as a foundation under your house.
Three years? Mr Ogg and Mr O’Hare must be using an imaginary calendar.
It is definitely some unknown method of counting time as the total park cost and
design features were approved at a “Special” meeting on September 28, 2011.
That is exactly 1 year, 4 months, and 28 days before the bids were opened. The
project total was Board approved at $410,000 on that date and Mr Ogg gained
this last increase in project funds by promising, for what his promises are
worth, to include electrical service to the pavilion. The $410,000 was later quietly reduced to
$400,000, the maximum allowed within the MNRTF grant program. So, with features
including an ADA viewing/fishing dock, an artesian well/water feature, information
kiosks, new shoreline riprap, ADA playground equipment, picnic tables, benches,
and grilles, the application went to the DNR.
Meanwhile, back in fantasyland, AKA the
Mullett Township Hall, Mr David Ogg and Fleis & Vandenbrink held another
Special Meeting on February 15, 2012 with the Mullett Board to make the final
determination of “design criteria” for the park project. Included was drainage,
fixed items, docks, retaining wall, ADA pathway and pavers, stairway design and
walkway to ADA pathway, fencing, park benches and picnic tables, play ground
equipment, and artesian well. This final work by Mr Ogg and the Board,
determining the materials and choosing each component of the design was the last
opportunity to specify and design within the $400,000 budget. The only item removed
at that time was the ADA fishing/viewing dock, previously identified by a DNR employee
as useless for fishing and removed because of costs and permit
issues.
This 3 hour and 20 minute meeting also
approved the initial payment for services to the park design firm, Fleis and
Vandenbrink for $40,900. Simple math, subtract $40,900 from $400,000 leaves
$359,100 to complete the project.
Three hundred and sixty four days later, on February 14, 2013, again, not three years, at the pre-bid conference
Mr Ogg was apparently aware the project would be wildly over budget. He told the contractors
in attendance that the following items were now “alternates”, to be bid
separately from the main body of the project: information kiosks, artesian well/water
feature, swing set, a section of concrete stairway, and the shoreline riprap.
Mr Ogg also stated he was looking for bids in the $350,000 maximum range with
these alternates excluded.
With these “alternates” cut, the low
qualified bid was $410,331. That is $60,000 more than Mr Ogg wanted and buys a
lot of candy bars. Adding in the
alternates plus the $40,900 design costs would bring the project cost well over
$500,000. In desperation , the Board then approved the removal of all the
picnic tables, benches, grilles, requested a $25,000 cut on the playground
equipment and apparently even eliminated the irrigation system and pavilion
electrical in a last ditch attempt to get down to $400,000. This left a
$400,000 plus park consisting of a storm water drain, concrete retaining walls,
sidewalks, plastic playground equipment and some grass.
Now the citizens of Mullett Township and particularly the
members of the TDA who endorse this government misfeasance should open their
purses and rightfully act as patrons and benefactors, coming to the rescue of
those "NOT ME" characters who orchestrated this project. Despite the pleas from TDA
members to the Mullett Board, the majority of taxpayers who quietly pay their taxes expecting the
Mullett Board and their cronies to do their job should not be expected
to contribute any additional funds to pay for this SNAFU.
