MAY 18 - 24,1986 THE CITIZEN
o
By Ron Leuty
BE TO HARBOR
Three member of the Benton
Harbor Do nto n Develop­
ment Authority (DDA) were
removed Monday, ay 12, des.
pite objection from two city
commi ioner at the Benton
Harbor City Commi ion mee­
ting.
The action temmed from
the thr e DDA member ' voting
gain t a propo d $2.1 million
bond i ue at a DDA meeting in
April. The thre members,
athleen Doddington, Connie
Irvin, and Chri Brook, h d
received letter from Benton
Harbor ayor ilce Cooke
ing for their re ignation .
Economic Development
director Alex Little, who erve
cting director of the DDA,
id that the removal of the
three for "philo ophical
difference ."
Broo aid that he think
the bond' ue ill put the DDA
in debt. He id that h thin
that the group hould move
10 er and hat it has to
ith fmancially. The bond
ill reportedly finance
projec uch improvements
along the St.)o eph iver, One
To n Center, proposed com­
plex along E. ain St.,
and other project, including
treet and ide alk repair in th
do nto n are
The i ue approved at
the ay 9 DDA meeting, ith
D ddin ton, Irvin, and Brooks
again voting ain tit.
Th City Commi ion gran­
t d the re of Doddington,
Irvin, and Broo s, by a}-O ote.
Th three members have tared
that they will no se k legal
counsel.
OHEAAI GS
G TED
After the resolution to re­
move the DDA membe as
read by Commi . oner Ralph
Cr osha and seconded by
Commissioner ickey Yar­
brough. Cooke asked for com­
mission comments on the no­
tion. Commissioner Bill Wolf
objected to the removal, sayin
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Wolf referred to Robert'
Rule of Order to support his
claim -- .. if the chair al 0 ignore
the point of order, the memb r
can repeat the motion and if it i
seconded and the ch ir still
ignores it, the maker of the
motion can, himself, put it to a
vote, t ndin in his place."
Cooke al 0 referred to
Robert's Rules of Order, aying
that he i ithin his right as chair
of the meetin to overrule any
motion "designed to imp d
progre "
Cooke again tried to have the
vote taken when Wysinger id
that the motion made by Wolf
had the floor and hould be
" traightened out".
Cooke aid that Wolfs
motion was a "blatant dis.
regard" for the function of this
city council"
The vote continued.
When Wolfs name
called he commented, "Your
honor, you have once again
managed to embarrass the
members of the commission
thi evenin ." Cooke had Wolf
kipped over, and, a bile later,
did the arne to Wysinger.
Later in the meeting, Wolf
aid that Doddington, Irvin, and
Brook "should be commended
and not attacked." He said that
the three, who all-have busi­
ne e located downto n, h ve
regularly attended DDA
meeting, hile other, uch
Whirlpool e ecutive Andre
Takacs, ends alternate, and
other member ,such Lake
Michigan College president
Anne Mulder have yet to be at a
meeting. Mulder, at the ay 9,
DDA meeting, ent college ad­
ministrator Bill Weirick in her
place.
Wolf also alleged "un thical
behavior" by the commission,
staff, and leaderr of the DDA.
He said that plans for the DDA,
for example, were pushed
through before members got a
chance to view them tho­
roughly.
DDA acting director Little
id that Wolf allegations were
full of "half-truths". Little
added that Wolf at the
"height of hypocrisy" to claim
o di tribu e surplus food
Federal Surplus Comrnoditie
will be di ributed at 17 sites
in Berrien County by the Blos-
mland Area Community
ction ency 100 . ain St.,
Benton Harbor n Tuesday,
y 20, 19 6. Only tho
p opl who w nt through the
initial application and certifi­
r th recertifi­
proce and were issued
USD Surplu Commodity
C d will b e ligibl to receive
th food. Di tribution at e ch
site ill ta pl ce from 8: 30
.m to 4:00 p.m. The Agency
i sking each individual to
brin box or grocery a to
put their commoditi sin.
The following i a list of all
di ributi n site .
Benton Harbor - 224 Pip -
on; St r of Bethl ham
hurch, 9 0 Bro day; Calvary
Lighthou , 2651 E. Main St.;
that two of the three member
that ere to b removed er
not allo ed proper hearings.
"Your letter to thes three
individual :' . d Wolf to
Coo e, "indicated, and I-quote,
'Call City anager Elli Mitchell
immediately to arrange a date
prior to May 12 if you wish a
hearing, and he ill et it up 0
th t my elf and other interested
commi ioner can hear your
po ition.' "
Wolf aid that Doddin ton
and Irvin g ve ritten reque t
to City Cler Margaret Bo man
on Friday, May 10. Wolf said
that Broo as given a hearing
but that he not contacted
about the hearing. He said that
he thought it ould represent
.. gro rni conduct" for the
commission not to allo
hearing.
AVOR SILENCES
TWO .
Wolf made a motion to delay
the ousting of the three mem­
rs until the commis ion gave
them a H chance to defend them-
elves". Cooke ruled the
motion out of order.
Cooke said that the three
members failed to follow pro­
cedures bee u e he stated in the
letter that they ere to contact
City Manager Mitchell "imme­
diately, by phone. What doe
th t mean? Th t means by
phon ."
"I etupaproce thatwould
function -- they totally ignored
that proc ," aid Coo . On
W Olf.1 motion, Cooke . d th t
it as "dilatory, and it is
designed to hold up progre
and ill impede the removal of
these individuals. to
Cooke proceeded ith the
vote on the removal of the mem­
ber until Wolf said that he h d
raised a motion for delay of th
vote. The motion had been
seconded by Commissioner
George Wysinger.
Cooke ruled Wolfs motion
out of order and continued with
the vote,
"You are out of order at this .
time, tt responded Wolf.
The Salvation Army, 272 Pipe-
one; Plaza anor, Building
Y, Circle Drive' Benton
Harbor/Benton To nship S nior
Center, 53 Wall st.
iles - iles Old Post Office,
322 ain St.' and iles/Bucha­
nan Senior Center, 16 S. 3rd
St.
Other are, Buchanan Teen
Center, 112 Oak si., Buchanan;
River Valley S nior Center, Har­
bert; Youth Memorial Building,
Berrien County Fairgrounds,
Berri n Springs' Central County
enior Center, 423 Shawnee,
Berrien Springs; Gallien Fire
Station, Galien; St. 10 phI
Lincoln nior Center, 2945
iles Ave. St. Jo ph; Com­
munity ction Agency Office,
429 Pa Pa, Coloma, orth
Berrien S ni r Center, Colom
and Watervliet Indian Center
204 Cre ent, Watervliet.
Tho not recertified and
those not yet signed up for the
program are ineligible to re­
ceive commoditie this month
but can recertify or initiate an
application for certification at
the following sites onday
Through Friday, 9:00 a.m.-
3:30 p.m., in order to be elibible
for th June distribution.
Community Action Agency
Offi e, 100 W. ain St. Bent n
Harb r: ommunity Action
Agency Office, 429 Paw Paw St.,
olema: Community Action
gency 0 flee 1217 S. 11th
St., iles; and all six Berri n
County S nior Centers.
Those people living in the
Berrien Springs area can be sign­
ed up or recertified on Food
Distribution day. This is the
only Ite authorized to do
that member did not have
enough tim to vie the DDA's
plans. He said that 90 percen t of
the plan as completed and in
the hands of DDA member
since Oct. 1.
REVIEW CONDUCT
Also at th me tin , Cooke
appointed four-m mb r Com­
mi ion Revie Committe to
r vie Commi ioner Wy in­
gers' conduct. The ppoint­
ments tern from Wy inger's
cen ure la t month for u ing
profanity during an argument at
city hall ith Coo e. The com­
mittee, headed by Com­
missioner Crenshaw, include
Commi ioner orval Weiss,
Arnold, and Dorothy Dickey.
Also at the meeting, the
commi ion voted to:
-- accept variable inter st
rates on state emergency loans.
According to City Manager
Mitchell, the rate for fiscal year
1986-87 ill be about 8.1 per­
cent, s ving the city n rly
66,000 annually. The total
amount of emergency loans
taken out by the city i $2.44
million.
-- coll ct B nton Harbor
Area Schoo prop rty taxe .
The di trict ould pay the city
an amount not to exc d
$12,563 for the
-- hire Plant oran C r-
tift d Public Accountant to
audit the city for th 19 5- 6 fi -
cal year for 44,100 or le :
PI nte or n has done th
auditin job for the city for th
1 tty ar , id Harold
Ander on, financ director, but
under the nam of Bri t I,
Lei enring, Herkner & Co.
-- ppoint Economic Deve­
lopment Dir ctor Little and Dr.
Harzel Taylor, chairman of th
Twin Cities Airport Bo rd, to
the Governor's Air Service
Commi ion.
-- sell 0 parcels of land to
the T in Citi Area Transpor­
tation Authority. The sale was
originally done by the commi
ion to Dial-A-Ride, Inc., Feb­
ruary 24, but for legal reasons
the re olution had to be
amended.
John Jacob to address
kegon UL Din er
Covert c
By K . in L. Hay
COVERT The Covert
Township Board regretfully
accepted the re igneation of
fire and ambulance chief Gre­
gory Peterson at its ay 5
meetin .
Peter n who has been chief
for five month replaced Tony
Sarno after he resigned in
December. Sarno had b en fire
chief for years.
P ter on told the board that
.. It was time to change dir ct­
ions." His resignation was
effective ay 9, 19 6. Before
b comin chief, Peter on wa a
full time fireman for the overt
Fire D partment for 14 year .
Covert Supervi r Jerry Sarno
said th board will consid r
candidates for the job who are
inside and outside of the depart-
USKEGO u e-
gon Urban Lea ue will host its
37th annual dinner on Thurs­
day, ay 22, 1986 at the us­
k gon Harbor Hilton Hotel 939
Third Stree-t. Social hour
begins at 6: 30 p.m. with dinner
being rv d at 7:30 p.m.
Spe er is John E. Jacob,
president and chi f executive
officer of the ational Urban
Leagu ,Inc.
Donations art S 17.50 per
person.
Tic ets for th din r may
be obtained from the Urban
League of Greater
469 ebster, egon,
I 49440, by callin 616/
722-3736.
ief resigns
ment,
The B ard voted to 11 a
vacant 1 t on -140 north of
Cov rt, to the Go pel Taber­
nacle for 2 500. The lot i
adjacent to th church and will
be u d for parking.
Sarno al announced that
the t wnship is llin a lot
north of th Cov rt Po t Office.
The lot ito small f r a building
under th current township
buildin code. In a re ated
matter the ard voted to bu
a lot b tween ike's Plac and
the Country Kitchen Re aurant
-140. Th lot i ing pur-
ch d from Th ddl Fran of
Illinoi for 2 000. It ill b
u d for additional parkin for
th Country itchen. The
township own and rent the
building that hou s the re tau­
rant.
