8A - Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
fiA - Wednesday, October 21, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
CITY COUNCIL
From Page 1A
of solid data proving the dam cur-
rently disrupts the natural flow of
the Huron River.
"We rely on the Huron River to
serve as a crown jewel of Washt-
enaw County's natural environ-
ment," Lana Pollack, president
of the Michigan Environmental
Council, wrote in an e-mail to City
Council. "It is therefore especially
distressing year by year to witness
degradation of the river's health
with the increasing growth of
slimy, unsightly aquatic plant life."
Resolution supporters also came
prepared with their own scientific
evidence,whichtheysayconfirmed
the contrary.
Ann Arbor resident Jeff DeBoer
addressed the council, arguing that
the river would revert to its natural
course if Argo Dam is removed but
that it would not be a good thing.
He said this natural course would
take the river through what he calls
the toxic property of nearby DTE
Energy Company, which would be
bad for the water.
DeBoer said that if the dam was
removed it might be possible to
reroute the river to take a differ-
ent path, but he said this would be
expensive.
Joe O'Neal, owner of O'Neal
Construction Company, whose
company oversaw the construc-
tion of Argo Dam, estimated that
removing the dam will cost $1 mil-
lion in addition to $750,000 to $1
million to train the river to flow a
different course.
He explained that removal of the
dam itself is not a large expense,
but training the river and convert-
ing the river to a recreation area
will surpass the cost of a yearly
maintenance fee of $100,000 for
the dam.
Another speaker Ron Wood-
man provided what he presented
as scientific evidence of his own -
drinking water from Argo Pond out
of a clear Starbucks coffee cup - to
demonstrate that the water was
clean and capable of sustaining a
healthy environment.
Rubin, on the other hand, said
she was not convinced.
"I don't think there's any valid-
ity to it," she said after the meeting.
"The irony is we're here to protect
the river and the watershed. The
last thing we want to do is have it
run through the most contaminat-
ed site in the city."
Supporters of the "dam-in" reso-
lution also argued that removing
the dam would destroy a recreation
area enjoyed by many who canoe,
kayak or fish on the river. of spe-
cial interest in the pond's preserva-
tion are members of local rowing
teams.
Crew members from Huron High
School and Pioneer High school
appeared in their uniforms to sup-
port the resolution. Many supports
also held signs that read "Save Argo
Pond."
Susan Washabaugh, a teacher at
Pioneer High School, said in her
address to the council that row-
ers rely on Argo Pond as a practice
venue.
The council's final decision to
table the issue left supporters of the
resolution frustrated.
"I think it's really unfortunate."
DeBoer said. "The council as we
saw again last night is doing the
public a real disservice by not
addressing this issue head-on and
making some decisions and direct-
ing city staff to take action."
In her initial speech, Rubin had
vied for tabling the resolution until
further information is obtained and
more investigations are conducted.
"I was very happy with the out-
come," Rubin said. "I think it was a
premature decision to vote on Argo
'dam-in' or Argo 'dam-out.' I think
there are many questions that
the city staff has not answered in
terms of if the dam were to stay or
go how will some of these costs be
funded, where will they come out
of, what are the options for recre-
ation, what are options for rowing
and what are the environmental
benefits."
For now, the resolution to main-
tain Argo Dam is still up in the air
until City Council settles the issue.
But many council members were
pleased with the debate.
"Both sides have a clear vision,"
Briere said. "They both have pas-
sion and they both have evidence to
support their viewpoint."
Michigan Senate
sends six budget
bills to governor
Budget bills
contain more than
$1 billion in cuts
LANSING, Mich.(AP) - Repub-
lican Senate Majority Leader Mike
Bishop sent the final six budget
bills to Gov. Jennifer Granholm
yesterday with a warning not to
expect any additional money for
programs she wants to restore.
Michigan lawmakers have
passed a series of budget bills
containing more than $1 billion
in cuts to address a projected $2.8
billion shortfall in the fiscal year
that began Oct. 1.
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Granholm has signed all the
other budget bills and vetoed
spending in some of them. She has
said she may veto portions of the
remaining six as well, although
she hasn't given specifics. Bishop
told her that would be unwise.
"Do not veto portions of these
budgets with the expectation that
money will be reappropriated
at a later date to fund the vetoed
programs," he wrote in a letter to
the Denocratic governor. "There
is not sufficient support in the
Senate Republican caucus for tax
increases and for you to think oth-
erwise is a mistake."
The state is operating under an
interim budget that expires Oct.
31, and Granholm must act on the
bills by then or risk another gov-
ernment shutdown.
The six bills submitted yester-
day cover general government
expenses, human services, state
police, community health, higher
education, and energy, labor and
economic growth. They passed
both the House and Senate 20
days ago but were put on hold in
a parliamentary move by Republi-
cans who control the Senate.
Bishopsaidheheld onto thebills
because he didn't want Granholm
to veto portions and leave the state
with a deficit that could require
tax increases. But Granholm said
Bishop needs to compromise to
save important programs.
"I would ask him to not be rigid
and that he be willing to compro-
mise so we can bring this awful
budget year to a conclusion," she
told reporters after receiving
Bishop's letter.
Granholm wants limited tax
and fee increases to pay for pro-
grams that were eliminated or
severely cut, such as the Michi-
gan Promise Grant scholarships,
Medicaid, public schools and
money local governments use for
police and fire protection.
She said yesterday she would
support a new license for bars and
restaurants thatwantto sell alcohol
until 4 a.m. or on Sunday mornings,
higher taxes on tobacco products
other than cigarettes, smaller busi-
ness tax exemptions and a freeze
on an inflationary increase in the
state income tax personal exemp-
tion - or any changes Republicans
would support.
But Bishop said he and other
Senate Republicans see no need
to raise taxes, especially since
the state will face a shortfall next
year as well. He wants Granholm
to abide by the budget cuts that
passed the Republican-controlled
Senate and Democratic-con-
trolled House.
During a news conference
yesterday, the governor said the
Senate must put more money into
the public schools budget, since it
doesn't include enough revenue to
cover its costs.
On Monday, she vetoed $54
million from the $12.9 billion bud-
get bill because she said there's
a shortfall of as much as $264
million in the pian. Most of the
vetoed funds would have gone to
39 school districts that get among
the highest per-pupil payments in
the state - some nearly $4,000
more than the lowest per-pupil
grant.
Suburban Detroit districts
such as Livonia, Dearborn and
Walled Lake would take the big-
gest hits, losing more than $4.7
million each.
The budget slashing angered
Oakland County Executive L.
Brooks Patterson. Many of the
affected districts are in Michi-
gan's wealthiest county north and
west of Detroit.
"In one fell swoop, Granholm
has gone from the 'Education Gov-
ernor' to the 'Eradication Gover-
nor,"' Patterson said in a Tuesday
statement. "The gurgling you'll
hear during this fiscal year will be
the sound ofschool districts across
our region going under."
Bishop said there was no short-
fall in the public schools budget
and called the veto "extortion."
He pointed out the Senate has
passed a bill canceling a scheduled
increase in a tax credit for low-
income workers that would raise
$100 million more for schools.
"The veto clearly was done toget
areaction from the Legislature,"he
told reporters. "The only reaction
she wants is a tax increase."
Some House Democrats oppose
freezing the Earned Income Tax
Credit, and the House has not acted
on the Senate measure. But Gra-
nholmsaid the bill doesn't solve the
deficit because all Bishop did was
move money around, using money
saved to pay for a partial rollback of
a business taxsurcharge.
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