Written by John Face

Opinion

October 23, 2023

On Thursday, August 10, the Economic Development Corporation Board (EDC) met in the City of Albion Council chambers for their meeting. The main focus of their meeting was the status of their President and CEO, Virgie Ammerman. After a three-hour meeting, the EDC Board voted for Ammerman’s removal. That action began a non-stop series of meetings and attempted meetings over the last two months. Members of the EDC were illegally removed by the Albion City Council even though their legal council told them they couldn’t do that. Click here for a link to the City Watch Series on the EDC.

Money for Nothing

On October 11, 2023, the City of Albion paid Virgie Ammerman $47,891.50 for a severance package stipulated in her contract. Ammerman receiving this money is perfectly legal. It would take what happened since her firing that will push the boundary of legality to the edge. Almost immediately after being fired, Jerome Harvey, Interim EDC Board Chair, Vicky Clark, EDC Board member and former Albion City Council member, have worked to rehire Ammerman.

Harvey and Clark have been trying to give Ammerman an employment contract, making it virtually impossible to fire her in the future. Harvey used an illegal interpretation of an EDC Resolution and installed Ammerman forcefully without board approval on October 9 but as an unpaid volunteer EDC contractor acting as the EDC President. Take note that Harvey didn’t tell anyone except Clark and Ammerman about this move until, wait for it, October 11. Just so you understand, there is no proof that the document sent on the 11th to other EDC Board members and City Council was written on the 9th.

Many questioned why she would do this for free; now, it’s easy to see that she has been living off her severance pay.

Fired? Take Severance? Repay?

Yeah, the amount of questions that have come up in the last few days has been many. But let us address a couple. Ammerman was looking to get herself rehired with Harvey and Clark as co-conspirators, with back pay built into the contracts they were offering her, but with zero mention of paying back her severance. So, let me make this clear. They had every intention with each attempt at having an EDC meeting to hire Ammerman and pay her thousands in back pay for not working after being paid a severance. In any public discussions of the “new” contract offered, none of these three mention $47,891.50.

If you or I take a severance from our employer, then get hired as a volunteer at the organization doing the same job, then get offered another contract with back pay built-in BUT no mention of repaying that severance you took, I am pretty sure there is some law being broken.

Who is Supposed to be Overseeing This?

The Albion City Council, which is happily spending tax money to fight a lawsuit regarding their actions in removing the EDC Board members, is entirely responsible for overseeing the EDC Board. The council will not stop Harvey, Clark, and Ammerman from taking money from the taxpayers. They have thumbed their noses to the voters in Albion, who do have the power to make changes via recall, but this has yet to happen.

Harvey, Clark, and Ammerman’s actions appear illegal and must be addressed by State Authorities such as the Attorney General or Michigan State Police.

All Photos by John Face

Written by John Face

October 18, 2023

Cascareillis (Relli’s) of Albion has hit many milestones, and today, we saw another. The Greater Albion Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau (Chamber) took the time to honor them with their Century Celebration award. It was in 1923 that the Chamber was formed; over the last century, it has come and gone, but there were five businesses whose names were on that first list that are still around today, and Cascarelli was one of them.

So, today, Chamber President and CEO Billy Beers presented Nancy and Jim Cascarelli, Relli’s owners, with a plaque recognizing their membership with the Chamber. Congratulations to Nancy and Jim, their family, and staff.

City Watch and a few community members were present today as they celebrated this accomplishment.

October 17, 2023

Press Release

Albion, MI – Halloween is coming up fast! The Greater Albion Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau is hosting the 3rd Annual Sweets on Superior on Sunday, October 29, 2023, from 1 – 3 p.m. in downtown Albion. Sweets on Superior was established in 2021, where businesses, organizations, and nonprofits festively set up along Superior Street for Trick or Treating.

This year’s Sweets on Superior will include a Decorating Contest with the theme of the Halloweentown Movies. Participating businesses can win First, Second, or Third place prizes by decorating their 10’ x 10’ vendor space located on Superior Street or storefront windows if they’re a downtown business owner. See the Business/Nonprofit Application to register! The deadline to submit your application is Friday, October 20, 2023. Applications are available on our Facebook page and our event calendar. You can email the application at the address below or drop it off at P.O. Box 238.

“It is so wonderful that our community comes together for Trick or Treating,” said Visitor & Event Specialist Bradley Arndts. “Albion continues to provide fun activities for everyone!”

Sweets on Superior is a great family event. We hope everyone can attend Sweets on Superior this year!

For more information, visit Events at greateralbionchamber.org or the Greater Albion Chamber at 517.629.5533 or bradley@greateralbionchamber.org.

Click on this link for show times and dates plus to make reservations. Pictures from the Bohm opening night Friday October 13, 2023

Written by John Face

October 11, 2023

An hour after City Watch news posted this opinion online article at 11:35 A.M. (CLICK HERE TO READ OPINION STORY), Interim Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Chair Jerome Harvey emailed leaders in Albion along with Council members and EDC. In this letter, he stated he was appointing fired Virgie Ammerman as acting EDC President based on the authority Harvey claimed he had from a resolution passed back in March of this year by the EDC Board.

The letter clearly states Harvey MAY have that authority, but ONLY if the EDC Board authorizes it, which, according to EDC board members, they still need to approve. He reads it differently and says she can now do everything the EDC President legally can do because he said so. Unfortunately, the city attorney and EDC attorney are unwilling to disagree with Harvey’s version of the rule. This makes it impossible for the City Manager to intervene because her city attorney lacks the courage to stand up to this blatant corruption.

So Ammerman forced the landlord of the building to open it for her so she could seize the office and begin “working.” Board members Vicky Clark and Harvey told Albion police, whom Ammerman called we have been told, that Ammerman was authorized to be in the building and office, which is untrue. The EDC board still needs to meet to allow Harvey to take this action. Harvey opens the door to do this, leaving Ammerman with records that she may be emboldened to do more damage than she already has.

Ammerman is under investigation by the Michigan State Police for trying to delete emails and remove confidential files after her firing on August 10 this year. Harvey wrote the letter in question on October 9, 2023, and it was not sent to the above leaders until today, an hour after City Watch posted our Opinion story linked above. At no time in the last few months since Ammerman was fired has Harvey attempted this take-over of the EDC using this resolution of the EDC, which makes one wonder why now.

City Watch News asked and received this statement from Albion Mayor Vicky Snyder:

As the Mayor of Albion, I am deeply concerned about the blatant disregard for the rule of the law and ethical board governance demonstrated by Jerome Harvey’s unilateral decision to reinstate the Director of the EDC today. The EDC executive committee voted to terminate her employment; and later a vote to reinstate her failed.

Although Mr. Harvey is fully aware that Ms. Ammerman is under criminal investigation for alleged malfeasance, he decided to act in a vacuum and reappoint her this afternoon without any input from other EDC board members. That decision flies in the face of ethical board governance and it is bad business for both the EDC and our community. Enough is Enough. I am consulting with legal counsel to determine next steps to undo this unethical and undemocratic action.

Mayor Victoria Garcia Snyder

Here is the best copy we can get of the Harvey email:

ALBION 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

October 9, 2023 

Mayor Victoria Snyder 

Albion City Council Commissioners Albion Economic Development Corporation 

Board of Directors 

Delivered via email 

Press Release 

Colleagues, 

As the Albion Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors continues to accomplish an Interim President / CEO employment agreement with Virgie Ammerman, it was necessary to appoint a Contracted Interim President / CEO to manage the day-to-day operations of the organization as it is, indeed, a full-time position requiring strategic and operational commitment at a level no one board member can perform. 

The attached Board Resolution allows for this contract to be executed and these day-to-day operations include, but are not limited to: 

Partnering with and supporting MAEDA’s efforts to continue to attract major investments and industry, such as the Ford BlueOval EV Battery Plant. 

Partnering with and supporting Tier II supply chain needs incentivization. 

Land accumulation and development necessary to attract resources from the State of Michigan so that industry can be incentivized to locate in the greater Albion area, thus creating both construction and long-term jobs. 

Partnering with and supporting WODA Corporation with their MSHDA tax credit application for 50 units of workforce and/or senior housing located on North Eaton Street. This application is due in November and requires extensive support from the EDC and the City of Albion. You will recall Mr. Craig Patterson appeared before the EDC Board during the September 28, 2023, board meeting to detail their needs and confidence in Virgie’s capacity and ability to link them with the City of Albion. Partnering with and supporting a confidential housing developer committed to developing housing on the outskirts of Albion City. This MSHDA application is due this winter and needs significant support from the EDC and the City of Albion. Partnering with and supporting a confidential developer preparing a MSHDA tax credit application due this next spring and significant early development work is critical to the success of this application in the spring. 

Partnering with and supporting several restaurateurs interested in expanding or locating in the City of Albion. 

Strategically creating the calendar year EDC Budget to support the vision and goals of the EDC in support of the vision and goals of the City of Albion and surrounding townships. 

Albion Economic Development Corporation, P.O. Box 725, Albion, MI 49224 517.629.3926 http://www.albionedc.org 

Partnering with Mark Gettel, Business Solutions Manager, with Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, on the Going Pro Talent Fund fall round. 

Partnering with Dale Carnegie and the Michigan Manufacturer’s Association on the Industrial Led Collaborative fall round to continue to bring leadership training to our region. 

Oversee and manage both employed and contracted staff. 

Managing grant awards and programs allowing the EDC to maintain compliance and ability to attract future funding while currently serving Albion residents. 

Strengthening relationships with the Calhoun County Land Bank opening opportunities for City of Albion residents to procure and develop available properties. 

Virgie Ammerman has been contracted beginning Monday, October 9, 2023, through such time as the President / CEO role is filled permanently. She is uniquely qualified to fill this role both efficiently and effectively as she has been performing these duties and is responsible for the early development steps in these projects. In addition, as we will be holding Virgie accountable for the successful execution of this role moving forward, it makes the most sense to have her in this contracted role. 

We are most grateful to Virgie for agreeing to this intermediate volunteer step and trust she will dedicate herself to the best interests of the City of Albion and the Economic Development of Albion and surrounding areas. 

Thank you for your support and continued work toward alignment of our vision and goals on behalf of the City of Albion, Sheridan and Albion Township, our region, and our state. 

In partnership and appreciation,                                                                                                                           Jerome Harvey 

Chairperson of the Board 

Albion Economic Development Corporation 

cc: Nelson Karre, EDC Board Counsel 

cc: Cullen Harkness, City of Albion Counsel 

Cc: Kevin Brozovich, HR Consultant 

cc: Virgie Ammerman 

Attachment: Resolution from March 2023 EDC Board Meeting 

Resolution:

ALBION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, ALBION TAX INCREMENT FINANCING AUTHORITY, AND ALBION BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Michigan municipal corporation and Authorities 

Resolution- Authorization for Board Officers and the President to Execute Business 

Contracts and Leases 

March 2, 2023 The undersigned certifies: the undersigned is the duly elected and qualified Secretary of Albion Economic Development Corporation (EDC), a Michigan municipal corporation, the Board of which serves as the Board of Directors for the Albion Tax Increment Financing Authority (TIFA) and for the Albion Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (BRA); the following resolution was duly adopted by the Board of Directors of the Corporation at a duly called meeting of the Board at which a quorum was present held on March 2, 2023: 

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Corporation bylaws allow for the Board to authorize board officers and agents to enter into contracts and to execute and deliver instruments in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation. The Bylaws further state such authority may be general or limited. Any contract or other instrument executed in the name of the Corporation shall be signed by such officers or agents of the Corporation as the board specifies, and in the manner the board authorizes by resolution. 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Board of Directors grants general authority to any of the Board Chair, the Board Secretary, and the President for business contracts and leases that are needed in the normal course of business. 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Board authorizes any of the EDC/TIFA /BRA Board Chair and the EDC/TIFA/BRA Board Secretary, and the EDC/TIFA/BRA President to execute on general business contracts and leases needed in the normal course of business. 

The undersigned further certifies that the above Resolution remains in full force and binding upon the Corporation, that the Board of Directors has the power and authority to authorize the acts set forth in the Resolution, and that the Resolution has not been amended or revoked as of the date of this Certificate. 

DATED: March 2, 2023 

Annette Marria 

Annette Norris, Secretary

Have information on this or other stories? Email us at citywatchnews1@gmail.com

October 11, 2023

Press Release

The Calhoun County Clerk and Register of Deeds, Kimberly A. Hinkley, with the support of 19 City and Township Clerks, seeks individuals interested in working at the Calhoun County Early In-Person Voting Site in 2024.

Early In-Person Voting Sites will be a new voting option for state and federal elections in 2024 and beyond, ensuring that registered voters have nine consecutive days before an election to vote in person. These Early In-Person Voting Sites will be open nine days, beginning the second Saturday before and ending the Sunday prior to an election.

To ensure this is a safe, secure, and smooth process, Election Inspectors are needed. With shorter shifts available, approximately 15 people are needed per day to help operate the early in-person voting sites. The Calhoun County Early In-Person Voting Site is at the Marshall County Building, located at 315 W Green St.

The Calhoun County Early In-Person Voting Site is available to voters in any Calhoun County city or township EXCEPT those in the City of Battle Creek, City of Springfield, Bedford and Pennfield Charter Townships. Registered voters who reside in those four jurisdictions will go to the Battle Creek Early In-Person Voting Site, located at the Kool Family Center. Applications submitted through the form below are for the Calhoun County Site in Marshall.

We want YOU to work at an Early In-Person Voting Site in 2024. 

Who can do it: Anyone age 16+ can work at an Early In-Person voting Site

When: Early In-Person Voting Sites operate nine consecutive days before an election, beginning the second Saturday before and ending the Sunday prior to an election.

Location: Calhoun County Building, 315 W Green St. in Marshall, 49068

Time: Polls at the Calhoun County Early In-Person Voting Site are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Election Inspectors will help with opening and closing the polls before and after that timeframe

Pay: $15/hour

Apply at https://bit.ly/CCElectionInspector

Reasons to work as an Election Inspector:

• Help ensure we have safe, secure, recountable elections
• Opportunity to serve in your community
• Participate in democracy, especially as the state begins offering early voting

Press Release

October 11, 2023

Albion, MI. – In the past, Caster Concepts’ self-imposed inventory requirements to keep parts in stock was creating more challenges than it was solving. Reliability and quality were always there. What was missing was the shorter lead times. By adding the right equipment and a quick response manufacturing mindset, today’s Caster Concepts is equipped for success.

As Andrew Dobbins, Vice President of Manufacturing notes, “We’ve got our AMADA lasers and press brakes. And we’re the only North American caster manufacturer with an in-house polyurethane operation. We can make orders from scratch faster than our competitors can pull them off the shelf.” In a just-in-time, custom-design world, manufacturers have to adjust their processes to accommodate customer expectations, something that Caster Concepts has embraced.

To illustrate this point, Amada recently highlighted Caster Concepts in their Total Solutions magazine, showing how a flexible, quick response mentality is the key to building the capacity for sustained growth.

Associated Media: AMADA Total Solutions magazine

Opinion

Written by John Face

October 11, 2023

Author Ramblings

While Vicky Clark and Jerome Harvey have tried countless times since August 10 to reinstate ousted Economic Development Corporation (EDC) President Virgie Ammerman, questions need to be answered by them. Why? Why have you two been hell-bent on bringing back a President you have admitted in meetings doesn’t know how to do her job? What John? Did they admit Virgie Ammerman was incapable of being the EDC President?

Of course, they did. When these two EDC Board members voted to spend thousands of dollars of EDC tax money on coaching for her, they proved she was over her head. They voted to allow Ammerman help, proving that hiring someone with zero experience is one of the dumbest decisions the EDC board has ever made. Now, it took the entire Board to hire Ammerman, and it took almost that whole Board to fire her once they realized her personality could not be marketable for Albion.

Doesn’t Work and Play Well With Others

Ammerman was not only in trouble with her Board because of what appeared to be incompetence but also because the businesses in Albion, which she was supposed to be helping, couldn’t work with her. “Talking to her about what could be done to make Albion better was difficult for her to answer; at one point, it felt like she didn’t know how to answer that question,” said one business leader. Another said, “She didn’t seem to grasp that retaining business and helping them grow creates jobs.” One business leader was shocked, “I couldn’t believe she felt comfortable speaking badly of other leaders in Albion in front of me. I asked myself is this the type of person I want to work with?”

Back to my Original Rant

Back to the original issue, why are two EDC members trying so hard to get her back? Well, only Ammerman and they know. The public can make much speculation and has. Is she hiding something? Why would she access her EDC email after being fired, delete emails, steal private and public files, and download them to her personal server? Just a reminder to Clark and Harvey: there is an active Michigan State Police investigation regarding her stealing public files. So you are good with hiring someone and giving them a contract that makes it impossible to fire them?

Let’s Trash Talk Others

Having Vicky Clark sit in an open meeting and publicly decry that Peggy Sindt, a former EDC President, is why Albion is in a bad place is about the most asinine comment a public official has ever made in the City of Albion. Trust me that is saying a lot, considering I covered the Garrett Brown administration as he hired an eventual thief as City Manager who was also in a job over their head. Maybe Clark is trying to throw shade at Sindt to distract people from her poor (Clark) decisions on the EDC Board and when she was on Albion City Council.

Solution is Simple For the Next EDC Meeting

I suggest the four former EDC Board members illegally fired by the council attend the next meeting. I recommend they all take their places on the Board they held when the removal occurred and, if questioned, remind everyone that the City and EDC attorneys said they were illegally removed from their Board seats. Have in your hands the opinions of those lawyers and start doing the business of the EDC. I also suggest you vote not to offer Ammerman any severance. Her actions after being fired, stealing documents, and deleting emails go beyond cause for doing this. I suggest this Board then contact the Attorney General’s office requesting an investigation about the possibility of misuse of public funds that Ammerman used on questionable programs.

Time to Go

It is time for Vicky Clark and Jerome Harvey to resign from the EDC Board. They are trying to rehire Ammerman with a raise, knowing she can’t do the job. Their willingness to try and pay someone more money and look beyond what appears to be criminal acts is outright negligence. Resign, Albion can do better than you. 

I remind everyone Clark took questionable favors from former Albion College President Mathew Johnson while she was on the Albion City Council facing votes that would benefit Johnson—specifically, being offered a no-bid contract to hire her small cleaning company to clean a couple of buildings at the college. Since that has happened, Johnson lackeys employed by the college have intentionally filed false complaints about the leading company already cleaning the college and pushing for more work for Clark. These are the type of people who are making decisions in Albion.

Have information on this or other stories? Email us at citywatchnews1@gmail.com

Written by John Face
Editorial
October 10, 2023

Former Albion College President Mathew Johnson was a week away from making half a million dollars as President of Albion College, a 1300-student college for the calendar year of 2021. Everyone in Albion, from staff to students to community residents, knew Albion College had fallen on tough financial times. So when the Board of Trustees Chair Mike Harrington, now a former Board member, flew out east to meet Johnson when some on his search committee had reservations about hiring him, at some point, the Board decided not only to hire him with serious questions in his background, but to pay the candidate who had absolutely no real experience leading a college an almost grotesque amount of money.

When the Board released Johnson in late December of 2021, he took a once proud institution and nearly bankrupted it in 18 months. I had several parents reach out to me about their students on whether Albion College was going to close. Johnson failed to raise money of any importance, spending millions on his pet projects while he was supposed to be dealing with budget deficits. He dealt with them in the Johnson way, spending money and creating jobs that had no real purpose at a school other than to surround himself with lackeys who would tell the king how pretty he and his robes were.

For example, proof of this was the money he paid to his chief of staff, Kelly Finn. Finn was making $108,000+ acting as, what many employees said, his hatchet. Finn made more than almost all professors at the school. Again, it is a college with around 1300 students. College insiders said she and a small group appear to have been well paid as the college struggled. One needs help to grasp paying Leroy Wright, the Vice President for Student Development, just over $217,000, when current President Wayne Webster openly admits the college has a shortfall of at least 14 million dollars.

When Wright was hired by then Albion College President Mauri Ditzler in 2019, there were already financial strains on the college. Looking at some of the current senior staff wages, this reporter can easily spot a few million that could be cut from the budget. “Schools” and “Departments” created by Johnson and a couple by Ditzler should all be eliminated, along with the people they hired.

Fear of staff is that starting in January, cuts will come, and instead of the top staff, it will be the people who teach students and do the real work on campus. Current President Webster has said he plans on eliminating the deficit by way of retirement attrition and not filling empty positions. His plans also include trying to increase enrollment. Though Webster says he doesn’t want to lay off people, he has made little guarantees after the new year.

Albion College suffers from severe cash shortages, but hope is still possible. President Webster brings a background in raising money and has already excited his staff, pushing themselves to find ways to bring in the capital. Students, administrative staff, and professors widely like him. He comes from The College of Wooster, where one former colleague said, “Wayne can raise money and leads by example. He is the perfect fit for Albion; Wooster lost, Albion won this battle”. City Watch feels it’s fair to give Webster the benefit of the doubt. Let’s all step up and help him. Hell if anyone deserves a half million bucks to run the college it would be him. I mean he actually has done this kind of work before. But hey, I am not on the Board of Trustees.

Oh, I want to tell you what my answer was to those parents was then, and still today. Albion College will survive. Albion College is a top Liberal Arts school and will continue to attract the best students and athletes from around the country. Money is tight but your student will not feel the pain.

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