Chamber Chicanery

Oh what a tangled web we weave . . .

This website was slated for removal, but fortunately it had not yet been deleted from the internet as we now have an interesting attempt at obfuscation by the Swanton Chamber of Commerce.  My oh my.

Let's be frank here.  It is no secret that the earlier proposal to "conform our boundaries" made by Chamber president, Neil Toeppe, some years ago ( and no doubt still hanging over our heads) did not made him a popular person in Swanton Township. 

But we do not deal in opinions here, only facts.  Provable, cold hard facts. So when an interesting and misleading post showed up on the Chamber's Facebook page, it became necessary to clarify a few things just so those who might not have all the facts at their immediate disposal could see what was going on.

The Township placed a notice in the Key Shoppers' News to which the Chamber apparently took exception.  We will not repost here what was in the Key, as everyone has access to it and can read it for themselves.  

Here is what the Swanton Chamber of Commerce posted on its Facebook page:

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A recent ad in the Key and the Swanton Enterprise by the Swanton Township Trustees states:
“We understand that Village Council, the Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor have been aware all along that a railyard project was coming – and were planning for it. In fact, the Swanton Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director discussed the possibility of a rail yard project in a January 19, 2007 Blade article”

What is referred to was a presentation the chamber of commerce made that, in part, referred to the proposal by the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) that an intermodal rail facility be located on property directly across Airport Highway from the Toledo Express Airport. The chamber was concerned about the potential deleterious impact this would have on the rural nature of the greater Swanton community. The chamber further suggested that cooperation between Swanton Township and the Village was needed to determine the best alternatives to thwart, or at least minimize, the impact of this intrusion. Possible alternatives offered were forming a Joint Economic Development District (JEDD) or to explore the potential of merging the township and the village. Both of these alternatives would have availed the township and the village of means to better control and regulate future potential development.

The township trustees have for the past 10 years chosen to ignore that warning.

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My oh my.

Here was our response to this post:

Swanton Chamber of Commerce:  Really??? Then why was the Chamber so silent when NF proposed the railyard in the Village backyard - several miles west of the map you posted above and which you state the Chamber saw as "deleterious" to the community ?? You sat in a few meetings, last summer Mr. Toeppe - and said NOTHING. Your silence was most eloquent, sir.

Do not be fooled by half-truths put forth by either Village Council members or the Chamber president.  They strongly believed in their course of action which is why they stuck with it.  Don't listen to their deliberately misleading double-talk.  Half truths are told with the intent to deceive - which makes them wholly false.

Of Mice and Men

Very soon the taped recordings of our township meetings in February will be online and accessible, so that anyone interested may listen to the presentations by our chairman, Jeff Michael, and our attorneys from Shumaker, Loop and Kendrick LLP.

We weren't able to do a video recording, which is a shame as listeners will not be able to see the slides that were shown to those in attendance.  Slides of various newspaper articles from the Toledo Blade and the Swanton Enterprise from years ago show how the Village of Swanton has been planning for a railyard here for at least a decade.  Proof of Norfolk Southern's involvement in the Hallet overpass was shown - they paid the same amount toward the overpass as did the Village.   

Essentially, the township learned that Village Council, the Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor have been well aware all along that a railyard was coming - and they planned for it.  All the meetings we attended to encourage - no, BEG - them to join us in our fight against NS were a total waste of our time and energy.  They had been planning this for a very long time.

Why they deliberately chose to pretend otherwise is an issue for village residents to consider for the next several election schedules.  It will be up to village residents to decide whether they want to have the rats in charge of a sinking ship, or if they want men and women in positions of authority and power in their community whom they can trust to be honest and do what is best for the entire Village - nothing less.

At least now our Township will be safe from unwanted annexation attempts perpetrated by the Village.  When you listen to the meeting recordings, you'll hear the applause from attendees when that fact was announced.

To all the residents in both the township and the village who tried their level best to prevent a Norfolk Southern railyard from becoming a reality in our collective backyard, we owe a huge debt of gratitude. Your efforts were deeply appreciated.  Had elected officials from the village and school board stood shoulder to shoulder with you and the elected officials from Swanton Township, this railyard would not have happened.  

As you look at the Swanton Village Council and Chamber of Commerce decision (made without your input) as well as the "neutral stance" from the school board, and see our community struggle with its result - remember and learn.  They believed their choice was best for our community - hold them accountable for their actions.  Hold them accountable for resultant declining property values.  Hold them accountable for resultant declining school district enrollment numbers.  Remember who brought this in to our community and hold them accountable for everything that happens because of it.  

For detailed information, please listen to the recordings of our February township meetings that will soon be available at:  Swanton Township website

Sharing from Facebook

John M. Pryzbylek

18 hrs

Just received a telephone call from Senator Randy Gardner's office regarding the eMail I sent to him last night. I was told Randy had visited the construction site with the Swanton Township trustees about 3 weeks ago. He expressed concerns about the environmental impact of the potential rail yard and closure of Scott Road. His office told me he contacted Norfolk Southern and encouraged them to find another location for the rail yard. Contact Randy Gardner's office and let him know we need him to continue his dialogue with Norfolk Southern.

Brittany Gibbons

October 31 at 8:51am

Join the many residents already leaving messages on the Norfolk Southern facebook page, by leaving your very own!

Make sure to tell them you do NOT want this in our community.

https://www.facebook.com/norfolksouthern/

Video to Watch

This was taken during Randy Gardner's visit to the site

Facebook Page Information

There are many positive things going on right now in our fight against the proposed rail yard!  It's mighty difficult for one person to keep up with all of it, but there are several community members who post regularly on the Facebook page created by Andy and Brittany Gibbons :  "Citizens Against Norfolk Southern".

Organizers are on the page rallying the troops - many questions are asked and answered every day, all day long on the page.  Phone numbers are shared that are important, for example:

IMPORTANT NUMBERS!

These are the folks we should be calling daily, hourly, and as much as humanly possible.

Elected Officials: 
Sen. Cliff Hite (614) 466-8150
Sen. Randy Gardener (614) 466-8060
Rep. Derek Merrin (614) 466-1731
What to say: If you want our vote, help us fight this NS Staging Yard and get it out of our community.

Fulton County Commissioners: (419) 337-9255

PUCO: 800-686-7826
What to say: Do NOT close Scott Rd.

Detroit Edison:
Mike Chriss 313-235-3522
Gerard Anderson, CEO 313-235-4000
David Meador, VP 313-235-4000
Steven Kurmas, Vice Chairman 313-235-4000
Jerry Norcia, President and COO 313-235-4000
What to say: Tell them to make NS move this staging yard OUT of Swanton, as it will destroy our family friendly community.

OTHER IMPORTANT NOTES!

Sign the CANS petition: https://www.change.org/p/citizens-against-norfolk-southern

Post directly on the NS Facebook page and tell them publicly we do NOT want this project in Swanton: https://www.facebook.com/norfolksouthern

Amazingly enough there are still people in our community who are unaware of the fight or still operate under the false assumption that the rail yard is a "done deal".  That is one thing the group is working to change.  

Just yesterday a Swanton Township resident posted a question on the Facebook page:

Colleen Baird Anyone know where Swantown Twp is at on this or Lucas Cty for that matter?

Like · Reply · 22 hrs

DaNetra Hale Smith Everyone has opposed this project. Swancreek township has also supported the Township and said no. We are trying to reach out still to Lucas County officials. If you are new to the page there is a lot of information to get caught up on.

Like · Reply · 1 · 22 hrs

Brittany Gibbons yes, Township immediately hired a lawyer months ago and has been fighting every since.                         Lucas County and the prosecutor is also with us in fighting the RR.   

After having worked on this situation for several months, it is hard to believe that any of our residents are still in the dark about what is happening and what the Township has done thus far.  But that is the case (apparently), and exactly why so many people both in the township and the Village are working so very hard to educate everyone.

It is NOT a "done deal" !  And ALL of us need to be working together to keep the pressure on Norfolk Southern to move their rail yard and subsequent intermodal to a more suitable location - not in the very heart of the village.

Just a Quick FYI

This is a grown-up issue that requires grown-ups to be involved.  Anyone who wishes to ask a question or propose a solution or merely comment on this blog is expected to be a grown-up.  That means no hiding behind fake names and fake Facebook accounts.

good grief

Meeting(s) Update: Village Council and Swanton Township

With my work schedule, I am not able to attend any Monday night meetings.  However, one of our township residents was at both meetings of Village Council and Swanton Township this past week (as she usually is!), so allow me to share her Facebook post of those two meetings:

10/25 Township Meeting

Share/Spread the word.

If I had a few words to describe last night they would be.... family therapy. There was some yelling, and tears, and I think everyone left having a little more hope in each other... so now we just have to see it in action.

The township and council meetings are wildly different meetings, and if you can, I highly recommend you attend both.

Last night was no different, and village residents present were just as upset over the previous night's council meeting as they were before. And rightfully so, that council meeting was rough.

As a result, those that spoke were visibly emotional, as were the township residents. It was really hard to hear so many homeowners brought to tears over this, as it's effects will be devastating to them and the lives and homes they've spent decades building. It was a very sad thing to sit through and everyone appreciated their stories and concerns.

And that includes the two council members who did (and have routinely in the past) attend the township meeting.

I am trying not to be too candid here over respect for the legalities both the township and village face.

So in short, they both vehemently oppose this project. Yes they own the missteps. They own the misinformation. They own not acting as quickly as they should have, and they gave much needed insight as to where they are now, and were open about where they needed to be. It was such a form of respect to everyone who was scared and who had spoken and received silence the night before.

Also in attendance was a rail road expert, someone who not only has first hand knowledge of this exact project, but also of all surrounding projects. (And that is all I can say about him in this forum.)

He was honest, answered questions thoroughly, and was also VERY AGAINST this project. Here are some important take-aways from his talk.

1. Pollution will be wide spread, and the rail road will do nothing about it. From thousands of gallons to spilled fuel, to coal and other remnants. The environmental impact will be real and scary.

2. Homeless People. With this rail yard will come homeless people who rely on the rail road for travel. There will be an uptick of that in our town with this rail yard, and no security will be given from NS regarding that.

3. Our town will be filthy. Coal dust aside, rail yards generate a huge amount of litter, and that will be visibly present in our village.

4. RODENTS. The rodent infestation will explode with sitting freight, especially next to the fields and the cars that will be holding grain. He talked about rodents in North Baltimore the size of cats but then I plugged my ears.

5. This coal yard will not be all this is, as I mentioned in another post, THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. This is merely a foot in the door to expand this project rapidly and we would have no way of stopping it.

6. This DET contract is only a 3 year contract, and it's due to start January 1st, 2017.

7. This will change the very feel, look, and population of our town. It will diminish our property values AND our school. With both of those things cheaper, the landscape of who buys here will be different.

8. Many of the towns he visits feature rail yards that are surrounded by vacant/foreclosed homes.

9. It's not IF a derailment happens, it's WHEN, and he went into detail about what that would look like. He talked about how the priority would be to clear the tracks, and he told of one of his recent derailments that saw spilled coal being left for 6 months before anyone bothered to clean it up.

Oh, and the most important thing.

10. WE CAN AND SHOULD FIGHT THIS. We need to dig in our heels, work together, and fight fight fight fight.

Hearing the gentleman speak, while terrifying, was also JUST what so many needed, I think. They needed to hear the reality of this from someone who knew.

And when he was done and we all processed everything he said, we got up really driven to defeat this.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

First, I need you to REALLY make phone calls. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and we need you all EXTRA SQUEAKY.

It's an election year, and you need to remind your representatives that if they want your vote, then they need to help you get this out of our community.

1. Sen. Randy Gardener (614) 466-8060

2. Rep. Derek Merrin (614) 466-1731

Call them, have your relatives call them, and then call them again. This is your focus for the week.

Second, keep in contact with your elected officials. Information from them shouldn't just come at village or township meetings, we don't have time for that anymore. Call them regularly, make sure they are working FOR you and making this issue their priority. It's what you elected them to do, so be proactive in making sure they're doing it.

Village contacts: http://www.villageofswantonohio.us/villagecouncil.html

Of Actions and Consequences

I'll bet your mama taught you to be careful with what you said and what you did.  I'll bet she tried to raise you to understand that your words and actions have consequences - either good, or bad.  There is no "neutral zone", and I'll just bet she tried her darndest to teach you, and repeated it when you were growing up each time you made a poor choice of words or actions, and had to pay the price.  I'm sure she was sad to see you have to go through a rough time - or maybe she said, "well - you only have yourself to blame".  It's a life lesson that most of us have a tough time learning. 

Some folks lately have been upset with what they perceive as a "nasty tone" against the property owners who gave options to buy their land to Norfolk Southern.  And on the Facebook page, some pretty strong words have been said.  

Let's remember:  we live in America, where property owners are able to do whatever they want with their land (within zoning parameters, if any exist).  That is their right.  WHAT they decide to do will have consequences.  If those actions are good or pleasant, their neighbors will be happy - good consequences.  If those actions are unpleasant, their neighbors will be UNhappy - bad consequences.  That's pretty basic, right?  No rocket science here.

We're all adults here (I hope. . . . ).  Shall we speak frankly?  Most of the property owners in question have minimal contact with their surrounding community.  Their land, if ultimately used by NS, will affect few of their neighbors, mostly because they are in a much more rural area where people are fewer and farther between.

The largest property owner in this scenario is different.  Their land is right on the edge of the village.   The family has been a contributing part of the Swanton community for generations.  You couldn't talk about Swanton without mentioning this family.  They created jobs, they paid their taxes and were engaged in many civic activities.  They have been faithful supporters of the community in which they live and run their business.

My personal opinion is this is the reason people are so extremely upset with them.  The community was blind-sided by their decision to give options on their land to the railroad.  For long-standing, stalwart supporters of the Swanton community to do something that has no hope of bringing anything positive to that same community has been a shock.  

The community feels betrayed.  That has been the consequence of their actions.

  

It is certainly not pleasant.  Friendships have been strained - some broken.  Is the family surprised at the reaction they have received?  Did they expect something different?  

This past Monday evening, Village Council voted to stop the sale of the quarter acre of land they had advertised, and received resounding applause from those in attendance.  The next night, several Council members attended the Swanton Township trustee meeting.  They voiced their support for stopping the rail yard from being built in a residential area, and pledged to put the past behind us and work together with the township to unite the entire community. Everyone was pleased, and eager to move forward.

Then - just a couple of days later - Council held a meeting with Norfolk Southern and a "real estate lawyer".  According to the Village Administrator, the meeting had been scheduled awhile ago and Council decided to keep the meeting to see "what they had to say". Please note that this planned meeting was not mentioned at either public meeting early in the week.

The residents of Swanton were NOT happy once they found out - and just how do you think it looked to Swanton Township??  

This action by Council was not received well by anyone who is interested in fighting to keep the rail yard from being built.  The trust level was drastically undermined.

Consequences.  Consequences. . .