The Townships are using PA188 to advance their agenda. The question of legality in using PA188 is not the issue to some degree. The question is the methodology used and the procedural requirements dictated by statute. The Lyon Township Board – my community-has misled and misrepresented their agenda for far too long without any press and/or oversight. There are mountains of information pertaining to this questionable behavior, but nobody seems to care. Why?
Most recently my group has been asking the Board to quit using the Catholic Church as a pawn in this endeavor. The Church was misled and misinformed on signing an in-favor petition when they thought they were signing for Lake Studies ONLY. The Diocese of Gaylord and Bishop Walsh have stated that the Church does not get involved in such matters as they maintain Neutrality. The Board knows this and yet will not remove their petition. A heated legal battle is on the horizon as to the legitimacy of using a religious group to advance an agenda which violates their core beliefs within Canon and Ecclesiastical Law.
The Township also included public property in their in-favor petition status violating the very essence of our State Constitution:
Article I sec1- all political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their equal benefit, security, and protection.
As a tax paying citizen I/we are granted these fundamental rights…but what happens when local government breaches that trust and those rights. Local government officials are temporary tenants and guardians of the public lands with all the rights therein granted by the State of Michigan. No more can the Board collectively vote in a general election should they vote to use public land paid and held in trust to the community at large. Who Protects the people? Where is equality when so many didn’t agree to include public land? And where is the equal Benefit when so many will be pushed out of their home and gentrification will ensue?
PA188 is fundamentally flawed- at its core- and there is the problem. I can’t believe there hasn’t been any reporting from anywhere on this antiquated and archaic process. A process that isn’t based on actual individuals but on an acreage formula that most certainly benefits wealthier individuals and special interest groups. In 2008 3 house bills were introduced to try and unravel some of the unfair, unjust, and unreasonable aspects of PA188 but did not gain enough steam.
One final thought- if Higgins Lake were dying as some claim, why isn’t the State of Michigan involved? Because the lake is still of the highest water quality-Tip of the Mitt interim report.
Article IV sec52- State Constitution: The Legislature shall provide for the protection of the air, water, and other natural resources of the State from pollution, impairment, and destruction.
Timonthy L. Monét
Higgins Lake
