The Township Trustees have Ancel Glink.
Supervisor Linda Moore has John Nelson
Road Commissioner Jack Freund has Patrick Coen.
And, the newest entrant is Michael Poper, who is representing Assessor Bill Ottley in a suit filed November 22nd against Moore.
Ottley says he wants to have more energy efficient windows installed in his office and that Moore won’t pay the bill, even though the Township Trustees have approved the expenditure.
Moore, if I remember correctly, believes that Ottley is trying to string out a major remodeling job so that it will not exceed the level required for public bidding.
Ottley’s case was assigned to Judge Michael Caldwell.
He has not a judge who has been friendly to the Township Trustees and their efforts to assume powers Caldwell thinks belong to the Executive Branch of township government.
So, Poper filed a motion to change judges.
When I asked him about the request, he seemed to think it would be granted pretty much automatically, a matter of right.
But, when Poper’s motion was heard in Judge Caldwell’s court, Moore attorney John Nelson said he had found a case that indicated a new judge was not always appropriate.
He noted that Ottley had testified in the Balance of Powers case on the Trustees’ behalf, that the very subject of payment of the construction project had come up in that case and that the Court had asked for briefs, but that there had been no follow-up.
Nelson asked for time to file a brief.
The Judge gave him seven days and seven more for Poper to respond.
January 3rd, the parties will be back in the Courthouse.
“Moore, if I remember correctly, believes that Ottley is trying to string out a major remodeling job so that it will not exceed the level required for public bidding.”
Interesting and not exactly unheard of in govt.
Regardless of whether or not that’s accurate –
So, he wants to go to court instead of simply putting it out to bid? I would think the bid process would be a lot cheaper and fairer to anyone wanting an opportunity to bid. (There are a lot of people and companies looking for work these days.) The taxpayers would also get a better deal.
Let’s say you are required to go out to bid for projects of $20 grand or more, I don’t think that keeps you from choosing to go out to bid for under $20K. Just sayin’.
“Grafton Township Now Has Five Attorneys”
Has current Supervisor Moore EVER had successes in any of her endeavors (family relationships, Moore Turf Care, etc.)? Has Linda shown “fiscal responsibility” towards the taxpayers of Grafton Township with her endless lawsuits? Has one person EVER crated so much havoc in such a short time, while helping so few? Why does Linda refuse to do her job?
If a tree fell in the woods and Linda was there, who would she sue?
Just sayin’.
anon@926 said:
“So, he wants to go to court instead of simply putting it out to bid?”
If only it were that simple. Keep in mind that Cal is biased and will twist and/or omit facts to make his story sound plausible. The best thing you can do is read the minutes and watch the footage, if you can stand to, and then ask yourself this: Why would Linda rather be taken to court then pay the bills that were approved by the board? Isn’t the continued refusal to pay board approved bills a violation of her bond?
Linda is running the township as if she were the only person on the board. She does not have the right to do that. That’s why we have a board….so there is checks and balance. She refuses to acknowledge that. It’s been said over an over again. If she were the CEO of any company and ran it the way she is running the township, she’d have been fired within the first year.
One HUGE question I have is,
Who is representing Linda in these lawsuits? There is no township attorney. John Nelson is NOT the township attorney and no other attorney has been presented to the board for consideration. Even if Linda is sued “individually” in her role as the township supervisor, she is still representing the township and should counsel from an approved township attorney. Using her personal attorney for these legal matters will only confuse the issue further. Isn’t John Nelson also co-counsel defending Linda’s husband in his criminal misdemeanor case for battery involving one of the township trustees?? How can he objectively be on both sides of the courtroom?
For someone who ran on transparency in government, the waters seem to get muddier the longer she’s in office.