IRONWOOD, MI - Friday, May 23, 2008 - Oh oh! Water-break? Emergency? City workers Rick Alonen, Bill Olkonen and Mike O'Brien were ordered to dedicate their day Tuesday towards fixing a shut-off valve in front of the Knight Club (my building). What was the problem? Did I request to have the valve repaired? No! Is my payment history as a water customer over the past 34 years so unsatisfactory that they were there to shut off the water? Evidently not, the water remains on! Is there water flooding into the basement pool hall? Nope, it's dry as a bone! Is this part of an overall plan to repair all inoperable valves throughout the City? No. Along Aurora Street? No, this is the only valve scheduled to be repaired.

Why did City Manager instruct Utilities Director Bob Tervonen to send out a crew to tackle the repair of this valve on that day? Any rational person would question the reason for this decision. What makes my valve so special?

Before I continue, I want to make it very clear that my issue has nothing, whatsoever, with the work crew at the water department or the Department of Public Works. I have the utmost respect for those individuals, and I have seen -- first hand -- how hard they all work, and how little recognition they receive for their efforts. I am not, in any way, questioning their skills or their workmanship. These men made every effort to create as little trauma to the work-site as possible. They were -- in no way -- ever rude or unkind to me, and I don't hold them responsible, or blame them for what happened.

With that said, bright and early at 7:00 AM a work crew of three arrived at my sidewalk and began attacking the project they were assigned. Using a wet-saw, they carefully cut along the concrete joints to establish the boundaries of the hole they were about to dig. The took every precaution necessary not to disturb the sidewalk or the curb any more then they had to. Once the saw cuts were made, they took out the portable jackhammer and began breaking the concrete. Before continuing, the crew tried to see if they could use the valve just by prying the cover sleeve up a bit. No luck!

Since that "quick and easy" fix was no longer an option, the crew began enlarging the work-site and they brought in a jackhammer/backhoe in to break the slab. Once the slab was broken and cleared from the area, they workers dug a hole deep enough to crawl into, in order to access the valve. The vactor truck was brought in to clear the debris around the valve. City worker Chuck Thomas came by, crawled in the hole, cleared the valve and tested it. It worked. Debris was preventing the valve to operating.

So the crew built a new pipe; dog-leg; and cover combination to replace the old one. They placed the dog-leg (covered with duct tape to prevent dirt from landing on the valve) over the valve. While one worker held the pipe in place, the other two shoveled fresh fill -- from Montreal -- into the hole. Of course, they needed a front-end loader to haul the dirt to the site.

Once the hole was mostly filled, gravel was brought in and was thrown on top of the fill. Asphalt was used to finish filling the hole. The asphalt is soft, and every time someone steps on it, it breaks apart.

When Mr. Erickson told me he was going to have the valve to my building repaired, and expressed my concern to him. The sidewalks and curbs downtown are all relatively new and in fairly good shape. Erickson assured me that only a small patch would be necessary, and nobody would notice the repair when it was done. When the crew finished the project on Tuesday -- after spending an entire day working on it -- they told me that Erickson had ordered that the hole be filled with asphalt.

Once again, I ask... why was my valve repaired on Tuesday? The City of Ironwood is having serious financial problems. Is it any wonder? What did it cost for the City to repair the valve outside of my building? Let's take a closer look. Five hours time for the equipment pick-up truck is approximately $60. The hand jackhammer and trailer which was on the site for over 5 hours cost the City about $125. Use of the vactor for the job cost about $408. The front-end loader rents out for $159. The jackhammer/backhoe used for about three hours cost $180. Two wet-saws on the site for five hours cost $120. To pay three City workers for 5 hours each cost a total of about $450 (including withhold and benefits). So far, the total cost exceeds $1,500, and that doesn't include the cost of the fill, gravel, pipe, or asphalt. To pour a new curb and replace the sidewalk with concrete will easily cost the City (taxpayers) another $1,500 or more.

At the last two City Commission meetings, Commissioner Tom Laabs asked Scott Erickson if it was possible for the City workers to start replacing hydrants throughout the City. Erickson told Laabs that it was more cost effective to hire a contractor because having the City crews replace the hydrants would take them away from other work that needed to be done. Wouldn't it have been better for the three gentlemen that were assigned to repair my valve -- for no apparent reason -- to replace a hydrant or two Tuesday?

Instead they destroyed the finished, clean look of the downtown's City sidewalks. The water  to my building remains on. I may not be the best at paying the water bill on time, but I'm certain there are customers that haven't been around for over 34 years that have owed much more money than I have -- without the City coming and tearing up their sidewalk. If the goal were to shut my water off, they why does it remain on?

My basement wasn't flooding. Ground water wasn't creeping into the City water supply. Why was my valve so important?

I'll tell you why! Scott Erickson doesn't like me. I made him look bad when he negotiated the ridiculous Moyle dumping deal for the City. To refresh you, Moyle was Wal-Mart's general contractor. Wal-Mart, don't forget, is located in the township. Moyle wanted to dump construction debris at the City's Ayer Street dumpsite. Typically, in order for a contractor to dump construction debris, a "tippage" charge is assessed per truck load. The average cost per load is between $30 and $100. Hundreds of truckloads of broken concrete, stumpage, waste soil, and debris were dumped FREE OF CHARGE by Moyle on City land.

When Steve Frank and I questioned this one-sided deal, Erickson quickly created a "deal" that explained the free dumping. Moyle Construction , Erickson claimed, was going to "donate" a skatepark to the City in exchange for free tippage. Originally, he claimed Moyle was going to donate the slab for a 100 by 100 foot park. Then, when he presented the plan to the Commission, it suddenly sounded much different. Moyle was only going to donate the concrete for a 50 by 100 foot slab -- no rebar, to forming, no setting, no prep or anything other than the concrete. To date, there is no skatepark -- and there doesn't appear to be one in site. Moyle is long gone. As soon as they finished the Wal-Mart project the were gone!

So, when money's so tight, and the City is struggling financially, why would our City Manager suddenly waste precious taxpayer's dollars repairing a valve that has been inoperable for years? Mr. Erickson is playing a power game! He's trying to prove that he has control of the citizens of Ironwood. He's abused his power one more time... at the expense of the taxpayers!

Remember this article the next time there's a fire on your block... and one hydrant after another fails to operate. Remember this fiasco the next time you're walking downtown and you twist your ankle in the soft asphalt that fills the hole in the sidewalk in front of my place. When it comes time for the City Commission to renew Mr. Erickson's contract -- remember how he wasted taxpayer's money and destroyed City property just so he could demonstrate his POWER!

Ladies and gentlemen, it's a disgrace that an appointed, overpaid, under-qualified, City worker abuses his power -- without regard to the money he wastes in the process, just to show his "superiority" and just to "get even" with his "enemy!" Do you really want to cut the budget? Quit paying our City Manager/Engineer for engineering he has NEVER done for the City! Better yet -- get rid of our City Manager and elect a Mayor.

The DIDA is planning on having historic walking tours this summer. Our streets and sidewalks in the downtown are in much better shape than they are anywhere else in the City. They were just recently redone. Why was I singled out? Did that valve need to be repaired? Sure, it doesn't hurt to have a working valve... but who's to say that valve cover won't heave and move with the winter weather changes... and become inoperable again? What a waste of City workers' time and taxpayers' money!

I welcome all comments and viewpoints on this issue.

Jim Albert (Editorial)