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CLINTON TOWNSHIP — The appointment of three members to the township’s Board of Review sailed by without incident at the Clinton Township Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 13.
A fourth application, separated out into its own vote, was the source of some controversy.
Mike Licavoli, Gerald Miller and Derek Wilczynski were unanimously appointed by the township board. Outgoing Clinton Township Emergency Manager Paul Brouwer’s application was put to a separate vote.
The Board of Review’s job is to listen to appeals from residents about the tax assessments of their properties. The board then determines any necessary reassessments.
Opposition to Brouwer’s appointment was mounted by Trustee Dan Kress. Kress had written Brouwer a letter on Dec. 16 inquiring about Brouwer’s performance during the Goo Smoke Shop Explosion that left one dead last March. Kress said Brouwer never responded to that letter. Brouwer’s final day on the job was Dec. 20.
“I don’t think we should reward him with an appointment to the Board of Review because of those circumstances,” Kress said.
In the letter, Kress asked the outgoing emergency manager to give an “hour-to-hour” breakdown of events on March 4; a summary of steps taken to protect citizens on that day; the plan of action put in place in the days that followed the explosion; and Brouwer’s whereabouts and response on the day of the explosion. He also inquired about why Nixle, an emergency messaging system the township utilizes, did not send out a notification to residents.
Clinton Township Clerk Kim Meltzer, Trustee Julie Matuzak and Township Supervisor Paul Gieleghem all spoke to Brouwer’s qualifications for his Board of Review appointment.
“To discredit this man who has committed to 50-plus years of impeccable service to this community, I’m going to stand up for him because this is not fair,” Meltzer said. “I think you’re out of line.”
Gieleghem explained there are some limitations on what township employees are able to talk about with regard to the explosion at the direction of Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido.
“It was very, very clear from Prosecutor Lucido: This is an ongoing criminal investigation. We want the township to be able to reassure the public in due time, but we do not want public comments made that will jeopardize the investigation and seeking justice for the family,” Gieleghem said.
Gieleghem tried to refocus the discussion on the Board of Review.
“The Board of Review is a statutory body that reviews applications for people who want to appeal their tax assessment,” he said. “I think we want to stick to that message and his qualifications in relation to his ability to do this appointed job that pays little, that is a lot of aggravation and some very weighty decisions for the township.”
Brouwer was ultimately approved for the appointment. All trustees voted in favor of Brouwer except for Kress.
In a previous interview for C & G Newspapers, Brouwer commented on the response to the explosion.
“That was a classic case of a multiagency response and it went quite well considering the magnitude of the incident,” Brouwer said.
Liquor license for Vinny’s Brunch denied
Mimosas at brunch are on hold for the moment at one establishment.
A motion by Meltzer to allocate a Class C Quota Liquor License to Vinny’s Brunch was voted down by the board. Matuzak, Gieleghem, Trustee Bruce Wade and Trustee Shannon King voted against the license. Meltzer’s motion was supported by Treasurer Mike Aiello and Kress.
At the meeting Meltzer said she had spoken with township Fire Marshal Jason Kropf who said the restaurant had nine violations. However, Meltzer said the violations overlap and would be easy fixes. She said an approval could’ve been conditional upon resolving these issues.
“None of these violations send up a red flag that we couldn’t approve it with a conditional approval,” Meltzer said.
Representatives from Vinny’s said at the meeting that customers had been asking about serving alcohol at the restaurant. They said that most of the violations outlined by the fire marshal had already been addressed.
“We already have fixed most of the problems,” Laura Jakaj said. “I think it was just one more thing we were waiting for with the CO2 tank, but besides that everything was done immediately that day.”
Some trustees who voted the license down were primarily concerned with where in the township the licenses should be allocated.
Matuzak said she wanted the license to promote businesses starting on Groesbeck Highway and Gratiot Avenue. Vinny’s is located on Hall Road.
“I personally feel like there’s a potential to use these very precious liquor licenses for some other establishment,” Matuzak said.
“We have areas in our township that I believe might be in greater need,” King said.
Meltzer said there was a reversion clause in the contract for the license. This ensures that if Vinny’s were to close the license would go back to the township to reissue to another applicant. The township currently has two licenses and another in the process of being returned. These are the remaining licenses the township has for the next 10 years.
Following the vote, the business’ owner Vilson Jakaj said he was looking into another business on Gratiot.
