Eagle Lake Improvement Association

QUESTIONS from Members & the ANSWERS we have available about the pending Proposed Settlement Agreement between Ontwa Township and The Dock LLC (scroll down to read all Q&A's on this page)

DATE Received	Question / COMMENT from Member	ANSWER / REPLY
6/4/09	What happened at the Court Hearing in Centreville today, which covered: 1) THE DOCK LLC's Motion for the Judge to Reconsider his decision on 4/17/09, and, 2) THE DOCK's Motion for the court to immediately approve and enter the Consent Judgment.	1) The Honorable Paul Stutesman DENIED THE DOCK LLC Motion for him to RECONSIDER his decision of 4/17/09 which granted ELIA the right to Intervene. ELIA remains a party to the law suit. 2) The Judge heard arguments from THE DOCK LLC, Ontwa Township, and ELIA about the Motion for Immediate approval of the Consent Judgment. Judge Stutesman did not render a decision, but advised the parties he would issue a written decision on THE DOCK LLC motion within 2 weeks. We are expecting the decision on or about Friday 6/19/09. NOTE: The Ontwa Township Attorney said almost nothing about the Consent Judgment. The township attorney did say that with ELIA being allowed to intervene, "...things have changed..." On the other hand, the attorney for THE DOCK argued vigorously and at great length in an attempt to sway the court in its favor.
4/17/09	What happened at the Court Hearing in Centreville today?	Judge Paul Stutesman ruled in favor of The Eagle Lake Improvement Association, INC, (ELIA) Motion to Intervene. He granted our right to be a party in THE DOCK, LLC v Ontwa Township lawsuit. That lawsuit is about the township's denial of THE DOCK LLC's request to re-zone its property from C-1 to R-2. We are now a defendant in the case.
3/8/09	I don't understand how the Township Board can either change the zoning, or provide an exemption without legal notification of property owners within 500 feet of the property being changed. We have received no such notification from Ontwa Township. The Lake Association lawyer should also specifically mention that the Dock currently holds title to only a small strip of Eagle Lakefront. That is a small triangle between private property and the public launching ramp. Since any houses built along Eagle Lake road do not have lakefront, as they are across the road, it is obvious that the Dock will be engaged in significant "key holing" of the property.	Your points are well made, concern us also, and have been sent to our legal team for their use in our case.
3/8/09	Will ELIA provide residents and property owners with form letters and addresses to mail in letters to the Ontwa Board expressing displeasure and concern about their Proposed Settlement Agreement/Consent Judgment ?	Thank-you for your concern, support, and offer to send a letter to express your displeasure with the recent Township Board decisions. At this time, we are not coordinating a write-in action. However, your own thoughts sent directly to the the Ontwa Board would be welcome. On Monday, 3/9/09, Bob Pfaff of ELIA appeared at the regular Township Board meeting and pointed out, line-by-line, where we believe they failed to act in a responsible manner. The hall was filled with a "standing room" only crowd of residents and the Board received our displeasure... very clearly. At this time, we must continue with our legal actions. Our website contains current information about this matter and will be updated as warranted. Any donations to our legal fund are welcome
3/7/09	What can a resident do about Ontwa Township's Role in this unacceptable Proposed Settlement?	There are many options, but 1 of the initial ones should be attending the Township Board meeting on Mon 3/9 @7pm and show your displeasure directly to the elected officials.
3/7/09	This was matter was supposed to be about a narrow issue to re-zone the THE DOCK property from C-1 to R-2. How did the matter expand into full blown approved private roads, condominiums, marina type docks, etc?	We share your concerns about the expansion of the issue. That is why we have filed our Motion in court to Intervene and to set-aside the Proposed Settlement Agreement as currently written by the defendant (Ontwa Township) and the Plaintiff (The Dock, LLC).
3/6/09	What did the court decide on 3/6/09?	After hearing from all three(3) parties, further action on ELIA's Motion to Intervene has been *postponed* until 0900 on Friday April 17, 2009. The judge permitted each party to submit additional cases to help clarify the legal history in such intervention matters. Our Motion to set-aside the Proposed Settlement was discussed briefly, but will not be dealt with until the Intervention issue is decided.
3/6/09	Did the attorney for Ontwa and The Dock, LLC support the postponement?	NO, they argued vigorously against it and our Motion to Intervene. They wanted the Settlement Agreement approved by the Court today.
3/6/09	How many people attended today's Court Hearing?	The court room in Centreville was "packed" by ELIA supporters. Some of the overflow crowd had to sit in the "jury box" to get a seat. There must have been 45-50++ ELIA people there.
3/5/09	Does anyone have an idea of how many plan to attend the meeting tomorrow?!	So far, we are expecting at least 20 people to make the trip to Centreville. We recognize it is a long trip, and at an inconvenient time, for most concerned stakeholders of Eagle Lake. There are at least three (3) possible outcomes which could occur on Friday 3/6/09: 1) The Judge grants a 30 day adjournment before deciding anything (This would be a good news for Eagle Lake) 2) The Judge grants ELIA's Motion for Intervention Status (This would be good news for Eagle Lake) 3) The Judge denies ELIA's Motion for Intervention Status and accepts the Proposed Settlement between The Dock LLC and Ontwa Township, with no modifications. We hope for the best.
3/3/09	Who is representing the Township? Is it their attorney or is it an attorney appointed by their insurance carrier? Is the insurance company responsible for legal fees and damages after the deductible is satisfied? If an insurance company is involved, could the insurance company be putting pressure on the Township to settle?	Attorney John Lohrstorfer. He is the Township Attorney of Record. We do not have the full info/data to answer the other questions at this time.
3/3/09	I strongly support the position of our association and am against the development of the "dock" property as proposed by the developer.	Thank-you!
3/2/09	How did this happen?? Who was on the Board that approved this?? Were they paid-off by Delano ?	The vote was 6-1 by the Ontwa Township Board. We do not have info on the other points raised.
3/2/09	Is there a way to “impeach” the Ontwa Township board???!!!	There are provisions in Michigan to do a "Recall" vote. We could consider such an action in the future.
3/2/09	Do we know how this change will effect the opposition of the County and the DNR to the relocation of Eagle Lake Road ? Have the developers successfully packed the Board?	We do not have the full info/data to answer at this time.
/09

paul@EagleLakeMichigan.org

Paul J. Sniadecki, webmaster, 23949 North Shore Dr, Edwardsburg Mi 49112

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QUESTIONS from Members & the ANSWERS we have available about the pending Proposed Settlement Agreement between Ontwa Township and The Dock LLC (scroll down to read all Q&A's on this page)

***QUESTIONS* from Members & the *ANSWERS*** we have available about the pending Proposed Settlement Agreement between Ontwa Township and The Dock LLC (scroll down to read all Q&A's on this page)