Robertson, Price inducted at city council meeting

BY THERESE DONNELLY

Members of the New Buffalo City Council started their Nov. 21 meeting by inducting new members.

Mark Robertson was reelected for another four-year term and Vance Price was newly-elected for a four-year term.

The council also elected Councilman John Humphrey to serve as mayor, and councilman Roger Lijewski to serve as mayor pro tem.

City clerk Amy Fiddler administered the oath of office to the members.

The increase in city water and sewer rates was brought up to the council during public comment. Resident Mike Uffner asked about the drastic increase in monthly bills. While the council typically does not answer questions during public comment, Humphrey explained that the increase includes two factors. There is a 3% cost of inflation increase the Galien River Sanitary District applies annually, and there is an additional increase due to the fact that the city has failed to raise the ready to serve fees in almost 17 years, and customers had been charged the same rate regardless of meter size. He said notice had been published regarding the changes and the city had scheduled a town hall meeting for Nov. 22 to address concerns in more detail.

Resident Mike Carpenter expressed concerns over pedestrian safety during the winter. He said many businesses and residents push snow from their parking lots and driveways onto sidewalks, making it difficult to walk. Carpenter said he understood that some residents are not physically able to clear their sidewalks but he asked the city to remind businesses to keep sidewalks clear. Humphrey said keeping sidewalks cleared of snow is a city ordinance and he would look into the issue.

In preparation to fund a number of projects, the City hired Baker Tilly and Miller Canfield as consultants to research the use of Grant Anticipation Notes as a form of shortterm funding. City manager Darwin Watson explained that GANs are a form of short-term financing issued in anticipation of the municipality receiving grant funding. Under this arrangement, the municipality obtains money

to begin or continue work on a project before the grant is finalized, then uses grant funds to pay off the GAN. The city has plans to build a broadside dock, upgrade the municipal marina and create the Marquette Greenway Trailhead and a pocket park on The increase in city water and sewer rates was brought up to the Smith Street. Watson said the collective cost of these projects is estimated at $3,310,000. Humphrey asked if repaying a GAN would impact the city’s finances, council during noting they would need to be repaid public comment. in 18 months. Watson said it would be Resident Mike “relatively tough” to meet the obligation Uffner asked about and that other, more “cash-flow friendly” the drastic increase funding may be available. The council in monthly bills. voted to table the issue until they could While the council learn about other options, with Watson typically does not explaining they will need to hold a special answer questions meeting before the December meeting during public before they can consider other options. comment, Humphrey Over the summer, the city contracted explained that the with Viking, Inc. to perform minor increase includes dredging in the harbor. The firm two factors. There is presented a request for a final payment a 3% cost of inflation of $10,500 for that work. Before the increase the Galien River Sanitary District applies annually, and there is an additional increase due to the fact that the city has Council approved the payment request, councilmember Brian Flanagan recalled that in August the council had requested project managers from Abonmarche Engineering to look into recourse for delays in work that Viking said were failed to raise the caused by weather and equipment issues. ready to serve fees Mike Morphey said after researching the in almost 17 years, issues, the dredging work was completed and customers had and the final cost was lower than the been charged the closest bidder. same rate regardless In a separate motion, the council also of meter size. He approved Abonmarche’s change order said notice had been to engineering for additional dredging. published regarding Watson explained the original permit was the changes and the based on soundings taken in the winter, city had scheduled but new tests in the spring revealed Lake a town hall meeting Michigan’s water level had dropped by for Nov. 22 to more than one foot, which necessitated address concerns in emergency dredging to clear shoals that more detail. were discovered. Abonmarche requested an increase from $1500 to $9700 in order to submit additional applications. The council approved the request. Abonmarche also submitted an engineering proposal of $309.900 for the broadside dock project. Morphey stated the project would extend the usability of the marina by allowing boats of multiple sizes to dock, and would also stabilize the banks and prevent flooding on North Whittaker Street. The council approved the proposal.

The Mayhew Street Drain project is complete and the council approved a final pay request from Payjay Inc. for $46,245 for the work.

Humphrey noted this is the first major step in a fivepart plan to improve the beach area. Watson said the city has budgeted money for years to fund the project. He noted that costs will be much higher than originally anticipated due to post-Covid increases.

The council had the first reading of a proposed amendment to Section 39, Article VI, Chapter 18 in the Code of Ordinances. Watson explained the amendment is intended to clarify the council’s procedure for requests to vacate streets or rights of way and include the wording “as allowed by law.”

Humphrey said nearly every Zoning Board of Appeals meeting now includes a request for the vacation and the new amendment would help streamline the request process.

As the city looks at ways to encourage growth, Humphrey said he had spoken with a representative from the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan. He said CEDA’s program had been effective in other communities, but after learning more about it, he did not feel it met New Buffalo’s needs. Under the CEDA program, a municipality pays $10,000 and CEDA hires someone to work with the city on a weekly basis for 15 months to create and implement plans. Humphrey said New Buffalo’s main obstacle is high property costs and a limited season to realize a return on investment, which is not addressed by the CEDA program.

The council approved a one-time year end salary adjustment for 32 city employees. Watson said two employees who were hired during 2022 will receive a prorated adjustment.

Watson reported the company that usually handles the city’s Independence Day fireworks display had contacted him to schedule a date and had suggested Monday, July 3. The cost for 2023 is $16,500, a 10% increase over the previous display. Watson said approving the date did not create an obligation, but simply secured the date, which the council agreed to.

The council briefly went into closed session to discuss Watson’s performance review. After the meeting was reconvened, Watson welcomed Price and Robertson, who both thanked voters for electing them.

Press conference details Board of Immigration decision regarding Ibrahim Parlak case

Details were given on a decision that was issued last week from the Board of Immigration Appeals with regards to a 2018 court hearing in the ongoing case surrounding Kurdish immigrant Ibrahim Parlak at his Harbert restaurant, Café Gulistan, Monday, Nov. 21.

In July 2018, an immigration judge granted Parlak’s application deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture, citing evidence that he would more likely than not be tortured by the Turkish government.

Robert Carpenter, the attorney for Parlak, said that on Oct. 31, the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a decision in response to the Department of Homeland Security’s appeal contesting the judge’s 2018 ruling.

“That decision was a 2-1 decision with a dissent to remand the case back to the immigration judge because their record that the Department of Justice keeps was woefully deficient and listed 400 plus times indiscernible as Ibrahim’s answers to questions,” he said of the board’s decision.

He said the transcriber of the 2018 audio recording “couldn’t understand 400 plus responses from Ibrahim.”

Carpenter said that “neither side asked for the case to be remanded because the entirety of the record is on a recordable device.” He’s ordered the recording, which

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA should arrive in the next week or so, and will have someone listen to it “to see what we can make of those indiscernibles.”

Carpenter said three judges on the board decided the case should be sent back “on their own volition – it wasn’t asked for on either side, the government had no issues with the record whatsoever.”

“Ibrahim won his case in 2018 - the government decided to appeal that win, it’s the government’s burden of showing that the immigration judge was wrong in 2018…So if the record doesn’t support that because it failed in some material way, you would think you would hear about that from the government and its briefs – we heard nothing, utter silence on the record,” he said.

He added that it was “peculiar” for the board to “decide to remand it on the record.”

Carpenter said an appeal will be filed with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and a motion to reopen will be filed with the Board of Immigration Appeals next week.

Parlak said that throughout the three to four hour-questioning, “there was never an issue raised” by the government attorney, the judge or any of the attorneys.

“Through the process, the only time the judge interfered with my answering, it was ‘My equipment’s not working, let’s take a break’ - other than that, there was no complaint, no warning that they are not understanding,” he said. Parlak added that when a couple points weren’t clear for the judge, she “repeated clearly what I wanted to say a couple times, when Robert wanted to clarify it, he repeated clearly what I said.” “But those are on there and the judge didn’t seem to have any problem making a decision based on that… It’s just hard to understand the Board of Immigration would come up with that reasoning to send it back - who knows how long it’s going to take to go through that process again all over,” he said. According to the Friends of Ibrahim group’s website, Parlak was active in his youth in the Kurdish human rights movement in Turkey and Europe. He returned to Turkey after being abroad for several years, where he “was arrested, tortured, charged with the crime of separatism and sentenced to death.” “He was eventually released from prison for medical reasons, and came to the U.S. seeking asylum,” the group states.

After being granted asylum in 1992, it was revoked when he applied for citizenship in the early 2000s due to a cited “supposed link to the separatist organization, Kurdistan Workers Party,” Friends of Ibrahim states.

He was arrested in July 2004 and detained for 10 months at the Calhoun County Jail in Battle Creek. After his case was heard in the immigration court, Judge Avern Cohn ordered his release on a “writ of habeas corpus” in 2005.

Since 2005, Ibrahim has been protected from deportation by the introduction of a Private Bill by Michigan Sen. Carl Levin and Rep. Fred Upton at the beginning of each new Congress, the Friends of Ibrahim Group website states.

Parlak called the latest developments “discouraging,” adding that it was the Board of Immigration that decided to reopen the case based on the “country conditions.”

“We followed all the guidance through the years, and we were hoping it would become positive from the Board of Immigration - there was no reason for the Board of Immigration to deny the case or not grant it,” he said.

Parlak said they were expecting the government would appeal it.

“But now, going back from the beginning – it was just something I wasn’t expecting.”

Joel Klass, a member of Friends of Ibrahim, said that the entire case is “mysterious.”

“The government has done virtually everything they can think of to extend this thing…You’d think it was personal but there’s been different people involved over the years – it’s certainly not the America I grew up being taught about,” he said.