Sumpter Township takes newspaper of record change off the table

A proposal to change the newspaper of record from the Belleville Area Independent to Associated Newspapers’ The Eagle was discussed at great length at the Jan. 22 work study session of the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees.
The agenda item, which was placed by Supervisor John Morgan, was asked to be removed from the agenda by Trustee Matthew Oddy during the regular meeting. Trustee Oddy had supported the change during the work/study discussion.
Treasurer Ken Bednark began discussion of the newspaper of record item during the work/study session.
He said he reviewed the background information and saw no monetary benefit to the township. He said the official newspaper of record gives the public constructive notice of township actions.
“We cannot as a board disenfranchise the township residents,” Treasurer Bednark said. He said he was at the Senior Center when the Independent was dropped off and people hurried to get it.
He said The Eagle stacks up by the foot.
He said The Eagle covers eight communities, but how many people even read it?
“They consider us Belleville, not part of the tri-community,” Bednark said. He said he looked at the ads and there are no advertisements in there. There are few pages and they are not covering the meetings.
Bednark said he noticed that a story will be in the Independent and a week later a rewritten version of the story will appear in The Eagle.
“I have an eye for plagarism. I saw similarities … and they weren’t even at the meeting,” he said.
“Donald Trump can’t stop the press in politics,” he continued. “If it gets too hot, you don’t belong in politics.”
He said if a person on the board has odds with the way something is reported, that person should go to the editor and talk about it. It’s not the board’s responsibility to punish the paper.
Trustee Don Swinson said he went 15-16 papers back in The Eagle and there is no Sumpter story in there.
“If we have to make a move, go out for bids,” Trustee Swinson suggested, adding there is nothing advertised in the Belleville area in The Eagle. He said a lot of people in Belleville read and use the Independent. He sees that at his work while people are waiting for their vehicles.
He said not everything is correct in the paper and, “They write what they write.”
Trustee Don LaPorte said, “This is just about legal notices. The personal stuff I could care less about.”
Trustee Oddy asked if there is a contract and the Independent said no.
Oddy said there were a lot of things that were in the paper that made trouble for the township, such as the judge going to make Sumpter opt in and give dispensary licenses to caregivers. “Not true!” he said, referring to opinions on the editorial page.
“It makes sense to go out for bids,” Oddy said.
That’s when Supervisor Morgan invited David Willett up to the microphone to speak. Willett said he is owner of Associated Newspapers and the Belleville Enterprise is one of those newspapers and the Enterprise has been publishing since 1886.
He told his life story and how he wanted to be an architect and went to California and came back to run a newspaper when his dad wanted to retire.
He said he has been told the board is “criticized by the Independent while you’re paying for it” referring to the paid legal notices required by law and the separate coverage of township government.
When LaPorte asked how many Eagles are published, Willett said it was 12,000 across its market — eight communities.
“I’ll make you happy,” Willett promised. He said they will come to Sumpter meetings and be a credible source of information.
“Sumpter wrote us off a long time ago,” Willett stated.
“I’m hard-pressed to find the word ‘Sumpter’ in your paper,” Bednark said, adding the Independent covers the tri-community.
“Not everyone is discontented with the Belleville Independent,” Bednark said.
“We try to be fair and unbiased,” Willett said.
Bednark said a lot of people use the Independent as a one-stop stop for their information.
“We can give you a Sumpter paper on line,” Willett offered.
Peggy Morgan spoke from the audience, saying she remembers when Sumpter used the Ann Arbor News, Ypsi Press, and Enterprise as newspaper of record. When Johnny Vawters was elected supervisor they changed it to the Independent.
“We’ve all been mad at the Independent,” Morgan said, but the seniors at the senior center live for that paper, “whether we like what she prints or not.” She said both papers are dropped off and a week later the Independents are all gone, but the Eagle is still there.
Morgan said when she was treasurer last summer she was asked to put the change of the newspaper of record on the agenda and told them she would think about it, but what she actually meant was, “Hell, no, I’m not going to do it.”
Adrian Slaughter asked why, all of a sudden, after 12 years of being newspaper of record, there is a problem with them.
“What is the problem?” she asked. “It’s hard to get an Independent … so now I go on line to read it.”
She asked if there was an issue with the legals or a problem and the room was silent with no criticisms of the legal notices.
Trustee Oddy said, “Things are reported inaccurately.”
“Problems with the legals not being published?” Slaughter persisted.
“Misinformation in the paper that’s your legal paper,” Oddy said. “A problem as far as I’m concerned. It’s not political. Some residents said ‘shame on you.’ My experience with you, Peggy, is you wanted to change. I would recommend it go out for a bid.”
“I’ve been watching this for several months,” said Sherry Olds. “I brought her flowers and an apology for all of you. I want to keep the paper.”
“We don’t have channel 12 up yet,” said Sheena Barnes. “We spent $62,000 and I thought it would be up.”
She said the board has personal issues.
“The key thing is we depend on our paper … because nothing is on our cable. It’s a waste of money. They don’t want the people of the township to know what’s going on.
“We see what you’re doing,” Barnes continued. “Ken Bednark, you’re a breath of fresh air. I hope you run for supervisor.
“Matt, you have to ask to talk on everything,” Barnes said. “You’re the captain. Save ’em. A person came and knocked on my door to tell me hundreds of my votes were thrown out.
“Personal issues are going on,” Barnes continued. “We can’t see what you’re doing. I can’t go on my phone and find out about Sumpter Township.”
She said people may look at her and discount her with, “She’s a mad black woman. But I just happen to be a black woman who’s mad.”
Willett said, “You have issues here that have nothing to do with me. We have not been covering Sumpter Township. You should send news releases. Putting this out for bids is a waste of time.”
“I’m sad tonight,” said Mary Sherwood. “When I read the agenda item on the newspaper of record. I love the Independent. It serves us. It tells us everything that’s going on in Belleville. Rosemary said unpleasant things about us … she’s the editor of that paper and she says things on the editorial page.
“She should tell only the truth, but if she gets bad information, a mistake is not a criminal offense… Maybe the answer to the problem is to do good things. Maybe Rosemary would like us and maybe she would say good things about us…
“In Sumpter, we love one another. We even love Rosemary… We put you up there to vote,” she said to the board. “Remember what the people of the township think.”
Trustee Tim Rush said in 2004 he became acquainted with the Rotary Club’s Four-Way Test: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build good will and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
“I’m voting no because of the Four-Way Test,” Trustee Rush said of the proposal to change the newspaper of record.
“This has been a very productive workshop,” said Oddy, noting there has been more dialog than in the past.
After a presentation on the Missoula Children’s Theater, the work/study session ended. The one-hour-and-20-minute work/study meeting was said to be the longest in Sumpter history.
In business at the regular meeting that followed, the board:
• Approved a resolution setting the township’s 2019 poverty exemptions;
• Approved a calendar year payment of $10,000 to Van Buren Township for the Belleville Area Museum, without any discussion or explanation. Sumpter has not paid its share of the museum costs for many years;
• Approved the specialized services operating assistance program third-party contract between SMART and Sumpter for fiscal year 2019;
• Approved the supervisor’s appointment of Kathie Steigerwald to the Zoning Board of Appeals with a term to expire Dec. 17, 2020. The vote was 5-2 with Bednark and Rush voting no;
• Approved renewal of Blue Care Network Healthcare Plan for Sumpter Township employees and board members at an actual cost of $326,120.40, without discussion. The cost is decreased by 3.79% because the maximum out-of-pocket has increased. It went from $1,000 to $1,500 for Single and from $2,000 to $3,000 for Family;
• Approved paying a grant-writing fee of $3,354 to JW2 Fire Consultants;
• Approved the supervisor’s appointment of Helen Teall to the Board of Review with a term to expire Jan. 1, 2022;
• Approved the Parks and Recreation Commission’s approval of Krystal Tackett as an alternate member. Background check has been completed; and
• At the very end of the meeting, heard Peggy Morgan ask everyone present to hold up their hands if they supported keeping the Independent as newspaper of record. All but two in the audience raised their hands.