Monthly Archives: September 2014

Supervisor Gonser once again demonstrates his ignorance of the Planning Process

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At the August 12, 2014 Oakland Township Board meeting Supervisor Gonser made statements regarding the Planning Commission’s historical approval of developments in our Township.  He used his arguments to justify changes to the members on the Planning Commission.

At the September 2, 2014 Planning Commission meeting, Planning Commission Chairman, James Carter, challenged the accuracy of the Supervisor’s comments.  Carter demonstrated that Supervisor Gonser’s allegations are not true, and that Gonser does not understand the Planning Process.

During the discussions that occurred at the August 12 Board meeting, Supervisor Gonser made several negative comments about the current Planning Commission.  These comments were used to justify appointing three new members to the Planning Commision (in addition to the two relatively new members that they appointed previously).  The Planning Commission consists of seven members.  There are now only two experienced Commission members as they undertake revisions to our Township Master Plan.

Supervisor Gonser said:

“The Planning Commission never turned down a subdivision in this Township – not one.  Every subdivision that was proposed was approved.”

“Residents are treated very disrespectfully”

At the September 2 Planning Commission meeting, Chairman James Carter first explained that the Supervisor’s statements were not true, and they reflect the Supervisor’s lack of understanding of the Planning Process.  Carter went into a very good description of the Planning Process that clearly refutes the Supervisor’s claims. Please watch the attached video.

As a former Oakland Township Planning Commissioner for over 26 years, the Planning Process had never been a ‘political’ one.  We were required to ensure that any development that came before us met the  State and Local ordinances.  We listened to the citizens, but the laws and ordinances ‘trumped’ the opinions of the Planning Commissioners and the citizens.  If the Township Board wanted to reject a development for political reasons, that was their prerogative, not the Planning Commission’s.  Supervisor Gonser does not understand that, and wants to politicize the Planning Commission. He is doing so by his appointments to the Planning Commission.  If the decisions the Planning Commission makes are based on politics and not conformance to laws and ordinances,  the already high legal expenses (that Township is paying since the new Board came into power) will continue to climb.

Gonser’s accusation that the Planning Commission has treated the residents disrespectfully is far from factual.  Chair James Carter is the epitome of professionalism.  On the contrary, Gonser has demonstrated his lack of respect for citizens on many occasions.  Here are several examples:

  • His refusal to allow former Trustee Keyes to speak at a Board meeting – violating the Board’s bylaws.
  • His failure to talk to the two ZBA members (Phelps and Platz) he decided not to reappoint last year. These individuals found out about Gonser’s decision through chance encounters with others in the community.
  • A similar example this past month when he decided not to reappoint one of our firefighters to the ZBA (Charles Beach).  This individual is dedicated to our Township and puts his life on the line for our Township citizens.
  • His allowing some of his ‘supporters’ to speak for more than the 3 minute time limit defined in the by-laws.  ‘Adversaries’ are ‘hooked off’ at three minutes.
  • His initial refusal to allow Planning Chair, James Carter, to speak early at the August 12 Board meeting so Carter could go to the hospital to be with his family since his father-in-law was in the hospital ‘with his chest open’.

With these actions, Gonser’s accusations of the Planning Commission are hypocritical.

Here is a video of excerpts from the two meetings discussed above.  James Carter provides a very good description of the Planning Process.

Why is this important to the citizens of Oakland Township?  The accusations made by Gonser reflect his lack of understanding of the Planning Process, yet he wants to provide ‘strategic direction’ to the Planning Commission. There are many more examples of his lack of knowledge in the links at the end of this post.

The Supervisor considers himself omniscient and omnipotent.  The other Staff members and Board members need to both ‘enlighten’ him and ‘control’ him, since he has demonstrated that he is neither.

His mistreatment of citizens proves the point:

Actions vs words icon

 

Richard Michalski

Here are some related links that were previously posted on this website:

Supervisor Gonser demonstrates his lack of sensitivity and professionalism

Supervisor Gonser violates Board Bylaws and Mrs. Keyes right to speak

Did Supervisor Gonser try to mislead the citizens, or was he ignorant of the facts?

Zoning? – Gonser Doesn’t Understand our Master Plan Either.

Supervisor Gonser demonstrates his lack of knowledge of Oakland Township Zoning

Supervisor Gonser’s REAL views on trails, pathways, bike paths and environmental protection

Gonser hears from former Zoning Board of Appeals members

Trustee Giannangeli falsely accuses Planning Commission Chairman James Carter of lying yet Giannangeli was the one who lied

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At the August 12, 2014 Oakland Township Board meeting, Trustee Giannangeli defended the appointments the Supervisor wanted to make to the Planning Commission by denigrating his fellow Planning Commission members.

At the September 2, 2014 Planning Commission meeting, Planning Commission Chairman, James Carter asked Giannangeli to explain his comments to the entire Planning Commission.  John not only denied saying what he said, but called James Carter a liar and then refused to explain his accusations.  He did not have the courage to express his concerns ‘in person’ with his fellow Planning Commission members.

During the discussions that occurred at the August 12 Board meeting, Trustee John Giannangeli made several negative comments about the Planning Commission. These comments were used to justify appointing three new members to the Planning Commission (in addition to the two relatively new members that they appointed previously). The Planning Commission consists of seven members. There are now only two experienced Commission members as they undertake revisions to our Township Master Plan.

Trustee John Giannangeli is a member of the Planning Commission.  He made a recommendation at the Board meeting that the Township should set ‘term limits’ for the Planning Commission and other positions in the Township. He also made the following statement about the Planning Commission:

“They think they own the Township, not the residents. I sit on the Planning Commission and I listen to those comments they make sometimes and I keep my mouth shut.”

At the September 2 Planning Commission meeting, Chairman James Carter asked Trustee John Giannangeli to explain the comments he made at the August 12 meeting. Giannangeli denied that he recommended ‘term limits’ for the Planning Commission members, even though the recording of that meeting indicated that he had made that recommendation. Giannangeli even accused Carter of lying!

When Carter asked Giannangeli to explain his comment about the Planning Commission acting like “they own” the Township, Giannangeli got very defensive and refused to explain the comment he had made at the August 12 meeting. He appears to only have the courage or ‘backbone’ to express his opinion when he has others present to defend him!

Here is a video of the discussions that occurred at both the August 12 & September 2 meeting:

Why is this important to the citizens of Oakland Township?   Oakland Township is a highly desirable community. This did not happen by accident. The past Planning Commission members played a major role in making Oakland Township what it is. Our Supervisor wants to change it by appointing new people to the Planning Commission.

John Giannangeli is an UNELECTED Trustee that Supervisor Gonser nominated for the position created when Trustee McKay quit. He is also the Board’s representative on the Planning Commission.  This summer, John was voted in as a Republican candidate for Trustee for the fall general election. It was an unopposed primary race. There were two candidates for two positions, yet John Giannangeli received 31 fewer votes than the other candidate, Robin Buxar (1329 vs. 1360).

Did those 31 voters have a better understanding of who John Giannangeli really is?

The citizens will have an opportunity to vote for (or against) John this fall in the general election. Since there are two Trustee positions and no Democrats or Independents on the ballot, maybe a “write in” candidate could fill that seat and change the makeup of our Township Board.

We will have two more years of Gonser’s tyrannical leadership. However, we can impact our future NOW by finding a ‘write-in’ candidate to run against John Giannangeli this fall and take back control of the Board by replacing Gonser’s extremist ‘puppet’.

Richard Michalski

Here is a related link that is worth revisiting:

Township Board appoints John Giannangeli to vacant Trustee seat. Will the real John Giannangeli please stand up?

 

Supervisor Gonser incorrectly blames others for failure to be prepared for employee health care decision

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At the August 12, 2014 Board meeting, the Board was forced to make an uninformed decision regarding the health care plan for Township employees.  The Township employee health care plans take effect on September 1 each year.  The Board decided to ‘opt out’ of the cost share obligation of Public Act 152 of 2011, and continue the current coverage for employees. This decision was made since no one on staff looked at alternatives in time for the September 1 deadline.  They also had not looked at the carry-over plan that was approved.  The Board had virtually no time to review or make an informed decision on this matter.  This is clearly an example of poor planning on the part of our Supervisor and Township Manager.

John Giannagelli indicated that he was disappointed that they had to ‘opt out’.  He thought that maybe the 152 plan options would have been better for the Township.  Supervisor Gonser then stated:

“Unfortunately, this was not identified earlier… really last year.  It was completely missed”

Here is a video of that discussion:

Why is this important to the citizens of Oakland Township?  Terry Gonser continues to deflect any criticism on issues for which he bares responsibility.  Attempting to blame this issue on someone (our former Manager) from over a year ago does not pass the credibility test (sounds like Washington doesn’t it).

The current manager, Ann Capela, has been on staff since February, and certainly should have been able to investigate the health care options during the past 6 months.

Our supervisor has repeatedly stated how many hours he spends at the Township Hall.  His presence may actually be preventing our Township Manager from doing her work. Gonser needs to get out of the way, and let the staff do their work.  He also needs to stop blaming others.

I was once told, “Poor planning does not constitute an emergency!”  This is clearly a case of ‘poor planning’, yet our Supervisor continues to ‘fire’ the experienced planning individuals on our Planning Commission, and wants to provide the Planning Commission with his ‘strategic planning vision’.  Does he merit that trust? I think NOT!

Richard Michalski