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Lucas McGrail: A Man for the 21st Century; BY ANNA KROME
Topic Started: Jul 2 2009, 06:33 PM (3,775 Views)
Ms. AK
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In my quest to keep livonianeighbors a place for important news and information, I interviewed CC candidate Lucas McGrail. This is exclusive to livonianeighbors, and I hope you will direct others interested in learning more about this newcomer here.

Because the O/E has 11 CC candidates to cover equally, I knew that they would most likely not be doing much in-depth reporting as a result. They just don't have the staff or the room, but I know they'll do their best. In that light, I hope you enjoy my article.

As an aside, if you quote my article or use it somewhere other than on livonianeighbors, please provide my credit. I appreciate it.

Thanks,

Your Livonia Neighbor
Anna Krome



Lucas McGrail: A Man for the 21st Century
BY ANNA KROME
7/2/09


Livonia city council candidate Lucas McGrail may be an unknown to many residents, but he enters the field of 11 with extensive experience in big-city politics--and he intends to win. What motivated the 32-year-old architect to enter the race? According to him, it was watching the mayor and council make questionable decisions regarding Livonia development.

The plans for a new Wal-Mart at 7 Mile and Middlebelt, just four miles north of what McGrail calls the uber-Wal-Mart, was the turning point: "It's idiotic to have the same store four miles away," he said. "The community doesn't grow by building a lot of chain stores. The smaller Wal-Mart will steal business from the larger store. There will be less profit margins, less capacity--and one store might leave, creating a large empty building.

"The contractors are supposed to woo the mayor and council; yet, government seems to cozy up to anyone or anything related to business and development in the city--whether it's good or bad. In regard to the first Wal-Mart decision, there were only two renderings. There were no traffic or real estate impact studies, no storm water and waste water management plans--no light and noise pollution considerations. Large stores are a draw on Livonia's resources and power grid, which affects our quality of life. We're all in this together and big businesses need to be accountable for how they affect our environment. It's time to start looking at the next quarter-century--not just the next fiscal quarter."

McGrail moved to Livonia's Old Rosedale Gardens in 2002. He and his wife, Vicki, an administrative assistant at Livonia's TRW, chose the historic district for its architecture, charm and sense of community. "We bought a Cape Cod on Cranston," the architect says. 

The candidate, who grew up in Detroit and has a bachelor's of architecture from the University of Detroit Mercy, has an impressive resume in local and national building and renovation projects. Notably, he has held authoritative positions involving the Michigan Opera Theater's latest renovations, the DIA's Capital Plan Project and Addition, the Carlton Plaza Rehabilitation, the Novi Police Department Firing Range and, most recently, the successful Book-Cadillac restoration. On a national scale, he's done work on the Sidwell Friends School (Washington, D.C.), the Veterans' Affairs offices (Boise, ID) and Gettysburg College (Pennsylvannia).

McGrail grew up immersed in the complicated world of Detroit politics and public works. Watching his father, a civil engineer and general superintendent of water systems and new construction for the Detroit Water and Sewage Department, taught him the skills of compromise, forward-thinking, fiscal responsibility and conservation. "My father is the number-four man for the entire department, so my introduction to city politics was at a very young age," McGrail said.

In regard to his political philosophy, he says, "I was brought up to believe in helping people and making a place better than I found it. My political desires came early in life while I was in college and got involved in student government. After living in Detroit and going to school in the city, I saw how architecture and politics can become corrupted and perverted. It makes me furious when those elected act so irresponsibly when they have the fate of so many in their hands.

"Being on the council... it's not about me. It's about all Livonians--both present and future--and even those that don't end up voting for me. What finally got me in the game are the missed opportunities and lack of long-term direction for the city. The current administration has created a 'good ol' boy' network, and now they have been enslaved by their own dogma. Several on the council have hitched their star to the mayor in hopes of becoming the next mayor. "

McGrail, who says he appreciates Livonia's "togetherness" and lush greeness, sees the city lagging in land reuse, land development, disposition of city properties and proper upkeep of city property and businesses. "The Plymouth Corridor is our main drag, and it's the first impression of our city. We need to utilize that artery better with the best landscaping, lighting, upkeep and historically appropriate signage for the older buildings."

When asked about his political affiliations, he responds: "I don't like the typical labels in politics, but I have personal beliefs that are both Republican and Democrat in nature. I am more in the center. I use my personal and professional experience to interpret information and data and use that to formulate decisions. Labels, which are slapped on people, marginalize--it's about doing the right thing for everybody. It's not about who's to blame for someone's lot in life."

Recently laid off, McGrail is on sabbatical in Virginia and planning to start an architecture consulting business when he returns to Livonia at summer's end. In addition to his professional achievements, he is considered a local expert on Detroit architecture and development and has been a guest lecturer at the DIA, the Allied Masonic Degrees, Lawrence Technical University, and the Michigan History Conference at Wayne State. He also has had guest appearances on Michigan Public Radio and Fox 2 Problem Solvers.

McGrail's political perspective is broadened by travels around the world, including to Italy and Russia. On being a young turk and reaching out to Livonia's powerful senior lobby, McGrail says, "I would put it to senior voters that I consider them the 'greatest generation' and ask them to make their own decisions. I believe in talking to constituents and engaging them. I don't believe in bullying people with scare tactics, which I see used in political races."

McGrail believes this background, combined with his experience with city officials, departments, business owners and subcontractors is just what Livonia needs.



Krome on Cars

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Momof4
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Thank you Anna! Your research and informative interview are so appreciated.

You did a great job.
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Ms. AK
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Any interest out there for more articles on other candidates? Any impressions?
Krome on Cars

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It would be good to get someone on the board with some planning experience.
“Child Abuse” means different things to different people....
----Randy Liepa 8/9/12
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Adventures in trespassing
Urban explorers boldly go where nobody's supposed to go anymore.

By Erick Trickey


Lucas McGrail walks into the front lobby of Detroit’s Michigan Central Station and steps over a sandstone wall panel that lies in pieces on the floor. Pigeons flee their perches near the ceiling far above, their wingflaps echoing loudly through the huge, empty room. McGrail looks down at the sandstone and points out the mason’s grease pencil marks, from the 1910s, on the exposed edge. He picks up a half-full bottle of water and squirts it onto the grimy floor.

"There’s beauty still, under this crap," he says. He rubs his foot in the muddy spot until it clears, revealing marble under the dirt.

A faint boom resounds behind the building – the sound of concrete being crushed as workers tear up the train yard to lay track for a new rail development. Outside, beyond the space where the station’s great bronze doors once stood, cars roll by along Michigan Avenue. Above the doorway, tall windows are pocked with bullet holes.

"Yeah, it’s messy. Yeah, it’s filthy," McGrail says, looking at the faded remnants of a mural on one wall, bricks crashed to the floor, broken glass and dust everywhere. "But guys like me look at it and say, yeah, it could come back."

Architectural adventurers

McGrail is part of a daredevil Detroit underground, compelled to sneak into abandoned buildings to explore the fading grandeur of the city’s past. Some are looking for adventure, some are curious about Detroit’s architecture, and some see themselves as historians, documenting their explorations on the Web.

They have counterparts around the world, fellow adventurers who risk injury and arrest to visit forbidden places. A Web ring operated by the magazine Infiltration (see related Netropolis column dated 7/14/99) links local explorers with people who explore the sewers of Paris and search for Toronto’s lost subway station.

The extremes that shaped Detroit in the 20th century have made it an especially fascinating city for trespassing explorers. The auto industry’s immense wealth created one of the country’s largest collections of pre-Depression skyscrapers, and the stunning abandonment of the city has left many of them empty – gray monuments to lost promise.

"Anyone who’s into ruins recognizes Detroit as the foremost capital of elegant ruins (in the country)," says local artist Lowell Boileau. His Web site, The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit, draws international attention to the city’s abandoned architecture.

"I don’t think there’s any place in the world with contemporary ruins of such grandeur and elegance," he says.

Not far from some of downtown’s abandoned landmarks is Pure Detroit, a city-themed store. Co-owner Bill Atwood says, "I think (exploring buildings has) become really popular in certain circles down here. I don’t think there’s any major building that hasn’t already been explored."

The Michigan Central Station is undoubtedly the most-visited abandoned building in Detroit. Eighteen stories tall, it towers ominously, impossible to ignore in the daytime, looming and ghostly at night.

Though the station was closed in 1987, many people found easy ways to get into it throughout much of the ‘90s. The station has attracted curiosity seekers, rail fans and paintballers – as well as skinheads, gang members, vandals and homeless people. It’s hosted an underground rave, a well-publicized art exhibit and even fashion shoots.

Now, it’s harder to visit; the company that manages the station has it under regular surveillance, and the train yard behind it is often full of workers.

Grave robbers and artists

Many people just explore the train station and leave it at that. But some get the urge to see more.

David Kohrman, a history major at Western Michigan University, drives from Kalamazoo to Detroit every few weeks to explore old hotels and theaters and meet with other explorers. His Web site, "Forgotten Detroit", features interior photos of several buildings, including the Statler Hotel and the Adams and United Artists theaters. He’s stood on the roof of the 33-story Book-Cadillac Hotel on Michigan Avenue, enjoying the view of downtown. During his search of the hotel, he found wine cellars that were still fully stocked – as well as foul-smelling beer and food storage areas, the latter still full of 15-year-old oranges and olives.

He’s seen the hotel’s third-floor ballroom, with its two-story arched windows, beautiful plasterwork decorations, rows of balconies and two giant chandeliers.

A few blocks to the north, he’s admired the United Artists Theater’s Spanish Gothic design mixed with statues of Indian maidens, arms stretched to hold up the ceiling.

But the buildings have all decayed since they were closed; many of his photos show water-damaged walls or acoustic-tile ceilings and ventilation ducts that have collapsed onto the floors.

Kohrman and the other explorers say they won’t break into sealed buildings, and most say they won’t take anything except paper items, such as old stationery. They want to see the places preserved, and won’t do anything that damages them.

"I only go in buildings that are obviously open to trespass," says Atwood.

Kohrman tagged along when the city opened the Statler Hotel and the Kales Building on Grand Circus Park for developers’ tours. Otherwise he, too, looks for entrances opened by others. He says he once had a dream about going into the United Artists’ Theater – then drove there and found a door unlocked.

Once inside, Kohrman takes pictures for his Web site, which he sees as a way to call people’s attention to the abandoned structures downtown.

"My motivation is to try to help people remember what I see as being forgotten buildings, to remember the history of these buildings, what these buildings meant to the city" – and, he says, to "expose what’s happened to them, all the vandalism, theft, the carelessness of the owners."

In the past few years, he says, the chandeliers in the Book-Cadillac’s once-grand ballroom have been lowered to the floor so people could take the crystals. At the UA Theater, two of the Indian maidens have been sliced in half, their top halves gone; the faces of two others have been chiseled off.

In addition to souvenir hunters, people searching for scrap metal have ripped pipes out of walls and taken apart elevator motors for the copper inside. Kohrman calls the building strippers "thieves," "swine," and "grave robbers."

"I just can’t believe that someone would be so stupid. Not only are you stealing something from the building’s owner – common theft – you’re also reducing the building’s chance of being renovated. You played a role in denying future generations the enjoyment of that building, stealing a building from the world, from everybody else."

Though other explorers share Kohrman’s respect and concern for the buildings, they say different impulses motivate their explorations.

For Lucas McGrail, it’s the challenge. "I have kind of an adventurous nature. It’s the explorer in me."

And indeed, his descriptions of his forays into the train station and downtown theaters make him sound like an urban Indiana Jones. While the train station’s immensity was "humbling," he says, the small spaces of the theaters were "unnerving." With no windows, he found himself in perfect darkness inside – and discovered that the closed-off spaces were surprisingly cold.

"In the Adams Theater, we were really in the dark, and it was 10 or 15 degrees colder inside. At the United Artists Theater, inside we could see our breath in mid-summer."

Inspiration, preservation, hesitation

Another reason for exploring old ruins is to gain artistic inspiration, notes Lowell Boileau. Something about Detroit’s dying buildings seems to inspire many artists, photographers and musicians, he notes.

"There’s something magical about finding someplace that was a very active place, very elegantly appointed architecturally, and to see it in decay," Boileau says. "There’s some sort of bizarre appeal to it that probably doesn’t have a name."

While these explorers talk passionately about wanting to see historic buildings preserved, they’re pessimistic that Detroit’s leaders will ever make an effort to do so.

"Nothing is too far gone. You can rebuild anything if you have the money and interest to do so," insists Atwood, who is himself restoring a house in Brush Park. "But you have to be realistic. In Detroit there are a lot of buildings that I don’t think ever would be restored. I don’t think the will is here to do that."

Boileau says he’s seen too many plans to save downtown buildings fall through; he figures most of the ruins of Detroit are destined for demolition.

"A few of them will survive," he says. "But there are so many, the devastation is so widespread, and the need for Detroit to move on is so imperative – they’re doomed, I’m certain."

Danger afoot

On the train station’s fifth floor, the carpeted floor of one old office is almost impassable, covered with building debris. Some wall panels have been smashed and knocked to the floor; they’ve shattered along the marble’s grain into long, rough vertical shards.

Vandals have broken practically every window in the station, and when you stand at certain doorways, the wind creates a constant stormlike blast.

At one end of the hallway, a couple named Jeremy and Victoria have written a pledge of their love in what looks like red-brown paint on the terra-cotta floor. McGrail spits on the outside of the heart and rubs it; the brown stuff darkens. "It’s blood," he says, holding his finger to the letters: They’re as wide as a fingertip.

It’s not the only blood he’s seen in the station. He once found a pool of blood near the shards of a broken window, with a trail of drops leading back to the stairs.

Injuries, self-inflicted or not, are on the explorers’ minds.

"I’ve seen people whack their heads because they weren’t wearing hard hats," McGrail says. "At the United Artists Theater, one piece of steel was hanging at an odd angle. I cut myself along the hairline and started to bleed." Once, he says, he was exploring the Metropolitan Building, near Harmonie Park, with a woman who slipped and wrenched her ankle.

"I’m always worried in a building that I’ll find a body or something," he adds, telling the word-of-mouth story about people looking for scrap metal in a Detroit warehouse and discovering the skeleton of a paintball player, in paint-splattered combat fatigues, at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

The closest he’s come to finding a body was on another trip to the Metropolitan Building. He was outside a kitchen, and he saw a 4-foot shelf cut out of the wall where the cook would set out food to be served. The space in the wall was closed off with a coiled metal grille.

"I was trying to open it when I noticed, on the other side, something gray, like a sausage. It was a finger." He yelled in surprise, scaring his exploring companion – then wrapped up the finger and turned it in at a police station.

Urban explorers take risks they don’t suggest others take. "I don’t recommend that anybody do this," says Josh Kahl, a pizza deliveryman from Detroit who explores with Kohrman and has put up his own exploration Web site.

"The people that do it, we’re all nuts. There’s something wrong with us."

Once, climbing through a building, Kahl had to stop every few floors and breathe out a window. "You’re breathing in stagnant foul air that in some cases hasn’t been circulated in 10 years," says Kahl.

There’s also the danger of breathing in asbestos. When Kohrman left the Book-Cadillac after exploring its roof, asbestos was caked all over his boots.

And yes, there’s the risk of getting caught. Kohrman has heard of people caught in the train station receiving tickets from police, and Detroit Police Lt. Thomas Walton of the First Precinct, which covers downtown, says people caught entering a building illegally can be charged with a misdemeanor, possibly punishable by fines and jail time.

But downtown police aren’t used to looking for abandoned building explorers, and while he’s encountered building strippers, Walton says he hasn’t heard about anyone sneaking into downtown commercial buildings because of an interest in architecture.

"If somebody can get into one of these buildings because it’s not secure, I’m not even sure how they might be discovered," Walton admits. But because the recent schoolgirl rapes have raised concern about people lurking in abandoned buildings, police are required to drive by the ones in their precincts to make sure they’re closed up.

Train station visitors also risk arrest, says Todd White, a real estate representative for Properties Management of Warren. White’s company manages the station for its owner, Control Terminals, Inc. – one of the business interests of Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel Maroun. The company used to grant permission for people such as photography groups and architecture students to visit the building, but not anymore; some visitors "very badly abused" their access to the station, he says.

"When the police see someone in the building, they have instructions to arrest them," says White. "They call us, and we decide whether or not to prosecute, and we have been prosecuting."

Forgotten faces

Even if they’re not worried about cops, the explorers are wary of who else they’ll meet. Homeless people, who probably open up most of the ways into buildings, generally leave explorers alone. One explorer says she once stumbled upon someone’s belongings in an empty warehouse, including kitty litter for a pet cat.

Most explorers have met a homeless man named Catfish, who lived in the train station until recently. He had running water to drink and wash his clothes in – flowing constantly from a pipe in the recently demolished train sheds just outside.

Kohrman says he and a friend once went into an office on the 16th floor of the United Artists’ Building and found a locked door and some newspapers from a few days before.

"We’re standing five feet from the door talking, and all of a sudden the door opens, a homeless lady’s staring at us, for like five seconds we’re staring at her. She slams the door, locks it. We were out of there."

More worrisome is the risk of running into the people who leave bullet holes in the train station. McGrail says Catfish showed him spent shell casings from a dozen different kinds of ammunition, including ammo from an AK-47, left by people who’ve used the station as a free-for-all shooting gallery.

Considering the risks, Kohrman says he doesn’t think people should explore buildings for the thrill.

"I don’t care for the idea of people going into places for adventure, especially downtown buildings, because I don’t think it’s that much of an adventure. It is just a building," he says. "You’re walking from room to room looking around."

But he sees his own explorations and his Web site as his true work, more than the part-time jobs where he makes money. He hopes for a career in historic preservation, and he considers it part of his calling to publicize the troubled state of Detroit’s architectural heritage.

"Some people like to be soldiers – that’s a risky job – or they like being cops. I like historic buildings. I have a particular interest in ones that are closed up. I want to do whatever it takes to bring their history and their present plight to people’s attention."

For him, his mission is worth the risk. "I am a little cautious. If I see something that looks suspect, I don’t go near it, but ... If I ever got injured in a building, or killed, at least I’m doing what I like."

On the fifth floor of the train station, Lucas McGrail walks carefully through the shards of marble, toward the stairs. He’s wearing a hard hat, a heavy coat, gloves and boots – and he’s talking about the curiosity seekers he’s seen in the station, some of them dressed in shorts and sandals.

"Some people think it’s fun, not dangerous," he says. "I’m afraid someone’s going to take something in the head and they’re going to die. One person gets killed, it’s going to ruin it for the rest of us."
“Child Abuse” means different things to different people....
----Randy Liepa 8/9/12
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Wedding album reunites with couple after 20 years lost

Sunday, August 29, 2004
By Tom RademacherThe Grand Rapids Press

Of the scant keepsakes commemorating their wedding of nearly 44 years ago, Ray and Marie Duflo treasured their photo album most. So when it turned up missing during a move they made more than two decades ago, they mourned its loss with heavy hearts. Then, one day recently, Marie picked up the phone and heard a stranger's voice asking if a Ray Duflo lived there.
"Yes."
"Is this his wife, the former Marie Huntley?"
"Yes."
"And were you married November 26, 1960, in Marshall, Mich.?
"Yes."
"Well madam, then I have something you might find interesting."
"Oh really. And what is that?"
"I have your wedding album."

The voice on the other end belonged to Lucas McGrail, an architect and history buff who discovered the Duflos' photo album atop a workbench in his wife's uncle's garage near Detroit.

"Bottom line is that Uncle Fred has always been something of a pack rat," said McGrail, noting that more than 20 years ago, Fred Kroll found the wedding album within a box of books alongside Int. 94 as he was driving from Chicago to his home in East Detroit.

Kroll initially made attempts to reunite the album with its owners, but gave up when his search -- unaided then by the Internet -- yielded nothing.

"He set it on top of a workbench with a lot of other junk on top," said McGrail, who discovered the box while helping his relative clean his garage. He asked his uncle-in-law if he might rekindle efforts to find the owners.

"Sure, take it," Kroll told him.

McGrail was further motivated when he gleaned from data contained in the wedding album that his own date of birth in 1974 -- Nov. 26 -- was the same date not only as the Duflos' wedding in 1960, but also the birthday of the Duflos' firstborn son, in 1961. Twenty minutes after firing up his computer, he had narrowed his search to Raymond Duflo of Sand Lake.

Although that's where the Duflos now reside, it's only the most recent in a long line of addresses Ray, 65, and Marie, 63, have owned since they wed and had four children. Business opportunities took them to Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, the Gun Lake area, Grand Rapids and Roscommon.

So, the Duflos aren't entirely shocked to reason that they lost their wedding album during a move, presumably around 1980. "But we have no idea how that box ended up on Int. 94," says Marie. What they do know is that they'll be taking better care of the album. It holds about a dozen black-and-white 8-by-10-inch shots of their special day. And nearly as important for Marie is that she's pictured walking down the aisle with her late father, Thomas Huntley.

It's one of just a couple photos she has of a man who was a "kind and gentle" father to Marie and her 13 brothers and sisters as they were growing up in Presque Isle County, located in northeast Michigan.

"I was so devastated because those were pictures we couldn't replace," said Marie. "When we lost it, we searched for hours. Did I shed tears? I'm sure I did." When McGrail mailed the wedding album to the Duflos last month from his Farmington Hills business address, the bound box also contained a raggedy cookbook as well as six yearbooks chronicling the Duflos' respective high school days.

"We spent a whole night going through those yearbooks," Marie said.

McGrail, who describes himself as a "self-educated Detroit historian," said he merely followed the Golden Rule. "I figured that if I ever lost or misplaced ours, I would hope that someone would do that for us."

Although the Duflos say they plan to reward McGrail for his persistence, the Livonia resident says that knowing the Duflos are now reunited with their mementos is thanks enough.

Meanwhile, if the Duflos move again, the wedding album isn't riding out the trip in some box.
It'll rest, said Marie, on her lap.

Tom Rademacher's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. E-mail him at trademacher@grpress.com.
“Child Abuse” means different things to different people....
----Randy Liepa 8/9/12
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Otis B.
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Lucas sounds like a true "maverick," to use a cliched political term. Thanks so much for this informative profile.
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Otis B.
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I am curious what he - as an expert on architecture and development - thought of the annexation proposal. Any idea Anna?
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Ms. AK
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Yes, I did ask him about the Annexation. I was saving his response for perhaps a follow-up piece, but here you go. Please realize, also, that I have no role in his campaign. I do like his ideas, and I do feel that he could provide exactly what the CC is missing--an insider's understanding of community development, true experience in negotiating with contractors, builders, business owners and politicians. He seems to be an independent thinker and he's smart.

This is Lucas McGrail's response to my question regarding his stance on the Annexation proposal. This is a direct quote:

Lucas McGrail wrote: "My perception of the Annexation... well I voted against it. I was against it because of the following reasons:

1. The proposed retail development seemed ill-conceived considering Michigan's economic climate at the time.

2. There was, again, no environmental or infrastructure impact studies to support the proposed redevelopment.

3. If it did go through, there was absolutely no guarantee that Livonians would get any of the construction jobs or permanent jobs, plus the quality of the permanent jobs would not be great.

4. The developer did an end-run around proper channels, and it was clear that he was attempting to dictate how Livonia would grow and develop as a city. The only group that has that right are Livonians.

5. The overall plan and concept was poorly planned and researched.

6. No anchor tenants were on board at the time this plan tried to be rammed through.

7. It would have stolen business from Laurel Park Mall, thus having Livonia compete against itself (just like with the double Wal-Mart issue)

8. It would have been an environmental disaster with respects to loss of open space, water filtration, storm water run off, wetlands, and related wild life.
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Mrs.M
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Unless there is an error in the Livonia City Clerk's records..

Of course, the records only show IF an elector voted not HOW.

The only 'newcomer' City Council candidates who voted on August 05, 2008 on which the Annexation Proposal was listed are

In alphabetical order

Stephen Crosby
Christopher Martin
Mark McCusker
Glenn Moon
Lynda Scheel



If you all recall there were many registered voters with a LOT of good intentions for the last School Board Election. ^o)
I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG.
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Momof4
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Anna Krome
Jul 7 2009, 12:03 PM



3. If it did go through, there was absolutely no guarantee that Livonians would get any of the construction jobs or permanent jobs, plus the quality of the permanent jobs would not be great.


This is an argument I had during the annexation debate. Only now have I thought of an add on to the argument - our own LPS doesn't employ only Livonians.
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Ms. AK
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Two comments on city council candidate Lucas McGrail:

1. Lucas McGrail was born in November, 1974--he is 34--not 32, as I reported in my above article--Lucas McGrail: A Man for the 21st Century.

2. In regard to the annexation vote, McGrail says that he and his wife made sure that they were in town for the annexation vote, and that they did, indeed, vote against the annexation, as I quoted in my above post on the topic. I am told that the city clerk is incorrect in regard to this particular voting record.

Thanks,

Anna Krome
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Mrs.M
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Anna Krome
Jul 7 2009, 06:23 PM
Two comments on city council candidate Lucas McGrail:


2. In regard to the annexation vote, McGrail says that he and his wife made sure that they were in town for the annexation vote, and that they did, indeed, vote against the annexation, as I quoted in my above post on the topic. I am told that the city clerk is incorrect in regard to this particular voting record.

I would then highly suggest that McGrail and all other current and potential candidates pull at least their own voters record/history and investigate any discrepancies they may notice. I know from the past an candidates voting record is public information and can be a blessing or a curse.

Hopefully McGrail will be able to get this minor issue taken care of as the clerk's office does maintain the ledgers from the various precincts and it would be easy enough to verify an error.
I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG.
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Mrs.M
Jul 7 2009, 02:18 PM
Unless there is an error in the Livonia City Clerk's records..

Of course, the records only show IF an elector voted not HOW.

The only 'newcomer' City Council candidates who voted on August 05, 2008 on which the Annexation Proposal was listed are

In alphabetical order

Stephen Crosby
Christopher Martin
Mark McCusker
Glenn Moon
Lynda Scheel



If you all recall there were many registered voters with a LOT of good intentions for the last School Board Election. ^o)
Mrs. M, I have learned that the voter lists from the clerk's office are not all that accurate. Many people who vote are somehow left off the list. It happened to several people I know who voted in the recent BOE election, yet their names did not appear on the list. It has happened in other elections, too.
Edited by Extra Olives, Jul 8 2009, 12:23 PM.
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Ms. AK
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http://electmcgrail.blogspot.com/

The above was just forwarded to me.
Krome on Cars

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Lucas McGrail
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Good evening everyone.
This is Lucas McGrail, candidate for Livonia City council, I would like to thank all the people who took the time to read Ms. Krome's interview about me as well as thank you for your positive support. I would also like to thank everyone who has viewed the interview as well. So far, there has been almost 700 hits in just over a week. I feel that is a tremendous step in the right direction for the media portion of my campaign. I would just like to remind everyone that I have a Facebook page, LinkedIn page, a blogspot blog and an email address that you can use to contact me. The search windows on FB and LinkedIn will find me, the blogspot address was listed by Ms. Krome and my email address is electmcgrail@yahoo.com. I want to hear from you. So many incarnations of the city council and the school board turn a deaf ear to the citizens, all citizens, so it's no wonder that so many citizens and voters have become disenfranchised with the political process. Of the nearly 75 000 register voters, only 37% voted in the last election for city council. My earnest hope is that I can be a candidate that will show people that its not about being on the left or the right, its about doing right... for all of Livonia. I hope that I can energize people and get them excited about the process again. The French priest Gabriel Richard once said, in 1805, Speramus Meliora which, in Latin, means "We hope for better things" and that has become the motto of my campaign. For those who have decided to vote for me, I thank you. For those who aren't sure, I trust that if you would like to know more about me, that you will ask. I want to serve in the community's best interests, and with your help, I can make that a reality. Thank you for your time and attention.
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LPS Reformer
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The schools exist to educate, not employ.
Would you be in favor of Livonia posting the salaries of all it's employees online?
“Child Abuse” means different things to different people....
----Randy Liepa 8/9/12
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Lucas McGrail
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Jul 16 2009, 07:54 PM
Would you be in favor of Livonia posting the salaries of all it's employees online?
Good evening LPS Reformer
Thank you for addressing me directly with your question. That is a tough question based solely on how you asked it. Do you mean for all of its employees as a blanket statement, or just its elected officials? Do you mean to have the salaries listed by the employees name and position with specific salaries or just the current filled positions with the current salary range? If you would just clarify I could give a more detailed response.

However, if you would like a response to your question based solely on what you have written, then I believe that posting that information on line would be redundant. If I am not mistaken, city records like that are, by law, required to be provided if a citizen files a Freedom of Information Act request. So my follow up question is why would the information need to be available through FOIA and also on-line?

I look forward to your clarifications so I may better respond to your question.
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uh-oh
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So, are you on the right or the left? Critical to me!
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Ms. AK
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Lucas McGrail
Jul 16 2009, 11:07 PM
LPS Reformer
Jul 16 2009, 07:54 PM
Would you be in favor of Livonia posting the salaries of all it's employees online?
Good evening LPS Reformer
Thank you for addressing me directly with your question. That is a tough question based solely on how you asked it. Do you mean for all of its employees as a blanket statement, or just its elected officials? Do you mean to have the salaries listed by the employees name and position with specific salaries or just the current filled positions with the current salary range? If you would just clarify I could give a more detailed response.

However, if you would like a response to your question based solely on what you have written, then I believe that posting that information on line would be redundant. If I am not mistaken, city records like that are, by law, required to be provided if a citizen files a Freedom of Information Act request. So my follow up question is why would the information need to be available through FOIA and also on-line?

I look forward to your clarifications so I may better respond to your question.
Here's an editorial from the recent DetNews to provide some perspective on why it is imperative that the public no longer be required to FOIA for what is, afterall, the public's information.

Even the conservative DetNews says that it is high-time local government entities, including school districts, put all expenditures, including salaries, online for taxpayer review. The paper even encourages vigilant taxpayers, such as those on livonianeighbors, to demand what is, afterall, public information. The necessity to FOIA for public information must end.


http://www.detnews.com/article/20090714/OPINION01/907140311/1008/opinion01/Editorial--Here-comes-the-sun


Editorial: Here comes the sun
Movement to bring transparency to public spending is gaining real momentum

7/14/9
The Detroit News

In a short time, transparency in public spending has become the expectation rather than the exception. And now that the U.S. House and Senate are just a step away from passing a transparency law that would place office budgets -- including travel costs and staffer names and salaries -- online for all to see, we have one question for any unit of government that prefers to keep its spending in the dark: What's there to hide?

Elected leaders, whether statewide or nationally, have been bold in making their expenditures public.

While the Congress is expected to pass its transparency law by the end of the summer, the Michigan Legislature already posts its office spending online, as do Attorney General Mike Cox and Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, who got the transparency movement rolling in Michigan.

Even Gov. Jennifer Granholm has adopted limited transparency.

But if transparency is going to filter down to the local level, it'll be because vigilant taxpayers and voters demand to know that their money is being put to good use.
Public money, let's remember, is taxpayer money.

And with Michigan's unemployment rate approaching 15 percent, we simply can't afford the wasteful spending that is allowed to flourish when there's no oversight.

President Barack Obama has made the wages of the White House staff available online. Surely a city like Detroit -- not to mention its school system -- could do the same.
Krome on Cars

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