Residents near Dearborn’s Crowley Park pool will have to find a new place to swim until further notice because of major leaks in the pool’s pipes, Dearborn officials announced Friday.

The costs to repair the pool aren’t yet known but with the city budget already stressed, repairing pool pipes might prove to be too difficult of a task this fiscal year.

City officials say the leak in the Crowley Park pool had been identified and announced earlier this year but the extent of the damage could not be determined until the city began prepping it to open for the season. Two leaks in the hull of the pool were repaired earlier this month.

Dearborn says the new leaks are in the pipes and if not repaired would cause the loss of thousands of gallons of water each day and undermine the integrity of the pool deck. The leaks are in the pipes that are connected to the filtration system, which must be operating for swimmers to use the pool.

The city’s five other outdoor neighborhood pools will open as scheduled tomorrow, June 12. (Levagood and Ford Woods park pools already opened for the season.)

A more extensive evaluation of the situation at Crowley Park pool could take place as early as the week of June 14 by NSA, the engineering firm that has been working with the city to conduct general assessments of all Dearborn city pools.

The city will review NSA’s recommendations and potential cost for repairs before determining a course of action regarding the pool. These discussions will include the timeframe of the repairs and the pool’s possible reopening.

For more information about Crowley Park pool, as well as Dearborn’s seven other public pools, call the Recreation Department at 313-943-2350.

Garage sales fans should plan to make their way over to the Dearborn Hills neighborhood today and Saturday. You will find all sorts of great bargins and all in one place. The sales begin at 9 a.m. and run until 5 p.m.

Happy garage sale shopping.

The Dearborn Hills garage sale map.

For the list of homes to date participating in the sale, you can click HERE or for a map, click the image at right.

At least 135 homeowners experienced basement flooding after heavy storms over the weekend and with more storms predicted for tonight things could get worse.

In a city press release, Dearborn says “the City’s initial analysis of the storm events show that the City’s sewers worked properly. The review is continuing.”

The city press release continues stating this:

“Following about 3 inches of rain from 8 p.m. Saturday to 2:30 a.m. Sunday, about 80 homes flooded in southeast Dearborn and another 50 in northeast Dearborn (as reported by Monday morning).

“Additionally, five homes on Nowlin in west Dearborn experienced basement flooding. Although no blockage was initially found, crews were videotaping sewers in that area on Monday as part of the further review.

“Other reports were coming in from homeowners around the City on Monday afternoon.

“As of 4 p.m. Monday, it does not appear as if the City’s sewers failed or were blocked in any areas of Dearborn.

“Affected residents should contact their homeowner’s or renter’s insurance companies to determine whether they have coverage for basement flooding claims.

“If residents with flooded basements believe that the City of Dearborn’s sewers were defective, then under state law, they have 45 days from the event to file a claim with the city’s Legal Department.

“No claim may be made after 45 days. Call the Legal Department at 313-943-2035.

You can read the entire release from the city of Dearborn by clicking the link below.

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Some residents say Dearborn's new swivel sirens aren't loud enough.

Dearborn’s early warning sirens were activated last night to warn residents of the violent storms and tornadoes in the area but it appears some homes still had trouble hearing the sirens.

We wrote about Dearborn’s new siren system in March 2009 and how extra swivel sirens were being installed to fill in the “sound” gaps in the city. Based on some of the comments sent here to Deepsaidwhat.com, it appears the sirens still may not be loud enough. 

” . . . does anybody know the story on the tornado sirens?,” asked one reader. “I was up last night and the only way I knew about the Tornado Warning was because it ran across the tv because the rain was so loud and my a/c was on. Methinks the siren should be loud enough to be heard over rain and air conditioning considering when we have bad storms resulting in tornados, people usually have on their a/c due to the humidity and heat and there is generally hard rain. How do we go about getting that fixed??”

Another reader wrote this:

” . . . i know what you mean, I opened the door last night to listen, and the new siren system sounded like it was coming from 40 miles away! I liked the old ones better, they went WOWOWOWOOOOOOWOWOWOOOOOOOOO very loud, why on earth did the city have to go and replace them? this is so stupid!”

You can read our earlier story on this subject and why some might still be having difficulty hearing the warning sirens by clicking HERE.

A former supervisor in the Dearborn Building and Safety Department, who in April pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and resigned from his city job, has been sentenced to 45 days in jail, two years of probation and $1,400 in court costs and fines.

Andrew Pizzino

Andrew Pizzino, as the Dearborn Times Herald points out, is the highest-ranking city employee yet to face jail time for “on-the-job corruption.” You can read the entire Times Herald article by clicking HERE.

Robert Deberardino, another former department supervisor, who is charged with aiding and abetting Pizzino, has yet to be sentenced. The Times Herald reports that attorneys for Deberardino are “appealing a district court decision that denied a motion to have the city’s legal department removed from the prosecution on technical grounds that city attorneys can’t prosecute fellow city employees.”

As for Pizzino, Chief Judge Mark Somers of the 19th District Court levied the maximum permitted on the penalties, except for the jail time, which could have been extended to 90 days.

Prior to his sentencing by Somers, the Times Herald reports that Pizzino apologized for his actions. Pizzino told the court he could have avoided this matter had he gone before the city’s Board of Ethics board before going through with the purchases.

“I have gone to the Ethics Board several times (on property purchases) in the past,” Pizzino is quoted in the Times Herald. “I think this time I just got lazy.”

Judge Somers apparently was skeptical of Pizzino’s remorse.

“What about the victims?” Somers is quoted in the Times Herald. “The clear intent of this scheme was to profit financially by way of fraud.”

Somers rightly pointed out to Pizzino in court that his actions were a serious violation of public trust and that his actions will raise a skeptical eye with any contractor or homeowner who deals with city building authorities in Dearborn.

As far as restitution goes, that is still unresolved and Somers is expected to hold a hearing to determine a figure when Pizzino concludes his jail sentence. Pizzino’s charges stem from two Dearborn houses he purchased under fraudulent circumstances and resold for a combined profit of $156,000, the Times Herald reports.

Times Herald writer J. Patrick Pepper rightly asks in his article “how or why city building inspectors passed inspections on the properties when Pizzino put them on the market when there were such readily apparent problems.”

Searching for a more visible location, AT&T plans to open a retail store at the corner of Telegraph and Oxford, a city official confirms to Deepsaidwhat.com

The location was the former home of a muffler shop that was recently razed.

AT&T currently operates a store in the small strip mall (near CVS) on the east side of Telegraph that is accessible to northbound Telegraph traffic but that location doesn’t offer the company the kind of visibility they would like to have to attract customers.

It isn’t clear whether AT&T will keep both locations or simply close the store in the strip mall once the new location is built.

Separately, work is fast underway to transform the former golf store on Telegraph, just north of Cherry Hill, into a new medical office building. Half of the building was demolished and a new face has been bricked in already, revealing what looks to be much more attractive structure in that location.

Dearborn Memorial Day parade-watchers.

Dearborn’s Memorial Day Parade, Michigan’s oldest continuous tribute to America’s fallen,  marks its 86th year today with a special ceremonial funeral procession beginning at 9:30 a.m.

This first-of-its-kind funeral procession ceremony in Michigan, to honor forgotten servicemen, is the result of work by the Dearborn Allied War Veterans’ Council (DAWVC). You can view a city of Dearborn video that helps tell the story by clicking HERE.

Forgotten for generations, the unclaimed cremated remains of U.S. military veterans sit on shelves of funeral homes and state hospitals across the United States.

Mostly men, some were indigent or homeless; some outlived their families and friends. They ended up missing in America.

In Dearborn, 26 veteran cremains were found at local funeral homes. They will be buried with dignity by the DAWVC.

At 9:30 a.m. today, the DAWVC will pay final respects to the veterans who served in WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

They expect to set a new standard for transferring the cremains, including a WWI veteran who had been languishing at funeral home since 1938.

The public is invited to line Michigan Avenue and watch a horse-drawn caisson carry a flag-draped coffin with the remains of the servicemen make its way along Michigan Avenue from the Dearborn Police Department near Greenfield, east to Dearborn City Hall at Schaefer.

An honor guard and military chaplains will accompany the caisson for the 1.25-mile funeral procession made possible by a recent change in state law.  State Rep. Gino Polidori (D-Dearborn) sponsored the bill that gives funeral homes the right to properly bury unclaimed veterans. A companion bill absolves funeral homes of any liability.

The new law allows funeral directors to compile and release the names of unclaimed cremated remains to a federally chartered veterans service group to confirm whether the deceased is eligible for proper burial at a veterans cemetery. Funeral directors will send a written notice to the veterans’ last known contact, notifying them of the plans to make a proper burial at a veterans cemetery. If the remains continue to go unclaimed, funeral directors are now permitted to make arrangements.

Dearborn’s Memorial Day parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. today, paying tribute to those who have given their lives while serving in America’s armed forces, and recognizes the sacrifices made by all military personnel and their families.

This year, the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council has chosen five outstanding men with connections to Dearborn, and representing all branches of the military, to be the grand marshals. They illustrate the DAWVC’s chosen theme of “Hometown Heroes.”

They are Col. Joseph M. Martin, commander of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team; Major Robert Seeley, 127th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron of the Michigan Air National Guard and a U.S. Air Force veteran; Marvin Steigerwald, Marine Corps veteran; Ron Blas, a U.S. Navy veteran and retired Navy reservist; and Matt Post, a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Reacting to community leader complaints that the city needs to toughen its exterior property maintenance codes, the city of Dearborn on Tuesday will have four additional ordinance officers patrolling the city, the Dearborn Press & Guide reports.

The changes were prompted in part by community leaders who said the city’s decision to be more “compassionate” with residents in relation to property maintenance codes, primarily overgrown grass, wasn’t working. For earlier story, click HERE.

The officers have been hired on a temporary basis and will help patrol the city for about seven weeks, stepping up enforcement of Dearborn’s overgrown grass ordinance, documenting problems and issuing citations, according to the paper.

“We believe this is consistent with our policy of keeping a lean staff and adding more during crunch times,” Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., tells the Press & Guide.

The temp officers, selected from a pool of applicants who applied for summer grounds keeping jobs with the city, will help provide stricter enforcement of the city’s grass ordinance. O’Reilly says homes that have been cited before for overgrown grass will now have one day to cut it.

O’Reilly tells the Press & Guide that the change isn’t intended to punish homeowners but, instead, change the way people think.

“This is about changing behavior,” he told the paper. “We don’t want to punish people who don’t deserve it.

Say goodbye to the structure once known as the Dearborn Theater.

The former site of Wendy's Hamburgers (foreground) was razed earlier this year for a yet-to-be-built Sonic burgers. Demolition of the Dearborn Theater (background) is now underway.

The building that was once home to first-run motion picture films on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn is in the process of being demolished to make way for a Hampton Inn hotel, if all goes according to plan.

Progress? Yes, considering the economic climate. And perhaps having two quality hotels within a block of each other (a new Holiday Inn Express, just west of the proposed Hampton, appears to be on the homestretch towards completion) might put some pressure on the Red Roof Inn, on the north side of Michigan, to upgrade its facility.

Growing up here, Dearborn Theater was one of the two key theaters on Michigan Avenue we visited as kids. The other was the Calvin Theater (my personal favorite), which was torn down long ago after a fire ripped through it only to be replaced with Buddy’s Pizzeria.

We have lost track of how many years it has been since downtown west Dearborn has been without a movie house or any other kind of non-eating or drinking entertainment venue (we aren’t counting the mega AMC Star at Fairlane). My father’s unsolicited assessment of our downtown, which he provides to me each time I drive him down Michigan Avenue, probably sums it up best: “It’s a shame.”

Dearborn developer Hakim Fakhoury did present plans several years ago to our City Council and Mayor for a theater to go into the space currently occupied by the decaying white brick building that once housed a Vic Tanny. For a host of reasons, those plans never took root. But as Dearborn talked and talked about it, nearby Royal Oak did it, landing an Emagine Entertainment near the corner of 11 Mile and Main Street, on the north edge of Royal Oak’s popular downtown area. (See earlier story, HERE.)

By the end of this summer, a new Sonic burgers will go in at the corner of Michigan and Telegraph. With the demolition of the Dearborn Theater, the burger joint will get a lot more visibility. Just when construction on a Hampton Inn might take place is anyone’s guess. The developer for the proposed Hampton Inn is Ned Hakim and right now he has his hands full getting his Holiday Inn Express readied for travelers.

The city of Dearborn’s decision to be more “compassionate” with residents in relation to exterior property maintenance codes in these trying economic times isn’t working, according to an article in the Dearborn Times Herald.

Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., appears to acknowledge his policy adjustment isn’t working and hints that changes are coming.

“I realize that it isn’t always easy to stay on top of (maintenance), but it became clear that we need to re-examine things,” O’Reilly told the Times-Herald.

We agree with some of the assertions made by Dearborn community leaders quoted in the Times Herald story. Many readers of DeepsaidWhat.com apparently do, as well. Several readers sent  links to the Times-Herald story that was written by J. Patrick Pepper.

“This is an important issue and needs the widest possible dissemination so that the residents of our city know and understand the direction the administration is taking us and why our city is looking more and more like Detroit and other blighted areas around us,” one reader said in an e-mail to DeepsaidWhat. “If the Times Herald thought enough of this story’s importance to put it on the front page above the fold, I would think you would attach a similar importance to it as well, so that the widest possible discussion is made possible. I know a great many of our city leaders and employees read your blog daily, and they need to see this and the comments it will generate.”

As the Times-Herald article points out, part of the change in how some neighborhoods look is the result of relaxed city enforcement. Another cause that can’t be overlooked is the simple elimination of city workers whose job it was to regularly patrol neighborhoods. Cuts in the city budget have eliminated some of those dedicated resources.

The good news is that residents do have a phone number to call in the city if they spot something in their neighborhood.

The Residential Services phone number for neighborhood complaints is 313-943-2161. Of course, you can always call the director of Residential Services, Nick Siroskey.  A lifelong resident, Mr. Siroskey came to this city position from Ford in July 2009 as part of a comprehensive restructuring of the functions of Dearborn’s Building & Safety Department, developed by O’Reilly, as a way to enhance customer service.

To read the full Times-Herald article, click HERE.