A former supervisor in the Dearborn Building and Safety Department who pled guilty to two counts of fraud and resigned from his city job is scheduled to have a sentencing hearing on April 26 on the misdemeanor charges.

Andrew Pizzino

Andrew Pizzino pleaded guilty to the fraud charges last week.  He also was charged with two counts of ethics violations of the City of Dearborn Charter but those charges were dropped. Pizzino, who resigned from his job last week, will still collect his city pension as he was employed longer than 10 years, a spokeswoman for the city says.

Pizzino was one of four former Building and Safety department employees to face criminal charges, the result of a more than two-year police and FBI investigation of the department initiated by Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr.

Dearborn has since closed its investigation into the Building and Safety department. For earlier stories, click HERE

Dearborn residents upset about a proposal to close six small neighborhood pools are turning up the heat on the mayor and city council, this time using YouTube as a way to amplify their voices to city leaders.

About 175 Dearborn residents rallied Monday evening at Summer-Stephens Park (one of my favorite parks as I took swimming lessons there as a kid) to protest the potential closure of six of the city’s public pools.  There is also a new SaveDearbornPools channel on YouTube.com. You can click HERE for that link.

City officials have argued that closing the Crowley, Hemlock, Lapeer, Summer-Stephens, Ten Eyck and Whitmore-Bolles pools would save Dearborn $132,000 a year in operational costs alone.

On Monday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, city officials are holding an informational meeting where they can expect to hear from residents vehemently opposed to closing pools, even if the city says it will save $3.8 million by not pursuing investments necessary to keep the aging pools in a safe and healthy condition.

From where we sit, given how this is shaping up, there is a strong likelihood council members will not approve closing any city pools.

Councilman Robert Abraham

Dearborn’s proposal to close six of the city’s public pools as part of cost cuts to help close the gap on a multi-million budget shortfall is a “tragedy” but the city must work to balance its budget, says Dearborn Councilman Robert Abraham.

“The elimination of city programs and activities, like the outdoor pools is a tragedy!,” Councilman Abraham tells Deepsaidwhat.com. “Unfortunately, the Mayor, the administration and the City Council must work to balance the budget, and more importantly to position Dearborn to remain a premier community in Michigan for the next generations.”

The proposed pool closings has touched off a firestorm of angry posts on this site from residents against the closures. (Click HERE for that earlier story). A Facebook page dedicated to saving these pools now has 2,646 members at the time of this posting.

Abraham is non-committal on whether the pools should be closed but he does say whatever cuts are taken will not be easy. What is interesting is that Abraham says the city is trying to correct a $10 million dollar shortfall, while the city in its official press releases has said it is a $20 million shortfall. Our guess is that the larger figure is based on what it would cost the city to fund every department at current funding limits or before budget reductions.

“These cuts are not easy,” Abraham says. “We are trying to correct almost a $10 million dollar shortfall without the elimination of police officers and firefighters, due to the charter mandates. This means we have to save the $10 million dollars from about $50 million dollars in non-public safety programs.”

I came across my Dearborn Recreation I.D. Card from 1976 and on the back of the card (just $1, by the way) it noted Dearborn offered free ice skating at 33 outdoor rinks and swimming “at any of the 21 indoor and outdoor pools”. Today, Dearborn has but one outdoor skating rink and one large indoor center. As for pools, we are down to eight, which is still far more than most neighboring communities, which sometimes have just two pools.

“I remain fully committed to preserving the city services that make Dearborn unique,” Abraham said. “We must find creative and new ways to continue this fine tradition of first class services and generate the necessary revenue to balance these costs.

“We need Wayne County and the State of Michigan to step-up and provide fair and equitable revenue and services to Dearborn at a standard that Dearborn residents deserve and expect. Without their fully commitment and participation, Dearborn will continue to lose ground on the fight to keep our services and balance the budget.”

Residents will get a chance to speak their mind on the proposed pool closing on April 12 in the council chambers of City Hall. It will be a standing room only meeting for sure.

Suzanne Sareini

Twenty-year Dearborn Councilwoman Suzanne Sareini, who finished as the second top voter getter in the last election and now serves as council pro-tem, will officially announce later this month that she is running for the 15th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Sareini confirms to DeepsaidWhat.com that after long, careful consideration, she will declare her candidacy on April 27 for the seat of state Rep. Gino Polidori, D-Dearborn, who cannot seek re-election because of term limits.

“I know it won’t be easy, and the decision to seek the seat wasn’t without careful consideration,” Sareini says. “I have been urged by friends and neighbors to run. With my 20 years of legislative experience, I intend to win because I think that in this election experience will count.”

We had written on these pages earlier that Sareini would likely throw her hat into the ring for the 15th District seat back in February, as she was being urged by Republican Party leaders to run for the position. Sareini said she plans to hold a gathering for her supporters at Crave on April 27th from 5 to 7 p.m.

Her decision brings to two the number of sitting Dearborn council members seeking the 15th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives. Dearborn Councilman George Darany also is running but on the democrat side of the ticket.

“I am a Republican who has been an independent voice on the council,” Sareini said. “I know how crucial it is to look at an issue from the perspective of what is good for Dearborn, not what is good for an ideological cause.”

City Also May Issue New Trash, Recycle Containers to Residents

Dearborn’s curbside leaf pickup program is on the table as a possible budget cut, yet another proposal the city is eyeing as a way to help trim a projected $20 million budget shortfall, the city confirms to DeepsaidWhat.com

Trash bins such as the one pictured here could soon be issued to residents citywide.

Separately, Dearborn officials also are looking at implementing a new trash and recycling program that would provide each home one large container for trash and one large container for recycling. The city last year began a pilot program with these containers in one area of the city and now is looking to expand it citywide.

First the curbside leaf pickup. Regular readers of this site will know that leaf pickup is one of those hotly debated topics; with some saying it is a waste of resources and others who feel it something that needs to stay.

Curbside leaf pickup may soon be a thing of the past.

Just how much the city would save from such a move isn’t yet clear but when you consider that the vehicles and number of hours of labor needed for leaf removal would no longer be needed (not to mention fuel, vehicle maintenance and purchase of new equipment), the savings could be sizable. As most cities have already abandoned street leaf pickup, this seems like an easy decision for the city to make. As inconvenient as it might be to drag 40 leaf bags curbside, this seems like a cut most residents would understand.

While there is no final decision yet, a city spokeswoman tells us to “stay tuned, as we continue with these tough, but necessary, decisions.”

Now for the new trash and recycle containers residents could soon be receiving. Dearborn’s current waste and recycling contract with Waste Management expires on June 30. The new contract has not been awarded yet, according to the city.

“It is hoped that we will be moving citywide to a system like the one in the pilot area, with one large container for trash and one large container for recycling,” a spokeswoman for the city tells us. “The pilot area has experienced a dramatic decrease in litter with this system.”

Such a change would mean the elimination of several dozen jobs for Waste Management workers, the company Dearborn currently contracts with to pickup trash and recyclables. The new large cans are designed to be picked up by a mechanical arm operated by the driver of the trash truck, making it a one-person job.

Mark you calendar for 5:30 p.m. April 12. That is when the Dearborn City Council will host an informational meeting for the public on a proposal to close six city public pools.

From the 'Save Dearborn's Small Pools' Facebook page, this is a photo of Ten Eyck Pool's grand opening day in 1954. City officials look on as the first swimmers dive into the new pool.

The April 12 date was going to be a study session on the city’s budget with a host of different topics but with the amount of outcry from residents about the proposed pool closings, the meeting will now serve this purpose.

The meeting will be held in the council chambers and judging from the amount of comments here and a new Facebook page dedicated to saving these pools with 2,047 fans at the time of this posting (click HERE for that link), it will be a spirited meeting for sure.

The City of Dearborn is expected to close as many as six of the city’s aging outdoor pools as part of a cost cutting proposal to help the city this year with its $20 million budget shortfall.

The move most certainly will set off a firestorm of protests in the neighborhoods where pools are slated to be closed.

The last time the subject of closing pools came up, the council and mayor succumbed to neighborhood pressure and did nothing. But that was in an election year and now with the new term only three months old, the outcome likely will be different this time around.

The good news is that while pools will be closed, the proposal includes the construction of a larger, modern pool complex for Ford Woods Park, which will accommodate more swimmers and cost about half of the resources of keeping the six neighborhood pools operating, the city says in a press release.

The city says the difficult decision of closing smaller, neighborhood pools is expected to save $132,000 a year in operational costs alone. More significantly, the City claims it will save $3.8 million by not pursuing investments necessary to keep the six pools that are currently on the chopping block in a safe and healthy condition.

The city has not yet shared what pools will be closed, only saying that “as plans become more finalized, an informational meeting regarding the outdoor pool proposal will be held.”

The city does list what pools will receive improvements. The ones not listed would appear to be in jeopardy. Those include: Whitmore Bolles, Summer Stephens, Ten Eyck, Crowley, Hemlock and Lapeer.

City officials say it will continue to operate outdoor pools at Levagood and Ford Woods parks, and add summer swimming opportunities at three indoor pools inside Dearborn public schools, under a proposal developed by city officials this week. The proposal includes the permanent closure and demolition of the city’s six other aging outdoor pools, built decades ago in 1954, 1956 and 1962.

Ongoing operating costs and the significant investments required for the outdoor pools make this proposed change necessary for the 2010 summer season. The proposal regarding the outdoor pools is part of the budget review process being undertaken by Mayor John B. O’Reilly and his administration, together with the City Council.

The City of Dearborn’s Television (CDTV) will temporarily be off the air on Monday, March 29 and part of Tuesday, March 30 during the installation of equipment to enhance the TV station’s operations.

CDTV is channel 12 on Comcast and channel 10 on WOW. (AT&T does not carry CDTV.)

The City of Dearborn says equipment upgrades cannot be performed while the station is broadcasting.

The new equipment, the city said in a press release, replaces aging hardware and will streamline the process of getting programs on the air after they are produced and ready to go.

The old equipment required several time-consuming technical steps to transfer the completed programs onto the broadcasting system.

The City of Dearborn is reminding residents that most of CDTV programming can be viewed any time at www.cityofdearborn.org

In addition, www.cityofdearborn.org posts short videos exclusive to the website.

Beginning April 5, parked vehicles left on the streets on a Public Service Day will be ticketed.

Get ready for Pubic Service Days. They begin April 5 and will now run through Dec. 3.

While some may balk at having to remove their cars from the street once a week, this is a strong program to help keep our neighborhoods looking good.

A new change for this year is that the program runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. That allows many residents to leave for school or work without having to worry about moving their parked vehicles from the street.

Tickets will be issued to owners of parked vehicles left on the streets during Public Service Days, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For 2010, Public Service Days are the same day as trash collection days, every week.

Check www.cityofdearborn.org or call 943-2886 for general information on Public Service Days. For parking issues related to Public Service Days, call 943-2276.

Dearborn Councilman Robert Abraham

Dearborn Councilman Robert Abraham says the decision by Dearborn developer Hakim Fakhoury to put the properties held by his Dearborn Village Partners (DVP) corporation up for sale may turn-out to be a “blessing” for Dearborn business owners and entrepreneurs.

The councilman in December went to bat for DVP, penning a column here and in the local papers saying he supported a one-year extension of the preferred developer agreement Dearborn had with Fakhoury’s DVP. Chief among Abraham’s decision to support an extension was that there wasn’t a list of developers banging on Dearborn’s door to rebuild downtown West Dearborn. You can click HERE for that earlier column.

Abraham says it is unfortunate the plan presented by DVP never was able to get off the ground.

“Dearborn Village Partners, LLC has failed to deliver a complete proposal for the development site in West Dearborn to the Council and the Mayor,” said Abraham in a written statement. “The Mayor and the City Council have previously extended the Preferred Developers Agreement several times to accommodate the Developer and the drastic changes to the banking industry and the economic conditions.

“The most recent extension was granted by the Council in December 2009; this would allow DVP an additional year to submit a viable development and financing plan. It is very unfortunate for Dearborn, that the economic circumstances have derailed this project before it ever really began.

“The fact that many of the privately held buildings and properties on Michigan Avenue are now for sale, may turn-out to be a blessing for new Dearborn business owners and entrepreneurs looking for affordable locations in the West Dearborn Business District.

“I remain optimistic as we bring closure to the DVP agreement, that new opportunities can be discovered; let’s hope the glass is half full, and not half empty as so many believe.”

Some of the details to what contributed to the unraveling of the development are in the Sunday edition of the Dearborn Press & Guide. You can read that story and watch a video interview with Mr. Fakhoury by clicking HERE