1979-08-29; Central Michigan Life

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Central Michigan
V01.6IN0.2
Central Michigan LIFE
Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859
Telephones:       774-3493774-3830
Wednesday, Aug. 29,1979
City to solicit feedback
on violating landlords
by DAN GUIDO
LIFE Staff Writer
At a special meeting Monday,
the Mount Pleasant City
Commission discussed the
possibility of advertising for
student input to inform the
commission about landlords who
have not" been properly licensed
by the city.
"The city's licensing process
is designed to give the students
the most housing for their
money. If a landlord is violating
health and safety requirements
established by the city, we
would like to know about it,"
Commissioner Thaddeus Zolty
said.
Zolty said he thinks the city
should take the initiative in
conducting housing investigations.
"I agree with Ted," Mayor
Sibyl Ellis said, referring to
Zolty. "I don't see why we
should wait for complaints to be
registered with the housing
inspector before we investigate
city landlords, to see if they're
properly licensed."   ■.
Ellis then questioned City
Manager William Barrons about
the number of employees
working for the Building Inspector's Office, which is in
charge of investigating complaints received by renters
within the city limits,
Barrons told the Commission
there.presently'are three employees, within the office. He
said they are responsible for
enforcing the city's building
code, housing and maintenance
codes, zoning regulations,
operative motor vehicle and
refuse ordinances.
"If a landlord is violating health and
safety requirements established by the
city, we would like to know about it,"—
Commissioner Thaddeus Zolty
Barrons told the Commission
he thought three emoloyees are
sufficient to get the inspections
done within the city.
Barrons said he would take
the commission's suggestions
into consideration and would
"probably place advertisements
within the near future" although
he was unable to name a date.
The commission conducted its
special meeting to consider and
accept bids for the $2.3 million in '
1979 general obligation bonds
for the new wastewater
treatment facility. They also
considered bids for the $320,000
in 1979 Special Assessment
Bonds to fund specific street
repair throughout the city.
Harris Trust and Savings
Bank was awarded the contract
for the sale of the general
obligation bonds.. Harris issued
the low bid, which included a 6.4
percent effective rate of interest
to be charged to the city on a
total cost of approximately $2.3
million. ,
.,' American- Security Bank, of
Mount Pleasant issued the low
bid on the special assessment
bands.with an effective interest
rate of 5.8 percent on a total cost
of $320,000 to the city. „
In other action, the Commission gave Barrons the go-
ahead   to   sell   two   city   lots
together as one. The lots are
located on Maple Street west of
Brown.
The sale of .the two lots as one
will enable-potential developers
to build a house that will be
similar to other homes in the
area. By keeping the lost-
divided, a developer would have
to build in a different style than
the rest of the neighborhood.
The commission also decided
to give the owner of Wendrow
Estates subdivision until Sept.
13 to sign a contract with the
city for the paving of a street
within his subdivision, which is
located west of campus.
The owner has had the contract since June, but has not
signed it since he is involved in
building another project
elsewhere. If he' does not begin
the road work within the next
few weeks, the commission may
award the contract to a different
contractor.
"As long as we insist that he
sign the contract by the 13th, I
feel he will be able to complete
the street construction before
the weather turns," Zolty said.
"However, I would like to see
this commission refuse to allow
the owner to build any more
houses in his subdivision until
the work is completed," he
added.
"Oaks" rock Rose
-CM LIFE PHOTO BY MICHAELS. GREEN
Richard Sterban, bass singer with the Oak Ridge Boys, is featured in the "Oaks"
current hit single, "Dream On," one of 12 tunes sung in Tuesday evening's Rose Arena
concert. Originally scheduled to perform last Friday at the Isabella County Youth and
Farm Fair, the Oak Ridge Boys were rained out and agreed to perform at Rose. (Please
see related story, photo, on page 8.)
County honors
Welch's efforts
-CM LIFE PHOTO BY MICHAELS. QUEEN
Louise Welch
The residents of Isabella
County have made good use of
Louise Welch's 76 years. And
they will eagerly accept any
more years the Mount Pleasant
resident wants to give to the
area.
It wouldn't be correct to call
her retired, although she
stopped working as an
Education Department
professor at CMU in 1966. But
her retirement from 38 years of
teaching has only given her
more time to do what she loves.
And she loves helping people.
Welch was honored for her
years of volunteer work in
Isabella County by being named
"Outstanding Senior Citizen of
1979" by the Commission on
Aging at the Isabella County
Fair.
The former pre-school instructor says she quit teaching
because she could no longer
keep up with the youngsters.
That doesn't seem likely,
judging   from   her   activities,
which make her as busy and
vibrant as some five-year-olds.
She is treasurer and one of the
first organizers of the county
Humane Society, chairwoman of
the "Reach to Recovery"
Committee of the American
Cancer Society in Isabella
County, chairwoman of the
Emergency Room Volunteers
Service of Central Michigan
Community Hospital and a longstanding volunteer in a variety
of services, such as the Red
Cross and the Zonta Club.
"I'm really very active,"
Welch said. "I have continued
with all the things I did before I
retired and added some others.
When I was a full-time teacher, I
couldn't do these things, but
now I can devote more time to
them."
She probably benefits society
more as a volunteer than as a
member of the teaching
profession. When patients
nervously wait to bje treated in
(See "Welch"-page 2?
Squeeze put
on fake IDs
With the start of fall
classes, bar owners in this
town are awaiting the onslaught of young patrons.
So is the Isabella County
Prosecutor's Office.
It is no secret that perhaps
hundreds of students under
the age of 21 will use bogus or
'doctored drivers' licenses to
get served in local pubs,
despite the new legal
drinking age.
But although Mount
Pleasant law enforcement
agencies aren't waging any
aggressive campaigns to keep
underage drinkers from
skirting the law, they are
warning students of the
consequences of altering their
licenses. Assistant
Prosecutor Thomas Plachta is
cautioning that his office* will
prosecute such offenders to
the fullest if nabbed.
Along with carrying a 90-
day maximum sentence, the
misdemeanor will give an
offender a criminal record.
But worse yet, under a
Michigan Secretary of State
policy, persons who fudge
their licenses in any manner
will have them automatically
suspended for one year.
"It is a crime to alter your
license in any way." Plachta
said. "What I don't think
students realize is they will
lose their right to drive* for a
year."
Plachta said only two
students since January were
prosecuted for possessing
altered licenses, both times
when police stopped cars and
checked identification of
passengers.
The most common methods
of doctoring identifications
are to change the birthdates
on old* licenses with a pen or
by scratching off parts of
numbers and relaminating
the cards, he said.
In Brief
• Departinent of Public Safety will begin
ticketing cars parked in University parking lots
without stickers beginning Monday, according
to officials. *
' Stickers are $10 per year for residential
permits and $20 for commuter and other lots.
Sports
Mick Cochran,
former catcher for the
Central baseball team,
signed a MajorJLeague-
contract with the
Detroit Tiger's
Baseball Organization,
page 13
Campus
If you signed your
lease on or after July
1, there's some clauses
you should look for. If
they are there, they
could be illegal,
page 3
Index
Classifieds............... 17
Comment 4
Doonesbury 4
Entertainment........... 8
Horoscope. 17
Off The Wire. .,..* 2
Sports. ....14
Spotlife..... 17
TV Listings  17
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