Letter to the editor: Township officials need to be more responsive to residents

September 1, 2022

Dear Editor:

I’m a long-time resident of Freedom Township; many years on Parker Rd. and the past 20 years at Pleasant Lake. For years I’ve attended Planning Commission meetings, Board meetings and township events. I currently serve on the Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association Board. I love Pleasant Lake. It’s where my husband and I retired. It’s where my family congregates for family events.

Earlier in the year, I learned a new owner was going to replace an existing lake home not far from mine with a new house. I understand that properties change ownership and that new owners have different likes and dislikes for their property, so I was not alarmed. What I was not prepared for was the expansiveness of the new construction on such a small lot. Like me, many of us live on small lots at Pleasant Lake. That’s just part of lake living out here, part of our rural hamlet character as stated in the township’s Master Plan. If you drive along the south side of Pleasant Lake, you’ll see what I mean. One of my recent guests commented, “Is that a hotel going up?”

What I’m really writing about today, though, is my frustration with our township officials. Specifically, a lack of responsiveness — phone calls, emails, visits; not taking resident concerns seriously. In this case, my good friend and neighbor who grew up on Pleasant Lake and lives next door to the new construction started asking questions and voicing concerns to township officials as early as December 2021. Rather than being forthcoming with information and explaining how and why decisions were being made, she was stonewalled and shut down. Only after submitting a formal request for information via the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), did she learn from those documents that her concerns were totally justified all along. She has again asked for a meeting with officials to discuss the situation; to be assured that all township, county and state codes and regulations are in order when it appears that perhaps, they are not. Again, she is being met with silence.

I’d like to say this is an isolated incident but my experience suggests it’s not. Returning phone calls and emails, responding to letters and requests, and providing assurances of zoning enforcement should be common practice for any elected or appointed official. I don’t know how to improve a situation like this but I know it needs to improve.

In the meantime, I’ll be at the September 6 Planning Commission meeting and September 13 Board meeting, hoping for the best.

Helen Parker
Freedom Township Resident

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.