Funds for Axed SMART Garage May be Used to Expand Service Hours
SMART officials have met with Macomb Township leaders to discuss how to utilize money originally set aside to build a shelter for the township's Dial-A-Ride buses.
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Officials from the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) have met with Macomb Township to discuss the possibility of expanding service hours in town, SMART spokesperson Beth Gibbons said.
The talks are in light of the Aug. 22 Board of Trustees’ decision against construction of a 6,000-square-foot pole barn to house the township’s three Dial-A-Ride buses, which are used to transport the township's seniors and disabled. SMART and the federal government would have funded the project at a cost of about $750,000.
Township Supervisor Mark Grabow, the lone proponent of the pole barn project, criticized the board’s decision not to build the structure and even stated that the unused funds would be used for SMART executives instead of by the township.
“Now the interesting part is that those funds will not go to another community,” Grabow said Aug. 22. “They will go to wages and benefits for the SMART executives. So I’m glad we’ve all donated our tax dollars back to their benefits package.”
Gibbons said that Grabow’s statements are incorrect and added that funds have never been left unused in other communities. SMART will continue to work with the township to determine how to use the money, she added.
If the township does decide to use these funds to expand service, Gibbons said this would mean allowing residents a greater number of hours within a day to reserve a bus for transportation.
Bill Braski
10:40 pm on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Wow, what a news flash ! Mark Grabow didn't tell the truth? If anyone's been paying attention the past four years, this is pretty much how it's been. When you're a habitual liar, you just make crap up. The only person who might believe that SMART officials would misuse that money, is Mark's old buddy Kelvin Kookwowicz. November 20th can't come quick enough.
Shannon
9:24 am on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Bill Braski. Your words are offensive and rude. It would be nice to see some intelligible and thought-provoking content from the "November 20th can't come quick enough" crowd.
Aaron Tuckfield
11:45 am on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Shannon; besides the rather, err, abrasive manner in which it was worded, what problem do you have with his statement? If (and I am NOT saying he did), Grabow out and out lied about something he knew, wouldn't it be a good thing to get rid of him? What is offensive and rude about that?
Frank Cusumano
2:48 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
I often have this issue in depositions. "if John said XY and Z, then he must be a liar, right?" OBJECTION, don't answer that. The question asks the witness to speculate as to the state of mind of another witness. John may simply be mistaken, and believe XY and Z.
I think Grabow may actually believe this to be true. On a final note, I told Mark some time ago (when the Board voted to increase the water rates 17% and then 31% the next year that,"everyone is doing with less or doing without, and you seem to think it is just something that can just be passed along." Come January 2013, welcome back Mark.