29 Comments

1. Steve makes this comment

   Friday, February 05 2010

   So, there IS someone in the area familiar with grant applications! That's fantastic - good work - and thanks!

2. jennifer makes this comment

   Friday, February 05 2010

   Fantastic job Jeremy Lintz, Class Act over there....

3. William makes this comment

   Friday, February 05 2010

   Great work and great news! Way to go.

4. Jesse makes this comment

   Friday, February 05 2010

   Great job, NOCFA has THE BEST grant writing staff in the area. They've netted well over a million dollars in the last 5 years.
   
   Keep up the good work.

5. Alison makes this comment

   Friday, February 05 2010

   What a terrific job you guys do everyday. Thanks!

6. Janet Leslie makes this comment

   Friday, February 05 2010

   Thank you Chief Lintz and Lt. Weil. You are certainly providing a lot of value for the tax dollar. Well done.

7. Rob Namowicz makes this comment

   Friday, February 05 2010

   Where did the money come from?

8. Amy Mayhew makes this comment

   Friday, February 05 2010

   Rob:
   Maybe you missed it, but it's in the second paragraph of the article. Grant monies came from the federal government:
   
   "NOCFA announced on Friday that it had received funding for its Fire Station Construction grant application from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the amount of $679,704. The FSC grant allows fire departments to build new or modify existing fire stations to enhance capabilities and protect communities from fire-related hazards."

9. rob namowicz makes this comment

   Saturday, February 06 2010

   Federal Government? The one that has a trillion dollar deficit this year? Oh, that government. So where did they get the money? We are supposed to be the government. Would the taxpayers of Rose have voted to encumber their labor for nearly $700,000 for the changes at the fire hall? Why is it any better to have the federal government borrow money on our behalf? When folks show up from Washington DC to 'use' their facility, will that be okay, too? Our liberty is being purchased with borrowed money. Sorry, just more free cheese in the mousetrap!

10. Rob Namowicz makes this comment

    Saturday, February 06 2010

    Let me also add that there is no doubt in my mind the Rose township folks who wrote for this grant have nothing but the highest ideals in mind. That dedication to their community is not diminished, their intent is laudable. At some point America has to look in the mirror and say can we afford to create a debtors' prison for future Americans? How many grants have been applied for and funds received for Oakland county wide? I am sure the numbers are staggering. There is an insatiable appetite for money for good intentions, but the source of that money is still us. Someday the piper will have to be paid.

11. Denise makes this comment

    Saturday, February 06 2010

    The grants would have been awarded regardless and we would have had to pay for it, at least our community will benefit. We should all be thankful the department has someone who is talented enough to get us the money. Great job Lt. Weil

12. Brian S makes this comment

    Saturday, February 06 2010

    I don't understand people like Rob. I can understand being upset about "pork", and I can understand being troubled by the deficit (but with the ten year bond under 4%, its not a crippling debt, yet. See Greece.) These grants are pretty much what we should want the federal government to spend money on. Your tax dollars go to support infrastructure and public safety projects all over the country. Why is this a bad thing?

13. Rob Namowicz makes this comment

    Saturday, February 06 2010

    Because the Federal government is supposed to guard the shores and deliver the mail, not pretend to be an endless supply of money for local governments. The American tax burden is moving beyond 50% and that limits your life choices and liberty. Taxes on fuel support infrastructure, and public safety should be the responsibility of local taxing units, not the Feds. Locals know their needs better than the would be overseers in Washington DC, that is why the founders of this nation set up limits on the power of a central government. FEMA has shown itself to be a madhouse incapable of delivering ice to citizens in Houston after Ike, food to starving victims of Katrina in New Orleans, and yet people still want to believe in the efficacy of big government solutions. The Gulf coast is littered with unlivable trailers furnished by FEMA at extreme cost only to be rendered useless for living from mold while people who needed housing were lost in a morass of paperwork trying to qualify. Bosh and tiffletop!

14. Brian S makes this comment

    Sunday, February 07 2010

    Rob, I question your stat of a 50% tax burden. The effective federal tax rate on the median American family is around 7%. It is lower now than it was under Reagan. Even if add in State and property taxes, you get nowhere close to 50%. So please cite your 50% number. (My source? Reagan administration treasury official Bruce Bartlett. http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/16/tax-tea-party-opinions-columnists-protest.html)
    
    According to your logic, New York City, the most populous city in the country, destination for millions of tourists, home of some of the nations’ biggest corporations (as well as the NYSE), should get absolutely no money from tax payers in Omaha or Miami for public safety investments. Before you argue (or perhaps not) that New York is different somehow because of its size, please be aware that your argument was not one of scale but of absolute principle. You want to argue about the efficiency of government (or any large bureaucracy), fine, but this blind impotent rage against anything government is fundamentally useless.

15. Jill makes this comment

    Sunday, February 07 2010

    Way to go Barb!! N.O.C.F.A. is lucky to have such a good grant writer on their staff, look at everything that the Fire Department has gained with out having to dip into the residence pockets!! A Million Dollars, that is absolutely HUGE!! Thank you for all your hard work!!

16. Rob Namowicz makes this comment

    Sunday, February 07 2010

    I would suggest many major corporations are headquartered in low tax haven states like Rhode Island or Delaware. New York City is not necessarily a good example because of its' reliance on taxing 'authorities' that receive bridge or toll revenue in specific fees. These transport boards then use the money anyway they choose and raise rates at will without a vote of the people. Another difference is NYC rent control, where people watch the obituaries in an attempt to move into choice real estate where rents are cheap because of artificial controls place by government. NYC is really a haven of tyranny, with smokers being persecuted for using a legal product and suddenly the latest nutrition fad being enforced by power of law.
    
    My reference to a %50 tax burden includes all the alphabet soup of taxes we are paying. Look at your phone bill, or your utility bills. Taxes and fees eat away at your buying power. Gasoline state tax is around 20 cents, your license plates and registration fees have grown enormously in the past few years, sales tax, estate tax, excise tax on tires and booze, the list is nearly endless as government taxes every form of human activity. Yes, my argument is principal, not rage. We have a choice as self governing free people to choose life and liberty or death and taxes. Ask yourself which shall I try to enhance? Which shall I be promoting? Make your choice, make mine life and liberty!

17. Jeremy makes this comment

    Sunday, February 07 2010

    Hey, could you guys take this economics debate somewhere else? you are ruining a really positive story. Thanks

18. Rob Namowicz makes this comment

    Sunday, February 07 2010

    The story is about $679,000.

19. Matt makes this comment

    Monday, February 08 2010

    Thanks Jeremy. It's a shame some people want to rant their anti government sentiments to discredit what is a very good thing for all the residents of Rose Township.

20. Steve makes this comment

    Monday, February 08 2010

    Looks like Rob needs to load his AK and hunker down in his bunker and wait for the black helicopters to come for him

21. Larry makes this comment

    Monday, February 08 2010

    Gee Matt, wouldn't that be a good thing for Rose and Holly Township? Forgetting about your partners was how you lost the village.

22. Dianne makes this comment

    Tuesday, February 09 2010

    Let's do the math.I know ...story problems are not my favorite either.
    If 679,704 saves ONE life 679,704=?
    Answer- 679,704=PRICELESS.
    Thank You, NOCFA

23. Darrin makes this comment

    Tuesday, February 09 2010

    Can Holly borrow Barb's grant-writing skills? Gotta get a community/rec center somehow!

24. Janet Leslie makes this comment

    Tuesday, February 09 2010

    The Holly area meets the requirements of having a YMCA recreational center built here. We just need a place to hold community education classes while the facility is being built, land to build it on, and community donations totaling $500,000. That might not be an easy task. But if a group comes forward that wants to take it on, it could happen.
    
    Perhaps interested citizens could form an exploratory committee to look for grant opportunities as well as exploring the YMCA option.

25. Vera Hogan makes this comment

    Tuesday, February 09 2010

    The Holly community had a community/rec center at its disposal for years at the College Street building that previously housed school district administration and is now owned by The River. Many classrooms, basketball court, etc. Would have been cheaper to renovate/upgrade that building ... but I don't recall too much interest when it became available.

26. Rob Namowicz makes this comment

    Tuesday, February 09 2010

    Mable D. Bensett High School, a fine and venerable institution she was. My dad graduated from there. Classes included spanking Shop instructor and legend Mr. Sherman, Mr. Dave Summers and Dan Goodearl. Matilda Slider was an instructor there. I believe the old Mable D. was the second Holly Area school from which I was temporarily ejected. Does anyone know how much the old girl sold for? Imagine the replacement cost? How much to build originally?

27. Janet Leslie makes this comment

    Tuesday, February 09 2010

    It sounds like renovating that building would have been a good opportunity, Vera. I do hear a lot of interest in a rec center these days. Maybe the community is getting younger, has more children, or is simply becoming more active or is more interested in becoming active. The 2010 census will give us an idea of the direction we're going in terms of demographics, of course. If the Holly Area Economic Development Task Force is able to gain financial support for the market research survey we are developing, we could also get a sense for where we are in terms of lifestyle and priorities. It's hard to tell how much support there is for an idea until you ask enough people.

28. bob makes this comment

    Wednesday, February 10 2010

    Rob,
    
    I agree - we'll all have to pay the debt soon, and fed gov't spends too much sometimes, but If I am going to have to pay for it, I am glad Rose Township officials are making sure we get as much services and benefits as possible for our money.

29. Janet Leslie makes this comment

    Wednesday, February 10 2010

    To be fair, it wasn't Rose Township officials that procured this grant. It was the fire department, NOCFA. Both Rose and Holly Townships stand to benefit from the increased efficiency these renovations will provide the department as a whole. We appreciate the great efforts NOCFA makes to keep costs low.