January 18, 2019
Commissioners,
Please accept this correspondence as a public document for the next available Board of Commissioners meeting.
Wednesday night's 1/16/2019 Planning Meeting and Public Hearing was another Michael Turisk FIASCO. It began when Mr Turisk published notice on 12/26/2018 of the Public Hearing and excluded the additional amendment, Section 21.2-Administrative Search Warrant from the notice. I knew it was tagged onto the end of the Solar Ordinance amendment despite the fact it is an enforcement tool that would apply to the entire Ordinance #200.
Mr Turisk failed to communicate any of this to the public continuing his ongoing habitual failure to post hearing information or packets until only a few days before a hearing. He did convey a Memo to the Planning Commission dated 1/15/2019 advising them the Administrative Search Warrant was removed from the agenda. That was hidden in page 38 of the packet. Had Turisk amended the posted agenda, or made any attempt to advise the public of that, dozens of people could have enjoyed an evening at home and attended some future hearing for the proposed Section 21.2.
Please reflect on how many times have I emailed the Commissioners as an elected body advising you that Mr Michael Turisk is wholly unqualified to serve as a Director of Planning and Zoning in Cheboygan County.
My messages to the County Board started in April 2018 when I noticed and advised the prior B of C at the annual meeting at Audies that Mr Turisk had submitted two job applications. The first was on 7/14/ 2017 for Scott McNeil's Planner I position. That was about the time Mr Turisk left his former employer. For some still unknown reason, Mr Steve Schnell or Administrator Lawson hired no one from that pool of applicants.
The second application for P & Z Director, essentially Steve Schnell's old job, included Turisk's same resume and job history, except one prior employment period had an annual salary increased by about $5,000 to reach the $62,300 range.
Ignoring the fact that Mr Turisk met none of the preferred or desired qualifications, he was hired with the prior Board of Commissioners fully aware and willing to ignore the proof of a fraudulent job application that also included a personal reference, Cynthia Homant that shared a home address with Mr Turisk.
The prior Board of Commissioners were told by Administrator Lawson at the April 10,2018 B of C meeting that, “The position of Director of Planning and Zoning was advertised by the County on web based job platforms, Michigan Association of Counties, County web site and local paper. County received approximately 17 applications for the position.”
Administrator Lawson’s Recommendation: “Motion to approve employment agreement with and appoint Michael C. Turisk as Director of Planning and Zoning. Motion to appoint Michael C. Turisk as Zoning Administrator upon beginning employment.”
Administrator Jeff Lawson presented the Director of Planning and Zoning Employment Agreement. He stated the position of Director of Planning and Zoning was advertised by the County on the web based job platforms, Michigan Association of Counties, County web site and in the local paper. The County received 17 applications for the position. Motion by Commissioner Gouine, seconded by Commissioner Bolinger, to approve an employment agreement with and to appoint Michael C. Turisk as Director of Planning and Zoning and also appoint him as the Zoning Administrator upon beginning employment. A roll call vote was held. Motion carried with 7 yes, 0 no and 0 absent.
Administrator Lawson’s report to the Board that there were approximately 17 applications received for the position omitted important facts. These facts were discovered by a recent FOIA request for written communications related to the interview/hiring process that culminated in the recommendation and hiring of Michael Turisk for the position of Director of Planning & Zoning.
Out of the “approximately 17 applications for the position”, Administrator Lawson failed to disclose there was one submission that was not a result of the extensive advertising and posting for the position. That person was solicited by email on February 18, 2018 by Mr Lawson to submit an application. Another personal email on February 23, 2018 reminded that person there was a job posting for the Director of Planning & Zoning and that Mr Lawson looked forward to talking with him.
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| County Administrator Lawson invites Michael Turisk to Apply for Director of P & Z The only invitee, the only interview, the only candidate recommended |
About two weeks later, there is an email from Michael Turisk to Administrator Lawson expressing his thanks to Mr Lawson for the lengthy interview by telephone and a desire to work for Cheboygan County. The next emails exchanged are a record of travel arrangements and scheduling for an in-person interview with Michael Turisk and an ad hoc committee that still has no written record of attendees or meeting minutes from behind the closed doors.
Legal counsel Bryan Graham’s June 6, 2018 memo responding to an inquiry of the legality of Administrator Lawson’s hiring process, quoting the conclusion, was made without these facts.“In conclusion, based on the above it is my opinion that the procedures you followed to
interview candidates for the Director of Planning & Zoning, including the formation of
the committee to assist you, did not violate the Open Meetings Act. As a result, these
procedures can be continued. If you have any questions, please let me know. “
The actual hiring process used by Administrator Lawson was a procedure that ignored all of the other applicants, proven by his inability under FOIA law to provide any record of a written response to any other applicants. Legal counsel’s “opinion that the procedures you followed to interview candidates for the Director of Planning & Zoning” was given ignorant of the fact that Administrator Lawson has no record of any other applicant’s communications or preliminary candidate interviews.
Some of the current Cheboygan County Commissioners were party, I suspect unknowingly, to the now documented and what might be judged unethical actions employed by Administrator Lawson to hire an unqualified and incompetent individual that was personally invited to apply. To reiterate, Administrator Lawson personally invited Michael Turisk to apply, then interviewed Turisk by telephone, and later arranged for an undocumented, un-recorded, and closed-door interview meeting with an ad hoc committee consisting of several still unidentified County Commissioners and Michael Turisk.
Of the “approximately 17 applications for the position”, Administrator Lawson only interviewed the candidate he personally invited to apply for the job. That action, the fraudulent prior salary on the resumes, plus the well-documented inability of Michael Turisk to function at a professional level despite the hundreds of often-inane questions to legal counsel since July of 2018 should be more than adequate reason to terminate his employment.
I cannot see any remedial action that could correct Mr Turisk’s shortcomings. After more than a decade of employment in planning, he still has no degree in land use or planning. He stated in his July 2017 application for Planner I that he was approved to sit for his AICP exam in November 2017. There was no mention of any certification in his February application for the position of Director of Planning & Zoning. His direct manager in Colorado Springs, obviously restricted by HR policy, stated diplomatically, “I will say that Mike’s laid back demeanor may not have been a great fit for our fast-paced environment.”
I thank each of you for your time and remain confident that you will act in the best interest of the residents and taxpayers of Cheboygan County. Please terminate this employee before there are more serious failures or possible legal recourse resulting from his failures and/or your failure to act.
Carl Muscott
Indian River
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