Wyoming, Mi (Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren: apartment complexes, new home, neighborhoods)

[Concerned Cistern]

Tired of your high taxes in the City of Wyoming?
For part of it you can thank a Mr. Joe Stapf, the past Director of Utilities of the City of Wyoming. Of course he's now resigned and found a job down in Florida because he was shamed out of his position with the City but he's left the city in a $35,000,000 project for a construction project at the Wastewater treatment plant.
The City of Wyoming wastewater plant applies it's byproducts to land by proper and safe treatment they are able to apply the biosolids to farmland as a fertilizer. It sounds nasty but it's actually a safe and carefully regulated program.
That is the background to explain that during the winter they can not apply these solids to the fields because of the snow/wet in the fields so they store these solids until springtime. The byproducts of a wastewater treatment plant are for the most part water. Transfering and storing such great amounts of water is very expensive so there are various ways to 'de-water' these byproducts to save on space and money for storage and transportation.
In the winter the City of Wyoming really gets in a bind running out of space for storage and for part of their dewatering they use a sludge press. A high-tech system of belts and polymers and chemical processes to remove the byproducts from the water; separating the two and thus concentrating the byproducts and allowing for more efficient storage of these byproducts and more economical shipment.
All well and good.
Mr. Joe Stapf though and the political powers of the City of Wyoming have gotten into an agreement with the City of Grand Rapids to construct a $35,000,000 pumping project. They are laying down miles of underground pipe from the City of Wyoming wastewater plant to the City of Grand Rapids wastewater plant for the purpose of pumping the City of Wyoming's byproducts to a state of the art facility being made at the City of Grand Rapids location for a new dewatering process.
This sounds like a great way for two cities to join together and create a finished product that could benefit both communities until you look deeper into it.
The City of Wyoming has a tremendous amount of storage for keeping these biosolids in the winter but it's not enough room. The City also dewaters with a belt-press process in addition to a couple centrifuges. So these $35,000,000 project being placed on the backs of the City of Wyoming taxpayers should solve this problem right? It should allow for the removal of the old sludge-press dewatering equipment and remove that maintenance and operation costs right? How about reduce the need for storage on site at the City of Wyoming wastewater site right?
When I asked Mr. Joe Stapf directly in the presence of all the employees at the wastewater plant, in front of Mr. Tom Kent what this $35,000,000 was going to fix? Are you going to be able to remove the sludge press? What advantages are we going to have? How is this going to save the City in costs and manpower over what is being done right now? I got a blank stare and then a pissed off expression of frustration and then the topic was changed.
Comes to find out not only is there one pipeline being burried from the City of Wyoming to the City of Grand Rapids to pump this wet sludge for dewatering at the Grand Rapids facility; but there is a 2nd line also being burried right next to it.
You see.. after it's pumped miles to the City of Grand Rapids dewatering facility it needs to be pumped back to the City of Wyoming for storage. Well; that sounds okay right?
Until you get into the specifics of the Black & Veatch (Engineering company on the project) and find out that the dewatered (dry) solids can't be pumped the miles in the pipe back to the City of Wyoming. Unless... you add water to it and make it 'wet' again.
In short.. The City of Wyoming Tax Payers are footing the bill for a $35,000,000 project to pump (million $ buildings and equipment and $10,000+ in electrical costs every month, not to mention operational and maintenance costs) wet sewer biosolids miles to the City of Grand Rapids where they will dewater it (million $ buildings and equipment and $10,000+ in electrical costs every month, not to mention operational and maintenance costs).. then put water back into it and pipe it back to the City of Wyoming for storage.

A $35,000,000 project that does absolutely nothing but score a political kudos for powerful politicians that want to be seen as "working together" between cities for an environemental caring community.

[lakefrontgirl]

I live in wyoming and have only been here 6 yrs, i moved here from cali for a better life and it was worse! I call diversity a little of each race or most races, Wyoming is mainly hispanic and its very run down. The areas theyre building up around here are the hospital, thats it. Im in a safe neighborhood but only a few VERY short blocks away is the bad area and it goes on for most of wyoming. If youre looking for an area to live in Id suggest Grandville or Cascade, the other end of 28th street. There are some nice places to own or rent there. I just dont like it here, to be honest and up front...I wouldnt let my friend from Cali come visit because of my nasty neighbors, and they are minor compared to most in wyoming. It was embarrassing for me to tell my friend "i feel like i live in the projects".

[mackinac81]

Lakefrontgirl--Well, no wonder you're leaving GR--You live in Wyoming! And for that I don't blame you one bit. I do agree with you. Wyoming is one of the most rundown suburbs I've seen, especially the area around Division St. Other than the area adjacent to Grandville, I might as well live in Grand Rapids proper. The social problems and appearance are exactly the same.

[Joe Stapf]

Concerned Cistern—you are just another one of those self-proclaimed “experts” who hide behind digital anonymity, and do not have the courage to engage in an honest open debate.

Over the past 10 years with the proliferation of “information” on the Internet, I have made it a practice to periodically Google search my name. It is a practice I recommend to everyone, because your posting is not the first time I have come upon some nonsense to which I have become attached.

The first thing about your post that stood out was that it originated in Houston, Texas. Now, why do you suppose that is the case? It is strangely coincidental that the home office of Synagro, the company that has the biosolids hauling contract for the City of Wyoming Wastewater Plant is located in Houston.

Guess whose ox could get gored when the new joint Wyoming/Grand Rapids Biosolids “boondoggle” that Concerned Cistern pontificates about comes on line? That’s right—Synagro…Any trucking company with a few dump trucks will be able to compete for this work.

A few months before I left Wyoming, Mr. Jim Rosendall of Synagro, by exerting political pressure on the City of Grand Rapids, shoe-horned himself into staff-level meetings between Wyoming and Grand Rapids staffers during which the project plans were being finalized. He came waltzing in with a cockamamie smoke and mirrors presentation that was long on rhetoric but short on fact. It was clearly intended to de-rail this project, and preserve the status quo.

By the way, this is the same Jim Rosendall who is now entangled in a federal corruption investigation concerning the City of Detroit’s recent decision to award a biosolids management contract to Synagro. This contract is reportedly worth $47,000,000 per year. If you doubt that, check out the Grand Rapids Press at Alpine Township man involved in Detroit corruption investigation - Latest News - The Grand Rapids Press - MLive.com, or the Detroit Free Press at FBI probe extends to city hall consultant | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press.

Now, why would Mr. Rosendall or anyone else at Synagro be inclined to author this pack of lies about me? Because it fell on my shoulders to call him out on the inaccuracy/idiocy of his “proposal.”

Grand Rapids staffers were as disgusted with his antics as I, but they did not feel they could effectively challenge him because of his rumored political connections to a certain Grand Rapids City Commissioner. Perhaps someone should also investigate Mr. Rosendall’s local campaign contributions, and the corresponding campaign finance reports of different local candidates for the state legislature.

As far as the land application of biosolids is concerned, it is historically the most cost effective means of disposal of this material. However, in the early days (going back to 1979) Wyoming was able to find fields within 20-25 miles of its treatment plant. In more recent years, however, Wyoming has had to pay to haul an increasing amount of this material in excess of 40 miles. Diesel fuel is a significant cost factor in this program.

When one combines the increasing haul distances with the skyrocketing cost of diesel fuel, you have a recipe for a financial disaster. This not only would drive up the cost of residential sewer rates, but it will do significant harm to the large food processing industries (Country fresh Dairy, West Michigan Turkey Producers, to name a few). The amount of money they must spend on sewage treatment costs may increase so much that moving their facilities elsewhere may become an option they will have to consider to stay in business. The City of Wyoming does not need any more vacant industrial properties.


Then you factor into the equation what I call the $700 toilet seat feature. By that I mean that Wyoming has most of its eggs in one basket—land application—when it comes to biosolids management. Sure, there are the old belt presses, but they can handle only a fraction of the residual material. However, with Synagro dominating the national market for this business, and Wyoming having virtually no choices, what do you suppose is Synagro’s inclination to sharpen their pencils at bid time? Of course, the answer is “slim to none.” How does one increase the likelihood of sharper pencils? By acquiring options. That is part of what this Joint Project is about.

Unfortunately, in the wastewater treatment business one cannot simply go down to Wal-Mart and buy options when they go on sale. Options are “infrastructure,” and that is typically very costly. It also not built overnight.

Lastly, Concerned Cesspool—er, Cistern—I was NOT “shamed” out of my job in the City of Wyoming. If you had paid any attention to the newspapers at the time, or been in attendance at my last Wyoming City Council meeting, you would know it was quite the opposite.

Contrary to what you imply, I am very proud of my nearly 30 years service to the City of Wyoming and its citizens.

A wise man once said that the true measure of success is leaving things in better shape than they were when you found them. I am confident any thinking reasoning person will see that is the case, but most probably not some anonymous nimrod who posts on these forums and who cannot be held accountable for the outright lies their posts contain.

[oscarsol]

Hey, Joe--

You forgot to mention the belt presses are about 25 years old, and they are good only for the primary sludge.

While Concerned Cistern may have something to do with Synagro, it could also be he is that employee you fired for sexually harassing another employee a few months before you left.

[Nickc121]

A really great restaurant is down that way. The Beltline Bar. Could be Grand Rapids limits, I can't remember. Either way, its right there.

[JoeLunchBox11]

I happen to be a meter reader in the area, and the few hoods I am in from month to month are not that bad. The are surely on the brink of turning into a not so nice area, but for now i cant complain. The area has a long way to go, and it they grps only got a little parental involvment the schools could go a long way

[GMonkey]

Honestly, it's one of my least favorite areas in the GR Metro area. Bleak. Depressing. My step-siblings are from there and all their friends were delinquents and many still are. I'm sure there are some great people living there, obviously I haven't met everyone. There are so many other options if you seek affordable housing in the area.

The poster who mentioned working and living in the same town, that is a huge plus, and probably that, and the hard-working citizens are the only saving grace of the area. Grand Rapids is small enough that you can work in one municipality and live in a neighboring, or nearby one. I wouldn't suggest living in Rockford if work in Wyoming, but you get the picture.

[GMonkey]

Originally Posted by Nickc121

A really great restaurant is down that way. The Beltline Bar. Could be Grand Rapids limits, I can't remember. Either way, its right there.

Beltline Bar is in Grand Rapids, but right next to Wyoming. That is not a reason to live in Wyoming.

With the large Hispanic population, there are so many better Mexican restaurants in town, now. Maggie's Kitchen was one of my faves.

[gillgetter]

I herd they are going to change the name from Wyoming to "Little Mexico"