By Mary Drier
Staff Writer
AKRON — The saga of a struck sign in the village of Akron has devolved into name calling and finger pointing.
The issue some Tuscola County officials have with Akron Village officials stems from the November 2013 accident where county Clerk Jodi Fetting struck the village sign with a county-owned vehicle while backing up.
Although the sign has been hit other times because of its location, village officials contend Fetting’s accident caused the sign to twist in such a way it can no longer close or be repaired.
The biggest area of contention with Commissioner Roger Allen is the changing financial obligation the village feels the county owes for the damaged message board, which sits in the middle of the parking lot at the shared hall of Akron Village and Akron Township at 4380 Beach St.
“I have an issue with the $4,200 bill and then a $3,600 bill that was sent to us to replace a sign that has been hit numerous times and could be fixed with a couple of hasps,” said Allen. “Then we get a bill for $250 for their insurance deductible, and then try to bill (Akron) township for $150 too. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Although the sign has been hit before because of its location, it had been able to be repaired. Village officials contend the last accident in November 2013 left the sign beyond repair and wants Tuscola County officials to pay for it.
“It’s impossible to hit on one side, leave only a scratch on the vehicle, and wreck both sides of the sign to where it’s ‘totaled.’ They keep sending bills with different amounts and have never really talked to us,” Allen said.
Allen also has an issue with the village police chief’s handling of the accident that happened a few feet outside his office door.
At Monday’s committee meeting and again at Thursday’s full-board meeting of the Tuscola County Commissioners, Allen referred to Akron Village’s Chief of Police Mike Scarborough numerous times as a “Keystone Cop,” in reference to Scarborough’s handling and writing the police report.
“Just who made the determination the sign was totaled and the different costs for us?” Allen questioned. “It bothers me… it’s like an insurance scam to the extent of fraud or extortion.”
At the April Akron Village meeting, the council approved taking the county to small claims court to collect the $250, but so far the county hasn’t received notice of that action.
As the sign issue was addressed by the two sides, it has made headlines several times.
“To me, it’s worth it just to pay the $250 to get it over so it isn’t in the paper any more,” said Commissioner Craig Kirkpatrick.
Allen countered it’s the principle of the matter rather than the issue and the “Keystone Cop” aspect of it.
The term Keystone Cop is a reference to the comedic antics of police officers in silent films.
Scarborough is not only a veteran police office but also a highly decorated one. He was a military police officer for three years before working for the Detroit Police force for 27 years where he received three medals of valor as wells as numerous citations and commendations before retiring in 1997.
Scarborough has also taught precision driving and accident reconstruction at the Detroit Police Academy along with co-writing the manual used there for accident reconstruction training. He has worked part-time for the Tuscola County Sheriff’s Department since 1998 and has been Akron’s Chief of Police for three years.
Commissioners directed county Controller Mike Hoagland to write a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request asking village officials for a 10-year report on how many times the sign has been hit, the names of those who hit the sign, police reports for those times, and any payments for the sign’s damage that were collected.
A FOIA is a formal request for public information. The entity receiving the FOIA must respond within five business days after receiving the request, but can ask for an additional 10 business days to gather information.
In the meantime, the sign has been replaced at a cost of $4,159 with the village’s insurance company paying $3,909 and the village trying to collect $250 from the county.
Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.