News

New Lothrop elected a new village president in 2008

Saturday, December 27, 2008 12:38 AM EST

Argus-Press

NEW LOTHROP - The village saw major changes - and some unwanted attention to their leaders - in 2008:

n A village bar owned by the now-former Village Council President Ken Birchmeier temporarily lost its liquor license in May because Birchmeier owed back taxes to the state.

Birchmeier confirmed the state put a hold on his license for New Lothrop Tavern, 9513 Genesee St., May 1. He said he could start selling alcohol again the following weekend.

Businesses annually renew liquor licenses prior to May 1, however, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission said it received a letter from the treasury department in March rejecting the renewal.

“When the Michigan Department of Treasury has back taxes owed by an entity, we withhold the renewal until the licensed entity has made an arrangement for payment of those back taxes,” said Deb Lonskey, customer service analyst with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. “It's not rare in today's economy. This is not an isolated incident. We have a number of licensees that this happens with.”

The Birchmeier Corporation's liquor license dates back to 1998.

The New Lothrop Tavern received a $400 fine in 2007 for selling alcohol to a minor during a sting, according to Michigan Liquor Control Commission documents. The state also cited the bar twice for writing bad checks in 2001-02.

n Newcomer Jerry Johnson defeated the longtime village president during the November election.

Birchmeier had been the village president for the past eight years. He also served as a village trustee for four years.

Johnson previously said he was running for president to bring change to the village.

He said he had attended the majority of the village council meetings the past 10 years, and he believed there were problems that needed to be addressed.

“I just feel that the things (the council) are doing is completely wrong. There is no communication - if you ask them a question they might not tell you,” Johnson said in a previous story. “A lot of decisions are made before they even go into the meeting.”

Another major concern of his was the lack of communication between the public and the village council.

n Incumbents Eugene Birchmeier, John Maksimchuk Jr. and George Thiel were chosen in the general election over newcomer Carl Seamon for the three open trustee spots on the village council.

Maksimchuk received 211 votes, Birchmeier got 210, Thiel gained 192 and Seamon won 167.

n Karen Maksimchuk was re-elected clerk with a total of 424 votes.

n For treasurer, incumbent Judy Sparks won with 253 votes.

n Dale Wendling retained his trustee position with 239 votes.

Comment on this Story

Diane Hawley wrote on Dec 27, 2008 2:35 PM:

" Why does this all need to be brought up again. I feel there is a big harrassment going on here. You don't have anything else better to write about. I hope you are proud of yourself. "