Blissfield Twp. Board hears complaint from pit bull farm

The Blissfield Township Board heard from a disgruntled resident who took exception to recently approved ordinances during the public comment section of Tuesday night’s monthly meeting.

Edward Wacasey accused the board of targeting his dog breeding enterprise that he operates in the township. Wacasey said that he had been harassed by a Lenawee County Deputy Sheriff after the passage of the ordinances. According to Wacasey, the sheriff department had received a complaint from someone claiming to have been “accosted” by one of his dogs.

Wacasey and his wife, who was also at Monday night’s meeting, raise pit bulls on their property in the township.

“The accusation is impossible,” Wacasey said regarding the complaint against him. “My dogs are under control at all times. In fact, I’m afraid of my dogs being accosted. I have chased off three trespassers who were on my property illegally. I have a neighbor who called me to complain about one of my dogs being loose, and when I got there I told him it wasn’t mine. It’s a Weimaraner.”

Wacasey went on to recount that he had had trespassing run-ins with a motorcyclist, a horseback rider, and another interloper who was on foot all of whom were on his posted property illegally.

“I have $50,000 worth of dogs on my property and any injury to any one of them could hurt their chances in competition,” Wacasey said. He said that he is not only an owner and breeder, but also the president of the American Great Lakes Pit Bull Club and a dog show judge. “I have a champion and a grand champion and they are extremely valuable dogs,” he said.

Wacasey told the board that the animal complaint could only have originated from a board member or a member of the township planning commission because he had registered some of his dogs in the township office and some in the county office in Adrian.

Trustee Karen Baldwin, who is has regular hours in the township office, assured Wacasey that the office had not had contact with the sheriff department regarding his dogs.

Township supervisor Lewis Bowman said that he would check into the matter, including the availability of the new ordinances to be inspected by the public. Bowman said that the template that the township used to formulate ordinances was a standard format and that some of the ordinances may have no practical application to Blissfield Township.

The Wacaseys had obtained their copy of the zoning ordinances electronically. When printed out, the volume ran into hundreds of pages, which Wacasey said was, “ridiculous.”  Wacasey said that he had attempted to volunteer for the planning commission and had attended meetings to track zoning pertaining to his facility. He said his services were declined.

County commissioner John Tuckerman, who was at the Tuesday night meeting, said that the “cookie-cutter approach” to ordinances was necessary in many cases because reviewing and adjusting zoning ordinances and codes was a long and tedious process, which few local governments have the personnel to tackle.

Wacasey was not satisfied with the board’s response and warned trustees of hiring legal counsel to enjoin a “cease and desist” order. He accused the board of colluding with the county clerk to arrive at the correct number of dogs that were kept on his property and filing a false report to the sheriff department.

Nancy Cranor, speaking on behalf of the board, flatly denied any duplicity by the county, the township or its planning commission and maintained that all ordinances were enacted in full accordance with legal regulations for public notice.

In other board proceedings:

* Fire Chief Gary Crist announced the retirement of firefighter Pat Hinds and updated the board on his research into the purchase of a new fire truck. Crist told the board that the annual insurance inspection for the village is imminent and the village’s safety rating could suffer for lack of a fire truck. Cranor and Crist have agreed to look into grant possibilities to help in the purchase of a used fire truck. Crist told the board that two firefighters had enrolled in coursework to become emergency medical technicians.

· The board approved a request by sexton Bob Cannon for an additional map of the cemetery showing the new plot numbering system. The cemetery was recently remapped and renumbered to make the numbering system of the plots more uniform. Over the years, conflicting numbering systems had caused confusion in the location of existing and new gravesites.