Missing gate turns up in muddy retention pond

by JOHN LASKO

News-Times reporter

The case of the missing steel gate which was used to block traffic from going in or out of Northpointe Estates via Dodge Drive has been found.

It was originally thought a thief may have stolen the gate and turned it into cash by recycling it.

On Tuesday, June 10, police located the missing gate in a dried retention pond behind the Moose Head restaurant on Leavitt Road after receiving an anonymous tip from a Northpointe resident who left a message on detective Alex Molar's voicemail.

"The gate was in a muddy retention pond and right now it looks like it was more vandalism then anything else," lieutenant Joseph Kucirek said. "As far as any evidentiary value to the gate, the fact that it was where it was probably lost most of it."

"I knew it. I felt it was taken and thrown in the pond; it would be taken back there and eventually found in one of the waters, so I'm not surprised," Susan Enzor of 1011 Dodge Drive said. She is one of the 60 residents living on Dodge, Royal and Lancer drives who signed a petition in favor of keeping the gate up.

Early Saturday morning, April 26, Enzor and her husband, who live next to the gate, said they heard a lot of traffic going up and down the street around 5 a.m. and discovered the gate was missing.

"He went out and then he came back in and said 'honey, the gate's gone,'" Enzor told the News-Times.

Not only was the gate missing, but its hinges, along with the support hardware were gone, too.

Molnar was dispatched to the scene to conduct an investigation.

At first he thought it was a city-approved measure. In a police report, he said the work was of the caliber of a city crew.

However it was learned later in the day that no one was given permission to remove the steel gate.

On Monday, April 28, the city erected a temporary gate made of a long metal chain, along with two wooden barricades.

"There were rumors who took the gate and I'm not saying any names but we heard that a Northpointe resident may have taken the gate and that's all we have heard," Tracy Sackett of 1125 Royal Drive said; she also wants the gate to stay but Northpointe residents want it taken down.

Mayor David Taylor said the temporary gate will stay until council members make a decision on keeping the gate, or having it permanently removed.

On Monday, June 2, residents attended the city council streets committee meeting in hopes of finding a solution.

But after much discussion, fourth ward councilwoman Jennifer Wasilk motioned to table the issue, pending additional talks. The motion passed by a 5-2 vote.

While Ward two councilman Glenn Loughrie could not directly comment or speculate on who took the gate or what their intentions were, he said it shouldn't hamper any discussions he and councilman-at-large P. William VanderWyden will have with residents.

"It's just one act of a certain individual who made an error in judgment and it shouldn't reflect on everybody else and it doesn't carry much weight with me at all," Loughrie said.

The original steel gate was taken to the street department garage pending council's decision.

Both sides agree the gate is a safety issue.

"We negotiated from the beginning that the developer would have to leave up the gate (in the subdividers agreement) and they need to just leave us alone," Sackett said.

Residents who live on the west end of Dodge Drive said if the gate is removed, more cars will utilize the roadway as a shortcut from Leavitt Road to Middle Ridge Road.

They feel the increased traffic would jeopardize the safety of children who play in their front yards as well as the elderly who live on the street.

Gary Policz, who used to live on Royal Drive and now lives at 424 Northpointe Drive, said it would be safer for their children to wait at a bus stop at the intersection of Dodge and Royal drives instead of having to climb over the gate and wait for the bus at the intersection of Leavitt Road and Westpointe Drive.

He also said it is difficult to make a left turn on to Leavitt Road from the subdivision.

"That's not safe, especially in this day and age. You don't know who's prowling around looking for young kids and they could even get hit by a car," Policz said previously.

He said response times for ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles are compromised because they have to detour around the gate.

Policz told the News-Times from his home this week he would not comment on the gate issue until the next council meeting.