Observers question Alton’s involvement with harbor cease and desist order

By Stephanie Abbajay

On Friday, April 7 Grafton Mayor Richard Mosby and developer Joe DeSherlia received a cease and desist order from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which regulates U.S. waters, to stop dredging work on the Grafton Harbor project.

The order, dated April 4, 2006, stated that the developers were in noncompliance of their January 2005 permit, which authorized hydraulic dredging and the deposit of materials into the Missouri river. The order stated that on March 29 a field investigator observed workers instead “using a clam shell to discharge excavated sediment into the Illinois River.”

According to Joe DeSherlia, they had been using a hydraulic dredge but switched dredgers.

“We switched from a hydraulic dredge to a clam shell dredge, but we didn’t ask first,” he said. “So we have met with the corps and are working it out right now. We only have a little bit of dredging left.”

De Sherlia said that the same amount of material is being displaced; it is simply the manner of dredging that is at issue. DeSherlia said he did not think the matter would take long to resolve and is, in fact, in the process of resolution. Work is nearly complete on the Grafton Marina, with slips already in place and boats already docked there.

A big question, however, is who filed the complaint. The harbor project is a highly visible one, with spectators frequently stopping to observe the dramatic process. The project has its detractors though, including protesters from the union of operating engineers who, inaccurately, claimed that the marina developers weren’t paying prevailing wages.

Whoever filed the complaints with the Corps of engineers knew the specifics of the permit, a copy of which is available on the corps’ Web site, and what to look for in terms of the type of dredging used.

DeSherlia said the corps told him – and the corps confirmed this -- that complaints had been received about the dredging method and that the corps sent a field inspector to investigate. But the corps would not reveal the source of the complaints.

However, one week prior to the issuance of the cease and desist order and again on the day the order was issued, a vehicle registered to the city of Alton was seen by several people with an occupant in the vehicle videotaping and, on the second occasion, photographing the project.

Given the financial impact the new Grafton marina could have on the Alton marina, many observers question Alton’s interest in the Grafton project.

Alderman Joe Wilson was one of at least two Grafton residents who reported the vehicle to Grafton Police Chief Robbie Hedger, who also saw the vehicle. Wilson, who works on the Grafton Ferry, spotted the vehicle parked on the public launch ramp on the morning of March 29, which is the same day the corps said it sent out its field representative to investigate.

Wilson said he wasn’t surprised that people were taking pictures of the development, but wondered about Alton’s interest in the project.

“A lot of people have taken pictures of the harbor project,” he said. “It’s an interesting process. Folks here have worked very hard to bring this project to Grafton. It’s puzzling that Alton might send somebody here on some kind of mission. Maybe they are improving their marina and need some ideas.”

On Monday, April 3, developer David Roth spotted the vehicle parked on his property on Mulberry Street, near the Old Grafton Elementary School, which has a commanding view of the Grafton Harbor project.

“The vehicle was on our property where the Pullman house was,” he said. “They were taking photos and I thought they were taking photos of our project but when I looked they were taking photos of Joe’s project, the marina.”

Roth mentioned the car to Hedger who investigated.

“The vehicle, a burgundy Crown Victoria, looked like a squad car,” he said. “When I ran the plates, it came back registered to the city of Alton. It was an Alton municipal vehicle and the individual inside the vehicle was using what appeared to be a telephoto lens to photograph or observe the project.”

Hedger, who said he saw the vehicle on two occasions, said he did not approach the vehicle.

“I didn’t think it was police because it is common courtesy that when you are doing something in a another jurisdiction you tell the local law enforcement, ‘Hey, we’re here and this is what we are doing.’ I thought it was a state car or IDNR [Illinois Department of Natural Resources] just checking the status of the marina project. I didn’t think it was suspicious.”

The next day, Hedger spoke with city attorney Jim Shrempf, who also represents the city of Alton, about the vehicle. Hedger asked Schrempf to find out which official in Alton uses the vehicle in question. The next day, Schrempf spoke with Grafton Mayor Richard Mosby about it but Mosby instructed Schrempf not to pursue the issue.

Mosby also said he did not care to speculate about Alton’s possible involvement in the complaint or why individuals in an Alton municipal vehicle were photographing and videotaping the project.

“It’s a coincidence as far as I care,” he said. “The corps people said they were getting complaints about the method of Joe’s digging. It’s a technical problem that Joe can work out with the corps and he has already worked it out so it’s not a big deal. Jim [Schrempf] asked me what I thought about it and I think we should just ignore it and move forward. One of the problems with being in the lead is you have all the arrows in your back. When you go out there and do something like this everybody picks at you. It’s part of being a leader.

The Army Corps of Engineers confirmed that they received specific complaints about the method of dredging but declined to reveal the source of the complaints.

“We will not confirm, deny or reveal the name of the complainant,” said Alan Dooley, chief of public affairs for the St. Louis region of the Army Corps of Engineers. “We did go out and observe the violation for ourselves before issuing the order.”

Dooley added that the corps would not comment at this time about whether a variance might be issued, when dredging work might continue or if fines would be levied.

Officials with the city of Alton did not return phone calls.