Mayor and City Council of
Farmington Hills, MI
Attention: Mr. Steve Brock;
Farmington Hills, City Manager
31555 Eleven Mile Rd.
Farmington Hills, MI 48336
June 16, 2009
Dear Mr. Brock,
Please accept my resignation,
effective immediately, from the Farmington Area Arts Commission. I have tried to encourage the various programs and have tried
to add to funding for future needs, as we look to the possible Cultural Arts Center. However, due to lack of leadership and
continual conflict and abuse by individual commission and staff members, Randy Bruce and Nancy Coumoumndours, I can no longer
serve.
Last year we the commission
sponsored and produced a wonderful fashion show and lunch, at Oakland Community College, with an auction of fashions, donated
by Mr. Peter Soronen.
The revenue from that one event brought in
$10,000 which allowed the commission to purchase the new piano for Longacre House. I was the person who organized this event.
I was not aware at the time that the Cultural Arts Supervisor was not allowed by both cities to do fund raising activities.
Therefore, Mrs. Coumoumndours was also on this committee of individuals from our community, who I asked to help on the project.
After the success of this
event, my life on this commission changed. The event took place in April, at our May meeting the commission, knowing that
we would need to do future fund raising projects added to their mission statement, that we would not only be an advisory group,
but we would continue with fund raising. This was voted on by the full commission; than we came together in September and
told we could no longer do these types of events. I believe that one of our members,
Mrs. Ellis, came to your office at that time to see if this was true, she reported that, you felt it was wonderful that we
took the initiative to work on such projects. This statement was not accepted
by Mrs. Coumoumndours or Randy Bruce. Later, the commission asked Mrs. Middlebrooks
and me to check into the “Friends of the Parks” with you and the city manager of the City of Farmington. We gave
our report; again, Randy Bruce asked that we verify the tunefulness of the report. I called your office and at that time,
if you remember, you told me that you would not write a letter to verify our report and that you would talk with Randy Bruce.
I felt that was the end of this very small and silly matter.
Since that time, I have
paid over $300, for the dedication and reception of the piano, which was held at the Longacre House recently. Not one of these
so called public servants/commissioners has done anything to add to the welfare or creative in put of our community.
Also, I was very concerned
when the Cultural Arts Supervisor, brought in a new member as our Chairperson, without a vote or any of the members of the
commission having the opportunity to run for that office. When one of our members requested elections, it became clear to
me that we needed to see by-laws. Asked to see them we where told that “there
are no by-laws”, which we found out later was not true.
There are many more questionable acts and matters which have come up, but I don’t need to continue,
since you can see that with this type of organization, young energic people would never serve, once they come to these meetings
they very rarely come back.
Steve, I have worked for
both major daily newspapers in this town, I have a lot of integrity and the respect of the thousands of folks I have worked
with. But I can no longer put up with all the under handed things going on in this group. Believe me when I say, I feel sorry
for ever doing anything like the fund raiser or ever getting involved.
My pal Jody Soronen, backed
me to get on, she felt I would be like a breath of fresh air for this group, but that is not the way it turned out. I wish you and Farmington Hills well, but I will never offer my talent, skills or contacts again.
Respectfully,
Rita Dilanian
Farmington Hills, Michigan 
