Kircher is one of Ypsilanti's most colorful landlords, and sat on the Ypsilanti City Council during the 1980s.
In July of 2005, Kircher was arraigned on two felony counts for a sewage spill at his Eastern Highland Apartments, on LeForge Road, which dumped between 25,000 and 100,000 gallons of untreated waste into the Huron River in October 2004. At that time, the apartment complex was already facing a list of more than 1,000 fire and building code violations from the Township. Kircher was found guilty in October 2006, and was sentenced on December 20 to 5 years in prison and $1 million in fines. Barnes & Barnes was appointed as receiver for Eastern Highlands after the sewage dumping, and now owns the complex.
Kircher's Thompson Building, an 1861 barracks in Depot Town, was put into receivership in 2001, after Kircher failed to make court-ordered repairs. Barnes & Barnes was originally appointed receiver of this property as well, but sold out interest to Beal Construction.
In 2005, Kircher sued the City of Ypsilanti for improper charges attached to building inspections. The trial court dismissed the case, but the Michigan Court of Appeals in December ordered the case revisited. The Court of Appeals found some complaints meritless, such as Kircher's claim that he should not be charged a fee for failing to show up at an inspection, but felt that other complaints should be tried.
Kircher appeared on the August 2006 Ballot as a candidate for the 1st Ward Ypsilanti City Council seat.
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